A Guest Post by Assistant Editor Kristyn Brady

Western Maryland may not be known as a trophy trout haven, but if you find yourself on Route-81 coming from Pennsylvania or West Virginia and itching to fish, stop in at Beaver Creek Fly Shop in Hagerstown, MD, and chat with shop owner and guide James Harris (below, showing me the ropes). I happened to be in the area last weekend and saw the opportunity to get some more fly fishing hours under my belt and possibly hook a wild brown or two in Beaver Creek—a limestoner that's known for offering year-round opportunity to flycasters. What I got was my first lesson in the challenges of a small, clear eastern creek.

Since I first picked up a fly rod last September, the few places I've fished offered plenty of backcast room. That luxury helped me get comfortable casting pretty fast, as did the chance to take a 30-mile float on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. Covering that much water forced me to cast over and over for days and to choose target spots quickly as we drifted past. But the conditions at Beaver Creek caught me off guard.

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By The Editors

Congratulations to Eric Sturos, who wins an unlocked iPhone 5 and an Otterbox phone case for posting the best photo to our Catchbook fishing app in October! And congrats to our runners up, James Carpenter, Chad Aldridge, and Kevin McDonough, who each won an Otterbox case. Check out their winning photos and see the rest of our picks for the 50 best shots posted in October by clicking through this gallery. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

Last week's caption contest for a pair of Redington Sonic-Pro Wader pants proved to be one of our most popular yet in terms of participation, with 355 entries. There were many great entries as you could have imagined. My favorite though came from Brian Kozminski who wrote: "It was truly a shame. Rocky had a great double haul and roll-cast, could tie a pheasant tail and hare's ears with the best of em. Unfortunately, the on-line bullying from Facebookers about his prominent incisors brought him to his end."

Brain, send me an email to tim@anglingtrade.com with your wader size and I'll get them sent right out. Congrats!

Here are some of my other favorites: [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

I'll admit to being a prankster. I can't help myself. My best April Fools' trick ever was calling my brother's college house and asking one of his roommates if my mother had arrived for her visit yet. Of course, nobody expected her—least of all my brother, who was in class at the time. So his buddies ran to get him, and they spent several hours cleaning their house before I rang back and admitted she wasn't really coming.

River pranks are great fun, especially when the fishing is slow. And they're pretty fun when the fishing is good too. My favorite happened in Alaska, when Trent Kososki put on a brown bear costume and hid in the tall grass until our buddy Conway Bowman hooked into a nice steelhead. You know the rest... Trent came bounding out of the bushes, Conway almost literally ran across the river surface, and I'm pretty sure he tested the leak-proof seams of his waders from the inside. You have to make sure your buddies don't have any heart conditions before doing that one. [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

So much of fly rod marketing revolves around "how far," "how fast," and "how light" that I think one of the more important performance factors—the feel—gets lost in the shuffle.

When it comes to selecting a rod, sensitivity is priority number one for a lot of the bass and walleye fishermen I know. And yes, some of the newer-generation fly rods (especially those meant for Euro-style nymphing) are designed to optimize feel, but I sometimes think the market has out-engineered itself.  Some of the rod models from 15 or 20 years ago (or longer)—rods we'd call graphite classics now—do a pretty fine job of offering the whole performance package of distance, versatility, and feel.  I'm talking about rods like the Winston IM6, the original G Series from Scott, the Loomis GLX, and the Sage 590 RPL. If you have one, keep it. If you can grab one on eBay, do it. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

There's a new kid on the media fishing block, although admittedly it's a little more about boats than fishing.

Skiff Republic is a website that delves deep into the history, culture, and technology of shallow water fishing craft that we fly fisherman love so much. There's a ton of videos (like the one above), interviews with boat builders and designers, forums to peruse, and an e-mail newsletter that can update you via your inbox about all the newest skiff news. [ Read Full Post ]