Kirk Deeter

How to Tie the Clouser Minnow in 4 Easy Steps

Online Editors — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:12:57 -0500

Two-Way Radios Under $50

Online Editors — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:27:02 -0500

Why Bird Hunting and Fly Tying Go Hand in Hand

Sarah Smith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:08:41 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

Is there anything better in the whole fly fishing world than watching, in real time, as a big old brown trout rises to eat your dry fly, especially when you know that dry fly is one you spun up yourself?

There's definitely something to be said for tying your own bugs. Sure, most fish have brains not much larger than a dry-roasted almond, and your gray matter should trump theirs.

But when you really think about it, the real challenge isn't a brain-on-brain competition. In fly fishing, it's about using fairly primitive tools to trick tens of thousands of years of instinct. And when you take that challenge from the fly tying vise to the river, and succeed, you've done something extra special.

The only way to make that even more meaningful, in my mind, is to harvest the raw materials you use to tie flies in the first place. And that's part of the reason why I'm out whackin' ducks and geese these days, every chance I get.

Why Bass Fishers and High Stickers Should Love Czech Nymphing

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:29:15 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

I've been hanging out with Steve Parrott of the Blue Quill Angler in Evergreen, Colorado, lately, and I have to tell you, I think he's made me a convert to Czech nymphing.

Steve has a relatively new DVD on the subject, which I eagerly endorse as a potential stocking stuffer, because he takes a topic that many of us find, well, literally "foreign," and brings it right home in a way that's easy to understand.

All Steelheading is Wonderful. But Michigan is Better than Ohio.

Online Editors — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:36:53 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

Everyone has a "home river" where they started fly fishing. And everyone has a "dream river" they yearn to experience. The more I travel, fish and write, the more I realize that my home river and my dream river are one and the same--the Pere Marquette system in western Michigan.

I just spent a few days fishing the P.M. with guide Jeff Hubbard, owner of Outfitters North, who is hands-down one of the most dialed fly guides I have ever fished with. He showed me new wrinkles and twists for water I've been fishing for 25 years.

"Guess the Size" Winner Announced

Sarah Smith — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:53:40 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

You were all pretty much in the ballpark. You didn't fall for the photo trickery, yet you paid proper respect to the redifish in Louisiana. This fish, by the way, was about average size for those we caught last week.

And it weighed 11 pounds, 11 ounces. Unfortunately I did not actually catch the fish on 11-11-11; I caught it two days earlier. It was an amazing trip, as you could tell from Tim's slide show.

Day Two: Exploring Colorado's White Water Drainage

Online Editors — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:09:57 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

We drove up the lone dirt road that shoots like a cherry stem into the heart of the many thousands of roadless acres in the Flat Tops Wilderness area. At the center of this region is Trappers Lake, one of the largest natural mountain lakes in the state (at five miles around, it is indeed small by natural lake standards in many states, but large in the mountain pothole context of high alpine waters). Trappers Lake is home to a resident population of Colorado River cutthroat trout, as are the myriad brooks and streams in this section of the high country.

Day One: Exploring Colorado’s White River Drainage

Sarah Smith — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:17:20 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

On day one of our Best Wild Places adventure in the White River drainage of Colorado, Aaron Kindle, Chris Herrman and I went trout fishing on the upper-middle section of the main stem of the White River. This middle section meanders through a valley of expansive ranches. Indeed, private landowners control much of this water, and access is restricted. However, the Colorado Division of Wildlife has secured a number of quality easements, and there are state wildlife areas that afford access to quality trout water as well.

We pulled off by a bridge, slipped on our wades and hiked down to the river where we immediately noticed a number of small trout sipping dry flies in the shade of the bridge. The White runs clear and clean throughout the late summer and fall, and prolific hatches of mayflies, as well as hordes of grasshoppers are found in the tall brush along the bank.

Guess The Size And Win A Prize

Sarah Smith — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:57:24 -0500

Timmy and I are on our annual "no work, all play" fishing trip to Louisiana. The fishing is spectacular, which is good to see in the wake of the BP oil spill. Today it's blowing 25-30 miles per hour and it's overcast, so odds are we'll be shucking more oysters than making casts. But that's okay. Fishing in Louisiana is never really about the fish in Louisiana.

ATVs Are Not Evil

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:24:39 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

All too often I read about ATVs in the context of the evil threat to fishing and hunting habitat. It's not the ATVs that are the threat. It's the people driving who decide what habitat gets ruined or not.

I get angry when both sides of the argument try to polarize the debate. It's up to ATV riders who use their machines for sporting purposes and have a legitimate, vested concern in hunting and fishing habitat to voice their interests, as the vast majority in the middle of the bell curve.

If you hate ATVs and think they should be banned, get your head out of the sand. ATVs are not going away, and they've opened outdoor recreation for many. Conversely, if you like to tear around in circles, and don't give a rip about what you ruin in the process, get your head out of your exhaust pipe. It's not a God-given right to ruin public land and ruin hunting and fishing for everyone else.