If you want to guarantee that you’ll get rained on, forget your tent’s rainfly. I believe in providence; not luck or coincidence or karma or Murphy’s law. The handful of times I have neglected to ensure that I’m completely protected from precipitation are, in fact, the nights when the heavens have opened up. Waking up …
The river was around 40 yards wide. The fog was so thick that halfway across it was impossible to make out the opposite bank. Which means, halfway across, it was impossible to see either bank. The cold water from the bottom of the deep reservoir usually elicited a mist over the water on warm summer …
I usually make a habit of walking the banks of rivers, even when they’re closed for the season. There is a lot you can glean from water when you’re not fishing. There is a lot you can learn when you can’t be fishing. While a fall-spawning fish might not be in that same location come …
This is not a joke. To be fair: I have contemplated creating a satirical article advocating casting across the ice into a small, drilled hole. This is not that article. This is an article that legitimately discusses fly fishing when there is ice present. It is brief, but it is an overview of what you …
High water looks intimidating. But especially in the fall it should be reason for optimism. Of course, high and off-color water has it’s drawbacks. Wading and access is more difficult. There is literally more water to fish. Regular holes and targets may be impossible to reach. Every one of those concerns is valid. In fact, …
What harm is a little rain? For some reason, the myth exists that fishing isn’t any good in the rain. Maybe we should keep that fallacy going, because getting out on the river in the rain is a great way to get to spots and fish that would otherwise be hard to approach. Whether it …
A bluebird morning quickly turned dark and ominous. Not coincidentally, a fish-less morning quickly turned interesting. It seemed like perfect conditions: a warm, still, spring morning. There were bugs in the air. No one else was in the parking lot, and there weren’t any fresh boot tracks on any of the trails. The only thing …
You don’t have to fly fish in December, January, and February. If you choose not to get out, you don’t loose your angler credentials. There might even be some benefits in taking a few months’ sabbatical. And let’s face it – it is cold and the fish aren’t terribly cooperative. But if you want to …
One of Autumn’s more endearing qualities is the shifting temperature. Crisp, cool mornings transition to warm, sunny afternoons. T-shirts and flip flops are still in the rotation, but sweatshirts and wool caps also reappear. However, if you’re on the water all day you don’t exactly have the luxury of an entire wardrobe at your disposal. …
Recently I fished a new river. It was a wide waterway with miles set apart for catch and release. I knew that it was filled with trout, and that it had been fishing well the week prior to my trip. So even though finding a spot and locating fish was a little daunting, I had …
