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find tackle to test & keep
May 23, 2013
May 16, 2013
fishhound faves
Thu, 05/23/2013 - 10:55
By Dena W
The sun is bright, glaring off the water’s surface, forming distinct viewing lanes in clear water as long and wide as an opening on the highway. A breeze creeps in from the west, creating protective chop on the surface of the bay that my eyes have been sorely searching. Finally the prize arrives, a slow-moving pod of fish cruising in formation like a SWAT team on a raid. While many fly fishers envision tarpon, permit, or bonefish when they think of sight-fishing scenarios like this, it’s also...
Mon, 05/20/2013 - 08:16
By Dena W
Action is heating up for black grouper, bluefin trevally, and permit in the saltwater department of this month's IGFA Hot Catches highlights! Record applications for each of these species are currently under review as anglers in Australia, the Clipperton Atoll, New Zealand, and Florida, USA wait to find out whether their waters have produced the new title holders. In the freshwater world, word has travelled fast about the potential new All-Tackle brown trout from New Zealand and giant snakehead...
Tue, 05/14/2013 - 08:06
By Dena W
During the next 4-6 weeks, fly fishermen in the eastern United States -- from North Carolina and north to Connecticut and New York -- may be able to enjoy something that their western brethren find relatively commonplace, but is rarely experienced on eastern waters: throwing big bugs to voracious trout that aren’t the least bit picky about pattern or presentation.
ANY DAY NOW
This year marks the year of the emergence of the Magicicadas, also known as the 17-year or Brood II cicadas. These...
Mon, 05/13/2013 - 08:11
By Dena W
Olympic Valley, Calif. – With summer making an early arrival at Lake Tahoe this year, fly fishing at Resort at Squaw Creek is already in high gear. The private ponds have been stocked with rainbow trout, and local streams have healthy flows. North Lake Tahoe's Resort at Squaw Creek pairs luxury accommodations with the true wilderness adventure of fly fishing unlike any resort in the region.
"By day, you can be taught the skills of fly fishing on our very own ponds by Matt Heron, a certified...
Fri, 05/10/2013 - 08:11
By Dena W
There are only four cardinal rules for Fly Fishing a small stream, stick to these and you’ll find that your fishing experience will be more rewarding, and your mastery of the basic skills will grow quickly and almost painlessly.
Rule Number One:
Structure is the key to fishing a stream. Find the holding spots and you’ll find the fish.
Rule Number Two:
Pay attention to your surroundings and the flora and fauna that share the streamside with you.
Rule Number Three:
Don’t flog a dead horse, or a...
Thu, 05/09/2013 - 08:32
By Dena W
Once upon a time, in a world not as very far away as we like to think, we had to tie our own flies. Just like we had to grow our own food and build our own homes. And we did these things, and they were hardy and served us well. There was no online ordering, no fly shop bin of options, no grocery store or butcher. You did it yourself because you had to. And sometimes life still requires of us that we take up the slack and drive like we know where we’re going—there will be time for looking at the...
Wed, 05/08/2013 - 07:43
By Dena W
I happen to have one of those rare academic degrees in which one’s years of education enjoy an inverse relationship to one’s yearly income. Luckily, my largely unremunerative existence is rich in other things, such as opportunities to stalk trout, not only in the stream, but on the page as well. And my thinking about the book-born species Salmo trutta literaria suggests that not all specimens are created equal. In this week’s column, I’d like to take a closer look at two trout of the...
Tue, 05/07/2013 - 13:04
By Dena W
If you’ve ever taken fly fishing instruction or had an impatient guide stand over your shoulder, you’ve felt the pressure to produce the perfect cast. MidCurrent Magazine’s Philip Monahan recently explained that there is no one correct casting motion.
In the 1990’s Al Kyte, a professor of physical education at the University of California at Berkeley, and Gary Moran, PhD (anatomy and kinesiology) studied and filmed some of the world’s expert casters. They noted that there were two factors in...
Tue, 04/09/2013 - 15:42
By Justin P Fishhound
CHAMPAIGN — Without Warriors and Quiet Water, Marine veteran Erik Goodge might have discovered fly fishing on his own.
But the nonprofit program started by a retired Marine career officer gave Goodge and perhaps scores of other Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans a push in the right direction.
"It's just relaxing, calming. It gives you a hobby more than anything," the 24-year-old Goodge said of fly fishing, which he has adopted with passion. "Everything in it is fluid, repetitive motion, and...
Thu, 02/21/2013 - 08:43
By Justin P Fishhound
The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center’s main stocked fishing pond, Lake Zebco, covers only about an acre and a half. (A full football field including end zones covers 1.32 acres.) Walking at a brisk pace, you can circle it in three or four minutes.
The lake’s small size does not give a hint of what monsters lurk beneath its surface. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Jonathan (“Gonzo”) Gonzalez of Kaufman caught a channel catfish measuring 35.25 inches long and 23 inches in girth and weighing...
