Rivers, Including the Bitterroot, Rebound After Fires
Submitted by Greg Thomas on Wed, 01/25/2012 - 12:48.
I remember the Bitterroot Valley's major fires in 2000 and 2003 and what that did to the attitudes of anglers—basically, it beat them down and many thought that the Bitterroot and its all important tributary streams would be destroyed, along with those native cutthroat and bull trout, and its non-native
Kamchatka, Russia Reopens for Fly Fishing
Submitted by Greg Thomas on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 11:43.
You like wild? Really, really wild? And you like some big rainbows and dollies thrown into the mix? Salmon, too?
Anglers Tonic Redesign goes live
Submitted by Greg Thomas on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 11:18.
Just a heads-up to say my Web site's redesign is complete and you can check it out at www.anglerstonic.com Some will say the site doesn't look as edgy as it used to, and they may be right.
Colorado's Best Fly Fishing - the best book on the subject
Submitted by Greg Thomas on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 09:14.
If you’re a western fly fisher and you don’t know Landon Mayer you’ve had your head in the sand or somewhere else equally dark.
Mayer is a Colorado guide who specializes in finding big trout for he and his clients. And most of his research happens in Colorado where he and his family live. During winter he takes to the road and speaks for the International Sportsman’s Exhibition, in Denver, Sacramento and elsewhere. He’s a good angler, no doubt, but I’m more impressed by his mentality; I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with Mayer, over steaks and beers, and the passion he shows for our sport and the willingness he demonstrates to share his findings with others is what sets him apart. Believe me, in this day and age, with egos running rampant, and jealousies hampering good writers’ best efforts, it’s amazing that there’s any literature out there for those who are interested in the sport and just want to taste some success and do so in a classy manner.
Taster's Guide to Mayflies
- By: Jim Dean
- Photography by: Barry Beck
- and Cathy Beck
When a young friend, Cody Cantwell, ate a baby green drake (Ephemerella drunella flavilinea) while we were fishing the Railroad Ranch stretch of the Henry’s Fork in Idaho last June, I asked him, “Why?”
“I just wanted to see what it tasted like,” he replied, a bit sheepishly. “These big rainbows love Flavs, and I was curious to see what the big deal is.”
Fab 5 Fall Hatches
- By: Skip Morris
- , Tom Keer
- , John Holt
- , Matt Supinski
- and Greg Thomas
- Photography by: Louis Cahill
I enjoy watching friends fish, but this debacle was too much and I was on the verge of losing it. My pal Dan Summerfield had just missed, like, 15 eats in a row.
“WTF,” I shouted from my perch above Idaho’s North Fork Clearwater River, mocking our dreadful societal sway toward slaphappy acronyms, as if I were texting instead of sharing an afternoon on the water with a friend. He answered, “This size 20 Baetis is so small I just can’t get a good set.”
Images of The Year 2011
Submitted by Greg Thomas on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 12:27.Each December, as the new year approaches, I take time to look look through all of my photos and take stock of another year spent fishing. To be honest, I was busier than I wanted to be in 2011 and felt like I didn't get much time on the water. But, when I look back at all the great photos that represent what I did in 2011 it takes on a different shape.
Riviera Redfish
- By: Walter Kirkland
- Photography by: Tosh Brown
- , Walter Kirkland
- and Greg Thomas
Looking forward to the late fall and winter, my neighbors in Fairhope, Alabama, duckaholics for the most part, work themselves into apoplexy anticipating the beginning of their annual bird slaughter. Those not as mad at them ducks might turn their attention to catching redfish in Louisiana or Texas. But, I don’t care for freezing my butt off in futile attempts to blast mallards from the sky, nor for hauling my boat down to the Biloxi Marsh to stalk fickle redfish that disappear on anything other than a perfect bluebird day.
Sight-Casting for Black Drum
- By: Chico Fernandez
- Photography by: Chico Fernandez
Black drum get no respect. And I really don’t know why: THEY TAIL while feeding on the flats, you can sight-cast to them in shallow water, they are plentiful, they grow to more than 100 pounds (that’s not a typo), they can fight hard and they are not easy. If you haven’t cast to a big, tailing black drum, I recommend you give it a try. You may become a better angler for it. I have always thought that when you go after a new species, you can’t help but learn more about the fish’s environment and the different foods in their habitat, while improving your casting accuracy, fly manipulation and fish-fighting.
Midges in Moving Water
- By: David Hughes
- Photography by: David Hughes
The most difficult part of solving any moving-water midge situation is figuring out when you’re in one. Midges are usually so small, and so often hatch at either dawn or dusk, that it’s often impossible to see them. You see trout rising, you suspect they’re not doing it as a hobby, but you can’t see anything they might be taking. When that happens, make midges your first thought because they might be dying in those rises.
