Fishing

  The first Fly Commission production has finally been completed and uploaded to the web. It’s roughly 6 minutes of superb dry fly action from New Zealand’s South Island. And damn fine footage it is too! Share/Bookmark Related posts: Some North Island NZ Trout Goodness Winter in The Other New Zealand Fly Fishing Destination Do-It-Yourself New Zealand Fly Fishing CATCH THE MOMENT: Fly-fishing New Zealand 2012

LAKES

Bobby Redford makes the case for Bristol Bay in this LA Times op-ed. LINK

via: Just a girl from Georgia

COME THE DAWNINGEnter The Faithful Hoardsit could be the stuff of stories-------Legal fishing opens tomorrow in Yellowstone National Park.Here's the neighborhood outlook:Weather: Mild - high in the 60's, mostly cloudy overcast, occasional and scattered or widely scattered heavy drizzle or light rain, breezy not windy, bright.Madison River: Lightly colored, visibility up to two feet, rising slowly, way below seasonal discharge levels, pretty river.Gibbon River: Cold and approachable in the upper reaches, some slight color in slower sections, noticeable color in canyon and big riffles, stable discharge, below seasonal runoff levels, pretty river.Gallatin River: Well into runoff regimen, cold but fishable near the banks and back eddy areas, especially attractive in confluence meadow near Fan Creek, pretty river.Firehole River: As good as it gets this early, below seasonal discharge, rising slowly, fish moving and vigorous, visibility up to five feet, wonderfully cool, very pretty river.Nez Perce Creek: Distinctly attractive, bears, bison, moose, dangerous... Bugs? Yes, all day long on the Firehole River. Possible in early afternoon on all other west side rivers... Flies? Soft hackle in shallow riffles. Stiff hackle in deep riffles. King Prince Nymph in deep and dark water. Small Pink San Juan worm in meadow sections. Surface and film = size most important... Traffic? Probably not as bad as you'd think but gawdawful anyway. Visitation is lighter than in recent years past for this weekend. Visiting fishers will be happily surprised. Parking possible in most pullouts - if you arrive early... Lodging? All wader friendly lodging plumb full. Rooms still available at plush-carpeted motels and cabins... We had little time to explore the rivers away from our west side environs. Check PARKS' FLY SHOP for rivers in the central, north, and northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park... We may visit some of the best places tomorrow. We may wet a line. We may catch a fish. We probably won't encroach on your elbow room. There's a couple of nice dark holes that we haven't explored since last year. Hope not to see you there.-------

In honor of Memorial Day, a unique social media campaign hopes to raise awareness of the sacrifices made by families who have lost loved ones that served in the military. After all, memorial day is not really about cookouts and car sales. Organized by Special Ops Survivors, the goal of the #ThankYouCampaign is to get [...]

What’s In Your Bag? Jess from Fire Girl Photography from Dry Fly Media on Vimeo. Tags: Photography

Posted another Mikey Wier video on CalTrout’s site, this one showcasing the in-the-throes-of-restoration Shasta River (note: this is the same stretch of the Shasta I wrote about here). This stretch of the Shasta is primarily a spring-fed river and it’s not only beautiful (watch the video; I dare you to say it’s not drop-dead gorgeous), it’s also vitally important to the Klamath River watershed, and for a couple reasons. Shasta River from California Trout on Vimeo. First, approximately 10% of the salmon that returned to the watershed last year ended up in the Shasta. That’s a sizable number. Second, when the dams do finally come out, the Shasta River — as the last major tributary before the first dam — will probably end up providing a large percentage of the fish that return to sections of the Klamath that haven’t seen a salmon in about 100 years. Finally, the coho salmon are the fish most in danger of extinction. The problem is they spend a year in the freshwater before going to see, making them vulnerable to low, hot water conditions (often the result of water diversions). Spring creeks and spring-fed rivers (the Shasta is the latter) are vital because they offer a year-round, coldwater refuge for juvenile coho. Most of this footage was shot on the Nature Conservancy’s Shasta Big Springs Ranch, and while you can’t fish it today (yes, it holds steelhead), maybe someday… See you watching the salmon splash, Tom Chandler.

Paul Mugo, owner of the Kenya Tyeing Flies Company, has sent me yet another amazing collection of his handmade flies. If you haven’t seen his work before you should definitely check out the two previous galleries of his fantastic flies. I will be putting these flies to the test next weekend as I try to catch my first Brook Trout on the fly in Algonquin Park. Wish me luck! See more fantastic handmade flies from Kenya by Paul Mugo