Innehållsförteckning för August/September 2018 från Fly Fisherman

CRYSTAL CREEK LODGE owner Dan Michels banked the plane for a better look. Next to me in the plane, lodge co-owner John Childs was grinning. There they are!” he shouted over the roar of the engine “Those gray dots . . . those are salmon!” From the window of the Beaver that morning, a pristine tapestry of land and water spread out as far as I could see: a glimmering gray sheet of ocean to the west, the blue waters of Iliamna Lake to the east, and now, below the circling plane, the Kvichak River flowed in a labyrinth of channels and riffles across the lush green floodplain. Visible in the crystalline waters was a band of gray and silver shapes, proceeding upstream along each bank of river. We could…

How to use “situational’ awareness” to increase your subsurface success TROUT HAVE BRAINS THE SIZE OF A PEA. They are capable of eating all available food sources, but sometimes they focus on specific triggers that suggest a specific emergence stage, size, shape, movement, or color. In other words, they become “selective.” We all realize there are instances when trout develop this laser focus on some specific food sources. This is especially true on insect-rich streams where options for food are great, and trout can afford to be choosy about what they eat. On the reverse side, on small mountain streams where less food is available, trout will chase down and eat anything resembling a possible food source. In these cases, variations of Pheasant Tails, Hare’s Ears, and other suggestive patterns…

THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA IS A STORIED LAND IN THE WORLD OF FLY FISHING. Even today, after more than a century of attention, it still draws an endless number of anglers every year. The names of this region’s rivers—the Firehole, the Madison, the Yellowstone, the Wind River, the Henry’s Fork—evoke visions of incredible fishing for wild trout. In the Feb.-Mar. 2018 issue, author Paul Weamer wrote an excellent description of the Yellowstone River, which drains the north side of the park. Draining the southern end is another stream that in many ways is the crown jewel of fly fishing in the Greater Yellowstone Area. This stream is the Snake River, and it just may be the center of the cutthroat universe. All rivers have certain traits that set them apart…

5,000 MILES Thank you for the attention to the spectacular Flathead River, and the 50th anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Hilary Hutcheson’s article in the June-July 2018 issue captures the magic of this iconic place, and its significance to anglers, native fish, and our nation’s river conservation movement. In celebrating all that the landmark Wild & Scenic Rivers Act has given us, we hope your readers will keep advocating for more. We’re using this 50th anniversary to push for 5,000 new miles of Wild & Scenic designations for deserving rivers across the country. This includes native fish strongholds in the Yellowstone, Missouri, Gila, Eel, Trinity, Hoh, and Farmington river watersheds, as well as many other rivers that deserve protection. Now is the time to set the bar…

“FROM THE ROOTER to the pooter.” It’s a phrase used by BBQ pork aficionados, and translates to using all parts of the pig, from the snout to the tail. Two thousand miles from this adage’s southern roots thrives a Montanan whose fly-fishing business runs on the same concept. For Dan Vermillion, the “whole hog” includes fishing lodges, adventure travel, guide education, fish and wildlife management, public lands advocacy, and legislative action, all thickly marinated in environmental stewardship. Vermillion and his two brothers have owned and operated Sweetwater Travel ( sweetwatertravel.com ) for more than two decades. Based in Livingston, Montana, the company emerged from the brothers’ collective desire for adventure and the opportunity to foster the health of unique fisheries. Their first operation developed a remote camp for Mongolia taimen.…

THE LACKAWANNA RIVER BEGINS IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, WHERE ITS EAST AND WEST BRANCHES FLOW INTO STILLWATER RESERVOIR, JUST SOUTH OF UNION DALE AND ABOUT 4 MILES NORTH OF FOREST CITY. The lower 40 miles of river running through Lack wanna County provide the setting for a truly remarkable comeback story. Just 50 short years ago, the river was left for dead. Inefficient and substandard sewage systems, along with a booming coal industry that put Scranton on the map, created an acid-filled funnel of waste. For the past 27 years I’ve only known the Lackawanna for what it is today: a wild brown trout mecca snuggled amidst the city I’ve grown up in. Scenery on the river can be hit or miss, and the hatches even less…

The Snake River is the main attraction of the Jackson Hole Valley, but many tributaries also offer worthwhile fishing. Pacific Creek, the Buffalo Fork, and the Gros Ventre, Hoback, Greys, and Salt rivers all provide excellent fishing. Flat Creek, particularly where it flows through the National Elk Refuge north of Jackson, is a world-class fishery in its own right. This is a place where 18- to 22-inch cutthroat trout are common, and sight fishing with 6X leaders and super-imitative patterns is required. Don’t expect a double-digit day. Working several hours toward that one big fish is often required. Flat Creek should cure anyone who still thinks cutthroat trout are “easy,” as this is one of the most demanding fisheries in the West. Many of the tributaries feeding the Snake originate…

I HAVE A FRIEND who claims I have a golden horseshoe up my ass. In many ways, I truly am the luckiest person I know. I’m able to make a living doing exactly what I would do if I had all the money in the world. That’s an incredibly fortunate thing, and I don’t take it for granted. I also don’t think it could have been any other way. I’m not lucky in the silver spoon kind of way; I’ve found and made my own way through life. We are all lucky in the people we meet, and I have met more great people than most. I’ve also made the most of opportunities that came my way, and I’ve worked very hard. All of it has culminated in an incredible…

The Royal Flush of Flats Fishing Flats fishing in Florida can be tough. Most fly fishers consider themselves extremely lucky to catch just one of the “big three” species—a tarpon, permit, or a bonefish. If you can catch all three in a single day, it’s called a grand slam. A permit is the hardest one to catch, so many grand slams include a small schooling bonefish, or a baby tarpon from back in the mangroves to complete the trifecta. But that’s not how Connor Flanagan rolls. Flanagan, who works for Simms Fishing Products in Bozeman, Montana, was fishing with Capt. Brandon Cyr out of Key West in April when he landed a permit measuring 27 inches from the nose to the fork of the tail. He followed that up with…

Most Fly Fishers ARE EXPLORERS BY NATURE. How many times on a new stream or piece of water have you wondered “what’s up around the next bend?” Or perhaps you come upon a small trickle of water that enters a larger river, and you wonder where it leads? Or you’re on a river like the Yellowstone, Bighorn, or the Missouri and you come to a side channel that looks inviting, but unknown. Do you take it, or go with the main flow? I encourage you to be a trout hunter and explorer. Walk up those small tributaries and take a look to see what’s there. When you’ve spent most of your life looking for trout—either for yourself or with paying clients—you quickly learn to take advantage of whatever comes along.…

OVER THE YEARS, I have become a bigger and bigger fan of flies that solve problems. “Improved” patterns often start out as ways to make flies float or sink better, be more durable, require less maintenance, or simply present a better footprint or silhouette to the fish. In some cases, you might set out to solve a single one of these issues, and in the process hit on all of them. Andrew Grillos’s latest offering, the User Friendly, has done just that. I’ve written about Grillos previously when his spectacular Low Rider Stone pattern impressed me, and here he is again with yet another great problem-solving pattern with a modern twist or two. Grillos is a master of dry flies with buggy silhouettes, and his other patterns illustrate this point…