Stop stocking over wild trout. This simple statement has been our conversation message from the beginning. Take a stand for what you love, for the woods and the water, for wild places and wild experiences.
Articles in the Category Commentary
RIVERSIDE (Video): We Don’t Want Easy Fishing
No forgiveness. No freebies. Just wild trout that require your best effort and then some. From our best trout rivers, we’re dealt a fair game. We know what trout want. They look for something safe to eat. Something familiar. Something easy with a positive calorie reward for their effort. Something natural, with maybe just a little spark.
VIDEO/AUDIO: Riverside — A Fisherman’s Thoughts On Spot Burning
There are two ways to tell the experience of an angler: how he holds a fish and how he keeps his secrets. The latter is probably more important.
A seasoned angler intuitively understands the vulnerability of a river. Spot burning is a real thing with real consequences . . .
Angler Types in Profile — The Traveller
Some anglers are built for travel. They’re addicted to the road. They’re inspired by the newness of another town and the next river. Traveling can become a passion equal to fishing, where the next fishing trip becomes the motivation to board a plane or turn the tires down a new path.
Seven Seasons and Then Peace — Lessons From the Salt, Summer 2024
There’s a process of evolution in our fishing that cannot be rushed. It’s better off being accepted. And yet, it might take the wisdom of age to ever understand that.
I’d argue that most anglers pursue fishing for the time-out-of-mind experience. Many styles of fishing allow for it, but surfcasting draws me in unlike anything I’ve ever done.
I think it’s the waves . . .
Do We Really Want Fly Fishing to Grow?
We want more anglers who appreciate the best things about fishing. We want anglers who fish hard for the experience, who reject fake fishing, who boast not about the numbers of trout caught but are proud of the miles of water they’ve explored and appreciate what they’ve been through to get there. We want wild trout advocates and woodsmen. We need knowledgeable teachers to inspire young people by revealing the complex mysteries of chasing river trout.
Be a Voice for Wild Trout — Your Most Effective Conservation Measure is Also the Easiest
The Pennsylvania Fish Commission needs to hear your comments. And a simple, short email makes a BIG difference. Stop stocking over wild trout. Let’s support all policies that eliminate the stocking of hatchery fish over wild trout. Pass it on . . .
Dry or Die?
. . . There’s a segment of fly anglers who will never see streamers, nymphs or wet flies as a legitimate offering. That’s fine. Keep it to yourself.
There’s another segment of fly fishers who believe trophy hunting for big browns with big streamers is the only way to live out there. And everything else might as well be tweed hats and waxed catgut. That’s fine too. Keep it to yourself.
The majority of us are fishermen, just having fun, trying to catch a fish and then catch another one . . .
Q&A: Long Drifts or Short — What’s Better and Why?
I play the odds. I’ve seen what works best, so I repeat it the most. And I’d rather get two or three good casts against the next log for the next thirty seconds rather than just one cast to the log and twenty five seconds of stripping away from it. This is the mindset of having tight targets, of getting short and effective drifts . . .
Life On the Water
Accomplished and skilled fly fishing requires that you give part of your life to the river. That’s evident in the first few trips, and I think the depth of all this surprises would-be anglers. It intimidates some, and it captivates others . . .
Q&A: What Do You Have Against Euro Nymphing?
I use euro nymphing often, but won’t be limited to it. And I don’t like the term because of the limitations associated with it.
That said, I don’t think we can change it. Just like the rest of language, we are stuck within a framework for communicating that precedes us. We can only do our best to define and work through this system accurately . . .