… and I was hoping I had the lock on death and despair. Tackle Trade World has easily one upped me by presenting the rumors of Cortland’s demise were premature, Hardy & Grey’s lays off 27 staff (31% of their Alnwick workforce), and both Hardy and O. Mustad & Sons have been hemorrhaging money and [...]

I was reminded that my recent trip to the woods failed to include all my pals and therefore some proof of kinship was in order. All them road miles leading up to my “whang-leather” hardened-frame had not been shared with other road-conscious neighborhood residents and somebody was owed … Some-thing was owed … and mightily [...]

Last week’s trip to the Pristine was the first I’d used my RISE 9’ #4 as the main rod while relegating the lightly injured Sage LL 905 as my backup. The Sage reel seat epoxy had given up the ghost last season and tightening the reel seat occasionally results in the rod butt removing itself [...]

With all the attention on the West and East Forks, in light of a wild trout designation and the attendant hordes that frequent such places, it’s not surprising we opted to dabble in the group scene on the East Fork – and spent most of our time on a much smaller creek found by accident, [...]

I’ve got enough solid information after spending the last four days afield to keep you entertained for a couple of days at the least … But before we get into all those tales of daring-do, the overcoming of adversity, and the weakness of wild trout for Peach yogurt, we’ve got the odd tale of the [...]

It’s the only part of the fly that works entirely against you, whose real value is the spot of color it leaves when closing the gap between tail and wing. It absorbs water, resists drying, and if ever there was a case for “less is more” this is it. Dry fly dubbing is comparatively humdrum [...]

It’s the trip every guide fears and every father dreads; how to introduce Poppa’s lifelong love to his progeny,  in a way that results in beaming children that gaze at their father in complete adoration … … add the pressure of yesterday’s post, where at this young age we can BUY precious eco-votes for the [...]

I recently got a flood of hardcore fish porn from a bevy of self styled male fashion models, each insistent that their freshly minted Singlebarbed headpiece freed them of drooping backcasts, societal inhibitions, and idol worship … The fabled carp slayer John Montana and his sidekick Dr. Cane, who risked his micrometer-like fingers to heft [...]

In what amounts to direct competition with fly shops, Redington will be marketing its products directly to the customer as of October 1st. Visitors to the Redington web site will be able to purchase products three ways; via dealers, direct from Redington, or via online dealer web sites. “We are planning to go direct, but [...]

I’m a sucker for the dim view, given that economics and temperature mixed with apathy and the potential decline in size of the US government adds up to be  the worst scenario, not the neutral agent others envision. The short version is that a panel of 11 scientists from Colorado State University, Trout Unlimited, the [...]