Short Casts

Glacial runoff, Hood River, Oregon

Weather Report

Startling and unprecedented heat has left anglers throughout the Pacific Northwest wondering the worst: Is…
Longjaw Leatherjacket, Oligoplites altus

What’s in a Name?

My old buddy Peter Syka, the biologist, is in town, sharing a few choice words…
Shad fishing, Columbia River (Photo credit: Peter Syka)

Shad Me

Like most things fishing, questions about shad, another profligate exotic here in the Columbia River…
Pearsall’s Gossamer Silk, now replicated by Morus Silk.

Got Silk?

Tying up a bunch of size twelve Light Cahill Wets, a pattern Dave Hughes recommends…
trout
Wild trout add color to the landscape.

Timing

We were over on the Wind River, below the falls, poking around in Madrina, my…
Wild steelhead remain the best hope for the future of the species.

Science Says

Epigenetics gets at the fact that although the genetic makeup of steelhead raised in either…
fly fishing
Green Butt Muddler

Variants

At the bench yesterday preparing for the arrival – knock on wood – of summer…
Traditional lacquer, still the best fly-tying head cement money can buy.

The Right Stuff

I hesitate to share the good news about traditional lacquer, still far and away the…
fly shop
The modern era: Not exactly the look of fly shops from the past.

End of an Era?

I’m tying and photographing flies against a book deadline when I discover I’ve run out…
steelhead trout
Post-spawn steelhead, Thirty Mile Creek

Miracles on Thirty Mile Creek

A recent WRC acquisition, in my neck of the woods, includes the second of two…
trout fishing
Double Tapers: Still the best line for trout fishing?

Lest We Forget: In Praise of Double Tapers

During the dozen or so years I taught wannabe fly fishers the rudiments of the…
trout
“Look at how pink the pelvic and anal fins are.”

The True Story

I’ve sat in on two Zoom presentations this past month, each one packed with information…