Portuguese Water Dogs. Irish Water Spaniels. Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. These dog breeds are all excellent swimmers, but having ‘water’ or a body of water referenced in your dog’s name isn’t a prerequisite for water-loving dogs. Many dog breeds and rescue dogs enjoy splashing around and swimming. And some…
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Pro Tips: Bill Tapply’s Pocket-Water Secrets, Part I
Pocket water isn’t as easy to fish as pools and glides, but it can be very productive.
Photo by Sandy Hays
Written by: William G. Tapply
Here the river surges over and around boulders the size of Volkswagens. The churning whitewater roars in your ears. It buckles your knees. It wants to knock you over. Around the bend, . . .
Read MorePro Tips: Staying Streamer Neutral
Written by: George Daniel, author of Strip-Set: Techniques, Tactics, & Patterns for Streamers
The author increased his success with streamers by watching a skilled bait fisherman, his father-in-law.
Photo via Instagram
The concept of neutral buoyancy is something we all learned in high school. However, it wasn’t until I began streamer fishing in my late teens that I found a practical use for this concept. In short, . . .
Read MorePro Tips: Making the Most of the “Trico Trance”
Written by:Nick Chiasson, Forrester’s Bighorn River Resort
You can catch surprisingly big trout on tiny Trico patterns when the fish go into a trance.
Photo courtesy Forrester’s Bighorn River Resort
It’s Trico time again on the Bighorn River, and it seems that each year, the hatch gets longer and longer. Tricos are an incredibly fun dry flies to fish, especially on rivers like the Bighorn that . . .
Read MoreLarge Dog Breeds: Caring for Gentle Giants
Whether a dog breed is ‘large’ depends on whom you ask: Dog owners and non-dog owners may have differing opinions, and a veterinarian could offer up another suggestion entirely. But generally, a dog is considered large if he weighs more than 55 pounds. Height-wise, most people consider a dog taller than 20 inches at the shoulder to be large, but height and weight don’t always match up—some hefty breeds are short…
Read MorePro Tips: How to Take Better Fish Portraits
Written by: Darcy Toner and Timbre Pringle, Faceless Fly Fishing Media
A fish portrait, rather than a grip-and-grin, is better for the fish and makes for a more interesting image..
All photos by Faceless Fly Fishing
How would your fish want its photo taken? Because a fish is an aquatic creature, one would assume that it would want to stay in the water. Many fishermen, including me, are inclined to take a quick . . .
Read MoreCreating a Dog Drool-Protected Home
Photo by: Kathryn, Smithfield
Owning a dog makes life a good measure happier—and messier. Constant fur to vacuum, muddy paws to manage, and full-body fur shakes after rainy walks. But the slimiest canine mess is the dreaded dog drool puddle. Your dog puts your devotion to the test when you sit on a drool-soaked couch cushion, or slide across the hardwood floor on a patch of slobber. The good news is, even if your best friend is a copious drooler, it’s possible…
Read MoreWhat to Do If You Find a Tick on Your Dog
The deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the main vector for Lyme disease.
Photo courtesy the U.S. Department of Agriculture, via Wikimedia
This is the time of year when my dog loves to run through the tall grass in the field next to our home…which means it’s high time for ticks. These tenacious little arachnids carry any number of diseases—from Lyme disease to ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever—and your dog is not the only one in danger. Dogs often bring ticks into the house, where they may find their way onto…
Read MoreHow to Remove a Tick
Though you may be vigilant and take every precaution before heading out, both you and your beloved canine are likely to collect a few ticks while spending time outdoors. Ticks don’t often begin their meal right away, so they may not be attached or have bitten you when you discover one on yourself or your dog. If the tick has already attached, you should follow these steps to…
Read MoreWhy Are Dogs So Loyal?
Labrador retrievers are legendary for their loyalty.
Photo via facebook.com/wildrosekennels
Full-body wags. Sitting with devotion in the window until you pull into the driveway. Stepping boldly between you and any possible threat. Your dog shows her affection and loyalty in countless ways. But why are dogs so loyal to their people? It’s a question dog lovers have long pondered, and one scientists are researching…
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