What does a free Elwha mean for fish and fishermen?
Photo via nationalgeographic.com
[Editor’s Note: “First Casts” is a regular feature that highlights great fly-fishing content from around the Web—from how-to articles, to photo essays, to interesting reads.]
- The fight over removing the two dams on Washington’s Elwha River was long and protracted, but the final piece of the Glines Canyon Dam was demolished on Tuesday. A great article on National Geographic website looks at the long road to get to this point, as well as at what lies ahead.
- Shop owner and fly tier Fran Betters was a fixture in the Adirondacks for more than four decades before his death in 2009, and many of his patterns—such as the Usual, Haystack, and Ausable Wulff among them—are still used widely. Folks are have been raising money to build a statue honoring Betters’s contribution to the region and to the sport, and the second annual Fran Fest will be held tomorrow in AuSable Forks, New York.
- Orvis introduced the new Recon series of fly rods at the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show last month, and the folks at Hatch magazine offer a rundown of the rod’s features.
- The death of actor/comedian Robin Williams affected a lot of folks, but did you know that he was a fly fisher? The Billings Gazette offers a story by Jack Dennis about meeting Williams and offering some casting lessons.
- The battle to save Yellowstone from invasive fish is an ongoing struggle, and an article and slideshow on the Scientific American site offer an update on how things are going. Hint: There’s some cause for hope.
- In much of the country, this is prime terrestrial season, and on the Gink & Gasoline blog, Kent Klewein serves up some great advice about how you should adjust your terrestrial tactics based on the weather. This article will help you catch more trout, no doubt.