Fly Fishing

Here’s the prize for an angler lucky enough to achieve the Utah Grand Slam. photo by Spencer Higa

Fly fishermen have different expectations when they set out to the river. Some like to catch lots of fish, while others just want to catch big fish. Here on the southern slope of the Uinta Mountains, a lot of anglers set out aiming to get a “grand slam,” which is to catch four different species of trout—brown, rainbow, cutthroat and brook—in a single day. Even better if they all come from a single river. I had the rare experience this summer of witnessing a unique double grand slam while guiding Travis and Todd, from San Diego, California.

Here’s one of our most important product testers. photo by Shawn Combs

Earlier this month, six of us from the office got together to test some 2012-2013 products by pulling on some Lake Erie tributary steelhead. We packed up in a truck and drove eight hours (each way) to fish for fourteen hours with a few good friends from Steelhead Alley Outfitters. The smiles tell the rest of the story.

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The state of Rhode Island released its 2012-13 fishing regulations brochure without much fanfare, offering no hint that there was anything controversial or game-changing inside. And it took anglers a little while to read all the way to the bottom of the section titled “Freshwater Fisheries Regulations,” where they were astonished to find something entirely new tacked on: . . .

When he saw yesterday’s “Picture of the Day,” Chilean reader zlachevsky sent us a link to this gorgeous trailer for an upcoming film about fly fishing and conservation in the mountains of Patagonia. You’ll note that the billboard at the end of the film shows the very same mountains—part of the Torres del Paine—visible in the background of yesterday’s picture, but with a shocking addition to the landscape. The slogan “Sin Represas!” means “Without Dams,” and here’s a brief description of the struggle being waged in Chile: . . .