As the story (perhaps apocryphal) goes, someone once asked the British scientist J.B.S. Haldane what we could infer about the Creator from studying nature, and Haldane replied, “I’m not sure, but he has an inordinate fondness for beetles.” Haldan’s point was that beetles make up some 40% of known insects. And since trout eat insects, it’s only logical that trout share this inordinate fondness for such readily available sources of protein. Earlier this summer, we featured a. . .
Read MoreFly Fishing
The Orvis Fly-Fishing Blog celebrates a rich angling heritage stretching beyond a century, with timely articles, tips, photos, videos, podcasts, and the latest fly-fishing news. We keep you informed about the things you want to know, from improving your casting technique to the art and science of tying flies.
Video of Flooded Rivers & Destruction Across Vermont due to Hurricane Irene
The water levels in Vermont’s flooded rivers have gone down, but there is a lot of work to be done to repair roads, bridges and homes. If you would like to help Vermonters impacted by Hurricane Irene, please make a donation to the Vermont-New Hampshire Chapter of The American Red Cross at https://www.redcrossvtnhuv.org. Read More
Tuesday Tip: The Steeple Cast
Welcome to our tenth installment of “Ask a Fly-Fishing Instructor,” in which we answer readers’ questions about their biggest fly-casting problems. Several readers have asked variations of a common fly-fishing question: What do I do if I don’t have room for a back cast, and my roll cast isn’t doing the trick?
Read MorePicture of the Day: Summer in the City
Picture of the Day: Vermont Lawn Trout
The Battenkill at Flood Stage
As you surely know by now, Vermont has suffered historic flash flooding in the wake of Hurricane Irene, which passed through yesterday. The problems here were not caused by high winds or storm surge, but by massive amounts of rainfall over a short time. I live a couple miles uphill from the Battenkill and route 313, which runs alongside the river, and that meant that we were stranded all day yesterday because the river had jumped the banks in both directions. When the road became passable. . .
Read MoreRepost: How to Cast in the Wind
Editor’s note: Given the conditions that anglers on the East Coast will be facing over the weekend, I figured it was time to repost Peter Kutzer’s video lesson on casting in the wind. This does not mean that you should venture out into the heart of Irene with a fly rod in hand, of course. But if you do get on the water ahead of or behind the storm, you’ll find these tips useful.
Read MorePicture of the Day: Rainbow Under the Bridge
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I was fishing a local river with my friend Joe, trying to catch big fall brown trout on streamers and nymphs. The river in question (which shall remain nameless) definitely holds some beasties in the 25-inch range, but we mostly catch browns in the 16- to 20-inch class, which is still good-size for northern New England. What we don’t catch are rainbows. So imagine my surprise when I laid into something heavy in a deep pool under a highway bridge, only to see a slab of green, pink, and white when the fish rolled near the surface. After a few long runs, the fish came to hand. Based on the health of the fish and its perfectly formed fins, we concluded that it was, in fact, a wild fish. Where it came from, we couldn’t even guess.
Read MoreFriday Film Festival 08.26.11
Welcome to another edition of the OrvisNews.com Friday Film Festival, in which we scour the Web for the best fly-fishing videos available. This week’s collection features stunning footage of leaping tarpon, big brown trout slurping dry flies, and some of the least likely Polish anglers you’ll ever see. And, of course, there’s Rolf. It seems we can’t. . .
Read MorePicture of the Day: Dog Days on the North Platte
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