Fly Fishing News - MidCurrent

Podcast: Tom Rosenbauer on Fly Fishing with Streamers

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:49:28 -0700

Tom's 100th podcast for Orvis focuses on streamer techniques and offers several ways to improve this "very active way of fishing." If you want to catch big trout, Tom says, fish streamers.

"Bear in mind that only a certain percentage of fish in a pool will take a streamer. And I'm not sure why. A streamer is usually not imitating an insect. It's imitating a baitfish, or a crayfish, or a leech, and in any given population of trout, there are a certain number of fish that kind of graduate from feeding on insects to the bigger prey. And they're usually the bigger fish -- that's how they get bigger."

Permit Get Reprieve from Florida Wildlife Officials

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:35:09 -0700

Permit, one of Florida's most popular gamefish, will get a second look from state officials, who have been considering extended state law into federal waters and allow for spearing of the fish. As Kevin Wadlow quotes an FWC spokesman in the Florida Keys Keynoter, "The staff came up with some recommendations for the resources, and the public weighed in with the opinion that the recommendations do not go far enough," [Lee] Schlesinger said. "The commission asked staff to come up with some new ideas."

Jackson Hole's Jack Dennis Sports Sues Its Namesake

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:05:44 -0700

Jack Dennis Sports investors haven't taken kindly to the well-known guide and author's opening of Jack Dennis Fishing Trips a block away from their store, according to Amy Schenck in the Jackson Hole Daily. "Among other allegations, partners in the sporting goods store say a 1988 agreement gives it exclusive rights to the Jack Dennis name in retail sporting goods sales, and prohibits Dennis from using his name for any other business and promotional purposes."

Profile: Joe Humphreys

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:53:36 -0700

Chris Rosenblum profiles trout master Joe Humphreys, who at 81 thinks of fly fishing as a fountain of youth. "'I’m 81, but today, I was 26,' he says after two hours with Spruce Creek, his old friend. 'I take that back. I was 16 today.' In Pennsylvania's Centre Daily Times.

Tippets: "Bobrocks," Learning About Fire, Vance Bourjaily Dies

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:43:07 -0700

Come back as a river stone: in honor of her fly-fishing father, Kathy Presnell makes custom glass stones that contain a loved one's ashes.
Bloodsports and danger: Young men learn about fire by playing with it, says "sports law professor."
Renowned novelist and fly fisher Vance Bourjaily, who once advised hunting partner Kurt Vonnegut "The bigger the game, the more corrupted the soul of the hunter," died on August 31.

MidCurrent Blogging Live from IFTD Show

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:08:00 -0700

MidCurrent will be blogging live from the International Fly Tackle Dealer show in Denver, Colorado next week. The show runs Thursday through Saturday, September 9 through 11 at the Colrado Convention Center, and the fact that this will be the first retailer show run soley by AFFTA should make it an interesting event.

Mark your calendars and be sure to check in for our comments and photos (and perhaps even a video or two) on interesting new products landing on retailers' shelves in coming months.

Snake River Guide Still Missing After Boat Capsizes

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:07:47 -0700

Robert Merrill, and guide for the Three Rivers Ranch Orvis Fly Shop in Driggs, Idaho, is still missing two days after he and his clients were tossed from their driftboat on the South Fork of the Snake River Wednesday night. According to the story by Cory Hatch of the Jackson Hole Daily, "The clients escaped the river near the accident, but Merrill continued downstream.... 'They were up against the bank where [the river] goes right next to the road and hit a ... tree and capsized,' said Sgt. Karl Casperson, a member of the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office Aquatic Rescue Team."

Keys Guides Ask for Stricter Rules for Permit, Snook Ban Extended

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:06:23 -0700

Keys guides yesterday asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to postpone voting on revised rules for permit and African pompano, which include allowing divers to spear them in state waters.

In a related story, the Commission voted 7-0 to extend the ban on Gulf coast snook fishing until next September 1.

Video Hatch: TU Central Oregon Trout Festival and Orvis Casting Games

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:23:53 -0700

MidCurrent's Glenn Pittard recently had a chance to "cast on grass" at the only known fly fishing golf course in North America -- Orvis's spread on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon and covered it in detail last month.

The video below was produced at the 2010 National Casting Competition held August 12-15 and features TU and Orvis conservation efforts on the Deschutes.

Simms Launches "Wader Rebate" Program

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:48:48 -0700

Yesterday Simms announced a voucher program for anglers who want to trade in their old breathable waders (any brand) for a new pair of Simms waders. Bringing in those beaters will net you $50 towards a pair of G4Z, G4 Pro or G3 Guide™ Series waders or $25 on any waders from the Headwaters™ line.

Read the extended entry for the full press release.

North Carolina Court Gives Go-Ahead on Trout Stream Development

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:35:58 -0700

In a major setback for anglers and conservationists, last week the N.C. Supreme Court issued a ruling that virtually negates a state law requiring “undisturbed” buffers for trout streams. "The Court’s decision leaves vulnerable thousands of miles of designated trout streams across the state," said the Southern Environmental Law Center.

"Fly Rod & Reel" Announces Robert Traver Writing Awards

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:29:03 -0700

Fly Rod & Reel Magazine has announced the 2010 winners of the Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award, fly-fishing's only major writing award, co-sponsored with the magazine by the John D. Voelker Foundation.

First Place: "Two Men in a Museum," by Kent Cowgill

Second Place: "A Way Home," by John Larison

(The 2010 first- and second-place stories are published in the Autumn 2010 issue of the magazine.)

Rusty Gates Memorial: "The Marble Run," by Michael Doherty

2011 contest rules can be found here.

Salmon-Counting Biologists Die in Helicopter Crash

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:24:24 -0700

Fish and Game biologists Larry Barrett and Danielle Schiff along with pilot Perry J. Krinitt died yesterday when the helicopter they were using to count salmon nests on the Selway river crashed in downtown Kamiah, Idaho. "Resident Mick Landmark said it appeared the helicopter clipped the eaves of a U.S. Forest Service-owned house before colliding with the travel trailer about a block from his downtown insurance office in the north-central Idaho town." Rebecca Boone of the Associated Press.

Fly Fishing for Colorado Pike

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:14:48 -0700

Colorado pike fishing recovers from an August lull when temperatures begin to cool, says Karl Licis in this morning's Denver Post.

"Pike may be spotted cruising in the shallows; they might be lying nearly motionless near the edge of weed beds, waiting to ambush something smaller that happens to swim by. Either way, they're likely to be skittish, but when the presentation is proper, the fight is on."

The Flying Carp: Fear and Loathing in the U.S.

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:53:42 -0700

As something of a follow-up to last week's mention of fishermen living dangerously, we note Lee Hill Cavanaugh's piece for McClatchy in which he quotes a USGS biologist on the terrifying damage that can be caused by flying carp. "'Someone could fall out and even be run over by his own boat. There are times when a fisherman doesn't come home, and who knows what happened to him out there on the river?'"

Personally, I have been hit by a flying ray, a spinner shark, a squid (serious ink), innumerable leatherjackets, and a client's sandwich that nearly knocked off my sunglasses. My own guess would be that far more lives are lost and limbs broken when insects land in the human eye and temporarily blind drivers, riders and those out for an evening stroll.

Be that as it may, we applaud the folks mentioned by Cavanaugh who are trying to figure out how to net silver carp, and the Louisiana State University students who have created the YouTube videos "Flying Fish, Great Dish."