Author: sdurrant

It shouldn't be a secret to any angler that freshwater fish face significant challenges. Trout habitat is on the decline in many parts of the world, despite robust restoration efforts. Invasive carp threaten to upend entire ecosystems, and it seems that every year, we hear of hoot-owl restrictions earlier and earlier in the season. This isn't just...

When you lose a fish, Dom Swentosky believes, you're at fault—not the fish. And losing a fish is decidedly different from missing one, as Dom is careful to point out. In this recent story over at Troutbitten, Dom lays out why he "believes the blame lies with the angler and not the fish" when your line suddenly goes slack in the middle of a fight. As is...

I have a love/hate relationship with fly tying. I enjoy the satisfaction of catching fish on flies I made myself, but I'm a decidedly average tier. It can take me an hour or more to tie up enough flies to last me a day (although that probably says more about my propensity to lose flies than it does my tying ability). Either way, I'm always intrigued with...

Fishing slams are an interesting concoction that offer a legitimate challenge for those looking for a new challenge. In the most general sense, a fishing slam is when an angler catches two or more species of fish in a day. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) recognizes a few different types of slams, including the Fantasy Slam (five species in a...

Late in 2024, the R.L. Winston Rod Company announced the release of their Pure 2 rod series. But that wasn't the only new product to hit the shelves bearing Winston logos. The Twin Bridges, Montana-based rod company also launched a new line of polarized sunglasses. I'll be completely honest—when the folks at Winston mentioned they were launching...

Bajio, the makers of fly fishing-centric sunglasses, just announced a fishing scholarship in which they'll pay for one winner to attend a 2025 Fish for Change summer program. The winner will choose to attend a program in Honduras, Mexico, the Bahamas, or Costa Rica. Fish for Change "empowers young people to become global citizens through experiential...

Tying Tuesday is back and ready for some more trout-focused goodness! A theme throughout the flies I selected for this week's post is the confidence anglers have in them. Tim Cammisa swears by the X-Caddis, the folks at Mainely Flies love the Squiggle, and Higa's SOS is the definition of a confidence fly. It's an interesting concept to think about, in that...

In a win for anyone who hunts, fishes, or recreates on public land in the West, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit from the state of Utah that sought to give Utah control over 18.5 million acres of federal land within its borders. Utah has a long history of privatizing public land and prioritizing real estate development at the expense of...

Most fly anglers are familiar with the big names in fishing optics: Smith, Costa, Bajio, Maui Jim, and others tend to dominate the selections in every sunglasses roundup. Recently, a company with a rich history in the optics world has made its push into fishing, and fly anglers are starting to take notice of Island Optics. Island Optics is a family company...

New York City probably isn't high on any list for destination fly fishing. Yes, there's plenty of great fly fishing outside the Big Apple, but did you know there's a decent fly-fishing culture there, too? Jared Zissu, writing for Sports Illustrated, takes us through the "surprisingly diverse" fishery in New York City, as well as its local fly shop, Urban...