-
For Spring Steelhead Action, Go Early and Often
Gary Lewis and Mia Sheppard Spring Steelhead fly fishing on the Sandy River in Oregon. Spey fishing on a downstream swing.
-
When the Trout are Tight to the Bank
If she’d ever had a casting lesson, she didn’t admit to it. When a fly-fishing guide wants to teach, it’s best to soak it in. Kristy Titus was smart enough to listen and she learned the easy pick-up-and-lay-down basic fly cast. When the guide was finished, I completed the lesson with a session on the…
-
Beaver Pelts and Bobber-doggin’
The hunt for “chromer” steelhead on the mainstem Umpqua.
-
‘Daddy’s fish’ inspires granddaughter’s bass fever
22 pounds, 4 ounces. A largemouth bass only gets that big when there is an alignment of factors, a convergence of genetics, water level, food supply, temperature and fishing pressure. And it requires a fisherman with the skill, the time and the luck to be at the right place at the right time. On June…
-
Camping on the Lake
It starts at the water line, the sun a smear on the horizon. In a small cove with a light rain on the roof, on a lake at the top of Minnesota, the silence at the edge of the wilderness seeps into our consciousness. Our shelter we take with us, with miles of shoreline to…
-
Columbia River Shad: Prospecting for silver
Almost 4 million shad passed through the dam at Bonneville last season. If you weren’t there to meet them, you missed out on the hottest fishing of the year. Shad have been in the Columbia River since the 1880s and the run topped 1 million fish in 1978. Most anglers are so spoiled now we…
-
Worth the Climb
The high alpine lake fisherman can be characterized as one of two types: the camper/angler and the one who hiked there for the fishing. We suspect you fall into the latter camp and you will excuse us if we do not name names or provide GPS coordinates for the lakes we fished last year. Life…
-
A Guide to Deschutes Steelhead
The 252-mile Deschutes is a river of many moods, draining a large part of central Oregon on its way to the Columbia. Bighorns and mule deer are often seen on the canyon walls. Chukar call from the rimrocks and wild turkey live among the oaks that line the tributaries. The river is known for blue-ribbon…
-
Spring Fishing: Think Big for Ice-out Trout
A lot of fishermen trade their dreams of catching a trophy-sized trout for the easier goal of catching a limit of eatin’-size rainbows. But the big fish hunter is only one cast away from the trout of a lifetime. Early in the season, soon after the ice comes off the lake, the trout bite can…
-
Big River Rainbows in Downtown Redding
Dave Jacobs fired up the Mercury and Hank Mautz shoved the boat away from the dock. With the big motor at idle we let the current push us downstream toward the Sundial Bridge. It was early, but already the cowboys were stirring for the rodeo that would take place later in the day. With all…

