So the moment that everyone has been waiting for... Such a honor to have been part of such an amazing piece of footage... Probably the best Taimen eat ever recorded. Big ups to my boy @keithroseinnes on the drone! Wish we had more battery...

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@yeti @simmsfishing @thomasandthomasflyrods @yellowdogflyfishing @nautilusflyreels @cortlandline @sightlineprovisions @fulling_mill @costaflyfishing @thedrakemagazine #builtforthewild #seewhatsoutthere #feelthepull #siberia #taimen #flyfishing #freshwater #river #eat

My company, Emerger Strategies, is bringing sustainability to the fly-fishing industry, and our mission is to build purpose-driven brands that inspire solutions to social and environmental problems.

That said, the first question I am asked when I tell people this is, "What's a purpose-driven brand?" So, I decided to write a blog to better explain.

What's really cool is that there are already purpose-driven brands in the fly-fishing industry, such as Flood Tide Company and Rep Your Water, who are working to minimize their environmental impact while supporting nonprofits that help to further their own missions.

I hope you enjoy reading, and if you would like to see your favorite brands become more purpose-driven, let them know! Also, if you are wondering what you can do as a consumer to drive more brands to become purpose-drive, simply buy their products over comparable products! For example, look for the 1% for the Planet logo, or do a little homework before you buy to see how the company makes its products to discover if their values align with your own.

To pre-empt the questions: Yes, these are wild brown trout. Yes, they were caught in New England. And no, I won’t name the river. In “protecting” this particular spot, people become downright uncivil when it’s named.

These photos underscore one important point: there is great fishing right here in New England. You don’t have to travel out West to find fish like these. And you don’t have to know the name of this spot.

Get out there. Explore a new river. You never know what you might find.

Thanks to Eric Gass of GS Outfitting for the amazing day out! If there’s a nicer guide out there, I haven’t met them.

Starting in late October, we start looking forward to the next July when our small streams will be open and fishing well again. Well it is here, they are in shape and waiting for anglers who love solitude, dry fly fishing, spectacular scenery and very willing participants!

Dry flies all day and it is usually anglers choice...match the hatch or throw your favorite fly, either way usually going to lead to some hook ups. For those looking for an excuse to buy a new fly rod, these little streams are the ticket. 0-3 wt rods or some of the new glass rods out there would all be appropriate and perfect for these small streams and native trout.

Pick up a map, find a blue line close to you, pack a few flies, spool of tippet, some floatant and a lunch and hit the road or trail...they won't disappoint!

Happy summer everyone.

Snake River

The Snake is dropping and clearing and there can be fish caught on streamers and nymphs fished deep and heavy of most reaches above the confluence of the Hoback. There is also decent dry fly action at clear tributary confluences. Nonetheless, the best fishing is still found on the tailwater reach below Jackson Lake Dam where flows are at 4200cfs and the water is damn near crystal clear. Lots of bugs on the water – caddis, yellow sallies, gray drakes, acroneuria golden stones, and especially infrequen PMDs. Surface activity is solid and most prevalent in eddies, riffles, and along banks, although the bank action can be several feet away from the prime target areas. Nymphing is also good in the same water with moderately weighted double nymph rigs and dry-dropper rigs with a dropper leader of three to four feet in length. Streamers are working almost exclusively along banks and submerged structure. Fish these on intermediate sinking lines and sinking tips in the intermediate to 3ips range.

Dry flies – Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Winged Peanuts, Mary Kays, Parachute Sallies, Hackle Stacker Sallies, Stimulators, Parachute Extended Body Gray Drakes, Parachute Adams, Booty’s Gray Drake Emerger, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Pink Parachutes, Booty’s PMD Emerger, Quigley Cripples, and Film Critics.

Nymphs – San Juan Worms, Copper Johns in red and black, Lightening Bugs, Psycho Princes, Pinky Jigs, RS-2s, Booty’s Day-2 Midges and Zebra Midges in olive or black.

Streamers – Arum’s Lil’ Kim, Krystal Buggers, Chicklets, and Kreelux.

Green River

Up and down with flows as snowmelt continues at variable rate. Nonetheless, there are a lot of bugs on the water, primarily gray drakes, yellow sallies, infrequen PMDs, caddis, and Calineuria golden stones. This is giving anglers a decent shot at racking up respectable dry fly numbers from the campgrounds down to Daniel Bridge. Don’t expect a dozen fish in a day of fishing. Six to eight is definitely in the cards. The upside is that these can be good specimens in the 1 to 22-inch range. Definitely go big with you pattern choice. Target submerged structure, banks, eddy seams and the tail of riffle pools.

Nymphing is not really out-producing dry flies, but they are getting into slightly better average size. Target the same water as you would with your dry flies. Also hit bankside troughs and seams.

Streamers are getting into few fish for sure. However, they are averaging fish over 18” on almost every outing. Use intermediate to 6ps tips with moderate retrieves and go big with your baitfish imitations. Target banks and seam primarily.

Dry flies – Winged Peanuts, Rubber Legged Double Humpies, Melon Bellies, Parachute Adams, Booty’s Gray Drake Emerger and Stimulator Xs.

Nymphs – San Juan Worms, Pat’s Rubber Leg, 20-Inchers, Copper Johns in red, black, or olive, Flashback Pheasant Tails, Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph, and Zug Bugs.

Streamers – Sundell’s Night Fire, Sundell’s Sun Fire, Dali Llamas, Galloup’s Sex Dungeon, Galloup’s Boogeyman, Booty’s Quad Bunny, Silvey’s Sculpin, J.J. Specials, Jointed Urichins.

Salt River

The Salt is perhaps the best river to be on for consistent dry fly action. Clarity is at about three feet and flows are currently at just under 1200cfs. Not a lot of size to the fish, but there are fish being caught in the 16” range. Lots of bugs in the water, including PMDs, yellow sallies, caddis, gray drakes, and a few calineuria stones. Patterns that imitate gray drakes are taking the lion’s share of the fish on the surface. Eddies have by far been the most productive water to target. Banks with slow currents are also producing. Takes can be well of banks – sometimes by three feet or more. Riffles and seams have had little activity. That should change as water continues to recede and clarity increases.

There can be a lull in the afternoon in both hatch activity and rising trout. Switching to a nymph can be a good way to go in the same water that dry flies are doing best. Just go with a dry-dropper rig, as there will still be fish looking up and eating.

Dry flies – Will’s Winged Chernobyl, Circus Peanuts, Turck’s Trantulas, Jimmy-Zs, Parachute Sallies, Hackle Stacker Sallies, Stimulators, Parachute Extended Body Gray Drakes, Parachute Adams, Trina’s Carnage Drakes, Booty’s Gray Drake Emerger, Parachute Extended Body PMDs, Elk Hair Caddis, and Sparkle Caddis.

Nymphs – Copper Johns in red and black, Lightening Bugs, Flashback Hares Ears, Purple Jigs, Bubbleback Pheasant Tails, and Booty’s Deep Stinker Nymph in red or olive.

South Fork

Still some difficult fishing on the South Fork with flows at 20,000cfs and clarity still at around a foot and a half. There are still fish to be caught for those who target the right water aggressively. If it almost exclusively a nymphing game at the moment. Current margins of seams and riffles, as well as the tail of riffle pools, have been the most productive water with double and triple nymph rigs ran deep at 12 feet or so from the indicator to the lead fly. The best reaches have been from the dam down to Conant and in the upper Canyon from Conant down to Wolf Eddy. Don’t expect stellar numbers, but a good rod can get into a half a dozen fish if they are focused and deliberate with their presentation. Solid size is in the cards as well.

Nymphs – Pat’s Rubber Legs, San Juan Worms, Copper Johns in red, Prince Nymphs, Flashback Pheasant Tails, and Lightening Bugs.

“You should have been here yesterday.”

“The fishing was so good last week.”

And then, my personal favorite, said only once in a while by yours truly: “You should have been here today.”

Yesterday was one of those days where everything came together: the sun was out, the bait was abundant, the fish were feeding on top, and the birds helped lead the way.

Over the course of the day, three of us brought at least 40-50 fish to the boat. Many were in the 27-36″ class, but a few pushed the scales higher. Our friend in the neighboring boat caught one beast, pictured below.

It was a great day fly fishing (and spin fishing) for striped bass off Cape Cod. Hope to be back soon for more.

Thanks to Joshua Zacharias of Outermost Angling for a great day.

For more photos, visit: http://newenglandonthefly.com/2017/06/12/cape-cod-striped-bass-fishing-fly/

Epic!

If you haven't fished this hatch yet, you should! Opportunity to throw big dry flies and witness fish gorging themselves makes for a very rad float fishing experience!

I had success on #4 & #6 Sofa Pillows and various foam Salmonfly imitations!

Floating multiple days is super fun and can be done self-guided or through some of the amazing outfitters in Colorado. The Colorado river and Gunnison are awesome

Rivers to float and experience this hatch!

Say your that guy for 5, 10 heck 15+ years just tying trout flies and consistently chasing trout and cold water species here in North America I'm sorry to say it. But your a fool.

Small mouth bass are without a doubt one of the most hardest fighting fresh water fish. They don't do big runs like a salmon or steelhead but they don't give up. They take topwater flies super aggressively, always jump and put on an impressive show all the way to the net.

Just want to say get out there spin up some big foam ants or grasshoppers if you like to fish small, it feels like your trout fishing! But with harder fighting fish.

"A lot of people don't see fishing as an intense or riveting thing, but to us catching a fish is as riveting or exciting as skiing a big line or the best powder day" - Tatum Monod.

Fly fishing is trending hard right now. The other day there was a commercial on TV for Montana. Just the state. It was basically 30 seconds of fly fishing that was good enough to be on this site! Good to see the North Face kicking in here with this little short about pro skier Tatum Monod's connection to fly fishing. And a sweet bull trout too!

So while the weather goes in and out of pretending its summer we are still awaiting water flows to do the same and some are complying more quickly than others.

The Skykomish River has been at a great flow for the past week and we have even seen some steelhead come to hand here the past few days while swinging flies with the two hander. So there is that and we expect to see summer steelhead begin to enter the Cowlitz River in bigger numbers over the next couple of weeks spring boarding that fishery into action.

We are about to hit a warm spell so expecting to see creeks and the Forks of the Snoqualmie hit some high water over the next week which hopefully leads them into some flows that will stay sustainable for the rest of summer. The Cedar River about 20 minutes from downtown Seattle has been high as well but confident anglers have been aggressively wading it and finding some trout both on surface and subsurface flies.

Puget Sound has begun its Sand Lance season with these lovely little baitfish swimming around the cutthroat are going nuts but...with summer comes high sun and when it gets up in the sky they move deeper and become more of a challenge to find from shore so the gist of it is, start your day EARLY. Sun is up about 5am or so these days for those who haven't noticed! Pink salmon should begin showing their faces around here sometime in the next few weeks as well so look to start filling your fly box with all things pink as far as your flies go.

Hope to share some photos from the small waters or "blue lines" here on our next report. Have a great summer everyone.

It’s now June and winter seems like it was years ago. Wait it did snow on Memorial Day Weekend, that snow is long gone now. I was thinking about all the fishing I actually did this winter. Cannot beat fly fishing in the winter, the crowds are nonexistent. Hmmm, I wonder why. But I’m not writing this about winter fly fishing.

My love and passion for fishing started well over 25 years ago. I can thank a bunch of people for that especially my Father and Grandfather. I really enjoyed sitting on my 5-gallon bucket staring into a black hole drilled into the ice. Ice fishing was my favorite fishing. I could not wait for winter to arrive. Though many people do think we are nuts for sitting on a frozen lake for hours upon hours. I grew up in southern New York and some years the lakes would not freeze. This meant we would have to travel to find ice. Sometimes we would go 3 hours one way up to Schroon Lake, NY, just to stare down that hole.

My father and I also would make a trek to Maine over Presidents weekend a free fishing weekend. This would be known as the man’s world weekend, a weekend without mom for me. Let's just say I got to stay up late and forget to shower. Hey, I was a kid just there for the fishing. Maine was one of the first places we targeted Lake Trout or Togue as the New Englanders call them. We had success every year in Maine but no monsta’s. Until one year, I may have been 13 or 14 I cannot recall. My father’s tip up flag went up way across the lake. We used binoculars to spot it. Yeah, we liked to cover ground and swiss cheese the ice. We got on the snowmobile and zoomed on over. The line was screaming off the spool. This would be my first glimpse at a trophy Lake Trout. The only sad part was the fish was so fat it didn’t fit through the hole. When my father tried to pull it through the hole it got stuck and snapped the line, disappearing into the depths below. And that was the closest we got for years to come. My father and I tried years of trolling and ice fishing to only catch the average 20 incher.

My lake trout fishing career would take a break while I attended my first couple years of college. I did not stop fishing, just targeted a different species. My college was smack in the middle of the Adirondacks and was situated on a lake teaming with pike. During the spring of my junior year, I discovered a lake with large Lake Trout. The Only issue was no ice fishing was permitted and the road to it was closed in the winter. That’s ok it made me discover ice out fishing was the bomb and that’s when the road would open. Still even finding this lake I was not successful in catching a trophy Lake Trout. I did happen to lose one right at the bank. But the day I graduated college I did manage to catch my personal best Lake Trout at the time. It was nothing impressive about a 30-inch skinny laker. Then a few weeks later I took off for Colorado and never looked back.

Again my Lake Trout fishing would take a short hiatus, mostly because a fly rod was put in my hand. I couldn’t pass up all the river fishing right in my backyard. I also needed to make friends with someone who owned an ice auger. And finally, after 3 years I got back on the ice seeking trophy lakers. My buddy owned an auger and our days off finally lined up. On New Years Eve day we set out to stare down some holes. It was beautiful cold morning. I’m glad he also owned a pop-up shack, it was rather chilly at 7 am. The auger knew it was cold and before we could drill our first hole the gas line snapped off the carburetor. I thought the day was done before we even got to fish. But I reached into to my Carhartt jacket pocket and pulled out a rubber glove. With that glove, I was able to hold the fuel line to the carb and keep the motor running. Drilling holes now was a team effort. That glove saved the day and we drilled a few holes. We got the shack set up and started jigging. I managed to put a jigging clinic on that day. I sat no less than 4 feet from my buddy. We fished the same setup and everything, but that day I managed to ice a dozen small lakers and my buddy put 2 on the ice. Who knows why but I say dumb luck. The time had come to pack up and ring in the New Year.

Another 2 months would go by before my buddy and I would step on the ice again. At this point more of the lake had frozen, so we tried a new spot. Oh yeah, we never fixed the auger just got more rubber gloves. I wasn’t the one hauling the auger so I decided to jump on my sled and ride it down the hill. I made it about three-quarters of the way down, when a bush was no match for my sled. I ended up crashing and having a yard sale on the hillside. I gathered all my stuff, discovering my jig rod was now in 2 pieces. Good thing my buddy had an extra rod for me to use. We both made it down to the ice and walked to the opposite side. It was a beautiful Colorado March morning. We drilled some holes set up the shack and got to fishing. An hour or so went by with not a single bite. It had warmed up nice; I went outside and tried a new hole. I was jigging away then whammmmm, my line was screaming off my reel. Something big ate my jig, my rod was doubled over and the fight was on. I could tell this was no small fish, it ran out a good amount of line before I could gain any ground on it. My heart started pounding knowing could this be it. I fought this fish for a few minutes before I got it close to the hole. Then finally a lake trout went buzzing by the bottom of the hole. After a couple runs away from the hole I got the fish through the hole and on the ice. I finally had done it. I put a beast of a female Lake Trout on the ice. I was ecstatic and so was my friend, we managed to snap a few quick photos. And back in the hole she went, I revived her for a few seconds and off she went. Hopefully, another lucky angler will get a chance at her. She was still small for a trophy Lake Trout but hell she was a trophy to me.

It took me well over 20 years to land a fish like that, but I never gave up. Man the smiles on our faces, grinning from ear to ear. I still smile every time I think of that fish. We fished the rest of the day with not another single fish being caught. Now just have to wait till next winter and see what surprises come from under the ice.

WOW! It’s hard to believe that we’re already heading into the second week of June and only a couple weeks away from our “World Famous” Scallop season. Before Nature Coast anglers start looking ahead to Scalloping local spin and fly anglers are still finding “World Class” Tarpon fishing along the shallow grass flats ranging from Crystal River to Homosassa. With the Nature Coast Tarpon season running from May 1st-July 1st now is the time to get on some of the Best Big Time Tarpon fishing found anywhere in the WORLD!!

The later part of our May Tarpon season was highlighted with great weather and tons of Large Tarpon showing up early on our local flats. The cool foggy mornings of May have quietly given way to the heat, humidity, and afternoon showers that June Poon Chasers are accustomed to. Most anglers visiting the area this time of year will be hoping for Chamber of Commerce weather days but most Tarpon fishermen know that it’s the impending weather days that create the most memorable fishing experiences. Such was the case when I had the opportunity to fish with Neil and Sean Forest who made the trip down from Tallahassee, FL recently. Both Neil and Sean have fished with me in the past and Sean actually landed his first Tarpon on fly with me 2 years ago. Over our two days of fishing we were dealt with every weather condition possible in Florida. Wind, rain, clouds, fog and calm seas were all conditions that we experienced and surprisingly the fluctuating weather pattern was a catalyst for two incredible days of fishing. Over a our two day stretch we averaged close to 30 shots a day with Sean putting 4 fish in the air before landing a beautiful 120lb Tarpon that would be considered a trophy by most fly anglers.

The changing weather patterns of June will mean changes coming to the migration patterns of our Nature Coast Tarpon. Baby Tarpon will start to become more prevalent in our backcountry waters and many bass fishermen will be shocked to find baby Tarpon staging around many of the same productive docks found in both the Crystal River and Homosassa Rivers. The real changes will be evident in the large migratory Tarpon that are roaming the deeper flats at this time. As water temperatures steadily climb towards 90° most fish will begin to find new foraging grounds on shallower flats closer to mangrove laden islands. The St. Martins Keys will become a prominent feeding ground for many Tarpon looking for one last meal before heading offshore to spawn. Savvy anglers will find free lining Live Pinfish, Pigfish, Whitebait, and Blue Crabs to hungry Tarpon will be a sure bet. Fly anglers will continue to have a plethora of opportunities as long as the offshore grasses stay offshore. With NOAA’s long term forecast calling for east winds for the next 10 days most of the flotsam should continue holding further offshore allowing for Black and Purple Toads and Chartruese Megalopsicles to continue to be the best bets for flies.

SCALLOP SEASON 2017 BEGINS JULY 1, 2017

BOOK YOUR ADVENTURE TODAY!!

Capt. Kyle Messier

(352) 634-4002

kylemssier@yahoo.com

WWW.FLORIDAFISHINGADVENTURES.COM

WWW.CRYSTALRIVER-FLYFISHING.COM

The Manso river is a particular one, in the first place because after several curves it ends up in Chile through a transversal valley in the mountains. It has several interesting fishing parts, each of them with very particular characteristics.

The most famous and floated part is the one between the mouth of the Steffen lake and the confluence of the Villegas river. This part has 8 kilometres, the first four with very calm and clear waters; along the other four kilometres the river increases its slope and speed, there are much bigger stones and rapids.

The best time of the year to fish this river is in the beginning of December (in the start of the season) until the middle of January. Then the flow and the strike decrease. The end of the season, in April, it is interesting to wade looking for the big brown trout which migrates to the river to spawn.

Before getting into the river it is always interesting to fish the reed beds of the Steffen lake and then wade the mouth which can offer pleasant surprises. We could say it is a small river with an average flow of 65m3/sec and unlike the Limay river it is well covered from the wind thanks to the vegetation that surrounds it. There are many coihues, arrayanes, pitras, cypresses and larch trees. The dominant trout is the rainbow trout, with a large number of fish between 30 and 35 centimetres and the chance of catching fish of 2/2.5 kilograms. There is also brown trout of up to 3 kilos.

Regarding the equipment the ideal is a 4/5 rod with a floating line and another line with a sinking tip such as Rio Avid or Mainstream. My first option, mainly in December or January is using floating lines with dry-flies, with attractors such as Chernobyl, Foam Cicada or Fat Albert, mainly trying to imitate the Odonata which are abundant in this time of the year. In this section of the Manso river it is possible to find a large number of stoneflies. To imitate these insects, I use Stimulator.

In 2012 a team of the Nahuel Huapi National Park detected a community of ducks called the Torrent Duck, which lives in cold and clear rivers with fast flows in the Andes mountain range. In order to protect them, the administration of the Park made a drastic decision forbidding the fishing floats (but not the rafting). After many negotiations with the Association of Guides, they decided to change their decision but starting the season in December 1 and forbidding the use of the anchor in fast waters. Now, to float the river the guide has to ask for a special permission and has to give a notification each time he finds some Torrent Duck. By Horacio Maida