"Never forget: Fly fishing is fun partly because it is frustrating." ~ Phil Monahan The upper end of Sullivan's Slough is aptly named the Shark Tank. From the road cutting across the sage covered hillside above the Slough, gawkers stop and admire the size and quantity of looming rainbow trout. The simple fact is, these fish are hard to fool.…
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"A fly fisherman's knowledge is compounded of many things. It grows out of imagination, curiosity, bold experiment, and intense observation." ~ Roderick L. Haig-Brown The next time you go fishing, fish less and watch more. Don't rush into the water and start casting the same flies that worked last week. Watch the water closest to the bank. Observe the patterns…
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"Spring creek trout have a reputation for being moody, which often means they are difficult, but when they are in the mood to feast, almost nothing-- not sloppy wading, not poor casting, not a ridiculous choice of flies--will dissuade them." ~ Ted Leeson Ted is right about spring creek trout. When it is time to feast, when the Tricos and…
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"Respect your quarry." ~ Paul Guernsey Learning how to properly land and release fish is as important as learning how to read the water, cast, and set the hook. Studies have shown that when large trout are fought to exhaustion, then held out of the water for 30 to 60 seconds during hook removal and photo, these trout have a…
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"What is most important is not the equipment or the materials, it is the angler." ~ Charles Jardine Saturday, July 25th the newest gear from the top brands in fly fishing will be gathered in the backlot of Silver Creek Outfitters from 10 AM until 4 PM. This is a great opportunity to meet the manufacturers' reps and talk about…
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"Choosing to save a river is more often an act of passion than of careful calculation. You make the choice because the river has touched your life in an intimate and irreversible way, because you are unwilling to accept its loss." ~ David Bolling In November of 2014 the Kilpatrick/Purdy Pond project was completed. The restoration project addressed the accumulation…
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"There is...one constant in all types of fishing, which is: The time the fish are biting is almost but not quite now." ~P.J. O'Rourke Fishing is certainly about timing. Rivers drop and clear according to the seasons. Hatches start and end in a cyclical fashion as well. Often anglers hear the refrain from those fisherman who came before, "You should…
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"If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?" ~ Steven Wright Fly Fishing Forecast July 1st-8th. The best way to deal with the heat...go fly fishing! But protect yourself from the sun while you are at it with a long sleeve fishing shirt and pants, sun gloves, a proper hat, and a Buff to cover your neck and…
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"For me, sport is actually a chance for us to have other human beings push us to excel." ~ Mr. Keating from Dead Poet Society Fly Fishing Forecast June 24th to July 1st. Bosnia was very good to Fly Fishing Team USA! We came away with team silver and an individual bronze medal. Spain took the gold and the home…
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"Fly fishing is as much an affair of gestures as tactics." ~Christopher Camuto Fly Fishing Forecast June 17th to June 24th. Two anglers with the same gear, from the rod, the line, the tippet, right down to the fly, can have a completely different experience on the same water and the same day, even if they are fishing the same…
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“Now that I care less, I fish better.” – Andrew Brown Care takes you out of the moment. It lives in both the past and the future. You will fish better if you are present. Silver Creek The insect activity on the Creek remains sporadic thanks to the rollercoaster weather we experienced last week. Some days, baetis and PMDs will…
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“The river moves on and on; the heart follows, willingly, always glad to be hunter, discoverer.” – Harry Middleton Keep your heart tuned to the rivers. This is the week that the flows turn the corner and beckon the angler towards summer. Silver Creek The Brown Drakes started late last week as predicted. But instead of starting in the lower…
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