It was the first fish for many of us–the beloved bluegill–often found swimming in some long-forgotten farm pond, where we coaxed it in

with a bobber and a can of red wigglers. This time of year, when the water in a million sunfish-filled lakes warms up into the 70s and 80s, bluegills can make for many a forty-fish day. Just launch the float-tube, tie on a little popper, mayfly or midge pattern, and be sure to set the hook on ‘em before they swallow it.

But are all sunfish created equal? Last night we did a little comparison fishing and found that the redear sunfish (pictured below) not only is a little more difficult to …

FeltSoul Media–the film production company owned by Telluride-based Ben Knight and Denver-based Travis Rummel–took home the coveted Audience Award yesterday afternoon at the 30th annual Telluride Mountainfilm festival, for their film Red Gold, about the fight to save Bristol Bay Alaska and its legendary sockeye salmon run.

According to Mountainfilm officials, some distributors think the audience award is a much better harbinger of success for a film than a juried award. Red Gold tells the story of a proposed gold mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska, and how the impact of the mine could effect the sportfishing, commercial fishing, and very lifeblood of the region.

FeltSoul previously produced the movie “The Hatch”–about the famed …

I received the following this morning from Bob White, the illustrator for John Gierach’s columns for the past  16 years. Thought many of you might find it interesting:

Above: The painting—”Quitting Early”—that illustrated John Gierach’s first Sporting Life column in Fly Rod and Reel. (March, 1992)

As some of you may know, the current issue of Fly Rod & Reel magazine marks my one-hundredth column with John Gierach. Our very first collaboration occurred twenty years ago, in July of 1988, when I illustrated his article “East Big Fish” for what was then called Rod and Reel.

After Lee Wulff’s tragic death in 1991, the editors at Rod & Reel asked John to write the magazine’s closing column, and they asked …

Wipers—a hybrid fish between a male white bass and female striped bass—are quickly gaining a reputation as one of the hardest hitting, strongest-fighting warm-water game fish in the country. And it is now, from the end of April into mid-May and early June, that many wipers head to the creek inlets and points of our Heartland Lakes and reservoirs in order to feed on baitfish and shock anglers with their speed and power.

Wipers were first introduced into many parts of the country—Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska in particular—in the late 1970s. But it wasn’t until recent years that they’ve become the target of many flyfishers who’ve discovered the fish’s willingness to attack popular saltwater fly patterns like the …

John Gierach’s 16th book–Fool’s Paradise–hits the shelves this month, much to the delight of his legion of fans. Here’s a profile of John that first ran in The Drake magazine:

YOU’RE A CAB DRIVER in New York City in 1971, trying to make a right hand turn at a busy Manhattan intersection but there’s some cocky bike messenger in your way and he won’t move…

…so you nudge him. Not hard, just enough to let him know that you’re in a cab and he’s on a bike and if he doesn’t move and soon you might run his ass over. But the bike messenger does a strange thing. He doesn’t move out of your way. …

From Kaufmann Streamborn fly shop in Tigard, Oregon.

It’s finally here! The highly anticipated trout opener on the Lower Deschutes will kick-off this weekend. It’s one of the most anticipated weekends of the year on the Big D’.

The “upper reaches” of the Lower Deschutes, between Pelton Dam and the Northern Boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation will be open for fishing April 26th, until October 31st.

The resident “footballs” have lost some intellect as of late, this section of the river has been closed for nearly 6 months! The trout are now gorging themselves on fat 3-year old Stonefly Nymphs as well as other aquatic morsels.

f you are planning on going out to the desert to …

20th Anniversary Reel A once-in-a-lifetime Collectors’ Edition 1988-style Big Game #2 reel. This is a precision re-engineered replica of the original Abel with the original large handle, full frame, a “beauty line” on the frame and all the other features of that classic. A collector’s dream come true individually numbered 1 to 100. Abel/Borski Tarpon Reel An Abel Super 12X model reel – inspired and illustrated by world-renowned fish and wildlife artist Tim Borski. We will produce just 50 signed and …

1 - Campeche, Yucatan, Mexico
The fish are close. The city is safe, friendly, and everything Cancun isn’t. But the biggest reason Campeche rules is that the stretch of mangrove creeks running north to Isla Arena might be the finest stretch of baby tarpon water on earth. It’s hard to believe it was only five years ago that the first outfitters began running trips here. The mix of Mayan ruins, affordable restaurants and hotels, Cathedral Plaza, snook, and endless shots at tarpon—both in the mangroves and out on the flats—makes Campeche tough to beat.

2 - Key West, Florida
If you can only pick one place…  There’s the history, the nightlife on Duval Street, the mix of large bones and …

See them coming, swimming toward you like ducks across the sky at dawn. It’s hard for a Northern Rockies trout-chaser to fathom: no hatch to match, no current seam to aim for, just you and a couple dozen bonefish headed your direction. Throw it too late and you’ll spook ‘em. Too early, and your fly might get caught in the coral or the turtlegrass. But time it just right and suddenly there you are—light breeze, palm trees, and a fish headed straight for Honduras.

Standing thigh-high in the waters of Belize will teach a dedicated Western river angler more about flyfishing’s diversity than a thousand bonefish books could ever hope to. Because the tropics …

In the April issue of Outside magazine, Dave Micus from Missoula, Montana, scored a free rod from Orvis by pointing out an issue that drives many of us crazy—an unbelievably crappy cast in yet another mainstream magazine. OOPS:

The December issue of Outside had run the above photo of some guy making a backcast with a loop so loose you could back a Buick through it. Nice work, Dave. We all thank you.