Unlimited Fly Fishing News and Articles...

[Woolly Bugger]

Clouser made his mark fly fishing for smallmouth bass

>>>A faction of eastern fly fishers who hang their hats on smallmouth bass cling to a small set of heroes. One of which is Bob Clouser. Most recognize Bob as the inventor of the ever famous Clouser Minnow. He is also an expert fly fishing instructor, guide and author of countless articles and books on the sport of fly fishing.

Bob Clouser is not your typical fly fishing expert. He's not a famed trout guide from the Rocky Mountains who has not spent years drifting the 100-mile riffle of the Madison or leading adventures to opposite ends of the earth in search of monster trout. Bob has made his mark on the sport of fly fishing by staying true to what he loves, Pennsylvania and smallmouth bass.



https://www.therepublic.com/2022/01/22/clouser-made-his-mark-fly-fishing-for-smallmouth-bass/

[Woolly Bugger]

Judge refuses to exempt Colorado river guides from new $15 federal minimum wage
The $15 minimum wage requirement involves federal contracts and holders of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management special-use permits — including outfitters and river tour guides.

Colorado river guides working on federal lands will receive minimum wages of $15 per hour this coming season, after a federal judge on Tuesday denied the Colorado River Outfitters Association's request to be exempt from the Department of Labor's new rules.

"Plaintiffs have not shown a likelihood that they ultimately will establish that the Biden rule is arbitrary and capricious," wrote U.S. District of Colorado Chief Judge Philip Brimmer, a George W. Bush appointee.

Duke Bradford, owner of Arkansas Valley Adventure and the Colorado River Outfitters Association, which represents 150 independent operators, sued the U.S. Department of Labor and its Wage & Hour Division this past month over the new wage rules.

The rules at issue are set to take effect on Jan. 30 and require covered federal contracts and holders of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management special-use permits to pay a minimum wage of $15 and $22.50 for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

The river outfitters claim the federal government arbitrarily imposed the new wage rules on outdoor guides, which were exempted under Trump and would render multiday tours through the wilderness unaffordable. Colorado's minimum wage is currently $12.56 and $9.54 for tipped workers.

With the permits held by Bradford and Arkansas Valley Adventure expiring in April, the court found they demonstrated standing to sue. However the court did not find the same for Colorado River Outfitters Association which did list members with upcoming permit renewals and therefore did not clearly demonstrate "a CROA member will suffer even a dollar of economic harm."

Under President Barack Obama in 2014, guides and outfitters fell subject to federal minimum wage requirements under a broad rule implementing a $10.10 minimum wage for federal contractors. In 2018, President Donald Trump carved out an exemption for seasonal recreation services including "river running, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, camping, mountaineering activities, recreational ski services, and youth camps."

https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-refuses-to-exempt-colorado-river-guides-from-new-15-federal-minimum-wage/

[trout-r-us]

Clouser made his mark fly fishing for smallmouth bass

>>>A faction of eastern fly fishers who hang their hats on smallmouth bass cling to a small set of heroes. One of which is Bob Clouser. Most recognize Bob as the inventor of the ever famous Clouser Minnow. He is also an expert fly fishing instructor, guide and author of countless articles and books on the sport of fly fishing.

Bob Clouser is not your typical fly fishing expert. He's not a famed trout guide from the Rocky Mountains who has not spent years drifting the 100-mile riffle of the Madison or leading adventures to opposite ends of the earth in search of monster trout. Bob has made his mark on the sport of fly fishing by staying true to what he loves, Pennsylvania and smallmouth bass.



https://www.therepublic.com/2022/01/22/clouser-made-his-mark-fly-fishing-for-smallmouth-bass/

So basically Clouser "developed" a "fly" that mimicked the bucktail jigs that most everyone had been using all along with spinning gear to attract brown bass on the Susquehanna. Fly fishers that would never dream of fishing a jig on the fly rod quickly adopted the clouser minnow as the miracle "fly" for smallies and other gamefish.    Go figure.

[Woolly Bugger]

Historic gift to fuel growth of Penn State's fly-fishing program
The program will be renamed in honor of legendary angler and University alumnus Joe Humphreys




UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Wrestling fans flanked fly-fishing enthusiasts at the Penn State vs. Rutgers tournament on the night of Jan. 16, drawn together by a 93-year-old Penn State alumnus whose decades of achievements have spanned both sports. Before garnering fame as a world-renowned fly fishing icon, Joe Humphreys faced down foes on the wrestling mats of Rec Hall and demonstrated an athletic prowess that he would later parlay into acumen as a coach and instructor, culminating in his induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame in 2013.

University officials chose the wrestling event as an apt backdrop to announce the receipt of an anonymous gift that will honor Humphreys' legacy and provide substantial financial support to Penn State's fly fishing program. The $250,000 endowment will help to secure the program's status as a top-tier educational leader in the sport of angling. The College of Health and Human Development, which houses the program within the Department of Kinesiology, will honor the donor's request to rename the program the Joe Humphreys Fly Fishing Program in recognition of the contributions that Humphreys made through 19 years of teaching and half a century of advocacy and fundraising.


https://www.psu.edu/news/administration/story/historic-gift-fuel-growth-penn-states-fly-fishing-program/

[Woolly Bugger]

Angler Made $61,000 Last Year Catching Pikeminnow in the Columbia and Snake Rivers
Oregon and Washington are paying anglers bounties to catch and keep pikeminnow



>>>The unnamed angler caught and removed 7,185 of the unwanted fish from the two rivers over a five-month period last year, according to the Tri-City Herald. And although he was the top-earner in 2021, he was certainly not the only angler who was able to subsidize their fishing habit by participating in the Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program


https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/angler-paid-61000-bounty-for-catching-pikeminnow/

[Woolly Bugger]

"Freedom to wade": 80-year-old Colorado fisherman notches win for public access to rivers
Public should have legal access to wade in "navigable" rivers, retired physicist Roger Hill contends


>>>Colorado's Court of Appeals has cleared the way for 80-year-old fisherman Roger Hill to fight for his right to fish in peace on his favorite stretch of the Arkansas River as it flows down from snow-packed mountains.



This court ruling also means any other Colorado resident who has been forced off a river, from the Animas to the Yampa, can go to court to protect public access. A three-judge panel unanimously rejected the position of Colorado's government, which sided with landowners against Hill. Colorado allows private ownership of riverbeds while all other states treat rivers deemed "navigable" as public.

"I just like to get out on a clear stream and I enjoy watching the fish," Hill said from his home in Colorado Springs, delighted at the decision in what he describes as a decade-long life mission.

"We're going to get a chance to establish this as the law of Colorado – the freedom to wade in rivers, whether you fish or not, the freedom to have your feet on the bottom of a river," he said. "It could open access to waters I am dying to fish if I live long enough."

https://www.denverpost.com/2022/02/03/colorado-rivers-public-access-case/

[Woolly Bugger]

I'll just put this here;


MANTEO, N.C. (WITN) - The National Park Service provided updates on the three vessels grounded on beaches at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Authorities said the 55-foot yacht Vivens Aqua came ashore on the morning of Jan. 25th near the south end of Ocracoke Island. All fuel oil has been removed from the yacht and no injuries have been reported, but it is still on the beach. The NPS says no attempts to remove the vessel have been made in the last couple of days.

You cannot view this attachment.

https://www.witn.com/2022/02/03/update-two-vessels-join-yacht-being-grounded-outer-banks/

[Woolly Bugger]

Of Fish and Men: A Short History of Salmon Fishing in the Columbia River Basin
The industrialization of the Columbia River continues to destroy local salmon ecosystems and the livelihoods of Indigenous fishers who depend on them.

>>>The bad news first: salmon runs have been in further decline, harmed by dams, overfishing, and by environmental degradations caused by farming runoffs, construction, land fragmentation, local logging and mining, and now the universal water-heating effects of climate change.

The good news next: organizations like CRITFC play a central role in trying to manage, restore and improve the situation, representing the four regional tribes: the Nez Perce, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. With over 100 employees across multiple departments, they use biological research, fisheries management, and hydrology to support the protection and restoration of Columbia River Basin salmon, lamprey, and sturgeon. Equally importantly, they continue to ensure that tribal treaty rights are protected, with the help of their lawyers, policy analysts, and fisheries enforcement officers.





https://www.orartswatch.org/of-fish-and-men-a-short-history-of-salmon-fishing-in-the-columbia-river-basin/

[Woolly Bugger]

She left a corporate job to handcraft custom fishing nets
The Wayward Trading Post sells custom, handmade nets for fly fishing aficionados.



>>>When the corporate life grew stale and the drumbeat of the Great Resignation grew louder, Tina Lewis cast her attention and artistic ability toward the unlikeliest product.

Lewis, 40, crafts custom, handheld fishing nets prized by fly fishermen from the Poconos to Sweden. Her business, the Wayward Trading Post, makes the nets out of Amish-sourced wood and epoxy in an eclectic Frankford warehouse filled with her art, weightlifting equipment, and an assortment of industrial power saws and sanders. A Fishtown resident, Lewis said she grew up in Delaware County, venturing into the outdoors often with her father, John, to fish, shoot, and hunt. Still, fly-fishing is as much an art as a hobby and Lewis says she's still a novice.

https://www.inquirer.com/life/custom-fishing-nets-wayward-trading-post-philadelphia-20220223.html



https://www.customflyfishingnets.com/

[Woolly Bugger]

since the nets are out of my price range.

i was a bit surprised at how spendy they are...
 

[Woolly Bugger]

In today's news feed I saw a Field and Stream article on the Bimini Twist and that led me to the answer a question that formed in my mind, who invented the knot? Here is the answer and more...

The One That Got Away: Theft of Fishing Guide's Ashes Becomes a Whodunit


Capt. Bill Curtis died at age 91 on Oct. 24; in January, his ashes were stolen from a parked pickup truck in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami.Credit...Stu Apte

>>>ISLAMORADA, Fla. — Nobody knows for certain why someone would steal the cremated remains of a Florida Keys fly-fishing legend from a pickup truck parked outside a restaurant earlier this year.

Capt. Bill Curtis had no spurned lovers, lifelong enemies, obsessed fans or angry family members, according to friends, family and the police.

Yet shortly after 5 p.m. under rainy skies in late January, a man wearing a black hoodie broke a window of a Chevy Silverado parked outside a Flanigan's restaurant in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood, according to surveillance video.

The thief ignored a laptop computer, a $400 pair of sunglasses and valuable camera gear. Instead, he snatched the box of ashes from beneath a stack of books, and sped off in a black pickup truck.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/sports/bill-curtis-ashes-fly-fishing.html

[Woolly Bugger]

will they give Simms and Orvis a run for their money?


High-end fly-fishing apparel company launches in Bozeman

A new Bozeman-based fly-fishing apparel company launched this week, aiming to bring innovative and high-end apparel for anglers.

The online retailer Skwala launched on Tuesday joining the ranks of other outdoor gear and apparel brands in Bozeman like Sitka, Stone Glacier and the fishing equipment and gear brand Simms.

At the startup's office space on Story Mill Road, CEO and founder Kevin Sloan said the idea to start Skwala began about two years ago.

Sloan — who previously worked with brands Sitka, Patagonia and Orvis — had been toying with the idea of designing his own fly-fishing apparel brand for several years.

https://skwalafishing.com/

[Woolly Bugger]

For 76 years, this man made a living as a fishing guide in an iconic Canadian park

Frank Kuiack is the last traditional fishing guide in Ontario's Algonquin Park.

Kuiack is a time capsule of a bygone era, carrying a wealth of stories behind each wrinkle on his face. He generously shares his knowledge with anyone who journeys into the park.


https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/short-docs/for-76-years-this-man-made-a-living-as-a-fishing-guide-in-an-iconic-canadian-park-1.6391994

Great short video but you'll need a VPN (canada server) to watch...

[Trout Maharishi]

will they give Simms and Orvis a run for their money?


High-end fly-fishing apparel company launches in Bozeman

A new Bozeman-based fly-fishing apparel company launched this week, aiming to bring innovative and high-end apparel for anglers.

The online retailer Skwala launched on Tuesday joining the ranks of other outdoor gear and apparel brands in Bozeman like Sitka, Stone Glacier and the fishing equipment and gear brand Simms.

At the startup's office space on Story Mill Road, CEO and founder Kevin Sloan said the idea to start Skwala began about two years ago.

Sloan — who previously worked with brands Sitka, Patagonia and Orvis — had been toying with the idea of designing his own fly-fishing apparel brand for several years.

https://skwalafishing.com/

I think they are up against a hard nut to crack. You either have to be cheaper or better, I'm not sure how they will achieve that.

[Woolly Bugger]

I think they are up against a hard nut to crack. You either have to be cheaper or better, I'm not sure how they will achieve that.

Brand Ambassadors