Low and slow is the name of the game during winter months when we focus on dredging the bottom of the river with midges and BWOs. But on those select days when fish just aren't playing along, I've long held the suspicion that most anglers, me included, aren't getting their nymphs deep enough. On warmer days fish are relatively active and many anglers don't struggle to catch fish. Therefore they might not consider that their flies aren't deep enough to reach the bottom. But, when fish tuck deep on the bottom and refuse to move for flies during winter, that same rig that worked during the warme ..read more

The Due West Anglers crew arrived on Wyoming's North Platte to observe blistering wind and a slippery vast river; I quickly realized that my expectation for tight-line nymphing wasn't going to be a practical use of time. Without the ability to wade closely and precisely cast to likely structure under these conditions, I doubted my abilities to find success with my 10.5' 4wt. I needed another solution. The obvious answer was to enlist the traditional rig which chains flies together in-line under an indicator, anchored by split shot. This was the favored choice by my companions. But I was skept ..read more

We're overrun with rainbow trout. They are seemingly everywhere cold water flows. We propagate them in hatcheries, distribute them to local lakes and streams, even unleash them to urban ponds for fishing derbies where they stand no chance of surviving a full year. They've made a global journey by our side, and are now found on every habitable continent. Rainbows are truly one of the most prolific GMOs humans have concocted. We've bred them into unique strains so they are suited to our every need. Need them to grow large quickly? We've got a strain for that. Need them to be more resistant to w ..read more

Why would you stand out in the river in January and freeze to death all for a trout that you’re going to release minutes later? Why would you brave triple digit heat to slop around a muggy pond for carp? Why would you travel halfway around the world just for a chance to catch a new fish? If it’s not even for food, then why put yourself through that? Often, the fly-fishing laureates–those that describe this crazy compulsion– refer to the escapism in fly-fishing and disconnection from the daily grind. In our current age, it's easier than ever to sink deeper into the couch and live a digital ex ..read more

This week we wanted to connect the dots between several of our articles to give anglers a wholistic look at how someone could use topics covered on this site to help them during a day of trout fishing. Let's discuss everything from approaching the water, to rigging, flies, and dealing with picky trout. Approaching the Day: In our Barometric Pressure article we looked into the scientific basis behind atmospheric pressure's effect on trout behavior. While many perceive that feeding increases before storms and diminishes after storms (just one example), we question the scientific basis of these ..read more

We're continuing our new series that looks back on some of our most exciting, odd and standout memories. All anglers love a good fish story right? What is it about youth that pushes you to do stupid things? Combined with trout madness, you've got a recipe for delinquency. Fortunately the statute of limitations has now past. One fine day, some of the DWA crew set out in pursuit of gold medal tailwater bows. We knew we we're in for some technical fishing but we had no clue that the trout had been bribed with hush money. In fact the lips were so tight, both my partner and I resorted to trying to ..read more

A lot of anglers claim to be “conservation minded”, but what does that actually mean? In our conservation concepts series we cover core ideas that every conservation minded angler should know. When society shares access to common resources, especially natural resources, an individual's short-term interests can be in direct conflict with the greater, or common, good. An individual has the ability to benefit from using a resource while potentially creating negative effects for everyone else. In other words, an individual's rational exploitation of a common resource can create externalities for ..read more

This week we wanted to connect the dots between several of our articles to give anglers a wholistic look at how someone could use topics covered on this site to help them during a day of trout fishing. Let's discuss everything from approaching the water, to rigging, flies, and dealing with picky trout. Approaching the Day: In our Barometric Pressure article we looked into the scientific basis behind atmospheric pressure's effect on trout behavior. While many perceive that feeding increases before storms and diminishes after storms (just one example), we question the scientific basis of these ..read more

In their native waters to the Pacific Northwest, Rainbow trout and Steelhead coexist in many waterways connecting to the ocean. Of course, this is because Rainbow trout and Steelhead are genetically linked. As part of the same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss, the difference between a Steelhead and a Rainbow trout draws back to the decision by freshly emerged fish to either stay in their freshwater habitat, or make the perilous journey to the ocean. Research suggests that the complex interactions between genetics and environmental factors influence whether or not a young rainbow trout accepts the ..read more

As we've been discussing the ongoing western drought, we haven't seen much good news for fly-anglers chasing stream-dwelling trout. Increased water temperatures, decreased summer flows, more wildfires, and de-synced runoff patterns all threaten the prospect of finding cool water to fish by the time August rolls around. But surprisingly, there is one interesting ecological byproduct of the drought that could serve in favor of trout anglers. Grasshoppers flourish under warm, dry weather, and during this extended drought, expansive growth in grasshopper populations has recently reached plague st ..read more