That motley crew over at GoBlog tore themselves away from Battlestar Galactica reruns long enough to post an item that should interest any bluelining/brownlining/stream-seeking fly fisherman:
Google Maps added a "Terrain" feature last fall, and it was decent — yeah, cool, I can look at terrain features, whatever. Well, Google just announced that it added contour […]

The Upper Sacramento River’s fishing a little slow, but I wanted to fly fish the high country for alpine Brook trout.

I spent 6.5 hours in a car to fly fish 7.5 hours for trout I knew weren’t going to exceed 11 inches in size, yet by the complex calculus we use to define our fly fishing experience, I’m pretty damn happy with the bottom line.

Dave Roberts fishing a 7.5′ 4wt on a small, southern Oregon […]

Participation in outdoor activities like hunting, fishing & backpacking is falling, and one of the reasons bandied about is the lack of generational support. In other words, if your parents don’t introduce you to the outdoors, chances are you won’t go there — and your kids won’t either.
That’s why — on the heels of our […]

When the Fourth of July comes to town in the form of thousands of visitors, you have to decide between embracing the mob, or running for the mountains for a little fly fishing. Guess what?

This lake’s a hike away. This fish is a Brookie. (L&T Nancy photo)

“Bluelining” is the practice of scouring maps for the thin blue lines that suggest fishable trout water. It smacks of adventure and absolutely reeks of old-West romance — the twin pillars of any alpine fly fisher’s fantasy life.

The lead Undergrounder (me). Don’t I look handsome & virile? (S. Bertrand photo)

I won’t lie. I was a pretty cranky guy most of last week, culminating in a temper tantrum on Friday when I couldn’t find my 3wt reel.

A meadow, a cliff, a stream, and a fly rod. Tough place to go? Nope.
Losing a reel (given my somewhat haphazard organizational style) isn’t exactly earth shattering, but it […]

It’s not as if I huddle in a one-room cabin and mail explosive devices to non-fly fishing strangers, but when I’m fly fishing, I’m prone to anti-social behavior.
It’s one reason why I love the backcountry; you can hike and fish all day with the reasonable expectation that you’ll never see another human being who didn’t […]

Fly fishing a river tunes you into its water, bugs, and trout.
You gain a sense of the moment, hopefully catch a few trout, and walk away with what amounts to a frozen snapshot of what you think the river is all about, though most of the time we’re wrong about that.

Hazel Creek through the trees. […]

In the backcountry, a map is a guide. You’re “here” and you want to be “there,” and the map helps make that transition possible.
On your living room table, a map is a completely different animal.

I’m killing a lot of time fantasizing over Ian Rutter’s GSMNP fishing map.
It’s not a guide as much as it is […]

Let’s be clear: rating the World’s Top 10 Hikes without considering the fly fishing opportunities is simply wrong.
Perverse even.
Still, we know the Best Hikes blog had its heart in the right place when they rated the World’s Top 10 hikes.
Given that last year saw me in the backcountry more often than most years - and […]

Saturday’s hike into the backcountry forced me to ask myself why I don’t do this more often. In truth, it’s been a far better year than most in terms of backcountry fishing, and I’ve gotten my feet wet in a couple small streams and a bunch of alpine lakes.

Meet the backcountry brookie - the Official […]