Fishing Junk Water
What started as the sketchiest junk lake turned into something much harder to leave behind
3/20/2026Michelle Jarvie
DO
Snowshoeing: Proof You Can Love Winter
A funny, honest take on snowshoeing for the “real you” not the expedition you. Learn what you actually need, how to pick the right size and bindings, and why walking-speed winter can be the season you start to love.
3/2/2026Dun Team
Winter Hiking Safety for Normal People (Not Expedition Athletes)
Winter hiking doesn’t have to be extreme to be safe and fun. This guide gives you a simple system—how to pick the right trail, dress in layers, pack a small safety kit, and know when to turn around—so you can enjoy cold-weather miles with confidence, not stress.
2/3/2026Dun Team
Gradual Untangling
Fly Tying? You want me to tie a fly? No way. I can’t even darn socks. I knew I had enrolled in a fly fishing school, but I never thought about the fly tying aspect that would accompany my studies. School started and there I was, my instructor persuading me to give it a try. Reluctantly I went to the tying area. With a heavy heart, I tried my hand at tying my first fly, and managed to make a large and splendid bug. That disheveled fly went on to startle many fish, but one showed interest; all was
7/20/2018Mari Kitagawa
Latest
Finland
Finland is a small country of 5.2 million residents and thousands of lakes, located next to Sweden in Scandinavia. Our beautiful country has a lot of potential for fly fishing across the country, since the waters are easily reached. No matter where you live, there is always a lake or two next to you. Even though we have four amazing seasons for fly fishing, Finland still isn’t as familiar a fishing destination as our neighbor countries, Sweden and Norway. We would now like to introduce some of o
Haunted
My favorite season is Fall or what I like to call “Musky Season.” You can catch Musky in any season in rivers and lakes, but there is nothing like a beautiful fall Musky that has been feeding in preparation for winter. They are known as the fish of 10,000 casts with 700 teeth, 2 of them actual canines. What’s not to like? It amazes me the odd looks I get when I tell people my passion is Musky on the fly. A Musky is built like a submarine, but approaches like a torpedo. The bulk of my fishin
9/15/2015Megan Berns
Treasures
I’ve been developing designs for Sage, Redington, and RIO for about 4 years now. It’s been a true pleasure to work in an industry that is so clearly passionate about the sport of fly fishing. When I came onboard, I had a very limited understanding of the sport from what I’d heard from my Bohemian college friends from Montana and my uncle in New Hampshire who built bamboo fly rods in his garage. I believed two things about fly fishing: my uncle’s fly rods were not to be touched and fly fishin
9/15/2015Nicole Labrie
Mice
Tossing rodent replicas on the water at night, not seeing a bloody thing. Hoping to hear your fly go splat on the water somewhere and not hung up on the bank across stream or snagged in the trees from your back cast. Your other senses are heightened to make up for your lack of vision. Heart pounding, tingling with anticipation, waiting for the electricity of the killing kind to touch your line. Fingers poised, ready to hear a watery explosion on your kabob offering as you swim it back to you
9/15/2015Nome Buckman
Trash
They said, “it’s only trash.” They said, “you’ll never catch anything in there.” They said, “it’s not worth your time.” However, I saw things very differently from the moment I found my first ditch. I walked down a path behind the home where I was living at the time, only to find a fork in a bayou, and what I saw then changed me and started my journey into trashy waters. What I saw was a fish the length of my body. Not knowing what it was at the time, I started doing research on what fish,
9/15/2015Allison Helen Keeble
Gender
Actual Survey Question: Why aren’t there more women in fly-fishing? Actual Answers to this Question: Because they are home making sandwiches. Cause men drool at them. No mirrors to check their make-up. Because there are no toilets. 2 buzy cooking and cleaning. Kids to raise. They should be banned anyways- it’s the only peace we get. They can’t pick out an outfit. Same reason men don’t knit or make jewelry. They don’t like cold water. They don’t like to get their hands dirty. They only like to
9/15/2015Kaitlin Glines Barnhart
Experience
I have been around fishing and the outdoors for my entire life. My dad has been fly fishing for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I turned about eight, our dad started teaching us how to fly fish. We have always adhered to the Catch and Release method. Drake, my brother, is a natural at it. I have been slowly improving my skills to feel confident at the age of 14. I can now cast without getting stuck every other cast, which is pretty awesome. Despite my casting skills, I always h
9/15/2015Annie Jones
Dance
Her hips swayed in opposition to her arms. Hands held just so -- fingers extended, as if accentuating the beat. Head bent. Neck elongated, in contrast to her chin and closed eyes downcast. Gazing past her swaying thighs and knees and feet and toes, pointed just so. To her daughter. The mother was not watching the daughter. The mother was dancing with her pre-teen daughter. And I was a voyeur -- captivated by this innocent couple dancing along side the stage of a outdoor music festival. I was si
9/15/2015Nikki Seeger
Firewater
It’s a relatively cool, cloudy, Sunday in late August. AKA … brewing day. I am a homebrewer - beer, wine, mead and anything in between, even a traditional Finnish drink called Sima, which is a delicious sparkling lemonade. I’ve been waiting for cool weather (and spare time) all summer so I can try out new recipes. I also grew hops this year for the first time, and although they are not quite ready for harvest, I can’t wait to use them. In fact, I planted an entire garden dedicated to brewing
9/15/2015Michelle Jarvie
Wild
Laurentian Great Lakes steelhead are a complex stock of fish. The population is a mixture of hatchery-released and wild, naturally reproduced fish originating from many different streams. Knowing the natal streams of the fish is important to best managing this species, as it allows for targeted conservation and management to the areas that are the major contributors to the total lake population. Fortunately, we may be able to determine the natal stream of a fish by looking at its otolith. Otoli
9/15/2015Nicole Watson
The Seaducer
This simple streamer is deadly for both fresh and saltwater fish. If that wasn’t reason enough to start adding them to your box, they are super easy to tie as well. Strip the fly back to you with an erratic retrieve and hang on! Dun Magazine - Tails & Ties - The Seaducer from Dun Magazine on Vimeo.
6/15/2015Dun Magazine
Canoes and Cold Hands
Our green Coleman canoe gets some strange looks at the Gallatin River put in. There’s snow in the forecast for the afternoon but for now the sun is out, warming up my waders that hang from the review mirror. We pull the canoe off a cutbank into the small eddy and I eye the sharp fence between upstream and downstream water. “If we tip over here, we just swim back to the car, right?” I say. I’m half joking. The water is winter cold and I really, really don’t want to go for a wader swim. Two men
6/15/2015Emerald Lafortune