LEARN

Janell's Five Qualities of a Great Guide

Patience - Regardless of where you are on the spectrum from newbie to virtuoso, you have hired a guide not only to have someone hauling you around the water, but to impart some knowledge about their fishery, and work to give you a memorable day on the water. There is nothing worse than feeling like you’re on a boat for 6-11 hours with your angry dad, who is barking at you with frustration and disappointment, as you bumble a cast with a sink tip line. As Arnold Glasow smartly stated, “The key to

5/13/2019Janell Fannin

Bristol Bay

Giddy. I don’t use the word often, but it’s the best way I can describe my demeanor as our flight touched down in King Salmon, Alaska late last August. My uncles, first time visitors to the Bristol Bay region, sat chatting a few rows ahead of me. When the plane came to a halt, I did my best “keep it cool” impression as I unbuckled, grabbed my carry-on, and walked up the aisle to meet them. As we stepped off the plane, I smirked and thought, “Holy buckets, this place is about to blow your socks

5/13/2019Jenny Weis

An Introduction to Fly Tying Hooks

“Now you must understand that the hardest and most difficult thing in producing your tackle is the making of your hooks. In order to make these, it is necessary for you to have a set of sharp, thin and lightly beaten files, a seamy iron clamp, and a pair of long and small pincers, a somewhat thick and hard knife, an anvil, and a small hammer.” - Dame Juliana Berners When Dame Juliana Berners penned those words in A Treatyse of Fysshynge With an Angle in the late 15th century, the Angle she ref

5/13/2019Dun Magazine

Hook Anatomy

Eye: The eye of the hook is where the tippet is tied. The eye can be up-turned, down-turned, or straight. In general, Spey style and salmon hooks have up-turned eyes, dry fly and wet fly hooks have down-turned eyes, and streamer, bass and saltwater hooks have straight eyes. The orientation of the hook eye is largely aesthetic and only comes into play when a knot used to attach the fly to the tippet is affixed to the shank and not the hook eye. Shank: The shank is where the fly is tied and can

5/13/2019Dun Magazine

Latest

Tips to ‘KeepEmWet’

Have you ever thought “I saw my fish swim away so it must be fine”? Unfortunately some of the catch-and-release science is showing that this isn’t always the case. Tropical flats are my happy place. I love nothing more than wading and looking for bonefish, or any other flats species for that matter. While catching a fish is the ultimate goal, a big part of my career has also been spent studying what happens to fish that are released. It doesn’t take a genius to know that releasing fish (as op

11/5/2018Sascha Clark Danylchuk

The Crazy Art of Backing Up a Trailer

Position yourself for success. If you’re new to backing up a trailer, choose a time when the boat ramp is empty. Saturday during the summer is probably not the best time to practice your backing up skills. The Do’s 1 See it You have to be able to see the trailer to back it up. In the beginning, it can be helpful to open the tailgate or liftgate and lay down a seat or two to get a better view of where the trailer is going. Launch ramps are sometimes curved, and at times can be steep. Being ab

11/5/2018Dun Magazine

Kidneys of the Rivers

Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are of extreme importance to an aquatic ecosystem’s function and health. Probably the most well-known ecosystem service that mussels provide is ‘cleaning up the water.’ They are filter feeders; meaning they get their nutrients from straining small organisms and particles out of the water. Some species are even being reintroduced to areas of poor water quality, in hopes of decreasing the sediment and pollution load. One adult mussel can filter approximately 20 gallo

5/1/2018Megan Hess

What to Wear Under Your Waders

What is the universe made of? What genetic changes made us uniquely human? Are we alone in the universe? What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt? What should I wear under my waders? These age-old questions, specifically the wader question, have haunted many a human. How many times have you stood over your suitcase, every dresser drawer open, and every item of outdoor clothing you own strewn across your bed? It embarrasses me to say that this happens almost every time I pack for a fishing trip.

3/21/2018Dun Magazine

The Do's and Don'ts of Layering

No way to get around it, the seasons are changing and winter is upon us. Unless you live in the deep south, you’re going to need to bundle up this winter. Knowing what to do, and just as important, what not to do, is vital in keeping yourself safe and warm on the water this winter. The Do’s Do - Start with a base layer. This layer is meant to trap warm air next to your body and pull sweat away from your skin. The most overlooked of all layers, this one is right up at the top as the most import

11/15/2017Dun Magazine

Spic N Span

Why would you ever want to take the time to clean your fly tying materials? detrimental insects improved materials handling material preservation Several methods are available to protect your beautiful naturals. Let me share some tips from Wayne Luallen, fly tier and Fly Fisher International 1991 Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award recipient. Benefits gained by cleaning feathers and furs include removing dirt, oils and fats, detrimental insects and pesticides. Have you watched a fly tier nosh on

9/2/2017Donna Luallen

The Loop to Loop Connection

The loop-to-loop connection is one of those simple, but really complicated things. Once you are comfortable making this connection, you can use it for all sorts of things. The most common use for the loop-to-loop connection is connecting your leader to the fly line. Gone are the days of having to know how to tie a nail knot just to go fishing. A loop-to-loop connection is also used when connecting your fly line to backing and it can be used to connect bulky bite tippet to your class tippet wh

6/30/2017Dun Magazine

Putting your fly rod together

I love it when you learn a new trick to something that you’ve been doing your whole fishing career. Many of you already know this one, but for those of you who don’t – you’re going to thank me for putting in something so basic. It will be an “A-Ha!” moment. Assemble your rod from the tip down. This way of assembling your fly rod removes the step of having to try to find a place to set the butt section of the rod during assembly. If you’re like me and a bit neurotic about scratching your rod,

6/30/2017Dun Magazine