Jen Ripple

Articles from Jen Ripple.

19 posts

Survival of the Fittest - Or Most Prepared

This is the current view from my office window…in Tennessee. I moved here from Chicago four years ago because I wanted to be somewhere warm, without that white stuff, and without the single-digit temperatures. To say I feel like I was sold a bill of goods this morning when I woke up to 3 degree temperatures is an understatement. I currently heat my house with a wood burning stove, and while I live in the middle of a forest and am surrounded by "fuel" for said stove, currently that "fuel" resemb

2/16/2021Jen Ripple

Mahi and More in Panama City Beach

Fishing saltwater can be challenging but not in PCB.

8/28/2020Jen Ripple

RIO SlickCast Lines

Full confession. I’m terrible when it comes to my fly lines. I have boxes of lines in my office and even one of those line winders so I can easily change out lines … but I never do. I have lines on different reels and that's where they stay. It’s not really because I’m lazy, it’s because I’m particular. When I find something I like, I use it – and abuse it – until it’s no longer usable. Case in point, this poor fly line. Every time I pull out my rod and cast this line I wonder if today’s the d

6/22/2020Jen Ripple

Tips for Upping Your Fly Fishing Game

Fly fishing is addictively fun because there are so many facets to understand and improve. If the sport starts to lose its luster, there’s almost always something to hone in on and work at. That sense of improvement reignites our love for the sport, then we’re back to obsessing and spending too much money again. Such is the cycle of fly fishing. In this article we’re going to point out a few facets of fly fishing that lovers of fly can geek on until the cows come home. The Zen of the Cast It’

5/27/2020Kyle Rutten

Asian Carp - Not just a local issue

I live in the tiny little town of Dover, Tennessee. It’s not uncommon for those who live in Tennessee to ask where that is - it’s that small. Aside from embarrassingly being known as the #6 speed trap in the US, Dover is known as the place at the base of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. History buffs will recognize it as the home of Ft. Donelson understanding it as the place that changed the course of the Civil War. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is a 1

5/18/2020Jen Ripple

Yoga on the Fly

Stand in the river. Knee deep. Balance your hips over your feet, and feel the push of the current against your calves. Lean into it and find full-body balance. Breathe in and breathe out. Notice everything about this moment. Engage your senses. Observe the trout's environment deeply. Feel the sun's energy through your clothing. Hear the sounds around you from the loudest to the softest and furthest away. Smell the water, trees, and stones. Know in your heart that you are right where you shoul

2/21/2020Deanna Camp

5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Fly Fishing

I fell into fly fishing by accident when I randomly signed up for a fly tying class one really cold day while I was living in Ann Arbor, MI. To be completely honest, I signed up for the class because it sounded like something different, and it was really cheap — like $65 for eight classes, and I didn’t need any equipment. I figured I had nothing better to do, and it was time to stop hibernating and get out into society again. I had no idea what fly tying even was. But from the moment I walked in

1/3/2020Jen Ripple

The Overlooked Skillset

The other day I met Certified Casting Instructor Susan Thrasher at a Nashville park to test for my Gold Fly Casting Skills Challenge. About halfway through the challenge, I noticed a man had stopped to watch us. When we decided to take a short break and get out of the sun for a few minutes, he approached Susan. It was obvious she taught fly fishing, he said. It was always something he had wanted to try, and did she have a card? How many times have you been approached by someone on the river, or

12/15/2019Jen Ripple

Fishing the Mighty White - Cotter, Arkansas

Images of frozen fingertips and iced-over rod holders run through my mind like the frames of an old-school movie projector as we snake our way over the historically high mighty Mississippi. Rain pelts the windshield so hard we have to slow almost to a stop, and I can’t help but feel like it’s me who is bringing the weather. It has been five years since the fateful frozen day when I fished the Norfork River in Arkansas, and still, a cold shiver runs down my back at the mere thought of returning.

11/10/2019Jen Ripple

The 7 Coolest (Non-Fishing) Things I Saw at IFTD

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 International Fly Tackle Dealer (IFTD) show at the Denver Convention Center with DUN Magazine for the first time. The sheer volume of people to talk to and things to see was overwhelming, but I had the chance to speak with a lot of fantastic people and observe the scenery, so to speak. Here are some of the things I enjoyed most from my one-day journey. #Kickplastic These signs adorned the entrance to the exhibition hall, announcing that IF

11/10/2019Erica Hickey

Five Reasons Fly Fishing is the New Yoga

Forget the gym, the spin classes, and the yoga studio. There’s a new practice in town, and it’s called fly fishing. Formerly thought of as an old, white, rich man’s sport, the fly-fishing generation of today is as diverse as the species they target. The sport that at one time was considered male-dominated is now taking the world by storm as it quickly becomes the new yoga. Here are some reasons I think it should be just that. It’s inclusive. Like yoga, fly fishing is a sport that is available

10/6/2019Jen Ripple

5 Ways to Experience Casper, Wyoming

When you think Casper, Wyoming no doubt visions of wide-open landscape, the blue ribbon North Platte River, and big bows dance in your head. Casper has long been a fly fishing travel destination and for good reason. It’s definitely one of our favorite places to fish and we can’t wait to get back there again soon. The town has somehow retained that old west feeling and its streets are lined with history. Some of the best trout fishing in the nation aside, there are a lot of things to do in Caspe

7/31/2019Dun Magazine

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