fly fishing tagged posts

Whitney and her husband Dan at the Teller Wildlife Refuge this past fall 

Last week, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced 26 additional National Wildlife Refuges will be opened up for hunting and fishing for the first time or have opportunities expanded – this is big news!  As a sportswoman, access to hunting, fishing and other recreational opportunities is an issue that is only becoming more important in an ever urbanizing world.  Today, 335 wildlife refuges are open to regulated hunting and more than 271 wildlife complexes are open to fishing in the National Wildlife Refuge System.   Now is the time sportsmen and women band together as a $90 billion industry and protect our rights to access...

“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”

– Aristotle

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell met with five young outdoor enthusiasts last week to discuss America’s public lands and outdoor heritage.

The five were selected from across the nation as winners of the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development’s essay contest on “The Importance of Public Lands to Me”. The winners were Jarred Kay, 17, Flagstaff, Ariz.; Haley Powell, 17, Rock Springs, Wyo.; Matthew Reilly, 18, Palmyra, Va.; Rebecca Brown, 17, Conrad, Mont.; and Noah Davis, 18, Greensburg, Pa.

Haley, the winner from Wyoming, opened her essay “Public Lands and Me” with the above Aristotle quote. She is the youth membership chairwoman for Trout Unlimited in Wyoming and says people care about our nation’...

A River Runs Through It
The story of two brothers and their shared love for fly fishing on the Blackfoot River in Montana. 

Brave
An independent princess defies custom and relies on her bravery and archery skills to undo a curse. 

Dancing with Wolves
A Lieutenant is exiled to the West and befriends a Native American tribe while also learning to hunt with a traditional bow and arrow.

Fried Green Tomatoes
The story of four unrelated women who find strength in each other and one who finds comfort in the outdoors.

Last of the Dogmen
A Montana bounty hunter is sent to collect prisoners but instead find a Native American Tribe thought to no longer exist.

The Hunger Games 1 & 2
A teen girl competes in a televised fight to the death and survives due to her strong archery and survival skills. 

Stuck in a rut or don’t know what to read?  Get ready for the next season with these great reads:

Call to the Mild by Lily Raff McCalou
A story of transformation from big city dweller to country gun-slinger.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed
One woman’s powerful story about finding herself while solo hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
One family’s history is intertwined with fly fishing in Montana.

Beyond Fair Chase by Jim Pozewitz
A to the point read about the ethics of hunting from preparation to shooting to care after the shot.

The Total Outdoorsman Manual by T. Edward Nickens
A how-to manual for everything in the outdoors from tying a cleat hitch to flagging geese.

Girl Hunter by Georgia Pellegrini
A chef becomes a hunter and catalogs her adventures...

The United States has a long history of electing sportsmen into the White House. Of course you know Teddy Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman, but did you know about some of these?

1st President: George Washington 
1789-1797

Washington starts off the list of presidential sportsmen. Before becoming our first president, Washington counted “commercial fisherman” among his many occupations. He took several fishing breaks to Mount Vernon during the Constitutional Convention. While the General also duck hunted, his favorite outdoor pastime was fox hunting. 

21^st President: Chester Arthur
1881-1885

Arthur was famous for his salmon fly-fishing technique and even held an Atlantic salmon record for catching a 50-pound fish in Canada...