Fascinating piece from Kirk Deeter on the uses and abuses of the “Pro Deal” on Angling Trade – read it here. With three family members working “in the industry” in various positions and at various levels, the pro deal-related behaviors we’ve all witnessed in the past few years have been jaw dropping to say the […]
Economics for Fly Fishermen
Angling Trade is out with their Summer 2017 issue (read it here) and it’s packed with all sorts of new product release plugs which of course coincide with the 2017 IFTD show going on this past week in Orlando. Though I typically read through AT when it drops (digitally drops), I was particularly interested in […]
For the fly tyers among us, direct from the often-innovative streets of Bozeman comes another product that hits the right notes: European styled, barbless, wide-gap hooks with a beefy design and a price point for those of us who aren’t members of the 1%. From the same guy (Joe Mathis) who brought us Bug Collars. […]
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I have been on the road the past few days along the Texas coast around Rockport and Aransas Pass. Louisiana may grow bigger redfish, but this part of the central Texas coast boasts one of the Gulf’s most productive bay fisheries and makes the pulse of any redfish-chasing fisher […]
You’ve got gifts and gear to buy. Your local fly shop has the goods. Support the good guys, the local guys, tomorrow on Small Business Saturday and drop a dollar or two at your hometown fly shop (or your favorite shop wherever your version of fishing nirvana happens to be). It’s a challenging business to […]
Kudos to REI for crafting their #OPTOUTSIDE campaign and shaking up the North American retail world by daring to close their doors on ‘Black Friday’. Our clan has long been somewhat holiday nonconformist; a big box retailer breaking out of the ‘consume all you can’ mold on (what used to be anyway) one of the […]
While perhaps not a locale that would cross your mind as a trout fishery, the mind-boggling rains in Texas and Oklahoma have pummeled a prime cold-water fishery on the Lower Mountain Fork River in SE Oklahoma. The Lower Mountain Fork is a tailwater fishery (Broken Bow Lake) and by all reports is quite scenic, accessible […]
On a weekend seemingly entirely given over to rampant consumerism (at least in the eyes of some) we’d encourage you to support your local small outdoor retailer on this Small Shop Saturday. Most small fly fishing and other niche outdoor retailers are run by hard-working, passion-driven aficionados of their sport who work their butts off […]
Had an interesting discussion with friend and mentor Ed last night. We’ve shared quite a bit about Ed; he’s a fiercely independent, under the radar, up from the bootstraps, now-quite-well-off guy who has a penchant for simple food, simple living, preserving rivers and wilderness, fly fishing and Montana. He called in a huff and said […]
A couple of weeks ago we posted a short reminder about the upcoming close of a comment period on proposed fishing and hunting license increases in Montana. Simple enough. We supported the concept and still do. In response, Bozeman based guide Josh Stanish brought up a point we’ve long discussed, and is even perhaps more […]
Best any of us can recall, none of us have ever called for any state or federal government entity to raise fees to fish, hunt or otherwise recreate in the great outdoors. The Montana Warp Living in Montana tends to warp one’s perspective on life in a lot of ways (mostly good ways); shamefully inexpensive […]
Some of us who write here on Chi Wulff spend a fair amount of our pay-the-bills time working in a business strongly related to the web; we work with teams building and managing web portals (static sites and ecommerce venues) and manage advertising and social media campaigns. I in particular have never been a fan […]
The first snippets of news began to leak out about the proposed sale of eleven dams / hydroelectric units (for a tidy sum of $900 million) earlier this past week; it’s been no secret PPL wanted out of Montana, at least out of the hydroelectric business. PPL squeaked out an underwhelming press release on Thursday […]
Without a doubt there has to be a special place in hell for the scum-sucking slime who snatched roughly seventy percent of the Stonefly Outfitters’ (Twin Bridges, Montana) inventory during the wee hours last Saturday. Those who frequent Montana fly shops during the summer season understand that there’s a pretty damned small window during a […]
Many of you have seen this piece already; that said, it’s worth posting again for those who haven’t. Not an endorsement of either candidate, this is statement of principle sent out by outdoor / fly fishing media maven Kara Armano of Backbone Media… By Gaspar Perricone, Co-Director of Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance & John Land […]
