Nature - Due West Anglers

cutthroat caught below Twin Lakes on the Arkansas River, Colorado

A Lesson From History: The Extinct Yellowfin Cutthroat

The Southern Rockies used to be home to multiple subspecies of cutthroat trout, including the Colorado River, Rio Grande, Greenback, Bonneville, recently rediscovered San Juan, and extinct Yellowfin cutthroat. You may well know about the recovery of the Greenbacks...

swinging soft hackle for trout spey, fly patterns include hares ear, partridge, peacock, pheasant tail soft hackles

Members only

wet flies

Why Swinging Soft Hackles Works

It might be the oldest trick in the trout fly fishers playbook. Yet many people still don’t really know why swinging soft hackles work. It's hardly a natural presentation...

alpine

Alpine Flies: Darker as You Climb

Alpine fly fishing: the higher the elevation, the darker the fly

Nymphing with heavy flies or splitshot to get a trout's attention, ESN, indicator nymphing, fly fishing

nymphing Featured

Nymphing vs Turbulence

The nymphing angler is locked in a perennial quest to fish deeper because rivers fight back...

Stream Temperature Guide for optimal trout temperatures, and predicting macroinvertebrate hatch timing

rainbow trout

An Angler's Guide to Stream Temperatures

Did you know that your thermometer can be useful to uncover all kinds of fly fishing clues? Bug hatches, fish preferences, fish behavior...

Flies displayed include: chubby chernobyl, clouser minnow, barr's meat whistle, popper, crazy charlie, and turneffe crab

behind the scenes

Behind the Scenes

Unveiling the creative process from idea to ink for Due West Angler's distinctive articles on fly fishing + science + conservation

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tailwater

Tailstone Rivers: What Are They and How Do They Work?

how do tailwaters transform back into freestone rivers? (fly fishing)

Releasing a pre-spawn Wyoming Brown Trout

Members only

big fish

5 Tips for Landing Those Big Fish

To be a true angler you need to experience the heartbreak of losing a big fish. Here's how to stack the odds in your favor so that doesn't happen...

pink pookie fly pattern, pink grasshopper fly pattern, pink hopper fly

grasshoppers Featured

Pink Grasshoppers Really Do Exist

In our never-ending quest to explain why unexpected colors work as fly patterns I found some insights in an unlikely place... the museum...

Members only

trout

Crash Course in Picky Trout Behavior

Fly Fishing graduate school: Understanding a picky trout can be the difference-maker when trying to present flies to these stubborn fish.

Eleven Mile Canyon stretch of the South Platte, Colorado, how do trout respond to fishing pressure?

Members only

fish behavior

The Science of Rest: Trout Get Burnout Too

Do fish remember being caught? And how long would it take to reset the timid behavior of previously hooked fish throughout an entire fishery?

Wading and fly fishing the Gunnison River, Colorado, tactics for fly fishing rivers with low trout density

Members only

behavior Featured

Tips for Streams with Low Fish Density

Lets take a look at how we approach rivers based on fish density and discuss what fishing rivers with fewer fish per mile have to offer

Hog of a rainbow trout getting released from a tailwater in Wyoming, rainbow trout, amy's ant fly pattern

terrestrials

Story From the Road: Amy's Ante

Fish were rising everywhere, skimming #28 midges off the film of a deep run. Cows surrounded us as spectators for the feeding frenzy of a developing hatch. The water temperature was perfect...

common carp

First to America: Carp

Carp introduction in North America pre-dates brown trout introduction, and the hatchery propagation of rainbow trout

Paid-members only

cutthroat

How Did Cutthroat Trout Cross the Continental Divide?

Most cutthroat trout are found west of the Continental Divide, so how did they find their way to the east side of the divide? Science behind fly fishing

View of the Arkansas River while fly fishing, Colorado

exploring

End of the Year Round Up: Best of 2022

We revisit the best of the best from 2022 slate of fly fishing articles.

cutthroat

The Cult of the Rainbow

We simply don't need more rainbow trout, and rest assured, they aren't going anywhere. So don't be swayed by the cult of rainbow trout.

Fly fishing: releasing a trout from Daniel's Reservoir, Idaho

psychology

Rx Nature

We all could use some Rx-nature. In fact, doctors are starting to prescribe nature as treatment.

Fly fishing Redband Trout from River X, Oregon

steelhead

The Weird Biology of Half-Pounder Steelhead

Fly fishing: Let's take a look at the weird biology of half-pounder Steelhead

terrestrials

Silver Linings Fly Box: Grasshoppers and Drought

Fly fishing: There is one interesting byproduct of the drought that could serve to favor trout anglers when fishing hoppers

cutthroat

Native Trout South of the Border?

Native species of trout can be found in North America as far south as the tip of Baja California. Are these the rarest trout?

Members only

barometric pressure

Myth-Busting: The Barometric Pressure Debate

Lets look at the Barometric Pressure debate, one of the most enigmatic topics in fly fishing.

Releasing a Rainbow trout from the Pueblo Tailwater, Colorado

Members only

behavior

The Dynamics of Fish Spooking

Why do fish spook? Why don't fish spook? Let's investigate.

behavior

Sibling Rivalry? Behavioral Differences When Browns and Rainbows Share a Stream

Rainbow Trout vs Brown Trout , the Ultimate Battle

Which hopper fly is the best fly pattern? Color combinations for chubby chernobyls, dave's hopper, morrish hopper and others

Members only

terrestrials

The Colorful World of Grasshoppers

Fly tying: What are the best colors for tying and fishing grasshoppers. Check out our breakdown.