Author Archives: Chris Shaffer

Learn to Tie Epic Ontario Spawn Bags

By: Bojan “Bojangles” Zivkovic Spring has just about sprung in Southwestern Ontario and we all know what that means: March Madness! March is the best time to catch aggressive steelhead before they settle on their spawning grounds. The weather is warming, the bite is improving and anglers are finding steelhead throughout GTA rivers and in […]

Heavy Stocking Arriving on West Virginia’s Blackwater River

By: Chris Shaffer It’s no secret that the Blackwater River is one of West Virginia’s most treasured trout fisheries. Located roughly an hour from Elkins this well-known river is inches from Davis and Blackwater Falls and receives heavy stocking to the beat of roughly 20,000 fish each year. Trout plants are well underway and more […]

Big Boy’s New Spawn Sac Cure

By: Kyle Deavers It’s seems like every winter I tend to get the same questions from anglers. They always want to know how I’m curing my eggs. As often as I cure eggs I’m constantly changing what I do to get more bites. Competition is increasing each year and I have to make better eggs […]

Good Steelhead Bite On the Clearwater River

By: Toby Wyatt Negative publicity has killed the crowds on the Clearwater River this year, but for the anglers that have come and fished with us the bite has been excellent. To start the season they closed the Clearwater because they didn’t think they were going to have a lot of fish. Fortunately, the river […]

Fenton Lake Sporting Good Ice Bite

By: Chris Shaffer With the Eastern United States dealing with high water this week we rerouted to New Mexico and decided to make a flame run to Fenton Lake this morning to try our chance at ice fishing in the Land of Enchantment for the first time. Ironically, to this day when we talk about […]

Hot Lake Trout Bite On the Niagara Bar

By: Chris Shaffer For more than 15 years I’ve been hoping to fish the Niagara Bar. Meanwhile, the one-to-two times a year we’re able to fish the Lower Niagara River conditions haven’t been right. In fact, our local pros joke about how I bring the worst weather possible with me every time I fly in. […]

West Virginia Ramping Up Trout Stocking

By: Chris Shaffer While trout stocking beings in January in West Virginia it’s February that marks the start of larger trout plants. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has already been releasing trout into the state’s rivers, creeks, lakes and ponds and almost a million more are coming this year. We called Jim Hedrick, […]

New Mexico’s Eagle Nest Lake: Excellent for Ice Fishing

By: Joe Vallejos It’s already been a good ice fishing season on Northern New Mexico’s Eagle Nest Lake and the good news is that ice should remain at least into mid March. It’s been two weeks since I was able to fish the lake, but the ice is still over a foot thick and the […]

Big Brookies Being Stocked in South Carolina’s East Fork Chattooga

By: Chris Shaffer Trout stocking has been occurring weekly in South Carolina’s Upstate. However, most of the trout plants are taking place in park lakes and special regulation delayed-harvest areas. That will all change in late February as full trout stocking resumes. However, the East fork of the Chattooga River is getting some pretty impressive […]

A Veteran Guide’s Favorite: The Tutti Frutti Cure

By: Bob Kratzer Steelhead season is upon us. For many anglers that means curing and fishing eggs. As a guide I’m always looking for an effective, yet quick way to cure eggs that my customers and I have confidence in. I need these eggs to have good color, durability and flavor that steelhead can’t resist. […]