Laegreid Outdoors

Fishing has been dang near impossible for me for the past few weeks, so to ward off the shack-nasties I've been tying some flies. This one is a must-have for the lakes around Laramie, or anywhere there are significant midge hatches. As a bonus, it's super easy to tie!

Dear Mr. President, American Sportsmen and Women are tired of seeing hoot-owl closures on their rivers. We're tired of fish kills caused by extreme water temperature . We're tired of seeing our forests killed by beetles because our winters are not getting cold enough and our summers are hotter. We're tired of ocean conditions making salmon survival even more difficult. We're tired of longer, hotter forest fire seasons . Sportspeople are out in the wild parts of our great country more often than most, and we are seeing the effects of climate change on a daily basis. The sporting way of life is in danger as a direct result of the warming earth, and you just withdrew us from the Paris Agreement. Mr. President, you (and your son) have said how you want to protect the rights of sportsmen and women, second amendment rights and land usage rights and so on, but none of that matters if we don't have fish and game to pursue. If the environment goes, the game goes,...

It's finally getting cold here in Wyoming, after a pretty darn warm autumn. Many people are moaning about the weather, but some of us have been waiting to take the coats out of mothballs. Here are ten of the reasons that you should rejoice at the return of the cold! Reason 1: Hot Drink Season I've got a thermos. It's great. It's a Stanley. It's been sitting in a closet for months. Now that it's cool, it can be free from its prison and join me for icy adventures and white forest wanderings, always ready to provide a toasty, gut warming, life-sustaining beverage. This is the beginning of a season where drinking hot coffee at noon is not crazy; where wanting tongue-scalding cocoa doesn't get you weird looks. This is the season of hot beverages, and I love it. Reason 2: Cold Weather Wearables T-shirts are fine, and shorts are ok, but nothing compares to sweaters, vests, coats and wool. Even the footwear is great; the wife loves her wellies, and I have my s...

Tonight is our last night in the cold little town of Reykjavik, Iceland. Tomorrow we take a short flight to Oslo, and begin the second leg of our crazy little trip. This first bit was fun. A little rough, but fun. Our main enemy has been jet lag; we lost a few afternoons to some hardcore napping. Other than that, however, we've been pretty darn lucky. Here are a few highlights: The most exciting thing that happened here was the show that we were treated to by the Aurora Borealis. Both Jodi and I had always wanted to see the Northern Lights, and Iceland is a good place to do so. I had my concerns about the weather, though, as it had been forecasted to not only be cloudy, but with a bright, full moon when the skies were clear. It was not an ideal setup. On the 28th, however, our German roommates from Kex Hostel rented a car and offered to take us out with them in search of the Lights. We were going to leave at around 11 that night, but at about 8 someone came ripping through the ha...

I've been distracted with things, so this week's post is a photos! The fiance and I camped in the Olympic National Forest this past weekend. It was beautiful, sunny and quiet, and just what we needed. So without further ado, here are some photographic highlights of the trip: This not-so little millipede had some striking yellow spots; I'd not seen one like it before.  These flowers were all over and very pretty. I'm pretty sure they're Trillium, but I could be wrong. If so, feel free to correct me in the comments! The Caddis hatch was on! What's camping without a good fire? The Peninsula was full of spiders sunning themselves, but this little fellow was the only one kind enough to hold still for a photo. See you next time!

So wow, it's been a while! I apologize for my absence, dear readers, but I will say that it has been for a good reason. I have been busy and sick and busy, but was able to land the most amazing catch of my life recently at Westport, WA. My girlfriend and I had decided to do a little getaway to the sleepy town at the edge of everything. I like to fish off the jetty there; it has a variety of fun and unusual fish like rockfish, ling-cod, surf-perch and greenling. In the days running up to our trip it was a little disheartening when the weather report said wind and rain for the whole weekend, and it was downright depressing when we got there and the forecast was correct. The wind was pretty intense, which made the rain rather unpleasant, but we had the hotel booked and were going to make the best of it. If you've never been to Westport, it is a small fishing town on the Washington coastline, right at the mouth of Greys Harbor. During the salmon season, Westport is a busy place, ...