High-end Father’s Day Gifts and Other Top Stories from Fishing on SI

These 3 stories captured our Sports Illustrated fishing reader’s attention on Fishing on SI this past week.

High-end Father’s Day Gifts for the Fly Angler Who Deserves the Best; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; The Big Guns: How One Family's Crappie Obsession Evolved Into the South's Most Deadly Trolling System | Ken Baldwin | Jasper Taback | Kurt Mazurek

In case they slipped by you, following are the most read fishing stories of the week. High-end Father’s Day Gifts for the Fly Angler Who Deserves the Best; Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico; The Big Guns: How One Family's Crappie Obsession Evolved Into the South's Most Deadly Trolling System.

1.) High-end Father’s Day Gifts for the Fly Angler Who Deserves the Best

My Van Staal VR75. The more I beat it up, the better it looks. Earned scars. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

Sometimes Dad deserves more than the usual Father’s Day gift. He's earned something that says, “You’re the best, and I’m grateful for all you do.” These types of gifts come with a higher price tag because they are the best at what they do — which makes them a fitting choice for the dad who has always been there.

A survival kit is not the kind of Father’s Day gift most dads expect to receive, but for a dad who values being prepared and taking care of his family, it may be one of the most thoughtful gifts on this list…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

2.) Where to Fly Fish for Wild Trout in New Mexico

Trout fishing in New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains. | photo by Jasper Taback

The 70-mile drive from Santa Fe Regional Airport to Taos cuts through high-desert valleys – open expanses of sagebrush and junipers framed by 13,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east. 

I've been wanting to get to Taos for a long time, but this trip was different from what I expected. I always imagined the drive with snow on the mountaintops – sometime in January or February, on my way up to high elevation to ski.

But it's June, and I was headed there for trout…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

3.) The Big Guns: How One Family's Crappie Obsession Evolved Into the South's Most Deadly Trolling System

A crappie goes airborne as Les Smith hoists a 20-foot rod clear of its holder — no reeling required. The second lure on the rig swings free in the air above it. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

I’ve been around all kinds of fishing, all over the country, but I had never seen a fishing system quite like this. What looked from a distance like a giant floating porcupine, turned out to be Les Smith’s big center console Skeeter. It was loaded with rods, some up to 20 feet long, pointing out in every direction. I quickly learned that what appeared to be chaos was in fact a highly refined system that’s been hammering big Mississippi crappies for decades.

An array of rod holders on the bow hold eight, extra-long rods, affectionately referred to as the “big guns,” fanned out around the nose of the boat like the whiskers of a catfish, rod tips hovering inches above the water. Each line is rigged with two proven crappie-catching lures and lowered to a precise depth. A pair of anglers sit side by side in custom-fitted chairs, watching those tips for twitches often imperceptible to the rest of us…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.