It was my first season in Alaska, and I was one of several new fishing guides that had gathered around the bonfire to unwind, review the day, and listen to Rusty. The old guide was the consummate bush rat, and had forgotten more about living and working in the North Country than many of us would ever learn. His flaming red hair stuck out from under his hat at odd angles, and he had a wild beard to match. Like a good parent, he encouraged us when we did well, …

A deceptive calm fills the air. The river gurgles. A light breeze whispers like a witch’s spell, enticing the angler to take a nap at the water’s edge. But even as he dozes off, he senses that something isn’t quite right. A sixth sense has his subconscious on guard. He glances uneasily over his shoulder one last time and lapses into slumber.
As he rests, a sinister fog creeps through the forest, strangling the air from the midday breeze. Birds and insects that happily sang only moments before fall strangely silent. …

My mind leafed through the pages of a crumbling paperback to drawings made by a master with whom I was barely familiar. “This must be a Quill Gordon,” I said. “No, I think it’s a Hendrickson.”
I remember the day as if it were yesterday because it was my birthday and that Hendrickson was one of the best gifts I ever received. I’ve now spent 20-some years fishing this hatch. Twenty-some years of wrapping feathers on hooks. Twenty-some years of casting the same flies into the same pools. Twenty-some years of …

Of all the species I fish for, saltwater and fresh, pike are my favorite. They excite me. They intimidate me. They’re primitive-looking, Jurassic in appearance and nature. Their appetites are enormous. Their strikes are savage. My hands shake with adrenaline when I release them.
Predatory fish — especially those better measured in feet than in inches — require big flies. Not only must a pike fly be big, it must also be durable and have good movement in the water. Rabbit strips combine those attributes just about perfectly.
After experiencing some success …

Fly tying is like a journey; you can go as far as you wish or make as much of it as time and inclination
permit. In other words, you can stop at the gas station in Tyingtown, U.S.A., and continue on your trip, or you can stay a while and learn about the area by visiting the local museum, library or Chamber of Commerce. In either case, you can say you’ve been to Tyingtown; whether you learn much about the community is up to you.
Fly tying is a discipline that allows …