 | The Wind In The Trees
by Len HarrisIt was late September. I was 5 years old. I remember the day vividly. It was the day I became a trout angler. I had gone with dad many times before that year. All of the other times were TRAINING.....This is what he called it... Training entailed many things. ... read more |
 | First Cast
by Michael Hanvey
Large callused hands retrieved a faded olive fishing vest from its corner hook in the dusty log cabin. He smelled the river from the day before and remembered the Texas winds through the funnels of the red stoned hills. Matt had thirty minutes before first light b ... read more |
 | Y2K
By John Berry
I am not writing about the overly-hyped computer crisis of a few years back, but the fly. The is a bead-head egg pattern made with orange and yellow yarn that is trimmed into a conical shape. It can be quite productive. A large part of its effectiveness may be due to its ... read more |
 | River's Reach
by Vernon Berry
It was hard to hear through the pounding in his ears.
His heart raced with the sound of his boots hitting the ground. Hard rain covered the sound, or it would, initially. The sentry hadn’t heard him yet. The heavy blade in his fist was pointed up for the one and ... read more |
 | All in a Week's Work
All in a Week’s Workby Joseph Meyer
Bringing in new customers is the lifeblood of a struggling fly shop. Retailers count them as "found" money. We especially like the folks new to fly-fishing; they need more stuff as they haven’t spent a couple of years hiding fly shop receipts from the ... read more |
 | My First Look
by Randall Thorpe
As I neared the river, I could hear it.
The constant river noise told me that my early morning walk from our farm down the mountainside was almost over. I had tried to time it so that I would hit the river just after daybreak. I had walked down this wooded hil ... read more |
 | Picking Flowers
By Breck Miller, a.k.a. "Deeky"
This was going to be a great day! I was out with some new flies on new water looking for the ever (not so) elusive pan fish. Bluegills are always a blast. Throw in the occasional bonus crappie this time of year and you are set to make ... read more |
 | Lube Your Reel, Not Your Ferrules
by Breck Miller
I am one of those who grew up fishing with my dad and/or my grandparents on the weekends. Yes, yes, I was a bait fisherman - but a fisherman, nonetheless. I grew up in southeastern South Dakota, and it was not at all uncommon ... read more |
 | The Symphony
Dawn consumes the darkness of the lingering night.
The wilderness theatre reveals a green backdrop defining the edges of the stage, while towering cliffs of gray rock reflect the sun’s rays downward onto the river. While the unceasing symphony was composed in the past, the lone angler pauses ... read more |
 | A Slump
by Scott Burrell
“Never ever catch another trout?” I grumbled. Over the preceding five days, five rivers in three states dealt me a shutout. "Horse collar", I think, Norman McLean called it. I was in a slump like this once before. Northern Michigan browns refus ... read more |
 | August 25, 1971
by Brian AhernHeaded up a trout stream about eight last night,The place where we stopped was really quite a sight.Just above a diversion dam by a quiet pool,Where the Cutthroat congregate in a little school.The fish were swiftly rising to a little fly,Looking in my fly box pond ... read more |
 | Why Aren't The Fish Biting, Dad?
by Jim Browning
It was a beautiful summer morning as I crawled out of my sleeping bag. I had been waiting a long time to take a week-long camping trip with my two sons, ten and seven years old at the time. It was a bright, clear sunshiny morning. The boys ... read more |
 | The Pool
by John Torchick
It had been many seasons since life started for the large trout that lived in the deep pool. Home territory was at the base of the series of shoals known locally as Simpson’s Falls. The trout had hatched less than a quarter mile upstream. Heavy rain ... read more |
 | Wild Animals
by Rick Griffith
On my way home from work yesterday I had the chance to stop by a little creek I have only fished once. I wished I had either my still or video camera with me to capture what I had never witnessed before -- the mating process of our Steelhead species.
I ... read more |
 | Deadly Waters
by Mark LaRoi
We’ve had invaders… Asian Carp, the Zebra Mussel, New Zealand Mud Snail and the Round Goby have impacted our fisheries greatly. Fish populations have fluctuated wildly because of changes in water quality, predation upon eggs and free swimming fish, being out-compet ... read more |
 | Roots In Sand
Roots in Sandby Sean Murphy
I’m not what you would call old, but sometimes I feel it.
Today is one of those days, when memories come readily to the mind’s surface as the cold, rainy wind blows, tracing the outlines of broken bones, each one a memory. Some carry funny stories; some, no ... read more |
 | True Love and the Wooly Bugger
Dave Ames
1979.Ayatollah Khomeini seized American hostages in Iran. Three Mile Island nearly lit up the eastern seaboard. On a warm day in May, I met the Rainbow People.
I remember it well. I had recently moved to Montana, and stream season had just opened. It ... read more |
 | The Case For Local Waters
The Case for Local WatersBy Joseph Cornwall
Amazing beauty is there for the taking - if only you’ll spend the time to find it and protect it. This photograph was taken just 30 miles from downtown Cincinnati on a creek few folks fish!
"Fishing is a delusion entirely surrounded by liars in ... read more |
 | Out My Back Door
Brian Ahern, Helena, Montana
The morning of September 18, 2003, dawned cool and overcast, with an abundance of fresh air. A real treat following the summer heat and a month-and-a-half of thick, choking smoke. My nephew Dennis, from Richland, WA, had graced us with his presen ... read more |
 | A Woman's Perspective
by Sarah Haning
When people find out that I like to fly fish and tie flies they are always surprised and I would also say very curious. The most common question is, “How did you ever get interested in fly-fishing?” Maybe the fact that I am a female increases their interest as ... read more |
 | Through The Eyes Of A New Tyer
by Samuel Fava
It was the middle of August 2005 and I was on vacation with my family in the mountains of New York. One night during a lull I wanted to find something to do and I stumbled upon my brother's long forgotten fly-tying kit. It contained Jack Dennis’ vid ... read more |
 | First Fish
by Fred Taber
Since this is the first "official" article that I have been contracted to write, I thought it only fitting to make it about the first "official" species of fish that I actually caught. I guess it would technically be the second if you wanted to count the creek chubs I used t ... read more |
 | A New Perspective on Warmwater
I don't consider myself a purist or coldwater snob by any stretch of the imagination but for some reason, I've never really given much thought to chasing warm-water species with the long rod 'til recently.That isn't to say I don't fish for warm-water species- actually, quite the contrary. I s ... read more |
 | Satisfaction
SATISFACTIONby Mark DysingerRemarkable, I thought. Who would have guessed that such a place could exist so close to one of the most populated areas of the East Coast? The view before me was extraordinary, and it played upon my mind not just as a fisherman, but as a human being.&nb ... read more |
