Above The Falls
by John Beaton
Part I: in the "Tight Lines" poetry series.

Rockslides. Fields of boulders. Criss-cross deadfall —
Snow-covered logs I tightrope-walk to gain
the river’s upper reaches. Here the headwall
will shield the sun by one o'clock. I strain
 
my eyes to see. The water’s low and clear —
No rain or glacial melt — and soon I spot
some blue-grey apparitions in the glare,
forty or fifty summer-runs. They’ve fought
 
their way to wild December headwater pools
in this high valley where there are no bears,
just herds of elk, cougar, and packs of wolves,
for there are no salmon here — the river's stairs
 
have waterfalls too tall for them to leap —
and the steelhead, bred to hurdle those cascades,
have learned to swim too far, to lie too deep
for sated bears from salmonberry glades.
 
The valley-fog has thinned — the mountain-tops
now float above the mist in sunlit snow;
and here the snow is churned — an elk herd sleeps
on this part of the floodplain, bull by cow
 
and calf. And though the wolves and cougars live
by feasting on their flesh, enough are left
to let this herd of Roosevelt elk survive.
I swing my fly across a broken drift
 
to spark a swirl of silver. Spectral backs
appear, ephemeral against the pebbles,
then slide into the seam between the slack’s
upswellings and the inflow’s stream of bubbles.
 
The light-shafts from the ridge give one last flare —
As shadow falls it seems the ghosts have run
the headwall cataract to disappear
beyond all fang and barb with the winter sun.
 

Tying Tips, featured »

[4 Aug 2010 | 5 Comments | ]
Tying Tips: Streamside Fly Tying Vise

This week’s typing tip is in response to a question by Hatches reader, Nick S. from Boise, ID. Nick wanted to know if we had any suggestions for a small, lightweight fly tying vise to use streamside, or on backcountry fly-in/ hike-in fly fishing trips.

Book Reviews & Excerpts, featured »

[2 Aug 2010 | 2 Comments | ]
Book Review: Trout Stream Insects by Dick Pobst

GLOBE PEQUOT ( THE LYONS PRESS, FALCON), November 1997
Binding Type: Hardcover
Retail Price: $16.95 at the Hatches Store
ISBN: 1-55821-067-9
“The trout’s biggest advantage is selectivity, and we can counteract it only by knowing the insects that make up his diet.  This is the reason for the study of stream entomology by the angler, and it is often the weak link in his skill.”
-Ernest Schwiebert
Trout Stream Insects: An Orvis Streamside Guide is by no means a new book.  However, since it was first published in 1990, it has successfully been introducing novice …

Product Spotlight, featured »

[26 Jul 2010 | No Comment | ]
Product Spotlight: Petitjean TT Bobbin

Called the “bobbin of bobbins,” Marc Petitjean’s “Thread Through Bobbin,” aims to solve a few classic design limitations of standard bobbins.

Articles, featured »

[21 Jul 2010 | No Comment | ]
Spring Olives by Russ Forney

Sand Creek is a pretty little piece of trout water that harbors some very fussy fish. Clear water in a small creek demands a quiet approach; casting from the bank is a good strategy when fishing small flies to springtime trout. Photo by Russ Forney
Springtime in Wyoming can be pretty elusive. Just when the first flush of prairie wildflowers sweetens the air, the next storm buries them under a foot of snow. Somewhere between the first Meadowlark and the last new calf, winter finally begins to relax its icy grip. …

Tying Tips, Videos, featured »

[16 Jul 2010 | 3 Comments | ]
Tying Tips: Working with Rubber Legs

With rubber legs showing up in more and more fly patterns, one common problem fly tier’s are facing is that they get in the way when tying a whip finish knot. In this week’s Tying Tips, Hatches Magazine staff member Alex Cerveniak shares three quick and easy ways to keep those rubber legs out of the way.



Hatches is an annual publication with a strong devotion to professional writing, beautiful photography and informative articles pertaining to both the artistic and practical aspects of fly tying. Each issue features 13 featured articles that span a massive 96 pages.

Fall 2010

Price: $6.95
Click Here
For More Info

Fall 2009

Price: $6.95
Click Here
For More Info

Fall 2008

Price: $6.95
Click Here
For More Info

Fall 2007

Sold Out. No longer available
Price: $6.95

What Our Readers Are Saying

I agree with the feedback you have received about Hatches. This is by far the best magazine I have seen that shares the wealth of knowledge without the additional 30 pages of vendor advertisements. I understand they are needed revenue but it is refreshing to see the quality of your articles etc. without having to thumb through all of the ads. I also take three other periodicals that are OK but no where nearly as good as Hatches. I wish you continued success and would like the opportunity to have 3 year subscriptions some time. Thanks again for all of your hard work and excellent presentation in Hatches. Best of luck, I wish you a long life and can\'t wait until you are recognized as the number one periodical presenting fly fishing knowledge.

I received my issue of Hatches this weekend and I have not been able to put it down. I have subscribed to many fly fishing and fly tying mags before. Yours is the first that I have seen that I can get some use out of. Nearly every article is something that pertains to me and I need all the help I can get. I don\'t know how you can keep this up but I will be watching for my next issue. Thank for all the hard work the staff has done. Very well done. Thank you.