Fishing Junk Water
What started as the sketchiest junk lake turned into something much harder to leave behind
3/20/2026Michelle Jarvie
DO
Snowshoeing: Proof You Can Love Winter
A funny, honest take on snowshoeing for the “real you” not the expedition you. Learn what you actually need, how to pick the right size and bindings, and why walking-speed winter can be the season you start to love.
3/2/2026Dun Team
Winter Hiking Safety for Normal People (Not Expedition Athletes)
Winter hiking doesn’t have to be extreme to be safe and fun. This guide gives you a simple system—how to pick the right trail, dress in layers, pack a small safety kit, and know when to turn around—so you can enjoy cold-weather miles with confidence, not stress.
2/3/2026Dun Team
Gradual Untangling
Fly Tying? You want me to tie a fly? No way. I can’t even darn socks. I knew I had enrolled in a fly fishing school, but I never thought about the fly tying aspect that would accompany my studies. School started and there I was, my instructor persuading me to give it a try. Reluctantly I went to the tying area. With a heavy heart, I tried my hand at tying my first fly, and managed to make a large and splendid bug. That disheveled fly went on to startle many fish, but one showed interest; all was
7/20/2018Mari Kitagawa
Latest
My Journey
In 2012, I was going through a very tumultuous time in my life. I had just gotten the job of my dreams; becoming a Park Ranger. With it, came the responsibility of moving to the park. Not only did I have to leave the home I had lived in for the previous decade, but I was now far away from friends and family, and suddenly dealing with relationship stress and indifference from my boyfriend of nearly10 years. When I moved to the park, that relationship ended: and so a new chapter in my life beg
12/1/2016Nicky Diaz
Returning to Home Waters
What is the definition of home waters? Is it the water where you have spent the most time creating memories or is it the place where your heart and soul are most fully engaged? Is it possible to have more than one home water? How about in very different geographical areas? Do the people, as well as the landscape, make up the ingredients of home waters or is it the species of fish that live there? Possibly each and every one of us has a very different reason why we call certain waters home
10/1/2016Nome Buckman
Giggling
The summer came to an abrupt halt as my three daughters loaded their backpacks and marched off into the first day of the school year. As they began 6th, 3rd and 2nd grades, I reflected on the giggles, questions, snuggles and smiles of these rambunctious girls. Our family owns and runs SaraBella Fishing. We build fly fishing rods, especially for women and girls. We believe that women are smart and beautiful, from the inside out. We started this company to build excellent equipment that is art
10/1/2016April Archer
Fish the Cut
The call went something like this: “Mountain High Fly, this is Sara.” “Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Bub, the rep in your area for______.” “Hi there, Bub.” “So I hear you have a new fly shop.” “Why yes, I do.” [How astute] “So you’ve owned a fly shop before?” “No.” “So then you must have been a guide…?” “Nope.” “…Well whatever possessed you to want to open a fly shop?” “We needed one. Anything else?” Bub didn’t really have anything else except a now defunct sales pitch falling on deaf ears. I thought t
10/1/2016Sara Cahn
2 Large Salmon
We had completed our first and second day of fishing for the wild Atlantic salmon on the majestic Grand Cascapedia River and I was skunked. Peter, my husband and fishing partner for this trip, had landed a 15 pounder on a Bomber and lost a large one on a wet fly on day two. Angling can be more challenging in August especially if the water levels are at rock bottom and warm. The salmon seek deeper and cooler waters. I ended both days thinking the scenery was spectacular and most people would
10/1/2016Sylvie Malo Clark
Hot Bass Flies
So you’ve decided to target largemouth bass. As with any kind of fly fishing, there are loads of options as to which flies to pick. This article will help make that selection a little bit easier with these five top flies for bass. Two things to consider; are you are fishing lily pads or more open water? If you are fishing lily pads you will want to go surface and weedless, if you are fishing more open water, subsurface flies seem to work best. FROGS: Weedless frogs drive bass crazy! You wil
10/1/2016Megan Berns
On Holiday
There’s something about fly-fishing trips in remote places; the whole journey there, when you realize that 99% of everyone else on the plane is from that country and are either going home or to work. Being surrounded by Norwegian people, I had absolutely no idea what was being said, but knowing they are seriously kind and generous people, a polite smile and acknowledgment of acceptance in their country was all I needed to feel safe. My first trip to Norway was 4 years ago. The main purpose of
8/1/2016Lisa Isles
Where The Dinosaurs Roam
I opened the door of the Suburban and swung out my legs. The thud of my wading boots on the packed, dry earth startled me back to attention. I’d been hypnotized for the last hour, sitting in the back seat and staring out the window, while the truck was slowly maneuvered across the roadless ranchland. It was the view. That view! It was magnificent. Mesmerizing. The air was so clear and unpolluted that the sky was Technicolor blue. Was that actually real? It could have been a movie set.
8/1/2016Liz Ogilvie
Escape Route
There are many ways that my life revolves around fishing … beginning with my morning routine. I have two different alarms and my favourite alarm, surprisingly, is the earlier one, because it’s my fishing alarm! I like to get up and at ‘em and bolt through the front door. I habitually check social media on my way to work, particularly to reply to any comments or messages I have received overnight and to scroll through Instagram for a minute or two to get me pumped up for the day – And yes, I fo
8/1/2016Marina Gibson
The Smallest Decision
I sat anxiously until I heard the unmistakable beep of the seat belt sign clicking off. Immediately, I jumped up and snagged my rod case out of the overhead bin. I clutched the case and breathed a sigh of relief, (my eternal fear is that I will forget my fly rod on an airplane). I walked off the plane, breezed through customs, grabbed my white duffel bag, (breathed another sigh of relief knowing my luggage made it) and then walked outside. I was greeted by the intense sunlight, hair-frizzing
8/1/2016Gracie Baldwin
Me, My Baby Bump and Our Fly Fishing Life
My daily life has been all about fly fishing for a while. My dreams, my plans and my energy have all consisted of fly fishing. Happiness has come from every single cast and the rivers have been the road I walk. I have seen, felt and heard just for myself. But when the colors of autumn were behind and the whiteness of winter was landing on the rivers, one season of my life was getting to the end. Since that moment, everything in my world has been different. I am not living only for myself
8/1/2016Veera Viitanen
Spectacular Places
My father always says a large part of his love for fly fishing derives from its ability to bring you to spectacular places that otherwise you may never see. An avid recreational fly fisherman, he has been introducing me to places over the last few years. Although not instantly enamored by the fishing part, I continued to go on the trips because I love to travel and spend time with my family. It wasn’t the idea of fly fishing for bonefish and tarpon that convinced me to go to Cuba; truthfully th
8/1/2016Hannah Kiesler