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
No Fish
We all know there is nothing better than wading into a stream as the crystal clear water ripples past us, carrying our flies down with it, in hopes that we may get a bite. Unfortunately, in today’s age, these crystal clear streams are becoming less common, with those in the upper Midwest struggling to hold on to their standard of health. The process of maintaining healthy, aquatic ecosystems is under-regulated, leading to devastating effects down stream from the input of excess nutrient pollutio
6/1/2016Alisha Saley
The Golden Rule
I had wondered why my boyfriend’s closet contained more fishing rods than my brain could fathom and what the dozens of fuzzy, hairy things on hooks, strewn all over the desk in the corner of his living room, might be. I knew well, after dating Bill for a few months, that he was an outdoor enthusiast, judging by all the gadgets and gear randomly located around his home. I knew little to nothing about fly fishing, float fishing, hunting, tracking, game calls, fly tying, stocking schedules, etc.,
6/1/2016Jennel Swenson
Get The Net
A cloud of fine dust billowed up behind my Subie, leaving a hazy trail behind me as I bounced down the dirt road leading to Tom’s house. From his neighbor’s yard, a longhorn steer threw me a half-interested glance as I pulled up the drive. It was a bright morning in May, and I was on my way to build a landing net with the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers, my local fly fishing club. I was a little nervous; partly because the club is comprised mostly of retirement-age men (and I’m a 30-something woma
6/1/2016Jami Witherspoon
Spey Casting is Sexy
Growing up as a kid, I have fond memories of catching fish using a twig pole, a piece of monofilament line and a worm. Playing on the shoreline and watching the wiggle of a fish, got me excited and kept me going back to rivers as a kid. Years later, I was living in Alaska and one day at a garage sale in Anchorage I found a Shakespeare single-hand fly rod with a Fenwick reel for $50.00. What a steal! There was a lot to learn about a fly-rod; the difference in lines, how to cast, how to tie on
6/1/2016Mia Sheppard
Challenge Yourself
Growing up in the United Kingdom, I first started fly fishing when I was about 10 years old. Having been taught the basics by my Grandads and my Dad, I was absolutely mad keen to go fly fishing. Some of my fondest memories of fly fishing, especially whilst learning, come from staying with my Grandparents in Lockerbie, Scotland. My passion for fly fishing grew each year during our annual three week visits. Fishing on a variety of local lakes, rivers and streams: I just fell in love with the spor
6/1/2016Lisa Isles
Something Special
There’s just something special about standing knee deep in a river in the early morning hours; suited up in waders, boots, pack on your hip, net on your back and fly rod in your hand, watching the mist slowly come off the river as the early morning sun filters through the trees overhead. Catching fish isn’t the only reason I love fly fishing. I am also drawn to the amazing, wise and inspiring people that you meet along the way; whether that person is a legendary angler, an eager, excited child
6/1/2016Alleigh Raymond
New York, New York
Things I learned while visiting a women's fly fishing clinic in new york. Every fly fishing clinic should start out with food and wine.
4/1/2016Nome Buckman
100 Years
Whether you’ve realized it or not, fly fishing is definitely an athletic sport. No, it’s not a bruising contact sport, (unless you’re fighting sharks, tarpon or bill fish) but we all need to accept that it is not necessarily 100% A River Runs Through It or completely safe from injuries. In fact, statistics show that fly fishing is 100 times more dangerous than golf, and equally as dangerous as mountain climbing or hunting. The adventure factor of our sport is one of the tantalizing things th
4/1/2016Wanda Taylor
Bambeau
Gin clear, slow moving, spring creek water. Birds singing in the background. I am casting, squatted down far from the bank so as not to scare the spooky fish. I can barely see the spot where I know there’s gotta be a fish. False cast a few times to get enough line out to hit my target. My #10 black leech lands spot on. I am mixing it up - slow retrieve, long pause, fast retrieve, pause – a subtle pull back, I set the hook. Darn, missed the fish! Cast again – hit my target - mix up the re
4/1/2016Mary Ann Dozer
Lahontan Trout
From the time I was a little girl, I was always different. While other parents were successfully dressing their daughters for school in adorable ruffles and smocked dresses, my parents were wrestling me out of Dad’s fishing waders and rubber boots just long enough to go to school. I was a girl acting in a uniquely creative, vehemently independent, and bracingly inquisitive manner. I regularly challenged my parents as I wandered the creeks behind our home in search of exciting adventures and n
4/1/2016Lanie Galland
The Last Frontier
There are countless reasons of why I love fly fishing. It allows you to meet amazing people, and go to amazing places to see Mother Nature do her finest work. It’s a hobby that opens so many doors for those who are truly passionate about it. Just through posting fishing pictures on social media, I have made new connections to people who share my love of the sport. Some of these people I can meet with in person, and some live on the other side of the country. Some are now my closest friends who
4/1/2016Tessa Shetter
The Golden West
When I left France to come to America after the second World War, my friends from school predicted that I would marry “The King of Chewing Gum.” The man I married many years later wanted to work at a service station that had a sign “Gone Fishing” and that’s how I found fly fishing and a whole new life. Our circle of friends were all men; avid fly fishers with just a couple women who went along with their husbands and enjoyed this new sport. A friend and I decided to start a “Women Fly Fishing”
4/1/2016Fannie Krieger