The Smallmouth
A close-up with a yellow streamer still in its jaw, caught by an angler who clearly can't stop grinning.
Tag: halcyon
Family Affair
A daughter teaches her parents to cast on a Montana creek, and the fish count turns out to be beside the point.
Guided
Years of strikeouts can turn into a lifetime friendship once you finally book that guide trip.
Trophies
Long before fly rods and winter steelhead, this was a different kind of trophy chasing: two kids, bare feet, and a lake that never let them down.
My Journey
A broken relationship, a snowed-in cabin, and a first cast in North Carolina turned into a life rebuilt entirely around fly fishing.
Rejects
Why the ugliest flies in your box, the ones you can't bring yourself to tie on, might be the ones steelhead actually want.
Thread Sizes
A jumble of spools and bobbins hides a simple logic once you know what denier and aught actually mean.
The Stripping Guard
Stacked bracelets, purple nails, and a strip of athletic tape on the finger that does all the work holding the line.
The Bodkin
It is the humble needle every fly tier swears by, and borrows, for everything from head cement to neighbor control.
Punta Gorda, Belize
Clear water, few crowds, and a shot at a grand slam—here's why Punta Gorda, Belize belongs on your list.
The Fly Reel
Click-pawl or sealed drag, large arbor or small, which hand turns the handle: the fly reel choices that actually matter.
Martinez Martini
A sweeter, older cousin of the martini, built with vermouth, Luxardo, and a couple drops of bitters after a long day out.