Author: Jerry Kustich
GHOSTS OF STEELHEAD PAST.
Caught on the Bulkley River, British Columbia By Jerry Kustich In the mid 1980s I noticed a photo hanging on the office wall of our local country doctor and avid steelhead angler Bruce Beithon while he treated a fishing related injury to my hand. The fish in the picture was a 40” steelhead taken from …...
ARCTIC FLOWER
I don’t know why I fish, let alone why I fish so much. Some may even think my passion is a bit misguided, a pathological addiction that serves no purpose save for the fitful avoidance of life’s many trials and tribulations. But after years of self-evaluation, I prefer to believe there is more to my …...
Joe Brooks
In the early 1970s I bought a book from the Outdoor Life Book Club entitled Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks. Joe was the editor of Outdoor Life magazine then but was widely known for his fly fishing expertise and his passion for chasing trout, salmon, and even saltwater fish on a fly around the world. …...
ON BEING JOHN GIERACH
2024 was a solemn year for mourning the loss of several notable fly fishing personalities. Casting a pall of sadness over the entire fly rod community, the memory of Cathy Beck, Lani Waller, Doug Swisher, and Bob Popovics will live on in the hearts of all who knew them. In a way, they represent the …...
“Riverbank Memories” – A Book Review
In the past I used to have a bucket list of places around the country that I still wanted to fish. That bucket grew into fifty-five gallon drum when adding desirable destinations from around the world to cast for exotic species one could only dream about. Unfortunately, however, time and circumstances have gotten the best …...
Mediocre Fishing
After passing the ‘75 years of life’ milestone a few years back I started to question some of the old clichés like “you are only as old as you feel” or “age is just a number” as I hobbled through summer on a mysteriously swollen foot making me wonder if or when I’ll ever be …...
THE CEMENT DOCK
In the 1950s my cousin Paul and I hung around together. Since we were about the same age and he lived next door, we spent much of our youth exploring the woods and making tree forts, wandering the fields and watching birds, or walking the shore of the Niagara River and fishing at the end …...
BONEFISH THERAPY
The fly fishing community mourns the sudden passing of legendary angler Cathy Beck on a recent trip to Argentina in February, 2024. Along with her husband, Barry, they traveled the world hosting fly fishing get-aways while chasing angling adventures together for over three decades. Barry’s photographs have adorned the pages of numerous...
LAST CAST
It was difficult to comprehend that four years had passed since my last visit to Montana, but the surreal time warp caused by COVID eroded those years more quickly than it would seem possible. And when there aren’t many years left in one’s life, that time lost in suspended animation was significant. My friend Norm …...
TROUT BUM
It goes without saying that 2020 was a terrible year on so many levels. Between the national health crisis and numerous natural disasters plaguing large swathes of the country from coast to coast, it was difficult to remain upbeat. Dealing with the angst of canceling three planned fishing trips during the year in no way …...
