As a traditional longbow is to a high-tech compound, or a 6-string acoustic Dudenbostel guitar is to a 12-string electric Rickenbacker, so too is a fine bamboo fly rod when compared to one made of graphite or glass. Likewise, just as proper string selection is critical to the performance of a vintage bow or a …...

As the body holds the spirit and the spirit holds the soul, so too the sea holds blessings that are bestowed in only the most enthralling of moments. I went there alone on that cold late-summer day—or at least as alone as I can be when I’m some place solo with a good fly rod. …...

In the mornings I would awaken in my tent, surrounded by the warm glow of Alaska softly seeping in through its walls, then get dressed and gather my meager gear for the day ahead, slip into my waders and make my way with Leota down the trail through the willows and cottonwoods to breakfast and …...

Roderick Haig-Brown is one of fly fishing literature’s touchstone figures, and his work has become requisite reading for those who wish to partake of the pure essence of the artform. For decades I have been particularly drawn to his book “FISHERMAN’S WINTER” — the narrative of his pioneering 1951 odyssey that took him and his...

IF MY FIRST TROUT is merely an imagined dream, then the first trout I actually remember is still as fresh as it was when the leader finally broke and the fish fell out of my small world and back into its own. You’d think it would have been Dad who was there with me that …...

A man is never too young to become an old trout fisherman. His name is Gabriel Matthew, and he has not yet turned five. But he’s been a bona fide trout fisherman for the past 91 years. There was simply no choice. He had to be. For he’s the son and grandson of the two …...

“So, uh, Mike . . . are you ready to try a mouse?” To the best of my memory, this was the first time in my entire life I had ever been asked that question. “Absolutely!” I responded, without hesitation, as Matthew reached into his vest and pulled out one of his perfectly organized fly …...

He stood cold in the gathering dawn, peering deep into the chilled flowing water. A sudden shiver ran through him, partly from the fresh winter wind and partly from the thrill he felt every time he came back to this secluded little stream. He had looked forward to this day for so long; indeed, the …...

“I wanted to believe it, just as I wanted to hurry, to finally find the truth for myself. But even more, I wanted to fish . . . ” It tumbles off the east face of Big Back Mountain, leaping and flowing down its rocky course as it has for eons. Dad and I had …...

“ . . . in the dimming shadows it wasn’t until he was actually in the net that I could see he was a rainbow.” You can always follow water, whether it still runs free or is merely a latent image left behind in some dry, desert place. From trickles to brooks to streams to …...