What journey does a drop of water take from the mountains of western Montana to the Pacific Ocean? Hilary Hutcheson is a fly shop owner, fly fishing guide, and Patagonia ambassador from Columbia City, Montana, and took that journey to find out; along the way she produced a video to…

Sometimes called the modern Thoreau, Barry Lopez had a reporter’s insights and a naturalist’s focus on the relationships between humanity and the natural world. He was a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, but is perhaps best known for his non-fiction book on the fragile Arctic, Arctic Dreams (1986), which…

Fly fishing at its core is a simple sport. Rod, reel (and if using Tenkara not even a reel), line, leader and fly are all that are needed to begin. Throw in a couple more flies – even though Yvon Chouinard spent a year using only one fly, and a…

A few interesting news items from the business side of fly fishing. Tom Morgan Rodsmiths is opening a shop in Bozeman Montana. The new owners, who bought the company from Tom and Gerri Morgan before his death in June 2017, plan to continue the dedication to custom craftsmanship that Tom…

The New York Times has an article on how women are the fastest-growing demographic in fly fishing. And like most other things in our society the growth of women participating in fly fishing will be good for everyone. Manufacturers such as Orvis, Patagonia, and Simms have increased the promotion and…

Any experience, or set of experiences, in life will result in memories; hopefully more good than bad. But experience without an opportunity to learn from that experience means Travel, and most life experiences for that matter, result in memories – hopefully more good than bad. In addition, if we pay…

This spring has been slow in the South Puget Sound for finding Sea-Run Cutthroat (SRC) Trout. Even my nearby beach, which tends to be prolific on an outgoing tide, has been barren this year. The last three times I was there I caught nothing, with not even a hit. I…

The latest issue of the Big Sky Journal has an interview with Yvon Chouinard. The focus on the interview is on Tenkara fishing and finding simplicity in fly-fishing. Read any of what he’s written or said, and it always comes down to the guiding principle for Patagonia from Antoine de…

I came across a timely article in Conservation Hawks. Called “A Time to Act”, it was written by Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia), Craig Matthews (Blue Ribbon Flies), Tom Rosenbauer (Orvis), and Todd Tanner (Conservation Hawks). Conservation Hawks is a non-partisan group of hunters and fishers united by a desire to pass…

The fly fishing vest has been the garment that for decades marked someone as a fly fisher. Originally made of cotton canvas, the short-waisted vest with its many pockets was as distinctive as the fly rod and reel. Over time, the hot canvas vests gave way to lighter, cooler vests…