Now that’s a storm. Somewhere west of Mt. Vernon, South Dakota with an approaching supercell. Having moved from the Upper Great Lakes region to the Pacific Northwest, I’ve had to adjust my expectations of what the word “storm” actually means. For example, right now, we are experiencing a series of “storms” here in the Portland [...]

Other than the fact that I’m taller now, and rarely wear green pants, there isn’t much difference between this shot from 1975 and some I took recently. This is from the first year that father did fly-fishing schools on the Vermejo Ranch property in northern New Mexico. GB was a newly-minted director in the then [...]

Small streams usually don’t force much in terms of wading, aren’t typically the realm of long casts and, with their shallower waters, can be dry-fly heaven. However, just because a stream is small doesn’t mean that it can’t also have secrets. Perhaps the biggest small-stream secrets are undercuts, those dark places where water carves at [...]

More sad news in the fly-fishing world: Dick Talleur has died. I just received an email from Marla Blair, with the following included from Dick’s sister-in-law: It is with great sadness that I must tell you that Dick Talleur died … February 18, 2011, after a brief illness, at the age of 79. Dick suffered [...]

Got word from GB yesterday that Sylvester Nemes died earlier this month. GB knew Sylvester for many years, and I always enjoyed seeing and talking with Sylvester at shows and other gatherings. The Bozeman Chronicle has a short note on his passing here. Since Sylvester was a champion of the soft-hackle fly, I think that a [...]

I’ve met a fair share of anglers confined to a wheelchair for various reasons, and getting someone out on the river (really out on the river) when they have limited mobility can be a challenge. Well, the guys at Adipose Boatworks came up with an elegant solution . What a smart way to get people [...]

So I got an email complimenting the current art posts, but asking if I was going to do some more purely “how-to” posts soon. How about today? This is from an old article that I did in “Fly Fish America” magazine: – – – – – – – – – - As a kid I [...]

This showed up the other day, a long-lost promotional photo of my father that was sent to me via my friends at The Fly Shop. The pic is still in great shape, and looks pretty much exactly as it would have when it was sent out in the 1980s. That makes GB is this shot [...]

Got word this morning that A River Runs Through It cast member Arnold Richardson died earlier this month. Arnold played “old Norman” in the film, and his gentle casting stroke, trembling hands and old-school knot tying lent a sense of vulnerability and longing to his character. The Helena Independent Record has a very nice and [...]

Here are a few stories excerpted from the end of Chapter Three in Fishing the Film. To put them in context, these follow GB’s discussion of the Dry and Dropper tactic. I have few other dropper-fly stories of my own, and they may appear in another book. Hope you find these enjoyable (and perhaps even [...]

A nice post by my friends at MidCurrent (includng a link to the Writer’s Almanac) listing a few of the fly fishers who left us in 2010. I have some personal additions to that list, and I’m sure FF&W readers likely do, as well. A toast here then, at year’s end, to all of those [...]

One of the reasons I love to fish is water—the sound, the feel, the smell, the sight of it. Indeed, there are days when fishing is slow and I find myself just watching the water, rod behind my back, hoping perhaps for a rise, but simply enjoying the flow as it fills my senses. But [...]

Adding to the review of The Lost World of Mr. Hardy from yesterday, here’s a little old-school remembrance that I wrote for a Japanese magazine some years ago… – – – – – – – – – - My first great reel was a Hardy Princess, given to me on my thirteenth birthday in anticipation [...]

Just heard from Bob White that Tom Helgeson has died. For those FF&W readers who didn’t know Tom, he was the creator and editor of Midwest Fly Fishing magazine (GB is a columnist), as well as the man behind the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo (both GB and I have worked that show regularly). I’ll try [...]