This little post is in honor of Sage (seen above, peering over my shoulder with his well-practiced—and very effective—”sad eyes look”). He passed away over the weekend. Sage was the beloved dog of a very close friend in Montana, and he has appeared before on this blog as part of various angling adventures. Sage, in all of [...]

A well-worn Christmas greeting, but since I’m a bit laid-up at the moment I had to dig into the archives for something pre-made. And in case you are wondering, yes, the above fish-size ratio still applied in 2011 (and yes, I still hold out hope to alter it in my favor in 2012).

Merry Christmas Eve from FF&W. “Christmas Spey” from last year’s DF52 project.

For fly-fishing veterans on this day: a red, white and blue ‘bow. One of my recent black and white photos of a Tennessee rainbow, tinted in Photoshop using red, white and blue “paint” (with some gold for the fin). Just a way to acknowledge sacrifice and to say “thanks.”

Want to change-up your holiday fly-fishing gift-giving this year? Do the fly fishers you know seem to have everything they need/want already? Then it appears that you’re in luck, since the Eclectic Angler specializes in fly-fishing gifts that are definitely not mainstream. I myself have a build-it-yourself reel kit from the EA (itself a very [...]

One of my clients at last week’s fly-casting clinics in Grants Pass, Oregon, presented me with a rather nice gift: A vintage Bunyan Bug tied by Norman Means himself. This is the “poster pattern” from Norman Maclean’s, A River Runs Through It, and is a fly that, to me, speaks of “old school” Montana like no [...]

What I would have given to have listened to these fourteen minutes at my own commencement. Steve Jobs at Stanford, 2005

My nephew, Alex, is now officially a fisherman. His first fish is proudly displayed above. A nice Wisconsin panfish and a great way to start (I wonder how many kids and panfish have been put together over the years). From what I hear, Alex is now “hooked” (sorry, but I am required by general angling [...]

I’ve seen a few fly-casting tattoos over the years, but this one is the best (at least to me). Saw it in Portland when I was down in the Mississippi district. Not every day that one sees a shadow casting tattoo from ARRTI walking past. I stopped the guy (Bob Stenson) and asked to him about [...]

GB and me at the Vermejo Ranch back in 1977. GB still wears that same red bandana and blue shirt combo, and I still wear a cowboy hat and boots. We also still really like fishing together when we can.  Some things never change. A happy Father’s Day to fly-fishing fathers around the world. I [...]

Just got this out of the blue. Jack Charlton, of Charlton and Mako Reels fame, died on June 9. He died rather suddenly, it seems, from what I’ve been able to find out in the last few minutes. I’d been in contact with Jack this past year, talking reels and catching up a bit. We’d [...]

Just thought I’d post a quick shot of one of the Yamame trout prints that I’ll be sending to my friends at FlyFisher magazine in Japan for their earthquake relief auction. This is the original DF52 image that has been printed an then watercolored on top of the printer pigment. I like these kinds of [...]

I’ve been watching the radar images (and video streams) today, and am hoping that my fly-fishing friends in the Mid-South and Southeast U.S. are doing okay dealing with what appears to be a tornado outbreak that could possibly rival the historic one of 1974. Some familiar fishing spots are under red or yellow in that [...]

If you love Montana’s trout rivers and their surrounding ecosystems, and are not aware of what’s going on with Montana’s SB 306, you should be.