Category Archives: Commentary

The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a good story, told long into the night with a little mystery, sadness, a little redemption. And Mike Sepelak weaves a four-part Holiday tale like no other—of family, brothers, and fishing. A fine … more →

“In a dark time the eye begins to see.” —Theodore Roethke Fishing is about perception.  Its mysteries are tied to our desire to penetrate the surface and see what we cannot see, and the joy of becoming a better angler … more →

“Why do dudes love fishing?” asks Sunday Morning’s Faith Salie, to whom fishing sounds like dating.  But she admits there are good reasons to fish: it can be intimate time shared, and it’s an opportunity to be thankful.   Salie’s … more →

There is a center, an anchor, where while maybe everyone doesn’t agree they can at least see both sides. And perhaps over the years, they will come to call that place home, or at least grow more comfortable visiting. As … more →

Fly fishing attire probably looks a bit silly for an outsider looking in—from the bulky vests, to the hats, to the tweed and creels that some anglers wear in the name of tradition.  The lanyard seems to be least on … more →

Ahhh, winter:  when the Web becomes the next best alternative to tying yet another two dozen bead-head nymphs, shuffling the DVD stack, and brushing by the rod collection on the way out to shovel the driveway.  Luckily a few authors … more →

The Complete Science of Fly Fishing and Spinning, by Fred Shaw, is full of timeless wisdom, but perhaps most entertaining part is Shaw’s chapter on axioms.  Here are just a few examples, most of them just as relevant today as … more →

Who doesn’t like a gift wishlist?  Especially if you have all the fly fishing gear already known to man and all the money in the world and no idea how to spend it? And since no one but an angler … more →

“There is no picture of my biggest brown ever on a fly. No pixels dedicated to the exploding hues of its spectacular sides. No Facebook post. No Twitter feed. No witness. No evidence whatsoever that a wayward Oregonian and a brown … more →