Jerry Kustich

Jerry Kustich is a former owner of Sweetgrass Rods. He also authored At the River’s Edge: Lessons Learned in a Life of Fly Fishing (2001), A Wisp in the Wind: In Search of Bull Trout, Bamboo, and Beyond (2005), and Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead (1999), all published by West River Publishing. His articles and essays have appeared in Fly Fisherman, Big Sky Journal, Fly Rod & Reel, and many other publications. His last book, Around the Next Bend: A Fly Angler’s Journey, was published by Headwaters Books in 2013.

Author Articles

Empty Waters: Reflections on a Diminishing Striped Bass Fishery

For me, 2023 was a tough fishing year. It was the first fall season in the past nine when I encountered only a couple of striped bass at a time of year when there have always been numerous fourteen- to twenty-four-inch stripers swimming in my local Chesapeake Bay rearing waters. Many anglers have been decrying the steady decrease in the striper population...

"Joe Brooks"

The hypnotic allure of the Beaverhead was mystically enticing that evening. Mosquitoes buzzing, caddis hopping, and the sun’s descent beyond distant hills cast long shadows on the yellow tinted pastures of green that radiated fingers of stored coolness into what was left of the day’s warmth. The sweet scent of fresh alfalfa and the tea-like fragrance of...

"Anatomy of a Steelheader"

That was it! The final cast in the ritualistic series of last casts which can sometimes go on for hours. Dark had descended upon the Kispiox, and walking out along the water’s edge at this hour with the odd bear munching on a stinking pink salmon carcass could be risky business in this part of British Columbia. But that was part of the deal. At least it...

"Ole Hank"

For miles around everyone knew him as “Ole Hank.” He wasn’t old, and many folks wondered if his name was really Hank, but in the mid-seventies he operated a bar at the dead end of a long back road leading to the furthest reaches of the Panhandle region of northern Idaho. In summer the dirt road continued on to remote portions of Canada, but in winter...

"Big Pants"

LET ME TELL YOU about the Niagara River. For one thing, technically it is not a river. It is, by definition, a thoroughfare — a connective waterway linking Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. But to most people, including me, it's a river. Above Niagara Falls the serene stretch serving as the actual border between USA and Ontario, Canada, appears to be more akin...