Liam Diekmann

I love maps. They let me know where I am, where I have been and where I might be headed in the future.  But I never expected that my interest in fishing might lead to me becoming part of a map-making team. It was already past the time of the solstice when I left home for my summer “job” in the Madison Valley working on the historic Granger and Longhorn...

It might surprise most fly fishers that it is almost easier to catch a big fish with your bare hands than it is with a fly.  I learned this while fly fishing with my good friends Craig Mathews and Yvon Chouinard on the Granger Ranch in the Madison Valley. It was during finals week at school, and I decided I needed a breather from all the stress that I’d...

Craig Mathews is one of the most avid fly fishers in the world right up there next to Yvon Chouinard. That’s saying something because I’ve met a lot of adults who are crazy about the sport. Craig believes that tenkara fishing is the simplest, most effective and efficient form of fly fishing. I agree.  Anyone ranging from three years old to ninety can...

My mom barged into my bedroom telling me to get my stuff ready. Groggy and still awakening from a dream, I didn’t know why she was making a fuss. It was barely daylight. And then reality hit me, as if on Christmas morning knowing that Santa had arrived with gifts. My first panicked priority was double checking to make sure I had my fishing gear and...

In June 2004, I went fly fishing for the first time on Mill Creek in Montana with my father and brother.   By the end of the day, I was pissed because my older brother Logan had invaded my fishing hole and stolen fish I thought were mine. I had been working an eddy behind a big boulder without success.  The fish were there.  And then Logan moved up...