Books

Tim Pynes brings an unusual background to fly-fishing writing. For more than 20 years, he has worked with individuals and families during periods of illness, loss, and transition as a healthcare chaplain and bereavement coordinator in hospital and hospice settings. His professional life centers on listening, presence, and walking with people through...

No one fished with more intensity than my friend Dave Palmer. When he suited up in his camouflage waders and drew out his rod, he transformed into a great blue heron, or maybe a Navy SEAL. His posture lowered, and he would creep and stalk and patiently wait out his prey. No one I knew could spot fish better either. I remember when he picked out a steelhead...

READING THE FLATS Ian Davis: What do you do when you climb up on the poling platform? Bruce Chard: Know that 95 percent of the time bones are moving—so movement is always a key indicator. Color and of course shape as well. The three top things: movement, shape, color. I start by looking at the flat itself to determine where the edge is between too shallow...

April Vokey—well-known steelhead angler, guide, and host of the Anchored Podcast—has published her first children’s book, The World Through Her Eyes. The book follows April and her daughter, Adelaide, as they explore fly fishing and nature from a child’s perspective. According to Vokey, her goal is to inspire the next generation of anglers to see...

Monte Burke has made a name for himself as the preeminent chronicler of modern fly fishing for tarpon. If you haven't yet read his Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World-Record Tarpon, you're missing out. In the latest issue of Garden&Gun magazine, Burke writes about a trip in the Everglades with legendary guide Steve Huff: I...

Simplicity has been at the heart of Yvon Chouinard's philosophy for a long time, and it was a message he continued to hammer home at a recent appearance at Montana State University in Bozeman: While fly shops overflow with millions of patterns designed to separate anglers from their money, Chouinard spent a year proving you can catch fish anywhere in the...

 [Interview starts at 37:50] Mary Orvis Marbury, daughter of Orvis founder Charles F. Orvis, is an important figure in the history of American fly fishing. She was the first person to catalog and standardize American fly patterns, but she led a sad and mysterious life. Historian Steve Woit has written an expansive and spectacular...

Anytime we talk about "the best," we're wading into subjective territory. That's why I hesitate to ever call a fly rod, or waders, or any other gear I review, "the best." They might be the best for me, but my experience isn't all-encompassing. So, it's interesting that Jasper Taback, over at Sports Illustrated, decided to pick the five best fly fishing...

Lani Waller needs no introduction for steelheaders, as he was one of the most respected steelhead anglers and teachers before he passed away in 2024. His big project was a film series about catching steelhead, which is widely regarded as one of the best educational film series ever produced. In addition to that, he wrote a few books and contributed to Fly...

Before he passed away on December 29th, Jimmy Carter was the oldest living former president (he celebrated his 100th birthday this year) and there's been a host of new stories, books, and other media recently produced about him. One that has flown relatively under-the-radar is a new book by Jim Barger titled Jimmy Carter: Rivers and Dreams. It details...