This week I got the chance to speak with Matthew Sloat. He lets us know about growing up in western Alaska, the differences from California, resident Rainbows and Steelhead, hatcheries’ effects on the food web, “The Blob,” the never ending learning of fly fishing, tagging steelhead in Kamchatka, and the massive taimen.
Articles
Icons: Simon Gawesworth
Icons, a web series from Swing the Fly, looks at the most influential figures in spey casting and swinging flies from North America and beyond in the 21st century. In this installment, we visit with Simon Gawesworth, one of the greatest Spey casting instructors and authors to grace our sport. Simon talks in this article about his latest book, his favorite rivers in both the U.K. and the U.S., his memories of times fishing on his own, and the Miracle of Istanbul.
Better Late Than Never: Opportunities Appear For North Umpqua, Winchester Dam
Every angler and advocate for the health and wellbeing of the North Umpqua and its iconic steelhead will have an opportunity to lend their voice in support of an abundant, uninterrupted future for these fish.
Episode 104- Michael Garrigan
This week i’m talking to Michael Garrigan. We discuss “The River Wye,” secret cigarettes and his slow pull to fishing, dogs, becoming a teacher, writing, poetry and painting, sharing your work, carp, alone time in the wilderness, Yellowstone, some dog-based interuptions and antics, and listen to some of his fantastic poetry.
Patagonia Films Presents Tom
A film by Asher Koles and Chase White Rivers and fish need friends. Tom Derry has spent his lifetime being that friend. Conservation and wild fish are two things found deep in Tom’s heart. As Molalla River Steward and the Director of Wild Steelhead Fundraising with the Native Fish Society, Tom is the good-hearted connection between wild […]
Icons: Bruce Kruk
Icons, a web series from Swing the Fly, looks at the most influential figures in spey casting and swinging flies from North America and beyond in the 21st century. In this installment, we visit with Bruce Kruk, in which we discuss fly casting videos, English Bulldogs, and his unusual nickname.
Salmon School Event Sept. 9/10 Tacoma, WA
From The Salmon School:COME JOIN THE SALMON SCHOOL ON SEPTEMBER 9 AND 10 AT MUSEUM OF GLASS, TACOMA. This newsletter is dedicated to The Salmon School and its return to the place of origin, Museum of Glass — we need your support. The Salmon School is a cross-disciplinary art project and performance that began in partnership with the Bellevue Arts […]
Episode 103 – The Winchester Dam
I first fished the North Umpqua a dozen years ago, and I was way late to the game. It’s been a river iconic in the steelhead community for at least a century, from before Zane Grey, to Frank and Jeannie Moore, to the present moment. And the situation in the present moment is unbelievable. After […]
Icons: Art Lingren
Art Lingren has been hailed as “the Leonardo da Vinci of the steelhead world’ by no less an authority than Frank Amato. In this piece, Art talks about his contributions to the Spey community.
Patagonia Introduces Forra Wading Boots Built by Fitwell
Wading boots are some of the most complicated and technical gear in the outdoor world. Submersion, hiking, bushwhacking, sun, salt, crawling, kneeling, climbing—the stresses that anglers place on their boots are tested every time they hit the trail and the water. Engineered to traverse the scrambles, climbs and approaches leading to where the wild things swim, Patagonia’s new Forra Wading Boots Built by Fitwell are superlight, remarkably comfortable and—thanks to punishing real-world testing— expedition tough.
Episode 102 – Tom Mahan
Another Tuesday means another River Rambler and this week I’m joined by Tom Mahan. We talk about growing up with a backyard fishing spot, firefighting, learning the many forms of spey, guiding, different fishing ideologies, Alaska’s chinook and rainbows, jiujitsu and martial arts mindsets, muddlers and Swedish Fish.
The Ten Seven Switch
Many of my favorite steelhead rivers in Alaska are no place for a full-sized spey rod or even an eleven-foot switch. I needed something that I could spey cast with either one or two hands. I needed a quick, short rod for these overgrown streams capable of casting large flies with no backcast whatsoever and […]