This week I’m speaking with Jeff Putnam. We chat about his early start to fishing and his schoolhood fishing mentor, skipping school, guiding and teaching, picking up spey casting, adjusting to teaching different generations, Steve Godshall and rod collecting, casting video analysis, and the art of napping.
Articles
Controlling Running Line
One of the key aspects of modern Spey casting is that great distance can be attained by casting the head with enough speed and force to pull the running line that has been stripped from the reel through the guides of the rod. Practicing the forward Spey provides the perfect time to work on shooting […]
No Fish Harmed: Bruce Kruk
In part 1 of this new video series, No Fish Harmed, from Swing the Fly and Tight Line Films, we visit with the one and only Captain Kanudia — Bruce Kruk — to learn more about the culture and allure of spey casting and fishing.
Icons: Whitney Gould
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 Whitney Gould, a World Fly Casting Champion. Whitney is also the developer of virtual and in-person casting instruction through The Gould Standard.
Episode 105 – Matthew Sloat
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.
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 […]