To the Swing The Fly family –
We’ve been listening. We were listening when you all answered our Survey of Spey last year. We were listening out on the road, on the rivers, and over whiskeys at camp, when you said you wanted something to look forward to.
We took your feedback, and after a few months of digestion, Zack and I put together a program that’s not just about doing “more.” We’re not chasing clicks. We’re not really out for followers or vanity metrics. We’re here to provide our community with the highest quality, in-depth, and authentic information, news, and entertainment, because we want to support those who support us- The Swing The Fly family.
So , Swing The Fly, specifically, SwingTheFly.com, is changing things up a bit. Every quarter, (starting in May/June of 2025, then in August, November, February and so on…), Swing The Fly will be releasing a seasonal digital magazine, packaged as the Swing The Fly Online Journal, with all-new feature-length articles, stories, videos, tips and tricks and reporting on all your favorite spey topics, from the team at Swing The Fly.
Each quarterly release will be seasonally themed and thoughtfully curated, and we hope it is a joy to digest. We are committed to quality because, in a world that’s racing by, you deserve to soak something in, to genuinely and wholeheartedly enjoy something.
The entire Swing The Fly Online Journal will be available only to subscribers (digital, or print & digital) until the next quarter is released.
There’s never been a better time to support the one true Voice Of Spey.
I’m not going to let the cat too far out of the bag, but, I do want to quickly thank the editorial team here at STF, and our wily contingent of contributors, because I’m loving what I’m reading- and seeing- for this first issue, and I can only imagine you will too. It takes a village. In each new quarterly release, we are committed to continuing to publish multiple contributions from you, the Swing The Fly family, so please keep those coming! There ARE a few changes to deadlines, and editorial guidelines, so please check those out first.
As you’ll see, there will of course still be a wealth of information available to everyone, without a subscription, including our upcoming events, Conservation Corner action alerts (from our esteemed partners) and Conservation articles, the River Rambler podcast, and our Recommended Spey Shops and Spey Casting Guides & Outfitters pages (coming soon) and much, much more.
Interested in testing the waters? You’re of course welcomed and encouraged to sign up for our free monthly newsletter, where you’ll be able to see what’s going on over at Swing The Fly, even if you can’t access all of it. You’ll get one monthly update with the highlights of the past month on SwingTheFly.com. We don’t spam.
This change in timing, organization, will have no changes to the published PRINT book schedules (next print book is due out in Sept., Oct. 2025), and there will be no change in pricing of subscriptions. Again, this is about higher quality for you, not just more for us.
Literary, but not academic. Online, but not without soul. We hope you’re as excited for what’s next as we are.
If you have any questions, please send me an email at danielr@swingthefly.org.
Thanks for the opportunity to make this, for you, for us. Good luck, and I’ll see you out there.
– Daniel Ritz , Editor – Swing The Fly, Online Journal
Photo Credit: Travis Johnson/ All Waters Angling