“But as a small business owner, I need to make a living and the sad realization is that if steelhead runs collapse, like the Thompson, I will move on to guide and fish other rivers like the Blanda or rivers in Alaska or British Columbia.” – Mia Sheppard.
Good Company
“Not an hour later, a bee stung me on my tongue as I sipped Coca-Cola and told Richard of my fish.”
Trial, Tribulations, and Occasional Joy on the Kenai
Rays of sunshine from non-remote Alaska
Kings on the Swing
Every fishing trip is a roll of the dice. This time, we won.
Welcome To Swing The Fly Issue 26.3
An open letter from the editor introducing Swing The Fly Issue 26.3
Partner Highlight Series: Two Hand Hardware
Sponsorships are transactional. Partnerships are long-term. Genuine, authentic partnerships are collaborative, born out of mutual respect and trust. Swing The Fly is proud and grateful for the support from our small, close-knit family of partners, so starting in 2026, we’re bringing back the Partner Highlight Series. In this installment, somewhere in Northern California on the […]
Our Shifting Baseline
The frog is swimming in a pot of water on a stove, still comfortable as the water approaches boiling: He gets used to it. Until it’s too late. Progress Attention Deficit, you could say.
The Big Storm
“The travelers sit in jangling silence tracking the yellow line, riding a hot grease and steel hound lined out for the bleeding storm. “
Counting Steelhead With Shep
My family is unskilled at small talk; to compensate, we avoid social gatherings. Defying that legacy, I sat uncomfortably in a packed room of mostly strangers, my fingers firmly clasped around a bottle of craft beer as Danny’s spouse approached. Laura unceremoniously dropped a set of keys on the ch… Become a member of Swing […]
Icons – Kara Knight
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 Kara Knight, a highly-accomplished competitive spey caster and fly industry professional in Smithers, British Columbia. You grew up in Calgary, […]
Art Lingren: Guardian of British Columbia’s Fly Fishing Heritage
In the deep pools and storied rivers of British Columbia, fly fishing is more than a sport—it’s a cultural inheritance shaped by figures like Roderick Haig-Brown and Tommy Brayshaw. Few have done more to preserve, document, and celebrate that heritage than Art Lingren.
On Sport Fishing
What are the origins and development of this way of sporting way of speaking about angling?