The past few summers, when the weather and water warms up, I’ve been spending more time snorkeling with coastal BC steelhead than casting flies at them. This particular stretch of river has many deep pools through an almost inaccessible canyon section, so the fish are mostly un-pressured. Im not sure of the health of this […]

Death from below on Oregon’s Metolius River. Redside trout gorge on green drakes during the afternoon hatch. Photo: Arian Stevens   There is something sacred about a canoe. Not many aspects of contemporary life are safe from society’s relentless march toward modernity, but this small craft with its innate grace has become a defiant symbol, resisting change […]

Former New Mexico youth pastor turned Louisiana redfish guide David Best was all smiles when this jumbo sheepshead came to net in Louisiana. Drizzly delta weather had turned off late season bull redfish. Anything other than a slimy black drum was reason to celebrate. The trick now? How to get the fly back. Photo: Robert […]

Alice Owsley fools a hopper-hungry cutthroat on a small stream deep in northwest Yellowstone National Park, WY. Photo: Arian Stevens   The Mackay Reservoir dam in Idaho had a head gate malfunction during the summer of 2023 and as a result the reservoir was emptied. These small springs seeped down, creating an intricate system of […]