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  [Interview starts at 46:31] Mike Ward, owner of Adipose Boat Works, recently tied Del Brown’s lifetime permit count with 513 permit caught on a fly rod. On a bamboo fly rod! Now Mike would be the first one to say he may not be the world’s best permit angler, but he has put in the time and energy to catch more than anyone else in history. And along the…

Best was a signature tier for Umpqua. (See his patterns here.) Photos courtesy Umpqua On Thursday, August 21, the family of A.K. Best announced that he had passed away at the age of 92 after a brief illness. A commercial fly tier and author of books such as Production Fly Tying (1989), A.K.’s Fly Box (1996), and Advanced Fly Tying (2001), Best was a close friend of John Gierach and…

George Ochenski (left) and Bud Lilly (right) pictured here in 2007 (Photo courtesy of George Ochenski). Bud Lilly’s Trout Shop opened in West Yellowstone, Montana, in 1952, and he ran it for more than three decades. Even after new owners took over in 1982, the name remained until 2020 because Lilly had created such an iconic brand. His shop was a Mecca for fly fishers from around the world, and…

  [Interview starts at 40:26] This week, Tom Rosenbauer posted a classic podcast from 2018, in which he talks to Jenny Mayrell-Woodruff—the Orvis-endorsed Freshwater Guide of the Year for that year. Jenny now lives in Norfork, Arkanasas, and she took time out of her very busy schedule to share her knowledge of late-summer terrestrial fishing. It’s an educational podcast and a timely one. In the Fly Box, Tom explores a…

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three very different patterns that relate to different corners of the sport. First, Hogan Brown of Loon Outdoors teaches us to tie a jig-nymph pattern with an ominous-sounding name. Next, Matt O’Neal of Savage Flies shares an all-purpose Catskills-style dry fly that should work as both a prospecting pattern and an imitation of a variety of mayflies. Finally, the folks at Dressed Irons share a Terry…

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is proceeding with a controversial plan to stock and study a Class A wild trout water. Photos courtesy of Pennsylvania Council Trout Unlimited The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) is proceeding with a controversial plan to stock and study a Class A wild trout water. Critics claim the exercise is being driven less by science than by social pressure, with troubling implications…

A section of the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park will close for the final week of August, as state biologists work to remove all non-native fish from the Grand Ditch and its tributaries within the park. This will allow for the reintroduction of greenback cutthroat trout—Colorado’s state fish—to their native range in the headwaters of the Cache la Poudre River, the National Park Service (NPS) said. Non-native trout,…

Do you understand how bar stock becomes a “puck” and then a reel spool or frame? In this cool video from The New Fly Fisher, design engineer Dan Hurford walks us through the machining processes that take raw metal and turn it into a beautiful, functional Abel fly reel. The modern machines—as well as human craftspeople—that make this happen are fascinating, and you’ll learn a few cool terms along the…

A video feature about legendary Penn State fly-fishing instructor Joe Humphreys—which aired last October on the “Centre County Report” newscast—earned its producer, Haley Jacobs, a national student Edward R. Murrow Award. The three-minute-long segment, “Trout and Tradition: The Legacy of Joe Humphreys,” focuses on the milestones of Humpreys’s legendary angling life. Jacobs, a senior in the Department of Journalism at the time of the report, graduated in May and now…

  [Interview starts at 30:31] Tom Rosenbauer knows that a lot of his listeners are relatively new to the fly-fishing game, and so he asked MidCurrent Editor-in-Chief Phil Monahan—who also helps people through this sometimes-steep learning curve—to share ten pitfalls you may want to avoid when learning the game. (Phil also has a book for brand-new fly fishers coming out in November.) Tom says that he’s willing to bet that…

The finalists from the Orvis 2024 contest produced some wonderful images that captured several species and a variety of on-the-water experiences. Although astronomical summer doesn’t end until September 21st, the kids will soon be heading back to school, and the nights are growing increasingly crisp. It’s a time to reflect on how well you spent the longest days of the year. Back in 2014, I had a tough summer, fishing-wise,…

Montana’s Big Hole River could benefit from more rainwater. Photo: Flickr use Traveling Otter, used via CC BY-SA 2.0 “Cloud seeding” has been in the news most recently because of conspiracy theories about the devastating Texas floods last month, but in an article on MeatEater, Eli Fournier discusses how scientists are trying to work out a more beneficial (and realistic) use of the technology: Every summer, trout streams in the…

You may have seen spools of half-size tippet material in the fly shop and thought to yourself, “Who needs that?” Well, according to Tim Schultz, writing in Hatch magazine, you need it. Using the notes in the musical scale as an example, he shows why the leaps from one tippet size to another are often larger than you think: For the thick stuff, 1X is about 11 percent thicker than 2X….

By: Rick Mikesell New for 2025, Temple Fork Outfitters has announced the Dispatch series, an all-in-one fly rod and reel kit aimed at new and progressing anglers. According to TFO, each Dispatch rod is built with a moderate action that provides a smooth, forgiving feel ideal for improving timing and technique, while still delivering enough power for anglers looking to advance their skills. Each kit includes a rod, a lightweight…

The results are in! The 2025 Stimmies has wrapped up its biggest and most exciting season yet, with the highest voter participation in Stimmies history and overwhelming feedback that this year’s films were the best in competition to date. Presented by Scientific Anglers, Fly Fusion Magazine, and IF4™, the Stimmies celebrates excellence in fly-fishing filmmaking from around the globe, welcoming entries from both emerging and professional filmmakers. This year’s competition introduced five distinct categories for the first time: Freshwater, Saltwater, Salmon &…

By: Rick Mikesell Following a strong 2025 season that saw the release of the updated Swiftcurrent wader line and a well-received overhaul of the Stealth pack collection, Patagonia has announced several new products for 2026. The updates expand their technical wading and sun protection offerings while adding fresh options for anglers targeting both saltwater and freshwater. Swiftcurrent Traverse Wading Pants Patagonia’s new Swiftcurrent Traverse Wading Pants are designed for anglers…

  [Interview starts at 35:56] Tom Rosenbauer’s guest this week is Scott Barmby, director of the Orvis Chesapeake Fly Fishing Schools, who educates us on threats to the bay’s population of striped bass, and also the many fly-fishing opportunities in the areay. It’s a vast ecosystem that I didn’t know much about, so it was interesting to me and I am sure it will be to you. I think you’ll…

In this week’s Tying Tuesday, we’re featuring four cool patterns that should come in handy this time of year. We kick things off with Gary Morin tying an elegant Rusty Spinner with a CDC wing that should cause the pattern to lie in the surface film, just like the real thing. Next up, the folks from Caddis Fly Shop offer a slim Soft Hackle version of any cream-colored mayfly, such…

For years, Trouts Fly Fishing was everywhere on social media—producing gorgeous Youtube videos on flies and techniques, regularly posting to Facebook and Instagram—and then it just disappeared. A fascinating story in Fly Fisherman by Andrew Becker features interviews with several of the players in this story and details how it all went wrong. For much of the last two decades, Tucker Ladd and his Trouts Fly Fishing of Denver, Colorado—a…

There’s long been a connection between fly fishing and the music of the Grateful Dead. (See the Abel reel, as well as the myriad sticker, hats, tee shirts, and pins.) As someone who’d rather listen to the screams of a colicky baby than any Dead song, I’ve never quite understood it, but I know that the intersection of Deadheads and anglers is real. For instance, my friends Tim and Joanne…