The Flyfish Journal

The Flyfish Journal Flyfishing quarterly coffee-table catalog of culture. Fly Fish Video and photos. Subscribe at www.theflyfishjournal.com.

11/06/2025

Over the course of their nearly 40-year friendship, Yvon Chouinard and Craig Mathews have had a significant influence on both the culture and activity of flyfishing. Their most recent collaboration is Pheasant Tail Simplicity, new from and coauthored with their friend Mauro Mazzo. The book is part technical treatise, part fly tying manual and part philosophy. Either way it’s well worth a read for anyone interested in flyfishing with a slightly more minimalist point of view.

In this episode of Sidechannels, we met with Yvon and Craig in Dillon, MT, a day after their book release event at Montana State University in Bozeman, which took place in a standing room only amphitheater on campus. We chatted about the book, of course, but also had the opportunity to learn a bit more about their background, including how they met and what they feel they’ve learned from each other in nearly 40 years of friendship.

Listen to the episode at a link in our profile, or search for Sidechannels wherever you get your podcasts.

Sidechannels is made possible with support from and .

Photo:

Spring steelhead can be hard to come by. While flies in the water is the only way to catch fish, sometimes you need to b...
11/04/2025

Spring steelhead can be hard to come by. While flies in the water is the only way to catch fish, sometimes you need to break things up. Ben Helesic and Dillon Eades .eades stop swinging for a classic game of rock baseball along British Columbia’s Skeena River.

From The Angler of Faith; or, How to Not Catch Steelhead, a feature story by Bret Rutherford, published in Volume Sixteen, Issue Three.

Photo: Nick Verlaan

10/31/2025

“For my money, a 6-weight with a fighting butt is the ultimate utility rod, the answer to the question of “If you could only fish one rod…””

“The VOR had backbone, which is handy when you’re wrestling ocean-fresh fish on a steep beach, in the surf, with barnacle and mussel encrusted rocks just waiting to sever your line if the fish get the upper hand.”

“I use beads. I’m not ashamed of it. The trout love them: tight-lined, swinging across the current, drifting below a bobber. It’s not the kind of thing you typically get to do much of in a place like Washington state, which is exactly what makes it so much fun.”

Three excerpts from Editor Jason Rolfe’s Three Seasons With Nam’s New Single-Handed Rod, where the VOR is put through the paces on multiple bodies of water and situations, for several different species of fish.

Find a link in our profile for the full review of new VOR rod.

10/23/2025

Chase and Aimee Bartee began making films together when they lived in New England, publishing them under the moniker . Their full length film Big Land won best adventure at the Fly Fishing Film Awards in 2019, and for the past several years they’ve been working on a series called For Wild’s Sake, which offers in-depth looks at various wild trout species from all corners of the United States. On top of their various film projects .bartee is a dedicated editorial photographer, and Chase is a writer and fine artist known for his exquisitely detailed watercolors of various fish species.

In this episode of Sidechannels we talk about their travels, the challenges of creating art on the road, bear problems in Japan, and what was the final straw in their decision to sell their Vanagon.

Find a link in our profile to listen, or search for Sidechannels wherever you get your podcasts.

Sidechannels is made possible with support from and .

Photo:

A black and white flying camera diptych from the Rises section of Volume Sixteen, Issue one.(L) The Mackay Reservoir dam...
10/22/2025

A black and white flying camera diptych from the Rises section of Volume Sixteen, Issue one.

(L) 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 rivulets.

(R) Bonefish by the many dozens sit out slack low tide mere steps from Faraway Cayes. While permit fishing is the main draw, bonefish at this remote key along the Honduran Mosquito Coast often go underappreciated.

Photos and captions: Nick Price

10/16/2025

Will Rice is a freelance writer and podcaster who began his career with the Denver Post in 2003, under the mentorship of acclaimed hook-and-bullet writer Charlie Meyers. His early, travel-focused writing brought him face-to-face with what would become a long-term project: the disappearance of Bahamian flyfishing guide Stanley Bain.

In 2018, Rice began hosting Down the Path, a podcast that investigated the disappearance of an angler in Mexico. A second season soon followed, looking into the tragic death of a flyfishing guide and his client in Belize, and Rice eventually returned to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Bain for the third season of the podcast in 2023.

In this episode of Sidechannels, we chat with Will about his beginnings in journalism, and his decision to start pursuing certain stories in podcast form. Will also shares some thoughts on the frustrations of permit angling, and tells us about the “tequila stuntman.”

Listen at the link in our profile, or search for Sidechannels wherever you get your podcasts.

Sidechannels is made possible with support from and .

Photo: Copi Vojta

Volume Seventeen, Issue one is shipping to our wonderful subscribers, contributors, fine fly shops and retailers everywh...
10/09/2025

Volume Seventeen, Issue one is shipping to our wonderful subscribers, contributors, fine fly shops and retailers everywhere!

Find a link in our profile to sneak a peek. Might as well subscribe while you’re there because
.

Featured inside: Editor ’s four conversations in Tierra del Fuego, Aimee Eaton’s high water respite on the Oregon Coast, and Copi Vojta’s streamside companion from I-90’s Clark Fork, Parker Bertram’s coming of age in Punta Allen from and , and a gallery of ’s 50 skills(he has more though).

On the cover: The best backpack. Koda the corgi hitches a ride from her favorite human—Sam Aaberg—on Colorado’s Blue River.
Photo:

This issue also includes written and visual work from Chris Anderson, Dee Finkel, Rhea Hawkins, , Chuck Mosher, , .aiken, , , , , .arrow, , , , , , , , and were probably forgetting some.

Simply put, The Flyfish Journal wouldn’t be what it is without the creative endeavors of our contributors, so follow them(on socials ya creep), buy ‘em a treat, support their work or hire them. We’re grateful for all of you!

“Time on the river with friends is a treat these days. With full guide schedules and rivers that aren’t always in shape,...
10/07/2025

“Time on the river with friends is a treat these days. With full guide schedules and rivers that aren’t always in shape, when the stars do align it’s nice to sit up high and watch your buddy fish a coastal tailout. Nick Rowell makes the most of his turn while I silently scream ‘Just eat it!’”

From Volume Sixteen, Issue Two.

Photo and caption: Alex Gonsiewski

“Snorkeling with a pod of westslope cutthroat allows one to witness interesting behavior. The fish position themselves i...
09/22/2025

“Snorkeling with a pod of westslope cutthroat allows one to witness interesting behavior. The fish position themselves in a hierarchy of largest, most aggressive fish upstream, trickling down to diminutive ones trailing behind. The dominant fish sample everything. They rise and smack leaves, sticks, bits of debris and, occasionally, real bugs.”

Aptly, from the Rises section of Volume Sixteen, Issue Two.

Photo and caption: Steven Gnam

09/12/2025

is a filmmaker, a veteran, and an advocate for youth and for wild spaces; he’s also the founder of a couple of non-profits— .river.inc and —which have provided a pathway for youth, veterans and others to build a connection to what, in some ways, is one of the last frontiers in North America, the Arctic and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

His work over the past couple of years with Love is King has focused specifically on that area, and on providing an opportunity for creatives and other BIPOC leaders to experience the refuge and the issues facing it through a kind of immersive experience with the Gwich’in Nation.

In this first part of our conversation with Chad, we chat about his various projects in Alaska, as well as his introduction to flyfishing—something that happened, in some ways, just in the nick of time for him and which helped him overcome some significant personal struggles.

Find a link in our profile to listen, or search for Sidechannels wherever you get your podcasts.

Sidechannels is made possible with support from and .

Photo: Chad Brown

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