“Snap out of it, my love,” Sheena urged, “it was just a silly fish. Life will go on.”

One of my favorite reads is Drive Nacho Drive, a journal of the travels of Brad and Sheena as they slowly circumnavigate the globe in their trusty 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon Nacho.

Brad, Sheena and Nacho are currently in South America where they have been doing a little fishing in the northern Lakes District of Patagonia. In this post titled, "The Worst Day of My Life," Brad writes about one of those defining lifetime angling moments.

Soon, my line was taut, and pointed straight into the dark water at my feet. I still couldn’t see the fish, but I could tell that it was right in front of me. Suddenly she twisted, revealing the side of her body. A blaze of silver the size of a toddler flashed from beneath, and again the expletive stuttered on my tongue.

“FUH-FUH-FUH…!”

Give it a read

It Ain't Easy

Some musings from Steve Schmidt post last year's IFTD in Reno.

Over three decades have passed since I got serious about fly-fishing. When I started there were no strike indicators, Al Gore had yet to invent the internet and in general there were fewer bodies on the water.  Much has changed since then and some of it I find rather concerning, especially the short cuts we condone in an effort to make fishing with flies easier and more effective without regard for the affect some of these practices are having on the fly-fishing and the waters we fish.

LINK (via: Schmidt's Walkabouts)

2012 Christmas Newsletter Essays

Some good reads from some of our PNW friends and neighbors courtesy of Doug Rose's Christmas newsletter.

LINK

A Salmon Guide to Catch That Fly Fishing Hottie

Ladies, it's spawning season again - for our anadromous friends. Yes, the salmon and steelhead have eaten all summer, I know, I know, while we've all been starving ourselves to paint on bikinis, to make their final labors of love on the inland rivers. It's constant sex, pregnancy, then death - doesn't it just feel that way for all of us?

Every girl knows that the fly fisherman is the ultimate catch -overweight, rich, and obsessed with tying knots. What's not to love? On your next date with the man with the rod, you will reel him in with your understanding of his favorite prey. If you see one of these little numbers, on your dinner plate or in the river, a few tidbits from this guide will impress your man with your knowledge of Genus Oncorhynchus.

LINK (via: Happy Woman Magazine)

Montana Authors Project - A River Runs Through It

The Montana Authors Project brings "A River Runs Through It" to digital life.The Project provides a sense of  place through the use of text, context, interpretation, graphic design, topography,and hyperlinks.The page can be used as a virtual tour of an author's imagination, as well as an actual road map of a literary setting.

LINK

Learning to Fly Fish — And Fend Off Grizzlies

Comedian Lizz Winstead on celebrating her 50th birthday in Alaska.

"Do we have a gun?" I asked.

"Nah, we just shoo them away with our paddles," one guide said. I was starting to feel that I'd been talked into less of a fishing trip, and more of an ill-matched contest against wild bears for food. Our side was armed with inflatable raft paddles. The bears were armed with, well, being bears.

LINK (via: The Wall St Journal)