Once my fly was in the zone, I started slowly stripping my in line, and a fish hit it right away. I set the hook, but nothing was there. I let a bit more line out thinking the fish may still be following, and started slowly stripping in line again. This time the fish smacked it harder and I hooked into my first rockfish on a fly

Cutthroat on the Skwala! It is spring in Montana and that means chasing the most elusive of all stoneflies…the mighty skwala. This is a stone fly hatch that happens in between beautiful and horrible early spring days. Skwalas are a hardy little creature that emerge to conditions that are tough to survive. Most years, It takes an equally hardy fisherman to catch a trout with a skwala fly. Planning trips based on the weather is simply not possible. You may see a weather wi

I was in Missoula this past weekend to visit my new grandson/ fishing partner. He is too little to take fishing yet, but it won’t be long ti

This is a special section for Ann, because she did this float with her Dad so many times when she was growing up.

No better way to clear up my old foggy brain than to have a fish smack you right in the face. We laughed and both realized that it was goin

This stretch of river near Superior is known for big fish, caught on tiny flies. The fish in this stretch are big , strong and smart.

I saw a reddish green balanced leach that I had purchased from the Reno Fly shop a few months ago and it looked promising so I tied it on

Day two of our Salmon Fly Adventure in Montana - A Father's Day Grand Slam!

It is Salmon Fly season in the Northwest, and that means you have to be willing to move fast when you hear bugs are on the water.

the big Hexagenia Mayflies appeared all around me. The Mayflies were everywhere and the fish were having a field day eating them.

An Elk Fawn hiding in the grass along the Big Hole River Last October I planned a fly fishing trip to Montana with a couple of young men that are friends of the family. Drew and Mason both go to Camas High School and had expressed an interest in learning how to fly fish so I promised them that I would take them fishing in Montana in the Spring. I was hoping our timing would match up to some type of stonefly hatch, however, the only date that we could all make work was the f

Hanging out at the Reno Fly Shop!

Tom fishing Crater Lake Several months ago I was working in southern Oregon and stopped into the world famous Blackbirds Shopping Center in Medford. I met up with Tom Sittingdown, the sporting goods manager, and we went over some product lines. As we were talking Tom mentioned that he had heard that there was good fishing in Crater Lake National Park My ears pricked up at the mention of this and I wanted to know more. Tom went on to explain that he had heard that there can b

It was late October in the Pacific Northwest, and the weather was still mild so I figured now was the time to catch a beautiful brook trout in its fall colors. I did some research and found that some of the high mountain Cascade lakes in Washington State have a a small brook trout population, so I decided to give it a try. I made the drive up into the Cascades and arrived at a remote lake with a small boat ramp. As I pulled into the parking lot there was only one other truc

Beaver Creek Colorado is a beautiful town just east of Vail on I-70. My brother Pat Matthews was scheduled to paint live in front of the Sportsmans Gallery in Beaver Creek over the July 4th Holiday. Pat is known for his paintings of the American Flag, and the 4th of July weekend is a perfect opportunity for him to paint live in front of an audience that would be in a patriotic mood. It was also the perfect time and location for a Matthews Family reunion that we had planned