Even today, brick and mortar fly shops are an integral part of fly fishing culture. Beyond supplying rods, reels, flies, and tying materials, they offer angling insight and legitimate community. Although there are many factors that lead to fly shops succeeding or failing, there are certain things that most of the truly good shops have …
I’ll go on record as saying that I think “Pro Deals” and “Pro Staff” are totally fine. But just like anything else in fly fishing (or in the rest of the world), abuse can ruin a good thing. Kirk Deeter’s recent Angling Trade piece articulated some of the real problems that exist with this system. …
In this 4th of July(ish) episode I get political. And in the vein of most politicians, I don’t say a whole lot. What I do, however, is hopefully get you thinking about a few topics that impact fly fishers and US citizens alike. Public lands and social media censorship have direct implications for those who …
Today is not a holiday. But tomorrow is. And like any red-blooded American, I’m working today before stocking up on meat, charcoal, and colorful imported explosives. No time for fly fishing writing. But, the Rusty Flybox is a channel for me to break out a few posts that didn’t get a lot of traction the …
30 episodes! How about that. As I’ve done every 10 episodes, I take the time to respond to and interact with your questions, comments, and accusations. There weren’t a whole lot of accusations, but that sounds much more provocative. In this podcast, I talk about all of the small stream fly rod recommendations I’ve received …
Fly fishing books have been an important part of the sport for hundreds of years, taking different forms and meeting various needs. Even in an age when so much information is available at the tap of a smart phone, tangible media is incredibly valuable. Whether it be a novel assisting in winter escapism or a …
Although fly fishing is an escape, we’re incapable of detaching completely. Our thoughts rightly meander from fly presentation to work, family, whats next. Our present fishing is profoundly linked to how we have fished – and who has fished with us in the past. And chances are the trails we are walking, the flies we …
“Yeah, but it’s just…” Surf around on fly fishing message boards, scroll through social media, or hang out at angling events and you’ll hear this sentiment about any number of fly fishing products. “That material is just something you can get at the craft store.” “That hat is just a hat with a fishing patch …
If anything about fly fishing gets you down – and I mean really gets you down – maybe it isn’t for you. Maybe you should try wing shooting or surfing or sneaker collecting or curling. But I am virtually certain that the same kind of things that can get you flustered in fly fishing are …
This is the second installment of a two part post – check out last week’s Fly Shop Lost. “Do you know what happened to the sporting goods store downtown on Main Street? It must have closed down about 15 years ago.” She kept pouring my coffee, but the waitress gave me a look. It was …
