The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 05.24.2024
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
May seems to be racing by and with it are not only hatches of mayflies but all sorts of bugs. As promised, here’s a picture of a big bug I found last week. It seemed like the trout were finding them too, happy and healthy in their cool, spring waters. May you find all of the above!
Cheers,
Jesse
Meats and Rivers of Texas
My old friend (he’s not old, our friendship is) Chet and I took a trip to Texas, in search of bass and BBQ.
A Film
I saw this film years ago but it resurfaced this week. Watch the trailer to Kiss the Water, a film that tells the story of Scottish fly tyer Megan Boyd. The trailer itself is a beautiful mix of arts - videography, animation, music, and spoken word and the full-length film is more of the same. “I hope we never discover what it is that makes a salmon take a fly - a bunch of feathers on a piece of metal,” says one voice in the trailer.
An Old Book
While on a fishing trip on the Grande Ronde River in northeastern Oregon, this book came up in conversation, as some of the final scenes played out there. It’s an intriguing, inspiring, and haunting tale of the river runner Buzz Holmstrom. Buzz is credited with early whitewater boat-building work and also for running over a thousand miles of the Green and Colorado Rivers by himself. This book is an historical account of his life and adventures and also includes snippets from his journals. He wrote the following after running Lava Cliff Rapid in Grand Canyon:
I had thought - once past there - my reward will begin - but now - everything ahead seems kind of empty & I find I have already had my reward - in the doing of the thing - the stars & cliffs & canyons - the roar of the rapids - the moon - the uncertainty - worry - the relief when through each one - the campfires at nite - the real respect & friendship of the river men I met & others.
Check out the book and also this short film from Oregon PBS about Buzz.
A Tune
My first introduction to Seattle singer-songwriter Dean Johnson was at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard in 2018. He was the opening-opening act and I didn’t know he was playing or who he was. Last year, a friend sent me this single and I had it on repeat that same day. Since I was a boy, I’ve had cowboy daydreams so his first line, “You wouldn’t know, by looking at me, but I am a cowboy, my friend,” really hit home.
An Article
Here’s an honest, personal, and in-depth account of the late, eccentric, talented, and troubled fly fishing guide called Stealhead Joe. Joe guided on the Deschutes River for steelhead and left a lasting impression on many. This story, featured in Outside Magazine, was originally published in 2013 and covers Joe’s guiding, Spey fishing for steelhead, and captures the steelheading experience on the Deschutes well.
A Thought
All these years have taught me that fishing is really just an attempt to connect to something that you know is there, but that you can’t see.
I’m starting this way because this is where my soul went after I recorded By the Way, I Forgive You.
~ Brandi Carlile, from Broken Horses: A Memoir
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please send it to a friend.
Was this email sent to you by a friend? Click here to subscribe.
