Phil Monahan

When I returned to grad school in New Jersey after my first summer as a fishing guide in Alaska in the early 90s, I proudly sported a “Spawn Till You Die” tee shirt—a creation of cult artist Ray Troll—which caused consternation among my suburbanized peers. It was a sad day more than a decade later when I was forced to admit that the threadbare shirt had become unwearable. A collection of Troll’s cool, witty artwork has just been released by Sasquatch books. Something Fishy This Way Comes: The Artwork of Ray Troll includes more than a hundred pages. . .

The author with a nice Spanish brown trout, which fell for a dry fly at dusk. photo by Sandy Hays

The diesel Volkswagen van chugged upward through the switchbacks as we climbed into the low-hanging clouds. Soon we couldn’t even see the rain-soaked green valley below, and our world became focused on the steep, rutted farm path in front of us. Occasionally, a group of cows blocked our progress, their bells clanging loudly in the stillness, and Ivan would creep forward to avoid pushing one off the edge. The end of the road was a saddle between two peaks, and when we hopped out, the air was damp and cold. As we donned fleece and raingear, Sandy and I exchanged skeptical looks: . . .

To read the rest of this story and see many more photos, hop over to the Adventure blog.

EASTERN RISES | TRAILER from felt soul media on Vimeo.

In the much anticipated follow-up to their acclaimed film about the Pebble Mine, “Red Gold,” filmmakers Travis Rummel and Ben Knight explore the remote, untrammeled wilderness of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The Felt Soul boys really know how to keep their audience wanting more: Although trailer for this film came online a year and a half ago, the DVD has just been released to the public.

Oprah and Gayle pose with guides Brian and Jenny Grossenbacher. photo courtesy Grossenbacherphoto.com

Today is the big day, when the world gets to see Oprah Winfrey fly fishing. News leaked online a few weeks ago that the talk-show host and her best pal Gayle had fished with Bozeman-based guides (and my pals) Brian and Jenny Grossenbacher on Yosemite’s Merced River. Field & Stream’s Kirk Deeter got the scoop interview with Brian, in which we learn that Oprah was actually a quick study when it came to learning how to fly cast. Check your local listings.

Anglers sneak up on a small mountain stream to avoid spooking the trout. That orange bag should be left far behind on the bank, though. photo by Sandy Hays

Watch a heron stalk its prey in the shallows of a pond or a river, and you can clearly see why stealth is so important to anglers of all kinds. Yet many fly fishermen still act as if the fish were deaf, blind, and stupid, which keeps anglers from having the kind of success they desperately want. A good fly fisher is always aware of his surroundings and how his place in them may be tipping off the fish that something’s amiss. Here are five ways you can be more like that heron:…

I’m starting to think that being a partner in Worldcast Anglers is a pretty good job. Last week, we posted a picture of a monster taimen that WCA Jim Hickey caught on his recent trip to Mongolia. Now, his partner Mike Dawes offers a report and some great shots from his journey to Argentina in search of golden dorado. These guys work like dogs all summer, . . .