This week we talk to Paul Moinester, whom we should all envy. He quit a good job in Washington, DC to simplify and de-stress his life, and spent six months traveling the US to finds out more about. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He has been posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey: . . .
Read MoreWritten by Paul Moinester
Peering out the window of the plane, I took a deep breath and tried to soak it all in. The sun was glistening on the expansive mudflats, casting a bright glow over the pristine landscape. To the west, the Alaska Range was commandeering the sky, its snowcapped peaks piercing the. . .
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[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He has been posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
Sense of time has never been my strong suit. Despite my best efforts, I’m routinely late for everything. My friends just refer to it as MST – Moinester Standard Time. And as bad as I am with time in everyday life, it’s exponentially worse when I have a fly rod in my hand. It’s not uncommon for me to. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He has been posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
Gusts up to 60 mph: it was an ominous fishing forecast but a fitting one. Our plans to float the famed North Platte River the next day had been derailed. Yet these mighty winds were justification for why we had come to Saratoga, Wyoming in the first place—to attend a Trout Unlimited summit on the. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He will be posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
Runoff was in full force in Colorado. Everything was running high, fast, dirty, or just totally blown out. I was in Grand Lake visiting my buddy C, a former colleague from my DC days, and exploring the headwaters of the. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He will be posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
Standing on the bank, my eyes affixed to the river, I scoured the water looking for the subtle interruption of a nose piercing the otherwise glassy surface. It only took a minute to spot a snout emerge from the water. But this fish was not peacefully rising and kissing the. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He will be posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey. And, as someone who has fished with Brian O’Keefe, I can corroborate everything Paul writes here.]
No matter how hard I try to contain my excitement, I inevitably spend the days leading up to any fishing trip daydreaming about everything unfolding perfectly. Thoughts of vicious takes, line zipping off my reel, lots of gripping, and even more grinning swirl through my head and consume my brain. In the weeks leading up to my. . .
Read MoreWritten by: Paul Moinester
[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He will be posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
When it comes to catching steelhead, I don’t know much. What I know is that a steely resolve as tough as the fish you’re pursuing is paramount. And a willingness to stand in the pouring rain, waste deep in frigid water, swinging flies for hours and days on end without so much as a. . .
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[Editor’s Note: Paul Moinester has embarked on a six-month, 20,000-mile adventure to exploring the upstream battle to protect wild fish and their habitat. He will be posting dispatches on the Fly Fishing blog throughout his journey.]
As the rain pelted down and the boat raucously shook in the choppy Columbia River, young Cole weathered the elements and fought the spring-run Chinook salmon tooth and nail. With Cole’s rod doubled over and the salmon thrashing right below the river’s grey surface, Bob dropped his net into the water and pulled up a. . .