Podcast: Secrets of the Battenkill, with Doug Lyons

The Battenkill is an iconic and often frustrating trout stream. It’s a gorgeous river with a healthy population of wild trout, but it has had its ups and downs over the years. Doug Lyons is a lifetime Battenkill expert who knows the river perhaps better . . .

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Phil’s Top 10 Dry Flies for Mountain Streams

In late summer, many of the valley rivers in Southwestern Vermont get low and warm. That’s when I head for the hills, by which I mean the Green Mountains. This beautiful stretch of the Appalachians is veined by tumbling freestone streams that are home . . .

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Story and Photos: Just What the Doctor Ordered

One August afternoon several years ago, I returned to my desk at Orvis HQ to find that my neighbor, Tom Rosenbauer, was missing. Taped to the back of his chair was a hand-scrawled sign that said, “At an appointment with Doctor Triceau.” Once I . . .

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Classic Story: The Trout Stream That No One Else Wanted

With a sparsely attended Catholic church at one end and a Taco Bell at the other, Benmont Avenue is representative of the hard times that have befallen many American mill towns. This is not the scenic Vermont of postcards, but instead a hardscrabble . . .

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Classic Story: “Taking Your Chances” with Brown Trout


This is the picture I should have been posting, but alas I didn’t “take my chance” when it
presented itself. So I must be content with this imaginary brown trout.
Photo-illustration by James Daley

In this country, the phrase “to take your chances” usually means to try something that may end up being a disaster—as in “You’re taking your chances driving on those bald tires.” But across. . .

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Classic Story and Photos: Fly-Fishing for Monsters


The bowfin is an indiscriminate predator. It seems all mouth, when viewed from the front,
and its conical teeth would do a number on your skin.
Photo by Phil Monahan

The first time I ever heard of bowfin was about seven years ago, when I was ice-fishing for pike on Lake Champlain with a couple of friends from Orvis—I didn’t work here yet—and a few of. . .

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Photos of the Day: A Vermont Brook Trout Patchwork


The many patterns and colors of wild Vermont brookies are amazing to behold in this fashion.
Images by Jason Gragen

Jason Gragen is a Vermont angler who lives just over the mountains from Orvis HQ, and he posts beautiful images of brook trout to our Facebook page pretty regularly. This weekend, he. . .

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Trout Bum of the Week LXVII: Phoebe Bean


Phoebe Bean with a gorgeous Bitterroot brown caught last fall.
Photo courtesy Fiona Bean

Phoebe Bean was an intern here at Orvis in the fall or 2014, and she has written a bunch of posts for this blog. (Scroll to the bottom for a full list.) As you’ll read, she caught the fly-fishing bug. . .

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