The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 03.06.2026
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
Depending on your choice of definition, we might say that coincidences happen all the time, and especially when it comes to fishing. Maybe that’s exactly what we’re fishing for: a simple coinciding of place and time with water and fish, as opposed to all three existing concurrently yet randomly. Yet another reason why the best fly fishing is everywhere!
Cheers,
Jesse
Banner photo: On this day, we took my boat. But now, this gentleman has a new boat!
The Story of The Book
The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere is a physical manifestation of my angling, storytelling, and writing life to date, which is just about my entire life.
Here’s a recount of the journey which led to this book; by no means comprehensive, but the highlights are contained.
My intent is to document this winding road, so that I can remember it myself, and also in hopes that it may be helpful, in some way (or at least amusing or interesting) to other anglers, storytellers, writers, and readers.
Cathy & Barry
In February of 2024, the fly fishing world lost a pioneer, legend, and inspiring and kind soul with the passing of Cathy Beck. This week, “Legacy: The Story of Cathy and Barry Beck,” the film that tells the story of Cathy and her longtime fly fishing and traveling partner Barry, became available online in its entirety. For more on Cathy and Barry, and their legacy of work in the fly fishing community, check out their website.
Celebrating ARRTI
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It, and a handful of interesting, related events are popping up. At the end of this month, the Santa Barbara Flyfishers are presenting an in-person viewing of the movie and discussion with an especially intriguing cast of characters, including conservationists and Norman’s son, John (also an author/angler). As described on the event page, the evening is “an authoritative panel including Tom Skerritt, lead in the film, and viewpoints representing the arts, conservation, fly-fishing, and indigenous perspectives, followed by a one-time screening.
The Osprey
For over 30 years, The Osprey has served as the International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation, sharing information and commentary regarding the management, science and recovery of Pacific steelhead and salmon. Last week, the Winter 2026 issue was released. This installment includes pieces on the Eel and Fraser Rivers, Alameda and Portage Creeks, and more.
One Hundred Books
The apartment was exactly as his grandfather had left it…The one hundred books exactly; one needs only a hundred books, my boy; the trick is to choose carefully which books are your companions; many people simply accumulate books and do not read them, whereas a discriminating soul has fewer books in toto but swims in them regularly; and the best books bear rereading, for somehow they always contain surprises and lessons you did not notice in previous readings. It is possible that some very good books continue to write themselves after they are published, perhaps working with their companions on the shelf, which is why I rearrange them twice a year, so as to provide them with new stimuli. Who is to say that they do not communicate among themselves, in ways only they know?
~ Brian Doyle (again)
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