The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 05.30.2025
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
It’s not so often that I get to fish the same exact water for multiple days in a row but I had that opportunity over the long weekend. It looked great the whole time but the fishing was up and down, as you might expect. In such situations, the question becomes, are they eating somewhere else or just not eating at all? I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Cheers,
Jesse
Banner photo: Two friends, on their way to the next pool, where more bugs are hatching.
In Remembrance of Brian Doyle
Eight years ago this week, Oregon author Brian Doyle passed. I was fortunate enough to meet Brian and hear him read once and that was enough to influence my life as a reader, writer, and person. In his honor, our drift boat carries the same name as one of his novels — The Plover.
His essay piece “Fishing in the Pacific Northwest: A Note” begins:
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, goes the proverb most hilariously attributed to Maimonides, who wouldn’t know a fishing pole if he woke up and found it murmuring alluringly in the bed with him…
Collect at the Confluence
Rooted in Maine but venturing and welcoming anglers from across the country is Confluence Collective, a social enterprise working to remove barriers to fly fishing and welcome every body on the water. Their summer programming, which includes group fly fishing trips in Maine, Montana, and more, is about to launch — click here to learn more about these Outcast Campouts. Confluence Collective also has a variety of online fly fishing educational opportunities, including virtual fly tying, gear reviews, and storytelling/sharing.
Wild Salmon Day
In order to celebrate and raise international awareness and momentum for wild salmon conservation, the Atlantic Salmon Trust, Atlantic Salmon Federation, Pacific Salmon Foundation, and First Nations Fisheries Council of BC named Sunday, June 1st Wild Salmon Day. The message of Wild Salmon Day is simple:
Wild salmon unite us — across waters, cultures, and generations. They support healthy ecosystems and sustain our communities.
Learn more on the Wild Salmon Day website.
Idaho’s 3,100
Visit Idaho, the state’s tourism development department, recently launched a video series on the 3,100 miles of whitewater available to float within the borders. The first few episodes are live now, and they showcase the Lochsa and Bruneau Rivers. My personal floating in Idaho to date has been limited to fishing-specific stretches but I’m more keen than ever to drop into a few of these rivers.
Something to Consider
At the time you’re living it you can sometimes think your life is nothing much. It’s ordinary and everyday and should be and could be in this or that way better. It is without the perspective by which any meaning can be derived because it’s too sensual and urgent and immediate, which is the way life is to be lived. We’re all, all the time, striving, and though that means there’s a more-or-less constant supply of failure, it’s not such a terrible thing if you think that we keep on trying. There’s something to consider in that.
~ From Niall Williams’ This is Happiness
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© Jesse Lance Robbins, 2025
