The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 06.13.2025
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
This week, when asked to go steelhead fishing, I felt a bit of the ‘wind out of the sails’ effect, considering that all my gear at-the-ready is currently trout-specific. But my buddy called me on it and I submitted and it really only took about 15 minutes of ‘rigging-and-frigging,’ as one says, before I was ready to go. Which really isn’t much at all.
Cheers,
Jesse
Banner photo: Wait it out or head for the bar?
The River Why Audiobook on Spotify
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve talked about David James Duncan or The River Why in this newsletter but I’ll unashamedly do it again now. While browsing Spotify for a bike ride’s listening, I came across the audiobook section, which was surprisingly extensive. And, lo and behold, there was TRW! I haven’t re-read it for a few years now but the opening chapter, “Gus the Fish,” is among my favorites in the entire book. In fact, I’ve read it aloud for friends on several occasions. I highly recommend giving this audiobook a listen, even if only for the first chapter. Narrator Dick Hill is exceptional and had me laughing out loud as he alternated between H2O’s and Uncle Zeke’s drastically different accents.
Bring the Kennebec Back to Life
In 1999, Edwards Dam was removed from Maine’s Kennebec River, in many ways kickstarting the dam removal revolution in the U.S. Here’s a video about the river’s restoration following that removal. However, four more upstream dams remain and are blocking fish passage and preventing a full-river recovery. BUT NOW, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing Water Quality Certification applications for these dams as part of a relicensing process that only occurs every 30-50 years. Public comments are open until 5 p.m. EST TODAY, June 13th. Get involved!
The Beer That Saves Striped Bass
There’s lots of beer made by fishy folks but this one may take the cake: Striper Season Ale, made as a collaboration between Oxbow Brewing and Rising Tide Brewing Company, both based in Portland, Maine, and their respective brewers Tim Adams and Alex Hernandez. I’ve fished with both of these guys so can confirm their angling expertise and I’ve also drank plenty of their beer so can confirm their prowess in the brewing room as well. This particular beer is aimed at celebrating the mighty stripah and raising awareness of their current population, habitat, and harvest crises; funds raised will benefit the American Saltwater Guides Association. As the breweries put it, “We can’t fix this problem until more people know that there is a problem!” Find it at their tap rooms and in fine beer stores in Maine, NH, Mass., NYC, PA, DC, and Delaware. Cheers, gents and well done!
Salmonflies!
Here’s an oldie-but-goodie video on fishing the famed Deschutes River salmonfly hatch, featuring some incredible bug and bug-eating footage. It’ll make you want to fish the hatch but it’s just-about over as of now, so you’ll have to wait until next year. This video, 12 years old now, is the most popular online flick from Catch Magazine — a digital-only journal of fly fishing photography and videography. Well worth a look, if you’re unfamiliar.
How to Find Them
Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.
~ From Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality
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© Jesse Lance Robbins, 2025
