The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 08.22.2025
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
I’m headed to southern Oregon — where I lived for a few years — this weekend, for some work and for some non-work, though the line between the two is blurry. Mostly, I’m headed for the people. We won’t be fishing but you can be sure we’ll be talking about it!
Cheers,
Jesse
Banner photo: Looking up and upstream towards Table Rocks.
Foucault on Fishing
One nice thing about the interwebs is that it’s possible, with some minor sleuthing, to find out who your favorite artists’ favorite artists are. That’s how I came to singer-songwriter (and fly angler) Jeffrey Foucault. Last spring, I had to missed one of his shows and our fishing plans because of some last-minute travel, but I caught his show in Portland last fall and that’s when his new album, The Universal Fire, hit home. No surprise, Foucault’s also a damn fine writer and I’ve been enjoying his monthly newsletters, especially his most recent one. Give it a read, then check his tour schedule, because he’s on the road heavy right now, and likely Moving Through, as his song says.
ALL SPECIES
I’m bummed to be missing this one: the fifth annual Oxbow Brewing All Species Fly Fishing Tournament & Celebration, over the weekend of Sept. 19 — 21 in Maine. This event gets better every year. Case in point, the Friday night welcome party is shaping up to be a big one, going down at Oxbow’s Portland location, and in support of ASGA. And, even if you’re not fishing in the tournament, the celebration at Oxbow’s Oxford location on Sunday is well worth the visit. It’s filled with friendly and fishy folk from across the Northeast, not to mention the tasty suds and ‘za at the beer garden. Wish I was seein’ ya there!
The Process
I always take a look at Brendan Leonard’s Semi-Rad weekly newsletter and whatever else — essays, videos, graphics, interviews, etc. — he puts out there. I admire his approach to creativity and his recent video, “The Creative Process #1,” captures it all really well. It’s only two minutes long, so give it a look. I’m confident you’ll find something that resonates. Like, “Nobody ever had a good idea sitting in front of a computer.”
Pen Bay
What began in 2018 as Upstream Watch in Belfast, Maine — where the Jesse Robbins Road runs (no joke) — has recently turned into Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper. As part of the global WATERKEEPER Alliance, this new organization is focused on the health of Maine’s largest bay, which hosts eleven diadromous species, and fosters local commercial and recreational fishing and tourism economies. Learn more about the Bay and the organization on their website.
Technology & Tradition
There was, and still is, considerable confusion as to what synthetics, technologies and ethics should be included in the whole of a long and dignified fly fishing tradition. With the rapid advances in tackle technology it was easy to lose sight of tradition, and yet if fly fishing was to remain an historical whole, anglers were going to have to accept self imposed restrictions on their effectiveness.
~ From Bill McMillan’s introduction to Greased Line Fishing for Salmon and Steelhead, 1982
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© Jesse Lance Robbins, 2025
