Fly Fishing Stories
Back in 2006, Patagonia hosted a social event in its downtown Denver retail store in conjunction with the Fly Fishing Retailer trade show. At the event, a colleague and I addressed the attendees about an emerging threat to the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay. Later that evening, I met a young…
I’m not a scientist. But I am a fisherman of more than 70 years, and I’ve seen firsthand that of the myriad threats facing cold-water fish all over the world, global warming is the most dire. Water all over the planet is heating up in response to climate change, and our cold-water fish are in…
Both of my kids love their science classes in school, and Skyla often mentions wanting to be a marine biologist when she grows up. So when the field biologists from the Wild Fish Conservancy invited us to participate in some beach-seine sampling, as part of their project to assess juvenile salmon habitat around Puget Sound, we jumped…
At first light, a toucan comes flying over the patio and sits in an old tree in front of the house. The bird stares at me as I have my first sip of coffee. Then another toucan lands in the tree, followed by a whole flock. I get up and snap a picture of the…
As I wake, I become aware of the shovel-scraping-asphalt croak of a blue heron, or the brilliant complex cascading song of the winter wren, or the yammering calls of the kingfisher being chased by an accipiter. In the fall a flock of kinglets, moving through the trees and shrubs surrounding our camp, deliver their pure,…
Rare to see YC holding a fish out of water for even a second but this 26 pound Zolotaya River chromer required closer inspection. This Russian beauty had been caught on the nearby Rynda two summers ago and blue-tagged to identify it as a product of Rynda waters — proof of salmo salar’s wandering capabilities,…
This story comes from Shawn Kelly, a friend of Patagonia who works for the California Coastal Conservancy’s Wetlands Recovery Project. He is a husband, father of two boys and an avid fly-fisherman. The Escape The van climbs through the warm night, away from the sun-baked, Central Valley leaving behind the traffic, the strip malls, and…
Patagonia Fly Fish releases “We Stand for the Water We Stand In” poster.
[Update: Added a bunch of photos after the jump.] Patagonia Fly Fishing Marketer, Bill Klyn, shares his experience with a new kind of fly fishing trip. Core Angling offers world-class bonefishing in the Bahamas combined with the opportunity to help scientists study the fish and hopefully preserve their numbers for good. If you’re an angler,…
Even if you’re not an angler, I highly recommend taking the time to read this story. It comes from Mikey Wier, a professional snowboarder and fly fishing guide who founded Burl Productions. Mikey’s words are thick with the aura of appreciation that comes from having just returned from a Wilderness area. As you read this…
Trade shows are a part of life for many folks around Patagonia. They’re a great way for us to meet up with all the wonderful Patagonia Dealers who sell our gear in your hometown, and see what’s happening with the rest of the industry. Many of you probably attend a trade show or two for…
Regular readers of The Cleanest Line have learned to rely on regular product posts from our committed Customer Service representatives. They’re “Field Reports” of a sort . . . notes from the field about their adventures in our back-yard and beyond. This story’s a little different. It comes to us from Michelle L., one of…
The elusive Corbina are running close to shore this time of the year near Ventura and a few of us are surfcasting countless times trying, hoping, and wishing to land this ghost of the ocean. Yesterday, Mark, one of our buyers at Patagonia and good friend, was on a mission to catch a Bean near…
On the final evening of our trip, we enjoyed a feast prepared by expert saltwater fly fisher, FFF-certified casting instructor and Veteran Anglers of New York (VANY) volunteer, David Blinken. We called it “Bahamian Thanksgiving” with native conch salad, sautéed grouper, brown rice with chicken from the Abaco Big Bird poultry farm and spiny lobster or “crawfish” tails. We…
by From “Coral Refuge, Ocean Deep,” Chapter 8 This atoll is on the way to nowhere except the crossroads of romance and adventure. Après-surf and brunch, Yvon and I board the skiff and buzz into close range; Francois kills the motor. Adrift within the lagoon’s turquoise comfort, far from the roily pass and its fish…
We understand mere fragments – of most things really, but especially of a fish called steelhead. Its nominal definition goes that it’s a rainbow trout that migrates from river to ocean and back again to spawn, like a salmon. But like most living things, after you dedicate time to deep observation, their essential superpowers transcend…
It started out as an idea and later became a vision while on a trip across Argentina seven years ago. Former members of AEG Media, creators of The Trout Bum Diaries and Fish Bum Diaries DVDs, have collaborated once again to document a new expedition throughout Mexico. The crew is operating under MOTIV Fishing these…
Are public lands still “public” when you can’t access them?
Salmon are anadromous. They live mostly in the ocean, but return to distant, fresh mountain headwaters to spawn. This term that describes their biological ties to seemingly disparate environments (ocean and mountain) might just as easily describe the ways in which salmon bring together competing cultures and histories. Their power, their story, have earned salmon…
When last we left the fly-fishing filmmakers of MOTIV Fishing, they had converted a mid-'90s F250 to run on used vegetable oil and successfully crossed the Mexican border. Today, we pick up their scent in Baja as they continue traveling south in their pursuit of tight lines. Over 2500 miles behind us and we were…
Most of our photo-centric "Picture Story" posts have been about climbing. Today, the fishing guys get in on the action with an encouraging report from one of eastern Canada's iconic salmon streams, and a family fishing operation that depends on the health of the river's fish populations: – Ed Live Release of Atlantic salmon is…
![Tenkara with Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia [Updated with Video]](https://www.patagonia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/6a00d8341d07fd53ef019b04b4e343970d.jpg.webp)
My watch battery died within ten minutes of setting foot on the plane about to whisk me out of Great Falls, Montana. I should have realized it for what it was: a sign things were about to change. I had left behind an increasingly weird existence on the Missouri River front and hopped a plane…
President Obama’s recent protection of Bristol Bay from oil and gas exploration may feel like a victory for fish and the environment, but I think it’s really about time and money. Which in this case, is just as good. Here’s why: Oil and gas reserves, as we know, are limited by however much is already…
The kids and I decided to squeeze in one last, close-to-home, weekday excursion before school started, so we headed over to the newly dam-free Elwha River for a little float. The last piece of the upper dam was removed last week, so it seemed like a good time to go see what had changed since…
“Push the button.” “No, you push the button.” “What the hell, push it Ellen!” She did. I knew I was going to be profiled as a narcotraficante even though the contraband I was trying to sneak past the customs officer was anything but drugs. In fact, it was several thousand dollars worth of fishing goodies…
By Here I am in the middle of the hair-pulling, eye-bulging screen time that is post production. Another 14-hour day and I need fresh air. I go for long walks under the stars and think about the night skies of the Bahamas, Iceland and Patagonia. After my last film, Breathe, I really wanted to explore…
Ohio’s burning river made headlines in 1969. Now, the Cuyahoga’s telling a new story.
Arturo Pugno, a fisherman in the Italian Alps, is the last known practitioner of an ancient style of flyfishing remarkable for its pure simplicity.
Tiny but mighty, herring might be the most important fish in the ocean.
Upstream of the Snake River dams in Idaho, Riggins waits for the fish to return.
