Nick Parish - Current Flow State

A screenshot from a vintage-looking airplane shows a man leaning out of a small airplane, with the title lettering TOP SPORTSMAN superimposed

Weekly Update

Get to know the Top Sportsman

Tarpon-chaser Dick Fisher is looking to catch more than just a silver king. Aren't we all?

Anglers wading the Sandy River below the Stark Street bridge, dip-netting for smelt on a gray winter day.

Weekly Update

Abundance, past and future

An unsuccessful smelt season on the Sandy, a celebration of female anglers, and the release of a suppressed report on the state of nature in America

9:49 AMA moss-covered old tire lying flat outdoors, its interior filled with soil and sprouting weeds, with a rusted abandoned vehicle and bare trees visible in the background.

Weekly Update

We are busy being born

Private equity is buying Michigan dams, George Daniel gives beginner students advice, salmon and steelhead get a win on the Columbia, and more.

A person in jeans swings in a hammock while looking at their phone

Weekly Update

Death to shitty flow

How junk food flow states and being stuck in the machine zone prevent us from achieving excellence in life, and our angling.

C&F Design fly fishing fly boxes and foam inserts displayed on water background with text "The Ultimate Fly Storage"

How To

You only need one fly box

In Praise of C&F Design, the ultimate fly organization system

Scenic view of the Deschutes River winding through a desert canyon at sunset. The river reflects soft pink and purple twilight colors from the sky.

Weekly Update

Check In on your angling, and your advocacy

Pre-season is the best time to recalibrate, set new angling goals, and realign your advocacy aims.

A man in an orange hat swings flies in a Pacific Northwest river

Weekly Update

Seeing more fish with science

One TU chapter is recruiting citizen scientists to locate hidden Brook Trout in the NYC suburbs, using state-of-the-art eDNA sampling. Can they help me find a winter steelhead?

A screenshot of the homepage of castback.com.

Tools

CastBack: How two Michigan pals launched a fly fishing gear marketplace

The CastBack origin story has all the makings of a classic buddy comedy: Co-captain the wrestling team in high school, go into the service, start fly fishing together, then start a peer-to-peer e-commerce market for used fly fishing equipment. Why not, right?

Fly rods

How to buy a used fly rod: Six steps to get started

Secondhand is all the rage. And buying a used fly rod can be a great way to get into a better fly rod, faster. But there are plenty of caveats. Here are our tips, some sources, and a checklist to follow.

G.Loomis Asquith fly rod with fifteen North Fork Composites Golden Tickets arranged on vintage landscape photograph

Weekly Update

A tale of two fly rods

North Fork Composites' Gary Loomis announced this week he's rejected private equity advances, and launched $100 Golden Tickets good for North Fork blanks to help the company grow. The company he founded and sold, G.Loomis? It now charges over $1,500 for its Asquith rods.

Events

Get ready for the Maupin Meetup!

Come one come all to Current Flow State's third-annual early-summer meetup, coinciding with the Deschutes River Alliance's TroutFest in Maupin, Oregon, May 28-31.

Weekly Update

Under a snow moon

Exploding trees, the Michael Jordan of pikeminnow, fly fishing with a baby on board, Michigan smallies, and more in this week's newsletter.

Two men, a younger and an older, at the console of a skiff boat tear-assing through the ocean are looking at each other. The older man drives the boat.

How To

Trout ain't tarpon

Sure, the silver kings might not even be on the same angling planet as rainbows, but here are ten tarpon tips, tricks, and concepts from legend Andy Mill that can be applied to any fishing situation.

Pacific Northwest river with clear water flowing over rocks through forested canyon in winter

Mindset

Low and clear

Knowing the odds are long—but showing up anyway—is the core of being an angler, and maybe a person, too.

Learn

Where I'm calling from

Here's a little bit of a Station Identification to introduce myself, and give you the lowdown on what we're all about around here.

Learn

Hold on loosely

Trying to not try so hard.

Cambarus scotti crayfish on stream bottom with orange claws and banded body pattern among rocks and leaves

Fly tying

Now's the time to look closer

When that winter metabolism slows down, take a closer look to see what's really going on.

CFS updates

CFS member update, 2026

Ever wonder how the sausage is made? Here's a retrospective of last year's growth, an assessment of what's working and what's not, and a sneak peek at what you can expect from us in 2026.

Angler holds largemouth bass over calm water at golden hour, water dripping from the fish's mouth and belly in cinematic riverside setting

Film

Hunkered down and having fun

All fish tales are tall tales. What kind of stories will you tell this year? A special crop of fly fishing films to start things off right.

Books

My favorite fly fishing books of 2025, and ten other standout reads

Looking for your next great read? Here are a few recommendations, fly fishing-related and non-, as well as a few opinions on what makes good writing.

A big green Dumpster floating down a flooded, turbulent, muddy river, with splashing all around it.

Environment

Two Dumpsters drifting

On the second day of Christmas, the atmospheric river gave to me...

Aerial view of winding Limay Medio river through green valley with dramatic red rock cliffs at golden hour under stormy sky

Fish

This year's favorite fish

Reflecting on some favorite friends (finned and non-finned) after a great year, and ten fishtastic links to start your fly fishing week off right.

Two anglers fly fishing from a raft on a turquoise river, surrounded by lush green vegetation with snow-capped mountains rising dramatically in the background.

Mindset

Blowing off the stink

Whether you're buzzing with holiday excitement or feeling that slack tide of the soul, here are ten fishy detours to transport you.

A wall labeled 'GUIDES' holds approximately 100 handmade coffee mugs arranged in horizontal rows. Each mug is hung by its handle and features a name, forming a colorful mosaic.

Community

Making it

Where can you hang your mug on the wall?

Fish

Waiting for winter (steelhead)

An earnest start in the search for a dreary season chrome lifeline, six months until TroutFest, and ten fishy links to start your week off right.

"Miss Norway at Miss Universe in salmon costume with silver sequined body and metallic orange wings representing Norway's famous fish, shown in two poses on lit stage"

Pheasant Tail Simplicity

Harness your inner salmon goddess

Miss Norway, it me. Tying night success, updates from the alchemist's cave, and ten(-ish) fishy links to start your week with trout in the tabs.

17th-century Dutch painting of an alchemist in his workshop, surrounded by glass vessels, ceramic jugs, papers, and scientific instruments in a cluttered stone-walled room with arched doorway

How To

Arcane specs: Fly fishing tackle measurements make no sense

Decoding the antiquated systems we inhabit in fly fishing, and measuring things, so it all matches up real nice.

Weekly Update

Winter Term registration opens Wednesday

Sign up for Winter Term class, come tie flies on Friday, read CFS in the Financial Times, and watch two Swedish brothers bust chops while contemplating the good life.

Weekly Update

HOA Karens gatekeep eight-pound peacock bass

Don't let the park police keep you off your personal best. Fly fishing stoke from around the world in this week's newsletter

Tools

Net benefit

It’s time to stop thinking about nets as a tool for playing offense. Nets protect fish, and ultimately protect your ego.

A misty river scene, with a background conifers and dark orange autumnal foliage and large wet rocks in the foreground

Weekly Update

Portlanders! Come tie flies on Friday (or...just hang out?)

We're hosting two tying nights in November: This coming Friday, November 7th, and again on Friday, November 21st.

Weekly Update

Tune in to our massive Craig Mathews Q&A

We hopped the Pheasant Tail Simplicity press tour train and had a chance to chat with one of its iconic co-authors, Craig Mathews, about a bevy of topics related to tying flies, the future of conservation, and much more.

Conversation

Talking Pheasant Tail Simplicity with Craig Mathews

From tenkara-wielding biker gangs to roadkill feather ghouls to Yvon Chouinard's "stroke": A conversation with fly angling icon Craig Mathews never disappoints. Hear how Pheasant Tail Simplicity is creating a new generation of fly tiers, observation as the key to angling, and much, much more.

Learn

Tie your own flies: Six tips to start fly tying from Craig Mathews

Blue Ribbon Flies co-founder and co-author of Pheasant Tail Simplicity offers six tips for beginning fly tiers to get the ball rolling behind the vise.

Weekly Update

Win a free copy of Pheasant Tail Simplicity

Announcing our Pheasant Tail fall giveaway, a member Q&A on tenkara and creative woodworking projects, tariffs bite the fly fishing industry, and a Leaders roundup of must-reads from around the fly fishing world

Industry

Which Orvis stores are closing?

A phone survey of Orvis' U.S. retail stores revealed which are due to close at the end of 2025 and which will remain open and refocus on fly fishing and wing-shooting.