Nick Parish - Current Flow State Fly Fishing

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.

Newsletter

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?

Fly fisher wading in a river beneath clear blue skies and a forested hillside with evergreens and bare deciduous trees in autumn colors.

Newsletter

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"

Newsletter

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

Tools

Arcane specifications

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

Fly Tying

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.

Fly Tying

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 effect

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

Fly Tying

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.

Fly Tying

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.

Pheasant Tail Simplicity

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.

Six Tips to Start

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.

Pheasant Tail Simplicity

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

Fly Shops

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.

Craft

CFS Member Projects: Q&A with Chuck Grimmett

On upstate New York streams, tying tenkara flies, fly fishing woodworking projects, functional design, and building your own fly fishing tools

Pheasant Tail Simplicity

Fall is for Pheasant Tail

We're going all-in on Patagonia's latest book, with a virtual book club meeting, fly-tying events in Portland, and a special surprise.

Technique

Swinging wet flies and soft hackles

Try out one of the most straightforward presentation styles, for both trout and steelhead

A man floats through a rapid reeling a fly rod

Fly Tying

Free-floating through fall

Fly tying meetups, welcoming a new Intro alum group, and more

Member drive

Thanks for the Member Drive support!

Our September Member Drive is complete, and we've got one lucky winner!

Mindset

Big swell off Point No Point

Routines, purposelessness, wrist action, and our Member Drive fish reveal

Harry Potter and other wizards holding their wands to cast spells are used as a model for wrist movements in fly f

Casting

Making your first fly rod casts: It's not all in the wrist

Whether you're an absolute beginner or recovering gear angler, wrist control is critical to learning to load and cast a fly rod properly.

Film

What do the Grateful Dead and birdwatching have in common?

Probably just this week's newsletter? From private equity Dead deals to twitcher road meals.

Industry

Brand Dead: Is private equity ruining fly fishing gear?

A surefire sign your favorite outdoor brand is doing the old private equity shuffle? A Grateful Dead collaboration.

Member drive

Two new Explorers stepped up. Will you be next? 🎯

We're rolling in our September Member Drive!

Mindset

Go beyond the bobber

Challenging yourself to become a better angler, a book club rundown, and upcoming events.

Read by the River

Read By the River: Nature's Best Hope

Our river nerd book club turns to trees: backyard conservation, native plants, and creating habitat that supports the food web.

Member drive

Announcing the CFS September Member Drive

Let's fund a Photarium—and find this mystery fish—for fly fishing education

A drift boat floats in the midground, anchored at the side of Montana's Madison river

Fly Tying

Do you want the wire worm?

Knowing what you like, and sticking with it.

A man sits on the tailgate of a truck, facing the camera, with fly fishing gear on either side of him, ready to give a briefing to a beginner before setting out.

Beginner Questions

Back to school: Six Tips to Start fly fishing from George Daniel

One of the greatest educators in the angling world offers a roadmap to building your skills in the sport.

Newsletter

Let's hit the road

What if the secret to life's problems is just getting better at evading them?

Newsletter

Seeing salmon, seeing snakes, and tying simple flies

Facial recognition, but for fish, our first buzzworm of the year, and a new PCC fly-tying class for Fall Term

Salmon

Salmon Vision: The AI revolution comes to salmon conservation

Bringing the power of artificial intelligence to bear on monitoring anadromous salmon populations for faster and more efficient counts, toward more resilient watersheds

Kids

How to make your kids hate fishing

Re-writing the old tired playbook of fishing as achievement and productive time in favor of something more curious and explorational.

Links

Learn Fly Fishing: Complete Beginner's Guide to Getting Started

Whether you're completely new to fly fishing or looking to improve your skills, this directory of all the main articles from Current Flow State has everything you need to learn about fly fishing and be successful on the water.

Guides

CFSQ&A: What I Wish I'd Known Before My First Guided Float in Montana

Impressions, insights, and lessons-learned when an Intro to Fly Fishing alum takes her first guided float trip in Montana

Published Elsewhere

Profiling fly fishing educator George Daniel for PennStater magazine

From inspiration and ideas to executing a feature story, it takes a team, trust, and a little bit of good timing. Sounds like a successful fishing trip, too