Nick Parish

A sequence of skateboarder David Gravette riding a miniramp with fly-fishing waders on, and then riding to catch a fish.

Fly-fishing at the intersection

Skate or Fly: How two outsider sports foster the same creative flow state

From boardslides to redsides, meet a few notable skaters who fly-fish, and identify the big areas the sports have in common, built around getting into the flow state.

TroutFest 2025

TroutFest 2025, debriefed: We came, we saw, we fished...we won the trivia contest!

Here's what went down at the first-ever Maupin Meetup during the Deschutes River Alliance's TroutFest.

Guides

Tap into the Wisdom of the Guides

Gleaning advice for taking your first guided fly-fishing trip from legendary fly-fishing guides and a tome that's stood the test of time

Fishing as finding

Nirvana on the Deschutes: The salmonfly hatch with no hookups

Deciding to fish the salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes with hookless flies

Beginner Questions

30 micro-lessons to amp up your fly-fishing addiction

We're off and running on a marathon of Bluesky posting to kick off this year's trout season.

Leaders

Rigged for spring

it's the May edition of Leaders, our links roundup, featuring a bevy of great PNW events, primers on fish handling, and an intro to Trout Spey.

An old red fishing logbook has FISHING gold-embossed in the upper left corner, and some sort of fish-related icon, a creel maybe, in the lower right.

Practice

One of the best ways to improve your fly-fishing: Download our free fishing log template

All the theory, workflows, and downloadable tools you need to build one of the most important habits of a fly angler.

TroutFest 2025

TroutFest 2025: The schedule drops

We're just over a month away from TroutFest 2025 in Maupin, OR, and the Deschutes River Alliance has released the first schedule of events.

A round-headed dolphin pokes its weathered head above muddy water.

Read by the River

Read By the River: James C. Scott's In Praise of Floods

Saving dolphins, propitiating river spirits, and the future of history

Learn

Pillar 1: Mindset

Start here. Why do we fish? How do we venture boldly into the outdoors?

Learn

Pillar 2: Environment

Where do fish live? How can we find them? All about watersheds, rivers, and all those who live in them.

Learn

Pillar 3: Tools

What stuff do I need? Less than you think.

Learn

Pillar 4: Technique

Casting, fly presentation, dry flies, nymphing, streamers and more.

Learn

Pillar 5: Conservation

How to steward these gifts for the next generation

Learn

Pillar 6: Connection

Building your support network inside the sport

Learn

Take your time: Ten ways to make fly-fishing a bigger part of your life

We have a motto around here: "Make fly-fishing a bigger part of your life." Here are ten ways to work in more time on the water, and time spent feeling fishy.

Leaders

Hands off, or hands-free?

Yet sometimes you have to get a little dirt on your hands.

Writing

This season's most essential piece of fly-fishing gear

The dirt-cheap wonder-tool any angler can use to become legendary.

A curious-looking fellow in a patterned fleece sits foreground in a studio, with a tackle box and a fly rod in the background on a table. The super reads "Nick Parish Fly Fishing Instructor'

Learn

The Intro to Fly Fishing class in the spotlight

A short video introduction to the Portland Community College Intro to Fly Fishing course, courtesy student-angler Nathaniel Chapman

Writing

The Oscars: CFS' 2025 Fly Fishing Film Tour Awards

There are four questions a pretty good fly-fishing film has to answer in order to be considered truly great.

Books

Hibernation reads, 2025

When we can't fish and make stories, we read stories. Sometimes those are fly-fishing stories, and sometimes they're not. Here are three that rolled across the bedside table, from the Grand Canyon to the Mariana Trench to the Carhartteratti of Jackson Hole's Persephone Bakery.