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.
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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.
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Hold on loosely
Trying to not try so hard.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Safety
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
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30 micro-lessons for the fly-curious to learn to fish
We're off and running on a marathon of Bluesky posting to kick off this year's trout season. Try one every day, and in a month you'll be an angler!
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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.
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Pillar 1: Mindset
Start here. Why do we fish? How do we venture boldly into the outdoors?
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Pillar 3: Tools
What stuff do I need? Less than you think.
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Pillar 2: Environment
Where do fish live? How can we find them? All about watersheds, rivers, and all those who live in them.
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Pillar 4: Technique
Casting, fly presentation, dry flies, nymphing, streamers and more.
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Pillar 5: Conservation
How to steward these gifts for the next generation
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Pillar 6: Community
Building your support network inside the sport by connecting with like-minded people.
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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.
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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
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Rolling your own
If you wish to make a fly rod from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
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River reads, post-hibernation edition
Grand Canyon dreaming, communing with the fishes, Jackson County's finest, Tokyo shopping, and a great smallmouth bass learning opportunity
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Watersheds and watching flies
Zoom out to conserve, zoom in to observe, zoom over to the Grand Fir tonight to have a drink and a bite.
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Fly fishing and problem solving
Moving beyond the engineering mindset, and trying to embrace frustration as a key function of learning
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The Five Permissions: How to be a great fishing friend
Take me fishing. A simple request, a schmaltzy commercial, a pivotal role. Here are five permissions you can give yourself and your fishing friend to create space for connection.
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How to read a river: Riffles, runs, and pools
Digging one level deeper to understand the different features we find in a river
Fly rods
From reel seat to tippet: understanding the anatomy of a fly-fishing rig
The knee bone connects to the thigh bone...the thigh bone connects to the hip bone...digging into all the things that attach to your fly rod, from reel seat to fly line to tippet.
Fly rods
How to buy your first fly fishing rod
There's one mistake I want to help you avoid when you buy your first fly rod.
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The ultimate guide to fly fishing knots
The do's and do-knot's fly fishing knot tying. Find out what you need to know, what you don't, and how to build your skills and have confidence in your fly fishing knots
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Setting your fly-fishing intentions: The CFS Check In
Check in with your goals and intentions at the start of every fishing season, or calendar year.
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What is fly fishing? Why do we fish? A very short introduction
For as long as humans have lived near rivers and oceans, we’ve fished. And I’d argue that fly fishing is the closest to how our ancestors did it. Read on for a broad introduction to the sport, the differences between fly and bait fishing, and more.
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Five reasons to start fly fishing
Nobody fly fishes because it’s easy. So why do they do it? Here are five reasons why I fly fish, along with two anti-reasons.