Sometimes I think you just have to “get it off your chest”, and hope that your words don’t fall on deaf ears. In the category “Al’s Point of View”, I have expressed my thoughts on topics such as the spread of whirling disease and the misplaced blame on the role of felt soles, the detrimental effects of stocking, and so on. If my comments start conversations, they will have served their purpose!

What is a Trophy Trout ?

Judged by blogs and books, it seems that most anglers are obsessed with catching a trophy trout. But what exactly ...
Read More

Are We Part of the Problem?

It is increasingly difficult to find solitude on many of our trout streams. When I began fly fishing 60 years ago, ...
Read More

Is Wade-fishing Harming the Madison River Fishery

Let me make it clear at the outset that I am a dyed-in-the-wool wade-fisherman. For some time now, I have ...
Read More

It’s “Getting Western” on Montana’s Madison River

Several years ago (?4) a commission was appointed by the state to study the increasingly popular and crowded Madison River ...
Read More

The Ramblings of an Aging Angler, 2nd Edition

I have just published the 2nd edition of my book, "The Ramblings of an Aging Angler, Lessons Learned While Fly ...
Read More

Is Tightline Nymphing Spin-Casting Made Difficult?

I was fishing with a friend, Jake, a few weeks ago. He was tightlining, with a prodigious length of mono ...
Read More

Support the Henry’s Fork Foundation

The Henry's Fork Foundation is conducting it's annual fundraiser, a virtual auction this year, featuring 124 items. Offerings include fishing ...
Read More

Is Montana’s Madison River Being Fished to Death?

I noticed a change last year, 2019, when fishing my home water in Montana, the Madison River. There were fewer ...
Read More

Global Warming, a Call to Trout Anglers

I was prompted to write this blog after reading an editorial, written by 13 year old Kian Tanner, already an ...
Read More

Native Trout Restoration

I am a life member of Trout Unlimited, and believe in the balance of nature that biodiversity provides. But native ...
Read More

Passing the Torch to the Next Generation of Fly Fishers

This New Year is different for me; I am a new grandparent! This constellation of events has caused me to ...
Read More

Euro Nymphing- an Old American Fly Fishing Technique

In the past few years, Euro nymphing, or tight-line nymphing, has become all the rage. It has been hailed as a ...
Read More

Fly Fishing Etiquette- Some Real Scenarios

I recognize that to venture into the topic of fly fishing etiquette may be Quixotic. But with the ever increasing ...
Read More

Matching the Hatch and Other Fly Fishing Short Stories

I want to start the new year off with a bit of a  twist. Instead of writing an advice column, I'm ...
Read More

Professional’s Corner- Interviews with Fly Fishing Guides

I met Justin Witt in Kamchatka, Russia, last year, where he was the head fly fishing guide for a wilderness ...
Read More

Professional’s Corner- Interviews with Fly Fishing guides

With this article, I would like to introduce a new type of article, interviews with professional fly fishing guides. I ...
Read More

Trout Stocking- Helpful or Harmful

I have been reluctant to write a blog about trout stocking, because it is a very emotional issue for me ...
Read More

Conservation Controversy over Exotics

Felts vs Rubber, revisited In March, I discussed the problem of exotics, with a focus on the conservation controversy over ...
Read More

Conservation Controversy- Felts vs. Rubber

Zebra mussels, lake trout, didymo, northern snakehead, and myxobolus cerebralis- what do these have in common? They are all referred ...
Read More