The Filson Journal

Corey Forrest: Fishermom

Corey Forrest is the heart of a generational legacy–weaving together tradition, motherhood, and the sea.

A Life on the Water: Brett Fitzgerald and the Angler Action Foundation

From chasing trout in upstate New York to leading one of Florida’s most impactful conservation organizations, Brett Fitzgerald’s journey is rooted in a deep love for wild waters. As Executive...

The Rod & Gun Club, Everglades City

The isolated location and the private trappings of the club’s reputation have led the rich and famous to seek it out over the years. Five presidents, from Harry Truman to...

The Pilar

The identity of a boat mirrors its owner. It’s a matter of time and interest, shaped further by needs and desires, which can define the vessel as one dedicated type,...

British Millerain & the History of Waxed Canvas

Mariners endure some of the most inhospitable conditions imaginable, facing gale-force winds, driving rain, and crashing waves. The need for weather protection at sea spurred innovations leading to British Millerain’s...

Revival of a Trout Hatchery

Cold water creeks and rivers course through Appalachia like veins and arteries. Over the eons, their breadth and depth have carved through earth and stone to spread life across this...

Dispatches from the North: Kotzebue Sound Salmon

"Fish are hitting already, splashing. Seals surface nearby. Andrew whoops, “Rich!” and roars down-current to find a spot. I wring my sopping gray gloves, curl stiff cold fingers around the...

How To's

How to Make a Pole Spear

Just under the surface of the frigid ocean is a bounty of saltwater fish to be foraged. Many an outdoors person would agree that, in a survival scenario, the ocean...

Casting Comedy and Conservation: Eeland Stribling

For fisherman, outdoorsman, and comedian Eeland Stribing, comedy and fishing are very similar. Creating a joke and making a cast both take thoughtful preparation, the perfect setup, and impeccable timing...

Hunt Gather Talk Podcast | Season 3

Renowned wild game chef, Hank Shaw, has spent a lifetime gathering wild edible plants, hunting, and fishing the land and waters of North America. This season of 'Hunt Gather Talk'...

Profiles

Chloe Ivanoff: finding her sea legs

Shortly after Ivanoff began working seasonal jobs in geology, she started to feel she’d missed an important rite of passage by not having spent a summer living and working aboard...

Halibut Hooks of the Northwest Coast

Traditionally, a náxw, or “halibut hook” in the Lingít language, was carved out of two pieces of wood attached with cordage (natural fiber) to form a V-shaped hook. A piece...

How To's

DIY Wooden Landing Net

A wooden landing net is not only one of the angler’s best tools to ensure the swift catch—and, where necessary, release—of a fish, but also a durable part of the...

The punk rockers of fly fishing – angling on the LA River

Few Angelinos are aware that prior to the 1930s, the LA River was home to native rainbow trout and seasonal runs of steelhead and Chinook salmon. The Los Angeles River...

Chuck Ragan: The Flow

Music would still be his mistress but being outdoors on the water was his true love. His business, Chuck Ragan Fly Fishing, introduces others to the haunts he knows so...

Subsea Hunter: Freedive Spearfishing with Lucas Murray

As many land hunters can attest to, part of the reason they choose to hunt is to get in touch with an instinctual, ancestral aspect of themselves. There is something...

A 2020 Field Report from BHA

Backcountry hunters and anglers is an organization dedicated to the stewardship of our public lands. Here, john gale of BHA offers a look at their mission, some of the year's...

How to Shrimp in the PNW

Ask 100 shrimpers how it's done and you'll probably get 100 different answers. Personal preferences and secret tricks aside, we can all agree that there's nothing quite like pulling up...

Profiles

Matt Mendes of Spin the Handle: Chasing Reservation Chrome

Before Matt Mendes guided on the Deschutes River, he drove the Green Monster. It was 2002, and Mendes was 13 years old; the job was his first on the river....

How To's

How to Take Care of Your Catch

The ethos of the Leave No Trace philosophy has always struck a chord with fishers like me. From leaving our campsite looking as though no one was there, to gently...

Bellingham to Alaska with Drifters Fish

In April 2020 the crew from Drifters Fish set off from Bellingham, Washington to Alaska - over a 3,500-mile journey - for the start of the annual salmon season. Read...

Profiles

Lael Johnson - Olympic Peninsula Fly Guide

Lael Johnson is a fly fisherman and guide on the Olympic Peninsula. His passion for the anadromous fish of Washington’s coastal rivers is contagious. He loves these fish, these rivers,...

Why the Skagit River Watershed Matters

Nothing feels small on the Skagit River. It emerges from the Cascade Mountains, the ridgelines rising suddenly and severely, compressing the landscape and framing the view with their immense, sharp...

How To's, Food & Recipes

Filson Food: Whole Salt Crusted Fish with Horseradish Cream

Cooking in a salt crust is essentially a method of steaming, but instead of using water to steam, the salt crust holds in the natural moisture from the fish to...

Signature Materials

Signature Materials: Technical Rainwear Pt. 1

When you’re outdoors and can’t escape wet weather, staying dry is a very real need. Quality rain gear not only keeps you more comfortable—in cold temperatures, it can prevent life-threatening...

Food & Recipes

Q & A With the Open-Fire Chefs of Portland's Tournant

Tournant is an open fire cooking and events company. Based in Portland, OR, their business serves as a homage to the Pacific Northwest, to one another, and to all the...

Profiles

Renowned Artist and Activist: Ray Troll

Ray’s Alaska adventure started in 1983, when he moved here to help his sister open a seafood retail store in Ketchikan. Ray soon turned to art to document his experiences...

Profiles

Deep Sea Fishermen's Union

Back at the turn of the last century, a hardy group of men roamed the wooden docks of Seattle. Grizzled and gruff, they would spend days out on the unpredictable...

Signature Materials

Signature Materials: Technical Rainwear Pt. 2

When looking at pictures of rain jackets on a web page, they all kind of look the same. How does one choose? Simple: honestly prioritize your needs as a user...

How To's, Food & Recipes

Filson Food: West Coast Seafood Chowder

Chowder is a dish that can be found up and down both coasts of the United States and each regional interpretation has its own unique local style. Regardless of the...

Profiles

The Ocean's Top Predator: Puget Sound Orcas

Black fins sliced the water and rose higher and higher, close to our boat. With a puff and a blow, the orcas surfaced: members of J pod, the southern resident...

Marian Beck: The Saltry Restaurant

The first thing you notice about Marian Beck is her hands. Graying Alaskan fishermen all have the same hands, swollen and powerful from decades of picking fighting salmon from gillnets,...

How To's

How to Preserve Your Catch

Winter brings slower days and time to cook – and a freezer full of fish after a summer of harvest. Nourishing and delicious protein, wild salmon brings brightness to the...

Profiles

The Puzzle Master: Kathy Burek

Anyone who has ever spent hours huddled over a puzzle knows the joy of finally figuring it out. Whether it’s an obscure image coming together piece by piece, that head-scratcher...

The History of Ballard: The First 100 Years

Today, the neighborhood of Ballard is well known for its restaurants and atmosphere. However, the history of this Seattle hamlet is a story of industry, community, and entrepeneurship.

Elver Fishing in Maine

Elver fishing in Maine is based on a lottery system. For those lucky enough to win a license the payout can be over $2,000/lb.

In Print: Branson Wallace

Last summer while in Kodiak, AK we went crabbing with Branson Wallace and his buddy Aaron Thompson. We recently reconnected with Branson to ask him about life on Kodiak, his...

How To's

What to Pack for a Backpack Fly Fishing Trip

Backpacking is a great way to re-familiarize yourself with the often-elusive feeling of spare time. With a little extra planning, you can turn a backpacking trip into a fly-fishing trip....

In Print: Making Art with Ed Anderson

Ed Anderson is an Idaho-based artist known for his iconic scenes using bold colors and lines to present subjects from bush pilots to bull trout and bugling bull elk. We...

Q+A With Fly Designer Brita Fordice

Atop Brita Fordice’s desk lays a bag of eyeballs. Next to the eyeballs are a variety of feathers - some that look real, some that are real, and some that...

Filson Food: Whiskey Cured Salmon Gravlax

Making cured fish is incredibly simple, but requires intentional time to prepare. Gravlax, a preparation of preserving salmon from the cold coast of Scandinavia, is cured in salt and sugar...

How To's

How to Fillet a Fish

Whether you fish your local river, the lake the next state over, or the ocean on the other side of the world, knowing how to properly filet your catch is...

Filson Food: Pickled Wild Salmon

Pickled salmon is a tradition that runs deep in Alaska, preserving the summer’s harvest to last through the cold winter. Wild salmon is a healthy protein and pickled fish makes...

Corey Forrest: Fishing Rhode Island

As a little girl, I didn’t know I was going to grow up to be a fisherman, or follow in my father’s footsteps, and his father’s footsteps. It was a...

How To's, Food & Recipes

How to Open an Oyster without a Shucking Knife

While a shucking knife is always recommended to open oysters, it's not the only way. If a fresh bivalve opportunity presents itself while you're without a shucking knife, you might...

In Print: Patrick Manary

Patrick Manary is an Oregon native, lanky, with piercing blue eyes and a wild beard. Thoughtful and soft-spoken, he holds himself with the steady confidence that brutal outdoor work can...

Cooper River Trail

Some of us like hiking and some of us like fishing; a lot of us like both. The Cooper River Trail is the perfect trail for those who like both....

In Print: Eric Jackson's Snow, Surf and Steelhead

Eric Jackson is always ready for a challenge. You may recognize him from the massive hucks in his latest snowboarding film, Alignment. Or perhaps you’ve seen photos of him fly-fishing...

After Wildfire

A bike-pack fishing trip through a scorched landscape was not the trip that Ashlee thought she was going to take - but the things she saw and the experience she...

A Normal Life

Living the life that you love does not shield you from loss. Fishing the remote waters of Alaska’s Alagnak River is a dream job for Russell Owen, but that dream...

Life of a Guide

Alaska's Alagnak River is a place where there are no roads. A place where the weather does what it wants. A place where humans are no longer the apex predator....

Solitude and Steelhead

Many a man has felt the pace and stress of life wash from his soul while standing mid-river, fly rod in hand. Solitude is perhaps the thing most often sought...

Brown Trout of New Zealand

Jack Kos is a self-described Kiwi trout bum. What began as a passion for fishing soon developed into a desire to know more about the fish he sought. That pursuit...

Salmon Centric: at the Core of a Life Purposefully Cast

Early in the long days of summer here in Bristol Bay, I constantly feel as if I am holding my breath. Our family’s 32-foot drift boat has sat on blocks...

Red Gold: The Livelihood of Bristol Bay

The Bristol Bay salmon run attracts people from all over the globe, who work around the clock from late May until the end of July. They harvest sockeye salmon, known...

How to Get on a Fishing Boat

Some are born into it, some stumble upon it, and some, like me, seek it out.The lure of Alaska's "Red Gold," the Sockeye salmon run of Bristol Bay, hit me...

Filson Food: Bringing Fish to the River with Chef Kevin Davis

Food & Recipes

New Arrivals

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Corey Forrest: Fishermom

Featured articles

The Pack Horses and Mules of White Pass Trail

Corey Forrest: Fishermom

Mollie Walsh: The Angel of White Pass

National Forest Elemental Series: The Breath of a Nation

How to Kill, Cook, and eat dungeness crab

A Life on the Water: Brett Fitzgerald and the Angler Action Foundation

Denali Damsels

Filson Food: Surf & Turf Alaskan Style

Discover the world of Filson

Corey Forrest: Fishermom

A Life on the Water: Brett Fitzgerald and the Angler Action Foundation

The Rod & Gun Club, Everglades City

The Pilar

British Millerain & the History of Waxed Canvas

Revival of a Trout Hatchery

Dispatches from the North: Kotzebue Sound Salmon

How to Make a Pole Spear

Casting Comedy and Conservation: Eeland Stribling

Hunt Gather Talk Podcast | Season 3

Chloe Ivanoff: finding her sea legs

Halibut Hooks of the Northwest Coast

DIY Wooden Landing Net

The punk rockers of fly fishing – angling on the LA River

Chuck Ragan: The Flow

Subsea Hunter: Freedive Spearfishing with Lucas Murray

A 2020 Field Report from BHA

How to Shrimp in the PNW

Matt Mendes of Spin the Handle: Chasing Reservation Chrome

How to Take Care of Your Catch

Bellingham to Alaska with Drifters Fish

Lael Johnson - Olympic Peninsula Fly Guide

Why the Skagit River Watershed Matters

Filson Food: Whole Salt Crusted Fish with Horseradish Cream

Signature Materials: Technical Rainwear Pt. 1

Q & A With the Open-Fire Chefs of Portland's Tournant

Renowned Artist and Activist: Ray Troll

Deep Sea Fishermen's Union

Signature Materials: Technical Rainwear Pt. 2

Filson Food: West Coast Seafood Chowder

The Ocean's Top Predator: Puget Sound Orcas

Marian Beck: The Saltry Restaurant

How to Preserve Your Catch

The Puzzle Master: Kathy Burek

The History of Ballard: The First 100 Years

Elver Fishing in Maine

In Print: Branson Wallace

What to Pack for a Backpack Fly Fishing Trip

In Print: Making Art with Ed Anderson

Q+A With Fly Designer Brita Fordice

Filson Food: Whiskey Cured Salmon Gravlax

How to Fillet a Fish

Filson Food: Pickled Wild Salmon

Corey Forrest: Fishing Rhode Island

How to Open an Oyster without a Shucking Knife

In Print: Patrick Manary

Cooper River Trail

In Print: Eric Jackson's Snow, Surf and Steelhead

After Wildfire

A Normal Life

Life of a Guide

Solitude and Steelhead

Brown Trout of New Zealand

Salmon Centric: at the Core of a Life Purposefully Cast

Red Gold: The Livelihood of Bristol Bay

How to Get on a Fishing Boat

Filson Food: Bringing Fish to the River with Chef Kevin Davis

Cast Hope: Share What You Love

Trade Stories: The Blue-Collar Bastion of Ballard, WA

In the Fall: Fly Fishing Washington State's Hidden Gems

Experience the Wild: Fly Fishing in the Frank Church Wilderness

Celebrating Filson Fathers with Cody Humphrey

Chasing Wild Winter Steelhead with Russell Miller from Sage Fly Fishing

Fish-Work: An Interview with Commercial Fisherman and Photographer Corey Arnold

Aboard the F/V Arctic Lady: Self-Sufficiency on the High Seas

Fly Fishing on the Outlaw Trail with Michael Cevoli

Fly Fishing the Yuba River with Chuck Ragan