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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Brian McGeehan on Fly Fishing in Central Patagonia

Brian McGeehan leads annual hosted trips to Patagonia and is the owner and outfitter of Montana Angler Fly Fishing in Bozeman, MT.  He has been guiding fly fishing trips in...

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In Your Words: Ralph, 12 Years Later

‘In Your Words’ explores the incredible stories we’ve received from Filson fans across the globe.  Send us your own experiences with our clothing or product here for a chance to be...

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A Closer Look with Louis Cahill

Louis Cahill is an advertising photographer with over thirty years experience, and about as many holding a fly rod,  Louis has spent his life looking through the lens.  He’s not interested...

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Search for Golden Dorado by Brian McGeehan

Brian McGeehan is an outfitter and owner of Montana Angler Fly Fishing based in Bozeman, MT.  Brian is also an avid international angler and leads annual trips to Argentina, Chile and...

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GUEST BLOG: Dick and Joanie Go Fishing by Judith O’Keefe

During the summer I worked part-time at a local fly shop, The Fly Fisher’s Place. This shop, like many counterparts all over the country, is open for business, but they...

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How To's

GUEST BLOG: Ben Smith, Prepare For Out-of-State Fishing Trips

While we all have wonderful fishing holes, rivers and lakes in our hometown states, but sometimes it's nice to get out and see what else is out there. And we...

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How To's

4 Tips To Tying Flies

As we prepare for spring fly fishing season we turn to Ben Smith of Arizona Wanderings for the expert tips on tying flies. We're ready to get out on the...

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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....

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With The Flow: WA Winter Steelheading

When you picture father and son fishing trips in a metal row boat, you might picture a pristine lake with a bobber and worms, goofy hats with oversized boots and...

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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....

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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...

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Blue Heron Lodge: Forks, WA

“I love teaching folks how to appreciate the water; the ruggedness and beauty of the river are something special. I like to share with people a means by which they...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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Food & Recipes

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

For Seattle chef Kevin Davis of Steelhead Diner and his crew of charismatic anglers known as the “Good Guys," catching fish on the river is seen as a plus, but being out...

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Navajo Fly Fisher: A Journey Towards Understanding

When I was 5 my dad put a spinner rod in my hands because he just couldn't wait any longer for his future (yet nonexistent at the time) son to...

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Cast Hope: Share What You Love

Cast Hope is a nonprofit organization focused on providing kids in the Northern California community with the gift of the outdoors. Bringing youth and mentors together outside through the sport of fly...

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

Before trucker hats were a fixture of his wardrobe, Paul Moinester spent years wearing a suit and tie championing major conservation initiatives as a senior legislative aid in the U.S....

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Experience the Wild: Fly Fishing in the Frank Church Wilderness

On November 21st, 2016, we launched the Filson Experience the Wild Contest. Participants were asked to choose one out of four expereinces for a chance to win the trip of...

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Celebrating Filson Fathers with Chuck Ragan

Chuck Ragan is a family man, an outdoorsman, craftsman and musician. From The Blanco River in Texas, the woods and water of Eastern Tennessee, North Georgia, the marsh and bayou...

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Chasing Wild Winter Steelhead with Russell Miller from Sage Fly Fishing

 Russell Miller is the Marketing Coordinator for Sage and RIO Fly Fishing products, as well as a member of Team USA Fly Fishing. In the latest Filson Life, follow along...

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Fly Fishing on the Outlaw Trail with Michael Cevoli

Photography by Michael Cevoli. Michael is a commercial and documentary photographer. A graduate with honors of both the bachelor’s and the master’s program at the Rhode Island School of Design,...

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Fly Fishing the Yuba River with Chuck Ragan

Chuck Ragan is a family man, an outdoorsman, craftsman and musician. Ragan was raised chasing fish, game and adventures in the outdoors while at the same time, sharing music worldwide...

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Fly Fishing Through the Winter with Justin Salem Meyer

Justin Meyer is a photographer based in Des Moines, Iowa.He explores trout fishing his home waters of Northeast Iowa year round.—There is a solitude found on the winter waters.The hustle...

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Field Guide: Winter Steelheading on the Olympic Peninsula

Winter Steelhead are some of the most difficult and rewarding fish to search for, as weather conditions and swollen rivers with low visibility all stand between the angler and their...

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Red Slashed Gills and Yellow Days: Late Summer Cutthroat Fishing in The Rockies

Blaine Peetso is a mill worker in Northern Alberta and a self-described daydreamer. With a penchant for the outdoors and for photography, he created The Borealist blog as an excuse...

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Close to Home: Fishing McCloud Run with Justin Meyer

Justin Meyer runs the online store for Badowers, an Iowa-based Filson retailer. Photography by Justin Meyer and Austin Day When most people think about trout fishing, they likely picture the snow-capped...

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Unfailing Dads: Like Father, Like Son

Our fathers have endured many early mornings and painstaking days teaching us how to cast a fly rod, fell a tree, and to safely handle an over-and-under; and we couldn’t...

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Giving it All to the River: Fly Fishing the Sierras with Elias Carlson

The massive trout rose gently from a deep shadow between the boulders. A muscular shimmer in the green water. It seemed unconcerned with the unusual strength of the tiny nymph...

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Fly Fishing the American West with Tyler Sharp

Tyler Sharp is a documentary photographer, writer, and filmmaker based out of Dallas, Texas.  Today, Tyler explores the American West in Montana with a fly rod and his family.

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Reflections on a Rhode Island Ramble: Fly Fishing with Forest Woodward

Forest Woodward grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. At the age of one he was fortunate to meet his best friend Jacob, and over the course of the...

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'Trout Don't Live in Ugly Places' with Scott and Ashlee O'Malley

Photos by Scott and Ashlee O’Malley of The O’Malleys. I once had a fishing guide tell me, “trout don’t live in ugly places.” Nowhere is that more true than Central Idaho’s...

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Frio: Hiking and Fly Fishing the San Juan River, New Mexico with Halley Roberts

Halley Roberts is a photographer based in Portland, Oregon. This winter, Halley returned to New Mexico --her childhood home-- to fish the scrappy waters of the San Juan River. The...

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Winter Steelheading on the Snoqualmie

 There's nothing like winter steelheading. The search for the elusive slivers of chrome in dark green water is wrought with frustration, undeniable joy, and constant anticipation. Much like panning for gold,...

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On the Banks with John Ludlam

John Ludlam is a medium format analog photographer currently residing in Denver, Colorado. Two years ago, he started processing and printing his own photos in the darkroom and hasn't gone...

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Can Fly Fishing Save the World with Mongolia River Outfitters

Can fly fishing save the world? Mongolia River Outfitters’ owner Mark Johnstad thinks so, and after working with him for the past eight years, writer, editor, and fly fishing guide...

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Getting in to Wild Cutthroat in Durango with Justin Meyer

Join Justin Salem Meyer -- a fly-fishing enthusiast, photographer, and web designer based in Des Moines, Iowa -- on a trip to Southern Colorado in search of wild Cutthroats.I made...

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Fishing the Driftless in Iowa with Badowers

When I was 19 I fell in love with Iowa. It stopped just being the place I was born, where I’m from, where I live. This is part of a...

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How To's

Fly Fishing Refresher: 4 Things to Remember On Your First Trip of the Year

Words by David S. Lewis.  Executive Editor, (614) Magazine.Photo by Judith O'KeefeMother’s Day marks the beginning of spring fly fishing for many.  It takes a different breed (and a river out...

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Lunch With a Living Legend

Words and photos by Judith O'KeefeThe weather was dreary, a typical March day on the North Umpqua River.  A friend and I made the five hour drive over the mountains...

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Improbable Optimist: Fishing’s Opening Day

This Saturday marks Fishing’s Opening Day in Vermont. As the day of reckoning for countless unsuspecting trout draws near, New York City writer, editor and veteran angler David Coggins weighs...

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The Legend of South Pine Stream with Justin Meyer

Join Justin Salem Meyer -- a fly-fishing enthusiast, photographer, and web designer based in Des Moines, Iowa -- on a search for brook trout on the legendary South Pine stream.There...

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Get Away at a Moment's Notice with David Lewis

Even if you live in a city, don’t discount your local waterways for great weekday fishingBy David S. LewisAfter a friend tipped me off to a yard sale “canoe” they...

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GUEST BLOG: To Yakutat, Alaska, for prehistoric pike By Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis is the host of Adventure Journal and author of John Nosler – Going Ballistic, Black Bear Hunting, Hunting Oregon and other titles. This time he shares his insight on traveling...

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Yellowhammers and Specks by Louis Cahill

Louis Cahill is an advertising photographer with over thirty years experience, and about as many holding a fly rod,  Louis has spent his life looking through the lens.  He’s not interested...

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Best Summer Fishing Locations

4 favorite summer fishing locations across the U.S.

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How To's

Baiting Tips for the Filson Fisherman

Everything you need to master the art of fish baiting right here in this handy list. Pre-BaitingPre-baiting is a technique to entice more fish to the area you plan to cast...

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Steelhead Fishing on the Grande Ronde River by Judith O'Keefe

While fly fishing on one of the West’s most famous steelhead streams, outdoor enthusiast Judith O’Keefe is reminded what makes this particular pastime so special.Photos courtesy of Kelly James.This past...

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GUEST BLOG: Fishing Fiasco by Judith O'Keefe

 Judith O'Keefe is ready for summer fishing! But with any fishing or planned trip, there always seems to be a few surprises that you don't expect. After reading this, you'll...

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How To's

5 Tips To Improve Your Fly Fishing Catch Rates

Brian McGeehan has been a fly fishing guide for 17 years in both Colorado and Montana and owns Montana Angler Fly Fishing in Bozeman, MT. A fisherman's job is never...

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GUEST BLOG: Gary Lewis, Spot and stalk for Steelhead

Gary Lewis has been fishing on some of the Northwest’s finest rivers for over 20 years. He is award-winning author, TV host, speaker and photographer from Central Oregon. He has...

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