I take a lot of pride in putting together what I hope all you would consider to be a great magazine. If you haven’t looked at American Angler in the past year or two, take a glance. I’ve changed it from a strictly how-to magazine (with content that you could easily find on the internet and in how-to books) to more of a cultural and travel book that calls to those who like the lodge experience and to those who are adventuresome and game for DIY.
In the current issue (March/April) which is on newsstands now, there’s a must read section on hatches that I spent a lot of time putting together. What I envisioned was a list of hatches that people may not have heard of, and the interesting stories from authors who caught those bugs coming off on the right day. The section also includes some well known hatches, like Hex, salmonflies, and brown drakes, but the stories about those hatches are told with fresh perspectives.
For instance, the Michigan Hex piece talks about finding those bugs during daylight hours and putting the hurt on some big browns. My piece on brown drakes talks about a humorous situation when I was able to yard out a Silver Creek brown that mistook a Mohair Leech for a brown drake emerger. And there’s a creative piece about salmonflies on the Deschutes River that Chris Santella pens. There are also pieces by Jen Ripple, Dave Zoby, Jerry Hamza, Dana Sturn, Tom Keer, and Stephen Sautner. I can’t imagine any serious fly fisher not enjoying these reads. So stop by the store and check out a copy.
There’s also a great piece on swinging flies for kings on Alaska’s Kanektok River, written by one of the best angling writers on the planet, Dave Karczynski who also is a professor at the University of Michigan. He’s the man when it comes to writing a hard-core fishing
story and this one is great. In the attached image you’ll see that Deneki Outdoors, which owns Alaska West on the Kanektok, gave a shout out to the piece. Again, go hit the shelves, find the magazine and give it a read or, best, buy the mag and read the entire thing.
I am very interested in what all of you have to say about the magazine and the direction I’ve taken it. I really, really hope you enjoy. Comments welcome. GT