Next Bend Journal

The Next Bend Journal is where we slow down. Stories and reflections on the water, the vise, the fire at the end of the day, and the reasons we keep fishing. This is the reading, not the how-to.

Shelves of Firehole Sticks hook packs, sorted by model and size, in the Firehole warehouse.
The Long View

The Business Behind the Fly

Every fly in your box has a business behind it. Usually several.

At the ViseA Walt's Worm with a pink collar and silver tungsten bead on a Firehole 317 hook, held in the vise

Why Some Flies Earn Permanent Space

Every fly box eventually tells a story.

On the WaterA natural gray and orange Pine Squirrel Bugger streamer, tied by Mike Cline

Streamer Season Feels Different

Somewhere in late October the flies get bigger and the leader gets shorter.

The Long ViewRows of hand-tied streamers, nymphs and dry flies laid out on a foam board beside a Firehole Outdoors Go Barbless sticker

Craftsmanship in a Disposable World

Every fly ends one of three ways. The hook is the only part with a job in all three.

Around the FireThe bow of a boat on a still, wide river under a pale blue and pink sky, with a wooded ridge in the distance

Coffee Before First Light

The coffee pot is set the night before.

At the ViseA scattering of pheasant tail nymphs with copper ribbing and green thoraxes on a grey tying mat

Tying on a Guess

In September the fly box told me what to tie. In October it has nothing to say.

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