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.

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

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.

Guest PostA fly angler with a sling pack and net stands at the edge of a riffle on a river in Montana, a large boulder across the current.

A Beautiful Drift

A guest essay from Tom Costa on the unexpected trout, and four feet of water under the alders on a Montana back channel.

The Long ViewJohn Place and his son at the Firehole Outdoors booth at the Fly Fishing Show in Marlboro, Massachusetts

One Year In

A year ago this month I bought a hook company. I thought I knew what I was buying.

Around the FireHeadlights on a dark two-lane road seen through a truck windshield, with the instrument cluster glowing at the bottom of the frame

The Drive Home

It is dark by the time we are off the water now. The drive back is the part I would keep.

Contact Us

Have any questions or comments? We'd love to hear from you.