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.

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

Why Some Flies Earn Permanent Space

Every fly box eventually tells a story.

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.

At the ViseAn open fly box with bare foam slots where nymphs were lost over the spring

The Empty Slots

You do not have to remember which flies worked. The box remembers for you.

At the ViseA group of pheasant tail nymphs and variants tied on barbless hooks, with copper wire ribbing and peacock and olive thoraxes

The First Fly I Ever Trusted

Everyone has a first fly. Not the first one you tied. The first one you trusted.

At the ViseWhy We Still Tie Our Own Flies

Why We Still Tie Our Own Flies

There are seventeen pheasant tail nymphs in my box. Proven pattern. Fish it every spring. And yet, on a Tuesday night in January, with the nearest trout water four months away, a spool of copper wi...

At the ViseThe Flies You Tie in June

The Flies You Tie in June

In winter you tie toward something. By June, you're just trying to keep up.

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