It’s certainly a dream to travel the world and fly fish, but I very much enjoy my wide open new world of fishing here in Wisconsin.  Honestly, I’ve been chomping at the bit for spring to arrive here so I can get started.  I learned a lot about my new waters last summer and expect to do better on them this year.     Today was the first of three days fishing on one of my old favorite places, Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior.  This is a fishery where on any cast you could catch your largest smallmouth bass, walleye, pike, brown trout or varieties of salmon.  Every so ..read more

It was a rough trip home from Bhutan.  Rugged.  Remember my tooth and jaw were hurting upon arrival to Thimphu after our extra-long drive from the river?  Well, pain woke me up around 3 AM the next morning.  Something was going south.  Knowing my predicament of 40 something hours of travel immediately ahead, I gritted things out taking no immediate Advil or anything for the discomfort.  I was saving drugs in case pure desperation occurred.   I shut my eyes once on the plane leaving Bhutan but upon landing in Bangladesh, some cabin pressure changes sent pain f ..read more

Photo by Jim Klug I had my coffee fast and early this morning then hiked upstream and wade fished a run where you’re likely to find golden mahseer not chocolates.  Now that the trip is at its end I’m dying to hold one more golden nugget.  But no luck.  Not even a tug.       Photo by Jim Klug I returned to camp for breakfast.  Then I packed my Yeti dry bag for the last time.  There’s only one good thing about the trip coming to an end.  With all the rain early on there are some rank clothes in my bag.  I’m not trying to be gross, it’s just a ..read more

Today Jim Klug and I fished together.  Klug and I have been friends going all the way back to the early 90’s.  I was fairly new to managing the Jack Dennis Fly Shop in Jackson Hole.  Jim was one of my sales reps traveling around with his best friend, a yellow lab.  He came through town often because Ross Reels was one of his brands.   Klug and I hit it off.  Both us youngsters at the time had dreams of fly fishing the world.  I’d already been spending my meagre earnings purchasing plane tickets to drop me off in weird countries with only a backpack and a few ..read more

It’s a national holiday in Bhutan today, the Death Anniversary of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.  Enjoy the read for those interested.  It’s pretty cool.  The day is of importance to our Bhutanese Himalayan Flyfishing staff and we were asked a long time ago not to fish today.  We happily honored this holiday as well and relaxed, freshened up gear and visited a local village.  After over a week of filming with a bit of recent rain, Chris was more than happy for the tune-up.   If I was still in my 40’s or less I’d probably have gone crazy.  But as you get older tra ..read more

Photo by Jim Klug It wasn’t a good night sleep for me.  About midnight the storms started.  While some sleep through the rumbles of thunder and pattering of rain, it wakes me.  I lay there watching the flickers of lightening.  I also worry about the river blowing out and becoming unfishable.  Unfortunately the storms went all night with occasional downpours.  I was ten times more tired when I woke up than when I went to bed last night and felt like absolute crap.   Photo by Jim Klug This meant a slow start for me.  By the time I surfaced, Jigme, Bobb ..read more

As we left last nights campfire the giant raindrops were starting.  Five minutes after hitting the bed, the drops turned to downpour.  Soon the heavy patter on my tent was joined by flashes of lightening.  Thunderstorms hammered away on Bhutan’s Himalayan Foothills on and off till morning.     The last shower fell around 5 AM.  By 5:30 the angler tents were rustling.  We’re camped at the mouth of a tributary, but not only that, after a fresh rain there was a good chance some huge golden mahseer were attracted.       Again, due to my lucky catch ..read more

Photo by Jim Klug The goal of this expedition is to show Bhutan as a legitimate off-the-grid fishery through photos and film so it can soon be available through Yellow Dog Flyfishing to all physically able and adventurous fly fishers.  As a blessed angler that has seen most destinations, including many of the best mahseer rivers in the Himalayas, I can honestly say that this trip will likely be the most incredible offered of all.  But regardless of being here at primetime and how adept an angler you may be, catching mahseer is never a guarantee.   Bryant Dunn, founder of Himal ..read more

Taking in the phenomenal sites of Bhutan have been a true treat the last two days.  Our Yellow Dog Flyfishing (YD) film crew joined with Bryant Dunn and his Himalayan Flyfishing Adventure team has had a blast.  But today we honed our focus to our main goal – catch some fish and film them so we can add Bhutan to the long list of YD trips.  At 7 am we found ourselves on a three hour van ride for the launch where we were about to begin our seven day float trip on a Himalayan mahseer river.   All drives in Bhutan last longer than expected.  Roads are narrow and winding.&nb ..read more

We began our day in Thimphu, Bhutan with sunrise on the tallest sitting Buddha in the world, (Dordenma) at Kuenselphodrang.  This amazing Buddha sits along the mountain side overlooking the capital city.  When I was here in 2014 this amazing Buddha was under construction.  Now it’s complete and we got to tour inside.  Just like yesterday at the Tigers Nest, inside was spectacular but we were not allowed to take photos.   Just a reminder, I’m here with friends Jim Klug the founder of Yellow Dog Flyfishing (YD) and one of outdoors top camera men, Chris Patterson.  A ..read more