On August of 2004, I set off on my dream trip to fish the Illiama River Basin in Alaska. We booked our trip with Rainbow River Lodge, one of the top fishing outfits in the state, situated near Mount Katmai National Park, famous for the Alaskan brown bears feeding on salmon at Brooks falls.

We set off by flying to the town of Illiama. We were met there by the owner, Chad Hewitt, who flew us then by pontoon plane out to the lodge, which sits on a beautiful little lake filled to the brim with northern pike. We were fortunate to arrive at the lodge during the prime time for catching leopard trout. These guys are best …

Australia’s Northern Territory is best known by fisherman for its excellent barramundi fishing. The barramundi, or barra, can grow to enormous sizes (100 lb), but anything over 50 lb is considered a trophy fish. Barramundi are much like the American bass in that they hide around snags and ambush their prey. They can be caught in both fresh and saltwater although the saltwater barramundi are usually better to eat.

Barramundi is one of the premier Australian sports fish and when hooked will usually make several headshaking jumps several feet above the water. For its size it does not have the line pulling ability of fish such as tarpon but the spectacular jumps, its predatory instincts and its delicious flesh make up …

Fly fishing forum user: “I am headed to Jamaica next month with the family and hope to squeeze in some fly fishing. Does anyone know of any flats I can wade or guides I can look up?”

Reply: “I too am headed to Jamaica. I haven’t found anything but I’ll keep looking. Let me know what you find.”

Type Jamaica in on any forum where fly anglers meet and you’ll soon see this common thread or a variation of it. Some date back to the mid 90’s, some from last winter. All are followed by radio silence, testament to the fact that though hundreds of would-be fly anglers want to pack a rod on the family vacation to Jamaica, they …

“There he stood, the Mahseer off the Poonch, beside whom the Tarpon is a Herring and he who catches him can say he is a fisherman.” Rudyard Kipling.

The great Indian Subcontinent, enclosed in the north by the grand Himalayas and in the south delimited by the Indian Ocean, has been home to various civilizations in the past 10000 years. The founding place of Hinduism and Buddhism, it is a land of colossal history where one is soon overwhelmed with culture, shrines, forts, languages, crowded markets and lively cities. And in the midst of this vast subcontinent, in the many rivers which drain the nation, swims a classic game fish still mostly unheard of outside India… the …

If you intend paddling the entire length of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail then you’d better start doing your push ups. That’s because the entire 740-mile length of the time honored route is now passable.

This is thanks to Native Trails, a non-profit corporation which began researching the old canoe routes back in 1976. They found that there was still a viable water route connecting the Adirondacks and northern Maine and in the ensuing years they paddled, poled and portaged what was to become the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

The opening of the trail will enable travelers to fully experience the Northern Forest regions of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Quebec and Maine. It connects or has access to every major …

The island of Puerto Rico is located a short three to four hour flight from any major city on the East coast of the United States and offers some of the most sensational light tackle and fly fishing opportunities in the Caribbean. While some other destinations get a lot of exposure through their tourism bureaus, Puerto Rico’s fisheries have evolved mostly through word of mouth advertising and a few magazine articles. This has created a “secret” following among knowledgeable fishermen.

Anglers coming into San Juan will enjoy all the comforts of home, fine 5-Star hotel accommodations, casinos for the ones that want to try their luck, great restaurants from all the cuisines around the world and a vibrant nightlife. San Juan …

There aren’t many prettier places on earth than the South Island of New Zealand. As far as I’m concerned, any excuse to go there is a good one, but then the fact that the bottom half of Aotearoa is chock full of fat and healthy trout is probably better than most.

David Bateman Ltd have just released the fifth edition of Trout Fishing: A Guide to New Zealand’s South Island, a comprehensive 264-page-book that is a must for any angler looking to cast for trout in The Land of the Long White Cloud.

This updated edition includes new chapters on the Baton, the Upper Wangapeka and the Upper Clarence Rivers. In fact over 400 of the South Island’s best …

As an angler who loves to travel I’m always looking for new and exciting destinations to explore with fly rod in hand. After nearly a decade of fishing the famous, and not so famous, rivers of the American west, my search for the next great place led me north to Canada.

In the summer of 1996 a fellow guide and I were talking about trips and places we were headed in the near future. He’d been spending his late summers, after the trout fishing in the southeast was winding down; guiding on the Bow River in Canada and said it was definitely a river I should check out. I’d been organizing and hosting groups to various destinations and had several clients …

The door opened and needless to say, my heart nearly stopped. The chill of the air didn’t affect me physically, but mentally it made me a little uneasy. No backing out now. Roy tapped me on the shoulder and showed me his altitude watch, which read 12,000 ft. His eyes expanded two-fold and with a demon-possessed look, he mouthed the words “GO TIME!”

I must to admit I don’t remember much about the first 45 seconds (the time it took me to fall 8,000 feet). But I can tell you my eyes were open the entire free fall and I loved every second of it. I was temporarily living my reoccurring dream of flying. At 4,000 feet, the parachute was deployed …

I first started fishing the Grande Ronde River back in the mid-eighties. I had heard and read fabled stories of multiple fish days on surface presentations, and as the Wenatchee River had begun producing more anglers than fish, I figured it was time to head for greener pastures.

The reading and the stories didn’t prepare me for the spectacular setting of the Grande Ronde. For if God only built one steelhead river, this would be it. However, I won’t belabor you with descriptions of its rim rock canyons and abundant wildlife, for it’s the steelhead fishing that I’m here to talk about.

Genetically, these fish are a summer steelhead made up of two components - the wild steelhead and the hatchery …