I grew up chasing steelhead with gear. Drift fishing, spinners, spoons, the usual suspects. It got me into fishing and I got really good at it, but over time eventually, I got bored of it.
I moved from Portland to Central Oregon and picked up a fly rod again more out of curiosity – then it all broke open. The shift in landscape changed the way I fished. Cold creeks. Clear rivers. Surface takes. I started hiking into blue lines, fishing lighter, slower, and more deliberately. Still chasing steelhead every chance I could get, but the drive to the coast was pretty rough now. I wanted to expand and learn some new skills.
So I built my first fly rod.
That rod became a turning point. It wasn’t just about fishing anymore it was about understanding the tools, the craft, and how they connect to the water. From there I started learning to swing flies for steelhead with a two-hander. That was the next deep dive – Skagit heads, winter flows, sink tips, and the swing. Here’s the thing, a lot of people have no clue the parallels that swinging flies draws from drift fishing. If you are good at drift fishing, you will be good at swinging flies and catching fish, but you will need to learn how to cast.
Eventually I picked up trout spey which was really fun. I could swing soft hackles through soft water or jig buggers on the swing through deep slots, all on a rod I built with my own hands. Since then, it’s been a steady descent.
This site is where I keep it all:
- Honest gear reviews with stuff I bought — not paid-for fluff
- Rod builds and breakdowns
- Fly tying experiments that sometimes catch fish
- Creek exploration, steelhead swings, and bad casts in beautiful places
- Field tests where things get wet, dirty, and occasionally broken
I’m not a guide. I’m not selling anything. I fish because I love to. I build things to understand them. And I write it all down because maybe it’ll help someone else chasing the same feeling.
– Mike
