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The fish didn’t read the article either.

I’m Hunter. I’ve been fishing since I was four, which mostly means I’ve been wrong in a lot of different weather. This is where I work out why a fish did what it did — and explain it plainly enough that you can figure out the next one without me.

What’s new Never fished before? There’s a spot for you here.

Just off the water

New ones land most mornings. Start anywhere — none of them expect you to have read the others.

Every article, if you’re that kind of person
Fly angler working a river in warm evening backlight

Who’s actually writing this

I’m sixteen, and most of my fishing has happened on Montana trout water. Mixed in are a few deep-sea trips a long way offshore and one look at Alaska, which was enough to make me want Canada next.

My dad and I build rods and tie flies at home. I will also, without much convincing, spend four hundred dollars on a rod somebody else built. I don’t see the contradiction. My bank account does.

Summers I’m a junior counselor at a Trout Unlimited kids’ camp, and I’ll quit fishing on the spot if a kid on the bank needs a hand.

More about me, and who else is behind this

Start with whatever went sideways

Pick the one that sounds like your last trip.

Angler casting into a misty river It feels personal. It usually isn’t. Fish That Refuse Everything Are Actually Refusing Something Specific Lone angler on a mountain lake at sunrise Six Hours, One Fish, and a Day That Still Worked You Do Not Have to Pretend You Know the Water Hand on a fly reel beside fast river water Go ahead and want it. You Are Allowed to Love an Expensive Rod Without Pretending It Catches More Fish The Most Annoying Fishing Sounds, Ranked by Usefulness

Rivers close to home

Each one has a quirk worth knowing before you burn the gas.

More water
Anglers wading a Montana river under forested hills Beaverhead RiverMontana’s Fish Factory Disguised as an Irrigation Ditch Brown trout resting in a wooden landing net Missouri River, Toston to Canyon FerryThe Stretch the Calendars Skip Angler easing a brown trout back into river water Clark Fork at Kelly IslandReal Trout Water Ten Minutes From Downtown Missoula
Bright bobber dipping into calm water

Never fished? That’s the easy part to fix.

The thing that scares people off usually isn’t the fish. It’s standing on the bank feeling like everybody can tell you don’t know what you’re doing. Nobody is watching as closely as you think, and the ones who are mostly remember being right where you’re standing.

First Cast gets you one simple setup and a reason for the first cast. That’s plenty for day one.

Start with First Cast

A few tools, for when you’re stuck

You don’t need any of these to go fishing. They’re for when one question won’t let go of you.

Hatch Match Bugs on the water and no idea what they are. Describe what you’re seeing and it narrows things down. Tackle Link Whether the line you bought actually belongs on the rod you own. Knot Analyst Why the last knot broke, and a better one for that line. Rig Signal A fish finder is making a big promise. This checks it. Field Ops One trip’s plan and notes in one place, so the day doesn’t wander off.

Want the new ones without checking?

Once a month, the best of what went up. I’d rather send fewer.

There’s also a Field Shop, for when you want something that still works after your phone doesn’t. And if a piece saved you a wasted drive, you can buy me a coffee. Flies aren’t free, even the ones we tie.