Anglers Journal celebrates the best writing, photography, illustration, design and sporting art on the topic of fishing. Come join some of the most prolific fishing editors and writers in the industry for the best angling experience on the water.
Busy. That single word is the most common answer I receive when I ask the people in my life how they’re doing. Some folks wear the pulls of a busy life like a badge of honor. Proud of their imbalanced work-life balance, of burning the midnight oil, of missing calls and commitments. They’re just too busy. I’m tired of that word. I need an escape. An adventure. Adventure is subjective. My definition of adventure is surely different than yours. While one person may strive to travel to the other side of the planet and embark on a 10-day liveaboard trip down the Great Barrier Reef, another might be just as happy loading the truck with gear and investigating a new blue line they found on a map. One is not…
Jason Arnold is an award-winning photographer, author and director based in Florida. He spent many years shooting for the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and other sports leagues. While the world of sports photography was action-packed, he never lost his attachment to the sea. He began shooting outdoor photography as a side project, which became his passion. Jason shot the photos for “Isolated Perfection” and wrote “My Boat My Life.” A lifetime angler with adventures ranging from Amazon peacock bass to Florida Keys bonefish, David A. Brown has nearly 30 years of writing experience, delivering content across multiple media platforms, including magazines, tournament coverage, video scripts, marketing communications, specialty publications and creative projects. He’s also a book author, photographer and foodie. David writes about the ultimate shore lunch in “Hushpuppies, Fried…
SUBSCRIBE TO ANGLERS JOURNAL Call (800) 877-5207 or visit anglersjournal.com. Subscriptions are $29 for one year (four issues: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall). Please send letters and comments to Anglers Journal, 35 Industrial Park Road, Unit 10, Centerbrook, CT 06409, or email clevine@aimmedia.com. I KNOW THAT PLACE Just looking at the photos, this feature needs no captions to identify the location. Andrew Bartley Editor’s note: “Wind-Scoured Perfection,” our feature about Jurassic Lake (Lago Strobel) in Argentina, ran in the Winter issue. NEARLY MISSED OUT I am 5 years old and an Anglers Journal fan. During a visit to the Florida Keys this past holiday season, we caught an 18-pound mutton snapper out of Key Largo Anglers Club. It was a 50-degree, rainy day, and the trip was almost postponed. I am glad…
The River You Touch By Chris Dombrowski Milkweed Editions A generational voice of 21st-century fly-fishing, Chris Dombrowski delivers a stunningly rendered memoir about the life of a guide, parent, husband and attentive human being floating the rivers of western Montana. Dombrowski doesn’t shy away from wonder or the mystical and the fear and awe that comes with both. The cow elk that dies of a broken heart and eating that very heart, daughter Lily seeing birds fly in the corner of a room with the windows closed, and the daily joy of living in a world with other life and the ability to touch it: Forget retrieving the rod you left at the boat and inch closer, watching the maw of the buck flash white as it opens to take…
INSTEAD OF BEING MIXED IN WITH ALL THE OTHER SPINNING REELS under the glass counter at Harry’s Army Navy in New Jersey, the Fin-Nor Ahabs sat in their own case trimmed with faux teak and illuminated by tiny interior lights. The reels were presented like Rolex watches, and with price tags north of $300, they were the most expensive spinners in the joint. For a year, I squirreled away money earned washing cars at a dealership to buy a Fin-Nor Ahab. In 2000, I was a senior in high school, addicted to the striper surf and tired of replacing cheaper reels that inevitably broke down after a few months of hard plugging. When the day finally came, I strolled into Harry’s like a gangster with a wad of cash. I…
“HEY, I NEED ANOTHER PIN. THEY’RE HERE. I JUST LOST MY BAIT,” Sam whispered across the 22-foot skiff. A hushed but audible, “I got you,” replied Alex, who stopped rigging the second rod, reached into the live well, snatched a pinfish and carried it to the bow. The baitfish was carefully transferred from one cut-up pair of hands to another, given a nice piercing through the nose with a 4/0 circle hook, and pitched under the dock to hopefully become what the two teenagers referred to as “snook candy.” Alex and Sam couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t best friends. They rode bikes and swung on the swings at the playground when they were kids looking for a thrill in their stuffy waterfront community of Emerson Estates on Florida’s…
