John Shewey, Editor of American Fly Fishing magazine, returns today to talk about the magazine, his new book, and the history of Oregon’s original flies. It’s been 3 years since we last spoke with John so he gives us an update on what’s been going on with the magazine, being consolidated into one. We dig into his new book – the history of Oregon flies and its creators, favorite flies including my dad’s Max Canyon. Check out John’s Top 9 Favorite Flies for Trout!
We also talk about his other books and he gives us some tips on writing – how to write like a journalist without coming from an egocentric standpoint. Find out why it’s much easier to motivate people from the East to fish West than West to East. John tells us the characteristics of articles that make it to their magazine.
Click below and listen to the Podcast about Favorite Flies for Trout with John Shewey:
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(Read the Full Transcript at the bottom of this Blog Post)
Sponsors and Podcast Updates
9 Favorite Flies for Trout Show Notes with John Shewey
03:17 – John was on the podcast for the first time at WFS 016
04:17 – Their 3 regional magazines, Northwest Fly Fishing Southwest Fly Fishing Eastern Fly Fishing, have been consolidated to just one called, American Fly Fishing
05:14 – The founding publisher of American Fly Fishing, Steve Cole sold the magazine company to Village Press (the publisher of Pointing Dog Journal)
07:40 – John’s new found passion is hunting Chukars and watching the dogs work
08:51 – Frank Moore passes away at 98.. A fly fish legend. He will surely be remembered – Frank was on the podcast at WFS 046
10:37 – We talked about another legend by the name of Lefty Kreh – how he was a genuine person and really passionate about what he did
15:30 – AFF issues 6 magazines per year
16:43 – John explains why it’s a lot easier to convince people from the East to fish West than West to East
28:32 – They typically publish 36 feature length articles per year
30:08 – Get the latest updates on AFF by subscribing here
31:00 – John’s latest book is called, Favorite Flies for Oregon: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts – he gives an overview
32:07 – Randall Kaufmann is the best Oregon fly originator as John describes
33:54 – Dave McNeese was on the podcast at WFS 155
34:30 – Ken Morrish was on the podcast at WFS 181
34:44 – The Beetle Bug Coachman is one the great all-time dry flies
35:02 – Garrett Lesko was on the podcast at WFS 236
35:53 – John recently wrote a book about Hummingbirds – it’s called The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know about These Fascinating Birds
38:03 – If Randall is not the best known fly tier of all time in Oregon, it’s probably Polly Rosborough – Polly wrote a book called, Tying and Fishing the Fuzzy Nymphs
38:39 – One of John’s favorite Polly fly is the Little Yellowstone Fly with the red butt
39:36 – Brian Silvey was on the podcast at WFS 148 – Brian ties beautiful flies – he’s got an original fly called the Silvinator
40:23 – John tells us a little more about Polly
44:27 – The Morrish Mayday pattern is listed in John’s book
45:21 – The Umpqua Special
45:33 – The Spruce Fly dates back to the early part of the 20th century – John tells us it’s history
46:59 – The Beetle Bug Coachman history
53:38 – John started commercial fly tying when he was in high school and he sold his first magazine article when he was freshman in college
58:23 – Catching steelhead on flies, as history says, began in 1849
59:32 – John S. Ben, a famous fly angler from San Francisco, pioneered steelhead fly fishing on the Eel River in Northern California
1:00:20 – John has written about 20 books in total – see the list of his books here
1:02:11 – One of John’s favorite steelhead pattern is the Golden Demon
You can find John on Instagram @johnshewey
John’s Top 9 Flies for Trout listed in his Book
- Beetle Bug Coachman
- Golden Demon
- Max Canyon
- Little Yellowstone Fly
- Sculpin Pattern
- Morrish Mayday
- Spruce
- Silvinator
- Umpqua Special
Resources Noted in the Show
Favorite Flies for Oregon: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts
The Hummingbird Handbook: Everything You Need to Know about These Fascinating Birds
Related Podcast Episodes
Read the Full Podcast Transcript Below
9 Favorite Flies for Trout Conclusion with guest
John and I talked about the magazine, his new book, and the history of Oregon original flies. We found out that their magazine has been consolidated into one – from 3 regional magazines to just American Fly Fishing. We talked about his other books and John gave us some writing tips if we want to write for the readers. We discovered 9 of his favorite flies that are also listed in his book.
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