Angling Trade

From IF4: The International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4), a curated collection of world-class films and cinematic storytelling from independent fly-fishing filmmakers from around the globe, is honored to announce RA Beattie, founder of Beattie Outdoor Productions and co-founder of Off the Grid Studios, as the winner of Audience Choice Award — Best Film in the 2025 IF4 for his groundbreaking film “The Silent Spotter”.

Factor in weather, fishing conditions, angler pressure, how often you were able to get out, if you learned new things, made new friends, read a great book, got a cool new rod and reel… anything. How did 2025 treat you as an angler, on a 1-10 scale? Rate 2025 as a year for fly fishing, 1-10. 6-7. Eh… a bit better than average (100%, 1 Votes) 10. Best year ever (0%, 0 Votes) 8 or 9. Really, really good (0%, 0 Votes) 5. Average (0%, 0 Votes) 3-4. Not quite up to snuff (0%, 0 Votes) 1-2.

Congrats to April Vokey on the release of her children’s book, The World Through Your Eyes. Children’s books are arguably the hardest to write, and this is a keeper. Here’s the announcement: A new children’s picture book from renowned fly-fishing educator and podcast host April Vokey is helping families rediscover the magic of the outdoors—one small detail at a time.

How about some happy news and pretty water? Check our this new video highlighting a TU dam removal project on a California coastal tributary … Conservation efforts work, and fishing gets better when we act. Dam Removal: California’s Little Arthur Creek For over a century, Pickell’s Dam prevented threatened California South-Central Coastal Steelhead from reaching intact habitat and cold water in the headwaters of Little Arthur Creek, a key tributary to the Pajaro River.

By Tim Romano Shawn Combs, formerly the Director of Product Design and Development for The Orvis Company, will join The Scott Fly Rod Company as Vice President, starting early next year. The move effectively combines two of the leading-edge fly rod design powerhouses–Combs, who spearheaded “Helios” design efforts for Orvis, and Scott President Jim Bartschi, who developed “Centric,” “Sector” and the newly-launched “GT” series for Scott–under one roof.

The Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary on January 9 and 10, 2026, with captivating presentations, hands-on workshops, and a taste of Virginia’s finest wines and spirits. Twenty-five years ago, the Virginia Fly & Wine began outside on the banks of the South River in Waynesboro; today, the festival is housed completely indoors at the Meadow Event Park on the state fairgrounds in Doswell, just a few miles north of Richmond.

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) announced today that Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Jones has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural Davidson Science Award, an honor established to recognize transformative scientific contributions to flats conservation. The award is named in tribute to Tom Davidson, Sr., BTT’s Founding Chairman and an influential leader in business and conservation.

Did you did you donate to or purchase anything from any company or organization on “Black Friday,” “Cyber Monday” or “Giving Tuesday”?

From our friend, Scott Papich, whose company Trackfly, monitors what’s up, what’s down, and so forth: TrackFly is a data aggregation and analytics platform, connecting specialty retailers, brands and sales professionals. They are helping Angling Trade track key industry trends. In the fly fishing specialty channel, October is never the biggest sell-through month.

From UMASS: Reducing air exposure, fight times, water temps, as well as increasing angler education, are key to a sustainable fishery While there are only four official seasons in the year, anglers in the Northeast recognize a fifth: striper season, the months from May to November when striped bass, which can grow up to 100 pounds and are renowned for their fight once hooked, migrate along the coastal waters between the Chesapeake and Canadian Maritimes within range of thousands of fishing...