Print Is Alive

I did something regretful back in 2021. In the spirit of minimalism, I gave away a substantial portion of the humble fly fishing library that I had amassed throughout the years. At the time it felt right, and it lightened Jill and I’s collective load as we prepared to ship a small POD across the country before caravanning out to our new home in western Washington.

What I failed to realize at the time is how often I would think back on a particular essay, years later, wishing that I could revisit it. I didn’t yet comprehend how truly great storytelling can pierce your memory like a sharp hook. And that the physical manifestation of those stories, whether it be a book or magazine, serve as artifacts of a particular time and place, each with their own associated memories.

I can pull just about any issue of The Drake from my bookshelf and remember the fly shop counter that I bought it from. I can recall all of those trips made to The Fly Fishers in Milwaukee to pick up the latest release while I was in college. Or the time that Dean and I had the most incredible chat with John Fehnel, the owner of (now defunct) Great Lakes Fly Shop in Duluth, both leaving with copies of the summer 2018 issue. Like a nostalgic tune, I’m instantly transported back to the events happening in my life around the time that I spent absorbing its cover, photos, and essays.

Some of my most vivid memories of visiting my grandparent’s riverside cabin in Michigan growing up was perusing their vast collection of Fishing Facts magazines. The issues were sorted by year in brown Fishing Facts branded binders and even contained a rolodex of the different articles typewritten onto index cards. At an age when my love for fishing was blossoming, many quiet afternoons were spent poring over those pages.

Around that same time, I had a number of my own subscriptions. Titles like In-Fisherman, Field & Stream, and Fishing Facts would grace the end tables, countertops, and book shelves of my childhood home. And while the articles skewed more towards the how than the why, I found them more than satisfactory in tiding me over until the next fishing trip. I can still remember a specific In-Fisherman issue from 2007, one that they titled the “Multispecies Special”. To my amazement, an article about my beloved longnose gar graced the pages of a magazine typically devoted to bass and walleye. I paged through that issue so many times that the binding separated and my parents purchased me a second copy of it.

As an adult now, I subscribe to my favorite quarterly publications, notably The Drake, The Flyfish Journal, and Adventure Journal. In this modern age of constant distraction and digital bombardment, it feels both necessary and an act of small rebellion. Fishing Facts is now defunct. I’m doing my part to help ensure that these beacons of fly fishing and outdoor writing and culture do not suffer the same fate. I’m still filled with a childlike glee every quarter when I open the mailbox to be greeted by one of their stunning cover shots inside. I savor the essays in each one and after I’m finished reading it, it lives on our coffee table for a bit longer before taking its place on the bookshelf.

As for the parts of my collection that I gave away, they are replaceable. eBay and back issue lists have already helped me to regain many of the stories and issues that I remember most vividly. Someday, I plan to keep them in a den or library of my own. With any luck, they will be within close proximity to a body of water, all neatly aligned and chronologically organized. Waiting in patient repose to be picked up and be given a new life, inspiring future generations of passionate anglers.

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