Back Porch
Jun 17, 2026
Double Dopamine
Joe Rotter has been swinging flies with two hands for more than two decades — and he wants you to know that trout Spey isn't a specialty technique for destination anglers. It's the most efficient, shoulder-friendly, backcast-free way to cover water you're probably already fishing.
Jun 3, 2026
How to Fish a River Everyone Else is Fishing
Crowded rivers don't have to ruin your day — they just require a different approach. Upper Madison guide Johnnie McClure has spent 21 seasons cracking the code on one of Montana's most-fished stretches, and his advice cuts through the resentment: break the river into pieces, nymph your way to fish density, change flies relentlessly, and fish the hours nobody else does.
May 28, 2026
Education over Entertainment
Mark Raisler knows the Missouri River better than most people know their own neighborhoods — and a few years ago, he made a decision that stunned his clients: no more nymphing. Ever. This is the story of why one of Montana's most respected guides went dry-fly-only, and why it's the best business decision he's ever made.
Jan 22, 2026
A Desolate Road, Gringo Hitchhikers, and A Pissed-Off Girlfriend
This article, from the production team at Off the Grid Studios, takes you behind the scenes of Return of the G...
Dec 18, 2025
Fly Fishing Remains
A look back at 2025, a look ahead to 2026, and why fly fishing continues to anchor everything we do.
Feb 11, 2025
My Life, In Waders
by Miles Nolte
Over the past 35 years, I’ve spent a lot of time in waders. These days, I love wearing my wader...
Feb 3, 2025
Living in the Liminal Space
The Hard Way, the newest production from Off the Grid Studios, offers an alternative to dub-step fish fetish mash-ups. It’s a celebration of the Deschutes River told from the perspective of Matt Mendes, a guide and Warm Springs tribal member who credits the river with saving his life.
Dec 31, 2024
Eyes on the Horizon
We’re nearly one quarter of the way through the 21st Century. If you’re grown enough to remember the Y2K freak out, that sentence may make you feel, um, not young. But while the current century has been old enough to legally drink for several years now, Skwala Fly Fishing is just about to complete our third trip round the sun.
Dec 15, 2024
Skwala Partner Profile: Wild Steelhead Coalition
Conservation content can be a bummer, especially when it comes to steelhead. The past couple decades have delivered a near-constant flood of unhappy messaging. Wild steelhead populations have cratered, and fish that were always somewhat challenging to catch (on flies, anyway) have become nearly mythical. Most of us here at Skwala call ourselves steelhead anglers, and we know steelhead populations face enormous challenges, challenges far too big for any of us to tackle them as individuals (or even small companies). That’s why we support the Wild Steelhead Coalition and hope you will consider doing the same.
Oct 3, 2024
We Think We Know
Skwala Ambassador Jake Keeler discovers more about his beloved Brule River than he ever thought imaginable.
Sep 26, 2024
Who's Minding the Store
When you contact Skwala, you don’t get connected with a call center or passed off to a third-party customer support network. You talk to one of us, our core team of anglers right here in Bozeman, Montana. Chances are, you’ll probably talk to Scott Battista.
Sep 23, 2024
Mending Fence
Reframing the Battle Over Stream Access
By Miles Nolte
Not too long after I moved to Montana, I went fishing on a ...
