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.
AJ Eye Level “There are few thrills in fishing that come close to the feel and sight of a leaping tarpon weighing more than 100 pounds. I know because it took me 83 years to boat my first really big one.”George H.W. Bush “A Passion for Tarpon,” by Andy Mill AJ Big Tease “Hope is such a bait, it covers any hook.”Oliver Goldsmith AJ Down-Sea “Surf fishing satisfies my primitive needs. … I feel like I’m married to the lip of the sea.”Roberto Germani “Reading the Water,” by Robert Post AJ On the Hunt “The wildness and adventure that are in fishing still recommend it to me.”Henry David Thoreau…
We want to hear from you. Please send your comments to editor-in-chief Charlie Levine at charlie.levine@firecrown.com. Follow us @anglers_journal. It was nearly noon as we slid Capt. Brandon McGraw’s Hell’s Bay skiff off the trailer and into Florida’s Indian River. The surprising punch of a cool breeze provoked me to yank the zipper on my jacket all the way to my chin. It was a Friday, and the ramp was quiet, only a few other trailers in the parking lot. I don’t normally embark on a trip at this hour, but we wanted to let the January day warm up, which it had but was still in the 50s. The low-hanging clouds seemed to push all of the atmospheric moisture onto my shoulders. A shiver vibrated down my backbone. I…
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 email letters and comments to editor-in-chief Charlie Levine at charlie.levine@firecrown.com. Follow us @anglers_journal CAUGHT AND RELEASED I always like the photos in Anglers Journal. However, Jason Stemple’s swordfish photo in the Winter issue [“Swordplay,” opening spread] caught my attention. I’ve been sport fishing for over 50 years, and I’m a dedicated billfish release advocate. Please tell me those guys released that baby swordfish. Richard J. Ferraro Editor’s note: The swordfish, indeed, was released. TWO POPS, ONE PASSION I was devastated to learn in the Winter issue that Bob Popovics [photo below] had succumbed to injuries from a hit-and-run accident last November. I’ve lived in central Texas for the…
Peter Kaminsky’s “Outdoors” column appeared in Th e New York Times for 35 years. He has been a contributing editor to Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield, and is the author of many books, including The Catch Of A Lifetime, American Waters and Th e M o o n Pulled Up an Acre of Bass. “In Pursuit of Happiness” is an excerpt from Peter’s latest book, The Zen of Flyfishing. Dave Lewis is a fishing photojournalist and pro staffer for Shimano U.K. and AFTCO. He has researched and promoted fishing destinations around the world. In 2023, he caught the first-ever Mediterranean spearfish on fly, and in January 2024 his first broadbill swordfish on fly in European waters, both off the Spanish island of Majorca. Dave, who resides in…
Chasing the Dark By Joseph Jackson Epicenter Press Joseph Jackson frames the proclivity anglers have toward night, and the edges of night, in the introduction of his second book, Chasing the Dark, as he describes fishing for Alaskan burbot: “And it’s not just for burbot; name an animal, and chances are that it’s more active in the dark than in the daylight, or at least in the transitional periods of dawn and dusk. Snowshoe hares, for example. Or steelhead. There are biological reasons for this, of course, but all we really know is that, if you’re a serious outdoorsman, you should be in the woods or on a stream while this is going on. That’s how I’ve come to operate. That’s the only right way to do it.” Those familiar…
THE SUN BEGAN TO PEAK OVER THE HORIZON as a light offshore breeze kept the hot, muggy air of Cabo San Lucas’ tropical desert at bay. It was a beautiful, calm morning — the roar of the boat’s engines didn’t even wake the sea lions lying on top of each other on the docks. As we left the harbor, I gazed out at the Cabo Arch, the massive rock formation that provided a sense of hope for the fishing that lay ahead for my brother, dad, grandfather and me. The first mate climbed down from the tower; reels buzzed and ticked as lines were let out into the Pacific. “It won’t be long now,” my grandfather said hopefully. While my dad and brother feasted on the breakfast the chef prepared,…
