by Joe Cermele

by John Merwin

One of the hot “new” things in flyfishing is chasing muskies with a fly rod. I highlight the word “new” because, as I’ll show you shortly, there’s nothing really new about it. First, though, as to the musky in the photo. Back in June of 1998, I fished some Wisconsin musky rivers with Scott Bestul (our Whitetails columnist and Whitetails 365 blogger) and guide Ron Gehrke. That state has some 711 musky lakes, most of which are pounded hard by musky fanatics fishing from larger boats.

by John Merwin

“You’ve gotta put down the duckie if you want to play the saxophone.” That’s a line from an old Sesame Street song that’s rolling around in my head this morning. Maybe by using it in a blog post, I’ll get rid of it. It also has a lot to say about fishing.

Concentration and focus are essential to successful fishing (with one exception. See below). The more of those things you bring to the game, the more you’ll catch. If you’re thinking or worrying about family issues or job problems, the fishing is not going to go well. So put down the duckie, and you’ll fish better.

by Joe Cermele

Growing up I had two passions: fishing and music. At Christmas I could never decide whether to ask for a new fly rod or new distortion pedal for my guitar. Those two passions always created a strange juxtaposition. On one hand I was addicted to playing in a punk band, getting sweaty and loud at basement shows, while on the other I loved a quiet river. This is why Robert Thompson's soon-to-be-released film "Reverb" struck such a chord (pardon the pun) with me. "Reverb" follows three members of old-school Chicago punk bands that join together frequently to flyfish the Driftless area in Wisconsin. As I think Thompson and I are somewhat kindered spirits in our love for loud music and soft rises, I caught up with him to find out more about what I'm already calling my favorite fly film EVER. 

JC: Are you a true punk? Did you grow up listening to the bands in "Reverb?"
RT: I wasn't a true punk but in my early college years I went through a period where Husker Du, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, Ramones, 7 Seconds and the Dead Kennedys were in heavy rotation.