By Kirk Deeter

As it is the day before Turkey Day, and many of us will be lucky enough to be with family giving thanks for life's blessings, I thought it appropriate to offer a little lighthearted twist on things that make this fly fisher grateful (and invite you to comment on those things that make you thankful)...

Thank goodness for:

- Woolly buggers. Or any streamer, for that matter. Because just when I'm supremely frustrated playing the dainty presentation game, I can always take the gloves off and revert to the "T-Bone."

- Breathable waders. Granted, at the end of the season, my waders kinda smell like a biology experiment gone wrong, but then I think, "Wow, imagine if these weren't breathable... thank goodness they are!"

By Tim Romano

Phil Monahan posed this question over on Midcurrent.com the other day: "Can conservation be fun?"

I'm keenly interested to read the responses he gets as I've been asked by Colorado Trout Unlimited to participate in a discussion just after the Thanksgiving holiday on how to garner more interest in TU from the 20- to 30-something crowd. Apparently this age group is a tough bunch to recruit... not really a surprise, but I was curious what you all thought?

By Kirk Deeter

Tim will be announcing the winner of the "Cool Threads" Caption Contest tomorrow. Not to be outdone on the weird and whacky scale, and because I want to reinforce that fly fishers do indeed have the most twisted minds in the outdoors (who would argue?), I figured this photo would be good fodder to keep Fly Talkers cranking captions over the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll announce the winner of this contest on Monday, November 29, and that winner will get a slick new Rio WF8F fly line, valued at $70.

By Kirk Deeter

I get a lot of books mailed to me for review.  I write about very few.  Not that I don't like them... it just takes something special, something that breaks the mold, to get me to write about it.

That's exactly what Montana's Best Fly Fishing by Ben Romans (Stackpole/Headwaters $29.95) is... a guide book that redefines how guide books can and should be done.
Now, many of you may recognize Romans for his work for Field & Stream and elsewhere.  His influence on Field & Stream stories actually extends beyond the bylines.  For example, a few years ago, Honest Angler Joe Cermele talked the editors into an "on the road" Montana fly fishing feature for the magazine.  Having scored the story, Joe had one small problem to tackle: figuring out where the heck he should go fish... and when... with what!!!  So he called me.  And I certainly didn’t have all his answers… but I knew who would.  Romans.

Truth is, Ben Romans and I have a long professional relationship.  Many years ago, while Ben was an editor with Fly Fisherman, he was my boss/editor on a piece I did for that magazine. Now, the worm has turned, and he contributes to my magazine (Angling Trade), so I gratefully get to drop the hammer (at least the red pen) on him from time to time… but I rarely do.  He’s one of the most plainspoken, eloquent, and honest writers I know.