By Kirk Deeter

One of the greatest assets of the Ponoi River Company is its staff of fishing guides. It's literally an all-star international team, and I was pleased to find a number of familiar faces in the group—I had previously fished with Joaquin Arocena for dorado in Bolivia, and Max Mamaev for sea trout in Tierra del Fuego.

Ryabaga camp manager Matt Breuer is one of the anglers who figured out how to catch arapaimas on the fly in Guyana. It makes sense that the best of the best would gravitate to the Ponoi, since it's one of the world's finest fisheries. It makes sense from the lodge perspective too—if you're running a fishing operation east of Murmansk and north of the Arctic Circle, you don't want your guides to be semi-pro.

By Kirk Deeter

I've been fortunate enough to have fished with many professional athletes in recent years. You'd be surprised by how many actually gravitate to fly fishing as a release from the rigors of playing sports under bright lights for a living.

I'll be honest though—some are way better than others when they put on waders, and I think that has to do with the dynamics of their professions. Golfers, for example, are usually really good fly anglers. After all, one could argue that fly fishing and golf are kindred pastimes, both born in Scotland centuries ago. It's all about planning the next move, and adapting to the current situation. The way the wheels spin in golfers' and anglers' minds are very similar, so it's not surprising to know that Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Nick Price, and Davis Love III (among many others) are all avid anglers.

By Tim Romano

This video isn't about fly fishing, but it should resonate with anyone who fishes or hunts for food. Kimi Werner, a free-diving spearfisher, talks about why spearfishing is her favorite way to collect food, what she feels is her place in the food chain and what hunting means to her.

By Kirk Deeter

The other day I got a phone call from my credit card company asking for feedback on customer service. Thing is, it was an automated call, as in "press 1 if you are happy with our customer service." I'm not kidding, although at the time I thought, "you must be joking," and simply hung up. I don't think it takes an MBA to figure out that having customers talk to a recording is probably not the best way to assess customer service satisfaction, but I may be wrong.

I don't think I'm wrong, however, when I say that customer service is the key to a successful fly shop.  I've been covering the business of fly fishing for many years now, and during that time I've seen a number of fly shops close their doors throughout the country.