By Joe Cermele

Drink beer? Catch trout? Then today is your lucky day. If your loved ones are hounding you for Christmas present ideas, or you're just not sure what to do with that mountain of beer bottle caps you've been collecting since college, artist Dave Walker is your man.

By John Merwin

As fall tends into winter, our local fishing is slowing down. I’m starting to put away some tackle (but not the steelhead gear) and vowing to get my stuff better organized. Famous last words. Getting organized somehow never happens the way it should.

Thinking about that made me also think of this question: What’s the condition of your sporting estate? If you were to somehow keel over and depart this earth, would your family know the extent of your hunting and fishing gear and what it’s worth?

By Joe Cermele

I fancy myself somewhat of a fishing history buff and am always on the prowl for old books on the subject. But not long ago I found a new book on a long-gone fishery over at the Fishing For History blog. Written by Mark Ross and published in the U.K., "The Glory Days of the Giant Scarborough Tunny" is easily one of the most thorough and interesting accounts of big-game fishing's past I've ever read.

By John Merwin

Convertible fly rods might be making a comeback. At least I hope so. Multi-function, multi-piece fly rods were a popular idea some years back, meaning rod pieces that combined to make different lengths or matched different line weights with the addition of one or two extra rod sections instead of a whole new rod. I think the late and much lamented J. Kennedy Fisher rod company was the last one to make these.
So I was delighted to find that Temple Fork Rods has revived the idea. While surf and kayak fishing the Rhode Island coast last week, I tried a 9-foot, four piece single-handed 8-weight that converts to an 11’3” two-handed version with the addition of two extra butt pieces. You’ll ask right away why I might want to do this, so here’s the reason.