Swing The Fly Review

Swing The Fly Magazine

   The Voice of Spey

Though I do read stuff online, it’s not my favorite mode. I still prefer the tactile, portable book or magazine enjoyed from a favorite recliner, posted in the bathroom, or toted off to bed.

I hesitate to believe that free digital media is entirely to blame for the diminishing titles of print magazines. I suspect diminishing quality of the medium is more to blame. When a magazine devotes two-thirds of its thin volume to advertisements readers eventually tire of it & drop subscriptions. Yet I’m fairly certain there will always be a niche for quality magazines – The Drake, Fly Fishing & Tying Journal, California Fly Fisher, & Gray’s Sporting Journal come to mind. And also a bright new one, Swing The Fly, which began as a free online journal & moved to print in winter, 2016.

Upon receiving my first issue of Swing The Fly, I was immediately impressed. Square-bound, not stapled, at a half inch thick, printed on excellent quality, heavy recycled paper, it more than met tactile requirements. (Makes a handsome coffee table book.) Inside I was welcomed, in photos & real ink, to an unabashed celebration of things that are authentic & rooted in the soul of our game – & with no trace of didactic expert-ness, onanism, or market-driven kitch. Advertisements are sparse & understated, not in your face.

Along with an old master, Trey Combs, Swing The Fly offers a strong line-up of fresh voices. I was particularly impressed with Mia Sheppard’s writing chops. Mia is an Oregon mother, fishing guide & writer whose succinct article, The Great Public Land Heist, sheds light on the dominionist movement chipping away at the idea of commonwealth in the form of accessible public lands. Sheppard compresses this fractal issue admirably, & has the sand to present it for what it really is, a social/ideological issue our times are compelling us to confront. There is an important message clearly evoked yet tactfully unspoken at the nexus of Mia Sheppard’s article, regarding what it actually means to be an American, as well as an angler, participating in the Public Trust. A heavy lift for an angling writer (speaking for myself), & a controversial subject for an angling magazine to present considering the current political/ideological lines being drawn.

Unique to any magazine I’ve read lately, or within memory, there is a decided rhythm & pace to the overall presentation of Swing The Fly that is almost organic, like the metered pace of casting a two-hander, swinging a fly down some lonesome run. It is immersive. I’m not sure if that is intentional or if it just seems to fall together that way, this magazine being the creative offspring of editors who are, foremost, hard-core anglers & guides. In either case, I'm fairly sure any who love two-handed rods & swinging timeless fly patterns for steelhead, salmon & trout, will find Swing The Fly an experience well worth the price of admission.  http://www.swingthefly.com/