Well, grab your waders and fill that thermos—we’ve got a heck of a lineup of stories from the fly-fishing scene in the US, and you’ll want to hear these over coffee before you head out to your favorite stretch of water this week.
First up, you might have heard about the most famous fly-rod permit record in the world. Del Brown’s 513 fish has been the gold standard since the 1990s, but Florida guide Mike Ward actually tied that mark earlier this year. Now, according to MidCurrent, the unthinkable happened: Florida angler Ken Watkins landed permit number 515 on August 25th, officially breaking the record that stood for more than two decades. If you know anything about permit, this isn’t just about numbers—it’s a testament to persistence, skill, and the crazy unpredictability of chasing these tricky, tail-happy fish. The saltwater world is still buzzing, and any guide worth their salt is telling clients, “Forget the hero shot—can you land 500 in your lifetime?”
Switching gears, let’s talk trends. If you’ve been in a fly shop lately, you’ve probably noticed things are steady, but not exactly booming. According to Angling Trade, the pandemic brought a lot of new faces to the river, but the enthusiasm for those rainbow sticks is flattening out—not shrinking, mind you, just stabilizing. The core anglers are still on the water, but the “newbie” rush has cooled. That said, saltwater fly fishing is apparently more badass than ever, even if it’s still pricey. And while people aren’t in a rush to drop four figures on a new rod, the DIY crowd is stronger than ever—folks are content to load up the truck and chase whatever’s biting closest to home. If you want to be part of the tribe, focus less on the gear and more on how you fish. That’s what counts.
Now, let’s head west for some real-time conditions. The Confluence Fly Shop out in the Pacific Northwest just dropped their October report, and after a scorching, dry summer, rain is finally making an appearance. For salmon anglers, that’s the reset button—those big pulses of water are moving fish and triggering runs, especially on the North and South Forks of the Nooksack and the Skagit. The river’s crawling with bright, aggressive coho, and you’ll want two boxes of flies ready: big, flashy stuff for murky water, and smaller, subtler fare for clear flows. If you’re targeting sea runs, you might accidentally find a nice cutthroat, too. And if you want to get serious, the shop’s running a Pacific Salmon fly-tying class this month—because nothing beats a pattern you tied yourself when you hook up.
Finally, don’t miss the news out of Tennessee, where regs just got a tweak for the 2025-26 season. The folks at TWRA are tightening up on crappie (20 per day, only five over 12 inches at Lake Halford), and there’s a new limit on how many largemouth you can keep above 18 inches on some lakes. Black bass anglers, listen up: a handful of reservoirs are moving to a five-fish daily bag with a 15-inch minimum, while others are wide open. If you fish the Tellico, your smallmouth regs are now statewide, so check the book before you hit the water. And for the adventurous, paddlefish harvest got a mesh-size bump on gillnets, so commercial guys need to adapt—while the rest of us can just enjoy the show.
That’s your weekly hit of fly-fishing news—real talk for real anglers. Thanks for tuning in, and swing by next week for more stories, conditions, and maybe a secret hole or two. This has been a Quiet Please production—for folks who know that the river is where the story happens. For more, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.
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