Chris Santella is a great friend of mine, a writer who I’ve followed for almost 20 years now, and also a contributor to the CURRENT. If you’re not familiar with Chris, he’s the author of the iconic book series “Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die.” Chris just penned a very thoughtful opinion piece about fly fishing for steelhead in the Oregonian about his home water– the Deschutes River - and the state of fly fishing for steelhead. Here’s a quick snip from his piece:

“Every March, I begin looking forward to late summer afternoons at the mouth of the Deschutes River. The kaleidoscope of kite sails around Hood River and the creosote smell of railroad ties in The Dalles signal that I’m getting close to once again, experiencing world-class fishing — swinging flies for wild summer steelhead on a majestic western river.” – Chris Santella, August 18th, 2021

If you are an avid steelhead angler or you are interested in what is happening this year on steelhead rivers ranging from California all the way north to British Columbia, this is an article worth checking out.