Cover Photo: The morning after a heavy rain that flooded the streams, Rey weighed down his table and painting supplies with rocks to create a watercolor of the Caleufu River on the Caleufu Estancia in Argentina.
“In the best stories about fly fishing…big fish are caught or lost; people say wild and spontaneous words; event becomes memory and sometimes, in the hands of a master, bleeds into art.” The words of prolific fly-fishing author Nick Lyons are appropriate for our Winter Issue, which features two sportsmen who epitomize the intersection of passion for fly fishing and creative expression in their respective crafts.
Dave Karczynski is an award-winning author, lensman and educator who has cast to fish on four continents and written for about every fly-fishing publication under the sun. His narratives warrant reverence, praise and rinse-repeat reading. The literati have taken notice; he received the Robert Traver Award in fly-fishing writing and a Zell Fellowship in creative writing.
In “Calling After Water: Dispatches from a Fishing Life” (Lyons Press, October 2024, 224 pages), his third book and first essay collection, Karczynski brings together his narratives from his time as a contributor to such iconic magazines as Outdoor Life, The Drake, American Angler, The Flyfish Journal and others.
“Words chose me,” Karczynski said, and the ones he chooses resonate with the clarity and precision he applies to both his writing and his angling, as he interweaves narrative finesse with his fishing adventures. His precise attention to words and sentences patterns his fly selection, and he patiently works with both materials with the same dedication, tying them together on his keyboard and vise. The outputs are a refreshing cocktail of entertainment, intellectual depth and an impressive trophy fish and explorations resume.
Similarly, Alberto Rey is a fly fisher, retired educator, painter, writer and filmmaker who has run a youth fly fishing program for 30 years. His multifaceted artistry offers an inspiring lens on the fly-fishing life. Rey’s Cuban heritage and recent global travels enrich his work with profound cultural and environmental insights, and the man’s ability to translate his experiences into visual art, ceramics and film is extraordinary.
As you’ll see on these pages, Rey shares a travelogue of his journey around the world captured by his words, imagery and art. The trip involved 27 flights and 47 locations from South America and Asia to Europe and Northern Africa, where he fly fished 26 bodies of water.
This issue celebrates how the fly-fishing life transcends the stream, merging with literature, art and even self-discovery. These two creatives remind us that angling isn’t just about the fish—it’s about the stories, the places and the connections that shape our lives.
Happy Holidays! Thank you for helping us celebrate sporting life and culture. We appreciate you reading our journal.
