Headwaters

For generations the trout calendar has centered on summer. But low flows, warmer water, and afternoon closures are rewriting that assumption. Spring and fall now offer what anglers actually want: colder water, greater physiological margin for released fish, longer productive days, and thinner crowds. The better calendar increasingly has two centers, not one. Plan around the water, not the month.

Before he built a company, John Simms built an understanding. It came from standing in cold water for hours: rivers in New York, rivers in Wyoming, rivers that tested the limits of everything a person wore, carried, and believed.

Fly fishing has always been rooted in clean water, wild places, and conservation. But now the industry faces a difficult question: can the gear designed to protect anglers from the elements also be contributing to long-term environmental contamination?

After 23 years in the military, retired Infantry First Sergeant Son Tao found healing through fly fishing. Now he helps other veterans reconnect, find peace, and heal together on the water.