No Winnie the Pooh T-Shirts – Poland? Check out the Global Rescue website for these interesting facts: click here!

If you enjoy bass fishing as much as I do, here’s a great opportunity to catch lots of bass and support a great cause in Cast Hope for kids. My buddy Conway Bowman has secured one of California’s premiere bass lakes just before it opens to the public. Its going to be a fun day, please click the link below for more information and how to register, this event will sell out! Lake Barrett Bass Bonanza!

Click here for a listing in your area.

Click Link for YouTube Video!

This American Museum of Fly Fishing film series is pretty cool. The premise of the series is to hand vintage bamboo rods to modern anglers and see how they perform. Traveling to different waters—both salt and fresh—we put classic bamboo rods to the test. Along the way, our anglers share their experiences, giving a fresh take on fishing with old-school gear. The journey is both visually stunning and insightful, offering a look at how far fishing equipment has come while celebrating the craftsmanship of the past.

In this past episode shot at Lake Isabella, CA, we enlisted my carp guru buddy, Trevor Tanner and put him to the test using a E.F. Payne Rod Co., 8 weight, circa 1956. Video shot by our friend, Meris McHaney. Hope you enjoy! Please support the AMMF!

California’s Premier Fishing Tackle, Boat, Travel & Outdoors Show!

Returns for the 15th year! It’s in my opinion the best sportfishing show we have! I will be walking the show on Thursday. Hope to see many friends out there.

The Pacific Coast Sportfishing Tackle, Boat, Travel, and Outdoors Show is the West Coasts Premier Outdoors Show. Located at the Orange County, Fair & Events Center in beautiful Orange County, California the show draws vendors from all over the country including manufacturers, retail sales, travel lodges and dealers of hundreds of outdoor products.

7 halls, 217,000 sq feet of Salt and Freshwater Fishing Tackle, Boats, Travel Destinations and Everything Outdoors!

SHOW DATES & TIMES:
MAR 6: Thu, 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM PST
MAR 7: Fri, 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM PST
MAR 8: Sat, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM PST
MAR 9: Sun, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST

Tickets are $20 at the door. Online Tickets are $20 + Eventbrite Fees. Kids 12 and under & active duty military with valid current id are free.

I wish I could have been there but circumstances kept me on the West coast. I guess I was there in spirit when I was asked by my friend Andy Mill to write a few words which he read before the 200 plus audience. I know Bobby had to be smiling down with all that love in the room. He was a good friend and mentor to me when I first started out in saltwater flyfishing. We fished, tied flies and had many great adventures on and off the beach. I will miss him dearly! Please click here for the full story recap on The Average Angler blog.

Bob Popovics Day: https://www.senatenj.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=580

AMFF Posthumously Honors Bob Popovics with the 2025 Izaak Walton Award – American Museum Of Fly Fishing

-Al Q

Last week I had the honor to accompany my buddy Bill Matthews back to Hopedale, Louisiana to fish a few days with Capt. Greg Moon. Our main objective was to spread Bill’s late wife Lori Matthew’s ashes out in the marsh for her final farewell. It was here Lori took her last trip with Bill and landed a giant redfish over forty pounds a few years ago before she fell ill. We honored her memory on the second day of our trip back in the marsh by playing a short video of Lori’s finest catches on Bill’s iphone as he sprinkled rose petals and her ashes over the water. It was an emotional moment, the last of the many places Bill fished with Lori and spread her ashes. We did have a fun time together on the first day, the wind was down and we threw surface poppers to giant redfish and jacks. I lucked out with my first sight-fished sheepshead right up against the marsh edge. Our other two buddies Rex Ito and Don Shaul accompanied us on this short but sweet trip and got a few personal bests as well. We all stayed at the historic Dogwood Lodge, a converted US coastguard vessel moored along the bank of Hopedale harbor. I love Louisian, I feel very close to this town visiting it over twenty times while my old roommate live in New Orleans, it feels like my second home. Great food and great people.
–Al Q