Best Flyfishing Book – Fiction – “Guiding Elliot” by Robert Lee. This is a great book, I liked it so much that I read it twice. This is an excellent story well told, and it may be the funniest book I’ve ever read.

Best Collection of Essays on Flyfishing – “The next Valley Over: An Anglers Progress” by Charles Gaines. This guy has lived the life all trout bums would live if they had the money and the time. He has fished at all of the worlds great lodges. A fascinating guy who just happens to be a great writer.

Best Flyfishing Book – How to – “Hatch Guide for the Lower Deschutes River”. You could substitute Yakima for Deschutes in the title. This little book has more useful information than any other book of any size that I have seen. If you only own one book on flyfishing, this should be the one. It’s the trout bums bible.

Best All Around Trout Rod – Loomis GLX 5 weight. I bought this rod this year and it is all that and a bag of chips. It throws a lot of line with just a flick of the wrist – dynamite, especially if you have a bad elbow. This is a powerful fast-action rod and I think a 5-weight is just right for the Yakima.

Best Reel for the Money – Okuma makes great reels and the price is outrageously low. I bought an Okuma this year for about $40 and I prefer it to another reel I own that sells for $200. How do they do it? I don’t know, but if you need a reel, this one’s a steal.

Best Dry Fly Line – Its still Rio. I’ve tried a number of lines over the last few years and for casting, durability and floatation – none measure up to the Rio Classic.

Best Tippet Material – Climax. This tippet is thin, consistent, and strong, with just the right amount of stretch. Unfortunately it comes in the world’s worst dispenser. I put up with the dispensers because of the fine product. If you want a really good dispenser, look at the Dai-Riki tippet in the Dan Bailey dispenser. This is a great tippet dispenser and contains pretty good tippet material.

Best Nymphing Indicator – The kind made with Polypro yarn and rubber o-rings. These float great, cast well and they are super sensitive - so you can detect those delicate takes.

Best Hatch on the Yakima River 2002 – Golden Stoneflies. There is nothing like a stonefly hatch to make big fish stupid, and that’s how I like my fish – big and stupid.

Best Place for a Flyfisherman to live in Washington State – Yakima. We are blessed with great rivers and not too many people.