New Fly-fishing digital magazine

[rrt]

"Dark Skies Fly Fishing" is a new digital magazine that you can get for free on the Internet. It is produced by outdoor writer Ralph Scherder. The first issue just appeared online. I have read a couple articles, and they are well-written. The pieces are also illustrated with some nice photos. One article in the present issue discusses Walt's Worm and variations of it that the author uses for Euro nymphing. As a non-Euro nympher, I found this article quite interesting.

To find it, I think you can probably just Google "Dark Skies Fly Fishing" and come up with it.

Though I am old and prefer print-and-paper magazines, I think this one has a future with fly-fishermen, especially all you young guys out there, and will only get better. I certainly think it is worth your while to find it and take a look.

 

[albatross]

"Dark Skies Fly Fishing" is a new digital magazine that you can get for free on the Internet. It is produced by outdoor writer Ralph Scherder. The first issue just appeared online. I have read a couple articles, and they are well-written. The pieces are also illustrated with some nice photos. One article in the present issue discusses Walt's Worm and variations of it that the author uses for Euro nymphing. As a non-Euro nympher, I found this article quite interesting.

To find it, I think you can probably just Google "Dark Skies Fly Fishing" and come up with it.

Though I am old and prefer print-and-paper magazines, I think this one has a future with fly-fishermen, especially all you young guys out there, and will only get better. I certainly think it is worth your while to find it and take a look.

All the authors seem to be Pennsylvania guys, cool!

Dark Skies Fly Fishing Magazine - Spring 2024

Welcome to the premier issue of Dark Skies Fly Fishing magazine! This magazine is fully interactive, so feel free to click around and explore all we have to offer! Thank you for reading.

online.flippingbook.com

 

[troutbert]

Why the name "Dark Skies?" Just curious.

 

[JeffP]

The hatches and fishing are better??

 

[afishinado]

Why the name "Dark Skies?" Just curious.

From page one of the magazine >

What is Dark Skies Fly Fishing? What does
it mean?
I get this question from time to time
from folks who wonder how the name of
the website, and now this magazine,
came to be. Here’s how this all came
about.
I grew up in Butler County, a stone’s
throw from Buffalo Creek. Throughout my
teens, I spent countless days on Buffalo
Creek, learning how to catch trout with
spinning gear. When I was 14, I hit my first
mayfly hatch, the Hendricksons, on First
Fork Sinnemahoning Creek in Potter
County. It was literally the first day I’d ever
walked the stream with a fly rod in hand,
and it changed my life forever.
My family started fishing First Fork
sometime in the early 1960s, although I
believe my great grandfather probably
made it to this valley many years before
then to hunt grouse. Throughout high
school, we made frequent trips to Potter
County to fish, but they were never long
enough. We hit some great fly hatches
and caught a lot of fish. Eventually, I
started dreaming about moving here so
that I could fish these streams every day of
my life, and then high school graduation
came and went, and years ticked by.
It took 25 years, but eventually the dream
was realized. In November 2021, my wife
came into my office where I was tying flies
and said, “I think we should move to
Potter County.” I quickly said okay! Her
reasoning was simple. We had a camp
near Prouty (headwaters of First Fork)
where I was spending so much time
hunting and fishing anyway that she
figured we may as well move there so she
and the kids could see me more.
I wasn’t about to argue.
Two months later, our house in Butler
was sold and we were living in
northcentral Pennsylvania, with First Fork,
Kettle Creek, the Allegheny River, and a
whole host of premium trout streams
within an easy commute.
I started the fly fishing blog/website back
in 2018 and mainly posted articles that I’d
had previously published in magazines. At
that time, I was writing columns for
Pennsylvania Outdoor Journal, Ohio
Valley Outdoors, and Ohio Valley Times
and publishing articles and photos in too
many publications to list here. Eventually,
I started writing content specifically for
the blog and began a newsletter. The first
newsletter I ever sent had only 42
subscribers! But over time, it grew. And
kept growing.
A few years later, I started selling flies that I
had tied. This wasn’t a new venture, by any
means, as I had actually tied for two
sporting goods stores while still in high
school. And even though things have grown
substantially since then, I still personally tie
most of the flies that are sold through the
online store today.
The blog started out under the name
Keystone Fly Fisher. I never liked that name.
It was too similar to other businesses. I
wanted something more unique, and in Fall
2022, I decided to rebrand everything.
If you’ve spent much time in northcentral
Pennsylvania, you probably know that stars
are a big deal here. Because Potter County
is so sparsely populated, and we lack any
major urban hubs, we have very little light
pollution, which means that you can view
the night sky as it was meant to be viewed.
Only a few minutes from my house is
Cherry Springs State Park, where it has
been said that the Milky Way shines so
bright that it literally casts your shadow. In
fact, some sources claim this to be the best
place on Earth for stargazing. For this
reason, the area is colloquially known as the
“dark skies.”
In fly fishing, we have other reasons for
preferring dark skies. On dark days with lots
of cloud cover, for instance, the fishing
tends to improve, big trout move, and even
many mayfly species get more active. In
short, dark skies typically means better fly
fishing.
And so Dark Skies Fly Fishing was born.
To me, it wasn’t just the perfect name for a
fly fishing blog, but also for a regional fly
fishing magazine. And here we are!
Many people call the outdoors their
passion, their obsession, or whatever. But
for me, it’s always just been how I’ve lived
my life. When I was only 13 or so, I knew I
wanted to be an outdoor writer. I sold my
first articles to national magazines shortly
after high school graduation and have
never stopped.
I’ve worked on numerous magazines over
the years and dreamed of someday starting
one. A few times, I tried to get something
going but quickly got discouraged. I
learned very early on that it takes a team of
people to accomplish anything good in life.
My team begins with my wife Natalie and
our two kids, Sophia and Jude, and our faith
in God, without which none of this would
be possible.
I’d also like to send a special thanks to
Justin Leidy, friend and fishing partner,
whose contributions have pushed Dark
Skies Fly Fishing to new heights. Also,
thank you to everyone who has contributed
articles and who is as excited about this
magazine as I am. We hope you enjoy this
first issue of Dark Skies Fly Fishing!
WE APPRECIATE
YOUR SUPPORT!!!
In order to help this project
grow, we need your help.
Here are a few ways you can
support Dark Skies Fly
Fishing:
Share this magazine with
everyone you know.
Although this magazine is
free to download, it is not
free to produce.
Purchases made in our
online store help offset
the costs of producing a
quality publication.
Send us your fly fishing
related articles and
photos. We look forward
to reading your work and
considering them for
publication in a future
issue of Dark Skies Fly
Fishing or on the website.
If you’re a business owner,
contact us about how we
can help you promote
your products or services
to our readers.
Subscribe to our
newsletter (also free) and
our YouTube channel.
To visit our online
store, click here!

~ Ralph Scherder
Coudersport, PA
Email: info@darkskiesflyfishing.com

 

[bringthepain]

Yeah hes a PA guy, i have seen him before on YT, cool guy