William Sisson

3 weeks ago | anglersjournal.com | William Sisson

Long-distance casting champion Ron Arra witnessed something he’d never seen before during a recent surfcasting demonstration on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 79-year-old, five-time national distance champ watched as one of the participants, Lucas Leao, uncorked a cast that drained every inch of line from the spool of his Penn Spinfisher VII 5500 LC (long cast) reel, which held about 265 yards of 30-pound braid and backing. And then Leao did it three more times at the May 3 demonstration.

3 weeks ago | anglersjournal.com | William Sisson

The work of photographer Jeff Dworsky illustrated a story published in Anglers Journal nearly six years ago entitled On the Outskirts about the small fishing town of Stonington on Maine’s Deer Isle. Dworsky moved there from Massachusetts in 1973 when he was 17. Now Dworsky’s work is the subject of a handsome, large-format book called Sealskin, from Charcoal Press. The book is 10 by 13 inches and 110 pages, with a hard cover embossed with a tipped-on photo.

Feb 17, 2025 | anglersjournal.com | William Sisson

The scene could have been ripped from a Hemingway story. On a seamount more than 100 miles off Costa Rica, a white-haired salt stood in the cockpit fighting a blue marlin on a fly rod. The battle was as mano-a-mano as it gets in this theater. A 300-pound marlin, 20-pound tippet and a 75-year-old Don Quixote with a 14-weight rod. What could go wrong? One hour became two, and the powerful fish still hadn’t jumped. Instead, it rested far below with its pectoral fins extended horizontally.

Dec 16, 2024 | anglersjournal.com | William Sisson

A pair of young landscapers pulls into a lot in an old, red dump truck filled with brush. Two surf rods are laid across the load. By the looks of things, they are knocking off work a little early. Good for them. They could have been me 40 years ago. It is the last week of October. The rutted trail to the beach snakes past dozens of milkweed plants heavy with seed pods swollen to bursting.

Sep 23, 2024 | anglersjournal.com | William Sisson

If you live in the Northeast, fall fishing is our beautiful obsession. Nothing revs our tribe’s motors like the fall run. No disrespect to spring and summer, but fall is the season to be on the water from Maine to New Jersey, forgoing sleep, calling in sick to work and using up vacation time to chase bluefin and yellowfin tuna, albies, bluefish, blackfish and, of course, striped bass — the fish that has come to embody fall as much as any species in the region.