The First Fish of the Rest of My Life

Few trout are as storied as the wild rainbows of the McCloud. Meeting one in its home water reshaped what I thought I knew about fishing—and myself.

Dec 10 • Jacob Sotak

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12

4

August 2025

DROP\SHOT: 8.12.25

Stoppin' that rod tip high.

Aug 13 • Jacob Sotak

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4

1

DROP\SHOT: 8.6.25

Brought on by auditory hallucinations of feeding trout.

Aug 6 • Jacob Sotak

9

4

1

July 2025

DROP\SHOT: 7.30.23

Subterranean Homesick Trout Punk.

Jul 30 • Jacob Sotak

7

2

Quartermaster #004

A lovely Hardy Princess, a very sharp Abel No. 2 with spare spool, and a Like-New 9-Foot 5-Weight Loomis NRX.

Jul 26 • Jacob Sotak

5

2

DROP\SHOT: 07.23.25

Straight from the undercurrent. Here’s your weekly fix from Hookswain HQ.

Jul 23 • Jacob Sotak

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1

2

May 2025

Hoping for a Hatch

Watch now | A short film from Hookswain about fly tying, writer’s block, and getting ready for a fly fishing trip on California’s legendary McCloud…

May 6 • Jacob Sotak

10

8

1

2:04

April 2025

The One That Got Away

Jose Wejebe’s TV show, 'The Spanish Fly,' brought charm and character to sport fishing. His death left a hole below the waterline in everyone who knew…

Apr 28 • Chris Wright

12

3

3

Learning the Hard Way | 4wt Fiberglass Travel Rod Build

Watch now | In this video — part build update, part confessional — we walk through the ups and downs of the build process, and capturing it all on…

Apr 19 • Jacob Sotak

2

2

7:45

Real-Time Build: Fitting the First Cork

Watch Now | Fitting the first cork ring to the reel seat insert.

Apr 19 • Jacob Sotak

2

18:05

Real-Time Build: Gluing Up the Cork Grip

Watch now | Join me down at the work bench as I stumble through the glue up of a custom cork grip.

Apr 18 • Jacob Sotak

1

36:09

Real-Time Build: Affixing the Reel Seat Hardware

Watch Now | Pull up a chair and join me at the bench while we install reel seat hardware on the butt section of the a fly rod in real time.

Apr 18 • Jacob Sotak

1

14:50