The Legend of Mike Kinney

According to folklore, deep in the dark reaches of the Pacific Northwest, in a little valley just off the beaten track, there lives a man whose understanding of rivers and the fish that live in them has attained mythical proportions. As the legend goes, he has lived on the banks of this river for more than 30 years-ten of them in a one-room cabin without heat or indoor plumbing. They say he raised his son there, and bathed in the 38-degree winter water with the steelhead he knows so well. They say he has developed new flies, lines and techniques, often without credit. They say he's a wizard with a spey rod, throwing magical loops and heroic mends. They say he grows his food in the river's floodplain, that he fishes places no one else can, that he watches and protects the river with his life.

If you travel there to meet him, you will learn that Mike Kinney is for real, and the stories are true. You will learn that he will share his wisdom, if you earn it. You will learn that he is a talented trout and steelhead guide, with a deep knowledge of the environment and an uncanny fish sense. You may even learn a few of his secrets. But you will never, ever learn all of them.