Barry and Cathy Beck Blog

Tim Youngkin, in the photo, joined Barry and Cathy last October on their second hosted trip to Mongolia.Through the efforts of Sweetwater Travel, anglers now have two taimen camps in Mongolia. Charlie Conn, manager and guide at the camp, has been involved with this operation from the beginning and is the driving force behind the Taimen Fund. This Fund is making a difference in the lives of not only an amazing fish species, but in the people of Mongolia as well.

Sweetwater's most recent newsletter reads "In Mongolia, we work closely with the Taimen Fund run by long-time Taimen guide, Charlie Conn. The Taimen Fund builds upon the important work of the Tributary Fund which re-built a Buddhist monastery, created environmental educational programs in local schools, funded the world's first western Taimen research project, and supported local anti-poaching patrols. Today, the Taimen Fund is funding anti-poaching efforts and funding outreach efforts to insure that  adequate protections are in place at both the local and national level in Mongolia. We thank Charlie for his work and ask you to join us in supporting this important initiative. We are trying to raise $5000 for the Taimen Fund. If you have any questions about the Taimen work, please call Dan at Sweetwater at 406-222-0624 or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You can click here to make a donation.

We just went through our mail from the weekend and were excited to find a brochure for the upcoming Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ.

Show dates are January 24, 25 & 26 and the line up is packed full! The event is held at the Garden State Exhibit Center with more than enough to keep you busy. Cathy & Barry will be attending and you can find them at the Sage booth when they are not presenting or hosting a casting class. For more information, directions, and show times visit The Fly Fishing Show Website at flyfishingshow.com

Does the frigid cold weather have you thinking about getting away for a Spring saltwater trip?  We'd love to have you join us at BRL.  April 26- May 3.  7 nights/ 6 days.  $3,700 range.  Check out the details on our Website. 

Our trip to Spain in October was very different from most of our fly fishing departures. We flew into Barcelona, took the hi-speed rail to Lleida, was met by our outfitter and guide, Ivan Tarin, and drove to Aren. our headquarters for the week.

With the holidays coming and friends and family getting together, we'd like to offer a few photo tips for the holidays....or anytime.  

Below are some great gift ideas for your favorite Angler this Christmas. 

$6.50 S&H.  All orders over $25 received by December 5th will be shipped free!

To order call us toll free at 877-278-5638 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Barry says "Out of all the images we've ever taken, this has to be one of our best.  It's definitely one of our favorites!  It was shot with a Nikon D300S and an underwater housing with a dome port.  In over 300 exposed frames we had 2 that were close to perfect and 1 that was clearly the winner". 

We'd like to offer you a signed print (unframed) on 16"x24" paper of this image at a special price of $50.00 (normally $80.00) plus shipping.  We wil be taking orders from today until December 10th.  To place your order you can call us at 570-925-2392 or 877-278-5638 or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It's a rainy, dreary day here in NEPA.  I have been saving up some interesting articles that we've come across and I think that today is a good day to share a few of them with you.  There's a little bit of everything here so I hope you find something that interests you!

We're excited to announce a new addition to our website... 

Mongolia is one of those places that we can't stay away from. From the incredible taimen fishing to the beautiful fall scenery, it keeps pulling us back.

I know that as readers you don't hear from Barry often.  Typically it's Cathy or myself blogging and that's because Barry's typically behind his camera giving us something to write about!  However, when Barry does write, it's always worth reading.  Here's a blog he did recently for Sage and I hope you enjoy hearing from him as much as I did.  Click Here to read Barry's Blog

  I also wanted to let you know that we're having a beautiful Fall season here in NE PA.  The water in Fishing Creek started out low but the recent rain has helped a lot.  Fish are in great shape and it's a beautiful time of year to be on the stream as evidenced here by one of our regular clients, Joe Vacante. 

Join us on our New Zealand trip and get a new Sage ONE Rod and RIO Grand fly line!

We just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who participated in our Favorite Fishing Photo Contest.  We loved seeing your submissions and had a very hard time choosing our favorites.  We will definitely be hosting more contests like this as we enjoy hearing from you & seeing what you're doing. 

Congratulations to our winners

1st Place-  A.J. Swentosky  "Brown Mouth"

2nd Place-  Brad Sodowick "First Fish Ever"

3rd Place-  Steve Binnick  "Lago Tres Valles"

Good morning Folks.  Very big news this week regarding the campaign to protect Bristol Bay.  The major partner behind the proposed Pebble Mine has decided to exit the project.  This is likely in part a response to the massive outpouring of opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine and support for EPA taking action to protect the most productive wild salmon fishery on the planet.  See the news here:  http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130916/anglo-american-withdraws-pebble-mine-project

Also, we have a friend and client who bought a new 590-4 Sage ONE (9' #5, 4-piece)for his wife and after using it for a weekend has found that she likes the Circa better. They have decided to sell the ONE at a screaming deal. If you are interested in a new Sage ONE rod at a great price, please contact Ron directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We know this model and it's a great rod and a great price.  For more information view the Sage Website here.  

Today's also the last day to submit your photos for our Favorite Fishing Photo Contest.  We've got some great entries so far but would love to see yours!  Email your photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 6PM tonight.  We'll be announcing the winners next week. 

   As we mentioned before, we've updated Cathy's Fly-Fishing Handbook and we just received a delivery of them today so they are hot off the press!  This is her 3rd Edition and the best yet.  Here's what it includes:

-Enhanced with video via QR codes linked to a non-published website teaching the techniques written in the book

-Information covered has been updated as well as the addition of full color photographs

-All the basics-  on gear, lines, leaders and knots, and casting

-Covers bot freshwater & saltwater fishing and fly selection

-New chapter on trip preparation and traveling to fish

-Illustrations by Ray Walinchus

We're offering a signed copy for $16.95 each (they are $21.95 list price) as a 30 day introductory offer plus S&H.  You can order them from our website by clicking here. 

Often we have a few different "news worthy" pieces of miscellaneous information that we want to share with you all.  Rather than sending out multiple blogs and filling up your email, we decided that we will combine it all in one informational "Memo" blog.  This will probably become a monthly habit and hopefully will help keep you in the loop with what's going on here in the office!

So, for September.... 

As some of you know we are running a fishing photo contest.  For those of you who missed that blog, you can see the details here.  We've all enjoyed the photos coming in and hearing your fishing stories... As promised, here's a quick preview of the photos that have been submitted so far.  We're running the contest through September 18th so there's still time to send us your photo!  Email your favorite to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We've shared many of our favorite photos with you over the past few months, but now we want to hear from you. 

Here are the guidelines: We're running a photo contest from today through September 18th.  Send us your favorite fishing photo by emailing it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 1 entry per person so choose wisely!  We will share all entries in a weekly blog and our office staff will choose the winners by September 25th.  1st Place Winner gets a Sage 2050 (5/6) Fly Reel, RIO Hat, and a 2014 Angler's Calendar. 2nd Place gets a RIO Grand Fly Line of their choice, RIO Hat, and a 2014 Angler's Calendar. 3rd Place gets a RIO hat and a 2014 Angler's Calendar.

If you don't have a favorite, get out on the water this weekend and snap one!  We're excited to see your best photos & hope to hear from all our readers.  Good luck!

Kids are back to school, the weather is changing, and Fall is on the way.  This means steelhead fishing is just around the corner.  Check out the new September/October Issue of American Angler which is in stores now for some great tips including egg flies that work!  And don't miss our cover photo of a beautiful steelhead closeup. These fish are truely amazing!