The Old Republic Journal
Dispatches from Texas land and water.
This journal is a deliberate step away from the fast-scrolling, algorithmic noise of modern social media. It is an independent, reader-supported space dedicated to the heritage, technical work, and strategies of Texas angling on the fly.
Whether you are looking for long-form narratives on public waters advocacy or granular tactical blueprints to improve your experience on the water, that’s what this journal was built for.
What You Get As a Subscriber
By dropping your email with us, you join a community of serious fly anglers and conservation-minded folks. Every week, you will receive two distinct dispatches straight to your inbox:
The Process (Thursday): Grander narrative essays focusing on the history of Texas waters, outfitter field notes, and the quiet leisure spent between fish.
The Old Republic Fly Dispatches: Actionable breakdowns of rigging, fly recipes, and water tactics for our "Old Republic" — the pre-1850 Texas claims that reached into what's now Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. The Old Republic angle is a real historical thread connecting the Texas Hill Country, cold-water fisheries of the Mountain West, and the Texas Gulf coast under one Texan identity.
Behind the Journal
This publication is written by Ben Christensen, an experienced outdoor writer with bylines in Angling Trade and Texas Highways. Ben is an IGFA fly rod record holder.
With over a decade of professional fly-fishing and guiding experience, Ben is a dedicated husband and father, hunter, and expert on Texas waters. After a career spent as a journalist, a humanities teacher in Texas public high schools, and service in the Marine Corps, this journal documents a broad scope of things related to the craft, like leader and fly selection, how to fish alpine lakes in the San Juans and beating the wind on the lower Laguna Madre with your cast.
Join the Muster
This journal is entirely reader-supported. There are no corporate sponsors, no clickbait, and no algorithmic filler.
If you believe that Texas land and water deserve more than a 15-second video snip, consider subscribing to unlock the full archive of technical dispatches and field logs.
We’ll see y’all out there. -Ben
