American Angler is a magazine dedicated to the subject of fly fishing, with an emphasis on cold water fisheries, published six times a year. It bills itself as a "how to, where to" magazine focusing on technical fly-fishing informational articles and explorations of new fishing locations. It is an asset of Morris Communications, which also owns publications such as Gray's Sporting Journal, Fly Tyer, and the soon-to-be-defunct Saltwater Fly Fishing. Collectively, these magazines are referred to as the "Morris Group." American Angler is the third-largest fly-fishing magazine in terms of circulation, with approximately 40,000 subscribers, following Fly Fisherman and Fly Rod and Reel. It is the only magazine among those to use "perfect binding" instead of stapled pages. Notable Authors Macauley Lord, author of the L.L. Bean Fly-Casting Handbook, is the regular casting columnist. Phil Monahan is the former editor of American Angler magazine, as well as a feature-articles author and the past editorial director of the Morris Group of fly-fishing magazines. Ed Engle, author of Splitting Cane, is a frequent contributor. William "Bill" Tapply, author of the Brady Coyne mystery novels, writes the final column in each issue. Dave Klausmeyer, editor of Fly Tyer, contributes the Tyer's Notes column in each issue. Regular Features American Angler has a number of regular columns. "The Rant" is a reader-contributed column intended to give readers the chance to get something related to fly fishing off their chest. Past subjects have included pegged beads (a controversial form of salmon fishing), as well as conservation issues. "Natural Reflections," an insect photography column written by Ted Fauceglia, features a different photo of a fly fishing related insect each issue. "Headwaters" (formerly "FYI") is a news and information column. "Expeditions" is a regular feature-article section highlighting longer trips, often to exotic locales. "Casting" features Macauley Lord discussing techniques and improvements to the art of fly casting, written for a beginning to intermediate audience. "Quick Fly" describes the method of tying a different fly with each issue, and is usually published in collaboration with sister-publication Fly Tyer, edited by author Dave Klausmeyer. "Gear I Love" is another reader-penned article highlighting a favorite piece of flyfishing gear. History American Angler began as Fly Tyer, an in-house publication of the Dick Surette Fly Fishing Shop in North Conway, New Hampshire. The first issue was published in 1978. During the 1980s, following declining interest in fly fishing, Fly Tyer was