The John D. Voelker Foundation and the American Museum of Fly Fishing (AMFF) are pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Robert Traver Fly-fishing Writing Award: “Last Salad on the Gairezi” by George Rogers of Chateaugay, New York. This is a personal story of fly fishing for nonnative trout in Zimbabwe that provides insightful context for destination fishing in a country with a complicated history.
The winning entry will receive a $2,500 prize and will be published in the Winter 2025 edition of the American Fly Fisher, the journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
George Rogers is a high school science and English teacher. He spends summers at his cabin in Cantwell, Alaska, where he owns and operates Denali Angler, a fly-fishing guide service. Rogers’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. He is currently a senior contributor at the Drake magazine. His “The Last Good Days of a Very Good Dog” topped the Boston Globe’s 2022 Top 10 Ideas essay list, and “The Pink Ranchers” was named a notable essay in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023.
Mr. Rogers commented, “It is an honor to receive the 2024 Robert Traver Award. I would like to thank the Voelker Foundation, the American Museum of Fly Fishing, and the judges for their time and consideration—there were no doubt many deserving entries. I am truly grateful.”
Read the winning story by clicking the title below.
The 2024 competition drew a field of one hundred stories and essays. Entries were judged anonymously, resulting in eight finalists. In addition to the winner, judges bestowed honorable mention recognition on two entries:
The other five finalists were:
“The Man from Leksand” by Moncrieff Cochran of South Orleans, Massachusetts
“From the Clear Waters” by Mark Cudney of Wayland, New York
“Between the Snow and the Second Line” by Katie MacDonald of Charlottestown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
“Following Filleul” by Michelle Werrett of Tiverton, Devon, United Kingdom
“Beginnings” by David Wickline III of Lynchburg, Virginia