Every year, we pause to look back at the stories from the previous trip around the sun that most captivated our readers. As it is with most years, 2022’s favorites list features a mix of tips, destination features, conservation stories, gear coverage, and more.

Here are the 10 Hatch Magazine stories of 2022 that saw more eyes than all the others.

1. St. Croix poised for a big return to fly fishing

Some 15 years ago, the sales and marketing team from St. Croix Rods packed up the company’s fly fishing display after the annual International Fly Tackle Dealer show in Denver, loaded it into a truck and never returned. But now—with new investments, personnel, and vision—the iconic, legacy Wisconsin rod maker is poised for a big return to the sport.

2. Fly fishing ‘The Guad’: America’s southernmost trout fishery

If you want to fish for trout in the continental U.S., you can't do it any farther south than Texas' Guadalupe River. Texas-resident, one time Yankee, and author Rob McConnell profiles this popular southern river.

3. Awareness and fly fishing

According to frequent contributor Todd Tanner, awareness is the most important fly fishing skill a serious trout angler can develop—and the hardest to master. That’s not taking anything away from casting, or presentation, or entomology, or fly choice, or reading the water. They’re all essential components of the sport. But according to Tanner, awareness trumps them all.

4. 12 keys to becoming a great fly angler

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Some fly fishermen and women just want to head to the river or the shore, enjoy some time away from the office, and have a little fun. Others want to dive head-first into the sport and do everything they can to master it. This one’s for that latter group.

5. How to buy great used fly rods

The used rod market is enormous and within it there are gems to be found—or just plain old good values. But the sheer volume of options out there makes the world of used fly rods frustrating to navigate. The goal of this 2022 favorite article was to provide guidance and tips to help anglers make the most of their second-hand rod shopping.

6. Quick takes: 12 trout fishing tips

In this popular piece, School of Trout founder Todd Tanner offers up a dozen digestible tips on everything from flies and reading water to rods, reels, and taking fish photos.

7. Why do so many trout anglers hate whitefish?

As native fish, excellent barometers of water quality, impressive fighters that take flies with zeal, and more, whitefish deserve the same love as trout, Spencer Durrant claims in this article from last February. So what’s with all the hate?

8. Florida’s bonefish are on drugs

Literally. The third-most read article of 2022 highlights the results of a study conducted by Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and Florida International University, which found almost 60 different drugs — both legal and illegal — in tissue samples taken from Florida bonefish.

9. The best dry fly river in America?

Some will tell you it’s the Henry’s Fork. Others will assure you it’s the Delaware. Or a lesser-known river they’re loathe to mention. But last year’s runner up for most read article of the year begs to differ, confidently proclaiming Idaho’s South Fork of the Snake to be America’s best dry fly fishing river.

10. Is it time for anglers to ditch their ballcaps?

If there’s one thing that countless anglers are religiously protective of, it’s their favorite fishing hat. For many anglers, that hat is a ballcap of some form or another. But ballcaps are notoriously poor at offering sun protection, a fact with serious consequences and implications — all highlighted by Chris Hunt in 2022’s most read article.