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The Steelhead With A Thousand Faces
Maybe if I take five more steps, throw one more mend, skate one more fly, a hero will appear, armored in chrome, and dance to the music of my singing reel.
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The Birth of A Fishing Town
Calf deep now in the cold river, Trent’s completed his prelude of silky false casts and is ready to start the show in earnest.
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In The End, Style Might Be All We Have
Over the course of 6 trips, in and out, and nearly 40 miles, I question whether or not it’s worth it.
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Banded
Folding neatly the greenhead splashed soundly onto the water. The old lady made quick work of the retrieve.
I lived in a big sprawling metropolis for a number of years after college. For most of that time my commute – 20 miles: 45 to 120 minutes depending on traffic – was the defining element of each day. One Thursday, 3 days before Christmas, during a snow storm and the afternoon rush, a, Read More
Noses down, tails cracking in the cool morning air, the dogs worked in-between the Russian Olives. As the tails moved faster their pace became more methodical. The morning had been kind already, and with a limit in the truck I was able to focus solely on handling the dogs. My friend was one shy, Read More
On crossing paths with an acquaintance in the course of my work travels a few weeks ago, I met him with the standard Wyoming fall greeting. “How’s your season coming?” I asked “Streamer season?” he replied with a grin. “It’s going great thanks. I don’t really hunt much anymore though, if that’s what you, Read More
Turns out I’ve only owned one pair of binoculars and I lost those in a horse wreck in Wyoming’s Red Desert circa 2003. As a kid I borrowed a compact pair of Nikons from my dad. Since the horse wreck, I’ve had some 20 year old 8×32 Pentax’s, on semi-permanent loan from my brother., Read More
“Dada… um… did you shoot a elk yet?” I always get a little edgy as the big game season nears its close. Maybe it’s my hyperactive sense of responsibility reacting to an empty freezer. Maybe it’s the knowledge that I’ll soon be consigned to the audience of life’s great drama. In any case, having, Read More
To a Lab nothing else matters once the smell of a rooster fills their nostrils. These majestic birds display colors that are almost other worldly. The bird is reward enough but a little petting is always appreciated. All the attention goes to the head, but the subtle shades of turquoise and silver on the, Read More
At 60 power, it felt like the deer were in my lap, like the scope was transporting me across the ravine and into the herd.
Thirty feet below a fish slowly cruised the bank. Quietly stripping line I prepared to cast. The bug landed just around a rock a few feet in front of the fish. Working lazily the fish noticed the fly and casually gulped it from the surface. Earlier, Matt had cracked the code. I had hooked, Read More
When I was 9 years old, my family moved from Williamsburg, Virginia to Salt Lake City, Utah. This would upend my world in more ways than I then understood – rural to urban, southern to western, near kin to distant. But on saying goodbye to my friends, and the best neighborhood I would ever, Read More
Dad chose his words wisely, as dad’s are prone to doing: “Nope…it’s my job to carry the spotting scope” “I’ll hike and find someone who can jump our truck…why don’t you go ahead and hunt” “Here’s another scotch” This year I was lucky and drew one of the most coveted Wyoming deer tags. My, Read More