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
Legal shooting light is an hour earlier than it was a week ago. For those keeping score at home, that sets the average elk hunter’s alarm clock somewhere between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Meanwhile an hour of fishable post-work sunlight just got lopped-off your afternoons. Congress has given us plenty of cause for concern in recent, Read More
I had two of my four bags on the platform when the train started to move. The third duffle clipped the closing door as I chucked it. It ended up under the train. Jumping, I faired slightly better myself, decking hard on the concrete station floor with the backpack. I came up rolling, Read More
George Hunker, well-seasoned river guide and fly fishing instructor extraordinaire, once told me, “For all the discussion of equipment, fly selection and casting technique, I’ve found nothing is as important to my fishing success as being where the fish are.” His point is so obvious that, like the proverbial forest hidden among the trees,, Read More
A bugle interrupted a few fleeting moments of silence. They had been at it all night. The bull worked across the frost laden meadow as fog rolled off the river. By mid day the temps would be in the seventies but at the moment the chill of fall was still thick in the air. The, Read More
Wind kicked up debris. Water sprayed across the bow of the boat. Anchored, I sat hunkered as my buddy slowly waded down the bank. A big nose had poked out of the grey water. Despite several attempts the fish was not seen again. Editing photos that night something caught my eye. Something out of, Read More
“There are guides who have fallen out of the boat and those who have not…yet.” quipped my buddy merely a few weeks ago. The day after he spoke those words my son fell out of the boat for the first time. While not exactly a fishing guide, I fall into the not yet category. Until, Read More
I didn’t see it coming, until it hit me like a freight train. The Yeti is to sportsmen what the Rolex is to suburban businessmen. In what seems like overnight, Yeti Coolers have become the new status symbol for hunters and anglers. Yeti managed to make coolers cool. I’ll admit, I fell for it too., Read More
Sips are great, those matter-of-fact top water takes – no wasted motion, no unnecessary airtime. They’re discreet, business-like and well-mannered. You can almost imagine a trout dabbing his lips with a napkin after a sip. Slurps are fun too, partly because they seem so mischievous, like opening a trapdoor under a pizza. The bug, Read More
Getting my hands on a new rod is always a treat. I have a couple of favorites for sure, but I really enjoy trying something new. Matt on the other hand pretty much fishes one rod. Once he asked to borrow a rod, for a trip to the Keys, but that was stretching it for him., Read More