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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.
By Kirk Billings I finished up bird season last year with a bad knee, a mile and a half march across obscenely muddy flats, and a single chukar in my vest. I’d had to scrounge shells for my 20 gauge to eke out the day and a broken strap on my gaiters flailed along, Read More
Snow stacks up on the windowsill and in the mountains. It’s good for fish, good for grass, good for ungulates. Those are fleeting thoughts in the back of my mind. Mostly I keep my eye on the snow report at the local ski area. I take a leisurely morning to clean the garage and, Read More
“Dada, is this one pokey?” “Yep.” “Um… cause it’s got a hook on it?” “They all have hooks son. Careful.” “Ok, I will. But then… if I get poked a little… then um… then I’ll just be brave. Ok Dada?” The next day would bring the year’s first fishing trip and we had some, Read More
Sleeping bag tucked under my arm and Sorel boots in my opposite hand, I boarded the bus with my head down. I was the only kid carrying those items. As a freshman in high school I was embarrassed by the extra gear. But my dad wasn’t letting me leave home without it. Raised in, Read More
You greet 5 a.m. with your boots on, headed up-hill. By dawn, you are miles from camp and have a band of twelve elk in your binocular. They’re grazing lazily away from you along the opposite slope, flirting with rifle range in the early morning quiet. And like you, they are standing on public, Read More
After years of talk we finally pulled the trigger and got a boat. We had debated the merits of a raft vs. drift boat, new vs. used, and mostly how the heck we could pay for either. In the end a used drift boat with a price we couldn’t resist fell into our lap. It’s, Read More
There can be no light without darkness, no life without death, no joy without despair. I can make peace with the inescapable truths. But, as the days grow longer, and chukar season grows shorter, how the hell do I explain these facts of life to my dog? Maybe it’s for the best that she, Read More
I’m not a salty veteran of multi-day river trips. My roots are in the mountains, with lots of experience carrying a backpack on extended expeditions. But for a variety or reasons, river trips have become our favorite way to recreate as a family. In the process we have been honing our skills as we learn, Read More
“We don’t eat the feathers, cause see that would be silly, right Dada?” “Right.” “Yeah, cause we only eat the meat, and feathers aren’t meat and… and… um… cause see the meat’s on the inside!” The duck we were plucking had only hung for a couple days. I’d planned on waiting longer to breast, Read More
A quarter inch of frost covers the truck.Temps are in the single digits. The cold penetrates my head causing my ears to sting and my brain to hurt. Shuttling gear from the garage, I hustle to finish loading. Kennels, cooler, shovel, chains, are all in the bed. A shotgun, 6 weight, and a boot dryer bookend my, Read More