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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.
Stalking the seam is not a passive endeavor. Getting after it, while meeting the demands of work and family, requires intention and effort. Likewise, conserving the resources, perpetuating the values, and passing on the knowledge and lore that make our pursuits possible for future generations can feel like an uphill battle. Apathy and ignorance, Read More
“How are the fish doing?” a small voice piped up from the back seat. “Huh?” I replied. “You know…how are their homes doing?” “Oh…you mean where we helped on that project last summer?” “Uh huh” Seven months had passed, but it is remarkable what sticks in a five year old’s mind. My daughter and, Read More
“Boys, wait your turn!” says Ayden with the authority of a 5 year old vice-principal. “Pet that rainbow,” grunts Grady, disregarding his big sister, throwing a territorial elbow and leaning precariously over the gunwale. “Dada, Dada… I wanna… I wanna,” whines Everett, scrambling frantically over the oars and lunging into the fray. I doubt, Read More
A grey submarine breached in the middle of The Dean; a Cold War relic tethered to me by a thin strand of Dacron, showing itself only for a moment as it headed out to sea. It was late July and most of the Kings had already entered the system. Anglers crazy enough to target, Read More
Shuffle… shuffle… drag. Mr. Teavendale, my sixth grade science teacher, taught me that movement is one defining characteristic of life. Shuffle… shuffle… drag. Inching through the bowels of an airport qualifies, I suppose. Shuffle… shuffle…drag. But it’s not my ideal form. Step… step… glass. Slinking through broken timber is movement too. Step…step… glass. The, Read More
Passing the frozen reservoir, on the way to our closest tailwater, my daughter asks if we can go ice fishing. My parents are from Minnesota, but despite midwestern roots I’m not much of an ice fisherman. Sure I went a few times as a kid, but since then it’s been all open water for, Read More
The Angling Bookstore must have 30 different nymphing technique books on the shelf, but when I asked the proprietor for a recommendation, he didn’t hesitate. “There’re lots of great books on the subject, but this guy’s the real deal,” said Ben as he handed me a copy of Dynamic Nymphing. He was right. George Daniel’s, 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., Read More
Dear Winter, It’s true, 20 below keeps the riffraff away. So let me begin with a heartfelt thank you. You’ve been generous. At the risk of sounding ungrateful though… it is quite cold. The dog comes back whining after a pee cold. The kid gets a Slurpee headache walking to the truck cold. Maybe,, Read More
My eyes were already open when the alarm hit 2:30am. By 3:00am I was hitching up the boat. I put the dog in the cab. Scraping the windshield quickly, I worried she might eat the breakfast burritos that my partner in crime had toiled over the night before. After sipping on a thermos of, Read More