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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.
Arthur C Clarke once said that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Had he been an elk hunter he’d have known that no technology, advanced or otherwise, knows the half of it. There is nothing so magical as elk apparating from the pre-dawn grayness. With a naked eye or through German glass,, Read More
1 fruit pouch, 1 yogurt stick, 1 1/2 litres of water and 1/2 of a peanut butter and jelly. It seemed like more than enough for a couple hours of fishing before lunch. 7.5 hours later my daughter and I finally started heading back to camp. The euphoria of lots of fish, big fish and, Read More
In the three years since I became a father, I’ve had to redefine some terms. “Sleeping in” does not mean what it used to for example, nor “big night out” for that matter. “Free time”… I seem to recall using that phrase as a younger man, but the concept is fuzzy now. Most of, Read More
Bourbon is just outside my wheelhouse. I drink scotch mostly, but I like bourbon enough that I usually have at least one bottle in the cabinet. On a couple of recent backcountry trips Basil Hayden’s bourbon has ben the whiskey that earned the nod. Bringing it has become a bit of a habit and, Read More
“Hump had taken a helluva beating, but the kids kept calling for more fish. I tried to talk him out of it. Just look at yourself I said. Get back in the box… you’re through, you’ve done enough. But there was no talking to him.” – P. Adams, Parachute Squadron “Did Copeland ask too much, 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
For comfort and recuperation, nothing beats a roast. Threw your back out doing yard work? No worries. Shattered a window in your truck? Don’t sweat it. Pierced your kid’s ear with a low flying streamer? That’s okay. A slow-cooked hunk of personally harvested meat is good for whatever ails you. But what to do, Read More
It seemed like I couldn’t turn around without bumping into a Tenkara rod. Plus I’m a sucker for trying something new…or really old as the case may be. So when my wife picked-up a couple of Tenkara rods for a backcountry trip she was guiding into the Wind River range, I had to give, Read More
“Matt!” called Steven in his best stage whisper. Grizz I wondered? No, he probably just needs the net. “Matt!” came his voice again, more urgent this time, but still softened to accomodate the sleeping toddler. He’d wake her for a bear I figured, and besides, he’s got the bear spray. “Busy here.” I whisper-yelled back with, Read More
This summer our dogs have been neglected. It’s a crazy time for our family. My wife and I both travel a fair bit for work. Family comes to visit. We try to get into the mountains as much as possible. The dogs have been deprioritized. As pups, I would spend an hour a day all, Read More