Two thousand miles of heartland are between us. I’ve always been bad at staying in touch, the same isn’t true of my brother. Eleven weeks ago, the playing field was leveled when I became an uncle. Within the first ten weeks my brother has gone solo for several days with the little guy, been on a road trip, Read More
Blonde hair juts out like straw from underneath a truckers hat. The hat is pulled down tight and underneath a pair of eyes peer intently at the water from behind a pair of dark rimmed glasses. “Hit it” comes a voice from the rower’s seat, as the rod simultaneously thrust towards the sky coming tight, Read More
The fly rod was packed, but it wasn’t a fishing trip. A few half-hearted cast early on weren’t cause for inspiration. The kids were happy hanging out on the beach and the fishing prospects didn’t seem great. Then a three day Norte kicked in. Waves crashed relentlessly, churning up the bottom. When the wind finally laid down I figured, Read More
Mom is gone on a long work trip. The pizza boxes are beginning to stack up. The truck floor is littered with string cheese wrappers and doughnut crumbs. Fueled by enthusiasm, and sugar, the kids and I have been getting after it for over a week. We have had a ton of fun, but I’ll, Read More
We found ourselves a few hours from home, needing to kill some time while my wife was in a meeting. The local fly shop beckoned. “What’s that?” I asked. “Uh…I don’t know…pheasant tail?” “Nice, that’s right.” “Can we buy this one?” “Ah, not sure we can catch a trout with that.” “But I love, 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
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
Separated by a thousand miles, we head to church with the rest of our family. While my mother peers into the casket, we drop the boat into the river on a sunny January day. Water drips off the oars after every stroke. Tears of sadness and joy stain the faces of those in attendance., Read More
Tears streaming down her face, I agreed to head back to the car and and hang out for the last 20 minutes of shooting. The sound, and even the thought, of shotgun blasts had her terrified. We had never had this problem before and the two younger kids were unfazed, simply wanting to shoot, Read More
Raising my gun at the sound of wing beats, I hoped for a wild rooster to flush from the under brush. Nothing materialized. Moments later my precocious pup came out of the brush with a hen that was a little too slow getting off the ground. It was Christmas Eve 2008 and I was, Read More