Essays and Musings

Fish or Cut Bait

June 26, 2012 ⋅ 12 comments

There often comes a point in life where one must say, “It’s time to fish or cut bait!” Not being a bait fisherman I long ago cut out the bait, but recently I redecided it’s time to fish.

If you’re a cutthroat trout enthusiast, you know the stories of extinct cutthroat trout that really weren’t extinct. In stories almost too hard to believe, we’re told of the tenacity individuals displayed in moving trout from point A to points B, C and beyond. Anders Halverson records such stories surrounding the rainbow trout in his [...]

Counting Coup

November 21, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

The chutzpah of the fish led to an interesting day reflecting on the Native American act of touching the enemy without being harmed.

Recent Storm Blues

April 5, 2010 ⋅ 13 comments

Spring is a temptress, toying with the hearts of anglers. It’s enough to bring on the blues. (In word and music.)

Cutthroat Stalker Ezine

February 14, 2010 ⋅ 18 comments

The ezine version of Cutthroat Stalker is hitting the virtual stands today. Get your free copy and give me feedback (please).

Sumi-e and the Art of Fly Fishing

December 27, 2009 ⋅ 17 comments

Sumi-e is the Japanese art of ink painting stemming from Zen thought. There is much to learn from thoughtful sumi-e artists that can be applied to many things, including an approach to fly fishing.

“Things Men Have Made”

December 4, 2009 ⋅ 14 comments

The wood rod was deep amber with burgundy wraps. A three piece rod, its ferrules mottled with a metallic rime that flaked away beneath my fingernail. The deep forest-green backing was like a heavy cotton thread.

Under the Press of Time

October 20, 2009 ⋅ 8 comments

As we drive the dark road east, I look up where stars dot a narrow path through the morning. I feel the press of hundreds of feet of sheer canyon walls more than see them. Ahead of us the dawn unwinds its hours, slowly unveiling the skyline—a jagged, ancient silhouette stretching for miles.

Autumn Turns Against the Current

October 8, 2009 ⋅ 36 comments

It is said that the autumn of our life is a slow and steady slip into winter, synonymous with the time when animals hibernate and plants die. Some might think of it as more of a homesickness, not a geographical homesickness, but a chronological one—a time for reflection, for looking back at what was. Autumn is a matter of perspective—of seeing our current time as just that, current.

Summer’s End

September 28, 2009 ⋅ 16 comments

The end of summer seems to sneak up with startling abruptness in the mountains. Sagey greys and dusky rabbitbrush topped with yellow sprigs of late summer flowers, surrounded by grasses browned in the summer heat. Fine dust matting leaves. A tired respiration seems to heave up from the canyons in hot blasts—last gasps. Bellowing itself for the soon-to-be colors plashed about its flanks like so many embers of red, braided fingers of yellow and orange. A few summer holdouts paint the hillsides early.

A Stalker’s Senses

September 13, 2009 ⋅ 18 comments

In the long shadows of early light I hike toward the ridge at eight thousand feet, shotgun over the right shoulder. An eleven month hiatus slows my senses—and I forget to look, really look. I’m merely hiking with a weapon, not stalking. My nerves are deadened from the nearly year-long break, spent mostly stalking cutthroat, which is nothing like this sort of stalking.

Confessions of a Kiss and Tell Angler

August 30, 2009 ⋅ 26 comments

Hotspotting. Spilling the beans. Blabbing your big, fat mouth. Kiss and tell. No matter what you call it, mentioning online where you’re fishing can raise some grizzled hackles and get you kicked out of the brotherhood of the angle. Me, I’m a teller about 95% of the time.

The Nostalgia of Homewater

August 7, 2009 ⋅ 10 comments

We often think of home as a place of origin or place we currently live. But in this post I’m referring to one’s homewater as that place in which one finds refuge; a place where one is secure or happy.

“Minorities” and Fly Fishing

July 21, 2009 ⋅ 19 comments

Where are the “minorities” in fly fishing?

Reasons to Fish for Natives – One Man’s List

July 13, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments

Tired of the “super-size me” mentality of fishing? When stalking native trout, the size of the fish is generally not the main criterion for choosing which species or location to fish. In fact, size is often low on the list. Read 10 reasons to fish for natives.