Essays and Musings

Early Morning Fishing Soliloquy

June 7, 2009 ⋅ 12 comments

Fly fishing alone in the early morning hours on Blacksmith Fork River is comforting and nostalgic.

Micro-Creek Fishing

May 30, 2009 ⋅ 12 comments

Fishing small, out of the way tributaries, for native cutthroat trout.

CS’s Double Dog Dare – Why Not Birdermen?

May 6, 2009 ⋅ 9 comments

Can anglers face up to their reasons for fishing? Take Cutthroat Stalker’s double-dog dare and find out.

Hooks Pain Cruelty – Survey of Anglers’ Attitudes

May 2, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

A survey for anglers concerning pain and cruelty in fishing.

Feeling Blue About the Brown Season

April 25, 2009 ⋅ 12 comments

Feeling blue about the brown water as I’m waiting for the flood waters to recede.

The best kind of frustrating

April 10, 2009 ⋅ 10 comments

Fly fishing South Fork of the Boise River brings to mind that fly fishing to rising trout can be the best kind of frustration there is.

Is What’s Lost, Lost Forever?

April 3, 2009 ⋅ 19 comments

Examining what happens when water resources disappear, such as on the Big Lost River in Idaho.

Fishing – Delayed Gratification

January 24, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments

There is a creek I know, unremarkable to most. Looking at it you wouldn’t think much of it: willows, dogwood, river birch, aspen and a single fir clutch its banks. It meanders through sagebrush sprinkled meadows where free ranging cows occasionally flatten the vegetation and punctuate the air with a pungent smell. Above the meadow [...]

Anglers and Authors—Deceivers and Manipulators

December 24, 2008 ⋅ 17 comments

Anglers make good authors because they are natural storytellers, especially catch and release anglers—when they walk away from the river, the only thing they take away is a story. But there is an even stronger link between the two: anglers and authors are both natural deceivers and manipulators.

Sowing and Reaping

November 30, 2008 ⋅ 14 comments

“Hey, Dad, check it out!” Ben says, pointing to something along the edge of the river. A green cloth, partially in the water, caked with mud. Looking a little closer I see it is green flannel. I reach down and pull it out. A flannel shirt, intact. I rinse it in the river and set [...]

Exterminating Cutthroat – Part 3

November 15, 2008 ⋅ 5 comments

Part 3 of more than 3. Part 2 is found here and should be read before part 3. Another take on the utilitarian/anthropocentric view is that all life depends upon each other in a great “web of life,” and the extinction of any one species affects every other species in one way or another, including [...]

Exterminating Cutthroat – Part 2

November 6, 2008 ⋅ 18 comments

Part 2 of more than 3. Part 1 is found here. It’s not mandatory to read, but it might give a little background. This is going to be “Talk Me Down” time. I plan on presenting different reasons why we should allow the extinction of cutthroat. I want you to talk me down (or agree, [...]

Exterminating Cutthroat – Sneak Peak – The Tease

October 30, 2008 ⋅ 11 comments

Part 1 of a (probably) 3 part post. This is “The Tease” (hopefully something to get the blood boiling flowing). Who needs them? Cutthroat, that is. Specifically, Bonneville cutthroat—Oncorhynchus clarki utah. Who needs another subspecies of a fairly healthy species of trout? Really, I truly mean that. Are they needed on planet earth? How about [...]

Thank You!

October 17, 2008 ⋅ One comment

So my last post was a little rant-ish. Although, for now, this post is going to be too short, it deserves just as many words as my last post. There are some incredible people in the fly fishing world. I’m sure that with any passion, you find the same camaraderie, willingness to share and help. [...]

The Extreminization of Fly Fishing

October 14, 2008 ⋅ 27 comments

“This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” Remember that little slogan? GM rolled that out a couple of decades ago. It was meant to bring in a younger demographic-younger, brasher, self-aggrandizing twenty-somethings. Sporty vehicles to help stoke the speed and stroke vanity of the newest “Me-Generation.” This is the same generation that gave us the X-Games [...]