2020

"People who describe the glass as half full are not delusional optimists…hey are describing reality as it is. The cynic who describes the glass as half empty is focusing their energy on something that is not actually there."  – Rosamund and Benjamin Zander Pessimistic anglers are never satisfied…the hatch is too short, the fish too few and too small. Their…

"If they took the time in question and applied it in one direction, to one object, they would succeed. Success is sure to follow such application. The trouble lies in the fact that people do not have an object, one thing, to which they stick, letting all else go. Success is the product of the severest kind of mental and…

"Why would I think about missing a shot that I haven’t taken yet?"  – Michael Jordan The trout rhythmically feeds in the froth of bugs tight to the bank. Not every dun, but every fourth or fifth. The cast needs to be down and across with a reach. No time to mend. No need to false cast. Find the rhythm…

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."  – Anne Lamont The Creek is clear, the surface reflecting sky and golden mountains. The angler’s eyes search for an anomaly on the canvas. Fish rise in the imagination and a dimple confirms it is real. The cord that binds slips from the wall and…

“Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.”   – Raymond Joseph Teller An outside observer of an angler may not see the skillful deception. The whys and the wherefores of fly selection, presentation, and approach are often too subtle to be perceived. The angler’s habits are honed by time and experience. Still,…

“As the temperature begins to cool and the sun gradually loses intensity, the dance begins. Gracefully rising and dipping over streamside vegetation, the big mayfly spinners signal the beginning of a fly-fishing drama that will be played out past sunset, and on some occasions well into darkness.  – Rene Harrop The dance of the Brown Drakes on the lower Creek…

“Almost always, the people who say, ‘I am going to keep going until this works, and no matter what the challenges are I’m going to figure them out’, and mean it, go on to succeed. They are persistent long enough to give themselves a chance for luck to go their way.”   – Sam Altman It is the “figuring them out”…

UPDATE! Self-Quarantine Ends - Nonresident License Sales Resume The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved resuming sales of nonresident licenses starting Saturday, May 16th at 10:00 am. Governor Little also announced that the 14-day self-quarantine for people entering Idaho will be suspended. Commissioners stopped the sale of nonresident licenses in April in support of the “stay-at-home” order in Idaho and…

“Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration.”   – Izaak Walton Come the season opener on May 23rd, if you plan to contemplate the rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements, please recreate responsibly. NOTE to non-resident anglers: The Idaho Department of Fish and…

“…fly tying is the next best thing to fishing; it is the sort of licking of the lips that eases a thirsty man in the desert.”   – Arthur Ransome The Wood, Creek, and South Fork are officially closed for the season to protect spawning rainbow trout until Memorial weekend. And with the Governor’s statewide “stay at home” order, travel to…