2021

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” - Rainer Maria Rilke The ode of the river beckons the angler to apprehend the flowing stanzas of riffles, pools, and runs. And the trout dance to the measured rhythm of the midge. An angler with an open heart and eyes will find poetry everywhere.…

“It is utterly soothing to fly fish for trout. All other considerations or worries drift away and you couldn't keep them close if you wanted. Perhaps it's standing thigh deep in a river with the water passing at the exact but varying speed of life. You easily recognize this mortality and it dissipates into the landscape.” - Jim Harrison In…

“We hear nothing so clearly as what comes out of silence.” - David James Duncan Fresh snow absorbs noise, rendering a canvas of silence along the river. Add to the composition the crunch of vibram soles, the brush of frosty Gore-tex, the crackle of frozen water, and the swish of rhythmic graphite. In the moment before the take... a symphony…

“The line between catching fish and not catching them is often very thin.” - Ted Trueblood Anglers with a balance of preparation, patience, humility, confidence, and faith approach the thin line between catching and not catching with more frequency. The end result is more fish caught. The Big Wood In the last week of January, the snow water equivalent for…

“There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home.” - Roderick Haig-Brown A winter angler must accept that which cannot be controlled: the foulness of the weather, the frigidity of the water, the intensity of the hatch. But the angler can…

“Trout are among those creatures who are one hell of a lot prettier than they need to be. They can get you to wondering about the hidden workings of reality.” ― John Gierach There is something ineffable about a rainbow trout in winter. Perhaps it is the explosion of colors against a canvas of silver and white. No matter, each…