The Pond in Winter

The Pond in Winter

A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye, looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. “Home is the sailor, home from the sea.” Whether the voice hails from the salty ocean, a great lake, trickling...

A Gift of Water and Wind

A Gift of Water and Wind

Three-fifths of the world is water and the wind courses over all of it. So when Pappy gave me that 10-foot bateau, he gave me the world. The first swell smacked the port quarter, sent green water clean over the wheelhouse. Aboard Maggie C, a 26-foot Maine Lobsterman,...

Tarpon Don’t Come Easy!

Tarpon Don’t Come Easy!

Fish that require effort, skill, knowledge and perseverance, along with some luck thrown in to land, are special indeed—tarpon are super special. It’s been said that the greater the challenge, the greater the appreciation. This means your sense of satisfaction is...

Sportfishery for Great White Sharks?

Sportfishery for Great White Sharks?

The thought of a sportfishery for great whites tantalizes some anglers, but if it's ever to happen, the science will have to support it. "I want to show you something.”  I had spent enough time working for the artificial reef program at the South Carolina Department...

Meet the $70,000 Fish

Meet the $70,000 Fish

For many, catching a bonefish on the fly is tantamount to turning the saltwater flats to holy water. As a fly fisherman, I feel naked when I wade a saltwater flat to cast for bonefish. I try and play the part of motionless heron but nevertheless feel so exposed in the...

The Woman With Wide-Set Eyes

The Woman With Wide-Set Eyes

A woman of breathtaking beauty was absolutely the last thing he expected to see in such a desolate place. I’d been on a Jim Harrison binge in the wake of his death—easy to do given his prodigious output. In particular, I’d been enjoying the stuff set in Michigan’s...