Things That Make You Say “Hmmm”

Things That Make You Say “Hmmm”

When I fish alone, I sometimes slip into a meditative state. It’s as if I concentrate so intently upon the water before me that the mechanics of casting, mending, and reacting use a portioned section of my brain. The rest drifts on its own with no sense of time, no...

Modern Fish Act Headed to the White House

Modern Fish Act Headed to the White House

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the Modern Fish Act. Officially known as the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017, the passage is a major victory for the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and our...

Degrees of Skunked

Degrees of Skunked

The stream we call Humility Creek gives up trout grudgingly on good days. This was not a good day. The water trickled at half its spring flow while fish shivered with closed mouths. Icicles hung from banks where water seeped. I had tried teasing fish with streamers in...

Never a Stranger

Never a Stranger

A new fly shop opened in town, so on the first available Saturday morning, one too hot to fish, I visited to meet the owner, talk fish, and pick up some fly-tying groceries. As I entered, I paused momentarily to let my eyes adjust from the glare outside. A large black...

Michigan Hybrid Sunfish Record Broken

Michigan Hybrid Sunfish Record Broken

STEVENSVILLE, MI - Southwestern Michigan has produced a new state record, breaking the old record set 30 years ago. Joel Heeringa of St. Joseph caught the hybrid sunfish in Lake Anne in Grand Mere State Park in Berrien County on July 9th. The record fish, which...