The Anniversary Gift

The Anniversary Gift

She would leave him soon, and for this reason she had insisted that he fish the opener without her, the only gift she wanted for their anniversary. The first day of trout season usually filled him with excitement. Even as a man he felt like a boy awaiting Christmas...

The Rod to Remember

The Rod to Remember

The old rod had a history far richer than any he ever imagined when he first bought it, so many lives ago. And now his own life was about to change. He hovered just inches above my face, urgently pounding me with questions that I desperately needed for him to answer...

‘Ol Settler of Deep Hole

‘Ol Settler of Deep Hole

No fish had ever exerted a greater influence on the thoughts, the imagination, the manners or the moral character of his pursuers. Uncle Eb was a born lover of fun. But he had a solemn way of fishing that was no credit to a cheerful man. It was the same when he played...

Salmon Or Striper?

Salmon Or Striper?

Fishermen on Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula can not only roll the dice on landing an Atlantic salmon, but go after a high-odds striper as well. If you've ever cast a sinking line into a deep crystalline stream hoping to entice a 20-pound Atlantic salmon to snap up a wet...

A Day at Devil’s Dip

A Day at Devil’s Dip

In many ways my Grandpa Joe was a boy trapped in an old man’s body. Full of tricks as a pet ’coon, tough as a seasoned hickory sapling and imbued with 70-plus years of wisdom accumulated by living close to the good earth of the Smokies, he possessed an unflagging...

Instinct

Instinct

A boy and a bass . . . on the quiet waters of a lake on a Saturday afternoon. The old bass turned toward deep water on this late spring day. At this stage in her life, the familiar droning sound was the only thing that made her anxious, and it put her on the move....

Aloha Means Fishing

Aloha Means Fishing

In Maui, it’s not how many fish you catch, it’s how much tarragon is in the béarnaise sauce. With its gorgeous beaches, lush mountain slopes, slumbering volcanoes, swaying palm trees, gyrating hula dancers, and colorful cocktails with little umbrellas, Hawaii lives up...