The Good Life

Crisp, clear air and cold water are the sources of life. It is a life implemented with guns and flyrods, populated by beautiful birds and dogs and fish stippled with rose-moles bright as neon. It is a life of vast grassy space where dogs can run to their heart’s...

Dead Fish Tell No Lies

To think that this box might hold Harry’s legendary Atlantic salmon was too much for the club members to bear. Postmortem jurisprudence. I believe that’s what they call it. This “executor of a will” responsibility is indeed an objectionable bit of...

Walk Your Way Through the Colors

Mike Stidham, the critically acclaimed, self-taught artist, paints fishscapes. One summer evening a year ago, Mike Stidham left his studio and drove a few miles to a heavily fished stretch of the Provo River where it spills out of the Wasatch Mountains through the...
Cane Pole Magic

Cane Pole Magic

A cane pole, whether used from shore or in a boat, is wielded by a simple, graceful motion in which the angler lobs the baited hook. The image is as enduring as it is appealing, something straight from a Norman Rockwell cover on an old Saturday Evening Post. A...
An Old Man’s Memories of August

An Old Man’s Memories of August

This fisherman’s fairytale is far from folklore… A true story of giants, fairies, heroism and romance stay alive in an old man’s memories. Once upon a time long ago and far, far away, there was a boy. “Wait,” someone will shout. “That sounds like an...
A Fascination With Fly Rodding

A Fascination With Fly Rodding

From the time I was first able to tag along without completely impeding his fly fishing, Daddy let me accompany him on short after-work outings to nearby trout streams in my native Great Smokies. My father was a dedicated fly fisherman and one of those wise mentors...
A Dorsey-style Family Vacation in the Amazon

A Dorsey-style Family Vacation in the Amazon

This weekend on Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey, Dorsey and family wrestle with river monsters from the southern hemisphere. Officials from Dorsey Pictures announce that this Saturday’s episode of Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey – the most watched outdoor TV...
White Bass the Most Fished-For Species?

White Bass the Most Fished-For Species?

The white bass (sand bass) gets my nod as one of the most popular species to be targeted by the largest number of anglers. Here’s why. If a survey was given to fishermen across the south and southeastern states and the question posed, “What do you consider to be...
The Birth of a Fisherman

The Birth of a Fisherman

You never get over the sight of your first bluegill or redbreast. Maybe that’s why we always return to the ponds and waters of our youth. It was shaping up to be a day for the Daddy Diary. I was sitting, legs swinging carefree, on the well-worn dock of the...