Home on the Range
Enjoying the abundance of wildlife on the American prairie.
The Intruder
And then, one day, there he was — a guy was standing by MY lake, and what the…he had a fly rod in his hand! It wasn’t much as waters go — probably a couple acres at best. I’d passed by it many times always on the way to somewhere else. It lay a few hundred yards...
Of Catfish and a Smelly Old Codger
To a starry-eyed boy enchanted by anything connected with hunting or fishing, his knowledge of the river had a mysterious, almost magical quality about it.
Fishing with Pastor Ron
Pastor Ron is a Messenger of God and a Fisher of Men. So when he discovered that I was just an ordinary fisher of Trout, he expressed a certain degree of professional interest in finding out more about how we common folk spend our time. “Jesus always did love...
Colorado’s Elk Creek Ranch: America’s Ultimate Sporting Community
For nearly 20 years, the sparsely populated western slope of northwest Colorado has harbored one of America’s most exclusive—and little known—sporting communities. Simply put, Elk Creek Ranch is a 25,000-acre sportsman’s playground like none other. At its core, it’s a...
Fishing for Muskie in Lake Chautauqua
They say it’s the fish of ten-thousand casts. Maybe so. I truly believed that for many years and still won’t argue with those odds. Twice before I had traveled all the way from Georgia to Canada to do battle with the great muskellunge only to fish for days...
The Phantom Trout of Sullivan County
The First of April has for untold ages been the Day of Fools! Why? No one in particular seems to know. There are patron saints for everyone from the prelate thief, but who is the Saint of All-Fools?” Thus spoke Tom Marks, one of a merry trio of trout fishers who had...
America’s Best Trout Streams
The middle of the night is a wonderful time to go fishing. No matter how heavy the flow, we can wade to the most advantageous position. Our casts unfurl with uncanny precision, and flies drift wakelessly until the dimpled take. It is then that slashing rainbows,...
The Day the Lake Went Mad
The gale-force winds and driving rain were bad enough, but then the island itself began to move.
The Dead Man on Wendigo Brook
What trout fisherman, plunged into despair by hyper-selective fish that refuse all his imitations, hasn’t wished for a “magic” fly? In this cautionary tale from the anthology Seasons of the Angler (1988), the author reminds us to be careful what we wish for . . .