The Voice Inside

The Voice Inside

On the same night on the same mountain, two hunters face a deadly storm. Only one would survive. The worst type of danger is the danger that’s brought on by one’s own ignorance. Overconfidence and familiarity can blind a man to the peril that lies ahead, and he...
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...
McCracken Joins Sporting Classics

McCracken Joins Sporting Classics

Emma M. McCracken has recently joined the Sporting Classics team as its new Assistant Editor – Digital and will oversee production of Sporting Classics Daily e-newsletter, along with other aspects of Sporting Classics’ digital channels. McCracken is an MA of English...
Origin Of Catch-And-Release

Origin Of Catch-And-Release

While attending an outdoor writers conference in Johnson City, Tennessee, I spotted a tall, distinguished gentleman in the crowd whom I immediately recognized from TV and print. I introduced myself and within 30 seconds of our handshake, I felt as if this fishing icon...
Mallard Tornado

Mallard Tornado

Mind-boggling numbers of mallards, mallards like blackbirds, tornadoes of mallards, more mallards than sky. Way down in October, in The Moon of Falling Leaves, me and Joe Merganser on the back loading dock of the farmer’s co-op elevator.  Joe Merganser was full-blood...
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....
Pappy’s Pistols

Pappy’s Pistols

Black magic, junk pistols and lessons learned thereby. Pappy was county coroner 36 years; an elected position. It didn’t pay much, but he got to keep all the murder and suicide guns, and he was the only man who could arrest the sheriff, which he did when the new...