The Great Midwest
Susan and I just completed our Fall tour of the upper Midwest and I’m sharing here a couple of posts resulting from this expedition, posted recently on woodrisebooks.com, my new outdoors blog.
Read more "The Great Midwest"fishing
Embrace The Wild – Keep the Change
Ownership of some of the land we’d just passed through had changed since we’d last visited and we were now barred from entry. This favorite stretch, first described by me in my book The Dying Fish, was now part of someone’s private preserve and we aren’t allowed in.
Read more "Embrace The Wild – Keep the Change"Deep Woods
When I talk to novices about getting into the woods, I ordinarily downplay the role of gear in preparedness, persuading instead that the emphasis should be placed on mental and physical preparedness.
Read more "Deep Woods"Columbine Creek
Our companion shook his head with some certainty. “No, I haven’t seen any. People found out about the trout and came down and kept them all. It just got fished out.”
Read more "Columbine Creek"Muskies Eleven
The muskellunge resembles the more common pike (no minnow itself) but greatly outclasses it in size and sometimes simply eats pike for breakfast.
Read more "Muskies Eleven"Call of the Frontier
The river that lay out on the western horizon was still an unknown to me – a long, mysterious meandering flow. The slow, deep, turbid waters of this flow seemed meant to irrigate croplands here in Crawford County, not to accommodate extraordinarily large spawning trout. But I was here to expand my horizons, to do radical new things and probe mysterious waters, here to challenge another frontier.
Read more "Call of the Frontier"Of Flowages and Fire
The ground was soggy as we sloshed back in on this early January day. We parked at a place that I’ll never reveal to walk in to a stream I’ll never name.
Read more "Of Flowages and Fire"In Pursuit of Fish and Simplicity
Hopefully, this simplistic explanation of the art to angling will enhance someone’s 2023, maybe just encouraging that someone to open the back door, pole in hand, and make for the crik down the hill. You may be amazed at what’s waiting for you.
Read more "In Pursuit of Fish and Simplicity"State of Mind
“It’s just much, much too cold. The valley never warmed this morning and the trout are really, really put off. They’re just not eating anything,” Nigel consoled and rationalized for us both.
Read more "State of Mind"The Catfish of Affirmation
Catfish were simply the most likely fish that were in season, were probably waking now from winter semi-dormancy and could be found close to home. I knew the kinds of places one would set up for catfish on a typical summer night but these weren’t likely the right venues for tonight.
Read more "The Catfish of Affirmation"
the dying fish 