This year I’m going to feature a variety of Pennsylvania fishes on my site, fishes that I have at least a little experience with, fishes that I know really swim here. I think there’s a lot more fish diversity out there than we sometimes give our state credit for as we reel in bluegills, bass […]
Read more "Fish Feature: Gizzard Shad"Maybe it’s the solitude. Maybe it’s the adventure. Maybe it’s the stark simplicity. Maybe it’s because of all of these but it’s certain that I love to drop baited lines through holes in the ice. I do so as much as winter temperatures allow, frozen lakes remaining always a prerequisite. In southwestern Pennsylvania there are […]
Read more "Plunge of the Polar Bear (Do it with good form and you too could stay alive this winter!)"Early January outings portend well for the year ahead. My best guess is that this year will be a good one for finding new places to pursue fish, an excellent 12 months of finding flourishing wildlife and an unprecedented period of learning about the fungi of the Pennsylvania forest. Anyone who’s read this ongoing account […]
Read more "2020 – Just Getting Warmed Up"The slaughter was shocking. Hadn’t these guys ever heard of catch and release!? What if everyone felt entitled to show up and haul out 3 of these every time they were at the Lake Erie tributaries? I like native fishes and I don’t like crowds. Hence, I have ignored steelhead trout within the […]
Read more "Not Quite Hatchery Trout, Not Truly Wild"I’m starting something new today: “Fish Features.” The purpose is to showcase the variety of Pennsylvania’s fishes and to offer some education. This is how I’ve spent most of my life: studying fish and I’d like to share some of that experience and knowledge. In the months ahead, I’m going to feature as many Pennsylvania […]
Read more "Fish Feature: The Alewife"Some people deal well with the unplanned and serendipitous, others do not at all. Some people enjoy randomness while others detest it. Some people need to control and try to dictate outcomes while others are excited to see what new possibilities fate sends their way. My time in the wild between 2007 and […]
Read more "Spinning the Fish Wheel"I spent much of 2019 at my workplace in the middle of Pittsburgh and in driving back and forth from across the county line. I spent a lot more time getting my new business, WikiparX.com off the ground. I’m sure I had more wasted time than I’d like to admit, I did quite a bit […]
Read more "2019 – A Year of Exploration, Adventure and Learning"The car still sped forward at over 60 mph but I wasn’t doing 70 anymore. The thermometer on the console had just clicked down a notch to 31 and the drizzle was suddenly replaced by a first blast of lake effect snow. It was 1:00 AM as I eased off on the Grove City ramp, […]
Read more "Tough Lessons"At the close of the Eighteenth Century, the nation of France went through decades of violent upheaval that we generally remember as the French Revolution. The old guard was no more and altruistic fellows like Monsieur Robes Pierre grasped the reigns of power. Change was in the air and a distinctly French vein of liberty […]
Read more "Seasons in the Forest"My annual Feathercraft flyfishing/flytying catalog arrived in the mail yesterday and was the one piece in my stack that brought a smile to my face (more so than the tax notice). Coffee was made and other pressing things were set aside to make way for priorities. Inside, a rainbow whirlwind (and you just […]
Read more "Method and Madness"
the dying fish 