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A future with fish
It’s almost odd to look back at milestones and what they meant to me at the time. First fish on a fly rod. First fish on a dry fly I tied. First twenty-fish day. First 20-inch fish on a No. 20 fly I tied myself.
Once upon a time there was a dude who drove a blue, manual transmission Ford Focus into California’s Sierra Nevada by himself to catch rainbow and brook trout on caddis flies he tied himself. He thought highly of himself. He had persevered through the days of catching branches and bushes more than fish and graduated…
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The Last Score
Memories of a generous father Dad rubbed his hands as he often did when making a deal. The guy running the estate sale wanted $600 for three paintings. “I looked it up on the internet. You can check yourself. They are worth twice that!” Dad said, “I will give you $200 for the two 12”…
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Celebrating 13 years of coldwater conservation on Michigan’s Rogue River
In 2010, Trout Unlimited launched a “Home Rivers Initiative” on Michigan’s Rogue River, coinciding with the celebration of the 50-year anniversary of TU’s founding in Michigan. The Rogue River was selected based on the recommendations of TU’s Michigan Council and chapters around the state, and the Schrems West Michigan chapter in Grand Rapids joined with…
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The True Cast – My Dad Caught a Trout!
Maybe the best “catch” of my life…
Maybe the best “catch” of my life… So much in fly fishing has to do with family and passing the tradition down from generation to generation. Dads teaching daughters, mothers teaching sons, and all that. Which is wonderful. That’s the thread. And that’s what makes fly fishing amazing. It’s never, ever, really about the how…
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The True Cast – Fly fishing is about family, foremost… as well it should be.
I was a gear-chuckin’, spin-fishing, bass-mad angler in my youth. And don’t get me wrong, I’m still a fan of throwing the hardware, whenever, wherever the right opportunity presents itself. But a certain “opportunity” changed my fishing attitude many years ago, when I was invited by a young woman whom I was dating to drop…
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Boys Becoming Men
Measuring the passing of time during a week in Canada
Measuring the passing of time during a week in Canada. For a few months longer, until Wylie turns 20, I will have three teenage sons in the house. Three sons It is a magical time in their lives, and for me, too, watching the slow but blindingly fast transition from boys to men. I am…
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Kids, work, and wild salmon
Raising a family amid a campaign to protect Alaska’s wild fish Author’s note: My story is one of many who have invested in this fight over decades and generations. This is written with gratitude to the entire community of advocates that continue to push back this irresponsible mine. I acknowledge my privilege in choosing to…
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