Trout
I thank the trout. Rainbows for oceans, great lakes; emotions, fierce takes; return to small streams. Yearn and fall dreams. Browns for the depths and the darkness; the steps that bring sharpness;...
View ArticleHow to See Montana
How do you see a place like Montana? A place that is roughly 550 miles across at its widest, and—in total—occupies more of the planet’s surface than Japan. A place with magnificent rivers that push...
View ArticleA Cast Away in Montana: Prologue
With direct access from the parking lot to your room, I know that Gates Au Sable Lodge in Grayling, Michigan looks more like a motel—or motor lodge—than the type of lodge Roxanne would have in mind....
View ArticleGoodbye
It’s finally the day that I depart for Montana, and I’ve packed the truck with all the supplies I’ll need to eat, sleep and fish for the next three weeks. Enough stuff, actually, to stay twice as long...
View ArticleDoing the Right Thing
Every time I’ve considered cancelling this trip, Roxanne has talked me out of it. She reminds me about bookings with guides, commitments to friends, and the ticket our son Daniel bought to fly from San...
View ArticleIndecision
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, said the Cat. —Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Last night, the guys at...
View ArticleI’ve Been There
I caught the first fish of my life with a worm suspended below a bobber. In my early years, that was the only way I fished. My rod was a cane pole; the fish most likely a bluegill. A tiny spring gadget...
View ArticleStages
One fish, ten fish, big fish, Zen fish. That’s how Theodor Geisel—Dr. Seuss from our child- and parent-hoods—might have described the fly-fisher’s journey. In his excellent essay, “The Five Stages of...
View ArticleMissouri
I wade out of the Big Hole River, put my rod in its case, and store my reel in a bag with ten others—eight of which will stay in the bag for the entire trip. I make a tomato and cheese sandwich,...
View ArticleGrayling
Imagine a land where virgin pines tower over frigid rivers, chock-full of wild and unsullied fish. Slate blue or grayish fish with olive-green backs and oversized dorsal fins spattered with specks of...
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