What’s Up When You’re Last in Camp
By the end of Alaska’s sport fishing season outfitters and guides are at the end of their respective ropes and any little striation might set them off. They can smell the end of the season and, for some, it smells like drugs and sex, cold beers and the tops of their feet burning on the equator. It smells like a place to spend their hard-earned cash Continue reading
Straightforward Midge Tactics
Most people think that a trout’s diet consists mostly of big insects, such as the heralded salmonfly, golden stonefly and green drake. But the reality is this: no other insect is as important to trout as the diminutive midge, especially Continue reading
NOTE: A special thanks to Ted Leeson for providing this humorous look at the characters we sometimes end up in the company of. Read this here or print out and sit down with a cocktail tonight. Enjoy. gt
Pick Thy Partners Wisely
By Ted Leeson
Maybe it’s just middle age, but I’ve drifted away some from a youthful penchant for solo fishing and these days more often spend my river time in the company of others. While fishing with partners promises the singular brand of enjoyment that comes only from camaraderie, I’ve also come to see that our keenest pleasures Continue reading
Benelli Day 3
Yesterday was Day 3 of the Benelli On Assignment hunt and there was some pressure to score. We’d seen lots of bucks and tried to stalk a few but, each time, we got busted by does and the antlered ones made clever Continue reading
Day 2 5:30 a.m.
One of the reasons I like living in Montana is seeing such an abundance of wildlife. The ranch I’m currently hunting is filthy with animals and my tally from yesterday reflects that: in 10 hours of hunting I saw hundreds of mule deer, a dozen whitetail deer, perhaps 200 elk, 10 wild turkeys, a ruffed grouse and Continue reading
5:30 a.m Central Montana
I’m currently being hosted on a 13,000-acre central-Montana ranch with private access to one of the most unique and trout-rich streams in the West. But I’m not fishing.
This time I’m on a hunt as part of Benelli’s On Assignment, a weekly Continue reading
McCrystal, the Creek, and a crack head gone mad
Living in a region that sees four distinct seasons has its advantages, but it also has some pitfalls, one being that most of us spend the five quality weather months speeding up, not slowing down, trying to cram a year’s worth of outdoor projects into that narrow, comfortable window.
Even in May, when the sun finally brings warmth Continue reading
The Murakami Mind Spiral
I read 353 pages of A Wild Sheep Chase (Vintage paperback; $15), closed it and said, “What was that about?” And then I went to Elliot Bay Book store in Seattle and bought five more Murakami titles.
Good old Haruk—Japan’s progressive literary gift to the western world, a psychological marksman slinging metaphysical darts. Shakespear he is not, but a reader often wades through one of these halucionary novels only to end up with a slap of modesty—ah, you thought you were a good reader, eh? Don’t think you arrived at that division Continue reading
All you need to know to smack them.
If you’ve thought about chasing the Madison River’s largest brown trout, at once envisioning yourself in a photo hoisting a five-pound-plus hookjawed male, now is the time to do so—air temperatures in southwest Montana Continue reading
End of the trip
I have to be honest here. I can hardly look at Neil Young without getting sick. There’s something about that greasy hair and the emaciated body. I just don’t think the dude looks right. A life of heroin, I guess, although I can’t say that with certainty. But, those looks I’m sure about. If my sister had decided to date him Continue reading