Living to fly fish, being a bum to do it
Well, I've been shacked up next to the Madison River here in West Yellowstone for six days now and I have only one adult fish to the net to show for my efforts. Four or five hours a day on the water, afternoon to after dark. Maybe I just need to man up and go … Continue reading Slow Going on the Madison River
The first day of fall is approaching fast, Wednesday the 22nd. I've spent the last days of Summer 2021 around the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. Yesterday the weather took a marked turn and this morning the hills and mountain peaks are all frosted with snow. The overcast skies and and push of fresh … Continue reading Last Days of Summer
I didn't plan on coming to Texas at all. A year ago I was wrapping up a stretch of work and planned on spending Summer in Montana... it was glorious for the most part. But by the middle of October I had to make a decision on where to go next, and since it was … Continue reading A Troutbum on the Texas Coast
The weather here on the Gulf Coast of Texas is still dark and wet, with thunderstorms the last two mornings and visibility of perhaps a mile. Watching the ten day forecast on WeatherUnderground , there are two partly sunny days out of a chain of cloudy, stormy, gray predictions ahead. Last Sunday, the sun did … Continue reading Getting Closer
I spent Tuesday afternoon on the Firehole river in Yellowstone National Park. It was reputed to be "on fire" (yuk yuk) by the West Yellowstone fly shops, and I've long wanted to fish the stretch where geysers are steaming away stream-side. I walked and waded for about five hours, but the afternoon started with me … Continue reading A Bad Day of Fly Fishing is Better Than…
Nearly three months of Montana and it is beginning to feel like the end is near. I'm back on the water I started at, The 50 Mile Riffle. If I were to do it over from the start I would have been up here at the beginning of June at the latest. It seems like … Continue reading Back on the Madison River
1010.16 miles at 1.4 mph. That's what Garmin's track has to say about my travels since I turned it on leaving Reno on June 21, 2018. Not including the prequel spent in the high Sierra of California or the week in Reno waiting for news about my Dad. He died on on Father's Day, back … Continue reading A Thousand Miles, Thirty Days
When I started my fly fishing adventure in 2015, I did not have any particular goals or targets in mind, beyond spending time on some iconic waters of the West. In total that year I fished 57 distinct bodies of water, including the visit to Florida at the end. I've stumbled across seasonal highlights without … Continue reading Chasing Bugs on the Madison
Seven hours walking along the banks of the Henry's Fork, standing in the current, looking at bugs and birds. Almost nothing was going on in the water, until a explosion of action for 15 minutes or so nearing sunset. Huge drakes popping off the water and fish gulping them down all around me, while rain … Continue reading Seven Hours at Last Chance
It was April in 2015 that I left my job and headed out on the road towards unknown destinations. As I am getting ready to take off again for new unknowns, I thought I'd take a look back at those first weeks on the road. It took longer than I had anticipated to prepare my … Continue reading Starting the Fourth Year on the Road
