Stories

PDF The Caddis, the Fly, the Fish, and the Bird Harpham Flat, a/k/a Dutchman Flat (take your pick) on the Deschutes River — I was there mid-November 1988. I had driven over from the Willamette Valley for… Published in Swing the Fly

External A Sliver of Silver The bright, 14-inch rainbow trout launched into the air, silhouetting itself against the June sky, mirrored in the shining surface of the stream as it fell back to the water with a satisfying smack. It was not the grandest rainbow of my life, but… Published in Hatch Magazine

External Æfansang—Fishing the Evening Light I learned to fish in bright sunshine during family summer vacations in the 1950s. Everything we children did on the water began after the sun had risen well into the southern sky. After breakfast… Published in Swing the Fly

PDF An Alone Thing: Something in the Evening Water It is late September, mid-1980s. Once again, I'm spending most of my meager annual leave steelheading Oregon's Deschutes, near Maupin, staying in a small cabin at the Oasis Cabin Resort. Clearing my head of too many deadlines and meetings… Published in The Drake

PDF Forged by Fire and Ice "Oh, what now? What's next?" I asked myself as I struggled late that December afternoon to line the canoe with Pete, our shotguns, and our single bird through the ice-cold rapids. The river was nearing… Published in Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

PDF Rockin’ and Rollin’ with the Stones I gripped the phone tighter. I was 19, a long way from home, and had just five quarters in my pocket to feed the black box on the wall before my time ran out. “Uh, sir, can you tell me where the salmonfly hatch… Published in Montana Fly Fishing Magazine; Reprinted in Outside Bozeman

PDF Mr. Brooks: The Joe Brooks We Knew In the 1960s, Joe Brooks was fly fishing, not only in North America but around the world. He was fishing editor of Outdoor Life, author of more than half-a-dozen books, and a frequent guest on the celebrity outdoor television show The American Sportsman. To those of us lucky enough… Published in The Loop

External Last Chance “So what’s so great about Joe Brooks?” challenged a burly teenager who I assumed was a shop helper in Jim Poor’s Anglers All fly shop in Littleton, Colorado. “I was fishing just downstream from him once, and I caught as many fish as he did.” Jim and I stared… Published in Anglers Journal

PDF Joe’s Rod It is an undistinguished-looking Orvis Battenkill fly rod, eight-and-a-half-feet long, five and three-quarter ounces. It came out of the Orvis shop on September 21, 1964, from the hands of George Reid and Calvin… Published in Swing the Fly

PDF Joe Brooks, A Man for Montana One day in the winter of 1951-52, a lion hunter from Livingston, on Arnold Schueren, appeared at the Miami Herald, where Joe Brooks had… Published in Montana Fly Fishing Magazine

External Casting With Joe Joe Brooks earned the deepest respect and utmost admiration of all who knew him well. And so it was for me and my fishing friends, Marvin, Bert, and Harrison. His positive influences on our lives began soon after… Published in Swing the Fly (Prior version published in The Loop)

PDF A Farewell to Fish In the fading light of a long Idaho summer day, I returned to our car, tired from fishing the small stream. Bert was out there somewhere on Marsh Creek, and I assumed he would soon join me. It was time to put away our gear and rest before our drive back to Sun Valley, where… Published in Backcountry Journal

PDF Yankee Fork We left Sun Valley after work that early-August evening of 1968. It had been a turbulent year, one of savage battles in Southeast Asia and, at home, terrible losses – Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, others just as dedicated but less well known. Three other boys and I jammed… Published in Backcountry Journal

External Red’s Run “Robbin, why don’t you take this spot?” said Red Monical that early September evening, fifty-five years ago. To my 20 year-old novice Yellowstone angler’s eyes, it looked like any other run along the river. I couldn’t read the river. Still can’t, but, given Red’s standing as Dan Bailey’s fly shop partner and reputation… Published in Swing the Fly