Once the fishermen find out it’s an island they’ll scatter to the four winds hoping they can scrounge some old monofilament and feed the less fortunate members of the tribe. Once they see the size of the local Bonefish they’ll insist on Catch & Release – or some form of ultra-purism – which’ll piss off [...]

For the last couple of decades it’s been as much fly fishing tradition as Jungle Cock, or Mallard flank. That pre-dawn car full of hopeful careening up the interstate before John Law pacifies it once again .. … and the fellow in the back that hasn’t yet discovered he’s forgetten his reel, who caroused far into [...]

With all the recent furor over genetically modified fish, most have forgotten that the first commercially modified fish, the GloFish, was sold to kids as an techno-Goldfish … Back then there were no pickets nor angry protestors. Fishermen didn’t see the genetically modified fish as much of a threat, largely as their kids were too [...]

Many would say that nothing in fly fishing is more addictive, the lure of the surface fly and the visual take. Most would insist that no component of fly tying is more expensive, as the surface fly and accompanying visuals come at a horrific price. A novice stands in front of the abyss, the friends [...]

I’ve tried to hold the worst of the excess until you knew me better. Only then could I count on an outpouring of sympathy, versus the clamor of naked greed … An earlier post referencing a subtle quirk, a brace of delicates for you to view, and exiting on a high note, leaving little trace [...]

I’d always assumed I was fortunate being raised in the Haight-Ashbury during the ‘60’s. Exposed to different ideas, religions, and a litany of self proclaimed holy men. Now I find out the old neighborhood has been classified as a “part of the World.” Meaning this world. For most of two decades it was unknown which [...]

I was in a hurry naturally, so I grabbed a pelt off the latest shipment and sheared the beast on the spot. Plastic container brimming with fur I rushed back into the kitchen, refastened the jumper cables to the grinder and glanced skyward, hoping for another lightning bolt. Gals have it easy. They say “ [...]

It’s akin to Ponce De Leon traveling up the isthmus of South America and into Mexico lured by the tales of a city of gold. Surviving disease and pestilence, angry Indians and ritual sacrifice – and with the payoff in sight, he sees the dust of Sir Francis Drake making off with everything. Much is [...]

Despite all of the maturity and sophistication of my later years I retain a child’s fascination for dirt. It exists at two levels really, the notion of washing a fishing vest or well seasoned hat being completely repugnant, and a lot of my fly tying revolves around “dirt” and its many colors. Harken back to [...]

While the furor over Tiger Woods paving a half mile of a North Carolina trout stream has begun to subside, my regret is that I tipped you fellows to boutique fish first, and in typical conservation fashion you opted to think about it until the Pristine was in crisis  … Tiger settled with the court [...]