When I worked in fly shops I was surprised and unsettled at the “us versus them” culture. Somehow my working for “Shop A” meant I couldn’t refer customers to “Shop B”, as my coworkers quickly taught me they were unworthy, mostly stereo and car salesmen, criminals all … Then when I started guiding, I was [...]

Naturally I’d rather not dwell on the fact that I was right and you was horribly wrong … actually I would, but I’d exhaust the subject of my presumed greatness in about three seconds. Just long enough for your next tired exhale … Now every recruitment drive to enlist them thick-witted kids of yours into [...]

To say I’m a little miffed us Californio’s didn’t make the test group is putting it mildly. Us west coasters still bear a chip on the shoulder as Martha’s Vineyard & “Jaws” stole our sharks, and outside of a secretary that didn’t float and her sodden senator boss, always wondered what Massachusetts had to offer [...]

 The Board of Directors hunkers over a table insisting someone, typically not there to defend themselves, is appointed to the Recruitment Committee chair, whose mission will be to swell an aging membership with new blood. In uninspired fashion, that poor soul looks for a couple of kids with an attention span long enough to get really bored, so [...]

The Good News is what we’re pissing into the creek isn’t killing fish outright, rather all that runoff from wastewater treatment containing our prescribed anti-anxiety, lowered cholesterol, blood- thinning stimulants, merely make them giggle watching Mom struggle with a faceful of your artificial … In the current study, the shelter-seeking behavior of fathead minnows was [...]

There’s been a curious absence of fish-related anything for the last month or so. I knew that you knew, but was afraid to broach the subject in case you didn’t … That’s because guys that write about fishing prefer the notion they’re expert anglers, predators even … the woods and its many inhabitants tremble at [...]

While ecologists lament the uninspiring, “Clean, Dry, and Inspect” message, and its inability to keep us awake, they’ve commissioned something more to the tastes of us natural born killers by opting for a video game to deliver that critical rush of adrenaline, that “them or us” message … I’d always thought there were too many [...]

You getting it right and me getting it all wrong, followed by a profuse apology on my part, is getting to be a painful habit around here. Naturally, I’ll admit to nothing other than you’ve been incredibly lucky to date – and society is backing your horse only by purest chance. This time I was [...]

While you were giggling at my Wintergreen-Spearmint fly floatant and head cement, making me the butt of parking lot humor, you may want to know why – so you can backpedal frantically … There are a number of compounds that can be used to effectively sedate fishes, including compounds commonly found in human foods (e.g., [...]

It should come as no surprise that despite my antisocial behavior – my fondness for bathroom humor, my shortcomings of hygiene and as an angler, I am a middle manager of little distinction. While my peers are hiring sub-20 year olds that giggle a lot and show acres of leg, I’m the curmudgeonly sort that violates [...]