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Cycling to the source of the Eklutna
As I dedicate more of my time with Trout Unlimited to help restore the Eklutna River, traditionally named Idlughetnu, I spend hours of the day with my mind 45 miles away from my Anchorage home within the fractured Eklutna River system. Though I now get to see more of the area and further my understanding of its history, there is no shortage of information I have yet to learn and areas of the watershed that…
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Virginia Trout Slam a surprising, and fun, challenge
The cast was too good. The drift was too good. There was no way this was not going to work. And it did. A trout dimpled the surface as it slurped in the little olive Stimulator. It wasn’t a big trout, but I played it carefully in the fading light of a sultry Virginia May…
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High mountain streams feed the soul
After some much-needed good news on the cancer front, I grabbed my cowboy hat and 1-weight and headed out the door. It was time to celebrate and I intended on doing just that by mountain biking and fishing (sometimes combined) on my gorgeous public lands. I pulled into the spot where I hiked out last week and trekked to see what this next section…
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Teaching Dad
One would think my fishing addiction would be at least partially hereditary, and this is true, insofar as my father’s family fell in love with New Mexico upon first laying eyes on the mountains around the Moreno Valley. My grandfather and his sons couldn’t get enough of fishing those creeks, the Cimarron, Rio Chiquito and Pot Creek, by worm, spinner or fly. By sons,…
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How a little black box led to a healing experience
By Joshua Crumpton I am the founder of a hunting and fishing guide service in the heart of Texas, and as a minority in the outdoor community, the past few days have been very meaningful for me. I am humbled by the outpouring of support, love, and understanding from my fellow anglers and hunters. At…
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The Land Ethic
We can turn to Aldo Leopold for important lessons that are ideal for the times.
Aldo Leopold was a philosopher, an ecologist and, very importantly, a writer. As though possessed of his talent for translating the universal, we quote him ad nauseam. And though the southwest still bears scars from his killing of wolves, cougars and other varmints, his eventual embrace of the predator as a force for ecological balance exemplifies a flexible and evolving mind that left a significant mark whenever it…
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Pining for salt
The coronavirus outbreak has put many a travel plan on the back burner this year.
Normally, I would’ve recently returned from a saltwater fishing trip this time of year. But as we all know, 2020 is far from normal. COVID-19 isn’t a great excuse for me because I haven’t even seen the ocean in three years. Priorities, huh? But I can still dream about the trip that could’ve been and reminisce about…
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