Let’s not get too heavy handed with the Jack Handey banter in this edition, okay? It’s not like my insight on things is any more poignant than the next guy. My brain dump can sometimes lead to a communication conundrum on the information super highway. I usually pride myself in thoroughly planning out my expeditions, but...
by
andy
on
Jan 27, 2015 • Welcome back folks. Feel free to soak in this stunning display of natural beauty kick-off the 2015 season. I put myself on a self-imposed hiatus. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to be knee-deep in fishing related banter, it’s that I’ve been dealing with a cancer diagnosis and a job layoff in the family (and the...
by
andy
on
Dec 14, 2014 • Let the extreme weather games begin. We’ve seen it all lately, from blistering cold to spring-like heat waves. Fortunately I’m dreaming of a brownish green Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. In terms of weather related angling choices, I just seem to find myself on the wrong side of history. Though...
I must admit that a sense of rage had begun to wash over me by mid-November. It had become readily apparent that my annual late fall assault on Milwaukee area tribs would be significantly hampered. Mother nature dealt us a cruel blow last fall by locking up the usual spots at a ghastly early date....
by
andy
on
Nov 13, 2014 • Let’s just pretend we didn’t get polar vortex’d this week, okay? What a difference a day makes. It’s as if someone simply turned out the lights. I look forward to many winter activities, but I must confess that when January weather starts in November, the dark season can be a long haul. This is when...
by
andy
on
Oct 22, 2014 • So much angling fodder is spent discussing the nuances of gear, tackle and tactical approaches. There’s really very little left to the imagination. Many folks will be more than happy to offer up a treatise on the latest flyline or fly and why their flavor of the week is something to behold. The Ferrari drivers...
by
andy
on
Sep 29, 2014 • Jack and I set forth bright and early to unlock the secrets of our cavernous destination. Crystal Cave would serve as the final chapter of this summer’s caving expeditions. We had a good time earlier this summer at Mystery Cave in SE Minnesota, but Jack was eager to jump the border into enemy territory for another...
By the first few weeks of August there are signs everywhere that the end is near. I like to prod Mrs. Adrift with these facts as a reminder that the endless summer myth is not meant for our goodnatured midwestern virtues. She refuses to accept my grave thesis, and regularly gleans all she can out of the...
by
andy
on
Aug 20, 2014 • In one way or another we are all “masters” of our domains. Anyone worth their salt has an innate sense of self confidence. Conviction manifests itself in a broad array of flavors and intensities, but is omnipresent in most blokes. One of my quirky habits is to observe this characteristic in people. It’s not that...
by
andy
on
Jul 13, 2014 • I’ve stated ad nauseam that there is no finer fly fishing month in these parts than June. There truly are many fantastic times throughout the year to be a flinger, I just happen to be fond of June. As I recently searched through the battered remains of my Panasonic’s memory card I was left wanting. The...
by
andy
on
Jun 21, 2014 • From the neighborhood golf course to the Caribou parking lot, our cup runneth over. The amount of water pumping through the greater Twin Cities area and dumping into my hood is immense. At least one guy found the silver lining in our time of need. This season of historic high water has forced some to find...
by
andy
on
Jun 17, 2014 • It’s kind of funny. Some things just need to sit and stew for awhile before I can commit pen to paper. My current rate of blog production is at a slow and steady pace. Gone are the days of racing home to post the latest and greatest conquest. I’ll leave a collection of photos in...
by
andy
on
May 29, 2014 • If dog is actually man’s best friend, why does he incessantly bite my heels? Is this how “friends” treat each other? This flavor of disrespect fills every horrifying episode of Real Housewives of Orange County. But it’s not the behavior I’m looking for in my daily life. I’ll cut to the chase, I’m a card carrying...
Happy Wisconsin opener y’all. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. I’d like to celebrate this annual tradition with an in-depth review of my April conquests, but that would simply be a smoke screen for less rewarding scuttlebutt. Typically I’d find myself knee deep in caddis by now, but for...
From the high volume of weather related Facebook posts in the last few weeks, I’m pretty sure that we’re all more than a little tired of being polar vortexed. I get it. It’s cold and snowy outside, no pics needed, I’m scraping my car windows just like the rest of you. From an angling perspective, my...
by
andy
on
Mar 29, 2014 • I’ve got a fever. Both literally and figuratively. February and March has been one of the most illness laden stretches in recent memory. Packing up my goods during pregame warmups recently looked more like a NyQuil commercial than a fishing trip. And the malady doesn’t stop there. I’ve been feverishly laboring on the vise with an acute...
by
andy
on
Feb 24, 2014 • I had just settled down for a long winter’s nap when it dawned on me that I’ve been negligent in my duties. Slow and steady wins the race, right? This post has been in limbo for quite some time. I partially completed the story a few weeks back, but the subzeroness of my daily life...
by
andy
on
Jan 10, 2014 • After multiple weeks of holiday cheer (and the extended break compliments of the weather terrorists) the juices are now flowing again. The Minnesota winter trout fishing opener can be a rite of passage. For me it’s simply the removal of a mental barrier. I rarely race out to be on the water simply to fill in a...
by
andy
on
Dec 23, 2013 • Tamp down those thoughts of Sugar Plum fairies and let’s get back to what really matters. The glass half full portion of the equation tells us that we can be mining some of our favorite runs in just under two weeks. Can I get an Amen? With that in mind I’ll take you back to...
Happy holidays, folks. For those of you still sifting through the blogosphere, I’ll offer you up a little respite from the Adrift™ historical record by providing some angling action from last week. The early morning traffic on the Milwaukee River was less than I anticipated for a holiday weekend. My Black Friday tradition is usually...
by
andy
on
Nov 26, 2013 • My hiatus from local fishing reporting ends today. I’ve left it to others to provide you blow by blow accounts of middle west cold water conquests. Those of us who have chosen the path of blogdum are always faced with the blank page. What path do we chose to fill our infinitely scrolling publication? Long...
I’m intentionally leaking fishing content at a snails pace at this point. This approach allows us to live vicariously through my summertime exploits. Let’s pick up where we left off last time folks. Rode hard, and put away wet. Adrift in the cold, hard world of multi-million dollar mountain properties. Fortunately my exhaustion didn’t prevent me...
by
andy
on
Oct 18, 2013 • The allure of the unknown pried me from my lunching location neatly tucked into the cozy confines of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. A day and half of eating out of a cooler left me longing for more. I set out to indulge in a celebratory meal in Montrose and potentially shoot the...
Just thought I’d throw down a quick, “how do you do?” The good news is that there’s a lengthy wrap up on my Colorado excursion sitting in the queue. The bad news is that I’ve neglected finishing the writing. I’ve been too busy logging stream miles, and made a recent pilgrimage to see the new/old...
All my bags are packed I’m ready to go. I’m standing here outside your door. I hate to lose my temper and say f-ing goodbye… “I should be soaking in ice cold rocky mountain waters by now,” I reassured myself. Instead I stood in a hornet’s nest of malcontents where expletives and claims of highway...
by
andy
on
Aug 20, 2013 • In my teen years I picked up the nickname “Brother Carp” from my fishing crew as a moniker of solidarity. The reasons for this become harder to explain with my advancing age. My buddies and I somehow picked up the brotherhood theme in our many hours of outdoors tomfoolery and perhaps the influence of an...
by
andy
on
Aug 11, 2013 • As I pressed my nose up against the glass I couldn’t help but contemplate another urban angling assault. Unfortunately I don’t own an “Urbanist” fly fishing pack, so I felt rather ill prepared for the task at hand. Rather than another Manhattan raid, the subject of this contemplation was the all too familiar “Windy City”...
Where has summer gone? From deep in the Ozark Mountains, to some rocky mountain highs , I’ve been peddling my goods far and wide since our last visit. What little free time I’ve had has been spent doing this or that rather than paying homage to the blog. The first order of business has been...
by
andy
on
Jun 25, 2013 • I must confess that I’m running a little behind on the blog posts. The dog didn’t eat my homework, but between traveling, work and fishing there’s been little time for superfluous zeros and ones. I’ll do my level best to right the ship and get this thing back up to speed with my current backlog of...
by
andy
on
Jun 13, 2013 • My arrival in the land of fast walkers had an eerily familiar vibe to it. Apparently the cool wet weather that has blanketed the homeland had found its way to the city. There would be no grandiose vistas as we crept in on the Queens-Midtown Expressway. Manhattan was socked in like a cold mug of...
by
andy
on
May 28, 2013 • There was an inordinate amount of chatter last week about the subject of “winning,” at the Adrift™ worldwide headquarters. To most practitioners of the angling arts, winning is measured in inches and pounds. To the youngest inhabitants of my domicile, winning was measured in red, white and blue. It’s the time of year that we look...
by
andy
on
May 19, 2013 • Hey let’s look at a bunch of fish pics, shall we? What is it with us anyway? This baby reads like a dysfunctional issue of Playboy. Don’t hesitate to bask in this voyeuristic medley of pint-sized aquatic pin ups. Regular folks must wonder why someone would be drawn to such banter. After a recent Brookie outing, I...
I’ve previously stated that there is no greater month for trout fishing in these parts than June. It’s just a personal preference. On the flip side I’ll admit to disliking the late winter/early spring period. I don’t appreciate being the meat in the trout sandwich. Earlier in the winter things are cold, somewhat unbearable, yet...
by
andy
on
Apr 20, 2013 • Nothing says R&R like a magnificent sunrise in the greater La Crosse area. A quick peek out my hotel window revealed a plethora of choices. Should I wander over to the Home Depot for some wallpaper paste, or hit the Olive Garden for the all you care to eat pasta bowl with extra Alfredo? I opted...
