From Zero to Hero
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...
Viscosity
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...
The Best of Both Worlds
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...
Up Shit Creek
In standard annual rite of passage fashion I strapped on the boots and donned the waders for celebratory purposes. It was birthday week here at the worldwide headquarters, and the gift that keeps on giving is a hearty round of chasing tail. For a second year in a row I was snubbed in the steelhead...
We’ve Only Just Begun
Are you tired of looking at my windshield yet? I should retire this photo from the usual assortment of flotsom, but I seem to keep snapping the pic and subsequently feel the need to post it. I think it may be a subconscious reaction to Phil Monahan after he posted one of my videos on...
Sorry Folks Park’s Closed
Better late than never? You bet. The long wait was over as I finally made my inaugural run into the badger state for some trouting last Friday. In typical fashion it was an early departure. Dawn raids are an imperfect proposition this time of year, but I don’t give a shit. While y’all were sleeping...
Better Late Than Never?
One of my favorite stops on the information superhighway is the “blog apology”. If you’re not personally indentured to a blog you may not realize the effort it takes to keep it fresh. Since I’m in the business of advising actual folks on things like their “web strategy” I find myself discussing such things with...
Why We Fight
There’s no question this will be an abbreviated treatise when compared to Frank Capra’s legendary documentary Why We Fight . The Academy Award winning masterpiece convinced legions of young men to endanger their livelihoods for the good of the country during WWII. For some strange reason I think of this classic piece of propaganda when the ice begins to firm up on the...
Good Things Come in Small Packages?
2013 has been billowing like an overstuffed burrito. The ever important life/work balance has been stalled at the work end of the spectrum. There has been little room between the beans and cheese of life for chasing trout. As last week unfolded, I finally found a small window for a much anticipated day trip into...
The All-American Rejects
My post holiday hangover has lingered into the new year. Day to day duties as chief brainstrust at Labor have kept me off the streams during the winter season thus far. Like clockwork, most of my clients have returned from break with guns blazing to get some actual work done. While I’m itching like mad to hit...
American Angler // Close Encounters Article
Is there anything more annoying than someone “tooting their own horn?” Perhaps, but why write a magazine article if you don’t want others to share in the fun? The latest January/February issue of American Angler is hot off the press and contains my feature story titled “Close Encounters.” This piece came to fruition when details of...
I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning
I’ve been relegated to the bottom of the barrel over the last few weeks. It’s absolutely the lowest point of the year from a fishing standpoint and there are very few local outlets to get a fix. Work and holiday fanfare have helped pass the time, but still doesn’t quench the thirst. The ice hasn’t...
Fair and Balanced
This blog entry has been partially written for the better part of a month. It’s been lingering in the air like a stale fart. Instead of committing it to the virtual waste bin I opted to polish it up and throw it your way. The scrutiny level of certain conservative media outlets reached of fevered...
Moldy Chum Slab of the Month
Vote Early, Vote Often The good folks at Moldy Chum have selected my Thanksgiving “Milwaukee’s Best” brown for consideration in their December Slab of the Month contest. I may not be the most ardent of Moldy Chum readers, but it’s certainly on my list of regular visits when I’m jonesing for a fly fishing fix. The midwest tends to...
Milwaukee’s Best
I’ve been an insomniac for the better part of my adult life. There’s a fair chance that these sleepless tendencies started as a result of my addictive approach to recreational activities. I always toss and turn with anticipation the night before a fishing outing or a ski/snowboarding trip. Friday night would be no exception to...
Payback’s a Bitch.
It’s probably not the ideal situation if you are on the receiving end of my fishing might. I’m on cruise control after results fall short of my expectations. If I’m unable to decipher the code, it slowly burns me up inside and payback’s a bitch. My approach tends to be like the United States government’s...
Man vs. Wild
There’s no question that I fancy myself an explorer. But in reality, my sense of adventure is often tempered by things like, parenting duties, work, and the certainty of my urban existence. The fishing community is rife with like-minded travelers searching far and wide seeking what experience “isn’t” in their own backyards. Exchanging pleasantries with...
Trick or Treat?
By the time the kiddies are sporting their ghoulish duds on for an evening of tricks and treats I’m grasping at straws for the remainder of open water. The cold air may be slowly invading our turf, but there’s still plenty of warmwater flowing and fish to be caught. Beyond my aforementioned Muskie chasing tendencies, I also...
Suicidal Tendencies
Let’s kick things off with what really matters. How about a proper shout out to Jack? As I sit here scribing this post my boy is recovering from surgery. Sure it was just a simple tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, but not the most fun day for a 5-year old. In the context of the angling arts, it...
Money in the Bank
Getting inside my head can be vexing territory. My mind, like most of my angling brethren, is one of both simple needs and perplexing tendencies. While I’d like to consider myself an evolved life form over our rodentia counterparts, I unabashedly approached the last week of 2012 trouting with the same fervor as a squirrel...
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint.
I’m on the clock. The darkness at the end of the tunnel is well within sight. Two more weeks and it’s all over for the unknown soldier. I feel compelled to savor every moment of late season trouting. There is work left to be done. Okay, enough of the god damn cliches, but seriously, there...
Hello. Is There Anybody Out There?
As the trout season limps to a conclusion, I’ve come to the realization that there’s only a small Band of Brothers committed to see it to the grand finale. Traffic on internet forums have slowed to a trickle, and my lackluster Google Analytics only serve to support this theory. I’d imagine many have changed gears to...
35 Days
While my camera has sat idly on my desk over the last month, a little voice in the back of my head has nagged me to release the contents to the world. It’s not that I haven’t taken any pictures, on the contrary there’s been a decent smattering of megapixels accumulating. It’s just that life...
Misjudging a Book by Its Cover
Things have been a bit busy for me lately, and while I’ve been on the water, the blog entries have been waning. No worries Adrifters, I’ve got a back log of content and posts should begin to flow again. I’ll make up for lost time by stretching this post out a mile long. It takes two...
Duck and Cover
The proliferation of the duct tape and plastic sheeting mentality is not a new phenomenon. A wise man once exclaimed, “the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Another one of my personal favorites is the classic cold war era Duck and Cover propaganda film where children were advised on how to protect themselves from an atomic blast. Paranoia and...
Apple Pie and Ice Cream
I knew that I was in trouble the minute we rolled into our 4th of July vacation destination. My wife’s Aunt has been lobbying us to visit her cabin in Mercer, Wisconsin for a number of years. I’m not sure why we haven’t take her up on the offer sooner? There is no arm twisting...
Boyz-n-the-Hood
I’m going to cut to the chase. Things could be awful tough at times growing up on the mean streets of Marion, Iowa. By the time I was in high school in the late 80′s gangs had begun to ravage the primary “suburb” of Cedar Rapids. If I recall correctly a particular group referred to...
The Make Up Call
Is there anything worse than watching a basketball game where dubious officiating changes the course of the contest through the time honored tradition of the make-up call? Most of the time this curious act takes a bad situation and makes it worse. For those of us that prefer the comfort of a cold stream to...
Because It’s There
I woke up Saturday morning with the Dane County weed filled outing fresh in my mind, though the thought of scouting new subpar trout water also floated in my head like a mild hangover. I scoured Waukesha County last year in search of the trout that few deem worthy of pursuit, and I was dead...
Ron Dayne and Mary Jane
One of my many visits to Dane County was particularly unkind to me. It was fall 1999 and I found myself deep in enemy territory, outside Camp Randall Stadium. My beloved Iowa Hawkeye football team was in full rebuild mode following the departure of legendary coach Hayden Fry, yet I opted to dawn an obnoxious...
