Merry Christmas, all. Here’s to a quiet day and looking forward to whatever 2021 throws our way.
Image: Snowy day on the Gallatin River. Montana, 2010.
river
Fresh Air
Sometimes you need to step outside, get some fresh air, and remind yourself what’s really important.
Needless to say, Jake, Lynsey, and Marley the Trout Dog have their priorities straight. It was a treat to get together with old friends this weekend, cross a few mountain passes on dirt roads, sleep outside, cook meals over an open fire, and chase a plethora of westslope cutthroat trout with big foam bugs.
This summer dictates a mindset change—no big international shoots for a while—so I’m making the most of time spent at home in the West. Turns out, there are plenty of good stories tucked away off dirt roads.
Men’s Journal: A Beginner’s Guide to Freshwater SUP Fishing
Excited to see this piece about freshwater stand-up paddleboard fishing republished on Men’s Journal. In “A Beginner’s Guide to Freshwater SUP Fishing” I aimed to cover may of the questions I’ve gotten at boat ramps and on rivers / lakes around the West. Why use a SUP for fishing? How do you cast without falling off? How do you keep from stepping on your rod when passing through fast-moving water? How do you manage fish once you’ve hooked into something? What SUP is best for fishing?
I’ve outlined the basics in this piece, and illustrated a few points with images from a fantastic SUP camping / bass fishing trip a few summers ago with friends Marty and Mia Sheppard from Little Creek Outfitters on Oregon’s John Day River.
What other SUP fishing questions are burning your brain? What’s keeping you from hopping on a board and trying it out?
Mornings in the Sky
Things are beginning to feel a little autumnal around Missoula. Mornings are cooler, the sun rises later and sets earlier (rather ominous for the long winter to come) and as I sit in my little apartment typing this, a drizzly rain has started to fall. Fog is rolling over the mountains, and it’s looking like dusk at 7PM.
Winter, as they say, is coming.
In strict defiance of the grey season to come, I woke early this morning and put the drone up in the air above one of my favorite local fishing access sites. Made a few new friends at the boat ramp as guide trips rolled in to put on the water, and was admittedly caught off guard by the amount of underbrush that’s already changing color.
I’m having fun learning the ins-and-outs of the drone system, and am excited to get it on the road in a few weeks on assignment in Australia (stay tuned—it’s going to be awesome).
