Articles

Cloud, castle, creek

Lost and found in Poland
Photo: Dave Karczynski.

The first time I traveled to Poland I was 11 years old. It was about a year and a half after communism had fallen and my aunt, who my mother had not seen in fifteen years, was getting married. My brothers and I were taught no Polish growing up, but by the time we landed in Warsaw we could each repeat a token phrase. Mine was to be delivered to my 92-year-old blue-eyed great-grandmother: “My mother says I have your eyes.” More useful would have been: “Please don’t let us die.” The trip nearly killed all of us in different ways.

50 million anglers

How can we address the biggest threat to our fly fishing?
Aerial view of the Bridge Fire on Angeles National Forest on September 9, 2024 (photo: USDA Forest Service / cc2.0).

Climate change may not be making many headlines right now, but that’s only because presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are sucking all the oxygen from the room.

Sleeping dogs

Zeppelin will have none of it
Photo: Mike Sepelak.

I try to let sleeping dogs lie but Zeppelin will have none of it. He seemed deep in his dreams at the foot of the bed when I slipped down the dark hallway to the kitchen, but, as I stand at the counter eating a hasty bowl of cereal, I hear the whisper of pads on hardwood, a breathy harrumph, and the soft thump of old bones settling to the floor beside me. I reach down and scratch his head.

Carpin' for smallmouth

In the height of summer, smallmouth and carp have a relationship akin to permit and stingrays
Photo: Matt Reilly.

“Damn clouds.”

In a demonstration of what may be one of my most regrettable and predictable behaviors, burdened by the lowering of light level as a cloud moved between me and the sun, I glanced towards the heavens to assess the duration of the timeout at hand, only to be temporarily blinded by that big ball of fire in the sky as it slipped behind the veil.

“Now I definitely can’t see anything.”

Review: Korkers Stealth Sneaker wading boots

The most comfortable wading boots I've ever worn
Photo: Korkers.

Korkers new Stealth Sneaker is a hybrid of the wading shoes we’ve seen grow in popularity lately and the tried-and-true wading boots we’ve used for decades. It’s also the single most unique piece of wading gear I’ve ever reviewed, and far and away the most comfortable.

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