. . . It can be dead silent on that mountain, quiet enough to remember a place in time with no interruptions, a day that started in a bustling, wide valley and finished in stillness on top of a mountain.

. . . . . . The guitar amp, the voices, the conversations, the laughing and arguing, the engine noise and the truck’s rattles, the NPR opinion and the crackly speakers — it’s all gone. And it’ll stay gone for as long as I’m here on the mountaintop. This is real silence.

Continue reading This Is Real Silence at Troutbitten.

Just like the previous episode, this podcast deals with space on the river. But this time, it’s not about finding space as much as how we share it. Sometimes, we’re forced to share more than we’d like. Other times, there’s simply no question that another angler has broken the code. And how do we deal with that? This is our topic.

Continue reading Podcast: Rude on the River, Front Ended and the Golden Rule — S3-Ep8 at Troutbitten.

If you want space, if you want to find your own water, it’s there for you. Be an explorer. Fish offbeat times and offbeat locations. Fish bad weather and rough conditions. Find your water, and find space.

Continue reading Podcast: Find Your Water — Find Space — S3-Ep7 at Troutbitten.

And from somewhere subconscious, a part of me made the choice . . .

“I’m gonna stay on till dark,” I told Smith. “I tied on a dry-dropper, and I’ll cover the edges.”

I watched Smith walk toward home, toward the rest of life, into the lights, into the warmth, into the friendships. I stayed with the river and remained alone — pensive in the rain, resolute in the wind.

Continue reading Fish It Anyway at Troutbitten.

You’re alone, and it’s still not enough. You can feel the pressure of communities, of people and things. It’s coming from behind. You want to feel lonesome again. So you walk.

This place is yours again, if just for a while . . .

You'd walk twice as far if it got you here every time . . .

Continue reading The Further You Walk, the More You Leave Behind at Troutbitten.

Sure, looking around once in while and studying the river will improve your catch rate; you’ll build knowledge about a trout stream by just watching, there’s no doubt. But breathing deep and relaxing into the beauty of a trout stream (and they’re all beautiful) is good for the soul too.

Continue reading Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #26 — The Art of Hanging Out at Troutbitten.

Fishing alone always granted me the serenity of simple thoughts, a soul laid bare to the open wilderness and a peace of mind. Then usually, that’s where I left it — somewhere alongside the rocks and flowing water . . .

Fishing the mountains always granted me the serenity of simple thoughts, a soul laid bare to the open wilderness and a peace of mind. Then usually, that’s where I left it — somewhere alongside the rocks and flowing water . . .

Continue reading Fishing Alone at Troutbitten.