Five generations ago, my great-grandfather, Wilford Clark Emery, moved from Culpeper County, Virginia to West Virginia where he fought in the Civil War. My branch of the Emery’s have been there pretty much ever since. Leaving West Virginia nine months ago was like a divorce, like a biblical violation requiring atonement. Even though you hold …
Tag: Wild trout
The colors of Autumn
Last October I sat many hours in a tree stand wishing a deer would walk by…so I made a promise that from now on I would fish in October instead. I must say: wild trout on a two-weight while being surrounded by the colors of Autumn is pretty tough to surpass.
Chasing April
What a 35 degree Colorado stream looks like… I am an inept fly fisherman. Let’s get that out of the way as a preface to anything I may ever say or elude to in the future. I make no elusions as to my ability, but rather only to my efforts. As much sarcasm and blame …
February Top 10
February…I am officially convinced it is the worst month of the year. At best…It is a tease, with its scattering of sunshine and warm days. But mostly it is just a torment of perpetual gloom punctuated by nasty storms. We get lost in the long dark of winter, only to be lured yonder by one …
Between the Moments….
We live between the moments. They surround us. Each day we are presented with the simple, yet emphatic question: what will I do today? The day passes slowly; The years pass quickly. One day we awake… and we are older. What did we do with the moments that we had? ….yet you do not know …
Fatherhood and Brook Trout
… the visions that we leave The fog clung tight to the water, as the run poured over moss-covered rock. The hemlock and birch along the banks crowded over us, making it hard for the sunlight to stream through. To look up or downstream you found yourself leaning forward, head up, eyes squinting, straining… trying …
The Seamless Drift
“I’ve seen good drifts; I’ve seen not so good drifts; and I’ve seen great drifts.” - my good friend John S. on the art of presentation. Seamless - smooth and continuous, with no apparent gaps or spaces between one part and the next. Ask a great fly fisherman what makes the difference between catching some …
Red-Letter Days…
Moments of perfection The practice of designating days, words, or letters of great significance as red-letter days goes back to early 500’s AD. I never really looked into this before, thought about it, or even noticed it - even though it was always there... my red-letter Bible with the words of Jesus in red, a …
Moments
Wild Trout Stream, West Virginia There is a scene in Peaky Blinders when Thomas says “There is nothing wrong with me...this is just me having a conversation about myself with myself.” A wonderful verbalization of the inability to get out of one’s own head. To turn the noise of the world off; To not think. …
Seasons
I haven’t fished in over twelve weeks... not since my son (and fishing partner) left for the Army, and my life quickly filled with work obligations, home chores, and hunting seasons. As late summer changed to fall, I was forced to choose between pursuing brook trout or pursuing meat for my freezer. The deeper I …
…beside the still waters
Sometimes it is only when we look back that we fully understand. It is only the perspective of “the rest of the story...” that allows us to fully appreciate the Hand of God in our lives. And so it was for me this summer. I spent the better part of June and half of July …
Always look up…
Grant County, WV Always look up, or you will have nothing but snags. Trout in the morning sunlight Slow down and be willing to wait for clarity, or you will have wasted effort. North Mountain, Pendleton County, WV Every part of the stream is different, yet connected, so be willing to adapt, but never abandon …
North Country Radio
East Fork Sacandaga River, NY Driving down a country road in the Adirondacks, window down, seventy degrees, North Country Public Radio in the speakers, listening the the Dean’s List radio show playing some old school acoustic indie-rock style music... I felt like I had traveled back in time. I love moments like that. I had …
Transitions
As I reflect over the last ten days, the common theme is the transitions that life requires us to make as we travel along our path. 2020 has been a bizarre year, but history is full of years and periods of years much more tumultuous than ours. The key is how we navigate these waters. …
40 Mile Trout
Here I was on a trout stream no one had told me about, that wasn’t a special regulation stream, that wasn’t stocked... looking at a native trout taken on a dry fly I had tied that wasn’t likely to catch a fish...
Come Hell or High Water
Fly fishing for wild trout in West Virginia.
Don’t Fish Here.
the frustration of fly fishing for native trout during a Pandemic
Appalachian Mountain Brookies 