The Many Ways to Prepare a Turkey

Tomorrow is the big day, and while most birds served are from turkey farms (for lack of a better word), wild turkey is a different story. Wild turkeys, the birds, have a distinct flavor and require some extra preparation. They need time to brine to make them tender, and it’s important to be cautious to avoid accidents like Uncle Josh breaking his crown on a stray pellet.

One friend once served a smoked turkey that was smoked too long, resulting in a taste similar to eating a smokey old shoe.

However, wild turkeys reward hunters with several byproducts. The sharp pointy spurs can be used to make a nice necklace or a keychain. The feathers, including biots, wings, and assorted plumage are often used to make wings, bodies, tails, and legs for some of our favorite flies. Learning to incorporate these materials pays homage to our national bird (if Franklin had his way).

Happy Thanksgiving and tight lines!

Wild Rivers

You would be foolish to attempt to navigate a true wild river, cascading down from a high-altitude glacier in the mountains. The water has an unusual bluish hue, a result of the glacial flour pushed into the runoff, which trickles down into the upper tributaries and eventually transforms into torrents and a cascading maelstrom.

As you dip your paddle into the water, you must hold on tightly to prevent it from being pulled out of your grip. Brace yourself against the thwarts and grip your seat firmly. The wild ride begins with sudden draws, sweeps and pries, and you must always be vigilant for rocks that seem to emerge from nowhere. With a flick of your wrist, you can catch your boat before it enters a deep hole, requiring little strength to avoid disaster. Nothing is more thrilling than riding a wave train down stream. a flick of the paddle keeps the boat running true and safely through the maelstrom.  You end the ride a bit soaked and surely have a bit of bailing to do as the bottom of your canoe is awash.

 Downstream from the rapids, there’s always a calm pool or eddy to catch your breath. You can hear your heart pounding, and for once, you feel truly alive.A thrilling experience no doubt, and you  faced a near-death situation and survived. Wild rivers serve as our allies against complacency and civilization. They sustain us and nourish our souls. In the tranquility of the lower river, we reflect on life, its meaning, and our desire to preserve the wildness of rivers.

All rivers start in the mountains but few reach the ocean unscathed. Dams, mills mine tailings, sewage and floating jetsam of civilization clogs their paths and poisons  the purity of nature. Be a defender of wild rivers and public lands. Our natural resources are too valuable to give away or sell to the highest bidder. 

Vanishing Wilderness

From the moment I became aware of the world around me, I was captivated by nature. Trees, in particular, seemed lifeless. Insects and birds were alive, but these massive, potential lumber or firewood, stood there like stoic towers, reaching towards the sky.

So, I ignored them initially until I became aware of the science of plants and their contributions to our lives. Not just lumber for houses or warm fires, but inspiration and the elements of the air we breathe. Silent symbols of the circle of life. Just look around on your next hike; you’ll see old trees, fallen trees with plants thriving on their corpses. Decay in all its glory provides nutrients for all manner of living things.

Dams serve a purpose: diverting wild rivers to generate energy for mills and electric generators to power cities. All noble causes, but sometimes overbuilding leads to their useful lives coming to an end. So, they lie across tame rivers that were once wild, decaying. An unintended consequence of these dams is disrupting the upstream migration of wild salmon. The result is a reduction in salmon numbers. Sure, some spawned miles downstream of their ancestral waters, but the promise remains unfulfilled.

Meanwhile, upstream, large predators that feed on those salmon turned to feeding on elk calves, further diminishing the population. Adding insult to injury, the post-spawn salmon carcasses that recycle nutrients in the grassland were removed. The elk moved away, and the bears followed them into pasture lands. There, they became a nuisance to ranchers, and bears became a problem. Wolves and coyotes also moved to the prairie lands and feasted on livestock.

Every solution applied yielded no positive results. So, now rules to keep air and water clean are being softened for industry. What will the unintended consequences of this become? I believe it’s another tragic mistake. Nature is a cruel mistress.

How to Tie the Perfect Fly

Sounds funny saying "tie a Perfect Fly" after all everyone has their own idea of the perfect fly! Not everyone is the same but it's usually the fly that catches the most fish, the fly that is the go to when all else fails or those empty spots in your Flybox where every one either snagged a low limb, the bottom or snapped off with a fish on when you didn't check your knot after landing really nice fish. 

So what I think is that you need a collection of real fish catchers and fill your boxes with them. Reliable flies that are simple to tie, using a couple of materials that can be shared with other patterns. Some times less than perfect works. The old adage is you tie a fly for other fisherman, the fish aren't that picky rings true. 

Filling those boxes with every fly under the sun does create decision paralysis. We all suffer with that and planning an outing we stop by fly shops and there is always a giant chalk board with the  Current hatches and a list of flies "that worked". I always called that list "flies that don't sell or we over ordered", or you should have been here last week flies.  Best way to pick the perfect fly is to spend time on the stream, look in the cobwebs to see what's there. Bugs caught in its clutches overnight, scan the water and nearby foliage and turn over a few rocks. I've checked my boots and waders to see what's hanging on. 

Spring is easy standard hatch progress from dawn to midmorning and spinner falls in the early evening. Summer is a bit tricky with ants and beetles the prizes fish seek. Other critters like leeches, small forage fish, tadpoles and even dragonflies can be useful.

Last bit of advice is get a book on  entomology and learn to identify the species of aquatic insects in your local streams. The number of species and varieties will amaze you. Certain species are environmental indicators. Learning will not only improve your fly selection, but increase your awareness of the natural world.

Welcome Stella

 Stanley has a new puppy to watch over

Special Announcement

We will be producing new YouTube videos soon! They will feature my attempts to tie some flies, patterns that I haven't done in years. Featuring classic materials, proven methods and tried and true techniques on how to best use them. We will provide some stream and lake sketches on where the fish are and delve into the mysteries of the salt. Reading the tides, solving the flats and lastly prove that hero cast never catch fish. Topics will also include how to safely release fish and creating sustainable angling.

These videos will have blog post that correspond to each video, so stay turned in release date is early 2026. 

Tight lines,

Art

Just a Quick Hello!

Proof of life, a chilly 39 in sunny Florida

Tight Lines and chip off that ice from your guides

 

Shoulder Season

There’s something special about the shoulder season—the in-between time when summer’s noise fades and winter’s chill hasn’t quite taken over. The air feels cleaner, the colors start to lean toward gold, and the rivers seem to breathe a little easier. Most folks have packed up their gear, but for those who hang around, there’s a kind of quiet reward waiting.

This is when the best days seem to sneak up on you. You might wander out just to stretch your legs and end up finding a bend in the river that’s been resting since the Fourth of July. Tie on a fly that’s seen better days, toss it out with no great expectations—and somehow, that’s when the fish decide to cooperate. Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s timing, or maybe the world just likes to throw a bone to the ones who keep showing up.

The shoulder season has a way of reminding you why you fell in love with fishing in the first place. It’s not about the numbers or the bragging photos—it’s about the space, the silence, and those moments when the water, the light, and your own heartbeat seem to fall into the same rhythm.

You come home a little cold, a little tired, and a lot grateful. Not because it was perfect, but because it wasn’t

Words to Live By

Your reputation, the only aspect of your life that transcends your physical presence, will accompany you long after your departure, leaving an indelible mark that can either tarnish or enhance your legacy. Simple daily actions have profound consequences, and your conduct significantly influences others.

As Aldo Leopold aptly stated, “Ethical behavior is doing the right thing even when the wrong thing is legal.” Acting ethically in the absence of external scrutiny is challenging and can be costly. While there may be no financial rewards or accolades to display, the sense of doing the right thing will always leave a profound sense of pride and fulfillment within you. Others may notice and begrudgingly admire your actions, while also harboring envious scorn. Ultimately, the true purpose of a fulfilling life lies in living with purpose and finding inner peace.