Gone Fishing
Life on and off the waters of the Wood River Valley
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09/02/1110 More Minutes!Joining the mysterious ranks of the Clampers* “From here on out you are nothing. In fact, you’re less than nothing, you’re a PBC, a Poor Blind Candidate, a friggin’ Puke!” my sponsor, “Cornflake,” said as he handed me a chicken egg and some string. Written all over the eggshell, in thick black Sharpie, were terrible and immoral things, the types of things most southern states consider illegal. And worse yet, the egg said that I—the knucklehead now wearing what some chicken pooped out around my neck like a bad luck medallion—apparently wanted to do these things to people called the “Hangman,” the “Humbug” and their poor (and somewhat wanton) “widders.” It was at about this time,... Posted at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments: 6 |
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08/24/11Written in WaterA brief history of water in the West “One of the defining characteristics of the West is that it is, by and large, an arid region,” explained David M. Kennedy, the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and 2010 Sun Valley Writers' Conference attendee. While gold has garnered more headlines and sparkles more brightly in the minds of man, water has always been the most precious and important resource in the Western United States. And referring to the 11 states that make up the region as “arid” may actually be an understatement. As Professor Kennedy graciously explained between classes at Stanford’s Palo Alto, California, campus, outside of some mountainous areas of the Rockies, Sierra and Cascades, most of the West... Posted at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments: 4 |
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08/18/11Three Reads: Sun Valley Writers’ Conference AlumsFor the better part of two decades, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference has been celebrating literary greatness each summer amongst the stunning backdrop of the great Northern Rockies. In honor of this year’s event, here are reviews of three conference inspired reads that are all short story collections of different sorts—one from a writer participating this year, one from last year and one of the all-time legends.Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman (Vintage, 1986, 224 pgs)Mark Salzman isn’t so much a writer as he is a rock star—although most rock bands seldom include the cello. Heck, the cowbell rarely makes the cut. But not only does Salzman write award-winning best sellers (and acts in their big screen adaptations), he’s played cello on several movie... Posted at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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08/10/11Fly Fishing with a Trash-Talking Mother-in-LawAs longtime fishing guide Eric “Otis” Hein once advised, “If you’re going to get into fly fishing, you’d better have a sense of humor.” Of course, anyone who’s ever been married could argue that the same advice is nothing shy of sage when it comes to dealing with your mother-in-law. Naturally, that advice multiplies like love-drunk mayflies when it turns out your mother-in-law can out fish you. A couple of years ago this week, while we were still hanging our hats in the mountains of California’s Eastern Sierra, my mother-in-law of almost a decade now, Valdi, came to the “Eastside” to visit her first grandson. She somehow managed to stop paying attention to Jack just long enough to make sure neither her daughter nor I had... Posted at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments: 4 |
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07/27/11Knott Your Average Golf Course DesignerWhen you get right down to it, it’s actually easier to make it as a professional golfer than it is as a professional golf course architect.Just about every weekend of the year, hundreds of professional golfers tee it up, trying for nationally televised fame and glory. But they can only play on one course at a time.Don Knott is one of those lucky few people with the talent and tenacity to make the cut as a professional golf course architect. But he hasn’t simply made the cut.Don Knott has become one of the most highly respected golf course architects of all time. If there were a Master’s Tournament for golf course designers, Don Knott would get a lifetime exemption.“Golf is still golf”Don didn’t always have a love affair with golf. A collegiate... Posted at 02:37 AM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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07/18/11The Birds and Bees of Brown TroutWHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO IT, trout aren’t all that different from people—especially when it comes to the way we reproduce. They do, after all, call pictures of anglers holding trout “fish porn.”Indeed, it turns out that the biggest distinction between the way our two species reproduce is that while trout partake in every aspect of the process in water, humans only sporadically have water involved (water births, waterbeds and the occasional alcohol-induced incidents in hot tubs).“Just like humans, trout have to listen to their hormones and when they get the urge, they can’t fight it,” explained Dr. Tom Jenkins, a gray-bearded, semi-retired fisheries biologist from June Lake, California.“Biology matters,” declared Dr. Tom, who... Posted at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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06/28/11The Cosby Show Comes to TownScholars have long argued as to why God, after making a perfectly good, exceptionally well-behaved and seemingly contented man —better known as Adam—decided to make a woman.“I don’t know what he did,” Bill Cosby told a sold out Sun Valley Pavilion last week. “Maybe he was making beer.”One of the first rules of bartending, the trade of serving beer, is to never talk about politics or religion. Of course, Bill Cosby isn’t a bartender by trade, he’s a joke teller—and one of the best to ever hone the craft. So politics and the editorial work done on the Holy Bible are, quite naturally, his forte.“I have no problem with God…but the editors,” Bill began in his deep, slow-paced voice. Just then the skies suddenly... Posted at 02:47 AM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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06/21/11Three Reads: Gem State GreatsHemingway, Pound and Patrick F. McManusWhen most people think of Idaho, thoughts usually turn towards majestic mountain peaks and roaring rivers, sweeping fields of barley, Boise State’s blue turf and potatoes—lots of potatoes. Thoughts seldom turn towards literary greatness, but maybe they should. For the Gem State has been home to its fair share of world-renowned writers. So here’s a rundown of three reads from a few of Idaho's finest.Across the River and Into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway (Scribner, 1950, 283 pgs) There isn’t a writer alive (or dead for that matter) who writes about men as well as Hemingway. All his male characters are real, rugged, sensitive but ultimately tough as steel. And they are all, of course, mortal, as is the case with Colonel... Posted at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments: 6 |
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05/25/11Getting Farkled at Little Wood Res.While the Big Wood River Valley gets plenty of attention for its world-class fly fishing, world-renown skiing and out-of-this-world culinary and cultural treats, its next door neighbor to the east gets all but ignored. Maybe that’s why taking the short (or dusty and bumpy) drive over to the Little Wood River Valley feels like you’ve gone to another world. At least that’s how it felt—before we even cracked into the Keystone Lights (“fewer calories, same crappy taste”)—as we took our first family camping trip of the season to Little Wood Reservoir in mid-May. Getting There As the crow flies, the Little Wood Reservoir is just on the other side of Lookout Mountain, which hovers to the east of Bellevue. It’s a short drive, less than 40 miles... Posted at 04:12 AM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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04/28/11Dumb as a Doorknob: Becoming a Dad*Long before Jesus was a baby or things like epidurals or stay-at-home dads were invented, having babies was a much simpler process.When it came time to give birth the women folk would all huddle together and root on the soon-to-be mom, as she swore like a trucker and learned a new meaning for the word “discomfort.”Meanwhile, the men folk would huddle together and smoke cigars and talk about fishing. Occasionally, the soon-to-be granddad would be holding a shotgun in his cigar-free hand and pointing it towards the region of the soon-to-be dad that caused all the excitement in the first place.While many folks may argue that the French have given much to America (i.e.: the Statue of Liberty, the baguette, and the Ménage-a-Trois), it’s also easy to argue, especially... Posted at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6 |
