According to the National Weather Service, April is the peak of tornado season in Tennessee and, naturally, with tornadoes comes their progenitors: thunderstorms! Sudden rains swell streams whose dirty water is then deposited in the reservoirs and rivers, conditions that make for tough carp fishing. Fortunately, I happen to know of a small lake near … Continue reading Artificial Sweetener
Author: Adam
Adam has a master’s degree in mathematics, a black belt in aikido, and has worked enough jobs to fill a book—sushi chef, Peace Corps volunteer, and police detective among them. His writing and photos have shown up in The Drake, Tenkara USA, Hawaii Fishing News, and Sporting Classics Magazine. In 2023 he traded a badge in Honolulu for a skiff on the Columbia, where he now spends his days chasing carp with a fly rod and pretending it’s a retirement plan.
Badgers and Beavers
With the equinox passed, spring has officially begun. So far I have only spent a couple of days on the water. The fishing has been mediocre because spring rains have not yet allowed water conditions to stabilize. However, there are fish moving, and eating. I hooked some sunfish on a cool afternoon early in the … Continue reading Badgers and Beavers
Properties of Water
It's a funny time of year. The weather has warmed dramatically and people have burst into action - joggers, cyclists and even fishermen. But fishing right now is a bit premature, at least if one wants to catch fish. It is a lesson which I have learned the hard way, having spent many early Spring … Continue reading Properties of Water
JANUARY: all caught up
Sometime in the middle of winter I began to dream of fishing. Literally. Usually I dream of catching carp on warm, sunny days. The dreams are fairly true to life and remarkably un-dreamlike. Sometimes I am wading along a small stream, sometimes walking the banks of a placid lake. The sight of a "dream" carp, … Continue reading JANUARY: all caught up
DECEMBER: fly style
In December Tara and I flew to Oregon to visit family for the Holidays. My younger brother's girlfriend introduced us to the latest fashion: hair feathers."I could tie a nice fly with those" was my immediate thought, and in fact it turns out that fly shops are the main retailer for hair feathers. So when … Continue reading DECEMBER: fly style
NOVEMBER: stripers
NOTE: I am not a big fan of winter. When the weather turns cold I get less active; I do less fishing, and less blogging. Due to a fairly cold and snowy winter so far, I've gotten two months behind in posting what little fishing-related news I do have. In an effort to catch up, … Continue reading NOVEMBER: stripers
dig-dug
Just before conditions took a turn for the worse, and the carp all but disappeared, I spent a cool Fall morning on the water. Visibility was poor due to an overcast sky but I finally spotted a fish feeding in the shallows. Determined not to blow what I knew might be my only shot of … Continue reading dig-dug
"F" for Fall
It's been a lousy Fall for carp so far. I'm sure that I deserve some of the blame - I've missed plenty of fish and maybe I haven't spent as much time on the water as in the past. However, I have noticed some definite differences this year. For example, in the late Summer and … Continue reading "F" for Fall
Bycatch
I took a new friend fishing last week. Toby recently moved to Nashville from Florida and was interested in carp so I took him to one of my more consistent spots where we spent the morning (and a good portion of the afternoon!) throwing flies at fish. Toby did very well for a first timer. … Continue reading Bycatch
Special Delivery
Some time ago Drew, a friend of mine from way back, called me and asked if I tied my own flies."Sure" I told him."OK, I'm sending you something."That was pretty much the extent of the conversation.A few days later I received an envelope with no letter. Instead, it contained a single flight feather from a … Continue reading Special Delivery
The Fishing Dojo 