Background in counseling, adventure therapy, outdoor recreation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and management.
Ninja Fly-Fishing
After wrapping up my fall fishing season this year, I immediately began thinking about two things: eating myself into a turkey-fueled coma while four football teams I don't care about beat each other up on TV, and fly fishing in the snow. What can I say? I have a problem.
When it comes to being cold, I must admit I'm a bit of a wuss. But I know how to dress in layers, so a freezing cold fishing trip or two is bound to happen sometime during the short days. In fact, as I finally sit down to start working on this article, I have a guide trip booked for tomorrow -- a day with a forecast high of 35 degrees. I tried to talk him out it – I swear. I don't like shivering, and I'm not a huge fan of putting my freezing cold hands into icy water to release a fish, but my number one frustration related to wintertime fishing is dealing with ice building up in my rod guides. There is a solution I haven’t yet tried, and it sounds like it’s right up my alley.
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Self-Destructive Behaviors in Teens
Drug and alcohol abuse is all around our teens all the time, and you're right to be worried about it. If you ask to your teens, they'll likely tell you that the majority of the kids at school drink alcohol or use drugs at least socially. They'll also report that other kids politely offer them drugs far more often than you would ever have imagined. And while they may not admit it to you, there's a darn good chance that they've at least considered trying it. What has led us to this situation?
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Hoppers and Beetles and Ants (Oh, my!)
I remember the first time I laughed at a trout fly. It bears noting that it was the only time I've ever laughed at a trout fly, which is an indicator of how memorable the fly turned out to be. That fly single-handedly cured my skepticism of silly-looking artificials.
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Drought Trout
By the time you read this article, the Midwest drought will hopefully be over, but I’m not holding my breath. The temperatures will certainly have broken, at least somewhat, and we’ll be solidly into the autumn season. That’s at least one thing to be grateful for. That said, if you canceled any summer trout fishing trips in response to the intense heat and lack of rain, reading this piece may just break your heart. The fishing was actually pretty darned good, if you knew how to tweak your tactics.
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How to handle a deer for a good mount
To take home that trophy of a lifetime, there needs to be a cooperative relationship between you and your taxidermist. Before the taxidermist begins working his magic, you must do yours. As much as it is your taxidermist’s responsibility, your actions in the field will also determine whether the final trophy will be worthy of hanging on your wall.
NOTE: this article actually covers field care for large game, fish and fur bearers.
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The Other Rut: Fishing Autumn's Brown Trout Run
Brown trout drive fishermen just a little crazy. Even in rivers where they outnumber rainbow trout, they still make up only a small percentage of overall catch. But there is one time of the year when the odds begin to lean a bit in the fisherman's favor.
As a fishing guide, I get a lot of questions from folks wanting to better understand why trout act the way they do. What triggers migration? What triggers aggressive feeding? How do you determine what fly or lure to use? The short answer: you have to do your homework.
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Teens: Why are they so infuriating?
Everyone knows that teenagers can be frustrating, but they also seem to lose all sense of sound judgment between the ages of 12 and 17 -- some for much longer than that. This can be a scary time for parents, but it is also a very predictable occurrence, so, parents, you can be prepared. It will be your job to help your kids get through this period of their lives without hurting themselves and without losing your mind.
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Trout Fishing Different Water Temperatures
I watched “Animal House” earlier this year on television, just like many of you did, I'm sure. It's one of those movies I can watch repeatedly, mainly due to the plethora of memorable and quotable moments. For example, "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son." That line led to this article, although I’m pretty sure trout don’t get drunk.
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A Eulogy for the 13-Year Cicada -- A Fly-Fisher's Tribute
As I write this, the cicadas living on my property are already beginning to decline in numbers. My dog Baxter continues to eat as many of them as possible, in spite of the warnings from the vet that he’ll get a tummy ache. Baxter seems to instinctively know that he’d better get them while the getting’s good. Similarly, as a fly fisherman, I want to be on the river as much as possible while these clumsy protein power snacks are bouncing off trees and plopping onto the water, and I have to admit that I’m grieving their passing.
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Welcome to Zone 3
There’s an old saying that bait fishing exists simply so old men can teach their grandchildren to catch dinner. That presents a nice image, but I have to disagree.
People who know me at all know I’m a die-hard fly fisherman, but you’d actually have to know me pretty well to have the following bit of inside information: I love bait fishing for trout, too. I must admit, though, that I CANNOT plunk out some store-bought floating bait and sit with my finger on a tight line waiting for a nibble – it’s simply not in my nature. To maintain my concentration, I need to be in motion. If I sit still even for a few minutes, I’m quite likely to drift off to sleep. I’m betting it’s genetic. I’ll have to ask my father about that someday.
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Preparing Your Trophy Deer for the Taxidermist
As a taxidermist, I must admit there are a few aspects of the business that I do not enjoy. Customers can get really nasty if you’re running late on work. Sometimes they can’t afford to pay the bill to pick up their completed mounts, leaving you to wonder how you can spend a turkey mount at the grocery store. And, occasionally, customers will remember their trophy as bigger than he was in real life, which often leads to being accused of shrinking their fish, somehow. All fun experiences. There is one issue, however, that makes every taxidermist pull his hair out. And that’s when a customer damages the animal before it gets here. When you shoot your trophy deer this fall, it’s up to you to get a good-looking specimen to the taxidermist. That’s the only way you’ll get the best-looking mount he can produce.
(note: the editor made some errors in this article, i.e. changing the correct spelling of the word "caping" to "capping," as well as adding some unnecessary additional punctuation here and there.)
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Beware the Spooky Trout
If you do a quick online search for trout fishing in October, you’ll probably find an impressive stack of articles focusing on the autumn brown trout spawning runs. And why not? The autumn migration is certainly prime time for hitting Taneycomo or one of our other trophy trout streams to hook into a whopper brownie. I’ve written those articles before, though, and I’ve gotten bored with them. There’s more to October trout fishing than casting for amorous lunkers! In fact, this time of year, the rainbow trout is almost maligned as an unworthy adversary, but that stops today!
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Branson's Other Nightlife
Autumn is special for a lot of reasons. For many, it’s the consistently cool nights after a long hot summer. For others, it’s the oranges, reds and yellows of the forest. And of course, everyone likes jack-o-lanterns and fresh apple cider. But for trout fishermen, autumn means something entirely different – IT’S GIANT BROWN TROUT TIME.
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City Trout
November brings the close of the Missouri trout park harvest season and the start of the catch and release season in those very same parks – a time that many fly fishermen await with bated breath. But for you urbanite trout fishers among us, November brings something even more exciting. Rainbow trout have come to a city park near you!
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Extreme Trout Fishing, Missouri-Style
If you’ve never heard of “Extreme Trout Fishing”, then you’re missing out. “Extreme” is probably an exaggeration in most cases, but there are plenty of wild excursions you can take, including fly-ins, pack-animals, rafting, etc. in search of remote trout in dramatic locales, but finding such an adventure in Missouri is not so easy.
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