What I did Last Summer
It was the best of times (for him, mostly), it was the worst of times. It was the season of exploration and the season of holding down the fort at home.
This summer, while I was dealing with minor distractions such as students, research, report-writing, and comforting two sixty-pound dogs during each day’s major downpour, the husband went on three “work” trips exploring different piscine regimes. The poor dear, all that work tearing him away from home—how ever did he cope?

Photo by Rebecca McCormick

DEBEQUE—Rainbow trout were snapping at damselfly nymphs at The High Lonesome Ranch in  DeBeque over the weekend, attested by ABJ writer Robin Smith’s very first fly-fishing catch, a 25-inch beauty netted by guide Shannon Branham of Grand Junction at Forshay Pond. Read all about the new dude & guest ranch division of the 300-square-mile High Lonesome in next weekend’s Sunday Traveler.

Find the original article at http://www.aspenbusinessjournal.com/article/id/1539/sid/8#.T8zGLiFsFiU.ema

SUNDERLAND, VT (April 2012) – The Orvis Company has recognized Buzz Cox of The High Lonesome Ranch (www.thehighlonesomeranch.com) with the 2012 Orvis Lifetime Achievement Award.

“There are many who guide, but there are select groups who make it their life’s passion and excel over a period of many years,” explains David Perkins, Vice Chairman of Orvis.  “This award goes to an individual that has dedicated his life to that of a professional guide and host. Buzz Cox’s career spans over three decades and ranges from the Northeast to the Rocky Mountains.  He has specialized not only in sharing the great outdoors with his guests but also teaches them to respect and honor natural resources.  Whether it is sharing the secrets of a small stream, river or lake; or teaching the importance of safety in the field or on a mountain top, he has been a steward of conservation, professionalism and a lifestyle we all can admire.”

Without preamble, I’ll continue this Spey-fishing primer with a discussion of mechanics for the basic casts and a general guideline for which cast to use when. If you’re just joining, it is imperative to visit the previous two issues, Vol. 2 No. 3 and Vol. 2 No. 4, for a review of the first two installments.

I often think about different kinds of fishing that might or might not qualify as “legendary,” but should legendary fishing be all about merely the fish and the act of catching them, or should it also be about the place and the people? I can’t help but think more and more that it’s about the overall experience, and when it all comes together as some kind of delightful sensory overload then perhaps that is the time when the fishing becomes “legendary.”

Taimen fishing in Mongolia is just that to me. Legendary. And I got to go and do it, or rather I want to go and photograph it, live it, and perhaps fit in a few casts myself.

From the cold winter waters of North Carolina’s Outer Banks to the salmon rivers of Canada, I am held, enchanted, and at peace, knowing that there is life for me when I am suspended between worlds, dancing with surf and currents, salt water and fresh. Only in remote grouse coverts am I as touched by time and my ancestors.

Photograph by Russ Schnitzer

Depending where you live, the odds are better than even that you are probably buried in snow right now up to your derriere or at least freezing the latter off. I feel for you—really I do—and I am almost embarrassed to say that is late December here in Mobile and it is a frigid 73 degrees and sunny. In fact, my wife just gave our dog a bath, which resulted in the dog losing ten pounds of hair. The poor dog can’t make up her mind if she wants to shed her summer coat and grow a winter coat, or vice versa. The trees seem equally confused. They are dropping their old leaves at a much slower rate than would be expected and some have commenced the process of growing new ones. Roses are blooming and the azaleas have new buds and look like they are going to explode any day. Naturally, I am still wearing shorts and polo shirts and, of course, the ubiquitous flip-flops. In short, everything (including the winter one wants to escape on holiday) is relative. As Jimmy Buffet once said, perceptions are based on attitudes and attitudes are based on changes in latitudes. Which brings me to changes in latitude.

Click on the image above to check out Russ Schnitzer’s video from Jim’s Deep Water Cay trip to the Bahamas.