Campsite a quarter-mile ahead, dusk descending as my paddling partner and I head toward “home.” A lazy current near the lake’s outlet allows us to drift in the waning daylight, with only the occasional stroke to stay on course. Greedy to milk every minute from a non-resident fishing license, I troll a beadhead bugger behind the canoe.
Not 200 yards from our destination on New York’s Forked Lake, the rod braced between my seat and the canoe̵...

Like the sun, now below the thickness of trees blurring the canyon rim, Ben had snuck away. I spotted him, stock-still at the edge of the pool, an immense heron holding a fishing rod. I hadn’t gone looking for him; just took my camera for a walk. I snapped a few frames, shutterclicking code, a small act of larceny. It was my first time on the Buffalo River and the next day would be the last of the trip. Soon after finding him, I let the camera...

A couple years ago, I saw a blog post that encouraged bass anglers to keep a bottle of Coke with them at all times. And no, it wasn’t for the caffeine high.
Instead, fishermen were supposed to use this magical elixir as a healing agent for bleeding fish. The thought went that when a fish is gill hooked or gut hooked, you could pour Coke on the wound to stop the bleeding. The soda provided a combination of carbonation and acid to clean and...

I’m always disappointed when a fly fisher turns their nose up at bass fishing. Usually the disdain is accompanied by some poetic sermon about watching trout sip dries, followed by an admission that they’ve never actually tried it. Thankfully, fly fishing for bass is not a new concept and more anglers around the world are embracing these incredible fish. 
The bass family is widespread and includes many familiar species like smallmouth, largemouth...