Make Your Own Damn Lures

When I moved to Ontario, our neighbor’s teenage son helped us unload boxes. Spying copious boxes labeled “fishing,” the boy looked at me with excitement. He said he had been fishing almost every day that summer, and I told him to pick out something as a gift for helping us. He was a little confused when he opened the first box and found wads of flamboyantly colored feathers and semi-preserved animal skins. “What is this stuff?” he asked I...

A Marsh of Your Own: How to Catch Redfish by Kayak

Corpus Christi Bay is tequila clear and cellophane slick this morning. When my kayak slipped over the oyster bed a moment ago, a thousand calcium and carbon blades scratched the hull and scraped off any boats on my tail. Now I stand up in the sit-in kayak, invert my paddle, and pull a camo sock-hat over the yellow blade. I push myself slowly through the skinny water, still-hunting. A grumpy aghh, aghh snatches my eyes to a trio of white ibis...

Do You Remember Your First Frogasm?

It twitches a little, then throbs a little more. You manipulate it gently, but firmly, building a consistent rhythm. The pressure builds up. And then it builds some more. It’s almost unbearable. Finally, an explosion, liquids flying everywhere, and a simultaneous feeling of release and excitement. Yes, there is (almost) nothing better than a big bass crushing a hollow-bodied topwater frog through a heavy mat of vegetation, flying out of the water...