The Maestro of Metaphor now has his own blog, so those with a desire for a daily metaphorical fix – and some nice writing along the way – should tune in. What will you find? Metaphors like:

The air was cold enough to force me to switch hands carrying the rod every minute or so, and a rain as steady as life’s miseries spit in my face.

or,

I set out to find new water. I left the three lonely, fishless fly fishers and strolled along a soft carpet of leaves soggy as cornflakes. The path, when I could see it, felt like a thick rug.

Even if you’re not entranced by his metaphors, his simple, direct style is worth a look:

As engineers, beavers have few peers. While their abodes did not impress me with their aesthetic qualities, they were sturdy. It really looked like somebody spilled a truckfull of sticks.

It was pretty though. After a couple tries with the yellow fly, I sat back to drink all this in. Tall brown grass rimmed the ponds. The mountains were smoking through the mist. The sky looked like a freshly painted battleship from my hometown of Norfolk, VA.

And the air tasted sweet and clean.

I asked Kevin Howell of Davidson River Outfitters if there were, indeed, trout in those ponds, and he assured me there were but that late spring and early summer were the best times to fish there. Come back later.

See you on the Internet, Tom Chandler.

fly fishing, hugh koontz, fly fishing writing, fishing

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They suggest they’re the “Greatest fly fishing, beer, and fancy writing blog you’ve ever seen” though I’m going to dispute the “beer” part.

After all, it was the Underground who led the way in protecting your First Amendment Beer-Drinking Rights.

Still, there’s something to be said for the writing part:

One thing Cow Creek Ranch could improve is the strength of their coffee. I’m sitting here now in Soma in Bloomington Indiana enjoying a tall glass of very fine, strong-brewed, real coffee. I’m going to drink two. Maybe three.

Scuff on the fuselage, lightening on the left, lightening on the right, my flight back from New Mexico was not great. I got to my new house around 2:00am last night. I still have to unpack from the move. Awesome.

But enough of the complaining. Just two days ago I was traipsing through high meadows on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains plunking down a bushy stimulator in every riffle, pocket and hole of Cow Creek looking for the five-slam. Above the black, swirling, deep pools of the manicured guest beats on the main fishery at the ranch, Cow Creek continues to climb into the mountains above 10,000′. There’s a trail that follows it all the way up.

See you on the Internet, Tom Chandler.

I sympathize. Most of my yard is covered in snow, yet 30 minutes down the canyon, the grass has already turned a vibrant green, and spring is underway.

Still, if you were to ask me, I’d say spring is a couple weeks away. Is that alpine-induced tunnel vision, or simply a reflection of my immediate reality?

(photo courtesy Fly Fishing in Yellowstone)

From Fly Fishing In Yellowstone:

The cloistered mind of the high country tends to forget that there are other bits of humanity that seem to enjoy four full seasons and a world with minimal snow.

He ends his thoughtful essay with:

Soon there will be color enough. Riots of small blossoms will appear on the edges – where the dirt first appears. There will be snow in the corners until June, this year — maybe a bit left for the 4th of July. We’ll see.

The Madison River looks asleep up here. Last night’s snow has covered the lonesome foot prints to the fishing spots in the tailwater. It seems dormant. It hides a secret – there are fish there, and they are getting ready for their Spring mating rituals. They will dance with you if you send them the right offering. And only the neighbors will know.

Without getting all mushy about it, I’ll say this: his essay is a rare glimpse into the high country mind. Don’t miss it.

Technorati Tags: fly fishing,fly fishing in yellowstone,fly fishing blog,spring in the high country

Reading Fly Fishing in Yellowstone is little like spending a whole fly fishing season in the area, only without the mosquitos and grizzlies. (Well, it’s not, but it feels like it).

He’s a tough act to follow, but I’m adding two new Montana blogs to the Underground’s heap. We’ll keep track and see how they’re doing.

Will Fish For Work

The newest kid on the block is Will Fish for Work, a blog bouyed by the following subtitle: “Desperate Fishermen Seeking Gainful Employment.”

Sadly, he won’t find gainful employment on a fly fishing blog, which is about as far from “gainful” as it gets.

Still, don’t let his delusions get in the way of your enjoyment; Will Fish for Work is a good read, and worth a visit (or an add to your RSS reader).

The Best Blog?

Finally, there’s the Best Yellowstone Fly Fishing Blog, whose name suggests plenty of confidence. They’ve been posting since July, but I missed them until recently.

Heavy on the local and regional angle, at first blush they look like they’re setting up for a run at regional search engine fame, but they keep publishing interesting stuff, and they’re definitely worth adding to your RSS feed.

The Big Fishing Trip?

Sadly, it looks like I won’t be winging my way to Tennessee for spring fishing, though one door always opens when another closes, and there might be a Montana Summer Roadtrip in my future.

Naturally — like any lazy fly fisher wanting to catch loads of big fish without putting in the time — I’ll be soaking up whatever information the Montana blogs have to offer.

See you in the blogosphere, Tom Chandler.

Technorati Tags: fly fishing,fishing,fly fishing information,fly fishing yellowstone,fly fishing montana,fly fishing blog

If it’s one thing we stand for here at the loosely defined, mission-statement-less Underground Writer’s Network, it’s that we’re all about diversity.

We love diversity. We embrace diversity. We’ve even kissed diversity on the lips.

That’s why we’re proud as can be to welcome a new voice to fly fishing’s online world: The Fly Fish Chick.

  
Apparently our Texas-based angler spends some time in Montana…

From her first post:

And right to the end, it was a great day. It’s hard to distill all the intangible highlights into words, but let’s just say once again the Guadalupe was there for me. All those freshwater takes gave me a fresh take on a river I’ve known my entire life. And I’m rejuvenated to see how much more there is to discover.

Once back in Austin, I decided to top off my flyfishing adventure with live music at Atone’s. Truthfully I was already pretty hopped-up on the highs of catching Texas trout, but of course I had to celebrate with some Lone Star too.

And if you really need proof the woman can write, read this tower of word power from her Chicken Fried Therapy blog.

That’s a kickass piece of writing, and I suspect there’s plenty more to come on the fly fishing side of things.

Stop on by the Fly Fish Chick, leave a comment, and subscribe (via RSS or email). You won’t be sorry.

See you at Fly Fish Chick’s, Tom Chandler.

Head on over and leave a comment — before some rat bastard posts your worn out fly fishing phrase. I’d hate for that to happen.

See you at The Day Tripper, Tom Chandler.

First, we’ve got the Neil Creek Chronicles — which right now is holding a closeout flea market near-giveaway of some excess equipment.

An interesting read — their latest post is a missive about real BBQ, a subject near and dear to the Underground’s heart (and clogged arteries).

Find Yourself a Back Eddy

In The Back Eddy is another new blog that looks to be focusing on Idaho and Montana.

He looks to be staying right on top of the area’s issues, fishing reports and even the question about whether to rebuild the Teton Dam.

Add both to your RSS reader (hell, your boss won’t care if you don’t get any work done at all).

See you on the blogosphere, Tom Chandler

He was Best Man at my wedding, his duties largely confined to quick-drawing a flask of Irish Whiskey at opportune moments, keeping the dive bombers in my stomach calm and relaxed.

Dave Roberts, now guiding fulltime on the Upper Rogue

We still fish together whenever possible, which isn’t anywhere as often as it should be. That’s why you’re about to experience a shameless plug for his new guiding Web site, which even includes a blog.

Of course, everyone who meets Dave knows he loves to tell stories, and for that matter, everyone has their favorite Dave story.

Mine (fortunately) involves a big fish, so at least it’s printable.

We were fishing a more technical stretch of the Upper Sacramento, and I hooked a good fish. A real good fish.

Like a lot of big trout, it didn’t realize the danger at first, and came within a few feet of me before waking up and bolting downriver.

I stood there dumbfounded (I thought it was a little guy), watching the fly line exit the reel at an ungodly rate.

Suddenly, it was gone, replaced by that weird, skinny backing, and Roberts gave me a nudge, pointed where the fly line disappeared into the water, and said “You going to chase that fish, or just stand here with your thumb up your ass?”

Classic Roberts, and while I can’t guarantee he’ll say something similar if you take one of his drift trips down the Rogue, you can bet it won’t be a dull trip.

That much we can say for sure.

See you on the Rogue, Tom Chandler.

Technorati tags: fly fishing, fishing, rogue river, fly fishing guide, fishing guide, rogue river guide, dave roberts, david roberts

I’d love to say I had a crystal clear vision for this nascent fly fishing blog network I’m piecing together, but suffice it to say that someday, somehow, I’d love to be in the business of helping good writers build something useful.

With that in mind, joining the Trout Underground and Singlebarbed on the Underground Writer’s Network is the Daytripper blog.

It’s written by Alex C. — a fly fisher of strongly held opinions and significant energy. In addition to his multitude of posts about his fishing trips (of which there have been many), he touches heavily on a lot of fly fishing topics, and is even in the process of building a fly pattern database (home to many streamers, a branch of fly fishing I find oh-so interesting).

We welcome him into the fold (though we didn’t tell him about the “new-blog hazing ritual” where he ties the existing members of the network a couple dozen flies).

What’s clear about Alex is he’s a fly fisher, and he’s got it bad. Hell, he’s even posted a counter on his site which broadcasts the number of flies he’s tied so far this winter. Scheez.

We understand. And welcome to the neighborhood, Daytripper. Give him a visit, and leave a slaw dog on the front porch for him.

See you all on the river, Tom Chandler.

Technorati tags: fly fishing, fishing, fly fishing blog, daytripper, daytripper blog, underground writers network, singlebarbed, trout underground

I stumbled across Gale Rainwater’s photography blog and Web site (actually, he stumbled across us), and I flipped over the work.

While it’s not fly fishing specific, it speaks to one of the things most of us fly fish for — the stunning, unspeakably beautiful outdoors.

It’s proof that craftsmanship still exists in the digital world. Worth a visit!

Technorati tags: photography, outdoor photography, nature photography, gale rainwater