Fishes and Birds

A roundup of sorts...

I am taking a week off to prepare myself for the long book tour ahead, so no new essay this week. But, I thought I’d give you a few links to some of my favorite articles I wrote in other publications over the years.

Mega Brookie

Has it been a decade?! Wow. Ten years ago I traveled north to Manitoba to God’s River in search of brook trout worthy of the name… and I found them. I caught several brookies larger than 5 pounds, including this one that topped 7 pounds!

It is a catch-and-release fishery, something I rarely do, but I have to say I am glad I did. You can read the whole adventure here in Garden & Gun magazine.

Upland Odyssey

Almost six years ago, my friends over at Project Upland did a really nice short film about what I do and why I love hunting upland birds so much. And if you like this one, read my article on ptarmigan hunting and completing the “grouse slam” that I wrote a few years ago.

Shad and Clams

Now we’re going way back. I used to write for the magazine Art of Eating, and two of my favorite articles were one on shad fishing in California, which is going on right now if you’re there, or near the Columbia in Oregon. The other was even farther back, and I think was my second-ever paid piece of food writing.

It was about clamming on Block Island, an island near Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. I’ve dug clams there, off and on, since I was a toddler. The piece is still one of my favorites, and I remember going through something like 14 rounds of revisions before we got it right. And boy was this Early Period Hank: The article came out in 2008.

Here’s the link to it, but it’s behind the Art of Eating’s paywall. I can vouch for the value of a paid subscription, though: AoE was and is one of the most important food magazines ever. Definitely worth your time.

I’ll be back next week, fear not. Just needed a little break. And when I return, I suspect there will be some big news…