Category Archives: rivers
Trout Fishing
This is a photo of the Muskegon River, a couple miles upstream from Newaygo, Michigan. It was a favorite place to fish mostly because of its proximity to my home. This post is for my good friend, fly-fisherman, and poet, Bob Dahl, https://bob-dahl.com/
I know that feeling of great satisfaction while fly-fishing!
I’ve spent many days on trout streams catching absolutely nothing
After a long day it felt as if I had been there only minutes.
I would get lost in the craft of fly-casting,
in the nature of trees and water
wading against the unrelenting force of the river.
Those days were the most memorable – and successful – of my life.
It wasn’t so much about catching fish
as getting lost in the nothingness of myself.
Fish River
A foggy afternoon with the camera pointed downstream on the Fish River from the pier at the National Estuarine Research Reserve Pitcher Plant Bog. Just beyond the bridge, fresh water from the river flows into the brackish Mobile Bay before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
Abandoned
Abandoned cabin cruiser sits in front of a derelict shrimp boat. Both have been abandoned for several years.
Along the Bon Secour River, which flows into Mobile Bay in southern Alabama, there is a large fleet of deserted shrimp boats. Some are huge, some rather small, but they all have been abandoned. Hurricanes or tropical storms have severly damaged most of them. Speculation is that they are too damaged to repair (repairs will cost more than the boat is worth). Other possible reasons are that the shrimp fishery is too depleted and competition too intense, the boats have paid for themselves and owners are no longer interested in the grueling work of shrimping, but then who knows.
Regardless, The Alabama Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Fund, established June 2018 and managed by the Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, is for payment of the seizure, removal, transportation, preservation, storage, advertisement, appraisal, and disposal of a derelict vessel. Effective June 1, 2018 Act 2018-179 relating to derelict and abandoned vessels, authorizes the removal of a vessel from the waters of Alabama under certain conditions by a law enforcement officer or a private property owner. Previously, a property owner was responsible for legal fees, and litigation required to remove a derelict vessel from his dock. The costs were prohibitive.
Cracked and peeling paint, mold, and slime shows the typical condition of the abandoned fleet.
A smaller derelict craft lists to one side, tied to a crumbling dock.
…and a River Flows Around It
A clump of cattails and grass broke away from the bank of the White River, floated downstream and lodged against the Fishing Bridge in Montague, Michigan.
The White River
A place on the White River near Hesperia, Michigan, just upstream from the M-20 Bridge; it’s an easy place to get in the water and looks as if there would be lots of trout, but I’ve never done very well here. The well-worn path through the woods indicates that more than a few fishermen wade this stream. Maybe they’ve already taken all the trout.
Another side of the story is that it’s a quiet, beautiful place to spend a summer afternoon just being.
Some of My Favorite Places
My favorite place is wherever I am…or, most often, someplace else.
Regardless, those places always include green trees, water, moderately warm temperatures, and frequently – adult beverages.
My brother, Charlie, proprietor of Victor Alexander Winery, Bainbridge Island, WA
Lake Michigan shore near Montague, MI
Northwest Plains and Mountains
Sunset at Orange Beach, Alabama
Quinta Mazatlan, McAllen, Texas
Wharf and Ferris Wheel at Seattle, Washington.
Day-To-Day Photography 