Back when I fished only muskies, I went north with 19 musky anglers, all men and a few quite accomplished. For anglers other than @T-Billy who launches and catches multiple muskies, you can launch and not catch a single musky, but you're likely to see some, as they're curious and fearless and will follow lures. So, when we all gathered in the evening, we'd tell stories of fish boated and fish that followed and the latter stories were nearly as exciting as the former. I was the only professional angler and storyteller in the group, but several of the guys told stories on a professional-grade level. I think this was because successful musky anglers have to be oh-so-observant and successful writers have to be the same. Of course, you can steadily catch fine bass and be bereft of writing skill, but good catching and good writing are sometimes paired. For example, Glenn's videos showcase both his angling acumen and his precision and concision with words (So many of the YouTube angling videos strike me as fatty.). I enjoy @pdxfisher's witty titles and marvel at his detailed recountings. @Lottabass also entices us with his titles and Clayton also has a writer's muscular memory. Russ's powers of observation come through in his photos. In your angling lives, have you met, either in person or on paper, skilled bass wrasslers who could also wrangle words? If so, do tell!

My writing career started with Yamamoto over 25 years ago. I was lucky enough to have a Pro Staff handler who was a professional writer (she now has her own foodie blog and website in the northwest Portland area called Crunch Creative). She transitioned out of Yamamoto when the GSM buyout took place. I gave her full editorial authority over my articles and she would always make corrections, edits and suggestions on my submissions and tell me why. Whatever natural writing talent I had was greatly improved by her. As you implied, it’s not as easy as it sounds and if you cannot write effectively, it is painfully obvious. It’s kinda like when I first started guiding, my experienced established long time guide partner told me it isn’t important if you never put another fish in the boat as long as your clients have a good time whatever the trip outcome. It’s the same with writing, you need to make it enjoyable no matter the subject.

The good writing/good fishing relationship

Followers

Start new topic
Reply to this topic

First page
Prev
1
2
Next

Solved by TOXIC

Thursday at 03:34 PM3 days

Go to solution

Yesterday at 10:21 AM1 day

I'll second Patrrick McManus for humor. Also, Don Wirth and Cliff Shelby for The Adventures of Harry 'n Charlie.

Not bass, but Hemingway's Big Two Hearted River is a wonderful fishing story.

Quote

4 hours ago4 hr

Author
Super User

On 7/18/2026 at 6:21 AM, Lottabass said:
Hemingway's Big Two Hearted River is a wonderful fishing story.

I'm so glad you mentioned this short story, Al. I have loved it for half a century.

Quote

First page
Prev
1
2
Next

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.

The good writing/good fishing relationship

Featured Replies

Solved by TOXIC

Join the conversation

Recently Browsing 0

Important Information

Account

Navigation

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)

Chrome (Desktop)

Safari (iOS 16.4+)

Safari (macOS)

Edge (Android)

Edge (Desktop)

Firefox (Android)

Firefox (Desktop)