With more crappy wintry weather on the way, and a major dip in temperatures from the almost-tolerable weather we have been having for the last few days, I think I’ll be staying inside this weekend.  Since it’s been a while since I have offered my recommendations on improving one’s cultural sensibilities, here’s my list of what I’ll be reading on the web:

Catch Magazine: a very good combination of gorgeous photography and solid essays that will take you all over the world.  Recommended: the Sept. 2010 issue with its pieces on Casting Croatia and a photo essay of skins and fins.

This Is Fly: a hip, modern fly fishing mag for the non-Filson crowd.  With pieces on everything from urban fly fishing to exotic locales, the photography is fresh and so is the prose.  Recommended: the most recent issue.  They seem to just get better and better.

And for a trip around the roulette wheel of blogs, I always have to check in at the Trout Underground, Moldy Chum, and Buster Wants to Fish.  Whether it’s discussions of felt sole replacements, pictures of hotties in waders, or ruminations on the season of seasons, they’re always up to the challenge of entertaining me.

In my warm house on the night of a winter storm watch, I hop on the web to seek fantasies involving things other than snowblowers and shovels.  It’s not too difficult with the wide variety of stimulation available via my monitor.  

I might recommend the following diversions for those similarly surrounded by snow and ice:

Catch Magazine, in its fourteenth issue, is the finest eye candy available for the flyfisherman stranded on the icy tundra.  This latest issue takes one on journeys after New Zealand brown trout and Spain’s mountain trout.

Lakemaid Beer.  Mermaids. Beer. ‘Nuff said.

Rise Forms, billed as flyfishing’s literary e-zine.  

Who else would share the finest visual art, photography, and literature, alongside mermaids and beer?

Casting my mouse pointer into the stream and pulling the finest specimens from the web,

Your Humble Servant

Maybe this will be the first in a series, or maybe it will be a one-off lazy posting because I don’t have anything to say right now.  This is what I’ve been reading online, and this is where the real outdoor writing is happening.  

First, the Mad Fishicist:

What Economic Crisis?  is a beautiful post on a beautiful blog. It explains in very pretty words why a national economic crisis doesn’t affect a guy with a Marlin, a Stihl, and the skills to provide for his family.  The images and words on this blog are breathtaking and must be read for themselves.  My descriptions simply become cliche.  Quotable quote: ”It’s not just a good way to live.  I’m starting to believe it’s the right way.” 

(note: this blog was last updated in November–I sincerely hope it’s not going away)

Second, the Trout Underground.

Fly Fishing the Upper Sacramento in Winter…Barely Winter… is a post that is typical of Tom Chandler’s writing at the Trout Underground.  It’s a story any fly-fisherman could tell, but I’m glad Tom is telling it.  There is a nice mix of sensitive description, gorgeous photos, and a bit of the practical.  Quotable quote:  ”some people crave powerful illegal drugs, others accumulate power and expensive cars, but I’ve got a thing for rising trout.”

Third, Buster Wants to Fish.

This kind of thing never happens to me but… is Bacon’s contribution to the literature of the “Dude Code of Conduct,” describing his interaction with his rugged neighbor.  In the best Buster style, it reveals some of the very meaning of our outdoor dudeness.  Quotable quote:  ”By the sheer amount of guns, shells and beat-up canvas hunting gear I used to see this guy loading into the sweetest old 50’s-era station wagon every weekend morning, it’s fair to assume this is one genuine, old-school badass.”  

Enjoy the reading!