Bidwell and Lake Margaret in July

  If there’s one thing we’ve learned after four trips to Wilderness Unlimited’s Bidwell Ranch and Lake Margaret over the last two years, it’s this: camping is a never-ending science experiment. Every trip teaches us something that makes the next one just a little more dialed in. We’ve become experts in the truly important questions…

How I Almost Died… Without Feeling the Slightest Bit Sick

For the past year, Gina had been planning what was supposed to be the perfect getaway: a week of luxury, sightseeing, and hiking in British Columbia. The itinerary was flawless—half the week at the iconic Fairmont Empress in Victoria and the other half at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. First-class flights. Beautiful hotels. Great…

Dinkomatic on the Forebay

nbsp; Sunday June 14, 2026.   Only three days ago I discovered something I hadn’t experienced in what feels like forever: the new mussel regulations finally allowed me to fish both San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay without serving the mandatory eight-day sentence in quarantine. I think it’s been close to three years since I’ve had…

Like the Warriors, no repeat.

Sunday April 19, 2026 -Today, the lake decided to throw a tantrum. Two days prior, I’d had a near-perfect day on the water with five mile per hour winds and a cooperative fish population. Today, the same lake turned moody — wind ramped up to eight to ten miles per hour, and suddenly everything I…

Back to the Lake

 Friday  April 17, 2026 · San Luis Reservoir A scouting trip, a leaky boat, and possibly the greatest fishing partner ever… who never once left his couch. It had been months since I’d been out—November, to be exact—which is just long enough for a fisherman to forget two important things: where the fish are… and whether…

Amen Corner from the Couch

There’s a peculiar kind of intimacy that comes with returning to the same place — the same water, the same fairway, the same bend in the river you’ve fished a hundred times. Standing in that familiar current, you’re not just casting into water; you’re casting against every version of yourself who stood there before. It’s…

The Jazz Cruise of 2026

March 17 through April 3. –  There are trips you take… and then there are trips that take something out of you—in the best possible way. The kind where you come home a little sunburned, a few pounds heavier, slightly sleep-deprived, and completely convinced you’ve been doing life wrong the rest of the year. The…

The Art of War by Sun Tzu and fishing

Next week I’m joining a group of dear friends for one of our most cherished rituals of the year—time at Henderson Springs to rest, recharge, and reconnect. We all lead busy lives and rarely see each other, but once a year we gather there with rods in hand and the quiet understanding that the real…

Mayakoba Family Vacation Part Deux

Last year Gina and I embarked on what felt like a bold new chapter for us — a full-scale family invasion of Cancun with both families and the grandkids at the Fairmont Mayakoba. Honestly, we packed emotional body armor expecting tactical grandchild wrangling in a foreign country far from home. When Mark and Mia were…