by Kirk Deeter

All too often I read about ATVs in the context of the evil threat to fishing and hunting habitat. It's not the ATVs that are the threat. It's the people driving who decide what habitat gets ruined or not.

I get angry when both sides of the argument try to polarize the debate. It's up to ATV riders who use their machines for sporting purposes and have a legitimate, vested concern in hunting and fishing habitat to voice their interests, as the vast majority in the middle of the bell curve.

If you hate ATVs and think they should be banned, get your head out of the sand. ATVs are not going away, and they've opened outdoor recreation for many. Conversely, if you like to tear around in circles, and don't give a rip about what you ruin in the process, get your head out of your exhaust pipe. It's not a God-given right to ruin public land and ruin hunting and fishing for everyone else.

by Kirk Deeter

On our carp fishing adventure to Beaver Island, Michigan,  Tim and I learned a valuable lesson from guide Kevin Morlock (see the video below). It doesn’t matter if you’re a trout fisher, a carp fisher, a bass fisher, one important key to success is putting yourself at the “ambush” point.

Deer hunters understand this. Think like a deer hunter when you fish.

Understand where the fish want to be, and intersect them. One big mistake an angler (or hunter) can make is to put himself/herself right in the travel zone. As a fly guide, I cannot explain how much it frustrates me to set someone up on a run and walk down river only to return to see my sport standing exactly in the spot where the fish might normally be.

It really is best to take a step back (literally), consider where the fish want to go, and make your cast from the ambush point. More often than not, “smart” fishing trumps “aggressive” fishing.