Measuring fish is not a science. It’s an art form. Establishing the length of a trout, for example, should never be confined to a one-dimensional instrument such as an ordinary ruler.  Rulers, after all, are made and designed by mortals and are thus subject to error. I caught a brook trout on the Moorman’s river one day, removed the hook and gently released him back into the pool. A … [Read more...]

  The most visited island in Hawaii? If you said Oahu, home of Honolulu, you’d be wrong. It’s Maui, the second largest island. But this is a recent phenomenon. Today  Maui is known for two things. Whales and jaws. But not jaws as in sharks, but “jaws” as in the fury of tidal waves crashing along a certain beach on the western coast. This is surfing country and a  place the locals … [Read more...]

  Last week I ran an article on water snakes written byJ.D. Kleopfer, an expert in snake-ology. Basically, he said there are no cottonmouth moccasins in Central Virginia. They all live near the coast. Yet, everyday someone will see a water snake and swear it was a cottonmouth. Black snakes are another species that are misunderstood. We once had a small cottage on a lake in Greene … [Read more...]

  Our last island stop was Kauai, known as the Garden Island. It is a place of extreme beauty. We spent a day and a half on Kauai after docking at Nawiliwili Bay. I like that name – Na-Wili-Wili. I like the place, too. Yesterday I played golf, and then Nancy and I went on one of the recommended tours with a train ride through a working plantation and then a Luau. The plantation tour was … [Read more...]

By Jim Brewer If by the grace of God, I am given a free and undeserved pass to heaven, I expect to meet St. Peter - not at the Pearly Gates - but on the entrance to a fishing pier and greeted this way. “Here is a Penn rod and reel, Jim. You can spend eternity on this pier and the fish are biting.” I am truly happy on a pier, most any pier, and it’s been that way since I was a child, … [Read more...]

I have been writing outdoor columns for over 30 years. I thought it would be fun to go back in the archives and print a few of the oldies. Below is the first in this series.   Go Easy on the Scent Wafers   It was my annual bow hunt in Bath County, an opportunity to fell a deer with a deadly shot to the heart. Trouble is, for the past couple seasons, my arrows have remained … [Read more...]