Tom’s Blog: Life

Father's Day, the day I thank the man who took me fishing. On November 22, 1969 Dad turned 49. Two days later he was dead. I was 22 and my first son turned 1 that day. It is something that you don’t recover from, rather you incorporate it into your ... Read More

May 4, 2018 - West Point Fly Fishing Club – It is 1700 hours and we are walking along the path to Washington Hall, adjacent The Plain. We pass General Patton and head toward Ike when the bugle sounds retreat and a loud shot from a vintage canon is heard ... Read More

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall... R. Frost The signs say No swimming, No dogs, No dogs even if they are on a leash, No trespassing, Beach ends here, Stay out. Go home! Not really but that is the intent. I can understand wanting to protect the nesting ... Read More

December 20, 2017 - Long Island - Caleb Smith State Park is one of the Jewels of Long Island trout fishing and it has been managed by one dedicated professional for the last 27 years - Clarence Ware (a life-time member of TU). The time has come for him to ... Read More

Honoring those who gave their lives during the wars, all the wars. Too many wars. The red poppies symbolizing blood spilled. Blood. Used to be Decoration Day - a day to put flowers on the graves of the Civil War dead, both Blue and Gray. Flowers. Not a day for ... Read More

I am a reader, a slow one but a reader none the less. In this fast paced world of social media many of us are losing the patience to, and forfeiting the joy of curling up with a good book. The thing is we get all of our information in ... Read More

Quiet. On the beach with Otto. No wind so the cold doesn’t penetrate. Sun. Tide is low exposing the beach with the rocks and pebbles that I detested when first introduced, brought up on the fine sands of the south shore. Now they welcome me with more color and texture ... Read More

September 20, 2016 – Tuesday At the Long Island Trout Unlimited meeting tonight, Sol announced that our friend and colleague Jack Pangburn passed away. Sadness overcame the room. When the guys planned the first LI Fly Fishing Expo last spring, they invited Jack to be a part of it. He ... Read More

My good friend and childhood fishing partner, Dave O’Connell, just published his first book: Potage, A Cook’s Primer. I love the book (and Dave) and want to let all of you out there know about it. It's about much more than soup, so please read on. I had to think ... Read More