Allen Crater
The Stranger
We were due. I know it's presumptuous to believe a river owes you something, but I did, and could make a strong argument the sentiment...
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Stories
Allen Crater
Jun 1214 min read
You Get What You Need
The tent fly, sleeping bags, and assorted soggy fishing-wear flap restlessly on our makeshift clothesline. Thick-cut bacon sizzles in...
251 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Feb 66 min read
Where I'm From
Slip N-22 sits about halfway down the marina boardwalk. Our white, 37-foot, center-console bobs lazily in its moorings – manila lines...
217 views2 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 194 min read
My Pal, Joe
The percolator surges on a worn Coleman camp stove, sending savory streams of mahogany up the stem and into the glass top. Sporadic...
230 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 57 min read
Breaking Sticks
For me 2020 began the same way it probably did for many others – with a shiny new gym card. While I’ve never been much for New Year’s...
226 views2 comments
Allen Crater
Dec 22, 20235 min read
The Table That Dad Built
I've recently found myself traveling deep down a rabbit hole of historic Michigan deer camp images since being introduced to a Facebook...
373 views4 comments
Allen Crater
Nov 29, 202316 min read
Finish What You Start
It's Saturday. Wet snow slaps the wall tent in sloppy clumps. Somewhere, not far off, thunder peels – meteorological makings of the...
344 views6 comments
Allen Crater
Oct 15, 20239 min read
Wandering Wilderness
Seger's Against the Wind choruses in the background while lazy wipers slap back and forth and tires hum over damp blacktop...
66 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Aug 24, 20233 min read
River Right
"The earth is not just our environment. We are the earth and the earth is us. We have always been one ..." The words from Buddhist...
242 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 5, 20235 min read
The Truth According to a Fisherman
There's a placard hanging on the porch of the family cottage that reads "Headquarters for Hunters, Fishermen, Golfers, and other Liars."...
313 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 31, 20237 min read
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
It was June of 2019. Blake, Dad, and I were gathered around a fire on a tiny island deep in the Canadian backcountry on a trip that had...
275 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 17, 20232 min read
Until There Are No More Springs
The first grey hues of dusk begin to settle in, like a house guest who finally unpacks and eases into a comfy chair to share conversation...
449 views2 comments
Allen Crater
Mar 20, 202310 min read
Corps of Discovery
Sweat from every pore of my body was dripping onto the cursed stationary bike when the text from my buddy Mark buzzed through. "When we...
356 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Mar 3, 202310 min read
One For The Road
"There I sat on the ground, feeling really damned exposed, not knowing what to expect. The guide put me in a spot that had been getting...
109 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Feb 1, 202312 min read
Blue Skies and Bench Seats
As Steve disappeared over the snow-covered cliff, I remember thinking He's dead. Day one, and he's already dead. It was June of '94 and...
122 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 10, 20233 min read
For Everything There is a Season
I'm in the kitchen, because it's already dark, and I'm bored senseless; determined to remedy the situation with a few slices of salami,...
208 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Nov 30, 20226 min read
Eighty Octobers
Swinging each leg off the top bunk, I hopped down, my excitement a rolling boil, barely contained by the lid. Stocking feet hit the floor...
208 views3 comments
Allen Crater
Aug 30, 20224 min read
Chasing Blue Lines
Shivering cold, asses wetly planted inside the puddled, hastily assembled tent, soggy feet hanging outside the zippered doors while a...
231 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jul 6, 202211 min read
Going Native
"A spot opened up for the Bowman Island trip." It's Thursday, February third around 10:30 AM when the text from my buddy, Joe, comes...
365 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 20, 202211 min read
Don't Mention It
"The first rule of this river is that you don't talk about this river. At least by name." That's how the text read. "Understood." This...
562 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 5, 20228 min read
Five Loaves and Two Fish
I waded into the murky waters of fly fishing later in life, when my older son, Kyle, decided he wanted to learn, and requested a rod for...
505 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 20, 20227 min read
Dear Dad,
Kyle just pulled in the driveway, U-haul trailer in tow, after being in Montana for four years. It's hard to describe the feeling that...
378 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 4, 20228 min read
The Best Water Still Lies Ahead
The tartar-sauce-smeared walleye sandwich, deep-fried tater tots, and tall Two Hearted hit all the right notes – more than can be said...
771 views0 comments
Matt Peisert
Jan 21, 20228 min read
Friendships Forged From Fly Line
The bass bumps hard as Seth and Sarah belt out the lyrics to “Old Town Road” with the band. Everyone’s dancing, partying, and drinking...
336 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Dec 6, 202111 min read
Comfort Zone
It's black and silent. Deep in my subconscious something pulls me toward a light. A sound registers. Distant, but moving closer. Shuffled...
319 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Oct 12, 20213 min read
Among The Bones
I've had it. Had it with the traffic. The RVs and buses and vans. The gawkers and rubberneckers. The safety signs and orange cones. The...
252 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jul 31, 20214 min read
One Last Walk
We’re heading into the wooded grove that has been our go-to spot for so many Sunday outings. The place I learned to hunt as a boy, and...
1,081 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jul 26, 20219 min read
The Balm Of Adventure
It's mid July, hotter than hell, and the AC in the truck is out. We're cruising the highway with the windows down and the music up. At...
376 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 24, 20213 min read
The Preservation Of Fire
It snowed last night. Just a light dusting, but enough to turn things white again. We throw in another log and stoke the wood stove to...
688 views2 comments
Amber Casey
May 5, 20216 min read
My Why
In a world overrun by categories and labels, hunting is the great equalizer. The outdoors is one of the few places where age, gender,...
316 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Mar 15, 20214 min read
Can't Be Done
I distinctly remember flying around the old logging road corner watching the boat trailer roll up hard on one wheel. Way up. I was...
675 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 6, 20214 min read
A Moment
I recently finished reading Harrison's memoir "Off To The Side". Out of the many brilliant writings in this book, one paragraph...
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Allen Crater
Dec 16, 20205 min read
The Long Cut
A light snow begins to fall in the forest. Coming to rest on the boughs and carpeting the now-brown pine needles and shriveled ferns....
325 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Dec 7, 20204 min read
Bananas In The Boat
I'm a newbie to the world of upland hunting and, right out of the gate, I make a rookie mistake, asking Jon about his hunting dog on our...
265 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Nov 13, 202010 min read
Footprints
We cut our first elk tracks five miles in, post-holing our way through heavy snow often reaching past the knee. Kyle has taken the front,...
317 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Aug 18, 20205 min read
Return To Wind River
The overloaded pack creaks and groans in rhythm with the boots. One foot in front of the other. 12 miles behind us and just under two to...
259 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 30, 20204 min read
Parts Unknown
"OH SHIT!" The words erupt without permission after two quick strips and a metallic flash engulfs my streamer. The rod pulses wildly as...
445 views2 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 17, 20203 min read
Taking The Bronze
I can feel the sweat trickling down my back. The thermometer is already pushing 90 and the humidity is on the rise. Even the beer is...
178 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jun 10, 20202 min read
River Thoughts
“I choose to listen to the river for a while, thinking river thoughts, before joining the night and the stars.” If you've spent any time...
214 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 26, 20203 min read
The River Gives
It's May in Michigan. The season has been wet with weather that can't quite make up its mind. A few days ago we had the furnace running,...
355 views0 comments
Allen Crater
May 6, 20204 min read
Lucky Hats
As I released the third cuthroat in as many casts, I was once again reminded of the incredible power of lucky hats. It was a...
168 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Mar 21, 20204 min read
Embrace The Suck
It's military slang that means to consciously accept or appreciate something that is extremely unpleasant but unavoidable for forward...
1,798 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Mar 16, 20208 min read
A Letter To Mom
My friends, Pat and Amber Casey, are bad asses. It's as simple as that. Not only are they incredibly successful hunters and anglers in...
450 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 20, 20202 min read
Dog Years
Sunday mornings have always been our routine. Walks in the woods on Sunday mornings. And somehow she always knows what day of the week it...
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Allen Crater
Jan 14, 20208 min read
Fishing Yellowstone - Three Generations, Six Rivers, Four Days.
It was supposed to be a hunting trip. My oldest son, Kyle, moved to Bozeman in 2018 to attend college and since that time my dad and I...
152 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 5, 20207 min read
Sawtooth
A backpacking and fly fishing trip into the rugged Sawtooth Wilderness.
284 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 5, 20202 min read
Bonds of the Wild
This moment, like all moments, is fleeting. It lives again only in the stories of older men shared around a campfire in the wild.
105 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 5, 20202 min read
The Lessons Of Silver Creek
Sometimes it’s good for men my age to have things that remain unattainable. Things that are still unspoiled and left to the imagination.
125 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 5, 20202 min read
Season's End
November brings the end of a season and a longing for a more simple time.
132 views0 comments
Allen Crater
Jan 5, 20203 min read
Solace In The Solitude
Three friends take a road trip through Colorado to chase solitude and wide open spaces while searching for trout.
112 views0 comments
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