Modern Huntsman Volume 12
Working with good friends on creative projects might be as fun as it gets. Seeing them through from concept to completion is always challenging, isn’t always even possible, and isn’t always the point, but when it does all come together, the reward - a shared one - is all the better because there are more people to celebrate with.
Over the past half-year or so, I’ve been working on a project with three other great fishing friends and I’m excited to announce that the final product is now out in the world: Modern Huntsman Volume 12. The magazine’s editor is Chris Dombrowski, a favorite author of mine, and there are also stories from Peter Heller, Sarah Roberts, and Peter Fong, among many others.
While the actual piece came together last winter and spring, it was really years in-the-making, as we fished together over a couple seasons. “Swimmers”, my story about fishing for migratory tarpon in Florida, is a collaboration with photographer and artist Bre Drake, along with boat builder Wilds Drake, and our favorite tarpon guide, Capt. Andy Lee.
Laying hands on the issue, I’m struck by its weight and its quality. This is a keepsake, 200 pages of inspiring writing and photography on pristine paper. It’s intoxicating - both the individual stories and the publication itself; it looks and it smells amazing.
The issue is available to purchase now on the Modern Huntsman website. Below is the opening paragraph but get yourself a copy to see and read the whole thing!
At the end of the day, when I take my first step onto the dock, it’ll feel like I’m still on the boat. By then, my body will be tuned to the swell, my hips, knees and ankles rocking, bending and adjusting naturally to the rhythm of the waves. That first step is disorienting - the ground seems to be moving but I know it’s not - and it’s also satisfying to think that I’ve been on the water so long that it’s now my equilibrium, my baseline. Until then, I’m still finding my sea legs…
