The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

tenkara, conservation, communications, politics

Key grip and trout wrangler at the Middle River Group, LLC. Playing Doc Holliday to the Wyatt Earps of the fish and wildlife conservation world. Deputy Director, Marine Fish Conservation Network. Guide and instructor, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. Freelance outdoor writer.

Mojo | The Week That Is: A Storm Front Moves Into Red State Wyoming

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Mountain Journal founder Todd Wilkinson and I join forces for our “The Week That Is,” column where we discuss topical events relating to the nation’s capital city and the public land West.

Our conversation this time centers around Rep. Liz Cheney and how her reelection in Wyoming may tell us where our nation is headed politically.

TODD WILKINSON: You alluded to it in August, Tom, that following Labor Day you wanted to discuss the ongoing challenges facing US Rep. Liz Cheney coming from members of her own party. The Republican Primary is about a year away and it is likely to be a rhetorically turbulent time ahead.
TOM SADLER: Yes, I think Cheney and her political situation are shining a spotlight on a big problem for not only the Republican party but for our country. 

Read it here > A Storm Front Moves Into Red State Wyoming

MoJo | A City Kid Awakens To The Value of Wild Life Conservation

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One of the rewards of writing for Mountain Journal is hearing from readers. Gabe Castro-Root, an incoming freshman at American University in Washington, D.C., wrote to Todd Wilkinson and me to let us know that a recent trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks inspired him to learn more about the region’s ecosystem—and become a scribe to defend it.

Read my interview with Castro-Root > A City Kid Awakens To The Value Of Wild Life Conservation.

Mojo | The Week That Is: On Tracy Stone-Manning, Doing Dumb Things In Your 20s And The Game Of ‘Gotcha’

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Mountain Journal founder Todd Wilkinson and I join forces for our “The Week That Is,” column where we discuss topical events relating to the nation’s capital city and the public land West.

Our conversation this time centers around why Tracy Stone-Manning, Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, has given rise to one of the worst aspects of the confirmation process and what that means for people who want to serve in government.

Read it here > On Tracy Stone-Manning, Doing Dumb Things In Your 20s And The Game Of ‘Gotcha’

Let’s ditch the “hero” shot for the “here” shot.

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I’m adding my voice to the increasing loud chorus of fly anglers who are tired of seeing “hero shots” of fish, especially trout. During this summer (or likely future) of high heat and water temps, the price of that ego stroke may very well be a dead fish. Ain’t nobody got time for that shit these days.

Todd and I wrote about this for MoJo awhile back > Fishing’s ‘Hero Pose’: How Do The Fish Feel?

Louis Cahill of Gink and Gasoline fame, wrote with a little more directness in Nobody Wants To See Your Rotting Corpse. Here is a taste that made my grumpy old man heart smile…

You want to prove you’re a better angler than everyone else? Just talk louder. That’s what every other beer swilling asshole at the local bar does! Just go down to the fly shop and blubber for an hour or two about how you only catch grass carp on 7X with dry flies and how everything else is bullshit. The end result will be the same. Everyone will know you’re an asshole and you don’t have to kill a fish and take out a Facebook ad to prove it!

Here’s a suggestion from TU’s Josh Duplechian Take photos of the scenery, not the fish while on the boat. This is why this is such a great suggestion.

Think about those fish photos you have. If you are like me you may have a hard time remembering where you caught it. Sure you may remember the river but what about the place where the fish ate the fly? For me that landscape shot, like the one below gets me thinking “yeah I remember that brookie eating right there…” Yup I’m reliving the moment all over again. The fish picture just won’t do that for me. Let’s ditch the hero shot for the scenery shot.

ah, memories…

Respect the resource and lead by example. Keep the fish in the water and enjoy the moment for what it is. Now you’re a hero.

General Milley is not having it.

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The GOP seems to have an endless supply of performative outrage. The teaching of critical race theory seems to the latest for the “getting knickers in a twist” crowd.

The GOP clown show tried to get some coverage for their outrage by raising it in a congressional hearing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.

Austin correctly summed up the line of questioning as “spurious.”

Milley’s response is a master class on how to respond. He’s commentary has been widely shared, as well it should be.

I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned and noncommissioned officers, of being, quote, ‘woke’ or something else because we’re studying some theories that are out there.”

Watch and learn.

https://youtu.be/3uIZ4C3Y0Ng?t=313