Below the Surface II

The Upper Mississippi River is not as muddy as some people think. If the surface of the water is calm, I can usually see down four or five feet. Even then, any lack of clarity is due more to organic matter than to mud. I assume that downstream of its confluence with...

Below the Surface

I have written in various essays that I don’t have to catch fish to enjoy fishing. That is a true statement. I have fun on fishing trips where I never find the fish. I have places on the river I call my secret fishing spots, secret not because they guarantee fish, but...

Rivertown

In July and August I did not get on the Mississippi River even once. I walked along the river almost every day, but never put a boat in the water. Last Wednesday I finally went fishing from my canoe and, with the first cast, wondered why I’d waited so long.  I...

A Series of Events

By the time you read this, my friend Dave will have had a hip replacement. Last week he asked Stefan and me to join him at a corner tavern for a last outing before his scheduled surgery. Over two pitchers of beer and a large tray of unshelled peanuts, Dave, Stefan,...
Steven Simpson