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 12
- 14 min
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...
243 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Feb 6
- 6 min
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...
206 views2 comments
Allen Crater
- Jan 19
- 4 min
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...
220 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jan 5
- 7 min
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...
218 views2 comments
Allen Crater
- Dec 22, 2023
- 5 min
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...
320 views4 comments
Allen Crater
- Nov 29, 2023
- 16 min
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...
336 views6 comments
Allen Crater
- Oct 15, 2023
- 9 min
Wandering Wilderness
Seger's Against the Wind choruses in the background while lazy wipers slap back and forth and tires hum over damp blacktop. The years...
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Allen Crater
- Aug 24, 2023
- 3 min
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...
240 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 5, 2023
- 5 min
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."...
302 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 31, 2023
- 7 min
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...
269 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 17, 2023
- 2 min
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...
443 views2 comments
Allen Crater
- Mar 20, 2023
- 10 min
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...
354 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Mar 3, 2023
- 10 min
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...
106 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Feb 1, 2023
- 12 min
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...
121 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jan 10, 2023
- 3 min
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,...
191 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Nov 30, 2022
- 6 min
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...
187 views2 comments
Allen Crater
- Aug 30, 2022
- 4 min
Chasing Blue Lines
Shivering cold, asses wetly planted inside the puddled, hastily assembled tent, soggy feet hanging outside the zippered doors while a...
228 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jul 6, 2022
- 11 min
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...
364 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 20, 2022
- 11 min
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...
561 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 5, 2022
- 8 min
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...
497 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 20, 2022
- 7 min
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...
373 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 4, 2022
- 8 min
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...
767 views0 comments
Matt Peisert
- Jan 21, 2022
- 8 min
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...
334 views1 comment
Allen Crater
- Dec 6, 2021
- 11 min
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...
312 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Oct 12, 2021
- 3 min
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...
251 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jul 31, 2021
- 4 min
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...
1,080 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jul 26, 2021
- 9 min
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...
373 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 24, 2021
- 3 min
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...
667 views2 comments
Amber Casey
- May 5, 2021
- 6 min
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,...
314 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Mar 15, 2021
- 4 min
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...
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Allen Crater
- Jan 6, 2021
- 4 min
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, 2020
- 5 min
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....
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Allen Crater
- Dec 7, 2020
- 4 min
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...
260 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Nov 13, 2020
- 10 min
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,...
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Allen Crater
- Aug 18, 2020
- 5 min
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...
256 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 30, 2020
- 4 min
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...
444 views2 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 17, 2020
- 3 min
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...
176 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jun 10, 2020
- 2 min
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...
213 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- May 26, 2020
- 3 min
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,...
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Allen Crater
- May 6, 2020
- 4 min
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...
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Allen Crater
- Mar 21, 2020
- 4 min
Embrace The Suck
It's military slang that means to consciously accept or appreciate something that is extremely unpleasant but unavoidable for forward...
1,797 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Mar 16, 2020
- 8 min
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...
448 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jan 20, 2020
- 2 min
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...
153 views0 comments
Allen Crater
- Jan 14, 2020
- 8 min
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...
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Allen Crater
- Jan 5, 2020
- 7 min
Sawtooth
A backpacking and fly fishing trip into the rugged Sawtooth Wilderness.
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Allen Crater
- Jan 5, 2020
- 2 min
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.
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Allen Crater
- Jan 5, 2020
- 2 min
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.
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Allen Crater
- Jan 5, 2020
- 2 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
Solace In The Solitude
Three friends take a road trip through Colorado to chase solitude and wide open spaces while searching for trout.
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