Stone-Cold Awesome

I awoke in a stupor, exhausted, alarm blaring at 3:30 a.m. My body on autopilot, I noticed the light coating of snow on the truck before piling my gear inside. I sat alongside Brian Malchoff. Our silence was comfortable, the kind we’ve shared on many occasions during our summers guiding together in Alaska.

We drove westward, with cold weather and a clear winter sky greeting us. We were not here to be warm or comfortable; we were going to fish the Niagara River near Lewiston, one of the most dynamic fisheries in western New York for steelhead.

Brian and I checked our egos at the car as we slipped into our waders and boots, still wet from the day prior. The steep hike into the 300-foot