Hail, Columbia

A bittersweet hunt for dabblers & divers

The mercury stood glued to the freezing point as we slid the skiff off of the trailer and into the river. Accustomed to sub-zero waterfowling on spring-fed creeks in Montana, I shouldn’t have been intimidated by the temperature. But the dense layer of ice fog shrouding the Columbia hid the sun and made the air feel as if the thermometer was stretching the truth by 20 degrees. As the outboard roared to life and we accelerated away from the bank, the chill cut straight through my woolens. When I pointed out that hunting divers on open water is traditionally a cold, miserable affair, my wife, Lori, fixed me... Read More »

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