Author: Tom Keer
Carp-eh Diem
By Tom Keer A half-dozen boulders as large as a Volkswagen Beetle sat at the head of the pool, and trout held exactly where you’d expect them to be. Some were in the hollowed-out river bottom in front of each rock, others finned in the slow water inside the vee current while smaller fish drifted …...
The Bedford Sportsman: Closing Time
By Tom Keer The tangle of roadways that connect Manhattan with the rest of the world has always been a mystery to me. I suppose it’s a maze to everyone save for those who grew up in the Gotham shadows. Not getting lost might have been one of the biggest reasons I enjoyed heading to …...
Wingman
By Tom Keer There wasn’t a breath of air to be found anywhere below the cloudy-blue sky. The water’s surface was mirror-slick, and though it was the February full moon, the Full Snow Moon in fact, the dropping Bahamian tide moved slowly and gently like its people. The pelicans. palm trees, and work-boat hulls painted …...
The Swap Shop
Lenny Federico and the Swap Shop. by Tom Keer For the longest time there was always a red Vespa scooter parked next to the shed near the entrance way to recycling center. It was owned by Lenny Federico, a summer resident who, during the year, worked as a teacher in a suburb in the center …...
Fear or Fascination?
By Tom Keer Either way, Great White Sharks are here to stay. May on Martha’s Vineyard is a time when the island is in full stretch from its winter hibernation. Shops and restaurants are starting to open, striped bass fishermen looking for fresh arrivals haunt the beaches and salt ponds, and the peepers let everyone …...
POSH in the Joulters
‘Cause Fancy Camping is a Thing It was easy to see the Tongue of the Ocean’s black and blue water from the air. It’s color contrasted sharply with the turquoise brine that coated miles of white sand flats. Jacques Cousteau explored this area back in the ‘70s, but my black and white TV set didn’t …...
Welcome to Dogtown
My town’s year-round population hovers slightly north of 3,000 people. The town center is typically American. There are a few shops, a grocery store, plenty of package stores, and a lot of fishing boats. Two main arteries allow for safe passage. Main Street runs into town and Commercial Street goes to the wharf. If you …...
While everyone else sleeps
In season you won’t see too many of us striper hard cores kicking back PBR pounders at The Foc’s’le. We need something other than beer ‘cause that makes us sloppy. A cup of black coffee adds an edge, but too much and you’re exiting the water to pee. A healthy pinch of Copenhagen wintergreen longcut …...
On the Rocks
Every surfer and salt rodder knows that waves come in sets. Wait out the ankle slappers and you’ll be treated with a swell worthy of getting your wetsuit Sex Wax tacky. But while surfers love big seas those big waves make fishermen nervous. Waves burying a fisherman wading on a beach isn’t much fun; getting …...
Autumn on the Bay
Whenever folks ask me where I live I adopt my best body-builder pose, arm curled tight, and point just below my wrist inside of my forearm. My anatomical reference is to Wellfleet on outer Cape Cod. Everyone laughs but the biggest cackles come from Michiganders because they know what it’s like to chart geography on …...
