The Sportsman's Corner

I have been fly-fishing for more than 50 years. During these years, I have caught a fair number of beautiful trout and have seen a good many unusual things. One of the most unusual "buildings" I ever ran into was a tarpaper teepee that popped up along an obscure section of Black Midnight Creek about 20 years ago.

I first noticed the teepee one morning when I was nymph-fishing my way upstream. I had just crossed the creek to approach a shallow run when I realized something was different. Only 15 yards off the right bank of the creek was a new triangular structure. When I gave it a closer look, I saw that it was a teepee, constructed with tarpaper and some old roofing shingles that were wrapped around several long poles the builder must have found lying nearby on the forest floor. I noticed that an old foot path had been reopened from a four-wheeler trail. The builder must have used the path to drag his materials down over a steep bank to the small flat area where he had constructed his teepee.

I looked inside, expecting to see a bare earthen floor. Instead, I discovered the ground was covered with several layers of old blankets.

It was probably a year later when I ran into the man who had built the teepee. I was again fishing with nymphs, which requires me to concentrate on what I am doing. I was startled by a loud "Hey, dude, what's happening?" when I was adjacent to the teepee. I saw a short, ruggedly built man standing outside the teepee.

"I'm trying to catch a few trout," I said.

"Well, dude, if you're a catch-and release guy, maybe you could put some in the water above the little dam I've built."

"Sure," I replied as his dog, a large yellow lab ran up to me.

"Don't worry, dude. Dog is friendly."

After a short conversation, I continued upstream.

I ran into him only one more time, about a year later. That summer morning his lovely, brunette girlfriend was with him. She was sitting on a chair, reading a book, and appeared to be enjoying communing with nature – outside the teepee. She also made sure I knew that the dog's name was not really "Dog."

The following spring I found that the tarpaper teepee had burned down. I suspected that riders who had passed by on four-wheelers had torched it. The teepee was the most unusual "building" I have ever encountered on any of my fishing adventures.