If you haven’t had a chance to check out the 2021 CURRENT, below is an excerpt from Kirk Deeter’s feature article and profile of artist/angler Paul Puckett titled “Off the Wall” (pg 64).
“I have a number of Paul’s pieces on my office wall, which I look at when I creative kick start—James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, cigar in one hand, brook trout in the other... Bill Murray as Ernie “Big Ern” McCracken from the comedic classic “Kingpin,” combover hair mussed, bowling shirt with piping, and a permit hoisted overhead in place of the bowling ball. I dunno, is there any better way to capture landing a permit on the y than triumphant “Big Ern?”
I had a chance to chat with Paul from our respective COVID bunkers to ask a few questions and talk about where we’re going to go when we get to bust loose on another story...
KIRK: Tell me about the mural at Trouts... how did that come about?
PAUL: Scott Wells made that connection, and it was in the peak COVID season this past spring. I had missed a couple of trips by then and was eager to do something. It’s not typically the type of work I’d do, but the thought of someone else doing it irritated me. So I hopped on a plane, we came up with some concepts, worked from some photos, and projected it on the wall. And then we just connected the dots…” – Kirk Deeter
About the author: Kirk Deeter is the Editor-in-Chief of Trout Unlimited’s Media Group. He’s also an editor-at large for Field & Stream, and the editor of Angling Trade, the business-to-business media group that covers fly fishing in North America. He is the author of several books, most notably The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing. His work has also appeared in Wired, Outside, Men’s Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Garden & Gun, and many other publications. Known for his o beat, “out there” story angles, he’s covered fishing on five continents, from the tip of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina to north of the Arctic Circle in Russia, from the Tasmanian highlands to the Amazon jungle. He lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah.
About the artist: Paul Puckett, a Texas native, studied art at The University of North Texas while working in a fly shop in Dallas, Texas called, Westbank Anglers (Blue Drake Outfitters). There, he gained a further knowledge of the fly fishing world. He went on to finish school in 2000 and moved to Jackson, Wyoming for 4 years where he soaked in some of the most beautiful scenery and trout that a 25-year-old could. During a brief time in Atlanta, Paul worked at The Fish Hawk and was determined to make art in the fishing world his life. Finally, moving to Charleston, South Carolina, where he currently makes his home, he is constantly pursuing the next creative challenge and gets distracted by the Low Country tides and tailing redfish. Paul has been fortunate to fish all over the world with some of his good friends in places such as the Seychelles, Honduras, the Bahamas, Argentina, Cuba, Yucatan of Mexico and the greater US.
