CPA vs. wild.

• Position: Finalentry - Interview

What is so great about the outdoors?

Experiencing all the sights. sounds. smells and sensations of the natural world really helps bring 111V mind and soul back into balance especially after a long week of poring over numbers, the tax code and the latest FASB promulgations!

Where is your favorite pastoral hideaway in the Napa Valley?

Definitely high on my list is floating in a boat on the waters of' Lake Hennessey on a warm spring day. I also really enjoy hiking the trails of Skyline Park in Napa's newly designated Coombsville Appellation.

Tell us about the one that got away.

I've landed lots of amazing fish in my time. including one that even stood as a state record for a while. but those that get away are the ones you can't forget. I suppose one that stands out is a. big German brown trout that escaped me a few years back on a trip in Oregon. I had cast no. hire near a submerged log and was retrieving it along its length in hopes that a big brown was hiding there. Sure enough, a giant trout launched itself From behind the log and snatched my lure! The hunker immediately leaped out of the water to my right, then zoomed to my left and caught air again, collided with the hull of my boat on a third jump, and then dashed away and snapped my line. It all happened in a matter of seconds.

How did you get into writing your column?

The gig with the Napa killer Register began in 2007 when my lather, who had been writing the paper's outdoor column for 20 N.-v a r s had become stricken with leukemia. Alter a very long, difficult and painful battle, he realized that he was not going to overcome the disease and asked if I wanted to take over writing the column after the inevitable. It was a very emotional decision For me during an incredibly difficult time. I accepted his request, not quite sure what I was getting into or lo how long I would keep doing it. Since then I've really taken to outdoor writing and made it my own creation and discovering a voice I never knew I had!

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What's the biggest threat to your neck of the woods?

As California's population grows, and WC claim ever more of. its natural lands as our domain. the indigenous wildlife to these landwill face an increasing struggle to survive. This is nowhere more evident than in our natural waterways. The species most impacted here are We native salmon and steelhead trout. Dams have eliminated a vast percentage or the natural spawning grounds. Diversion .s of water to the...