For the first day and a half of a remote camping trip, deep in the wilderness, away from the pressures of civilization, I am not relaxed.

I liken it to experiencing a form of detox, as I try to cleanse my body and mind of the poisons of modern life.

Constant connectedness. Instant gratification. The news cycle. Notifications and pings and check-ins and jobs to be done.

My mind is not settled. I want to float, but gravity keeps pulling me back down, as questions I can’t answer buzz around my head like mosquitoes I can’t swat.

“Is my family OK? Did I remember to set my auto-responder? Was now the right time to take this trip? What if something happens while I’m gone and I can’t help?”

Gravity keeps pulling.

Then, something happens that gives me the freedom to fully immerse myself in the world around me. A sunset appears over the water. A loon surfaces right next to my canoe. An eagle swoops down in front of me and scoops up a fish.

And suddenly, the gravity is gone and I am free.

Free from the news cycle. Free from the pressures of work. Free to enjoy a trip I intentionally planned for and wanted to take.

All the worries wash away. My senses are heightened. And the wild, beautiful place around me finally comes alive.

— Rob Wormley, Publisher

In the early 1800s, Japanese fishermen started doing something with their catch that had never really been done before.

They would coat one side of a fish in sumi ink, lay a sheet of rice paper over the body, and press down carefully until the shape came through. What came off the page was exact. The length, the curve of the body, the individual scales, the fin structure, all of it rendered directly from the animal itself. The date, the location, and the species were written alongside the print. Then the ink was rinsed off and the fish went to market or to the table like any other.

They called it gyotaku, from gyo meaning fish and taku meaning rubbing or impression.

What makes gyotaku unusual is that it never fully belonged to either science or art.

The prints were anatomically precise, accurate enough that researchers have used them to catalog species and track biodiversity over time. But they were also beautiful, and the people making them knew it. That tension between record and expression has been part of the practice since the beginning.

The prints spread through Japanese fishing communities over the next several decades. They were kept in journals and hung in homes. They were used to settle fishing competitions, and there's a persistent story that samurai used them to determine winners of their own contests. A gyotaku print was proof in a way no fish story could ever be.

Then the art side started to take over.

Fishermen began adding detail after the print dried. A brush stroke to bring out the eye. Color worked into the scales. Water and reeds sketched in around the body. What had been a record of a catch became a record worth looking at. By the 1950s, a group of enthusiasts in Tokyo had organized formal gyotaku exhibitions, and in 1964, Yoshio Hiyama published a book on the technique that carried it well beyond Japan.

The technique held on for decades. But as cameras became affordable and eventually made their way into everyone's pocket, the need to make a print faded with them.

And yet, a handful of artists have kept this centuries-old art form alive.

Naoki Hayashi has been making gyotaku since he was eleven years old. Working out of Kaneohe, Hawaii, he uses non-toxic acrylic paints and Japanese shoji paper to create prints in true-life color, composed the way the fish are actually found underwater. He's an avid diver and fisherman, and he only makes prints from fish that will be eaten. His philosophy is three words: catch, print, eat. He also teaches classes for anyone who wants to learn the process start to finish.

Becky Albright works out of Alexandria, Minnesota under the name MN Fish Art. Her subjects are the fish most of us actually chase up here. Walleye, northern pike, crappie, bluegill, bass. She uses the same basic techniques Japanese fishermen used in the 1800s, and the eye is always the last detail she paints before adding her signature and personal hanko stamp. As she puts it on her site, every fish has a tale.

And now, Gyotaku is starting to gain mainstream popularity again with anglers who ould probably never call themselves artists.

Why?

There's a growing pull toward doing things slowly. Disconnecting from technology. Working with your hands. Making something physical that takes time and attention rather than a second and a tap.

A handful of companies have started making it easy to try. Fishin' Prints sells complete kits with food-safe cuttlefish ink, cloth sheets, and brushes, everything you need to print a fish on the boat and then fillet and eat it afterward. Their standard pack runs about fifty dollars and includes enough material for several prints. The whole process takes five to ten minutes and requires no experience.

The gear is cheap, the process is quick, and the fish still ends up on your plate. Hard to find a reason not to try it once.

A few things worth knowing before you head out this week.

Every other week we feature one unforgettable fishing story from our community.

Last week at his family cabin, nine-year-old Minnesota angler Brooks Wormley was on the hunt for one fish and one fish only: the northern pike.

After an hour or so on the water, he landed what he was hoping for while using a loon-colored Whopper Plopper 60.

Location: Ojibway Lake, Northern Minnesota
Time of Day: 9am
Conditions: Sunny with mild wind

Ahead of every issue we send, we dig through forums, threads, and comment sections so you don't have to, and surface one piece of gear hunters and anglers are actually standing behind.

This week we're looking at the Blackbird XLC Gen3 camping hammock from Warbonnet Outdoors.

The Warbonnet Blackbird XLC is basically the ultimate 11-foot camping hammock for anyone who wants serious comfort on the trail. It’s the bigger sibling to the original Blackbird, giving taller folks (up to 6’6”) plenty of room to stretch out.

Thanks to its clever asymmetrical design, you get a super flat, comfortable lay instead of being folded up like a banana. Plus, the whole thing is modular, meaning you can easily swap out parts depending on the weather and how you like to camp.

Here's what buyers who’ve used it had to say on r/hammockcamping:

“Outside I sleep much better in the WM XLC with a wookie and their top quilt. The product quality is amazing and I’m often warm at 40F in casual wear. The top quilt is a rockstar level piece of gear and can be used with a pad above treeline.”

“I also use a blackbird xlc it is awesome. Had it for quite a while now, never an issue with it.”

“I have a Warbonnet Blackbird XLC, I use it for both summer and winter camping. I use a Warbonnet Superfly tarp with it. Some of the best sleep I have ever had a summer hang where there was heavy rain at night, the sound of the rain on the tarp put me into super deep sleep!”

“I have a WB BBXLC from years ago. that thing is a warhorse and it has the flattest lay of all my hammocks”

What really makes the XLC great is how livable it feels inside. It’s made from Warbonnet's custom Dream-Tex fabric, which is surprisingly soft but tough enough for the backcountry. It features a zip-off bug net that you can easily trade for a solid winter cover when the temperatures drop.

Throw in a dedicated footbox for extra legroom and a built-in storage shelf for your headlamp and phone, and you’ve got a perfectly dialed-in outdoor bed.

No camping trip is complete without a big bag of granola to munch on at the end of a long portage, while you’re in a canoe, or at your campsite before you go out fishing for the day.

If you’re looking for an easy recipe to try, take a look at this Chocolate Granola option from REI.

It’s loaded with nearly 500 calories per serving. Half the calories come from easily-accessible carbohydrates while the other half come from slower burning fats & protein, providing blend of rapid energy for now and long burning fuel for later.

That's it for this week. Get out there when you can. We'll see you next time.

— OUTFIT