Thanks to everybody for the additional comments. Here are some from me:
I quit writing about fishing mostly because articles about hunting and guns paid better. I suspect this is because almost everybody in North America lives where they can fish pretty easily, and fishing doesn't involve the frequent difficulties like finding a place to hunt or shoot. As a result, it's far easier to write about fishing than shooting and hunting, so fishing magazines get flooded by contributions--which drives the price per article down. Not many people live where they can hunt and shoot a lot, and I got lucky by being born and raised in Montana, but even then when I grew up and bought a house, made a conscious decision to live right where I could hunt and shoot within five minutes (which is now impossible in Bozeman, the town where I grew up).
Eventually the average price for fishing articles was so much less it was a no-brainer to quit writing them. When I told Eileen about my decision, we both thought it would be really nice to fish for fun, without the hassle of taking photos and the other stuff involved in articles. Instead we could just go fishing to relax, like "normal" people. But instead, I got so busy writing hunting and firearms articles that more of fishing season was used for hunting and shooting, so there was less time for fishing. Right now I'm in the process of "semi-retiring," attempting to cut back my work schedule by, hopefully, about half. (Writers, like gunsmiths, rarely really retire. They just write less.) One of the things we'd like to do with the time is fish more, though now Eileen often has problems getting enough "spare" time, because she keeps writing cookbooks, and she had the great idea of starting our website and publishing company. As they continue to grow, SHE spends more time working!
Geno, yes, I do retain the copyright to everything I write, though a few magazines buy some rights for the first year. I have thought about doing a more general-interest book, but the problem is, once again, making money. My rifle books sell better than anything else I do, even books on big game hunting, probably because most hunters only spend a limited amount of time in the field, but dink with their rifles year-round. We have to regularly order new printings the rifle books--even my first, OBSESSIONS OF A RIFLE LOONY, which I wrote a decade ago. GUN GACK 1 (which appeared in 2015) is now in its 5th or 6th printing, but we reprint the hunting books far less often, even though people who buy them like them. There just isn't as much market for hunting stuff, which is why so many hunting magazines run so many gun articles these days--including "hunting stories" that are actually thinly-disguised gun articles, where somebody "field tests" a new rifle or shotgun.
Kellywk, Believe I have quoted Finn a few times on that, but know Phil Shoemaker has as well! We both knew Finn, and appreciated his thoroughness and honesty.
