Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 7 9 Chris Dorsey O n o c a t i o n L J im Belushi has accomplished a lot in life, but he's still waiting to bag his first elk. In addition to his prolific work in movies, TV, improvisational comedy, and live music, Belushi recently decided to revive his long-latent love for the outdoors. I had the pleasure of being there—camera in tow—to capture Belushi on his quest while producing shows for my company, Orion Entertainment. I've learned that with Belushi around, there's always plenty of action, even when the game doesn't provide it. I experienced this not long ago when he joined me for an elk hunt at Willow Creek Ranch in Montana during a shoot for Ram Outdoorsman, which appears on the Outdoor Channel. During the taping, we spent two days tracking elk and eventually came upon two huge bulls As the sun went down, we knew exactly where to find the beasts come daylight. As Belushi later recounted, the next morning he woke at 4:50 a.m. to relieve himself, but when he did, he felt an intense pain in his back. Undeterred and eager to bag an elk, he went to the kitchen to prepare for the hunt. Then all of a sudden, he fell to the floor in pain. We rushed him to the hospital to discover he had a kidney stone. Belushi tells it like this: "The morphine they gave me felt like children's aspirin. Then they kicked me up to Fentanyl, and at that point, I wanted to marry the nurse. She ended my suffering, and I was in love with her. I was the lion with When you're hunting or angling with Jim Belushi, the adventure and misadventure are each part of the story. a thorn in its paw, and she plucked it out." It's no surprise that a man who can make kidney stones entertaining does the same for fly fishing. In the Bahamas taping episodes for Buccaneers & Bones, which also appears on the Outdoor Channel, Belushi fit right in with our all-star cast of anglers as he tried his hand at the sport. At Bair's Lodge on Andros Island, Belushi learned from the best—namely, Lefty Kreh. Within ten minutes of practicing on land, Kreh had him casting over bushes and into corners on a dime. Belushi was confident, admitting he was "pretty good." Later that day, on the water looking for bonefish, the guide told Belushi to cast at eleven o'clock. "So I just go for it," says Belushi. "And the next thing I know, I'm all tangled in line and the hook's taking a piece out of me. Turns out I'm a great fly caster on land but out on the water is another story." Despite his learning curve, Belushi caught a lot of bonefish and accomplished one of his most dubious angling achievements when he ventured out with Jimmy Kimmel and Huey Lewis. While on the boat, Lewis and Belushi sang old blues songs together, and he and Kimmel constructed jokes. They even did some fishing. "Jimmy tried to teach me one thing," says Belushi. "He brought his cellphone out in a plastic, waterproof bag. I thought that was overkill." Soon the guide pointed at the water, directing Belushi where to J immy Kimmel, Chris Dorsey, and Jim Belushi on the set of Buccaneers & Bones. Chris Dorsey