Russ Mohney was a freelance writer on outdoor subjects. Trained as a naturalist, he specialized in fish behavior, which led to his becoming an ardent angler and lure maker. He had published over 300 articles in outdoor magazines, as well as eight books on the outdoors including, Why Wild Edibles?, Master Backpacker, and Make It and Take It. He had fished over most of the West, as well as Alaska, Asia, and South America. He wrote and broadcasted a daily program on the outdoors for radio stations in Centralia, Washington.