Out and about

Out and about trying to learn the new camera.  Forgive the lack of fish in this post...

Just a few pics from the Motherland

Special place...the North Shore of Lake Superior is.

Sticking to Poetry

With Jon Johnson gone and with him, all of the cool stickers that I had accumulated over the past few years I decided to send out a few emails to reload my decal stash.

Here is the email I sent to a few select companies whose gear I like:

My old boats gone and with it too,

The cool decals I got from you.

My new boat sits now unadorned,

Looking naked feeling scorned.

If you've a chance with decals to spare,

If you have time and wouldn't care,

If you have stickers one, two or four,
hell if you're willing I'll take more.

Her hull could use a brand new coat,
Please spare some decals for my boat.


And the outcome...

__________________________________________________________________

I must say, in 5 years of working here and reading a ton of emails, no one has so creatively and poetically requested stickers from us : ) Of course we will send you some stickers! : ) Thank you for your support and please let me know, whether in prose or email jargon, if I can help with anything else.

Thank you and have a great weekend! 

Cheers,

XXXXXXXXXXXX
General Manager
Hatch Outdoors Inc.
1001 Park Center Dr.
Vista, CA 92081

______________________________________________________________

Hi,

 

Thanks for sending the best sticker request I’ve seen!  We’d be happy to send out some sticker for your new boat.  We will get those out to you within the next week.

All the best,

XXXXXX

Patagonia Customer Service

___________________________________________________________
 Hello, Thank you for your email, I will be more than happy to send you some RIO decals. If you have not included you mailing information in the request please send it to me. The decals will go out to you the next business day. Happy Fishing ! 

XXXXXX @ RIO

_______________________________________________________________ 

Good evening,

Thank you for your beautiful request of decals with words of rhyme.  I am sending you a link below, as we sell them online.
http://www.orvis.com/store/product_search_tnail.aspx?keyword=stickers

Best Regards,
XXXXXXXX
Orvis Customer Service
customerservice@orvis.com
1-888-235-9763

 REALLY ORVIS??

Summer Diversions

It's been awhile since my last post.  I've been digging in trying to squeeze the last drop out of summer.  Here is the update (just to justify a distinct lack of fish stories).

Title: South Dakota.

My wife and I decided to take the kids on a "Great American Road Trip".   South Dakota's great prairies, the Badlands, Black Hills, Wall Drug, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse... we hit it all.  This was the first time since we've been married that I did not pack a fly rod.  I didn't even stash one in the secret compartment in the back of my Honda Pilot.  No rod, No fishing.  I survived and actually had a swell time.

Me, shooting pics.  No fly rod, but I had a camera...

The Badlands of SD - 1

The Badlands of SD - 2

The Badlands of SD - 3

The Badlands of SD - 4

The Badlands of SD - 5

The Badlands of SD - 6

Crazy Horse as seen from the parking lot.

Crazy Horse as seen from Crazy Horse's Arm...my girls admiring close up.

Crazy Horse as seen from the bottom of the mountain.

Four Presidents worth admiring

Needles Hwy

Custer State Park Buffalo herd

Buffalo - After 60 million buffalo were reduced to 600 the reintroduction of these critters required specimens from the Bronx Zoo...  Another hatchery program - BONK!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've always wanted to try that... (fly fishing)

"You flyfish?  I've always wanted to try that..." 
I've heard it a hundred times.  I recently heard it again from the father of one of my daughter's friends.   The difference is this:

1. 1 week after I heard him say the words "I've always wanted to try that" (or at least some variation on the theme) he enrolled in a free intro to fly fishing class from the local Orvis store.

2. Prior to enrolling he ordered himself a rod, a reel and a line.

3. 4 days after the class he met me for some evening fishing...where we worked in some very basic intro casting stuff for 10 minutes and then he spent the next 3 hours giving it hell (2 of those hours were after dark)

4. Last night he sent me a text (this is now 5 days after the class) after taking his family up north to a place on a lake.  I think it's OK to print the text here because it isn't really private information and it's awesome.  The text said, "Got the monkey off my back.  Was fishing before we had even unloaded the car had landed 6 bass in 15 min". 
The best part of this text ISN'T that he caught his first fly rod fish...it's the enthusiasm.  My favorite line: "...before we had even unloaded the car."

5: Text from later that night: "Total for today: Scored on 7 lmb, 1 northern, 1 walley, 1 bgill. none of these were of any size.  [He names his wife here] now believes in flyfishing!"

6: I texted him back: "All on the fly?"

7: His response? - "All on the fly.  I didn't bring my other fishing gear."

I just love this.

Birding with 6

My grand intention was to get the boat on the water and look for some carp feeding on the mudflats of a local river.
My grand intention was dashed due to a number of domestic distractions that I will not take the time to list here. 
When my 9 year old daughter left for soccer my 6 year old daughter turned to me for entertainment and I suggested we grab our cameras and go for a walk.  She was hell bent on shooting some bird pictures as she's seen me do over the past few days.
I have to admire her.   She stuck with it for 90 minutes and even took it upon herself to do some brush busting to get "the shots".
Here is a sample of her work as we strolled a path near a local waterway:

Dead Bluegill - hand held / full zoom

Turtle on a log - hand held / full zoom

Mourning Dove - hand held / full zoom

Here are a few images from my day:

6 - getting in position for the shot

6- scouting

6 - getting the turtle shot

White Bass fining

Gills

A small Large Mouth Bass &  Bluegill

Polarizing Filter On

Polarizing Filter Off

The young guys and Ink

At the recent Fly Fishing Film Tour (Fly fishing's winter gala celebration and top notch ointment for the shack nasties) I ran across an acquaintance of mine at the post show "social".  We'll call him "Jake".  Jake is full on fly fishing sick with a side order of jug band.  He reminds me a little of my former self (less the jug band) back when fishing 3 days a week was considered "fishing part-time".  Two things worth mentioning and the purpose for my post.
1. Jake was probably one of the 10 youngest guys (not counting 10 year olds with their dads) at the event...a gathering which, from a distance, probably looked like a talent screening for a Poligrip commercial.   Fly fishing is looking old, withered and gray.  Excellent for the old guys, as it gives them something to do and keeps them dreaming and active.  Bad for the sport and the manufacturers of fly fishing equipment.  It's astonishing that Farmville or Call of Duty grabs and holds the attention of our youth more than say, a double haul and fresh air.  Good on ya Jake for being one of the (few) younger guys.
2. You cannot be an on-the-fence, wannabe dabbler in the dark arts of fly fishing.  You either are...or you are not.  If you are not...it's no problem.  If you ever decide that you are "all in", might I suggest a 1/2 sleeve of Hex like Jake's.    (He's all in.)

Well played Jake and thanks for sharing the water and the art.

Little Brother

I called my little brother today to talk to him about some details for our upcoming fall steelhead float on the Deschutes.  We discussed moon phase and float vs jet weekends and a few other pre-pre trip topics.  He mentioned that if I subscribed to Fly Rod & Reel magazine that I might see a picture of him in the Winter 2013 issue.  As I am not a subscriber but seeing as I was heading into the city that night for a dinner out with my family, I stopped by a bookstore and picked up a copy.

At the store I quickly flipped through the pages and then found the shot...my little brother photographed from the back, with a leaping steelhead in the background.  Cool shot.  When I got home I opened the rag to have another look and to see what the article (that he was pictured in) was about.  As it turns out, the story is about my brother and his 3 friends and their annual winter steelhead camp.  I skimmed the story and then called my brother..."Hey man are you 'Viking'?".
The writer chose to use the character's nicknames in the story.  My brother, "Yeah that's me....".   he mentioned that he had a pic in the mag but failed to tell me that he played a prominent role in the story.  If you haven't read it, I might suggest you get a copy.

Later in the same conversation he said, "Have you ever read The Drake?".  I had and I told him so.  He asked if I knew the car called "Clyde" featured in the stories, "Ride with Clyde".  Again I had and I told him so.  He said, "I'm driving Clyde to steelhead camp next week".  I said, "huh?...".  He explained the legendary vehicle was taking on a new owner (one of the guys in his winter steelhead camp gang bought it) and he was delivering the car to the new owner at the winter steelhead camp.  All I could say was, "You gotta send me a picture of that..."  And he did.

Drought

A June with only .3" of rain...a sun that won't stop beating down.  I headed to the local spring creek looking for a break from the madness.  Water temps were in the mid 70's.  I opted to shoot some pics instead of messing with the stressed trout.  
Bummer.