Down to the River

As I went down in the river to spey
Studying about that good old way
And who shall swing thy muddler round
Good Lord, show me the way ! 

O brothers let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
Come on brothers let's go down,
Down in the river to spey. 

(my apologies to Allison Krauss)

So Shox McSteel and I went down to the river to practice heaving line with our two handers as a salve for the confounding itch that comes in the weeks prior to a pending fishing trip.  I loaded my 13'6" Croix with a 480 grain compact scandi and started flailing.  Every once in a while I'd feel a decent load and I'd get 20' or 30' of backing to the water. My loops were always open and poorly formed and no matter what I did I couldn't get the loop on point.  As our two hour session ended I asked if I might try his Sage 7126.  Being the guy that he is, he obliged.  I transferred my Nautilus to the Sage, stripped in the running line, dropped my anchor, formed as good a "D" loop as I could and let it go... and it went.  The running line bucked against the reel and the loop was waaay tighter than I'd managed (ever) before.  I peeled some more line off the reel and soaked that on the next cast.  I've always said that the rod doesn't make the caster...I need to rethink that.  I played around and was impressed by the light and even swing weight as well as the ability to really feel the load.  I may be a two hand neophyte but I know what I like and it's tough to argue with a tight loop and an extra 20'.

Playing Catch Up

Busy, busy....as we all like to say.  I'd have probably let the update slide had I not been prompted by a fellow angler who tore me from my stupor today by emailing me a fish pic. (I'll get to that soon enough).  I've decided to compress the past few weeks into a single post.  The subheadings will be: Brule, Florida, Book and Coasters.

Here goes:

COASTERS
I received an email today from a guy I'll call TP.  TP and I had the pleasure of playing on the same hockey team this past winter (for one game) and spent much of the time discussing steelhead, bonefish, trout, permit etc.  The conversation spilled out of the hockey rink and into the local watering hole and then the discussion included painting...which TP does well.  I've asked him if I could included a link to his gallery website which you will find on the sidebar under "Others of ill repute" and also here:  http://riverblendstudio.com
If you dig talent, fish and/or art check it out.
Anyway, TP sent me an email today with a short note that he caught a coaster shore casting last night.  I'll let the pic speak for itself:














This is pure goodness for a few reasons.
1. It's Lake Superior and it appears that the coasters
    are back...(at least this one is).
2. Standing on the shore of Lake Superior and
    catching a fish is among my top religions see
    previous post
3. I like when good things happen to good people
4. A coaster is a brook trout...look at the pic again.


Thanks TP!

FLORIDA


I sojourned with fam the last week in March to Marco for a week of bliss.  The sun was hot, the beer cold and the flyfishing sucked.  The water was off color and the wind and waves pounded from the south and south west.  I fished a 10wt with an intermediate line and a stripping basket to even have a chance.  I managed a couple of Ladyfish, Jacks and Macks and thought I hit the jackpot one morning when a grab was followed by a 150 yard run and 15 minutes of leaning hard into the big stick.  The leader held and so did the rod.  The fly held too...right in the side of a 30+ lb stingray...I was on the other side of the jetty from the one I foul hooked last year.  Damn it.  I had a snook act just like a bone in the flats of the Tigertail Lagoon and he sucked the fly off the sand like a bone too.  He came unpinned on the first leap.  We did have some fun with a cast net that my buddy Matt picked up from the local hardware store and we ventured out a couple of evenings to catch shrimp which Matt, my father-in-law and my daughter used to their advantage as bait for a host of saline critters.

Me and my daughter...she put on a clinic!

Shrimp/Bait

A jack...one of many that she brought to (my) hand.

An interesting side note:  The rod and reel that my daughter used to wail on the beach fish was a freebie.

I was fishing my flies on a dropping tide in the lagoon and noticed the rod laying in the mud on the tidal flat.  I suspected that some poor angler lost it overboard and that it had spent a few weeks or months on the bottom, exposed everyday at low tide and overlooked because it was both salt crusted/barnacle ridden/filled with sand and 2 miles on foot from the nearest beach access.  I actually walked right past it as I fished the dropping tide.  On my return I decided to check it out and found it to be a 7' Loomis rod and Shimano reel.  I carried it back to the Condo, gave the rod a scrubbing and tore the reel apart, cleaned and rebuilt it with canola oil for lube.  I stole 250 yard of 8 lb test from my father-in-law and it worked like a champ.

BOOK

I was going through some my photos a few weeks back and saw some interesting shots that seemed to want more than a place on my hard drive.  So, I wrote a book.  A photo journal actually, but a nice diversion and a cool thing to have on the shelf.

BRULE

I recently picked up a new St. Croix 11' 8 wt switch rod.  For a couple of reasons.

1. The 13' rod seemed a little too much for my favorite steelhead river.

2. The 10'6" rod seemed a little too short for my favorite steelhead river

3  The 11' 8wt seemed just about right and the $260 tag seemed to be a cool price....AND since the production in Mexico hasn't started yet it's a domestic product..I like to think that some folks in Park Falls, WI are having a nice dinner or perhaps their kids got some shoes outta the deal.

The Skagit line, miracle braid and T8,T11 and T14 are in the mail and the tying desk is gettin busy.

I'm watching the flows and I'm itchin'...

That's all I've got...more later.