grate·ful

Fall Steelhead 2014: Week 1

POEM IN OCTOBER - Dylan Thomas

POEM IN OCTOBER It was my thirtieth year to heaven Woke to my hearing from harbour and neighbour wood And the mussel pooled and the heron Priested shore The morning beckon With water praying and call of seagull and rook And the knock of sailing boats on the webbed wall Myself to set foot That second In the still sleeping town and set forth. My birthday began with the water- Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name Above the farms and the white horses And I rose In a rainy autumn And walked abroad in shower of all my days High tide and the heron dived when I took the road Over the border And the gates Of the town closed as the town awoke. A springful of larks in a rolling Cloud and the roadside bushes brimming with whistling Blackbirds and the sun of October Summery On the hill's shoulder, Here were fond climates and sweet singers suddenly Come in the morning where I wandered and listened To the rain wringing Wind blow cold In the wood faraway under me. Pale rain over the dwindling harbour And over the sea wet church the size of a snail With its horns through mist and the castle Brown as owls But all the gardens Of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud. There could I marvel My birthday Away but the weather turned around. It turned away from the blithe country And down the other air and the blue altered sky Streamed again a wonder of summer With apples Pears and red currants And I saw in the turning so clearly a child's Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother Through the parables Of sunlight And the legends of the green chapels And the twice told fields of infancy That his tears burned my cheeks and his heart moved in mine. These were the woods the river and the sea Where a boy In the listening Summertime of the dead whispered the truth of his joy To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide. And the mystery Sang alive Still in the water and singing birds. And there could I marvel my birthday Away but the weather turned around. And the true Joy of the long dead child sang burning In the sun. It was my thirtieth Year to heaven stood there then in the summer noon Though the town below lay leaved with October blood. O may my heart's truth Still be sung On this high hill in a year's turning.

ap·pre·ci·a·tion

Some Home River Love

Lady Caroline

I've been both enamored and intimidated by this pattern since the first time I saw it. Unlike most things, I didn't jump right into it. I've been trying out the different elements of this fly over the last year or so. Here's my first attempt. Lots of mistakes, but rather than strip the materials off and start over, I think I'll use this for Smallmouth Bass.

Beauly Snow Fly

Fisherman's Fall

"These are places beyond price or substitute, it is time to look after them for their own values."

T-14 Toad

The river was full on raging this morning thanks to something they we're doing at the mill.  So I put on a ~ 6-foot tip of T-14 and tried to swing behind boulders and in some other likely holding spots.

I got a some what subtle grab and hooked up with a really nice smallmouth. With this broad fish in the heavier current, I actually got to hear my reel sing a little.

Ephorons - 2014

I noticed the Ephorons starting a few days ago on the Grand River system. Fished the hatch last night on the Rouge, saw/heard a few risers. It was a fairly big hatch, but only lasted for about 20 minutes or so.

Summer Flies

A few of the summer flies I've been using on a skagit "dry line". I've got my 11-foot 6-weight dialed in nicely with a 390 grain Airlfo Skagit Switch and a Medium floating MOW tip. Cast easily out to 70-80 feet using sustained anchor casts.

Lost a nice fish!

I sent a couple of flies through the main run I was fishing this morning, rested it and then came back with a smaller chartreuse comet.  I swung it through a slick where I'd gotten a little bump earlier.  This fish was right where I'd expected him to be, I hooked up and brought him to hand - a little smallmouth.  After a few more casts, I snagged my fly on a log or rock or something on my cast setup.  I ended up breaking the hook off trying to get it out.

Needing a new fly, I switched to a black and blue version of this new "spey" type streamer pattern I've been working on.

Fly inspired by Feenstra's Blackcherry "Spey" and Jay Nicolas's "Winter Simplicity"

Up until today I hadn't seen any sign of summer fish yet this year, then out of no where, I hooked into a nice big bright fish.  She hit the fly hard and came out of the water...and then....my knot broke.  I've had a few non-slip mono loop knots break on me like this, mostly with carp.  I think I tend to get sloppy with them and don't make sure the mono is jammed up tight.  That first big tug pulls it tight and it snaps, either that or just didn't tie it right.  In any case, I think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the palomar knot this season...that's a little more difficult to mess up.

Steelhead crush muddlers

...even when they're babies.

Dry line smallmouth

I found a section of river where the bass seems to like top water flies slowly swung down and across and then left to dangle in the current on the hang down - dry line steelhead tactics for smallmouth, less than a mile from my door? - I'll take it.

Western (Sierra) Juniper

Joshua Tree - Mojave Desert

Giant Sequoias - Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Jeffrey Pine - Northern Sierra

West!

“It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led West.” ― Wallace Stegner

Spring

This is my fat bike. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

Last snow run of 2013-2014 winter?

Dawn breaker

Frosty Dogs

2014 Fur Rondy video round-up

Rondy 2014 Trailer
Some Day 1 start and out on the trail foootage. Kevin Cook and Ken Chezik's teams look awesome @ 4:35
Neat video with some start and finish line shots - Day 3, I think.
and one more -

Long Winter, Long Shadows

Fort Custer

Haven't been to the Fort much lately. Took the long way to Jackson to pick up the kids from my mom's and made a quick stop. The trail was still basically in nice shape from the race two weekends ago. There was enough snow that I could actually use my snow hook! - so that was worth it in and of itself.

Early Morning Sled Training

Egil Ellis sled cam - Day 2 of the ExxonMobil Open at Tozier Track

View of the trail from the dog sled of Egil Ellis, a 5-time winner of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship and a 7-time winner of ExxonMobil Open, who drove his sprint dog team to a second place finish on Day 2 of the ExxonMobil Open at Tozier Track in Anchorage on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014.

Sled Ride with Emmy

Took the dogs out with Emmy in the basket, let her drive for about the last few hundred yards. She fell off a few times, so she's not quite ready and will have to stick to riding in the basket for another year.

Fat Bike Finally

This has been just about the best winter ever, but I've had a difficult time getting out as much as I'd like. Rode tonight, it helps to have some measurable amount of air in tire, even fatties.