Stillwater Tour - Day 2..... Its Still Windy

Unbelievable…. it's not windy! We gathered a few things and quickly headed to the water. Arriving the lake was calm, glassy and very inviting, woo hoo. A bit of overnight snow could be seen on the ground but the sun was on its way out… the making of a great day? Perhaps…

Rigging up we spotted a few fish rising tight to the shore, heads! Grizz was rigged and headed over to the shore. In no time he had a nice bow! Sick, we all thought that it was going to be a great day! Little did we know what was approaching around the corner. After hours of tryin to throuh my arnm out of its socked I was out of options. I had walked the shoreline pounding water, changing flies, changing lines, changing leader, changing flies again and then repeat. 8,593 casts,319 flies, 4 leaders, 3 lines, 9 1/2 prayers, 4 really great swearing rants, 2 pleas and one bribe later... I hadn't had a bite not even a nibble. I truly suck. Walking back to the guys I had hopes that they found them. Well, each had two fish… what is going on? About that time someone flipped the switch, just like that gale force winds ripped though the area. Temperatures were dropping and it looked like it was going to snow. So we headed to yesterdays spot. It was a picture perfect setting of yesterday's scenario (hell, a cold one) but the wind was a bit stronger today 53 mph instead of 51 mph… I think, its hard to tell ; ) Out of the blue a guy appears, then disappears… A few minutes later he returns with a leashed golden retriever. Two seconds later all hell breaks loose. Grizz's dog sees it and heads over for a friendly pet and sniff, the guy starts to shout "back away" over and over and over, this catches the attention of MFRW's dog, and he heads over. At about this exact moment the guys wife (who's in the car) starts honking the horn, meanwhile he is still yelling and now foolishly attempts to shove the LARGE 160 lb dog's head and now screaming"back away". Then the guy slips and falls on the ground when attempting to shove Ferris (the dog)…LOL…LMAO…I'm still laughing. He finally gathers himself off the pavement , gets in the car and drives away. What just happened? WOW that was neat...The guy never even said one word to any of us, the dogs weren’t barking or acting aggressive by any stretch of the word.... .

Back to fishing... Grizz and I had gotten into a huge pod of 6+" rainbows, a few 12" cuts were caught but nothing to write home about. I was just happy to actually be catching something, finally. Meanwhile MFRW couldn't buy a hit, even fishing the same exact spot. The big difference was that he had on a sink tip? Grizz and I had on floating lines, and I guess it mattered after all. We all were tired of the sideways snow and gale winds so we headed back to camp. After a few minutes of hanging out the skies seemed to clear…. Right... But being bored we drove to check out a small scenic river. To our surprise this small beautiful em was full of garbage. The entire length of the river was filled with trash, the camps were total waste pits, human waste and anything you can think of was tossed about the forest…. It was sickening, it made me very mad, more like it pissed me completely off. Why would anyone do this is beyond me, hope mother nature teaches them a thing or two and soon. We fished for a bit then headed back to camp for…drum roll..... lasagna and garlic bread! Hope tomorrow is better….

Stillwater Tour - Day 1..... The Wind

I woke suddenly to the sound of thunder. At first I wasn't sure what it was, then I heard it again… great it's raining… again. I laid in bed waiting for the alarm to off, guess I am milking the clock this morning not wanting to get soaked just yet. I packed a few last minute items and opened the door…. SNOW? What? Well, I just wasted ten-minutes "mind-complaining" about the rain, oh well I'm still going. The drive to our destination was snowing and the entire time I am certain that everyone was hoping we were driving away from the storm. Arriving at camp it was a" fast turn around". Camper went up, truck was unpacked and we took off for the lake.The lake was windy, not a light breeze either and the gusting bursts of energy turned a once beautiful cone-head bugger into a weapon. From time to time you could hear a loud "whap" that was always followed by an " OU' F*@$!!! The heavy fly would be taken by the wind, pushed of course and if you weren't careful can hit you in the back of the head. Not only was it windy, it was cold and snowing through out the afternoon… might have had something to do with the low fisherman numbers, none. I guess we are the only three idiots that fish in the rain, sleet and snow… and a rare sunny day. After hours of battling the elements only a few fish were caught. It was slowwww, really slow so we decided to take a look at a different location. Well, that wasn't the best fishing either. Although the wind had let up a bit it was still cold and slowwwww. Heading back to the camp after getting your ass kicked is a quiet drive. Thoughts of "shoulda - woulda - coulda" run about my mind, always trying to figure out what went wrong and what your going to do the next time.
We saved the best for last…. Dinner is going to be insane! The Chris's went to the butcher in search of some steak, what they bought was a cow. They walked out of the store with three U.S grade "A" T-ones weighing 4.5 each… and out $90 bucks. They have been marinating for a few days and it's finally almost time to start grilling. It was agreed that these precious steaks deserved an open pit charcoal roast. Grizz chopped the wood and I tended to the fire. In no time we had the coals. For the next 2 hours these bad boys slowly cooked over the coals, we tossed in a few garlic bulbs and added some asparagus to the mix and then sat there salivating waiting to feast. One by one the spears were eaten as we waited for the steaks to do their thing. At this point we are so hungry and like a Christmas miracle a small piece of meat broke off on the 'flip". Yes!! We shared that piece of sacred meat and cherished every chew. Not a good idea though, it was a teaser and we still had to wait a long time. The dogs had found a pile of deer hooves, something like 15 were counted just standing in one place... a few looked old but some looked like last night dinner, we speculated this a local feeding the family. Finally, the steaks are ready! We each had our own few pounds and like animals went separately to our corner to eat. MFRW was on the ground by the fire cutting the steak into bite size pieces, Grizz went over to the camper and I sat on a log by the fire, we all devoured the meal with hoots and hollers as it was delicious to say the least. The bar was set high by MFRW (Chris B), his marinate was top notch… looking forward to tomorrow, hope its not windy.





to be continued......

Winter Fishing - Nymphing Cont..?

I woke up this morning with an urge to go back and fis…h the nymph rig and see if I can get em' again. A solo trip today was something that I needed. Grabbed my gear and headed out. I like early morning drives, the way they feel and the look of the soft morning on the mountains. There was more than fishing on my mind today and it’s a great place for to think undoubtedly. Why am I living in the city is the big question, not really sure but a change would be nice… its been two straight years, first time in 18 years since I have been in one place for longer than 6 months… I miss my pack.

I had tied a few flies last night so they probably won't be needed as usual ; ) But in fact this time I actually used them. It was another great day on the water. I was amazed on how many big birds were out. I was watching a few Bald Eagle's soar around, when I hooked into my first good fish of the morning. It was a cool moment in time, one that I won't soon forget. They flew in and out of view all day. I was hoping to see one fish.

I tried to snap as many shots as I could, they didn't turn out entirely well. It's been fun and challenging to shoot my own fish. Each time I learn something new and try something different. It's tricky sometimes and hard to get angles that I would normally look for, so you have to get creative or at least I attempt to.

The last stretch was the most excellent run of the day… finished with a smile on my face and some good fish to hand. Funny thing though, I forgot what I was whining about in the first 10 minutes of casting. Perhaps its not all that bad…it always works itself out… gotta run to work now, wish I didn't have to.

Browns and Ice ---> Off

If you haven't guessed it by now its… "What if" season. There was a place that MFRW wanted to check out. So Spicy boy and I jumped in the Truck and ventured out to see for our own eyes. The lake was pretty frozen all but 25 feet of shoreline on the far end was open though the first bend ant the inlet

Within the first 15 minutes of getting there two nice browns were taken. Nick (SB) was the first took hook up. I ran down to shoot a few photos of the catch. Upon the release of the fish Chris B (MFRW) was now tight. Hell yeah! So I ran back over the other way to snap a few. This is going to be a great day we thought, key word being thought. After this entire running around thing I am ready to fish. So, cast after cast, after cast… after cast………after cast…. Change fly…. Cast after cast...after cast…after cast….after cast…change fly…cast after cast….You get the idea. Well, it turned out to be a cold, windy day filled with tough fishing. Where did the fish go? I reeled up and walked to the other end to check it out. I fished for a few, picking off a small stocky brown and a feisty small 15" rainbow. Then I was back to the casting part again. So I reeled up and hiked back over to the boys, hoping that they are getting them. Well, MFRW had taken another right after I left and Nick hadn't even had a bite, other than that… nada. We finished the day casting and finally gave up late in the day. We all want to return again soon. Great day, lots of casting ; )

Korkers Review - Update!!

You never know what might happen.... all good things.
If I were a betting man, I would have bet that …

A) Nobody reads my blog

B) Korkers wouldn't see my post and if by some miracle they did, things would be swept beneath the carpet.

Well, well, well... was I mistaken. The seed planted and it grew…. Within 5 hours. That's right, 5 hours, some random person saw it and immediately contacted Korkers. It was a brief valid question. He received a response immediately. Form there it went through the grapevine and somehow, someway, the email landed in my inbox. Was I ever surprised! I was delighted, curious and apprehensive and I responded. I received a reply without delay. To be honest I figured that if I received any retort what so ever it would be to get me a pair of boots to shut me up. I know I would do ; ) So, I anticipated some strong arming or ass kissing to be shot my way. Although, I didn't allow myself to shut anyone down when someone tried to correct the situation. Things happen and when they do you can't keep shutting them down, that isn't fair, everyone deserves an opportunity to make things right. Instead it was a good down to Earth discussion. I was not handled in a "corporate" manner, but rather in a real person-to-person way, an approach that I can relate to. This impressed me more than you could ever envision. The situation was handled very professionally, responsibility was taken and the door remained open.

To my dismay, Korkers called me out on my word. In my response I said "If you have any questions or would like to put me on your R&D team feel free to contact me at any time." And they called me out on it… touché! Now I really didn't know what to do. I sought advice and really thought about it. I did say what I said, regardless if I was joking or not. I tried to take emotion out of the equation, the situation was dealt with and behind us now, so I felt there was no need to look in the past, but instead look at the future… so why not? Why slam a door when it's open? This was not what I had expected, anticipated or ever thought the outcome would turn too. It was a bold, raw, honest question and now it was my turn to answer. So I agreed. In light of a bad situation a company stood behind what they believed in, made things right and offered me a cool gig. This was a no bullshit offer I assure you and I agreed.

So, to be fair… I was WRONG, Korkers actually doesn't have good customer service they have extraordinary customer service. Nick at Korkers should be applauded for thinking outside the box. I was not only pleased with the email response and phone conversation but there was no ass kissing and no bullshit. What you see is what you get. I am stoked with the outcome… all I can say is, you never know.

Thanks Nick! I am looking forward to the upcoming year and I will do my best to beat the shit out of them again!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, and I quote…. "These boots will be the first entry into the inaugural Korkers Hall of Fame"…. ; ) Woot Woot!!

Winter Fishing - Nymphing the Dream

It snowed last night laying down a clean slate of white. Overnight temperatures were in the "cold as hell" category… yeah I know that phrase makes no sense but somehow you understand it. Anyway… Nate and I met up with Mike D at the inlet. 97.2% of the lake was still frozen. He was already at the creek diligently tossing streamers by the time we made it to the parking area. After rigging we met up with Mike and agreed to hike over to the far shoreline. It's deeper over there, easy to see what you're walking on and well, what if? ……. Well, that sucked, nada, zip, zilch, nothing. No strikes, no follows, no fish. We abandoned that idea and went to plan B, head to the river.

On the way to the stream I wasn't all that thrilled to be nymphing. Yes of course I was stoked to be fishing. To be honest I suck at it, it's not really my cup of tea so to speak. I do not have the patients for the constant re-rigging after you get broken off, be it fish or rock, stick or the moss creature from Scooby-Do. The tangles get to me, staring at the bobber irritates me and the clinking of the split shot in my pack at every step makes me wish I brought my iPod. All these reasons are why I need to keep on it, keep practicing... meticulously. But seriously, give me a rising fish and a dry fly, its more entertaining watching the rejections ; )

Nate Rigged Czech style and Mike stuck with the streamers. I had wished I rigged Czech on the walk to the water, thought about switching. I always go to the stand-by bounce rig here. Not sure why, there are way easier ways to rig, with wayyyy less hassles…that's probably the reason I do it…lol… Right out of the gate Mike had a few hits pounding the banks. A few on but just didn't get a good hook set. Nate stuck a few fish and I was lobbing my rig over and over, staring at the trees and watching the birds. I take the nymphing time to enjoy the surroundings because of the lack of catching : ) I watched Nate's techniques and tried to figure out what he is doing, when he is doing it and why. If you fished with him you'd do the same thing, watch and learn and take some taking notes. We kept moving up the river. I still hadn't even had a strike. Nate was ten feet down from me and stuck a fish…. Figures. After a short moment of doing this monotonous lobbing routine I decided I'd had enough, time to get into it. Open the box of goodies and selected an old stand-by, picked up a few rocks and decided to try out NJ's sweet looking BWO pattern. I switched flies and after talking with Nate I shortened my leader. I sure wish I had done that earlier. I was finally on, and then another, two quick fish and a few more hits. Leaving that hole and meeting them back up the river, Mike had to leave…..

For the next few hours I was finally figuring it out. A specific little tip from Nate was all it took. I couldn't believe how fun nymphing is… when you're catching. It was truly unbelievable…Brown, Cutthroat and White Fish. I tried all day but couldn't find a Rainbow but Nate did… of course he did. I was so stoked to catch a Cutthroat here and by some dumb luck I got two. The numbers were thrilling, the fly's were working as it was designed (to catch) and I almost thought nymphing was cool ; ) It was a great day on the water, I learned a few things, touched a Cutthroat, watched some big birds fly and got a few pics…. I wish I could do that all day, every day.

Streamside Observations

You never know when places are going to be good. Sometimes you just need to go and find out for yourself. That's what we did, we traveled for a few hours checking spots and curing the "what if's". After a few lakes, a few streams and a few crowded areas we headed for the last spot. The road was not clear but not that bad if you don't mind a foot or two of snow on the ground and mud puddles up to your doors.

We took a few samples to see what going on. It seemed that every rock was loaded with insect life. Some had only a few Stones some had ten of them. It was amazing. I am not that efficient in distinguishing the difference between Skwala's and Golden Stone's though. They all look the same to me ; ) So it appears that very soon big-drys are going to be tossed.

The "golden color" Stones were roughly 1 inch in size. There were some that went well over that mark. The juvenile Salmon Fly looking bugs were also in abundance.

What do you see??? No need to get tech but don't let me stop you. But please add the general name as well so I can follow ; )

This sample came from under two medium rocks.

Click on picture to enlarge