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

Tigers and Ice --->Off

Its 6:00 am. Bags are half way packed, gear is spread out on the floor, in the corner sits a fly in the vise that is only moderately started, Red Bull half way down and I can't find my 3wt reel…$&#$%!!!! Ohhh, there it is sitting right in front of me, staring at me during my entire whirling dervish act. Looking around the front room I thought, how in five minutes could I create such a disaster? After cleaning up my freak-out and re- packing all my things I turned on the computer and sat down to finish some needed Midges. I observed a few words on the screen and thought…. Shit…. What to do now… Right at that second my phone rang, it was MFRW (Chris B), and he had seen the same letters and read the same sentence. That's all it took, change of plans. Don't need that 3wt anymore today or the flies that I had to finish…. This always happens. Perhaps I should wise up and do some reverse sociology and start tying flies that I don't want to use because I never end up using the flies that I think I might "need" anyway. It's an ongoing joke that life likes to play on me… ha ...ha…ha.

About the same time the phone rang Nick and Matt were pulling in the driveway. I explained the new intelligence that had just come in over the wire. After two-point-nine seconds of dialogue we changed course and headed in the opposite direction in search of open water.

Arriving after sun-up the water looked inviting. The weather was already heating up for winter standards, the wind was calm and nobody was around. Perfect. A quick breakdown of the day's arsenal was talked about. The decision was made to go with a fast sinking tip. We all had variable lengths in leader and penciled in our starting colors. Nick had black, Matt took green and I had on white. Walking down from the car was the first "point", Nick had the gravel, Matt had the "block" and I took the… nothing really, just a piece of shoreline. Matt was on right away, and then again. Before we had the chance to figure out what was going on he was releasing another Cutthroat. Shit…. I mean, good job Matt ; ) Nick and I scrambled to our boxes of flies. I didn't really have anything green, dam it; I should have been tying Stillwater stuff. I found something that might work. By this time Matt had at least a half dozen fish and who knows how many more hits, and saying something like "Oh, oh, ooh, yep there's another one". Shit… I mean sick Matt ; ) Casting out finally... got a tug after a few casts, but nothing like I had expected. So I reeled in and attached a shiny new 9' leader, need to go longer I guess? Well that worked, finally. Nick had gotten into some Tigers, Matt had a pod of Cutts and I had some dinky planter Rainbows with no fins. I decided to move. We walked along the shore picking off fish as we made our way to the backside. On the back bay we ran into a pod of Rainbows, manly planters but if you could get below them there were some healthy holdover's, with fins… but no sign of Tigers, yet. After fishing the backstretch we found a few areas that held some monsters. A few follows were real heart breakers, following it all the way to your toes. Some how you'd find yourself trying to coax them into easting your fly. The first follow gets the heart pumping. Then the next few foolow you say something like "come on, come ON" then the "oh, oh, oh, its right there" like they don't already see it - there following it, duh. One time I caught myself saying "please", luckily nobody heard. We all got into a few nice Rainbows and Nick put on his tester and slayed it.

As we made our way around Matt spotted a game warden. He scrambled to find his license just incase we were asked. For the next hour or so the warden was seen checking everyone's license. Finally, I thought this might be the first time in my life that I have been checked. Well, unfortunately we were the only group that wasn't approached…ironically we were the only fly guys… go figure?

Last spot before we headed back produced my only Tiger. He hit it less than 5 feet from the shore but took off like a bat out of hell. I was stoked, mission accomplished. Need more Stillwater,???