Life on the Fly

When I wake the 3 day 300 mile adventure shall begin. 

I hope to return with a tale to tell. 

Tight Lines,  

H.L.

The Rods

I was reading a John Gierach article on fly rods today and it got me to thinking about my past rods and the beginning of the obsession. You might have read about my Walmart Shakespeare fly rod combo in a previous post, so I'll spare you the details.  But, I'll never forget fly fishing for Blue Gill on that little North Eastern Oklahoma creek while the worm chunkers looked on as if I stepped out of an alien craft wielding a 9ft rod.  

A few years later my grandparents bought me a 8.5ft Browning  6wt with an auto reel, which i never got use to and still have in the box. The rod was fantastic compared to the Walmart special and I set out for Colorado on my family vacation, Zero fish caught. The old Browning feel victim to a ceiling fan and lost its tip.  I wrote a letter to the Zebco explaining the tragedy and asked about fixing the tip. A few months later a new Mohawk River 8.5ft 6wt showed up in the mail free of charge. Thank you again Zebco. 

The birth of Ebay brought me a Orvis 9ft 5wt and 8ft 4wt at a third of the cost. In the last 4 years i've been introduced to the folks at Falcon and fish a Falcon 7ft 4wt and 9ft 5wt.  Great Rods and Great People. 

So, if you've been counting i have 5 rods on only fish the Falcons twins.

I suppose i could talk about my reels but there's not much to say, I fish Orvis Battenkill Bar Stock reels with Wonderline Gen. 3.  I love em, they're light and simple. 

In Preparation

Ad· ven· ture |adˈven ch ər; əd-|nounan 

unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity

This Friday will mark the beginning of  another adventure.  My extended weekend fishing starts with the Blue and ends with the Lower Mt. Fork.  I plan to fish the C&R Friday morning, leaving around noon to travel east to the mountains. I hope to spend the late afternoon scouting in anticipation for Saturday morning's fishing. 

The plan is to travel fast, lite and fish hard.  

More post on this adventure Coming Soon. 

Into CHAOS

What Drives me to stand in the middle of a raging river in dead of winter? 

Something that most find archaic.  

What propels me to hike two miles in to the stream alone? 

Which most would find a fools errand onto it's self.  

Where do i find the patience in a modern world to evade and stalk or tie fly's for that matter? 

How can my mind be clear when at the mercy of the wild?  

Yet when in the safety of an office my mind cluttered. 

How is it that i fear my fellow man more then I fear a wolf and enjoy the company of trout more then conversation. 

A Tough Day on the Water

It was my first day on the water for the season and boy am I rusty!  A lot of strikes were missed, water miss read, choice of fly perhaps wrong.  

The first day back in waders after a long summers nape is always a rocky one, but geezs. 

On the Bright side I hooked up with a 15 plus  Bow on a 4wt.  

-Tight Lines

Back in the Waders Again

Well it's that time of year again. I plan to to hit my favorite hole in the morning. 

You might be wondering where i've been? 

1. Trying to keep up with my Kido

2. Working

3. Playing these old Guitars

4. Learning to build Traditional bows and Arrows 

I've missed exploring the stream, the trees and my old friends the fish. 

Summer Time, Time to Venture

For me Trout Season is over. Well for the most part fishing in general is over until November.  I did however battle some Crappie last weekend, which was like a bonus round for a season of monster trout brought to hand.  

You might be asking what's in store  for me this summer?

Well, i don't know. 

 So far I've been exploring the Civil War in Indian Territory pretty heavily and i am sure as the summer goes on it will only become worse. I might start writing my first book which i have been wanting to do for awhile now. However, I have a lot of short stories to get out of my head first. I might start Shooting again, however it's pretty costly now days. I know i'll be chasing my 1 year old around her entire little world.  I'm pretty busy in at the day job with no sign of a slow down. 

So who knows where the summer will take me.  I'm not a fan of hot weather so what ever or where ever I venture to I will most certainly have to be extremely motivated. 

H.L.