tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48042774927081950442024-03-13T01:27:22.821-05:00FishOn! the FlyFly fishing adventures in both fresh and salt waters around the globe.flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-55625569692754376352024-02-24T22:00:00.001-06:002024-03-12T15:02:53.821-05:00Winter's Late Rains<p> Winter and Spring are colliding with one another in February and March, but the rains, Oh! how fortunate we have been. Our water tables are full; our streams and creeks and rivers flow once again after a tough summer. Right now, it is good to be a Texas fly fisher! The days I have set aside to fish are turning out to be less fortuitous, so I'm glad I'm not an even bigger gambler. We had several warm days, but the day I had to go fishing, a cold front had blown across the prairie, not as bad as the one when we fished the Lampasas the week previously, but enough of a front to make the fishing once again a challenge. No matter, to see the Limestone Chalk Bluffs, the riverbed completely full from bank-to-bank, and the restorative peace of a moving river all filled my soul with great joy. </p><p>I hit a few spots where other anglers were but had no luck, so I quickly moved downstream for more solitude. Get to my favorite spot and WHOA! what a difference nice rainfall makes. I did not recognize the water, as the area was so different. No fish holding here, today, so I moved on downstream and found a nice, calm and deep pool. First cast, FishOn!, but I didn't know it, and the take was so subtle that I was stunned to see a Bluegill at the end of my line. Definitely the softest Sunfish take I've ever experienced. This was about the tenth cast of the day, so I thought I'd be hammering the Sunfish; well, I thought wrong! The day's fishing was slow, but I did end up with several Sunfish and Spotted Bass to hand in a beautiful and healthy and flowing river (the secret was a fly with legs regardless the color). My cup runneth over!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d9W1bhuCx6hsSdU429dG_niJb_MrmjnRyCxwdYJE5z8soYL5G7Bxx4Lh-g-VE1Urw0hHMXxZt3izmferusWevKSE28ugeqI2Lk6tJui4aTsCa5hg7mYzBzf6gAHmEKTmukJiURGzohzRqAEGvyfLfEj3ZR2kzDtpbmXFU2hItl3ywnBYyQHxbMZhtyg/s4032/Paluxy%20River%20Bluegill.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d9W1bhuCx6hsSdU429dG_niJb_MrmjnRyCxwdYJE5z8soYL5G7Bxx4Lh-g-VE1Urw0hHMXxZt3izmferusWevKSE28ugeqI2Lk6tJui4aTsCa5hg7mYzBzf6gAHmEKTmukJiURGzohzRqAEGvyfLfEj3ZR2kzDtpbmXFU2hItl3ywnBYyQHxbMZhtyg/w640-h480/Paluxy%20River%20Bluegill.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-spawn Bluegill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZI6A5cAZ-0Kf-PPiAeJpBMlcPh9OxU1stRXpe9OqMv6GaWQcE3Q4pPFcJQMMn-015yCKz4NCRk9yjLeI4eHYj1-zsqxDpW2ClFuD0S6E8S4CzfMCBor8sLj0Xp922W-CGX7Le7G9XZyCdThxnCDtEKUz-xkCJH3MhSRJTXwYpVL0gZlWI0NqqccpGJ8Q/s4032/Paluxy%20River%20Spotted%20Bass%2001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZI6A5cAZ-0Kf-PPiAeJpBMlcPh9OxU1stRXpe9OqMv6GaWQcE3Q4pPFcJQMMn-015yCKz4NCRk9yjLeI4eHYj1-zsqxDpW2ClFuD0S6E8S4CzfMCBor8sLj0Xp922W-CGX7Le7G9XZyCdThxnCDtEKUz-xkCJH3MhSRJTXwYpVL0gZlWI0NqqccpGJ8Q/w640-h480/Paluxy%20River%20Spotted%20Bass%2001.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Bass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9HmFZwks0Wnqir97jjATPxzHUbwtDS97dVaseOPVuAxWCjLBFELKl0T6M68mTl68WJ4VFoqnuq2pagytw-Ld0fD0qHY0KlLtbXrOXD1az8OJ4igk-koU0vKgcJZayP_BV7vlZxwF4vKE3mh_bhpQyqTYc0xcFbOBcDi34f9DfPtFGwMVekKXInLw4KM/s4032/Paluxy%20River%20Spotted%20Bass%2002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9HmFZwks0Wnqir97jjATPxzHUbwtDS97dVaseOPVuAxWCjLBFELKl0T6M68mTl68WJ4VFoqnuq2pagytw-Ld0fD0qHY0KlLtbXrOXD1az8OJ4igk-koU0vKgcJZayP_BV7vlZxwF4vKE3mh_bhpQyqTYc0xcFbOBcDi34f9DfPtFGwMVekKXInLw4KM/w640-h480/Paluxy%20River%20Spotted%20Bass%2002.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Bass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-81609431455630457542024-02-18T21:00:00.012-06:002024-03-12T14:43:51.778-05:00Lampasas River Outing<p> Oh how finnicky Mother Nature can be. All this week, the northern Hill Country enjoyed warm weather, so much so that the Redbuds have really been blooming, which means...Those Fat Girls are uh runnin! That's probably my favorite springtime saying, "When the Redbuds are blooming, the White Bass are running." Stocker trout season with TPWD is coming to an end, fish on beds, fish running upstream, serious Carp Love with aerial cavorting, and Big Fish, it's all happening in the spring.</p><p>Much to my chagrin, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature must have had a serious disagreement, because the temperatures dropped 30 degrees on Saturday, and while they warmed on Sunday, it was still 20 degrees colder than what the previous week experienced.</p><p>Using the Parrie Haynes Equestrian Center private access, we put in just upstream of the Old Maxdale Bridge. First, Kudos to the Bell County Commissioners. I have not seen this area looking so clean and litter-free, but closing the Old Maxdale Bridge from public access gave the area a tremendous upgrade. Next, we received a report while donning our waders that four miles downstream, White Bass were being caught. With spirits high, I set off on a two mile hike downstream to see if I could locate any of those White Bass. I saw bed activity but no fish. I targeted the east bank as the sun was shining on this bright, clear afternoon. I eventually caught a small Largemouth Bass, but that had to have been the slowest take I ever experienced. I casted upstream and just the nicely flowing Lampasas carry my fly downstream. I was as tight the bank as I could be while still being in the water. Hit, wait, wait, wait; softer hit, wait, wait, wait; twitched the rod, and FishOn! Phew and finally and thank you, Largemouth Bass. I did not want to be skunked on my first fishing outing of 2024. Same scenario about 100 yards downstream, and this time, I landed a Spotted Bass. By this time, the sun casted some long shadows, and the trek against the current required a little more energy, so I headed back upstream, happy I caught fish but disappointed that I had not yet found the White Bass.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbnaFsBEh5bnB3piusn9r-I1ch99QjcmUh04BUSU_l9AK_5S4L74lAhLxBmPZb14ihYnpmMWVieN2fLVleltGcpQLAkhY3PufZ-stSS3v0RiNmNIqdX2WYJin3mDen1vUSVYAgE1vQPMHSvpFW-p7zgFzuifS829DN0sHmLdwt4wCAHW1j6Srd-quEhI/s4032/Lampasas%20River.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbnaFsBEh5bnB3piusn9r-I1ch99QjcmUh04BUSU_l9AK_5S4L74lAhLxBmPZb14ihYnpmMWVieN2fLVleltGcpQLAkhY3PufZ-stSS3v0RiNmNIqdX2WYJin3mDen1vUSVYAgE1vQPMHSvpFW-p7zgFzuifS829DN0sHmLdwt4wCAHW1j6Srd-quEhI/w640-h480/Lampasas%20River.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainfall made for a nice flow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyOuIz68hWrvQaaT1spCcf3u3S65vre-nDO3_YIIeDdj8snRkAUt5yXH5yvIF9QGQG8ceqpNhkqdx7Fvi41hh3CYfdYlUaNzdNi6_Qc1Q_IcFhH-dzXbKBxsJHn5q2tZRkKdE1fpN2WsskBmRcM-r8aobL-ooHzfZjq0Y9j1TrR-BBNbFpXxSuG7nvM8/s4032/Lampasas%20River%20Bed%20Activity%2001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZyOuIz68hWrvQaaT1spCcf3u3S65vre-nDO3_YIIeDdj8snRkAUt5yXH5yvIF9QGQG8ceqpNhkqdx7Fvi41hh3CYfdYlUaNzdNi6_Qc1Q_IcFhH-dzXbKBxsJHn5q2tZRkKdE1fpN2WsskBmRcM-r8aobL-ooHzfZjq0Y9j1TrR-BBNbFpXxSuG7nvM8/w640-h480/Lampasas%20River%20Bed%20Activity%2001.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedding activity</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzzTHk-vTEVL6FfDrfp1PTEGg0jW5a_iXeE56u5MJJVRaLPgrGDUF-esKbITYr4zb699N5w-MUBDlh0pcg4wX-JYd338OSUXnt9nzTqCOFCvVqcfEJzSnQ54f5L8jlkpyjgMBMd_w1Iw1ROXddWXIGmfoiD0GzAMh5aIjFdur4czub30H7y9Y4LvXdkA/s4032/Lampasas%20River%20Largemouth%20Bass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKzzTHk-vTEVL6FfDrfp1PTEGg0jW5a_iXeE56u5MJJVRaLPgrGDUF-esKbITYr4zb699N5w-MUBDlh0pcg4wX-JYd338OSUXnt9nzTqCOFCvVqcfEJzSnQ54f5L8jlkpyjgMBMd_w1Iw1ROXddWXIGmfoiD0GzAMh5aIjFdur4czub30H7y9Y4LvXdkA/w640-h480/Lampasas%20River%20Largemouth%20Bass.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Largemouth Bass--first fish of 2024!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3OZbeN2l4FRi3AiIdJ3S3D7EK479Ms2rZSEG3uVHyRpRyYkKV8g8C7bJ6yZaLyILZL-7XDzDEd8JHLF5Wf12ZMcumOlN66Wyxm-zccnE470lzJ1JUmBUNKBCzgAsBLPY4dMthhLb6zvyV-bfM7MP2PIM56U0KlWdwBBjsfCcmUxeGQiE3OyIFE8U4E0/s4032/Lampasas%20River%20Spotted%20Bass.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3OZbeN2l4FRi3AiIdJ3S3D7EK479Ms2rZSEG3uVHyRpRyYkKV8g8C7bJ6yZaLyILZL-7XDzDEd8JHLF5Wf12ZMcumOlN66Wyxm-zccnE470lzJ1JUmBUNKBCzgAsBLPY4dMthhLb6zvyV-bfM7MP2PIM56U0KlWdwBBjsfCcmUxeGQiE3OyIFE8U4E0/w640-h480/Lampasas%20River%20Spotted%20Bass.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Bass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-35349479227953946982023-06-11T22:21:00.000-05:002023-06-13T22:21:31.403-05:00DFF June Outing<p>We headed to the Elm Fork of the Trinity River Tailrace just below the Lake Lewisville Dam on Sunday for our monthly outing. While the ambient temperature was a little warm, the water temperature was a nice, cool 74 degrees F. As they so often are when the dam is generating, the Buffalo were thick as thieves, and after about 15 minutes of fishing, I landed one. Cody came to help, and I finally have a decent picture with a Smallmouth Buffalo, though I need to adjust my Buff better, so that I don't look so much like a nun. Though many Buffalo were hooked and several landed, the carp would not take any offerings I made. Cody was able to hook two with a CodyBugger, and farther downstream, he hooked something that fought in slow motion with slow deliberate headshakes. Somehow, whatever species it was came unbuttoned and left us pondering what in the world Cody hooked. It was another great day on the water.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRx1KOd2YfKzlS_JOnEN47vfulSC7_Uc34YY_F-NlBolgpfYnSvWw5gjs_6YaNhZgVGJ8OYHRGYD0lbitHL9jFnaGHqLD4FSwl11-GMveVy7HC7BR5RjEtH2FS2ME7rBDexkgmt-yttFX2gCVtaVH0aaw-zW4ejezI01TQAFLSHxfWvDLS2_02HOoR/s2048/June%20LLELA%2004.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRx1KOd2YfKzlS_JOnEN47vfulSC7_Uc34YY_F-NlBolgpfYnSvWw5gjs_6YaNhZgVGJ8OYHRGYD0lbitHL9jFnaGHqLD4FSwl11-GMveVy7HC7BR5RjEtH2FS2ME7rBDexkgmt-yttFX2gCVtaVH0aaw-zW4ejezI01TQAFLSHxfWvDLS2_02HOoR/w640-h480/June%20LLELA%2004.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Peq5wySPntr0pjW-JGRxds8BwUa1eNbTjwqfqZMbq6GWRzj0zDUT_9v21X5OVvSp7iu4_sHyo0AVjFSenW7PNkN9jPOH9tf2V0vYt3sVOTXIiINnTM33VEwu6dwbAxZVnhtLUpIsoN6uKJAuhnh_CXF50pNpiaK384VlXnBxgGuXCpY_uHOhOPJ-/s2048/June%20LLELA%2002.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Peq5wySPntr0pjW-JGRxds8BwUa1eNbTjwqfqZMbq6GWRzj0zDUT_9v21X5OVvSp7iu4_sHyo0AVjFSenW7PNkN9jPOH9tf2V0vYt3sVOTXIiINnTM33VEwu6dwbAxZVnhtLUpIsoN6uKJAuhnh_CXF50pNpiaK384VlXnBxgGuXCpY_uHOhOPJ-/w640-h480/June%20LLELA%2002.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oydRZFE90GjVHVXWgbeUdPCdl0-YWBUSI8tG_X3VKB4qNfuLpqE2U73khZtceiBmM1eh2qSNw5VLHBBxKOWZlvOO0DHcipdXLEZBchvLXJoBZ6C86bfhL02YPUxkRiwkt_C4b3kWxT2mcN5l74nJJ5Aalni0eCncszpOxKli-3whhYoy0PcsKGKE/s2048/June%20LLELA%2003.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oydRZFE90GjVHVXWgbeUdPCdl0-YWBUSI8tG_X3VKB4qNfuLpqE2U73khZtceiBmM1eh2qSNw5VLHBBxKOWZlvOO0DHcipdXLEZBchvLXJoBZ6C86bfhL02YPUxkRiwkt_C4b3kWxT2mcN5l74nJJ5Aalni0eCncszpOxKli-3whhYoy0PcsKGKE/w640-h480/June%20LLELA%2003.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-91481727749806832822023-05-10T22:00:00.004-05:002023-05-11T00:24:31.226-05:0098th Species and the Countdown is On<p>Today was the DFF outing to the Brazos River. Several attendees cancelled due to the rains that moved in 13 hours early. It wasn't a heavy rain, a hard rain, or falling fast enough to raise the river water levels. It did affect the water clarity, so it was a mostly blind casting kind of day. That was okay by me, as I hooked five species, landing four, and none were Sunfish, except the odd Largemouth Bass that has a possible distended jaw and no traditional LMB markings.</p><p>I had seen what I though was a carp playing about in skinny water near downed trees holding on the upstream side of a bridge pillar. I targeted it, but no luck, so I began fishing the waters behind a big boulder. Nip, nip then a pick up and recast, and BAM, FishOn. It what was a serious comedy of errors, I somehow managed to land the Bigmouth Buffalo and snap photos. Still amazed the fish didn't come unbuttoned, but it didn't, and so, I hit the 98 mark. I added a White Bass, a Channel Catfish, and a strangely marked Largemouth Bass, and then targeted one and enjoyed six additional hook-ups with Spotted Gar. It was a marvelous day on the water!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPe4lI1iCc5hZOL_Nm2vd8sy9s0zBEtPgNslwXiCO1Z-urET6QTS1MfgnWqASpk8KxcBNy5DacZuPqoUuNdQRXTzVCRjrdwEzVUafpJgkc7X3dOd06qbGp-Kj1nFR3_JS3yCiOQBOxcLXbGd61l5wrgG8FHPSif16JHK1kmv7SLoTLrc7O7f6AcSf/s3088/Bigmouth%20Buffalo.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2320" data-original-width="3088" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPe4lI1iCc5hZOL_Nm2vd8sy9s0zBEtPgNslwXiCO1Z-urET6QTS1MfgnWqASpk8KxcBNy5DacZuPqoUuNdQRXTzVCRjrdwEzVUafpJgkc7X3dOd06qbGp-Kj1nFR3_JS3yCiOQBOxcLXbGd61l5wrgG8FHPSif16JHK1kmv7SLoTLrc7O7f6AcSf/w640-h480/Bigmouth%20Buffalo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-69586265433700420682023-04-15T18:40:00.009-05:002023-04-16T19:09:19.712-05:00DFF's Sugar Ridge Ranch Outing<p> The club's favorite, annual outing is to Sugar Ridge Ranch during peak Bluebonnet season and the Ennis Bluebonnet Festival. Always well-attended, the four ponds and wildlife offers an almost-guaranteed day of catching, but this year, I learned of a new skill I have--I can mimic a turkey hen effectively enough to garner the attention of a Tom Turkey! 😁 I also petted a hen turkey, worked on my roll cast, and hooked the same bass I landed five minutes previously.</p><p>We loved another day at Sugar Ridge and appreciate the kindness and graciousness of our hostess and hosts. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrPhKbxc6ftDG7ATfhfg8AKY2i63hbdB5bY0F8gxGuJ1BfXg2qxBXEPp-ojHFp_IZtwN_HOvZX6-xyhN6fxCELi72gUbLnNgkET6sewzdpA3E6-7vT1RQjwxNfwtUU3_S6QppP5Boxso_ui2mcXkzAw3dkNM1zTMeN3_ti4VdTB3KQt6NzctGrxQS/s2048/IMG_3472.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrPhKbxc6ftDG7ATfhfg8AKY2i63hbdB5bY0F8gxGuJ1BfXg2qxBXEPp-ojHFp_IZtwN_HOvZX6-xyhN6fxCELi72gUbLnNgkET6sewzdpA3E6-7vT1RQjwxNfwtUU3_S6QppP5Boxso_ui2mcXkzAw3dkNM1zTMeN3_ti4VdTB3KQt6NzctGrxQS/w480-h640/IMG_3472.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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After hearing from several DFF members who attended the March Nolan River Outing, I decided to fish the Nolan at a time many found most productive this odd-weather spring. Going prepared with White Bass flies, I was shocked at the low, but steadily flowing waters. Where I caught fish in previous years were high-and-dry this year, and I could not find the White Bass. Not to be dismayed for long, I kept seeing Gar, almost stepping on some of them. Keeping on my rather flashy fly, I set to work.</p><p>In my life, I've had six gar hook-ups with only one being luck. The other Five were purposeful targets in the last two years. I don't target gar the way I hear most presenters discuss, which is a "Crossing the T" method, with the gar being the stem and dragging the fly perpendicularly to the gar, the "T" crossbar. The reason I don't do this comes from a SCUBA show I saw friend William Seals give at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (and many times since his 2013 presentation). When the diver would feed the fish, even though the bait was dead, every time the Gar fed, it sidled on its prey, and when it ate, it was a quick jerk of the head to no more than the 11:00 or 1:00 o'clock position. Once, I saw the gar backpedal to get in align in order to feed. Sometimes, they align close to their hinge--prey was small--and sometimes, they aligned closer to their nose tip--prey was larger, but regardless, they ate from the side and never head-on. It remains the same for whether they are in captivity or the wild.</p><p>I typically find gar in slack water, near the shore, surrounded with good cover. I spotted one 15 feet from me with his head facing downstream; I cast downstream about 20 feet and parallel to the gar, pulled the fly upstream past his left side at a bout a five inch, constant but not fast retrieve. He did not take the fly, but he reacted, as his fins started moving, but he held his position. I cast again, lined the fish, got the fly line off his body (he never moved or reacted to the fly line), pulled the fly parallel to the gar, and he ate hard, close to his hinge. I strip set; he thrashed, and the fly worked its way closer to the tip, but a harder strip set stuck. I got him in the net. Once in, he opened his mouth, the fly dropped out, and I tried to take him from the net for a photo, but it was just too awkward, so I snapped his photo in my net. Voila! not only was this my first gar to-hand, Mr. Spotted Gar made my 97th species on the fly!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8ufy9DglrdIv-d_n4walwNUKodl_yazHn8OCBnbmDYvUNacy9E6kROkuDLf5gQy4WRrHY6yg-FXeoNpnxwc5KEgJGi2NksgBeWhncCWBIoo1bkn6BNi17Oq2R3RxUVlfndchM5tXFOIjUw5WY8f-OdFf-IzD1gfei5PZV5v9W06cjkPgBibcuQrv/s2048/IMG_0132.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8ufy9DglrdIv-d_n4walwNUKodl_yazHn8OCBnbmDYvUNacy9E6kROkuDLf5gQy4WRrHY6yg-FXeoNpnxwc5KEgJGi2NksgBeWhncCWBIoo1bkn6BNi17Oq2R3RxUVlfndchM5tXFOIjUw5WY8f-OdFf-IzD1gfei5PZV5v9W06cjkPgBibcuQrv/w480-h640/IMG_0132.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZf5xu9pIJHyIZmOHrtrdpd5WPdO8rwZgzF01TxMZthCiClqPohaDPuxoVKLa2uuVGot2ntPeFr7QFL1E0CADEpZYAxg5xx70deeyVB3fQeSVYd-ns4c4gQieoCPwyEzpkRTBEBX41sYIEARJ9Z0OY0ify_LF28DDiBwHycHBG1oEh-X8du2ZPT8a/s2048/IMG_0133.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZf5xu9pIJHyIZmOHrtrdpd5WPdO8rwZgzF01TxMZthCiClqPohaDPuxoVKLa2uuVGot2ntPeFr7QFL1E0CADEpZYAxg5xx70deeyVB3fQeSVYd-ns4c4gQieoCPwyEzpkRTBEBX41sYIEARJ9Z0OY0ify_LF28DDiBwHycHBG1oEh-X8du2ZPT8a/w640-h480/IMG_0133.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-18524982433965001892023-03-30T22:00:00.077-05:002023-05-11T00:50:11.436-05:00DFF OutingSpring has sprung within the Dallas Fly Fishers and so have the springtime outings. We held our first White Bass Run Outing last week, and this week we decided to fish the ponds and Brazos River access at Latham Springs Baptist encampment.<div><br /></div><div>The Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush were in early bloom full and thick, and the fish ate hungrily and often in spite of the quite cool temperatures. River and lake fishing were healthy and robust. If we had kept the number of Crappie we caught, what a fish fry we could have had and the numbers they would have fed! Amongst the successes were field testing flies and catching my 96th species on the fly, an Orangespotted Sunfish. In addition, I think I now have caught all of the Sunfish species swimming in Texas' waters. They are such fun, particularly due in part to the aggressive nature with which they attack a fly. </div><div><br /></div><div>The club outings are fun to enjoy with fellow fishy folk, and rather sadly, this was Cody's and my first foray into an event and fishing this year. Though late on wetting a line, at least we started with a bang!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvtYa15BYnBBSHdkwQpxnehP8tudLrCk_fk0bwc9pnnmOgaVeVrbpInlacXeYiVZX4PgxBi_Cpzif1RHgCE6Tbw-vmio4bRRIVZlK2NF_Vse0GoYrJnCFJtLTE8U-qTygEImygONQEQBGvlF7Agx8bV5mmaxLDAG8TVmw7lw6jl5LbBbGh5X_vQz4/s2048/IMG_0089.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvtYa15BYnBBSHdkwQpxnehP8tudLrCk_fk0bwc9pnnmOgaVeVrbpInlacXeYiVZX4PgxBi_Cpzif1RHgCE6Tbw-vmio4bRRIVZlK2NF_Vse0GoYrJnCFJtLTE8U-qTygEImygONQEQBGvlF7Agx8bV5mmaxLDAG8TVmw7lw6jl5LbBbGh5X_vQz4/w640-h480/IMG_0089.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmP3GHgE6kfABP0b0lcDIbYgdgGPK-HqFerRRamcM_-ynrP1PHkqh0NM-MhTHErQntoh4uKDo6h9qMdo1OMwd7esQpw16J45HhkmBKS72MTOUANI2FU9QiGZ_4bHMXoYz24i8N_DnhKY7ir9gGENbTpHS1DEz6owM9sYilu1Vzs97Jn8efqUe4kvL/s2048/IMG_0087.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmP3GHgE6kfABP0b0lcDIbYgdgGPK-HqFerRRamcM_-ynrP1PHkqh0NM-MhTHErQntoh4uKDo6h9qMdo1OMwd7esQpw16J45HhkmBKS72MTOUANI2FU9QiGZ_4bHMXoYz24i8N_DnhKY7ir9gGENbTpHS1DEz6owM9sYilu1Vzs97Jn8efqUe4kvL/w640-h480/IMG_0087.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhju6IKM2ugEIHkJYrUUP3zeO7GDLUzmgcj_TPmcken_1BlOKIW2hd8qXz79ROL8AS5k8BNKKsnEXVBQZWohmByqmTaOfuHbEOQ9_eU_A-Xfg9IgiGrfrUmfqzuDTwEiu2Q6Z_YHT_XCY6FLSpdr5xcXRXE9lrcCs0F2tXsZBYXp3MszOhFt2-S1dLM/s2048/IMG_0092.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhju6IKM2ugEIHkJYrUUP3zeO7GDLUzmgcj_TPmcken_1BlOKIW2hd8qXz79ROL8AS5k8BNKKsnEXVBQZWohmByqmTaOfuHbEOQ9_eU_A-Xfg9IgiGrfrUmfqzuDTwEiu2Q6Z_YHT_XCY6FLSpdr5xcXRXE9lrcCs0F2tXsZBYXp3MszOhFt2-S1dLM/w640-h480/IMG_0092.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LdBMZ0xgLfx21ZIEPxqV3Pmr911rxxZqHz049mgnKzAJSrVERSHRh121fCxxYqL1-XBDjjt98edwltLMVPGDMW4O2o7wiRBe3DttCWY6Me6rijxVkLkPoFiSzUq9P6VPnZN9V6cvBynhyyBiP6yDgYfv735ItMqZ5Q-U230KetSrpB9VqVU3gnwJ/s480/IMG_3448.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LdBMZ0xgLfx21ZIEPxqV3Pmr911rxxZqHz049mgnKzAJSrVERSHRh121fCxxYqL1-XBDjjt98edwltLMVPGDMW4O2o7wiRBe3DttCWY6Me6rijxVkLkPoFiSzUq9P6VPnZN9V6cvBynhyyBiP6yDgYfv735ItMqZ5Q-U230KetSrpB9VqVU3gnwJ/w480-h640/IMG_3448.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i79HQdH9y65_gmk8md1bDJWLevthFAId-HVwg8HfWfifArrP101SFTSiN2O3blCsVY9czIgzkXSJHjhmN15x3u21vHoosZ2uOSzszFiG4kKOmZNP0rAgPS2brfSKRIEdN4b2T3SBtPFMm9LyTGEht57p3OaqeefWIeYlz-rAMkKPL_MldC48FYYb/s2048/IMG_0094.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0i79HQdH9y65_gmk8md1bDJWLevthFAId-HVwg8HfWfifArrP101SFTSiN2O3blCsVY9czIgzkXSJHjhmN15x3u21vHoosZ2uOSzszFiG4kKOmZNP0rAgPS2brfSKRIEdN4b2T3SBtPFMm9LyTGEht57p3OaqeefWIeYlz-rAMkKPL_MldC48FYYb/w480-h640/IMG_0094.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjKoLF_QieiCd4qTtf1enb-RbCu0F23HxbvqwTkY5oZYzygZCFnFUQvP3zcqyiSjShbds2F6o1FLqDDt8nrKEhGdrTZbeA51z8hHep1X4crJT-G36Lxxo0w3ez7By-3POGJvghfAHMbn-k0uFEFlqrDnUdcuWXlM18huGx-bsbXbrxIvAh96YIjZE/s2048/IMG_0093.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjKoLF_QieiCd4qTtf1enb-RbCu0F23HxbvqwTkY5oZYzygZCFnFUQvP3zcqyiSjShbds2F6o1FLqDDt8nrKEhGdrTZbeA51z8hHep1X4crJT-G36Lxxo0w3ez7By-3POGJvghfAHMbn-k0uFEFlqrDnUdcuWXlM18huGx-bsbXbrxIvAh96YIjZE/w640-h480/IMG_0093.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 96th species on the fly!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutZnAZRdoVvxZwZv6PPWyoGtSRNF9EBL9nw5594H68EoBByMm36DxL1HZzoHMGkPW2stfnjSN_TjTfUnrI8PT5-zNCDar0hualKEhS9uQoYkl5GDmQ-bT5BVU1OEDe7fIN40sSltVPYtqXXI-Xr2ToIahpVDX5KmlFV7clU_rUZyu-8rDHNw9flt3/s2048/IMG_0096.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiutZnAZRdoVvxZwZv6PPWyoGtSRNF9EBL9nw5594H68EoBByMm36DxL1HZzoHMGkPW2stfnjSN_TjTfUnrI8PT5-zNCDar0hualKEhS9uQoYkl5GDmQ-bT5BVU1OEDe7fIN40sSltVPYtqXXI-Xr2ToIahpVDX5KmlFV7clU_rUZyu-8rDHNw9flt3/w640-h480/IMG_0096.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-44198403051200170672023-03-29T15:00:00.009-05:002023-04-16T18:10:19.225-05:002023's First Line Wetting <p> Life has been busy, and Cody and I have just not had the opportunity to fish. I had to visit a fellow DFF Board Member, and he graciously provided us with rigged rods and allowed us to fish his ponds. We only had about 30 minutes, but we were guided to just the right spots. Thankful for good, fishy people and to finally get to fish! We do have an outing tomorrow where we will get to devote the day to fishing, so all will be well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxd1HXBWw88XLhDu_aMFb84XQAw96gnskTxmhCzIymDqGk2nNe-lnk2AkWoW58l9CM9v0_kWnl8R76QuJ4fd870UIViP7aejSFdj5OnqlHkOwDpRkvXK8nP-a0FxprdGSk9reKATnfv0s2YS8QZzth6N0WcU1GPX-oa5cv2zIHRkrcrv1eE-8qLK-/s2048/IMG_3430.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaxd1HXBWw88XLhDu_aMFb84XQAw96gnskTxmhCzIymDqGk2nNe-lnk2AkWoW58l9CM9v0_kWnl8R76QuJ4fd870UIViP7aejSFdj5OnqlHkOwDpRkvXK8nP-a0FxprdGSk9reKATnfv0s2YS8QZzth6N0WcU1GPX-oa5cv2zIHRkrcrv1eE-8qLK-/w640-h480/IMG_3430.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwmbUV1daj7HCEt6kxfoK05OSeMobYXhj2w9CG1ieynQMM3QKRhZ4AFhUXMcKWClg15e0jM17Qq0kR3dOFvJskcJi3tseaCFna7EtJ2UFTiyulAIsUSF30_anI4T-cziKluqJdxW1FbsZy0a8-FjXpNY6-eGsmSyWfHEu8eC-SD9-c8htrHDdhRyr/s2048/IMG_3432.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwmbUV1daj7HCEt6kxfoK05OSeMobYXhj2w9CG1ieynQMM3QKRhZ4AFhUXMcKWClg15e0jM17Qq0kR3dOFvJskcJi3tseaCFna7EtJ2UFTiyulAIsUSF30_anI4T-cziKluqJdxW1FbsZy0a8-FjXpNY6-eGsmSyWfHEu8eC-SD9-c8htrHDdhRyr/w480-h640/IMG_3432.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-90827308376236979442022-09-24T18:00:00.038-05:002023-05-11T01:05:19.259-05:00LLELA<p> The Dallas Fly Fishers held a Basic Fly Fishing Education class today at the Lake Lewisville Environmental Learning Area. I brought my fishing rig to target those carp and buffalo that abound in the Lake Lewisville Tailrace. I had targeted these species in the Spring after our entomology day but came up empty handed.</p><p>These species are everywhere, take just a bit to spook, and I don't think it was possible for me to catch one after the fiasco in the spring.</p><p>I fished for two-and-a-half hours before giving up and calling last cast. I had hooked several, spooked dozens several times over, but I just wasn't feeling the love. I used a brass conehead CodyBugger, cast one last time where I began my casting that day and yielded nothing for my efforts.</p><p>I don't know why now or what the combination was, but it was FIshOn! Several others watched who had also fished for these oh so picky fish and hollered congratulations form the shore.</p><p>I netted it and took a weak selfie and added my 96th species to the list!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nf2jKVzl-G2QN2y8ajgFDfK8SlvACN5e54gObaxtrv21LL3cE-ueVGCPI2IkZysZ8GTS51umuvVDfR6ipXjUXFiAbBzMniUgBrnMwwFvDKF_gvWcxmd850krnyRmBhx9C4JZmjGmTUxZqw3fH7-Bcs9_mDvuDpuJjrEYKNCNM3MDZvR9kSVuJVuw/s2046/LLELA%20Smallmouth%20Buffalo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2046" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nf2jKVzl-G2QN2y8ajgFDfK8SlvACN5e54gObaxtrv21LL3cE-ueVGCPI2IkZysZ8GTS51umuvVDfR6ipXjUXFiAbBzMniUgBrnMwwFvDKF_gvWcxmd850krnyRmBhx9C4JZmjGmTUxZqw3fH7-Bcs9_mDvuDpuJjrEYKNCNM3MDZvR9kSVuJVuw/w640-h480/LLELA%20Smallmouth%20Buffalo.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-78096171533798377542021-03-06T21:05:00.001-06:002021-03-17T21:22:23.841-05:00Springtime with the Tenkara<p> I had hopes that my hand would have been healed by now; it is healing, slowly and steadily with more steps forward and fewer backwards, so I'll take that. One difficulty I'm still experiencing is the ability to grab a fly line and retrieve a fighting fish, regardless if it's a small or large fish, that strong pincher movement is just not happening. However, TenkaraUSA keeps me on the water, my rod tip bent, fish in the net, and provides me with happy days. I'm now up to three species on the rod--Sunfish, Largemouth Bass (I know they are in the Sunfish family, but it's an IGFA species, so I'm counting it!), and Nolan River White Bass.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wSgGLF726XeaRCHFjevwBTjyI7QfM3yxkkcwoyuuchIgdapD4q-K48VcZ_upE8H8Sgm-YguJv4k2GvEPuzW3dKWIIw4NxMHhp7-crVqbbK1D2XE0axaT-dP-vFbKftKmG0_bVs8eQ8Y/s2048/Bluegill+03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wSgGLF726XeaRCHFjevwBTjyI7QfM3yxkkcwoyuuchIgdapD4q-K48VcZ_upE8H8Sgm-YguJv4k2GvEPuzW3dKWIIw4NxMHhp7-crVqbbK1D2XE0axaT-dP-vFbKftKmG0_bVs8eQ8Y/w640-h480/Bluegill+03.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunfish--Bluegill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hNusaAdAEU30nnJjy1lAoTvuaQ50OVxDyN_zi8iEJ9R0ZqF1VEdf30Ll78Rin2VcXkoXSx6VYJH69coc_mKs-es9hut9TgXRAws0Cc-p-LDjoei-6rtRvG7l5k-CIvTbpcp_yT4Brhc/s2048/LMB+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hNusaAdAEU30nnJjy1lAoTvuaQ50OVxDyN_zi8iEJ9R0ZqF1VEdf30Ll78Rin2VcXkoXSx6VYJH69coc_mKs-es9hut9TgXRAws0Cc-p-LDjoei-6rtRvG7l5k-CIvTbpcp_yT4Brhc/w480-h640/LMB+1.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Largemouth Bass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWm8qXNrd8DSjaFHV83RgfDbiqyb4Nmv1QfhmbifzO2TNciBj7t95qqqMhG4mbH8VhZIDY5CBRPriUD6KIrwgua48Vko9LY_27dYcpesKjrcMpUG4R9z0b1wvjy5EFQ7FTPOklO-tiq5M/s2048/LMB+2+01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWm8qXNrd8DSjaFHV83RgfDbiqyb4Nmv1QfhmbifzO2TNciBj7t95qqqMhG4mbH8VhZIDY5CBRPriUD6KIrwgua48Vko9LY_27dYcpesKjrcMpUG4R9z0b1wvjy5EFQ7FTPOklO-tiq5M/w640-h480/LMB+2+01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Largemouth Bass 2</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsdedUYg7rSq2eUa9Wm2X48QdWTR0ECPXXi3cwsY9AoycGTbFj4UtmeM-x_IN64ae7bftw5rLE66cm3QlMdsiavkhko9hsFnbbmqv8pQ09QR2Yn7Onby6Aqcg0an1tnPZM5jSnS888Gg/s2045/WB+2+01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2045" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsdedUYg7rSq2eUa9Wm2X48QdWTR0ECPXXi3cwsY9AoycGTbFj4UtmeM-x_IN64ae7bftw5rLE66cm3QlMdsiavkhko9hsFnbbmqv8pQ09QR2Yn7Onby6Aqcg0an1tnPZM5jSnS888Gg/w640-h482/WB+2+01.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Claw" at work</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOCxVYxgvBY31zB59MkblC8XT4hwWUlvEDu97ApFrE-5NVMpOyo8vA1fkQa2Ob_bcB1AYX2vpwGdoLJPE24GDbjMsY_doinhfGo_P65KD-FkoQP736xsUsPLw4opzp_WMjs9oHVHoS5E/s2020/WB+2+02.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1555" data-original-width="2020" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpOCxVYxgvBY31zB59MkblC8XT4hwWUlvEDu97ApFrE-5NVMpOyo8vA1fkQa2Ob_bcB1AYX2vpwGdoLJPE24GDbjMsY_doinhfGo_P65KD-FkoQP736xsUsPLw4opzp_WMjs9oHVHoS5E/w640-h492/WB+2+02.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fighting fish with The Claw is hard work</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt3Qoel_Nk09m8H-wMYDSIZoYdlAPEmC7PsixO-u6hbHXNPlRE58m8HPF5TiqXg_8zYMu2HFsYScqvYOtoV5iO4b4qZfboQneCa8ZSDpYQMqIAHaoX8RKIb-XtF9XoVC8l5Q6D9ZoMBU/s2042/WB+2+03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2042" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGt3Qoel_Nk09m8H-wMYDSIZoYdlAPEmC7PsixO-u6hbHXNPlRE58m8HPF5TiqXg_8zYMu2HFsYScqvYOtoV5iO4b4qZfboQneCa8ZSDpYQMqIAHaoX8RKIb-XtF9XoVC8l5Q6D9ZoMBU/w640-h482/WB+2+03.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nolan River White Bass</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-62354766216535561302020-08-23T22:00:00.000-05:002020-08-28T04:37:44.147-05:00The Gift of Tenkara2020's summer has not been kind to our family. One instance was me breaking my dominant arm while fly fishing in Pass Creek near South Fork, Colorado my first day on vacation! The following week, I had surgery to repair both my radius and ulna. Wanting to be able to still enjoy fly fishing, I began seriously investigating Tenkara Fly Fishing, since that can be accomplished with one arm. While researching, my uncle called to talk, check on me, and wish me a speedy recovery, and during our conversation, I enthusiastically told my uncle all about Tenkara Fly Fishing in great detail. A few weeks later and with the help of my cousins, my uncle gifted me with a Tenkara USA Rhodo Rod and Tenkara Rod Co. Crossbreed fly line. Our postman, Rance, had no idea the joy he delivered when he brought that rod and fly line to our doorstep!<br />
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Still incapable of quite a lot, I couldn't rig the rod myself, so Cody had to also learn about Tenkara lines. Having watched several videos himself, Cody set to tying knots, adjoining lines, and tying my fly (a CodyBugger christened my rod), and we headed to a very small pond in our town. Neither of us had fished the pond, but we figured there just had to be fish in it.</div>
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Finding a shady spot near a downed branch, I made my first cast and was rewarded with several hits. Talk about excitement! I continued to adjust to the Tenkara-style of fly fishing, though not in the traditional sense, as I was fishing warm water that wasn't moving! Finding another shady spot with overhanging branches and switching to a topwater grasshopper, I had fishing slurping, hitting, and aggressively slamming that fly, which now has little bite marks in the foam body and one less antenna and leg. Still though, I had no hook-ups. Cody selected a wet fly pattern with a size 16 hook, and it was FishOn! I hooked a Green Sunfish first, but I failed to execute the hookset correctly, so I had an LDR (long-distance release). I did manage to land my first fish--a small but aggressive Bluegill. Then, at dusk, I told Cody "Five more casts," and on the first of the five, Bam! FishOn! A bigger, hungrier Bluegill grabbed my fly on the second twitch. I thought I'd exercise my winged hand by trying to hold the line in it and the rod in my good hand, but that didn't work too well. However, Cody patiently helped me get the fish and the rod situated and then snapped my photo. My fish weren't World Record fish, but they brought me great joy and taught me a thing or two. </div>
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I have much to learn about Tenkara, but it was a great christening! My Dad, who passed away suddenly in June, put my first fly rod in my hand to help me heal from breast cancer. My uncle put my first Tenkara rod in my hand to help me heal from a broken arm. Fly fishing truly is a powerful gift!</div>
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flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-21316579880259976742018-09-30T15:14:00.008-05:002024-03-13T01:26:23.965-05:00Mongolia, Julia's #1 Bucketlist Trip<p>21-30 September </p><p>When I was in the third grade at C.C. Duff Elementary, Miss Winkles' lesson on countries allowed us to select a country other than the USA about which we would learn. I chose Mongolia. I have no idea why, but I knew I wanted Mongolia. I was the nerdy little kid that when the National Geographic magazines arrived, the adults handed me the maps, and off I would go to my room, pouring endless hours into studying that edition's map. So when we were given the opportunity, I did not need to study a map or a globe, I just raised my hand and asked for Mongolia. Fast-forward to my college days where I studied for a Bachelor of Arts in History, specializing in Military History. In 1988, I took a Russian history class where I had to write a paper about the Russian Communism 1930s purge years, and in that paper, I discussed the decimation of the Dayan Derkh Buddhist Monastery, which was located in northern Mongolia. Fast-forward again to September 2018, when Cody booked us a trip to fly fish the Eg-Uur River Watershed and attend the Golden Eagle festival in Mongolia. I can't say when, but for decades I have wanted to catch a Lenok, being that this salmonoid has been around since the Glacial Epoch period, and a Taimen, the largest salmonid species on the planet, both of<span style="color: #444444; font-family: DDG_ProximaNova, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_0, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_1, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_2, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_3, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_4, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_5, DDG_ProximaNova_UI_6, Proxima Nova, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Segoe UI, Nimbus Sans L, Liberation Sans, Open Sans, FreeSans, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.4px;"> </span></span>whose populations only seem healthy in Mongolia and Russia's Lake Baikal region, which once belonged to Mongolia. We chose to book with Sweetwater Travel due to its conservation efforts along the Eg-Uur fishery protecting 110 river miles. What I learned while there: Mongolia is both rugged and beautiful. Its people love color and are hospitable, kind, and resourceful. There are nine animals for every one person in the entire country. Mongolia has the second largest coal reserves and a significantly large plutonium reserve had just been newly discovered earlier that summer in Mongolia and thought to be a part of the Kazakhstan mine; the people were very nervous about both Russia's and China's reactions to the discovery. The biggest surprise for me, I learned Sweetwater also rebuilt the Dayan Derkh Monastery, which we were allowed to visit. It was an epic trip for us. Cody caught his 100th species on the fly, a Lenok, photographed the Golden Eagle festival in Bayan-Olgii aimag, learned about the What 3 Words app as we drove across Mongolia where there were no roads, and ate new-to-him meats. I also added to my species list, saw ancient Deerstones, petted a yak, enjoyed a camel, saw so many amazing birds, and celebrated our 8th anniversary there. There are still more places to tick on our Bucket Lists, but to have visited the #1 choice? Satisfaction, glorious reverie and satisfaction, indeed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2ujj66iXbubuHdQ25hiOZm_LKWdpCYgzx6CCw2FxsFe1TkCCNYzroecTCzO4jF9m5sJMRScMj-ca3SAcjwlvudub9aTw94CYxXWYMaiQWGNVu9MpuysiglbEh6v-WrkQfxX_qtruE39vTc5YXSLedblBqOAy4WMCW_dOR6oEPpcHpZx2nWRgLP9CZTw/s8256/Camp%20Gers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4qoYDU47NcITWjcwQlyLjJKCbnSKhz-u-cqVVm0SIeFIyzrb4Kg4QBb6DDAhaO4V14tEvVRga4Je_2pOGtFk55eb6tCsdJk8Upzy8uoKMy67n_0Wiibmz04NFyixcIhtFJLrkcQoWN8Wsi3Vl1IFfasKeRM3KgLiBj09oX_njuI1H6r81usDtYLBe70/s8256/Ghenghis%20Khan%20Memorial%20Statue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8256" data-original-width="5504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4qoYDU47NcITWjcwQlyLjJKCbnSKhz-u-cqVVm0SIeFIyzrb4Kg4QBb6DDAhaO4V14tEvVRga4Je_2pOGtFk55eb6tCsdJk8Upzy8uoKMy67n_0Wiibmz04NFyixcIhtFJLrkcQoWN8Wsi3Vl1IFfasKeRM3KgLiBj09oX_njuI1H6r81usDtYLBe70/w426-h640/Ghenghis%20Khan%20Memorial%20Statue.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chenggis Khan Memorial statue outside Ulaanbaatar</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2ujj66iXbubuHdQ25hiOZm_LKWdpCYgzx6CCw2FxsFe1TkCCNYzroecTCzO4jF9m5sJMRScMj-ca3SAcjwlvudub9aTw94CYxXWYMaiQWGNVu9MpuysiglbEh6v-WrkQfxX_qtruE39vTc5YXSLedblBqOAy4WMCW_dOR6oEPpcHpZx2nWRgLP9CZTw/w640-h426/Camp%20Gers.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp Gers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfRPuRPFmd0twimXdWeXPrNNiQsTQzI0JtuSznFG8nTjm4wXFTIFrDWo9K4dLxFPcJlpFsbz_Oj8e616wzihKvRleTKCRlL5BiqtVc4hfERdHe-KssrD3iSDLraKM-yJD3KAvZ45zJDX9gaxprhm0x6FBHxlvNFQZuy8D4wg2qNjEFHo7-ZxmLVljClI/s4032/Camp%20Ger%20Interior%2000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfRPuRPFmd0twimXdWeXPrNNiQsTQzI0JtuSznFG8nTjm4wXFTIFrDWo9K4dLxFPcJlpFsbz_Oj8e616wzihKvRleTKCRlL5BiqtVc4hfERdHe-KssrD3iSDLraKM-yJD3KAvZ45zJDX9gaxprhm0x6FBHxlvNFQZuy8D4wg2qNjEFHo7-ZxmLVljClI/w480-h640/Camp%20Ger%20Interior%2000.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A person was paid to come add coal and stoke our fire; we were not supposed <br />to handle any of the coal or keep the fire going. By 4 am, it was cold.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO82X0WKlnRqPpshyUDqDWn_m4WTSvIxpzRUVoiohC_pXT9g2KsCIMfL4WLtDx8CGiXVVSUIoyMWr3HR7NzzeBoTxEOqb2-2gb89CcYoNNjUSJcCFINpoxOa8gH4gy-ucnaCBmW3Rrt0TqIaEquBqj2DvjlAUh5kc3DA2q3nvfw3SJn9DnumsEP8sms4E/s4032/Camp%20Ger%20Interior%2001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO82X0WKlnRqPpshyUDqDWn_m4WTSvIxpzRUVoiohC_pXT9g2KsCIMfL4WLtDx8CGiXVVSUIoyMWr3HR7NzzeBoTxEOqb2-2gb89CcYoNNjUSJcCFINpoxOa8gH4gy-ucnaCBmW3Rrt0TqIaEquBqj2DvjlAUh5kc3DA2q3nvfw3SJn9DnumsEP8sms4E/w480-h640/Camp%20Ger%20Interior%2001.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wool rugs kept everything warm and were hand woven<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGkxv4mebcPcGhiXWKWN3iwj0cIT7QG9S2Q3ofUZTMPFObxYRn6Soj5lcejvaxTghY4NnP5CXMo7skvpA5PIvvKfJrEdoYQ1NIhHlv5u3AbGIDIvsi-hdjtnPsbEBJyeNW2YsU5XIMS8Btwj7xbOR_GCKx40PK7XxNkgWft3Uam8g1LJbzLjtwfFfC_E/s8256/Ger%20Under%20Construction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGkxv4mebcPcGhiXWKWN3iwj0cIT7QG9S2Q3ofUZTMPFObxYRn6Soj5lcejvaxTghY4NnP5CXMo7skvpA5PIvvKfJrEdoYQ1NIhHlv5u3AbGIDIvsi-hdjtnPsbEBJyeNW2YsU5XIMS8Btwj7xbOR_GCKx40PK7XxNkgWft3Uam8g1LJbzLjtwfFfC_E/w640-h426/Ger%20Under%20Construction.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo04MAhZGiO3UuFxcSyM9NU9hH_1PQVnapI8KmeyB4kMyZnCSnszSd5g1CMFcu3PXEfZTNGYlVftZeq372nT05o4lHv9AKYlF2U_gNonhVCKNOQgC0i_BzlJ7kvWnAR-8Ytgv7Uac4bTM9Z0g9nlQbICjRwMK-iJ-qtkdEIZYlyFllWy4I3tlIOxQ8RXY/s8256/Camp%20Kitchen%20and%20Dining%20Room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo04MAhZGiO3UuFxcSyM9NU9hH_1PQVnapI8KmeyB4kMyZnCSnszSd5g1CMFcu3PXEfZTNGYlVftZeq372nT05o4lHv9AKYlF2U_gNonhVCKNOQgC0i_BzlJ7kvWnAR-8Ytgv7Uac4bTM9Z0g9nlQbICjRwMK-iJ-qtkdEIZYlyFllWy4I3tlIOxQ8RXY/w640-h426/Camp%20Kitchen%20and%20Dining%20Room.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp Kitchen and Entertaining Area</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTW1uwx1pNlkom2ifL_XlyEKukb_FK2zfbGStug0eMQb5pDtgrFMFYBAgGEmrAPCdYWA9tw9XNtYOco6Wbe6DzrGgeLoxb7415K0ipIOr4pSa6OJFBpYAnVJOVZjBwoVD5PoWeBRzcxSj_bkWnNtnxtunah6Fhz8ouaACsGVDTr9hPj-Ezwe3QeSLbPM/s8256/Camp%20Bathhouse%20and%20Toilets.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTW1uwx1pNlkom2ifL_XlyEKukb_FK2zfbGStug0eMQb5pDtgrFMFYBAgGEmrAPCdYWA9tw9XNtYOco6Wbe6DzrGgeLoxb7415K0ipIOr4pSa6OJFBpYAnVJOVZjBwoVD5PoWeBRzcxSj_bkWnNtnxtunah6Fhz8ouaACsGVDTr9hPj-Ezwe3QeSLbPM/w640-h426/Camp%20Bathhouse%20and%20Toilets.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp Bathhouse and Toilets</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4qj9sRPk-lVX7Eb_POLsTA1MrpBqHRdQnXUoRwMy1IJara307glmSeFE4bN_sexvC303uUSOIYhRTzkb3eog5spHcYSc8uDbrlnw1C07S7i1G-udpc81CNB04UcZR0vE9Cc2Dlq_KUp_wQiRaFHqxOPQhyQytBUqZHLJ0TDEhbgrY2IThYtyu-W-Bd8/s8256/Camp%20Boats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4qj9sRPk-lVX7Eb_POLsTA1MrpBqHRdQnXUoRwMy1IJara307glmSeFE4bN_sexvC303uUSOIYhRTzkb3eog5spHcYSc8uDbrlnw1C07S7i1G-udpc81CNB04UcZR0vE9Cc2Dlq_KUp_wQiRaFHqxOPQhyQytBUqZHLJ0TDEhbgrY2IThYtyu-W-Bd8/w640-h426/Camp%20Boats.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNy1blOoFEmlemA2_wg0gKa75dU32KoZ8qgTqoV1oID1-1A8ivLlWAED8w6T0SqhhD1vCGOKYCpBKfKDd1SK9AzIPYvcOzum5E-rRvtgxKfLVrTUwAspJbrHZsGIumiIz1RtWuMF_0q0w7umCH34GRkFSoGhMZLBDjmITJIEQRQtx6mZENqR3RNK0Tpw/s8256/Nighttime%20over%20Camp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNy1blOoFEmlemA2_wg0gKa75dU32KoZ8qgTqoV1oID1-1A8ivLlWAED8w6T0SqhhD1vCGOKYCpBKfKDd1SK9AzIPYvcOzum5E-rRvtgxKfLVrTUwAspJbrHZsGIumiIz1RtWuMF_0q0w7umCH34GRkFSoGhMZLBDjmITJIEQRQtx6mZENqR3RNK0Tpw/w640-h426/Nighttime%20over%20Camp.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September Full Moon</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5xanmox4HxJk-VCfNzaq94OY4csFy-jqnTisU6neHKiKeeHFDakr3jLvoODiKMh0oalvrRi-0HS8IHLs5ACfQqCZrZS63AbL8c9Pfo2W0tv2iopQhEQy5pdfSg3ZH7SwIet4CsHt-mjrLpJEgbJtzrHNpTFdsE2w0oNo_UB05S7IPyzzOh8TnUxef1o/s8256/Cody's%201st%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5xanmox4HxJk-VCfNzaq94OY4csFy-jqnTisU6neHKiKeeHFDakr3jLvoODiKMh0oalvrRi-0HS8IHLs5ACfQqCZrZS63AbL8c9Pfo2W0tv2iopQhEQy5pdfSg3ZH7SwIet4CsHt-mjrLpJEgbJtzrHNpTFdsE2w0oNo_UB05S7IPyzzOh8TnUxef1o/w640-h426/Cody's%201st%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cody's 1st Taimen, Day 1</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgyizMDnL-FONqAc4_Yo4kub_UH4grW6pNx5QhR0mYyX2lxZMPmZH9fNiozepJpKPTM3HyyinO_Tq36taQnQ1p5NBCL4hu0as2ey8XLuftjpPXuMafIz0ZgV9DSWJgGE1CGxbQERXd-e48ax1JQHYkKifDnDNpMII-xfIDPRe588IC3-0l0DokjyxFHE/s8256/Cody's%202nd%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgyizMDnL-FONqAc4_Yo4kub_UH4grW6pNx5QhR0mYyX2lxZMPmZH9fNiozepJpKPTM3HyyinO_Tq36taQnQ1p5NBCL4hu0as2ey8XLuftjpPXuMafIz0ZgV9DSWJgGE1CGxbQERXd-e48ax1JQHYkKifDnDNpMII-xfIDPRe588IC3-0l0DokjyxFHE/w640-h426/Cody's%202nd%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cody's 2nd Taimen, Day 2</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl2xXGfqFnQCDv0-M8eV1sSWUzWDo0PgitJBo971cRrDb0Hen6LqTAkHsGrqS9UIyKqZNrAdeodtlfkjGkddoy3o3UYRHh2wCV9euEd7YVhs0Fg7ShxYqoHEyN-tFA0YxmS8HYA0YcnvNtzMWXfWJCnELRoFMDVtUIE-Exswfda9msQfPAzS1yPTcQUI/s8256/Cody's%204th%20Day%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUl2xXGfqFnQCDv0-M8eV1sSWUzWDo0PgitJBo971cRrDb0Hen6LqTAkHsGrqS9UIyKqZNrAdeodtlfkjGkddoy3o3UYRHh2wCV9euEd7YVhs0Fg7ShxYqoHEyN-tFA0YxmS8HYA0YcnvNtzMWXfWJCnELRoFMDVtUIE-Exswfda9msQfPAzS1yPTcQUI/w640-h426/Cody's%204th%20Day%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 4's Taimen</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyooiQiokUViBZVQnuDhfQxWdPX1y-tFysVBLVrW1WDvsr68NUkC2k5cKWAVG4GcFHFVG_VqyQAxNp895SlsRZ3oZwCwH0w4ee_oTR3FRd5wnU80LGBk4_Aqq1I932lPcYIiJOKimHNxxA7dCbTPMYkBkEIrtwqx9P3TM98XrX64AGT3iUdvwn32-4Q4/s8256/Taimen%20Released.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyooiQiokUViBZVQnuDhfQxWdPX1y-tFysVBLVrW1WDvsr68NUkC2k5cKWAVG4GcFHFVG_VqyQAxNp895SlsRZ3oZwCwH0w4ee_oTR3FRd5wnU80LGBk4_Aqq1I932lPcYIiJOKimHNxxA7dCbTPMYkBkEIrtwqx9P3TM98XrX64AGT3iUdvwn32-4Q4/w640-h426/Taimen%20Released.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taimen Release</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1184tXrAlQsXph5bY5rtOwoLzbSTpxD-z1MqPJzXAb51-pDz2BpgcjO2jqbp43U8npQpcRjaO9E2YmO69H_mixDDVTQzfyViuof5U9uXtXPRCpbeLSTUvm0Qwo7PcLk3hnt01xzjao-ZYUjwwTWPR3JFWwW5onFmkg_1TqPbat-9YJ4J7g_-eYPZfLnA/s8256/White%20Mouth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1184tXrAlQsXph5bY5rtOwoLzbSTpxD-z1MqPJzXAb51-pDz2BpgcjO2jqbp43U8npQpcRjaO9E2YmO69H_mixDDVTQzfyViuof5U9uXtXPRCpbeLSTUvm0Qwo7PcLk3hnt01xzjao-ZYUjwwTWPR3JFWwW5onFmkg_1TqPbat-9YJ4J7g_-eYPZfLnA/w640-h426/White%20Mouth.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telltale white mouth</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialjRC6tOGN52VAtdEgRKeBcVELAhFtSGih4Hx0c88nxFJAarKcIMjm5n0vZIyZPVw5a0ZST44dyeyJ9wbPLISsvBL9ICavGg-txK9m3J7Ay9NHvOiEzT0v-_Crjme4F36-Y-h0-cZL3kY27Vc3rJ_Tms5zMf4i-NyV6jEowP1pNXgHBr5Qz9g-_vJKNI/s8256/Julia's%201st%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialjRC6tOGN52VAtdEgRKeBcVELAhFtSGih4Hx0c88nxFJAarKcIMjm5n0vZIyZPVw5a0ZST44dyeyJ9wbPLISsvBL9ICavGg-txK9m3J7Ay9NHvOiEzT0v-_Crjme4F36-Y-h0-cZL3kY27Vc3rJ_Tms5zMf4i-NyV6jEowP1pNXgHBr5Qz9g-_vJKNI/w640-h426/Julia's%201st%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia's 1st Taimen, Day 4</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUHcTf0ehX2p_xZWUZXs2TqhzLP8uUhNyaln2JOPVKV3xGojcGjX3bMSiIcXngReuzABqH9atTXCJVbBd7JHg84Db87QXAc9e1hnaTpEqDvU12xm92vGIEAN1orh2vEKJn7l0YsqP-EcWRjAzgyuR3K6nzXrWnEahQjKO4pswYv6qtBZETSiHsLFqBS0/s8256/Cody's%205th%20Day%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUHcTf0ehX2p_xZWUZXs2TqhzLP8uUhNyaln2JOPVKV3xGojcGjX3bMSiIcXngReuzABqH9atTXCJVbBd7JHg84Db87QXAc9e1hnaTpEqDvU12xm92vGIEAN1orh2vEKJn7l0YsqP-EcWRjAzgyuR3K6nzXrWnEahQjKO4pswYv6qtBZETSiHsLFqBS0/w640-h426/Cody's%205th%20Day%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Taimen, Day 6</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiXTI_L_QX5PXrI3vnSKKjBQP7bp05R6S0OTRKdynyQ60vGOatCJRarTEh74_xT_66gWFILE1bWyf5ALsDFnoSoP9cQryC3iIOWoZyA9_7UIpgh9-hJDVWTwFo9l6-6zhuKUu6ibOb-gRmaJLh8y68rRSgEffOgnbgG-VnldBjZ6GU1rdgwrNTv1JK_k/s8256/Julia's%20IGFA%20Record%20Taimen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiXTI_L_QX5PXrI3vnSKKjBQP7bp05R6S0OTRKdynyQ60vGOatCJRarTEh74_xT_66gWFILE1bWyf5ALsDFnoSoP9cQryC3iIOWoZyA9_7UIpgh9-hJDVWTwFo9l6-6zhuKUu6ibOb-gRmaJLh8y68rRSgEffOgnbgG-VnldBjZ6GU1rdgwrNTv1JK_k/w640-h426/Julia's%20IGFA%20Record%20Taimen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last day: Julia's IGFA World Record, 6kg/12lb Tippet class, Taimen weighed 7 lb, 12 oz.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW80_MGuFzmuiEKdUoIR2kd80u1sWVsboQa00SrQsOKAybKtzHMGfP24wK3o5NdwRzN5zItkyoYafbQUdzsyA-HTKUpGAAKDosedjij0dzwbR6w8fmuYmIUADiybY_eZm0GGyRr-FQ56U8Qv0L2iR849GOyt4haztyIBuYt1pg-DlRLVyNfgFtw_XYKVE/s8256/Celebration.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW80_MGuFzmuiEKdUoIR2kd80u1sWVsboQa00SrQsOKAybKtzHMGfP24wK3o5NdwRzN5zItkyoYafbQUdzsyA-HTKUpGAAKDosedjij0dzwbR6w8fmuYmIUADiybY_eZm0GGyRr-FQ56U8Qv0L2iR849GOyt4haztyIBuYt1pg-DlRLVyNfgFtw_XYKVE/w640-h426/Celebration.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating successes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXU8v6QGlJQKCPyih4A24vCBG3cNG5mie2YbUIgREZihA06Oh6H2XtxCsoV1rYlc6DyEQ7w8J48ExugZZ5V6dbZHpaa1XZTYMv0UWcHa5exFlyaCI5gFh7t8TKTQ5GBkfpJY3QcPCihTp30MlteQ2BiVob9Ai70H294RtHIZc_ButnhV_7eK_U8hKS50/s4032/Cody's%201st%20Lenok.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXU8v6QGlJQKCPyih4A24vCBG3cNG5mie2YbUIgREZihA06Oh6H2XtxCsoV1rYlc6DyEQ7w8J48ExugZZ5V6dbZHpaa1XZTYMv0UWcHa5exFlyaCI5gFh7t8TKTQ5GBkfpJY3QcPCihTp30MlteQ2BiVob9Ai70H294RtHIZc_ButnhV_7eK_U8hKS50/w640-h480/Cody's%201st%20Lenok.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last day: Cody's 1st Lenok and 100th species on the fly</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LYRt1DX1x20o4tuzSbXYxtL0eeE48PFPCG1wgtmRAOF6NIPjigPXlQVSyWUGERGXOm6SwHgpw3HbvI-bY_AUM1TzdohSNVwtAlT44GKgjb49Ms_bwRbTP8maDBhRJSihOKZ3tylhH-r5CWnPRCZnynj9SXcEr81i6BPdtrnWBDa2H6V2FyxkruO4UTw/s8256/Julia's%201st%20Lenok.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LYRt1DX1x20o4tuzSbXYxtL0eeE48PFPCG1wgtmRAOF6NIPjigPXlQVSyWUGERGXOm6SwHgpw3HbvI-bY_AUM1TzdohSNVwtAlT44GKgjb49Ms_bwRbTP8maDBhRJSihOKZ3tylhH-r5CWnPRCZnynj9SXcEr81i6BPdtrnWBDa2H6V2FyxkruO4UTw/w640-h426/Julia's%201st%20Lenok.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last Day: Julia's 1st Lenok</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHa-WwuVjh136gDlQgHaE0KFo0PA67TYOPf1HRVZ8XcXqu7eAHVd5c449SWldRhc15wuXA7eI24qf0Ya9iojZYThq1DQ_CEsGgxb2wAVU_kpyO_2oHK338GutBTbCpDMnLmMgvkx2wr3OA3yhnUGM7Rcd-W4yFszJBsECqFo0y9vv0GzWalcxaL99Qmg/s8256/Buddhist%20Monastery%2002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrsS_aw_ZwBNUahVdp-Jthos_timxB4cdEHrfywz0U-pNJM5Toj1auZpdIZu8v7o43mS_dWKCBhwBtzd31QBoCM0mmmOpjz5Y30ioIem52hHOuDA87QQduCgzWnJIdLLyvOSg59ZynsRvbSgyA2gyA76WGPdf19VrMNZ7W58e0ZgH4OTFIa9rWuCbQTc/s8256/Buddhist%20Monastery.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrsS_aw_ZwBNUahVdp-Jthos_timxB4cdEHrfywz0U-pNJM5Toj1auZpdIZu8v7o43mS_dWKCBhwBtzd31QBoCM0mmmOpjz5Y30ioIem52hHOuDA87QQduCgzWnJIdLLyvOSg59ZynsRvbSgyA2gyA76WGPdf19VrMNZ7W58e0ZgH4OTFIa9rWuCbQTc/w640-h426/Buddhist%20Monastery.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dayan Derkh Monastery</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHa-WwuVjh136gDlQgHaE0KFo0PA67TYOPf1HRVZ8XcXqu7eAHVd5c449SWldRhc15wuXA7eI24qf0Ya9iojZYThq1DQ_CEsGgxb2wAVU_kpyO_2oHK338GutBTbCpDMnLmMgvkx2wr3OA3yhnUGM7Rcd-W4yFszJBsECqFo0y9vv0GzWalcxaL99Qmg/s8256/Buddhist%20Monastery%2002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHa-WwuVjh136gDlQgHaE0KFo0PA67TYOPf1HRVZ8XcXqu7eAHVd5c449SWldRhc15wuXA7eI24qf0Ya9iojZYThq1DQ_CEsGgxb2wAVU_kpyO_2oHK338GutBTbCpDMnLmMgvkx2wr3OA3yhnUGM7Rcd-W4yFszJBsECqFo0y9vv0GzWalcxaL99Qmg/w640-h426/Buddhist%20Monastery%2002.JPG" width="640" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R35EKqBiEzpnxe-fBvfHW1nP-Dmqrj-ESuQ7RDnllHVzOhkd0smZrQEVzaYXwxjFRwMsknWFZOkkvGrtFc7IhuVzD3EjO59UDs5aTyoffnM-A9A2GyBAYPnmqCBldx3mOH9FdSvCI5gQvnxAxn6bIgj7jV35f-Cs-mN28Oar66EEZf3BJ55_imtoXe4/s8256/Musical%20Peformers%20from%20the%20Nearest%20Village.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R35EKqBiEzpnxe-fBvfHW1nP-Dmqrj-ESuQ7RDnllHVzOhkd0smZrQEVzaYXwxjFRwMsknWFZOkkvGrtFc7IhuVzD3EjO59UDs5aTyoffnM-A9A2GyBAYPnmqCBldx3mOH9FdSvCI5gQvnxAxn6bIgj7jV35f-Cs-mN28Oar66EEZf3BJ55_imtoXe4/w640-h426/Musical%20Peformers%20from%20the%20Nearest%20Village.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last night's entertainment was a musical performance from nearby villagers (2 hours away)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOVgq2arhrYyKRIn8sdoaOlpKxGHmVVLoEDtDip6pNElXpZsy7nwBNSVHCu8fGPS3w6MkCmMoywzxISSCFuuKqvLJhMUsw55VKXf43-QxZhcLtbw1n5l4KE3U3fSyguqVuAS9kq3_Bo8g7cUgeiOY9G8gBaQNfoP4kSjrzR4nJrJm-uOVgT9d3qfUteA/s8256/Receiving%20Instructions%20on%20How%20to%20Play%20a%20Mongolian%20Dulcimer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOVgq2arhrYyKRIn8sdoaOlpKxGHmVVLoEDtDip6pNElXpZsy7nwBNSVHCu8fGPS3w6MkCmMoywzxISSCFuuKqvLJhMUsw55VKXf43-QxZhcLtbw1n5l4KE3U3fSyguqVuAS9kq3_Bo8g7cUgeiOY9G8gBaQNfoP4kSjrzR4nJrJm-uOVgT9d3qfUteA/w640-h426/Receiving%20Instructions%20on%20How%20to%20Play%20a%20Mongolian%20Dulcimer.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was taught Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the opening to We Wish You a Merry Christmas</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnriTos2XAiVrRJq3cvLNgdIZ8pwxmQFN8GQU2rDx0J0pU1xfNURCQiHbTkeTnbZSetQNEJ2uqnN3syeylgivGLbkJdSXLdbJGwhZeINL8z3Abl9LWf9RvEj8k_zOsNYnFYtQhvoAAjt3jpe6lLqDVPgqgu7EUapNqLtG7083pJJzHLkfTCHG7wXXW2Io/s8256/Eg-Uur%20River%20in%20the%20Morning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5504" data-original-width="8256" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnriTos2XAiVrRJq3cvLNgdIZ8pwxmQFN8GQU2rDx0J0pU1xfNURCQiHbTkeTnbZSetQNEJ2uqnN3syeylgivGLbkJdSXLdbJGwhZeINL8z3Abl9LWf9RvEj8k_zOsNYnFYtQhvoAAjt3jpe6lLqDVPgqgu7EUapNqLtG7083pJJzHLkfTCHG7wXXW2Io/w640-h426/Eg-Uur%20River%20in%20the%20Morning.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise over the Eg-Uur Watershed</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-10910821825196077462018-06-29T19:42:00.000-05:002018-10-13T20:15:12.919-05:00Conejos RiverOn Thursday, we took a break from fishing and rode the train from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO. It was a great adventure! We returned to fishing on Friday. We headed back to The Meadows to try and fish some areas we didn't hit on Wednesday; Cody fished it well, while I only had one species, but I got to add to the species list with my catch. After enjoying our packed lunch, we headed up above Platoro Reservoir and fished the headwaters. We were amazed at how well hidden the fish were in the faster moving headwaters, and how close to us they were--9 feet or closer. Interestingly, we caught no Rainbows.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Cody's Several Browns--Love the Sparkles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEFTpg8e9PbDfJmHqBqsTo936-YgjK3aJqlbcIjrtUgnjI9RbZYqmfYzrvVvWMeVjvXvlvOaIK0yQj69xtePyvM1kihNlRnmRIaNGW7rRS2Of5orXzHgt6E9zXkT0rWbytgb-gwblTN0/s1600/IMG_0973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEFTpg8e9PbDfJmHqBqsTo936-YgjK3aJqlbcIjrtUgnjI9RbZYqmfYzrvVvWMeVjvXvlvOaIK0yQj69xtePyvM1kihNlRnmRIaNGW7rRS2Of5orXzHgt6E9zXkT0rWbytgb-gwblTN0/s640/IMG_0973.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Brownie for Cody</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VRXvAtWi3EgwMglwtUHvvetgWHYyxdP0qPi2L1JDuJw2r7LpJ1uhoHEs1KkBlw-77V8qks-ulNaNtZvTSPor03WLCsboG6GmlH-HXrTbbQtBwmsSpUhtRcbTz4dI7wTcFhnmWcLTriE/s1600/IMG_0980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VRXvAtWi3EgwMglwtUHvvetgWHYyxdP0qPi2L1JDuJw2r7LpJ1uhoHEs1KkBlw-77V8qks-ulNaNtZvTSPor03WLCsboG6GmlH-HXrTbbQtBwmsSpUhtRcbTz4dI7wTcFhnmWcLTriE/s640/IMG_0980.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conejos River between The Meadows and The Pocket Water</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5djbtkA3LK1ZT7wnGq12pykEQrU6Hd-DojC9CW5sCIlZ065YjqOYZNHOM8pgKW9FQb7p2yXiHhAsSzkUUBME0vXolpBlnmYdZzE_y6lSHytpsKc732odO5UXje2qz2bjN42v_L-Slj2Y/s1600/IMG_3182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5djbtkA3LK1ZT7wnGq12pykEQrU6Hd-DojC9CW5sCIlZ065YjqOYZNHOM8pgKW9FQb7p2yXiHhAsSzkUUBME0vXolpBlnmYdZzE_y6lSHytpsKc732odO5UXje2qz2bjN42v_L-Slj2Y/s640/IMG_3182.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They had my attention for about 30 minutes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XHE2Qy47E_tXDrxq8iOMxmllUDijO1UAsFGzmx4ORVABVwou-vBvnpOAEAb6Xt6oqZqox84UoAucT3svLZibdd_4RTEu2rasmCmPJPmxF6Vf_RtpE84-oDmxkKR01c5kn9VZH7q3oFs/s1600/IMG_0986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XHE2Qy47E_tXDrxq8iOMxmllUDijO1UAsFGzmx4ORVABVwou-vBvnpOAEAb6Xt6oqZqox84UoAucT3svLZibdd_4RTEu2rasmCmPJPmxF6Vf_RtpE84-oDmxkKR01c5kn9VZH7q3oFs/s640/IMG_0986.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Added White Mountain Sucker to the Species List!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hBURaMWBZHLs6TB25xmNJrXkCj19P29d8VM1mjgGvR5xt4ZpPb3YFTFLAxGwQW_-d5MSjuru4EAIim3bstSL_XOaDI-9vQFG_1FopGOL_2nng1TQMyo4bBxVdDNT7msPAie8OZo0zo/s1600/IMG_0996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7hBURaMWBZHLs6TB25xmNJrXkCj19P29d8VM1mjgGvR5xt4ZpPb3YFTFLAxGwQW_-d5MSjuru4EAIim3bstSL_XOaDI-9vQFG_1FopGOL_2nng1TQMyo4bBxVdDNT7msPAie8OZo0zo/s640/IMG_0996.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So Carp-like</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUMDmV9SvC1oE9hf3FYRQlFZsYYXRElPzUgOUl0TwAlA673plWG5Zm9YJKH5z4jPdD7nNfsTC_6FnMC9u8_2QLkPW0UiQEFGQu-T2Og_mwtbxzeXh_v-daMyP3TdxO8uPjwikNDRGF9Y/s1600/IMG_3187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUMDmV9SvC1oE9hf3FYRQlFZsYYXRElPzUgOUl0TwAlA673plWG5Zm9YJKH5z4jPdD7nNfsTC_6FnMC9u8_2QLkPW0UiQEFGQu-T2Og_mwtbxzeXh_v-daMyP3TdxO8uPjwikNDRGF9Y/s640/IMG_3187.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headwaters above Platoro Reservoir</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOp3RpKY-N35VfejOKTEihubGl3FJ0Ur-ISI2SoyhPKj9KP_fTkgQxuf9eQ-sSeINNoQG5EGmJeh4J388p8pIShq1oaV8Zvo8EPKHZih31Ir4jNYjLhheFfuCTsU1lrplAbO4CgKRFPU/s1600/IMG_3188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOp3RpKY-N35VfejOKTEihubGl3FJ0Ur-ISI2SoyhPKj9KP_fTkgQxuf9eQ-sSeINNoQG5EGmJeh4J388p8pIShq1oaV8Zvo8EPKHZih31Ir4jNYjLhheFfuCTsU1lrplAbO4CgKRFPU/s640/IMG_3188.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First of two Browns in the same area</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5bXQBiQ74JsTSdYuzsc-MDAOCkhdiiBeqI8ubrrq0rCjKRTO0Lcl6tu1InTxcuyJWF00jghccPYlqOtPpsz7PgzStGk3TRTwwVIt3rct1kclJhcoPIMWqy1utmJmGefyyrcj6swIXJk/s1600/IMG_3192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5bXQBiQ74JsTSdYuzsc-MDAOCkhdiiBeqI8ubrrq0rCjKRTO0Lcl6tu1InTxcuyJWF00jghccPYlqOtPpsz7PgzStGk3TRTwwVIt3rct1kclJhcoPIMWqy1utmJmGefyyrcj6swIXJk/s640/IMG_3192.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Brown; they were almost side-by-side</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-39137197997309975712018-06-27T19:11:00.000-05:002018-10-13T19:35:38.616-05:00Conejos River AnglersAfter first learning of the Conejos River and Conejos River Anglers from TroutFest 2015, we joined TWFFers in Southern Colorado and booked our day. Our guide was K.K., and he took us into the Rio Grande National Forest to fish the Meadow and the Pocket Water sections below Platoro Village. The morning action was grand, but due to unseasonably high temps, drought conditions, and fishing pressure, the afternoon action was slow in the public waters. Still, we landed quality fish numbering in to the double digits, so it was an excellent day of guided, wade fishing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyB3xsjA6OsTsR56SCWSpEJmL4dns6Bjvm7yORhGVzlYxrnNjtEaXpADIPySPGuLdGORyFehhySBcVNUmAwTjxlLKZCmzseIIR2mMFbpLGkAJG_pH0pFXWlkbQJwlAdNsSDNFy-DnfB0/s1600/IMG_0923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyB3xsjA6OsTsR56SCWSpEJmL4dns6Bjvm7yORhGVzlYxrnNjtEaXpADIPySPGuLdGORyFehhySBcVNUmAwTjxlLKZCmzseIIR2mMFbpLGkAJG_pH0pFXWlkbQJwlAdNsSDNFy-DnfB0/s640/IMG_0923.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing The Meadows with K.K.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_xDDGaIt3ZwrG8MvFExKkyFhIAnSwc-brmcy41K6MqFQ8tUFLgZt0br_F9wnEu-u-m5r-ad2PosWSgfNIT2P6K0jqqFlxRTMHn5VPkq61E_nVHwzeOYt1C8B4WXYMsv_Lr1eb7wgex0/s1600/IMG_0936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_xDDGaIt3ZwrG8MvFExKkyFhIAnSwc-brmcy41K6MqFQ8tUFLgZt0br_F9wnEu-u-m5r-ad2PosWSgfNIT2P6K0jqqFlxRTMHn5VPkq61E_nVHwzeOYt1C8B4WXYMsv_Lr1eb7wgex0/s640/IMG_0936.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Trout LOVED the foam Mayfly<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY_t6170bj_dAGYutH5PQxQ0MMZP42jtE3NctY1hdkSymJr9UBuvgsQ5H-VJabCVH_E2urgnOWhvbuDi3-BHUXAOSdycB02kczekwoUPo-j0EhLXDoZfu2tuiHC-ApnXXIgcSDopidd0/s1600/IMG_0943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY_t6170bj_dAGYutH5PQxQ0MMZP42jtE3NctY1hdkSymJr9UBuvgsQ5H-VJabCVH_E2urgnOWhvbuDi3-BHUXAOSdycB02kczekwoUPo-j0EhLXDoZfu2tuiHC-ApnXXIgcSDopidd0/s640/IMG_0943.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Trout Happiness</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6PorgMzDccaxVL_BqHz2F-Snnj8caWevDQM6fHpU7gcK207_uAx0kG6J253gdQU56uj4Mx583giyH3TdL3mLbEqNKhtkoamNeKxkksSVrN9B1Pr-nmf5U3-6jcB04maxL5idpDyT4Bs/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6PorgMzDccaxVL_BqHz2F-Snnj8caWevDQM6fHpU7gcK207_uAx0kG6J253gdQU56uj4Mx583giyH3TdL3mLbEqNKhtkoamNeKxkksSVrN9B1Pr-nmf5U3-6jcB04maxL5idpDyT4Bs/s640/IMG_0929.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Trout Happiness, Squared </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwhV6nPZYxcAZNrkqd_rIXU83pngcArvVGEz3Y3o3YJI3fZgM7r5zJDhfIAKrZEgdhOnUgt_9VMPnC5zMakwi1pazMvSSBHSjiEKnLBC7PRi5ftwfBzXhn54TSojDUOq0lIVn5Is7IkQ/s1600/IMG_0957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwhV6nPZYxcAZNrkqd_rIXU83pngcArvVGEz3Y3o3YJI3fZgM7r5zJDhfIAKrZEgdhOnUgt_9VMPnC5zMakwi1pazMvSSBHSjiEKnLBC7PRi5ftwfBzXhn54TSojDUOq0lIVn5Is7IkQ/s640/IMG_0957.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cody's Rainbow Caught in Skinny Water</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODfWhXIZCoXFQyc17HsxomNnX-q-cbwnGkJtKSj_fVrkHssXuFQknnhRfjaHXvVN_hLN3G70kkWCRKxHXVR9icOu1bd-5g7k19JeV5mHnGpAZUWPRC0HSyug1ZbTlh-uOBZZj1SfI83o/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODfWhXIZCoXFQyc17HsxomNnX-q-cbwnGkJtKSj_fVrkHssXuFQknnhRfjaHXvVN_hLN3G70kkWCRKxHXVR9icOu1bd-5g7k19JeV5mHnGpAZUWPRC0HSyug1ZbTlh-uOBZZj1SfI83o/s640/IMG_0962.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing the Pocket Water</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-26851893798984664622018-06-26T17:45:00.000-05:002018-10-13T19:36:02.435-05:00Platoro Reservoir Conejos River, Colorado To escape from the Texas heat, participate in TWFF's unofficial outing, and to redeem our Conejos River trip won at the Fort Worth Fly Fishers auction from the Conejos River Anglers, Cody and I headed northwest; Cody pulled the RV, and I pulled the kayaks. We camped at the Conejos River RV Park just east of the Rio Grande National Forest for a week. We fished on our own, with Conejos River Anglers' guide K.K., from our kayaks on Platoro Lake, and waded the Conejos River headwaters into the reservoir. Temperatures were mild; fishing was grand; and the wildfires had not yet begun.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaK1tMZDmiD01wRLhQ-qFQZNEfVfX1x-SpAwtuJT0rYXkYqtaHLIOfN3h77ZDK_QDH12LJ9bUrZVJAfyQMcKwG6EigHFSgxaRwCoJxtVYr-RGG7v7Dtm9S4U2s8iJFVWlZg-VqH-srgs/s1600/IMG_0920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaK1tMZDmiD01wRLhQ-qFQZNEfVfX1x-SpAwtuJT0rYXkYqtaHLIOfN3h77ZDK_QDH12LJ9bUrZVJAfyQMcKwG6EigHFSgxaRwCoJxtVYr-RGG7v7Dtm9S4U2s8iJFVWlZg-VqH-srgs/s640/IMG_0920.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep, cool, and clear</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXs6Ty2-6hs9riJyXuYVoRkmEbjpVu8Nul4hRZ0WLP9I2m9oOMYUTm21GcZGl4QQO0e2YiZdikz45Z9vuaP6b7wQxhQOpIfnrNQYfQAGNqmhwizB1bu4yxoAGd6lSZTs-dYCRg9ARdvc/s1600/IMG_3147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXs6Ty2-6hs9riJyXuYVoRkmEbjpVu8Nul4hRZ0WLP9I2m9oOMYUTm21GcZGl4QQO0e2YiZdikz45Z9vuaP6b7wQxhQOpIfnrNQYfQAGNqmhwizB1bu4yxoAGd6lSZTs-dYCRg9ARdvc/s640/IMG_3147.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Trout</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow Trout</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfEUSVQ24igGgOFZ6TXmul0HxAty2EIcj8FpBsZBkYVmiV9qdjRgsUTcOcNlds35cFFuDpU9C_SiTlOFohzS1nq6SpmaPz1-3Y4nmdrSckQTBtigOz3RtN0dCOAwREBT6gOCjZmJK8c0/s1600/IMG_3155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfEUSVQ24igGgOFZ6TXmul0HxAty2EIcj8FpBsZBkYVmiV9qdjRgsUTcOcNlds35cFFuDpU9C_SiTlOFohzS1nq6SpmaPz1-3Y4nmdrSckQTBtigOz3RtN0dCOAwREBT6gOCjZmJK8c0/s640/IMG_3155.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Kokanee Salmon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon rise over Platoro Reservoir</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com082 E Coach Dr, Antonito, CO 81120, USA37.077502787209092 -106.2895506921089536.672651287209092 -106.93499769210895 37.482354287209091 -105.64410369210894tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-30866986533263849812018-04-27T23:03:00.000-05:002018-05-17T23:32:25.186-05:00Arkansas River<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Caddis Hatch on the Arkansas River</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Cody
and I headed northwest to Cutty's RV park on Hayden Creek in Coaldale, Colorado
to fish the spring pre-runoff Caddis Hatch. I was attending a Sisters on
the Fly event, the 6th annual Caddis Hatch event hosted by Michelle Cummings,
and Cody and I planned to go to Eagle's Nest, NM for Pike afterwards.
Weather prevented our trip to NM, but we certainly enjoyed fishing both the
Arkansas River and the smaller but equally fun Texas Creek. The Arkansas'
cut through glaciation geology takes fly fishers through a majestic beauty
backdropped by snowcapped Rocky Mountain peaks. While not big fish, the
Arkansas boasts some excellent dry fly fishing, partly due to the ongoing
caddis hatch. Not yet warm enough to move the fish to depths of the
river, we casted to and caught fish in some pretty skinny water, skinny enough
that we could see their flashes as they turned on to and took our flies.
Seeing the resilience of these trout was pretty amazing, especially how healthy
one particular Brown Trout was seeing a bird of prey's talon had harpooned it
previously. We enjoyed our guided trip with Matt from Ark Anglers, as he
put us on many trout, a total of 27 boated for the picture-perfect day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
next day we took our very small rods and headed to two creeks, Hayden Creek at
Cutty's RV Park, and then farther east to Texas Creek. Regrettably, the
slope of Hayden Creek was a little too steep, and the water flowing through it
was too fast with almost no pools that would allow trout to hold in the creek.
So, we moved farther east to Texas Creek, where we learned is not at the Texas
Creek Recreation Area, which is where Texas Creek confluences with the
Arkansas. Instead, we headed down Colorado State Highway 69. Using
the 4WD, we made our way down a dirt road to a nice meadow parking area.
Encompassed by shrubs meant wading in the creek, and moving upstream provided
great access to small, wild trout who greedily ate size 12 Elk Hair Caddis
flies. Aggressive fish, regardless the size, offer amazing fishing on small
weight rods, an experience which I always enjoy.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hayden Creek</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upstream on the Texas Creek</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downstream on the Texas Creek</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com14100 US-50, Salida, CO 81201, USA38.507321207043439 -105.9535835964844138.457636707043442 -106.03426459648441 38.557005707043437 -105.87290259648441tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-29038152642174932902017-10-22T19:00:00.000-05:002018-01-19T05:47:16.853-06:00Oktoberfisch 2017Cody and I took our new Lance RV south to Junction to participate in the 14th Oktoberfish hosted by the Fredericksburg Fly Fishers. This was our 11th Oktoberfisch and the second one at the South Llano RV Park. We had a good time, appreciated the improvements made by the RV park, and enjoyed fishing one of our favorite Texas rivers, whose health continues to improve from the fires, flooding, and drought. <br />
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We put in at our usual spot, the South Llano River State Park. We endured quite a crowd and high river traffic on Saturday due to the Llano River Alliance Watershed's earlier announcement on their social media sites. <br />
<blockquote>
Texas Parks and Wildlife released 15 retired Guadalupe Bass broodstock back into the South Llano River on October 17, 2017. The broodstock were used to successfully restore the genetically hybridized South llano population. To celebrate this and other recent conservation successes for our state fish, Llano River Watershed Alliances is partnering with Texas Parks and Wildlife and Bass Pro Shops on a prize giveaway in which prizes will be presented to anglers who catch these Guadalupe Bass and return a tag Eligible Guadalupe Bass will have registered TPWD Floy Tags. If you catch one of these fish, please clip (do not pull) the tag and take a photo with the fish! Beginning October 17, 2017 and continuing until December 31, 2018, any angler who catches a tagged Guadalupe Bass from the South Llano River will receive their choice of prizes from an assortment of fly fishing gear donated by Bass Pro Shops.<sup><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4804277492708195044#fn1" id="ref1">1</a></sup></blockquote>
Our friend Russell Hustead caught the first tagged fish on Thursday; one was caught on Saturday, and bird had killed a tagged fish but the tag was submitted. However, the crowds trying to catch one of these fish put intense pressure, and the Guads were rather shy on Saturday.<br />
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Friday, I had fished the stretch of river that was the southernmost end of the former Morgan Shady campground to just west of the bridge and hammered the Redbreast Sunfish. They destroyed my Bonefish Bitter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmTNwIKVewzP8PceLW6c4WC3mZK7C-xcbxPrfl7-OXPdAm4_7_l5hKD8Xl_sUaimS22wd2brV1lQj62iIX0p3ryeS7MN0oPeKzJwM0EpwFoQDqU9FFuuCXRbG4UDt0c-uAMqwv7eXob8/s1600/IMG_1805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmTNwIKVewzP8PceLW6c4WC3mZK7C-xcbxPrfl7-OXPdAm4_7_l5hKD8Xl_sUaimS22wd2brV1lQj62iIX0p3ryeS7MN0oPeKzJwM0EpwFoQDqU9FFuuCXRbG4UDt0c-uAMqwv7eXob8/s640/IMG_1805.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 Inch Redbreast Sunfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healthy, pure strain Guadalupe Bass</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOpSXBAtNhaczRiItc_dP3KKfxO2nZLIo-vq9Ea-S9Go4XzMyDc_uHMmH-kJZp1e4LXNdbMqE8pjj2Pvd40N27nWgecsQeo0nT8sKIfvNC5zYs7oj9azcuxhlQ4SJTXPX_a1zycgmZig/s1600/IMG_1807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXOpSXBAtNhaczRiItc_dP3KKfxO2nZLIo-vq9Ea-S9Go4XzMyDc_uHMmH-kJZp1e4LXNdbMqE8pjj2Pvd40N27nWgecsQeo0nT8sKIfvNC5zYs7oj9azcuxhlQ4SJTXPX_a1zycgmZig/s320/IMG_1807.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demolished Bonefish Bitter--its legs are gone</td></tr>
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Cody decided upon a new strategy this year, which was to put in and then by-pass the fishing at the state park. In years past, we would spend so much time fishing at the top part of the run, that we ended up just kayaking through the bottom part. Cody also targeted all the sideways and byways of the river, fishing the places others snubbed. We also decided to stay close together this trip. Cody slayed the fish; I only did okay, because I didn't fulfill my motto, "I Come to the South for the Rio," but Cody caught some beautiful Rio Grande Perch. They are some of my favorite freshwater fish. I did catch the most numbers of Largemouth Bass I have ever caught on the South Llano, and I think Nick of the Alamo Fly Fishers, who also said he caught the most LMBs he's ever caught, was right in that the high presence of kayaks and numbers of anglers really spooked the Guadalupe Bass in to hiding, Saturday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsAjh8lqraf6we8wK9VNc7V3OyvYxiLMi3g5SO2asc_Jkxbv5iDg69NSN5DylMImJMePpFX-qc56G9PQuCE_CY4O2_FuLgeaZXnv4urdjfps1aN-mjCffddlCbHwYwHlhKKSA-w7bPjg/s1600/IMG_1810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsAjh8lqraf6we8wK9VNc7V3OyvYxiLMi3g5SO2asc_Jkxbv5iDg69NSN5DylMImJMePpFX-qc56G9PQuCE_CY4O2_FuLgeaZXnv4urdjfps1aN-mjCffddlCbHwYwHlhKKSA-w7bPjg/s640/IMG_1810.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cody with a Guadalupe Bass; something was wrong with its back</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBqvegipE6MbpUjMyllQZhUoL0S0kvWe3OySlsMTfxhwX63QsSKpCpv-e50wWU8NXJHP5h0ZOAz4lvtSpdZwB_uP-pBfVrcd9JiK07PJ2G3mihOLlAtVqF8-av1fWcnlyXYuUuL7xEg4/s1600/IMG_1683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBqvegipE6MbpUjMyllQZhUoL0S0kvWe3OySlsMTfxhwX63QsSKpCpv-e50wWU8NXJHP5h0ZOAz4lvtSpdZwB_uP-pBfVrcd9JiK07PJ2G3mihOLlAtVqF8-av1fWcnlyXYuUuL7xEg4/s640/IMG_1683.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Cody's many Rio Grande Perch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAW3S428xWpsJXVkItUMxDzcla8lWOl719x4-ojYI1UUH_LKR-W4ONjmKrnd9y-AXmjWQiO15ki6dck4ojWH9qZnLoh0xdtK7SFtrzMOrcRuOdsOlTRlln9xzGF2rulxY7ztmnhcCSfI/s1600/IMG_1811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAW3S428xWpsJXVkItUMxDzcla8lWOl719x4-ojYI1UUH_LKR-W4ONjmKrnd9y-AXmjWQiO15ki6dck4ojWH9qZnLoh0xdtK7SFtrzMOrcRuOdsOlTRlln9xzGF2rulxY7ztmnhcCSfI/s640/IMG_1811.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 Inch Bluegill on a Bonefish Bitter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlC8_BN3IW-6nMnoVjFxcd-lXAyOBLgc4vhDzLQAUh14E6rcrmlAYLFToan98SwEjNYJubCc_SV2VgNaMeg0mBUQEq1eI6OvRIWQxq07Jn45Lb0MXIig8j_G3s0zuLqj2LsZ0H2WOUno/s1600/IMG_1812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlC8_BN3IW-6nMnoVjFxcd-lXAyOBLgc4vhDzLQAUh14E6rcrmlAYLFToan98SwEjNYJubCc_SV2VgNaMeg0mBUQEq1eI6OvRIWQxq07Jn45Lb0MXIig8j_G3s0zuLqj2LsZ0H2WOUno/s640/IMG_1812.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 1/4 inch Fingerling Guadalupe Bass on the Red-lipped CodyBugger</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfMNUl75I8bChD7aSPTf9LAvdjGezX_gjEIqzjUf7qdN-5i1kj0BPdZCyGMkct_l9nIGGgM5Ffq_QsEpMTWavSh2Bg7d7kh233mKG4pOyQJ7JuYDqRQHZ9IYa-efGX2wfhRuAGnyDoNs/s1600/IMG_1813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfMNUl75I8bChD7aSPTf9LAvdjGezX_gjEIqzjUf7qdN-5i1kj0BPdZCyGMkct_l9nIGGgM5Ffq_QsEpMTWavSh2Bg7d7kh233mKG4pOyQJ7JuYDqRQHZ9IYa-efGX2wfhRuAGnyDoNs/s640/IMG_1813.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hybridized Guadalupe-Smallmouth Bass, what the Alliance & TPWD are trying to eliminate</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKS46uOo6ynK11Amptsl6k9VlmEuj1r_fA7lYzKHhsvoSUVjwa6XGRqMf0k9BBvmfcZ3c84kvtjpQmr4-52mRVVausSLFBZ4kul3od9vY34e8aFMtVuFt0JEWCb3eiIsfZ8l2f4M-apFc/s1600/IMG_1814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKS46uOo6ynK11Amptsl6k9VlmEuj1r_fA7lYzKHhsvoSUVjwa6XGRqMf0k9BBvmfcZ3c84kvtjpQmr4-52mRVVausSLFBZ4kul3od9vY34e8aFMtVuFt0JEWCb3eiIsfZ8l2f4M-apFc/s640/IMG_1814.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure Strain Guadalupe Bass</td></tr>
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At the end of the day, Saturday, I was making my way down the "Park Run" (where I fished Friday from RV park boundary to RV park Boundary), when I heard another water craft pretty close behind me. I didn't really pay attention to the boat, until I heard its pilot speak. It was our friend Kevin Hutchison in his blue pontoon. I let Kevin have the lead and watched him fish while we chatted, since Grad School had really interfered with my fishing the past two years. The days cooler weather combined with the high angler pressure just did not produce the fish it did the previous day. Regardless, I loved the rare treat of getting to see Kevin fish instead of being the guide.<br />
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We enjoyed our time in the Hill Country once again and are looking forward to next year's trip. However, we hope the Alliance contest occurs after Oktoberfisch, so we don't have to "combat fish."<br />
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<sup id="fn1">1. Llano River Watershed Alliance. "Celebrating Conservation Milestones for the South Llano River and the State Fish of Texas." Last modified 21 October 2017. Accessed 23 October 2017. https://www.llanoriver.org/guadalupe-bass."<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4804277492708195044#ref1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">↩</a></sup><br />
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<b></b><br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com1574 Kc 411, Junction, TX 76849, USA30.48533103785725 -99.76162773242185730.471647037857249 -99.78179773242185 30.499015037857252 -99.741457732421864tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-18031350724415782052017-10-01T21:25:00.001-05:002017-10-01T21:25:42.821-05:00Trinity Bass Battle--A Month of TourneysCody could not be home for our 7th Anniversary, so for our anniversary, he gave me use of his car and encouraged me to go fishing in Backwoods' Trinity Bass Battle Tournament, which occurs every other Sunday through 12 November 2017! So, I set my alarm, got up at 4:00 a.m., loaded Cody's car with all kinds of kayak and fly fishing paraphernalia (my little hybrid can't tow), and headed off to the Panther Pavilion area in Fort Worth. I had a great day, even though I was the only fly fisher, and I was really excited to see a nice number of women fishing.<br />
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I didn't place, but I had my best tournament, E-V-E-R! However, I couldn't get credit for all that I caught, because something happened when I snapped the photo of my 18 inch Largemouth. It's just a white screen, and for those that don't know me, there ain't nothing white on my kayak. Even my Hawg Trough is marked up with black, blue, and red lines, and my 'Yak, well, it's purple, pink, and gray; I kid you not! I wore blue shorts and my pink Breast Cancer Awareness fishing shirt and sun visor. I'm telling ya, I have no idea what happened on that photo, but I know I caught it, so the memory's mine. Officially, I submitted 46.75 total inches; unofficially, I caught 64.75 inches. Sadly, even if my big one had counted, I still would not have placed. Big Bass was 20.25 inches with a two-way tie for third, with each fisherman submitting an 18.50 inch bass. Overall winner today submitted an 80.something inches scorecard! In Texas, Fall doesn't mean much, until it's time to fish, and then, it means everything because The Bite is happening!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phone screenshot showing a photo was taken; it even says "Live" with that icon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty Longear Sunfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bluegill, who jerked just as I snapped</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-54382417693240702682017-09-20T08:50:00.000-05:002017-09-20T23:53:47.054-05:00IGFA Pending Status!Irma slowed things down but she didn't get in the way, thank goodness!<br />
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Having the three applications notarized was the last step before submitting the IGFA light class tippet applications and the Boga (had to be recertified). It just so happens that Irma was bearing down on Florida not long after I mailed the completed packet, so I was a little anxious if my applications, photos, lines, flies, and scale would even make it to Dania Beach, Florida home of the IGFA Museum. I kept that USPS tracking number and was able to verify the package was received, and then, this morning, I saw that all three records had met the first requirements and made it to the Pending IGFA Record status. Relief and anxiousness all in one as we now wait patiently!<br />
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-7099122581581963252017-08-21T15:43:00.000-05:002017-09-08T15:49:35.117-05:00Summer 2017 Total Eclipse <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Cody planned and planned our August trip to view the eclipse in its totality. Originally, for many, many months, we were headed to Missouri, and then, at the end of July, Cody informed me we needed to go to drier climates to avoid cloud cover. After studying totality length and time of day of totality, Cody settled on Nebraska.</div>
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Hoping to avoid crowds, traffic, noise, and wanting an unobstructed view, Cody chose the small town of Stapleton, population 305. Finding a place to stay in Stapleton was not so easy, because everything was booked. However, Stapleton planned and planned well, and they had a wonderful Chamber of Commerce Facebook page where land and homeowners were offering a place to stay on their property. We ended up at the Bar 11 Ranch, home of Kristy and Jim Opela, about nine miles west of town. What wonderful hosts the Opela's were, allowing us to bring our RV on its maiden voyage trip and for Cody to set up his telescope equipment. We enjoyed the town's parade, craft fair, rodeo--seeing some events for the first time, such as the Porta Potty Pull. During the rodeo, storms developed in the east and provided Cody with the opportunity to take some fabulous lightening photos.</div>
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On the day of the eclipse, all preparations were readied, all weather apps and forecasts studied, and recording equipment in place. We awoke at 9:00 a.m. to dense fog with maximum 20 feet visibility, so we watched weather programming on t.v., and made the decision to stay put and photograph what we could. We had a great time, recorded many things, and Cody snapped some great photos in spite of the day's beginnings!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloud Cover 21 August 2017 @ 10:03 a.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloud Cover 21 August 2017 @ 11:02 a.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUkFbk7g28EFFCln9Pt_r2n0MtzDX1e0KQGW6KQAnUJimdSRMUIaKCJ74Tk91xtyL97nFzrXQRm_0ALRJ7A5mtLcdk97c7Z6hPH5CLr6FQ9WzJr61e9Ys4_txRZBE-j6Dv_oz-vFnKnY/s1600/DSCN1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUkFbk7g28EFFCln9Pt_r2n0MtzDX1e0KQGW6KQAnUJimdSRMUIaKCJ74Tk91xtyL97nFzrXQRm_0ALRJ7A5mtLcdk97c7Z6hPH5CLr6FQ9WzJr61e9Ys4_txRZBE-j6Dv_oz-vFnKnY/s640/DSCN1536.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capturing the Sunspots just prior to the eclipse's beginning</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSKA4ZvcicwlKOsDDMJ0fJnsuUaUK9aVelguAlR8uIXfNMHhiaN5KEfpJ3WHhPlxR7ZvxHgmzWnIURriDBmMkaTKKq8jfo3qvtXJ9qGlxIFBgd5qBIVsLSAozqG3-TOiYCar-dGtoUxY/s1600/DSC_6540fulldisk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSKA4ZvcicwlKOsDDMJ0fJnsuUaUK9aVelguAlR8uIXfNMHhiaN5KEfpJ3WHhPlxR7ZvxHgmzWnIURriDBmMkaTKKq8jfo3qvtXJ9qGlxIFBgd5qBIVsLSAozqG3-TOiYCar-dGtoUxY/s640/DSC_6540fulldisk.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunspots @ 11:35 a.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fqyWnysU4zU8Mbhi3oQ7v4fIdnXpBDxquvsdra_sAW024zhqNNN1dY6VnAJa0vUKGhwtNT4AjoChE4U1JSPj8rQ73PrvrbSekLvbwevkW_pXodvruGi9lJ6PlEb7LShidSCkGjfIrZ0/s1600/DSC_6547a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fqyWnysU4zU8Mbhi3oQ7v4fIdnXpBDxquvsdra_sAW024zhqNNN1dY6VnAJa0vUKGhwtNT4AjoChE4U1JSPj8rQ73PrvrbSekLvbwevkW_pXodvruGi9lJ6PlEb7LShidSCkGjfIrZ0/s640/DSC_6547a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11:36 a.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmsB1P7KICqtcDVoY8eSnNvWWen9ac0fMBogRkBkjY2ckVidfgrfCTiULBkjhZ8rqfsGTqb_S-5UkJHfC3zPZ2AmUTTW8HH2qP7EH5m4a3iXVIvOcGI3cn_lUxqeJVxfJa8hCg4Z0cyo/s1600/DSC_6555b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmsB1P7KICqtcDVoY8eSnNvWWen9ac0fMBogRkBkjY2ckVidfgrfCTiULBkjhZ8rqfsGTqb_S-5UkJHfC3zPZ2AmUTTW8HH2qP7EH5m4a3iXVIvOcGI3cn_lUxqeJVxfJa8hCg4Z0cyo/s640/DSC_6555b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11:55 a.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp0LHMKmHWzpJN5YA9RzxsCNStg23yK03zrDQ9xKjI3ua0k_rqYNuLDK0xb38a5l5JChfk73WbgSEsoHxsr6eDOy_PhaL1jDU6eGlpFOlYmH86kaLqrV2dDFhudA0dSUQf_it5kUNw_4/s1600/DSC_6560c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp0LHMKmHWzpJN5YA9RzxsCNStg23yK03zrDQ9xKjI3ua0k_rqYNuLDK0xb38a5l5JChfk73WbgSEsoHxsr6eDOy_PhaL1jDU6eGlpFOlYmH86kaLqrV2dDFhudA0dSUQf_it5kUNw_4/s640/DSC_6560c.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High cloud cover creates a hazy effect @ 12:06 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeJ53JKYLZciBieQfKVZFYO2H1wTxeV8Zzr4vqzr6kil9s67D8G3Fa897uGklUC3Hx2AvaTIyiOc6T0Y4yr_u0dExMY7Pk7S5fti4QWjkiTiWlUXw_DJtVZp953e3Zn0Yozb8cuBVsRM/s1600/DSC_6566d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeJ53JKYLZciBieQfKVZFYO2H1wTxeV8Zzr4vqzr6kil9s67D8G3Fa897uGklUC3Hx2AvaTIyiOc6T0Y4yr_u0dExMY7Pk7S5fti4QWjkiTiWlUXw_DJtVZp953e3Zn0Yozb8cuBVsRM/s640/DSC_6566d.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:16 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsZLF6VpaIUdwWCCbwjcJnopt8JArCzytpoBu5vibMiTKnCKNHVoHlLOk-FFMarpugHpKOgWjQS1BKs7k3FgkOP14YoL6T6p3aE1fovJcOxrAY_gQJDxi_wSCZMBVZVhos5gyiyUf2_8/s1600/DSC_6569e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsZLF6VpaIUdwWCCbwjcJnopt8JArCzytpoBu5vibMiTKnCKNHVoHlLOk-FFMarpugHpKOgWjQS1BKs7k3FgkOP14YoL6T6p3aE1fovJcOxrAY_gQJDxi_wSCZMBVZVhos5gyiyUf2_8/s640/DSC_6569e.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:26 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzhAbMuXbiwhwC109NznO0V-aiC9YNpFc_VXVdS05g_J_TIZoQIRd2T8gtSGxpQAuvQGhdYt6UPbwAtlD3DP0STcZlSWHPDvM1tTBZ-CJTcqfbhvHXlfZA8U5rj6duzvDe4c1HUCW9uY/s1600/DSC_6575f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzhAbMuXbiwhwC109NznO0V-aiC9YNpFc_VXVdS05g_J_TIZoQIRd2T8gtSGxpQAuvQGhdYt6UPbwAtlD3DP0STcZlSWHPDvM1tTBZ-CJTcqfbhvHXlfZA8U5rj6duzvDe4c1HUCW9uY/s640/DSC_6575f.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:33 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvLbCbEGL2jL0-ZJyCpT3C1xZq_AJ8XGqlgCuVcVvlZf-XzuLGbd1hePRGFP_r_ZeoB4Dso2kvmV8gcCSDV49mgoDXh_uqwPcicN781UduSOdst3L92-LWmP_u9Y_351RgM-pbqz__BQ/s1600/DSC_6583g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvLbCbEGL2jL0-ZJyCpT3C1xZq_AJ8XGqlgCuVcVvlZf-XzuLGbd1hePRGFP_r_ZeoB4Dso2kvmV8gcCSDV49mgoDXh_uqwPcicN781UduSOdst3L92-LWmP_u9Y_351RgM-pbqz__BQ/s640/DSC_6583g.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:38 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNojIeGEY-9WzyBnPodLfA8Yzzw4pQIk9y8MGUkPsZnrvv2aIpq-oNDd6X9_z-4UbjvS0sfB_JiWNJb0CC6OAQiAuGCPBvIlntucKcC35i4s_gS0mH4qXHGB5-9Hrnuj39AdtI5w-vM0/s1600/DSC_6591h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNojIeGEY-9WzyBnPodLfA8Yzzw4pQIk9y8MGUkPsZnrvv2aIpq-oNDd6X9_z-4UbjvS0sfB_JiWNJb0CC6OAQiAuGCPBvIlntucKcC35i4s_gS0mH4qXHGB5-9Hrnuj39AdtI5w-vM0/s640/DSC_6591h.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:43 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjF9Oah8XL8sufP3_dNNAltW3lX2jcu_Gp-nzCfp5VX0Nm4xe3ze1YCiZQKDCpEJd9hQErpsr9GDAWgEeZmeISVcR6danw0yAQWjjBT0VECuCDXwTt-fVNpy_piLPaXDBLiAo8fe35ho/s1600/DSC_6600i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjF9Oah8XL8sufP3_dNNAltW3lX2jcu_Gp-nzCfp5VX0Nm4xe3ze1YCiZQKDCpEJd9hQErpsr9GDAWgEeZmeISVcR6danw0yAQWjjBT0VECuCDXwTt-fVNpy_piLPaXDBLiAo8fe35ho/s640/DSC_6600i.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:50 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZe5jNr0ng2Lxqmt0F8HRBIFR0ln8JptMFZtlJu-BmlSEQeuYvZQcbwQnAXK6RhcRLBI4RLv0hwZIvQmHtyOB_FE2EoXEUqzw9Slt-rBhQh-gISjq_6w-KxYd9FJ2t0T-fFZiVKRSy1ws/s1600/DSC_6609j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZe5jNr0ng2Lxqmt0F8HRBIFR0ln8JptMFZtlJu-BmlSEQeuYvZQcbwQnAXK6RhcRLBI4RLv0hwZIvQmHtyOB_FE2EoXEUqzw9Slt-rBhQh-gISjq_6w-KxYd9FJ2t0T-fFZiVKRSy1ws/s640/DSC_6609j.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12:53 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ra3OgJcUf71Il_sS_HsEzRuq8Pb-ODW7miOCBhYSBe2bRZHarfJS2nBnau-g7VAHcUZ90JMQ3cvXvi3MFwbdxwcXpojzW5Yr9J7yTrdmXrCUcJunoOMLbaZHP-iQL7RwHI9nNmPsQPg/s1600/DSC_6616k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ra3OgJcUf71Il_sS_HsEzRuq8Pb-ODW7miOCBhYSBe2bRZHarfJS2nBnau-g7VAHcUZ90JMQ3cvXvi3MFwbdxwcXpojzW5Yr9J7yTrdmXrCUcJunoOMLbaZHP-iQL7RwHI9nNmPsQPg/s640/DSC_6616k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun's Corona @ 12:54 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31HwT8dDgo36KTuvqIscUBxXLX6Pwz2uwrrAUd9l9_26XhkO7cZ89G4rIb5WeV6ABfthIkx7NPH2p_eGP2xC6wIakyQ7j2VtocHVDB6Xq_op-9wnTx3clGSuZL-PAOtNz0nwYnT4Jy9s/s1600/DSC_6630l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31HwT8dDgo36KTuvqIscUBxXLX6Pwz2uwrrAUd9l9_26XhkO7cZ89G4rIb5WeV6ABfthIkx7NPH2p_eGP2xC6wIakyQ7j2VtocHVDB6Xq_op-9wnTx3clGSuZL-PAOtNz0nwYnT4Jy9s/s640/DSC_6630l.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prominences @ 12:55 p.m.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqwMDOourwzvVv1Kt-jJe6wYAFvWXETpg2r5DrkcgBkGwA25Yrsh2bxUjmRdtPoffm6NHkSPLyfbxm6hZKDul4Kj2uUWig2bwtzs7Y-As6hVuqjLkL2fAdB5zfb9e0jmgKc3S0Yz0zOc/s1600/DSC_6630m.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1600" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqwMDOourwzvVv1Kt-jJe6wYAFvWXETpg2r5DrkcgBkGwA25Yrsh2bxUjmRdtPoffm6NHkSPLyfbxm6hZKDul4Kj2uUWig2bwtzs7Y-As6hVuqjLkL2fAdB5zfb9e0jmgKc3S0Yz0zOc/s640/DSC_6630m.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Ring @ 12:56 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:01 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUX3hu188acxYNhtKdhv9yaUgDVbxNKMla7s9sc3TWpjgLlnP85IxoSryIAs3k5snsdPTHOzolc5F56cELwpmt0ylwMUtvKTkktAW03-8j-ctVtqFoBPX8Tn14h6rO74Gu2wBgv_NBk8/s1600/DSC_6665q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="1386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUX3hu188acxYNhtKdhv9yaUgDVbxNKMla7s9sc3TWpjgLlnP85IxoSryIAs3k5snsdPTHOzolc5F56cELwpmt0ylwMUtvKTkktAW03-8j-ctVtqFoBPX8Tn14h6rO74Gu2wBgv_NBk8/s640/DSC_6665q.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:09 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEeYBbIoQe2w77ajIXZyMAyW9UscTBHGuDlogWZR54bVOPbGLfZct_A4rT7lJ2qI5IprB6_vt3d5CyMPK8Mev_KaydP7l_Tx6_BTg649YXpf5FABq_EW9IZSmupblABtefGS_utbCYIs/s1600/DSC_6675r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEeYBbIoQe2w77ajIXZyMAyW9UscTBHGuDlogWZR54bVOPbGLfZct_A4rT7lJ2qI5IprB6_vt3d5CyMPK8Mev_KaydP7l_Tx6_BTg649YXpf5FABq_EW9IZSmupblABtefGS_utbCYIs/s640/DSC_6675r.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:14 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRG-LgIzUozWM1L2OTetQFGVHXMjZNK9FBGniiz8gkgZKKEZLwSjxNIS28bvPoOxRomyhXDVyRp4o2TbtU3Cf3nXLmwKPfEfp_KGOt4rufZZivqEcy8GiZZXQraiRgQYMA0pA7BU7tNA/s1600/DSC_6682s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRG-LgIzUozWM1L2OTetQFGVHXMjZNK9FBGniiz8gkgZKKEZLwSjxNIS28bvPoOxRomyhXDVyRp4o2TbtU3Cf3nXLmwKPfEfp_KGOt4rufZZivqEcy8GiZZXQraiRgQYMA0pA7BU7tNA/s640/DSC_6682s.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:23 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAMup6gSDjsQ9KNT5zHmHvt_EdSEDyCOmavGGqbDXlyAyTK5Lhpi9bpw8N9Y8H-N2MVCPoS6V4jSsYqzxpgQuh9amrtXMHOEQG77dXTBK6qgSYLXtaRLiI7n55Vkkvi5po9IEjY2GDQg/s1600/DSC_6692t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAMup6gSDjsQ9KNT5zHmHvt_EdSEDyCOmavGGqbDXlyAyTK5Lhpi9bpw8N9Y8H-N2MVCPoS6V4jSsYqzxpgQuh9amrtXMHOEQG77dXTBK6qgSYLXtaRLiI7n55Vkkvi5po9IEjY2GDQg/s640/DSC_6692t.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:35 p.m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LnTLGUEFx2E-1TWHxkg4axwHkSi-j9Sjptmep_-InKXRuNw90SsAvxdvhYOYmQORDlX9_VZ8hAPjlgiOGEf7Gr4D3-4iTGyLQgj5QQyeBv_-u0PjL8k2deOWxWa_vtVaj8JY-HJjA18/s1600/DSC_6708u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LnTLGUEFx2E-1TWHxkg4axwHkSi-j9Sjptmep_-InKXRuNw90SsAvxdvhYOYmQORDlX9_VZ8hAPjlgiOGEf7Gr4D3-4iTGyLQgj5QQyeBv_-u0PjL8k2deOWxWa_vtVaj8JY-HJjA18/s640/DSC_6708u.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1:52 p.m. last photo before the cloud cover returned</td></tr>
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I was curious as to all things that would occur during the eclipse--shadows, animal reactions, temperature, humidity, and light-to-dark-to-light, so I took readings and videos of some of these events.</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n4I6ccYMsrQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n4I6ccYMsrQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The last of eclipse totality and the quickly emerging sunlight.</span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CdJKUitHYKQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CdJKUitHYKQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Turn an object one way and it appears fuzzy, but rotate it 45 degrees and it appears clearly</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBQDAE7bufhlX2Nnf6zi07Pzb2hyphenhyphenVphmuPgPZQcQOZ9DT6QNQdPjXCSKIuP_kF1cnOYbIpepg3M7hWBTNBQnWf3G6U5rURa7Ajq1Mb8ZGIu3X-JciZl_dLatjKgCJHedcjckbAwMY_Dk/s1600/Temperature+%2526+Humidity+Chart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="964" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBQDAE7bufhlX2Nnf6zi07Pzb2hyphenhyphenVphmuPgPZQcQOZ9DT6QNQdPjXCSKIuP_kF1cnOYbIpepg3M7hWBTNBQnWf3G6U5rURa7Ajq1Mb8ZGIu3X-JciZl_dLatjKgCJHedcjckbAwMY_Dk/s640/Temperature+%2526+Humidity+Chart.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Temperature and humidity changes throughout the eclipse. Temperature was recorded in Fahrenheit and humidity is in percent.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-34906696443704463272017-08-11T21:00:00.000-05:002017-09-08T11:18:58.665-05:00Somewhere in the Unalakleet WatershedOn our last day, Cody almost secured an Alaska Grand Slam. We found only one Chinook or King Salmon; it wasn't moldy, but it was moving so fast, we never had a chance to cast to it, because it disappeared while Cody was landing another salmon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx01kAXozJEhOV8Ox_JcHgzHa3rtlls3SMC_V6i853lNB9ZTYmrVZ2GJRT5VbeWZqDpApV_cSgincbtW7cedHPpbXLmBhNGPWJ6DEGei5Hyg7bwNxzoI-O3DS5guxQWcfh9OrWmAJgwrk/s1600/DSCN1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx01kAXozJEhOV8Ox_JcHgzHa3rtlls3SMC_V6i853lNB9ZTYmrVZ2GJRT5VbeWZqDpApV_cSgincbtW7cedHPpbXLmBhNGPWJ6DEGei5Hyg7bwNxzoI-O3DS5guxQWcfh9OrWmAJgwrk/s640/DSCN1505.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sockeye Salmon (only about 1,200 in this watershed)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwg5QTSQOz621RFWIgcjJ8YFT1swQxI4TOaXgtDweyMo7SnfaEFR-W9rRUh4vvT-ZFzRsMPHnCLgK03FEb9PsUYEDjap-aL0vdBoMEC60YAGcLRITPuCPrrTgR-h0HdxV6fLr6Ci_CDM/s1600/DSCF0535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwg5QTSQOz621RFWIgcjJ8YFT1swQxI4TOaXgtDweyMo7SnfaEFR-W9rRUh4vvT-ZFzRsMPHnCLgK03FEb9PsUYEDjap-aL0vdBoMEC60YAGcLRITPuCPrrTgR-h0HdxV6fLr6Ci_CDM/s640/DSCF0535.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chum Salmon (Released alive and well; gill raker wasn't hooked)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryNzFMMidh92-VjXX9stX6BO0-D7anlb2kbprC-muG83v6Uhk4DpPeID3gn9OAyh7luymqm5-HoWj5CRyXLil2o53qAMxpybb1WHKHbHSOnCF7hu4XdXkaq2uVfp6Ifocu7uWgg3FnCc/s1600/DSCF0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryNzFMMidh92-VjXX9stX6BO0-D7anlb2kbprC-muG83v6Uhk4DpPeID3gn9OAyh7luymqm5-HoWj5CRyXLil2o53qAMxpybb1WHKHbHSOnCF7hu4XdXkaq2uVfp6Ifocu7uWgg3FnCc/s640/DSCF0509.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Coho Cody" and his Silver Salmon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexGh1v-BXjfix43EEGvQry9UwTecsk5IijF4dLH_jFL9brMM01Hnne8xHgvLeCv-zjbHJlTcgmkBoOTPz9bzcy6DCPOoCyOyC7o1gZShXZx35qaVIs2wmRgosDwcsQCum54yE7cLT88A/s1600/DSCN1518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexGh1v-BXjfix43EEGvQry9UwTecsk5IijF4dLH_jFL9brMM01Hnne8xHgvLeCv-zjbHJlTcgmkBoOTPz9bzcy6DCPOoCyOyC7o1gZShXZx35qaVIs2wmRgosDwcsQCum54yE7cLT88A/s640/DSCN1518.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
Pink Salmon Hen (weighed over 8 pounds)</div>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-26228689216319482002017-08-10T22:46:00.000-05:002017-09-08T00:03:54.987-05:00Maybe, Noteworthy Fish?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't just like to fish; I like to experiment with fishing. I also thoroughly love a challenge, so I did some IGFA record research prior to our trip and packed accordingly. I came to the Unalakleet with the intent of trying to set seven IGFA records, even with their new rule where a fish must weigh at least half of the class tippet being fished. I left the Unalakleet with four potential records--three which were vacant and breaking a previously set Pink Salmon record, which was a spontaneous opportunity merely because it was caught. Unfortunately, I could only submit three of the four applications, because the picture showing the weight of one of the fish was too blurry to interpret, regardless Cody's photography talent. I moved during the weighing photos, which caused the blurriness. Crushing, yes, but a valuable lesson learned. Of the memorable fish, there were two that were more memorable than the three submitted for verification.<br />
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On our last day of fishing, while Cody was catching his Sockeye Salmon, I had also been trying to tempt a Grayling to eat my fly tied to a class 2 kg/4 lb. tippet line. Not having any luck, I decided to switch flies, and in making that decision, I chose to pick up my other rod with a class 4 kg/8 lb. tippet line and bigger fly, one of Cody's purple and silver "Messy Dress" flies. BAM! FishOn! with two strips--a spawning-colored Coho with a nice kype at the end of my line weighing 9 pounds 6 ounces--12 ounces more than the current 4 lb. record fish! Crushed and simultaneously delighted, I just keep telling myself that with a 4 lb. class tippet, chances were pretty decent that I would not have landed that fish. Either way, I enjoyed catching it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdZoE-2TBNuAENuxhi7hsqZdrUVIRkKJf6EP61O1Q77nRx5XjdSHqoJX59xTGEkZUY-8qjPJQMjwD4UXIQFKC6tvuDSDpCAanSOlYBg3uylN-a9HwJxpz-yo6Oob_jfRTVSGij4NDc-4/s1600/DSCN1511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdZoE-2TBNuAENuxhi7hsqZdrUVIRkKJf6EP61O1Q77nRx5XjdSHqoJX59xTGEkZUY-8qjPJQMjwD4UXIQFKC6tvuDSDpCAanSOlYBg3uylN-a9HwJxpz-yo6Oob_jfRTVSGij4NDc-4/s640/DSCN1511.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Taylor boated Cody and me a considerable distance upriver to target large Dolly Varden. We anchored the boat near a mid-river gravel bar and wade fished swinging streamers. I swung a nice purple-bodied, pink, bead-like head streamer tied on 1 kg/2 lb. class tippet. Several Dollies nipped at the fly, but another fish kept disturbing the Dollies, so their feeding wasn't wholeheartedly enthusiastic. Giving it one last cast and swing, I had FishOn! Taylor waded farther out to get a good look at the fish and announced it was ChumOn! OH! MY! WORD! Thank goodness, we did have a flurocarbon 16 pound shock tippet tied on, so there was hope at landing this piggy fish; unfortunately, I struggle with tying the Bimini Twist knot, so my surgeon's knot was stiffer than I wanted for a 2 lb class tippet. Fighting this fish was definitely a team effort. Cody was snapping swell pictures and offering lots of encouragement and keen advice. Taylor advised how to fight the Chum, letting him run downstream right out of the swift current. We let him run--about 100 yards in to the backing; we put just enough pressure to retrieve the line back through the guides four different times. I waded downstream with him; I bowed when he jumped. I changed angles; I had a nice, spongy two-piece rod. My drag was loose; I palmed only lightly. We played him well going on 10 minutes and were prepared to do this for as long as necessary. The Chum began tiring with the downstream runs/upstream retrieves and jumps. Just as determined as I was to land this beast, he was just as determined to get away, and so, with a spectacular thrash of his head, the class tippet broke exactly in the middle, at the 7<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt;">½</span>" mark<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">,</span> much to the heartbreak of us all. The most memorable fish is the one that got away; clich<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">é</span></span>, I know, but the truth nonetheless.<br />
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The applications that we did submit were Silver Salmon on 1 kg/ 2 lb test (the one I thought would be impossible to set), Dolly Varden on 1 kg/2 lb test, and Pink Salmon on 2 kg/4 lb test. Now, the waiting game begins.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qNxvH3H52YRHFJa2f6y6V4oSUVgt3D12PSijEcAyWwuVzi6zNDS8p7eudJye6dYVg0YyLCLK3HTx7mZuME4htt5fdOwggVmKptdGwqQIsWF9ZkDyyMsxikxcp_yJOoWaIfhzVjc-lJs/s1600/D80_8401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qNxvH3H52YRHFJa2f6y6V4oSUVgt3D12PSijEcAyWwuVzi6zNDS8p7eudJye6dYVg0YyLCLK3HTx7mZuME4htt5fdOwggVmKptdGwqQIsWF9ZkDyyMsxikxcp_yJOoWaIfhzVjc-lJs/s640/D80_8401.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coho Salmon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr9nUSkVy1a8RcRF_X11VlAg0T5lWTCV_sCco8a9PjMcs7_j5ZniT2oRiHssLZHKdFgYGx0NX1LFA7pHwifpBO-yyotQcM_T7qKyZxoFhAxZQHZresRXyknzrdO3b5kS5J3GhTDQwTKM/s1600/D80_8433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr9nUSkVy1a8RcRF_X11VlAg0T5lWTCV_sCco8a9PjMcs7_j5ZniT2oRiHssLZHKdFgYGx0NX1LFA7pHwifpBO-yyotQcM_T7qKyZxoFhAxZQHZresRXyknzrdO3b5kS5J3GhTDQwTKM/s640/D80_8433.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dolly Varden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink Salmon</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-63149510243892843942017-08-08T21:31:00.000-05:002017-09-06T23:37:33.887-05:00Unalakleet River Lodge, Revisited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We returned to the Unalakleet River Lodge for some of the best Pacific Silver Salmon in North America. We visited Unalakleet earlier in the season than compared to our 2010 visit and were treated to some days filled with warm sunshine, pre-spawn Cohos, beautiful scenery, and some of Alaska's wildlife. It made finding some of the more sought-after species a little difficult, but it was a grand week, filled with fine food, excellent friendships, and great days on the water. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unalakleet River Lodge</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dolly Varden</td></tr>
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<br />flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-43142005425382966552017-04-19T19:00:00.000-05:002017-07-09T23:41:55.005-05:00Cosmoledo's Cemetery Point and Sand Flats<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
Day three turned out to be a bit of a difficult day, because we couldn’t find fish. Tommy typically guides on Alphonse and was serving as a substitute guide on <a href="http://www.alphonsefishingco.com/destinations/cosmoledo/" target="_blank">Cosmoledo</a>. We ended up fishing Cemetery Point, an area Tommy had never guided previously. We covered a large amount of coastline before the tide started producing fish on the flats, and we did get to see Cosmoledo’s cemetery, though we didn’t go ashore. We could see crosses marking gravesites even though those graves were from the 1700s, so the archivist and historian in me was at least occupied while we waited for the fish. Cody eventually went ashore to take photos and film, especially the turtle tracks from their previous night's nesting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cemetery Point lies in the background</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Turtles and Hawksbill Sea Turtles nest on Cosmoledo</td></tr>
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<span style="text-indent: 0in;">Finally, some sharks started to appear, and I have always wanted to catch a Lemon Shark, a Nurse Shark, or a Black Tip Shark, as long as they were about a meter or less.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I casted to several, but none were in a feeding mode, just more cruising the flats than anything.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">While Cody was wanting to take some shoreline videos of us on the flats, a GT came inshore off the surf.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">He promptly headed back out, but signs of life started to appear.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Since we were not wading or walking, I sat down to take my boots off, because my feet were hot.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Tommy called out that there was a Jeet, get ready to cast.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I stood back up on the casting platform—right in the middle of my fly line.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I casted, stripped, and hooked a Jeet, who promptly made a run before I could completely remove my foot from the line.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I did use my foot to strip set the hook tightly in the Jeet's scissors, but Tommy hears my hopping on the casting platform.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Turning to see that my foot is wrapped, he helped me untangle myself and keep the fish on my line.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Fortunately, I was only wrapped once, and this Jeet didn’t feel like running too fast. </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Cody was much farther down the shoreline, so he had a bit of a walk, but he made it back and took some nice photos and videos.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Jeets grunt like little piglest, so that was fun to hear.</span></div>
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After we let him go, we decided to stay in the water. Cody saw another Jeet coming in on the tide, so he grabbed his 12# rod, and began casting. Cody casted his fly about 75 feet, and that GT pounced on his tan, 8/0 Brush Fly. While Cody’s fighting his fish, I saw some nice Bonefish cruising the flat coming towards Cody’s Jeet, so I cast to them. We did a pretty good job keeping the fish disentangled from one another, in spite of their long runs, and we produced a nice Cosmo FishOn! Double! I had hoped our splashing fish would attract a small shark or two, but no such luck. After releasing, we continued covering the flats until the dropping tide demanded we move off or get stranded. We headed into the lagoon, where a lesson in patience would be required.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chalk it up to being tired or thinking about it being the last day on Cosmo or thinking ahead to Alphonse or thinking about slamming a third day in a row, my casting fell apart, and I couldn’t strip well, get the rod to load, hit a target, or spot fish. I just sat down for a while to gather my thoughts. We came across nice Milkfish schools on the flats, but they weren’t feeding. Then, we saw nothing but white sandy flats and no fish, not even mullet. Cody tired of standing. We got out and walked over the shallowest areas, because the water was too skinny. We weren’t seeing fish, and we later learned, the Jeets had stacked up in the lagoon near the <i>Lonestar</i>, because Randy and David landed 32!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Adams and Randy Cupp with two of their 32 landed Jeets</td></tr>
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<span style="text-indent: 0in;">When targeting Cosmo’s GTs, especially on the flats, mudding rays typically have GTs in tow.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">It is an interesting relationship to observe, and I like rays.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Tommy was very good pointing out the different species of rays, the length of their tails, which species had stingers, which did not.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">We spotted several Thornback Rays, which have thorns or spines along their back and tail, but Tommy let us know that Jeets don’t follow these rays.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I became proficient at identifying these rays.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> Cody let me up on the casting platform as we headed off, t</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">rying to go some where that might have fish.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Tommy was cruising to a ledge drop off, when he stops the boat immediately still on the flat, and yells, “Backcast, quickly, NOW!”</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I backcasted, never seeing exactly where I was to place my fly, when Cody and Tommy are yelling, “STRIP!</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">STRIP!</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">STRIP!</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">STRIP!”</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Suddenly, my line goes tight, and the fish heads back towards the sand flat, thankfully, and not to the coral ledge.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> After a good fight, we</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> get this Geet landed—incident-free, I might add—and we decided to measure him.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Spot on the nose, I caught an 80 cm GT that was cruising on the back of a Thronback Ray using a back cast to a fish I never saw while trying to maintain my balance to keep from flying off the bow due to the sudden stop.</span><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">Definitely a memorable fish.</span></div>
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Eventually, it was time to return to <i>Lonestar</i>, which was being prepped for an eight hour, nighttime sail due west to Assumption Island, from where we would fly out back east to Alphonse the next day. Cosmo, you taught me much, and I will miss you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804277492708195044.post-35042306209232872752017-04-18T18:00:00.000-05:002017-07-09T23:41:21.057-05:00Milk Moustache and Jeets on Cosmoledo<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;">
Cody’s dream fish has been the Milkfish. In 2011 on Alphonse, I watched Cody cast to feeding Milkfish, casting the fly directly in a Milk’s mouth, which is about the size of a Solo Cup’s mouth, only to see it not eat. Timing is key to catching a Milkfish. If they are not feeding on the surface or </div>
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on the flats, Milks are uncatchable. Since Cody had enjoyed such a successful day the previous day, we decided to hit the surf for Milkfish. Cody casted to several schools cruising by feeding on the surface, but our fly just wasn’t getting to the right depth in the water column. The fibers were trapping air, keeping it floating on top, instead of the needed four to six inches below the surface. Tommy tied on one of the early Milkfish fly patterns, and Cody casting to the third school, it was MilkfishOn!<br />
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Cody and I have affectionately dubbed Milkfish as Popeyes of the Sea. These beasts eat only algae and the tiny zooplankton and other microscopic bugs that attach to the algae—That’s It! However, their vegan diet in no way diminishes their size, strength, and ability to put up a fight of a lifetime. Milkfish are unique and beautiful, especially with that turquoise stripe along its back, light maroon lateral line, silver sides, oval mouth, big eyes, and strong, forked tail. As tough as Milkfish fight, a fly fisher must handle the fight delicately even though a 10# rod is the typical fisherman’s arsenal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Cody’s hooked Milk decided to stay with a group of other Milkfish, and then a second group, and a third group before Cody fought it out of the schools. Milkfish take a lot of line, easily going into the backing, and letting the Milk run is just something that has to be done and without cranking down on the drag. Pumping and winding and pumping and winding is the strategy to first slow down their runs. In all, Cody’s fight took 23 minutes. It was both fun and worrisome to watch this fight, as I wanted Code to land his dream fish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After saying goodbye, we headed to the Flats to see if my luck catching GTs could improve. Thank goodness, Tommy really enjoys guiding, because I wouldn’t have caught my first hooked Jeet without his help. Hooking the fish in the scissors and a hard strip set created the run reaction, and even though I wear great Patagonia fishing gloves, I still got a finger burn. That prompted me to quickly let go of the slack line, which then popped back and wrapped around the bottom stripping guide. Needless to say, incident-free fishing wasn’t going to happen for me today, which meant Tommy had to work really hard. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My first Giant Trevally was not the biggest, the fastest, nor did it light-up the brightest, but it was a fun fish and a lifetime memory. I loved catching it; it made me want to catch more Jeets, and I learned that I preferred catching them on the flats versus teasing them or dredging for them. Stalking them over a beautiful white sand flat or turtlegrass, timing the cast, placing the fly properly, and then stripping successfully is an indescribable thrill; work, yes, but equally as thrilling, especially when that line goes tight. </div>
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Cody wanted in on the fun, so catching a bigger Jeet than the previous day’s catch was next on his agenda. Still stalking the white sand flats for these cruising beasts, Cody landed a really nice GT<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBaQAGzj3xPZVZkkiYhHldRO7eyLH5Q18AbNxERBsgK1vY2iTjx0icQfPN4cHoR8nBcK4ZRyQOQ6urJMpHlht1jO274vkgTyA8JKAmglMJhznWQLh5J82oC7RB0lUIthJRQtW5zZCGtY/s1600/GOPR0224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBaQAGzj3xPZVZkkiYhHldRO7eyLH5Q18AbNxERBsgK1vY2iTjx0icQfPN4cHoR8nBcK4ZRyQOQ6urJMpHlht1jO274vkgTyA8JKAmglMJhznWQLh5J82oC7RB0lUIthJRQtW5zZCGtY/s400/GOPR0224.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
—on his first cast, no less. Cody made catching these monsters look effortless. It also meant that Cody was on target for a slam of some type, and it wasn’t even lunch time!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtmqz1YYw0C1d9P2PAJKW5vz0QnAPb0we7_3Z03NV2rXAW0NuLnSXvtgorLyWX5u2OM4zFKs6dlAY7ki9h_qBzUUKTmppMbDNf6wWLG_Eb5TbdWPu4gSwyD2hz_LgJCv9GlJ7WlEfyAA/s1600/DSCF0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtmqz1YYw0C1d9P2PAJKW5vz0QnAPb0we7_3Z03NV2rXAW0NuLnSXvtgorLyWX5u2OM4zFKs6dlAY7ki9h_qBzUUKTmppMbDNf6wWLG_Eb5TbdWPu4gSwyD2hz_LgJCv9GlJ7WlEfyAA/s400/DSCF0208.JPG" width="300" /></a>After lunch, Tommy put us on turtlegrass flats to target Triggerfish. One of my goals in coming to the Seychelles was to reach the Triggerfish Trifecta—Moustache, Picasso, and Yellowmargin. I loved Cody’s Moustache Trigger from the previous day, and in 2011, I had caught a Picasso. I hooked up with two Picasso’s on Astove, but they broke me off on coral, so I was a little determined. We came upon a little Moustache, who was both happy and hungry. I casted my size 2 Shrimp pattern to this little fellow, and he nip-nip-nipped it. However, after four different casts and repeat eating behavior and NOT spooking this little guy, we decided the fly was just too big for him to inhale. Cody and I packed many of our Bonefish Bitters, and Tommy decided that an amber-colored one might work. Lo and behold, this little guy inhaled the Bitter, and then promptly hid in a coral hidey-hole. In spite of my high rod angle, there was no teasing, pulling, or getting that fish out of his coral home. Bless Tommy’s heart, he braved a Trigger’s teeth, which can cleanly sever a human finger in one chomp, and worked that little fellow out of his hole. As a result, I reeled it in, we landed him, and I now had caught two of the three desired Trigger species.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No sooner had we released my Trigger, when Tommy spotted another feeding Trigger, and this one <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcY1O6SgK8BJV7mPpiUTSF5MCYt7khcHhcBVSJkrxAAO1qzjhTT2R9iZ-YDaP0L5ZxWxe9BllJHqRoVx56lYNX2JbWFQvAAFC0oISzPKXIAloAOVEb5euVZ94X91SZXxmk4-ABLn8NNU/s1600/GOPR0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcY1O6SgK8BJV7mPpiUTSF5MCYt7khcHhcBVSJkrxAAO1qzjhTT2R9iZ-YDaP0L5ZxWxe9BllJHqRoVx56lYNX2JbWFQvAAFC0oISzPKXIAloAOVEb5euVZ94X91SZXxmk4-ABLn8NNU/s400/GOPR0237.JPG" width="400" /></a>was a hoss! Cody casted and as the Trigger was chasing the fly, another Trigger came up. When two Triggers are present, they are in essence squabbling over territory and are thus NOT feeding. These two chased one another for a while, but amazingly, the bigger of the two returned. Cody casted again, and the second, pesky Trigger reappeared. They fussed and chased one another, and finally the intruder left. Cody casted a third time, and this fella inhaled and crushed Cody’s fly and made a run straight for a coral balmy head. Cody fought and played the fish quite nicely, but it just kept running for that coral, and since Cody’s Trigger was much bigger, if it went into the coral, <br />
it was staying. Cody fought it, standing the Trigger on its head, while Tommy chased after it to keep it away from the coral head. It was a long run, but between the two, Cody landed a 54 cm Yellowmargin Trigger, which was absolutely the most beautiful Trigger I had ever seen. Cody was now on for a Flats Grand Slam; all he needed was a Bonefish.<br />
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We had a couple of hours left in the day, so I wanted the chance to catch a Yellowmargin myself. The Triggers had been appearing in abundance, and it didn’t take long before we found another one happily feeding in turtlegrass. The bow of the boat is known as 12 o’clock. We were fishing at the 4 o’clock position. This fish was feeding so happily that he missed my fly as it passed him by, twice! Still actively feeding, I cast a third time, garnered his attention, and he was chasing my fly, when he quit, just quit. Tommy starts yelling, STRIP! STRIP! STRIP! so I continued stripping. From our 8 o’clock, unbeknownst to us, a Jeet had seen that size 2 Shrimp fly and came zooming in to steal the meal from the Trigger. Chaos ensued! I hooked him, but I had a 10# rod rigged with 25 pound test tippet and a size 2 fly, not a 12# rod rigged with 130 pound test and a size 8/0 fly, and this guy was headed straight for a balmy coral head with a knotted loop in my fly line running through my guides. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Believing that I really wouldn’t land this fellow, as I could exert little pressure, I listened to Tommy, who was standing in the water shouting instructions as to how to play him. Rod up; reel; rod tip down; reel quickly; rod up; not too much pressure; let him run; don’t let him run. Tommy hopped in the boat and moved us first closer to the Jeet, so I could reel in a large amount of line, then putted us backwards away from the coral head, and hopped back into the water while Cody used the push pole to hold us into place. Somehow, we had applied enough pressure on the fish, that he stopped running. Turning my rod guides-side up, so I could reel the knot through much easier, Tommy followed the fly line to the leader. Oh my word, we landed that fish!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, it was time to find Cody a Bonefish, and the tide was rising. Tommy called to the other guides to see if anyone else had seen any Bones, but nobody was within radio distance. Near the lagoon where the <i>Lonestar</i> was moored was a nice sand flat where many species of fish cruise the flats line on a significantly changing tide. We rolled up on herds of mullet and Milkfish, whose forked tails protrude the water surface similar to Bonefish. Finally, after searching, hoping, and waiting, a small school of Bones came cruising down the flat. Cody casted, stripped, and it was BonefishOn! Cody continued stripping, set the hook nicely, and that Bone began an epic Bonefish run. Cody reeled, and as the fish turned to make his second run, POP! The line came zinging back at the boat, Fast; BonefishOff! We all had forgotten that Cody’s Trigger had bent the hook on his fly, and when the Bonefish turned to run, the fly just slipped out of its soft, rubbery mouth. After tying on a new Shrimp pattern, we boated twenty minutes back to Southwest where Cody caught his Bonefish the previous day, and we waited, and we waited, and we waited some more. Waves of Milks came cruising by, and we waited even more. The tide had risen significantly, making the area too deep for Bonefish. For fear of being eaten, Bonefish stay in shallow water to keep GTs and sharks at bay. We headed back to <i>Lonestar</i>, but before calling it a day, we tried to find one last school of Bones cruising the same area where Cody had lost his earlier Bone. We searched, we looked, we hoped, but this isn’t Alphonse; it’s <a href="http://www.alphonsefishingco.com/destinations/cosmoledo/" target="_blank">Cosmoledo</a>, where the Bones are bigger but less plentiful. Regrettably, we had to give up. Cody got his second Slam for his Milk, Jeet, and Trigger, but it wasn’t the Grand Slam he’d wanted. It was an EPIC day of fishing, though.<o:p></o:p></div>
flyfshrgrlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13415449182573751883noreply@blogger.com0