All the other stuff

All the other stuff — 6 Comments
11
May 11

Ch Ch Ch Changes

OK… there are going to be some changes coming down the pike here at Bonefish on the Brain.  Hope the are seamless and you don’t even notice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbnJo88kuP8

I’m leaving the world of “Stay at home dad”-ing.  It’s been a good run.  I’ve had some really, really fantastic memories.  It is now time to get back to that professional world.  I had really wanted that job to be in the fly fishing industry as the blog had turned so much of my attention there.  Orvis offered me the opportunity to work at their store in San Jose, but I also had the opportunity to work at a high-tech start-up.  In the end, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to be a part of building a company with a really intriguing technology… not to mention to potential financial upside (the difference between selling Helios rods and buying them).

Thanks to the folks at Orvis for being willing to take me on.  I appreciate the vote of confidence and think you guys are headed in the right direction.  I’ve cast the Helios, Hydros and Access… good sticks.

So, I’ll be starting a new job on Monday and entering a new world… one that is going to demand a LOT of my time, energy and focus.  I don’t know when my next trip is going to be, but I’m still going to find stories and post them up for you all to enjoy (every day if I can).  I might just be a little bit harder to get a hold of and I might be a little slower on the reply.

I’m entering a whole new world, and leaving one very awesome world behind.  Sure, I’ll still be a dad, but part of me is really going to miss trips to the aquarium.

Love that girl

All the other stuff — 2 Comments
10
May 11

Just some idle dreaming

It wouldn’t suck… that’s what I’m saying…

to have a little island home…

There’s water out the window there.  Looks like a dock.  You could be just a few steps from your skiff.  It’s on a canal, not beach front, but I’d imagine that would be a good thing should any Category 4’s come through.

$175,000.

I’m sure everything is expensive there in terms of food and fuel and whatever else you need.

What would you need to stay there forever?  Maybe income on $1.5M could do it.  You could stay there and live simply and fish every day the winds and the sun align. You could grow old or older getting to know every nook and cranny of Abaco and you could catch more fish than you have any right to.

You might spend most of your money on gas for those long runs and you might spend more than a few thousand dollars on bits of steel and thread and fur and feather.

I can’t imagine you’d meet too many people there.  It might be a kind of quiet existence… just the sound of the boat engine and the wind through the mangroves.

You’d need a lot of sunscreen too, I’d think.

I can almost feel the sun at my back…

All the other stuff — 1 Comment
08
May 11

Salven Paints Some FIBFest Goodness

Here’s a new Bragging Rights Portrait of Eric Rathbun of Moldy Chum who recently had the opportunity for the ethereal experience while chasing Bones in the Bahamas.

via ” Bahama Bonefish ” Tropical Bragging Rights Fish Art portrait –  Mike Savlen.

That is just pure awesome.  Mike does some really, really good work.  This picture was taken at FIBFest… some really good pictures were taken by Cameron and now one of those has been turned into a pretty kick arse painting by Mike.

 

I want one.

 

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All the other stuff / Conservation — 1 Comment
07
May 11

The IGFA Remembers Fly Fishing Legend Billy Pate

Billy was an innovator, unsurpassed as a fly fisherman, knowledgeable, a true sportsman.

via IGFA | The IGFA Remembers Fly Fishing Legend Billy Pate.

Billy Pate was a founding member of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.  Never met him.  Never even talked to him, but he sounds like a pretty fascinating guy.

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All the other stuff — No Comments
24
Apr 11

The Best Fishing Guide Alive – Steve Huff

Then he guns the engine. As the boat planes quickly and easily, Huff lifts up his bandanna, revealing a wide smile. “Do you feel that?” he yells to me over the engine’s whine. “We’re free.”

via The Best Fishing Guide Alive.

A little piece in Garden & Gun about uber guide, Steve Huff.

 

 

 

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All the other stuff — 4 Comments
16
Apr 11

Casting in the Dark

There are a lot of things going on at Bonefish on the Brain’s Main Office these days.  Not all of them are totally awesome.  Sometimes you need an escape and I have a little one just down the road.

At the end of the street is a school and that school has a nice, big, grass field.  Tonight I went down there with a 7 wt. and a bonefish line and I cast.

I tried to feel the flex in the rod.  I watched my rod hand.  I watched the back cast.  I tried to pay attention to where my body was carrying tension and then I tried to relax that area. This isn’t supposed to be a feat of strength so noticing where you are tense is a good way, I think, to tell where you are doing something wrong.

Haul back… haul forward… haul back… haul forward…

The mechanics of it are my own Tai Chi.

Power…

Energy…

Calm…

Peace…

I tried to make the casting strokes with as little effort as possible.

—

I’ve never cast a full line.  You hear people talk about doing it, but I’ve never been one of them.  So, tonight, I tried.

I can’t do it.

It would appear I can hit about 88′ with some degree of consistency on a lightly windy day.  The funny thing was that I could hit about that far regardless of trying to put extra pep in the casting stroke.  My normal casting stroke pretty much delivered the same cast as the one I tried to really pound.

Sometimes applying extra effort does not yield results.

In fact… that is probably most of the time… and that probably applies to more than just casting.

So, there ya go.  When the going gets tough, go to the elementary school and do some casting… just make sure the kids aren’t there.

 

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All the other stuff / Fish Tails — 8 Comments
13
Apr 11

Home Waters – First Trout of 2011

It is April… APRIL and I just landed my first trout of the year.  There is something really weird about that, but there it is.  This was also the first time I’ve been trout fishing this year, so, at least I haven’t been skunked.

I’m up in Dunsmuir while my daughter is on Spring Break (from Pre-School).  I actually had to go and buy a 2011 Fishing License.  Yes… I didn’t even have a fishing license yet and it is APRIL.  Uff da.

I have to say… I’m pretty disappointed in Union Pacific.  The railroad that nearly killed off the whole river thanks to a train derailment (back in 1991) has decided to cut off the parking access that folks use to get up to Mossbrae Falls.  This is douchebaggery.

Note: My folks have lived in Dunsmuir for 42 years and they cannot recall anyone ever being injured by a train along the tracks to get to Mossbrae.  That has got to be tens of thousands of people that have made that short hike in those years.  I think that is a pretty good testament to common sense.  Union Pacific seems to think that we’ve run out of common sense to the point that we are now in danger of falling asleep on the tracks and suing them.  This is a good example of everything that is wrong with the mentality of “better safe than sorry.”  It kind of pisses me off.

Keep it classy, UP... keep it classy.

The river is beautiful.  It’s high, sure, but the color is good and the Upper Sac can be fished at very high flows so long as the color is good.  You just need a good supply of tin shot and, presto, you are fishing.

The gateway to awesomeness.

My batting average wasn’t too hot.  I hooked three very, very, very nice trout but was 0/3 before I got one fish to cooperate enough to actually come and shake hands.  Not a big fish, but, a wild, beautiful trout. That will do wonders for your mood.

Officially on the board for 2011 in the category of "Trout"

Ah… that’s nice.

 

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All the other stuff — 2 Comments
07
Apr 11

Why do we do it?

Have you ever sat back and really looked objectively at this thing we do?  It doesn’t make a lot of sense on the face of it.

We don’t eat the fish (usually).  We don’t take anything away from the experience… in fact, we usually leave piles of cash behind in varying sizes.

Sure, there is the primal calling to hunt.  There is the adrenaline of seeing that fish speed up on your fly.  There is the wide open expanse of sky and water.  There is the wildness of the place and the peace of the wind through the mangroves and the stunning beauty of the flats… but there is more too.

I think it is the ultimate in validation.  You make the cast with the right fly and have the right strip and you will catch a fish that others cannot catch.  You are doing it right.  If you weren’t, you wouldn’t catch that fish (usually).  Heck, even when you do it right sometimes the fish won’t eat.  After a while you start to do it right more than you do it wrong and the outcome serves to demonstrate that fact… more fish hooked, more fish landed.

Bonefish are very democratic… they only understand the meritocracy of the fly.  You do it right, often enough, and you will be rewarded.

Wouldn’t it be nice if life actually worked like that?

original photo by Tom Larimer

 

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All the other stuff — 1 Comment
03
Apr 11

FIBFest… the travel back

It was always going to be a long day of travel to get from South Andros back to San Jose, CA in a day.  If I was an East Coaster, it would have been easier.  It took four flights, one airport sprint session and the slowest van ride ever (he drove 50 in a 65) to make it back… but I made it, about 11:30 PM (also known as 2:30 AM on Andros Time).

My bag… not so much.  It should get here later this morning so I can give my girl the shells I bought from the Shell Man.

While FIBFest is now very much over… the memories of the week will last a long, long time and the friendships I’ve made this past week will last even longer.

That said… it isn’t too bad being home either.

One reasons to be home.

All the other stuff — 12 Comments
02
Apr 11

FIBFest Closes (sadly)

It has been a great, great week here in South Andros.  Today is the departure day… as you read this I am either in an airport or on a plane.

Here are a few things I learned this week…

– My casting is better than I give myself credit for… someone even said there is a “grace” about my casting.  That was a surprise.

– Given the right combination of factors, I can still trout set like a mo-fo.

– I really like fishing for cudas… even if that means trolling.

– A head lamp is a MUST HAVE on my next trip.

– My core belief that “modern gear is all pretty good” is being a little shaken.

– I may have a good business idea.

– Night fishing is full of danger and possibility.

– My flies worked.

– I need to find some sun gloves that I actually want to wear.

– The guides who were supposed to be “tough” weren’t.  They were honest and it didn’t bother me in the slightest.

– A guide who sings and laughs may be the most fun to fish with.

– I really, really want to come back here.

    (photo credit Tom Larimer)

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