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17
Jun 23

Belize 2023 – and that’s a wrap

I’m sitting here on the north island of Caye Caulker, stinking a bit, thinking about packing up as we catch a boat back the Belize City here in a couple hours. It has been a good family trip. We snorkeled the reef. We visited an awesome Maya ruin almost all the way to Guatemala. I got fishing with my boy. I had plenty of morning patrols with a fly rod in hand.

Morning patrol was the most effective. I managed a decent snook and a baby tarpon right out front, which was pretty rad. Beyond that, well… the wind has been blowing about 20 mph pretty much non-stop since we got here. The sargasso is all over the place and between that and the wind the water on the ocean-side is something like café-au-lait in color. That has made it a challenge.

I honestly don’t remember being anywhere for a week that had wind like this so consistently… but maybe I’ve never been in the tropics in June before? I don’t know, but it has been less than ideal for fishing.

But… to the fishing.

Earlier this week I went out with Dennis for a full day with my 9 year old. A full day with a 9 year old is an iffy thing. Kids get bored, so I didn’t know if we’d last the whole day.

Right off the bat we ran into a pod of dolphins that showed off for us a bit. That was pretty cool and a memorable thing. We ended up seeing 2 different dolphin pods and about 5 manatees.

My son used the spinning rod and bait and he crushed it. He well out-fished me, which was fun for him and a thing he was not shy in sharing with random strangers.

For me… I had one good tarpon shot and I blew it. Wind at my back, I saw the fish first, moving over white sand at 12:00. My shot was good, but I dumped too much line with the strong wind and I struggled to get tight to the fly. So, when the 5+ foot tarpon ate the fly, I couldn’t get a hook set on it. That was it. That was my tarpon shot. I didn’t get another.

We looked for bonefish for a bit, but the water in the lagoons was really warm and all the feed marks were rays, not bonefish.

I went fishless, save for two accidental small cudas.

That’s the way to goes sometimes. I got to share something I love with my son, which was really special. The kid hung in there too. He said the fishing was his favorite part of the trip.

I got another half-day with Guide Kyle and that trip was fun and I had plenty of bonefish shots and even a couple good permit follows (seriously, no idea how I didn’t end up with a permit… so… close!). Kyle got us out of the wind, back in some deep lagoons and he found fish for me.

I’m rusty. I put the fly on the heads of bonefish more often than not. I guess you can get out of practice with this stuff! I was also casting with my 8 weight that I managed to break the tip off of. Yup, second broken 8 weight in about 2 months.

We also had a guide pull up behind us and then pole directly on top of us. I mean… that’s just total dick-head-maneuver guiding. Kyle did well not to spear the guy with his push pole. If you are the client in this situation, tell your guide you’d like to not do this.

And there we are… that’s the end of the trip. We leave here shortly. I’m not packed up yet… maybe hoping if I just never pack, I’ll get to prolong my stay in Belize? It’s time. Work beckons. There is soccer club work to be done. There’s a whole life up there in the Bay that I need to get back to… but I do love it here, even with the relentless heat and this aggravating wind, I do love it. Caye Caulker in Belize and East End Lodge in the Bahamas are probably my two favorite places. Glad to get to be here with my wife and my son and I look forward to getting back, whenever that might be.

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09
Apr 21

Putting the “Ha” in Hatchery

The boy and I had a day of fishing on the books and so, we went fishing.

First, we went to a lake a neighbor told us about. The road in still had a bit of snow on it, but nothing that would keep you from getting there.

Pretty lake.

Now… I don’t fish a lot of lakes, but said neighbor had told me the general game plan and I followed it, complete with the fly he gave me to try.

Funny thing about the neighbor… we were staying at an AirBnB up near Bend and when I introduced myself to the neighbor it turns out he recognized me from a fly fishing message board that we were both very active on back in the late 90’s. So, that was fun. The old Northern California Fly Fishing Board was the source of a lot of knowledge, some lasting friendships and some great memories until the trolls took over and pretty much ruined the thing. Thanks trolls.

We managed to catch a couple nice rainbows under the watchful gaze of a bald eagle who was crying from one of the trees lining the lake. Pretty fun and a great bit of Central Oregon scenery.

Next we went to the Fall River (the Oregon one, not the California one) to the hatchery, where I was told there were fish in all the holes and, yeah, there were.

The hatchery is an odd place… people lined up at all the discharge pipes and fish (large fish) just kind of hanging out there. Unclear if any of these were wild or if they were all planters or what exactly the story is there. Someone probably knows, but I didn’t ask.

The previous day on the Metolius I had seen a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing fishing a large streamer under an indicator. I don’t know that I had ever seen someone do that and I watched him for a bit and I decided to try it out. I didn’t get any love on the Met, but then, no one else was catching either. I tried it out again on the Fall and, ya know what? It worked. Had this fish take on the first pass with the good ole’ wooly bugger. It turns out I rather enjoy big fish, even if they might, possibly be from a concrete river. I don’t know if this fish was wild or not, but it sure looked clean to me.

The boy and I had a good day fishing. Weather was nice. Fish were caught. We created some memories. He worked a lot on his casting and he got to reel in most of the fish I hooked. We were all smiles at the end of the day and that, I’m pretty sure, is what it is all about.

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26
Oct 20

My kingdom for a farm pond

My first fishing memories are of dunking worms for bluegill in a little creek not far from where my dad grew up in Corning, CA. The little creek, Hall Creek, moved slowly past almond and walnut orchards and resembled a series of ponds more than a creek. I love those memories.

We would get worms and an orange soda (the secret weapon and special treat for when we’d go to Hall Creek). I loved it. I even caught a bass one trip that was the biggest fish I caught for years.

I always wanted to take my kids to Hall Creek to fish for bluegills but things don’t stay unchanged and the few times I checked on Hall Creek it was dry as a bone. A combination of drought and agriculture are probably to blame, but where there is no water, there are no fish. My dad keeps hoping the kids will be able to fish there some day, but it seems an idea from a different age.

This last weekend we stayed at an AirBnB while my wife was doing a virtual conference. It was rough, two adults and one kid trying to access the internet at the same time, but the highlight was the pond. The pond had bluegill and bass. It was like a dream come true.

Ponds are few and far between in the Bay Area, at least so far as I know of them. So, this was special.

The boy… he liked it. He caught some bluegill and he loved everything about the place. We saw a Great Blue Heron and I ass-hooked a turtle, he found a Praying Mantis egg sack and there were loads of deer. Victory.

Big joy from such simple things.

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21
Aug 17

Winning the dad game with trout

I try to get camping at least once a year. Twice is ideal, once is sometimes all I can pull off. This year my wife and son came along (staying at my dad’s) to accompany my daughter, my brother, me and a few friends.

This was my first chance to catch a trout with my son (beyond him being in a backpack). It was pretty damn awesome.

As soon as he had a taste, he told me he wanted to do it himself. We aren’t there yet.

The girl got in on the action as well. She stuck a few trout, most without my direct involvement, which makes me prouder than is reasonable.

What a great weekend.


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11
Apr 14

So… pretty much, I win

This in the “When I Grow Up” book from my daughter’s class… I’m feeling pretty awesome right now.

:-)
🙂


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24
Jun 13

I’m not magic

I can’t say I get it all right. I don’t know if she’ll be my fishing buddy forever. She lacks the patience to actually fish, but she loves to look at them, hold them and let the go free.

She get’s frustrated easily and endurance is not her “thing.”

Still, it feels like I’m doing something right, having her out here, among the pines, Indian rhubarb, caddis and trout. Campfires. Smores. The sound of birds in the morning. The sound or the river in the distance. No baths for two days. No screens of any kind. Bugs to catch. Lizards and the odd snake. I never feel like a better parent than when I’m camping.

I’m not magic, but when I’m on a stream with my girl and a fly rod in my hand, she thinks I am.

A girl and her fish.

A girl and her fish.

I’ll take it.


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05
Aug 10

Long Beach Bonefish from gazettes.com

California has a lot going for it… Disneyland, Tahoe, gay marriage, wine, Hollywood and more.  Bonefish, however, are a little scarce.  Many have heard about bonefish in San Diego Bay even sometimes north of there (although not in San Francisco Bay).  A kids fishing event in Long Beach has, in past years, turned up bonefish.  I’m guessing they were not record-setting bones, but still good to know.

About 30 different species of fish were snagged during the catch-and-release event last year, Scott said, and the battle for most strange or unusual fish always turns up some oddities. In years past he said he’d seen a lobster, starfish, bonefish, midshipman and even a barnacle-clad fishing pole “some angler must have lost years ago,” be unearthed from the sea.

via Fishing Rodeo Reels In Youngsters – gazettes.com: Lifestyle.

You could bonefish and hit Disneyland in the same day!

Yeah, that's California there.


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