Before I took off on my Elk hunting trip I slipped out of town for an afternoon of Fly Fishing with Stephen Vance of Scandalous Sticks Flyrods. I knew I wouldn’t be fly fishing for a couple of weeks so like a squirrel stocks up for winter, I inha…
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September 20th, 2010
Trading Waders for Camo
At the beginning of Sept. I skipped town once again and headed for no mans land middle Oregon for an Elk hunting trip in which I never had to carry my own bow. I wasn’t hunting on this trip, but rather there to hang out with great people and off…
Go to Trading Waders for CamoSeptember 19th, 2010
The Color of 6 A.M.
I’m back from a couple of weeks chasing Elk around the Mountain Tops of Central Oregon. Every single day I was up on the Mountain early enough to watch the sunrise and every single day I was still up on the Mountain to watch the sunset. I had a w…
Go to The Color of 6 A.M.September 1st, 2010
Mr. Spots
In a rare stroke of clearness, I accidentally got a decent face on picture of this fish. Usually everything I try to do while I’m wrestling with fly rod, net, current, fish and bloody camera looks like a fingerprint smudge —However, in a de…
Go to Mr. SpotsAugust 31st, 2010
And now we try Spey Fishing…
I knew better, I really did, but on Saturday I went to an event so loaded with temptations that I’m still having visions of standing in a river, cutting a fly Line through the air with finesse and catching a steelie with a touch of Mackdaddy st…
Go to And now we try Spey Fishing…August 27th, 2010
The Joy and Curse of the Magic Fly
Yesterday I felt the world pressing in on me from all angles and the intense feeling of claustrophobia became so severe that the only thing I could think to do as an antidote was head immediately to the nearest fishery. No? Not buying an overly drama…
Go to The Joy and Curse of the Magic FlyAugust 27th, 2010
Bloodknot Magazine ~ The No Trout Issue
Today the second issue of Bloodknot Magazine was released for publication. They went with a no trout allowed theme and believe it or not, this trout loving gal has an article in there about—-are you ready—-BASS. (Pause for effect) I know, I…
Go to Bloodknot Magazine ~ The No Trout IssueAugust 25th, 2010
Fishing the Middle Fork
Joe and I spent a second day Fly Fishing up on the Middle Fork of the Boise River—A complete 180 from the big fish fiesta of the day before. I wasn’t worried about the lack of fish size or rod bending action since Joe had assured me that …
Go to Fishing the Middle ForkAugust 23rd, 2010
Just call me “Fly Fishing Tour Guide-ess”
I’m happy to report that Wolfy aka Joe, came to my stomping grounds here in Idaho, spent a few days fishing with me and I sent him back East not only ALIVE, but without snake bite nor bear attack wounds. I consider those facts an enormous bo…
Go to Just call me “Fly Fishing Tour Guide-ess”August 17th, 2010
When Internet and Rivers Converge
When I started 2010, I listed two goals in my Fly Fishing category of life. The first goal was to be nicer, or sweet, or at least cordial to any White Fish I might discover at the end of my fly line. So far, I’m still rockin’ a 100% suc…
Go to When Internet and Rivers ConvergeAugust 5th, 2010
A Second Date with Oregon Fishing…
As pledged, I headed back into Oregon this last weekend to see if the fishing chemistry I felt the first time around was simply an infatuation or if it had the potential for a long term relationship. My first stop found me visiting the “River X”– Since I’m fairly certain all forms of communication (cell [...]
August 4th, 2010
It’s a Bug Thing
After I finished a much needed grease breakfast in the ‘don’t blink’ town of Spray Oregon over the weekend, I noticed this bug on the inside of the Fishcruisers windshield. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking from his drivers side view of all the dead splatters of perished cousins. Lucky perhaps? Normally I would be [...]
July 28th, 2010
Fly Fishing New Waters…
See that visual on the left there? The one of me holding my fly box open, hand running across possible fly choices? The look of intense concentration? As I went through the pictures taken on my trip to Oregon, there seems to be a lot of those same types of pictures. The, “well hell….now what” [...]
July 26th, 2010
Fly Fishing The Oregon View
Fly Fishing in Oregon: Oh the words I could use to describe it that have nothing to do with actual fish. For one, the rich beauty from every angle is awe inspiring. When Mother Nature was swirling her creative stick over the lands, I’m pretty sure she saved Oregon for last and gave it a [...]
July 24th, 2010
FishCruiser
The Fishcruiser and I have been gone again, you know, off doing what we do. This time I was in Oregon for a week and I’ll share a bit of that adventure here next week. Until then, I wanted to point you all in the direction of Kirk Werner, Author of a series of children fly fishing books, Olive the [...]
July 14th, 2010
Of Mice and Mummy Bag
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been camping off and on for the past 2 months. Now, just for clarification, by camping I mean: In the Outdoors. In a tent. On the dirt. No modern anything. In all the years that I’ve camped, which is the whole of my life, I’d never invested in a decent sleeping [...]
July 13th, 2010
Cloud Bashful
I’m starting to have a thing for the combination of sunsets and clouds. As I spent the last couple of weeks up in the Mountains, each evening I would get excited to see if the day would end in a hushed blue to black tone or go out with a bold stroke of Mother Natures artistic [...]
July 12th, 2010
End of the Salmon Season
I know, it’s been awhile since I posted here. I have a legit excuse, really. I’ve been camping in the Mountains in a bubble where cell service is wishful thinking and the concept of Internet access is about as futuristic as the hovercraft car I thought I’d be driving by now when I was an 8 year old [...]
June 23rd, 2010
About a Fisherman named Dave Crawford…
I like to be taken by surprise by people, the good way that is. I’ve learned through time that admiration for another person can be forged in many ways, and on Saturday I found myself first admiring a certain man for his quiet act of Fatherhood and later for his more profound jaw dropping actions of a hero. On Saturday the [...]
June 22nd, 2010
Found! Thy Waders Hath Returned…
When I wrote my first Lost Ad for the local Newspaper about my wayward waders, it went something like this: “LOST in the Great Outdoors and I’m still crying like a baby. Please help me find my sweet Blue and Gray Backpack that is cradling inside a precious pair of new Patagonia waders that I [...]
June 15th, 2010
The $500 Morel Mushroom
Ok, so this morel mushroom didn’t exactly cost $5oo dollars, but might as well have! When I look at this single picture I took over the weekend, I see the sum total and only proof of my positive experiences and my sad losses. The math goes like this; Several bags of Morel mushrooms picked x A lot of [...]
June 14th, 2010
Lost (and never found) In the Great Outdoors
I’ve wrote it before here and I’ll probably write it again over time, but I absolutely hate losing flies. It isn’t about the monetary loss with the average 2 dollar fly at risk. No, for me it’s about ‘that’s my little trooper and I’d like it back pretty please’. I do understand that losing flies is part [...]
June 11th, 2010
In Honor of all types of Fishing…
In the last 6 weeks I’ve somewhat fallen off the Fly Fishing wagon and traded in my version of Fine Wine fishing for a 12 pack of Keystone light. First I kept a perfectly good fly rod strapped to the front of a warp speed Bass Boat and tried my hand at fishing for Smallies [...]
June 4th, 2010
The Water Swatter and Other Fishy Nicknames
I could write about my last two weekends of salmon fishing, post some more gratuitous pictures of lunkers and spin some tales of pulled muscles and flying sinker missiles, but today, I think I’ll write about something else that occurs out on the banks of water. Fishing Nicknames. I think if you spend enough time in the Great Outdoors [...]
June 4th, 2010
The Water Swatter and Other Fishy Nicknames
I could write about my last two weekends of salmon fishing, post some more gratuitous pictures of lunkers and spin some tales of pulled muscles and flying sinker missiles, but today, I think I’ll write about something else that occurs out on the banks of water. Fishing Nicknames.
I think if you spend enough time in the Great Outdoors (with [...]
June 3rd, 2010
Fishing, Intimate-(ly)
When you are fishing and the general rumor floating upstream is, “In So & So hole, they are catching 5 salmon every 5 minutes” and you let curiosity get the better of you, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself toying with a situation that looks a lot like temporary fishing insanity. Especially on Memorial Day Weekend. I gave it [...]
May 27th, 2010
Fairy Fishing Dust with a slab of Salmon
Have any of you ever experienced the phenomenon of fishing that is so amazing, so unbelievably perfect that you feel like all the stars aligned and the Fairy Godmother of Fishing has swooped down, covered your gear with fishy gold dust, granted you 24 hours of the most perfect casts and extraordinary drift presentation known to man WITH [...]
May 25th, 2010
Not Quite An Armchair Angler
I just looked at my calender, computed some simple math and it hit me why I feel so far behind on just about everything reality based. In the last 19 days, I’ve been off fishing for 13 of them….. I’m not sure how much of my personality really comes out in this blog, but one thing I don’t do well is stationary [...]
May 20th, 2010
Before the Perfect Fishing Day…..
I do find it a bit ironic that my fantastic camping/fishing trip started out last weekend doing something I normally would shun off for something a bit more, I don’t know—Me. But I went to another lake with Slayer (not his real name), some good friends, the kiddoes and spent a couple of days fishing [...]
May 18th, 2010
5 Days Of Fishing…..
I just got home a few hours ago from 5 days of fishing and camping. I’m beat up, bruised, my fingers are all sliced up, and I’m dead ass tired. I’m also impossibly behind on all things correspondence, Internet and mowing the grass BUT~ I’m still grinning like a fool. So what’s the reason for my unlikely smile in [...]