Fly Box

A few weeks ago Pat called me. He had picked up some fishing tackle at an estate sale and had some for me.  He swung by the house and brought over 4 or 5 gallon Ziplock bags full of inline spinners, and he had a couple of fly boxes with some flies in them for me.   We sat at the kitchen table and started sorting thought his find.  My wife said it looked like some sort of illegal deal going down, but only with fishing lures (defiantly not illegal).  We sat quietly with cups of coffee and spread out the lures from one end of the table to the other. 

The lures are old.  They smell like old lures too.  Not sure what that smell is, but it is a distinct “old lure” smell.  I wondered who had owned these lures, and what had happened to him or her.  When I look at old lures and fly boxes I wonder about the stories they hold captive. 

Fishing to me about connecting with the natural world.   It’s never about how great a lure or fly is, it’s always about the experience gained with its use.  Fishing is about living and not making a living.  

Random Photos

I started another blog.  It's just random photos that I make.
  http://addwill.tumblr.com/

Bored

It's been cold and I have been working all the time.  That means very little casting.  I find myself bored and aimless.  I don't mind fishing in the cold it's just I don't have the right equipment.  If any of my four viewers have an in with Santa,  I want waders and gas money.

Found Lure

Reshoot

Urban Casting

I love getting things in the mail and a few days ago I was delighted to see a package arrive at the house addressed to me.  My buddy Dave who lives in Brooklyn, New York had sent me a birthday gift.  The gift is a tee shirt promoting the Brooklyn Fishing Derby put on by the Brooklyn Urban Anglers Association.  I love this!  Check out their website.  The two types of fish for the derby are stripers and blues.  There is a handful of fly fisherman that participate and lots photos of some good looking fish. Also the best part of the web site is the map of the the tournament area.  Below the map they make the recommendation  to carry "a knife to cut line and deter any would-be people who may be up to no good",  and also they advise anglers "be aware that we won’t bail you out if you get arrested." Not quite sure why fishermen would be getting arrested but heck, it sounds fun!  I am having vision of going to the Guggenheim Museum to check out a show then catching the subway over to the river for some casting. 

Thanks Dave!

Recycled Weekend

Teeg Stouffer atop a fish tank used to show how lures work.

Dick’s Sporting Goods store just opened three new stores in Tulsa and this weekend was their grand opening.  They had all kinds of things going on at the store such as giving out door prizes and big sales, but the one thing that caught my attention was a seminar on fishing conducted by Teeg Stouffer.  Well, to be honest the fish tank caught my attention and getting to meet Teeg and learn a little about his organization was the prize.  Teeg runs an organization called Recycled Fish that promotes a “national movement of fisherman who live a lifestyle of stewardship on and off the water.”  ( http://www.recycledfish.org/about-us/our-philosophy.htm)  When I went to Dick’s yesterday I went there thinking I would hear a sales pitch about how great this rod or lure is and I did hear that, but I also heard about how important it is that we protect our waters.  Teeg sat atop this fake bass boat and preached the virtues of changing our lifestyle for the benefit of wildlife.  It was encouraging.  I’m still learning about his organization, but I like what I see so far.  One added bonus is Teeg fly fishes!  

After Teeg finished his presentation and I had gotten a few photo’s I was feeling encouraged about recycling.  I thought that it was just strange that I spotted these two guys across the parking lot using a hand crank pump to put recycled cooking grease into an old converted school bus.

Max and Christian on their cross country adventure. 

Max and Christian are driving across the country on grease they’re getting from restaurants.   Both of them were very patient with me and answered all my questions.  Their adventure seems so fun too me.  So far they have spent no money on fuel and they have been traveling on their ability to improvise.  I wish them the best. 

Lost Lure

I have not found any lost lures lately so I just painted one.  My three year old gave me some painting tips.  Not sure I applied them correctly but I am learning. 

Surprise, It's a pumpkin!

All summer long Kelly, the kids and I have watch a mystery plant grow in the backyard.  We had no idea what it was and it was only about three weeks ago that I noticed one of the green pumpkins buried in the tangle of vines.  We're not sure how it got planted there but we have been delighted to see it grow and spread out over the yard.  There is something fun about watching spontaneous plant growth and even more exciting to discover that growth to be pumpkins just in time for Halloween.

One small step closer to hiking the Appalachian Trail

Me about to go over the swinging bridge at mile two.

I had hiked all the way to an established campsite and found someone was already there so I back tracked and set up camp in this little clearing well off the trail. 

Home sweet home.

This is  Mike.  Mike was camped at the established campsite about a quarter mile from me.   The next morning we crossed paths again and hiked together for a little ways.  

Biggest #@%^&%$ spider I have ever seen.  Mike spotted this tarantula and yelled back for me.  Apparently I walked right over it and never saw it.   It was so big I am surprised I didn't trip over it. 

I saw a few deer and some armadillo but this guy was the only one who would stand still long enough for me to get a picture.

A trip just isn't a trip with out a milkshake.  I also kinda wanted the fried mushrooms, but I went with the cheese burger and fries instead.

The other day the wife was looking at my work schedule and noticed that I had a few days off in row.  This is rare for me because I work in retail.  She made the suggestion that I should take that time and go on a trip.  So I did.  I went to Greenleaf State Park and backpacked into the far end of the park and spent the night alone in a tent.  For years I have talked about going backpacking and have slowly built up my supplies, but this is the first time I have gone in at least 20 years and the first time I have ever gone solo.  I have to say that this weekend was great! I met some super nice people along the trail and saw some fantastic wildlife.  My pack weight with 2 liters of water and 2 days food was right at 20 pounds. It felt great! 

Greenleaf state park is about an hour drive from Tulsa and has about a 17-mile loop trail.  I did the first 7.5 miles and camped and then came back the same route.  The route that I took follows Greenleaf Lake so water was not that big of an issue.  If I had continued with the loop I would have had to go something like 9 miles before water and I was not in the mood to carry more weight than I had to.  I had just one real goal for the trip and that was to survive.  It has been years since my last backpacking trip and I did not want to push myself too hard the first time out.  I made every effort to keep my pack weight to a minimum, and I picked a distance that I knew I could do with out getting too tired. Also, I have to say that I was pretty nervous about camping by myself and facing that fear was not a huge hurdle, but it was something that I had to face.  

The trip was so successful I can't wait to go again.  All my equipment worked great.  I was not too cold nor too hot.  I was tired but not exhausted.  I saw some interesting animals, and as always on my way home I stopped off for a milkshake.  Perfect!

Found lure

I Want To Go Fishing

Yesterday while mowing the yard, I kept seeing grasshoppers jump out of the way of the oncoming mower.   Every time I saw one, it took me back to a time that I spent on a friend’s pond.  My friend Carl is a guy that I worked with some time back, and he lived on a nice little pond just south of Tulsa.  I was thinking about a day this last spring, and it was a glorious sunny day.  What was so great about that day though, was the fact that there were dang near a million grasshoppers.  Carl’s pond has tall grass, shrubs and trees all around it, so every time you walked and disturbed the vegetation, hoppers would jump out of the way and a handful would land in the water.  The fish would go nuts over it.  I loved watching it happen.  I probably spent just as much time feeding the fish as I did fishing. 

I haven’t cast my rod in at least a few weeks, and it seems that everything I see seems to make me think about fishing. 

Wolf Spider

Found this old girl on the back patio the other evening.   I posted a picture of if on the tulsa fly fishing facebook page and someone told me that it's wolf spider with its babies on its back.  Wildlife in the back yard.  Kinda fun.   

Replacement

So about a month ago I lost my cheap multi-tool at the city pond.  I used the needle nose pliers on them to unhook fish.  The day I lost them I remember using them to get a hook out of a fish that just inhaled the fly.  Thank goodness I had pinched the barb down.  After I unhooked the fish, I set all my stuff down and tried to take a picture of the fish.   Well, I must have walked off without the multi-tool.  Kind of a bummer, but no huge loss.  I guess it's fitting that I loose something at the pond because I am always finding other people's stuff.  Anyhow, I thought it was interesting that I found this at the pond the other day.  I think it's a cable stripper.  I can only assume that the person that left it there was using it to unhook fish just like my multi-tool.  Makes me wonder about who owned these and what kinda life that person leads.  I lost my multi-tool at the pond, but the pond always gives me more in return.

No Fishing This Weekend, But Still Great!

Yesterday was 9/11, and my family and I hooked up with Asbury United Methodist Church for the National Day of Service and Remembrance.  Asbury organized about 1,600 people to go out all across Tulsa to work on various community projects.  Projects ranged from working on a Habitat for Humanity house to panting curbs for the City of Tulsa.  My group went to help clean up and paint a facility for an organization called New Hope.  New Hope works with children of incarcerated parents by providing after school programs, summer camps, holiday gatherings, and a safe place where the kids are surrounded by others that understand their situation.  I am so glad I did this!  It felt good to join a group of people and help for once.      

The other thing the family did this weekend was go to Oxley Nature Center.  In fact, Kelly and I went up there twice.  On Saturday morning the whole family went on a guided nature walk and we learned about seeds.  Oxley's 2nd Saturday Family Adventure this month was called "Where Did The Seeds Go?"  We had a great time.  I love being outdoors and having dirt under my feet.  The next night after volunteering at New Hope, Kelly and I dropped the kids off with Kelly's folks and we headed back to Oxley and joined the "Full Moon Walk".  This was super cool.  The walk lasted a little over an hour. When we started the sun was up and shining bright.  By the time we got back, only the moon lit the way.  We saw deer, opossum, and a opossum on the half-shell (aka armadillo).  Also we heard several types of owls.   I think this place should be on everyone's must visit list.  It's fantastic for kids and adults alike.  

Tea Time

For the longest time I have dreamed of hiking the Appalachian Trail.  So for the past few years I have been slowly picking up things that I might use on the trip if it were to actually happen.  One of my favorite things that I have picked up is this little alcohol stove.  I've made a few stoves out of cat food cans and soda cans, but I like this one the best.  It’s not the lightest, but it’s still cool.  Now that the temperature has dropped to human conditions, I decided that it’s time to fire up the stove.  Make some tea.  Pretend that I am on some mountainside in the Appalachian Mountains.   

Found Fishing Tackle

Not sure where I picked this up, but this morning after coming home from casting at the city pond I could not stop thinking about this tangle.  I made a few quick photo's of it.  Here is one.  Not sure I am done photographing it though. 

Sunrise though the car window

Making photographs while fishing is hard for me.  I have always thought of fishing and photography in the same way.  Both activities are ways to slow down and look at the world.  Both also have search and capture elements.  With fishing you’re looking to capture fish, and with photography you may have a moment or memory you want to capture.  When I photograph and fish I actively search and look for the best possible angle to make the cast or press the shutter button, but for me, the amazing thing with fishing and photography are the discoveries that are not planned.   Pat and I fished the Upper Illinois River the other day.   We saw all kind of common birds and bugs, but we also saw three deer, three snakes and an osprey.   Witnessing these animals makes me think about the wider world we live in and not just the world that is viewed through my car window.  

One major difference between photography and fishing is the tug that the fish puts on the rod.  When that fish pulls, you are directly connected to its world and there is no barrier between the worlds of air and water.  With photography it’s amazing how you can loose yourself behind the lens.  The camera’s viewfinder squeezes the world into bite size chunks and allows you to compose all the elements so you can tell your story.  But for me, the lens acts like a barrier and I much prefer the pull on the rod.   When Pat and I started fishing the other day I got so rapped up in fishing I didn’t even bother pulling out my camera except to have Pat snap a shot of me and my trophy carp. 

(I realize that it was not a trophy carp. I was just tickled to catch it.)

Rubber Lips

Pat and I fished the Upper Illinois yesterday and caught a ton of fish,  but I have to say my favorite fish of the day was this carp that took a wooly booger.  

Lost Lure

All I've been doing is working and I haven't had much time to fish or photograph.  I photographed this guy last night though.  I always wonder how these things are lost.  The treble hook on the back is missing one of the hooks.  Did a fish brake this lure off?

Strike indicator

I find more strike indicators than you can shake a stick at.  Found this one the other day and I tossed it in my canoe and some how it got lodged up under one of the seats when I put the canoe on top of my car.  It popped out when I got home.   Also found a killer little lure that I started to photograph tonight but was not happy with the photos so I will work with that one later this week.   

Sweet Water IPA

Kelly got home from Atlanta the other day and she brought me a case of my favorite beer, Sweet Water IPA.  Sweet Water is an Atlanta brewed beer and the only time I get it is when my parents come to visit or I happen to be in Atlanta, which is never.   And the answer is no, I don’t like this beer because of the label, but it doesn’t hurt. 

Little Green Thing

This morning I started fishing with one of the little caddis things that I had tied up earlier this week.  It is always fun to see fish take a fly that you have made.  Was on a pretty good role,  catching fish fairly easy when I spotted the back of a huge carp about 30 yards up the bank.  I have only had one carp ever take my fly, and the fight lasted only a few seconds.  That carp kicked my ass and there is nothing left to say about that fishing trip.
The only thing I thought today's carp might take was this little green thing.  I have no idea where I got it, but it has been in my fly box tucked away in the back corner for at least ten years.  I wish I could tell you that I caught the carp, but I can't.  I will tell you this though: the bream loved it!  I couldn't keep'em off the thing.

I am a fortunate man

A few days ago a small piece on my fly rod came apart.  This caused me to look at the rod and think about all the good times I have had with the rod. The reel has an interesting story as well.  A little over two years ago my wife, both kids and I moved to Tulsa from Atlanta.  We had decided that we wanted to reinvent ourselves and move to a place where we had a better chance of giving our kids more opportunity.   Well, we weren’t here more than a week or two when someone went through my car and swiped my fly reel.   I had left it in the glove box and not locked the doors of the car.  Both my wife and I came out here with out jobs and we were on a pretty tight budget.   I was not in a position to purchase a new reel.  The next day I was talking to Dave, one of my best friends in the world who lives in Brooklyn, New York and telling him about the theft.

I think it was about a month later this fly reel comes in the mail from Dave.  Apparently Dave and his at the time girl friend, now his wife, were walking through their neighborhood in Brooklyn and he spotted a fly fishing outfit that was being thrown in the trash. 

Me (left) and Dave (right) at his wedding in Brooklyn.  Check out the flies instead of boutonnieres.

 He said that the whole thing was just terribly dirty and looked like it should be tossed, but he fished the reel out of the trash and took it home.  Once home, he cleaned it up and fixed a few things on it and bingo!!  He sent it to me.  I was so surprised and happy.   Dave’s gift is his gift giving.  This guy will literally spend his lunch money on a gift for someone and not expect anything in exchange.  Between fishing flies, and my fly rod and reel,  I feel like one fortunate man.

The wife and kids have been gone for the past week, so that has left me time to just be me.  Beer, pizza and a little fly tying.  After I fixed my rod I thought I would try tying some.  It has been years since I have tried tying flies, and they worked fine tonight at the city pond. 

My Fly Rod

On last weekends visit to the creek the hard ware on my fly rod’s reel seat came off.  It’s been coming loose for several weeks now.  Ignoring a problem does not make the problem go away.  It’s not uncommon for me to leave my rod in the car because I go and cast several mornings a week.  With temps in the triple digits for the past month, I guess the glue couldn’t hold up.

It’s strange that I fish this rod so much but I haven’t really looked at the rod in a long time and now that the old guy is sick I started to look and think about the adventures we’ve had.   My mother gave me the rod when I was twenty.  I was living in Missoula, Mt.  and had the idea that I needed a “big boy” rod to go with the “big boy” waters.  My mother has no interest in fishing and actually asked me after watching the movie A River Runs Though It if that was the “type” of fishing that I did.  She raised me on her own and when I was younger budgets were tight.  As I got older her financial circumstances changed and I think she bought me the rod because she felt like I was short changed when I was younger, but this is pure speculation after years of looking back.  Just for the record I was by no means short changed in any way, but now that I am a parent I do understand how worry invades your thinking and you want the best for your children.  Anyhow, she bought the rod for me from The Fish Hawk in Atlanta.   When I was 16 or 17 those guys in the Fish Hawk would always cut me deals on flies because I could only scrounge up a few dollars at a time.  Almost weekly while I am out casting I remember the day my mother and I went to go and look at the rod.  The shop owner Gary took me out in the parking lot to cast the rod and I think specifically about him telling me to keep the rod up.  I have always had the tendency to do a side arm cast.  At the time I had never cast a rod that was as fast as this one.  It felt like I could cast to any fish within 400 yards and in hurricane force winds to boot.   Over the past twenty years that I have had the rod I can’t even guess at how many fish that I have caught on it.  A few big ones, a bunch of little ones, but all beautiful.  I have caught trout, large mouth, small mouth, bream, white bass, and crappy.  Heck, just a few days ago I caught a catfish out of a small hole below some ripples on my daughter’s Tiger Booger.  This rod has been good to me, and now that it is over twenty years old I have to say that the rod’s second function, besides catching fish, is being a catalyst for jarring my memory of great times.  

Bobber from the creek

I completely forgot to take a camera on yesterday's fishing trip, but I did find a handful of lead and a few bobbers.  Here is one of the bobbers.  I so wish I had brought a camera because the creek was so beautiful and my buddy Pat and I picked up a handfull of magnificent looking fish.

My Canoe

I know that this photo has nothing to do with my canoe, but anyhow... in Oklahoma it is the law that you have to register canoes.  I finally registered mine.  I am off to fish a new creek tomorrow and paddle my little red canoe. 

Another Bobber

While making a post a few days ago I learned about motorcycles called Bobbers.  I immediately thought of a photo I made of guy named Adam on his Bobber.  I met Adam last November.  He gave me the opportunity to hang some photographs in his restaurant Frank & Lola’s in Bartlesville, Ok.  Adam, his family, and all the restaurant staff were great.  Not only is the food fantastic, but also Adam and his wife have created an art appreciative atmosphere.  If you have the chance to go to Bartlesville stop in and grab a beer and burger and see some art. 

Morning Casts

Left the house at 5:45 this morning and was back home by 8:00.  I have to say that I never get tired of catching these little guys.   Not sure why I tied this Royal Wolf pattern on this morning.  Usually I go for something more twitchy with rubber legs.  I guess I was in a more formal mood. Great delight seeing the fish delicately sipping up the fly.

Bobbers

I just googled bobber and learned something about motorcycles.   Cool.

Found Lure

Found this one while wading.  I got tangled up in some fishing line and followed the line to this lure snagged on a stick.

Day Trip

When I was in my early twenties I only fished to catch fish.  I was particular about what I caught too.  Large mouth bass was my species of choice.  Now that I am older I really don’t give a hoot what I catch.  Odds are I am going to let it go anyway.  Don’t get me wrong, I love catching fish, but now the way I approach fishing is drastically different.  Fishing is a way of connecting with the world- not just catching a fish.  That is why I like fishing with Pat.  Our trips are always successful.   Pat’s gift is his love of history and every time we go fishing it’s not just a fishing trip, but instead a historical exploration.   On this trip we found arrowheads, old lures, visited Fort Gibson, caught fish and had milkshakes.