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.

Pat's Flies

Pat and I are going fishing tomorrow.  I haven’t been in a few weeks so I'm pretty excited.  He said he wanted to go down to a little spot south of here and fish for trout.  I haven’t fished for trout in what seems like forever. 

Lucky for me I have friends like Pat.  About two years ago the old boy found out that I fly-fished and gave me a fly box full of flies he tied.  He has digressed back to the redneck way of fishing full time with crane and crank and has stopped flinging feathers altogether.  I have been meaning to pull the flies out and throw them at some bream, but now that I am going after trout, I have no reason to just look at them. 

Thinking about fishing

 I‘ve started a new job this week and my schedule has been shaken up a bit.  This has left me little time to go and cast my fly rod.  Hopefully on Monday I am going to go and fish the creek with Pat. 

Found Lure

I found this lure a few weeks ago.  It's a dandy!  Not sure how it was lost because I found it right on the edge of the bank not snagged on anything. 

Found Fishing Tackle

I started a new hobby:  photographing lures that I find while I’m out fishing.    About a year ago I started fishing a couple of the local city ponds not far from my house here in Tulsa.  Of course these ponds get quite a bit of fishing pressure, so there is always some sort of debris left about.  It really irks me when people litter, but the worst is when people leave large bird nests of fishing line.  When animals get in to that stuff it’s not pretty.   It seemed that after every fishing trip I would come home with a wad of fishing line in my fanny pack and sometimes there would be a jig or a bobber attached.   After a while I had quite the bobber collection, with a few lures and jigs thrown in.

Here is a photograph I made of a piece of lead that I found the other day.  What struck me about this find is the fact that I had just read an article in the summer issue of Fly Rod & Reel magazine about the controversy concerning the accumulation of lead in our waterways.  Ted Williams, the author of the article, quotes the U.S. Geological Survey that “about 4,382 metric tons of lead sinkers are sold each year in the United States.”  This can’t be good.  According to the article some have estimated that “10 to 20 million birds and other animals die each year” from lead fishing tackle.

I know that there is controversy over whether these numbers are accurate, but I think I am going lead free.  

Tiger Booger

A few months ago my daughter H and I went to a Tulsa Fly Fishers Club meeting tulsaflyfishers.org.   They were doing a fly tying demonstration, and as a door prize the club gave away a fly tying kit.  H won the kit!  I have to say that I was thrilled!  The group members were so patient and friendly with H and my whole family that I will definitely try to do more with this group.  If you are interested in fly fishing, go and hook up with this great group.   Here is one of the flies that H has tied so far.  Not sure what to call it… “Tiger Booger”?

Morning Casts

Slipped out of the house this morning around 5:50 am to cast my fly rod in the local city pond. I can usually fish for a few hours and then make it home before the kids wake up.  I really like this little popper even  though it is on the large size for some of these fish. Also most of the time I go for a white popper.  The fish could see a white one and think of bread or a bug.  Give 'em a choice. 

About Me

Besides my wife and two kids, I love to fish and make photographs.  Before moving to Tulsa from Atlanta, I worked as a freelance photographer. Also, I was adjunct faculty at Kennesaw State University where I taught in the Visual Art Department. After moving to Tulsa both my photography and fishing fell to the wayside.  With this blog I hope to rekindle my passion for both.  I am glad you stopped by.  Feel free to shoot me a line if you have any questions or comments.