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.