It has been so long since I have updated this. It is a shame. I have a new job and I am now not behind a computer all day. I am behind my steering wheel for most of it. So as a recap of the last fall....

I was attacked by a moose, and lost my boat.
Caught the largest trout of my life. 25.5 inch cut.
Had some rough trips on the Green
Caught some beautiful fish in Idaho
Going 0 for 2 on steelhead trips, I had a really nice fish on and close to the boat. My guide guessed 35 or so inches. Hard fighting fish. He was up near the boat but still had more running in him so I was close to landing him but not really.
Bull trout have turned into Whitefish for me. I dont mind catching them by any means, but I just want a damn Steelhead. Everytime I go Steelhead fishing, I can only land Bull trout.
The snows have started. I hate snow.
My birthday is this weekend.
here are some pictures. If i think of anything else I will post it with them.

Brian

Brian and I went fishing yesterday. I needed a model. I got the shot that I was after. Fishing was slow, but fun. If anyone else wants to let me take a few pictures of them while they fish let me know.

Dan Bailey

I bought a pair of Dan Bailey "BareBones" waders two years ago to the tune of $129.00. At the time I thought it was a ridiculous amount of money for waders. I had only purchased the cheep Hodgeman waders that everyone has seen. I actually got a pair of those for Christmas the year I bought my Dan Baileys also. They are a bargain!! Some where around the fifty dollar mark. I must have spent three hundred dollars on them since I started fishing. I sure wish I would have invested in some Dan Bailey Guide waders. When you pick up a pair of cheep waders at Allied (remember that) or Sports Castle you are going to get what you paid for, A season of dry fishing, maybe. Some time around January when you are throwing tiny bug rigs on the Weber you are going to notice that creeping of needles on your feet where you have a hole. You'll patch it, but there is something about those cheep waders when they get a hole they turn into swiss cheese over night. More patches then you can put on.
I had my Baileys about a year before I had wet socks at the end of the day. Luckily it happened in the spring. It was early spring and It did get too cold a time or two. I actually had awhile where I would wear my Baileys with another pair of Hodgmans on top. It kinda sorta worked, but I felt like a goon. I turned them inside out and filled them up in the tub to find the hole, damn seams were leaking, not a thing I could do about that. I called the shop where I bought them (Four Seasons) and the sales man told me to bring them in and he would fix the hole for me. I did not really want to leave my waders at a shop, I knew I would never see them again ( I miss my Scott). Well I took them up and he said they would try and fix them. I figured I would be wet wading till it got cold and I would have to buy a new pair cause my waders had been lost to warranty. The next day I got a call from the shop? What had happened? did I leave my wallet there, my glasses? Why would they call me so soon? I was confused. He told me they tried to find the hole but the seams were blown so they would have to go back to Baileys. Wow thank you, that was quick. There must be no action on the MP this year. A week later I get a call again!! Dan Baileys checked out my waders not my fault they were on their way back to me all fixed up. I could not believe it. A few days later I got another call from Four Seasons my waders were in, come get them. I made that trek out to Heber and picked them up. I was expecting that sixty dollar charge for shipping, to be expected. Was not there!! free. I opened up my box, not my waders. It was a new pair. What a great day, what a great company, what a great shop. Yesterday I got out on the water with them. It was a small creek that I would have rather wet wader but it flows into drinking water so I must protect the water drinkers of salt lake, no oils from my body will end up in your iced tea. Dan Baileys had made some improvements since i had bought mine. Built in gravel guards with a sweet little Velcro strap, and the suspenders come off for a quick easy conversion to pants/ waist highs. Along with the built in belt these new features make the names "barebones" just sound silly. These waders are tricked out in my book. $129 dollars was a bargain. If they are going to take care of me so well when they get leak I will have no problem dropping the three hundred bucks for some guide series waders one of these days.

In review.
Dan Baileys customer service is AMAZING.
Dan Baileys makes a good product.
Four Seasons is a great shop, I wish they were in Salt Lake.
Four Seasons has the cutest employees also.
Dan Baileys-- go get a pair.

The Watson Twins

Photo by darrinnoble.com
I am going to start posting some music I am currently listening to on here.
The Watson Twins first came across my ears because of an album they recorded with Jenny Lewis. I know that Rabbit Fur Coat received tons of hype and got great reviews, it should have. The sisters out shined the Rilo Kiley singer.

Fire Songs, Chandra and Leigh Watson's first full length album is a little bit Alt Country a touch of Jazz and completely full of perfect harmony. Their voices melt so perfectly together. Sky open up is my favorite on the album hands down. It could be because of the slide guitar gives a heaver country feel. Of course it is, I am a sucker for slide guitar.

After seeing them play live last night at Urban Lounge I can officially say I have a crush on Leigh.

If there is a sage grouse in your camp leave it, they are good company.

Well, I've spent the last four days on a little stream in the heart of the windy beast. Fishing was slow, wind was cooling, thunderstorms every afternoon, more stones and caddis' then you could imagine. I caught the biggest fish of my life. A carp that loved a woven stone. I am guessing 30 inches and some where in that range of pounds. That fish was so thick. This silly bastard had both eyes, but he had moss growing on his back. I was on a ridge watching trout roll on the bottom. Then comes up this submarine and starts working the back water. He had a lady with him who I was thinking I wanted to catch, because I only had my three weight and come on... He was facing the only approach I had on the bank. So I sit and watch and he won't change directions I can't climb down and throw to him. What is the next logical thing? Make a cast from the ridge. I have only had a limited amount of sight fishing for carp (see previous post) no problem. First cast a bit short, but he still saw the movement and went to check it out. I pulled it away from him not wanting to get the big guy but wanting the smaller more manageable fish. Next cast perfection, for the big fish. Two small strips, he keys in on my stone crawling on the bottom, little flick of the tail, six inches forward, tail up, short strip to set the hook, he doesnt move, neither does my fly. What the hell? I raise my tip and then he can finaly feel the hook. He doesnt make a mad dash for deep water but a slow steady jog. I scramble after him over sage brush and slide down the ridge into the waters edge. There we have a tug of war for the next 15 or 20 minutes. He makes no hard runs, but does not want to move. I get ten feet he takes nine back. When I finally get him with in reach I have no idea what the hell I am going to do. Net? psh, I would have a handle with no net in the loop and he would be wearing a silly green hat. Try and thumb him? fuck no my fist could have fit in the vacuum of a mouth. Gill him? Nope, enough said. I get him up next to the grass and get a boot under his belly, he just rolls over onto the reeds, what a cooperative fish. He had moss growing on his back!! how long does that take? Enough Carp.




The trout were tough. Did not want anything to do with my nymphing. I had fair success on top, but in the windy South Canada your window on rising fish is small. They were all cookie cutter Cuts in the 16 inch range. Not a thing to complain about with the beautiful fish smashing my little stone/caddis hybrid.

Lessons learned on this trip.
Broken shock mounts do not have to slow you down.
Sage grouse make good camp buddies when you get lonely.
Coyotes will give this boy bad dreams.
Mosquitoes are the state bird of Wyoming. (Nich remember how I said they don't bother me? Bull shit).
A big carp can make your day when the trout are hiding.
Fuckers in drift boats can be assholes
Even in swarms of stones and caddis the fishing can be slow when you are a poor fisherman.
Sight fishing to carp and rising trout, so much better then watching a bobber or Czeching.
Thunder storms every afternoon, maybe another around 1am for good measure.
I NEED a new tent.
Four days alone is about right.

The last week

Well here is a rundown of the happenings and goings on for the last seven days of my life!! Yah! exciting. whatever. Well first off another day of chasing the Muskie. I am going to start calling them the dragon. So another day of chasing the dragon. It was a good day on the water. I went with Doug Barnes and his wife Coleen. We all got into some fish. I got really sick of loosing fish from them cutting me off so I bought some knotable wire leaders and gave them a go. Not a damn thing. Switched back to florocarbon and a fish on the first damn cast, on to something...... hmmm...... A few fish here and there no big action. It was pretty funny though. I seemed to catch more fish when I had an audience. Grizz and Brian came around the corner in their drift boat, fish on! Nick came around the corner, fish on. A skier fell right by me, fish on. I paddled back to talk to doug, fish on. You get the point.

Wes and I went to Wendover to fill a keg for is sister Hayleys birthday party. Wes won a small tourney. He now has two under his belt. I broke even. I played some good poker and some bad poker. We had the Kegger the next night and I got tipsy for sure. On a side note a new fun game, Find at least four of your closest friends go into the street and shoot paint balls straight up in the air with a sling shot. Use two friends to coordinate your X and Y axis'. It is funny.

Woke up late on my way to meet Nick for a trip to fish some water in Wasatch county. First stream had a redicoulous Stone hatch. It started out really quick, but I am thinking the stained water made fishing real hard. We both had a few fish. A change of location brought more fish albeit small. On the way home we hit up the Berry for some mouse action. I had a few swirls but no hard hits.


Urban fishing is so damn funny. Planter rainbows are dumb, and carp are smart. Mexicans can roll 15 deep in the back of a truck. Little kids would rather fish then watch TV. Make sure to keep your car in eye site. Ipods left on the stream may or may not be there when you return. Chew keeps me mellow. Little kids can not land 10lbs carp but Nick can. Giant goldfish will tail for a chartreuse headstand. I am bringing a beer next time.

That silly bastard only had one eye

I forgot what a trout looks like. My last handful of trips have all been chasing Muskie. With each trip comes a new success a lot more knowledge crammed in my ear and one more theory about easier ways to catch these beasts. Today I only boated two fish. This has been pretty much par for the trips, but I had nearly half a dozen hook-ups today. I had two fish on two consecutive casts!!!! The first was a bruiser that I site casted to, he was hanging in a sunken tree. He ran to deep water and found another sunken tree and tangled me. Lost fly (story of the day for me). Tie on an other new little pattern I worked up. Cast sink sink sink half a strip and feel some weight set the hook and off it goes. I could feel him roll under the water and he cut me off. I am going to have to use some steel leader. My hookups and strikes my be less frequent, but I feel so terrible about leaving those big salt water flies hanging in the fish. I had the biggest fish ive hooked into up there right at the boat ramp. He jumped some damn high, twice!!! before he cut me off. What a good day.

I am stealing some photos from Douglas Barnes www.nowpicturethis.com from out last outing.

So here are two of my latest Muskie chasing flies. They are going to take the test on Sunday. Last week I tied a bu crappie on the snch of flies. 9 white and olive gizmos and one EP crappie. I lost the EPecond cast. So I tied up a few this week. I have been experimenting with different fibers for my fish. I had a whole bunch of puedo-marabou that I won at the expo. The first few flies were all tied with that. It was a bit too soft and tangley so it tended to foul around the hook. I went on a little binge and bought some yak, craft fur, and some other fiber I can't remember right now in white olive and cream, some of each. I love yak. I want bunches and bunches of this stuff. If anyone has some kicking around and they dont use it break it out try again, its fun. As much as I love Yak I hate Craft Fur more. I hate this shit, hate it hate it hate it. I will try to find some other use for it, but I just don't dig it for making fish. I have heard that Rainy's makes some good craft fur but I can not find it anywhere. Does any one know who carries it? Nick, help me out here. I feel like I am skinning a muppet. I don't want to kill muppets. I can use a dead animal to make a fly, but not a muppet. I had a girlfriend who loved muppets, maybe it is a carry over from her closet full of creatures. Does anyone have any pointers on my EP flies. Oh yeah, does no shop in this valley carry actual EP fiber? I know Fish Tech is getting some. I get first dibs.

I dont think I am ever going to be huge. I am too damn sore to cast.


Oh yeah I bought a Vosseler S1, sexy.

Okay so I had another great day of Muskie fishing. Trout are for old geezers, Muskie fishing is for this kid. The morning started out slow after a few fly switches I threw on my EP Crappie. It was my first EP fly Ive ever tied. First cast UGLY, went no where. Second cast beautiful right on the bank saw it twitch a few times, it had some nice action, then the sinking tip took over and it dove into the deep water. Strip strip twitch twitch BAM!!! head shake head shake and that big old Muskie took my pretty fly. Bastard. For some reason I tied up nine Gizmo minnow patterns and one EP Crappie. Silly boy. OH well first Muskie on a creation on my own. It feels good. Like when you find a $20 dollar bill in the pocket of your dirty pants. I ended up with one big fish, longer then the gap in between my pontoons. I should go home and measure that. I tried to lift him out of the water but he had huge teeth and the only place to drop him was on my lap or back in the lake. I choose the later. The wind came up and the skiers came out so I went home. Nick Jones is a fine specimen of a human. I like that guy, I owe him a few bottles of root beer or a dinner or two. On side note there was a massive hatch of dead Crappie on the lake. Any ideas, anyone Bueller?


So my buddy Eric the Horrible told me about this years line up at the Twilight Concert Series. Stop bitching about Salt Lake, this summer is awesome.

I Joined the Gym

I am going to be huge.

Musky on the Fly

Last Monday nightI got a call from my friend JayMorr. He asked if I was interested in heading up north to go looking for some Tiger Musky. I giggled like a school girl with excitement. It took me so long to fall asleep with joy. It was more exciting then my last few christmas eves. I was beat when I woke up Tuesday morning. I had a long weekend chasing big trout in strong wind and heavy rain. My room mate insisted I take him to the airport at 7am so I figured I had to wake up early anyways I got him to the with seconds to spare rushed home and I loaded my toon in the back of the Jeep and rushed to meet up with Jay and Bryan in Farmington. We got all my gear and headed up to Nick & Stephs house in Logan. Nick hooked us up with lots of hot gear and a ton of beautiful Rainey flies. We got into the water a bit after 11:00am, a late start and bad lighting. The lighting is a shame because Jay is writing an article on Musky fishing in Utah. I hope he is ready for lots of post production to make them pretty. Bryan is seeing a ton of fish holding on the bottom. None of us brought sinking line so we start out with heavy flies and letting them sink deep. It did not take more the 30 or 40 minutes for Bryan to hook up. Jay got him into the net and the fish threw the fly. After a few quick flops he was back to swimming with not a photo taken. I estimate him to have gone at least 27 inches if not 30. Not a big musky by any stretch of the word but damn I was excited. Bry had one more good strike and it cooled off for about an hour. I got hot then I brought in two fish in about an hours time 25 or 26 inches on the first and the second could have been in the 30s. I had lots of light strikes for the next little bit but no hard action. We started kicking back to the car so we could make sure we got Jay's kids home from school. On the way back I landed one more fish about the size of the first and had one really hard strike that bit threw my leader. What a damn good day in my book. Ive heard you are lucky to get one fish your first day Musky fishing. I caught 3. I am hooked. Ill be back next week.

First Go Around

So there has been all the hype with blogs over the last year or two. I have never really thought much about it. Yesterday while chasing some Muskie we talked at length about blogs. I realized it may be time for my to try this out. If it does not work there will just be one more fragment of myself lost to the expanse of the interweb.
I would like to thank my partners on my trip for making me thing about this. Jaymorr and Bryan