Author: SamF

Spring bike rides

~ SamF ~ 1 Comment

The best way to see Spring here in town is on a bike. The last few days of March still might bite with a hint of winter, but the sun shines higher now and a familiar time is once again at hand. These early days are as much about the hope of Spring as they are about the actual time of year. From the bike, riding along with a brisk breeze, you can see how the grass has sprung up overnight. Here the smell of green and growth ripens in the afternoon warmth and rides along the afternoon wind. There’s something about the light and air and smell. Something has changed.

I don’t know if Spring is actually a season here or just a subtle transition to summer. Everything is now linked to summer. That green grass getting taller and slowly drying into July and August seems more pertinent than a breezy Thursday afternoon in late March. So this is more about feeling and remembering more than seeing. Bike rides tend to do that.

Turning on to K street I remember those early days here, wondering what it would be like. Now I know. Now I know what to look forward to. Now I know what to look for. Someday down the line, some morning, the hermit thrush will be singing outside the window, the fields will be full of daisy, and the season will have played over and over again, day-after-day. Summer will be real. Late March on the coast is a time a change and everything seems to look forward now.

A season gone by

~ SamF ~ 1 Comment

All those favorite river stretches are some 2,000 miles away from here – I had to take a peek at the river levels this evening – just to see.  The season closes there at the end of the month – barely two weeks away.  Oh my, they are all dropping into perfection tonight.  Ready to go for the weekend.  I don’t really feel regret for not being there – I’m here and right where I need to be.  It’s a strange feeling, though.  When I’m there, standing there – that straight piece away from the road flowing under the tall trees and through moss covered everything, none of this stuff really seems to matter.  It’s a selfish pursuit – forget about everything else, so I can indulge some quasi-cerebral, contemplative craving.  It’ll all be gone when I get back – no ceremony of endings, no last casts, none of that.  Maybe this should be some long reverie on the times now passed, but it’s just not there.

I know that much of the satisfaction lies in the anticipation, the dreaming, fantasizing and such.  August is not far away and after last year, there is hope now for even starting in July.  Really, there is no ending to this crazy addiction.

By Sunday the water will be silky, emerald green – the kind of water that whispers by you.  If the forecast light rain pans out, it will be a dreamy week to be on the water – fish or none.  So now I get to package it all up in the volumes of memories, sketch out the new notes of anticipation and turn to other things.  I get to travel over the hill for a week when I return and I know that Spring will be FULL over there with bugs on the big water and morels in the now verdant woods.  Three weeks is a long time to be gone at such a critical juncture in the season – but I know, too well, that I will be able to return to the same places.  And I get to stop along the way and ask myself “What is this time thing, anyway?”

Dealing with the loss of a family member

~ SamF ~ 4 Comments

Last week, my stepfather passed away unexpectedly.  My mom is a wreck.  The grieving is compounded by a long standing financial quagmire, her mediocre health and the daunting propect of all those things that just need to be done day in and day out.  I am grateful I was able to “drop everything” and travel to the midwest to be here. 

Death is daunting not only for the profound loss it suddenly imposes on a routine established over many years of living together, but also for the day-to-day logistics of life. Who pays the bills?  Or, for that matter, what bills get paid?  Who do you call to inform them that someone has died?  What if you were dependent on the deceased person’s income?  How do you figure that out?  Do I need to hire an attorney?  Do we need to relocate the surviving spouse to a more convenient living situation?

I write this not so much to say what I’m going through but so you might ask the questions prior to the loss of a family member.  I suspect most of us who step in to “run the house” for awhile are ill prepared to do so.  At this point, I have no solid advice, or do’s and dont’s.  What I can say is this: talk to those close to you while they are still alive.  Try and walk through the scenario of their death.  Ask yourself if you know what you would do in the hours, days, weeks and months following their death.  

Imagine one of those lazy Saturday mornings where you’re wondering what you might want to do for fun over the weekend.  The phone rings and you see it’s mom calling and you think how its been a little while since you’ve talked to mom.  With that first hello, your life takes an unexpected turn down a road you may never have traveled.

Skins

~ SamF ~ 2 Comments

Readying the phesant skins for dyeing.  I’m after the choice rump feathers near the very rear and the base of the tail.

I’m excited about the whole new universe of fly tying possibilities that are about to open up. Stay tuned for the step-by-step dyeing experiment some rainy weekend.

pheasant-skins-001

Choice rump feathers at the base of the tail.
Choice rump feathers at the base of the tail.

Song of Winter

~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Stream in WinterLate winter afternoon.

A dream,

Of soft, easy light.

Where hope hangs from delicate branches

Stretched across the wind.

.

.

Here,

This wind roots out bits of summer,

Then sends them across the fields,

Sailing to quiet places of rest.

Out there they come together,

And find it all again.

.

In this wind, everything is big.

Telling all our stories at once

Whispering…

Stammering…

Caressing…

While singing comfort songs

From far away over the hills.

.

.

In the dream,

Whispering little secrets,

Stammering over your truths,

Caressing those memories into

Songs that haunt us

In their forgotten simplicity.

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Quick update

~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Thinking of playing on the river next weekend?  Think again:

THE MODELS ARE INDICATING MOST OF THE REGION GOING DRY ON
WEDNESDAY...WITH A BREAK FROM RAIN AND SNOW THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
THIS BREAK WILL BE NEEDED IF THE MODELS ARE CORRECT. CURRENTLY THEY
ARE INDICATING A STRONG WARMER SYSTEM MOVING IN NEXT WEEKEND THAT
COULD TAP INTO SOME SUB-TROPICAL MOISTURE.

Elbow weather

~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Ok, we need the rain and the snow, and my elbow needs a break.  But now I’m certain that if I could just get back out on the river I could correct my cast with more bottom hand and my elbow problem would disappear.  The weather forecast suggests differently (from this evening’s forecast discussion):

A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TONIGHT BRINGING MORE
WIDESPREAD RAIN AND SNOW TO THE REGION. THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE A
LITTLE STRONGER THAN THE LAST STORM...EXPECT THIS SYSTEM TO PASS OFF TO
THE EAST BY FRIDAY NIGHT WITH  ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM RIGHT ON ITS HEELS.
EXTENDED FORECAST MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON A FAIRLY STRONG FRONT MOVING
THROUGH THE CWA EARLY SUNDAY. A BRIEF BREAK IN  PRECIPITATION OCCURS TUESDAY
FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT FRONT ON WEDNESDAY. THIS SYSTEM LOOKS TO BE
A LITTLE WARMER WITH A SUBTLE SUBTROPICAL TAP INTO MOISTURE DOWN AROUND 20-30N.  

Bring it on. I guess my elbow will just have to wait.
Need I say more?
Need I say more?

Thoughts on tying steelhead flies with coot

~ SamF ~ 3 Comments

For the most part, the coot has fallen out of the winter repertoire – the largest spey-type patterns I have been able to muster up is a size 5.  Size 3 would be possible, but asking for long, spider-type hackles would be pushing it.  There seem to be two groups of feathers that have application for smaller steelhead flies in the sizes 5 and 7.  First, feathers near the shoulder and wing junction, provide a good supply of slightly stiffer and darker hackles that I tend to favor.  Feathers from the flanks are much lighter in color and resemble blue-eared pheasant in their shape and tend to be a tad longer barbule length than the shoulders, though the coot flank tends to be a wee bit softer than BEP.  The shoulder, however, is a tad bit stiffer than the BEP I’ve used.

Below, I tied two simple identical patterns using these two feather types on size 5 hooks.  The guinea collar tends to dominate the coot, but the overall finished fly fishes well in the late summer and early fall when these smaller offerings are the go-to choice.  Much of the remainder of the coot skin is full of feathers that have the potential for making great soft hackled flies in smaller sizes though I have not yet experiemented with this yet.  I think there might be potential for caddis emerger patterns as well.

Of course, having said all this, I’m still torn between coot and pheasant rump as my small fly hackle of choice.  Choosing between the two while standing knee deep in the river is difficult.  Though I find I use the pheasant rump when fish are spread out and there are long intervals between grabs.  The coot seems to shine when the fish are there and on the nab – though I suspect just about anything would suffice during those times.  In any event, I find the coot a wonderful alternative to BEP in smaller sizes and the flies it turns out are among the buggiest around.

Tied with feathers from near front of wing.
Tied with feather from near the shoulder. Also with collar of guinea and topping of bronze mallard.
Tied with flank feather.
Same pattern except tied with coot flank feather. It is a lighter color, though the camera flash washed it out a bit here.

River ailments

~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

I have developed a sore right elbow from lobbing a tungsten-tipped fly line with a small bird tethered to the end.  I think my fishing days might be numbered if I’m not careful.  In any event, I have decided to take a little time off from hurling these contraptions through the air.

sfkeel-0031
A quiet day...perfect water...'traditional' weather...I was that close to hooking fish today. Since my elbow is ailing, I have decided to hang up the gear and pursue other interests for awhile.
Saving the winter shrimp for next time.
Saving the winter shrimp for next time.
Marabou madness - a god awful mess, but should fish OK
Marabou madness - a god awful mess, but should fish OK