What is it?

February 5, 2009February 10, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Imitating no particular creature, pieces of fur and feather wrapped around a hook explode to life when in moving water.

What is it about moving water that draws us from afar? Makes us skip out of work? Entrances and enthralls us? Excites us and soothes us? From the tiniest trickle to the worlds largest rivers, we, as a species, seem drawn to moving water. Whether for its life-giving, thirst-quenching sustenance, spiritual renewal, adrenaline rushes or simple relaxation, I can think of no place where it can all happen.

For those of us who find an angling connection to moving water, there is that anticipation, excitement and hope that precedes each trip. Even though we go to the same places maybe; we know full well that each time reveals an entirely new place. Maybe only subtly different than the last time, beckoning close inspection. Or, a changed riverscape, such as after a freshet or even a flood. Always, there is an opportunity of discovery, of finding something new and different – perhaps overlooked during the last visit.

So, many of us get giddy with excitement about going to the same old places, fishing the same old water and hoping for the same old fish. Because we know, deep down, that this time it will be completely different.

A break from rivers and reminiscings – investment reminders during rocky times

February 2, 2009May 25, 2020 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

A brief break from river dreamland to remind all those of us who will depend on the money contributed to our 401k plans the simple measures to maximize our chances of having enough money to pay the bills and maybe even take a trip or two along the way:

(1) Develop an asset allocation plan – develop an IPS (Investment Policy Statement) that details the investments, their proportions and rebalancing triggers – do not deviate from this plan unless your financial circumstances change and warrant a change in the IPS.

(2) Contribute at least enough to a 401k to receive any employer’s match (free money)

(3) max out Roth IRA

(4) Max out 401k contributions

(5) invest any additional money in low-turnover, low fee stock mutual funds or other appropriate tax-conscious funds that are consistent with one’s asset allocation (to avoid excessive taxes)

(6) Do not let emotion guide investing – investing should be an automatic process dictated by one’s IPS – tune out the media and it’s endless financial porn.

Portfolio tips: Seek to develop an all-indexed (or low-turnover, low fee funds), well-diversified portfolio of stock mutual funds and bonds that encompass the major global asset classes. DO NOT TRY AND TIME THE MARKET. The benefits of a fixed allocation will mandate a buy low – sell high approach as the portfolio is periodically rebalanced – don’t sell low and buy high. Remember that few actively managed mutual funds actually beat the market over longer time periods and choosing these funds in advance is impossible. Most investors fall well short of market returns while trying to “beat the market.” This is a losing strategy – develop a plan and stick to it – you will likely come out far ahead of the market timers.

Finding the Soul of a Mid-winter river (or: caught naked in the sunshine)

January 31, 2009February 1, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

At this flow, the tailout is infinitely large – and maybe a tad bit too deep to comfortably wade. The water is running at six degrees this morning and a long pass through belly deep water would probably sap the life out of me – slowly and unknowingly. So, I decide to drop the pram in the water and fish through it from the dry. I didn’t know how the spey cast would work from the pram, thinking the edge of the boat might catch the forward cast as it left the water – not a problem and I managed easily with the circle, cack-handed circle and overhead casts. I put the Blue Hope into the fly rotation – and, to jump to the punch line – the only grab of the day was on that fly – the slow pause on the deep swing.

I wade fished the run up top, below the bridge and did a pass through another piece of water and just could not get the fish to move. I think there were fish in there, just too cold to excite them (though I don’t know who could resist pulsing yellow pheasant rump). The water had a subtle green color, that gave just enough secrecy to the water to keep it interesting. I ended up swinging a big piece of red meat (prawn) mid-afternoon thinking I could draw them from afar; shaking my head after each swing thinking it was nearly perfect. Casting rhythm was good, lost track of time during each pass (lost in the swing), and generally fished everything well. So maybe I did find the soul of this river today – passing along easily over the cobbles, happy in the doing, though craving just a bit more.

Basic Tying – Percy’s Blue Hope

January 30, 2009February 7, 2009 ~ SamF ~ 1 Comment

Mid-winter, low water, cold mornings, WARM afternoons. Let’s go!!! Added some blue schlappen into the mix of tinsel, llama, pheasant rump and mallard.

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Lost Coast Geology Walk

January 18, 2009January 21, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Fifteen mile round trip jaunt down the northern protion of the Lost Coast in the King Range wilderness. Notable features: calm, sunny day with fog appearing at random and unannounced late in the afternoon – pod of whales – ultra twisted turbidite beds of the Franciscan Formation – tough walking on the boulder-strewn beach. Click on photos below for highlights – one click for small size view, click again for full size view.

View north to Cape Mendocino at early morning.

Punta Gorda lighthouse in the distance – letting us know we are closer to home.

The outer edge of a low lying wave-cut bench – recently uplifted during one or more large earthquakes.

View south from Randall Creek out across Spanish Flat.

Twisted strata of the Franciscan Formation – most likely turbidite beds.

The fog flirts with the shoreline – lending an eerie closeness at times.

Much of the walk is tough going along the beach.

Mike timing the waves to get around a tight spot on the beach.

View back to the south – nice to be walking on sloid ground rather than the boulder-strewn beach below.

Heading home – view north to Punta Gorda lighthouse.

Preparing for the New Spey Rhythm on the Eel

January 16, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Replacement camera arrived today. Just in time for green water on the lower river. I tied a few larger flies using pheasant rump and hackle-tip wings. More to try out the camera than anything as the fly box is well stocked. Hoping to do the early walk into Elinor bend where the river does a long sweep along the bank.

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Searching for the Rhythm of the Eel

January 13, 2009January 13, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

The river swings away from the highway for a few miles, winding through tall trees and underneath moss-covered everything. Standing halfway through the run, bitter cold of morning stinging my fingers, I notice the water slows to a gentle sound – more like soft voice than the chatter up top in the riffle. Here the river is in slow motion it seems. Someone forgot to turn the LP speed up and it all comes to a wonderful, easy pace. Once a rhythm is established in the cast-swing-step dance, this place becomes very big. Each tiny step swims the fly into a whole new world of water. This morning, the water is perfectly slate green colored with the first rays of sun casting beams through the redwood boughs onto the water. Spotlights. An early grab on the giant marabou prawn is an adrenaline rush and every subsequent cast becomes more intense – this is the ONE.

Climbing back up to the bank, looking at the clock in my truck and realizing that nearly three hours had passed on that one run… “I hardly had enough time to even think. I didn’t quite fish the bottom as well as I could have. I should have…” Well these are the things that signify success beyond anything. A fish to hand is always nice but success can be found in other, perhaps more deeply satisfying, ways.

Where one piece of water is pleasant and time gets lost, another piece becomes more challenging. The water is too deep, too slow, too fast, too much of this or needing more of that. Time becomes more apparent, something potentially wasted, time to move on. Impatience is like sour milk – toss it out and start fresh. So we go to new places. Still, we go to those places again and again just to make sure. Or maybe we’re looking to find that patience in all the wrong places so when we come to the right place again, everything will be just as it is and fall effortlessly into place. Late in the day, sun casting shadows and light across everything, I find the proper water again. Still, nothing on the grab, just patience and rhythm.

To be continued…

Experimenting with holes

January 8, 2009January 8, 2009 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

“I know a river that is a half-an-inch wide. I know because I measured it and sat beside it for a whole day. It started raining in the middle of the afternoon. We call everything a river here. We’re that kind of people.” –Richard Brautigan In Watermelon Sugar

Bury them down deep where they don’t see them.

That’s what he told me. Twelve years ago, it’s what I did. And I waited.

Now the shovel doesn’t dig right. The dirt falls into the hole faster than I can dig. The hole gets wider. I can’t find the things I buried back then. Putting down the shovel, I turned towards the woods where I knew I could walk through the trees and into the next field. There were no holes there – nothing buried. There I could plant the tree along the edge of the woods. There I could lean against the fence post, watching the birds come back in the spring, watch the grass turn brown through the summer. There I could wait for another time to come.

Winter

December 15, 2008May 28, 2021 ~ SamF ~ Leave a comment

Snow has been falling to near sea level for the last two days with record cold forecast for the next few days. I dropped my camera while trying to take a picture of some pumpkin rolls I baked for a potluck. The water temperatures in the river are hovering around five degrees C. The rain we are getting is showery and much of it falling as snow in the watersheds – so the rivers remain very low and COLD. A more typical storm is forecast for the weekend and this may well put us into coastal winter steelhead season in a big way – just need a little warmer weather for them to move for a swung fly. stay tuned…things autumnal is transitioning into all things winter…