Early to Mid Week randomness...and a fishing report or two.

Lets get early to mid week on this…

I spent my Saturday hanging with my boys (not “my Boys” but my children) and watching the Notre Dame vs. USC game and then guided the L. Sac on Sunday. I have not had a day off in about 2 weeks so hanging with my boys, sleeping in, and watching some live college football not DVR’d college football was a nice break. I will say though when ever I take days off I feel like I am missing something by not being on the river. That said many days while on the river I feel like I am missing something by not being with my boys…solution: go fishing with my boys…but I would have a hard time charging them, their piggy banks are pretty empty and lets be honest most of the money that is in them, was at one time technically mine so there is really no money in this plan and my bank doesn’t except “quality time on the river with my boys” as payment for my debts.

rolling strong on a saturday with this dude

The Lower Sac fished pretty decent on Sunday, but I had some pretty green anglers so it is tough to tell…we had plenty of grabs, but the hooking and landing part seemed to elude us. The fish on the float I did were not as grabby as the week before but they were still pretty accommodating in most runs. The egg bite is still going strong, but we did get some fish in bug water on stonefly nymphs and caddis pupa.

Barge Hole Egg Eater

This guy was sitting behind a snag and ate a big stone fly nymph

Almost forgot…I did get out to fish myself this Friday as well. I went with my brother in law and his buddy over to the feather. We fished the Hwy 162 bridge area and each of us hooked a nice adult steelhead. I was fishing my Scott 11”6wt L2h switch rod that I have been waiting to get out and properly fish sense I got it this last winter. I have had the rod for nearly a year and not properly gotten it out and fished it myself. That tells you how much time I have to fish on my own in the fall and winter. I matched it up with an Air Flo speydicator line and it fishes great. It is a great big water indicator rod. Light enough to high stick close or double up on and bomb out some spey casts to water I could hardly reach with a single handed rod. I am looking forward to using it this spring to swing some flies on the feather for the spring run steelhead as well.

Best part of the whole trip was watching my brother in laws friend Joe hook up on a nice big (24”)wild buck and land it…he has hooked a few steelhead on the feather but never landed one. He is a pretty good angler after cutting his teeth on the small trout water around chico. This fall he got a big river rod and is getting into steelhead fishing so it was awesome to see him land such a special fish. Funny how I was way more excited to see him land his fish then I was to hook mine…I actually lost mine right at the bank as I was trying to hurry and get mine in as I saw he was hooked up. Funny how prerogatives change the more I do this fly fishing thing.

New Ink…

I further cemented my passion and commitment to the things I love …. My wife, kids, and rivers. I have had this idea drawn up by a few artists around town…I want the two Loves wrapped around my heart: Rivers and my wife in a tattoo on the inside of my arm. Ben Lucas at Eye of Jade in Chico finally nailed it.

My two loves wrapped around my hear...date is my wedding anniversary

Music…

I have not been buying much new music just listening to a pretty consistent stable of bands…The Wonder Years, The Gaslight Anthem, and the Dangerous Summer. All 3 are in the punk, emo/punk vain. I see it as just good rock music about topics that normal people can relate to. If you can not relate to it the chances are I am not normal not you…

Clothing…

I got some new Simms Gear from the Fall 2013 Line up a few weeks ago and the weather has gotten cool enough to put it through the paces. There is some great new gear this fall. My favorite so far is the Axis Hoody. I Love my Windstopper Hoody, but at times it is a bit to warm… which is not a bad thing just need something a bit thinner as well. The Axis Hoody can be worn as a layering piece or a stand alone light jacket for cool mornings or evenings. It is made out of Polartec® ThermalPro®. It is quick drying and features no-sweat breathing capabilities. The Hoody takes care of cool mornings during the spring, summer, and fall where I would usually where just a sweatshirt over a fishing shirt with shorts. The best thing about this hoody is that I have also been wearing it in non-fishing situations. It sucks to have to have an around town wardrobe and a fishing wardrobe…and lets be honest wearing your wading jacket without waders and a fly rod in your hand just doesn’t look right. Kinda like a guy wearing a football jersey with out pads under them and a helmet on or an NBA jersey without the upper body of an NBA player. Much of the newer Simms gear is functional on the river and looks great off the river letting ones fishing gear serve multiple purposes. The Axis Hoody is a great example of this. Kudos to Simms to making gear that makes me look cool on the river and off….not an easy thing to do.

I like Black cause I spill things

Sports Report…

The Irish are 5-2 after a defeat of the USC Trojans on Saturday night. Usually I would be pumped any time we defeat the Trojans but this time just seems a little cheap. USC basically gave the game away via penalties and just plane bad play. With Tommy getting knocked out early in the second half and Hendrix coming in our offense was terrible. I personally will never bitch about Tommy Rees ever again as I am pretty sure Hendrix forgot how to throw a football and USC stacked 9 in the box and shut us down. Well a win is a win and we got Airforce this week so we should be OK.

World Series Starts tomorrow and while I don’t have a dog in the race I do enjoy watching both the Cardinals and the Red Sox play ball. They both have some fun players to watch and great pitchers. Should be a good series. I am calling Cards in 6.

Fly Guide Fantasy Football League
So, we are under way and I am sitting mid pack at 3-3 while the Deeler and Ryan J are knoted up at 5-1 though the Deeler aka La Flama Blanca is a top the power rankings. I had a pretty good shot to knock Ryan J off this week but Arian Foster going down with a Hami killed me! In other Fantasy news  Gabe Duran's Gravy Train has officially come off the rails sitting at 2-4 and he has resumed his fantasy wrestling career with the Deeler in his back yard. WWE watch out!

I love this guy