FryingPan and Crystal River - Dec 28-29, 2010

Tuesday, December 27, 2010
Fish On!

Cabo, very interested in the fishes.

Maylon with a nice Rainbow.

Fatty McFatterson.

A nice Bow, I think that's D.

This was a beautiful Cutthroat, not big but beautiful colors.

Holy crap was it cold! And I'm complaining and Darren was there over an hour before I even showed up!! D got there around 5:15am, and I showed at 6:30am. He was the first car at the Toilet Bowl, I was the third. Sad part was car #2 was right in front of me - so D had the Bowl all to himself for over an hour. The bank in Carbondale said 12 degrees, I'm sure it was much colder in the canyon.

I got out and chatted with D for a few minutes and then went back to the truck for a nap. Seriously, who the hell fishes that early in the AM in the pitch black? Not me. Cabo and I slept until 7:30, by then it was light and we were ready to fish. D was holding his spot on the Bowl and hooking a lot of fish, most were dinks, with the occassional pig.

The pics above are in no particular order - I was too lazy to order them.

I fished for a while and was skunked. Then I saw a huge pig feeding a bit further down and tried for him. After snapping off 6x and more flies I decided I needed to warm up again. The dog was freezing too and my left foot was a block of ice - my boot was too tight. I napped a little in the car - warming up the dog and my foot. Then around 9:30 we hit the Bowl again. This time we got into fish - I hooked about 8 and landed 5 or so - all were small but fiesty. Darren did hook and land a pig - see above - and that was a great fish. After about 11:20, I lost my rig and called it a day. D was going to stay a few more hours. I hope he did well - he'll have to post his update.

It was a fun day, although cold as hell. I hate the cold weather when you try and fish in it. I spent an hour at the Glenwwod Hot Springs to warm up!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2010
I did manage to get out for a couple hours and fish the Crystal River right here on Avalanche Creek Road next to Avalanche Ranch (where we are staying). The Crystal is known to be blown out after any kind of rain or snow melt, but in December it is very very low. If I had to guess I would say it was flowing around 400 or 500 cfs. The river is relatively narrow - about 20 feet across in most sections, but it gets wider in some areas. The river is heavily silted - lots of the soft stuff around the edges that you sink into. It reminds me a bit of the Ark - off colored too.

With no real time to explore I just hit up a spot I scoped out the past couple of days, a nice stepped up water fall area that dumped into a nice deep riffle stretch. The weather was blowing snow, 20 mph winds and probably about 25 degrees. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as the Pan the day before.



On my first cast I had a take, lost it, on my 4th cast I caught this little guy.



It was a 13 inch whitie - kind of a weird golden color. Never seen one so golden. Maybe I misidentified it, but I don't think so. He took a zebra balck midge size 20.

I went about 20 minutes without hooking up - working faster water and then I finally hooked and landed a small (10 inch) rainbow. He was pretty colorless, but still nice to see something besides a whitie.



I moved down again to a little hole that had a swift section along a rock. I saw a good sized fish come up and nudge my indicator. He looked about 16 inches and I thought it was a brown. I hooked him a few casts later, but he got off. I moved on, fishing down river to some beautiful holes, but no fish to be found. It was almost 4pm - time to head back to the cabin. SO I walked back up to the hole with the big fish in it - I tied on an electric yellow hot wire stone and drifted it through the pool. On my 4th cast I had the bastard on.

I landed this beauty - a 15 inch whitie - and again, he was a golden color.





That is probably the last time I will get out on this trip. I need to hang with the family more. I'm glad I got out during nap time - even though it was cold and snowy.

Tomorrow I have to drive up to Glenwood Springs to the tOyota dealer because Jen's truck won't go into 4X4 - we got the tires replaced last weekend and for the first time tried to throw it into 4X4 and it won't work. Hopefully it is an easy fix. I hope to go to SUnlight Mtn snowboarding tomorrow. We'll see if we make it.

Paul's Choice

"We sold the store."

That was the brief FB message I had gotten from my old boss tonight. Not much to it, hell I knew it would happen some day, so I shouldn't have been surprised by it. But I was, actually I am heart broken, I feel like a part of me is lost forever, a part of my childhood I will never get to visit again. The truth is, it has been over 12 years since I have been back to Keene, NH and it never really effected me, until now.

I don't think any of my readers know that I'm originally from New England - born in Medford, MA (a suburb of Boston) in 1973 I moved to Keene, New Hampshire when I was 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. We lived in an old house on Taylor Street behind the junior high school. When I say old, I mean that it was built around 1860. So even when I moved there in 1980 it was already 120 years old. We lived in that house, next to an ancient cemetery, until 1987 when we moved to Tanglewood Estates, a trailer park in North Keene, just off Court Street. Being a bit of a baseball card fanatic, I needed a job to make cash - that hobby would soon turn to beer and girls. I found my way to one of the few local stores in the area - a new butcher/market in the neighborhood called Paul's Choice.

Paul's was new to this part of town, but it was easy to tell that it would be a success. People in New England are old fashion, love quality, and are extremely loyal. Paul's was a collection of misfits who had tried their hands at prior butcher shops, restaurants, grocery stores and other blue-collar, hands dirty type jobs, only to screw them up and be out of a job. Paul and Ronda Stewart brought the expertise and they surrounded themselves with some of the most loyal delinquents around. I say delinquents because these guys (and a couple of ladies throughout the years) were no angels. However, to a 15 year old kid (and freshman in high school) they were every bit role models.

I don't remember the exact date I rolled into the shop and asked for an application. Having made pizzas since I was 11 years old, mowed lawns, raked leaves and other odd jobs hardly qualified me to work at a butcher shop. But Ronda, after meeting my mom, gave me a chance. Little did we know that it would be quite a ride.

I worked about 24 hours a week during school and nearly 40 hours a week on summer breaks. Being from a divorced home I spent every other weekend with my father in central Massachusetts. Paul's was always accommodating. I worked there my entire high school career, learned to drive, learned about girls, sex, weed, Jack Daniels, condoms, pain killers, money, golf balling, and how to be a man. That was a lot of learning for a HS kid.

The store consisted of some strange characters, each of which shaped and changed my life a little. Randy was the tall, rail thin, Toyota Supra driving, aspiring butcher who would marry and divorce the boss' daughter. He was a natural at cutting meat and customer service, he'd been the successor to the thrown since the day he started - and he knew it. He was 6 years older than me, he could drink a case of beer a night and out run the cops after it. He was no stranger to the law, and was a bit of a hot head. I looked up to him like an older brother and he taught me more than I will ever admit. He was dedicated to the store and to me, he knew I looked up to him.

Alan was the serial killer of the bunch, at least he looked like he was. Until you met his wife and little girls - who made him seem a lot more human. Alan had a full beard, crazy laugh, jittery eyes, always twirling a knife in his hands, quiet, observant, crazy, calming. Sure he was quiet, at least until 7pm when we closed, and then he would loosen up - music blaring, singing. I never knew if he liked me or not, but I knew he respected how hard I worked and I never took advantage of him. Alan was always family, but he was that older brother you never had anything in common with because he was much older than you.

Paul was the owner, and although our relationship was always on a boss/employee level I knew he cared about me, and was proud of me. He was more like the Uncle of mine that gives you the job as a favor, but ends up keeping you because he's proud of you.

Ronda was the talkative co-owner married to Paul. She could make, bake or cook anything. She was very creative, very organized, and you couldn't argue with her. But she was spot on and rarely wrong. She was also very short and I remember she had to stand on a crate to reach the counters or the benches in the back. She wasn't really a mom type, she was way too young, but she was the only woman voice in the whole store and you respected it.

There were several other cutters, counter help and checkers that I remember, but no one else was constant. We were the core group for the first 4 years I was there. I worked there through high school and returned every Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years weeks while on breaks from college - Northeastern University in Boston, MA. I would go home to visit mom, give her a kiss and off I would go to Paul's. We would work crazy hours - sometimes 36 to 48 hours straight getting roasts and turkeys and shrimp orders ready for the holidays. We'd sleep in the back room on crates and boxes, trying to get in a few hours sleep from 4 to 7 am before we'd have to go back at it to meet the holiday rush. I'd work until 7pm on XMas or New Year's Eve and go home exhausted. My mom would just shake her head, feed me, tell me to go to bed and wake me up early. My fingers were cut and sore, my bones ached from the cold in the coolers and I constantly smelled like meat - even after two hot showers and 10 hours of sleep. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the best times of my life. Paul and Ronda had me back every year from 1991 to 1995 - I'd work a week and then disappear, spend the holiday with the family, then back to Boston.

The Stories
I wouldn't do Paul's justice if I didn't talk about the crazy times/memories I had there as well.
- In my first year I remember cleaning the slicer when I slid my hand under the blade (it was off) and sliced my middle finger knuckle on my right hand all the way to the bone. Alan saw the whole thing and saw the look on my face and grabbed me. He told me not to look at it, run it under water and he would bandage it up. He asked me 5 times if I was going to pass out - I did not. However, that cut took almost 4 months to heal - I never went to the doctor and had to lance the thing open 2 times to clean out the puss from infection. I still have the scar to this day.

- Our first year we got frozen uncooked shrimp with the shell on it. We would defrost 12 lb boxes of these things in trays of hot water, cook them up in pots, then peel and de-vein them. Luckily we didn't get a whole lot of orders that first year, maybe a ten thousand pounds or so, but then you realize how many boxes of shrimp that was and the work that went into it and how many pounds of shrimp you peeled and it brings back nightmares. We would peel all night long, do contests, have split fingers, shells under your finger nails, cuts like no ones business. I will never peel an uncut shrimp again. I like them pre-cooked and pre-cleaned now!

- I remember being friends with the kid who worked at the convenience store next door and him leaving out beer and wine coolers (come on - they were for the girls!) in the snow bank out back. Made for some fun weekends.

- I remember golf balling down the Ashuelot River that ran next to the Bretwood golf course behind the store. Taking Randy's canoe, a cooler, a case of beer and goggles and paddling and swimming the entire 6 miles of river in search of golf balls. We'd fill that cooler with balls and empty it of beers on that entire trip. We'd sell the golf balls back to the golf course and barely break even on our beer fund. We'd brave hail storms, beavers and snakes - all for a few golf balls.

- I remember frozen hands, stomping in the card board dumpster, power washing coolers, brine barrels full of corned beef, making thousands of pounds of sausage and hamburger, trying Jack Daniels for the first time, talking about girls, and having so much fun. I remember paychecks and bonuses, I remember my mom always getting a huge discount, and being treated like a queen there.

- I remember the one time I was sent home from work - the only non-sick day I ever had at Paul's. I had a huge Jack Daniels bender the night before, had stumbled into the house and passed out in front of mom and dad. My mom ended up hosing me off in the shower to wake me up - it was that bad. The next day I had to be at work - and my mom made me go. I got there and was green and ill. I was sent home with a stern warning never to do that again. I didn't. I was ashamed of myself for letting my boss down.

- I remember DUIs (not mine), I remember pregnancies (not mine), I remember marriages (not mine), I remember fights (not mine), I remember pinkies (not mine) and I remember being shielded from a lot more. I was lucky to be the shielded one.

In my 4+ full time years there I was a straight A student in HS, I played baseball and some football and had a girlfriend my senior year. I was shielded from a lot of the stuff because I think they (my Paul's family) wanted to not get me caught up in the things that would keep a guy in Keene, NH. They wanted more for me and they didn't want any distractions. They actually pushed me out of Keene, and for that I thank them. The work ethic I learned at Paul's would be the foundation for the rest of my life. All my life I have kept the same energy and loyalty since the day I set foot in there. Paul helped me save money for college and taught me what a wage meant and how to earn it. I owe a lot to Paul's Choice.

So, on this day that I find out the "store is sold" I am saddened. Not because my friends are moving from the working world to retirement, they greatly deserve it, but rather because a piece of my childhood is lost - and is unrecoverable. Every story has a "The End", and this one is no different, I just never thought I would read the last page. Page 1 started in 1987, followed by a great story, and it will end this holiday season 2010 - so many stories, so many pages, so many lives touched. It was a great ride, and I hope retirement is the happily ever after.

Best wishes Paul and Ronda, enjoy retirement and we hope to see you out here in Colorado soon!

Fresh Pimps - FOTD

Roughfisher has put up some beaut-s on his website again this morning. The Fresh Pimp is a cross between a prince nymph and some other dirty fly - I like the frizziness and the purple flash - makes the fly very pimp(ish). Total bad-assery.






Ok, I have no clue what I am talking about - I just like the colors and the photography.

As always, nice ties JPL!

Dark Olive & Claret Duns - FOTD

Wow - just wow! Check these out - I love the photographs, excellent lighting, great flies, great tie.

The Claret Dun and the Dark Olive Dun by Peter Gusttavson.





Thanks Petter for posting these over at Fly Tying forums, I had to borrow the photos for my blog! I hope this will give more people exposure to your beautiful ties.

"I mean Ft. Smith hot, not Victoria Secret hot."

Hell, I'll admit it, I've thought about quitting my job, leaving the wife and kids behind and getting paid to fish! I could get rich! Except I'm too damn stubborn, am a horrible teacher and my knots suck. Plus, if someone else is paying ME I probably can't be fishing at the same time. So it is not for everyone. But it is for one of my buddies.

He's David Palmer, and I interviewed him a couple years back after his first year of guiding on the Bighorn - you can check out the interview titled Cow Patties, the "Lean", and Swedish Supermodels - That's Living the Guiding Life .

Well, I was lucky enough to get a second shot at David and finding out if he's still all in, or if he's found another way of life. Luckily (for me), he hasn't, and he's willing to share his experiences with us again and give us a taste of the grizzled vet fishing guide life. He probably hasn't changed, just is a little more recognizeable now - giving presentations, fly tying demos, tying up some flies, but his love is still on the water and teaching people to chase their dreams, mend their lines and keep their flies in the water in the hopes of catching the big one.

He's still guiding on the Bighorn River in Ft. Smith, MT - but he's two years more experienced and over 200+ trips wiser. So what has he learned? Here's our interview, enjoy!



Three full seasons under your belt, you are a grizzled veteran. Do you feel like one?
Relatively speaking, I’m still the rookie, but yes I’m starting to feel grizzled and more importantly, to smell like one. In July and August, I did 25 days each month with a 17 day stretch in July and a 20 day stretch in August. About 10-11 days into those, you definitely start to feel grizzled.

Do you look/feel better/worse than you thought you would 3 years in? What was the picture in your head of a 3 year vet?
Actually, both better and worse. Once the hot weather hits and you’ve had a lot of days in a row, there’s no social hour anymore. It’s eat a meal and go to bed. At the same time, I have more upper body muscle mass than I’ve ever had. I’m the lightly tanned, non-steroid version of the Incredible Hulk. The picture that I had of anyone beyond the first year is someone who knows where all the fish are and all the right flies to use. The reality is, just act like you know.

A nice fish, even being held by huge hands!

You aren't a young buck anymore like some of the guys out there - is guiding starting to catch up with you? Any lingering injuries that don't seem to go away?
Both last year and this year, there have been moments where I realized I can’t guide forever, at least not Bighorn style. Two years in a row I’ve ended the season with tendinitis in one shoulder and it takes most of the winter to get rid of it, but mostly because I spend the whole winter streamer fishing.

How many trips have you got under your belt (because I know you keep track of that sort of stuff)?
I did 108 trips my first year, 98 the second year (which turned out to be really good for how bad the economy was) and 115 this year. 120 trips a year would be reasonable if I could spread them out over seven months and never have wind or horrible floating moss.

How is guiding different after the first year? What have you done differently after Year 1? What have you left the same?
One thing that is different is a lot of the veteran guides realize you are probably going to stick around and some of the stuff that happens to rookies stops happening. The other thing that was different was the huge confidence boost I got at the beginning of the second year. In year one, the river was so busy and also, when I started I knew absolutely nothing about guiding. In year two, business was down so much that my first two days on the river, I was the only guide I saw all day, so there were no training wheels so to speak.

The river also opened up a lot the second year by people floating different sections. I just got to spend a lot more time away from the crowds and catching fish that you couldn’t get clients into the first year and again, that was a huge confidence booster. One thing I learned in year one is show up on time, be reliable and work hard. I’ve learned since then and still continue to learn is just how to work with people. One of my friends unintentionally gave me some of the best advice at the beginning of the second season, which is don’t let your frustrations show. People pick up on that and the day can head south fast. If you stay positive, you get through rough patches and have a great time all day.



Last time we chatted, you were squashing the rumors of all guides being homeless, long haired, unshaven and dog lovin' hooligans - do you care to rebuff any of those theories? (short hair still? clean shaven still? wife still with you?).
What do you call a guide without a wife or girlfriend? Homeless.

I still think most are transients and every guide is a dog lover. Ft. Smith empties out in winter. Even the full-time residents are gone part of the winter. I still have the same wife and she’s still very supportive of the whole thing, but there have been a couple marriage casualties and every guide that has a girlfriend introduces me to a new girlfriend the next time around, or so it seems.

You can also tell when there is a new hot waitress at Polly’s. Every single guide eats there for a week straight hitting on her. I mean Ft Smith hot, not Victoria Secret hot.

I hear you’re a poodle guy. Be honest, the biggest brown you've ever seen on the Horn - would it take one of those poodles as bait?

The biggest brown I’ve netted was a stout 22 inch male. I’ve had clients land a lot of 21-22 browns but this thing was a beast but still only 22 inches. I have a friend who landed a 27 inch male on a day off. I’ve yet to see anything that would take one of my poodles, but the geese babies get thinned out pretty quickly in the spring and it makes you wonder....

Have you guided anyone famous?
I still have yet to guide anyone famous but I get to talk to the people that do. I’ve met Fuzzy Zoeller twice now. One of my friends guided John Elway. My roommate guided one of the actors from Baywatch. Another friend guided Richard Childress of NASCAR fame. So far, I’ve guided the son of a famous mayor, the father of an actor on 30 Rock, a doctor who worked with John Wooden at UCLA and someone who was on the PGA tour (but not at the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson level). I also guided the photographer who took the photo of the snow leopard for Apple’s packaging.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen someone do? Craziest thing you've seen in the
river?
The craziest (or dumbest) thing I’ve seen someone do on the river is try to stop a boat in high water by leaning over the front and try to grab tree branches. The guy tried to jump out of the boat so he could grab branches and hold the boat, slips and falls overboard but has both hands on the bow of the boat and is hanging there. He continues to try grabbing a branch while the boat is just pounding him into the bushes. How he didn’t end up without a major injury is a miracle.

One of the craziest things I’ve seen in my boat was a friend, not a client. We dropped a rod in the river and couldn’t find it wading around. We pulled the boat back up and floated by where we thought it was. He spotted it and basically dove in and grabbed it. He was hanging onto the boat with one hand and his feet were in the boat but the rest of him is in the water reaching for the rod.

What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you?
I had a husband and wife and we are floating along fishing hoppers. The husband is in the back of the boat and hooks a really big brown right on the bank just up from the Drive In. For those that don’t know the Drive In, it’s the car bodies lined along the bank. The water upstream is fairly slow and placid and at the cars, it really picks up speed and has about a 90 degree bend halfway through it and then gets really funky. We are still in the placid stretch and I’m digging in with the oars because the brown is really putting the screws to us. The brown makes a huge run and I hear a “thunk” and the husband says something. I turn around and he’s got his rod and line but his reel is sitting on the bottom of boat.

The Drive In Hole

I’m trying to row with one hand and pick up the reel with the other and not get sucked downstream. I managed to pick up the reel, stop rowing and get it back on his rod but we get sucked into the fast water so I start rowing and he’s making ground on the fish. We get around the corner and the fish is finally about 20 feet away and then runs and rolls the hook out of its mouth. I thought for sure once we had the reel on and the fish was still there, we’d land it but it was on too long and out-maneuvered us.

What’s the biggest fish a client has caught?
So far, a 23 inch rainbow that weighed about 5 lbs. I had a client that had a rainbow on that was bigger, but for some reason, he reached out and grabbed the leader and tried to hoist it in the boat. That was one moment where I was briefly negative....maybe not so brief. He took it in good stride though.

Has a client ever wanted to keep a fish? Did you try to change their mind? What did they do?
Every so often you get someone who wants to keep a fish. Basically, I flat out lie and say it’s a catch and release river. If they know the regulations, sometimes they call me on it and then I say (and it’s true) that it’s the practice of the outfitters and I’m just abiding by their wishes.

One day I had a guy who just whined and whined about it. He just wanted to keep one. “That’s all I want, just one!” Seriously, he rivaled most little kids on the whine factor...literally, stomping his feet and whining. Finally I broke down and we kept a 14-15 inch brown. I wouldn’t let him keep anything bigger. About ten minutes later, he was whining even harder about keeping another one. I just stopped talking to him after that. I will never keep a fish for a client ever again. Most people are understanding of the practice and accept it or pretend to but this guy was so overboard and I had to learn my lesson the hard way.

You must have lots of repeat customers - who is your #1 client - the client you've done the most trips with?
The point of being a guide is to ultimately build up a lot of repeat clients. I have a few but what amazes me is when I get a request and it’s a friend of someone I guided. That almost means more.

Ted is my #1 client. I got him by sheer fluke my first year because his regular guide was having some health problems. He comes four days each year. Ted is not only great because he’s a three-peat, but he’s a great fisherman who lets you guide him. He doesn’t have to catch a million fish and he takes the time to just stop and enjoy the moment.



Tough questions now - Let's say I'm a client of yours, I've had a good day, caught some fish, even some big ones, I learned how to cast better, mend better, you netted a bunch of my fish and I drank some of your beer - how much tip should I leave you?
My friend that gave me the advice about not showing your frustration also told me that if you are working for tips, you are working for the wrong reason. He’s married to a doctor so it’s easier for him to say that.

Personally, I think anyone in any service industry should be treated fairly and tipped fairly but in accordance to the service they provide. Naomi Campbell said she doesn’t get out of bed for less than $10k a day. I will get out of bed for considerably less.

Is there an "insult" tip amount?
There is. As a client, you know it because your guide stops talking to you and turns down your request the next time.

Sometimes an insult tip is meant to be just that. A lot of times, people just don’t know better. But I know of (former) clients that can’t get guide trips anymore because of their tipping reputation.

What is the largest/smallest tip you've ever gotten? Ever turn down a tip?
I have never turned down a tip. There’s been a couple where I thought about it, but ultimately you don’t because while you personally probably won’t get that client back, you want the outfitter to get that client back.

The largest tip I’ve ever received left me speechless. I’m grateful and appreciative for just about any tip, but twice I’ve been tipped the same amount and it left me beyond words both times that someone was that generous.

What is the hardest part of your day?
It depends on the time of the year. On a windy day in the spring, it’s when I wake up. About the end of August when you’ve just eaten your 85th roast beef sandwich, it’s lunchtime. After 15 days in a row, it’s calling my wife and telling her I just booked five more days.

Ever thought about quitting guiding?
I have yet to have the “I just can’t take it one more day” day, but not being a young pup, I know that my time is limited whether I snap and call it quits or just decide that it’s time....and then go all Brett Favre about retirement.



Over the past 2+ years the water has been crazy high on the Bighorn, how is fishing in high water?
People find it hard to believe, but the fishing is spectacular in high water once it stabilizes. The river stays clear (except on days where they bump the flow), the temperature goes up, more food gets kicked up and the fish just have to eat more. Once you figure out the structure that the fish are holding to, you are netting fish all day long. It’s the perfect time for beginners and novices.

Do you have any tips for those days where the water just isn't right - too high, off color, too weedy, too low, or the lake is turning over?
The solution to most of these problems is more lead. If the river is high, more lead to get to the bottom (and a longer leader). If it’s off color, more lead to get your flies down (and flies with more color). If it’s weedy, more lead to punch it through the weeds and get to the bottom. In low water, less lead of course and a lot of swearing as the shallow riffles grind off the bottom of your boat.

Describe your most epic day out there on the Horn?
Ballpark estimate was 75 fish one day this spring. I made a comment to one of the clients about how we were going to try a wade fish spot and the water was cold so the fishing might start off slow. It took all of two casts to get the first fish and I don’t think three minutes went by without one of the clients hooking a fish.

We had lunch and moved downstream hoping for some risers. We found a huge pod on baetis. After three more hours of stupendously solid fishing, we finally decided we had to get downstream. I looked at the bottom of the river and noticed our footprints. We only moved three to four feet in three hours. You never get three hours in the same spot behind a pod of rising fish and yet, it happened.

In our first interview you said that you would be more "proactive" in Year 2 - have you become more proactive and how have you?
It’s probably the most important thing I’ve learned in guiding. If someone is doing something wrong, correct it right away. They catch fish sooner, make fewer mistakes and spend a lot less time frustrated. One thing people do wrong is trying to cast with too much slack.

My first year, I’d tell them after the tangle. Now, I remind them to take all the slack out of their line before they cast. If I see them thinking about trying it, I say something so they don’t attempt it. It doesn’t really matter the skill level either because most people want to learn or want a refresher. If I see someone about to do something wrong, I stop them as soon as I can, explain and/or demonstrate it and that reinforcement seems to be a better tool than the frustration of having to stop and untangle.

Conservation is a huge issue on the Horn - with water flows seeming to be all over the place, catch and release, guiding fees, etc - are you a conservationist and what is your soapbox issue?
I’ve become a lot more low key about the river. The BuRec is going to run it how they run it and no force in the universe is going to change that. All I can do is show up and adjust to the conditions. One thing they’ve done is flushed the river really well and brought back a lot of good hatches and some people seem to overlook that. But it has killed business in June even though the fishing is spectacular.

The one issue that I’m starting to get more vocal about is making the Bighorn a barbless river, at least the upper 13 miles. The fish population holds up really well to the fishing pressure, but after a while, you find too many fish that are really scarred or injured because of barbed hooks.



I need only three words to describe the Bighorn?
Flows mostly north

Ok, poop was a central theme in the first interview - give me your best poop story from year 2 or 3?
I wish I had one. The incident the first year was so traumatic, I avoid poop at all costs. Actually, I’m glad I don’t have one. That day had enough cow poop to last me a while.

Complete this sentence, "a great day on the Horn is when..."
...you end the day at the boat ramp with the same number of people you started the day with.

What kind of questions do you get asked by your clients?
There are about 6-7 standard questions you get asked regularly and then a mix of others. The most common question is, “Is this your boat?”. Every guide gets asked that. My answer has shifted to, “Sort of, I have a 99 year lease.”

The question that’s always perplexing to me why people ask is, “How deep is the river?”. They always seem to ask as the riffle is grinding the bottom off the boat, so obviously fairly shallow in spots, but also obviously deeper in spots. I try to explain that in a meaningful way but when I have the right client, my answer is, “I’m not sure, but it’s deep enough to go all the way to the bottom.”

The weirdest question I’ve been asked is, “Is this the Provo River?”. The question I’d love to give the most sarcastic answer to is “What do you do in the winter?” to which I want to reply, “Mind my own business.” but I just can’t get myself to say it, even when I’ve got clients that would find that funny.

The historical questions get much more thorough and boring answers.

Wind sucks, but Montana/Wyoming and wind go hand in hand - you got any crazy wind
stories?
I *hate* wind, but it’s a part of the job. The wind was blowing so hard one day, we got to the Grey Cliffs and couldn’t get downstream (sound familiar?). There was a guy about half way down that was pinned against the cliff by the wind. He got knocked out of the boat somehow and couldn’t get back in because he was being hit so hard by the boat and had no place to stand because of the drop off there. I rowed into the wind as hard as I could and it still took us about 15 minutes to reach him (covering about 200 yards). Luckily, he was able to get back in the boat before we got there.

There’s been similar days but without the excitement of a water rescue. The wind can be brutal some days.

Best fly pattern on the Horn - still the Ray Charles?
You’d be a fool to not have a Ray Charles on. It’s the one fly that will catch fish every day of the year. During high water, I run two Ray Charles boat ramp to boat ramp. One grey and one pink. Some days I get crazy and run one pink and one grey.

The Downy Wonder Nymph is a great fly too. It’s a great baetis emerger, but doubles as a really good black caddis emerger too.

Have you noticed that fish are taking different bugs than 2 years ago? Are they getting smart to certain fly patterns?
The fun part about the last two years is a lot of hatches have come back so now you can fish PMD nymphs, trico nymphs and yellow sally nymphs (well duh, and the dries too!). The times I think fish catch on to a pattern is when one starts to work really good and then in a few days, everyone is using it. You’ll get a short stretch where it isn’t working as well because fish have seen it a few thousand times. People stop using it as much, the fish forget and go back to eating it. The trick is, don’t tell people what your hot fly is and the word won’t get around as quickly.

Have you named your boat yet?
Still nameless, but does have a couple custom fish stickers on it now.

So you guide - do you work in a fly shop? Do any presentations? Do tying demos? Sell your flies? Where can people find your work?
I cannot stand retail. I’m just not made for it. I do tying demos for the local TU club, fly shops and sport shows. I’ve done a casting seminar each year at the sport show but don’t draw much of a crowd because they schedule me on Friday afternoon when no one is around.

I’ve just done my first big presentation and have done a couple smaller ones in the past. I don’t sell my flies because I’ve learned I just can’t tie that much. I fill my own boxes but there’s no way I could do 10,000 flies in a winter. I’m not a fly innovator so it’s not like my designs are going to end up in Umpqua or IdleWylde.

Thanks to some heavy handed hooksets, people found some of my work in fish lips this year, especially my secret black caddis pupa. Okay, so I invented one fly. The work I’d like to get noticed is my photography. I’ve tried hard to get some good and different photos but I’ve really got no idea how to make any meaningful income off them.

Favorite rod maker? Why?
My favorite rod is Echo. It’s a great rod for a great price with great customer service and they have a really wide selection now.

Favorite reel maker? Why?
I really like Lamson. They are an awesome reel and use the same drag in every model where others really cut back on the drag system when they cut the price.

Best fly line? Why?
I’ve used SA, Rio and Wulff. They are all good but I like the Wulff Triangle Taper because it roll casts really well and it’s white. You can see it in all light conditions.



Why isn't there a David Palmer buff, or David Palmer lip balm or David Palmer toilet paper out there yet? When you going to accept a sponsorship? Maybe an Orvis tattoo? Or how about selling space on the side of your boat for an advertisement? Everyone has a price Dave - what's yours?
I won the carp tournament in 2008, finished 2nd in 2010 and won the biggest lips prize in 2010. I’m really not understanding why some of the larger marketing agencies haven’t been calling. My tournament partner and I have a book in the works though....Glistening Lips. My price is a case of Moose Drool or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. FIRM.

Another repeat question from Year 1- want to make sure nothing has changed - Guiding - harder/easier than a real world job? Any (new) advice for wanna-be fly fishing guides just getting into the sport?
Harder than what I used to do, probably not as hard as being a surgeon. In guiding, you are trying to go 100% all day. There’s no downtime to run an errand, check the internet for scores, etc. It’s being upbeat all day long and putting that effort out all day. I’ve never had a job before where it took 100% all day.

So many people have a really romanticized notion about guiding. It is a physical, grinding, emotionally taxing job. Don’t be disillusioned with how hard you have to work. Also, the same advice I got, don’t show your frustrations and don’t be critical. It serves no good purpose.

Give me a "wow, that never happened before, and I doubt it ever will again" moment from year 2 or 3?
The hopper fishing of 2009. 30-50 fish a day throwing hoppers to the middle of the river all day long for over two months. That will never happen again. The defining moment of how “Wow!” it was is I had a client whose skill level was very low. I was coaching him on getting the hopper just far enough away from the boat. He makes one really bad cast and gets a nasty tailing loop. I’m yelling at him to stop casting so it doesn’t become a jumbled mess. It’s all out on the water and his hopper is sitting on his line. I tell him to strip everything in slowly so it doesn’t get worse when a brown hammers his hopper and we end up landing it. An 18 inch brown ate a hopper off a fly line that looked like a plate of spaghetti...and we land it. Never again.

When you grow up, what do you want to be?
Either a hand model or financial advisor for professional athletes.

How much longer you going to do this?
I thought 3 years and realized it’s just getting started so 7 to 10 years if my shoulder can take it, or the hand model agencies really start calling.

You realize you are famous now right (being on my blog!)?
Yes, although not Oprah Book Club famous, but I appreciate all the support you give me!

-------

If you are interested in hiring David (Montana guide #12456) as your guide on the Bighorn, you can contact the outfitters he works for at:

Jeremy Gilbertson, Gilbertson Outdoors
Billings, MT
Montana Outfitter 8836
(406)690-4752

The Bighorn Trout Shop, Steve Hilbers
Ft Smith, MT
Montana Outfitter 504
(406)666-2375

Also check out www.bighornflyfishing.com for more information on the Bighorn.

If you want to see David's blog check out Oar Whore - a well named blog for a guy who rows more miles a year than I walk or run in a year!

Thanks again David for being a great sport, a good friend and allowing us to find out your deepest, darkest secrets! I'm hoping to get up there this spring and hang out with you - I'll buy the Moose Drool!

All pictures were taken by David Palmer.

CDOW response to the sighting of the Ermine

From: "Jones, Therese"
To: Brandon
Sent: Tue, November 23, 2010 9:57:35 AM
Subject: RE: Division of Wildlife FAQ question submitted from website

Hello Brandon,

Thanks for sharing those pictures, you are very lucky to have taken those. The animal does in fact look like an ermine also known as the short-tailed weasel. In the winter their coat turns white like in your pictures, and in the summer turns a reddish brown. We do not keep track of sightings for them. They are not endangered or threatened in Colorado, however they are elusive and are rarely seen, so count yourself lucky. The link below will take you to our information page on weasels if you are interested in some more information. Thank you for sharing with us.

http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/Weasel.htm

Therese Jones
Colorado Division of Wildlife

White Mink Sighting!

FALSE ALARM - not a white mink, just a white ermine, but still a coll little animal!

Warning - not that I don't want to hotspot, but I don't want to give away the location of this little furry guy.

D and I went fishing today - fresh off fly tying last night. I woke up at 5am with the wicked taste of Tecate in my mouth. Brushed my teeth, dressed, grabbed some advil and was at D's at 5:30 - on the road and by Evergreen it was snowing. Scary roads, but D is the man when it comes to driving. Saw 2 packs of deer on the way - one had a nice 4 pointer leading 4 females, and the other had a big 5 pointer male leading the way. Good looking animals - just surprised they were hanging out near the road.

Hit the parking lot around 7:30am. We were the first to make tracks in the lot and not a sole around.

It was about 27*, but no wind and a chance we might see sun soon. We dressed quickly and were in the water soon after. To say Darren was into fish quickly would be an under statement - he had the first 10 fish of the morning in the first 20 minutes we were there. Including a Colorado slam (whitie, sucker, brown and rainbow). The dude is amazing. Below is a pic of the huge sucker (like 16 inches) that he caught - you can see just how thick it is.

Soon D let me have his spot and I was onto the fish just as quickly - I slammed 6 in a row - mostly small browns. We moved up and down this stretch for a couple of hours - sometimes the fish would be on, sometimes we'd go 20 minutes with nothing. We pulled quite a few out of the hole - the prettiest was a slab of a fish that Darren had right next to him and popped off - it was a 19"+ brown that would have been beautiful to get a pic of. However, that would be the story for the day - we lost just as many fish as we landed, some we wished we'd seen, others we were happy to LDR in the ice cold water!

We basically traded holes all day - working our way down river we seemed to pick up 3 or 4 fish in every hole. Some holes were better than others, some produced more but smaller fish - other holes produced world class whities. The fish were hitting the orange egg and the pink or orange pig stickers. Many many fish were ass hooked lots and lots of small browns, many large whities and a few slab brownies. All fish were fun to catch. All were stacked on the bottom and required lots of weight and patience. Most fish were in pods, so if you caught 1 out of a hole, you were likely to catch 3 more in the same spot.

Here are a few fish from the middle of the day:



Darren had a headstart on me - hitting some holes up ahead. I snapped off another fly and decided I'd make my way down to Darren and see how he was doing. As you might imagine, walking on cobbled slippery rocks is a killer normally, but today it was covered with snow and was even trickier - so I walked up on the bank. When I came around the corner I saw this tree and this little face looking out at me.



As you can see it is a small white mink. He kept running around in this hollow tree, popping his head out of 4 different sections checking me out. I was a little shocked to see him - he looked exactly like a ferrett, but was completely white except his black nose. I was trying to be quiet and get the camera out to take a pic, but honestly he could care less. The little bugger was brave as hell - I bent down at the base of the tree to take a picture at eye level and he literally came out of the tree and almost came right up to me. I actually stood up quickly - a little freaked out like he was going to attack, but he didn't care - he was just curious as hell. This thing was gorgeous. Maybe 10 inches long in total and skinny as hell. The crazy thing is that at the base of this tree is a tennis ball - just sitting there. No clue if the mink brought it there or someone left it for him, but it just did not fit into the picture. I have looked everywhere online and can't find anything about white mink in Colorado. I sent an email to the CDOW asking them if they were rare and if they wanted pics. I'm a little hesitant to tell them where I saw it though.

Anyways, I thought this was a very cool sight, and it made my day. I headed back down to D to check out the next hole. We continued catching fish - nothing too fancy, just picking them up here and there. I managed three in one hole - probably the best fish of the day for me - a 16" brown, an 18" brown and a nice whitie that fought better than most browns.

We kept moving down and ended the day at the confluence of where the river had split around an island. We finally saw some sun and it felt nice. We would look for the long slow water that was about 6 ft deep - and we seemed to find it. These couple of fish were pulled out by D - you can't tell but it was some nice big browns. I pulled out a huge whitie out of this hole as well - he had to be pushing 19". D collected some major pigs in this hole - including 3 on 3 casts back to back to back. At about 3:30 we called it a day.


After a mile hike back to the car we pack up and we were on our way. Great trip - thanks for driving D!

Untamed Angling - New Blog on the Blogroll!

UNTAMED ANGLING

I just saw this on This Is Fly, a very cool travel/lodge blog with some great pictures. These are all the places we dream about fly fishing - so remote and out there we could escape the real world. Unfortunately we'd have to have endless cash as well - but it is good to dream! Tierra del Fuego, Bolivia, Patagonia, golden durados, striped cats, salmon.....at the end of the earth!

Juan's Golden Stones - FOTD

Hopper Juan's Golden Foam Stones

I really like these stone flies for a number of reasons - they use foam as the wings (a cheap and recycled material), their color is amazing, and they seem like something that I can tie and will catch fish with. Not to mention they are tied by a local tier Hopper Juan.

Juan uses his caddis cutter to cut out the computer foam for the wings and adds some brown marker to color them. The result is some very cool looking and realistic wings. I do think that the foam may cause the fly to want to float (which is the opposite of what a stone should do) but I am guessing that is why we should add weight to the fly.

Juan also does an amazing job in photographing these flies (see his website for all the pics), I only show a couple here.

Thanks Juan! Can't wait to try and tie a few of these.

Check out Juan's website for his other patterns.

North Park - Oct 21-23, 2010

The North Park Fall Fling almost didn't even happen. With bad weather imminent, we had to make a decision to tow a camper (with no brakes) over the two passes, find a hotel or cancel. Basically with the weather deteriorating quickly, dragging the camper up there was out (which in hindsight turned out to be the best decision of the trip). I started calling around to the Walden hotels on Wednesday night, only to find NP Inn to have only one room with a single bed, another hotel out of business, another to be completely booked and finally Antlers Inn to have a luxury room for Thur, but only a tiny room for Fri and Sat - we took it.

As the weather report got worse we started losing attendees - Scott decided he wasn't hunting in freezing weather, so the dog was out. Then Scotty (a teenager with a texting problem and a girlfriend) was talked into staying home (second smartest move of the weekend). Then Cory decided Friday night was going to be too messy to drag the camper over the pass, and Kyner bailed due to the uncertainty of the weather as well. Steffan wasn't coming anyways, because he's @#$@#&^%@#%*& and has his priorities messed up (work and wife). So basically it was Werms, Scotty and I and hopefully we'd see Mark.

Thursday
Werms was headed up early on Thursday, fishing with Darren on the Colorado River during the day, and then he'd head up to Walden in the afternoon and get the hotel and meet us at the lake. Scott was working a full day, but he was going to leave on time. I on the other hand found out at 2pm that I was expected to be on a conference call from 3 to 5pm - no leaving early for me. The call ended up lasting until 5:20 and Scott graciously waited for me in Evergreen so we could ride up together. We met at El Rancho PnR at 6:15 and loaded up my gear in his pickup and were on our way.

The ride was pretty uneventful (except the Check Engine light coming on 5 miles outside of Evergreen), and we actually hit Walden at 9pm, meeting John at the road in Walden that heads to the lake. We were geared up by 9:45 and had the boat in the water. Problem was, we forgot the plug and before even leaving the dock we had to pull the boat out again, drain it and start all over. The one thing Scott always told me not to do was "don't sink it" and that is the first thing he does. To be fair, it was late, we were tired, but we knew we had to fish. The almost full moon was out and the Lake was calm. All three of us in the boat is crowded, so we needed to take it easy. We hit the inlets and fished streamers for a while. Scott managed one big brown in the first 3 hours, and that was it. The fish hit hard, but was hooked on the side of his head.

I'm gonna be honest with you, I have no clue if this is the first fish Scott caught or not, all the brown's look the same.

We decided to head over to the dam area and along the way we would troll streamers along the west bank. The night was very bright, but we used head lamps to see indicators or tie flies and land fish. We got about 3/4's of the way there and Scott almost got yanked out of the boat. The rainbow was long, like 24"+ long and he wasn't in any hurry to be landed. It was however the only fish to actually get a fly in it's mouth of the night. The fish was huge and it got us pumped up.



We kept trolling towards the dam and anchored up just west of the dam in the inlet. We were bombing the banks and occasionally a fish would skyrocket straight out of the water and splash back in. These fish were fairly good sized and they'd jump right next to the boat (think flying carp - but not as many). We could see that they were everywhere. We hooked a bunch, I think I got 2 and Scott hooked 3 more. Fun fish - all browns - all about 19-20 inches and all hooked on various parts of their body - mine hooked on the top of the dorsal fin (I would have never believed that you could land a fish hooked there).







We were pretty pumped, but when I looked at my watch I realized it was 3am. It was not cold, but we were over dressed, and we were surprised at how bright it was even though the moon had cloud cover now. Werms had literally fallen asleep twice sitting up and only awoke to net a fish (not kidding). So we decided that since we had this fancy hotel room we might as well use it. Honestly, Scott and I could have fished for another couple of hours and crashed in the truck for a snooze in the AM. And we probably should have - we would have gotten more sleep. We hit the boat ramp, loaded the boat, headed to Walden. Once there we parked on the street, locked everything down, threw a tarp over the load in the back of the truck, grabbed our stuff and headed upstairs to the hotel. The room was amazing. We literally dropped our crap and hit the hay.

Friday
Unfortunately Walden is a one road town and a redneck town and everyone owns a diesel or a 1980's shithole pickup truck and they like to ride up and down, up and down, up and down, the main street until all hours. Well, Scott and I didn't sleep a wink. Next thing we knew it was 8am and we wanted to get on it. I received an email from Mark (Zackdog) saying he was on his way (at 7am), so I emailed him back saying we would be up there - but not for an hour or so. We hit the restaurant for breakfast on Werms. The food was damn good too. We were back on the lake by 10am.

The boys fished in the boat and I blew up the yak. They were nice enough to give me a tow across the lake to the inlets again.



As you can see the day was cloud covered, but it wasn't too windy (yet) but we could see it was only going to get worse (and it did). The north inlets were completely full of wading fishermen by 10am and you could learn all of the good spots by where they were standing! We didn't really see anyone hooking up, but we split up and tried our luck. The only person catching was Werms. He landed a good half dozen fish and Scott and I pulled out the skunks. Werms first fish of the day was his best - a hog of a cuttbow that stretched 23+" and was fat as hell.



Werms got another brown as well that was a fun fish.



We stopped for a bit and met with Mark (Zackdog) and chatted and had a beer - it was great seeing him and the inlet he was fishing had some beautiful browns pushing up into the creek that was trickling in. We decided to fish the area around the inlet. The weather started turning and it was windy and sprinkling - but we kept to it and Werms was into more fish and I finally stuck a little brown - that fish was beautifully colored - but no larger than 16 inches. This fish just after Mark left and told me to use a green egg - I had just switched and on my second cast landed this fish. Nothing fancy, but skunk off!!



The weather got progressively worse. Cold, wind, rain, snow, mist, rain, cold. We trolled a bit, then decided it was time to set up a camp on the west bank and have lunch (at about 3pm). We set up the canopy, started a fire, ate some lunch, drank some beer, shot the shit and dried off a little. But it was raining sideways, was getting colder and didn't look to be letting up. We fished a little - the boys trolling in the boat and I was on shore. It was also getting darker quicker and before we knew it, we needed get camp packed up, and get the boat of the water. By now it was full rain and snow mix and everything was soaked through our layers. We headed for the boat ramp, loaded the boat in the dark, threw our shit in the pickup and headed to Walden. The trip took a little longer than normal, since it was a full on blizzard. Hitting Walden and trying to parallel park the boat was fun. We locked everything up on the boat, tried our best to "cover" the crap in the truck, grabbed our gear and headed for the hotel.

We had a new room, but the hotel hadn't moved our stuff from our old room - so we had to do that too. It was only about 8pm, but we were flat exhausted, soaked and weighing about 400 lbs with wet clothes and gear. The room was still amazing, but smaller this time. We unloaded all of our wet gear into a back hallway and put a fan on blowing into the hallway to dry our stuff (it worked believe it or not). All unchanged and exhausted we soon lost DirecTV to the snow storm and Werms talked us into going drinking. We decided to hit the Stockman Bar across the street. Clue #1 you are in a locals bar and don't fit in? They had a dog laying in the middle of the bar. Clue #2 was the place had a fog of smoke in it. Clue #3 was the bartender hadn't heard of Killian's or Molson (both Coors products I might add). Clue #4, they didn't take credit cards. A shot of Tequila, Makers Mark and a pitcher of Bud Light and we were out of there.

We hit the Antlers Inn bar for some Newcastle's and Onion Rings and shot the shit in a more tourist "friendly" site. We were back upstairs at 10pm and Werms decided to give us an egg and juju tying show. I learned how to tie an egg that came out perfectly, but I made it half way through the juju and had to pass out. I woke up an hour later to the boys going through my closet screaming about something - while they had tshirts with the words "HAVE YOU EVER FISHED THE FRASER?" on the back. Wiseasses the who bunch. Thanks Darren for making an appearance - I hate you too. Honestly though? I was barely conscious.

Saturday
I was in no hurry to wake up. Finally at 8:30 or so I got out of bed. Werms and Scott followed - moaning about something, pissy we had to get up. We got up, showered, shit, packed our gear and headed down for another killer breakfast. Scott and I had the Chicken Fried Steak and it was awesome - you know it was featured in National Geographic (surprised you didn't know that).

We geared up, got waders, boots, vests on and back out to the truck for our trip to South D's this time. It was cold, about 2 inches of snow on the ground, cold and windy too. The boat had a nice 3 inches of slush in the bottom. Here is a nice pic of the morning as we gassed up.



We were at the lake around 10am again. We were just going to make this a fast day, fish until 2 or 3 and then head home - we cancelled our last night at the hotel - not looking forward to a wet cold day and huddling at the hotel. We all started right at the parking lot by the bluffs, and not 5 minutes in Werms had a fish. It again was a beauty a 20+" cuttbow to start the day off right. Werms and Scott traded fish and I was skunked. So I headed over to the willow trees. This is one of our favorite spots and we know it holds fish. Werms soonm joined me and immediately I was hooked up. I landed the beautiful pink sided rainbow that had a hook jaw and was close to 20"s. The fish fought hard and was caught on an apricot egg that I had tied the night before with Werms tutelage.





I continued to slay them, catching a few more hogs, some decent rainbows and cuttbows. One was super fat, but not very long - maybe 18"s.





After a half dozen fish I decided to give my spot up to Werm's. He immediately had a hit and hook set his rig into the tree behind him. He reset and was soon into a fish. He hooked and landed a couple of fish while we set there and chatted. I was helping him land a fish when my bobber, no more than a couple of feet from us went down and started heading to deeper water. It was fun getting my skunk off on a bunch of fish, some of which were good size. I missed a bunch too, but by about 3pm I was just content. Werms with a nice action shot.





Werms decided to hit the road, but not before we both sat on the bluff, drank a beer and threw rocks at Scott while he caught a couple of dinks.



As you can see the wind completely stopped for about 30 minutes, the weather was almost tolerable, and it was a pretty scene. Werms hit the road, I broke down my rods and packed the truck as best I could. Scott walked over to the willows to see if he could get a fish of some size, but about 30 minutes later he was done. He stripped out of his gear, we packed the rest of it in the truck and were on the road by about 5pm.

The ride home was wet and slushy over Willow Creek Pass, dry through Fraser/Tabernash/WP, and wet, slick and foggy over Berthoud. The ride from Empire home was uneventful and I got my truck in Evergreen and was home before 8pm to see the kiddos go to bed. It was a great trip with the boys, and thanks Scott for driving!

The best fly of the trip? The bottom one. No kidding, you could throw a cigarette butt on there and slay them - but it had to be on the bottom. We killed them on pigstickers, eggs and jumbo juju's - all colors - didn't matter.

Thanks boys for the fun trip.