It's Tuesday....great! Wonderful news. I wish I could stay awake. Work is work - busy, but nothing pressing. VMWare IPO'd today on the stick market - I wish I Had know - would have liked to get in on it - oh yeah, if I had the funds to by more than 10 shares. VMWare is virtualization software that partition machines so that different software can be installed on different types of machines, and they run independent of the platform and more efficiently. Cool stuff. EMC is IPO'ing 10% of their shares. I don't know a whole lot else about the stuff, but the market loves it.
The market is hovering around 13,000 - wasn't it just at 14,000 a couple of weeks ago? The market is basically legalized gambling, up and down and down and up. Is 14K too high? I think so. No way the market should be maxing out like that. I need to get back into penny stocks - not that I had suck great luck with them the first time.
The Sox suck. I'm glad I got that off my chest. Although I still have faith in them, I'm thinking they need to go on a roll with the easy schedule they have, and the Yankees need to stop being so lucky. Eric Gagne is the worst acquisition in history - I'm thinking the Yankees are paying him under the table to lose the rest of the way. No one is hitting in the lineup. Ortiz and Manny could end up hitting less than 30 HRs each by the end of the season - which is totally unheard of. Last year Ortiz hit 54 - sure he's hurt this year, but if you are hurt you don't play. Dustin Pedroia is making a run at ROY. 7th in hitting and 11th in OBP - that is sick for a rookie. I was totally wrong about him - I thought he'd be a .260 hitter at best. Man, the kid is fun to watch - hopefully he's a mainstay at 2B for a long time. He's already a fan favorite.
Let's revisit the Hanley Ramirez/Anibal Sanchez for Mike Lowell/Josh Beckett trade for a minute. Beckett is on his way to becoming a 20 game winner - and probably will be 4 or 5 more times in his career. Lowell has been a plus on D and has swung a pretty good bat - leading the Sox in a few offensive categories. Anibal Sanchez was a promising young pitcher (one of my favorites), pitching a no hitter last year. But, this year he has had shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely. The difference here is Hanley. The kid was always a 5 tool type player with no room at the MLB level - blocked by Nomar, OCab, Renteria and Lugo (although he was traded before Lugo was signed). No way Theo was sticking an unknown at SS for the Sox. But the Marlins were ready and gave Hanley the job immediately - and man, has it paid off. Hanley is having an MVP type season - surpassing his HR total from last season already (around 18 I think), he's going to match his 50 SBs from a year ago, and he's the NL leading hitter right now at like .347. That is NUTS! We gave up one of the most exciting young players who plays one of the toughest positions to fill (just ask Theo now) - oh, and he's only going to get better! I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox try to retrade for him in a coupel of years!
Yankees are playing out of their heads right now - sweeping the Indians and scoring in double digits every night for the last month. No way can they keep it up. Is it just me or does everyone HATE the Yankees?? All the blogs or sports articles I read are so sick of their comeback - they just want them to die. Sad. I wouldn't want to be a fan of an organization that is so hated. Sure the Sox have their haters, but most (if not all) are Yankee fans. Clemens got suspended and will miss a start - rumor is he might be hurting and needed to miss the start anyways. I think they said he was 4-5 with a 4.50 era - that is well worth the $18M they are paying him. I hope he falls on his ass the rest of the way. I can't wait until he pitches against the Sox.
Steelers looked blah this weekend - I only saw the first quarter on Tivo, but they didn't impress me. The D looked very good - but the O, not so much. I can't wait for the real games to start.
Anyone watch My Boys on Monday Nights? Very good show - the writers on that shore are very good and the actors are not well known - which makes them more believable. Plus, that chick is every guys dream - into sports, drinks beer, doesn't know she's hot - PERFECT! And we all have friends like her - we can relate to at least one of her friends and pinpoint characteristics our friends have in common with them. Trouty is funny too - that guy looks straight out of Night at the Roxbury. Oh, and I missed it last night - thank God for TiVo! I got to get in an extra hour of roller hockey practice - which I needed. I need to get in better shape. I'm not even sore today - which is a huge step.
We are camping in Eagle this weekend at a campground named Sylvan Lake. It should be a blast for Avi. Although we will be gone two nights without electricity. Should be interesting. Kayaking will be fun though and she will be busy (as long as the weather is nice).
Well, back to work for me.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Rick Ankiel the Slugger??
That has to be one of the strangest things I have ever heard. After all, not 7 years ago Ankiel was one of the best up and coming young arms to hit the scene - he was talk and lanky and he could throw the rock. But hit the rock? No one would have even thunk it!
Ankiel's life story is quite impressive, he was a highly touted pitcher who after having a great rookie season in 2000 where he struck out 194 in 175 innings, fell upon some tough times. Injuries, wildness and a loss of confidence drove Ankiel damn near out of baseball. After giving up on pitching in the spring of 2005, and making it through waivers the Cardinals resigned Ankiel and put him in the minors - this time as an OF. No one really gave him a shot - he was injured all of 2006 and in 2007 he seemed to have come to Spring Training with a miracle of a dream. The Cardinals stuck him in AAA, and after hitting 31 HRs there, the Cards gave him a call up last Thursday.
Well, Ankiel made the most of his debut - hitting a HR off Doug Brocial of the Padres. This was not his first HR ever - he had 2 HRs in 2000 as a pitcher. Ankiel did however strike out 2 times that game, and 2 times the next game as well. If anything is going to hold Ankiel from being a MLB player it will be his plate discipline and high strikeout rates.
This leads to his 3rd game back as a hitter - last night Ankiel hit 2 HRs in a game for the first time in his career. Which wouldn't be amazing for a young hitter - but when you consider his past history as a pitcher - that makes this sort of miraculous. Ankiel hit the HRs off Derek Lowe and Roberto Hernandez.
So why can't/shouldn't this happen? I mean, both hitters and pitchers are both great athletes - otherwise they wouldn't be playing at this level or any level above college. There have been several great two way athletes who have done well - Babe Ruth being the first notorious pitcher/slugger. But major league baseball has changed - over the last couple of decades especially - when a player is drafted they are pushed to pursue one position - usually causing their skills to diminish at the other position. I think the last great two way college player and pro was Brooks Kieschnick - a two way spuerstar at the University of Texas was a very promising hitter - he had pop and average and in his thrid year of pro ball was tearing up AAA. He eventually made his MLB debut, but was just an average hitter from then on. In 1999 (6 years after he was drafted) he switched to a full time pitcher. AT the age of 31 (2003) he made his pitching debut (almost the exact opposite of Ankiel) and was average at best. The Brewers loved him because he offered them a PH and a long arm out of the bullpen as the 12th pitcher. Be he didn't burst onto the scene as Ankiel has.
What seems amazing to me is the differences between hitters and pitchers. Most hitters you think of as big burly home run hitters, while big pitchers lend you visions of David Wells and El Guapo. Skinny hitters you don't think of as power guys (the occassional Richie Sexson changes that), and you think of skinny pitchers as the norm - think Pedro & RJ. It's also a wasted AB in the NL, where pitchers flail at opposing pitchers fastballs as they whiz past them 1-2-3. Pitchers just aren't meant to hit.
Hitters and pitchers are so different, that I almost think of them as different sexes. Pitchers just don't have the muscle or the hand eye coordination to smack the ball around the park. I think they are wired differently, actually afraid of the ball once it touches the bat (obviously there are a few great defensive pitchers - but not a lot).
So how is this happening? Is Ankiel a blast from the way past - Babe Ruth style, but 100 lbs lighter? He's an uber-athlete, a sort of freak of nature in a game where only 1 out of every 10,000 little leaguers make the pros.
I guess I don't have any answers, but I will be following this story closely as it is one of the most interesting to date in the majors.
Ankiel's life story is quite impressive, he was a highly touted pitcher who after having a great rookie season in 2000 where he struck out 194 in 175 innings, fell upon some tough times. Injuries, wildness and a loss of confidence drove Ankiel damn near out of baseball. After giving up on pitching in the spring of 2005, and making it through waivers the Cardinals resigned Ankiel and put him in the minors - this time as an OF. No one really gave him a shot - he was injured all of 2006 and in 2007 he seemed to have come to Spring Training with a miracle of a dream. The Cardinals stuck him in AAA, and after hitting 31 HRs there, the Cards gave him a call up last Thursday.
Well, Ankiel made the most of his debut - hitting a HR off Doug Brocial of the Padres. This was not his first HR ever - he had 2 HRs in 2000 as a pitcher. Ankiel did however strike out 2 times that game, and 2 times the next game as well. If anything is going to hold Ankiel from being a MLB player it will be his plate discipline and high strikeout rates.
This leads to his 3rd game back as a hitter - last night Ankiel hit 2 HRs in a game for the first time in his career. Which wouldn't be amazing for a young hitter - but when you consider his past history as a pitcher - that makes this sort of miraculous. Ankiel hit the HRs off Derek Lowe and Roberto Hernandez.
So why can't/shouldn't this happen? I mean, both hitters and pitchers are both great athletes - otherwise they wouldn't be playing at this level or any level above college. There have been several great two way athletes who have done well - Babe Ruth being the first notorious pitcher/slugger. But major league baseball has changed - over the last couple of decades especially - when a player is drafted they are pushed to pursue one position - usually causing their skills to diminish at the other position. I think the last great two way college player and pro was Brooks Kieschnick - a two way spuerstar at the University of Texas was a very promising hitter - he had pop and average and in his thrid year of pro ball was tearing up AAA. He eventually made his MLB debut, but was just an average hitter from then on. In 1999 (6 years after he was drafted) he switched to a full time pitcher. AT the age of 31 (2003) he made his pitching debut (almost the exact opposite of Ankiel) and was average at best. The Brewers loved him because he offered them a PH and a long arm out of the bullpen as the 12th pitcher. Be he didn't burst onto the scene as Ankiel has.
What seems amazing to me is the differences between hitters and pitchers. Most hitters you think of as big burly home run hitters, while big pitchers lend you visions of David Wells and El Guapo. Skinny hitters you don't think of as power guys (the occassional Richie Sexson changes that), and you think of skinny pitchers as the norm - think Pedro & RJ. It's also a wasted AB in the NL, where pitchers flail at opposing pitchers fastballs as they whiz past them 1-2-3. Pitchers just aren't meant to hit.
Hitters and pitchers are so different, that I almost think of them as different sexes. Pitchers just don't have the muscle or the hand eye coordination to smack the ball around the park. I think they are wired differently, actually afraid of the ball once it touches the bat (obviously there are a few great defensive pitchers - but not a lot).
So how is this happening? Is Ankiel a blast from the way past - Babe Ruth style, but 100 lbs lighter? He's an uber-athlete, a sort of freak of nature in a game where only 1 out of every 10,000 little leaguers make the pros.
I guess I don't have any answers, but I will be following this story closely as it is one of the most interesting to date in the majors.
Friday, August 10, 2007
List of your addictions/passions/obsessions
About 7 years ago I asked my wife to list out her passions (guys call them addictions) - I never saw her answers, or ever even asked her about them, but I figured I'm 7 years late, but I'll list mine out.
First I have to define the word passion or passionate in this context:
pas·sion·ate [pash-uh-nit]
–adjective
1. having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
2. easily aroused to or influenced by sexual desire; ardently sensual.
3. expressing, showing, or marked by intense or strong feeling; emotional: passionate language.
4. intense or vehement, as emotions or feelings: passionate grief.
5. easily moved to anger; quick-tempered; irascible.
Ok, I understand #1 - having a strong feeling about, that makes sense.
#2 is the romance side of it - so I understand that one too (although it wasn't first in my mind).
#5 is a bit weird - "anger" is not an emotion or feeling I convey with passionate, but um...ok.
--------------------------------------------
Let's now look at the word addicted or addiction:
ad·dic·tion (uh-dik-shun)
-noun
Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance: a drug used in the treatment of heroin addiction.
An instance of this: a person with multiple chemical addictions.
The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something. An instance of this: had an addiction for fast cars.
Now this is what guys have more than passions we have addictions.
----------------------------------
But potentially there is one more word that differentiates male from female. Like...obsessed or obsession:
ob·ses·sion [uhb-sesh-uhn]
–noun
1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.
2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.
3. the state of being obsessed.
4. the act of obsessing.
----------------------------------
Yup, all three of these words are tied into a guys psychi.
So here is my list with a brief description:
1. My wife Jennifer- passion/addiction/obsession (pretty self explanatory)
2. My daughter Avelyn- passion/addiction/obsession (pretty self explanatory)
3. My dog Cabo - addiction/obsession - I love my mutt more than words, if you knew me you'd know this already (I'm putting Cabo 3rd as not to piss off the wife, but truly, she might be higher in my heart - I'm just saying!). I feel that 15 years with this dog is too short, and every day it kills me to know it's one more without her. There is no replacing Cabo.
4. Boston Red Sox - passion/addiction/obsession - this is something that real Red Sox fans understand - Bill Simmons on ESPN Page 2 is classically expressing how ever Sox fan truly feels - he says it all in a way us non-writers can't. To read him is to understand every Sox fan's ups and downs.
5. Fly Fishing - addiction - no obsession here because I don't think I need all the new gear that comes out. This is truly an addictive activity, especially in some of the great places in Colorado that I fish in.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers - addiction - after winning the SB a few years back I realized that I did not have the same passion for the Steelers as I did for the Red Sox. Now, I love the Steelers, but I literally cried when the Sox won the WS. The SB was fun, but it was icing on the big cake and not a total shock like the WS. So, that is why this is listed lower than the Sox.
7. Good People/Friends/and recipricating that to those people - passion - this will sound weird to some (not those who know me), but there just aren't enough good people in the world. I mean people who treat you the way they want to be treated. People who you trust with your life, people who would give you the shirt off their backs, people who would lend you money (if they had it) without even asking a question. People who you would feel comfortable going into business with. I can probably count maybe 7 non-family people in my life who I trust whole heartedly. I'd give names, but I don't want anyone getting a big head.
8. Money - obsession - I'm not rich, I'm actually cheap. I don't make excess and don't live in excess and don't appreciate it when others do. I'm obsessed with providing for my family and my future retirement and yet I want to not live outside my bounds and I don't yearn for anything bigger than I think I need right now (example: house, car, wedding, vacations, etc.). Being a finance guy probably feeds this obsession.
That is all I can think of. I bet you can probably tell a lot about someone by seeing their list of addictions/passions/obsessions.
What's your a/p/o?
First I have to define the word passion or passionate in this context:
pas·sion·ate [pash-uh-nit]
–adjective
1. having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
2. easily aroused to or influenced by sexual desire; ardently sensual.
3. expressing, showing, or marked by intense or strong feeling; emotional: passionate language.
4. intense or vehement, as emotions or feelings: passionate grief.
5. easily moved to anger; quick-tempered; irascible.
Ok, I understand #1 - having a strong feeling about, that makes sense.
#2 is the romance side of it - so I understand that one too (although it wasn't first in my mind).
#5 is a bit weird - "anger" is not an emotion or feeling I convey with passionate, but um...ok.
--------------------------------------------
Let's now look at the word addicted or addiction:
ad·dic·tion (uh-dik-shun)
-noun
Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance: a drug used in the treatment of heroin addiction.
An instance of this: a person with multiple chemical addictions.
The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something. An instance of this: had an addiction for fast cars.
Now this is what guys have more than passions we have addictions.
----------------------------------
But potentially there is one more word that differentiates male from female. Like...obsessed or obsession:
ob·ses·sion [uhb-sesh-uhn]
–noun
1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.
2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.
3. the state of being obsessed.
4. the act of obsessing.
----------------------------------
Yup, all three of these words are tied into a guys psychi.
So here is my list with a brief description:
1. My wife Jennifer- passion/addiction/obsession (pretty self explanatory)
2. My daughter Avelyn- passion/addiction/obsession (pretty self explanatory)
3. My dog Cabo - addiction/obsession - I love my mutt more than words, if you knew me you'd know this already (I'm putting Cabo 3rd as not to piss off the wife, but truly, she might be higher in my heart - I'm just saying!). I feel that 15 years with this dog is too short, and every day it kills me to know it's one more without her. There is no replacing Cabo.
4. Boston Red Sox - passion/addiction/obsession - this is something that real Red Sox fans understand - Bill Simmons on ESPN Page 2 is classically expressing how ever Sox fan truly feels - he says it all in a way us non-writers can't. To read him is to understand every Sox fan's ups and downs.
5. Fly Fishing - addiction - no obsession here because I don't think I need all the new gear that comes out. This is truly an addictive activity, especially in some of the great places in Colorado that I fish in.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers - addiction - after winning the SB a few years back I realized that I did not have the same passion for the Steelers as I did for the Red Sox. Now, I love the Steelers, but I literally cried when the Sox won the WS. The SB was fun, but it was icing on the big cake and not a total shock like the WS. So, that is why this is listed lower than the Sox.
7. Good People/Friends/and recipricating that to those people - passion - this will sound weird to some (not those who know me), but there just aren't enough good people in the world. I mean people who treat you the way they want to be treated. People who you trust with your life, people who would give you the shirt off their backs, people who would lend you money (if they had it) without even asking a question. People who you would feel comfortable going into business with. I can probably count maybe 7 non-family people in my life who I trust whole heartedly. I'd give names, but I don't want anyone getting a big head.
8. Money - obsession - I'm not rich, I'm actually cheap. I don't make excess and don't live in excess and don't appreciate it when others do. I'm obsessed with providing for my family and my future retirement and yet I want to not live outside my bounds and I don't yearn for anything bigger than I think I need right now (example: house, car, wedding, vacations, etc.). Being a finance guy probably feeds this obsession.
That is all I can think of. I bet you can probably tell a lot about someone by seeing their list of addictions/passions/obsessions.
What's your a/p/o?
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Red Sox lead at 6 games in the East
It's a day off - but I'm still thinking of the Sox!
West Coast road trips are tough - the games start at 8pm MST and don't get over until well after I'm in bed (at 10pm MST). The WC trip also sucks because those teams are tough - the A's, M's & Angels all play good baseball and they always seem to crush the Sox. No change this week - as the Sox dropped 2 to the Angels. Luckily they won last nights game and the Yankees lost - this pushes their lead back to 6 games. In the past two months their lead has shrunk from 14 games to 5 games. That's a huge change.
The Sox have been mediocre of late, but that hasn't been the main cause of their collapse. The Yanks have been playing out of their minds - having about as many double digit runs score in the past two weeks as they had the entire beginning of the year. Matsui and Abreau are carrying that team.
The Sox are just stagnant - unable to score like they were in the beginning of the year and the starting pitching is shaky at best. DiceK and Josh Beckett have been average. The #5 pitcher (Lester) has been average at best, Gabbard was traded. Wakefield is never impressive to me. Schilling is coming back from injury, but he wasn't really impressive in his first start back either.
So, are we in trouble? No. But we need to beat the teams we should be beating and winning most of the series against stronger teams. We have an easier schedule coming up as the Yankees schedule gets tougher over the next couple weeks. The Sox play Clev, Balt, Detroit, LA, Detroit and then Boston. While Boston has Balt, TB, LA (at home), TB, WS and Yankees. This is the month where it could make or break the Sox. If the Sox gain a game or two it would be a victory - if they lose ground or stay the same it will be bad.
Right now the Sox are being carried by Dustin Pedroia (ROY anyone?) and Mike Lowell. Coco and Lugo have been doing well. No Ortiz hurts. Manny and Youks are just flying under the radar. The bullpen has had some rough outings, but they have been strong. Adding Gagne to this pen has been helpful, but he doesn't appear to be as dominant as expected.
The Yankees added Wilson Betimit at the trade deadline and a bunch of minor league pitchers have been brought up. Shelley Duncan has added some spark to their lineup from AAA. Giambi is back, Hughes is back and Cano has been named the starting CF. These moves should help the Yanks. ARod has been out off and on - so the Betimit pick up seems to have been a smart move. Is this enough to get back on the winning track and win the division? Luckily, their pitching still sucks and their bullpen is the worst of it. Trading Proctor (who was average) and designating Myers (who was ok) will not help that bullpen.
With two full months left I'm wondering when the Yankees will be eliminated mentally. Obviously there is a clinching date, but I wonder if the attitude in NY will go sour sooner than that, maybe after a couple of losses. If there is one team that surfs the momentum wave the best, it is the Yankees. But - falling on their faces would make a division win even sweeter.
So what do the Sox need to do in 60 days to clinch the East?
1) Get quality starts from the SPs.
2) Start hitting in clutch (2 out) situations. LOBs are killing us.
3) Get production from a spot in the order that is unexpected? WMP, Belli, Hinske, Moss, someone has to step up.
4) This will sound weird, but keep Paps fresh - use Gagne to close any game with a 2 or more run lead.
5) Get rid of Timlin - the guy is killing us - throw him on the DL.
6) Pray to the baseball Gods.
I think the Yanks want to believe they have a shot at the division - I don't think they do. But they will be very hungry if they lose the division and win the wild card - so that could be just as bad for Boston, as they could meet again in the ALCS.
My prediction:
The Sox will end the regular season barely mediocre - currently at 69-45, will end season at 95-67 (that 26-22 the rest of the way) and win the division.
The Yanks will end the regular season mediocre - currently at 63-51, will end season at 91-71 (that 28-20 the rest of the way) and 2nd in the division.
With 91 wins the Yanks will probably not win the wildcard. I think the Tigers will sneak it with 93 wins (30-19 finish) - so it seems like the most important games for the Yankees are the 6 games against us and the 8 games against Detroit and the 3 games against Cleveland. If they went 8-9 during those games, they'd have to win 20-11 against the rest of the teams just to get to 91 wins. And that won't be easy because teams like the O's, BJ's and Rays will be gunning to knock out the defending East champs in 22 remaining games. That being said, those 22 games are against teams that are .500 or below (technically Toronto is one game over .500), and could allow the Yankees a chance to climb back into this. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we will need a little help from our friends in the East and Central divisions!
We also need a little help from the health Gods. Getting Schilling back is great - if he's healthy. Ortiz needs to get back to health quickly. More importantly we can't have second half slumps from Youks, Lowell or our bullpen - like last year.
Well, I hope the Sox pull it out - it will be nice to be able to brag against Yankees fans that we broke their long streak of Division titles.
West Coast road trips are tough - the games start at 8pm MST and don't get over until well after I'm in bed (at 10pm MST). The WC trip also sucks because those teams are tough - the A's, M's & Angels all play good baseball and they always seem to crush the Sox. No change this week - as the Sox dropped 2 to the Angels. Luckily they won last nights game and the Yankees lost - this pushes their lead back to 6 games. In the past two months their lead has shrunk from 14 games to 5 games. That's a huge change.
The Sox have been mediocre of late, but that hasn't been the main cause of their collapse. The Yanks have been playing out of their minds - having about as many double digit runs score in the past two weeks as they had the entire beginning of the year. Matsui and Abreau are carrying that team.
The Sox are just stagnant - unable to score like they were in the beginning of the year and the starting pitching is shaky at best. DiceK and Josh Beckett have been average. The #5 pitcher (Lester) has been average at best, Gabbard was traded. Wakefield is never impressive to me. Schilling is coming back from injury, but he wasn't really impressive in his first start back either.
So, are we in trouble? No. But we need to beat the teams we should be beating and winning most of the series against stronger teams. We have an easier schedule coming up as the Yankees schedule gets tougher over the next couple weeks. The Sox play Clev, Balt, Detroit, LA, Detroit and then Boston. While Boston has Balt, TB, LA (at home), TB, WS and Yankees. This is the month where it could make or break the Sox. If the Sox gain a game or two it would be a victory - if they lose ground or stay the same it will be bad.
Right now the Sox are being carried by Dustin Pedroia (ROY anyone?) and Mike Lowell. Coco and Lugo have been doing well. No Ortiz hurts. Manny and Youks are just flying under the radar. The bullpen has had some rough outings, but they have been strong. Adding Gagne to this pen has been helpful, but he doesn't appear to be as dominant as expected.
The Yankees added Wilson Betimit at the trade deadline and a bunch of minor league pitchers have been brought up. Shelley Duncan has added some spark to their lineup from AAA. Giambi is back, Hughes is back and Cano has been named the starting CF. These moves should help the Yanks. ARod has been out off and on - so the Betimit pick up seems to have been a smart move. Is this enough to get back on the winning track and win the division? Luckily, their pitching still sucks and their bullpen is the worst of it. Trading Proctor (who was average) and designating Myers (who was ok) will not help that bullpen.
With two full months left I'm wondering when the Yankees will be eliminated mentally. Obviously there is a clinching date, but I wonder if the attitude in NY will go sour sooner than that, maybe after a couple of losses. If there is one team that surfs the momentum wave the best, it is the Yankees. But - falling on their faces would make a division win even sweeter.
So what do the Sox need to do in 60 days to clinch the East?
1) Get quality starts from the SPs.
2) Start hitting in clutch (2 out) situations. LOBs are killing us.
3) Get production from a spot in the order that is unexpected? WMP, Belli, Hinske, Moss, someone has to step up.
4) This will sound weird, but keep Paps fresh - use Gagne to close any game with a 2 or more run lead.
5) Get rid of Timlin - the guy is killing us - throw him on the DL.
6) Pray to the baseball Gods.
I think the Yanks want to believe they have a shot at the division - I don't think they do. But they will be very hungry if they lose the division and win the wild card - so that could be just as bad for Boston, as they could meet again in the ALCS.
My prediction:
The Sox will end the regular season barely mediocre - currently at 69-45, will end season at 95-67 (that 26-22 the rest of the way) and win the division.
The Yanks will end the regular season mediocre - currently at 63-51, will end season at 91-71 (that 28-20 the rest of the way) and 2nd in the division.
With 91 wins the Yanks will probably not win the wildcard. I think the Tigers will sneak it with 93 wins (30-19 finish) - so it seems like the most important games for the Yankees are the 6 games against us and the 8 games against Detroit and the 3 games against Cleveland. If they went 8-9 during those games, they'd have to win 20-11 against the rest of the teams just to get to 91 wins. And that won't be easy because teams like the O's, BJ's and Rays will be gunning to knock out the defending East champs in 22 remaining games. That being said, those 22 games are against teams that are .500 or below (technically Toronto is one game over .500), and could allow the Yankees a chance to climb back into this. So, I guess what I'm saying is that we will need a little help from our friends in the East and Central divisions!
We also need a little help from the health Gods. Getting Schilling back is great - if he's healthy. Ortiz needs to get back to health quickly. More importantly we can't have second half slumps from Youks, Lowell or our bullpen - like last year.
Well, I hope the Sox pull it out - it will be nice to be able to brag against Yankees fans that we broke their long streak of Division titles.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Avelyn is 2 Years Old
It is amazing to believe that my daughter Avelyn will be 2 years old on Sunday. Although it doesn't seem like 'only yesterday' she was born, it doesn't seem like two years. The year s have flown by, and she has been a lot of fun. Although I never thought that the 2nd Birthday could come fast enough, I'm really liking this age.
She has turned out to be quite a character. She's a thick kid, solid (gets that from me), she has the bluest eyes (from me), has blonde hair (the mailman??), chubby cheeks (me and Jen), a defiant attitude (Jen), walks around barefoot all the time (Jen), loves the dog (me), has a big belly (me), is always talking (me), and is never wrong (Jen). I'm always greeted with a hug when I get home and then she proceeds to tell me all about her day in a language that I only understand every 5th word or so. She tells me who was at school that day as she rattles off rendititions of names like Max, Britton, Addis, Chase and Angus. Although she is hard to understand she knows exactly what she wants. For instance, the other day she went into the garage and went on the side of the truck next to the wall and was looking up and saying "color" "color" "color" - I had no idea what she wanted. But, she kept reaching up so I looked around - the chalk was on the shelf above the truck and she remembered that is what she wanted. I just had to decipher her code. She says things all around the house that mean something to her - but is code to us.
Jennifer is an amazing mom, and she has made child rearing very very easy for everyone. The motherly instinct just comes so natural to her, and she makes it look so easy. Without her I wouldn't be able to do raise Avi on my own. She has given me time to be with the guys, fly fishing trips, play hockey, work late, etc, and I really appreciate that. Avi is turning into quite the lady too - daycare and mom are teaching her so much before I even think about what I should be teaching her next. She already has learned manners (although she doesn't always use them) - which I would never think to teach her until who knows when.
Avi is looking forward to seeing her Grandma Edwards tomorrow and her Nana and Poppa at the end of the month. She has been doing tumbling for over a month now and we hit the pool every once in a while. Everytime we go to the pool she gets a little more brave - trying something new or jumping off the edge or walking deeper and deeper into the deep end. I can't wait until she's swimming like a fish, or she's on roller blades and ice skates. She'll be 2.5 years old this winter - so I definitely need to get her skates this year. She already picks up a stick and says "hockey" "hockey".
Of course winter brings up a lot more possibilites - skiing, tubing, ice skating. Eventually she'll need to learn to cast a fly rod. Summer brings biking, swimming & skateboarding. Man, so much to learn, so little time.
But, as I said, I like right now - 2 is a good age - even though she is well into her terrible two's. She also gets into everything - which is expected - but you have to keep an eye on her.
I always said I never wanted kids - just thought I wouldn't be a good father until I was sure I was ready. Well, guys are NEVER ready, but I'm glad we had her when we did. Had we waited any longer I wouldn't think I'd have the energy to keep up with her. I don't feel like I have enough even now! But, Avi is great - she is so much more than I expected and she is very special and has filled a huge spot in Jen, my and Cabo's lives. She truly is a blessing. Happy birthday Ms. Avelyn!
She has turned out to be quite a character. She's a thick kid, solid (gets that from me), she has the bluest eyes (from me), has blonde hair (the mailman??), chubby cheeks (me and Jen), a defiant attitude (Jen), walks around barefoot all the time (Jen), loves the dog (me), has a big belly (me), is always talking (me), and is never wrong (Jen). I'm always greeted with a hug when I get home and then she proceeds to tell me all about her day in a language that I only understand every 5th word or so. She tells me who was at school that day as she rattles off rendititions of names like Max, Britton, Addis, Chase and Angus. Although she is hard to understand she knows exactly what she wants. For instance, the other day she went into the garage and went on the side of the truck next to the wall and was looking up and saying "color" "color" "color" - I had no idea what she wanted. But, she kept reaching up so I looked around - the chalk was on the shelf above the truck and she remembered that is what she wanted. I just had to decipher her code. She says things all around the house that mean something to her - but is code to us.
Jennifer is an amazing mom, and she has made child rearing very very easy for everyone. The motherly instinct just comes so natural to her, and she makes it look so easy. Without her I wouldn't be able to do raise Avi on my own. She has given me time to be with the guys, fly fishing trips, play hockey, work late, etc, and I really appreciate that. Avi is turning into quite the lady too - daycare and mom are teaching her so much before I even think about what I should be teaching her next. She already has learned manners (although she doesn't always use them) - which I would never think to teach her until who knows when.
Avi is looking forward to seeing her Grandma Edwards tomorrow and her Nana and Poppa at the end of the month. She has been doing tumbling for over a month now and we hit the pool every once in a while. Everytime we go to the pool she gets a little more brave - trying something new or jumping off the edge or walking deeper and deeper into the deep end. I can't wait until she's swimming like a fish, or she's on roller blades and ice skates. She'll be 2.5 years old this winter - so I definitely need to get her skates this year. She already picks up a stick and says "hockey" "hockey".
Of course winter brings up a lot more possibilites - skiing, tubing, ice skating. Eventually she'll need to learn to cast a fly rod. Summer brings biking, swimming & skateboarding. Man, so much to learn, so little time.
But, as I said, I like right now - 2 is a good age - even though she is well into her terrible two's. She also gets into everything - which is expected - but you have to keep an eye on her.
I always said I never wanted kids - just thought I wouldn't be a good father until I was sure I was ready. Well, guys are NEVER ready, but I'm glad we had her when we did. Had we waited any longer I wouldn't think I'd have the energy to keep up with her. I don't feel like I have enough even now! But, Avi is great - she is so much more than I expected and she is very special and has filled a huge spot in Jen, my and Cabo's lives. She truly is a blessing. Happy birthday Ms. Avelyn!
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Rob & Big - funniest show on TV
I have to tell you, any TV show that can make me laugh & my wife laugh has to be good. There are a few shows out there that we like - Entourage (on DVD - not HBO), My Boys, Last Comic Standing...but there is this one comedy that is hysterical. Rob & Big is a show on MTV that answers the question - what do ex-celebrities do with all that money they made? Rob Dyrdek isn't exactly a star or celebrity - so I have no clue how he made his money in skateboarding - I hadn't heard of him prior to this show - but somehow he lives in the Hollywood Hills, drives a tripped out SUV, and spends money on wigs, stunts and trips pretty frivelously. I'm sure MTV is giving him some crazy cash to film his every day life, but MTV is definitely getting every pennies worth.
Rob is a clown, a 30 something adolescent that has a best buddy who is his EXACT opposite. Rob is white, short, skinny, athletic and coordinated, while his best buddy (and roommate) Big Black is the opposite - black, tall, fat and lazy. But the two go together better than Dunkin and Donuts. Why? That is a great question, which I can not answer in a blog - you have to see for yourself.
It could be that they are on the same page in life - living it to the fullest and zaniest. The crazy stunts these guys pull off, the crazy ideas they get in their heads and then try to pull off is just hillarious. Not to mention that Rob is quite giving in his life and is not caught up in the celebrity scene at all (more on that later) makes it extra refreshing.
Last night we sat down and watched 3 episodes on TiVo. Man, we couldn't stop shaking our heads and laughing at some of the stunts/ideas these guys get. The funniest part had to be when they pulled over in Tampa, Florida to jump over an alligator that was lying in the street. Rob and buddy Steve jumped it on skateboards - but BB and security had to jump over it in their own sneakers - which was nuts to see a 400lb guy do.
The cast constantly is joined by crazy characters - their bulldog "Meaty" and miniature horse "Mini-Horse" are the regulars - including a crazy Uncle, a personal assistant, a topless maid, skateboard friends who crash the back yard ramp next to the pool and mini barn. Meaty is a character - the perfect prop for these guys - an overweight puppy bulldog that is either getting into mischief or resting his head on the kitchen table add another lovable character to the show. Mini horse is an extravagant prank/joke gone over board that these guys will have to live with for the remainder of the show. The horse is known to eat at the kitchen table, poop in the back yard barn, or pull Rob on his skateboard.
Big Black makes this show - he's kind and gentle and living out a dream. He's up for anything no matter how crazy the show is. He's entertaining yet quite funny - and he tags along in a lifestyle we'd all be lucky to try once. Whether it is reliving his youth and trying to be a stripper, going to the wig store to get a Johnny Gill wig, recording a rap song in his closet studio, getting his back shaved by Rob, trying to skateboard, getting a topless maid, or MC'ing a skatebaording event for Rob, everything BB does is comical. The best scene/episode for BB is when he loses a bet and has to sleep in a tent in the backyard. The 400lb man in a tiny tent is woken up the next morning to Rob doing a belly flop onto the tent and scaring the crap out of BB. The look on his face as he exits the tent is truly priceless.
Rob amazes me - he's not exactly in the pinnacle of his career, yet he keeps giving back to his friends and fans in excess. Opening up his personal life for reality TV is one thing - but showing how he adores his mom, fans, and friends is heart warming. Marked as a C list celebrity doesn't bother him, his diehard fans make him feel like an A lister. In the few episodes I've watch he had a contest to get donate his SUV (decked out with a generator for lights, a fridge, a show rack, shateboard racks, etc) to any true amatuer skater that could beat him in a skate contest, he won a $5,000 bet and then showered it on his fans, he signs autographs for everyone, and he is real - true to himself.
These guys are a greta combination - just pure comedy and hilarious. Jen even gets a kick out of them - even though they are more Jackass than standup - they never cross the line and (besides language) never have to be censored - which is refreshing.
I hope MTV keeps up the good work on this reality show - entertaining and real - something that isn't true with most "reality" shows.
Rob is a clown, a 30 something adolescent that has a best buddy who is his EXACT opposite. Rob is white, short, skinny, athletic and coordinated, while his best buddy (and roommate) Big Black is the opposite - black, tall, fat and lazy. But the two go together better than Dunkin and Donuts. Why? That is a great question, which I can not answer in a blog - you have to see for yourself.
It could be that they are on the same page in life - living it to the fullest and zaniest. The crazy stunts these guys pull off, the crazy ideas they get in their heads and then try to pull off is just hillarious. Not to mention that Rob is quite giving in his life and is not caught up in the celebrity scene at all (more on that later) makes it extra refreshing.
Last night we sat down and watched 3 episodes on TiVo. Man, we couldn't stop shaking our heads and laughing at some of the stunts/ideas these guys get. The funniest part had to be when they pulled over in Tampa, Florida to jump over an alligator that was lying in the street. Rob and buddy Steve jumped it on skateboards - but BB and security had to jump over it in their own sneakers - which was nuts to see a 400lb guy do.
The cast constantly is joined by crazy characters - their bulldog "Meaty" and miniature horse "Mini-Horse" are the regulars - including a crazy Uncle, a personal assistant, a topless maid, skateboard friends who crash the back yard ramp next to the pool and mini barn. Meaty is a character - the perfect prop for these guys - an overweight puppy bulldog that is either getting into mischief or resting his head on the kitchen table add another lovable character to the show. Mini horse is an extravagant prank/joke gone over board that these guys will have to live with for the remainder of the show. The horse is known to eat at the kitchen table, poop in the back yard barn, or pull Rob on his skateboard.
Big Black makes this show - he's kind and gentle and living out a dream. He's up for anything no matter how crazy the show is. He's entertaining yet quite funny - and he tags along in a lifestyle we'd all be lucky to try once. Whether it is reliving his youth and trying to be a stripper, going to the wig store to get a Johnny Gill wig, recording a rap song in his closet studio, getting his back shaved by Rob, trying to skateboard, getting a topless maid, or MC'ing a skatebaording event for Rob, everything BB does is comical. The best scene/episode for BB is when he loses a bet and has to sleep in a tent in the backyard. The 400lb man in a tiny tent is woken up the next morning to Rob doing a belly flop onto the tent and scaring the crap out of BB. The look on his face as he exits the tent is truly priceless.
Rob amazes me - he's not exactly in the pinnacle of his career, yet he keeps giving back to his friends and fans in excess. Opening up his personal life for reality TV is one thing - but showing how he adores his mom, fans, and friends is heart warming. Marked as a C list celebrity doesn't bother him, his diehard fans make him feel like an A lister. In the few episodes I've watch he had a contest to get donate his SUV (decked out with a generator for lights, a fridge, a show rack, shateboard racks, etc) to any true amatuer skater that could beat him in a skate contest, he won a $5,000 bet and then showered it on his fans, he signs autographs for everyone, and he is real - true to himself.
These guys are a greta combination - just pure comedy and hilarious. Jen even gets a kick out of them - even though they are more Jackass than standup - they never cross the line and (besides language) never have to be censored - which is refreshing.
I hope MTV keeps up the good work on this reality show - entertaining and real - something that isn't true with most "reality" shows.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Steelers win first game under Tomlin
Well, that was fun! I never would have thought the Steelers would look so polished in their debut, but then again, should I expect anything less? Ben looked great, one incompletion due to Nate Washington dropping the ball. Nate needs to be cut because he has a dropping problem. It was bad last year and he has started right where he left off. The offense looked good and you could see that Ben is making reads under pressure quicker when the pressure is on - finding that receiver that is open and getting the ball there before the pressure swallows him up. The deep pass was a great example of this - on the plays after that he had more pressure and got rid of the ball - but when given a bit of time he lets the play develop and delivers a great pass.
Najeh did nothing for me - he's not a good runner and honestly is not worth a roster spot except that he brings experience. Cedrick Wilson looked great - I have always liked him - but I admit that he's been inconsistent in the past. No TE made a catch - so hard to see how they did. I did watch for Spaeth, but didn't see him. While looking for him I did see #88 (Dekker) and he was horrible. He barely made contact and he was hesitant to push a defender back. He should be cut (and he eventually will be.) Hines Ward made a good block on Will Smith (a DE) on a running play that made me love him more. Hines is always getting in peoples faces and doing what is best for the team.
2nd stringer RBs Carey Davis and Gary Russell did very well. Davis had a great run and a great catch and run on a screen. Russell looked like more of a runner - his legs were always moving after contact and he pushed a lot of defenders around. I hope he sticks around. Davis seemed more like a Bus type - which I think Davenport fills on this team. Walter Young made two great catches, and Santonio Holmes looked awesome as well - great concentration on the short pass from BSP and the TD catch. BSP looked nervous at first, and he was keying on his WR too much. He couldn't check off and get rid of the ball timely. Batch was a joke too - his two sacks were because he can't dump off the ball. Randall has a CANNON, but he's more of a running QB, and his throws were off the mark.
The defense was stellar - especially in the first half. Although they did not get much pressure on the QB as I think we need to help out our secondary. The LBs were fun to watch. Woodley is an animal - I saw him flying around every where - good to see him getting a chance to prove himself. He'll start over Timmons who was sidelined with a groin injury. Foote, Farrior and Haggans all looked the same - steady as they go. Kirschke seemed to be in on a lot of plays.
The secondary was impressive - although I don't give them enough credit. William Gay put 2 or 3 big hits on guys. Anthony Madison was flying around too. Holding Brees to a short completion, shutting down Martin all together was good. Fife had a lot of success, but mainly due to Wallace not taking his man, falling for the fake and then Dudley scoring an easy TD.
Sepulveda the punter will be a fan favorite - I think he was 2 ofr 2 pinning it inside the 20 yard line. The cameraman showed his first punt in the air - the damn ball was knuckling all over the place. I guarantee we get at least 2 or 3 more fumbles on punts because of this. His hang time is sick. Jeff Reed was Jeff Reed - not spectacular - missed a 43 yarder - but he'll be ok.
The Saints looked aweful - which is not good after I predicted them to be close to a SB team. Sean Payton will kick their asses into shape.
Hats off to Mike Tomlin who has this team in mid-season form. I was very impressed - only one mental error by McFadden, but nothing serious. One false start by Essex that hurt, but other than that nothing.
It's going to be a great season - I can feel it.
Najeh did nothing for me - he's not a good runner and honestly is not worth a roster spot except that he brings experience. Cedrick Wilson looked great - I have always liked him - but I admit that he's been inconsistent in the past. No TE made a catch - so hard to see how they did. I did watch for Spaeth, but didn't see him. While looking for him I did see #88 (Dekker) and he was horrible. He barely made contact and he was hesitant to push a defender back. He should be cut (and he eventually will be.) Hines Ward made a good block on Will Smith (a DE) on a running play that made me love him more. Hines is always getting in peoples faces and doing what is best for the team.
2nd stringer RBs Carey Davis and Gary Russell did very well. Davis had a great run and a great catch and run on a screen. Russell looked like more of a runner - his legs were always moving after contact and he pushed a lot of defenders around. I hope he sticks around. Davis seemed more like a Bus type - which I think Davenport fills on this team. Walter Young made two great catches, and Santonio Holmes looked awesome as well - great concentration on the short pass from BSP and the TD catch. BSP looked nervous at first, and he was keying on his WR too much. He couldn't check off and get rid of the ball timely. Batch was a joke too - his two sacks were because he can't dump off the ball. Randall has a CANNON, but he's more of a running QB, and his throws were off the mark.
The defense was stellar - especially in the first half. Although they did not get much pressure on the QB as I think we need to help out our secondary. The LBs were fun to watch. Woodley is an animal - I saw him flying around every where - good to see him getting a chance to prove himself. He'll start over Timmons who was sidelined with a groin injury. Foote, Farrior and Haggans all looked the same - steady as they go. Kirschke seemed to be in on a lot of plays.
The secondary was impressive - although I don't give them enough credit. William Gay put 2 or 3 big hits on guys. Anthony Madison was flying around too. Holding Brees to a short completion, shutting down Martin all together was good. Fife had a lot of success, but mainly due to Wallace not taking his man, falling for the fake and then Dudley scoring an easy TD.
Sepulveda the punter will be a fan favorite - I think he was 2 ofr 2 pinning it inside the 20 yard line. The cameraman showed his first punt in the air - the damn ball was knuckling all over the place. I guarantee we get at least 2 or 3 more fumbles on punts because of this. His hang time is sick. Jeff Reed was Jeff Reed - not spectacular - missed a 43 yarder - but he'll be ok.
The Saints looked aweful - which is not good after I predicted them to be close to a SB team. Sean Payton will kick their asses into shape.
Hats off to Mike Tomlin who has this team in mid-season form. I was very impressed - only one mental error by McFadden, but nothing serious. One false start by Essex that hurt, but other than that nothing.
It's going to be a great season - I can feel it.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
The Big 3 - Part 2 - Go Green!
Have I mentioned lately that I'm really excited about the Celtics upcoming season? The Celts have basically been off the radar since before I left Boston in 2000. After years of perpetual success, the team hit some very tough times and just couldn't seem to put things together. The loss of Len Bias, Reggie Lewis and the additions of Rick Pitino and Jim O'Brien were the downfall of the organization. For every positive thing that has happened to the Celts over the past 10 years, there has been equally negative things. PP is obviously the best thing the C's have done, Antoine Walker was a good choice early, but he soon became a bad player (bad shots, bad wiggle, big ego, diminishing skills), Al Jefferson was a real bright spot. Bad draft pick after bad draft pick, bad trades for expiring contracts and old guys 5 years past their peaks just wasn't the answer. Bad ownership and management has also been another set back to this organization. Ainge is a moron. Basically his most recent deal is his saving grace, but it hardly makes up for the horrible deals he has made in the past.
But oh what a deal this one was. After making a draft day deal for Ray Allen that gave the C's a second scoring option to make PP happy - which btw, Ainge HAD to do, this team without PP is basically a joke - he scored big time points. The KG trade was magnificent, if not a total robbery. KG is one of the top 3 players in the game right now, and is top 20 of all time. He is still relatively young and in his peak, and he is hungry. KG is the kind of guy that Boston fans will fall in love with - he's a dirt dog, he's a team player, and he's humble. He is everything the C's are looking for. The Big 3 (of 2007-08) are going to be exciting - Allen has the outside touch and ball handling skills to keep the inside free for KG. KG will be able to rebound at will and play fast paced basketball that he can excel at. PP will be, how do I say this and make sense, more free to the basket. He'll be able to get to the basket and score more freely. PP is probably one of the most annoying players who drive to the basket because he is always looking for a foul (Kobe is the worst). But with only one guy to beat and one guy in the paint to stand up to him, PP's scoring HAS to go up.
Obviously we have huge holes at PG and C - probably the most important positions on the court. PG will be manned by a kid that slipped to the 2nd round a year ago - but he has proven to be quite a rebounder and a decent defensive player - which is exactly what the C's need with the big 3 hoisting tons of shots and playing minimal defense. Rondo will surprise this season - he needs to work on his ball handling, but his pass first mentality will help the big 3. Perk is a bigger concern, but some on - how much do you have to do when you have a 7 foot freakish PF playing beside you? He's a rebounding specialist and that's what he needs to do this year.
Is this team championship material? No, obviously the West is the conference to beat - they are freakishly talented and those teams are stacked with great players and veteran deep benches. Is this 2007-08 team the best in the East? Well - maybe top 3. They are better than the Knicks and Raptors, and they can compete with the Nets and Heat. The main concern will be health. That is the number 1 opponent for this team.
My original intent on wiritng thsi was to make a comparison to the OTHER big 3 - Bird, McHale and Parish. Now, I'm not saying that the big 3 of PP/KG/RA is as good the old big 3 of KM/RP/LB, but I am saying that they have the potential to come close. The old big 3 had spare parts filling the PG and SG roles - Ainge and DJ were good players, but not All Stars, legends or all time greats by any means. But they all played within themselves - they all knew their roles, they all played their hearts out, and they all were never intimidated. Growing up a Celtics fan during the 80's was quite possibly the best sports era of any team in any sport. (I guess the Pats over the past 5 or 6 years was fun - but I'm no Pats fan.)
If the new Big 3 can play within themselves and know their roles on this team, then the 2007-08 (and future) C's could be quite special. Allen needs to control the ball on the outside and improve his shooting percentage, KG needs to own the middle, dominate the boards and run the ball through the low post, PP needs to take advantage of single coverage (finally!) and make good shooting and passing decisions. Rondo needs to know when to get the ball into each scorers hands and when to make the other team pay for defending them! Perk needs to keep his hands up the entire game and block shots and rebound EVERYTHING. The bench needs to provide intelligent veteran leadership, defense and no suckitude.
Comparisons:
Bird > Garnett - well no one compares to Bird except maybe Michael Jordan, but Garnett is at least close. They play different positions, but both are gritty players who LOVE the game. Garnett is a better rebounder, but Bird was a leader and pure shooter.
McHale > PP - McHale was an inside machine that played some of the best defense I've ever seen. PP doesn't play defense, so that is hardly comparable. PP can score, drive and draw fouls, and he's clutch - that has to mean something.
Parish > Allen - Allen adds an outside presence that the Celtics have lacked since Dana Barros. He adds ball control and passing ability that makes him more of an Ainge than a DJ. Parish was a rebounding machine who had an unstoppable sky hook. Although he wasn't counted on to score much he was counted on to control the other teams big man.
I think that although the the Old Big 3 adds up to a better team, the new C's are younger and have more scoring potential. Obviously there are only so many shots in a game, and they have to be spread intelligently to make this team successful. I think that can happen.
Prediction:
I'm guessing the C's lead the Atlantic Division - and they will hit the 50 win mark - basically equalling what the Cavs did last seson in a conference where no team has gotten much better (well maybe the Knicks - but they will find a way to suck). I'm guessing that the Big 3 will be very equal this season - averaging about 20 points each a game, KG will average 12 boards, and Allen will average just under 9 assists, while PP will avg 5 and 5. I think they will beat the Chicago in the 1st round of the playoffs, and lose to Detroit in the 2nd round. 2008-09 will be a better season.
More importantly the city of Boston will be abuzz in the winter months - the Celtics will be relevant again and they will be good. KG jersey's will FLY off the shelves and respect will be poured on the parquet. Now we need to get some life into the Bruins. Forsberg anyone?
But oh what a deal this one was. After making a draft day deal for Ray Allen that gave the C's a second scoring option to make PP happy - which btw, Ainge HAD to do, this team without PP is basically a joke - he scored big time points. The KG trade was magnificent, if not a total robbery. KG is one of the top 3 players in the game right now, and is top 20 of all time. He is still relatively young and in his peak, and he is hungry. KG is the kind of guy that Boston fans will fall in love with - he's a dirt dog, he's a team player, and he's humble. He is everything the C's are looking for. The Big 3 (of 2007-08) are going to be exciting - Allen has the outside touch and ball handling skills to keep the inside free for KG. KG will be able to rebound at will and play fast paced basketball that he can excel at. PP will be, how do I say this and make sense, more free to the basket. He'll be able to get to the basket and score more freely. PP is probably one of the most annoying players who drive to the basket because he is always looking for a foul (Kobe is the worst). But with only one guy to beat and one guy in the paint to stand up to him, PP's scoring HAS to go up.
Obviously we have huge holes at PG and C - probably the most important positions on the court. PG will be manned by a kid that slipped to the 2nd round a year ago - but he has proven to be quite a rebounder and a decent defensive player - which is exactly what the C's need with the big 3 hoisting tons of shots and playing minimal defense. Rondo will surprise this season - he needs to work on his ball handling, but his pass first mentality will help the big 3. Perk is a bigger concern, but some on - how much do you have to do when you have a 7 foot freakish PF playing beside you? He's a rebounding specialist and that's what he needs to do this year.
Is this team championship material? No, obviously the West is the conference to beat - they are freakishly talented and those teams are stacked with great players and veteran deep benches. Is this 2007-08 team the best in the East? Well - maybe top 3. They are better than the Knicks and Raptors, and they can compete with the Nets and Heat. The main concern will be health. That is the number 1 opponent for this team.
My original intent on wiritng thsi was to make a comparison to the OTHER big 3 - Bird, McHale and Parish. Now, I'm not saying that the big 3 of PP/KG/RA is as good the old big 3 of KM/RP/LB, but I am saying that they have the potential to come close. The old big 3 had spare parts filling the PG and SG roles - Ainge and DJ were good players, but not All Stars, legends or all time greats by any means. But they all played within themselves - they all knew their roles, they all played their hearts out, and they all were never intimidated. Growing up a Celtics fan during the 80's was quite possibly the best sports era of any team in any sport. (I guess the Pats over the past 5 or 6 years was fun - but I'm no Pats fan.)
If the new Big 3 can play within themselves and know their roles on this team, then the 2007-08 (and future) C's could be quite special. Allen needs to control the ball on the outside and improve his shooting percentage, KG needs to own the middle, dominate the boards and run the ball through the low post, PP needs to take advantage of single coverage (finally!) and make good shooting and passing decisions. Rondo needs to know when to get the ball into each scorers hands and when to make the other team pay for defending them! Perk needs to keep his hands up the entire game and block shots and rebound EVERYTHING. The bench needs to provide intelligent veteran leadership, defense and no suckitude.
Comparisons:
Bird > Garnett - well no one compares to Bird except maybe Michael Jordan, but Garnett is at least close. They play different positions, but both are gritty players who LOVE the game. Garnett is a better rebounder, but Bird was a leader and pure shooter.
McHale > PP - McHale was an inside machine that played some of the best defense I've ever seen. PP doesn't play defense, so that is hardly comparable. PP can score, drive and draw fouls, and he's clutch - that has to mean something.
Parish > Allen - Allen adds an outside presence that the Celtics have lacked since Dana Barros. He adds ball control and passing ability that makes him more of an Ainge than a DJ. Parish was a rebounding machine who had an unstoppable sky hook. Although he wasn't counted on to score much he was counted on to control the other teams big man.
I think that although the the Old Big 3 adds up to a better team, the new C's are younger and have more scoring potential. Obviously there are only so many shots in a game, and they have to be spread intelligently to make this team successful. I think that can happen.
Prediction:
I'm guessing the C's lead the Atlantic Division - and they will hit the 50 win mark - basically equalling what the Cavs did last seson in a conference where no team has gotten much better (well maybe the Knicks - but they will find a way to suck). I'm guessing that the Big 3 will be very equal this season - averaging about 20 points each a game, KG will average 12 boards, and Allen will average just under 9 assists, while PP will avg 5 and 5. I think they will beat the Chicago in the 1st round of the playoffs, and lose to Detroit in the 2nd round. 2008-09 will be a better season.
More importantly the city of Boston will be abuzz in the winter months - the Celtics will be relevant again and they will be good. KG jersey's will FLY off the shelves and respect will be poured on the parquet. Now we need to get some life into the Bruins. Forsberg anyone?
Let's get ready to rumble!! Steelers in SB XLII
At 6pm EST the Steelers will embark on a journey - a 23+ game season without a legendary coach, and with a horrible past season under their belts. 2007 will be different than last season - that I know. It will definitely be more intense, more successful and a lot more fun. 2006 was a bit complacent after winning a SB in a season that the Steelers were not the best team until the last 4 of the season. 8-8 in 2006 is hardly something to brag about - especially with the talent on the team and winning a SB the previous season. We have something to prove this season - that we weren't flukes.
The Hall of Fame Game against the Saints will be the start - the start of Tomlin's long coaching career and the start of a new regime in Steelers football. Tomlin is a no-nonsense kind of coach that the Steelers had gotten used to in Cowher, but had forgotten in Cowher's last couple seasons. Tomlin is a defensive genius and a ST wonder coach and I think we will see some new faces on the defense become superstars. Drafting two big LB type players in round 1 and 2 was a sign. Adding a TE and a punter in round 3 and 4 is also a sign of a changing of the guards. A 4thr ound punter was brilliant - especially one that was a walk on LB at Baylor and that hits harder than half our secondary. A freak TE in round 3 was priceless. 6'7", good blocker and freakish quickness and length will cause nightmares for LBs this season. Most importantly it will open up Heath Miller for more one on ones. I'm excited.
I'm guessing 11-5 this season, since we have an easier schedule than prior years. Our division has gotten weaker - with Baltimore getting a year older and no way of reproducing last seasons perfect storm. Cincy will always be our toughest competitor and the will compete for the division, but another year of distractions, legal issues, and injuries should do them in quite nicely, plus, Mr. Lewis is about done with the teams antics and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fly the coup at the end of the year. The Browns are still the Browns - 6-10 is about where they average. They will beat one great team this year, 2 good teams this year and the 3 bad teams this year. Romeo will be history by December and the Browns will be struggling for an identity again - it's like clock work every season.
I'm guessing SD and NE in the AFC game, that is if Norv Turner doesn't kill that team (which he probably will). Unfortunately someone has to play the NFC in the SB, that conference is a joke. If I had to guess the best team in the NFC I would have to go with...Saints or Dallas. The Saints have a year to build on and are very talented. Dallas, Romo is the big question mark - but their D is stellar. But does it matter? Seriously the AFC has 4 or 5 better teams than the NFC's best team - any of those 5 could kill the NFC in the SB.
But we do have our question marks as well - our defense doesn't have any stars besides Troy Polamalu. Young LBs and an average secondary could be taken advantage of. We ahve a strong D line and consisent young LBs, but they will be tested. Our O-Line is a mess as always. How much is Faneca going to be into playing this season without a future with the team? We could have a new starter at the other 4 OL positions - which can be tricky. We need grittiness and anger up ther and I'm not sure Simmons, Colon, Mahan, Smith , Starks or Okoby have that. Our #1 draft pick next year HAS to be an investment in the OL.
Well, I'm praying for a great season, and I'm especially hoping that the stars remain healthy all year - especially Ben, FWP, Ward, Troy, Smith. GO STEELERS!!
The Hall of Fame Game against the Saints will be the start - the start of Tomlin's long coaching career and the start of a new regime in Steelers football. Tomlin is a no-nonsense kind of coach that the Steelers had gotten used to in Cowher, but had forgotten in Cowher's last couple seasons. Tomlin is a defensive genius and a ST wonder coach and I think we will see some new faces on the defense become superstars. Drafting two big LB type players in round 1 and 2 was a sign. Adding a TE and a punter in round 3 and 4 is also a sign of a changing of the guards. A 4thr ound punter was brilliant - especially one that was a walk on LB at Baylor and that hits harder than half our secondary. A freak TE in round 3 was priceless. 6'7", good blocker and freakish quickness and length will cause nightmares for LBs this season. Most importantly it will open up Heath Miller for more one on ones. I'm excited.
I'm guessing 11-5 this season, since we have an easier schedule than prior years. Our division has gotten weaker - with Baltimore getting a year older and no way of reproducing last seasons perfect storm. Cincy will always be our toughest competitor and the will compete for the division, but another year of distractions, legal issues, and injuries should do them in quite nicely, plus, Mr. Lewis is about done with the teams antics and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fly the coup at the end of the year. The Browns are still the Browns - 6-10 is about where they average. They will beat one great team this year, 2 good teams this year and the 3 bad teams this year. Romeo will be history by December and the Browns will be struggling for an identity again - it's like clock work every season.
I'm guessing SD and NE in the AFC game, that is if Norv Turner doesn't kill that team (which he probably will). Unfortunately someone has to play the NFC in the SB, that conference is a joke. If I had to guess the best team in the NFC I would have to go with...Saints or Dallas. The Saints have a year to build on and are very talented. Dallas, Romo is the big question mark - but their D is stellar. But does it matter? Seriously the AFC has 4 or 5 better teams than the NFC's best team - any of those 5 could kill the NFC in the SB.
But we do have our question marks as well - our defense doesn't have any stars besides Troy Polamalu. Young LBs and an average secondary could be taken advantage of. We ahve a strong D line and consisent young LBs, but they will be tested. Our O-Line is a mess as always. How much is Faneca going to be into playing this season without a future with the team? We could have a new starter at the other 4 OL positions - which can be tricky. We need grittiness and anger up ther and I'm not sure Simmons, Colon, Mahan, Smith , Starks or Okoby have that. Our #1 draft pick next year HAS to be an investment in the OL.
Well, I'm praying for a great season, and I'm especially hoping that the stars remain healthy all year - especially Ben, FWP, Ward, Troy, Smith. GO STEELERS!!
Bonds...who cares; ARod...ok, I'll admit it
Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's homerun record last night - honestly I think it's a shame that a cheating asshole like Bonds even gets the chance. The only reason why he continues to play is because it is good for baseball and MLB is chicken to press charges and have a blackmark on their aport in a time when we should be hooked on baseball.
My opinion of Bonds goes back quite a while. Although he was a good athlete when he was young, he was no Griffey. Hell, even Bobby Bonilla was more highly touted than Bonds when he was younger. I remember his rookie Topps card and the other players on the Pirates in 1987 - Van Slyke, Bonilla, Levallier, Drabek, etc. Bonds really didn't jump off the page back then - yes, he was highly touted, but he wasn't exactly great. Quietly he emassed a great 7 or so years in the league - but still no one was amazed by his HR feets. Seems strange that in the mid to late 90's he broke out as he did.
There is just way to much evidence you have to overlook to enjoy Bonds tying (and eventually breaking) Aaron's record. I wish Bonds had just retired one HR less than Aaron - I think he would have redeemed himself in a lot of sports fans eyes. It would have made him tolerable again, and shown that he respected one of the greatest records in all of sports.
What I want to know is - who the hell is pitching to Bonds? Why would anyone want to be known as the guy giving up a legendary HR? And who would ever blame a pitcher for walking Bonds 5 times a game? Seriously? I would respect a pitcher more if he said - "you know what, I respect the game of baseball and it's history and I will not give Bonds a chance to disrespect it on my watch." Personally I'd love to see a guy throw at his head - yeah that's right - I said it. I think Bonds has been babied too much and should get the kind of disrespect that he has shown the game. Ok, scenario time - bases loaded, two run lead, Bonds comes up with the record on the line - what do you do? Dead honest here, I'd walk/hit Bonds. Seriously. I would never hold it against a pitcher (and who would) if he did this to preserve a record. Obviously Clay Hensley didn't think so (although he did walk him 3 times after he hit the tying HR).
For everything I have said above, it really doesn't matter because no one will actually say that Bonds holds the record because of the asteric. Plus, in 5 or 6 years from now we'll be watching Alex Rodriguez break Bonds' record and go on to break the 800 HR mark before he's probably 37! ARod hit #500 last nigth as well, and it is obvious that this kid is probably the greatest athlete the game has ever seen. He's 32 and with 40 HRs a year for 5 years that would put him at around 725, setting him up to outlast Bonds by the time he's 37 or 38 years old.
For the record I am not an ARod fan. When he became a Yankee I really turned on this guy. I think he alienates teammates and is just an ass, but that said he is a hell of a talent. I think AROd does get a bad rap sometimes. The media is mostly to blame for this as they will uncover every stone to try and drag something up. For instance that story about ARod with the stripper - that picture taken could have been a fan trying to get his autograph, or it was taken at a specific angle that made it look like he was with her - who cares. Keep his personal life out of the media. Hell, if Babe Ruth had that kind of spotlight on him 100 years ago the sport would have been finished. I'm not sticking up for ARod, but he gets a bit of his bad rap due to the media.
Ok, so the big question....would I like to see ARod manning SS for the Red Sox next season (if he opts out of his contract after this season)? I think he will opt out because the Yankees are Jeter's team (rightfully so), and I think he would like to go to a fresh team and help them build a contender. Is that the Sox? Probably not. I think the Cubs would be a better fit - and ARod would become a saint in Chitown if he could help the Cubs win the WS. That said, yes, I'd love to have ARod on the Red Sox. He's a hitting machine and is very decent defensively. Moneywise he sells tickets (which is not an issue in Fenway) and jersey's and memorabilia, but he isn't worth $20M. No one is. But if Manny and others are getting $20M a year, then ARod is worth $25M. He'll probably get $30M a year - which is another reason why I don't think that the Sox will sign him. If Lowell leaves the Sox, I could see Lugo sliding over to 3B and Arod filling the SS hole. I don't think that the difference in salary between Lowell and Arod ($16M/year) is worth the production difference - +20 HRs, +20 RBIs, +20 SBs, even average, even defense, even 2Bs, even runs - but the Sox do have the money to spend.
I would rather the Sox invested in a young stud of another sort - trading a couple of prospects for Miggy Cabrera or a stud young pitcher. They also need to start looking for a catcher as Tek can't keep up this pace of 130 games a year at age 37.
Well, that is all I have on this - more thoughts on other stuff soon.
My opinion of Bonds goes back quite a while. Although he was a good athlete when he was young, he was no Griffey. Hell, even Bobby Bonilla was more highly touted than Bonds when he was younger. I remember his rookie Topps card and the other players on the Pirates in 1987 - Van Slyke, Bonilla, Levallier, Drabek, etc. Bonds really didn't jump off the page back then - yes, he was highly touted, but he wasn't exactly great. Quietly he emassed a great 7 or so years in the league - but still no one was amazed by his HR feets. Seems strange that in the mid to late 90's he broke out as he did.
There is just way to much evidence you have to overlook to enjoy Bonds tying (and eventually breaking) Aaron's record. I wish Bonds had just retired one HR less than Aaron - I think he would have redeemed himself in a lot of sports fans eyes. It would have made him tolerable again, and shown that he respected one of the greatest records in all of sports.
What I want to know is - who the hell is pitching to Bonds? Why would anyone want to be known as the guy giving up a legendary HR? And who would ever blame a pitcher for walking Bonds 5 times a game? Seriously? I would respect a pitcher more if he said - "you know what, I respect the game of baseball and it's history and I will not give Bonds a chance to disrespect it on my watch." Personally I'd love to see a guy throw at his head - yeah that's right - I said it. I think Bonds has been babied too much and should get the kind of disrespect that he has shown the game. Ok, scenario time - bases loaded, two run lead, Bonds comes up with the record on the line - what do you do? Dead honest here, I'd walk/hit Bonds. Seriously. I would never hold it against a pitcher (and who would) if he did this to preserve a record. Obviously Clay Hensley didn't think so (although he did walk him 3 times after he hit the tying HR).
For everything I have said above, it really doesn't matter because no one will actually say that Bonds holds the record because of the asteric. Plus, in 5 or 6 years from now we'll be watching Alex Rodriguez break Bonds' record and go on to break the 800 HR mark before he's probably 37! ARod hit #500 last nigth as well, and it is obvious that this kid is probably the greatest athlete the game has ever seen. He's 32 and with 40 HRs a year for 5 years that would put him at around 725, setting him up to outlast Bonds by the time he's 37 or 38 years old.
For the record I am not an ARod fan. When he became a Yankee I really turned on this guy. I think he alienates teammates and is just an ass, but that said he is a hell of a talent. I think AROd does get a bad rap sometimes. The media is mostly to blame for this as they will uncover every stone to try and drag something up. For instance that story about ARod with the stripper - that picture taken could have been a fan trying to get his autograph, or it was taken at a specific angle that made it look like he was with her - who cares. Keep his personal life out of the media. Hell, if Babe Ruth had that kind of spotlight on him 100 years ago the sport would have been finished. I'm not sticking up for ARod, but he gets a bit of his bad rap due to the media.
Ok, so the big question....would I like to see ARod manning SS for the Red Sox next season (if he opts out of his contract after this season)? I think he will opt out because the Yankees are Jeter's team (rightfully so), and I think he would like to go to a fresh team and help them build a contender. Is that the Sox? Probably not. I think the Cubs would be a better fit - and ARod would become a saint in Chitown if he could help the Cubs win the WS. That said, yes, I'd love to have ARod on the Red Sox. He's a hitting machine and is very decent defensively. Moneywise he sells tickets (which is not an issue in Fenway) and jersey's and memorabilia, but he isn't worth $20M. No one is. But if Manny and others are getting $20M a year, then ARod is worth $25M. He'll probably get $30M a year - which is another reason why I don't think that the Sox will sign him. If Lowell leaves the Sox, I could see Lugo sliding over to 3B and Arod filling the SS hole. I don't think that the difference in salary between Lowell and Arod ($16M/year) is worth the production difference - +20 HRs, +20 RBIs, +20 SBs, even average, even defense, even 2Bs, even runs - but the Sox do have the money to spend.
I would rather the Sox invested in a young stud of another sort - trading a couple of prospects for Miggy Cabrera or a stud young pitcher. They also need to start looking for a catcher as Tek can't keep up this pace of 130 games a year at age 37.
Well, that is all I have on this - more thoughts on other stuff soon.
It's been awhile...
I guess it has been quite a while since I posted on my blog here, I'd say not much has happened, but that wouldn't be true. My daughter Avelyn is 2 years old now and she has been quite a fun handful. I'm going to try and make it a point to post on here more often. I tried Twitter, but that seem to be too short for getting a story out or adding a spot where I can permanently remember memories.
So much is going on right now - I'll post my random stuff as it happens.
So much is going on right now - I'll post my random stuff as it happens.
Friday, July 27, 2007
July 27-29, 2007 – Fryingpan River, Roaring Fork River & Eagle River
Friday – Roaring Fork River – Aspen (flows around 360 cfs) & Fryingpan River (flows around 208 cfs) – Basalt
Chad and I did our annual Pan trip for a long weekend. His wife had a friend (and three children) in so it was a perfect time to get away. We left late on a Thursday night with the camper and pulled into a campground in Carbondale just after 10pm – the camper was up and we were asleep by 11pm. The campground, which will remain nameless, was essentially a dump – at $33 a night they were robbing us – but it was nicely placed on the Crystal River and it was one of the few that was close to town and the Aspen/Glenwood corridor. Not having any specific plans was a good thing. When we woke up Friday morning the Crystal was badly browned out by the previous nights sprinkles and we knew we'd have to hit the upper Roaring Fork if we were going to fish it at all. The Fork has tons of access along the Rio Grande trail and we took advantage of it. We hit the first access a Lower Woody Creek Bridge and fished a quarter mile section that looked particularly fishy. We hit the water at 7am – over anxious of course – and the hatches and fish were on. Caddis of all colors were popping and the fish next to the bank were actively taking in the low morning sun. The water was still off color in this section and Chad stuck to streamers while I pitched larger than normal nymphs. After about 2 hours fishing this stretch, Chad had hooked two nice 16 inch browns, and 18 inch brown and a 20 inch rainbow all within about a 30 yard stretch. I on the other hand manage 2 small browns and not a whole lot else. It was a slow start for me and a fast start for Chad (as usual).
We moved up the frontage road and stopped at Henry Stein Park. This was a nice section of river that stretch through some pristine park land right on the Rio Grande Trail. Some of the luxury homes actually stretched right down to the water – but it appeared to be all public water and I didn't notice any land owners being picky about you fishing on their section of river. The river was beautiful. Clear as a bell and cold. I went south while Chad went north – I wade some sections that were moving fast, but were fishy. I caught a couple smaller fish – including my first on a streamer/nymph rig. While standing on a rock tying on a new rig, I saw out of the corner of my eye a brown log coming diagonal across the river towards me, when I looked up I noticed it was a small otter that was making his way to me – he hadn't really noticed me and I yelled at him to get the hell out of my hole – he looked up scared and then dove under a nearby rock. It was funny as hell – he was the cutest little guy I had seen, and the look on his face (yes, otters give looks too) was priceless.
Chad met up with me after a while and talked me into heading down river to the boulder filled, deep pool section. We stopped under the walking bridge as we could see fish – I cast to one particular eager fish that was next to the concrete pillar – of course the fish took on the first cast and I managed to pull the fly out of his mouth. That was basically my luck. I watched Chad catch a couple in the pool and then moved down. After getting broken off completely I was relaxing on the grassy section of bank – walkers/bikers were sitting close by watching Chad catch fish. As I was retying my rig I noticed a 14 inch rainbow in the shallows working the current – after tying on I cast to him and had him hooked on the first cast. He made a slight run and popped off. More back luck. Chad and I kept walking north along the trail to hit the plunge pool section – the water was much faster and you could see where the fish were holed up, but I couldn't get them to take at all. I caught a few small browns, but nothing over 12 inches. I moved down again and stumbled (literally – the water was very tough to move in and the rocks were extra slippery) upon a nice dark colored brown spinning in front of a rock holding his section of slick water picking of bugs before they moved left and right as they parted around the rock. The fish was in rods reach but I had a ton of weight on so I just stiff armed my flies by him a few times – after 3 'casts' I had him on – he was probably 16 inches and had some major fight – and of course within 10 seconds of hooking him he had wiggled off too. I have NEVER had this bad of luck on hooking or landing fish. This river is not unlike many many I have fished and I always have decent luck.
After fishing for almost an hour more I met up with Chad and we headed out. It was just about noontime and we wanted to hit the Pan. We hightailed it for the Ruedi Canyon. We headed straight for our favorite section – mile marker 12.5, just below the turn out for the dam. We had a quick lunch, a couple of beers and were very excited to be on the world famous Fryingpan. This is easily my favorite river to fish. Huge fish potential, lots of fish, spunky fish, no crowds (except at the dam), and very pretty fish.
We had the pull-out to ourselves, so we would be able to choose our stretches of river. I jumped in right at the big rock and hit all the normal spots. Flows on the Pan were about 206 cfs (which was slightly higher than the 180 cfs we had heard about) – this was almost twice as high as last years trip – so some of the normal spots were a bit trickier for me. Nymphing in fast water is difficult, especially with very small flies that the Pan is known for. I consider myself a good nympher, but I could not figure out what fly, what size or how to fish the water. Most water was different depths and slightly off color – so I went up a size in my nymphs. I caught a few fish – nothing impressive – some actually very unimpressive (less than 10 inches). I managed one of the prettiest browns I have ever seen. He was orange – not yellow/brown or brown – but orange. His spots were deeply colored with great halos and he was feisty – most were 14 inches long. Of course I saw some great fish, but couldn't get into them, and the one time I did – of course he got off very quickly. Chad returned with his same old story – great fishing, lots of big fish, and damn – he had the pics to prove it.
We fished this stretch for quite a while. During this time the thunder was rolling in and then we got one hell of a rainstorm. It down poured for about 20 minutes – soaking us for the rest of the night. We moved up to just below the dam – the bend pool area. Fishing that stretch is always crazy – you line up and fish for the same 6 huge fish as they tailwag in your wake, endlessly feeding on microscopic bugs that must be tinier than anything you are fishing. I caught a few – most were small (of course I'm going to catch the 10 inchers when I'm fishing to five 20 inch fish!). I did manage to ass hook a huge rainbow that was about 19 inches. I swiped at him with the net, but snagged the loose nymph and broke him off before getting him in the net. Just my luck.
We grew tired of the same stretches of river so we decided to head back down the canyon. Stopping at mile marker 12 to hit some smooth water. It was still raining and getting kind of late. It seemed like it was 8 pm at night all day long – the light was off the river and it just seemed gloomy all day long. I fished the stretch next to the river and Chad hiked down river. I still could not get into fish and I was starting to get cold as the water was seeping through my rain coat. I hike down to find Chad – he hit a couple of pools and then a huge rock pool where he pulled fish after fish out of the hole – nothing huge. I tried fishing the hole without a bite. I kept moving down river – not doing any fishing. The rain had caused the river to fog – so there were some great picture opportunities. I met up with Chad and took his camera and took some pictures of him while he was standing next to a huge log jam on the river. Chad told me he had just hooked the fish of the day, but the fish slammed his streamer and then shot straight under the jog jam snapping the tippet. I grabbed his camera and headed upstream to get a cool angle while he tied on another fly. He was below the log jam now and within one cast he was screaming for me to come down river. The fish had hit again with unreal power and then darted straight across river at Chad and he quickly beached it in some slower water. This stretch was very fast water with a small tail out on the far bank about 15 feet across – this fish could have gone any direction and would have broken off Chad – but it went straight across river and into somewhat slower water. I arrived to see Chad with a monster rainbow in his net – I couldn't even begin to imagine how big the fish really was. While fumbling with the camera it did not start up correctly and I had to restart it – in the 15 seconds this took Chad was working to get the fly out of his mouth and noticed his old streamer there! All he could say is "I can't believe I got my fly back!" He struggled to get the fish out of the net – his tail was completed out of the net, and his head was touching the wooden rim. As Chad went to hold the fish up and I had the camera ready, the rainbow made a suicide run for the water – Chad literally could not hold his hands around the fish and control it and it flipped back into the water right in front of me – the fish actually was tired and slid back towards Chad, but as he reached for it, it moved 6 inches to its right and was back in fast water and gone. This fish was the fish of a lifetime. It was easily 26 inches long, 9 inches tall and probably 8 inches wide – it looked as big as a human thigh, silver slick colored with a slight strip of pink. We high fived each other a couple of times, I was amazed by the fish, Chad continued to be amazed that he got his fly back. We got the hell out of there after that. Another rainy night – we made burgers on the grill inside the camper, were done eating at 9:15, considered tying some flies – decided sleep was more important and were asleep by 9:45pm.
Saturday – Fryingpan River – Basalt (flows were 206 cfs to start the day and 260 cfs to end the day)
When we woke up at 7 and looked outside, the Crystal River was literally red – not brown – but a distinctive red. The rain all night had blown out the river and would continue down river to the Fork. So it looked like another day on the Pan – ah schucks! We hit the lower section of the river and worked our way up towards the dam. We hit one of the first pull outs on the lower stretch around Quaalude Corner around 9am. I was struggling to get going after the previous days suckitude, so I took my time – Chad took off for a good run. This section was again very fast water with few places that were ideal for nymphing. So I tied on a streamer and nymph rig and tried my luck. I managed to hook a decent fish that was sitting in a slow pool on the far side of the river. After hooking him I had to figure out how to get him back to me across some rough river. Somehow I had managed to drag him over two waterfalls, he got hung up on a stick, then wiggled free and I surfed him over to my side of the bank about 20 yards down from where he was originally hooked. He was a pretty rainbow, fat, but not too large, only about 14 inches. He had taken the Czech nymph (that looked a lot like the green drake nymphs and the caddis nymphs – big black head with a bright green body) in size 16, and somehow didn't shake free. It was a good start to the day. The river started to get more crowded in this section so we moved again.
The next stretch we hit was just down river from Strawberry Rock. The river is again very fast and most of the fishable areas were spin outs across river that required great casts and great mends of the line. But, you ran the risk of having to drag the fish back to your side of the river to land it – which again, proved very difficult for me. We parked in a small turn out and I jumped in just below the truck. My first cast was to a small plunge pool that I was literally standing in – I hooked a monster brown and the fish took off into the fast water and within 5 seconds was easily 80 feet down river. Within another second or two he had popped off in the fast current. Damn, it was a nice fish too.
I fished my way up to Strawberry Rock catching a couple small browns. Chad met up with me and passed me. There was some beautiful water up there – in particular a section of chunked red rocks that was like shelves in the middle of the water, the water was spinning all around this shelf, cascading over it and making multiple water falls. It was such a cool spot – unfortunately this picture does not do it justice. I fished a little further up river, watching Chad's rod bent about every 7 or 8 minutes or so. I had a couple on, but couldn't land anymore. On the walk back to the truck Chad told me how he landed a 22 inch brown that he caught in the pool right next to the truck – he said the damn fish took off down river after he hooked it. Yep, same hole as mine and yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't – and I didn't this weekend.
We moved down again – to our normal stretch (I think it is called Old Faithful Pullout). I again jumped in just below the rocks and had very little luck. I did manage to catch one very memorable fish on a streamer – it was for sure the largest fish I had caught all weekend on the streamer. Unfortunately the fish was only 3 times bigger than the inch and a half streamer!
I saw another otter (my 2nd of the weekend) – this one was much longer, he was two toned, lighter colored brownish blonde in the upper body and dark brown on his butt and tail. He was running along the bank maybe 7 feet from me and didn't even see me at all. I spent about an hour fishing over and changing flies on one fish in particular. It was a cuttbow with spectacular ruby coloring and was actively feeding in a side pool where the current would relax and the fish could just feed. I tried everything for over an hour with no luck. I waved Chad over and told him to catch the fish – which he did in under 10 casts. The fish was in fact a spectacular color – red along its entire bottom.
I continued fishing and hooked a couple fish in the faster water – I nice rainbow not more than 6 inches away from the bank on an errant cast, and a small brown – both of which popped off. I did manage to land a tiny (under 9 inches) brown. I was pretty much done fishing, but we decided to try the dam section again, so we moved up. The section just below the falls was completely empty – so we hit it. Chad was working just under the falls as I was stalking fish when again I saw his rod bent and he was jockeying a fish my way (not on purpose either). I helped him land a huge rainbow (technically I didn't land him – I beached him because he wouldn't fit in the net) – I took a couple of pictures, although they weren't pretty. The fish was huge – about 22 inches (maybe more) but it's mouth was very disfigured and it had other scars on it. The fish was pretty undeterred when we let him go as he swam right back to his spot.
I moved just above the falls and hooked and landed a nice 17 inch brown that fall well. I fished this section for an hour – hooking and landing 2 more 15 inch fish. I did see a HOG of a rainbow – brightly colored red on its bottom – move into my hole. As I was fishing towards him I hooked onto a nice fish – thinking it was the 20+ rainbow – but it ended up being a 14 inch brown that pulled like a log! The upper stretches along the flat water head towards that dam were stacked with guides and rednecks – all standing within casting distance, and all dry flying. Chad and I hiked into this section not knowing that there was such a crowd – we headed down one of the many bush corridors that lead to the river – when we popped out there was a guy 50 feet to our right, and 30 feet to our left. But, right in front of us feeding in the shallows were about 10 fish between 18 and 20 inches. Of course they saw us and we saw them, but they wouldn't hit for the world. Just before I left Chad to go get the truck, we saw one fish making his way up slowly from the lower stretches towards us. The shear size and length of this fish is indescribable. He was easily 24 inches low, and easily 15 lbs. But he wasn't a trout – Chad and I both agreed on that – the fish had a pouty face like a carp or whitefish, and he was a bluish dark gray in color. We weren't sure what kind he was – but if anyone knows if there are whities or carp in that river that are that big, please let me know.
I went back and got the truck and parked at the pull out with the toilets and picnic tables and waited for Chad. We headed back to the campsite around 8:30, fried up burgers again in a pan, and hit the hay at about 9:30. No tying flies, no chatting, we were completely exhausted.
Sunday – Eagle River – Wolcott (flows around 300+ cfs, water was very dark and off color but not muddy)
We got out of bed around 8am, no rain that night so perhaps the Fork would be clearer. We packed up the camper and headed down to the lower Fork. The water was again way off color so we decided to try the Eagle River closer to Vail. Well, the Eagle was also chocolate milk in color and a mess. We kept going towards Vail and eventually saw it clear up near Edwards/Wolcott. We pulled into Edwards and followed the river down a frontage road, but the entire section was private – of course it was prime water too! We finally kept heading west to Wolcott where it became public land and we stopped at a campground/picnic area and jumped in. The stretch was along some railroad tracks and was fairly flat but awefully silty. The water was about knee to waste deep and Chad and I started working runs with streamers. We waded to the far side of the river and Chad immediately hooked 2 nice browns at about 16 inches. I hooked one fish while I was trying to get my footing and just letting the fly drag as I wasn't paying attention. I never got him in as he popped off in the faster water due to the force of the river.
Chad kept moving down river and I saw his rod bent and he was moving back towards me – he motioned that he might need help so I headed his way. I helped him land a nice 17 inch brown that was thick and feisty. I fished the hole Chad was just working and again he vanished over the railroad bridge onto the other side of the river. I continued working great looking runs, but couldn't even get a strike. I too worked my way under the railroad bridge onto the other side. I managed to hook a 6 inch brown – but that was it. We maybe fished another hour and then we were ready to head home. I was surprised that a Vail guide shop was working this free/public stretch of river and actually was guiding clients on that stretch for the day. It seemed too easy of a stretch to figure out yourself, and I couldn't understand why they couldn't work a deal to get them on the better sections further upriver in the private sections.
We hit the road right around 12:30pm. The ride home was quite eventful – about 10 miles outside of Edwards I blew a tire on the camper. We pulled over and changed it. We stopped to get lunch briefly in Vail, then were back on the road. Coming down highway 70 into Silverthorne the traffic stopped dead only ½ mile from the Asbestos Alley exit in Silverthorne. We sat there for 45 minutes without moving. Obviously an accident had happened, but when we went by it looked like no one was injured – just some banged up cars. After getting going again, we flew all the way to Idaho Springs where the traffic was stop and go again for several miles. We finally got home around 4 – 4:30pm.
Chad and I did our annual Pan trip for a long weekend. His wife had a friend (and three children) in so it was a perfect time to get away. We left late on a Thursday night with the camper and pulled into a campground in Carbondale just after 10pm – the camper was up and we were asleep by 11pm. The campground, which will remain nameless, was essentially a dump – at $33 a night they were robbing us – but it was nicely placed on the Crystal River and it was one of the few that was close to town and the Aspen/Glenwood corridor. Not having any specific plans was a good thing. When we woke up Friday morning the Crystal was badly browned out by the previous nights sprinkles and we knew we'd have to hit the upper Roaring Fork if we were going to fish it at all. The Fork has tons of access along the Rio Grande trail and we took advantage of it. We hit the first access a Lower Woody Creek Bridge and fished a quarter mile section that looked particularly fishy. We hit the water at 7am – over anxious of course – and the hatches and fish were on. Caddis of all colors were popping and the fish next to the bank were actively taking in the low morning sun. The water was still off color in this section and Chad stuck to streamers while I pitched larger than normal nymphs. After about 2 hours fishing this stretch, Chad had hooked two nice 16 inch browns, and 18 inch brown and a 20 inch rainbow all within about a 30 yard stretch. I on the other hand manage 2 small browns and not a whole lot else. It was a slow start for me and a fast start for Chad (as usual).
We moved up the frontage road and stopped at Henry Stein Park. This was a nice section of river that stretch through some pristine park land right on the Rio Grande Trail. Some of the luxury homes actually stretched right down to the water – but it appeared to be all public water and I didn't notice any land owners being picky about you fishing on their section of river. The river was beautiful. Clear as a bell and cold. I went south while Chad went north – I wade some sections that were moving fast, but were fishy. I caught a couple smaller fish – including my first on a streamer/nymph rig. While standing on a rock tying on a new rig, I saw out of the corner of my eye a brown log coming diagonal across the river towards me, when I looked up I noticed it was a small otter that was making his way to me – he hadn't really noticed me and I yelled at him to get the hell out of my hole – he looked up scared and then dove under a nearby rock. It was funny as hell – he was the cutest little guy I had seen, and the look on his face (yes, otters give looks too) was priceless.
Chad met up with me after a while and talked me into heading down river to the boulder filled, deep pool section. We stopped under the walking bridge as we could see fish – I cast to one particular eager fish that was next to the concrete pillar – of course the fish took on the first cast and I managed to pull the fly out of his mouth. That was basically my luck. I watched Chad catch a couple in the pool and then moved down. After getting broken off completely I was relaxing on the grassy section of bank – walkers/bikers were sitting close by watching Chad catch fish. As I was retying my rig I noticed a 14 inch rainbow in the shallows working the current – after tying on I cast to him and had him hooked on the first cast. He made a slight run and popped off. More back luck. Chad and I kept walking north along the trail to hit the plunge pool section – the water was much faster and you could see where the fish were holed up, but I couldn't get them to take at all. I caught a few small browns, but nothing over 12 inches. I moved down again and stumbled (literally – the water was very tough to move in and the rocks were extra slippery) upon a nice dark colored brown spinning in front of a rock holding his section of slick water picking of bugs before they moved left and right as they parted around the rock. The fish was in rods reach but I had a ton of weight on so I just stiff armed my flies by him a few times – after 3 'casts' I had him on – he was probably 16 inches and had some major fight – and of course within 10 seconds of hooking him he had wiggled off too. I have NEVER had this bad of luck on hooking or landing fish. This river is not unlike many many I have fished and I always have decent luck.
After fishing for almost an hour more I met up with Chad and we headed out. It was just about noontime and we wanted to hit the Pan. We hightailed it for the Ruedi Canyon. We headed straight for our favorite section – mile marker 12.5, just below the turn out for the dam. We had a quick lunch, a couple of beers and were very excited to be on the world famous Fryingpan. This is easily my favorite river to fish. Huge fish potential, lots of fish, spunky fish, no crowds (except at the dam), and very pretty fish.
We had the pull-out to ourselves, so we would be able to choose our stretches of river. I jumped in right at the big rock and hit all the normal spots. Flows on the Pan were about 206 cfs (which was slightly higher than the 180 cfs we had heard about) – this was almost twice as high as last years trip – so some of the normal spots were a bit trickier for me. Nymphing in fast water is difficult, especially with very small flies that the Pan is known for. I consider myself a good nympher, but I could not figure out what fly, what size or how to fish the water. Most water was different depths and slightly off color – so I went up a size in my nymphs. I caught a few fish – nothing impressive – some actually very unimpressive (less than 10 inches). I managed one of the prettiest browns I have ever seen. He was orange – not yellow/brown or brown – but orange. His spots were deeply colored with great halos and he was feisty – most were 14 inches long. Of course I saw some great fish, but couldn't get into them, and the one time I did – of course he got off very quickly. Chad returned with his same old story – great fishing, lots of big fish, and damn – he had the pics to prove it.
We fished this stretch for quite a while. During this time the thunder was rolling in and then we got one hell of a rainstorm. It down poured for about 20 minutes – soaking us for the rest of the night. We moved up to just below the dam – the bend pool area. Fishing that stretch is always crazy – you line up and fish for the same 6 huge fish as they tailwag in your wake, endlessly feeding on microscopic bugs that must be tinier than anything you are fishing. I caught a few – most were small (of course I'm going to catch the 10 inchers when I'm fishing to five 20 inch fish!). I did manage to ass hook a huge rainbow that was about 19 inches. I swiped at him with the net, but snagged the loose nymph and broke him off before getting him in the net. Just my luck.
We grew tired of the same stretches of river so we decided to head back down the canyon. Stopping at mile marker 12 to hit some smooth water. It was still raining and getting kind of late. It seemed like it was 8 pm at night all day long – the light was off the river and it just seemed gloomy all day long. I fished the stretch next to the river and Chad hiked down river. I still could not get into fish and I was starting to get cold as the water was seeping through my rain coat. I hike down to find Chad – he hit a couple of pools and then a huge rock pool where he pulled fish after fish out of the hole – nothing huge. I tried fishing the hole without a bite. I kept moving down river – not doing any fishing. The rain had caused the river to fog – so there were some great picture opportunities. I met up with Chad and took his camera and took some pictures of him while he was standing next to a huge log jam on the river. Chad told me he had just hooked the fish of the day, but the fish slammed his streamer and then shot straight under the jog jam snapping the tippet. I grabbed his camera and headed upstream to get a cool angle while he tied on another fly. He was below the log jam now and within one cast he was screaming for me to come down river. The fish had hit again with unreal power and then darted straight across river at Chad and he quickly beached it in some slower water. This stretch was very fast water with a small tail out on the far bank about 15 feet across – this fish could have gone any direction and would have broken off Chad – but it went straight across river and into somewhat slower water. I arrived to see Chad with a monster rainbow in his net – I couldn't even begin to imagine how big the fish really was. While fumbling with the camera it did not start up correctly and I had to restart it – in the 15 seconds this took Chad was working to get the fly out of his mouth and noticed his old streamer there! All he could say is "I can't believe I got my fly back!" He struggled to get the fish out of the net – his tail was completed out of the net, and his head was touching the wooden rim. As Chad went to hold the fish up and I had the camera ready, the rainbow made a suicide run for the water – Chad literally could not hold his hands around the fish and control it and it flipped back into the water right in front of me – the fish actually was tired and slid back towards Chad, but as he reached for it, it moved 6 inches to its right and was back in fast water and gone. This fish was the fish of a lifetime. It was easily 26 inches long, 9 inches tall and probably 8 inches wide – it looked as big as a human thigh, silver slick colored with a slight strip of pink. We high fived each other a couple of times, I was amazed by the fish, Chad continued to be amazed that he got his fly back. We got the hell out of there after that. Another rainy night – we made burgers on the grill inside the camper, were done eating at 9:15, considered tying some flies – decided sleep was more important and were asleep by 9:45pm.
Saturday – Fryingpan River – Basalt (flows were 206 cfs to start the day and 260 cfs to end the day)
When we woke up at 7 and looked outside, the Crystal River was literally red – not brown – but a distinctive red. The rain all night had blown out the river and would continue down river to the Fork. So it looked like another day on the Pan – ah schucks! We hit the lower section of the river and worked our way up towards the dam. We hit one of the first pull outs on the lower stretch around Quaalude Corner around 9am. I was struggling to get going after the previous days suckitude, so I took my time – Chad took off for a good run. This section was again very fast water with few places that were ideal for nymphing. So I tied on a streamer and nymph rig and tried my luck. I managed to hook a decent fish that was sitting in a slow pool on the far side of the river. After hooking him I had to figure out how to get him back to me across some rough river. Somehow I had managed to drag him over two waterfalls, he got hung up on a stick, then wiggled free and I surfed him over to my side of the bank about 20 yards down from where he was originally hooked. He was a pretty rainbow, fat, but not too large, only about 14 inches. He had taken the Czech nymph (that looked a lot like the green drake nymphs and the caddis nymphs – big black head with a bright green body) in size 16, and somehow didn't shake free. It was a good start to the day. The river started to get more crowded in this section so we moved again.
The next stretch we hit was just down river from Strawberry Rock. The river is again very fast and most of the fishable areas were spin outs across river that required great casts and great mends of the line. But, you ran the risk of having to drag the fish back to your side of the river to land it – which again, proved very difficult for me. We parked in a small turn out and I jumped in just below the truck. My first cast was to a small plunge pool that I was literally standing in – I hooked a monster brown and the fish took off into the fast water and within 5 seconds was easily 80 feet down river. Within another second or two he had popped off in the fast current. Damn, it was a nice fish too.
I fished my way up to Strawberry Rock catching a couple small browns. Chad met up with me and passed me. There was some beautiful water up there – in particular a section of chunked red rocks that was like shelves in the middle of the water, the water was spinning all around this shelf, cascading over it and making multiple water falls. It was such a cool spot – unfortunately this picture does not do it justice. I fished a little further up river, watching Chad's rod bent about every 7 or 8 minutes or so. I had a couple on, but couldn't land anymore. On the walk back to the truck Chad told me how he landed a 22 inch brown that he caught in the pool right next to the truck – he said the damn fish took off down river after he hooked it. Yep, same hole as mine and yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't – and I didn't this weekend.
We moved down again – to our normal stretch (I think it is called Old Faithful Pullout). I again jumped in just below the rocks and had very little luck. I did manage to catch one very memorable fish on a streamer – it was for sure the largest fish I had caught all weekend on the streamer. Unfortunately the fish was only 3 times bigger than the inch and a half streamer!
I saw another otter (my 2nd of the weekend) – this one was much longer, he was two toned, lighter colored brownish blonde in the upper body and dark brown on his butt and tail. He was running along the bank maybe 7 feet from me and didn't even see me at all. I spent about an hour fishing over and changing flies on one fish in particular. It was a cuttbow with spectacular ruby coloring and was actively feeding in a side pool where the current would relax and the fish could just feed. I tried everything for over an hour with no luck. I waved Chad over and told him to catch the fish – which he did in under 10 casts. The fish was in fact a spectacular color – red along its entire bottom.
I continued fishing and hooked a couple fish in the faster water – I nice rainbow not more than 6 inches away from the bank on an errant cast, and a small brown – both of which popped off. I did manage to land a tiny (under 9 inches) brown. I was pretty much done fishing, but we decided to try the dam section again, so we moved up. The section just below the falls was completely empty – so we hit it. Chad was working just under the falls as I was stalking fish when again I saw his rod bent and he was jockeying a fish my way (not on purpose either). I helped him land a huge rainbow (technically I didn't land him – I beached him because he wouldn't fit in the net) – I took a couple of pictures, although they weren't pretty. The fish was huge – about 22 inches (maybe more) but it's mouth was very disfigured and it had other scars on it. The fish was pretty undeterred when we let him go as he swam right back to his spot.
I moved just above the falls and hooked and landed a nice 17 inch brown that fall well. I fished this section for an hour – hooking and landing 2 more 15 inch fish. I did see a HOG of a rainbow – brightly colored red on its bottom – move into my hole. As I was fishing towards him I hooked onto a nice fish – thinking it was the 20+ rainbow – but it ended up being a 14 inch brown that pulled like a log! The upper stretches along the flat water head towards that dam were stacked with guides and rednecks – all standing within casting distance, and all dry flying. Chad and I hiked into this section not knowing that there was such a crowd – we headed down one of the many bush corridors that lead to the river – when we popped out there was a guy 50 feet to our right, and 30 feet to our left. But, right in front of us feeding in the shallows were about 10 fish between 18 and 20 inches. Of course they saw us and we saw them, but they wouldn't hit for the world. Just before I left Chad to go get the truck, we saw one fish making his way up slowly from the lower stretches towards us. The shear size and length of this fish is indescribable. He was easily 24 inches low, and easily 15 lbs. But he wasn't a trout – Chad and I both agreed on that – the fish had a pouty face like a carp or whitefish, and he was a bluish dark gray in color. We weren't sure what kind he was – but if anyone knows if there are whities or carp in that river that are that big, please let me know.
I went back and got the truck and parked at the pull out with the toilets and picnic tables and waited for Chad. We headed back to the campsite around 8:30, fried up burgers again in a pan, and hit the hay at about 9:30. No tying flies, no chatting, we were completely exhausted.
Sunday – Eagle River – Wolcott (flows around 300+ cfs, water was very dark and off color but not muddy)
We got out of bed around 8am, no rain that night so perhaps the Fork would be clearer. We packed up the camper and headed down to the lower Fork. The water was again way off color so we decided to try the Eagle River closer to Vail. Well, the Eagle was also chocolate milk in color and a mess. We kept going towards Vail and eventually saw it clear up near Edwards/Wolcott. We pulled into Edwards and followed the river down a frontage road, but the entire section was private – of course it was prime water too! We finally kept heading west to Wolcott where it became public land and we stopped at a campground/picnic area and jumped in. The stretch was along some railroad tracks and was fairly flat but awefully silty. The water was about knee to waste deep and Chad and I started working runs with streamers. We waded to the far side of the river and Chad immediately hooked 2 nice browns at about 16 inches. I hooked one fish while I was trying to get my footing and just letting the fly drag as I wasn't paying attention. I never got him in as he popped off in the faster water due to the force of the river.
Chad kept moving down river and I saw his rod bent and he was moving back towards me – he motioned that he might need help so I headed his way. I helped him land a nice 17 inch brown that was thick and feisty. I fished the hole Chad was just working and again he vanished over the railroad bridge onto the other side of the river. I continued working great looking runs, but couldn't even get a strike. I too worked my way under the railroad bridge onto the other side. I managed to hook a 6 inch brown – but that was it. We maybe fished another hour and then we were ready to head home. I was surprised that a Vail guide shop was working this free/public stretch of river and actually was guiding clients on that stretch for the day. It seemed too easy of a stretch to figure out yourself, and I couldn't understand why they couldn't work a deal to get them on the better sections further upriver in the private sections.
We hit the road right around 12:30pm. The ride home was quite eventful – about 10 miles outside of Edwards I blew a tire on the camper. We pulled over and changed it. We stopped to get lunch briefly in Vail, then were back on the road. Coming down highway 70 into Silverthorne the traffic stopped dead only ½ mile from the Asbestos Alley exit in Silverthorne. We sat there for 45 minutes without moving. Obviously an accident had happened, but when we went by it looked like no one was injured – just some banged up cars. After getting going again, we flew all the way to Idaho Springs where the traffic was stop and go again for several miles. We finally got home around 4 – 4:30pm.
Friday, July 20, 2007
July 20, 2007 - Big Thompson River - above Drake
July 20, 2007 - Big Thompson River - above Drake
Flows around 130 cfs, evening fishing - 5pm to about 9pm
Chad, Cabo and I decided we hadn't fished in a while so we wanted to do some evening fishing. We both hadn't fished the Big T in a while and so we headed up there on a Friday night. Problem was that there is a ton of traffic on a Friday evening - even when you leave at 2:45. Santa Fe and I25 were dead stopped in places and I didn't get to Chad's until 3:30. The traffic only got worse from there - it took us 2 hours to get to the Big T. So we fished our way through the Big T valley towards Drake. Our first two spots along the highway actually produced no results for either Chad or I. The next spot was a little better as Chad started hooking fish on the streamer and baetis rig. I unfortunately had no luck. Our fourth spot was on a bend and the the fish seemed to be everywhere - Chad was actually hooking into small fish on a good sized streamer. I again, caught nothing.
Our fifth spot was very fishy looking and Chad had great luck - I had 2 on, but nothing landed. The water was very warm (at least it seemed) and the hatches were coming of sporadically. Of course this isn't much of a river that you try to match the hatch on - except maybe the occassional caddis hatch. I still had no luck, but found several areas where the fish tailing and jumping out of the water after the bugs (just not my bugs). Our final spot was in a pull out just before Drake. The pull out always has a mound of dirt at the end of it. This spot was the first spot I ever caught a fish on the Big T some 7 years ago. The light was fading fast and I jumped in with a nymph rig and finally hooked and almost landed (I wasn't interested in netting a 10 inch fish so I tried to hand land him in decently fast water) a little guy. The fish in this spot were literally JUMPING out of the water and doing tail wags after the flurry of hatches that were coming off. Caddis were definitely flying, but there were some much larger bugs too - it was now closer to 8:30pm and you could tell that this must happen every night because the fish were keying on it. I switched to a black foam caddis, but I could not get a single fish to take. At about 9 (when it was too dark to see anything) I jumped out of the water and started looking for Chad (who was further down). In the pull out area I noticed a cross planted in the embankment - it read "Don Davis, Owner Great Western Fly Fishing" - it was a sad thing to see, but I realized that a piece of him (or his spirit) wanted to be in that very spot eternally fishing the Big T. RIP Mr. Davis, I caught one for you in your special spot.
The drive home was dark yet very fast. I got home at 11 - 4.5 hours of driving and 3.5 hours of fishing.
Flows around 130 cfs, evening fishing - 5pm to about 9pm
Chad, Cabo and I decided we hadn't fished in a while so we wanted to do some evening fishing. We both hadn't fished the Big T in a while and so we headed up there on a Friday night. Problem was that there is a ton of traffic on a Friday evening - even when you leave at 2:45. Santa Fe and I25 were dead stopped in places and I didn't get to Chad's until 3:30. The traffic only got worse from there - it took us 2 hours to get to the Big T. So we fished our way through the Big T valley towards Drake. Our first two spots along the highway actually produced no results for either Chad or I. The next spot was a little better as Chad started hooking fish on the streamer and baetis rig. I unfortunately had no luck. Our fourth spot was on a bend and the the fish seemed to be everywhere - Chad was actually hooking into small fish on a good sized streamer. I again, caught nothing.
Our fifth spot was very fishy looking and Chad had great luck - I had 2 on, but nothing landed. The water was very warm (at least it seemed) and the hatches were coming of sporadically. Of course this isn't much of a river that you try to match the hatch on - except maybe the occassional caddis hatch. I still had no luck, but found several areas where the fish tailing and jumping out of the water after the bugs (just not my bugs). Our final spot was in a pull out just before Drake. The pull out always has a mound of dirt at the end of it. This spot was the first spot I ever caught a fish on the Big T some 7 years ago. The light was fading fast and I jumped in with a nymph rig and finally hooked and almost landed (I wasn't interested in netting a 10 inch fish so I tried to hand land him in decently fast water) a little guy. The fish in this spot were literally JUMPING out of the water and doing tail wags after the flurry of hatches that were coming off. Caddis were definitely flying, but there were some much larger bugs too - it was now closer to 8:30pm and you could tell that this must happen every night because the fish were keying on it. I switched to a black foam caddis, but I could not get a single fish to take. At about 9 (when it was too dark to see anything) I jumped out of the water and started looking for Chad (who was further down). In the pull out area I noticed a cross planted in the embankment - it read "Don Davis, Owner Great Western Fly Fishing" - it was a sad thing to see, but I realized that a piece of him (or his spirit) wanted to be in that very spot eternally fishing the Big T. RIP Mr. Davis, I caught one for you in your special spot.
The drive home was dark yet very fast. I got home at 11 - 4.5 hours of driving and 3.5 hours of fishing.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
July 7-8, 2007 - Arkansas River - Salida
July 7-8, 2007 - Arkansas River - Salida area (Big Bend, Rincon, Hecla)
Flows 1080 cfs, tea green in color - days were in the 70's, big puffy clouds gave way to dark grey clouds and thunder, then back to puffy clouds. Sunday was slightly overcast.
With the wife away I decided to play. After having such a great day in RMNP on Wednesday I was excited to go somewhere and go fishing. I called Brian (Hydedrifter) on Thursday night and he told me that he was having phenominal days fishing - some of the best of the summer - so that sealed the deal - I was headed for Salida! I packed up the truck bright and early on Saturday morning, popped the camper on the back, threw the dog in the back and off we went. About Bailey is when it happened - I realized I had forgotten my boots. Crap. I was in a dilemma - with a log ride ahead of me, and holiday traffic coming home the next, I almost bagged it. But, I was already about an hour into the drive and so I pulled over and let the dog play in the Platte along highway 285 for a bit.
Obviously I decided to keep going. I just had to make a stop at WalMart to find a pair of wading boots. On the way I decided to drop the camper of at Brown's Canyon at a state park camp ground - a great spot over looking the river at Hecla Junction. On my way to WalMart I did manage to get lost on the back streets of Salida and stopped at a place called Riverworks to ask directions. If you have never heard of Riverworks, I'm sure you have seen their work - especially if you have fished in Salida. Riverworks is where rafters and kayakers go to get frames built for their boats. It isn't much of a place - just a three stall garage with a couple guys and a work bench with a computer. They were working on a couple of boats when I came in - one had this cool anchor seat that hung out over the back of the raft - the anchor rope went through one of the hollow pipes out the side - pretty cool. They pointed me the right direction, and wish me luck on the weekend. I pulled into WalMart around 11, grabbed a pair of $25 boots, and was at my secret spot by noon - we jumped out - it was beautiful - about 75 degrees, partly cloudy and only one other guy in our parking lot. We went down to check out the river and it was roaring. I have never fished the Ark above 600 cfs, so this would be a test.
I didn't get into fish right away - I was trying a streamer and that lasted about 15 casts and I was done. I moved on to a green weenie (as Brian calls it) size 16, this is a pattern that Brian showed me a couple years back and the thing is always on. It is basically a pheasant tail, with mylar body, charteuse wire ribbing, a big gold bead and peacock herl behind the bead (you can add some hen soft hackle for a variation that works just as well). I tied a red version up top and a green version on the bottom and began nymphing around rocks and along seams. The fish weren't on right away and the normal spots, so I kept working my way down. We disturbed a gaggle of geese on one of the little islands, they wanted to attack me, but dog trumps goose every time - although my dog is afraid of fish. I set up below a huge boulder in the middle with a long slow slot with fast moving water in the seam. I'd cast into the slow stuff along the edge and the fish would take it at about the 1 o'clock lie. I hooked and landed about 10 or 12 in this section - all browns except one bow. Two browns were pushing 17 inches and all were fiesty as heck. Cabo kissed each fish and looked for them when I plopped them back into the water. It was 3 pm and I had worn out my welcome here, so I headed down to Howard to see if Brian and Mary were around - and they were. We chatted for about an hour and then I was on my way to fish some more.
I stopped just above Rincon at a nice area where Brian had floated me by last year. The spot was very nice with a sand bar in the middle and downed logs in a jam along the shore. I fished the edges and the flat stuff and hooked and landed several nice fish - one was easily 17 inches and fought great. I think two were rainbows and they were fat. I moved up to a rock wall area that the water pushed up against and created an eddy. I hook and lost a HUGE brown - I saw him flash and I would estimate him at 18 inches - he broke everything off. I hooked and landed a small bow out of the hole and then called it a night at 7:30 ish.
We camped at Hecla Junction at the base of Brown's Canyon - I figured I'd fish the next morning and then head out. The canyon is a great place to fish IF you can get across the river to the tracks. I drove the 3 miles on the dirt road - stopped at the boat ramp to throw the ball for Cabo for 30 minutes while chatting with some rafters packing their gear. Cabo and I made cheeseburgers, had a Pepsi, then went to bed. I read for an hour or so, I surprisingly got a text message while in the canyon - somehow I had just enough reception (strange).
Woke up at 7:15, packed the camper, moved the truck and camper down to the lot - and was fishing by 8am. We hiked down the canyon (not up the canyon since I couldn't get across!!) and hit some holes the looked fishy - but weren't. On all the websites they say the fishing has been on from 5am to 10am - that's crap. The day before I caught all my fish from noon on, and this morning I didn't catch a single fish until almost 11am. I was making my way back to the truck along the shoreline and casting up ahead tight to the bank - I was hooking into tons of fish (finally). And these fish were pretty big - all were over 14 inches (with the occassional youngin'). There's an island right below the boat ramps that a guy was fishing on - the island made for some great slack water behind rocks and there are tons of fish there - he was hooking into lots of them, but they were all small. I was working the shoreline - ducking under tree branches and dodging bushes to get in the perfect spot to cast along the bank ahead. It paid off as the big fish were in the hard to reach water. One brownie was about 16 inches and string. Again, Cabo kissed all my fish and then dunked her head under the water to see where they "went".
That was it - I hike out of the canyon and was out at the highway at 12:15pm and home by 2:30pm. I had to wash the wife's truck and vacuum it as it was well worn with bug splats and wader sauce on the floormats.
Flows 1080 cfs, tea green in color - days were in the 70's, big puffy clouds gave way to dark grey clouds and thunder, then back to puffy clouds. Sunday was slightly overcast.
With the wife away I decided to play. After having such a great day in RMNP on Wednesday I was excited to go somewhere and go fishing. I called Brian (Hydedrifter) on Thursday night and he told me that he was having phenominal days fishing - some of the best of the summer - so that sealed the deal - I was headed for Salida! I packed up the truck bright and early on Saturday morning, popped the camper on the back, threw the dog in the back and off we went. About Bailey is when it happened - I realized I had forgotten my boots. Crap. I was in a dilemma - with a log ride ahead of me, and holiday traffic coming home the next, I almost bagged it. But, I was already about an hour into the drive and so I pulled over and let the dog play in the Platte along highway 285 for a bit.
Obviously I decided to keep going. I just had to make a stop at WalMart to find a pair of wading boots. On the way I decided to drop the camper of at Brown's Canyon at a state park camp ground - a great spot over looking the river at Hecla Junction. On my way to WalMart I did manage to get lost on the back streets of Salida and stopped at a place called Riverworks to ask directions. If you have never heard of Riverworks, I'm sure you have seen their work - especially if you have fished in Salida. Riverworks is where rafters and kayakers go to get frames built for their boats. It isn't much of a place - just a three stall garage with a couple guys and a work bench with a computer. They were working on a couple of boats when I came in - one had this cool anchor seat that hung out over the back of the raft - the anchor rope went through one of the hollow pipes out the side - pretty cool. They pointed me the right direction, and wish me luck on the weekend. I pulled into WalMart around 11, grabbed a pair of $25 boots, and was at my secret spot by noon - we jumped out - it was beautiful - about 75 degrees, partly cloudy and only one other guy in our parking lot. We went down to check out the river and it was roaring. I have never fished the Ark above 600 cfs, so this would be a test.
I didn't get into fish right away - I was trying a streamer and that lasted about 15 casts and I was done. I moved on to a green weenie (as Brian calls it) size 16, this is a pattern that Brian showed me a couple years back and the thing is always on. It is basically a pheasant tail, with mylar body, charteuse wire ribbing, a big gold bead and peacock herl behind the bead (you can add some hen soft hackle for a variation that works just as well). I tied a red version up top and a green version on the bottom and began nymphing around rocks and along seams. The fish weren't on right away and the normal spots, so I kept working my way down. We disturbed a gaggle of geese on one of the little islands, they wanted to attack me, but dog trumps goose every time - although my dog is afraid of fish. I set up below a huge boulder in the middle with a long slow slot with fast moving water in the seam. I'd cast into the slow stuff along the edge and the fish would take it at about the 1 o'clock lie. I hooked and landed about 10 or 12 in this section - all browns except one bow. Two browns were pushing 17 inches and all were fiesty as heck. Cabo kissed each fish and looked for them when I plopped them back into the water. It was 3 pm and I had worn out my welcome here, so I headed down to Howard to see if Brian and Mary were around - and they were. We chatted for about an hour and then I was on my way to fish some more.
I stopped just above Rincon at a nice area where Brian had floated me by last year. The spot was very nice with a sand bar in the middle and downed logs in a jam along the shore. I fished the edges and the flat stuff and hooked and landed several nice fish - one was easily 17 inches and fought great. I think two were rainbows and they were fat. I moved up to a rock wall area that the water pushed up against and created an eddy. I hook and lost a HUGE brown - I saw him flash and I would estimate him at 18 inches - he broke everything off. I hooked and landed a small bow out of the hole and then called it a night at 7:30 ish.
We camped at Hecla Junction at the base of Brown's Canyon - I figured I'd fish the next morning and then head out. The canyon is a great place to fish IF you can get across the river to the tracks. I drove the 3 miles on the dirt road - stopped at the boat ramp to throw the ball for Cabo for 30 minutes while chatting with some rafters packing their gear. Cabo and I made cheeseburgers, had a Pepsi, then went to bed. I read for an hour or so, I surprisingly got a text message while in the canyon - somehow I had just enough reception (strange).
Woke up at 7:15, packed the camper, moved the truck and camper down to the lot - and was fishing by 8am. We hiked down the canyon (not up the canyon since I couldn't get across!!) and hit some holes the looked fishy - but weren't. On all the websites they say the fishing has been on from 5am to 10am - that's crap. The day before I caught all my fish from noon on, and this morning I didn't catch a single fish until almost 11am. I was making my way back to the truck along the shoreline and casting up ahead tight to the bank - I was hooking into tons of fish (finally). And these fish were pretty big - all were over 14 inches (with the occassional youngin'). There's an island right below the boat ramps that a guy was fishing on - the island made for some great slack water behind rocks and there are tons of fish there - he was hooking into lots of them, but they were all small. I was working the shoreline - ducking under tree branches and dodging bushes to get in the perfect spot to cast along the bank ahead. It paid off as the big fish were in the hard to reach water. One brownie was about 16 inches and string. Again, Cabo kissed all my fish and then dunked her head under the water to see where they "went".
That was it - I hike out of the canyon and was out at the highway at 12:15pm and home by 2:30pm. I had to wash the wife's truck and vacuum it as it was well worn with bug splats and wader sauce on the floormats.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
July 4, 2007 - Roaring River, RMNP
July 4, 2007 - Roaring River, RMNP
Mostly sunny, normal grey clouds towards early afternoon, blew over then sunny again. About 72 degrees.
My buddy Steffan and I fished RMNP today and had a great time. We got their early - before 7am and the ranger let us in without paying (which we tried to do but he wasn't in his "booth"). Hit the Lawn Lake parking lot and were on the river and suited up after a 3/4 mile hike around 7:30 or so.
The river was crystal clear, flowing nice - not too high - and was actually warmer than I remember. The hike in seemed shorter too. But the fish were exactly the same!!
I wanted to teach Steffan to fish a little, so I showed him what we were using - red and charteuse PTs/copper john mixes - big gold bead, wire body, pheasant tail, peacock behind the bead in size 16. We caught all our fish on the red one - after having success, we stuck to a double rig of just that fly.
I had 3 on in a few cast trying to show him how to flick cast and keep his casts short and sweet. The second fish ran almost 12 inches and was gorgeous. Steffan quickly got the hang of the tight casting and was hooking into fish all day - pulling bunches out of the typical holes. I caught my share, but one fish in particular caught my eye. If anyone knows the Roaring River, they know this hole. The hole sits on top of a huge set of boulders - the river actually is roaring through this section and drops down off an 8 foot bolder falls. This pool sits on top of the boulder field on the left side. This area is the only area that does not have a path on either side close to the river - the path actually pulls away from the river because there is no way to stay next to the river - it goes straight up.
The pool had a bunch of fish in it - but this fish in particular was bullying its way around the pool pushing the youngin's around. Well, I caught a smaller fish sitting in a crease between two rocks where the water dumps out into the waterfall section. The pool had no discernible drift pattern - unless you can fish in a toilet. Most fish sat backwards in this hole or sat up close to the bank to get away from the swirl. This fish was dancing in the hole - pushing fish out of his holes or just throwing his weight around - and there was plenty of it. I managed to hook him and landed him in the tight water - he was 13 inches and very brightly colored orange (pic coming soon). I put him next to the rod, so I got a good size on him. That is the largest fish I have seen in this river.
We fished a good 1.5 miles in and then headed out around 3:30pm. I pulled into my house at 6:30pm.
I will have the pictures of the trip after I get the disposable camera developed and scanned. My wife took the digital back to Boston for her trip home - so I was stuck with the disposable!
Mostly sunny, normal grey clouds towards early afternoon, blew over then sunny again. About 72 degrees.
My buddy Steffan and I fished RMNP today and had a great time. We got their early - before 7am and the ranger let us in without paying (which we tried to do but he wasn't in his "booth"). Hit the Lawn Lake parking lot and were on the river and suited up after a 3/4 mile hike around 7:30 or so.
The river was crystal clear, flowing nice - not too high - and was actually warmer than I remember. The hike in seemed shorter too. But the fish were exactly the same!!
I wanted to teach Steffan to fish a little, so I showed him what we were using - red and charteuse PTs/copper john mixes - big gold bead, wire body, pheasant tail, peacock behind the bead in size 16. We caught all our fish on the red one - after having success, we stuck to a double rig of just that fly.
I had 3 on in a few cast trying to show him how to flick cast and keep his casts short and sweet. The second fish ran almost 12 inches and was gorgeous. Steffan quickly got the hang of the tight casting and was hooking into fish all day - pulling bunches out of the typical holes. I caught my share, but one fish in particular caught my eye. If anyone knows the Roaring River, they know this hole. The hole sits on top of a huge set of boulders - the river actually is roaring through this section and drops down off an 8 foot bolder falls. This pool sits on top of the boulder field on the left side. This area is the only area that does not have a path on either side close to the river - the path actually pulls away from the river because there is no way to stay next to the river - it goes straight up.
The pool had a bunch of fish in it - but this fish in particular was bullying its way around the pool pushing the youngin's around. Well, I caught a smaller fish sitting in a crease between two rocks where the water dumps out into the waterfall section. The pool had no discernible drift pattern - unless you can fish in a toilet. Most fish sat backwards in this hole or sat up close to the bank to get away from the swirl. This fish was dancing in the hole - pushing fish out of his holes or just throwing his weight around - and there was plenty of it. I managed to hook him and landed him in the tight water - he was 13 inches and very brightly colored orange (pic coming soon). I put him next to the rod, so I got a good size on him. That is the largest fish I have seen in this river.
We fished a good 1.5 miles in and then headed out around 3:30pm. I pulled into my house at 6:30pm.
I will have the pictures of the trip after I get the disposable camera developed and scanned. My wife took the digital back to Boston for her trip home - so I was stuck with the disposable!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
June 9, 2007 - Chatfield Res.
June 9, 2007 - Chatfield Res.
Water was super high and super off color - although not sure if the water is usually any clearer - never really fished here. The day was hot 82 or so and partly cloudy (although the tops of my legs and arms are fried). I took the kayak and the dog and went carpin'!
Got there around 12 noon and went to the dog park to try and wear out the dog first. Got on the water after inflating the kayak around 1:15 pm. The dog was pooped so she didn't fight me too much about getting in the front of the kayak and laying down. We hit a section on the back side of the reservior close to where the river dumps in - but I did not really see where the river dumped in. Right off the bat I saw a carp jump out of the water to the left side in the frog water next to the shore. The land fishermen weren't anywhere near it so I dropped anchor and cast to the carp. I'm not exactly sure what I am doing - so I tied on a 10 foot leader and 2 green damsel fly imitations I had tied earlier in the week. They weren't pretty flies, but they were buggy. I cast to the torpedo multiple times, but got not luck. I couldn't see the fish, or even see any tailing fish or wakes, just a huge splash every 7 or 8 minutes. Pretty crazy. The fish was huge - like 12-15 lb range and he was brownish orange with a brighter belly than his back. I'm not sure of the make or model - but it was definitely a carp.
No luck there so I decided to work the muscles a little on the kayak. I went to a small island and dropped anchor just offshore - no luck there either, so I pulled anchor and decided to explore. The water is super super high right now and I could literally paddle between the trees and shrubs and make my way over what lloked like a peninsula - the water was only a foot deep, but this kayak doesn't go very deep. This is very very carpy water - I can imagine that a pro would have a blast. I could hear fish jumping out of the water and would see one every once in a while out of the corner of my eye. I didn't stop in the shallows, instead went to this small island and parked the kayak. The dog was happy to get out and walk around and I wanted to wade a little and see if I could "see" fish - nope. I actually got bit by mosquitos and thought to myself just how "snakey" the water looked and decided to get back in the kayak. I started paddling back when I saw a guy in a pontoon boat and went in his direction. He was right at the entrance to a lagoon that had some really froggy water. I paddled past him and dumped anchor in 2.5 feet of water. Two HUGE carp jumped out of the water in a lagoon between me and the pontooner. Damn, I wanted to try and get him, but I didn't want to get to close to the other guy.
I was having a ton of problems with cottonwood puffs clinging to my line and my fly. No way can you get these things off - they are like yarn and hard to cut. I went into some really dead water and saw a sweet turtle and scared something off in front of the kayak that scared the crap out of me. I moved on as the water was skinny and I didn't want to pop the kayak on all the sticks in the water. I moved finally to a spot that I thought for sure would be good. I finally got the cottonwood puffs off my line and I was twisted facing backwards by the wind, so I would myself back with the paddle and again had cottonwood puffd on my line. After finally cleaning them off I made 4 casts into the brush where I had seen a fish jump (not sure how they got into the shrubs and bushes) and I hooked a branch and lost my flies. I decided I had had enough - so I paddled for home. The kayak takes about 9 minutes to set up and 9 minutes to break down and pack away - pretty damn easy.
This was my first time fishing from the kayak. I like the kayak - although in the wind it will SUCK! Also, I'm very low in the boat and I can't see crap/carp. Sometimes I boost myself up on the back that is inflated, but it isn't very easy to balance. I need to make some sort of high seat in it - to see better, but also to keep my ass dry - when you paddle, the water goes into the bottom and then rolls to the heaviest place in the boat (my ass). I need to make a rod holder or something so that I can paddle easier without hitting the rod. I also need to make some sort of lap box/bag to put all my stuff in. There isn't a ton of room for your feet, so having a waist pack at your feet is crowded. My fly line was also getting caught often on the velcro look on the side of the kayak - not sure how to fix that.
Well, that was my adventure in a nut shell.
Water was super high and super off color - although not sure if the water is usually any clearer - never really fished here. The day was hot 82 or so and partly cloudy (although the tops of my legs and arms are fried). I took the kayak and the dog and went carpin'!
Got there around 12 noon and went to the dog park to try and wear out the dog first. Got on the water after inflating the kayak around 1:15 pm. The dog was pooped so she didn't fight me too much about getting in the front of the kayak and laying down. We hit a section on the back side of the reservior close to where the river dumps in - but I did not really see where the river dumped in. Right off the bat I saw a carp jump out of the water to the left side in the frog water next to the shore. The land fishermen weren't anywhere near it so I dropped anchor and cast to the carp. I'm not exactly sure what I am doing - so I tied on a 10 foot leader and 2 green damsel fly imitations I had tied earlier in the week. They weren't pretty flies, but they were buggy. I cast to the torpedo multiple times, but got not luck. I couldn't see the fish, or even see any tailing fish or wakes, just a huge splash every 7 or 8 minutes. Pretty crazy. The fish was huge - like 12-15 lb range and he was brownish orange with a brighter belly than his back. I'm not sure of the make or model - but it was definitely a carp.
No luck there so I decided to work the muscles a little on the kayak. I went to a small island and dropped anchor just offshore - no luck there either, so I pulled anchor and decided to explore. The water is super super high right now and I could literally paddle between the trees and shrubs and make my way over what lloked like a peninsula - the water was only a foot deep, but this kayak doesn't go very deep. This is very very carpy water - I can imagine that a pro would have a blast. I could hear fish jumping out of the water and would see one every once in a while out of the corner of my eye. I didn't stop in the shallows, instead went to this small island and parked the kayak. The dog was happy to get out and walk around and I wanted to wade a little and see if I could "see" fish - nope. I actually got bit by mosquitos and thought to myself just how "snakey" the water looked and decided to get back in the kayak. I started paddling back when I saw a guy in a pontoon boat and went in his direction. He was right at the entrance to a lagoon that had some really froggy water. I paddled past him and dumped anchor in 2.5 feet of water. Two HUGE carp jumped out of the water in a lagoon between me and the pontooner. Damn, I wanted to try and get him, but I didn't want to get to close to the other guy.
I was having a ton of problems with cottonwood puffs clinging to my line and my fly. No way can you get these things off - they are like yarn and hard to cut. I went into some really dead water and saw a sweet turtle and scared something off in front of the kayak that scared the crap out of me. I moved on as the water was skinny and I didn't want to pop the kayak on all the sticks in the water. I moved finally to a spot that I thought for sure would be good. I finally got the cottonwood puffs off my line and I was twisted facing backwards by the wind, so I would myself back with the paddle and again had cottonwood puffd on my line. After finally cleaning them off I made 4 casts into the brush where I had seen a fish jump (not sure how they got into the shrubs and bushes) and I hooked a branch and lost my flies. I decided I had had enough - so I paddled for home. The kayak takes about 9 minutes to set up and 9 minutes to break down and pack away - pretty damn easy.
This was my first time fishing from the kayak. I like the kayak - although in the wind it will SUCK! Also, I'm very low in the boat and I can't see crap/carp. Sometimes I boost myself up on the back that is inflated, but it isn't very easy to balance. I need to make some sort of high seat in it - to see better, but also to keep my ass dry - when you paddle, the water goes into the bottom and then rolls to the heaviest place in the boat (my ass). I need to make a rod holder or something so that I can paddle easier without hitting the rod. I also need to make some sort of lap box/bag to put all my stuff in. There isn't a ton of room for your feet, so having a waist pack at your feet is crowded. My fly line was also getting caught often on the velcro look on the side of the kayak - not sure how to fix that.
Well, that was my adventure in a nut shell.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007 - Blue River above Dillon
Saturday, May 12, 2007 - Blue River above Dillon
Flows were about 175cfs and the water was slightly tea colored.
The wife got a massage for mother's day and Cabo, Avelyn and I had to wait out some rain. After the massage the wife dropped the dog and I off at the bridge and went shopping for a couple of hours. We skipped the actual river and jumped in just as it dumps in. The reservoir was pretty low, you had to walk about 100 yards from the delta to the actual reservoir. I saw a few fisherman working the river, so skipping ahead was risky (I thought that maybe the number of rods would triple as I got closer to the inlet), but there was no one actually fishing down by the reservoir area.
The weather was clearing, and not 5 minutes after I hit my destination the sun came out at full force and it started getting warm. It was probably close to 65 degrees when the sun was out, but the big fluffy clouds dropped the weather 5 degrees every time one came by. The water was cold, cold enough to make the dog shiver - which only happens once in a blue moon. The water running down the slopes to the reservoir was fast and shallow - so I headed right to the area where it dumps in and was slightly flatter. The main channel looked nice, but I could see that there was some flats areas where the water was 2 feet deep and then dropped off quickly to 6 foot deep areas. I knew that the fish would be in the deeper areas, usually in schools. Of course the nympher in me wanted to catch them on nymphs, which I did manage to hook two and almost land one (a SDR). The rainbows seemed frisky and small, but that was fine. I switched to my microstreamer pattern reluctantly. I casted into the drop offs and hooked and landed 4 frisky rainbows. qall were maybe 13 inches, not overly fat, and almost completely bleached out and all silver. They all seem to have pouty snouts, smaller than an average rainbow. Their snouts seemed too small for your their faces - it just seemed odd. All fish took the streamer hard. All were offered up to Cabo for a look, she "tried" to bite them all (she's a big wimp - not much of an attempt, she's more afraid of them!), then she looked for them as they plopped in the water and disappeared. She'd look for them underwater for about a minute or two and then give up.
Jen was going to meet me at the boat ramp around 3 - 3:30, so I started walking through the mud over. These flats were all silt and were only about 2 feet or less deep for about 40 yards out. When Jen showed up it was nice and warm so we decided to get the kayak out and give Avi a ride. The kayak takes less than 7 minutes to set up and it is quite stealth on the water. I took her for a ride and then Jen took her for another. Jen took it out by herself. We really need to get that thing out more often. This thing will be awesome for still water fishing - it is stealth and not overly tippy.
That was pretty much my day in a nutshell.
Flows were about 175cfs and the water was slightly tea colored.
The wife got a massage for mother's day and Cabo, Avelyn and I had to wait out some rain. After the massage the wife dropped the dog and I off at the bridge and went shopping for a couple of hours. We skipped the actual river and jumped in just as it dumps in. The reservoir was pretty low, you had to walk about 100 yards from the delta to the actual reservoir. I saw a few fisherman working the river, so skipping ahead was risky (I thought that maybe the number of rods would triple as I got closer to the inlet), but there was no one actually fishing down by the reservoir area.
The weather was clearing, and not 5 minutes after I hit my destination the sun came out at full force and it started getting warm. It was probably close to 65 degrees when the sun was out, but the big fluffy clouds dropped the weather 5 degrees every time one came by. The water was cold, cold enough to make the dog shiver - which only happens once in a blue moon. The water running down the slopes to the reservoir was fast and shallow - so I headed right to the area where it dumps in and was slightly flatter. The main channel looked nice, but I could see that there was some flats areas where the water was 2 feet deep and then dropped off quickly to 6 foot deep areas. I knew that the fish would be in the deeper areas, usually in schools. Of course the nympher in me wanted to catch them on nymphs, which I did manage to hook two and almost land one (a SDR). The rainbows seemed frisky and small, but that was fine. I switched to my microstreamer pattern reluctantly. I casted into the drop offs and hooked and landed 4 frisky rainbows. qall were maybe 13 inches, not overly fat, and almost completely bleached out and all silver. They all seem to have pouty snouts, smaller than an average rainbow. Their snouts seemed too small for your their faces - it just seemed odd. All fish took the streamer hard. All were offered up to Cabo for a look, she "tried" to bite them all (she's a big wimp - not much of an attempt, she's more afraid of them!), then she looked for them as they plopped in the water and disappeared. She'd look for them underwater for about a minute or two and then give up.
Jen was going to meet me at the boat ramp around 3 - 3:30, so I started walking through the mud over. These flats were all silt and were only about 2 feet or less deep for about 40 yards out. When Jen showed up it was nice and warm so we decided to get the kayak out and give Avi a ride. The kayak takes less than 7 minutes to set up and it is quite stealth on the water. I took her for a ride and then Jen took her for another. Jen took it out by herself. We really need to get that thing out more often. This thing will be awesome for still water fishing - it is stealth and not overly tippy.
That was pretty much my day in a nutshell.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
April 12-15, 2007 - Bighorn River, Ft Smith, MT
April 12-15, 2007 - Bighorn River, Ft Smith, MT
Flows about 1,500 cfs - gin clear.
Thursday, April 12 - Afterbay to 3 Mile
Woke up at 3am - about 30 minutes early, couldn't wait to pick up Chad and Nate and start the drive. Chad was waiting, Nate was sleeping. The plug on Nate's boat wouldn't reach the outlet, so Nate's boat stayed at home. The drive was uneventful, but driving my wife's new 4Runner with only 190 miles on it was pretty sweet - we rode in style.
Stopped at StX to grab Buster's boat - a HUGE thanks to Buster!! Got to Ft. Smith around 1pm, hit Cottonwood, dropped off our crap and then over to Bighorn we went. We were on the water at 1pm. The water was nice and there was no real traffic as we were heading out late. I decided to get some rowing experience in the the soft water right off - but after one cast Chad had a snag or a fish - it ended up being the latter and I quickly learned how to beach the boat and net a fish. Chad hooked a killer 21 inch rainbow that had some really nice heft. What a great start. I think a few dinks were cuaght in the first stretch and we docked just above the Meat Hole. We wanted to make sure we got Nate into some huge fish and so we waited about a half hour for the traffic to move on. We holed up in the Meat Hole and landed some decent fish. Nate work the shelf closest to the bank and hooked a ton, Chad pulled them in steadily as usual, I didn't catch quite as many but did manage a few. PaulM, OB and SemperFish met us there at around 3:30 or so - they fished the hole and then decided to move on. We had seen TPlane and Dad drift by us as well, but we weren't exactly sure that was him - sorry Tim! The flies of the day seemed to be pink soft hackles and pink ray charles.
We moved down past Suck Hole and docked on the right. PaulM/OB/SF stopped at the hole and Paul pulled out some beauties. Nate hooked a few in the flats and I managed a couple small fish. We kept moving, hitting some of the usual spots and trying to get Nate into fish and acquainted with the river. He did well, and we managed some fish. Not much else memorable about the day (my memory is shot too). We were off the river by 7. We hit the cabin, made dinner and I was in bed by 8:30. Chad and Nate tried to tough it out and chat, but they hit the hay soon after.
Friday, April 13th - Afterbay to 3 Mile
We were met by Buster in the morning - about 7:30 am knocking on the door. He was checking to see if we made it. We hit the water closer to 9am. Nate manned the oars for this one (as he had most of the day before). We were thinking about two trips - but we knew we could stretch one trip into 3 Mile. We launched with literally 6 boats within 40 yards of us. We managed to stop above the Meat Hole and wait it out. We moved in on the Hole as a group of guys looked like they were leaving - but they weren't. Bastards all got out of their boat and walked back onto the shelf. Stupid. But Chad wasn't giving in - he stayed put. Eventually Nate and I hit the shelf - Nate worked the far side of the river (not really on the shelf) and had his rod bent consistently. I worked the far right of the shelf and did pretty damn well. Even had a lunker on of over 20 inches that Chad decided was best to flail at and NOT net (thanks Chad). Chad of course caught his limit. We were in the Meat for about 4 hours then moved on.
We didn't fish the Suck Hole for very long, but Nate let me row it. And although Chad was paniced in the front of the boat, Nate said I did very well. The hole isn't that bad, it just throws you at the concrete, but then kind of pulls you back into the calm eye of the hole and then you can back paddle out. We fished our way down past the fallen trees on the right to the next riffle that bends left to right and stopped. This was a great hole last year for browns, and we weren't disappointed. I landed a nice 18 inch brown and Chad landed a FAT brown of over 20 inches. Huge difference in 2 inches of fish - I'd say probably over a pound difference. Nate did real well too - hitting some other spots. We fished down to the cliffs on the left and had even better luck. My first lame cast landed a 20 inch rainbow with a hook jaw. Landed land probably 12 fish right at the boat, and Chad of course walked the entire half mile bank and caught his share. The fish were hitting tiny midges - black with some sparkle. My killers worked well, as did the mercuries and black beauties. I caught a bunch of fish in the stretch and walked all the way down the cliffs with Chad. Nate had to meet us in the boat.
We fished our way to 3 Mile and called it a day at 7:30pm. We hit the cabin, ate dinner, met up with TPlane and Dad, tied some flies and then hit the bed. TPlane admitted he had snuck a white fish and was the clear leader to win the white fish trophy - even if it was only an 8 inch dink! No one else had caught one, and after a day and a half it looked like we might get skunked.
Saturday, April 14th - 3 Mile to Bighorn
No screwing around today, Paul met us at 6:40 - to say the least, none of us were up. We managed to get on the water by about 8am. Before we headed out we met FredYellowEgg in the parking lot - it was nice meeting you! Paul and Chad in his boat and Nate and I in the other. We pulled over about 1/4 mile down on a nice riffle next to the house that everyone overlooked - they were more interested in getting out on the water. It had a nice long sandbar with some nice back channel riffles that Chad hit quickly. I waded to the end where the fast water and slow water connected and hit a nice fat brown about 17 inches on a big 14 pink ray charles.
Nate had some luck in the channel nailing three fish. We moved down again to another great stretch - this time across from the drive in on the far bank. Paul knew this hole and knew the deep sandy bottom often had fish hanging on the edge. Nate hooked 3 fish in the hole, then jumped out, Paul got right in the hole and hooked 3 and then obliged me to try - I hooked 3 nice fish and then it went dead. The guys across from us were hooking some hogs. Next to Pauls boat in the flat stuff there were some fish feeding in the deep stuff - of course there was no way to make the fly look really enough for them to eat it - but the fish were huge - maybe 2 or 3 close to 30 inches! I hooked and landed a 16 inch brown, and Nate had on one of those hogs - but that was it. We moved down to try and find Chad who constantly is like a lost puppy and moves around unstoppable. Chad was scoping out a hole that Paul mentioned and he was determined to get it. That was a very good this too. We hit the hole with an island in the middle - most of the traffic stays far left, but you can hole up in the side channel were it dumps into the main channel that is easilt 15 feet deep. Chad hook moster after monster by just letting the streamer and nymph sink into the deep channel. One brown was easily 20 inches and I saw him catch at least 10 more. Nate was hitting the bottom of the run and hooking fish hand over fish - he's a pro with that low profile eager nymphing pose ready to strike at any time. Paul and I fished the side channel as it dumped in and he caught a ton of fish. I did very very well - landing fish after fish on my double weighted nymph rig that had about 8 or 9 feet of tippet between my indicator and flies. I caught a ton, but every fish I had to wade out of the channel over to Paul in the slow stuff. Since it was over 65 degrees, I had taken off my jacket and only had a box of flies down my pants, forceps clung to my t-shirt and tippet and weights pinned to my shirt. Net and camera and everything else was in the boat. Paul was more than willing to help me net a few and take some pics. Of course BlackOtter and Kyo pulled in just as I was landing a lunker of a fish - this thing wouldn't fight, but was a log - I kind of knew in the back of my mind what it was, a whitie! Of course I got the official ribbing and the picture taken for proof. It was a lot of fun though. I caught some more while the guys shot the shiit.
We moved down, hopping more boats and seeing some beautiful young ladies fishing along the way. It was nice seeing the ladies enjoying the day and fishing as well. We saw a bunch of ladies with hook ups, including one gal that was a pro with a dry fly (and she was hot too!). We moved into some less crowded water - a real flat stretch that was only about 6 feet deep max all the way across, but over a 100 yards wide. Nate headed north, Paul jumped out next to the boat, Chad went running for the riffles and shelves further down - and I just relaxed - watching Nate and Paul and tying on a new rig. Paul has an unorthodexed nymphing motion, slapping the water on his false cast and then he can throw a line a good 80 feet. I'm not kidding - he gets some torque behind the fly and almost flips it 80 feet. I've never seen anyone do this - ever! And he catches fish way the hell out there too! He landed some biggies - a nice rainbow with a hooked jaw that I couldn't quite land, and then a few more fish. I dropped into the hole below him and had 4 fish on in 10 minutes. I moved down again and proceeded to hook about 35 fish and landed about two dowzen in the next two hours. I was in a zone, and every other cast I had a fish on. The hard part was landing them with no net - I dragged them onto the shallows and tried to hand land them. They were all mostly browns, all were at least 17 inches, and all jumped! I landed probably 5 rainbows, not as large (except one), and landed one brown that was 14 inches. One brown was huge, I was out to my waste, and couldn't get back to shore and tried to hand land him and he snapped me off. All the fish were taking the same style fly - Paul Bighorn swap jujubee bead head black and white with a tuft of peacock dubbing behind the bead. After shredding those two they kept hitting tan zebras with bead heads. And occassionally they hit the killer - all in size 18 or 20. Blackotter and Kyo pulled up and hit some fish, but we ended up chatting for a good 45 minutes.
We moved on again, stopping here or there, but we had to make up some time as we were still about 5 miles away from take out. One place we stopped was next to the huge tree that dropped some shade over the bank. The water was fast and Paul was into a fish immediately. Nate and I pulled across the water from them, and hooked a fish in a back eddy - but that was it. Paul nailed about 4 fish in there and then let Chad fish his spot. Chad hooked into a pig and needed Paul's help. Paul got the boat net and tried to help Chad, not before falling in above his chest waders first. He managed to net the fish, but only after Chad pointed out that it was behind him. From the other side of the river, this was pretty entertaining - a comedy of errors - but it had a happy ending. We got out of there and hit the confluence of Soap Creek and fished the seams. I actually put on a streamer and managed 2 small browns while Nate rowed us. Chad was hooking into fish left and right and was slowed down a lot. We hit Bighorn access around 8 pm as it was getting dark. We said good bye to Paul and we headed back to the cabin.
We cooked dinner - and waited for the masses, but only TPlane showed up. He chatted a while, and headed back to his nicer accomodations. We drank a few beers and then hit the sack. Not much of a trophy ceremony, but I got to keep my baby!
Sunday, April 15th
We headed home around 9 am after dropping the boat off at Busters. Not much else to say really. I hate that drive!
I just wanted to thank everyone who we met and had a great time fishing with. I'd like to really thank Buster for hooking us up with the boat - we hope you enjoy your Ice Cold Makers Mark and your T-Shirt! As always, it was a blast. I was sunburned and burnt out when I got home, but it was so worth it. Year 3 went off without a hitch and it was a great trip. Thanks again guys, and I hope you all enjoy your T-Shirts!!
Flows about 1,500 cfs - gin clear.
Thursday, April 12 - Afterbay to 3 Mile
Woke up at 3am - about 30 minutes early, couldn't wait to pick up Chad and Nate and start the drive. Chad was waiting, Nate was sleeping. The plug on Nate's boat wouldn't reach the outlet, so Nate's boat stayed at home. The drive was uneventful, but driving my wife's new 4Runner with only 190 miles on it was pretty sweet - we rode in style.
Stopped at StX to grab Buster's boat - a HUGE thanks to Buster!! Got to Ft. Smith around 1pm, hit Cottonwood, dropped off our crap and then over to Bighorn we went. We were on the water at 1pm. The water was nice and there was no real traffic as we were heading out late. I decided to get some rowing experience in the the soft water right off - but after one cast Chad had a snag or a fish - it ended up being the latter and I quickly learned how to beach the boat and net a fish. Chad hooked a killer 21 inch rainbow that had some really nice heft. What a great start. I think a few dinks were cuaght in the first stretch and we docked just above the Meat Hole. We wanted to make sure we got Nate into some huge fish and so we waited about a half hour for the traffic to move on. We holed up in the Meat Hole and landed some decent fish. Nate work the shelf closest to the bank and hooked a ton, Chad pulled them in steadily as usual, I didn't catch quite as many but did manage a few. PaulM, OB and SemperFish met us there at around 3:30 or so - they fished the hole and then decided to move on. We had seen TPlane and Dad drift by us as well, but we weren't exactly sure that was him - sorry Tim! The flies of the day seemed to be pink soft hackles and pink ray charles.
We moved down past Suck Hole and docked on the right. PaulM/OB/SF stopped at the hole and Paul pulled out some beauties. Nate hooked a few in the flats and I managed a couple small fish. We kept moving, hitting some of the usual spots and trying to get Nate into fish and acquainted with the river. He did well, and we managed some fish. Not much else memorable about the day (my memory is shot too). We were off the river by 7. We hit the cabin, made dinner and I was in bed by 8:30. Chad and Nate tried to tough it out and chat, but they hit the hay soon after.
Friday, April 13th - Afterbay to 3 Mile
We were met by Buster in the morning - about 7:30 am knocking on the door. He was checking to see if we made it. We hit the water closer to 9am. Nate manned the oars for this one (as he had most of the day before). We were thinking about two trips - but we knew we could stretch one trip into 3 Mile. We launched with literally 6 boats within 40 yards of us. We managed to stop above the Meat Hole and wait it out. We moved in on the Hole as a group of guys looked like they were leaving - but they weren't. Bastards all got out of their boat and walked back onto the shelf. Stupid. But Chad wasn't giving in - he stayed put. Eventually Nate and I hit the shelf - Nate worked the far side of the river (not really on the shelf) and had his rod bent consistently. I worked the far right of the shelf and did pretty damn well. Even had a lunker on of over 20 inches that Chad decided was best to flail at and NOT net (thanks Chad). Chad of course caught his limit. We were in the Meat for about 4 hours then moved on.
We didn't fish the Suck Hole for very long, but Nate let me row it. And although Chad was paniced in the front of the boat, Nate said I did very well. The hole isn't that bad, it just throws you at the concrete, but then kind of pulls you back into the calm eye of the hole and then you can back paddle out. We fished our way down past the fallen trees on the right to the next riffle that bends left to right and stopped. This was a great hole last year for browns, and we weren't disappointed. I landed a nice 18 inch brown and Chad landed a FAT brown of over 20 inches. Huge difference in 2 inches of fish - I'd say probably over a pound difference. Nate did real well too - hitting some other spots. We fished down to the cliffs on the left and had even better luck. My first lame cast landed a 20 inch rainbow with a hook jaw. Landed land probably 12 fish right at the boat, and Chad of course walked the entire half mile bank and caught his share. The fish were hitting tiny midges - black with some sparkle. My killers worked well, as did the mercuries and black beauties. I caught a bunch of fish in the stretch and walked all the way down the cliffs with Chad. Nate had to meet us in the boat.
We fished our way to 3 Mile and called it a day at 7:30pm. We hit the cabin, ate dinner, met up with TPlane and Dad, tied some flies and then hit the bed. TPlane admitted he had snuck a white fish and was the clear leader to win the white fish trophy - even if it was only an 8 inch dink! No one else had caught one, and after a day and a half it looked like we might get skunked.
Saturday, April 14th - 3 Mile to Bighorn
No screwing around today, Paul met us at 6:40 - to say the least, none of us were up. We managed to get on the water by about 8am. Before we headed out we met FredYellowEgg in the parking lot - it was nice meeting you! Paul and Chad in his boat and Nate and I in the other. We pulled over about 1/4 mile down on a nice riffle next to the house that everyone overlooked - they were more interested in getting out on the water. It had a nice long sandbar with some nice back channel riffles that Chad hit quickly. I waded to the end where the fast water and slow water connected and hit a nice fat brown about 17 inches on a big 14 pink ray charles.
Nate had some luck in the channel nailing three fish. We moved down again to another great stretch - this time across from the drive in on the far bank. Paul knew this hole and knew the deep sandy bottom often had fish hanging on the edge. Nate hooked 3 fish in the hole, then jumped out, Paul got right in the hole and hooked 3 and then obliged me to try - I hooked 3 nice fish and then it went dead. The guys across from us were hooking some hogs. Next to Pauls boat in the flat stuff there were some fish feeding in the deep stuff - of course there was no way to make the fly look really enough for them to eat it - but the fish were huge - maybe 2 or 3 close to 30 inches! I hooked and landed a 16 inch brown, and Nate had on one of those hogs - but that was it. We moved down to try and find Chad who constantly is like a lost puppy and moves around unstoppable. Chad was scoping out a hole that Paul mentioned and he was determined to get it. That was a very good this too. We hit the hole with an island in the middle - most of the traffic stays far left, but you can hole up in the side channel were it dumps into the main channel that is easilt 15 feet deep. Chad hook moster after monster by just letting the streamer and nymph sink into the deep channel. One brown was easily 20 inches and I saw him catch at least 10 more. Nate was hitting the bottom of the run and hooking fish hand over fish - he's a pro with that low profile eager nymphing pose ready to strike at any time. Paul and I fished the side channel as it dumped in and he caught a ton of fish. I did very very well - landing fish after fish on my double weighted nymph rig that had about 8 or 9 feet of tippet between my indicator and flies. I caught a ton, but every fish I had to wade out of the channel over to Paul in the slow stuff. Since it was over 65 degrees, I had taken off my jacket and only had a box of flies down my pants, forceps clung to my t-shirt and tippet and weights pinned to my shirt. Net and camera and everything else was in the boat. Paul was more than willing to help me net a few and take some pics. Of course BlackOtter and Kyo pulled in just as I was landing a lunker of a fish - this thing wouldn't fight, but was a log - I kind of knew in the back of my mind what it was, a whitie! Of course I got the official ribbing and the picture taken for proof. It was a lot of fun though. I caught some more while the guys shot the shiit.
We moved down, hopping more boats and seeing some beautiful young ladies fishing along the way. It was nice seeing the ladies enjoying the day and fishing as well. We saw a bunch of ladies with hook ups, including one gal that was a pro with a dry fly (and she was hot too!). We moved into some less crowded water - a real flat stretch that was only about 6 feet deep max all the way across, but over a 100 yards wide. Nate headed north, Paul jumped out next to the boat, Chad went running for the riffles and shelves further down - and I just relaxed - watching Nate and Paul and tying on a new rig. Paul has an unorthodexed nymphing motion, slapping the water on his false cast and then he can throw a line a good 80 feet. I'm not kidding - he gets some torque behind the fly and almost flips it 80 feet. I've never seen anyone do this - ever! And he catches fish way the hell out there too! He landed some biggies - a nice rainbow with a hooked jaw that I couldn't quite land, and then a few more fish. I dropped into the hole below him and had 4 fish on in 10 minutes. I moved down again and proceeded to hook about 35 fish and landed about two dowzen in the next two hours. I was in a zone, and every other cast I had a fish on. The hard part was landing them with no net - I dragged them onto the shallows and tried to hand land them. They were all mostly browns, all were at least 17 inches, and all jumped! I landed probably 5 rainbows, not as large (except one), and landed one brown that was 14 inches. One brown was huge, I was out to my waste, and couldn't get back to shore and tried to hand land him and he snapped me off. All the fish were taking the same style fly - Paul Bighorn swap jujubee bead head black and white with a tuft of peacock dubbing behind the bead. After shredding those two they kept hitting tan zebras with bead heads. And occassionally they hit the killer - all in size 18 or 20. Blackotter and Kyo pulled up and hit some fish, but we ended up chatting for a good 45 minutes.
We moved on again, stopping here or there, but we had to make up some time as we were still about 5 miles away from take out. One place we stopped was next to the huge tree that dropped some shade over the bank. The water was fast and Paul was into a fish immediately. Nate and I pulled across the water from them, and hooked a fish in a back eddy - but that was it. Paul nailed about 4 fish in there and then let Chad fish his spot. Chad hooked into a pig and needed Paul's help. Paul got the boat net and tried to help Chad, not before falling in above his chest waders first. He managed to net the fish, but only after Chad pointed out that it was behind him. From the other side of the river, this was pretty entertaining - a comedy of errors - but it had a happy ending. We got out of there and hit the confluence of Soap Creek and fished the seams. I actually put on a streamer and managed 2 small browns while Nate rowed us. Chad was hooking into fish left and right and was slowed down a lot. We hit Bighorn access around 8 pm as it was getting dark. We said good bye to Paul and we headed back to the cabin.
We cooked dinner - and waited for the masses, but only TPlane showed up. He chatted a while, and headed back to his nicer accomodations. We drank a few beers and then hit the sack. Not much of a trophy ceremony, but I got to keep my baby!
Sunday, April 15th
We headed home around 9 am after dropping the boat off at Busters. Not much else to say really. I hate that drive!
I just wanted to thank everyone who we met and had a great time fishing with. I'd like to really thank Buster for hooking us up with the boat - we hope you enjoy your Ice Cold Makers Mark and your T-Shirt! As always, it was a blast. I was sunburned and burnt out when I got home, but it was so worth it. Year 3 went off without a hitch and it was a great trip. Thanks again guys, and I hope you all enjoy your T-Shirts!!
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