Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Softball 6/26 - Thursday Night
1-2, BB, single (could have been a triple)
played LC - made 3 plays - one pretty good one, although if I didn't have sunburned feet it would have been an easy play.
20-0 win, called after 20 mins and 3 innings.
played LC - made 3 plays - one pretty good one, although if I didn't have sunburned feet it would have been an easy play.
20-0 win, called after 20 mins and 3 innings.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - Chatfield Res.
Tried to do some carp fishing with Steffan and Cabo. We left work early - Steffan stopped by to get changed and I showed him how to tie an easy carp fly. We headed to Chatfield and got there around 5:30pm right in the middle of a tornado wind storm - literally the wind was whipping so hard that the sand in the parking lot was killing our legs. We hiked into the bay in the back and immediately we saw carp jumping out of the water. It is a pretty amazing sight to see 20 lb fish jumping out of the water all the time.
We headed straight to the flats side, and it was quiet - less wind and no sign of mating fish. We only bumped into one "boiling" fish that we spooked. We really didn't see another fish. The water was clearer, but no fish to be found. The wind died way down and the air was completely still - the whole reservior was like glass - it was weird seeing no boats on the water and no waves. We fished both sides - the bay and the flats a couple of times trying to find fish - but still no luck. We left by 8pm. No luck. Maybe next time.
We headed straight to the flats side, and it was quiet - less wind and no sign of mating fish. We only bumped into one "boiling" fish that we spooked. We really didn't see another fish. The water was clearer, but no fish to be found. The wind died way down and the air was completely still - the whole reservior was like glass - it was weird seeing no boats on the water and no waves. We fished both sides - the bay and the flats a couple of times trying to find fish - but still no luck. We left by 8pm. No luck. Maybe next time.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Softball 6/19 - Thursday Night
0-4, 2 fc's, 1 HR over the fence, 1 line drive out
played LC
1 defensive play
played with the usual crew
won 13-1
everyone came over afterwards for a BBQ - it was a great time!
played LC
1 defensive play
played with the usual crew
won 13-1
everyone came over afterwards for a BBQ - it was a great time!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
CELTICS ARE CHAMPIONS
It is hard to explain what I feel right now. I have been a Celtics fan since I was born - watching game on TV38 on a 12 inch balck and white tv at my dad's apartment. Brings back memories, of bird, mchale, parish. of johnny most, of red auerbach. I cry. I really do - because this is something that boston fans have waited so long for. this is one of the most storied franchises in sports - and they deserve this win.
most importantly this is for PP, who has been with this franchise through EVERYTHING. reggie lewis, losing, bad draft picks, trade rumors, we get our revenge - and it is the sweetest revenge. championship! this is for you PP. thanks for bringing it to boston.
thanks to:
PP for sticking around
KG for coming to boston
Ray Allen for making this his new home - UCONN wasn't that long ago
Kobe Bryant for being OVER-RATED!
Rondo for being a huge veteran presence throughout the year - he NEVER looked like a second year guy
for KPerk being string and knowing his roll - 5 points, 10 rebounds a game.
for Posey, EHouse, PJ and Big Baby knowing that they are the real MVPs of this team - strong minutes, huge defense and strong bench support. 4 guys we couldn't do without.
for ainge - yes, it kills me to say it, but if you LUCKED out, damn you did good.
for Doc - you brought Thibadeau here and you convinced 3 superstars to play as 1 TEAM. money baby, just money
Thibadeau - no way will we ever thank him enuf. that was the best defensive performance ever. thanks T
to laker fans for being a joke - makes us realize just how great the celts fans are.
for the experts who said we had no chance in hell.
to Bill Simmon's dad - hopefully he's still alive in the morning - can't wait to see his article
most importantly to my brother in law Dale who has always been a huge celtics fan - a true fan should bask in this the most because you were there through all the bad.
to my buddy Haas, who is a big fan and always my last phone call after a championship - man we have had a lot of calls lately huh?
to the city of boston - congrats, and i miss you. you deserve this - god bless and let's hope for many more.
peace and love, enjoy the moment but save some for the future!
BRANDON!!!!!!!!!
Softball - Monday 6/16
Subbed for Mike Lane
3-4 3 RBI's ll singles
1 catch, no errors
played with the gang
3-4 3 RBI's ll singles
1 catch, no errors
played with the gang
cookout on THURSDAY!!!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008 - Chatfield Reservoir - for CARP!
Sunday, June 15, 2008 - Chatfield Reservoir - for CARP!
Ok, so I got out today - I tried the South Platte River below Chatfield to no avail. I then hit Chatfield at my normal spot - the water is starting to rise and the waves were coming in pretty good. The fish were porpoising slightly out of the water - and I could tell that they were active. I hooked a nice sized fish, and was reeling him in nicely - problem is that this fish had NO fight at all. He was sort of swimming towards me, but he kept enough pressure on the line that I thought he was just a log. Well, turned out he was a log - a nice 48 inch stick that weighed a ton. I was pretty embarrassed that I had "played" this fish to the reel and worked him in to me. Actually I felt like an ass.
The water was so high that I could see across the shoreline that there was water on the other side - so I gave up fishing and headed over. When I got through the shrubs and over the swampy area, I walked in on an orgy. Fish were everywhere just going at it. I cast a few times in their general direction and got a bump - nothing major. Then I started realizing that there were fish everywhere - mudding in the shallows in a football sized area. There was some slight grass tips poking up and the carp were nosing around in there. I got a lot of practice casting to them. I hurt my shoulder pretty badly on Wednesday night - actually got a cortisone shot on Thursday, so this was my first "excersize" on the shoulder. Well, I eneded up hooking up on 5 total, 3 of which I hooked right and they all took me on a very long over 100 foot run. These runs were nothing of the screaming variety - just strong pulls that never seemed to end - like walking the dog and never getting control over the leash. Each fish popped the fly. The last fish I saw in a school of 5 or 6 fish - all were finning and feeding about 25 feet in front of me. I plopped the fly right in front of this guy and I hooked up quickly - he ate it and ran to the left - with a steady pull of the line, there was no way to turn him at all. Finally the line popped out of the fly and I decided it was time to go. While standing on the concrete path submerged up to my ankles with water (this path is hidden during normal water levels) I saw fish swimming right next to me in the mucky water - they didn't realize that Cabo and I were standing there. We would move around and a fish would spook 2 feet from us - scared the hell out of the dog. Cabo tried a couple of times to wander over to the humpers - the fish didn't care less, but one time, they changed directions and must have bumped right into her - she came right out of the water scared as hell - of course she tried to act all brave by pawing at their wakes, but they were long gone. She came back over to me and decided to stand right between my legs for a few minutes. Funny as hell!
Well - a bit of success - and I found the fish!!
Ok, so I got out today - I tried the South Platte River below Chatfield to no avail. I then hit Chatfield at my normal spot - the water is starting to rise and the waves were coming in pretty good. The fish were porpoising slightly out of the water - and I could tell that they were active. I hooked a nice sized fish, and was reeling him in nicely - problem is that this fish had NO fight at all. He was sort of swimming towards me, but he kept enough pressure on the line that I thought he was just a log. Well, turned out he was a log - a nice 48 inch stick that weighed a ton. I was pretty embarrassed that I had "played" this fish to the reel and worked him in to me. Actually I felt like an ass.
The water was so high that I could see across the shoreline that there was water on the other side - so I gave up fishing and headed over. When I got through the shrubs and over the swampy area, I walked in on an orgy. Fish were everywhere just going at it. I cast a few times in their general direction and got a bump - nothing major. Then I started realizing that there were fish everywhere - mudding in the shallows in a football sized area. There was some slight grass tips poking up and the carp were nosing around in there. I got a lot of practice casting to them. I hurt my shoulder pretty badly on Wednesday night - actually got a cortisone shot on Thursday, so this was my first "excersize" on the shoulder. Well, I eneded up hooking up on 5 total, 3 of which I hooked right and they all took me on a very long over 100 foot run. These runs were nothing of the screaming variety - just strong pulls that never seemed to end - like walking the dog and never getting control over the leash. Each fish popped the fly. The last fish I saw in a school of 5 or 6 fish - all were finning and feeding about 25 feet in front of me. I plopped the fly right in front of this guy and I hooked up quickly - he ate it and ran to the left - with a steady pull of the line, there was no way to turn him at all. Finally the line popped out of the fly and I decided it was time to go. While standing on the concrete path submerged up to my ankles with water (this path is hidden during normal water levels) I saw fish swimming right next to me in the mucky water - they didn't realize that Cabo and I were standing there. We would move around and a fish would spook 2 feet from us - scared the hell out of the dog. Cabo tried a couple of times to wander over to the humpers - the fish didn't care less, but one time, they changed directions and must have bumped right into her - she came right out of the water scared as hell - of course she tried to act all brave by pawing at their wakes, but they were long gone. She came back over to me and decided to stand right between my legs for a few minutes. Funny as hell!
Well - a bit of success - and I found the fish!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
History!!
We just witnessed history - Celtics played the kind of game you couldn't dream up for a made for TV movie. Amazing tonight - total team effort and this team shows that defense wins championships. Go Green!
Father's Day could be very very special!
Father's Day could be very very special!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Hockey 6/10 - Tuesday League
nothing
played against Aaron's team and that prick NJ Devils jersey kid
3 penalties - actually got tossed with 1 minute left
I got shouldered twice - the kid actually told me after the first I need to keep my head up - I was jawing with him and I get a penalty at the end of the first period. He shouldered me in the second, I actually went down - of course the ref says he didn't see it - total bull shit. I checked the guy into the boards and get his stick up around my neck, still no call on him, but I get a penalty. At the end of the game I am getting pinned against the baords by Nick - the dude is a nice guy, but he thinks he is a hockey player and he can't even skate. So, with his shoulder in the small of my back I put the kid in a head lock and wrestle him off me - I just grabbed my towel and skated off. Refs did nothing to protect anyone. The ref actually called a bad trip on the other team on a guy who fell down by me - I told him the kid didn't trip me and the ref is like "you want me to call a penalty and when I do you tell me I am wrong!" ...No you #!%&(* idiot I want you to call the right penalties all the time. Idiot.
We lost 6-4 - and it was my fault.
I will kill this kid if I see him again, he's a puss of the ice and some weekend he won't have the balls to face me - and I'll lay him out. Oh, this is the same kid that Deano was gunning for when he cheap shotted him on a Saturday open skate - so, I'm not exactly the only one who dislikes this asshole - so you can say he has it coming.
I'll probably be suspended for 2 games or whatever - I hope I get to play on Thursday night - that is the fun league, and we could win the first game and play the championship game right afterwards.
played against Aaron's team and that prick NJ Devils jersey kid
3 penalties - actually got tossed with 1 minute left
I got shouldered twice - the kid actually told me after the first I need to keep my head up - I was jawing with him and I get a penalty at the end of the first period. He shouldered me in the second, I actually went down - of course the ref says he didn't see it - total bull shit. I checked the guy into the boards and get his stick up around my neck, still no call on him, but I get a penalty. At the end of the game I am getting pinned against the baords by Nick - the dude is a nice guy, but he thinks he is a hockey player and he can't even skate. So, with his shoulder in the small of my back I put the kid in a head lock and wrestle him off me - I just grabbed my towel and skated off. Refs did nothing to protect anyone. The ref actually called a bad trip on the other team on a guy who fell down by me - I told him the kid didn't trip me and the ref is like "you want me to call a penalty and when I do you tell me I am wrong!" ...No you #!%&(* idiot I want you to call the right penalties all the time. Idiot.
We lost 6-4 - and it was my fault.
I will kill this kid if I see him again, he's a puss of the ice and some weekend he won't have the balls to face me - and I'll lay him out. Oh, this is the same kid that Deano was gunning for when he cheap shotted him on a Saturday open skate - so, I'm not exactly the only one who dislikes this asshole - so you can say he has it coming.
I'll probably be suspended for 2 games or whatever - I hope I get to play on Thursday night - that is the fun league, and we could win the first game and play the championship game right afterwards.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Hockey 6/5 - Thursday Night
first playoff game
1 goal, 1 assist
played D
played with Dean and Brian
John was goalie
won 6-2
didn't try very hard and could have doubled the score
1 goal, 1 assist
played D
played with Dean and Brian
John was goalie
won 6-2
didn't try very hard and could have doubled the score
Hockey 6/3 - Tuesday Night
first playoff game
1 goal
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
1 penalty
down 3-1 with 2 mins left we scored to make it 3-2.
pulled the goalie with 45 seconds left
I scored with 28 seconds left.
we won in overtime 4-3
1 goal
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
1 penalty
down 3-1 with 2 mins left we scored to make it 3-2.
pulled the goalie with 45 seconds left
I scored with 28 seconds left.
we won in overtime 4-3
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Manny hits #500
yesterday was a cool day - I was listening to the game over the internet and decided to head downstairs and see if I could see the next Manny at bat on ESPN - of course ESPN was running at the bottom of the screen the ticker tape that said Manny was up. Thinking they would cut to the game, I weighted - but no such luck. The next thing I saw on the ticker was that Manny hit #500. I waited and waited for a replay - but nothing! WTF ESPN??? You guys blew that. Well, the phone rang and my buddy Haas was on the other end - he asked me to guess where he was....I just guessed Baltimore, and I was right. He had gotten gift tickets to the game while he was down there on a project and was at the game. He saw Pedroia and Ortiz go back to back and was having a blast. Seeing Ellsbury leg out a triple was fun too. And when Manny hit it - he had no idea it was #500 until they flashed it. What luck - he always seems to be that lucky!
Sox won again today - they are starting to show some offense finally.
Sox won again today - they are starting to show some offense finally.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Celtics are going to the Finals!
This is unreal - just amazing. The first year the Big
Three are together and they are headed to the finals?
This is a dream! I would have never even imagined
they could be this good so quickly. Having the best
record in the league is one thing, but getting to the
finals? Damn.
Three are together and they are headed to the finals?
This is a dream! I would have never even imagined
they could be this good so quickly. Having the best
record in the league is one thing, but getting to the
finals? Damn.
The Celts seem to be playing better basketball lately
- and against veteran teams they seem to dominate.
Against those fast break, run and shoot, younger teams
they have difficulties - which could spell trouble
against the Lakers. I seriously thought the Celts
matched up well against the Pistons - but I think the
Pistons starting 5 is better than the Celts starting
5.
I like Celts in 7 against the Lakers - but I think the
Lakers will somehow win. I'm trying to figure out who
has the edge in the match up - but it seems pretty
lopsided by position.
PG - Rondo vs Fisher - Rondo is better defender,
faster, younger. Fisher is a better shooter and
better ball handler - advantage Rondo.
SG - Allen vs ????? - I don't even know who the Lakers
play at SG - so I have to give the dge to Allen.
SF - PP vs Kobe - Kobe is the better player by far,
but PP has been outstanding on D, I have to imagine PP
will get the most help here on double teams, so we'll
have to have the extra advantage at other positions.
Kobe wins this battle every time.
PF1 - Perkins vs Odom - at least I think that is the
match up. Perk is hot, but his job is to play D and
rebound, which he does better than Odom. Odom is a
runner and a scorer - he will kill Perk in the fast
break and on shooting. Transition will tell the
story. Odom, to me, has always been a lazy player - I
guess that has changed now that he has something to
play for. He had so much talent coming out of URI but
never realized it. Remember when this kid was getting
compared to Jordan? Seriously he was. Big advantage
Odom in the fast break, less of an advantage in the
half court.
PF2 - KG vs Gasol - hey, I want to say that Gasol is
as good as KG, but come on, the guy was a joke in
Memphis. I think KG makes him look like a JV. This
is a huge advantage KG. The only thing that makes me
nervous is Gasol's jump hook.
It looks like a slight advantage Celts or at least a
push. The Lakers are the faster team, but the Celts
play much better defense.
This brings back memories of a time in my life when I
was spoiled by Boston sports success. Celts, Bruins
and Red Sox were all pretty good in 1986-1987. A Red
Sox world series, a Celtics championship, Bourque,
Ranford, Neely, Middleton, Linsman, Kasper, Bird,
McHale, Parish, Walton, Ainge, DJ, Sichting, Rice,
Boggs, Buckner, Hurst, Stanley, Boyd, Seaver, Gedman,
Armas, Hendu, Greenwell, Clemens, Baylor, Evans,
Barrett. This is a chance for the Celtics to firmly
affix the names Garnett, Allen, Rondo and Perkins in
that group. PP is already there - his longevity and
dedication to the Celtics for all those years seals
his fate.
I like our chances. Go GREEN!!
---
Brandon
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Softball 5/29 - Thursday League
2-3, FC, 2 singles
played LC
2 defensive plays
Chris almost killed the pitcher - hit him in the
throat with a line drive
played with all the usualy suspects
won 18-2
game ended on a dropped fly ball to RF with the bases
loaded, but the 2B Marissa threw out the girl at the
plate.
weird feeling for the game after the pitcher got hit.
played LC
2 defensive plays
Chris almost killed the pitcher - hit him in the
throat with a line drive
played with all the usualy suspects
won 18-2
game ended on a dropped fly ball to RF with the bases
loaded, but the 2B Marissa threw out the girl at the
plate.
weird feeling for the game after the pitcher got hit.
---
Brandon
Hockey 5/29 - Thursday League
1 goal
played D
played with Dean - no Brian
played the Brewski's
1 bogus penalty from Brady - that kid is an ass
Won 6-2
played D
played with Dean - no Brian
played the Brewski's
1 bogus penalty from Brady - that kid is an ass
Won 6-2
---
Brandon
Avi's Riding Her Bike!
This may sound weird, but yesterday when I got home from work Jen and Avi were outside playing with the neighborhood kids. I noticed that Avi just took off on her tricycle, pedaling all over the place with no problems. This is the first time she has really been able to sustain the pedaling motion for more than a few seconds. And when she started she couldn't stop - she pedaled for about 30 minutes just chasing the older girls on their bikes. So, I guess she finally "got" it and knows how to ride her bike now - this was very cool.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
We got tickets!!
Just got an email this morning from a SOSH member that is selling me her Red Sox tickets for face value! What a relief - I was thinking that I wasn't going to be able to find decent tickets. Now Jen, Avi, me and Poppy will be going on August 15th! I can't wait. This will be Avi's first ever trip to Fenway (she's been outside, but never inside) and Poppy's first trip in a very very long time!! I don't think he's been in over 35 years!
Now all I have to do is find airline tickets to Boston - which seems to be an even harder task!
Now all I have to do is find airline tickets to Boston - which seems to be an even harder task!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hockey 5/27 - Tuesday League
1 goal
Played D
Chris the Goalie wasn't there
Played against the kid that is Joe Thornton's brother
(supposedly)
2 penalties - first one I levelled a kid, the second
one was complete crap
Lost 10-2
Played D
Chris the Goalie wasn't there
Played against the kid that is Joe Thornton's brother
(supposedly)
2 penalties - first one I levelled a kid, the second
one was complete crap
Lost 10-2
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Avi is potty trained!
On Thursday night she made it through the night without a diaper on! She hasn't had an accident in quite a while. She sometimes won't go potty before naps or when it is time to go to bed - so Jennifer warns her that she will have to wear a diaper - and Avi either goes the bathroom, or wears a pull up.
Today she had to wear a pull up to nap time, but about 20 minutes in she walked out of her room and told Jen that she had to go potty. She went potty and off came the pull up - and in for her nap she went. She has even been going through the night with a pull up on and still waking up dry - which is awesome.
She won't even be 3 until August! That is record time!
Happy Memorial Day to every one - we are headed to a BBQ at John/Amanda's as soon as Jen and Avi wake up from their naps.
Today she had to wear a pull up to nap time, but about 20 minutes in she walked out of her room and told Jen that she had to go potty. She went potty and off came the pull up - and in for her nap she went. She has even been going through the night with a pull up on and still waking up dry - which is awesome.
She won't even be 3 until August! That is record time!
Happy Memorial Day to every one - we are headed to a BBQ at John/Amanda's as soon as Jen and Avi wake up from their naps.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Softball 5/22 - Thursday League
3-3, all singles
3 RBIs
4 catches in LC
no errors
played with all the usual suspects - Chris, Rick,
Rich, Jen, Jess
won 13-6
3 RBIs
4 catches in LC
no errors
played with all the usual suspects - Chris, Rick,
Rich, Jen, Jess
won 13-6
---
Brandon
Hockey 5/22 - Thursday League
no goals, no assists
played half a game due to softball game before
played with Dean and Brian
John was our goalie
lost 10-5 - but for the record, it was 7-2 when I got there.
played half a game due to softball game before
played with Dean and Brian
John was our goalie
lost 10-5 - but for the record, it was 7-2 when I got there.
---
Brandon
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hockey 5/20 Tuesday League
no goals, no assists
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
Won 6-1
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
Won 6-1
Fun game, we had 40+ shots on the goalie and that is
pretty good.
I drew 2 penalties, although we didn't score on either.
Softball 5/19 Monday League
I subbed for the Monday league
3-4, single, double & triple - and I hit the ball over the fence for an out.
two defensive plays back to back
played with Chris, Rick and Jen G
won 26-12
3-4, single, double & triple - and I hit the ball over the fence for an out.
two defensive plays back to back
played with Chris, Rick and Jen G
won 26-12
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Softball 5/15 Thursday Co-Ed League
1-3, single, fc, ground out to 3B
played LC
got to see everyone again - haven't played in a year.
Mike Lane is playing Monday's
Saw Molly, Chris, Jen G, Lori, Rick, Rich - everyone else was new.
Left in the 5th inning up 16-7 - had a hockey game.
played LC
got to see everyone again - haven't played in a year.
Mike Lane is playing Monday's
Saw Molly, Chris, Jen G, Lori, Rick, Rich - everyone else was new.
Left in the 5th inning up 16-7 - had a hockey game.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Hockey 5/13 Tuesday League
1 goal
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
F'd up my knee - but it is ok now
1 penalty (tripping) with 1:35 left to go
Win 5-3
Played D
Played with Chris the Goalie
F'd up my knee - but it is ok now
1 penalty (tripping) with 1:35 left to go
Win 5-3
---
Brandon
Monday, May 12, 2008
Home court advantage bullsh!t
The calls are going for the home teams, as the 9avs just stole a game with the help of the zebras. Celts look very bad, and they can't shoot - they won't even win in Boston if they play this poorly. I am seriously considering this team as done. I do not think they can win two out of the next three. The Cavs will figure out how to win on the road before the Celts do.
The Sox look like hell too. We have some offense, but not enough to get excited about. Sure Manny hit a nice HR, but we need to have guys hitting around him - and what the hell are they doing sitting Youks when the kid is on fire? Ellsbury on the bench? WTF!!!! Ellsbury on the carpet is worth a steal or two.
Buccholz looked like shit. I'm hope Colon will be in good shape in the next week or so, so he can fill in for some of these guys. Sox dropped Tavarez today - hopefully they can trade him for something useful.
10pm game tomorrow is gonna suck. Luckily every one else will be a little slower as well. I start softball on Thursday with a hockey+softball doubleheader starting at 6pm.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Hockey 5/8 Thursday Night
1 goal
Played D
played with Brian - but Dean wasn't there
John was goalie
win 7-5
Played D
played with Brian - but Dean wasn't there
John was goalie
win 7-5
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
You gotta love this team!
Well - you have to love both teams.
The Red Sox are in the midst of a 5 game winnig streak and game number 6 in a row is turning out to be just one of those games the Sox just won't be satisfied with until they burn through all of the opposing pitchers and come from behind and win a high scoring game.
The Sox beat TB 3 in a row and they have beaten the Tigers two in a row. The TB series was a well played series - the Sox offense erupted after a very slow Blue Jay series in which they score live 5 runs. The Sox put up 26 runs on TB and they did it with their entire offense. Lowell off the DL started to hit, Ortiz finally got ot .200 and kept on going, Drew chipped in, Moss hit a big HR, Varitek had a few hits and a few RBI's, Youks added some power, Ellsbury stole some bases and Pedroia was solid as always. Manny was slow - but got some RBI's. The Sox had three great outings in a row with Buccholz, Beckett and Lester. The bullpen pitched well too. This team really started gelling.
The Tiger series showed some mastery and some guts. Powered by HRs by Ortiz (2), Manny, Youks (3) and Lowell (2) - and great pitching performances by Matsuzaka (2 hitter! 8 walks! 1 k!) and Wakfield (2 hitter! no walks! 6 k's!). Game 2 was a beating - 5-0 win, and the Sox dominated. Kevin Cash had 3 hits! Game 3 is a dog fight - Youks hits 2 HR's, Buccholz gets hammered, the Sox in back to back to back to back innings chip away at a huge deficit to tie it in the 7th - they would go ahead by 1 in the 8th, then the Tigers would tie it in the 9th off Paps. The game just went final and the Sox lost - I'm not even upset by this - it was a dog fight and the Sox managed tolet one slip away. The Tigers beat Paps and that is who you want them to HAVE to beat. I'm not even upset over it.
I just love this team, the dig in and dig down and just win. The pitching has done well, and the hitting is really heating up - against a Tigers team I picked to win it all this season. For them to play this well - I'm just happy for them.
Of course you have to love the Cletics right now. That Hawks series scared the hell out of me - but the Hawks are a good team, and their future is very very bright. The game 7 win by 34 points was an eye opener - and I think the Celts may have snapped out of it. This team needs to win every home game - keep the Celtics fans happy and seeing them more often, and bringing more money to this organization - of course game 7's are not the best way to do this. Game 1 vs the Cavs last night was interesting - the team played great D, which helped that the Cavs shot 31% from the field and LeBron almost had a quadruple double (12 points, 9 rebs, 9 assists and 10 TOs). LeBron will have his hands full - especially now that the Celtics have figured out how to guard the other teams best players - teh switch up they did last night on LeBron made him shoot 2-18 - that's 11%! Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right.
The Celts did have their problems last night - including Ray Allen going scoreless and Paul Pierce going 2-14 from the field. The 2 had 4 total points - which is ugly. Of course we still won with a great defenisve effort 76-72. Now I am a little scared that we only score 76 points, but the Celts do play down to their opponents levels. I think the Celts can and will put up 96 or so points tomorrow night in Boston. The second unit was a breath of fresh air last night - all averaging +9 for the top 3 bench guys (Posey/Cassell/Powe). They added 8 rebs, 22 points and only 2 TOs. KPerk had 12 boards in thsi game too. The disturbing thing is the Celts had 21 TOs to the Cavs 17. We need to lower that and turn the ratio around.
LeBron was -7 in this game - which is a telling stat when the rest of his starting 4 were +12. The Celts need to keep putting the pressure on LeBron and play good defense and not turn the ball over.
One thing I will say is that LeBron is such a puss. The guy flops on every bump, block or foul. Granted he draws contact, there is no need to make things look worse than they are. There are no head hunters on the Celts like there were on the Wizards - so stop acting like the league is out to get you and it is one man against the world. You seriously are a cry baby. Oh, and unless you go for 40+ points, your team isn't going to be able to carry you. If you want to win in this series, you better take the Cavs on yoru shoulders. Good luck with that!
I'm out!
The Red Sox are in the midst of a 5 game winnig streak and game number 6 in a row is turning out to be just one of those games the Sox just won't be satisfied with until they burn through all of the opposing pitchers and come from behind and win a high scoring game.
The Sox beat TB 3 in a row and they have beaten the Tigers two in a row. The TB series was a well played series - the Sox offense erupted after a very slow Blue Jay series in which they score live 5 runs. The Sox put up 26 runs on TB and they did it with their entire offense. Lowell off the DL started to hit, Ortiz finally got ot .200 and kept on going, Drew chipped in, Moss hit a big HR, Varitek had a few hits and a few RBI's, Youks added some power, Ellsbury stole some bases and Pedroia was solid as always. Manny was slow - but got some RBI's. The Sox had three great outings in a row with Buccholz, Beckett and Lester. The bullpen pitched well too. This team really started gelling.
The Tiger series showed some mastery and some guts. Powered by HRs by Ortiz (2), Manny, Youks (3) and Lowell (2) - and great pitching performances by Matsuzaka (2 hitter! 8 walks! 1 k!) and Wakfield (2 hitter! no walks! 6 k's!). Game 2 was a beating - 5-0 win, and the Sox dominated. Kevin Cash had 3 hits! Game 3 is a dog fight - Youks hits 2 HR's, Buccholz gets hammered, the Sox in back to back to back to back innings chip away at a huge deficit to tie it in the 7th - they would go ahead by 1 in the 8th, then the Tigers would tie it in the 9th off Paps. The game just went final and the Sox lost - I'm not even upset by this - it was a dog fight and the Sox managed tolet one slip away. The Tigers beat Paps and that is who you want them to HAVE to beat. I'm not even upset over it.
I just love this team, the dig in and dig down and just win. The pitching has done well, and the hitting is really heating up - against a Tigers team I picked to win it all this season. For them to play this well - I'm just happy for them.
Of course you have to love the Cletics right now. That Hawks series scared the hell out of me - but the Hawks are a good team, and their future is very very bright. The game 7 win by 34 points was an eye opener - and I think the Celts may have snapped out of it. This team needs to win every home game - keep the Celtics fans happy and seeing them more often, and bringing more money to this organization - of course game 7's are not the best way to do this. Game 1 vs the Cavs last night was interesting - the team played great D, which helped that the Cavs shot 31% from the field and LeBron almost had a quadruple double (12 points, 9 rebs, 9 assists and 10 TOs). LeBron will have his hands full - especially now that the Celtics have figured out how to guard the other teams best players - teh switch up they did last night on LeBron made him shoot 2-18 - that's 11%! Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right.
The Celts did have their problems last night - including Ray Allen going scoreless and Paul Pierce going 2-14 from the field. The 2 had 4 total points - which is ugly. Of course we still won with a great defenisve effort 76-72. Now I am a little scared that we only score 76 points, but the Celts do play down to their opponents levels. I think the Celts can and will put up 96 or so points tomorrow night in Boston. The second unit was a breath of fresh air last night - all averaging +9 for the top 3 bench guys (Posey/Cassell/Powe). They added 8 rebs, 22 points and only 2 TOs. KPerk had 12 boards in thsi game too. The disturbing thing is the Celts had 21 TOs to the Cavs 17. We need to lower that and turn the ratio around.
LeBron was -7 in this game - which is a telling stat when the rest of his starting 4 were +12. The Celts need to keep putting the pressure on LeBron and play good defense and not turn the ball over.
One thing I will say is that LeBron is such a puss. The guy flops on every bump, block or foul. Granted he draws contact, there is no need to make things look worse than they are. There are no head hunters on the Celts like there were on the Wizards - so stop acting like the league is out to get you and it is one man against the world. You seriously are a cry baby. Oh, and unless you go for 40+ points, your team isn't going to be able to carry you. If you want to win in this series, you better take the Cavs on yoru shoulders. Good luck with that!
I'm out!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
oh what a night!
Well, it isn't over yet, but it has been fun. I'm sore as hell from doing P90X two nights in a row. Of course I started with the week 4 dvd without knowing it and it kicked my ass! But honestly the workouts are intense and will work. The guy who runs them is a freak. I barely made it through one dvd (only a 54 minute workout) in two days! The workouts are intense but key on specific muscles and work them hard.
Anyways, I'm watching the Celts play well tonight - up by 15 but still not playing as well as they could. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are animals! These guys are going to be superstars. The Celts have to win away from the Garden - which remains to be seen. The Hawks are a young team that the Celts have to work hard to cover - I think they will actually play better against teams like Detroit or Cleveland that play at a slower pace. That is JMO, but they have to play better than games 3 and 4. Double teaming Johnson has helped a ton - because no one else on the floor (except Smith) can score.
The Sox won tonight 2-1 on a Tek single with 2 outs. This came right after Jed Lowrie got thrown out at the plate. DiceK pitched amazingly with 7 innings and 2 hits allowed. This is the second game where the offense has been absent until the bottom of the 9th. Ortiz did hit a HR in this game and went 2-4. Hopefully he is getting out of his slump.
Yanks lost, the Canadians lost, it is a good day! The kid wonder of the Yanks, Philip Hughes has sucked ass as I predictedN and went on the disabled list. The Yanks are in so much trouble it is almost comical. I doubt they make the playoffs - and if they don't it will be a massacre because Georgie will croak. Too funny!
Celts are about to win - but I'm not convinced the Celts can win in Atlanta.
Other than that, we had a good day today - Jen and I went to the doctors and got a healthy checkup on our pregnancy - yes, we are pregnant again. 7 weeks along - and we saw a heartbeat - so a big reason to celebrate today.
Again, it was a good day.
Anyways, I'm watching the Celts play well tonight - up by 15 but still not playing as well as they could. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are animals! These guys are going to be superstars. The Celts have to win away from the Garden - which remains to be seen. The Hawks are a young team that the Celts have to work hard to cover - I think they will actually play better against teams like Detroit or Cleveland that play at a slower pace. That is JMO, but they have to play better than games 3 and 4. Double teaming Johnson has helped a ton - because no one else on the floor (except Smith) can score.
The Sox won tonight 2-1 on a Tek single with 2 outs. This came right after Jed Lowrie got thrown out at the plate. DiceK pitched amazingly with 7 innings and 2 hits allowed. This is the second game where the offense has been absent until the bottom of the 9th. Ortiz did hit a HR in this game and went 2-4. Hopefully he is getting out of his slump.
Yanks lost, the Canadians lost, it is a good day! The kid wonder of the Yanks, Philip Hughes has sucked ass as I predictedN and went on the disabled list. The Yanks are in so much trouble it is almost comical. I doubt they make the playoffs - and if they don't it will be a massacre because Georgie will croak. Too funny!
Celts are about to win - but I'm not convinced the Celts can win in Atlanta.
Other than that, we had a good day today - Jen and I went to the doctors and got a healthy checkup on our pregnancy - yes, we are pregnant again. 7 weeks along - and we saw a heartbeat - so a big reason to celebrate today.
Again, it was a good day.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Bighorn Fishing Trip 2008 - April 17-20, 2008
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Thursday, April 17, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Wade fished 3-Mile access. Weather was mild – close to 50 degrees, not much wind – mostly sunny.
Left my house around 3:30 am en route to pick up the boys. Met Nate at his house around 4am, packed his gear and headed to Chad's. Picked up Chad and Matt at around 4:30 am and we were on the road. The trip went very smoothly – only about 7 hours with stops in Wheatland and Sheridan, WY. The weather was pretty crappy in Denver, with wet snow lining the roads making the road slick. But, the road dried out around Loveland and it was clear sailing from there.
We pulled into Buster's place around 11:15, but he was nowhere to be found – we did see his pups, but no truck in the yard and no answer when we knocked on the door. We drove to Cottonwood and got our cabin, suited up, went to get a parking pass and then hit 3 Mile access to wade fish.
Chad and Matt headed down river, while Nate and I fished the island and the boat ramp areas. Nate got an opportunity to do some dry fly fishing right off as there were some good sized fish taking dries in the slack water near the ramp.
He caught a half dozen nice fish right there while I fished the spill way right there by the ramp. I caught a few little guys – it was nice to get going. I fished more up river without any luck. I circled the island and was fishing the main channel out away from the ramp and hooked a huge pig right where the rip met the slow pull out – this fish was huge – although I did not have him on very long. He porpoised quickly and then down and was long gone. I was angry, but moved on – there was a nice area where a point broke the water and I fished the soft edge. I hooked a nice large fish and he pulled me down river a bit and then popped off. I was pretty bummed losing two fish in a row. I fished a little more with little luck and then headed back to the boat ramp to meet up with Chad. I did see meet up with this little guy - who was quite curious, but not quite enough to come over and say hello.
Nate was at the ramp as well, and we were ready to head out, but Matt was nowhere to be found. Nate and I decided to go to the cabin and start dinner and then come back for Chad and Matt. Nate went back and got them about 40 minutes later and I had dinner ready.
We ate dinner, met up with Tim and his dad and then decided later on to try and hit the Afterbay Dam section for some pigs – since we had heard they were stacked up there and it was almost a full moon. We went out around 8:30 and we were back at 9:30pm – we had no luck pitching streamers – actually I lost 3 rigs and 6 flies! We were in bed at 10pm.
Friday, April 18, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Rented a boat and floated from 3 Mile to Bighorn Weather was nice in the morning (40 degrees) and beautiful in the afternoon – closer to 70 degrees. Steady wind at our backs and mostly sunny.
We hit the very first run down from 3 Mile access. The run treated us well, I hooked two medium sized browns, Nate hooked a couple nice rainbows at the end of the run, and Matt hooked a huge brown that took him across the river. The wind was so bad that Nate almost couldn't get back to Matt on the other side of the river. The fishing was ok, but nothing spectacular. We couldn't get consistently on fish, in fact, I probably went 4 hours without catching a fish. Nate was consistently picking up fish. We moved down to the Shelf Hole and I couldn't catch a damn thing – just couldn't figure it out. After having decent luck with a red rojo midge size 18, the fish just weren't taking anything we were throwing. We moved down to the Colorado Club hole where I had caught a ton of fish last year, but I couldn't catch a fish there either. I had a big pig on there too, but the fish took a long run and I couldn't turn him and he popped off.
We moved down again where we met up with Chad and Dave – who were fishing together out of Dave's boat. They were having amazing luck in this hole and let us jump in. Immediately I hooked two huge browns that were very thick and had strong shoulders. Both were legit 19 inchers and were probably the largest browns I have ever caught. All of the browns seemed bigger than last year – which was amazing because last year they seemed bigger than the year before. The first brown wasn't very colorful – but he fought hard and was huge – thick and long. He took the rojo midge. The second brown was in almost the exact same spot, and he too hit hard, but didn't fight quite as hard. He was a beautiful golden color and was just so cool looking.
I managed to catch three nice fish – including one very colorful rainbow – out of the boat the rest of the way out. The wind was consistently on us all day, so we were pushed down the river pretty quickly – we were off the river by 6:30pm. We did the dinner thing, tied a bunch of flies, shot the shit with Jason (Chad's neighbor) and Eric and then went to bed.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. The morning was nice about 38 degrees, the early afternoon was great – around 73 degrees, then around 4pm a front blew in, the wind kicked up going up river and the afternoon got very very cold. Floated with Dave from 3 Mile to Bighorn access.
Waited for Paul and Doug, but no sign of them by 8:30 so we decided to hit the water – we had to do 4 guys in Dave's boat so the lower section seemed like a good idea. We only fished two holes – the Shelf and the Colorado Club – both were AMAZING.
We hit the Shelf first and the fishing started out very slow. Dave went down river and Matt and Nate and I fished the shelf section and the spin out. I decided that I was going to fish tiny flies today – size 20 and 22 Killer midges and some JuJu's that Chad had tied the night before. I had plenty of both in my box. I fished the shelf in the foam line and hooked 7 fish landing 4 of them. One of the fish took me 200 feet out to the channel and popped me off. I would have liked to see him. I did manage to catch some nice fish – including a 19.5 inch whitefish that was just in beat up shape. I hooked him and he barely fought – I dragged him straight in and landed him – Matt got a nice picture of him for me. There was no doubt who would be taking home that whitefish trophy! This poor fish had one fin that was all beat up, huge rubber lips, some missing scales and just looked in bad shape.
We all started doing much better (except Nate) and landing fish. Matt slammed and landed probably the largest brown of the trip - he was a legitimate 20 inch brown that was colorful and thick. What a beautiful fish.
Dave did especially well too, he landed 2 huge rainbows within minutes of each other. They had to be 20 inches strong and solid thick rainbows. They were colorful and beautiful - these fish are the reason why we all fish - just for the chance of landing one of these beauties.
We were on the Shelf for at least 3.5 hours - so we decided to move on. Nate still was fishless - but not for long. While in the boat he landed 3 good sized rainbows - and the skunk was off!!! We moved down to the Colorado Club where Tim and his Dad waved us into a great hole as they were on their way out. They had done pretty well in the hole and wanted to go across river to fish where a guide had just been having some great luck and landing tons of fish. They hung out and I jumped right in and landed a fat brown on my first cast. I knew this spot was going to be good.
Dave and I fished the upper run, while Nate and Matt fished the lower run. Dave and I traded fish for about 2.5 hours. I hooked a ton of browns, most were about the same size - 17 to 18 inches - with the occassional smaller and the occassional larger fish. All the fish faught nicely - often times running straight out to the middle of the river and hunkering down before I'd have to yank them into the shallower water and land them. Dave catches tons of huge fish and he put on a show in this hole. Every time I looked at him he had his rod bent and was pulling in a fish. You can tell he wasn't a rookie like me, as I hooted and hollered when I caught a fish, but Dave was always dead quiet, going about his business. He's also one of the most knowledgable guys on that river that I know. He knows every hole, every shelf, all teh birds, all the history, all the hatches, all the flies, the different types of fish, etc. He was actually guiding us and didn't realize it - actually, he probably does realize it as he had to row the extra 200 lbs of people down the river.
At 4pm the weather turned ugly. The sun went behind the clouds and the wind started kicking up - you could see storm clouds rolling in over the mountains, and the air got very cold. The wind chill must have been about 35 degrees colder than the air, and it was blowing up river. Dave continued to row us down river - with Nate fishing from the back, Matt fishing from the front and me just hunkered down trying not to throw the boat off. It was a pretty quiet, but long float to Bighorn Access. I threw one cast in a fishy hole and landed one nice rainbow. Almost at the take out, Dave switched spots and let Nate row - soon after Dave caught his first fish out of his own boat - a nice brown that was very colorful!
We landed at Bighorn Access, mostly frozen, loaded the truck and got back to Cottonwood. Dave headed home and we waited for Chad, Jason and Eric. They were in a raft and we thought with that wind there was no way they'd be back until at least 9pm - but they pulled in around 8:20pm. It was a great day of fishing after a slow day on Friday. It was just what we needed. We just made dinner and hung out - tried to play some cards and then hit the sack.
On Sunday we thought about fishing - but the weather was very cold and the wind was up - so we thought otherwise and were on the road by about 8:30 am.
It was another great trip. I'd like to thank Dave (Blackotter) for putting up with all of us and for rowing us down the river. He didn't have to do it, but he never complained and was a great fishing companion. Thanks again Dave!
Thursday, April 17, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Wade fished 3-Mile access. Weather was mild – close to 50 degrees, not much wind – mostly sunny.
Left my house around 3:30 am en route to pick up the boys. Met Nate at his house around 4am, packed his gear and headed to Chad's. Picked up Chad and Matt at around 4:30 am and we were on the road. The trip went very smoothly – only about 7 hours with stops in Wheatland and Sheridan, WY. The weather was pretty crappy in Denver, with wet snow lining the roads making the road slick. But, the road dried out around Loveland and it was clear sailing from there.
We pulled into Buster's place around 11:15, but he was nowhere to be found – we did see his pups, but no truck in the yard and no answer when we knocked on the door. We drove to Cottonwood and got our cabin, suited up, went to get a parking pass and then hit 3 Mile access to wade fish.
Chad and Matt headed down river, while Nate and I fished the island and the boat ramp areas. Nate got an opportunity to do some dry fly fishing right off as there were some good sized fish taking dries in the slack water near the ramp.
He caught a half dozen nice fish right there while I fished the spill way right there by the ramp. I caught a few little guys – it was nice to get going. I fished more up river without any luck. I circled the island and was fishing the main channel out away from the ramp and hooked a huge pig right where the rip met the slow pull out – this fish was huge – although I did not have him on very long. He porpoised quickly and then down and was long gone. I was angry, but moved on – there was a nice area where a point broke the water and I fished the soft edge. I hooked a nice large fish and he pulled me down river a bit and then popped off. I was pretty bummed losing two fish in a row. I fished a little more with little luck and then headed back to the boat ramp to meet up with Chad. I did see meet up with this little guy - who was quite curious, but not quite enough to come over and say hello.
Nate was at the ramp as well, and we were ready to head out, but Matt was nowhere to be found. Nate and I decided to go to the cabin and start dinner and then come back for Chad and Matt. Nate went back and got them about 40 minutes later and I had dinner ready.
We ate dinner, met up with Tim and his dad and then decided later on to try and hit the Afterbay Dam section for some pigs – since we had heard they were stacked up there and it was almost a full moon. We went out around 8:30 and we were back at 9:30pm – we had no luck pitching streamers – actually I lost 3 rigs and 6 flies! We were in bed at 10pm.
Friday, April 18, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Rented a boat and floated from 3 Mile to Bighorn Weather was nice in the morning (40 degrees) and beautiful in the afternoon – closer to 70 degrees. Steady wind at our backs and mostly sunny.
We hit the very first run down from 3 Mile access. The run treated us well, I hooked two medium sized browns, Nate hooked a couple nice rainbows at the end of the run, and Matt hooked a huge brown that took him across the river. The wind was so bad that Nate almost couldn't get back to Matt on the other side of the river. The fishing was ok, but nothing spectacular. We couldn't get consistently on fish, in fact, I probably went 4 hours without catching a fish. Nate was consistently picking up fish. We moved down to the Shelf Hole and I couldn't catch a damn thing – just couldn't figure it out. After having decent luck with a red rojo midge size 18, the fish just weren't taking anything we were throwing. We moved down to the Colorado Club hole where I had caught a ton of fish last year, but I couldn't catch a fish there either. I had a big pig on there too, but the fish took a long run and I couldn't turn him and he popped off.
We moved down again where we met up with Chad and Dave – who were fishing together out of Dave's boat. They were having amazing luck in this hole and let us jump in. Immediately I hooked two huge browns that were very thick and had strong shoulders. Both were legit 19 inchers and were probably the largest browns I have ever caught. All of the browns seemed bigger than last year – which was amazing because last year they seemed bigger than the year before. The first brown wasn't very colorful – but he fought hard and was huge – thick and long. He took the rojo midge. The second brown was in almost the exact same spot, and he too hit hard, but didn't fight quite as hard. He was a beautiful golden color and was just so cool looking.
I managed to catch three nice fish – including one very colorful rainbow – out of the boat the rest of the way out. The wind was consistently on us all day, so we were pushed down the river pretty quickly – we were off the river by 6:30pm. We did the dinner thing, tied a bunch of flies, shot the shit with Jason (Chad's neighbor) and Eric and then went to bed.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. The morning was nice about 38 degrees, the early afternoon was great – around 73 degrees, then around 4pm a front blew in, the wind kicked up going up river and the afternoon got very very cold. Floated with Dave from 3 Mile to Bighorn access.
Waited for Paul and Doug, but no sign of them by 8:30 so we decided to hit the water – we had to do 4 guys in Dave's boat so the lower section seemed like a good idea. We only fished two holes – the Shelf and the Colorado Club – both were AMAZING.
We hit the Shelf first and the fishing started out very slow. Dave went down river and Matt and Nate and I fished the shelf section and the spin out. I decided that I was going to fish tiny flies today – size 20 and 22 Killer midges and some JuJu's that Chad had tied the night before. I had plenty of both in my box. I fished the shelf in the foam line and hooked 7 fish landing 4 of them. One of the fish took me 200 feet out to the channel and popped me off. I would have liked to see him. I did manage to catch some nice fish – including a 19.5 inch whitefish that was just in beat up shape. I hooked him and he barely fought – I dragged him straight in and landed him – Matt got a nice picture of him for me. There was no doubt who would be taking home that whitefish trophy! This poor fish had one fin that was all beat up, huge rubber lips, some missing scales and just looked in bad shape.
We all started doing much better (except Nate) and landing fish. Matt slammed and landed probably the largest brown of the trip - he was a legitimate 20 inch brown that was colorful and thick. What a beautiful fish.
Dave did especially well too, he landed 2 huge rainbows within minutes of each other. They had to be 20 inches strong and solid thick rainbows. They were colorful and beautiful - these fish are the reason why we all fish - just for the chance of landing one of these beauties.
We were on the Shelf for at least 3.5 hours - so we decided to move on. Nate still was fishless - but not for long. While in the boat he landed 3 good sized rainbows - and the skunk was off!!! We moved down to the Colorado Club where Tim and his Dad waved us into a great hole as they were on their way out. They had done pretty well in the hole and wanted to go across river to fish where a guide had just been having some great luck and landing tons of fish. They hung out and I jumped right in and landed a fat brown on my first cast. I knew this spot was going to be good.
Dave and I fished the upper run, while Nate and Matt fished the lower run. Dave and I traded fish for about 2.5 hours. I hooked a ton of browns, most were about the same size - 17 to 18 inches - with the occassional smaller and the occassional larger fish. All the fish faught nicely - often times running straight out to the middle of the river and hunkering down before I'd have to yank them into the shallower water and land them. Dave catches tons of huge fish and he put on a show in this hole. Every time I looked at him he had his rod bent and was pulling in a fish. You can tell he wasn't a rookie like me, as I hooted and hollered when I caught a fish, but Dave was always dead quiet, going about his business. He's also one of the most knowledgable guys on that river that I know. He knows every hole, every shelf, all teh birds, all the history, all the hatches, all the flies, the different types of fish, etc. He was actually guiding us and didn't realize it - actually, he probably does realize it as he had to row the extra 200 lbs of people down the river.
At 4pm the weather turned ugly. The sun went behind the clouds and the wind started kicking up - you could see storm clouds rolling in over the mountains, and the air got very cold. The wind chill must have been about 35 degrees colder than the air, and it was blowing up river. Dave continued to row us down river - with Nate fishing from the back, Matt fishing from the front and me just hunkered down trying not to throw the boat off. It was a pretty quiet, but long float to Bighorn Access. I threw one cast in a fishy hole and landed one nice rainbow. Almost at the take out, Dave switched spots and let Nate row - soon after Dave caught his first fish out of his own boat - a nice brown that was very colorful!
We landed at Bighorn Access, mostly frozen, loaded the truck and got back to Cottonwood. Dave headed home and we waited for Chad, Jason and Eric. They were in a raft and we thought with that wind there was no way they'd be back until at least 9pm - but they pulled in around 8:20pm. It was a great day of fishing after a slow day on Friday. It was just what we needed. We just made dinner and hung out - tried to play some cards and then hit the sack.
On Sunday we thought about fishing - but the weather was very cold and the wind was up - so we thought otherwise and were on the road by about 8:30 am.
It was another great trip. I'd like to thank Dave (Blackotter) for putting up with all of us and for rowing us down the river. He didn't have to do it, but he never complained and was a great fishing companion. Thanks again Dave!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
April 17-20, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Thursday, April 17, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Wade fished 3-Mile access. Weather was mild – close to 50 degrees, not much wind – mostly sunny.
Left my house around 3:30 am en route to pick up the boys. Met Nate at his house around 4am, packed his gear and headed to Chad's. Picked up Chad and Matt at around 4:30 am and we were on the road. The trip went very smoothly – only about 7 hours with stops in Wheatland and Sheridan, WY. The weather was pretty crappy in Denver, with wet snow lining the roads making the road slick. But, the road dried out around Loveland and it was clear sailing from there.
We pulled into Buster's place around 11:15, but he was nowhere to be found – we did see his pups, but no truck in the yard and no answer when we knocked on the door. We drove to Cottonwood and got our cabin, suited up, went to get a parking pass and then hit 3 Mile access to wade fish.
Chad and Matt headed down river, while Nate and I fished the island and the boat ramp areas. Nate got an opportunity to do some dry fly fishing right off as there were some good sized fish taking dries in the slack water near the ramp.
He caught a half dozen nice fish right there while I fished the spill way right there by the ramp. I caught a few little guys – it was nice to get going. I fished more up river without any luck. I circled the island and was fishing the main channel out away from the ramp and hooked a huge pig right where the rip met the slow pull out – this fish was huge – although I did not have him on very long. He porpoised quickly and then down and was long gone. I was angry, but moved on – there was a nice area where a point broke the water and I fished the soft edge. I hooked a nice large fish and he pulled me down river a bit and then popped off. I was pretty bummed losing two fish in a row. I fished a little more with little luck and then headed back to the boat ramp to meet up with Chad. I did see meet up with this little guy - who was quite curious, but not quite enough to come over and say hello.
Nate was at the ramp as well, and we were ready to head out, but Matt was nowhere to be found. Nate and I decided to go to the cabin and start dinner and then come back for Chad and Matt. Nate went back and got them about 40 minutes later and I had dinner ready.
We ate dinner, met up with Tim and his dad and then decided later on to try and hit the Afterbay Dam section for some pigs – since we had heard they were stacked up there and it was almost a full moon. We went out around 8:30 and we were back at 9:30pm – we had no luck pitching streamers – actually I lost 3 rigs and 6 flies! We were in bed at 10pm.
Friday, April 18, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Rented a boat and floated from 3 Mile to Bighorn Weather was nice in the morning (40 degrees) and beautiful in the afternoon – closer to 70 degrees. Steady wind at our backs and mostly sunny.
We hit the very first run down from 3 Mile access. The run treated us well, I hooked two medium sized browns, Nate hooked a couple nice rainbows at the end of the run, and Matt hooked a huge brown that took him across the river. The wind was so bad that Nate almost couldn't get back to Matt on the other side of the river. The fishing was ok, but nothing spectacular. We couldn't get consistently on fish, in fact, I probably went 4 hours without catching a fish. Nate was consistently picking up fish. We moved down to the Shelf Hole and I couldn't catch a damn thing – just couldn't figure it out. After having decent luck with a red rojo midge size 18, the fish just weren't taking anything we were throwing. We moved down to the Colorado Club hole where I had caught a ton of fish last year, but I couldn't catch a fish there either. I had a big pig on there too, but the fish took a long run and I couldn't turn him and he popped off.
We moved down again where we met up with Chad and Dave – who were fishing together out of Dave's boat. They were having amazing luck in this hole and let us jump in. Immediately I hooked two huge browns that were very thick and had strong shoulders. Both were legit 19 inchers and were probably the largest browns I have ever caught. All of the browns seemed bigger than last year – which was amazing because last year they seemed bigger than the year before. The first brown wasn't very colorful – but he fought hard and was huge – thick and long. He took the rojo midge. The second brown was in almost the exact same spot, and he too hit hard, but didn't fight quite as hard. He was a beautiful golden color and was just so cool looking.
I managed to catch three nice fish – including one very colorful rainbow – out of the boat the rest of the way out. The wind was consistently on us all day, so we were pushed down the river pretty quickly – we were off the river by 6:30pm. We did the dinner thing, tied a bunch of flies, shot the shit with Jason (Chad's neighbor) and Eric and then went to bed.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. The morning was nice about 38 degrees, the early afternoon was great – around 73 degrees, then around 4pm a front blew in, the wind kicked up going up river and the afternoon got very very cold. Floated with Dave from 3 Mile to Bighorn access.
Waited for Paul and Doug, but no sign of them by 8:30 so we decided to hit the water – we had to do 4 guys in Dave's boat so the lower section seemed like a good idea. We only fished two holes – the Shelf and the Colorado Club – both were AMAZING.
We hit the Shelf first and the fishing started out very slow. Dave went down river and Matt and Nate and I fished the shelf section and the spin out. I decided that I was going to fish tiny flies today – size 20 and 22 Killer midges and some JuJu's that Chad had tied the night before. I had plenty of both in my box. I fished the shelf in the foam line and hooked 7 fish landing 4 of them. One of the fish took me 200 feet out to the channel and popped me off. I would have liked to see him. I did manage to catch some nice fish – including a 19.5 inch whitefish that was just in beat up shape. I hooked him and he barely fought – I dragged him straight in and landed him – Matt got a nice picture of him for me. There was no doubt who would be taking home that whitefish trophy! This poor fish had one fin that was all beat up, huge rubber lips, some missing scales and just looked in bad shape.
We all started doing much better (except Nate) and landing fish. Matt slammed and landed probably the largest brown of the trip - he was a legitimate 20 inch brown that was colorful and thick. What a beautiful fish.
Dave did especially well too, he landed 2 huge rainbows within minutes of each other. They had to be 20 inches strong and solid thick rainbows. They were colorful and beautiful - these fish are the reason why we all fish - just for the chance of landing one of these beauties.
We were on the Shelf for at least 3.5 hours - so we decided to move on. Nate still was fishless - but not for long. While in the boat he landed 3 good sized rainbows - and the skunk was off!!! We moved down to the Colorado Club where Tim and his Dad waved us into a great hole as they were on their way out. They had done pretty well in the hole and wanted to go across river to fish where a guide had just been having some great luck and landing tons of fish. They hung out and I jumped right in and landed a fat brown on my first cast. I knew this spot was going to be good.
Dave and I fished the upper run, while Nate and Matt fished the lower run. Dave and I traded fish for about 2.5 hours. I hooked a ton of browns, most were about the same size - 17 to 18 inches - with the occassional smaller and the occassional larger fish. All the fish faught nicely - often times running straight out to the middle of the river and hunkering down before I'd have to yank them into the shallower water and land them. Dave catches tons of huge fish and he put on a show in this hole. Every time I looked at him he had his rod bent and was pulling in a fish. You can tell he wasn't a rookie like me, as I hooted and hollered when I caught a fish, but Dave was always dead quiet, going about his business. He's also one of the most knowledgable guys on that river that I know. He knows every hole, every shelf, all teh birds, all the history, all the hatches, all the flies, the different types of fish, etc. He was actually guiding us and didn't realize it - actually, he probably does realize it as he had to row the extra 200 lbs of people down the river.
At 4pm the weather turned ugly. The sun went behind the clouds and the wind started kicking up - you could see storm clouds rolling in over the mountains, and the air got very cold. The wind chill must have been about 35 degrees colder than the air, and it was blowing up river. Dave continued to row us down river - with Nate fishing from the back, Matt fishing from the front and me just hunkered down trying not to throw the boat off. It was a pretty quiet, but long float to Bighorn Access. I threw one cast in a fishy hole and landed one nice rainbow. Almost at the take out, Dave switched spots and let Nate row - soon after Dave caught his first fish out of his own boat - a nice brown that was very colorful!
We landed at Bighorn Access, mostly frozen, loaded the truck and got back to Cottonwood. Dave headed home and we waited for Chad, Jason and Eric. They were in a raft and we thought with that wind there was no way they'd be back until at least 9pm - but they pulled in around 8:20pm. It was a great day of fishing after a slow day on Friday. It was just what we needed. We just made dinner and hung out - tried to play some cards and then hit the sack.
On Sunday we thought about fishing - but the weather was very cold and the wind was up - so we thought otherwise and were on the road by about 8:30 am.
It was another great trip. I'd like to thank Dave (Blackotter) for putting up with all of us and for rowing us down the river. He didn't have to do it, but he never complained and was a great fishing companion. Thanks again Dave!
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Wade fished 3-Mile access. Weather was mild – close to 50 degrees, not much wind – mostly sunny.
Left my house around 3:30 am en route to pick up the boys. Met Nate at his house around 4am, packed his gear and headed to Chad's. Picked up Chad and Matt at around 4:30 am and we were on the road. The trip went very smoothly – only about 7 hours with stops in Wheatland and Sheridan, WY. The weather was pretty crappy in Denver, with wet snow lining the roads making the road slick. But, the road dried out around Loveland and it was clear sailing from there.
We pulled into Buster's place around 11:15, but he was nowhere to be found – we did see his pups, but no truck in the yard and no answer when we knocked on the door. We drove to Cottonwood and got our cabin, suited up, went to get a parking pass and then hit 3 Mile access to wade fish.
Chad and Matt headed down river, while Nate and I fished the island and the boat ramp areas. Nate got an opportunity to do some dry fly fishing right off as there were some good sized fish taking dries in the slack water near the ramp.
He caught a half dozen nice fish right there while I fished the spill way right there by the ramp. I caught a few little guys – it was nice to get going. I fished more up river without any luck. I circled the island and was fishing the main channel out away from the ramp and hooked a huge pig right where the rip met the slow pull out – this fish was huge – although I did not have him on very long. He porpoised quickly and then down and was long gone. I was angry, but moved on – there was a nice area where a point broke the water and I fished the soft edge. I hooked a nice large fish and he pulled me down river a bit and then popped off. I was pretty bummed losing two fish in a row. I fished a little more with little luck and then headed back to the boat ramp to meet up with Chad. I did see meet up with this little guy - who was quite curious, but not quite enough to come over and say hello.
Nate was at the ramp as well, and we were ready to head out, but Matt was nowhere to be found. Nate and I decided to go to the cabin and start dinner and then come back for Chad and Matt. Nate went back and got them about 40 minutes later and I had dinner ready.
We ate dinner, met up with Tim and his dad and then decided later on to try and hit the Afterbay Dam section for some pigs – since we had heard they were stacked up there and it was almost a full moon. We went out around 8:30 and we were back at 9:30pm – we had no luck pitching streamers – actually I lost 3 rigs and 6 flies! We were in bed at 10pm.
Friday, April 18, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. Rented a boat and floated from 3 Mile to Bighorn Weather was nice in the morning (40 degrees) and beautiful in the afternoon – closer to 70 degrees. Steady wind at our backs and mostly sunny.
We hit the very first run down from 3 Mile access. The run treated us well, I hooked two medium sized browns, Nate hooked a couple nice rainbows at the end of the run, and Matt hooked a huge brown that took him across the river. The wind was so bad that Nate almost couldn't get back to Matt on the other side of the river. The fishing was ok, but nothing spectacular. We couldn't get consistently on fish, in fact, I probably went 4 hours without catching a fish. Nate was consistently picking up fish. We moved down to the Shelf Hole and I couldn't catch a damn thing – just couldn't figure it out. After having decent luck with a red rojo midge size 18, the fish just weren't taking anything we were throwing. We moved down to the Colorado Club hole where I had caught a ton of fish last year, but I couldn't catch a fish there either. I had a big pig on there too, but the fish took a long run and I couldn't turn him and he popped off.
We moved down again where we met up with Chad and Dave – who were fishing together out of Dave's boat. They were having amazing luck in this hole and let us jump in. Immediately I hooked two huge browns that were very thick and had strong shoulders. Both were legit 19 inchers and were probably the largest browns I have ever caught. All of the browns seemed bigger than last year – which was amazing because last year they seemed bigger than the year before. The first brown wasn't very colorful – but he fought hard and was huge – thick and long. He took the rojo midge. The second brown was in almost the exact same spot, and he too hit hard, but didn't fight quite as hard. He was a beautiful golden color and was just so cool looking.
I managed to catch three nice fish – including one very colorful rainbow – out of the boat the rest of the way out. The wind was consistently on us all day, so we were pushed down the river pretty quickly – we were off the river by 6:30pm. We did the dinner thing, tied a bunch of flies, shot the shit with Jason (Chad's neighbor) and Eric and then went to bed.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 – Bighorn River, Ft. Smith, MT
Flows around 1,920 cfs, water was clear. The morning was nice about 38 degrees, the early afternoon was great – around 73 degrees, then around 4pm a front blew in, the wind kicked up going up river and the afternoon got very very cold. Floated with Dave from 3 Mile to Bighorn access.
Waited for Paul and Doug, but no sign of them by 8:30 so we decided to hit the water – we had to do 4 guys in Dave's boat so the lower section seemed like a good idea. We only fished two holes – the Shelf and the Colorado Club – both were AMAZING.
We hit the Shelf first and the fishing started out very slow. Dave went down river and Matt and Nate and I fished the shelf section and the spin out. I decided that I was going to fish tiny flies today – size 20 and 22 Killer midges and some JuJu's that Chad had tied the night before. I had plenty of both in my box. I fished the shelf in the foam line and hooked 7 fish landing 4 of them. One of the fish took me 200 feet out to the channel and popped me off. I would have liked to see him. I did manage to catch some nice fish – including a 19.5 inch whitefish that was just in beat up shape. I hooked him and he barely fought – I dragged him straight in and landed him – Matt got a nice picture of him for me. There was no doubt who would be taking home that whitefish trophy! This poor fish had one fin that was all beat up, huge rubber lips, some missing scales and just looked in bad shape.
We all started doing much better (except Nate) and landing fish. Matt slammed and landed probably the largest brown of the trip - he was a legitimate 20 inch brown that was colorful and thick. What a beautiful fish.
Dave did especially well too, he landed 2 huge rainbows within minutes of each other. They had to be 20 inches strong and solid thick rainbows. They were colorful and beautiful - these fish are the reason why we all fish - just for the chance of landing one of these beauties.
We were on the Shelf for at least 3.5 hours - so we decided to move on. Nate still was fishless - but not for long. While in the boat he landed 3 good sized rainbows - and the skunk was off!!! We moved down to the Colorado Club where Tim and his Dad waved us into a great hole as they were on their way out. They had done pretty well in the hole and wanted to go across river to fish where a guide had just been having some great luck and landing tons of fish. They hung out and I jumped right in and landed a fat brown on my first cast. I knew this spot was going to be good.
Dave and I fished the upper run, while Nate and Matt fished the lower run. Dave and I traded fish for about 2.5 hours. I hooked a ton of browns, most were about the same size - 17 to 18 inches - with the occassional smaller and the occassional larger fish. All the fish faught nicely - often times running straight out to the middle of the river and hunkering down before I'd have to yank them into the shallower water and land them. Dave catches tons of huge fish and he put on a show in this hole. Every time I looked at him he had his rod bent and was pulling in a fish. You can tell he wasn't a rookie like me, as I hooted and hollered when I caught a fish, but Dave was always dead quiet, going about his business. He's also one of the most knowledgable guys on that river that I know. He knows every hole, every shelf, all teh birds, all the history, all the hatches, all the flies, the different types of fish, etc. He was actually guiding us and didn't realize it - actually, he probably does realize it as he had to row the extra 200 lbs of people down the river.
At 4pm the weather turned ugly. The sun went behind the clouds and the wind started kicking up - you could see storm clouds rolling in over the mountains, and the air got very cold. The wind chill must have been about 35 degrees colder than the air, and it was blowing up river. Dave continued to row us down river - with Nate fishing from the back, Matt fishing from the front and me just hunkered down trying not to throw the boat off. It was a pretty quiet, but long float to Bighorn Access. I threw one cast in a fishy hole and landed one nice rainbow. Almost at the take out, Dave switched spots and let Nate row - soon after Dave caught his first fish out of his own boat - a nice brown that was very colorful!
We landed at Bighorn Access, mostly frozen, loaded the truck and got back to Cottonwood. Dave headed home and we waited for Chad, Jason and Eric. They were in a raft and we thought with that wind there was no way they'd be back until at least 9pm - but they pulled in around 8:20pm. It was a great day of fishing after a slow day on Friday. It was just what we needed. We just made dinner and hung out - tried to play some cards and then hit the sack.
On Sunday we thought about fishing - but the weather was very cold and the wind was up - so we thought otherwise and were on the road by about 8:30 am.
It was another great trip. I'd like to thank Dave (Blackotter) for putting up with all of us and for rowing us down the river. He didn't have to do it, but he never complained and was a great fishing companion. Thanks again Dave!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Hockey 4/3 Thursday league
2 goals 1 assist
played D
Phantoms
Played with Dean and Brian
John goalie
won 9-3
played D
Phantoms
Played with Dean and Brian
John goalie
won 9-3
Hockey Game 4/1 Tuesday League
2 goals, 1 assist
Played D
subbed for TDTQ
Chris goalie
3 new ringers on team
won 7-4
Played D
subbed for TDTQ
Chris goalie
3 new ringers on team
won 7-4
Saturday, March 29, 2008
brandon722 Saturday, March 29, 2008 - South Platte River - Cheesman Canyon
Saturday, March 29, 2008 - South Platte River - Cheesman Canyon
Flows 101 cfs - water was crystal clear. Weather was bright deep blue sky with puffy clouds - 30 degrees in the morning and over 60 degrees by the afternoon - just a perfect weather day.
Cabo and I met Chad and his buddy Michael at Cheesman at around 7am. If you can believe it - I was the first car in the lot - this is a first. Usually there is always someone in there early, and 7am is hardly early for that place. I was feeling kind of sick, so I didn't really want to go - but I thought it would make me feel better. I started losing steam around noontime and was headed back to the truck around 1pm. I managed to catch one brown - very colorful, about 16 inches long, but snake skinny. I really couldn't find the fish and I am turned off to Cheesman - the place just doesn't fish the way it used to.
I got back to the truck and headed to Deckers - where I'm more familiar with where the fish are. The water was offcolored because the weather was so nice and Muddy Creek was flowing in at the bridge in Deckers. I did manage one tiny rainbow on a SJW. Then the wind started getting to me and we left. I was home by 3:15pm. Now I feel like crap and need to sleep.
Just a couple of other thoughts - it was amazing to see so many grasshoppers out for March. They were everywhere, but obviously the water wasn't high enough to see any kind of "hatch". I did see a ton of caddis as well that were flying all over the place.
Flows 101 cfs - water was crystal clear. Weather was bright deep blue sky with puffy clouds - 30 degrees in the morning and over 60 degrees by the afternoon - just a perfect weather day.
Cabo and I met Chad and his buddy Michael at Cheesman at around 7am. If you can believe it - I was the first car in the lot - this is a first. Usually there is always someone in there early, and 7am is hardly early for that place. I was feeling kind of sick, so I didn't really want to go - but I thought it would make me feel better. I started losing steam around noontime and was headed back to the truck around 1pm. I managed to catch one brown - very colorful, about 16 inches long, but snake skinny. I really couldn't find the fish and I am turned off to Cheesman - the place just doesn't fish the way it used to.
I got back to the truck and headed to Deckers - where I'm more familiar with where the fish are. The water was offcolored because the weather was so nice and Muddy Creek was flowing in at the bridge in Deckers. I did manage one tiny rainbow on a SJW. Then the wind started getting to me and we left. I was home by 3:15pm. Now I feel like crap and need to sleep.
Just a couple of other thoughts - it was amazing to see so many grasshoppers out for March. They were everywhere, but obviously the water wasn't high enough to see any kind of "hatch". I did see a ton of caddis as well that were flying all over the place.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008 - South Platte River above Chatfield
Saturday, March 15, 2008 - South Platte River above Chatfield
Cold morning - around 28 degrees at 7am, 50 by noontime. Flows were about 41 cfs and the water was slightly off color.
I'm not going to write much because it was a waste of our time. The river was frozen, the water was very low (from what we heard it was much much higher the week before and fishing great). Looking at the chart it was flowing at 120 cfs last weekend - so 3X what it was today. Nate and I hit the river and decided to fish our way from the bridge in Chatfield to the mouth of the reservior. We had heard that the fishing was great the weekend before with a friend of mine pulling our a 22 inch rainbow. I have never had success on this stretch as it seems stagnant and smells aweful. We fished a nice looking stretch early - then I worked my way down river to the delta - only to see the thing completely frozen all the way down - no where to fish.
We fished back down under the bridge, and I snapped off in a bush overhanging the water and reeled in - I was done. We were home by 11:15am. It was nice to fish so close to home - but we didn't even SEE a fish! It was nice to check this stretch out though - so I'm looking forward to tossing streamers at the delta for walleyes and trout. There were a lot of people out there today - most of them cursing Charlie Meyers for writing that article in the Post a couple of weekends ago!
Cold morning - around 28 degrees at 7am, 50 by noontime. Flows were about 41 cfs and the water was slightly off color.
I'm not going to write much because it was a waste of our time. The river was frozen, the water was very low (from what we heard it was much much higher the week before and fishing great). Looking at the chart it was flowing at 120 cfs last weekend - so 3X what it was today. Nate and I hit the river and decided to fish our way from the bridge in Chatfield to the mouth of the reservior. We had heard that the fishing was great the weekend before with a friend of mine pulling our a 22 inch rainbow. I have never had success on this stretch as it seems stagnant and smells aweful. We fished a nice looking stretch early - then I worked my way down river to the delta - only to see the thing completely frozen all the way down - no where to fish.
We fished back down under the bridge, and I snapped off in a bush overhanging the water and reeled in - I was done. We were home by 11:15am. It was nice to fish so close to home - but we didn't even SEE a fish! It was nice to check this stretch out though - so I'm looking forward to tossing streamers at the delta for walleyes and trout. There were a lot of people out there today - most of them cursing Charlie Meyers for writing that article in the Post a couple of weekends ago!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008 - South Platte River - Deckers
Saturday, March 1, 2008 - South Platte River - Deckers
Beautiful day, 60 degrees, partly cloudy, windy, 37.8 cfs and water was slightly off color.
Finally got a chance to get out, and I picked a fantastic weather day to do it. It was cool in the morning, but it warmed up by late morning. The water is deathly low down there on the Platte. Sad to see that there is an ice shelf above the water line, the entire shelf is sloped towards the water maybe 6 inches above it - a sign that the water level was higher at one time. The ice shelf was easily 8 inches thick. With such low flows, there was a lot more shore line than expected - you could walk up and down the river without being on the "bank". Cabo and I fished between the two bridges - starting at the pull out just below the bridge at Deckers. I got down there at 7:30, jumped in and headed for the long island upstream. I fished the far side of the island - seeing a couple of smaller fish further up, but they were already spooked. I fished right to the bridge and then headed down the other side of the island. Almost all the way down I hooked into a nice fish - he pulled me into some faster water, but I managed to pull him to the side and landed him. He was a nice think 14 inch rainbow. I hooked him on a tiny green body and black head midge - which I tied on after I got a snag and pulled up a stick - tons of husks were attached to the stick and I squeezed one to see what was inside. Out popped a nymph that had a neon green body with a black head and black legs. So I tied on a similar midge.
I moved down the river hitting all the usual spots with no luck - I even tried a streamer to no avail. A lot of the places were very skinny due to the low water and there was a lot of sandy areas that previously held rocks or fishy looking spots. I moved all the way down to the lower bridge right next to the huge rock. I hooked a handful of small rainbows - I knew they were there and went after them on purpose. I landed only a couple - not really worried about bringing them to hand because they were pretty fiesty and just as small! I promised the wife I'd be home by around 1pm so she could go for a bike ride - so I left at about 11:45. I was just glad to get out, and it was a good morning.
Beautiful day, 60 degrees, partly cloudy, windy, 37.8 cfs and water was slightly off color.
Finally got a chance to get out, and I picked a fantastic weather day to do it. It was cool in the morning, but it warmed up by late morning. The water is deathly low down there on the Platte. Sad to see that there is an ice shelf above the water line, the entire shelf is sloped towards the water maybe 6 inches above it - a sign that the water level was higher at one time. The ice shelf was easily 8 inches thick. With such low flows, there was a lot more shore line than expected - you could walk up and down the river without being on the "bank". Cabo and I fished between the two bridges - starting at the pull out just below the bridge at Deckers. I got down there at 7:30, jumped in and headed for the long island upstream. I fished the far side of the island - seeing a couple of smaller fish further up, but they were already spooked. I fished right to the bridge and then headed down the other side of the island. Almost all the way down I hooked into a nice fish - he pulled me into some faster water, but I managed to pull him to the side and landed him. He was a nice think 14 inch rainbow. I hooked him on a tiny green body and black head midge - which I tied on after I got a snag and pulled up a stick - tons of husks were attached to the stick and I squeezed one to see what was inside. Out popped a nymph that had a neon green body with a black head and black legs. So I tied on a similar midge.
I moved down the river hitting all the usual spots with no luck - I even tried a streamer to no avail. A lot of the places were very skinny due to the low water and there was a lot of sandy areas that previously held rocks or fishy looking spots. I moved all the way down to the lower bridge right next to the huge rock. I hooked a handful of small rainbows - I knew they were there and went after them on purpose. I landed only a couple - not really worried about bringing them to hand because they were pretty fiesty and just as small! I promised the wife I'd be home by around 1pm so she could go for a bike ride - so I left at about 11:45. I was just glad to get out, and it was a good morning.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008 - South Platte River - Cheesman
Sunday, January 13, 2008 - South Platte River - Cheesman
Flows 42 cfs - water was crystal clear. Weather was bright deep blue sky - but cold cold cold - only about 20 degrees at around 11am and maybe 34 degrees around 1pm - if you were in the sun, you froze.
I really didn't want to fish today, but Chad talked me into it - and since I hadn't fished in almost 2 months I thought what the heck. I got down there and into the canyon around 11am. Met up with Chad at the big riffle - he was chatting with Carlp and SurferSean from the board - it was very cool to meet those guys.
I hooked and landed a little brown right off - it was just above the big riffle. He didn't fight very hard - but it was nice to get the skunk off early. He was only about 12 inches long and skinny like a snake. I was excited because he took one of my new soft hackles that I tied - with a bead head and a stretch magic ribbing body with a hens hackle behind the bead. Thanks Charlie for helping me out with this!
I fished my way up and back down the river and was just about done for the day at around 2pm. I perched my self on a rock set up high about 8 feet or so right next to the river and just watched. I didn't see a whole lot when I finally noticed a fishes white mouth open and close right in the narrows of where the water flows between two rocks. He wasn't huge, but he looked colorful - I thought he was a rainbow. He was about 14 inches long and I kept trying to throw my flies in front of him, but he wouldn't take. It was more like a game of cat and mouse and I was losing. I lost my whole rig on the rock right in front of the trout - but he didn't even flinch. I re-rigged and decided to try something tiny - since he didn't want anything I was previously throwing. I tied on a fly I had just gotten from one of the swaps on the other boards and within three casts I had him on. I managed to get down off the rock and land the fish. He was nice looking and I got him back in the water quickly - I landed him with the net and my hands barely touched the fish or the water but they started burning immediately. It was that cold. I brought a towel this time and wiped my hand and stuck it in my pocket quickly. The fly was a size 22 peacock quill that troyallgood had tied - it has to be the easiest fly to tie ever - but it WORKED!
I wait for Chad below the family pool, but when he wants to fish (and his wife and kids are out of town - so he was going to be there all day!) he'll fish until dark. I jetted.
It was nice scenery - and actually very busy in the canyon, I probably saw 30 people. But, that said, I should have stayed home and hung out with the family.
Flows 42 cfs - water was crystal clear. Weather was bright deep blue sky - but cold cold cold - only about 20 degrees at around 11am and maybe 34 degrees around 1pm - if you were in the sun, you froze.
I really didn't want to fish today, but Chad talked me into it - and since I hadn't fished in almost 2 months I thought what the heck. I got down there and into the canyon around 11am. Met up with Chad at the big riffle - he was chatting with Carlp and SurferSean from the board - it was very cool to meet those guys.
I hooked and landed a little brown right off - it was just above the big riffle. He didn't fight very hard - but it was nice to get the skunk off early. He was only about 12 inches long and skinny like a snake. I was excited because he took one of my new soft hackles that I tied - with a bead head and a stretch magic ribbing body with a hens hackle behind the bead. Thanks Charlie for helping me out with this!
I fished my way up and back down the river and was just about done for the day at around 2pm. I perched my self on a rock set up high about 8 feet or so right next to the river and just watched. I didn't see a whole lot when I finally noticed a fishes white mouth open and close right in the narrows of where the water flows between two rocks. He wasn't huge, but he looked colorful - I thought he was a rainbow. He was about 14 inches long and I kept trying to throw my flies in front of him, but he wouldn't take. It was more like a game of cat and mouse and I was losing. I lost my whole rig on the rock right in front of the trout - but he didn't even flinch. I re-rigged and decided to try something tiny - since he didn't want anything I was previously throwing. I tied on a fly I had just gotten from one of the swaps on the other boards and within three casts I had him on. I managed to get down off the rock and land the fish. He was nice looking and I got him back in the water quickly - I landed him with the net and my hands barely touched the fish or the water but they started burning immediately. It was that cold. I brought a towel this time and wiped my hand and stuck it in my pocket quickly. The fly was a size 22 peacock quill that troyallgood had tied - it has to be the easiest fly to tie ever - but it WORKED!
I wait for Chad below the family pool, but when he wants to fish (and his wife and kids are out of town - so he was going to be there all day!) he'll fish until dark. I jetted.
It was nice scenery - and actually very busy in the canyon, I probably saw 30 people. But, that said, I should have stayed home and hung out with the family.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The list
For prosperity I wanted to get this list in writing:
My Top 10:
1. Elisabeth Shue - Cocktail, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future, Leaving Las Vegas, The Saint
2. Amber Valletta - Transporter 2
3. Reese Witherspoon - Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde, Walk the Line
4. Diane Lane - Under the Tuscan Sun,The Perfect Storm, The Outsiders
5. Jessica Simpson - mainly a singer, Dukes of Hazzard
6. Julia Stiles - Save the Last Dance, Bourne Identity, Down to You, Mona Lisa Smile, 10 Things I Hate About You
7. Lindsay Lohan - Parent Trap (ok, that was weird), Georgia Rules
8. Jessica Biel - Summer Catch
9. Isla Fisher - Wedding Crashers
10. Tea Leoni - Fun with Dick & Jane, Bad Boys
Updated on 6/3/09 - added Amber Valletta, deleted Angie Harmon
Updated on 9/5/08 - added Isla Fisher
Dropped out - Melanie Griffith, Marg Helgenberger
My Top 10:
1. Elisabeth Shue - Cocktail, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future, Leaving Las Vegas, The Saint
2. Amber Valletta - Transporter 2 3. Reese Witherspoon - Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde, Walk the Line 4. Diane Lane - Under the Tuscan Sun,The Perfect Storm, The Outsiders 5. Jessica Simpson - mainly a singer, Dukes of Hazzard 6. Julia Stiles - Save the Last Dance, Bourne Identity, Down to You, Mona Lisa Smile, 10 Things I Hate About You 7. Lindsay Lohan - Parent Trap (ok, that was weird), Georgia Rules 8. Jessica Biel - Summer Catch 9. Isla Fisher - Wedding Crashers 10. Tea Leoni - Fun with Dick & Jane, Bad BoysUpdated on 6/3/09 - added Amber Valletta, deleted Angie Harmon
Updated on 9/5/08 - added Isla Fisher
Dropped out - Melanie Griffith, Marg Helgenberger
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - South Platte River - Deckers
Sunday, November 18, 2007 - South Platte River - Deckers
Flows about 156cfs, water was slightly off color, morning was cold (40's) and the late morning was 60 degrees or so.
Chad and I did a quick half day trip to Deckers. Met hom at the last lot down the dirt road to Wigwam at about 6:30. As I was gearing up Chad already hooked into a pig. I hurried down and snapped a coupel pics for him.
He was oof to a good start. I did manage one fish in that stretch and you'll just have to believe me when I say it was 6 inches. Not much to brag about. Chad hooked another pig that I helped net and photgraph again.
There was another pig in the same spot, but we couldn't entice him to bite. I moved down a bit and hooked a dink. We tried the mini canyon with little luck. It started getting a bit crowded and hot, so we hiked back to the trucks and moved down river to right by the Deckers stores. Chad was into fish immediately and I worked the downed logs. The river has changed a bit down there. I managed two more dinks. Chad disappeared and soon returned in his truck, he was on his way out. I fished for about 10 minutes more and finally hooked a nice fish - a colorful 17 inch or so rainbow.
After that I was done - back to the truck and drove home - I was home by 12:20!
Funny thing happened while we were on the river. This silver Chevy Malibu stopped next to us while we were fishing the big rock and told Chad that they were hunting ducks. Three guys crammed into this little car on the back roads. Well, we went back to fishing - thinking nothing of it. Well, suddenly there was a shot - scared the poop out of us, even though we knew it was coming. Just one shot, that was it. Then, we saw the car drive back out about 5 minutes later. That just seemed funny - not exactly the hunting car I was expecting. And I thought we'd hear more than one shot - or that the guys would camp out there or something. I guess it was just a shoot and run.
Flows about 156cfs, water was slightly off color, morning was cold (40's) and the late morning was 60 degrees or so.
Chad and I did a quick half day trip to Deckers. Met hom at the last lot down the dirt road to Wigwam at about 6:30. As I was gearing up Chad already hooked into a pig. I hurried down and snapped a coupel pics for him.
He was oof to a good start. I did manage one fish in that stretch and you'll just have to believe me when I say it was 6 inches. Not much to brag about. Chad hooked another pig that I helped net and photgraph again.
There was another pig in the same spot, but we couldn't entice him to bite. I moved down a bit and hooked a dink. We tried the mini canyon with little luck. It started getting a bit crowded and hot, so we hiked back to the trucks and moved down river to right by the Deckers stores. Chad was into fish immediately and I worked the downed logs. The river has changed a bit down there. I managed two more dinks. Chad disappeared and soon returned in his truck, he was on his way out. I fished for about 10 minutes more and finally hooked a nice fish - a colorful 17 inch or so rainbow.
After that I was done - back to the truck and drove home - I was home by 12:20!
Funny thing happened while we were on the river. This silver Chevy Malibu stopped next to us while we were fishing the big rock and told Chad that they were hunting ducks. Three guys crammed into this little car on the back roads. Well, we went back to fishing - thinking nothing of it. Well, suddenly there was a shot - scared the poop out of us, even though we knew it was coming. Just one shot, that was it. Then, we saw the car drive back out about 5 minutes later. That just seemed funny - not exactly the hunting car I was expecting. And I thought we'd hear more than one shot - or that the guys would camp out there or something. I guess it was just a shoot and run.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Funniest bastid alive!
This guy is easily the funniest guy alive - he needs his own show - seriously!
http://www.townienews.com/
http://www.townienews.com/
Monday, October 29, 2007
Boston Red Sox are World Series Champs in 2007!
I'm not going to gloat or rub this in. Honestly, it wasn't as sweet as 2004, and didn't seem as dramatical or without its critics. We won, we swept, we owned, and all of the above. We were definitely the best team in the league this season.
That said, I'm very happy for the Colorado Rockies who accomplished something amazing. I'm happy for the young kids on this team, and I'm happy for the wiley veterans who deserved a second one. I'm happy for the fans who stuck with this team and loved it like it should be loved.
This thing was a foregone conclusion after the Sox beat the Indians. And again, not as sweet as waiting 86 years and being the terrible underdog for many many years. The announcers just didn't have the bounce in their voices, actually quite the opposite. Most announcers were busy ball washing the Rockies and ignoring the Red Sox. Aaron Cook was having a terrific game holding the Red Sox offense to 2 hits and 1 run - huh? Before this series you were talking about how great the Rockies offense was - now Jon Lester has given up 2 hits and NO runs and you don't even mention it. That's crap.
Now that the WS is over, we have a lot of work to do. Mike Lowell, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, finding a spot for Ellsbury, the minor league system, adding a younger SP, adding some RP, is there a way to trade a Lugo or Drew?, finding a young catcher in the minors or somewhere. We do have our share of question marks. It will still be a fun offseason.
Even more fun will be seeing the Yankees in demise. ARod gone, Posada/Rivera next? Clemens gone, Abreau staying. Pettitte gone? Damon sucking. Mussina aging. All the coaching in NY gone! No bullpen, no young pitching (except Hughes). No young position players. The will overpay for someone - Andruw Jones? Who else? Good times. Team is totally in disarray.
Who will step up next season? Blue Jays? Orioles? Probably not. Should be a fun offseason.
The Red Sox are World Series champs, let's now move on to building a dynasty.
That said, I'm very happy for the Colorado Rockies who accomplished something amazing. I'm happy for the young kids on this team, and I'm happy for the wiley veterans who deserved a second one. I'm happy for the fans who stuck with this team and loved it like it should be loved.
This thing was a foregone conclusion after the Sox beat the Indians. And again, not as sweet as waiting 86 years and being the terrible underdog for many many years. The announcers just didn't have the bounce in their voices, actually quite the opposite. Most announcers were busy ball washing the Rockies and ignoring the Red Sox. Aaron Cook was having a terrific game holding the Red Sox offense to 2 hits and 1 run - huh? Before this series you were talking about how great the Rockies offense was - now Jon Lester has given up 2 hits and NO runs and you don't even mention it. That's crap.
Now that the WS is over, we have a lot of work to do. Mike Lowell, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, finding a spot for Ellsbury, the minor league system, adding a younger SP, adding some RP, is there a way to trade a Lugo or Drew?, finding a young catcher in the minors or somewhere. We do have our share of question marks. It will still be a fun offseason.
Even more fun will be seeing the Yankees in demise. ARod gone, Posada/Rivera next? Clemens gone, Abreau staying. Pettitte gone? Damon sucking. Mussina aging. All the coaching in NY gone! No bullpen, no young pitching (except Hughes). No young position players. The will overpay for someone - Andruw Jones? Who else? Good times. Team is totally in disarray.
Who will step up next season? Blue Jays? Orioles? Probably not. Should be a fun offseason.
The Red Sox are World Series champs, let's now move on to building a dynasty.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
3-0 Red Sox
Ok, let's get this straight - I don't dislike the Rockies. If they were playing any other team I'd be routing for them - although playing the AL, I wouldn't expect much from them.
Now, I really would like to see this game go back to Fenway so Boston fans can see them win it at home - but I really don't want that to happen - I want them to end it tonight.
I wouldn't mind this thing going to game 5 either - the Rockies winning one (instead of getting embarrassed) and the state of Colorado getting another few million dollars worth of fans money would be a VERY good thing - but I'd rather end it tonight.
As for a sweep - I think it is possible - the Rockies have been pummelled and have no mental edge and have been reduced to infants. Jon Lester is an unknown - although he is more of a known than Aaron Cook. Lester pitched in the ALCS and did well - Cook hasn't pitched in months. The Sox are going to feast on Cook - that is a given. Lester could either get shelled or throw a perfect game tonight. I could see the crafty kid really putting the screws to the Rockies - and that would be just fine with me.
Pedroia and Ellsbury were spectacular tonight and I think Pedroia is 2 hits away from wrapping up MVP. Of course, if Ellsbury gets 2 doubles tonight we might be splitting the award - which is something I am definitely hoping for. 2 rookies leading off the top of the order is unheard of and certainly without precedent. To think this is the future of the organization (with Youks, Paps, Buchholz, Lester, MDC) is amazing. This could very well be the start of a dynasty.
I look forward to the offseason - just like everyone else, but it all comes down to tonights game - win it all tonight and it makes it a very very special year. Win it for all of us. Win it like everyone knows you can.
Now, I really would like to see this game go back to Fenway so Boston fans can see them win it at home - but I really don't want that to happen - I want them to end it tonight.
I wouldn't mind this thing going to game 5 either - the Rockies winning one (instead of getting embarrassed) and the state of Colorado getting another few million dollars worth of fans money would be a VERY good thing - but I'd rather end it tonight.
As for a sweep - I think it is possible - the Rockies have been pummelled and have no mental edge and have been reduced to infants. Jon Lester is an unknown - although he is more of a known than Aaron Cook. Lester pitched in the ALCS and did well - Cook hasn't pitched in months. The Sox are going to feast on Cook - that is a given. Lester could either get shelled or throw a perfect game tonight. I could see the crafty kid really putting the screws to the Rockies - and that would be just fine with me.
Pedroia and Ellsbury were spectacular tonight and I think Pedroia is 2 hits away from wrapping up MVP. Of course, if Ellsbury gets 2 doubles tonight we might be splitting the award - which is something I am definitely hoping for. 2 rookies leading off the top of the order is unheard of and certainly without precedent. To think this is the future of the organization (with Youks, Paps, Buchholz, Lester, MDC) is amazing. This could very well be the start of a dynasty.
I look forward to the offseason - just like everyone else, but it all comes down to tonights game - win it all tonight and it makes it a very very special year. Win it for all of us. Win it like everyone knows you can.
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