Mudded Out

In baseball, rain is the enemy. The grand old game can not go on, if mother nature turns the green grass of summer into a giant outdoor slip and slide. Errors and strkeouts are completely acceptable in dry conditions-- but fall on yer KEISTER on a wet field and it's TIME OUT-let's play this one tomorrow.

In fishing, it seem a little silly to cancel a day of fishing when a little moisture falls from the sky.
Especially when we are standing knee deep in a large gathering of " moisture "known as a river, lake or pond!!

That's what happened this weekend.

I already mentioned how mother nature dealt Southern Oregon a prime time lightshow on Friday. Well, she also finished it off with hail, buckets of rain and one big sloppy aftermath of soggy MUD.

So "Grandpa's Pond" was turned into "Grandpa's Mud Pot", and the big Crappiefest was cancelled. Now some of you may say--big sissies-- what's a little mud? Well, before you get too critical--keep in mind, there was to be four "Junior Crappie Rangers" all under the age of seven fishing the pond. If your mind does not immediately envision four kids WALLOWING in mud, complete with footless boots sticking out of the mud like little rubber soled plants--IT SHOULD !!

Been there and done that.

Throw in a little wet cow dung from the frequent bovine visitors to the pond, and the Crappiefest-- well--would take on an entirely new meaning!!

Anyway, the fishing day was rescheduled and no children were forced to sleep outside with the pigs. The weather forecast is looking good for this week, so maybe by Friday we can be back in hot pursuit of the elusive Crappie!

Besides, by then we can all go over the fine points of making "cow patties" fly like frisbies....

The Perfect Storm

Last night, the Southern Oregon skies were lit up with an incredible lightshow. For those located in the midwest, where tornados and thunderstorms are common it would probably be no big deal, but to us candy rumped westerners it was the mother of all storms.

The lightning began to crackle about four-thirty last night and as soon as I finished waxing my car(of course) all heckif iknow broke loose. The storm seemed to gain strength and at one a.m. I finally gave up and decided to watch natures light show. It was like trying to sleep in a bowling alley with the "paparazzi" clicking off flash after flash of the camera!! By four thirtyin the morning the whole family--dogs included- were all sheltered in the same bed trying to form some impervious covey of safety. I swear it was hitting our house, and my fillings rattled every 2 seconds as the next bolt roared to life.

This all reminded me of a backpacking trip in the high Sierras, when we had a similar situation-only that storm was at 12,000 feet!! I remember huddling in my newly purchased 1 man tent and wishing I had taken the time to SEAL the seams. Not that sealed seams would offer much protection from 15,000,000 volts of mother natures power plant, but when you are cowaring in a pup tent at 12,000 feet you think goofy thoughts.

Fear No Fishbones?

I was aimlessly driving around this place I call home yesterday, when an interesting window sticker caught my eye. Everybody has them these days, little blurbs and mini window blogs that give us a quick glimpse into the psyche of the driver ahead of us. Important messages like: "Quit driving so close or I'll flick a Booger at you", or poor lttle Calvin "peeing" on some adversarial auto engineers hard work, and the ever present modern day ribbon supporting some worthy cause.

This one was different, and of course caught MY eye because of it's fishing related matter.
"FEAR NO FISH" -- There it was, slapped to the corner window of a shiny new SUV. Along with this boldly emblazened self proclamation--was a nicely die cut graphic of what looked to be a hybrid cross between a Salmon and a Piranha!!

Unfortunately for the fish it appeared to be formed in the post mortum state of "BONEDUM".

My first thought was of course, do any of us really fear fish??

Perhaps if they have been sitting under the heat lamps too long at Mickey D's--but surely not those critters we see wagging back and forth looking for some tasty little morsel to float closely into their feeding zone. After all, with todays fish finders, laser sharp hooks,high tech scents ,attractents and invisible monofilaments, the odds are pretty well stacked in our favor.
Not to mention we are usually sitting in the comfort of a nicely equipped boat, float tube or decked out in neoprene,-- for those times when we need" extra protection" from those overly aggressive fish assaults!

I wonder if the SUV -slayer of fishbones -would feel the same way if he was dropped off in the middle of the Amazon, with no gear and came across one of "G. Loomis' labarotory "Piranha-SalmonSTEIN" monsters? A Piranha swimming up stream, ready to spawn and die!! I'm thinking he's taking out one more fish slayer before he croaks--- if he can.

"FEAR NO FISH"

Yes, that is quite bold and conjours up thoughts of brave warriors heading into battle armed only with 4 weight fly rods and their sparsely tied wooly worms. "Oh brave knight, go forward into the field of battle and be victorious in your virtuous quest."

As for me, I'm not going without a can of corn... just to be safe.

Fishing v. Blogging

Well, I was more than a little bored last night. Rather than watching another unrealistic reality show or tuning in to see if the CSI Omaha was any different than the other methods of murder in other urban areas, I decided to actually read some of the other Blogs at Blogger.com.

Whoa.

I have never read more depressing stories.

Outside of wanting to down a bottle of Scotch and commiserate with the hopeless, I thought "man- these people need to get out and appreciate the simple things in life".

First of all let me tell you I am Mr. Old School and if my Polyanna approach to happiness is something you want to scoff at-- then you deserve to be miserable. Life is hard, but you have a choice here. Be unhappy or look for the little things in life--the details-- and marvel at them.

And of course fish more.

I just returned from a trip to Chicago, and even in that urban jungle I came upon some men fishing at an urban lake--I can't even tell you the name of it. What I saw were people talking, relating, doing something with purpose, and laughing !

Wow that sucks!!

Maybe I am not cut out out for this "blogging thang", because I don't have that much to be miserable about. Or maybe I just want to do my part at being happy and balance the world so that the other half can wallow in pity...

It's your choice. Pick which side of the line you want to be on...

All Fish All The Time

Most folks might be asking" how can a person have something fishy to say day in and day out." O.K.- maybe you're not asking, but I'm going to tell you anyway. It's not about the fish--or the fishing for that matter. For me fishing is a backdrop, a thing to be doing while you are developing personal relationships. Kind of like being at a baseball game with some friends, golfing, or knitting. I just like the sounds and smells of the river more than the smell of grass(not to mention the frustration of golf) or the loud heckler at the baseball game.
I have learned more about people and friendships while dangling a worm or casting a fly, then I ever have in any other setting. Throughout history it is the same. Many of the disciples were fishermen, and I think they had quite a bit to say and learn about while casting about nets. One of Ernest Hemingways greatest novels is centered around a fisherman and his epic battle with a fish. Of course it is not the battle with the fish that is important, it is the nature of man and human spirit that we learn about. Don't get me wrong, it's great and exciting to catch a fish, and I get really excited when I get to outwit a species with a brain the size of a PEA !! But, like I said,it's the idle time between casts or the catching, and the time afterwards that you really get to connect with another human.

I think that's important.

Wonder Bread & Enlightenment

Wonder bread boy from Medford Oregon writes that he has been enlightened. I find this to be impossible, since any consumer of "wonder bread" would find it impossible to be " light"at anything -- in fact "enfattenment" might be the better description here.

However, "wonder bread" makes an excellent "chum" when fishing for lake Trout, and has the added benefit of fattening your fish before you scoop him into your "wal-mart" net!!

State records will surely fall and I recommend feeding the fish for several months prior to the actual fishing trip, to increase the chance for a trophy catch!! Be advised though, trying to land a fish that resembles a welfare mom filled up on "big gulps" and " snickers", might put an excessive strain on your "wal mart" net, and you would hate to lose that state record to some cheap "chinese " made piece a .........whoops there I go again...

Enjoy the "wonders" of the day--wonder boy and "safe fishing" to ya.....

The REEL Deal

With all the bogus blog sites out there with automated garbage in and garbage out, isn't it nice to find a REEL site with actual keystrokes? You can tell it is real by the bad pun!!
Anyway, if you have wandered through the forest of this thing we call the internet and stumbled across this somewhat fishy site--feel free to comment -- because there are at least three individuals that will be listening. That may be three more than you'll find on other blogs...

Now, in other fish happenings.

This week in Oregon it is beautiful and we are experiencing some true springlike weather.
That means I will be taking my daughter and her cousin to "Grandpa's Pond" for some Crappie and Smallmouth Bass fishing. Yeah-- that should be interesting and I will let you know how that goes!! My guess. is I will have to take a few days off to relax from going fishing.

Perhaps I will go fishing?!!?

Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it went....

Good Fishing Stories

Picked up a GREAT fishing book the other day. It is called Fisherman's Luck. Henry van Dyke is the author, and he writes beautifully about stories of fishing and the world of fish. It is an older book and gives you insight to the REAL history of fishing and why people went fishing. Especially the free thinkers of the worls of which Henry van Dyke can certainly be counted amongst.
If you believe that fishing only has to do with the catch and consumption of fish- this book is probably not for you. If you are looking for someone to wax eloquently about the romance of the sport, then don't miss this one.

That's my review and I'm sticking to it!!

Fishless in Montana

I just got back from Montana and went
Troutless once again--anybody else get lured into the rivers of Montana only to find it is not all it is cracked up to be? I gotta stop reading those magazines and stay home and catch real fish here in Oregon!!