FoulHooked...(how'd that get there?)

3:22 PM, Wednesday November 17, 2010 Dear Joe, I almost died today. Twice. First it was the suicidal doe as we were making our way to 390 this morning. I swear sparks were flying off her hooves when she realized she better get moving if she didn't wanna become a hood ornament. Seriously the closest near-miss I've had with a deer. Made it to the Salmon OK in the end. 'Course severe winds and driving rain made the short afternoon a little less than pleasant. At least it made the dunking I received crossing back over the river a little less annoying. Tell you what though, did a number on my knee and shin. First legit fall I've had and it was a good one; if the water was a little deeper, probably wouldn't be as sore now. Camera's probably out of commission for a couple days and seriously shortened the life of my brand-new Goretex waist-highs. Rod's OK though, that's all that matters. Did have a bump today but nobody landed anything. We're headed to You G...

9:12 PM, Tuesday November 16, 2010 Dear Joe, " Down at Oak Orchard Fly Shop, we don't F* around! " Hahaha. I'll never forget those words (though that's only my best effort to reconstruct from memory what was actually said). We stopped by the shop last night. Managed to bash my brains in on the car and prompt a laugh-fest doing so, but that's another story. Anyway, we were regaled with tips, tactics and theory in bombastic fashion and no uncertain terms. Seriously, the man was cool, helpful, and entertaining. Hooked us up with some stickers too. I grabbed some sweet speys (Gold Heron, Lady C...no, not that C). Anyway, the place we ended up today, he had "joked" about a placemarker-shop that sold "free-range bologne." Weren't sure we were on the right track this morning until we actually saw a sign for "All Natural Free Range Bologna." Ain't that some shi. Long story short, we got into some decent fish. Had at least 6 grabs,...

4:00 PM, Monday November 15, 2010 Dear Joe, Saw the Niagara for the first time ever today. Stared at Kinaideeyah for a bit. Pulled a sweet steelie. Alex said it was "doable" but there's a big difference in him saying it can be done and us being able to do it. Thousands of stairs (or at least that's what it felt like); Bmar won't stop complaining and I love it. When we got near the bottom I let him know that "I didn't want to tell you guys 'till we got down here, but there are places with easier access." At least he wasn't walking in Nate's boots of last-year. He's actually been a good sport and is willing to come back tomorrow. Gordy wants to stop in Buffalo for wings but these leftover pancakes from this morning are amazing. Baulsir got a brown today too. I think the Gordy-first-fish curse was broken 'cause I needed him to take the rod so I could jump down 6' to the water and land the fish without dying. Today was just too co...

5:22 PM, Sunday November 14, 2010 Dear Joe, If Gordy doesn't catch a fish soon I'll murder him. We seriously F'd with Karma when we designated first fish to him. Well no doubt she's gonna have the last laugh. Baulsir and I each lost 2 fish and had at least a couple more each toying with us. Meanwhile, FNG is joking that the first fish just might be the last of the trip. We'll see how funny he sounds with his throat slit. Bastard. And what is with you not answering this morning when I called to let you know what the plan is? I mean, we're a team bro, I'm just trying to keep you apprised. What, Granny can get up at 4 to assemble a full meal but you cant even hit the speaker and let me hear you snore? WTF!? Oh, and one more thing...guess who is bunking with Bmar this year. This trip is already falling apart. EFFF THESE BITCH ERIE STEEL, WE'RE PULLIN ALL THE STOPS TOMORROW! ____________________________________________ 7:42 PM - Addendum Sorry I was so wound ...

6:12 PM - Saturday November 13, 2010 Dear Joe, Where'd all the fish go? I mean, seriously. We got in late last night...well, a couple hours earlier than last year, but still. Bmar and I had the opportunity, nay, pleasure of stopping in at Hardy's in Delevan waiting for the rest of the party. Man, what an establishment. As Bmar noted, never seen people go so crazy for Great White's version of Once Bitten, Twice Shy before. Fantastic. They even have the old-school towel rolls in the bathroom. Don't think it's ever been cleaned (towel or the bathroom). And of course, Gramma G. had a spread of pizza and I cant even remember what else waiting when we arrived, then got up at 4 to make breakfast sandwiches before we made off to the dam. I would do this trip just for the food. Nothin' doin' fishing-wise today. We hit everything we could find above the valley. Couldn't even see a single fish where there were dozens in the open a year ago. Reports haven't be...

Soon-to-be, best- thing -since. Or maybe I'm just jonesing hard already 2 days after 9 of working it...well, trying anyway. I guess it could be both ....

I would be remiss if I didn't give Alex at least a little flak here; I mean sure, the guy can fish, he can write, he can tie, etc., etc. But I'm seeing a little flip-flopping from Mr. "I don't need no stinking 2-hander, leave me alone all you band-wagoners!" In the end, seems like it may have been more sour grapes than anything. Musta been hard forming that D-loop with the size of the chip on your shoulder there daytripper. And now he's playing the "This two handed business has soul" card? Baptized and confirmed? Now you're some kind of bonafide warm-and-fuzzies long-rodder (well, long-ish, it is only a switch)? Sell off your single-handers? I don't buy it and nobody else does either. Eh, who am I to judge? Aside from the fact that I didn't try to hide my interest and admiration of the style, I guess we're in the same boat. If I were in a position to, I'd welcome you to the club. As it is, I'll be happy to stand by y...

42 hours (roughly) until my feet are in this . Round II is on. If I ever finish pulling and packing my gear. Happy Vet's Day and thank you to all who have served.

I've got a box full of hairwings And a pocket full of bantams I know I won't be fishing every one Because the patterns that control your mind Those patterns take away my time Hello Goodbye http://www.relevantmagazine.com/video/watch/534/mouth-full-of-diamonds

-Levels have dropped on the Salmon; reports are in thick with many trout being caught. Please, if you do plan on keeping any fish, learn proper identification. There are people misidentifying trout and atlantics as pacific salmon, and as a result, keeping fish that may not be legal, simply out of ignorance. -Only a couple days left to hit the trout waters under statewide regs. I plan on getting at least 2 afternoons and a morning between now and the close. -If you waited to make your fall foliage trip, you might have missed it. The winds over the weekend have put all the leaves on the ground, at least in exposed areas in the Adirondacks. Deep, sheltered valleys and lee slopes still have some color. -31.5 days until we arrive in Springville for Year II. Better get tying.

It's sad but true; I got excited this morning when I saw the gages had climbed all the way to 20th percentile flows. It's been a long, dry summer but things look to be on the upswing...slightly. Should get at least an inch over the next couple days...there's actually a flood watch for the entire region. Could make for a great couple weeks to close the trout season. In other news, EMS Club Days are coming up. Present your ADK (or other applicable organization...wonder if TU counts) mebership card (or sign up on the spot) and get 20% off. I got a pair of boots waayyy outside my price range on hold for Friday, unless I can convince myself they're not worth it...which would be tough. I guess this constitutes free, unsolicited advertising...but high retail prices aside, EMS has got to be the greatest outdoors shop on earth.

Not toooo awful much fishing recently. Headed to the Pulaski Snagfest this weekend. Should be interesting. In the meanwhile, I'll be trying to regularly update with hikes taken. Hannah and I did this one a couple weeks ago. SawteethGothics 9-18-10 Find more Hikes in Keene Valley/st. Huberts, New York I like that we maxed out the steepness scale. Much more of that to come hopefully. And maybe some pics from this hike, as it's about as scenic as they come.

Been a lot of talk about them recently. Clams in Lake George . Carp in the Mighty Miss (and it's surrounds ). Rock Snot...well, just about everywhere. It's understandable that there would be some " backlash " to all these stories...but let's keep it in perspective. The threats are real. Daily Finance (of all places) has 10 interesting invasive stories that have had negative effects on the US economy. It's important to remember that invasives have a real, measurable and direct cost to all of us, not just the ecosystems they can malign (though...really...these things are inseparable, which somewhere down the line we will finally be forced to face the harsh realities of...but thats another discussion altogether). Of course, if the scope of the article were a little broader, I'd be forced to point out a major offender they omitted: Humans. And no, I don't mean just our friends to the South. But again...another issue altogether . Except for the whole inter...

What did the the capital district trout angling zombie cry when he saw the streamflows? After a long-weekend in balmy Florida, the weather up here is downright refreshing. Still, streams are approaching record lows, temps are threatening record highs, and no significant rainfall is in sight. It's enough to make you go carping. OK, extra carping motivation isn't really needed. Free time and work-release would help. Ideally though, it would be nice if there was water in the streams for the next two months, and maybe even something left in them to catch, before the season closes. Oh...and something from the weekend... 2 kids + alligator = 1 kid? Nah

spotted, stalked, caught and released...

1. Long, delicate casts to visible, actively feeding targets on sunny, sweltering days are your best bet. 2. Sixth-sense strike detection is an art that must be mastered. 3. Expect at least one, mile-long, freight-train run. 4. Once hooked, given stout enough tippet, you're unlikely to lose them. 5. Though carp are fickle, once it "clicks", they start to come much easier. I'm sure in general 1 and 2 up your chances dramatically...but so far I can only attest to 3 and 4. Stole 90 minutes last night as the river was "bottoming out" at a cool, extremely turbid, 5,000+ CFS. Though the weather was pleasant (other than a slightly stiff breeze out of the SW), the water didn't look to promising. With the heavy sediment load added to the fairly high flow, no way was crossing the riffles-turned-rapids gonna happen, so a quick tour of the relatively slack water yielded not even a bump from the smallmouth that I had hoped would keep things interesting. Up at the bot...

Last weekend's Spey Nation was pretty sweet for plenty of reasons. In addition to the event itself, it was some much needed relaxation and QT. After a short, somewhat frustrating trip to the UFZ Saturday afternoon, we stopped back on our way out of town Sunday morning. The juvenile trout and salmon (and chubs) weren't at all put off by the sun. The only real frustration was some difficulty in hook removal. To save myself a few dozen trips up and down the bank, I handed her the hemos. With the lady distracted by dozens of hookups, the quick stop turned into over 3 hours. Who's complaining? Not a great angle but it's plain to see her technique is better than mine. We're still working on the wading part.

Taking some time on the river, feeling lucky and grateful, among other things. Six-year-olds playing war in the back yard never picture days like these a couple decades down the line. In Memorium Parents, sisters and young wives be in your thoughts. It will surely be a difficult father's day. *pic stolen from photobucket

Need I say more?

...the bugger still does, always has, and always will, produce here. And, I...like, commas...and ellipses.

I hope this doesn't put me out of the running for (another) prize out at Spey Nation next month (luck ain't my bag, baby), but...I WON SOMETHING! Well...I had some help. My only question is...who's this "Dave" character, and why won't he leave me alone? It's O.K. April, you'd be amazed to know the number of people that find my name confusing. Thanks for the book! Ella will love it (I hope). As for me...guess I'll head to the lock for the rest of lunch and contemplate a name change.

Or catsup. Dunked the camera out at the Salmon on the 1st and haven't gotten around to updating anything until now. So, to start, here's how our plan played out that weekend: Phase I: Collect Underpants (i.e. soiled diapers/depends and other assorted trash...from the riverbanks) Phase II: ??? (try not to fall down...often) Phase III: Profit! (smolts and chub"bie"s) Oh yeah...and a couple of my wild exploits from April...

Seriously...I don't know that it would have even occurred to me if not for the Hatches blogs . I mean, who has time for the earth these days? If I had thought about things beforehand a little, Alex and that other dude would have summed up my feelings better than I could anyway. I'll just add that it's a little reminder and event to celebrate all the "right" choices we make throughout the year. And that most "actions" taken on behalf of the "environment" are much like those made "for charity." In reality, they are self-serving. It makes you feel better or helps your bottom line. It means you get to enjoy the outdoors, or see smiles, or whatever, and these are your rewards. "True" altruism is a myth. Our actions are compelled by some rewards/punishment system, regardless of how conscious we are of it. Any benefit reaped by others is simply a byproduct of our self-interest. You think the earth actually cares if we make it unliv...

You shouldn'a dun dat.... Elation...trumped by despair...relieved by satisfaction. Yesterday afternoon I started out on a bit of water smaller than anything I can recall fishing previously. The very top of Default. Well, sortof. Anyway, whatever was nipping at the fly wasn't big enough to eat it. They were fish though, that much I'm sure. I gave up and worked my waterlogged jeans back to the truck with my foam "stonefly" creation, which had replaced a waterlogged hackled dry, now waterlogged, and tried to grip pedal with my waterlogged sneakers. Ahh...spring. I took some time out to check on the big bend pool. The foam dry was now fishing more like a winged wet, so we (you know, my gear and I) were into swing mode and took a quick hit after a couple casts. Tittilated that my failed stonefly had found a new, more rewarding life, I went back over the seam, and the hook stuck this time. Now, pardon my ignorance, but I had been catching wild fish for the past week, an...

Really? Who would they be? EPA vows dredging even without GE

"I find it interesting that "his series started in October and has included several updates on how the creation of the task force and its actions could impact recreational anglers," or the powerful advertisers that profit from fishing, but none of the articles focus on what needs to be done so my children or their children will be able to fish. If ESPN wants to play in the policy realm of fishing, better get an education and stop printing the press releases of the Washington DC lobbists. Money and hysteria is a powerful tool in today's press. Please grow up." A comment by reader 66matt301 on ESPN's "clarification" of their boneheaded article inciting riot in the fishing community over false claims. If you haven't read it already, a quick search should find it for you. I just wanted to share this one comment. Pretty applicable across the board on "news" sources these days too.

"It's like GE's numbers are from Mars and EPA's are from Venus," said one of the members of the panel, environmental scientist Timothy Thompson. ...or was it... ... EPA's description of the PCBs left in the river "were from Mars, and GE's figures were from Venus. No matter. Point is, GE still hasn't given up on giving up. I hate to sound cynical, but the recent reports make it look like their mindset all a long has been "if we make a big enough mess of this, maybe they'll have to let us off the hook." Big Mac is headlining the sports news with sustained contrition these days. Sure, it's more about the new jobby job than anything, but at least it's something. At least he's not still denying...er...ignoring. From where I sit, EPA looks more like Canseco every day. Sure, not too many people up there are happy with them, and nobody has really loved what they have to say, but at least they seem to be telling the truth. ...

Preliminary EPA and GE independent reports on Year 1 of the Hudson River dredging project are out, and they're something to take note of. The major highlights: -Dredging is dirty work -There's a lot of dirty dirt Neither of these is a real revelation, but they were two of the main arguments used by pro- and anti-dredging advocates. What are the implications? The antis were right, dredging mucked things up pretty good . Concentrations of contaminate in air and water spiked above EPA standards. Anyone who has been following the issue at all knows that dredging activities were suspended when downstream sampling indicated elevated PCB levels over the course of the season. We're putting people and the environment at risk by dredging. The pros were right, something needed (needs) to be done. All indications are, there's a lot more nasty stuff down there than we had hoped to see. It hasn't decayed, been buried or washed away. It's both a ticking time bomb and a slow do...

...or so I've been told. I don't buy it though. Might even go so far as to say; everyone should be so lucky. And in truth, many are. Find something you love, and pursue it to no end. It will bring you happiness. Passions need not be singular, exclusive of, or competitive with one another. For some it's a "passtime." Of course, to them, passtime does not suffice as a descriptor. Perhaps it is the love of another person, or many. Maybe it's creative, objective, subjective, active, passive...maybe it's sleep. Maybe it's god, or God...or the gods...or our study thereof. Philosphy, history...future. Babies. Babymaking. Cats. Supernova. TV. Drugs. Work. Baseball. Noun. Verb. Adjective.... Nobody shouldn't be obsessed with something . Better yet, some things. Life's sweetness is in caring. On another, sadder, note; fare thee well Coach C. For a select, lucky group, your obsession was mentoring and interacting with us for up to and...

SPEY NATION III IS ON THE CALENDAR !!! Unofficially...I may have to miss it for a wedding. But don't let that stop you. Good food, nice people, great beer, fantastic presentations and demos, incredible raffle prizes...not enough superlatives to describe. Hopefully I'm just misremembering the matrimonial date because this is at least as important. Spey Nation III only happens once in a lifetime...who knows how many times you will get married?