grass in da house

...bamboo that is!

Recently The Fates over at Outdoor Blogger Network cast my way a golden opportunity to gear test the stuff Dreams are made of: a bamboo* rod, reel, line outfit put together for an extended round-robin contest.   

    *(Yes you read that right: hand-picked. hand-split. cane bamboo.  And not that Kane BamBu you see on the end-aisle at wallyworld either)

Included in the package~

• 2 piece 8' 5wt bamboo rod handcrafted in ID by the good folks at Fall River Fly Rods, namely master craftsman Jason Zicha.  Mr Zicha sir, may I say right out of the gate, a finer thoroughbred has never graced our stables here at la casa de Heitman. It is a schweet stick indeed.
• Balancing the FR rod is a  Montana Fly Company large arbor Madison II reel, with stealth river camo anodizing.  You'll know MFC as the innovator behind the trout skin look applied to most everything we fly anglers hold dear.  Yes iPhones included.  Like Duh!
• Paired with the MFC Madison is a double-taper 5wt RIO Trout LT line, hand-selected for its ability to locate cutthroat trout much like those famous elvish daggers detect the minions of Darkness in LOTR.  OK, I might have made that last part up.  All I can say is it better deliver!  Kidding, RIO attorneys! (kinda?)

RE: contest? OBN summoned eighteen delirious bloggers to attend the 2012 OBN Hunger Games to circle around the Cornucopia and fight a bloody duel to the finish, winner take all, with the aforementioned ensemble awarded to the victor valiant.

OK, might have made that up too.  But that might be cool, no?  Let's just say, looking over the assemblage on my kitchen table, OBN- I'm willing to negotiate terms.   

Wait, Mrs Wulff says no, so I guess the Cornucopia idea is out, my apologiesYoutube! ;-)

In reality, the contest allows each lucky blogger a coupla weeks to drool over fish the combo, then send it along to the next contestant. Fellow blogger Ben Smith of AZWanderings fame received first crack at the combo the last coupla weeks.  I want to thank Mrs Smith for finding the strength, fortitude to finally pry the rod from my former friend's fingers, send it along.

Speaking of thanks, muchas gracias to OBN for this great opportunity, tres gracias to Fall River Rods, Montana Fly Co, RIO for their generosity! 

As for me, I've booked some time this weekend to get lost in the wilds of northern New Mexico.  If we should never meet again, forgive me my friends, please know the temptation was simply too great.

la tierra torture

Shredder places 3rd in short track 5th in xcountry. The girl rocks.

short track

Shredder's racing debut: la Tierra Torture. Short track today. Whole new world opening up for her~

ark wrapup

Wulffpack alpha male in his natural habitat

 So Thursday we lollygagged around Salida, hoping for BWO action.  Getting settled into the river's rhythm and getting caught up with the folks meant Thursday was really the shakedown cruise, the act of fishing of primary importance, catching less so.

young pup getting it done

Friday was our first serious day on the water.  My folks and I huddled together over breakfast, comparing notes on our understanding of best water combining ease of access and wading for the folks, above the main body of the hatch, offering a good chance of an emergence in its own right.

ole guy's still got it!

 We settled on that public water either side of Texas Creek- the water and canyon walls spread out a bit, offering a good heat sink for the sun's rays.  In my experience, TC has nearly always sprung an early emergence, even when the main hatch remained stalled downstream. 

tres amigos

 Friday this again proved to be the case- with both fly shops reporting the main emergence down around spike buck and 5 points, 2.30 showed a moderate emergence at TC, enough for all of us to trade out our subsurface rigs for dries.  While the rising fish were far short of gangbusters, they were numerous enough to offer a consistent stalk for a solid two hours.  With the risers on the wane at 4.30, we headed back to camp, sated on maybe 30 fish for our efforts, largest only around 14"

With the strengthening emergence at TC, Saturday we were primed for bear.  We headed out late to allow the emergence to get on started, our arrival at the river was greeted with the first caddis skipping off, and fish rising in pursuit.  I set both my folks upstream, set about tying the boy's rig up fresh, how he manages those birds nests in a blink of an eye I will never know.  

calm before the storm

I look up just in time to see Mom floating down a channel, having slipped off her perch into fast water.  You fish often enuf, you've prolly been there before yourself- lost your footing, now floating, shipping water like the Titanic, the speed of the current preventing you from regaining your feet, your eyes wide as saucers as you scrabble fruitlessly for purchase.  No matter that water is only 30" deep, you're heading for the wrong side of nowhere fast.

Will deftly nets Gramma's flotsam, while I get dug in, get her float arrested, set her aright on a nearby boulder.  Holy Moly!  That was something huh Mom?

she lands her own fish too

She's a bit flustered for a while, but none the worse for wear, just soaked to the bone, the only thing dry was her hat!  A good dry in the 80d sun, a quick run back to camp for dry clothes, she's back at it landing the two biggest fish for the day.  Boom!  That's how you do it right there.  What a trooper!

Meanwhile the hatch kept strengthening, my Dad, Will and I circle around the area stalking pods or risers. Once caught or put down, we'd search for the next pod, then eventually work our way back around the circle to the initial pod to begin the cycle again.  Wash, rinse, repeat, that was our afternoon on Saturday.  

arkansas river gold

Aside from Mom's morning shenanigans, the rest of the afternoon was like that proverbial walk in the park.  Only with a rising fish behind every riffle, in every pool.  I could not have scripted a better day for we four, anglers all in their element.

Saturday evening's fishing proved off the hook for Will and I, fishing the egg layer evening rise.  Looking over the word count above, I guess that's a story best left for another day.

this fish never stood a chance

Til next time- mike

good morning!

Brought to you by those good folks at Cafe Dawn, Salida CO.

Headin home

Caddis report

Decent hatch up thru Cotopaxi. Egg layer fishing in the canyon was off the hook last night.

Having a ball!

caddis report

We're finding caddis up to Coaldale. Good hatch @ Texas Creek yesterday gave us dry fly fun 2.30-4.30. Caught a few more after egg layers @ Cotopaxi.

Looking for big things today- this place is primed to explode. Wooot!

familiar ground

For the first time in recent memory l lollygagged our first day fishing around Salida.

I've fished this hatch these past years as a fishing trip should- hard, in all kinds of weather, intent on finding the heart of the hatch- bwo or caddis.

Today with three generations on the water for the first time in too long a time, I was content to sit and watch my Dad and my son work the water together. Taking what the river would give and earning each and every fish.

The afternoon flew by and I was surprised by our short walk back to the truck.

Our fishing might have covered a scant few hundred yards yet I can see so much more ground was covered this day.

Lovin it.

roadtrip

Heading out~

one day and a wakeup

1 day and a wakeup until my boy and I hit the road for the Ark's caddis hatch.

margaritaville

$20M project put to bed precisely 6.36pm this day. Margarita put to bed at precisely 6.53.

Happy days!

and so it begins

Yep, it's now official: spring has sprung!



HT: those good folks at the Taos Fly Shop

Guess that answers that age old question: if the Rio Grande Caddis hatch kicks into gear and yours truly is not out giving chase....yep, all the makings of a 10-year hatch, just you watch.

Sigh.

can't we all just get along?

Police: Cyclist Clotheslined By Angler

jeez o pete- don't these guys know there's a better way?

 

  

 DENVER - A cyclist - originally believed to have been involved in a clothesline accident described as a "booby trap" by EMTs - is now believed to have been the victim of a simple accident involving a fly fisherman.

The man was riding his bicycle northbound on the bike path along the Platte River near the Colfax Avenue overpass on March 23 at 6:40 p.m. A witness reported seeing the victim fall from his bike and dialed 911.

The wife of the victim eventually found him at Denver Health Medical Center.

"We asked the trauma room, and they said that when the EMTs brought him in that he had had a clothesline accident. They kept saying that there was a fishing line pulled across the bike path and that he ran into it," said the wife of the victim.

"He said that there was an eyewitness, and he flew off his bike forward, landed on his head and rolled. They called it a 'booby trap,'" she says of a conversation she had with a paramedic.

Denver Police contacted that eyewitness who told them he was fly-fishing on the Platte River at the time of the accident. The eye witness told police he was attempting to land a fish at the time of the accident.

"Due to the size of the fish, the reporting party had to walk down the hill to obtain his fish. As he was walking down the dirt hill and attempting to tighten his fish line, the bicyclist came down the bike path. The bicyclist's helmet grazed the fish line at that time, and the bicyclist removed his hand from the handlebars swatting the fish line. At that point, the reporting party believes he lost control, and that's when the victim fell off his bike," Raquel Lopez with the Denver Police Department said. "The reporting party called 911 and EMS and Fire responded. The reporting party stood by to make sure the victim was OK. This was not considered a 'booby trap.' This was a total accident."

The wife of the victim told 9NEWS they are relieved to know the accident was not the result of a malicious act. She says she is confused as to how the incident was reported to her by EMTs as being a "booby trap."

The victim is still hospitalized with injuries that includes a chipped bone in his spine, a concussion, a broken pelvis, a broken arm and multiple bruises and abrasions. His wife says he will remain in the hospital for several more days.

(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

hat tip: midcurrent.com; coloradoan.com

recharging

 

Been stuck at work these past weekends, bleh. 

Saturday proved just another work day, my jealousy meter pegged into the red, what with spring in the air, everyone else on the planet getting out there. 

4pm, I shut'r down, get the hay outta there, mentally calculating the amount of time needed to gear up, drive to the TH, get a Cedro ride in. 

Timing proved just about perfect- last of the motos heading home for the day, that famous NM light getting all slanty-like, the singletrack completely empty but for me and the Yeti. 

Awesome.

Man! I needed that.