when i'm not....

WHEN I AM NOT DOING THIS

YOU'LL FIND ME DOING THIS

OR THIS



I am busy...sometimes more than I want to be.  Actually, most of the time more than I want to be.  But when it all comes together, when joy and passion find there way to where I am, these are the things that will be with me.

And as always, and forever, the glue that keeps all three of these things moving and thriving is...

My Jill



Where I really want to go fishing

I am blessed by good (and sometimes great) fly fishing waters that are close.  I know these places like the back of my hand and enjoy my time on them immensely.  However...there are two places on this earth that I really want to fish that are so far away that it might be that I never get the chance.  These locals are distant enough that getting to them would be at a great expense of both time and money...money being the biggest elephant in the room.

1st.  A British Chalk Stream

2nd.  ALASKA!!!(with a bronx cheer to my friend Steve Zakur who is there right now)

The first is refined, proper, historic.  The chance to fish in the birthplace of my ancestors.  As odd as it may seem to some, the stereotypical weather of Britain is my favorite kind of weather.  I picture it as the Pacific Northwest with an accent...and of course much flatter.

The second is wild, untamed, epic.  The chance to fish in wild country where one false move could mean trouble. To be taken into my backing at least once in a run.

Will I ever get to either?  Considering that I have four young kids, I'm 46, and my income has not one square inch for overtly frivolous  endeavors- it would seem that the only way I could find myself in either place would be by sheer luck.

But isn't luck a part of fishing?

Best wishes to Steve on his Alaskan adventure. I hope that his trip is every bit as amazing as I picture it to be.

Death... one year removed

I have kept a journal for years.  Not an every day kinda thing, but a solid three or four times a week.  In it I have written about my Jill when we first started dating, the birth of our children, stuff that rubbed me the wrong way...general day in the life kinda stuff.

On occasion, such as yesterday, I will write an entry and then flip back and find the same date-years removed.  This has shown me on more than one occasion that just because I am having a bad day on...say...July 14th 2011, on July 14th 2009 I caught more fish than I could count.  Kinda helps me keep everything in perspective.

So yesterday, I flip back to an old entry.  It was the day I almost died on the South Holston River.  Reading the post was difficult and honestly, I had a hard time breathing.  Twice I had to stand up and walk around for a bit just to shake the anxiety.  Death staring you in the face will do that to ya.

But, in spite of my brush with the dirt nap, I am here. 

In honor (however infamous it may be)...I will offer to those of you who have not read "Brush with Death on the Soho", an opportunity to read about how the whole thing went down.  It is also important to note before we dive in, that I fished this same area with amazing success several times since.

BRUSH WITH DEATH ON THE SOHO

 We had anticipated this trip for weeks. Three days with my buddy Brad on the South Holston River, camping and fishing. It was late summer and the reports had told us that the large browns were feeding actively on surface patterns. The thought of hooking into a 20+ inch brown on a dry fly is something that any red blooded fly angler lives for. This was going to be our weekend for greatness.


We arrived at the camp and set up our site which was right on the bank of the river. Drift boats came by one after another and with just about every one that passed, a fish was caught. It was late in the afternoon and the generation schedule was going to make the river unwadable till morning so we loaded up our pontoons and headed upstream with the thought of floating back down to the camp site.

We went to a put in that was about two miles from the camp and shoved off. The water was pushing pretty hard and I remember thinking to myself that it would be a quick float back to the camp. I had cast my line out as I rounded a bend in the river and saw a huge elm tree that had fallen into the water directly in front of me.

I tried desperately to row away from it but the current was to swift and I hit it head on.

What happened next seemed like an eternity, though it was mere seconds. When the pontoon hit the tree I was thrown into its branches, being plunged down into the water. I remember opening my eyes and seeing the bubbles rolling round my head and hearing that awful submerged roar of the water. To make matters worse, my legs were bent at the knees and wrapped under the trunk of the tree.

People talk about their lives flashing before their eyes; this was one of those times. I knew that panic was not the thing to do so I first oriented myself by letting my arms go limp so that I could detect the surface. My arms floated upward so I knew that I was upright, but still completely submerged. I thrust my hands out of the water and felt the sweet warmth of the air touch my hands. It was then that I felt a branch of the tree and in what could only be attributed to the assistance of the divine; I pulled my 250 pound body up enough to free my legs and get my head above the water.

When I finally oriented myself, I saw that I was sixty feet or so from the bank, and several drift boats were trying to rescue me.

For over an hour I clung to the branch as icy cold water filled my waders and tried to pull me under. To make the problem more severe, the front of the pontoons had lodged under a branch about six feet in front of me and was loosening. It was obvious that they were going to break free, and when they did, the metal frame of the craft would hit me square in the face.

Luckily I was rescued and brought to shore. Not ten minutes after I was saved, the pontoon broke free and totally ripped the limb I was clinging to to shreds.

Just like falling from a horse, I knew I had to get back in the water, which I did, with much success. But without a pontoon.

Classic Fly Rod Forum

Every angler has there "thing".  Some guys like streamer fishing, some guys will only fish blue lines, and some...like myself are lovers of bamboo.  Bamboo is the highest form (in my opinion) of the fly fishing community.


For those of you who, like myself, love fishing with a bamboo fly rod, you really need to check out The Classic Fly Rod Forum (http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/).

The common perception of the bamboo fly rod and its supporters is visualized with tons of tweed, a wallet full of 100's, and and elitist mindset.  Quite simply...that is not the case.

I feel that a bamboo angler is not developed.  A bamboo angler is born a bamboo angler.  His approach to the sport reaches a zen like level that goes beyond the one who fishes graphite.  Yet within the community is also the same thoughts and tactics of the graphite brethren.

Bamboo anglers like the slow dreamlike cast.  The grace of the rod as it bends in the hand.  The joy that comes from feeling every move a fish makes while the fight is on.

The Classic Fly Rod Forum is THE perfect gathering place for the bamboo angler, and the folks that are active on that forum are just amazing people.  For instance; in my daily visit today, I saw a post where a members dog had died...and the other members of the forum shared in his grief.  I also saw a post on heavily pressured waters and how to best fish them.  The folks there are smart, respectful, and offer some amazing advice.

I build my own bamboo, and the instruction I have found there is what brought me to the point of biting the bullet and starting my own rod construction.

You always find incredible photography, book reviews, info on fishing and building bamboo rods, an open exchange of the multitude of tapers available, and a classified section where you can find some amazing buys.

On a scale of one to ten...The Classic Fly Rod Forum is a solid ten in my book.

In closing.  If you have never been blessed with the chance to cast a dry fly with a bamboo fly rod, you need to do yourself a favor and seek one out.  But, proceed with caution.  Bamboo anglers are not developed, bamboo anglers are born bamboo anglers, so if you are one of "us" and don't know it...your entire fishing world is about to change.

http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/

Waiting on the ideal day...

I am not a fan of Summer.  As a matter of fact, I hate hot weather.  Many moons ago I lived in Phoenix Arizona, sun bathers on Christmas Day...that is just wrong.  Phoenix is a very interesting place, and I still have friends who live there, but central Arizona instilled in me a bitter distain for temps that are better for cooking than living.


And so, after a few years of enduring the constant barage of sun, I moved back home.  Tennessee does have seasons other than Summer...but Summer is still on the books, and I dread seeing it coming.  A heat index of 110 with 70% plus humidity...you get the picture.....misery.

However hot and miserable Summer is, I know that Fall is on the way.  The leaves will turn to vibrant colors, the air will become cool, and the trout will turn that magic switch and my fly fishing world will be made right.

The festival of color will begin and a party will insue!

The South Holston is the place to be in the fall.  Sulphurs and Blue Winged Olives are abundant and the Brown Trout are unreal.

So now...all I have to do is put up with just a few more weeks of this heat and then its Trout time....and football time....here in Tennessee.

What I learned on the river was joy

Went fishing yesterday.  The water was almost to warm for trout, and what few trout we saw, were very tight lipped.  I was basically just enjoying the casting.  A mindless endeavour that just seemed to occupy my time until we left.  Not that my heart wasn't in it, it just didn't feel "trouty" enough for me.  I tried every bug puppet in my box with empty results.  Just one of those days.

About an hour before I clipped and headed to the car, I spotted a man on the far bank carrying a folding chair out into the water just off the bank.  He secured its legs firmly in the soil/rocks and disappeared.  He came back with a girl, perhaps in her mid teens, I was far enough away that judging her age was difficult.  She clung to his arm as they stepped out into the water with two spinning reels.  He sat her down, cast her rod and then began working with his own.

The girl had Down's Syndrome, a condition brought about by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.  My Jill and I have friends who have a daughter with this condition, and in sharing their journey from a distance of space and time, I have learned a lot about it.  I won't go into the details, but I will tell you that without a doubt some of the greatest human beings I have ever encountered in my life have children with Down's. 

So...having this knowledge, I watched. 

I would cast my fly, and just let it swing in the current.  If I got a hookset, fine, but I was getting more out of the open display of love and of life happening on the far bank.

It wasn't long before she hooked into a fish.  Folks, I have had many memorable days on the water, and have caught some truly remarkable trout in my day, but nothing I have done as an angler could come close to touching the joy that young lady had as she fought with that smallmouth.  Her cries of joy and excitement literally echoed up and down the river.  She was so loud that anglers far upstream stopped to look.  Had they looked my way, they would have seen tears falling down my face.  My spirit was lifted to untold levels watching this life event take place.

Who cares if I didn't catch anything.  My soul was stirred, I was moved, and life became much sweeter to me.  And that is one of the biggest reasons I go fishing in the first place.

My friend has a blog that I am going to link you to.  She is a remarkable woman, and spectacular mother, and her husband is a fly fisherman so you know its gotta be good.

http://superdownsy.blogspot.com/

Be blessed my friends. where ever the river may take you.

John Gierach teaches me something new

Phenology: the science of simultaneous natural events.


I found a link on Midcurrent (http://midcurrent.com/) to a Denver Post interview with John Gierach.  As I read through the text, Mr. Gierach made mention of the science of Phenology.  He discussed how he could tell what flies to use by what wildflowers were blooming.  In essence what he depicted is just how interconnected everything really is when you look at the bigger picture.

I had never heard of the word, much less the science behind it, so I did a little Googling.  I found a wealth of information...but in the end I discovered that I really already knew how this science works.

When I was a kid, the white bass would come up into the creek behind my house to spawn.  I knew it was time to go after them when the redbud trees began to bloom.  This system of indication worked without fail and I had many exceptional days fishing as a result of it.  Though as a lad I did not stop to ponder the interconnectedness of the two, I now see the framework of creation in that light.  I also, through the kind and loving tutelage of a man named Elmer Russell, learned to plant by the signs.  This is a practice that is shunned in most circles but I have seen it first hand...and it works.

Did you know that there is even a better time of the month to dig a hole?  Yep.  Sometimes you can dig a hole for say a post, and you will not have enough dirt to refill it, other times there will be dirt left over.  It all has to do with the moisture in the soil I am sure, but this also works

Cycles, Seasons, Weather, Blooms, it is all interconnected.  Like one huge living machine, each part plays a role in another part.  Separate, but intertwined within the framework of life itself.

Back to Fly Fishing.  Trout live within a specific range of water temperature and their activities are dictated by how high or low the water may be on the thermometer.  Spawn- water temperature, hatches- water temperature, water temperature- weather.

I think that, as John stated within his interview, when we take the whole ball of wax into consideration, we gain a clearer understanding of just exactly what is going on around us.  Here in Appalachia, the yellow stone fly, the sulphur, the blue winged olive, are all pretty predictable as to when and how they will appear.  I have also learned that there are spots on some of my local rivers in which I can almost guarantee a catch in the early Spring and early Fall, but any other time you could frail at the water all day long and not get the first take.

No disrespect intended to my Bass Tournament friends, but they go at break neck speeds, with enough electronics on their fleet watercraft to track satellites in outer space, and cast feverishly at the water.  It is productive for them - no question about it, but for me it seems far to stressful.  I would rather step slowly to the rivers edge, scan the bank and turn over some rocks, get the feel for what is happening.  Then wade in and look for that single fish who is living its life in perfect time with what is going on all around it.  All around me.  To make a choice of fly, cast softly but with purpose, and let the pace of the nature around me dictate the terms.

All the signs are there.  We just have to plug into what is occurring and move as fluidly as the stream or the wind as it moves the trees around us.

Phenology....I like it.

Here are some links for your review.
http://www.denverpost.com/outdoors/ci_18555499

http://www.usanpn.org/

And for those so inclined (as I hope you are)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+104&version=NLT

A few random thoughts to start the week

In search of the God particle

I read last week that scientists are close to discovering the God particle.  The European Organization for Nuclear Research is using a massive Hadron Collider to smash atoms together in search of the subatomic God Particle.  According to the article, they are smashing this stuff together at 99.9 percent of the speed of light and think that this collision will release the information they believe will reveal this particle.  No doubt they feel that all the answers will be found when this occurs.

I am not an anti science guy, so don't take my comments as such...but I have to ask myself why?  On a purely personal level, I think that they, as do all of us on some level perhaps, long to nail down the existance of the Devine. 

I also wonder if they have ever caught a native brook trout and looked closely at the amazing handiwork that went into creating such a creature?  The lines, the colors, and to think that there are a bazillion other things within eyeshot at any given nanosecond that proclaim the same amazing results.  Is it all a grand accident?  I think not. 

They can spend all the money they want to try and derive a conclusion that is just as easily found by stepping outside and taking a good look around.  I wish them luck, but will be less amazed at their findings than I was when being right there when my children were born.  Seeing my four kids take their first breath was far more profound.

You can read the article here: http://www.christianpost.com/news/god-particle-scientists-to-find-out-its-existence-by-2012-52850/

Hooking up with old friends

This weekend we are having a summer get together with all our fishing buddies.  Usually we see each other two times a year, winter and fall, but this year we are having a good old fasioned southern get together.  A big meal at an amazing restaurant that specializes in southern cooking, and afterwords a casting contest which is a fly anglers version of pitching horseshoes.  Should be a grand time and I am looking forward to reporting the events.

Fishing new waters

Another thing that is happening this weekend is a trip to some new water.  Not exactly sure which location, but with over 800 miles of fishable water within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the choices are limitless. 


We have some things in the works here at The Perfect Drift that I think you will find interesting.  There is a very unique rod builder we are working with to review, and another gentleman with an amazing story that links him directly to one of the greates bamboo rod builders of all time.  If we can get everything together, the information is gonna be amazing.


Have a great week everyone.


Here is a cool tune to start your week: