fear the badger

they say fear the deer but the deer ain't so scary.

however it is time for everyone to fear the badass badger

there ain't a team in the country that wants to face them
unless they want to crawl home w/ they tails between they legs licking they wounds
and crying for they mamas

you betcha
bring it on stanford texas fucking christian oregon auburn

but oh no!  you don't want none of this

updated:  #5 in bcs rankings behind stanford(?)
excuse the eff outta me but who have they beaten?
or maybe jim harbaugh blew someone....
stanford *spit*

#4 in ap and usa today polls and I can live w/ that

well fuck me to tears

because I am so tired of my rinky-dink nano

well 16GB isn't exactly dinky but it is no where near enough capacity for me

I bit the bullet and ordered another one of these...

and I can't fucking wait to get it

no more deleting before I can add anything else 

no more picking and choosing through the massive library of tunes to determine what makes the cut

oh yeah  I had it engraved...

"cold beer & ammo

agua fria alchemy"

that wrocks

now if only I can figure out how to get my weed card...

hmmm...update...shipped from fucking shanghai to anchorage
one day I might get this thing

and this morning it is here in the valley w/ anticipated delivery date tomorrow?
so it's gonna sit all day in the warehouse?
one would hope not

happy thanksgiving

 yesterday I baked an apple pie for this evening's festivities

give thanks with a joyous heart for all your blessings

celebration day

f.e. thomas 4wt

first glued up blank of this rod building season

two of the poore girls' rods ready for glue

driggs river special and goodwin granger deluxe

both 4wts

this morning

yeah we're slumming budweiser

planing tip strips 

goodwin- granger deluxe

tools of the trade

every now and again it's nice to take this out for a spin

yeah it's filler...

but these are a couple of old shots I like

 being wrapped

finished

I just want to celebrate yeah yeah

third time around az voters passed initiatives in favor of medical marijuana

and this time the legislature can't fuck it under the table like an illegal immigrant hoodrat

WEED CARD!

merchandize not available is the keyword

fuckers

oneday

got cork?

just because...

I like the reel and I like the pic...

the future's so bright...

a couple of summers back I lost my favorite polarized fishing glasses

I think they were plucked undetected right off the top of my head

while crossing vietnam en route to cambodia on the san juan river

while I have a couple other pair of polarized shades

I think it's high time I replaced the old favorites

the whiskey game

we carry flasks in our golf bags

to play the whiskey game

which is not much fun when it is over a hundred degrees

the weather has turned and sipping whiskey is pleasant

nice thing about the game is that there are no winners or losers

I need to pick up a bottle of woodford reserve

which is also nice to have in ye olde rod shoppe as well...

oh yeah - that's a granger deluxe pictured w/ the flask
a fine old specimen

monty refinish

way back when

I picked up an old montague from ebay for about thirty bucks

stripped sanded  cleaned/polished reel seat ferrules rewrapped w/ new guides and varnished it

shortly it was looking brand spanking new

then I gave it away

now playing in ye olde rod shoppe what wrock...

https://www.yousendit.com/download/dklxQmtRQ3QrV3l4dnc9PQ

https://www.yousendit.com/download/dklxQmtkNEhEbUkwTVE9PQ

do I have to tell you just how fucking great these are?
yeah I prolly do - listen for yerself and you'll see
(dl links added)

irony

get it?

just like starting over

and it sucks

but we're committed 

splitting tools

twelve strips

become twenty-four staggered

next up cut to rough size

and deal with the pesky nodes

and the gruntwork is underway...again

problem solving

in a lotta ways fly fishing, fly tying and rod building are exercises in problem solving

we've been struggling in the shoppe

finding 60s and a perfect equilateral triangles

a problem I haven't really encountered before

occasionally sure?  but this has been consistent

and frustrating

I noticed my irons were out of square

so I spent over an hour trying to true them back up

when I did and put an edge back on them they wouldn't fit back into the plane

FUCK!

fortunately I anticipated that and ordered two new irons last week

they arrived today

notice the discrepancy in size...

anyways, there's a lesson in this and it's written on my job board

as seen in the first pic

I have been rushing things to meet a non-existent deadline 

nearly working in an assembly line fashion

we're done w/ that shit

classic wets

several years back we auctioned these off for charity

certainly worth a looksee...

1960

purty tame, hunh?

things have  surely changed over the past fifty years

for comparison's purpose...

compare this photo w/ the p & o pictured below

much cleaner sharper image

preceding shot was taken w/ olympus stylus

this one w/ nikon coolshot

which I think takes much better pictures

but it won't sit still and cooperate w/ me anymore

damn thing

the stylus was purchased mostly for its waterproof feature 

and was intended mainly for documenting fishing excursions

circumstances require it to now be first string all around camera

and I'm none too happy w/ it

I really want a  nikon dslr...

simple

partridge and orange

because after all we are a "fly-fishing" blog

of sorts

one magical moment

a hundred years or so ago

(actually a mere thirty-two)

at the madhouse on mcdowell

was my life changed?  not really

but something happened

anyways, this is incredible
and that night I was there