Monday, December 31, 2012

approaching yet another new year

I wonder how many I have left
I'd like to think that it is my mortality that has spawned my thinking of late
and there's no reason for thoughts of that nature
since I remain relatively young despite constantly declaring I'm old
that's just my muse typing

I apologize for the repeats for my long time reader(s)
hoping there actually are people that read this dribble
or better yet appreciate it or learn a thing or two about a thing or two
but I'm gonna photo dump here 
w/ a few of my favorites from over the years
chosen randomly
not this year but all those years that I've typed
at my invisible friends or into the ether as I prefer to think of it
not for you but me
I've never been disappointed gifting myself
though I've done it far too often
but that is a story in itself

                   brace yerselves...cuz this will be incredibly stoo-pit
and you'll love it




my very favorite fishing rod ever


an avatard I use and will have to forever
 because this awesome sign is gone
viking points for knowing where it was
not awarded if we've been there together


favorite bentrod shot of the year and a very good friend


I've always loved this pic
I was six shits to the wind and nimping
you won't see that often - fishing w/ nimps
and my favorite fishing partner snapped it

happy new year
fish more 
and...
stop fishing nimps
do it right

I had to say that since I'm a bamboo snob
and you of course should do what I tell you to

calm down I'm teasing silly

Friday, December 21, 2012

full circle - a work in parts if you will

daily I carry on my side my grandfather's pocketknife
and find comfort and solace in that

it's really not much of a knife
so far as knives go
but he carried it
prolly in his pocket everyday
I dunno

and used it to clean his nails
or pick his teeth
or the whittle away at a stick 
with no purpose or reason
just because it felt/feels good to do so
I get that

it's far too small to do the big work
a knife sometimes requires
a damn handy tool nonetheless
and I find that I use it daily
it is a cherished possession

so small it seems insignificant
and can be lost as it has been 
without realizing it is gone

I will not lose it again
I've taken precautions against that
as there is little that I own that means more to me

I hope to be buried with it
so that I can return it to him in heaven


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

craftsmanshit in leather


a few recent products from ye olde rod shoppe
angling tools by design 
perfect stocking stuffers for the angler in yer life...



this is a lanyard pouch that'll hold a small flybox and carry yer clamps



pliers holster



steripen sleeve



plane garage


Thursday, December 13, 2012

beyond the ditch

my good fishing buddy jeepster suggested I join him
an invite I declined
I reckon that to be a mistake now






photo credit steve rath
thanks amigo



Thursday, November 22, 2012

thanksgiving

my goodness
I tried to post a pic
my storage is full

I am thankful that tomorrow
I'll be gone fishin'

and while it may be shallow and superficial
I remain grateful

happy thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

holidaze looming

the time of year where I rarely accomplish anything


Sunday, November 11, 2012

rooftop rod rack

from the inventive and creative mind of jason jones 


put together very professionally
for less than fifteen bucks and a trip to harbor freight
which ohsoconveniently is right down the street

that ladies and gentlemen is cold beer and ammo
and angling tools by design
very well done

now it's time to build mine

Saturday, November 3, 2012

truth in advertising

looks like it could be another post w/out a pic
almost even a state of the craftsmanshit address '12 edition

people have told me that I don't advertise much or enough
I don't at all actually and there is a reason for that
nor I do much in promoting bamboo as a material 
there is a reason for that as well

why advertise when I simply cannot produce any more rods per year than I currently can?
I guess I could invest a couple g's in some sort of ac
and produce oh maybe a half dozen more rods
but why?  

I am quite happy building six or eight rods a year
I'm not sure how much more wear and tear my fingers and hands can take
I mentioned it in passing below but arthritis is working its black magic in my hands
which means I have to take a lot of breaks to let my fingers relax
especially when I'm planing
which has been a lot this past week
and my hands ache haunt me


I'm more likely to direct a guy toward a nice $200 graphite rod
or the best rod you can afford
than suggest that they get a bamboo rod
why?

that is a decision that is made by the angler himself
a moment when he knows it is right in his soul
to fish bamboo and find out what it is like to fish with a tool that lives

*a couple hours later I was talking on the phone
to just such a guy
nice coincidence?*

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

milestone post - the lessons of a life spent among dogs

it would be nice to have some pics in here...

anyways I've been holding off on this one
trying to wait until my birthday to make the one thousandth post here
and I wanted to be deep and profound
reflective of the wisdom gleaned
over fifty two years

well good luck with that
as if I had a chance
I had no idea what to blog about
I pondered my arthritic fingers and how 
they're causing me problems when I plane
or that one got am split 
that gives you fits from beginning to end
then I met a dog
a pit bull pup and a handsome sonuvagun

and I realized how much of my life I've spent
in the company of dogs
at times an awful lot of them
all the litters of puppies whoa...

I have one dog now and have had him the past nine years I guess
before that mr. t and I shared fifteen glorious years together
holy smokes in college there were bailey and bonnie and buddy 
mr t's running buddies and partners in crime up in flagstaff

prior to that were my restless years I suppose
I had dogs here and there
none really notable

we grew up raising irish setters - show dogs
I can't even begin to remember all those dogs
the family dogs though
catlin finn maura chara
usually a couple three pups as well

my first job as a teenager
back in wisconsin
was as kennel boy at a black lab kennel
fed the dogs cleaned the shit just like at home
weekends we went out and trained these magnificent dogs
for field trials
in wooded pastures and ponds marshes where ever
those weekends were fun plus we got tipped

not sure what the lesson is
perhaps it's in the blessings we've been to one another
our whole lives

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

blast from the past

a mere four or five generations ago
a good portion of the american populace 
lived like this...


the holtzmann spread
new freedom, wisconsin
my maternal grandmother grew up here

Friday, October 19, 2012

wheatley

I've got three wheatley flyboxes
a couple of which I have a love/hate relationsip with
those cool little glass lids stink out loud
they either open too easily or not all


this one happens to be filled w/ flies sent to me
by my good friend roy christie 
I do treasure those and it is why they are kept
in theis fancypants box

disclaimer: of the three I have I purchase one
the cheap one (and the one I use most often)
the other two were gifts
and very nice ones

thank you.


Thursday, October 18, 2012

is that so?

I was surprised and semi-shocked this morning
to read that beagles are listed among the dumbest of breeds

while p-nutt is called ding dong or little dumbass
about as often as he is called his name
I'm a bit stunned to hear he's quite dumb

he does play dumb games I'll give him that
he barks like an idiot as well
but whenever he hears the word dumbass
he looks up at the speaker in expectation

I suppose I'd like to think that he is smart
because he is mine
I'm afraid that might not be the case

he does have his mamma wrapped around his finger(?)


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

game changer

water is always an issue
drinking water that is

I've got an old katadyn filter bottle that has served me well
ben over at az wanderings did a review of his

which sparked a very interesting discussion 
on a local fishing board
extolling the virtues of the steripen 

since then, I've been fortunate enough to receive a steripen 
at no cost - my favorite way to get things - and it is a deal changer for sure
I never even minded pumping 
but this thing is so easy to use
push a button swish swish swish 
90 seconds later you've got purified water


notice that the steripen slides neatly into the bottle when it is not in use


when I call it a game changer - here's why...
we spent four nights upriver at the ferry and did not bring any water
none

I must mention a caveat
the wand won't fit in some water bottles
make sure you have at least one that works
I was lucky that way

that's awesome
and thanks buddy for the great gift
I owe you at least one mang

Sunday, October 7, 2012

fishing the cathedral again

this will be my fourth trip to the ferry this year
and to be entirely honest about things
I've fished like shit

my head and heart haven't been in it
too lazy or stubborn
jrunk and stoo-pit
to adjust my tackle accordingly

distractions
fatigue?
a lack of interest?

I dunno
what I do know is that I don't like it

  that all changes tomorrow

last time up I was on the colorado river
for nineteen daze 
and picked up a rod maybe twice
nearly traveled the river from dam to dam 
and didn't even bother trying to fish

that's pathetic at worst
lame at best

my head hasn't been in the fishing place
it's been elsewhere...
on what again I dunno
it just hasn't been on fishing

I look at this as an opportunity to regain my fishing mojo
it doesn't matter how well you tie flies
or build rods
if you don't put them to proper use

anyways...let's get it on

thanks chad and van ness flyrods for the invite
I appreciate it

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

ye olde rod shoppe that wrocks

october gets me to thinking of rodbuilding
the gruntwork eh?  the fun stuff if you will
 dropping temperatures have me checking the garage
periodically for temperature

still a mite warm
during lazyass hours

there's one lonely rod on the project list
and I'm itching to get down to it
may be a few daze though as the cathedral is beckoning
and the countdown is on


Sunday, September 30, 2012

full circle


we're dusting this off and bringing it out of retirement
over better than ten years

if you've followed my struggle w/ carrying gear 
this may surprise you

I've taken care of some of my "vest" issues
note that nothing dangles from the vest
it and I will still carry too much
nor would it surprise you that I made a few small improvements (?)
it's gonna be heavy face it everything is

I can remove it and stow it on the bank as I often do anyways
plus everything I will need is in one place
and should stay there

Thursday, September 27, 2012

more boxes

seems I've got at least a dozen working boxes
that's not really counting streamer boxes, bass boxes, salt boxes
I feel like rene harrop or something

this one was set up specifically for lee's ferry


ferry box incomplete w/out ridiculous thingamabobbers
(which I do not use - they just perfectly complete the picture)
spaghetti and meatballs and scuds
it's really rather gross

is there anything more lovely that is not a woman
than a box full of well tied soft hackles?



taking a close look we see that they're not so neat and orderly after all




Saturday, September 22, 2012

midges and shit


boxes like this mean one thing to me
tailwaters


new school scuds?

Friday, September 21, 2012

well lookee there



it would appear as though I've lost a magnet
still works holding the spare clips

take a closer look


one of the plastic clips failed
I replaced w/ steel
which saved the magnet




Wednesday, September 19, 2012

opening gifts

wouldn't you like to open something like this
Christmas morning?


you know you wanna
it can happen

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

scud


to be continued fer sure...

Monday, September 17, 2012

attn: jerry siem re: circa flyrods

like it or not sage drives the flyrod business
and they do produce fine fishing poles
there marketing lost me years ago 
as did the trend for faster and faster rods
making casting a chore rather than a mindless simple pleasure

as goes sage others follow
one is very hard pressed these daze
to find a proper dry fly action in a modern graphite rod
the onliest one I know of is the scott g2 (want one too)
until now

I haven't been excited about a sage rod release in a century
actually it's been over a decade
they lost me when they replaced the sp
and a lotta others when they extirpated the ll line
at one point I had three sage flyrods and loved them all

so why is a bamboo rodmaker writing about effing sage?
because jerry siem has developed a retro dry fly action rod
the circa is what I'm talking about and I'm dying to fish one

I cannot afford at this point in the game to fork out sage $$$
nor can I justify buying yet another rod
so really what we have here is my desperate plea
a shoutout if you will to jerry siem and the sage team
how about cutting a brother in bamboo some slack
and let me fish that rod
I'll try a short 3wt and a long 4wt fwiw...

Friday, September 14, 2012

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

just because it's badass


pflueger goodyear refinish


this is a refinish project for a friend
alas I have no black silk!
which means the tip wraps are not in place

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

it's a beautiful day



is this the year we finally win it all?

Friday, August 31, 2012

southbend refinish

just a couple more pics



Thursday, August 30, 2012