Congrats

Okay so sue us... it has been a while since our last post. We have been busy with life and both with growing families. As a quick update, we fished several times this year with much success on most fronts (Rob let's not talk about the last trip to the green!)

The main purpose of this post is that of reflection. This time of year I always wax emotional with all the family togetherness etc... and I got to thinking today how nice it is to have a buddy you can always rely on to give you great advice and share a long car ride with whether you want to try new waters or go to old reliable. I have had several "fishing buddies" throughout my time as a flyfisherman, they all have come and gone with moves, work changes, etc. however the bees keeps coming back for more. Thanks for your frienship buddy.

I also wanted to update our devoted following to some big news in the hopperdropper home. A new prospective flyfisher has been born today. Congrats to the happy Mom and Dad.

I am sure pictures will follow.

Just Like Heaven

Dear Avid Readers,
I understand its been a long time.  No valid excuse really, I've just neglected you in favor of the water and the vise.  That's why today we've got a little something special just for you, our devoted followers.  I guess the rest of you can take a peek too.
Do you ever think about Heaven?  What it's like?  It's a fascinating subject, full of endless possibilities.  There are so many things we don't know about it, but some we do.  Like the fact that there will be family and good friends to laugh with. It's definitely summer there.  And there are sparkling trout streams where the fish love to hammer dry flies.  It might look something like this:

A little motivation for Chad...

I know most of you watched the remake of the classic "Chad Throws a Fit". I was thinking today how different that video could have been if he had been a good fisherman and actually caught the fish, instead of letting it abuse him all summer. In anticipation of the the hostilities that will inevitably be renewed this season, I wanted to provide my good buddy with a little motivation. Sometimes you have to visualize your dreams. Here you go - print it out and tape it to the bathroom mirror.

Another classic remake...

So, I thought this video of a cutthroat caught on a hopper would look pretty cool in slow motion. Seeing how the fish moves when he's fighting against the rod is fairly awesome. This season we are going to be bringing some much higher quality vids, so be ready. Also, most of you probably want to know where you can get the sweet background music. You'll have to ask Chad, I pulled it straight from his iPod. It was under "All-time Favorites."

Old Classic, New Awesomeness

So most of our avid readers will remember the culmination of Chad's feud with The Big Bad Brown last summer.  It still makes me laugh every time, but I realized it could be enhanced to tell more of the story.  So, here for your viewing pleasure, is the digitally remastered classic:

Trivia

So here's the question - if Chad has a baker's dozen of some of the best midge patterns ever tied, and if an insane midge hatch comes off while he's carrying said flies, can he catch fish?  Or will we get the usual excuses?  Tune in on Monday night for the conclusion to this riveting drama...

Still love the new vice!

Sculpins!  Yummy!

New vice, old passion...

So, The Hotness, with the expert assistance of Chad, got me a new vice for Christmas. It's a cam design Danvise and I love it. I really didn't know how much my old vice was limiting me until I broke out the new awesomeness today (I realize it took me two months, and I'd like to apologize to everyone for letting them down).

All early indicators point to the fish being in big trouble this year. Big bugs are on the menu, here's a hopper and a cicada for appetizers.

Dear Followers...

We realize that it's been a long, long time and you've probably missed us terribly. While we will accept some blame for the lack of posting, we cannot accept all of it, due to natural disaters - such as careers, kids, and winter. Today's post is an olive branch of sorts, and it's extended to you, faithful followers (both of you.) We don't care about the fair weather readers, it's our core fans that we're dedicated to. Today's post has a little bit of everything - eye-candy, a story, and useful tips.
The temperature was 48 degrees at 3:30 yesterday, pretty much a heat wave. Besides that there was some nice cloud cover hanging over the canyon. All of a sudden I found myself in the garage grabbing the 3 weight, waders, boots, etc. Even without catching fish, how can you beat scenery like this?
So, there I was, happy as a clam, catching fish - not big, but scrappy, and it was 48 degrees in February. I'm wading up the tiny stream, thinking about how much I've missed flyfishing, when I stepped on a long, flat rock that sloped down slightly and was slicker than snail snot. I skied forward about 3 feet, arms flailing, almost fell backwards trying to regain my balance, and finally did an awesome, head -first plunge into some very refreshing mountain stream water. I got extra points because of the difficulty of pulling such an amazing manuever in the only spot deep enough to get wet. As I scrambled to get out of the numbing insanity, I fell again, this time on my back, but once again managed the bonus points by completely submerging myself. When I finally dragged myself onto dry land, I immediately pulled my soaking cell phone and camera out and removed the batteries. (This isn't my first water-rodeo, folks.) Now here come the tips: 1) If you're going to swim in February, do it in your bathtub, not in a current of melted snow. 2) If you do go in w/ expensive electronic equipment, immediately pull out the batteries, and dry as much water as you can. When you get home, remove covers to expose the internals, and use a hair dryer to dry the insides. Do not attempt to turn on the device until you are certain it is completely dry! I like to leave them in front of a fan overnight. Do this, and everything should be fine. (Trust me, I'm better at falling in and dealing w/ the aftermath then I am at fishing.)

And that, dear followers, will have to tide you over for a bit. But do not fear, winter is on her deathbed, spring will be here before you know it, and we'll have other worries. Like how to keep a job while staying true to the really important things in life. (Hoppers, cicadas, etc.)

Strawberry Cutts '09

So the little feller and I went to Strawberry the other day. We had been doing our homework by checking local forums etc. and had heard that there was a nasty scum covering the lake. NOT TRUE. I really am not a fan of the "eliteist" flyfisherman who tries to hide his spot. Needless to say we sifted through all the bull and made the jont. We started at Bryant's Fork and did okay. I landed two, one nice cutt and a nice bow.

We then decided to make a move to the dam. We haphazardly tied the boats to the roof of Rob's suburban (completely inflated) and drove to the dam. As we walked down to scout the first thing rob saw with his new specs was a monster 22" cutt. We decided to stay. We launched to boats and stayed in close to the bank and did fairly well with just kicking back and forth dragging the buggers in about 5 - 7 feet of water.

Here is a video of one of the fish.

Late sunday night before we left we had a wild hair and decided we would try to catch some crawdads while we fished. So on our way to the lake we stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a few supplies to make a trap. The trap only kindof worked. We ended up catching 14 most of which were cauth from the dock with a chicken wing tied to a rope. I cooked them up that night, they were pretty tasty... I think I have a new hobby while flyfishing.

They were tasty little critters. I will post more "high quality" videos when I have the time.

Eyes > Stomach

So on the cutthroat trip, Chad had some real success using a big nasty Tarantula tied up by a local expert. Even this tiny minnow couldn't resist, despite the fact that the fly was bigger than its head. I say hats off to him for having the guts to try and eat something that probably could have eaten him if it was real.

You've probably determined that the catching of this tiny bait fish presented a real dilemma for me. I never let Chad catch the biggest fish of the trip, so how could I in good conscience let him catch the smallest? It bothered me so much I had to go out the next day and capture this beauty, which is a good 2 mm shorter than Chad's sardine.

I also caught two of the prettiest fish ever, a couple of Uintah cutt-bows. They had the markings of a redband rainbow, but with the glowing copper sheen of a fine-spot cutthroat. Throat slashes to top it off.

Cutthroat Chronicles

There's just something about those cutts that'll make you do crazy things to have a shot at them. Like drive until 2 am and then get up at 6:30 to head up into the wilderness. Maybe it's the crystal clear, freezing cold, pristine waters they love.

Or maybe it's the fact that they love to eat on top, even if it means rushing up from the depths to take a big, hairy Tarantula or a hopper.

Or maybe it's all the spots and the throat jewelry.


Whatever it is, it'll eat at us until we search them out the next time...

Road trippin'

Me and Moose took a little road trip the other day (actually it was mostly in the dead of night). Saw some cool road signs. Not sure what the first one means, but we liked it.

How could you not laugh a little at the second one?

We also stayed in a really posh hotel room, the kind with no free shampoo.

Trading Off

Last time we went to the Provo, Chad slayed 'em and I got skunked for the first time this year. A good hard skunking too, where I fished intensely the whole time and didn't even come close. This trip we traded, which I was more than happy to do. Chad did hook 3 fish, but none came to the new rubber-bagged net. I had probably my best fight this year w/ a monster 'bow that took me a couple hundred yards downstream before another guy kindly helped me net him. Took a couple other big 'bows and a beautiful brown starting to get his hook-jaw. Funny how fortunes change.

Chad's Feud

Chad's been exchanging unpleasantries with a large brown trout as of late. Specifically, the last three outings. Always in the slick behind the big rock that breaks the current. The first time, I heard Chad shout and ran over just in time to see his line rip all the way across the river before the leader parted. The second time Chad had him on for longer, but the result was the same. In that episode, he lost his temper and his beloved Cub's hat. Today I was lucky enough to get the tantrum on camera after the hook popped loose and Chad lost his glasses in the ensuing anger management highlight. This is one reason why flyfishing is so expensive. Chad has lost about $10 in flies, $15 in hats, and $30 in glasses to this one fish! Take a look:

A few pics from the land o' rivers...

You have to love places with so many awesome trout streams that you have a hard time deciding what to hit and what to pass by. The possibilies are endless and there's never enough time to fish it all. Should we do hoppers on the So and So River, stones on Watchamacallit Creek, or caddis on the Pick A Name Fork?

Test results are in!

In a study already being heralded by many scientists as the most comprehensive of its kind, trout were shown to prefer the Death Pupa almost 5 to 1 over $.79 Taiwanese flies. Said one Henry's Fork rainbow, "They just taste better. When a Death Pupa drifts by, you know you're getting a complete meal, and not some processed soy burger." In the statistically significant sample, trout were asked to remain in their natural habitat and choose between garbage flies tied by some guy who's never seen a trout, and the meaty awesomeness that is the Death Pupa. Although the results speak for themselves, the creators feel that more in-depth testing is needed.

Fly Selection

I'm not the smartest man in this world. I know that's hard for some of you to believe, but just ask my wife and she can get into the nitty-gritty details with you. Anyway, the point is this: I'm not the smartest man in the world, but I can usually pick out a fly that will give at least decent results. The trick is to find that balance between the S.W.A.G.(Scientific Wild-A** Guess) method and going way overboard w/ stream thermometers, pH testers and bug seines. Just take a second to be observant, look at the water and the situation before you hop in and start rifling through all 8 of your fly boxes. For example, the other day I was walking toward a river through a field of grass, and there were hoppers flying everywhere. You could hear their annoying "clack-clack-clack" as they drifted on the breeze. Wait a second, breeze? Does that mean some of these succulent Trout Biscuits could end up in the water? And would trout rather eat a huge amount of protein in one bite if it's readily available, than eat a couple hundred midge larva to get the same amount? I felt a hypothesis beginning to form in my feable mind...

Slow Rise, Take It Easy

So, I've always had a problem with Cutthroats. I've never really fished a stream where they were the primary fish. One of the home waters has enough of them in it to where about 15% of the stikes you get are from cutts, but I almost always miss them. I get used to striking on browns, and then when a big cutt drifts up, I'm almost always early. When the chance came to fish a small river full of decent cutts came up, I was more than willing. I think it helped to know that it would be all cutts, so I kept thinking to myself, " Take it easy on the strike. Let that slow rise happen and then just gently tighten up." Worked wonders. I stilled missed some fish, but I defintiely did better. Plus, the scenery and the fish were stunning. I was the only angler on the water, the streamside log said the only one in the past 4 days. Go find you a little Cutt water and remember "Slow rise, take it easy."

Fishing Buddies

So, once you really become addicted to flyfishing (if you're not yet there, you may want to take a hard look at heroin - it's cheaper and less addictive), there's a good chance you'll have a fishing buddy. Maybe a few friends who you fish with occassionally, but usually just one fishing buddy who seems to understand your specific brand of insanity. This is the guy who stays up 'til 1am watching Youtube videos with you, dreaming of exotic places where the fish are huge and aggressive, places you may never be able to afford to visit. It's the guy who understands exactly how you feel when a monster brown as big as a submarine takes you for a 10 second thrill ride and then tears your entire rig to pieces, leaving you with that slack-line feeling in the pit of your stomach. It's also the guy who brings you a mess of donuts when you lose your job and you're wondering what you're going to do with the rest of your life. The donuts are the non-verbal way of saying, "You'll figure it out. Everything will work out - it always does." And then you don't feel so bad, because you realize "You're right. I don't have a job, and I have a lot of thinking to do. I think best when I'm up to my waist in a river. Really the only thing that makes sense is to get in some intense liquid pondering for a few days." Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Fishing Buddy.