Saturday, January 3, 2015

1-2-15 - LOWER KINGS RIVER with JOHN KIM

1-2-15
Had a great time meeting up with John Kim (http://troutuort.blogspot.com/) for the first time. I've watched his YouTube videos and blog for a while now and picked his brain on several occasions through email. Thus, it was really good to finally meet him for a day on the Lower Kings River.


 John showing dad how to rig up a streamer. 7-9' straight 3X (or 6lb.) leader; split shot if needed.
It was freezing in the morning!
 Lower Kings River
 hitting the riffles and the hole next to the rocks
that deeeeeep pool 
fly of the day 
pretty river 
wahhh

riffle to calm

mending mending
roll cast ready for deployment
get deep with those nymphs
fierce concentration
in front of those rocks...
do it dad
work it!
that chest pack with rod holder is cooooool
 a lake section
on the way to the final casts of the day

Monday, March 3, 2014

Frogg Toggs Hellbender: The Beginning (3.3.14) + Orvis Streamline Wading Boots

I finally received my (correctly sized) Frogg Toggs Hellbender wading jacket priority mail today.





I ordered it on the 25th of January, a Saturday. On the very last day of the range of days that I'm supposed to receive the jacket, I see that eBay says it is "Undeliverable As Addressed."

I contact the guy, and he doesn't reply. The package goes down to San Diego, and then finally back to the seller in Wisconsin.

I finally have to file a case, and the guy finally replies, saying it's not his fault.

I finally get to where he ships the package back, and when I finally receive the package, I open it up, and lo and behold! He sent me the size Small, the WRONG SIZE!!!

So, after receiving his word that he'll refund my money for the return shipping, I shipped my Small back to him Priority.

Finally, after FIVE WEEKS and 2 DAYS, I receive the jacket. Now all I have to do is get the money for the Shipping...

the PRICE???
------> $67.99, a lot of headaches, and 37 days.
: ]

________

I really, really do like the jacket. It's got a lot of pockets, adjustable hood (with brim), a rod holder (with velcro setting), 3 D-rings (placed perfectly, 2 on front and one on back for magnetic net), and neoprene cuffs! It's waterproof, windproof, and breathable!


This review and the reviews on Amazon sold me on it.



~KLC

________

Oh, and I just got my Orvis (felt) Streamline wading boots, so we'll see how they hold up in the surf. Nick bought both the felt and studs, so time will tell! If they don't work out, I'll probably end up using them for the streams anyway, since I've fallen quite a bit with the Cabela's brand wading boots...





Sunday, February 16, 2014

Fly Fishing the Surf: Day 1

Got to finally meet Geoff (happy bday Jota) at around 10:00. Got down to business right away. He took a look at my reel/rod combo and decided to set me up w/ 23 feet (I think) of the dense, fast-sink fly line. Then we went out to the casting lawn and he gauged my technique. This was part of it:


Before this clip starts, my casting/double haul was validated, and it felt pretty good!
I've essentially learned from one lesson with Pastor and a book. The main things I need to work on are stopping at 10 o'clock to let the line shoot, and to use more

Friday, February 14, 2014

On the cusp of Fly Fishing the Surf

So I've talked with Geoff Malloway of Central Coast Fly Fishing, and will finally meet him tomorrow to set up my 9' 8wt. fly rod for fishing the surf.

We're going to try the Carmel Beach tomorrow to see what we can see. Richard Gilliam's been doing well lately, so it'll be fun to try a new beach.

I finally get to meet Geoff and patronize his store!

Pastor's been a great help as well. Today, he lent me his stripping basket with Hilltop's design. I'll try it out to see if the 18 qt. is too large, or if I can get away with fishing with the 12 qt.

Time will tell!

Stripers and perch or bust!!!

I Won the Panther Martin Photo Contest!!!

Took the pics and thought I had a winner.
I did.
: )






Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Fishing/Events Update

It's been a while!

We started Surf Fishing in 2013, right after dad came back from his 36th wedding anniversary with mom. He was ultra inspired from watching a guy @ Morro Bay catch surf perch, and relayed it to us that he might be interested in doing the same.

He finally got out on the 6th of January, and caught his first surf perch!





Jr. caught his first Pacific Sanddab, which we mistook for a halibut/flounder:









...and I've had fun catching surf perch!

Teaching 2nd grade has definitely been exceedingly difficult, but, with God's help, I've been able to come to the end of myself and let God work. I had to say, "God, there's nothing more I can do, and if I can do this job it's because of Your help." Well, times will still be hard, but I've found my strength in Christ!

I just caught this 19" Brown (my largest Brown Trout to date) with mom:


This large stonefly was in his mouth, and I found a 1cm rock in his stomach!
I also had a nasty fall, with my right leg taking most of the fall. It's still hard to walk today...

All in all the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 have been exciting, and I can't wait to see what's up next!



Wednesday, June 5, 2013

5.27.2013: MERCED RIVER w/ The Bob

Got up at 5:00 and left at about 6:10.
Went straight to the El Portal Mercado and started fishing.
Lost one right away when I fished the B and Y PM from the shallow calm to faster depths.
Lost another, and then a bit later hooked into a nice 'Bow.




I took the following video, but what it doesn't show clearly is that the fish made a beeline for the rocks. I put the rod tip out to the water and dragged him out. As I did I saw this huuuuuuuuuge shadow of a fish, three times the length of my 'Bow.
Geoff Malloway @Central Coast Fly Fishing said that it was probably a big brown or squawfish.
I thought it might be either, but my memory isn't as good as it was... : )



We then went to the Picnic Spot, and had no luck there.
We met some peeps fr/ Colorado and Kansas, who just had to decide to picnic right behind us, even w/ all of the wilderness to park...whatevs.

At Rocky Curve Bridge I had one solid take and missed him while focusing on getting a good drift. I was hitting the calmer seam where the brush met the swirls, across the river, where I had the rushing white water to contend with.
There were at least three or four other fish in that pool, as I saw them chasing my B&Y P.M.
I'll come back next time w/ those Super Dupers!

That 10" 'bow was an accident. I was picking up to begin casting again and lo! fish on!
It took me a couple seconds (maybe 5?) to think about landing the fish.
I have an old (and in a certain light, bad) habit of pulling on the line with my line (left) hand to set the hook, instead of simply clamping down with my index finger and raising the rod tip. (However, I have heard that this isn't as bad a way of setting the hook; in fact, I've heard it mentioned to be preferable in some circumstances.) I formed this "bad" habit on my first trip to the Stanislaus River last year.
The video from that trip proves my point.
Anyway, I remember consciously thinking that, "Okay, I've got a fish on, I'll just slowly release the pressure with my line hand while keeping the tension and meet my left hand with my right hand, handing the line to right index finger. From there, I'll just strip in the line."
And that's all she wrote! Bagged a beayouuuuutiful rainbow.
The interesting thing was, as video and photographic evidence show, the elk hair caddis (green, size 12?) I caught him on was pretty much destroyed by this fish. I am somewhat confident that the elk hair caddis I had still had the elk hair attached.

In this zoomed in photo there are still remnants of the elk hair:


In this later photo, you can really tell that the elk hair is almost nonexistent:



However, I will say that this hook was really in him good, and he didn't and couldn't spit this hook out until I took it out. Thus, I think he "chewed" on the fly for a bit and beat it up while it was in his lip, and thus a lot of the elk hair is gone.
At first I had assumed that the fly tier did not do a good job, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
One fly, one fish landed, and I'm happy to retire the fly in my fly box seeing as it's the first fish I've gotten off of a fly rod in 2013. Besides, the hooks are still pretty sharp!

At the South Fork->Main River I caught a 9" smallmouth bass on my first cast!
I had a good feeling, or good vibes about that location.
It's interesting. I've heard it called confidence as well.
It's that feeling where you just know you're gonna get action.

After catching the smallmouth, I moved down to some of the casting "portals" or "windows."
There are 4-5 of these windows, and each of them give a different view.
I've a mind to head down there sometime w/ my waders and hit those spots w/ the Fly Fishing setup.

All in all a good day, and I'll be heading back for sure before the summer's end!

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