What I did This Summer

It started on Memorial Day weekend with a well-intentioned trip to the North Platte River in Wyoming. I had a business meeting in Colorado the following week so I thought I would stop in on my brother-in-low in Casper and spend a pleasant few days on the Miracle Mile. We met up and spent an enjoyable afternoon near the Mile and caught a fish or two. On the way home the smell of hot brakes and the telltale pulse of warped rotors signaled trouble. Suffice to say that I was lucky to find a brake shop open on a Memorial weekend Sunday but unlucky in having to spend $1300 on brakes, rear axle seals, etc. Anyway, after the repairs I was able to spend another day fishing on the mile and at Gray Reef.

 

North Platte River, Wyoming

 

A second opportunity presented itself in July with a business trip to Billings. I had read of the Boulder river south of Big Timber from tales of Wade Rivers so I booked a cheap motel in Big Timber, MT for a mid-July weekend. Unfortunately, my early summer luck followed me. Heavy summer rains had made for an extended runoff period and the Boulder was boiling cauldron of churning waters at most places. And, the Yellowstone was the color of a chocolate malt from Meyer’s Dairy in State College. I was able to find a couple of relatively calm area in the Boulder where I did not have to risk life and limb to wade or catch a fish. It’s a beautiful valley, but I did not run into Tom McGuane.

Boulder River, Montana

 

 

Lions Head, Boulder River Valley

 

Boulder Bow

 

Boulder Valley Eatery

 

 

Lastly, the better half, Cricket the flyfishing beagle, and I were able to spend an enjoyable vacation during the first week of September in Paradise Valley south of Livingston at the Yellowstone Valley Lodge. Incredibly, the Yellowstone was still running high and off color from recent rains. However, DePuy and Armstrong spring creeks were in perfect condition.

Yellowstone and Depuy Confluence

 

We also spent enjoyable days on the Gardiner, Lamar, and Soda Butte in the Park. It was hard to wade out of Soda Butte on the last afternoon after fishing brown drakes to willing Yellowstone cutts.

Armstrong Spring Creek

Lake on Beartooth Plateau, 10,500 feet

Gardiner River

Better Half and Cricket the Flyfishing Beagle on the Lamar YNP

Soda Butte

Soda Butte Yellowstone Cutt

Absarokee Sunset

 Well, that was my summer (or most of it). Now its just waiting for that white stuff to fall from the sky and the temps to fall into the negative region.

The road goes on forever and the party never ends!!
Best to all
Matt

BWS - Fishing Creel Contest

 

Big Woods Summit  May 21st-26th.

 

 

This year we will be introducing a new contest to run along with the one fly contest on Saturday.

This will be a homemade fishing creel.  It may NOT be a purchased creel.  The creel must be multi-functional.  It must be capable of keeping beer cold and hold fish. 

Mike and Mike will judge and determine the winner of this new event….  

Take notice of the Gold Fish and beer cans.
 

Saturday, March 22.  Looks like we voted for a good weekend…cloudy, 40% chance of showers, 54⁰.  Hope the fish cooperate.  See you at Rony’s in Pleasant Gap at 9:30 am.  Find Rony’s along RT 26 just south of town.  Those not making breakfast can call me at 570-295-6878 to find out where we will be fishing and gathering.  Got the RBF Mobile Command Unit running.  Got the RBF Mobile Command Unit running and will have smoke salmon to share.  I'll attempt to have coffee and hot chocolate available.

Safe Use of Adhesives - Click on link below

RBF Educational Series

Why am I not surprised?

Over 30 Years Ago

December 1983, Joe Fisher, owner of J. Kennedy Fisher Co., Carson City, NV visited the Chief's rod shop.  In the early 80's I was building and selling over 100 rods per year using Joe's blanks.  The very same blanks used by the R. L. Winston Co.  Joe brought me some of his experimental boron blanks for being a good customer. My high school baseball coach and I went in business together to buy the blanks at distributor prices.  We were selling the blanks and Fisher rods to other shops.  I showed my rods at TU spring shows for a couple of years.  After that my customers brought me more orders than I could handle.  I was very proud to be asked by TU for a rod that they could raffle off at the TU National Convention in 1984.

I still have a few J. Kennedy Fisher blanks including the brown fiberglass used by Winston.  After some research, I believe that I am the only one owning these blanks.  I recently sold one on the Internet for an obscene price.

Father's Day and Christmas orders kept me away from the stream and the woods.  I debated quitting my full-time job and opening a complete fly shop.  The Fair Maiden set me straight.  I continued my job as a safety engineer and only built rods in my spare time.  Around 1985, I bought a large supply of bamboo blanks sold by Herter's.  I sold most of them but still have a few to complete for myself.  I continued to repair and refinish good bamboo rods, working on Leonards and Paynes, to name a few.

I only owned one factory fly rod.  My dad bought me a Shakespeare Wonder Rod that I used for many years.  I built my first rod in 1968. Today, I have several rods in various stages of readiness.  I should get busy as I now have the time.

I have enjoyed my rod building experience.  Once in awhile, I will meet someone on the stream that is still using my of my rods....and loving it.

91.609 million miles

That's how far the sun is away from my position on the earth today. It rose at 8:07 a.m. and set at 5:47 p.m. and reached an altitude of 26.3 degrees above the horizon. What do all these numbers mean? It means that winter is slowly (very slowly) receding from this icebox on the 100th meridian and 46.1833 degrees longitude. High temps for next week will be around 5 above zero to 5 below zero. Interestingly, the sun will slowly move farther away from my little spot on the frozen prairies until sometime later this year. For example, tomorrow the sun will be 91.622 million miles away. Soon, we will hit the rapidly accelerating and exponential part of the daylength curve and I will be able to drive back and forth to work without using the headlights on my vehicle.

I'll ask the question again: what do all these numbers mean? It means that I've got cabin fever and am sick of this f***ing cold weather. Nuff said

Matt S.

RBF Pro Staff Cookbook "Recipes for a Good Day" Progresses

Everything from Bowhunter's Buffalo Meatloaf to Roast Raccoon and most things in between.  200 pages and counting.  It will debut as a PDF file possibly by the time of the Baetis Summit.  Still trying to find a reasonable quote on printing. 

There Goes the Chief

Truita - Catalan translates to "trout" or "omelet".  The Chief has a recipe in "Recipes for a Good Day" for Truita de Truita.