Yep, We Fished

Even though it was a might chilly during the Christmas Fishing Gathering on the 20th, we did fish. Goose was the most successful. He landed a couple of trophy rainbows along with a mess of browns. The Santa hat did the trick. Bowhunter dredged a couple of runs with nymphs but had no takers.
Midger did likewise and landed a few trout.

Yours truly spent most of the time breaking ice out of the rod guides, eating cookies, and brewing Brazilian java.

Happy New Year!

How to Spot a Prostaffer

Just look for the RBF sticker!

A Cold Day on Spring Creek

Good fellowship and libations kept off the cold on Saturday when select prostaffers met for the Christmas Fishin Gathering. Fortified with a hearty breakfast at the Bellefonte Waffleshop, the Chief, Bowhunter, Goose, and Agrontrutta gathered at the Paradise and dredged the runs with sucker spawn and pheasant tails. Midger dropped by later in the morning. It was good to see improved water levels on Spring Creek after a very dry autumn.

A highlight of the day was the award ceremony recognizing Bowhunter for his culinary feats at the Big Woods Summits.Later in the day we quaffed several Erie ales, munched on cookies and other goodies, and chowed down on the Chief's excellent venison with morels, and a great sheep'shead mushroom soup. Some Brazilian java with a shot of Gentleman Jack not only was a great apperitif, it also kept frostbite at bay.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all RBF prostaffers, sponsors, and hangers on.

Merry Christmas from the Chief

I hope to see some of you characters at the 3rd Annual Christmas Fishin Gathering. I will have some culinary delights for your enjoyment. Sheepshead Mushroom Soup, Cast Iron Skillet Venison, Smoked Wild Turkey Spread with Crackers and Genuine Polish Kielbasa! Wash it all down with some Jeremiah Weed Egg Nog and some fine Erie Brewery Ales. The Fair Maiden is preparing a Christmas Cookie Tray for our enjoyment.

We should experience partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 40's. There should be a skiff of snow on the ground. Delightful weather for fishin!

Amend it, a slight chance of rain showers, snow showers, and freezing drizzle. Cloudy, with a high near 28. East wind 5 to 7 mph becoming north. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Merry Christmas!

I finally got some time for a couple updates.The new PA mentorship program has been a success in my neck of the woods. Here’s a shot of my 10 year old nephew with a nice 6 point he got the first Monday of buck season. The only way it could have been better was if I would have been hunting with him. He is still smiling and pointing out to all of us how he got the biggest buck.

The weekend of Bear season we took a trip to potter county for a little fishing…. But after seeing the condition of the outhouse beat we decided to just work on the camp. It was down in the single digits and rather nippy.

After a good nights work on Friday and Saturday morning we were ready for the old wall to be removed. Saturday afternoon consisted of shoring up the ceiling and removing the studs and installing an 8”x8” x 14’ foot barn beam. Here is a shot of where we think the cabinets will be going.

I must say we are well on the way to getting to the Tiki deck by 2010.

RBF's 3rd Annual Christmas Fishing Gathering

Reminder and Roll Call

This year's gathering will be held on December 20th. We will meet at the Waffle Shop in Bellefonte at 9:oo AM for breakfast. Hopefully the weather will be cooperative. I will have propane heaters for all the flatlanders. It would be good to know how many Pro Staffers will be attending so I will have some idea how many gallons of egg nog will be needed. Additional menu item - Smoked Wild Turkey Spread. Feel free to bring anything to share.

Dem der Deer

Sorry, wrong type of deer.

I expect our illustrious leader and Bowhunter, Directory of Culinary Affairs (now what does that really mean--fooling around with cooking or the cook?), along with many others are in Penn's woods stalking the flesh and blood type of deer. Post some reports when you come in from the wilds.

Guess Who's Displaying a RBF Sticker?

Miquel Sala Medina being congratulated after beating the Americans on their home water.

Up North

Today’s cold snap and lake-effect snow blew in from Canada, home of Molson, the late Robert Goulet, and some fine flyfishing waters. Herewith some pics of eastern and western flyfishing waters in Canada.

The Margaree River is in the east central region of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Eugene, my French-Canadian guide, instructed me in the etiquette of pool rotation for Atlantic salmon fishing: Get in line, make two casts, move down two paces, repeat. I swung large blue doctors and other colorful salmon flies all day in the hope of at least hooking a fish. It was not to be.

A Margaree river regular

Red Deer river

Bow river

About 5000 km west of Nova Scotia is the province of Alberta, home of cowboys, oil sands, and k.d. lang. I floated the Red Deer river just north of Red Deer Alberta and the Bow river just outside of Calgary. The floats were interesting but not spectacular.

South of Calgary and west of Lethbridge near the Alberta and BC border is the Crow’s Nest river. This would be a great region for a future western summit.

Near the Crows Nest Angler Flyshop, Bellevue, Alberta

Athabasca River, Jasper National Park

Oh Canada, eh?

Where Am I Now?

The first person to identify the correct location in this latest Google Earth fly-by (click on the image for a larger version) will be the proud winner of a slightly used, but still functional, official industrial sized RBF Fart Suppressor.

Mulitple Choice:
a) Forks of the Delaware
b) Hammersley Fork, Pa.
c) Cross Fork, Pa.
d) First Fork - Costello, Pa.
e) Village of "Forks" (aka Coburn, Pa.)
f) Forks of Young Woman's Creek

If you know the correct answer, or think you know the correct answer, please jot it down on a slip of paper and attach it to a brand new 16" Meade aplanatic hyperbolic telescope with a 400mm aperture, a zero image-shift microfocuser, an oversized observatory-quality primary mirror with long exposure locking system, smart drive permanent periodic error correction system, Sony GPS reciever sensor, heavy duty double tine fork mounting, 26mm - 5 element eye piece, hand held Auto Star controller and a high precision 1-arc minute pointing system and mail the entire package to me, Wade Rivers c/o Cherry Springs State Park, Coudy Pike, Potter County, Pa.

Please make sure the package is properly insured.

The Lamar River Trail

The Jerkline - West Slope of Mount Norris
When evening chores are over at the ranch house on the hill
And there's nothing left to do but lay around
I saddle up my pony and go riding down the trail
Just to watch the evening sun go down

Lamar River Trail
White faced cattle lowing, sagebrush everywhere
Granite spires are standing all around
I'll tell you folks it's heaven, to go ridin' down the trail
Just to watch the evening sun go down

The Confluence
Ridin' down the canyon to watch the sun go down
A picture that no artist 'ere could paint
Harebell plants are bloomin' on the mountain side
I hear a coyote calling to its mate

From Where the Sun Now Sets, I Will Walk No More Forever
When evening chores are over at the ranch house on the hill
And there's nothing left to do but lay around
I saddle up my pony and go riding down the trail
Just to watch the evening sun go down

-Riding Down the Canyon, by Gene Autry (1936)

This was the tune that Bowhunter sang to me every night as we drifted off to sleep in our tents at the Salmon Forks in the Bob Marshall. Bowhunter sure can carry a tune. It's not the kind of thing you soon forget.

Another Young Angler

The Chief met this young man fishing upper Elk Creek. He was thrilled that his father took him fishing. The father and son traveled up from the flatlands of Berks County for a day of arduous spin fishing, bologna sandwiches and pop.

Future Pro-staffer in the making.

This young lad has all the makings of a future pro-staffer. Conditions were not perfect several weeks ago, highs in the low 40’s with low water.

He managed to fish for over 7 hours straight, only taking a couple short breaks to sit in the sun and warm up (usually while Bowhunter retied his outfit). During the day he continually showed up Bowhunter, by hooking and landing more steelhead. Here is a shot of his netting form. He is waiting for his grandpa to work a fish down to the net.

He ended up the day with 3 nice steelhead for the creel, and had many more on. All in all, not a bad day fishing with my nephew and father. We got 2 steelhead smoked and the other fish are awaiting the deep friar during buck season.

Elk Creek Steelhead

Conditions were arduous but the Chief still did manage to hook six, land four and creel two. Water was clear and low on Wednesday and it seemed that the Chief was the only angler hooking these beasts in upper Elk. Most fly anglers were slinging eggs and spawn. After a couple shots of Jeremiah Weed, the Chief selected a couple of #16 RBF Blueberry Beadheads and caught all on the dropper. It rained all night and all the creeks were up and dirty Thursday so the Chief just visited the tackle shops. Bought a life's supply of cheap split shot and headed home.

Flies and Frogs

I thought it best to post something related to fish during this trip. I noted an insect hatch in the ponds surrounding the university conference center. Looked to be about a size 10 something or other. The water did not look very safe to muck around, hence the lousy image. Didn’t notice any fish feeding.

From the piscatorial to the amphibious: One of the university professors took me for a short tour of his research. I noted a site with several small ponds and asked about them. Most of the ponds were for fish research; however, a few of the ponds were used for “frog farming” research. Apparently, one of the faculty is developing a feed mix to fatten frogs for the meat market. I’m not sure but I think this is where “Frogs Fanny” was developed. Just a guess. I didn’t notice any wild frogs in wheel chairs or on crutches.

In case you are interested, here is where I am: http://www.ufv.br/

Boa Tarde!

The RBF Girls from Ipanema

Time for only a quick post about the adventure in Brazil. The conference I am speaking at had a soiree last night with some interesting Brazilian dishes and beer. These wonderful ladies are the conference assistants assigned to helpless foreigners like me. They help us negotiate the language, explain the food, and generally try to keep us out of trouble.

Brahma is one of the local beers, a pilsner that is ok.

Gotta go. I give a talk in a bit and need to settle my nerves.

More later.

Toto, We are not in Kansas anymore

Just an update on Agrontrutta's trip to Brazil. I arrived in Belo Horizonte Tuesday morning after enduring flights from State College to Philly to Miami to Brazil. The flights, however, were nothing compared to the bone-jarring four hour drive from Belo Horizonte to Vicosa, where I'm visiting a small agricultural university. I have not had much time to gather photos or compose thoughtful posts. I just found a free wi-fi hotspot so I'm taking advantage. The Brazilian barbeque is great and the beer is just as cold down here. I think I spotted RBF girl at the Belo airport. There are many who resemble her in this tropical paradise. I will try to post something more interesting in the next few days.

Bom Dia!

RBF Girl's Chocolate Coconut Kisses

When it gets chilly outside, I love making cookies! Here’s the recipe for my favorite! Hope you guys enjoy!

Gently butter your cookie sheet and set the oven for 350o so it is hot and ready. Wow, that reminds me of the night Wade and I shared up at Cherry Springs!

Anyways, sift together 1 ½ cups of confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon flour. Take 3 egg whites and beat until they stand up in soft, delicate peaks.

Beat in sugar mixture, 2 tablespoonsfuls at a time. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Gently fold in ½ cup shredded coconut and 1 package of chocolate bits. Spoon out onto cookie sheet by tiny teaspoonfuls. Bake 12 – 15 minutes.

I’ll bring some to share at the Christmas Fishin Gathering!

Love and Chocolate Coconut Kisses,
Carrie

Back East

...Big Woods Summit style photo spam. I'm just grabbing the baton from Matt (aka Agrontrutta).

Around Wharton, Pa.

Forget about the Poconos and the Catskills, the forks at Wharton were the cradle of wet fly fishing in America long before Annie Oakley or Grover Cleveland brought their greenheart fly rods to vacation at the Henryville House on the Broadheads Creek. Early settlers of this region were swinging trios of wet flies (sometimes at night) even before Cyrus Goodsell built his planing mill at the mouth of Mill Creek on the upper Allegeny River in Coudersport, Pa.

First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek

Sinnemahoning State Park

The Outhouse Beat

Around Costello - Upper First Fork

The village of Abbott on Cross Fork Creek is only about 30 miles away as the crow flies. Abbott & Costello are two of my favorite places in the Big Woods Country.

Big Woods Summit - circa 2005

Around Austin, Pa.

Austin Dam Remains

Barrie & Paul Mann - Sportin' Around the Wharton Bar

Glen G. Plies the East Fork
Fish fear him, chicks dig him.

Around the Rossiter Lodge

The East Fork

Cold Front

Around Oleona

Night - Night!