Name this Fly.... PULEEEEEEEZE

A couple of weeks ago it seemed like a good day to stand in a moving body of water and concentrate of catching some fish. (See previous post) I dropped in at a place on Boulder Creek that we have dubbed the "Naked Hippie" (Funny story, if you're around when two of the three of Deron, BY, or myself are pulling a couple of beers, we'll be happy to tell you how this spot got its name.)

Anyway, after having moderate success with the usual fly suspects of the Elk Hair Caddis, with a Pheasant Tail, Copper John, or Hair's Ear dropper, I pulled this fly out from my box. Sometimes you look at a fly and it just feels like the right choice; the 10-12 fish I pulled in during the course of the next hour or so proved the hunch to be true. Of note, the fly also met the durability benchmark of 10 fish with flying colors

Now comes the conundrum. I have no idea where I got this fly, how to tie this fly, what materials are used to build this fly, or basically anything about how to get another one. The only thing I know for sure, is that I didn't tie it. Don't you hate it when that happens?

As close as I can tell it is a PMX/Royal Coachman/Stimulator/Ant Pattern/???? hybrid. The good news is that I have 2 left, so I can dissect one in hopes of figuring out all the materials, and still fish with one until I figure it out.

If you happen to know the name, manufacturer, pattern, materials, or any other information, please let me know at pbdave2002 at yahoo dot c0m. Any info would be greatly appreciated, and I'd be happy to tie you a couple.

The fly of the day will have to take a rain check on this post... gotta figure out how to make one of these bad boys.

Tight Lines,

Dave

Parting Ways

It's been a while since my last post. There are a handful that I've been wanting to write. Been a little busy lately so they have been stacking up. In keeping with the notion that one should have one theme per post, I'll be delivering the next handful in rapid fire fashion over the next few days.

A couple of weeks ago, Lijit Newtorks and I parted ways. At the end of the day, it was an amicable split and to steal a line from the great Bob Dylan, " Split up on a dark sad morning, both agreeing it was best."

Lijit has some legitimate superstars building their products and keeping the machine running, as well as some of the finest folks I've had the pleasure to work with. I wish them all the best going forward.

The fly of the day is the Elk Hair Stimulator, courtesy of the great folks at Front Range Anglers (check out the new FRA website)












Tight Lines,

Dave

Right Between the Eyes

Yesterday was one for the books. Within two hours of getting out of a 5 hour quarterly review meeting, I found out that two people I have known since high school, if not a bit before, passed away. Both of them had their share of problems, and I can't say we remained close over the years. However, when you go to a small high school, and your brother's and sisters all went to school together, and everyone knows everyone's parents, they are part of your extended family. It is a bit of a shock to hear that two people in their 40's passed away.

My heart goes out to their families and loved ones.

Life is a tenuous thing. Things like this give you a level set on where things are in the priority scale.

Not Telling...

Last week, my wife and I went camping for our vacation, roughly coinciding with our 5th wedding anniversary. It was the first multiple day vacation I had taken since the Boulder Old Boys tour to Chile, which was over a year ago.

After doing some Internet research, looking through some books, and asking around, we selected a campground. This particular campground is pretty much in the middle of freakin' nowhere, does not take reservations, and only has 11 campsites. Because we were taking the whole week off, we figured our chances were pretty good of being able to find a spot to camp. If they were filled, we had some backup plans in the general area, which would have worked, but not nearly as well as this one. As it turns out, we arrived on Monday, and there was one other family camping. That left the other of the two prime spots in the whole campground available, which worked for us just fine. Funny thing about camping, the less people you see the better you tend to like it.

Anyway, we had 3 days of an epic camping trip. The fishing s*cked, but the biking, hiking, and views were awesome. Oh yeah, I spent 4 consecutive days with out interacting with an electronic device other than a flashlight. The weather even held out. During the final 2 days, with the campground beginning to fill in, the trip downgraded from epic to merely awesome... Everyone understood the unwritten rule, be polite, make small talk about what kind of bait/lures you are using and mind your own business. Who could ask for better neighbors.

As to the title of this post, by time we left, the marginal sites were filled up, and people were showing up to find a full campground. The politeness was slowly overtaken by people getting pushy about when you were planning to leave, and how they could guarantee that they got the spot when you left. Needless to say, this was not popular in Camp Dave. When you go somewhere without a reservation, you are rolling the dice. If the dice don't go your way, it's your responsibility to have a backup plan, not to make your problem better by making it someone else's issue. Hence, the fewer people that know how to get here, the fewer people will likely be there the next time we go back. Kind of like a fishing hole, if you find a killer spot, keep that knowledge close to the vest, otherwise the next time you go back, it will be a parking lot.

In honor of the upcoming Independence Day, the fly of the day is the Spirit, courtesy of the folks at Fly Anglers Online.













Tight Lines,

Dave

John Deere LA145 - 1 Year Review

About a year ago, I bought a John Deere LA145 and wrote a post about the new acquisition. Because I have Lijit Search installed on my blog, I can see that readers come to my site pretty regularly after doing a search for for this model. I thought I would provide a post-purchase and actual usage review, highlighting several of the key quality drivers.

Cutting - I live in the foothills with natural grass and weeds making up most of the mowable area. For this purpose it is great. It plows through the most dense clumps of grass and several weeds that resemble trees with no problem. I can't speak to how it performs for finely manicured lawns, but there is no reason to believe there would be a problem.

Reliability - Haven't had a single problem with it yet. It starts, warms up, runs, and mows without a problem.

Maintenance - Maintenance is a snap. Changing the oil is a 5 minute job. Fuel filter, air filter, plugs, belt drive, zerk fittings, etc. are all readily accessible. I have yet to swap out or sharpen the blades, but I can see where that is done, and it will be super simple. It also comes with an attachment for a hose, where you can essentially blow out all the grass from the blade guard.

Drivability - Drives really easy, up hills, down hills, sideways on an angle (which you are really not supposed to do, something about safety). Steering is also smooth. It does not have that zero radius turn feature, but it's pretty close.

Functionality - I'm not sure what else you can ask for. Electronic blade engagement, electronic ignition, blade engagement in reverse with the push of a button, parking break (which actually comes in handy), and did I mention the beverage holder...

Cool Factor - Let's face it, it's a John Deere. Would you rather get on a Deere and fire it up, or fire up that Cub Cadet, ha?

Basically, it's so easy to use, I now mow my neighbors yard for a nominal beverage fee. I highly recommend it for anyone seriously looking at buying a lawn tractor. For the money, it is well worth the investment.

The fly of the day is the Stuck in Shuck Mayfly, courtesy of the folks at the Fly Tyers Page:

Tight Lines,

Dave

Angler's Workshop

This is the latest installment of "Hey look at these guys, their products and customer service rock, and if you are looking for a vendor of X, then definitely call these guys".

I'm in the process of building my 3rd fishing rod, which means I know enough to be dangerous, and enough to know to ask for advice before I piece together the components for a rod.
The first product was a fly rod that I built during a class held at Front Range Anglers, here in Boulder. I bought all the components through the fly shop, and will buy the components for my next fly rod through them as well. The guys are Front Range are great, and always ready to help you out.

The next two rods are for my father and father-in-law. My dad fishes for salmon and my father-in-law is a bass angler, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to build fly rods. Needing expertise in what parts to buy, I started to do some searching on the Internet, using Google, and searching through forums. Angler's Workshop was recommended by a couple of people who posted on RodBuildingForum.com. For both rods, I was helped by a gentleman named Dave. After clumsily telling him about the rods I was going to build, Dave pointed me in the right direction, and helped me pick out all the parts I would need. Delivery took about 2-3 days, and all the parts were labeled appropriately. Angler's Workshop also carries a full line of just about everything you might need to catch a fish, with the exception of luck and skill. Long story short, I highly recommend taking a look at Angler's Workshop the next time you are looking for rod building, or just about any gear.

The fly of the day is the Ice Dub Para-Wulff, courtesy of Front Range Anglers.














Tight Lines,

Dave

Membership has its Priveledges...

...or in the case of USA Rugby, also knows as USNAFU, membership has its disadvantages.

The other day when I got home, there was a message on my home phone. Unfortunately, it was a robocall, from the benefactors at USA Rugby, reminding me of a purchasing opportunity, for me to buy tickets for the upcoming Churchill Cup competition. (The Churchill Cup is an international competition made up mostly of the second teams of some of the better rugby playing countries.) At first, I wasn't exactly sure what the call was for, but since we are on the "Do Not Call" list, we typically don't get many of these calls.

After a few seconds, the voice identified himself as a member of the Eagles (the US national team) and that he was reminding me to buy tickets for the upcoming event, and what a great experience it would be. Personally, I'm a little offended that USNAFU would use the information that they collect during the annual dues collection process, so that they can try and sell me products, or more importantly sell my info to other entities so they can try to sell me products.

As a former officer of my rugby club, there are two things you face on an every day basis. 1) Your organization needs more players/members, and 2) Your organization needs more money. Unless you raise money from outside of your membership, all you are doing is charging more dues. Expecting the membership to fund the international joke that is the Eagles and the other officially sanctioned programs is a model that has not worked in the past, so why would they think it will work in the future?

If growing the sport is the intent of the brain trust at USNAFU, then perhaps their efforts would be better focused on introducing the sport and marketing it to people who do not already play.

The fly of the day is the Papal Purple Indian, courtesy of the folks at Front Range Anglers.













Tight Lines,

Dave