John Deere Service Videos

Because my grandparents were farmers, driving and working on machinery is something that I learned at an early age. I can pretty much look at a component and figure out what needs to be done. In case of a break-glass emergency, I'll consult an owners, Hayes, or Chiton manual, which will usually give you about 75% of the information you need to do it properly. It wasn't until I was in my mid-20's that I really figured out that not everyone grew up around a pretty extensive set of power tools, benches, vices, and the like. I imagine that the percentage of people who can and do fix their own gear will continue to decrease as the digital age progresses.

Since I wrote my 1-year review on the LA145, I've noticed that readers have searched my site for instruction on how to change oil and perform other basic maintenance tasks on John Deere riding lawn mowers. The other day, I received a marketing email from John Deere, that contained links to videos of how to perform some of these tasks. Included in the email, there were also links to help you buy the filters, belts, blades and other parts useful to perform these tasks. The activities include:

- Changing Air Filters

- Changing Oil and Oil Filters

- Mower Deck Maintenance

- Lubrication

- Removing and Attaching the Mower Deck (probably the most valuable)

Good luck. If you get in a jam, call your local John Deere center. The folks I have dealt with at Longs Peak Equipment, have always been super helpful.

Because the BWO hatch is coming on in the Front Range, the fly of the day is the Parachute Adams, with tying instructions provided by High Country Flies.

Tight Lines,

Dave

Boulder Water Well

Here is the latest installment of: These Guys Rock!!!

On Saturday after doing some basic home maintenance, I was headed out to the annual BBQ/drink up at the Boulder Reservoir, known as the Rez Fest. About half way there, I get a call from my wife, explaining that there is no water at the house, hence I flipped a b*tch to see what is going on. After figuring out that it is not a burst pipe, I called around to see if there is someone who can take a look at this problem. Note, it is about 4pm on a Saturday at this time.

I called the number of the company who put stickers on all the well-related equipment in our basement, and left a number for them to call me back. I also called Boulder Water Well, which I found in the phone book. Boulder Water actually had someone answer the phone, and told me that they could get someone out here in about an hour, and that the serviceman would give me a call in about 15 minutes to get some particulars. In the meantime, I did receive a call from the first place, where a gentleman who may have been stonned called and told me that the best he could do was get there the next morning.

Within an hour or so, Brent from Boulder Water Well showed up at my house, diagnosed the issue as being a dead pump, and started the replacement process. It should be noted that there were two possible issues, a dead pump or a dry well. Needless to say that replacing a pump was the much less expensive of the two. At the end of the day, the pump, which had a 5 year warranty, lasted 21 years. You can't really blame the old guy for finally giving up the ghost.

Three hours later, we had running water, and a high degree of confidence in the work that had been done. Brent had answers to all my dumb questions, (I like to ask those just so that I can make sure that they have been asked), gave us some options for pump and controls, hooked us up with new water service, and even told me about a local pond where you can pull out 3 to 5 pound bass.

If you're in Boulder and you have a problem with your well, I highly recommend these guys.

Tight Lines,

Dave

How Being Married Can Save Your Ass... or at least Your Toes

The other day, I went fishing on South Boulder Creek, up by Walker Ranch. Great day, sun was shinning, mild breeze, a bit of cloud cover here and there to break things up, and the fish were biting on some Stimi's that I tied recently. Because it is August, it is wet wading season in Colorado. Waders have their purpose, but if the water is warm enough for you to go in with a pair of shorts and a pair of boots, it is a far superior day.

The one thing I didn't take into account, when planning this little journey, was that Walker is about 1/2 mile below the dam, and hence, that water is fairly cold. After about 15 minutes in the water, I started to feel my toes tingle, and it had nothing to do with the bite being on.

In my younger and more reckless years, I would have just plowed through, and stood in the middle of the river to keep fishing. On this day, a slightly different thought that went through my head: If I come home with frostbite on my toes, my lovely wife will not be impressed, and I will certainly hear about this for the rest of my existence. With that thought in mind, I figured it was better to spend the rest of the afternoon, fishing from the shore, or perched upon a rock in the stream, with my toes safely out of the water.

I'm not sure that I have become any smarter over years, but I can thank my wife for adding a few valuable branches to my decision tree.

The next trip to the fly shop will include a purchase of a pair of these:













The fly of the day is the Boulder Creek Caddis, provided by Jay Zimmerman over at Front Range Anglers




Tight Lines,

Dave

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