July 2007 - Posts
After a somewhat long week at work last week (moreso because of content than hours, honestly), I got home somewhat late on Friday. I was able to relax and read (the new Harry Potter) for a bit, and tuckered out somewhat early for me.
Saturday, Jodi took the kids to the farmers' market, so I hopped in the Jeep and went to Cabela's to get some stuff (streamer flies, wading boots, neoprene wading socks, sinking leaders, and forceps, if you care). I took a rather roundabout way back home, driving along the River Raisin for a ways. I checked the Ida-Maybee bridge area, and it looked like the water was pretty dirty and a little high from the rains on Thursday evening. I probably should have given it a try, but I decided to skip it. Driving back home, I passed the Milan Dragway, and the smell of burning rubber took my mind off fishing (momentarily). I grabbed some steaks and burger meat from my favorite little meat market, Straub's Fresh Meats, and did some other errands quickly while Emma and Caleb were napping. When I was back at the house, Joshua, Caleb, and I had an afternoon of goofing off in the yard. We first got out some sidewalk chalk, and I wast casting my flyline at a square I drew on the pavement, while the boys were trying to hit golf balls at a target they drew on the sidewalk. Eventually, I got out my sand wedge, and joined them in torturing the (barely alive) turf of the front lawn. Finally, we put down the clubs and just drew a bunch of fish and sharks all over the sidewalks. The boys decided to accompany Jodi to the store, so I traded in chalk for the guitar and played on the front porch while they were gone. Then the day went quickly -- making dinner (beef tenderloin with a mushroom and wine brown sauce), cleaning up, getting little ones to bed, and finally reposing on the deck for more Harry.
Sunday, after mass, the little ones laid down for naps, and Jodi wasn't moving much either, so I decided to head for the Huron River to see if I couldn't find myself some bass. I went to a place I learned about by reading some forums and found the access to be reasonable and waded out in my new wading shoes. I started throwing a big sculpin streamer, which got some fish following, but I think it was a little big for the rock bass (wasn't seeing any smallmouth) and so I switched to a dace. I almost immediately got a hookup with a nice little 7 or 8 inch specimen. After releasing him and messing with several of his kin, I moved upstream looking for cover that might hold bigger fish. I eventually can upon a downed tree that was creating a lot of structure, and I started tossing the streamer just up from it and letting it settle closer to the bottom (and drifting closer to the cover) before starting my retrieve. I again quickly got a little rock bass to hit, and set him free. I repeated my technique a couple more times and got something big to come out slowly (not charging like the little guys), apparently cautiously curious. It looked to be between 2 and 2.5 feet long, and more long and skinny than tall, but I was mostly only seeing the silhouette, so it is hard to tell. I tried several more casts to try to get it to chase, but it just hung there. When the sun went behind some clouds, I lost sight of it, and tried to switch flies while I couldn't see it. When the sun finally came out, he was gone, and I never got him to come back out (even with a big minnow streamer). I moved a little further up and caught a few more rock bass, but never did get any smallmouth to come out and play. I probably only worked a stretch of river maybe 200 yards long, and for less than 2 hours, but I did have some fun. I'll be going back, to be sure. I was back home in time to make up our normal Sunday family dinner. After dinner I finished the new Harry Potter (it was enjoyable) and hit the hay early, so I could actually get up this morning for the daily grind...
I came across a link to these
killer sport shoes on boing boing, and I'd be curious if they feel as good as they look. Not quite as attractive as
JJ Casuals, but they look pretty cool, and the concept is great. Birkenstocks make my feet happy, but I think these would be even better...
As a pre-camping gathering, my parents and Val and Joe converged on Chuck and Jenice's place this weekend for a little social time. Ben and his girlfriend Jaimie were also going to be there, and there was talk of taking Dad fishing, so I decided to join the group. The original plan was to get Dad out on the float boat for a couple of hours on Saturday, then get Ben and Joe out for a bit on Sunday.
Chuck took Dad and I out on Saturday to float for smallmouth bass. The conditions were beautiful with a high-pressure system hanging over the area keeping us cool but in the sun. Unfortuantely, it might also have kept the fish hiding. We threw a variety of flies, streamers, poppers and spinning lures to no avail. The one good thing (from my perspective) was that Chuck gave me some very helpful criticism/instruction with fly casting. Considering I have kind of just starting really working on it, I probably shouldn't expect to be any good yet, but it was evident I am making a lot of mistakes that are easily corrected (at least if I can learn to realize that I am doing them!). With a few pointers and him specifically mentioning some of the things I was doing that weren't correct, I was able to start to feel what the rod needs to do to make a good cast. I started to cast a little better with his help, and even though I still had some issues (I ended up losing several flies -- one of them his -- to the trees and branches), I felt like it was a step in the right direction. In the end, Dad enjoyed himself a bit, even if he got a little wiped out toward the end, and I felt it was the most worthwhile trip where I didn't catch a fish ever.
Sunday, Joe decided he didn't want to fish, so I was given the opportunity to fish with Ben and Chuck for trout. The areas where we were going to fish are seeing a huge population of grasshoppers falling on rivers, and the trout are going crazy for them. We picked up some hopper flies and headed for the river. Unfortunately, we saw more canoes and kayaks than fish, and even though we did see a couple rise and take the hoppers, we couldn't get them to take the flies that we put near them. As time wore on, (and Ben and I started thinking about how we had hours and hours of driving to do yet), we decided we'd better head back. As we walked along the bank, and it seemed like the canoes and kayaks had finally stopped, Chuck pointed out a nice looking hole and said we should at least give it a quick try before heading out. We climbed down and gave it a go, but no luck. However (after catching my leader on the tip of my pole -- DOH! -- and taking a minute to untangle), I concentrated on making a good cast to near a downed tree and Chuck commented that I had actually made a pretty decent cast -- let's head out on a high note.
It was a long drive back home (4+ hours), and I am a little tired today, but I feel like my eyes have been opened to not only how a fly cast should work (I understand the physics just fine) but also how it feels. It seems so obvious (and the descriptions I've read are right on), but honestly, I just didn't get it before this weekend. Isn't learning fun?
This past weekend we spent some time in Grand Rapids so I could hang out with some college buddies. Friday night, we met up at McFadden's downtown and proceeded to the Breakroom to see Stickerblister rock out for a bit. Whit, Leb, Rexrode and myself were the only folks who made the trip, but we had a pretty good time. Played pool for a bit before the show (I am awful at billiards) and the guys had a couple drinks. I played it cool on the alcohol front since I would have to drive home, so I got to do a bit of people watching (and laughing). Stickerblister had a relatively short set of about 10-12 songs, but they snuck some gems in there, including playing Panama at our request. After the show, I drove Joe and Leb back to Matt's (stopping at the adobe on the way), and we hung out and BS'd for a bit at Matt's. Before I realized it, it was pushing 3 AM, so I headed back to the parents' place to crash.
Saturday, I got up and called John and we drove up to Rockford to check out a little fly fishing store I found in the phone book. It was a neat little store with a pretty nice little book collection as well. We browsed around for a bit. In the afternoon, we let the kids play with trucks in the driveway while the dogs ran around a bit and Dave and I moved the trailer out so Mom could pack it for their upcoming camping trip. For tasty eats, Matt came over and prepared his green curry for us, and it was tasty -- sweet and spicy with lots of vegetables. I'm not generally a big curry fan, but I'd eat this stuff any time. He also was kind enough to share some wine he had with us, and it was pretty phenomenal also -- quite, in fact. I was practically giddy with the delicious food and stellar wine. Matt and Carleen took off around midnight or so, and Mom and I stayed up for a while gabbing, leaving me feeling really tired Sunday -- so much so that I was in bed sleeping by around 10 last night.
Sometimes, the small town is exactly what the doctor ordered. As I have posted before, we are able to enjoy our community fireworks from our front lawn, and this year was no exception. Once again, the Milan Community Fair committee put on a great show, and we enjoyed it a great deal. Some friends came by and we all sat out and enjoyed the fireworks -- even the kids this year (I bought them earplugs). The kids were up far too late, but it was worth it and they really liked it a lot.
Tonight, just to extend the fun of the small town, we walked to eat at the one nice restaurant in the area, and the same friends who we camped with and joined us for firewalks happened to walk in and joined us. We also saw some people from our parish (actually, our babysitter's sister and parents). We enjoyed a nice (but noisy) meal and contributed some commerce to our community at the same time.
Sometimes I wish we were way out in the country on a big plot of land, but the last 24 hours shows just how nice living right in the small town can be.
After a dinner with some friends a while back, we decided that the two families should try a camping trip to one of the campgrounds on Lake Michigan (after Jodi and I extolled the virtues of our favorite campground -- Lundington State Park). Fast forward a few weeks and much planning to last Wednesday, and we were off to drive to Ludington and set up camp. I had purchased a new large tent that could (in theory) house my whole family, but we still brought along another dome tent since the boys wanted to sleep in their own tent (independent at the ripe ages of 3 and 4.5). We left home on time, stopped in GR to drop off a book and pick up a tool I left in the backpack at Matt's, and proceeded to Ludington to check in around 3. We rolled into the ranger station parking lot at 2:58 (are we good, or what?!). Setup went relatively smoothly, although I must confess that it was a bit more work than I expected, and the biting flies were all over the place as there was a stagnant warm airmass hanging over lower michigan that day (a front was on the way), and that made the situation a little less pleasant. The other family we were meeting had gone the day before, and were nice enough to prepare dinner for everyone (so we didn't have to try to setup and make dinner in a big rush). After a lovely dinner of chicken, steak, and boiled veggies (potatos, carrots, peas), we relaxed for a bit and introduced the kids to the concept of s'mores. I think Caleb was in ecstasy -- the marshmallow goo completely covered his face. I'm not sure what time it was when we finally got the munchkins settled in, but it was probably around 8. Jodi and I relaxed for a bit around the campfire, and listened to the boys as they proceeded to stay up until about 10:30 (egad!). The front finally went through and the wind shifted to the North, bringing with it some very refreshingly cool breezes. We crashed around midnight, I think, and Emma proceeded to wake us pretty much every hour -- in some cases more often. Jodi was more successful than I at somewhat calming her, but she really was pretty unhappy no matter what.
I gave up on sleeping when Emma woke us up around 5:30, and I got up and started the fire to make some coffee. By about 6:15, I had a cup of camp coffee in hand and went to take a shower. When I returned Jodi got up and soon after all three kids were up and ready to go. We planned to meet the others for a some fishing, so when we got a hold of them, they came for some coffee, and we took the boys (and the other family's daughter) to try to go fishing near the dam. We couldn't seem to get anything of any size to bite, but there were a couple of really small fish caught. After a quick lunch (I think it was mac&cheese) some kids went for naps and I set up the hammock. It was still awfully windy, so we decided not to try to go to the beach, and instead, I went to the store to restock (firewood, ice, beverages), and started on dinner prep when I returned. Jodi and the kids went on an adventure walk and explored what Joshua deemed was "Gigantic Tree Island." I made corn-on-the-cob, brats, and cheeseburgers on the firepit tripod (which I use for all my camp cooking). After dinner we tried to make some jiffypop, but the coals were a little hot and the result was a bit 'toasted' in flavor. Joshua got something in his eye, and although we couldn't see it, we tried to flush it and he got embarrassed because he was carrying on a bit in front of his friend, so he wanted to go into the tent and lie down. We weren't sure what to do, so we kind of called it a night and got everyone ready to sleep. Once the kids were in their tents/beds, I grabbed my fly rod and went over to a little cove where there were some lily pads to see if I could catch a bass or anything. I got a few hits on the popper I was casting, but nothing really attacked it so I never hooked up (NOTE: I am very new to fly fishing, and I am quite sure some of the problem was the huge splashes that the popper made when it landed), When I got back around dark, the boys were still awake, but finally settling down, and again Jodi and I were able to hang out briefly before turning in. Emma still woke up a lot, but less than the first night, and she started to kind of get herself back to sleep. We sort of slept.
Friday morning, I woke up around 7 to find that everyone was still in bed, so I got up and made coffee again, and shortly after I got that started, the whole clan was up-and-at-'em. After a little breakfast we again decided to take the little monsters fishing, and had basically the same problem -- several bites, but no keepers (not even close). We headed back to the campsites for lunch and naps. Caleb's nap was pretty short, so I took the boys on a walk back to my little fishing spot and they played in the woods while I waded into the cove for a little fly fishing. They were happy to be doing something a little adventurous and stayed right where I could see them and chattered amongst themselves and occasionally checked on how my fishing was going. I switched from the popper I had tried the night before to a black spider with long rubber legs (but a much smaller hook) and started tooling around casting toward the lily pads and near some reeds in the shallows near the shore. I almost immediately got a nice hard strike and set the hook and told the boys to look. They got pretty excited when they saw my 5 weight bent over and a modest sized sunfish fighting like it thought it was a trout. I'm sure I had a smile a mile wide when I held up the fish for them to see. They wanted me to keep it for dinner, so I pulled out a stringer (I don't have a creel yet) and let the fish swim around while I continued fishing. I got another a few minutes later and missed a couple in the meantime. I had promised Jodi I'd be back by 3:30, so I grabbed my stuff and we headed back. Caleb was pretty funny -- he wanted to hold the fish (he's our little animal lover). We headed back to camp, and I went and cleaned the fish and made another supplies run. For dinner we had the fish, hotdogs, and baked potatos baked in the coals of the campfire. Mmmm. Kids settled in reasonably early and we relaxed by the fire for a while. Emma woke a few times, but seemed to be finally getting used to waking up in the tent and didn't keep us up all night.
Saturday, I knew we would have a bit of a job getting the camp broken down, so I wasn't looking forward to that. I had saved enough wood to make my coffee, so I did that. Once everyone was up, I headed for the ranger station to see if we could get another site for that night (I'm not sure what I was thinking). Although I was able to, once I finished the marathon packing (3.5 hours worth) we decided to head home instead. We ended up calling Dave and Dad in Grand Rapids and staying the night at my parents' house -- which turned out to be a really good idea, as we were bushed. All in all, a very fun trip...