Reaching for Perfection

Just a short video nugget today, from Mark Raisler and John Arnold at Headhunters Fly Shop in good ol' Craig, MT.



I can't get enough of watching artist Mark Raisler cast a fly rod.  Yeah, that probably sounds weird, but I accepted long ago that I'm somewhat deviant.  My favorite line from him in the video:

 Just make sure that first cast is perfect, and you get fish like that.

Sure, Mark... As soon as I get back from Olympus and Asgaard, I'll remember to always make that first cast perfect.  It's so simple...

Just remember what St. Norman said:

...art does not come easy.

Trout Trek Part V - The Undiscovered Canyon

April 17, 2016 -  Fishing Day 2

Sunday Adventure begins here

It was an act of negligence on my part to wait this long.  I should have taken notes at the end of the day, or early the next day.  Alas, many of the details of this day have faded.  Many key events are still vivid in my memory, but a good amount of the moment-by-moment images have been washed downstream.  I need to be quicker to record trip details, probably rely on technology a bit more.

I remember waking myself up early.  I had a mission before the day could begin:  get down to Headhunters Fly Shop and retrieve the Epic 686 unidirectional fiberglass rod that John Arnold had set  aside for me.  They opened at 7 and I was in the door at 7:12.  The rod was waiting and the staff helped me take care of the paperwork.  In hindsight, it was rude/unprofessional of me not to buy SOMETHING while I was in there.  I feel badly about that.  No, I feel stupid.  Apologies to John and Mark.

I was back at the lodge before Mrs. Fading Angler was out of bed.  Breakfast was excellent and served with Lindsay's usual flair and TLC.  As food settled, the tone got serious between Joe and his anxious clients, all two of us.  What ARE we going to do today?  The weather was expected to be nearly identical:  full sun, some breezes, slightly warmer.  We could run the same stretch from Craig to the Dearborn River ramp and expect about the same as yesterday.  I'd had my fun there, and was actually looking forward to something new and a little more challenging.  The decision was made to float the "lower canyon."  Joe said it would be a lot of trial an error, relearning how fish were feeding because of the flow, temperature, and weather changes.  There was hope for some rising fish in some of the shaded sections later on.  Finally, he was confident that we'd have a good time tucking into some deep eddies.  I was anxious to see some new water, as yet undiscovered by me.

Trout Trek Part III - Slowing It Down with Epic FastGlass®

Epic stuff.
Photo credit: Headhunters Fly Shop

It's no secret I've been thinking about slower-action rods for a while.  We've got a couple of Sage rods around here at the Angler residence, and most of it is fast-action stuff.  I like to tease Mrs. Fading Angler that her Sage ONE 590 feels like an ultra-light piece of rebar.  I started thinking about something more moderate after using a guide's TFO Lefty Kreh Finesse (quite a model name!) last summer.  One of the hallmarks of Parkinson's Disease is slower movement, so maybe a slower rod would be a better match for my casting style (or, more accurately, lack thereof).  Sage announced their new lineup late last summer, and I've had MOD-on-the-brain ever since.  I got a brief chance to cast a 5 weight Sage MOD at Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig, Montana before we pulled out of their campground last August.  It was the first rod that ever let me shoot a little line out at the end of a forward cast, which made me shiver.  So did the $850 retail price.  But maybe this idea had merit.

Trout Trek Part II - Slow Mo'-tion

April 16, 2016 - Fishing Day 1

The River giveth, and The River taketh away
(click photos to enlarge)

There was nothing hurried about this day, in sharp contrast to the same weekend one year prior.  My 2015 solo fishing trip to the Missouri River (aka 'The Might Mo' or just 'The Mo') felt frantic.  Even the fish were in a hurry.  Not so this trip.  It was kinda zen.  There was even a moment of perfection for me that I doubt will ever be matched.

If you read Part I then you know we arrived late on the 15th.  Before retiring, Mrs. Fading Angler negotiated a late start time, reasoning that the cold, snowy day and overnight freeze had pushed the fish into hibernation.  The truth is that she didn't want to sit in a drift boat in the cold.  And I cannot blame her at all.  We all laughed, retired, and slept late.  Breakfast was spot-on: thick, perfectly cooked french toast and fresh strawberries. I opted for the Montana huckleberry syrup.  (More about the Lodge and Lindsay's gourmet cooking in a future chapter.)   Then it was time for a plan.  If there's one thing I know in life, it's that Joe Bloomquist knows this river, and deserves the nickname "Mo' Joe."  He asked what section we wanted to fish, saying that everything from Holter Dam to the lower canyon had been fishing well earlier in the week.  I was feeling nostalgic and opted to float from Craig to the Dearborn Ramp (see map if interested.)  Joe agreed.  His plan: hit the hotspots and look for rising fish in between.  After the prior year's bug hatches, I was really looking forward to some spectacular dry fly opportunities.  Paraphrasing German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke: No plan survives contact with the enemy.

License to Thrill

My son had his semi-annual heart checkup in Missoula, Montana a couple of Fridays ago.  He was born there, but we moved away when he was 4.  We enjoy going back to visit.  It still feels like home. 

Sometimes I'm a slow learner.  In 2015, I was fortunate to be able to fish in Montana on four separate occasions.  We have plans to spend nearly 10 days in Montana and Yellowstone in August this year, and I'm starting to get a little giddy about the two-day trip my wife booked for me on the Missouri in April.  Fingers crossed that she's coming along.  After my day on the Big Horn River last year, I did a little math and realized that I should have just purchased a full-year nonresident angling license for 2015.  Turns out it would have been cheaper than the daily licenses that I purchased as needed.  With this in mind, Mrs. Fading Angler and I picked up shiny new full-year 2016 fishing licenses when we were in Missoula.

Sure, we could have bought them online, but there's nothing like having that fluorescent yellow piece of waterproof "paper" in your wallet.  It's my license to do what I do.  Rather than:

Bond. James Bond.

You get this:

Angler. Fading Angler. 

 Women may not swoon over me and fish may not fear me, but my drink will always be shaking.  Err, shaken.

More Than Words

Sending out thanks to:

• Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig, MT for letting us park the 5th-wheel RV for a few nights, and for letting me try the new Sage Mod!
• Isaak's for the food and beverages
• Matt Mortensen, our fishing guide with Missouri River Lodge and X-Stream Fly Fishing, Wolf Creek, MT.  Matt, you are absolutely crazy.  And we love you for it! (This was our second trip with Matt as a guide.  There will be more!)

The rest of this story can be told with photos.  Mostly.

Pretty Sure I Was Dreaming

Sunrise on the Missouri River

Craig, Montana.  7 AM.

20 inch rainbow trout hooked and landed right here.  Look Ma, no net!

Happiness achieved.

Chasing the Sun

A first-class view from five miles high

Without exaggeration, I’ve spent thousands of hours on commercial aircraft in the past 18 years.  When I know I’ll be flying at dawn or dusk, I make every effort to select a window seat.  Seeing the entire visible spectrum flow from horizon to zenith as the sun warms the east is an emotional wellspring.  The view from 30,000 feet is one of deep indigo, neon pink, and soothing orange.  I’ve always considered it a privilege to have this eastern spectacle unfold on an AM southbound flight segment.

This previous Thursday, I went west.  I found the evening sun suspended many degrees above the horizon as we gradually pushed above the cloud layer, with the eye-catching yellows and oranges fighting for their ephemeral moment.  I connected my phone to the plane’s WiFi network and sent my status into the Twittersphere:

    Currently chasing the sun…