Removing The Hook

Most Interesting Catch

I got the award for most interesting catch, this woodpecker. It swooped down to catch my fly as I was false casting and got hooked in the leg. I dragged it through the water as I reeled in and it got soaking wet. We dried it off with a towel and it flew away about 10 minuted later.

Fall River 2006

We went on our annual Memorial Day weekend fly fishing trip to the Fall River in northern California. College pals Art (Tony) Hartinger, Matt Cline, and I have been doing this for around 20 years; Matt and Tony a couple more years before I joined them. We've brought some/all of our daughters for the past 3 years. They always have a good time hanging out together. This year my partner from Merrill Lynch, Jeff Harding and his daughter Kelly came along as well.

A good time was had by all, even though the weather was really bad and the fishing probably the worst we've had on these trips. Elise Hartinger definitely had the catch of the trip, a measured 20-incher. By far the biggest catch of the trip that saw very few fish get landed at all. That's Elise's proud dad Tony in the back; the photo was taken by their favorite guide, Carl.

That Afternoon...

I've been using my camera to take video. It's very convenient, but my editing software does not work with the QuickTime output. So, these videos are not edited. I may have to look into some new software, or get back into the habit of taking my camcorder along.

Mother's Day 2006 Morning

It's was a "Bend Brag" day. The Bend Brag is something like: "This morning we went skate sking for a while, then hit a few downhill runs. After a quick lunch had 30 miles on the road bike, and now I'm going in for a massage before heading to the brewery for a pint." You actually hear this sort of things here all the time, and sometimes from us...

It being Mother's Day, we made Karen breakfast and then hit the slopes for what will probably be the last ski day of the season. It was a beautiful day on the mountain, but the snow got soft around noon. So, we headed back to town for an outdoor lunch in the sun with a bottle of champagne.

Then we hopped on our casual bikes and headed down to the river for a game of frisbee on the grass. Home for a barbeque and a nice bottle of wine. This is what makes living in Central Oregon such a great experience.

Happy Mother's Day!

Cinco de Mayo Fishing

Here's a still shot from the same trip.

Cinco de Mayo Fishing

Cinco de Mayo is not he focus here in Central Oregon that it is in much of California, but I thought I'd celebrate by going fly fishing. I made it to this spot on the middle Deschutes within 1 hour of leaving my desk at work. First use of my new pontoon boat, I think it will get plenty of use going forward.

This video was captured using my Nikon Coolpix 5600 camera. The quality is a little low, but it's awfully compact and easy to take along.