On The Fly



Unless we are camping and in a "take" area we never keep fish. Although I believe there is nothing wrong with keeping two for the pan when the situation allows it. Trout for breakfast can be the highlight of your day when camping.


The time spent pursuing fish with Sam are some of my favorite fishing moments.





The first time Sam ever picked up a fly rod, he seemed to kind of get it. It took me a bit more time to become proficient but I guess he had a better teacher..............me.













He fits those boots allot better now.
The Hat lives on!


The Mongaup River is one of our "home waters", there is great fishing to be found in the local area but timing is defiantly everything. The beloved Neversink River is also within walking distance and will produce nice fish year round. Our trips afield with the Fly Rods are purely for the Zen of it. The casting is hypnotic and finding ones rhythm and timing can be as enjoyable as actually catching fish.

The bottom line is, there is no bad time to go fishing, only a poor days catch. If like me you find the connecting with nature the primary reason for getting out there, then a day with few fish or no deer or flushing few coveys is still worth the trip.

A swollen river makes the fishing tougher.

I get lost in the casting, the placement of the material on the water, its drift and the intense concentration that comes with this kind of single minded focus..........oh yeah, that's Fly Fishing.



I love the way a Brown Trout takes a Fly off the surface, some times their like fish Ninjas.




How Pretty is this? We never kill fish, the area allows you to take a few but we are too greedy.

We want to come back and catch em again!






We like to use a five weight rod for most of our fishing. Of course like most BUG TOSSERS, I own too many rods (if you can actually do that) a 3/4-three 5's a 6 a 7 and an 8/9. All with different casting characteristics. So I have a good bag of clubs to pick from depending on species, method and conditions. That's not uncommon. Sam has two rods, a soft 5 for delicate presentations and a long fast 5 for reaching out a bit or bucking the wind. I think he has the right idea, Keep it Simple Stupid!

Even a small Rainbow like this can be a challenge on light line. This one put up a heck of a fight. The marks on his sides are from him rolling on the line. No worries, he survived just fine.

I also like to watch for Otters....

I am haunted by Otters.

The Last Hike Of 2008

A Major Ice Storm Hit The

Catskills

knocking out power and closing roads, so I thought "it's Hiking Time"
The ride up to the high peaks region started before sun rise and the full moon in perigee gave a ghostly illumination to the forest.

The full moon as seen through conifers. It was like some big eye watching me.

I started as always with too much gear and a thermos of espresso. The roads were ice covered or washed out. The heavy rain we had days ago were followed by plunging temperatures. It was one extreme or the other but the conditions of the area could not change my reverence for the forest and its beauty.

While stopping to take photos of the spectacular scenery, I locked my car key in my warm and running van. Mike a local and gentleman of the first order offered assistance. He was in a very pleasant mood for a guy that tells me he just got power restored after twenty seven hours without. With some wire from the barn he got me in and on my way before I lost too much time.

Thanks Mike, Merry Christmas to you and yours.

I hit the Slide Mt trail head just after sunrise.

The stream beyond the parking area (the head waters of the Neversink river) was swollen with mountain run off and I could not cross. Plan B a quick trip up Giant Ledge!

The onset of the trail was a mess, leafy puddles and broken branches covered the majority of the approach. But the worst was yet to come. As I climbed a bit further I saw the real damage. Ice and wind had broken trees large and small. Indiscriminately felling any branch that could not bend or shake it's load.

I shared the trail with other forest dwellers.
A coyote and some turkey were using the same trail I was.

I had to stop to crack the ice build up off my carbide points and the sudden silence scared a Grouse, After I re calibrated my Pace maker I moved on.

ICE EVERYWHERE!

The over look was frosted with ice and snow, I stayed away from the edge.

Mother Nature's Christmas Ornaments.

On my way home, I found the strangest tree. It seemed to have dozens of strands of colored beads hanging from it. Some of the young locals have been busy.

A Walk In The Gorge

Kaaterskill Falls
are the highest set of water falls in New York State, higher even then the great Niagara.

Sam and I decided on a whim to have a look.

The gorge itself is worth the trip even if one never reached the celebrated falls. Cool and deep and littered with mountain laurel and boulders the size of small automobiles. The trail twists and climbs following the water course towards the thundering sound of the first of two falls, one on the others shoulders proudly cutting the stone as it goes along.

Sam registers us at the trail head. The beautiful greens and blues of the water were accentuated by the stream's frozen minerals.

The trail was icy but we had not counted on it being so bad, we took only one trekking pole each instead of the customary two (dopes) it made for a slick and challenging trip.

No crampons and only one Pole made Sam look like a candidate for the ministry of silly walks.

Of course my cat like agility and mountain goat like sure footed technique enabled me to fly over the icy path.

I only fell once, and really felt stupid.

As luck would have it we were alone in the gorge. I can't think of anything I love more then when Sam and I start our giggling and clowning around (with safety in mind of course) this was the perfect place to be a jerk with your son. We had a great time.

At times, Sam thinks hes Captain Morgan.

These shots just don't do the place justice, it's beauty is bigger then life. The canyon walls are alive with roots and vines twisting their way towards the water, the ground heaves under the constant erosion.





The falls in our reach and yet not.

With the trail frozen over this was to be as far as we go, just under the lower falls we take our lunch before returning down the gorge to the parking lot and a warm drink.

I Hate Sub Sandwiches

Too bad the warm drink was soda.......

We really need to come back in the spring.