Now it is Official

So I still do not know what I want to do with my life.  I have worked many jobs after graduating high school.  Some of these jobs I have enjoyed myself, but others I have crossed off as something I really do not want to do.  So when we moved to this new house I started looking for a job again.  That fact by itself might shock some and might not shock others, but if you look at the list of places I applied you might laugh a little.  The first three applications I filled out were in this order; REI, EMS, and Bass Pro Shops Fly Shop.

About two weeks ago I had some phone contact with Bass Pro Shops.  I did not get my hopes up but after two phone conversations I found myself driving the 40 minutes to Foxborough.  The interviews seemed too easy.  On the interview I talked with two managers - talking about fly fishing and business are two things I can do and it paid off in this interview.  I was so confident in the interview that I did not go to the truck and call Sarah, but I went to the car section and bought a Bass Pro sticker for my truck.  I then went out to the truck and called Sarah and said it looked good.

After a drug test and background check I was "officially hired".

Last week Sarah and I went on vacation to a friend's wedding and I was in a haze all week long.  The job is just too good to be true, I mean stand around talking, reading, and learning about fly fishing all day long.  The reason I am finally posting about it is because today I went and got my badge and shirts.  They also tried to break me with 3 hours of videos and power points, about sales, procedure, and what not to do at work.  Well they did not break me and it is official ...

I work at Bass Pro Shops in the fly fishing department!

The view from the rooftop pool at the hotel we stayed at on vacation.

Now I need to take a minute to say I am not taking back what I wrote in Bears Den (my thoughts on local fly shops), but urge you to remember that John L. Morris (the man who owns Bass Pro) is a small business man at heart.  Oh and did I mention that John L, Morris is a fly fisherman, and I am told that when he visits stores he likes to show up in the fly shops.  Just something to keep in mind.

Lastly if you are ever near the Foxborough area or you are Bass Pro hopping in the north east stop by the White River fly shop and ask for me.  Thanks for reading everyone.

-Bruce   

Quick update

It has been almost a week and I feel like I need to give an update so here it is.  I went crabbing with some friends this past week and we caught a bunch.  When we got them home I was happy to hear that only one other person liked to eat them!  Lets just say I was thrilled.  

This is the two of us right after we started!

Then a crowd gathered.

Then there was Saturday mornings fishing trip.  I went bass fishing with John early Saturday morning and caught two bass and a couple blue gill.  Neither bass were huge fish but they hit hard and put up a fight and that is all I am asking.  John had a tough morning but was hooked up a couple times and at least twice had big hits on the surface. 

This is one of the two look alike bass I caught Saturday

My fly fishing the salt update is simple I have been out twice and both times had switched to the spin rod.  Both times I gave the fly rod a couple hours and then tried the spin rod.  The only thing I have landed in these two trips has been a couple baby blue fish on the spin rod.  I am not going to give up and honestly I am hoping to hook into something before it gets really cold.  Stay tuned....



Bruce

Bass Angler?

When we first moved to our new town I was having trouble hooking up with bass on the fly.  I have not mastered it yet, but I am doing much better.  This past Thursday and Friday I borrowed a friend's kayak and hit the reservoir right before dark both nights.  The first night I took a spin rod and a fly rod on the kayak.  I tossed the spin rod a couple times and almost every retrieve was full of weeds, so I put the spin rod in the holder and reached for my fly rod.  I had strung the fly rod up with a popper and started trying to find the right retrieve pattern. 

The end of the unproductive day.

After about ten minutes of trial and error I had a hit.  Then the trail went dry for an hour, until finally I found the kind of water I needed to be fishing.  It was almost dark when I finally got 3 or 4 strikes on as many casts, but Thursday night was a bust because I was slow on every hook set.  So as I was loading the kayak I decided that I was going to get out again Friday night.

The next evening came and I was on the water again.  I did not take a spin rod this time, just a fly rod and a couple poppers.  Instead of bouncing around I went directly to where I missed fish the night before.  The bass were not looking for the same retrieve as the night before but once I found the magic retrieve pattern the strike was on.  It was windy and I was making short casts and retrieves and with less slack line the first strike was also the first hook set.  After I set the hook the bass ran to deep water.  I knew it was a good fish when it started to pull the kayak.
 

First fish was a 17 incher baby!

It was a short fight but my first thoughts of a good fish were right.  After taking a picture I got my key chain tape measure out and measured it at about 17 inches.  I took a look at where I ended up after the fight and the wind blowing me away and I was far from where I hooked up.  So I paddled back to about the hook up spot and started a new drift.  On my second cast I missed another good one.  Then desperate to get out of the wind I took shelter behind a small island and caught this nice 14 inch bass.

These bass were two very different colors I think its because of the water depth

Like I said at the start of this post I have not mastered anything but I am feeling confident enough to take just a fly rod and that is a start. 

-Bruce

Small Mouth BIG Fight!

So we had an unexpected window to show up to a house warming party for my sister-in-law last Sunday afternoon.  Sarah and I left Massachusetts right after church and made it to the party in Connecticut before it started to wind down.  We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing by and in the pool.

First hook up!

Once I woke up on Monday and had a good breakfast, I wanted to fish!  I hit up Housatonic River Outfitters and asked them about the small mouth bit.  The younger guy behind the counter was excited about small mouth bass, he pointed out a couple flies that he said would work.

Best looking bass award goes to the Small Mouth

I hit the river with a popper.  After trying a couple different retrieve methods and failing I made an angled cast up stream and there was an explosion under my popper.  I was so shocked by the violence of this strike that I missed the hook set by a mile.  With this I went back to trying different methods again and still could not find that right retrieve, but got another strike.  I missed again but this time I felt much better about my odds.

This one might have been the biggest.  About 17 inches

Then like magic I had another strike just as popper hit the water  and I did not miss this time.  I set the hook and after one jump the bass started to drive to the bottom.  It swam up stream and took all the slack line from my hand.  Then once it was on the reel and I started to put pressure on it the bass when it turned tail and went down stream.  The fight slowed and the fish tired and I brought a nice small mouth bass to hand.  It was about 15 inches and had great color.

They all loved the green frog popper.

The small mouth bass is hands down my favorite bass to catch .  Their colors and fight make them a great sport fish.  The fish I was catching in this section of the Housatonic also had the added bounce of an amazing attack.  Every fish I caught attacked my popper with reckless abandon and when the hits came they were fast and explosive.  After a couple hours I found that the bass were looking for a little twitch.  If there was no take right as the popper landed I could intice a hit by just give it little movements over large rocks and structure.

All were great fighters!

I had a blast for a couple hours and returned in the evening to try to land just a couple more fish.  The total for the day was about eight or nine fish and I missed five or six which I felt was a good day of fishing.  The thrill you get from these fish is completely different then what you get from trout or other bass.  It is addicting and I have been dreaming of small mouth bass since we got home.  I hope I can get back to Connecticut at least once more before the summer is over.



-Bruce

She's Back

Her name is Abbie (but recently there has been a problem with that name.

So after two months off the road.............  My truck is back!  Let me just say I have nothing against not having a car but having my truck back is great.  There is something about knowing if I need to do anything I can get in my truck and go do it.

There is an Abbie at church and her sister Kella is feeling left out so.  Now her name is Abbie Kella.

She was showing signs of neglect after getting back on the road.  So after changing the oil, putting some additives in the oil and fuel, and a cleaning the truck was looking and running much better.  I got a new tool box from a church member who was just storing this one.  I made some dividers and put a couple tools in the box but I left a large space for fishing other gear.

My new box!

I love stickers but sometimes cars covered in them looks bad so I put these in my box.

I have had a chance to do a little more fishing now that I have my own wheels.  This also means I can do some more side work or drive to potential places of employment.  I also think Sarah likes having the truck back because take trash day with her car was starting to smell.  Well with my truck back on the road I am hoping to get more material to write blog posts about.

I staged this shot but I normally have at least one rod in it.  It would have 4 or 5 like this if I was going on a long trip.

-Bruce





  

Missing In Action blogger?

I know I have been MIA from the blogging world lately but I needed a short vacation.  There has been a lot going on with me and I have been doing my best to document it all.  I will be posting a lot in the next couple weeks and hopefully that will launch me into a more consistent posting habit.  With this in mind tonight I tease and tomorrow I will give you the first full post.

Here are a couple titles ;

-  She's Back

-  William Joseph WST waders review Part 2

- Small Mouth Big Fight

These are the first three posts I will be posting and there are at least two more that I have written for your reading pleasure.  So stay tuned and I will try to entertain and inform as best I can.

-Bruce