Winter Bucket List

So the truth is I really do not have a bucket list, and if I did I doubt it would be divided up into season.  With that fact out in the open there are lots of winter sports I want to try.  This past Sunday I did one of them and so I can strike it off my list that is not real.  Sarah, her sister Bethany and I went snowshoeing.  I do not read a lot of blogs but a lot of the people in the north east who have been lucky to get a ton of snow have been snowshoeing, and writing about it.

 My reasons for wanting to snowshoe are not from these blogs, but they did not help in the matter.  I really do not know why Beth and Sarah wanted to go, but it was cool that we all wanted to try this sport.  The reason I wanted to try it was partly because for years growing up I heard my mom say how she wants to try snowshoeing.  For a few years I did not agree with her, I wanted to snow board, ski, snowmobile, even try those dirt bikes with the spiked weeks you drive on ice but snowshoe, why?   Somewhere along the way I changed my tune.  In the past two weeks I have been sending emails and facebook pleas to friends, and family to see if anyone had a pair of snowshoes I could use.  Then last week Sarah got in on the action and put it in her blog how I wanted to try this sport, and a day later a church member let us borrow his.

With the two pair of snowshoes we borrowed from Dr. Kamm and Bethany renting a pair for twenty bucks at Housatonic River Outfitters ( Sorry Beth and as soon as I get a job we'll pay you back or rent and you can use the borrowed ones) we were off.  We had two trails in mind both as flat as we could find and both heavily traveled.  When we got to the first, a truly flat trail by a river we saw a ton of cars and lots of cross country skiers.  Then we made the call to see what the other spot looked like.  There was not as much traffic at this place so we strapped in and took off.

There was a nice snow pack from people who had been snowshoeing and cross country skiing here before, so it made for easy walking.  There is a rhythm to snowshoeing, and when you are walking on other peoples tracks the rhythm is paired with constant balancing.  When you step on another persons track you some times slide a little, but not letting the slide mess with your rhythm was the key for me.  None of us had poles, which from everyone I talked to about it are optional.  I can see where they would be a great help, but also know I got a work out with just the walking in the snowshoes and I would bet poles would add to the burn.

We hiked maybe did two or three miles grand total, but for the first time out this was a good walk.  I am hoping to do a more challenging trail in this week as long as we are still borrowing the shoes.  After snowshoeing I decided that I do not really need the other winter sports and if I never get the chance to do them there will be no loss.  That being said I will never turn down the chance to do other winter sports, and actually hope I can try skiing or at least get back on a snowmobile sometime.

I plan to add snowshoes to my wish list. I think they might be a great way to get to those back country fly fishing spots when you want to do some true winter fishing.  Plus I love to hike and get out in the the wilderness to clean my head sometimes and snowshoes are the ticket.  The gear is simple, and if I had a pair of them I would bet I would turn to them all the time.  If you have ever thought about trying snowshoeing and have not done it for what ever reason lots of outfitters rent them.  I would recommend renting a pair and trying it out, and then when you return them that same outfitter would most likely be happy to sell you a pair.    Go out and have an adventure!!!!

-Bruce

NEW ROD AND REEL

As a Christmas present this year my mom and dad got me a new rod and reel.  It is almost the same as the one I put on my wish list a while back.  My parents gave it to me in sections, mom handed me a rod tube that said Redington in white letters.  After I had put it together and started waving it around mom tossed me a box.  It felt like a reel box and when I took the wrapping paper off, it was the reel I was planning on pairing with this very rod.  So there it was the basic rod and reel I wanted for months now.

If you go the the wish list and look at what I wanted I also had a fly line picked out.  The same day I got the rod and reel my brother, dad and I went to Bass Pro where I used some Christmas gift card money to get the exact line I had been reading about.  In one afternoon I went from having a self built combo on paper, to actually having it in my hands.  There is nothing like getting a new rod and reel, it is an amazing feeling to hold a new outfit and dream of all the trout it will land.   This combo will be landing many wild and native trout because it is a 3wt, and will stay on smaller waters most of the time.

Now the day after all this excitement I took it on a little test fishing trip.  The waters were all cold and aside from a couple skittish brook trout and some suckers they had no fish in them.  I really just wanted to test the line and rod as a pair.  The cast was very smooth, and the line lifted off the water very easy.  These two worked amazing together for all kinds of casts, false casts, roll casts, and even a shot cast I use in tight spots.

The rod is a Redington Pursuit 3wt.  The rod I was looking at in my wish list was an 8 footer, but this one is a 7 foot 6 inch which in hind sight is probably better because of how many small streams I tend to fish.  Also the shorter one is a 4 piece where the 8 footer is a 2 piece rod.  The 4 piece rod is better because most of these small streams are back country and require a hike.  Now about these 4 pieces, when they are not put together casting and catching fish they are tucked away in a smartly made rod tube.  This tube has a built in divider which keeps all 4 pieces from rubbing and hitting each other.  The whole thing is a nice little package and it will travel very well in all kinds of traveling situations. 

Now for why Redington, well it is a simple story and it only took 8 or 9 years till I owned my own.  Somewhere around 8 or 9 years ago in upstate PA my family was on vacation with my uncle and aunt.  We were spending a morning fishing a lake  that my uncle said had been stocked with trout earlier in the week.  I took my fly rod, and fished all morning with not so much as a missed hook set.  Sitting on the bank I watched only one person land any trout, and it was an old man who was fly fishing.  I went to the truck for a snack and he was at his van with his fly rod.  Much like I would now I went up to him and started a conversation.  He drove an old Chevy van that he took the back seat out of and replaced it with a couple drawers.  He opened the bottom drawer and he had six fly rods lined up in it, and then showed me the 5 drawers above it and all were lined with rods.  Among these rods was a Redington he spoke very highly of, comparing it to some of his bamboo rods.  He let me cast that rod and I missed a fish or two on a swimming nymph pattern he later gave me.  Ever since that day I have been reading about the company and its products.  I am thrilled to now have my own and I am excited to land that first trout on it.

Now I can not remember what reels this old man had in his van, but reels never really had my attention.  That being said you can not have a rod without a reel.  I have always been a fan of a simple look to my reel.  In a search for something simple but built well and made with quality materials I turned to G Loomis.  G Loomis is known for their rods much like Redington, but both make reel.  Their reels have never been the standout, but from everything I have read they are as high a quality as the rods these companies make.  I looked at Redington, most are mid arbor reels but I wanted this rod to look much more simple.  A couple years back my brother bought a G Loomis Venture 5 it is a simple look, but has some edge to it.  It is a gold reel and looks very simple.  The Venture series is simple in all respects there are three reels in the series.  The Venture 3, 5 and 7 each number corresponds with the line weight it can hold.  So I got the G Loomis Venture 3 and it is a perfect fit to my rod.  The weight and balance of the rod and reel is amazing.

This just leaves the line, and I am not a line tech guy so I went out on a limb with why I picked this one.  Lots of reading and asking questions lead me to Rio Lines, and once I was there I was steered to Rio's Trout TL.  This line is made for "delicate presentations" as their ads says, and all the science talk to back it up.  As I fished the empty waters near my town I decided to put a dry fly on to see if I could see a difference in lifting a dry fly off the water.  These are all things that this line is clammed to do better then the next line, and you know what, it does a wonderful job.  The difference is not something that someone who does not fly fish would notice but I saw it and hope it makes a difference when a finicky trout is checking out the presentation.   





 My new outfit has me very excited and as soon as I get my CT license I will be finding a small stream to fish.  The last picture is one of the rod on its first trip, I hit up two streams and caught no fish.  This trip was a success for the simple reasons that I got a chance to test the rod and line on the water.  Thanks for reading along and check me out again later to see what else I came home with from my parents house.





-Bruce

New Post

Well everyone I have been in the town I grew up in since last Wednesday so I have been kind of out of touch.  While home I gathered lots of new material for up coming blog posts.  There was new gear, a fishing trip, new pets, and some good family fun.


Let me fill you in on the pet first.  My sister got a puppy for Christmas, and he is in her words the cutest puppy in the world.  He is an all black (except a spot on a paw and his chest) cocker spaniel that my sister named Charles or Charlie for short, and if you want to make it longer it is sir Charles.  Well Charles is just one short story of my trip.  Take a look at him and I'll start thinking of the next great story from my trip.

Sir Charles

-Bruce