Saturday

About 40 minutes from where G.F., Charles, and I were fishing last September. Then there was way too much water and precipitation for September. Now it's hell on Earth. Time will tell how bad this summer will effect the fishing. 


I've never been a huge fan of Sage trout rods; to stiff for small streams. But this looks like a game changer. This might be the first rod I buy in the last ten years!
Sage CIRCA - Fly Fishing with Advanced, Slow-Action Performance. from Sol Duc Buck on Vimeo.

Friday

Catching up with writing

It's been a while since I posted my last blog.  Quite frankly, I felt like a loner as I was the only one posting until GF settled in and start posting his stories...
Our blog used to be a lot more colorful when eveyone pitched in with stories about different aspect of fishing or none-fishing related articles. 
I guess everyone is busy with their daily lives but I would love to see what is going on with everyone so get off your daily routine once in a while and let us know what is going on.
With that said, let me start with my side of story...

Found this amazing creek in Catskill and fished the hell out of it.

Finally fixed my boat and went out last week and caught a mixed bag of salties.

Most of all, I've been building my quad bamboo rod which will be done fairly soon.  It took forever just to decide which components to use.  I think the most difficult part was to control my urge to wait 24 hours between coats as I decided to wipe-on the varnish.  Currently, I have 3 coats applied and 3 more coats to go.

Wednesday

Drought sucks.

I went out to my favorite creek and saw the effects of this long and terrible drought.  It sucks.  Hope the rain from the south will come up soon.


Getting adjusted at Caddis Pension.

Nothing helps family gets adjusted like spending some time near a familar creek.  Took the family out to Caddis pension (http://www.caddis.co.kr) before the monsoon crawls up the peninsula.  Snuck away for a couple of hours in the afternoon to bother some cherry trout.  We'll be here for the next few days, exactly the medicine we need to feel back at home.







































































































































Tuesday

Standing at the river banks of my new home.

Our family arrived here in Seoul and I stood at the Han River bank the following afternoon.  Although Seoul is a familiar place for me, it will take some getting used to after being away for more than six years.  Living in an apartment, being around millions of people, and parking in tight spots.  I was glad to hear the voice of my close friends here, and shared a beer with a few of them the other night.  There's a lot I will miss but fortunately there are more things to look forward to.  On this afternoon, I just stood there for a while and thought about everything ahead of me.  Just watching the big skin carp cruise the shoreline.


Our New and First FSAC President.

Our club has never really had a president or formal structure and that's been fine.  But I also think having one is not bad and I think it will help us get organized to do more, meet more, and I have a perfect person in mind.  He's already been our leader for some time, and there's no one who is more passionate about the sport.  In fact, he was the one who helped get this club started in the first place, everything from our first logo and on.  Naturally, he is Charles The Fish Finder.  Charles, thanks for being such a great lead for us and I hope you'll accept our invitation to be our 1st president. 

*  FYI I handed over the blog admin controls to you some weeks ago.  Check settings.  


The Majestic Yosemite.



I spent a couple of days with the family in Yosemite National Park.  The quote from Mr. Ansel Adams sums it up perfectly.  I fished the Merced River for an hour, but the smaller south fork.  I had my bare bone essentials, a Tenkara rod and some flies - turns out, that is basically all I need. I had no wading shoes or waders, so I just gently walked around in my shorts & Hanes wading shoes.  To stand around trees that are 300 feet tall and 1500 years old makes you feel kind of small but it also makes you think.  I was last here when I was my kid's age, and if my kids have children, I hope they bring them here.  It is entirely, a majestic place.

"Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space." - Ansel Adams



Korean lenok designated endangered species.

As of end of day May 31, 2012 - all lenok in Korea has been designated endangered by the government and all fishing of any kind is off limited for the next three years.  In three years the agency will review the study again and rule if lenok will continue to remain on the list or come off it.  In 2012, the total list of Korean endangered species grew from 221 to 246 species.  The lenok was last on the list in 1996 and they ruled in 1999 that the population was healthy enough to take off the list - which was met with some controversy back then. 


I know it's a good thing for the fish & environment, but damn it - why did it have to happen in the month that I am moving there?  Hopefully the study will show positive results and 3 years and we'll be able to fish for them again.  See you in 3 years ... maybe.

more details here:
http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=121490#0000

Sunday

Finishing where I started.


















Yesterday was my last day to fish in IL before I got on the plane to move with my family to Seoul. With only a few weeks left in the Midwest, I had some grand plans for the last finale fishing trip... alone time in my favorite creek up in Wisconsin, a trout float trip down a Michigan river, follow my best friend to his favorite New Jersey creek to fish for wild brookies, or perhaps a first & last time trip on the St. Joseph in Indiana. It was good to just sit and imagine these trips...in my own space during my frequent plane rides to and from Asia in the last months. While everyone sat through and waited for the plane to land, I was in my own space, somewhere far away and savoring each detail of the fishing trip to come. I carefully planned what fishing gear to leave out as I packed away boxes and boxes of stuff to ship over.

But as it sometimes is in life, schedules and the "things I need to do" approached me too quickly and it took over most of the days. The days came and went and while I struggled to squeeze in that last trip in the final week, it was quickly becoming reality that the trip might forever remain in my imagination... the last trip. My family spent the last couple of weeks in a hotel as we were already out of the house, and my wife encouraged me to take the trip. I had a couple of days open and I juggled the trip in my mind, but in the end, I opted to spend one day attending my son's baseball game, and the second day taking my younger son to Six Flags on a school day. See, my younger son was finally tall enough to ride the roller coasters which he's been too short to ride during the days we've been living here. I also think cutting school with dad on a school day is something every kid should experience before end of second grade. I admit, I did look up into the beautiful sky a couple of times during each of those days, imagining the trout that could have been at the end of my line. But then again, nothing can replace watching my kid smile up at me, as he stood in line anxiously waiting for his turn on the roller coaster. My older son's baseball team had a pretty embarrassing season, however they did manage to hold onto a win at the last game by a 1 point lead.

On the final day before departure, I did get to stop by the neighborhood lake where I started fly fishing (Independence Grove). During the past few years, this is where I taught myself to cast, catch a bunch of fish, and discover that fishing and I go well together. So that big fancy trip didn't happen and I will think about that every once in a while, but I also know that there will be other trips that will help wash away the memories of a fishing trip that didn't happen. In fact I stood on the banks of the Merced River in Yosemite, watching the sun set, and some of those thoughts already started to flow away with the river. In many ways, I guess I think it's proper that I wrap up my life in IL by making the blue gill and largemouth bass the last two fish I catch, before departure.

I will forever miss the Midwest, and it will always be my fishing home.