chillin…

Sometimes I fish but I am not really trying to catch fish.
Sometimes, the moment alone is good enough.
Sometimes, fishing isn’t a getaway, it’s just a reminder of all the things to be thankful for.

a letter from John.

Today I received a warm letter from my friend John, a very talented designer out in Oregon. A very nice way to wrap up this week. Thanks for the photos John! (check out John's designs at http://www.johncrossneumann.com/)

“Say hello to the feisty Deschutes Redside--our own variety or redband rainbow trout native here in the Blue-Ribbon Deschutes River. The "D" is "big water" and these fish grow stocky and strong on the abundant desert insect population. A 12" Redside will put up an unbelievable fight, jumping out of the water and then charging deep in the fierce current. It's not uncommon for larger fish to tear off and take you down to your backing in the blink of an eye. Through the winters they hold in deep back-eddies and more structure, but the renowned Stonefly and Salmonfly hatches in May get the fish looking up and smacking the surface close to the bank. This time of year they have moved into the riffles, feeding endlessly on caddis all day. Elk Hair and X-Caddis patterns are highly productive from dawn to dusk. I've been working the same 2 mile stretch of the river almost every weekend, learning the water and watching the feeding patterns change. It's been pure joy standing in the cool, clear water surrounded by the desert heat, thick with caddis. Now that I know this stretch well, I know exactly where to be when the summer steelhead run begins in late August. I hope life and the fish are treating you well. Keep your line tight! – John.”

What can I ask for more?

On Saturday afternoon out of blue, my girl friend and I decided to drive to eastern part of Korea to get some fresh air and possibly throw a few flies. Because of nice weather on Saturday, there were many cars on the road heading towards the same direction as we were heading. With all those cars, we were so cool and relaxed, stop by a few gas stop to get food and coffee. About 6 O’clock in the evening when the sky was starting to getting dark, we arrived near one creek that I remembered that I stop by many months ago. We both change quickly and headed towards the water in hurry. I don’t know why, it just seemed home being in the creek. It must be because I enjoy being in the creek so much listening to clear water, walking on the creek rocks, and inhaling refreshing air. When I arrived near the water, I tied one white parachute and threw toward one spot. As soon as it landed on the surface of flowing water, I got one good size trout. What can I ask for more?

Peter finding his groove.

We all relate to fishing in different ways and at different times in our lives. Some will discover fishing early and progress into a lifelong activity and some will discover it through friends. What type of fishing you do depends largely on what type of waters are available for access around you. Peter started out fishing salt waters and still does, but seems to have really found his groove with fly fishing. Here are some photos of Charles and Peter fishing the Beaverkill, Willowemoc, East Branch. Way to go Peter, look forward to seeing you on the waters soon.

I hate them

I hate them & they are actually keeping me away from the fishing. I am covered in repellant, have a net over my head, but nothing will stop these beasts. I must say, they are highly effective – small, leaves a lasting itch, and psychologically intimidating. Bastards, damn them. I need a boat...

Mosquito Facts:

* An adult mosquito can live as long as 5 months. It may take several months for a larva to develop to the adult stage in very cold water.
* An adult female mosquito weighs about 2.0 milligrams.
* An adult female mosquito takes in about 5-millionths of a liter of blood in a single meal.
* A mosquito wing beats from 300 to 600 times per second.
* Male mosquitoes find female mosquitoes by listening to the sound of their wings beating. The males can actually identify the correct species by the pitch of the female's wings.
* Mosquitoes can fly about 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.
* A mosquito can detect the carbon dioxide you exhale from about 60 to 75 feet away.
* In the interest of science, Arctic researchers uncovered their chests, arms, and legs; then they reported as many as 9000 mosquito bites per person, per minute. At this rate, an unprotected human would lose one half of his/her blood supply in approximately two hours.

just another day of fishing...

We were missing one out of our usual set of 3 friends (due to his trip to US), but we headed down to our favorite southern spot to fish for these aggressive “kuuri”. The drive is one that is just long enough to feel like a trip. It also allows us to make two stops at the rest stops along way, which are always usually full of good noodles and occasional dried squid snack. The weather was shaky and it seemed like it was about to pour at any moment, but fortunate for us, it held up. I had some ramen to ease my stomach from the alcohol from the night before, and bought some snacks that was to substitute for lunch (so fish more efficiently).


















We drove down to the banks of the water this time, and made use of my brother’s new SUV. I didn’t mention it at the time, but I think he intentionally took the rough & crooked road down to the bank, because the straight and tidy road was just nearby. He kicked the thing into 4X4 mode and soon we were right at the water’s edge. We had overcast and it was good for fishing, however it was a hot and humid day. I fished in my waders for the first couple of hours, but soon found myself fishing in my underwear. I’m glad I didn’t meet anyone there, and if anyone approached closeby, I simply waded in up to my chest and didn’t come out till that person was far gone. Yes, it was strange and unsightly for me to fish in my underwear, but hey – what won’t a guy do to keep his balls cool.















Fishing was good, enough catching to keep things interesting but not enough to keep us focused on fishing… too much catching tend to make one careless and unappreciative of the catch. The fish were smaller than what we were used to with this species, perhaps the time of day, perhaps the temperature. After we’ve both caught enough fish, we cruised up and down the river together, catching up on what each of us have been up to. We discussed how it’s sometimes more important to be not fishing sometime, that sometimes catching fish is only a small portion of the trip.

We finished the day off with the awesome tofu restaurant in the small town. This is one of those towns that’s tiny but everything about it is grand. It’s one of those towns that invites one to settle here, to make it a hometown. Another beautiful day.

the one eyed bass

I caught a bass the other day and noticed that he was missing his right eye. At first I just felt bad for the poor thing and couldn’t stop wondering about how it lost its eye. Could it have been a careless angler? Was it a virus of some sort? Perhaps it lost its eye to another fish for survival? Whatever it was, it was strange that it was missing an eye. After I released it, I thought about what a struggle it must be for it to catch food. Fish are said to have poor eye sight, so it must try extra hard, twice as hard as other fish to eat. But the more I think about it, I am impressed that it’s surviving, that it aggressively took my fly, and that it will continue to be there catching food. I wondered if he was considered the one eyed tough gangsta among his fish friends. I am not going to fish that spot anymore because the last thing that fish needs is to waste it’s time eating food that has a hook in it. I am happy that I got a chance to meet the one eyed pirate bass.