This Is a Fishing Blog...

This is a fishing blog, but, as another fisherman asked me the other day about life in general, "What do you do when the river's frozen over?"

Exactly. Not a problem for many people, but for fly fishermen of a certain temperament an existential crisis. And for a fishing blogger, a big challenge.

But there are things you can do. Believe it or not. 

One thing you can do, on the blogging side, is spend more time surfing the web looking for interesting tidbits of art or info that might be of interest to others. That can result in some amazing finds--or lots of filler.

Another thing you can do is catch up on other important aspects of life. There are other important aspects of life. You know, like work...family...that kind of thing. That's good, but let's face it--it's not fishing.

You can also busy yourself with fishing-related activities like, oh, fly tying, for example. You could also clean all your rods and reels and lines, repair and organize all your equipment, and sort and organize all your flies. Which I'll probably get around to after the fly tying. Once I get started on the fly tying.

And, of course, you can keep an obsessive a close watch on the weather and hope for a good, strong Chinook.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Another thing you can do is carefully weigh your fishing options. Your realistic fishing options.  Oh sure, it would have been nice to be wading the flats on a hot, tropical island all this week, but that ain't going to happen. And it would be nice to get a swing or two in on the local river, but that ain't going to happen anytime soon, either.

But I do have an option that actually falls into the realm of possibility. That would be a trip to the nearest spring creek. I'm fortunate to have one just an hour and a half away: Rocky Ford Creek.

In years past the very earliest I have gone is February, but it seems that a January trip this year could be good for everybody concerned.

And what do you know, we're having a bit of a Chinook this week. The river is still frozen, but the snow is gone, and the temperature at Rocky Ford Creek could break 40 degrees tomorrow. So the morning will find me on the road heading south.

Next post will be fishing photos, and--if all goes according to plan--fish photos. In the meantime, I've been reminiscing about last year's Rocky Ford trout....

So wish me luck, and maybe it will be awhile before I have to post another trout puzzle.

Click thumb.

Blog Post 1,000: Fly Fishing

What do you know, according to my Blogger stats this is post number 1,000. The first post came way back on Monday, May 25, 2009.

There wasn't much in that first post, so in the second post I explained that my computer had just crashed and that I was moving my blog to this new location. I had just started blogging a year before, in May of 2008. By the time this incarnation of the blog was starting up I had blogged 94 posts on the old one. But I'm not counting those today.

By the way, that first blog is still accessible, and there's a permanent link to it in my blog list in the right margin. I love those early posts, especially the ones of my kids--when they were still kids. But it's history now, a record of the past. This blog, though, is alive and active, continuing to evolve and expand. I like where we've come, and look forward to where we're going.

So to celebrate the occasion, and thinking that a 1,000th post on a fly fishing blog should have something to do with fly fishing, I went fishing this afternoon.

That, after all, is what it has been, is, and will be all about.

Brad, Sheena--and Nacho

Once again the irrepressible Moldy Chum has turned me on to something worthwhile. This is Brad and Sheena, leaning against their '84 Vanagon, "Nacho," way, way down the road at the southernmost town in the world at the end of Tierra del Fuego.

This is how they explain on their blog, "Drive, Nacho, Drive," what they're doing with themselves these days:

At the end of 2011 we quit our jobs and set off in our 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon, "Nacho". Our plan? To circumnavigate the globe, slowly, while discovering culture, food, recreation, and emergency roadside Volkswagen maintenance. We are Brad and Sheena. Just wingin' it.

How cool is that? It's a fun read, and they're going places I'll never have the chance to see for myself, so I've put a link to their blog in my blog list so I can keep up with them on their journey.

Look for the link in the right margin, or click HERE if you'd like to check it out.

Oh, and if you're a young man who isn't married yet, and you'd like to be some day, and you'd like to have an adventurous life, maybe you should look for someone with a name like "Sheena." Good luck to you. And nice work, Brad.