Friday Fish

Uh-oh! The printer died!

Well, actually, the black ink still works, so we can print documents. Just the color has stopped working. And only the magenta has stopped flowing, so my photos have taken on a sunshine-yellow tint. Very yellow, with no red. The green trees are blue and the reds and oranges are very yellow. So I probably can't print any photos or cards until we get back to Arizona. I'll be OK without the printer, a Canon i960 photo printer that I just love!

Rick took the 6 ink cartridges (tanks) out, refilled them and found that the magenta was almost out (without a warning). I did some research on the Internet to find out about the print head failure and why the magenta nozzle might be stopped up. Rick soaked the print head in isopropyl alcohol and Windex for a long time and then used canned air to blow through the print head nozzle. After a few deep cleaning cycles, still no luck. We'll wait until we get to the big city to replace it. This won't stop me from taking photos and luckily I had just printed some photos to display and created some photo greeting cards. Of all the electronic devices we have, I guess this is the one I won't miss too much.

New gadgets in the left sidebar

I've added a couple new "gadgets" to the left side of the blog. Right below our Welcome photo I added the "Followers" section because we've had a couple Followers for a while. (Hey Jason & James!) Although Google Blogger sometimes has a problem with the programming behind the Follower gadget, causing some blogs to not open properly. So we'll see how it works. And I'll see if more people decide to become Followers. We are Followers to a couple other blogs. I guess it's a way to let the blog author and others know what you like to read.

I added another jigsaw puzzle so now we have 4. The new one of us and our motorhome is a challenge. Try it to see if you like it. You don't have to rotate the pieces, just click & drag. There is an Auto Solve button if you decide you just want to see how it goes together. I love puzzles!

We have a section showing our archived or older posts and there is a link to Older Posts at the bottom of each page. You can click on them to take you there. We also have a nice Google search feature that pops open a new window at the top of our blog with the results. You have to go to the top of the blog page to see the results.

I'm going to work on a couple new slideshows soon and share some favorite photos. You can share your thoughts by sending us a comment. I try to reply to each of them.

I've moved some of the other gadgets around, rearranging them different ways. Let us know if something doesn't work, if you get an error message, or if something is causing problems. And check often to see what's new.

High water? Going higher?

The fishing has been fairly good, probably better out on the lake though. But then, I can't wade the lake like I can the river. And we don't have a boat now. So we happily walk down to the river most days.

A few days ago I spotted a couple fish rising on the far side (why is always that way?), barely disturbing the water, sipping dry flies off the surface. Although the river was 'only' at 600 cfs or so, I made it fine. My mind wasn't on the river currents or falling in, it was on keeping track of the fish I'd seen. Now that its even higher, about 800 cfs, I land the fish on the far bank in about 3 feet of calm water, rather than try to get back to the 'home' bank.

It's not easy walking the hooked fish back to the 'home' bank. What's funny is that I usually walk backwards when I do, feeling my way with my heels. Once I was over there on the far side for a while and I'd caught a couple fish, I started wondered how I was going to get back. I daydreamed and wondered if a drift boat floating by might let me hang on as we made our way across the river. The current is very strong and about waist-high for me. It seems you can feel the river go higher as you're standing there fishing. I wasn't worried because Rick came out to fish the far bank near me and we made it back together, arm in arm, without a problem.




I've asked Rick to work with me to get some better underwater video in the clear, calmer water. We'll share it when we do.

A Day of Weather = A Day of Rest

The farmers must be watering their fields, planting another round of hay. The river flow has been gradually increased to about 800 cfs and we've had wind, rain and hail today. A good day to rest and take care of what needs doing around the motorhome.

It's been a week or so since we've had any real amount of rain and the hillsides and campground are starting to lose the green, giving way to the tan color of a dry summer. We are in a semi-arid, high altitude area with no forest of trees nearby. The rolling hills aren't going to be this green again until next year, but Rick and the campground owners are trying to keep the park-like feel to the campground. They pump water from the river through a very long "fire" hose and irrigate the campsites. Rick has also been helping them prune the trees and trim the bushes, the few they have in the campground. Some of the Nanking cherry trees are red with fruit, but the owners say there's not as much fruit as last year. I guess that means we won't spend days boiling the small cherries for their juice. Just as well.

Our friends have headed south. They packed up their tents this morning just in time to miss the onslaught of pea-sized hail pellets and the deluge of rain. There are a couple campers still here in the campground, but the place is practically empty now. We'll go fish tomorrow I'm sure. Unless we get more thunder and lightning, then we won't.

More Camp Style Living

Smoked trout, hot cheese dip, smoked oysters and mussels, jalapenos poppers wrapped in bacon, london broil in the dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, bbq tri-tip, bbq chicken thighs, chilie relanos, bbq chick breast, brats, twice baked potatoes, fresh salads, rice of all flavors, breakfast burritos, apple crisp, peaches and cream, and smores. We have been eating well for the past few weeks and we've had a lot of fun.

Been Busy Having Fun

We've had friends visiting for the past few weeks and we've been busy having fun! They love to fish and enjoy the camping lifestyle.

Rick and Eric cooked most of the dinners outside on the grill or in the cast iron dutch oven.

One night they made fried chicken and it was yummy!

We've taken lots of photos of our follies and fishing.

I'm happy to say that I spend more time fishing than on the computer.

Road Trip Wildlife

Photos from Float Trip

We floated the river in the evening, from 4:30 until 8:00. There were plenty of fish rising to mayflies and you could easily see them in the calm "slick" sections. The fish were on the adult mayflies, and then they would only take spinners for about an hour and then they were back on the adult mayflies. We had a really good time with Eric on the oars. All three of us caught lots of fish. It may not look like fun to some, but we had a blast!

I was at the front of the raft and had the best view of the small rapids. Eric practically put the raft in neutral while deciding which side to take through the rapids. The take out point is immediately after this on river right.

A much needed change of scenery

Instead of fishing, I headed to town with Stefanie and their 2 kids. We went to a few places in town for some shopping and then picked up some groceries. We were back to camp around 1:00 where we'd left Rick and Eric tying flies. When we got back they were on the river, catching lots of fish. Rick tied up a special Compara Dun pattern that I wanted and they had lots of success.

I walked down to the river and the two irritating guys were there, but they were leaving. Yippeee! My "favorite" had gotten a hole in his waders and Rick said he'd gotten up on the far bank and practically took it all off in an effort to dry off. Thank goodness I'd missed that show. Rick also said earlier he asked one where they were going to fish so he didn't intrude too close. Rick said "Do you mind if I fish here?" and the guy said, "I'm fishing here next to my brother." Rick said he didn't want to fish way out there, he wanted to stay on the close bank. So Rick fished from the bank. He didn't get into the river and as the guys watched, Rick hooked a big fish and it ran out to where they were fishing, jumped high in the air a couple times and threw the hook. Now that's a show I would have liked to have seen. Rick didn't need to land the fish. The guys were surprised and from that point on walked around the area where Rick was fishing. (Unlike me, when they walked right through.) Perhaps they did learn something during their stay in Montana.

The visitors both eventually left the river and left Rick and I to ourselves. There were only a couple of boats who floated by and no one else within sight. Although it was well into the afternoon, the fish were rising and Rick had tied what they wanted. We fished with dries, spotting each other's fish and coaching each other on our casts. We took turns and had such a great time laughing and just having a good time together. And we caught lots of fish. Around 4:00 we headed the short distance back to camp where Eric had the cata-raft hooked up and ready to launch. We were going to float and fish from the campground to the next takeout point and we purposely had waited until the end of the day. We wanted the majority of the guides to be out of the way. We cruised on by a couple drift boats and found the spot we knew from the past; a wide open, slow moving, glassy section of the river, the surface disturbed only by the big heads of gulping trout. I had on a dry fly, one of the Compara Duns that Rick had tied, so they put me at the front of the raft. As we sat there anchored, Eric pointed out a fish rising waaaayyyyy downstream from us and said he'd pull up the anchor to get closer. I said "no", let me have a try at it first. He said "It'll be a tough set!", as I cast to the fish. And after letting it drift a good long distance I saw the water move and the splash and I set the hook! And I set the mood for the rest of the float trip. It was a blast, with lots of fish, most not so easy, but soooo much fun! It immediately brought back memories of the 3 of us floating the rivers of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana as we'd done for years. Eric is great on the oars and I've trusted my life to him on some scary waters. I think I caught the first 3 fish and then I sat out the next inning while Rick and Eric each caught a few. A couple guide boats with clients drifted by and I asked if they were catching lots of fish. One guy said a couple, one guy said he was getting skunked. Yikes! I thought I'd better keep my squeals to myself. Actually, I'm not a squealer when I hook fish. I prefer to be quiet about it = most of the time.

When I wasn't fishing I was looking for rising trout for Rick and Eric. I can truly have as much fun spotting and coaching someone else. It was great to be able to tell them "Another foot towards the bank, right beyond that rock, down another 10 feet, should be right THERE!" and the fish would take, and they would set, and the fish would jump, jump, jump and we'd quickly net it and release it! Lots of jumping brown trout in the 18" to 20" size, with a couple nice rainbows.

We called Stefanie around 7:30 to bring the truck and trailer for the take out and she met us around 8:00. The mosquitoes were thick, but Stefanie had a tasty dinner waiting for us back a camp. I have some photos and video of the float trip that I will try to post next. What a great day it was. I'm in a much better mood.

Butts

After fishing today I've decided that there are other places to fish. I will have to walk a little further to get away from the butts.

There weren't many people in sight when we got to the river. I wasn't sure who the other 3 guys were, but once we started to fish I recognized that they were the same ones from yesterday. They had changed their shirts and hats, but they hadn't changed their ways. It was obvious that they were all 3 friends, hence the reason they were keeping each other's fish. Rick and I immediately caught fish when we got there and they asked what we were using. I was vague, but answered "a PMD." I was fishing with dry flies and the lead guy kept asking me if I saw fish rising. I wanted to say "Of course", but I said "No, no fish rising here." What else was there? When you fish with dry flies 99% of the time I fish to a rising fish. Doesn't everyone? I guess not this guy.

Once we realized who they were I started to watch if they kept their fish. There are slot limits and you can keep certain types of fish, but in the few hours we were there I didn't see them keep fish. The same guide floated by and had words with them again today, this time about parking their vehicle at the boat ramp, right under the large "No Parking" sign, making it difficult to launch or retrieve a boat. Most of the time the ramp is very busy and for someone to park their vehicle there makes it difficult to maneuver with a boat trailer. Very rude indeed.

I just found them obnoxious and oblivious to any river etiquette. Many times they walked through rising fish that I was casting to while others hesitated to even walk along the bank near my casts. I had to stop fishing or I would have hooked them. And yes, it was obvious where I was casting. It may sound trivial and it's hard for me to explain, but believe me, it takes a lot to rile me.

It was late and I eventually told Rick I was ready to go. As we were leaving a couple other fishermen who had witnessed their actions made a comment to me that I'd had some nice fish working and it was too bad that those other guys had ignored where I was fishing. Some people just rub me the wrong way and I've decided that I'll move away from them tomorrow if they're still around. I've had enough of the butts.

Rude mosquitoes & rude fishermen

I was motivated to write about the rude mosquitoes. And I was stupefied to write about the rude fishermen. It's difficult for me to know which is worse = hungry mosquitoes biting me at 2:00 AM, leaving large, itchy welts OR the rude fishermen who abuse the river, crowd your fishing spot, and break the law. Believe me, I know which is worse and which offends me more.

The tiny, buzzing insect bites may itch for a while, but with a little ointment the discomfort goes away. The interruption on my peaceful day by thoughtless fishermen doesn't go away for a long time.

The hungry mosquitoes are just doing their natural, biological habit of survival. The rude, inconsiderate fishermen who leave their worm container trash on the riverbank, who think that the cigarette butts, plastic cigar tips, and beer cans are going to disappear or float away to a magic trash can, who ignore the fishing regulations by killing way too many fish, that is inexcusable.

Yes, I choose to fish a section of the river that is very easy to get to. Yes, I could walk a little further and get away from the elbows of the fisherman who insists on crowding me. They are sometimes so close we could touch rod tips! And a couple days ago a worm fisherman hooked my blue fly line. Another tossed their red and white bobber right at me and I was afraid their treble hooks would snag me. That’s way too close so I had to tell them they almost hit me.

When the fisherman was slowly killing the 20”+ rainbow trout in his net, he asked me if the dog would eat the fish he was about to lay on the riverbank. I said “no”, but I should have said “the dog knows better than to kill the fish.” He stashed it in the bushes while he tried to catch a fish of his own. I was confused that he was able to talk another fisherman into giving him the 20”+ rainbow. Not sure why someone would hand over their fish unless they knew them. Watching him try to catch fish I knew there wouldn’t be too many killed by him, but for some reason that other fisherman continued to give him fish. He had parked his SUV in the “no parking” area near the boat ramp and we watched him put more fish in the cooler, but it was 6:00 PM and too late to call the warden. A guide with clients had already given him a talk-to about why you shouldn’t kill the fish and why you have to abide by the law. If I see him doing it again I will call since the warden encourages us to do so.

I’ll take swarms of mosquitoes biting me, doing what is natural, any day compared to the thoughtless, rude, stupid behavior of someone who thinks they can trash the river and kill the fish without consequence. Obviously they don’t think about the repercussions of destroying the river. Come on people, children are taught at an early age not to be a litter bug, that if we don’t take care of the environment it won’t be there to take care of us, that rules are there for a reason, and that being polite will get you a lot further than being rude.

I’m finished with my rant for now. We’re off to the river, hoping to find a spot where we have some elbow room. I can count on the mosquitoes being there.

Hanging pictures in the motorhome

Making it feel like home. I finally decided which picture frames I wanted where and which photos I wanted in the frames. And I haven't put any holes in the walls of the motorhome to hang things. I use the 3M removeable hooks that stick on the walls. And hope that when I do remove the 3M fasteners that they don't damage the walls. They're not supposed to. I removed the glass from 2 of the frames to make them weigh less, but put some extra photos in the back of the frame so I can easily change the photos when I want to.

We use the 3M hooks for keeping hand towels, keys and ball caps handy. For the picture frames we use the 3M products specifically made for frames - removeable picture hanging strips. They are a Velcro-like product and seem to hold the frames without slipping or falling off the wall. I plan to remove the photo frames when we travel because I don't think the fasteners can withstand the bumps and jarring of most highways.

I was reluctant to put things on the walls because there is so little wall space. We try not to have too many things out and in the way because in the small space of an RV you can quickly become overwhelmed with clutter. (I mean we would become overwhelmed with all the clutter.) There is so little clear wall space in RVs. Having wall space showing makes the rooms feel a little more spacious. However, I need to have some decoration and feeling like we live here. This is home.

Update on cross-country bicycle ride

If you haven't checked in on Todd and Jared's website lately, Todd is making good progress on his cross-country bicycle ride. Todd is riding from Oregon to Virginia in support of his nephew Jared who is battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Their website is interesting, humorous and you get a view of the ride from the comforts of your home. Todd's narrative is funny and his photos are great. Check it out if you have some time. You'll find the blog under Follow Me here http://www.jaredsmiles.org/  (Todd added the Follower feature to his Blogger blog and you can easily add yourself. I've thought about adding the Follower feature to ours, just haven't gotten around to it yet. I already have one Follower so I guess I should.)

Ahhh, the marvels of modern technology. Todd is also using Twitter. You can find him here http://twitter.com/Jaredsmiles if you use Twitter.

Todd, I hope you have clear skies, a smooth path, and a tail wind in your favor.

More on the underwater Olympus 1050 camera

I love having a camera that's small enough to carry in my pocket and that I'm not afraid of dunking in the river! Last year our friends Dan and Jerry Short of Idaho showed me their camera and the underwater video of fish they took. Steve also has a similar camera that he carries on the river and I just had to have one. I was afraid I (or someone) would drop the Sony or Nikon in the water and that would be the end of that! Many times I'd not be able to retrieve it out of the backpack on shore and we'd miss taking the photo. So, when my birthday got near, we made the purchase at Costco and said it was this year's bday gift to me.

Now if I could only get the fish to slow down and pose. They are so anxious to get away and back to the depths of the river.


The Olympus camera is a little slower than what we are used to with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200. It takes it a few seconds to start up and to recover between shots. However, the fact that it is able to take underwater still shots and underwater video out-weighs the slowness. We just have to realize that the fish are quicker than the camera and have the camera ready before we start to handle the fish. We could try putting it on burst mode and take multiple shots at once. We've missed a couple of still shots because the fish are quicker, but all in all we love the waterproof feature of the little camera. And it is little. It could be a slight problem handling it if you have larger hands. I've thought about getting a floating strap for it in case I drop it. The photo quality is good at 10.1 megapixels. I used it on July 4th after dark to take the fireworks exploding in air. I take it everytime we go out on the river and keep it handy in my shirt pocket.

A happy big brown trout

Rick's big, happy brown trout being released. This fish was 20" long and 12" around. One fat, healthy brown trout!

Lots to write, but

But, I just had to post this photo. Even though I have lots of other stuff on my mind to share, this is most important to me.

First fish on a 'dry'

With the warm weather comes not only mosquitoes, but mayflies and yellow sallies, aka dry flies. Dry flies mean fish looking up, feeding on the surface, fish chasing emergers, jumping on bugs floating on the surface.

A few days ago we were fishing and Rick called me up to where he was fishing, at the far bank. We were both nymph fishing with tiny size 20 PT flashbacks and we were getting some nice fish. However, Rick had seen some mayflies in the air and had seen a fish taking them off the surface. He knew I'd been waiting for just that. I quickly changed up flies, took off the ball and chain (thingamabobber & sinkers) and I haven't looked back. Instead, I'm looking for rising fish.

Back to the mosquitoes. A lot of the fishing reports from the local fly shops mention the fish and the flies to use. AND they also state that the mosquitoes are horrible! They are unbelievably pesty, to say the least.

Mother Deer & twins

I just had to post this photo in case you didn't see the slideshow in the previous post. Rick did a great job with the camera. Always does.

Road Trip for Brookies

We made a road trip in search of brook trout in a small stream about an hour away from camp. Eric, Stefanie, 13 year old Addison, and Rick & I loaded into Eric's truck for the day trip. We headed off on the dirt road to Selway Creek and soon after arriving we hit the stream. Using small elk hair caddis or a larger 'stimi' pattern, we all hooked our share of small brook trout. Addison got the hang of casting the light-weight 3-weight rods and hooked many fish on her own. The small fish are quick to jump on the hook hoping for a tasty fly. They were 3" to about 9" and no, we didn't keep any for the fry pan. We had a yummy lunch of sandwiches and chips (why does food always taste better in the great outdoors?) and then we were back to fishing for a little longer. The thunder and lightening and rain drove us off the river and into the truck to continue our drive through the trees and over the hills.

We drove on again in search of another stream and it began to hail. Big hail stones the size of cherries, some we thought were the size of ping pong balls. And no where to hide on the dirt road. Thankfully it was a slushy, soft hail or the truck would have plenty of dings and dents. We'd all been in hail storms before, some that have done damage to vehicles and buildings, but this hail was really large. It was like someone throwing snowballs down on us.

Across one of the valleys, at least a mile away, we could see horses and cows, but there was some other animal that Eric said had to be elk. We stopped just long enough for me to get out the Nikon P80 with the 18x zoom and try to focus on the big herd of elk. Oh, if only they weren't a mile away. But they were definitely elk. I wish I had another photo that would show how far away they were. I remember the time we were in Greer, Arizona on a dirt road and came upon a huge herd of elk on the road. They weren't afraid of us and we were able to sit for quite a while and observe them all around us.

As we drove along Addison spotted a deer or 2 in the woods that we scared as we drove by. She also saw a lone elk that quickly made it's escape when it saw the truck. Rick saw a deer and it didn't run away like the others and we were able to stop, hoping to get some photos. What a nice surprise to see that the doe had 2 very young babies with her and they were staying close enough to the road that Rick was able to get these photos. They were so cute with their white spots. This was probably the highlight of my day and I could have sat for hours watching them.

4th of July Montana-style

It may not have been as spectacular as the huge fireworks shows in New York or Washington D.C., but it sure was fun! Everything from colorful smoke bombs, to sparklers, bottle rockets and fountains that shot in the air. The other families who were camping with us brought fireworks, legal in Montana, and the kids sure had fun. The older kids also had fun.

Happy 4th!

We are enjoying our 4th of July with Eric and his family and Jeff and his family here at the campground. Although the forecast is for afternoon scattered thunderstorms, we're going to cook out on the campfire again tonight. We have brats, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and smores for dessert. I hope we get to do a little fishing today. Tonight when it gets dark (10:00 PM or later) they will light the fireworks they brought with them.

We hope your 4th of July is filled with good food and lots of good friends and family. Be safe.

Underwater RiverCam

This underwater video camera sure takes some practice! This is our first attempt at photographing or videoing (sp?) wild trout. I did play with the camera some in the pool, but I will spare you the video of family swimming and blowing bubbles underwater. I think a couple things made this difficult = 1.) the water was only a few inches deep where we released the fish, and 2.) the fish didn't want to hang out in shallow water. It quickly darts off when I release my hold on it.



This isn't like snorkling and having a camera to swim with. We are only in the water up to our ankles and perhaps moving out to knee-deep will be easier. Still, I find it challenging. but you can bet that I'll be trying more of it. It is a 2-person task though, so I'll have to convince Rick to give me a hand.