2017 Garden Prep

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In the late weeks of March and April, I enjoy anything that resembles spring.  Tying flies, calling turkeys, and watching Penguins hockey will keep me going until spring peaks around the corner.  But, I've really come to love planting seeds each spring with the kids.  Doing this for a few years now really gives me a benchmark on how much they have retained in terms of their understanding about nature and how things work.  It also give me a benchmark on their dexterity and ability to follow instruction, as seeds are microscopic!  I remember trying to give them seeds this small my first year and it was a mess.  As a word of advice, stick with pumpkin, watermelon, and zucchini the first few years.  

But, this was a great little winter break and once we planted, we made sure to revisit and water and eventually plug in the grow lights.  Every morning they want to run downstairs to the basement to see what has sprouted and how much bigger they've gotten.  They surely are interested and I cant wait to remind them of what all their hard work is turning into in the late summer / fall.

 

Jackson River Wild

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I got out to fish one of my favorite sections on the Jackson River tailwater.   Its one of my favorites because I know it holds wild browns.  And I know it holds wild browns because we missed a few good ones here during the cicada hatch last year and on some streamers.  The river itself is known for its wild rainbows and even the standard 9-10" wild bow is never a disappointment.  Those little wild bows shoot straight out of the water when they are caught.  I actually don't think they stock the lower tailwater, so every fish is wild.  But, its always the browns that I chase so I target water that holds them.

The water was lower, but it was a cloudy day, so I started with a fatty streamer.  I didn't move a fish this time, so I switched over to some nymphs and started picking a few up.  I caught a good looking brown on a stonefly, so that made my day.  

 

On my way out, I fished a secondary channel back up to my truck.  There is one hole I've always believed held a good fish.  At the tail out of this hole I hooked into a nice bow and my biggest on the Jackson.  She had the prettiest pink rainbow on her side.  After a good fish like that, it easy to just call it a day.

See you next season...

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I didn't end up with a buck this year. I shot a handful of does and filled the freezer, but the buck I was after stayed elusive.  My best opportunity actually came in September and I have no one to blame but myself on that hunt.  I hunted fairly hard towards the end of the season including bow hunting during gun season and into late season.  This wasn't my year, but that's OK.   That happens.  These are a few of the guys I got on camera for next season...

 

A Savage Whooping

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I finally made it down to one of the more renown rivers in the area, the Savage River. The river is held in high regard from fisherman that I hold in high regard, so I've had this on my radar.  It's only 2-2.5 hours away, so it about equal distant to some of my other favorite streams, but somehow Maryland just feels further away.   And that might have been the actual apprehension, because another state means another license.  And its plain silly to buy the 3 day license even if you think you might come back, so you might as well get the annual license.   I travel around a bit, so the license fees start adding up when you are fishing (and especially hunting) multiple states.   This can get a bit annoying, but I like to think of the $50 non-resident license as a greens fees that I would pay if I actually golfed and somehow this rationalization helps.  

I love new water.  To me, there is something so exciting about seeing and fishing a completely different water.  I fantasize about how a place might look, so its always funny to see how far off I am.  With all this excitement and some pretty good water levels, I was already daydreaming holding one in my hands.  I've seen the pictures of these Savage trout and they are some of the prettiest Brooks and Browns on the East coast.  But, I have heard they can be tough.  Still, i rigged up a couple nymphs and went at it.

I know I'm usually a bit rusty this time of year.  My knots take longer, I forget to check my back cast, and I'm usually a millisecond slower on my hook set (which matters).  All these factors usually result in less fish, but at least I can usually find a couple eager trout to help boost my ego.  

Nope, not today.  I tried every fly, weight, leader length combo i could test.  I tight lined, indi-nymphed, and even threw streamers when it clouded up. But, not one singe bite.  I was very far away from the excitement of a couple hours ago.  And at some point you know it's just not your day.  Even though another 1-2 hours might produce a fish or two, it's not going to be a stellar day.  And those 1-2 hours could be used on the road after an already long day.

So with my tail between my legs, I packed it up and headed west.  It's early and this river hasn't begun to wake up just yet, so i will be back.   In fact, my $50 non-resident license guarantees I will be back at least one more time.

End of Season 9

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We had some unseasonably warm weather to wrap up February.  And by unseasonable, I mean our young kids were out running around in the sprinkler naked,...in February.  So, we took advantage of the warm spell to get Cooper out on a few Chukar.  These were planted birds, so nothing too spectacular or awe inspiring to type about.  But, Cooper didn't know the difference and he was happy to just be hunting.  And Spencer was just happy she could sneak out of the house and I was happy to just be outside. So an overall wonderful evening.  

But, one thing became apparent was that Cooper is loosing his hearing.  I had knocked a bird down that glided to the opposite hill.  It was a bad shot and I don't even deserve partial credit.  But, a retriever with a good nose can make up for a bad shot and Cooper would make quick work of this bird.  But, when I shot he bolted off the other way.  I called and called and blew my whistle and and beeped his collar, etc, etc.  But, he lost me and even though he could hear the collar beep, he had no clue where i was over the hill.  Of course, I am pissed at this point, but he's never done this before.  So even in my fit, I know something isnt right.  And so when he made it in to me heat-exhausted and half panic-stricken, I just called this hunt.  And after a few more tests, we definitley knew his hearing was going.  

On the way home we talked about timing of getting another dog, but the whole conversation got me depressed.  We just had a great afternoon hunt and the last of the season.  I know we will have many more hunts together, but things are definitely changing with Cooper at an unfair pace.  I remind myself that those are human emotions only.  Cooper just had the best day of his 9 year life and ready to do it again tomorrow.

Last minute Ducks

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This year seems to have gotten away from me when it came to the pursuits of our webbed friends.  Each year seems to be a bit different with where I spend my time and efforts, and this year I spent more time in a tree stand. Can't do it all.  

Duck season was literally almost out and we finally made our way to a really special spot that always produces ducks.  The challenge is that this shallow swamp is usually all froze up in the late season...but not this year.  We enjoyed a mildly warm weather and able to take a handful of ducks over a couple brief hunts.  I was even able to sneak the wife out for a few hours, which was a real nice treat for us both.

The Bucket List

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I've been super fortunate to have some amazing outdoor adventures over the years.  But, on a long cabin fever day of January, I came up with 3 future goals.  I figured if I wrote about them that would make them real.  

At first pass, I concluded this list was extremely random;  one from the Caribbean, one in the western backcountry, and one in the freshwater rivers.  But, as I thought through it some more, I eventually put it all together.  If there was one common thread between all three, it is that they are really difficult to do.  Sure, there are bigger, badder, more dangerous and extreme things out there, but these three are just difficult to actually achieve.  Now, it makes total sense.  

Maybe these goals will evolve over time.  Maybe I will add more.  But for now, this is the short bucket list:

1. Permit on the Fly

Approximately 10 years ago on our Honeymoon in Belize, I decided to chase permit and my life would not be the same. My wife and I had spent the week catching bonefish, snook, and baby tarpon.  We were high-fiving and having a blast.  On the last day, the conditions were right and our guide asked if we want to go after permit.  I just happened to have the 10 wt Sage my Dad built us for our honeymoon, so after a few confidence building bonefish, we went to chase tailing permit.  I had plenty of legit chances on tailing permit, but in many instances I fell apart.  When the pressure was on the line and you had one legit shot to make that cast, I flubbed.  I did make a couple nice leads and i thought i did every thing right, but at the last minute, the permit refused.  I walked away empty, humbled and changed forever.   This permit sickness had entered my head and I will be going back.  

 

2. DIY Elk Bowhunt

Let's be clear about one thing...the chances of seeing a bull like this picture I found online on a DIY OTC hunt in Colorado or Idaho are slim to none.  But, I want to experience an extreme back country adventure and if i can couple that with a raghorn bull or cow to fill the freezer, then i will be stoked.  I want to completely immerse into the Rocky Mountains and experience waking up in the vast back country to the sound of distant bugles.  And I want to chase him with a bow.   No exceptions.

 

3. Musky on the Fly

In the latest addition of 'things-i-like-to-do' because they are incredibly hard, I would like to add the 'fish of a thousand casts'.  I don't know what has drawn me to this toothy predator fish, but the idea of watching a 4 foot river monster eating a fly I spent the last hour tying just cranks my tractor.  I have every thing needed to fly fish for musky...I just need to convince one of my friends to forego the treestand for a day in the fall to chase the esox and maybe hook into one fish all day.  

Falconry Friday

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If you've spent any substantial time in the woods, you more than likely have seen some sort of aerial attack from a hawk or owl on a small forest animal.  I'll never forget watching a hawk nail this squirrel in a beechnut flat while I was bowhunting in my teens.  This hawk dropped out of the sky like a bullet and before I realized what was happening, it lifted this noisy little red squirrel right back into the sky.  It was totally awesome and since then I've always been intrigued by birds of prey.  I love just watching them hunt from a fence post or tree top sitting stoically, watching and waiting and hunting.  Its at this time, I am reminded that without the +$1000 in tree stand, bow, and fancy camouflage, I'm probably starve in the real wild.  They are the ultimate hunter.  Not us.  It's humbling. 

I'm not the first person to catch onto this obsession, which is why the sport of Falconry is over 4,000 years old.  It was started because the same observant hunters back then didn't have a fancy over / under shotgun and realized that falcons and hawks might be a better option than the sling shots they were running around with.  It evolved into what was known as the 'Sport of Kings' where only your status of nobility determined whether you hunted with a common hawk or an eagle.  

My 4 year old daughter asks a million questions about everything and Its so much easier to explain the circle of life by letting her watch a hawk chase a squirrel in the woods then trying to explain why some animals eat other animals.  Experience in nature is a wonderful teacher.   So, while most families spent spent Black Friday shopping or lounging around eating leftovers, we took a lesson in Falconry.  

The Homestead, in Hot Springs, Virginia has a world class falconry facility (and only a handful in the country), so we took the morning to go and learn.  The facility has hawks, falcons, owl and eagles (the eagles were currently being bred over in Europe). Our favorite was definitely this Eurasian Eagle Owl, named Sasha.  This owl is huge and very similar to the Great Horned Owl that resides in the US.  Her talons were huge and have strength of over 800 lbs torque.  Small animals do not escape.  Her most striking feature though was her orange eyes evolved for hunting periods of dawn and dusk rather then at night.     Her eyes were so hypnotizing and intimidating that I could only stare into them for a few seconds as I thought she was staring directly into my soul.   Owls are definitely mystical creatures.

 

The Falconer that led the session was great and very informative.  Though these birds are trained with raw chicken, we did get to see an aerial attack on a squirrel from a Harris Hawk, named Remy.  It was intense and you could hear the clasp of the talons as it just missed the squirrel jumping from one tree to the next.  

The twins were fascinated watching these birds fly and work and asked me a ton of questions.  It was cute.  Though, neither of them wanted to hold the falcon - maybe next time they said! 

Pheasant Hunting with Cooper

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I can't believe Cooper is 9 years old.  As much as I hate to admit it, he is on the back 9 of his wonderful doggie life.  Knowing that motivates me to try to get him out as much as possible and enjoy every last minute with him.  What a life lesson.  Thinking this way has provided some perspective and I've definitely eased up on my expectations.  If he doesn't heel perfectly and hold the bird the whole way through the retrieve, its all good.  We're really out to just have fun and that is a theme I hope to carry with me for my next dog.

He still has a good motor and I swear if there is snow on the ground, he works like he's 3 years old again.  He hasn't changed his hunting drive, but it's more on his recovery.  I notice the change getting in and out of the truck and the day after when he is stiff and doesn't rebound as quickly.  At 36, I feel the same way sometimes and can relate.  But he's 63 and does all the work on the hunt, so I will stop my whining.  

 

 

2016 Sauerkraut stomp

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Like everything else (fishing, camping, holidays, etc) life experiences just keep getting better each year with the kids.  Stomping sauerkraut was no different.  I remember when Jack and Clara were less than a year old and I propped them up on my leg just to barely hold the stomper, in a ceremonial fashion.  This year, they were full of excitement and fought over the turn to stomp the kraut.  They had a blast and that's what it's all about.

In fact, Jack was so excited he broke his first crock with the stomper.  As my Uncle Joe told me, my Pap has broken many of crocks in his day and he would be proud.  Fortunately, we had a backup crock, so we moved the cabbage over and kept on stomping.  

 

Hiking in the Laurel Highlands

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Today, we took a family hike in Somerset county, PA and enjoyed the wonderful fall weather we've been getting lately   The kids absolutely love hiking and I am certain its the best way for them to learn and appreciate the wild and wonderful outdoor world.  

Recently, as they have gotten older and more curious, this has become more and more fun and adventurous.  It also helps that we don't have to carry anyone anymore either.  But a hike is not just a random walk from Point A to Point B.  A hike on this day was smelling the autumn leaves, picking up acorns, finding little salamanders, exploring underneath rocks, climbing trees, making hiking sticks, picking small mushrooms, and having lunch on some rocks near a small stream and skipping stones.

And recently I would trade any day fishing or hunting by myself to take them exploring in the wild.  There is no need to be quiet, play the wind, sit in a tree stand or match the hatch.  Don't get me wrong, that is where my heart lies and one day I will be able to share those lessons with the kids.  But, I am finding so much joy in just spending time with the family and watching their little minds expand and grow every time they are out.

Its amazing to me that at 4 years old, the twins know the difference between an Oak and Maple tree leaf and that acorns come from oak trees and can explain all the animals the depend on eating acorns.  The information they soak up  and joy that fills them from just a simple hike is amazing.    

 

Family Traditions

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For many decades my Pap, Dad, and Uncle have made the annual pilgrimage up to Lehman Brothers Farm in Berlin, Somerset County, PA to get the highest quality cabbage in the country.   This cabbage is dense like a bowling ball and is the secret to the high quality sauerkraut we make each fall.  

This picture of my Pap, at age 92, is one of my all time favorites.  I get lost thinking of my Pap's entire life experiences in this one picture.  For me, it's so deep.  

We took the kids up to the farm and got a very similar picture.   Similar to the picture of my Pap, I get lost staring into the eyes of these kids .   I feel like I am staring directly into the history and generations of our family.  Without my Pap and Dad now, these kids gives me so much happiness knowing the family traditions live on.  

The Pumpkin Patch Buck

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My buddy, Jeremy, had been down at my house all week and we'd been working non-stop prepping the concrete driveway and other various landscape projects.  We decided to have a little fun and hit my local pumpkin patch, where a 6-7 bucks had been routinely working the fields each evening.  

We hadn't hunted together in some time and decided to sit in my blind together and just enjoy the evening.  99% of bow hunting is done solo, so this was a fun change of pace and the comedy show that is Jeremy.

Who needs a face mask when you have fresh wet mud from your buddies boot.  

Who needs a face mask when you have fresh wet mud from your buddies boot.  

 

Like clockwork, this buck came out right at the last light of day at an angle only Jeremy could shoot out of the blind.  He was only planning to shoot a doe, but I gave him the green light and he put a deadly shot on this buck at 25 yards.  

We did the right thing and went back to the house to wait our obligatory 30 minutes.  I made a cup of coffee.  Jeremy took a shot of Jameson.  We relaxed.  When we walked back outside, it was pouring down rain.  I mean pouring.  We shot this buck in a huge field and this was a major problem.  We grabbed our lights and headed out.  Fast forward through a long 45 minutes search, but all tracks were washed out and we didn't find a single drop of blood.  All washed away.   With nothing to track and in pitch dark, we were reserved to hopefully tripping over the downed deer.  We went back to the house knowing the search was futile.  Jeremy took another shot.  I cracked a beer.   We were soaked and this totally sucked.  

As I anxiously sipped my beer, I said let's take Cooper and see what he can do. Cooper is my 9 year old lab.  He's an expert on birds and I've trained him to find antler sheds, but he's no blood hound and I've never tried him on a downed deer....but we were desperate.  

We slogged back up to the field and Jeremy headed to the back of the property to circle back through the field.  I took Cooper and went the other way......90 seconds later, and Cooper was standing over the buck.  I've never seen anything like it.  It was unreal.  I called after Jeremy who hadn't made it very far and we were soon celebrating in the downpour

Cooper was King Pup this night with an excess of treats, table scraps, tons of love and half of bowl of beer.  

 

 

2016 Harvest Season

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If the kids like to plant seeds and water plants, they LOVE doing the harvest.  They love trying to carry the huge zucchinis, loading up their trucks with garlic and finding red tomatoes (though they havent learned to eat them yet).  Though, by far, they love picking (eating!) all the blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.  they have procduced on a daily cadence in just their first year.  And the wild black raspberries were such a treat.  

The kids are garden machines and love it!

 

Camping with Kids

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We've been chomping at the bit to get the kiddos camping for the summer. 

We decided to go Laurel Hill State Park and stay a little more local for this camping trip so we could make it back home if needed.  And as it turned out, we did just stay for one night with bad storms and a challenging two year old.  Hunter is still in the crib at home, but left unrestrained inside the large family tent and he was the equivalent of a highly energized electron.   Next time we're setting the hammock up for bed time. No child can resit the fire side hammock.  

When it comes to spending quality times with kids, I don't know of a better way than camping. There are no distractions and the memories are life long.  Nothing fuels their curiosity more than nature.  Everything from bugs, to 'precious' rocks, sticks, stars, animals, etc.  

 

 

 

2016 Cicada Fly Fishing Bonanza

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I have honestly waited for this hatch to happen for the past 8 years.    Ever since the buzzing in my ears stopped from the epic 2008 hatch in central PA, I was researching the next southwestern PA emergence.  I was fairly certain this would be the year and I had prepared my family and my work that I may fall off the grid when this happened.  The time was finally here.  

We had a couple early outings with no results.  The cicadas where singing, but the fish just didn't know what they were.  But as they became more active and began flying, it didn't take long.  I remember the first brown trout that crushed my big black foam fly and I looked at my buddy and just smiled.  It had begun.  And from that point forward, it was fly fishing nirvana over the next 2.5 weeks.  It turned out to be everything I expected and binge fishing at its finest.

I can't explain how strange this is for our trout to eat these size of dry fly bugs.  We don't get the epic salmonfly hatches or hopper fishing that the western states get.  On these waters, midges, BWOs and small caddis are the mainstay.  And catching a good brown on anything than a big streamer can be difficult, or just plain lucky.  But, to see the way these fish reacted to this new floating, fluttering filet mignon was awesome.  

Without a doubt, the big browns stole the show.  The rainbows ate the cicadas but many times they would nip at it, nudge it with their nose, and just flat out pussyfoot around.  Many rainbows I missed never really tried to eat it (at least that is what I tell myself).  The browns were completely different, a different species, a predator.  At times when the fly hit the water, it was an instantaneous explosion hellbent on not only eating that cicada, but utterly destroying it.  It was awesome.  And if you weren't ready for this to happen the second the fat bug hit the water, then you were most likely surprised when it happened.  And if you were surprised, that most likely resulted in pulling the fly out of the fishes mouth instead of coolly just coming tight to the fish.  And most likely it was the biggest damn fish of the day.  It always happens this way.  To be clear, I didnt catch a 2 foot brown in these couple weeks.  But I missed and lost a couple that will haunt me for the next 17 years.  

Over this time, we learned a ton and found large trout in new waters that we never fished in the past.  In one section of stream the most productive part was the section I used to wade across to get to the 'prime' water. My perception of where these big fish lay was completely flipped in these few weeks.  This will pay dividends in the future and it could take me another decade to figure out what I did in this short time.   

This year, the summer solstice happened on June 21 and the cicadas seemed to end with the setting of the new moon.  They didn't just disappear that night, but the volume of the cicada song and activity dramatically decreased.  It was an obvious and strange milestone.  

In the end, I am almost glad that this hatch only happens once every 17 years.  Most people have no idea fish even eat cicadas and an even smaller percentage figure out when and where this is happening.  By the time the 'word' actually gets out, its almost about over.   For those that fish, the fishing is almost too easy.  It's a welcome change to for the seasoned angler, but if it was always this easy more people would be flyfishing, and that same seasoned angler would find another hobby that was a more difficult.

In 17 years, I will be 53 and my kids will be 19 and 20. Somehow, this is exciting and depressing at the same time.   I pray we're all still here and the trout waters that I know are still here.  It sounds crazy, but a lot can happen in 17 years.   

Cicada Fly Fishing on the Jackson River, VA

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For the wife's birthday, we took a float down the Jackson River tailwater in Virginia.   The Brood V cicadas were just starting so we wanted to see if we could drum a few fish up to the surface.  On the Jackson tailwater, this would be a feat as fish just don't rise.  

As soon as we started off the cicadas were rocking.  We went into a good run of chutes and fast water and Spence missed a couple browns and had a toad of a brown on within the first ¼ mile.  She ended up catching a standard sized wild rainbow that was already pretty full of cicadas.

At this point, I was giddy, as I thought the whole float would be like this.  But the cicadas were only in the first mile of water we floated and only around the fast water.  Half way through the float the cicadas were a distant memory.  I reluctantly rigged up a double nymph rig and Spence eventually started catching them again.  All small rainbows.  No browns nymphing for sure.  But the rainbows were plenty and wild and lots of fun.  

Instead of a birthday card, the kids and I made a Stanley Cup out of juice bottle and containers and tin foil.  While we were gone the kiddos took it up a notch and decorated Lord Stanley a bit.  I like the upgrade.  Now the Penguins need to just close out the Cup versus San Jose tonight on home ice!

Planting the 2016 Garden

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Each year, the kids are learning more and more about where their food comes from and how to grow plants from seeds and that they need sun and water and some TLC.  they are so proud of their little plants and really get into it!