Fly fishing the eastern sierras

So here is the post that you all have been waiting for. Last weekend I went with Randy and Zach Moon, Claudio Hunger, and Kevin Schenk to the eastern sierras on a fishing trip(the Rock Creek/Mammoth area specifically). We left on Saturday morning and were to the campsite by 1pm. By 4pm we were in the water fishing and having a great time. We found a few leaks in the waders, but had a great time. It was hailing and raining intermittently and a little thunder, but that did not stop us (we didn’t see lightning so we stayed out in the middle of the lake holding our rods in the air…exactly what you shouldn’t do in a thunderstorm).

The next day we went hiking out of the mosquito flat trailhead (later we came to find out it was aptly named). We hiked to some lakes and fished our way back to the trailhead. Most of us did not do all that great, but Kevin came up the big winner and had about 12 that day. Later that afternoon we went to the lake again and fished (this came to be a daily routine right before dinner and we all enjoyed it).

Here is a picture of me and the pile of wood Kevin and I got to keep us warm at night. I am doing the "Rit", a pose for pictures popularized by Joel Rietema in or around 2000 and continues to this day.
I got a nail in my tire at work on Friday. this was a slow leak and I am glad that trucks have full size spare tires. It may look like Kevin is helping here, but it is just a pose.
Zach and Randy on the first day of fishing on Rock Creek Lake.
Claudio with this first fish ever. He actually caught a swivel that had about a 3' leader then a hook and a fish at the end of it. I guess someone caught the fish and their line broke and then Claudio caught the line. Beginners luck I would say.

My attempt at an artistic shot.
Awesome...I think so.

The typical sierra scene of mountains behind a lake.

Monday we went to the fish hatchery to check it out and of course it was cool, and then we headed to the Hot Creek area. This is a native trout stream where it is fly fishing only. This being said it was cool, but of course way overfished. California is one of those places that has way to many people and every fishing spot is obviously overfished. This is why the hatchery is so important, to give everyone a chance at catching a fish.




Fishing at its best. PBR has the same recipe since 1844...why mess with a good thing.
Zach tying on another fly.
Crossing a stream to fish on the other side of Long Lake.

Randy fishing on the Owens river. This was a picture perfect river and had there not been so much smoke in the air the mountains would be alot clearer.
The Hot Creek hot springs just downriver from where we were fishing.

A fire lookout just inside of Yosemite. There was a fire nearby so the visibility was about a mile or less.
one of our campground neighbors smoked some of the trout they caught and gave us some. It was great and the perfect snack.

Long race day

Last weekend we had the Delta Ditch run. This is a ~65 miles race from Richmond to Stockton. The race is notorious for strong winds, but this year was a little different. I woke up at 5am to get to Stockton to catch the bus to Richmond. I got on the boat at about 10am and we started the race at 1110. The wind was very light, but steady. We finished after dark at 1030pm and then I drove back home. Yes it was a very long day, but in retrospect we had a good time (only in retrospect). We saw an awesome demasting where a boat hit a channel marker. it was one of the best crashes I have ever seen.
Cool new shirt I got
Thursday was the last day of school so Brenda went to get a haircut. She usually has long hair during the school year for ponytail reasons (or so she claims), but I like it short so she got it cut. I think it looks good and she was very happy to see it cut so it is all good. Of course she was supposed to go to school on Friday and clean out her classroom, but since she does not have a classroom she left for the Midwest for a couple of weeks. Yes I am staying at home and holding the fort down for now.
My lovely wife...mmmm...Brenda
Yesterday I had a few sailing races and today I went out with a guy I had never been out with before on a 505. This is a small dinghy racer with a trapeze where I could hang all the way off the side of the boat by a thin wire. It was a rush and a good time. The guy I went with was a great teacher and very patient. He was not very patient when it came to the lack of wind at the beginning and about everything else. I work around construction guys all day and usually hear a large amount of foul language, but this guy was in another stratosphere. Everyother word out of his mouth was a curse word and he strung together words I have never heard in the same phrase before. He brought a new meaning to cursing like a sailor.

Sailing as always

The GPS readout of our course. It may not look that straight, but it got us where we were supposed to go.

Last Saturday we had a race out of the Berkley Circle and as always it was a good time. We finished first overall, but corrected time we came in second. This weekend I have all day race from Richmond to Stockton (downwind the whole way and I am hoping for very strong wind as always). It is always a good time. I also have another race next Saturday so as you may be able to tell that I am very busy. With races and Wed. night sailing I am going to go out about twice a week for the next few weeks.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H77aCdce6xM

Brenda got her test results back yesterday and it was not the best news. We were both hoping and praying that she would only have type 2 diabetes, but it showed that she indeed does have type 1. I am glad that Brenda insisted on this test, because the doctor took the wait and see approach and that is not acceptable when it comes to my wife’s health (just because someone becomes a doctor doesn’t mean they have any common sense). She is now started on insulin and she will be fine tuning here eating and medication regiment for the next few weeks and would appreciate your prayers. She is a trooper and is really getting the hang of controlling her condition.

I know this is a short post, but I think that the video makes up for it. I am the one in the all yellow foulies near the bow of the boat( and on the bow setting up the boat at the beginning in yellow pants and a blue fleece). The video is not during the race, but rather near the starting line and getting ready to race.