The Worlds Greatest Fly Fisher

Those of you may know that I am a huge birds of prey guy. The osprey is truly one of natures greatest hunters.

Is There Carp In Heaven?

If there are not carp in Heaven I have found the next best thing here on earth. I heard about this lake my first season at the 4UR Ranch but did not make it out there. My second season I went two weekends in a row because it was too good. The lake is set in a Valley surrounded by huge mountain peaks of the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado. I don't want to be too specific, but there is a national park looming in the background too. Like most anglers/authors, I'm not going to spell out for you exactly the local of this lake because keeping it relatively unknown is one of it's lures.

Besides being full of massive carp, this lake does not lack in beautiful views and scenery. Peaks of 11,000 to 14,000 loom all around.  There is a section of the lake that holds carp in shallow flats that are easily accessible by foot. Walking along this flat searching for schools of carp on the surface and sight casting to them is what you are after. The water is typically cloudy with a grey to green shade. Schools of carp in large numbers can be seen near the surface if the rains have been light and the water is just clear enough to see dark objects cruising the surface. If you cast in the fish's line of sight, chances are it will turn on your fly and hammer it. Then hold on!

I was using my Gloomis GLX Streamdance 6wt rod and I never felt like I did not have control over these fish. Carp are like freshwater redfish, in my opinion. They fight with steady strong pulls, and have no aerobatic skills that I saw. Carp do not use short jerky head shakes either, they just want to pull you along the bottom as they tend to head for deeper water. Carp get a bad rap because in some areas they are a nuisance, and certain types of carp are destructive. Because of this, an attempt to kill off all of the carp in this lake was made several years back, and fortunately for anglers, it was unsuccessful. These carp aren't destructive. They are just not native. Leave the Carp alone, anglers will come...

It's Not Always About Fishing

During my casual cruise through the Florida Panhandle, I visited Wakulla Springs State Park. It is one of Florida's many mysterious freshwater springs. The mystery of the spring lies in it's beauty, origin, and millions of gallons of water released everyday. It's crystal clear aquamarine qualities, 200 plus year old moss-draped towering cypresses, combined with it's wide range of animal life provide visitors memorable boat cruises. Manatee sightings are possible, along with alligators, waterfowl, osprey, schools of fish that are easily visible, and for divers a spectacular deep pool with the remains of a mastodons (great furry elephants) resting on the steep sandy slopes of the springs.

Wakulla Springs is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated as a National Natural Landmark. It has hosted many film over the years such as, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, several Tarzan films, and Airport '77, just to name a few. A must see for the casual curious traveler and nature lover.



Spring Into Spring

As most ski resorts are closing, it reminds me of one of my favorite skiing experiences that happened to occurred in early Spring. It is apparent that Spring has come early and most snow packs around the West are below average. Which will make for an interesting fishing season come July and into August. With fishing aside, I put my winter ski clothes on for a brief instant and recall one of my favorite Vail moments.

My first winter in Colorado was spent on the 4UR Ranch, just outside the town of Creede, where I coached basketball. When basketball season was over, I headed to Vail for the remainder of the ski season. I had a friend there and I was ready to ski and play. While there, my best friend came out to visit for a long weekend.

 
We skied everyday, and the conditions were ideal; snow at night and blue skies during the day. On a warm Spring day, 8 inches of fresh snow fell the night before. We skied the morning hard, stopping only for lunch. Skiing with someone who knows the mountain is always a treat when you don't know the trails all that well. We had someone skiing with us who knew the mountain, and in the late afternoon we made it to a little hiding spot not far off the trail, but just far enough to feel like you were in the wild. A wild that is a quiet, still-beauty, full of power that provided me with a spiritual feeling that I often meet in the wild. We stayed, resting in the snow bank, just listening to the silence. I am fortunate enough to experience many wonderful moments in nature, but rarely do I experience magical moments. This excursion was certainly one of those moments.

The topper of the afternoon would be the ride down the hill. We waited til about 5pm, the mountain was closed and the groomers were finished with the run we needed to take. The days were long because the time had just changed, so we had just enough light. It was the three of us, a freshly groomed slope, and the mountain. We saw no other souls on the hill. I skied as free as I wanted; not worrying about other skiers running into me or getting in my way. Just me and my turns, carving out freshly groomed snow.

HIGH STICK: Guest Post for Outdoor BlogsMarch 27, 2012 By Tro...

HIGH STICK: Guest Post for Outdoor BlogsMarch 27, 2012 By Tro...: Guest Post for Outdoor Blogs March 27, 2012 By Trout Unlimited Leave a Comment Attention Outdoor bloggers: Chris Schustrom, presid...

King For A Day

 An adventure is never far from home, even one fit for a king. A king mackerel, that is. Like the most interesting man in the world would say, "I don't fish offshore that often, but when I do, I prefer to go with my friends." The creatures of the saltwater never disappoint me when I get one on the end of my line. They are always full of fight and usually tasty.

We had a late start and by the time we passed the Sand Island Lighthouse the seas were rough and choppy. We made it out to the first natural gas platform, baited our hooks and dropped them to the bottom. We stayed for about 20 mins and managed zero fish. We saw a king mackerel jump on our way out so we decided to troll for some mackerel. The seas were rough and not letting up. So we headed back towards Dauphin Island to find a spot that was protected from the wind and waves. We had the perfect spot in mind and made way, but not before I managed to catch a healthy king mackerel while trolling. Fighting a king mackerel on light tackle is fun. Fun suited for a king, but a king I am not. I love the challenge of a good fight.

While on course to the Western most end of Dauphin Island, we stopped and grabbed some live shrimp. A must have bait for our next fishing stop. We found a spot with moving water and lots of bait around; and at times the bait was being chased by predators. We preceded to drift live shrimp under popping corks hopping to get some action. We drifted over a drop off with lots of movement in the water where the fish seemed to be. We managed to pick up quite a few fish here. It was a perfect spot to be on this rough and windy day. A great day with friends. No pressure to do anything but have fun.

A little video from the action.

Preying On The Past

My theme as of late has been reflecting on times gone by. So, as I was dog sitting over the weekend on beautiful Weeks Bay (a small estuary of Mobile Bay), I went for a run along county road 1. During my run, surprisingly, soaring about 100ft overhead was a mature bald eagle. This encounter turned my brain a bit as I began to think about some of my favorite birds of prey moments. Most of these occasions transpired during my 2 years in Colorado, even though I saw lots of birds of prey in my four months in the Alaska bush.

Just so all of you know, I am a HUGE birds of prey guy. They all enrapture me and when I see one I stop dead in my tracks to gaze in wild wonder at the beautiful bird; but on this instance, I was running and did a slow spin around mid stride to catch every glimpse of this rare sight, nearly falling in midst of my paces.

Bald eagles are a rare sight in most places, except in Alaska where they are as abundant as sea gulls are here along the Gulf Coast. We do, however, have some resident bald eagles nesting in the Mobile Bay area. With that said, I grew up here and I have spent countless days on the water ways of the Mobile Bay watershed. This was only the third or fourth bald eagle that I have seen in the Mobile Bay area. So a rare moment indeed.

My most memorable eagle rendezvous happened in late winter of 2010 at the 4UR Ranch. My buddy, Andy, was a waterfowl guide and outfitter in the fall and winter months in the San Louis Valley of Colorado. It is a very productive, halfway unknown, area of the central flyway for migrating birds and waterfowl. The Canadian geese are particularly thick on this flyway. Duck season had ended but goose were still in season and Andy said lets go, so we did. It is always nice to go goose hunting with a professional because, a hunter, I am not. We managed to kill some geese and cleaned them when we returned home to the ranch. We discarded the carcasses about a mile east of the main ranch building near the pump house (the building that houses the water pump and water tank that provides water for the ranch). The next day we decided to go back and see what kind of tracks or signs of animals that had feasted on the remains of the geese. We never dreamed of what would arise.

We approached on Andy's 4 wheeler, and as we came over a hill, we saw an object near the spot where we dumped the carcasses. It didn't take long for us to see that it was a large golden eagle picking apart the remains of our hunt. We eased ever closer to this massive bird, and we came within about a hundred yards or so. Then, the next minute or so felt like slow motion as the golden eagle began to fly towards us. You could hear and almost feel every thrash of it's wings as it continued to stay airborne just feet above the snow pack. The bird was getting closer by the second and heading directly for us; then as it approached within 20 ft. or so, it veered sharply up and over our heads. A maneuver that resembled a fighter pilot making a last second calculation away from danger. It then rested on a tree limb about 50 ft above us. I will never forget the sound of it's wings and the power used to force this huge bird upward (this eagle is not pictured; below is an immature bald eagle).

Truly, one of the greatest wild encounters I've ever had!