I Can See Clearly Now ~ Sunday Tippets, Damsel Style

There are days that I simply can't see very clearly.  Yes, I admit it.  Ha.  And this week was one of them!  Salt Lake has been buried in an inversion that has brought frigid temperatures, icy roads, fender benders in the valley, and seriously..a little bit of depression!  To get out of the smog/fog or "junk",  I headed for the hills.  Higher ground where the elevation would prove to bring better breathing and better scenery.

Yes, a little bit of time at Alta Ski Resort... Unfortunately, my house is at the bottom 

of the canyon where this inversion starts! 

And then up I-80 to Park City and the Heber Valley which offered some

 solitude and fresh air!

Then, back home again to find a map and this fly box... What a lucky girl I am!

Which brings me to my "tippet" today.  To give thanks.  Again, I am amazed at the generosity of fellow bloggers.  They have shared their time and talents with me on so many occasions.  I posted my wish list of fly fishing trips at the beginning of the year.  And lo and behold, Mark Vibber of Tie and Fly, responds with knowledge of the San Juan.  I emailed him to see if he would share some helpful hints for my upcoming journey out to the San Juan.  And he responds with wanting to share some of the fly menu for the trout out there too...  I thank him for his priceless (definitely more than .50) help and hope that I can now come through with a BIG fish on a "Vibber Special" in it's teeth...

Mark on the San Juan with one of the Rainbows
You can read about it here...

The pressure is on, but I love challenges.  Now it's up to me.  We have a few more weeks of anticipation for these beautiful rainbows.  Let's see if they can be just as generous as my fly fishing bloggers are to me... Please take a look over at Mark's blog today.  He has posted up his thoughts about the San Juan in NM and has shared pictures of his wonderful talent of tying.  These are truly some great patterns and tied extremely well.  Yes, one thing is for sure.  I CLEARLY know what good people are out there amongst the fly fishing blogging community.  Thanks again, Mark!  Looks like another dozen of RD's special cookies are coming out to the Rocky Mountain Frenzy this year!  = )  I think that I will have several boxes of them with me now!

De-Icing What Ale's You ~ Tuesday Tippets, Damsel Style

Sunday, Monday... How about Tuesday?  Well, that is where we are at. 

So, without further adoo... Here's your "Tippets"!!

There was this little shindig called the "Annual Freeze Your A** Off Day" at the Provo River last Saturday.  It was my second year to take my  a**   hiney out in the below freezing temps to fish with my fellow Utah neighbors.  It is a great outing organized by UtahOnTheFly.com  The day went like this:  Breakfast at the Hub at 8 am, fish on the Middle Provo until about 2 pm, and head back for some bbq grub at the Four Seasons Fly Shop  in Heber for some chili, stew, ribs... do I need to go on?  Oh yeah, and your favorite drinks.  Haha.  Add a little update on what's happening over at the Utah Streams Access Coalition.  And to cap it off, a raffle at the end of the day with a ton of prizes.  Hey, I got something that will be very useful... More on that later.  

A little bit of  "shelf ice" greeted us that morning...

Heidi was determined that there was a fish out in the great beyond...

Ice clung onto our lines like we were fishing in Nova Scotia!

It was not a day to swing soft hackles...

And then I got barbed...

Oh wait, wrong picture!

Sorry... no picture.  Not time when a bling midge gets stuck in your thumb.

"Dr. Haslam" to the rescue!!  Between catching fish on his runny nose streamers, he performed emergency surgery on the girl who forgot to push down the barb on her new fly.  = (   Thank you...

(I loved the part where he tells me to numb my finger first in the icy river)

Then, it was time to head back to the fly shop, mingle and chow down...

and win a prize in the raffle!

YUP.

So, here's some "tippets" for your winter fly lines

 or (anything else) in the winter...  I put out the question on Facebook, 

"What products do you find best for de-icing?"  

1. Vaseline.  I will apply a thin coat to my guides.  It significantly reduces ice up.  I have also heard that chapstick does the same thing.  Umm...how do you take off the chapstick? 
2. A plane ticket.  Oh, I'm totally in favor of that!  Bonefishing in Andros or Christmas Island?
3. One word...Tenkara.  Did you see what happened with the soft hackle???
4. Uncurable...Stay in if it's below thirty.  I didn't say that I was sick....
5. Whiskey.  Generously applied.  No, not internally...
6. WD40.  Oh wait, is this what I can use to take the chapstick off?  = )
7. The couch in front of the fireplace...or mid May.  No, this wasn't a comment from Howard.

Last, but not least... this suggestion. 

So, there you have a few ways to survive the winter ice-ups.  I'm a pretty hardcore fisherman, I must admit.  But, honestly, if you are fishing in a river with floating ice chunks and shelf ice... Be careful out there!!  And head to the deep pools of stacked fish and slower current.

Yup,  #7 might be a good suggestion for some.  

Are You A Hipster? ~ Sunday Tippets, Damsel Style

So, we all have experienced wearing or seeing those silly little things called... Yes, fanny packs.  The name "fanny pack" is derived from the fact that they were traditionally worn facing the rear above the fanny.  (Let's go slang term here, shall we?)   Despite the name, many do not wear fanny packs on their rear end posterior because they are easier to pick pocket and harder to access.   I'm here to tell you that this invention can cause quite a stir at times.  So, please be mindful of when and where you wear these in public.  I personally, only wear them to ski and fish in.  They are handy and carry those little items that you need to grab conveniently.  You know... tippet, flies, pliers... errr, forceps.  Yes, my Fishpond pack is a more advanced version of a fanny pack, but it still serves the same purpose.  A gadget collector organizer, for when I am on the water.

Here we have the computer guy, ready to hit the town in fashion.

Yes, Mom with kid in tow...  But, doesn't that mean that he has the lead???

Even Spiderman has to keep his extra set of whatever with him!

What the other guy is doing without one, I do not know...

I'm guessing this is storage for his extra thirst...

Ummm... Convenience???

"Help me please!!"

    

No.  That is not how we wear it, sir.  But, thank you for doing it all the same!

The "groupie" hipsters... and yes, it's on their fannies!  = (

He can clean my house.  And wear it front or back...wherever he wants.

Leather always has a place too...  It's stylin'!!!  Yeah...

You got to "walk the walk"...

And "talk the talk"...

If you are going to wear a fanny pack!

RD's Tippet Of  The Day...  If you want your Fanny Pack noticed,

don't stand next to someone who has you beat!! 

No Impossible Dreams...

Ok.. We all have had our week or so to think and ponder over all that we want to do in the coming year.  Are you tired of resolutions?  I am!  So, here's to reality... For the past couple of years, I have written up my "wish list" of places I want to visit and people that I want to meet or fish with.   And I must say, that I have come pretty darn close in accomplishing most of my "wishes"... This year, I am going to be a realist.  No wishing.  I'm playing hard ball.  The only items on my 2013 list are going to be ones that will get done.  No impossible dreams.  If you want to take a gander at what we did around here last year... Click on the tab up above, "Damsel 2011/2012".  I stayed a pretty busy girl!

Fishing 2013

We're not messing around...

1.  “Three Forks”,  is the geographic confluence of the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers in Montana and forms the headwaters of the Missouri, the longest river in the  U.S.  I've got to see this in person.  Looks primo to me...

2.  The Rocky Mountain Frenzy in Colorado returns...  Join up with fly fishing bloggers for breakfast and then on to fish the beautiful rivers of Colorado!  Looking at the last weekend in Sept or the first weekend in Oct right now...  All are welcome to join in the fun.  The Arkansas and Big Thompson are on tap so far... Come on down!!!

3.  Deschutes River, Bend, Oregon.  It is the home to a unique wild and native strain of Rainbow trout, known as "redband" trout.   They have a more distinct and darker red stripe than the usual Rainbow.  This will be an unforgettable journey for sure. 

4.  More Yellowstone.  More Firehole.  More Lamar.   Oink!!  I can never get enough of my little bit of heaven on earth...

5.  My sabbatical to River X... This is a given every year.  I come here for BIG brown trout!  And they have yet to disappoint me. 

So, there are the "totally possible dream trips" for 2013.  Of course, I will find a few others along the way... And there will be adventure in every riffle...guaranteed.  The River Damsel wouldn't have it any other way!

And if I had one "dream" trip that might be a 25/75 shot right now... It would be to see Niagra Falls and fish in Western NY... Or fish in Canada on some of the pristine water there.  Or hop a jet and fly to Alaska.  Yep, dreams... might as well make them big.  = )   It's a heck of a lot more fun!  See you back at the end of the year to see if  which one of these comes true!!!

Now, if you will excuse me while I go freeze my...

HAPPY 2013!!

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