Photo: Jill Valley, KPAX
Another summer of wildfires throughout the west with smoke filling the Flathead Valley nearly every day.
We could sure use some rain.
Hazy Days
Photo: Jill Valley, KPAX
Photo: Jill Valley, KPAX
Bad Fisherman
A video with a lot of wry self-deprecation and a little early morning fishing—all on beautiful Flathead Lake.
My Not-So-Lofty New Year’s Resolution
At the onset of a brand new year, I suspect that most people embark on ambitious resolutions. You know, goals like loosing 30 lbs. or quitting smoking or learning how to speak a foreign language. Big goals. Hard goals.
Not me. I’m keeping things simple and easily attainable this year.
Oh, I’ve done the ambitious resolution thing in the past. And by all rights, I should do so again this year. I am a very imperfect human in need of many improvements. I bet my wife could list twenty just off the top of her head. And while I would like to be a better person, I just can’t be this year.
Just think of the song lyrics, “I wanna do right but not right now.”
When it comes to New Year resolutions, I have had checkered past. I did quit smoking decades ago—that’s my hallmark resolution accomplishment. But God knows I could still lose some weight. And wouldn’t it be neat to speak Spanish or Swahili or even Double Dutch?
Maybe next year. Not this year.
Why? Because this year: I hereby resolve to “relearn” how to fish.
You read right. Fish.
And I can do this. I can achieve this.
Yeah, I’ve fished here and there over the years. And yeah, I know how to tie a hook and reload a spinning spool. I might even remember how to flay. But I really haven’t seriously fished since I was in high school. And I wasn’t too serious about it then either.
Plus, that was Minnesota fishing—a bobber and twenty feet of water. Crappies, Sunnies, and maybe a Northern or Walleye. But Flathead Lake is deeeeeep. And in the summer, I am told, the fish go deep. And we are talking trout. Sometimes biiiiiig lake trout. So, no more bobber. My bobber days are behind me.
It is time to learn how to do the deep-water jig!
Truth be told, while I love to eat fish, I have never been that interested in fishing per se. But I do love being out on Flathead Lake. And fishing, the way I see it, will provide me with a whole new excuse for being out on the water.
So, if you encounter my unimproved self this year (2017), please “cut me some slack.” Maybe I’ll get back on a self-improvement trajectory next year. Maybe. Yeah 2018. And if you don’t encounter my unimproved self this year, you’ll know why.
I’ve gone fishing.
HNY!
Wayne’s World
Here is an early morning visit to Wild Horse Island State Park with Captain Wayne J. Anderson at the helm.
You can watch this full screen and increase its resolution to 1080p HD
(the two icons in the lower right hand corner).
Cedar Island
Cedar Island is great for circumnavigating with a kayak. It is relatively small with a shoreline that varies between dramatic rock outcroppings and smooth gravel beaches. The multi-colored stones on the beaches are worn and rounded and easy on bare feet. On a hot summer day, swimming in the surrounding clear, cool water is as enjoyable as it looks inviting. I actually enjoy snorkeling there. There are not too many tropical fish, but the underwater rock formations are fascinating! But then, of course, I’m a rock guy too.
Note To Self
As Homer would exclaim, “D’oh!”
Note to self: When boarding a kayak from a boat swim platform early in the morning, make sure that you first have had your coffee. Then with senses fully activated, be certain to move deliberately, while at the same time maintaining a well-centered posture. This is no time for hesitation. No time for self-doubt.
On my way into the “drink”—for the brief microsecond after I realized my hapless miscalculation—it occurred to me that the water I was rolling towards (in an inadvertent Eskimo roll) was going to be very, very cold. Painfully cold. It was, after all, a chilly morning.
But it wasn’t painful, surprisingly. It was almost sort of warm—well in relationship to the surrounding air anyway.
Marlene woke up startled to a loud splash. The morning was otherwise quiet and calm. When she finally found the source of the splash, she looked down at me and shook her head. I am certain that I heard her mumble something under her breath too.
She denied it, but she said something.
