Test Run Squared

Posted on May 25, 2012 by flyfishnevada

A little fall on Desert Creek with a little HDR processing via Photoshop

As midsummer like conditions hit the sierras due to the less than normal snow pack, I decided to go out and test a couple of things.  One test went well, the other not so well.  Lets get the bad news out of the way.  I went up Desert Creek to do a little fishing and some photo/videography.  My back did not hold up well to the rigors of wading among the slippery river rocks.  I was able to fish for about 20 minutes after playing with my video camera for about 20 before that.  I’m afraid I’m going to be relegated to drive to lakes that I can float tube.  Beats the alternative I suppose.

I was in serious pain and at one point was ready to give up on physical therapy and just start down the road to surgery.  However, my wife just had surgery, had her gall bladder taken out, so were already up to our eyeballs in medical bills.  I’d probably rather schedule surgery, assuming that’s what I need, for the winter when I’m cooped up in the house anyway.  I see the doctor on July 3rd.  Until then, I’ll just muddle through.

What did work out is taking photos and video.  I used my Kodak PlaySport to take some video under water.  I passed the hatchery truck on the way up, so there were some fish in the stream to make famous.  Unfortunately, they don’t hold still for the camera.  You can see them darting about.  Still, it’s a cool little video and my first one cut on Adobe Premiere Pro.  Steep learning curve, but tons of features.

A deer carcass I found in the stream. Kind of a cool shot with the water smoothed like that and the same HDR processing.

I also played with taking pictures of the water and trying to get that smooth effect you see so often.  I also found a deer carcass in the stream and took some photos that I combined into a high dynamic range photo.  Neat effect.  I was going to shoot some time lapse, but my back hurt too bad.  Some other time.  I’m actually trying to hone my skills and make some films.  I want fishing and water to be a big part of those.  I’m saving up for some gear to help out and trying to learn Premiere and After Effects.

So, no fish today.  I saw plenty, but I doubt the fish dumped into the stream less than an hour before I arrived were in any mood to grab my fly.  The creek was at midsummer flows and there is zero snow up that way.  Fishing season is here!  Now I just gotta dig the float tubes out and get my gear all cleaned up and sorted out.  At least the picture taking gives me something to do when the fishing hurt too much.

Filed under: On the Water, Photos | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Back Update

Posted on April 29, 2012 by flyfishnevada

I’ve been to my doctor and we went with the anti-inflammatory/physical therapy strategy.  I’ve been on Naproxen for almost a month and going to physical therapy.  I’ve got a bunch of stretches and exercises and I’ve been doing them religiously.  I also got a lift for my left foot.  My hips are wonky and my right legs is about half an inch longer than the left as a result.  It has helped a lot.  I seem to be able to stand for longer periods and the pain is less when I go walking.  I expect to be doing this for a while longer since I am seeing some improvement.

However, standing is still painful after a while and some days its still as bad as it was prior.  I’m kind of waiting for the lakes to open up so I can go float tubing.  I can sit all day long with no pain.  I’m also probably going to Disneyland with the family in June.  That will be the big test.  With another 6 weeks of therapy, I’m hoping my pain is manageable.  If not, who knows?  Good news is this year the snow pack is pretty light, but most of the lakes were full from last years heavy snow pack.  High elevation lakes should be opening up early this year.

Stand by!

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Back Problems

Posted on April 2, 2012 by flyfishnevada

You may have noticed a pronounced lack of posting.  If you are really observant, you may have noticed a lot of very short fishing days as of late.  A couple of hours here, a couple of hours there.  We’ll, I’ve been suffering from back problems from a couple of years.  Sitting feels great, walking and hiking is good up to a couple of miles.  Standing, maybe half an hour before my back and right leg begin to ache and burn.

I’m pretty sure I have sciatica.  Something is pressing on my sciatic nerve and causing the pain.  It makes fishing, among other things, a chore.  I’ve been putting off seeing a real doctor because…well, because I’m a man.  Anyway, I’m going to a orthopedic surgeon this week to see if I can get it fixed.  After a trip to Disneyland over the holidays and a trip to Jamaica, I’ve finally had enough searing pain.  Hopefully some physical therapy or meds will help, but if surgery is necessary, so be it.

The blog is not dead and neither am I.  Thanks for reading and I hoped to get this fixed before summer.

Filed under: General, Updates | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Shameless Self Promotion

Posted on January 27, 2012 by flyfishnevada

To break up the mid-winter monotony, I’ve been finishing up my new book, Las Vegas – Cheap and Easy.  I’ve been working on this for over a year on and off and it’s nice to finally have it out the door.  It’s an ebook.  I’ve made a decision that ebooks are the way to go.  Real books are a dying breed.

I hope I’ve managed to put together a helpful book that will bring a lot of value to people.  My premise was that normal travel guides were kind of useless for Las Vegas.  They just go out of date so quickly.  I worked in Vegas for years and saw just how fast things changed.

Not just tearing down and building new casinos, but inside the casinos too.  One day there’s a restaurant and seemingly the next, it’s a poker room.  If you bought a typical travel guide just a year ago, it’s out of date.  Now you need to buy another?  Screw that.

I’ve tried to explain how to use the resources on the internet to not only get the best Las Vegas deals, but to figure out where to eat and what to see and do.  It’s full of advice, recommendations and tips & tricks.  All stuff I learned traveling there for work for almost 15 years.  Hopefully people will find it helpful.

Anyway, you can find Las Vegas – Cheap and Easy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and soon on iBooks, Sony and Diesel.  If you’re headed to Vegas, check it out.  Can’t go wrong for $6.99.  A whole book for the cost of a single bass bug!

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The New Year

Posted on January 13, 2012 by flyfishnevada
Dan at the Gardisky Trail

Leaning on the Hoover Wilderness Sign.

As some of my readers might know, I had a pretty crappy 2011.  My father-in-law took ill at the end of 2010 and he passed away in March of 2011.  He lived in Oregon and we had to make 8 trips up there to take care of his estate.  That was a serious drain on us fiscally, physically and mentally.  We are still dealing with probate, but it’s almost finished.

I started out the year with every intention of fishing my ass off.  It just didn’t happen.  I just felt like sitting at home and vegging.  But 2012 is a new year and we have a new outlook.  I’m not going to promise anything, but I expect fishing to take a more prominent role in my life.  There are places I want to go and see.  There are new places I want to fish.  There are old places I want to get back too.

Pyramid is first up.  I’m waiting for some weather to stir things up and that should show up next week, finally.  I hope we get a lot more.  This spring I also want to head south and fish the southern Sierra’s and if I can get my back and ankle fixed, do a lot more day hiking.  I can walk, exercise, hike and stand in a river, but after a little while, it hurts.  Day to day I’m fine, but ask me to stand in a river or on a ladder at Pyramid for more than an hour, or walk around Disneyland like I did last week, and I can’t do it.

I should be out fishing within a couple of weeks and I hope that will continue the throughout 2012.  If I get my back fixed, I should be able to fish harder and more often.  In any case, I haven’t dropped of the face of the earth.  It’s winter, but fishing is just around the corner.  Have a great 2012!

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The Other East Fork

Posted on November 3, 2011 by flyfishnevada

The East Carson, wild and scenic, indeed.

Around these parts, there are three blue ribbon streams that flow into Nevada and die.  The Truckee flows out of Lake Tahoe and ends up in Pyramid Lake.  The East Walker flows out of Bridgeport Reservoir and, after mixing with the West Walker, eventually flows into Walker Lake.  The East Carson River flows from the mountains around Highway 4 and, after joining the West Carson, goes to die in the Carson Sink near Fallon, Nevada.  By the way, the other major river system in Nevada that doesn’t flow to the ocean is the Humboldt. Read more »

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A Morning On the East Walker

Posted on October 20, 2011 by flyfishnevada

The new rogue flow at the end of the Elbow section.

I really planned on good, hard day of fishing this week.  It’ been since early September since I wet a fly and I was getting the feeling that I was missing some spectacular fall fishing.  Unfortunately, last weekend I got a nice head cold that is just now clearing up.  It really kicked my ass.  I was so tired up until yesterday and still a little worn out even today.  The three days of drunken partying in Cancun the week before might have help the cold stick around a little longer than usual.

Anyway, I woke up and felt good, so I packed a lunch and hit the road.  I was eager to drive over the Elbow and see what became of the rogue flow I found earlier this year, so the Nevada side it was.  I checked the flows before I left and they were at 156 CFS.  Of course, they dumped the flows down to 145 right after I checked and then cranked them up to 190 while I was out there.  I have a knack for visiting on the days they play with the flows. Read more »

Filed under: On the Water | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Time Flies (No Pun Intended)

Posted on October 13, 2011 by flyfishnevada

Just a pretty picture of the Upper Sac to sooth my readers until I post something worthwhile.

Wow, I just realized I haven’t been out on the water for 6 weeks!  To be honest, I realized that I hadn’t been fishing in a while, I just wasn’t aware it had been a month and a half.  In my defense, I’ve been busy.  I know, I know, how can a retired guy be too busy to go fishing?

Well, I traveled to a couple of high school football games on the other side of the state back in September.  I went to Cancun, Mexico (not to fish, but I did drink like one).  I’ve also been indulging some other interests, specifically I’ve been doing a lot of writing.  Plus, the weather sucked.  Rain, snow, clouds, wind, etc.  Usually September is fantastically beautiful with stable, pleasant weather. Read more »

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The Further Adventures of the Noobie

Posted on September 2, 2011 by flyfishnevada
Blue Lake

My obligatory shot of the pass up behind Blue Lake.

You might remember that last year I took my friend and former co-worker, John L’Etoile, to the East Walker where he not only fly fished for the first time, but caught his first fish ever!  At the end of that post I had said it was now John’s turn to teach me how to surf.  Well, that didn’t work out.  He injured his shoulder and just wasn’t sure he could deal with the surf board.  So, we went fishing.

This time I introduced him to float tubing.  I’ve found that many people are hooked more by the tubing that the fishing Read more »

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Worst Day Ever?

Posted on August 19, 2011 by flyfishnevada

This is not my usual fishing post.  I indeed went fishing, but that is not the story this time.  This is more of a rant.  I’ve seen rude people out fishing.  It is an all too common experience.  You might remember the day on the East Walker or the day up at Virginia Lakes.  Usually, these experiences are little more than annoyances.  Yesterday, however, I faced rude behavior I would not have believed if I hadn’t witnessed it.

I hiked into a small lake up above the Mammoth Lakes Basin.  When I arrived I shared the lake with only a few other people, none were fishing.  I hiked to the back side of the lake and fished for a while.  Not having any luck, I kept going around the lake looking for rising fish.  As I worked my way around, many, many more people began showing up.

This wasn’t the problem.  I’ve fished crowded lakes before.  The problem started when I was fishing in a little cove on the east side of the lake.  I was there about 5 minutes when this family came down the beach, dad pleading with his kids to stay put and not disturb the fisherman, me.  They ignored him Read more »

Filed under: Conservation, General, On the Water | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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