On the menu...

During the Christmas Holiday, between fishing the Saluda, go cart racing, going to the movies, busting my arse on a demonic kid's toy, and consuming thousands upon thousands of very tasty calories, I managed to get a few more illustrations done for Trout Diet section of the Adaptive Fly Fishing 101 book. I figure that I'll need the equivilant of at least two more Christmas Holidays to finish them up.

Attention!

This message is intended for all fathers and grandfathers...in fact it's for anyone older than twelve. DO NOT attempt to ride the new demonic toy known as the Ripstick. As I write this (using my right hand) at the table with Chad (who's gingerly sitting on an ice pack) we are trying to decide if the implement of doom should be cut into small pieces before tossing it into the trash, or if it's usage should be limited to those with fewer years and greater coordination.

I was the first to go down and I'm certain that if not for the metal plate already in my left wrist I would now be in the emergency room having one installed. Chad followed me to the concrete a short time later and the verdict is still out on his condition.

So, further adventures in the fantasy world of our imagination - the place where we think we are still young - are out of the question. To say nothing of another trip to the Saluda. Which leaves me with some time to work on the brookie.

I'm now to the scarry part - adding color. Wish me luck

MERRY Southern CHRISTMAS

It was a little surreal. Here I was on Christmas Eve, standing in the not too cold Saluda River on a warm day, fishing in my shirtsleeves with Spanish Moss draping the river. This is some wintertime fishin’ that I can get used to. Trout fishing and Spanish Moss? Can’t be very many spots like that around.

They say that Columbia, South Carolina is just shy of Hell when it comes to summertime, but if this is a true sampling of their winter weather, I’ll take all I can get. Chad and I snuck away from the family to get in a few hours on the Saluda, and this tailwater – like all the others I have sampled – proved to be a difficult assignment. Big fast water and weak knees don’t mix well, and was I ever glad that I had a wading staff…and Chad’s arm as we made it back across the main stem. We ran into a few of the Saluda River TU guys that I had met at one of their recent chapter meetings and I had to sheepishly admit that I was wearin’ the skunk. Soft hackles were the ticket and of course I had none. That’s my excuse, anyway.

Back to the drawing board

OK...Here we go again. I've limbered up my fingers, I've sharpened my penciles and made sure I have an adequate supply of ink on hand. Yep, I'm going to do another illustration, and I'll be entering it in the competition for the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival Artist of the Year. My friend Beau Beasley, the director and driving force behind the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, has pressured me into entering some artwork in this year's competition, and though I'm so rusty I creak, I'll give it my best shot.
Since joining the national staff of Trout Unlimited just about a year ago I've had very little time to do this sort of thing...this sort of thing being artwork...so wish me luck and follow along as I give it my best shot. What you see here is the very early stages of a brookie, and I hope that by the end of December he will be worthy of consideration. Stay tuned. More to follow.

On another front, I've been busy doing some illustrations for our Adaptive Fly Fishing 101 book project. Bugs, bugs and more bugs...These and many more will be in the chapter about trout diets.