I’m preparing for some more travel. This one’s a little more complicated. Jackie and I are heading for Vienna from NY. We’re still not sure what we will do besides visiting with my son and daughter-in-law. Originally we had planned to visit an old work associate in Satu Mare, Romania, but I had dropped the ball for a bit as things became hectic on the home front and I’m afraid I may have offended him. He seems to be ghosting me. I’m not sure. It’s happened before - even when we worked closely together. He’s a complex fellow, an old-school-iron-curtain-trained engineer with a wide array of industrial skills, and an admirable fluency in several languages - Romanian, Russian, English and French at a minimum. He prefers reading philosophy in French. His English wasn’t good enough to really explain why. His emotions run deep and can be mercurial.
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Next weekend we have the Swedish nationals in fly casting coming up. And my preparation is a bit all over the place. The date has been sneaking up on me so a lot of the preparations are a bit behind or none existing. Some parts are in place though. Found some good improvements in the distance stroke, but there are things to improve there at the moment.
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Shoshin tells us that adopting a beginners mindset helps us rediscover the joy of learning, so at 64 years old I threw myself in at the deep end and took a taster saxophone lesson. If you exclude a couple of Christmas xylophones and the triangle for 10 minutes at school, this was my first proper experience of learning music. What could possibly go wrong, I’m a fly casting instructor.
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I made it to the river this week, which was good. Hiromiki and I went looking for carp and barbel for a few hours. It basically did me in but still, it's better than not getting out. Even if the fishing wasnt great.
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Nick came to visit last weekend for a bit of casting and some fishing. Actually as it turned out it was a lot of casting, on a very hot day, and a short fishing session. Given the weather and the low level of the river we didn't feel it was worth rushing out, however we probably left it a bit later than we should have and only had two and a half hours on the bank.
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Peter did well and had the biggest fish of the year so far. At least I think 5.5KG has been the biggest so far. These mid-summer months can often produce some of the biggest fish. I actually lost one last night to some stumps that was over 6KG. When they go over 6 I have no idea what they weigh until I actually weigh them, even in the net! Fish 6KG and under I can usually tell in the water. Anything over 5KG is a T-shirt fish and a trophy.
There is always a second spawning in July/August. Less fish with babies, but we find them. With Peter we averaged finding 4 sets/day and there are freerisers around as well. We didn’t see a single Gourami. Contrast that to the Wet Season and the freerisers are usually non-existent but we can see typically 8 sets of babies/day plus/minus. Anyway it’s also possible to find none too, and 4 sets is very fishable!
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I feared the day would come when I started to run low on stories and would need to rely solely on my thoughts to develop something to write about. So, we’re going to call this episode "Sex, Politics, and Religion." Unfortunately, my primary involvement is with fly casting, and I don’t have much else that interests me in conversation. Well, unless it involves catching a fish with a fly, discussing flies, leader builds, or potential fishing spots. I’m guessing you catch my drift. That one pun is for my wife, and it’s certainly intended. Judge me if you must.
So, let’s talk about something everyone agrees on: Casting Mechanics. Rather, let’s talk about casting instruction.
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Not a lot of fishing this week, but I did get some good practices in and had an epiphany. Improvements while coming seem too slow to me. I want some fishing mastery and need to focus more on how to get there. I won’t beat myself up here but my impediments are mostly due to poor character. So I slapped myself and said “you’re languishing! Get to it”! We’ll see if I can be a better man. I’ll let you know.
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As I’ve written about in a couple of previous front pages I have some kind of fly casting elbow. It is getting better but not perfect, yet. On the whole it is getting better even if I have some steps back in the progress from time to time. At the moment not its best but barely noticeable. And calling it elbow isn’t really the correct description for me, it is located in the forearm near the elbow.
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Absolutely busy week with guiding and I have enjoyed a lot. It has been really nice be guiding. July was extremely slow because high temperatures and so on. And I have always like guiding and fishingnon August. On my book it is still best month in here.
June is great fishing time also, yet guiding is slow as people are not having holidays yet. July is gamble with temps and there are lot of fishermen around. August... waters always cools down, nights get darker and Finnish people returns to work etc. Time to you come fishing here, still great hatches and good fishing.
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I've had another week of enforced non fishing. It's getting frustrating, especially as I'm well enough to sit at a laptop and work, but get too puffed out to walk a river.
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Tracy and I have been doing a bit of fly line testing recently, giving our feedback on a few lines that hopefully will be fielded in BFCC competitions sometime soon. Most fly fishers will be aware of the marketing claims that go into selling the latest, greatest rods, however most Sexyloopers will already know that fly lines offer a far greater influence on casting performance than any carbon fibre stick.
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There’s been a hiatus between my front pages because I’ve been on the road, away for my wife’s birthday, teaching at the English Game Fair and the BFCC Peak District meet, fishing with my grandsons and doing some geeky stuff. Eventually, Paul hunted me down and asked me to finish the essay on my holidays. I used to get given lines for not doing my homework.
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One of the ways in which fly fishing has captured my attention for so long is the various number and depth of rabbit holes that it offers to the adventurous mind. I’ve got a tendency to be obsessive about topic or activity for just long enough to understand it well, and then suddenly move on to some other thing I need to understand in depth and immediately. I’m sure there is some sort of appropriate psychological diagnosis, but it is just the way I am. With fly there have been so many things to learn about, skills to perfect, and critters to trick that I haven’t found the bottom of any of the rabbit holes I am currently in.
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Jackie and I just attended the wedding of my last boss to her lifelong friend and great love of her life. The ceremony was at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz NY. It’s a beautiful facility, founded in 1869, and like many such hotels built as railroads expanded in the 19th century, fell upon hard times, but has since been resurrected as a landmark hotel and resort. They married under a beautiful arch and gateway in a short, lovely ceremony officiated by another friend. It was wonderful and fresh.
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I saw an interview with a shooting instructor and trick shooter where he mentioned one of the biggest problems he sees with his clients. They just put the rifle away and when they come to see him it can be months since they last handled their rifles. His tip was to regularly handle your gun, get into the shooting stance and do some dry firing at home. Get familiar and don’t loose the grove. This pushed me to share this tip I’ve been thinking about sharing.
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Last weekend I was doing second round silage. There was enough nice weather to do it. I have now only one field left which is about 2 hectares. Then we should have all we need for wintertime to feed reindeers. Nights have been colder and some rain also.
So water temperatures are around 16 celsius, yet water levels are still low as we had long drier season. All this happened on right time, I'm quite busy with guiding now as I have group on Thursday and Friday, and option on Saturday also, but I don't think they will use it as it is monsoon rain day, it could be close to 40 mm during the day.
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A bit rubbish here this week, I've been struck down with something in my lungs again which put paid to anything interesting on the fishing front. The silver lining- if there is one - is that we were getting battered by storms anyway so there wouldn't be much in the way of fishing anyway.
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On long drives I listen to Podcasts. Peter Attia’s are about right for driving to KL because they are often both interesting and usually around 2.5hrs in duration! Listening to a podcast makes me drive slower. I’m not saying I’m a fast or reckless driver, in fact like most fly fishermen, I believe that incredible driving skills is one of my fortes.
At 3am this morning I listened to his latest podcast on forming habits, on the way to the airport. The drive was extremely fast because the roads were clear of course. Consequently I only got to hear the first three quarters.
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It was maybe the biggest cleaning operation known to Man. This man anyway. I may have been a cleaner in a former life, but probably not.
This week I’m in Sabah for a wedding for a couple of days and then my return and Peter’s arrival coincide together at Penag. Hence the boat cleaning operation.
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“Well… How did it go?” Overall, I think the experience of casting at the Open, regardless of the outcome, was immeasurably valuable.
One little nugget I will be sure to remember for the future is of the etiquette variety. Being a newcomer, I don’t know how people act or should act at these things. I came in guns a blazing about why I thought my way of hovering… “Hey! Not this close to the comp.”
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Waves and tide are what they are. The bulk of the middling tides (quarter moon waxing to waning) have been meh on my beaches. The combination of deeper water, steeper part of the beach in the swash and too much wave energy changes everything. I’m not seeing many fish. Either they’re harder to find and see or they’re not there, eating at another table.
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This is the greatest concept in fly casting that you probably don’t know. It will help you solve a lot of situations and why you hit yourself with the fly sometimes. We all know about the 180 degree rule. It’s more like a guideline and the Hedman Arrow tells you when you shall break it and what happens when you break it. I’m quite sure that you have been smacked by the Hedman Arrow a couple of times. Like you have been wanting to make a cast with the wind blowing in to you with no possibility to put the line on the other side of you so you still tries to get away with some sidearm cast to keep the fly far away from you but the fly seem to seek you like some kind of heat seeking bug. The fly gets closer to you than you would normally expect in that scenario, and it might not be the wind it might be something else.
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Waters started to cool. There was some heavy rains and thunders. Daytime temperatures are between 19-24 celsius and nighttime 11-14 celsius. So waters are cooling little during the night also. That is happening just in time.
We have wolf problem at the moment, there are few close by and those killing reindeers, not really eating just killing. Closest has been 400 meters from our fence where we have few reindeer boys, 600 meters from our home.
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I rounded off my time off nicely, I finished off my time at Kawaguchiko and then did a bit of river hopping near home once I got back. Sadly I'm back at work now, and pondering Monday's options.
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Last weekend I had my first proper fishing trip since returning from the Bahamas. This was the day before the BFCC casting event in Derbyshire, where Tracy and myself were treated to a day's fishing on the river Wye by Don. Don knows the Wye like the back of his hand and is a very keen entomologist, so fishing with him is always an education. Actually rather than fish himself, he chose to guide the pair of us, which I was very thankful for as the day progressed.
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I fitted the new 115hp motor to the back of the Battleship yesterday with the help of a friend. Actually, Amin did most of the technical work and I assisted him! And it’s very nice indeed!
But I have a lot to do now. I have a guest arriving at the end of next week; Peter from. Australia. I need not just to clean the boat, but also change the new prop from steel to aluminium, do some work on the new 25, take apart three Minn Kota thrusters, drain the Battleship fuel tank of petrol/2T mix and replace with petrol, and change the windscreen on my truck!!
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My mom’s parents chose to take vacations in New Smyrna Beach Florida when my mom and dad were kids. Given that my parents have been together since their early teen years, my mother and father have been going down to the space coast together for decades. Fortunately for me, that meant that when I was a wee pup, I got to spend some time in the summer on the beach. New Smyrna can be found between the Kennedy Space Center and Daytona Beach, FL. So if you have a hankering for NASCAR or Space Shuttle launches, then this is the place to be. We fell more on the shuttle launch side of things.
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Jackie and I went back to the beach on Tuesday - she flew back to NY on tsunami Wednesday - I don’t know anyone who saw anything of it here in LA. Despite good conditions, the corbina showed only sporadically. A couple of backs and a few swirls in the swash. Nothing repeating. Swash is a new word for me - it shouldn’t be (Al Quattrocchi refers to it in Diaries) - but I guess I didn’t notice it. I like it. It’s that zone where the water comes and goes at the margin of the surf. It’s where the sand crabs live. Emerita Analoga. Apparently (according to Wikipedia and Diaries) they feed, mate and disperse their eggs there, following the swash with the tide, popping out of their burrows to reposition, tumbling inshore on the rising tide and away from shore on the falling tide. They burrow butt first leaving their front filter legs out to gather food. I have often “snagged” them - a bother when placing a fly on a bed ahead of a wave and only Tuesday discovered, on close inspection, that they are always hooked through the mouth parts.
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There seem to be a bit scarce with mackerel here at the moment. That were the reports I did get during last week and I didn’t catch any. I didn’t see very much baitfish in the ocean either, and the mackerel seem to know about that for some reason. I hope there is some baitfish and mackerel in the ocean between Sweden and Denmark because soon the tuna will get here. We aren’t allowed to fish for them. Which is good because last time we did we fished them so hard they went away. The tuna were gone for about 50 years and have finally returned in schools.
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So forecast was few days rain and thunder, that never happened. Sunday there was rain and thunder, it passed us again. All the rivers should be closed. But they don't do that in here as system is from middle age. And I don't have any faith in fisherman, which was proved today.
Lake water temperatures are between 24 to 25 celsius, which is bloody hot in here. Totally in Finland we have had 18 days in row that somewhere has been over 30 celsius, it is record. 1972 we had 13 days in row. River temperatures are between 23 to 24 celsius, which is really dangerous to salmonide fish.
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