Walking. With Greg Louganis.

4:50 a.m. 817 consecutive (almost) days on my daybreak walk at Cove Island Park. 816 days, like in a row.

I walk.

You know the formula for a great photo day-break:

  1. Low Tide.
  2. Clouds.
  3. No Humans.

And today, a Trifecta Miss = Poor shooting day on all three counts. (Shooting, meaning not assault weapons, but with a Canon. Sorry, assault weapons are top of mind.)

Yet, there’s a consolation prize. It’s the end of July. Humidity is low, it’s 63° F and breezy. What’s better than that?

But even with the magical weather, I’m restless, uninspired. I plod around the park, itching to get back into the car and do Something. And I’m apparently not alone, with Seán Hewitt, in All Down Darkness Wide, “Even in these quiet moments I was afraid of purposelessness.”

I turn back thinking I’ll get a stalker silhouette shot with some kids on the break wall. And at that moment, Something, makes me stop and look out onto Long Island Sound. There, in the sky, an osprey prowls in a tight circle overhead. Being a sh*tty measure of distance, I couldn’t tell you whether he was 100 feet or 100 yards up, but let’s just say he was high.

First miracle of the morning. I actually stop and see if anything will happen. He widens his arc overhead, and continues to circle. Just wait DK, just wait another bloody minute. If he can circle and wait for food, so can you. Just wait, damn it.

[Read more…]

There are just some things you can’t feel and experience from the comfort of your warm home


Don’t fish? Don’t like fishing? Don’t care about fishing? No worries. This short film is so much bigger than that.

…It’s easy to stay inside when the weather isn’t pleasant.  Sometimes convincing yourself to get out is the hardest part. And once you’re out, it’d easy to find an excuse to quit. But there are just some things you can’t see from the inside of your house. Some things you can’t feel and experience from the comfort of your warm home. Things your high definition TV can’t give justice to.

The woods are silent. And the water abandoned by the crowds who surrender to the cold. You fully appreciate the stream you fish, when you see it cycle through all its seasons. The dense thick green canopy is gone. And the stream runs crisp clean and bright. The sun touches water it only reaches a few month a year.

The pain of frozen extremities fades fast when you hook that first fish. And all of the sudden, it all seems worth it. You forget about all of your problems. You forget about the ice in your guides. The frozen hands. The problems at home. Troubles at work. It all fades.

At the end of a cold day of fishing you end up much more thankful than when began. Thankful for the motivation to get up and get out.  Thankful for the lessons of the day.  Thankful for the fish you may have been blessed with. And thankful to return home to the things outside of fishing.”


Do Over

stream-fishing-gif

British Columbia. 1970’s:

Mountain firs line the banks of the creek bed.
Shadflies, flit in from the shadows, and back out into the sun.
Mountain run-off, clear and pure, glistens, sparkles.
I’m standing knee deep.
I pick the line with my forefinger, click, cast and release.
The bait lands with a plop.
I start working the stream.
I’m Working it.

December. 2013.

[Read more…]

She has a heartbeat. She dances with the winds and the grass.


Deep in the belly of these vermillion walls
Our minds open to adventure and experience.
We squint to the back of our lenses
And down to the tips of our fly lines
Crossing paths and coming together to tell a story.

This place is home to the blood of this land.
An emerald green water full of life, and full of hope.
She’s had a long journey.
Thousands of miles she’s travelled.
Veining her way through rock and crevice.
Rugged and raw to bless us with her fertile waters.
A place painted by Gods and carved by time.
A mighty river and a mighty canyon in the land of the Navajo.

Her currents meander over stone and sand
In a rhythm uniquely her own
Her color unlike anything else
Her glimmer, mesmerizing.

She has a heartbeat.
She dances with the winds and the grass.
She dances with life and we’ve come for what’s beneath it all.
A spirit.
A trout.
A memory.
In this box of trickery,
a shimmer of gold.
A subtle twist of thread and wire.
A hook.
A fly.
The trout we seek are strong and smart.
A worthy test of our skills.
Our tactics and presentations must be perfect.
The throw of our line must gently lay on the waters’ currents.
This is what we’ve come for, and what we live for.
Our search for the perfect riffle.
The rise of a hungry trout.
Friendships and memories.
This is an unforgettable place,
Where the earth and the heavens come together.

There is life, warmth and beauty everywhere up here.
360 degrees of pure magic.
Around every turn our lens capture the light and the dark of it all.
A Father and Son.
Old friends.
A lone fisherman.
The love for nature and art.
And blurring the lines in between.
We now see life, light and shadow
in a different way than we did before.
And we walk away
without leaving a trace of our modern trappings.
While this gold piece of the natural world
has left an indelible mark
on our all of spirits.

 


It’s about finding that perfect balance

After chores were done, Saturdays were for fishing.  Not fly fishing but rod, reel and bait fishing on the Columbia or Kootenay Rivers.  This one minute clip rolled the memories back.  Whether you fish or not, this clip puts you in the driver’s seat of the magic.  The solitude. The oneness with nature.  Here’s “Stream of Dreams.”

Streams of Dreams from Almost Blue on Vimeo.


Source: ThomasandThomas.com – Tangled Lines

Now let me tell you a story about the fish I caught…

yellowfin tuna


“This yellowfin tuna caught by John Petruescu in Mexican waters is expected to become the largest yellowfin tuna ever caught on rod and reel…459 pounds. Petruescu’s tuna cannot qualify as a world record because a deckhand briefly grabbed the rod at the bow to help manage the tuna around the anchor. ‘Had we known how big it was obviously we would have let him try to do that himself.'”


Source: GrindTV.com

Fall in Celje

fall, autumn, fly fishing, fishing, stream, colors


These are pictures taken by Grisa Miheljak @ Grishman Photography of his home town in Celje, Slovenia.  Check out his other wonderful pictures of his home town and his portfolio at GrishmanPhotography.  Thank you Grisa for allowing me to share your work.

Cousin Billy


Saturdays during my childhood were spent playing with our cousins.  Or fishing.

Billy was the oldest by a year. Like his Dad, he was built to run and had a spiritual connection with nature. With ease, Billy filled his match box with grasshoppers (for fish bait) while we stumbled around with the creatures making a mockery of us.

We’d grab our fishing poles and race our bikes to the Kootenay River.  Billy would bound ahead from rock to rock. With grace.  Like an Aboriginal Tracker.  Quiet. Surefooted. No energy wasted.

The rest of us were in pursuit.  Jimmy’s arms and legs flying. Baby fat rhythmically swinging up and down with each stride.  Sweating profusely. Screaming at us to “wait up.” 

[Read more…]

Monday Morning Wake-Up Call – Breakfast!

http://opticoverload.tumblr.com/post/27718606045/triple-kill-the-kingfisher-makes-a-perfect-dive


“The Kingfisher makes a perfect dive at 100 km/hr into the little frozen hole in Germany to catch fish for food.  This amazing moment captured by photographer Gisela Delpho.”

Source: goodmemory via opticoverload

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The Blue…

Friends go Tuna fishing off the coast of Santa Cruz.  They do catch fish.  And so much more.  Don’t worry if you don’t like fish or fishing.  You’ll find this clip beautiful and mesmerizing.  Hang in there beyond 1.5 minutes when it all begins.  Thank you Rob Firchau at The Hammock Papers for another terrific share.  His blog is a frequent stop, and you’ll soon see why…



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How do you breathe?

Whether you love, hate or are indifferent about fly fishing, I’ll bet this clip takes your pulse up and then quickly down to a calm, peaceful state in less than two minutes…



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