Avalanche! Are You Prepared?

As winter is fast approaching it's time to look at your avalanche skills if you are planning to be in the backcountry skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing. The deaths over the past 5 years have increased with snowmobile and snowboard triggered avalanches due to the increase in the number of people enjoying these backcountry recreation adventures. You must always be aware of your surroundings and look for signs that are apparent in the area you are traveling to. Take a course in avalanche awareness and safety. You can find courses along the Wasatch Front at the Utah Avalanche Center and prepare yourself. Carry the needed equipment for rescue; beacon, shovel, probes or other rescue apparatus that have evolved. Avalanches happen due to wind load and unstable snow structure you must know how to determine if a slope is safe by learning the proper techniques and methods of digging snow pits in the area you are in. Remember that the angle and aspect of the slope play a major role in avalanches and in just a few feet both the angle and aspect of the slope can change dramatically. Digging one pit is not the save all. Other factors that you must consider are those of the mind and being able to make correct decisions and not have clouded judgment when you reach your destination. You must have and work on decision-making skills that will preclude any clouded judgment in these instances.

Remember you can do all the right things and still trigger an avalanche. You must be prepared to care for yourself and others in the backcountry, you could be alone in your efforts for a long period of time and time is crucial in these situations. Please take the time and effort needed to be safe in the backcountry and don't become a statistic of the season or worse yet cause a statistic. Read, study and take courses that will help ensure your safety and the safety of those you are with this winter.

Prepare now for Winter fun!

The Summer sun has set and it is now time to start thinking of the Winter activities we all enjoy! I for one am ready to move into the cooler part of the year. Winter activities such as skiing and ice fishing bring back great memories, and it is now time to make new memories. Before we can enjoy all the activities we must prepare our gear and ourselves for the upcoming season.

Skiing is and always has been my passion and my addiction. Starting when I moved to the Wasatch Front and my parents bought me my first set of skis, Miller bindings and skis that were so long I could barely touch the tips. From then it became an obsession and later became a life long journey and sometimes employment. I soon hope to rejoin my fellow mountain goats and go full time back on the mountain, but until then I will remain a weekend warrior.

Preparing for ski season means many different things. You must take into effect all aspects of the sport when preparing for the upcoming season. This also entails thinking about what type of skiing you are going to partake in. I personally enjoy downhill skiing and mix in some backcountry ski trips along the way. To prepare for the rigor of the downhill season you must get ready physically. I personally am working off a few years of over indulgence and have dropped 35 lbs and looking to drop another 40 lbs. I feel better but that is just the first step. You also need to take into consideration your strength and flexibility. 30 - 60 minutes of conditioning per day is pretty much mandatory and should cover all aspects of physical training; aerobic and anaerobic conditioning of the muscles along with a strengthening program focusing on the core strengths and especially lower body. I can't emphasize enough, the importance of flexibility and balance. these two aspects as we age becomes critical in our overall well being. The loss of flexibility can lead to joint and muscular imbalances, which can lead to injuries quickly. Balance needs to be kept at the top of our list, as we age we lose proprioception and that can lead to falls and injuries. Working on proprioception and balance will enhance our overall health and well being. There are many sites that you can get information on exercises that will accommodate all these areas in your physical fitness. Ice fishing on the other hand is a fun and relaxing way to be with friends and family. Having said that you still need to take into account the amount of work and effort it takes to get you and your equipment on the ice. Plus the bitter cold can take a toll on you if you are not in good condition and prepared for the vigorous work load in the cold weather.

Equipment needs to be tuned, cleaned and prepared for action as well. Ski equipment can be done in your workshop or taken to the ski shop for tuning and adjustments. Wax and sharpening of the bases, adjustments to the bindings (hopefully you have stored them properly). Petexing of the bottoms after the spring season and filling rock gouges. Boots need to be worn and fitted again for maximum comfort on the slopes. Your apparel needs to be inspected to see if it will handle another season or need to be replaced. Helmets are becoming common place for all ages, if you wear one make sure it fits properly and is not damaged, if not replace it!

Ice fishing equipment needs the same attention and inspections. Starting with your apparel does it fit and is it without wear areas where water can seep in and create frostbite potential? Boots, are the soles in good shape and do you have cleats if needed that fit your boots. Inspect your fishing line and replace with proper strength for what your targeting. Reels, are they lubed and ready for the cold weather? Clean and inspect them for any loose parts. Poles need to be inspected for wear and damage from the summer storage, check your eyelets and make sure they are free from nicks and dings that could damage your line. Do you have the needed tip it for strike indicators? This is the time to refit and replace them in the comfort of your workshop and not on the ice in freezing weather. Your tent(s) need to be set up and inspected for any wear and tear to ensure that they will set quickly and without hassle. Do you need to tie on new tie down ropes for anchoring? Is your hardware for towing your tent and equipment secured and easy to use. Augers whether hand operated or powered check the sharpness of your blades, sharpen or replace them as needed. Does your power auger start up on the first couple pulls, do you need to get it tuned up? Check your gas lines for cracks and wear, replace if needed. Heaters, are they ready to go? Do you have the needed safety tools for self rescue on the ice?? Please purchase needed equipment for your safety and the safety of those around you!!

This should get you started and thinking enough to ensure that you are ready for Winter fun and excitement. Have fun and be safe!

There's a Chill in the air!

This morning 4:30 am came soon.  Picked my sister up from the airport last night at 11:pm and dropped her off at mom's place at midnight and then made it home around 12:30 am and the alarm was not kind.  Picked Craig McAffee up at 5:30 and headed for the lake.  The temp gauge in the truck read 37 degrees and when we crawled out of the cab of the Mule the brisk morning breeze felt like it!  I Craig was bundled up in a down coat and layers with his hunting gloves on. Me refusing to accept that summer is over, was in shorts and t-shirt, but had my insulated work jacket in the back and quickly put it on.  Prepping the boat in the dark and keeping warm by moving quickly.  We launched in the dark putting on the navi' lights and decided to run Dead Sheep Point first thing.  I got a report from Shifty that he did well there earlier this week.  We ran it twice not getting so much as a sniff, changing combinations twice.  We ran into a group fishing the bank and getting hits quickly by the small mouth and large mouth bass in DC.  They were fishing in a tournament and were moving quickly along the bank pitching crank baits.

 

We powered up and went to the Bermuda Triangle and I got one in the boat finally, knocked the skunk off and got another hit, but we continued to the Sea of Galilee we kept trying different combinations and finally put silver Jack of Diamonds on Craig's pole. He got two in the boat going through the Sea of Galilee.  It wad 10:00 am and I needed to be off the water by noon to get back for my Mom's surprise birthday party.

We powered up again and ran to the Provo river inlet in Charleston Bay.  We anchored up and Craig put on power bait and sank it, he got a hit within seconds, a nice chunky bow.  We had 4 in the live well and it was 11:00 am.  Craig put the his line back out and got another hit immediately but missed  it.  He re-baited and set it out.  I was tossing KM's to no avail they weren't hitting anything I put out there.  A boat pulled in behind us in shallow water and immediately put 3 in the boat, we almost pulled anchor and went over there but we didn't.  We fished until 11:30 and Craig bot another smaller bow in the boat and it was bleeding bad enough we had to keep it.

The water was still 63 degrees and filled with algae, so it has not turned over yet and the fishing with trolling gear is still slow.  However many boats and friends have had great success in the inlet sinking power bait, just realize that if you choose to power bait you run the risk of having to keep some fish you wouldn't otherwise.  The moon was 3/4 waning and think that may have had a little bit of an affect on the fishing action as well.  It was a Bluebird day on the lake very calm and sunny.  It was a great sunrise and the chill in the air quickly warmed up.  During the day we reminisced about our trip to Henry's over Memorial Day and shared stories about other fishing outings we had taken over the summer.  Glad to have shared the day with Craig on the Fish Steeler it was a fantastic day, just because we were on the lake fishing!!

Lessons Learned while Fly Fishing Solo

9/3, I always take the 3rd of Sept. off work.  For me it is just a day but some put more emphasis on it.  I did just what I wanted to for the day.  I slept in, read a few emails and posts and then got ready for the day.

Today I wanted to go fishing and just relax.  I had a boat partner until late the evening before when he had a change in plans and by then I wasn't going to look for someone else to fill the boat.  SOLO Day!!  Which honestly was best for me at this point in time.  I needed time to reflect and put things in perspective.  Things are changing all around me right now and I needed time to work things through.  I got on the road at 10 am and went south not really knowing where I was headed for sure except it was going to be on a stream somewhere.  Drove up Spanish Fork Canyon and thought of a stream I hadn't been on in 15 years.  

The day was perfect, a small breeze that at times put my fly where I didn't want it, but for the most part a Bluebird day.  As I drove up the canyon with the small stream I was going to fish, the road wound along steep bank sides and went through the stream a couple times.  I got to where I thought it would be worthwhile to throw some loops in the water.  The only person in the canyon was the sheep herder that had camp set up on the stream, I was far enough upstream from camp I felt they wouldn't be bothered by me.  I started preparing my gear and put on my waders and could hear the grasshoppers going crazy.  I thought, alright good time to put on a hopper and have some fun, I tied on a hopper pattern I had in the box and went to the stream side.

It hadn't changed in 15 years still covered and tight.  The stream was actually very full for this late in the year.  The stream itself is about 2-3 ft wide for the most part but there are beaver ponds scattered along it that open it up to some pond fishing.  The over growth is heavy with willow and old growth scrub oak.    As I walked up to the stream I could see a nice fish in the weed beds sunning itself.  Yes the creek not only is tight with brush everywhere and narrow pockets but it is filled with grass and moss with lanes of openings that the fish use to protect themselves in when spooked.  The stream was running clear and pristine and any movement made by me spooked the fish quickly.  As I walked up to the stream I wasn't conscience of being seen quite as quickly as I was.  Yep I seen the fish and it seen me!  POOF it was gone under the weed bed not to come out.  I still tossed the hopper onto the hole knowing I had been found out already and figured this is good spot to throw some practice loops and get used to placing my fly in the tight confines of the stream.  The bank was cut deep under an oak with plenty of holding pockets so I knelt down and starting thinking like a fish and trying to minimize my shadow and movement.  I practiced for a number of cast in that hole just to get the feel of things.  I was also carrying my ultra-light in hopes that the stream would produce a couple deep pocket holes, but that wasn't going to happen with the grassy bottom, so I took it back to the truck and went upstream to the next opening.  Climbing through tons of giant basin sagebrush and listening for the familiar rattle of the Diamondbacks found in the area.  To my surprise I didn't run into one the hole day, I was happy about that!

Back at stream side, this time remembering how quickly I was seen the first time I was more careful coming up to it and keeping my silhouette at a minimum by keeping my rod down and behind the large growth.  I had also changed my fly to a royal coachman, I hadn't seen one hopper at the edge of the stream and didn't feel it would produce.  The royal has a slight hint of red on it and can attract fish at times.  It didn't disappoint, on my third short cast I had my fish on, a small brown trout not more than 10 inches but still fun on my 5 ft St. Croix fly rod.  I quickly released it and moved to the next opening.  Remember I said it was tight and covered with growth, yep I lost plenty of flies today.  Part of the game when you are an amateur fly fisher.  I lost that coachman so I went to renegade to see if that would produce and in the next hole sure enough a couple cast and I was hooked up with another small brown trout.  Moving along and tying on another pattern this time a royal wulff, getting the same results a small brown trout I was keeping myself occupied enough catching and releasing I didn't mind losing a few flies to the trees.  I could have saved them but then I would have had to disturb the stream bed and grasses which I didn't want to do. I made my way upstream a ways catching and scaring fish in each of the holes I was coming up on.  Trying not to scare them before I had a chance to cast at them I was crawling in some places to keep my shadow off the water.  Some however were spooked just by the movement of my fly rod.  Still remembering all the rules of small stream fishing it took a couple holes to get in the hang of it again.  Up to this point I hadn't bothered breaking out the camera hoping to catch few decent sized fish in the deeper holes.

As I worked my way upstream I came upon one of the beaver ponds and could see through the thick growth a number of nice sized fish!  I was excited to see good sized fish.  I had to cross the creek and chose the narrowest spot I could find.  I got across without disturbing the water too much and it ran clear after just a couple minutes.  Where I crossed was the beginning of the pond and there were a number of fish at the mouth of the inlet.  I had tied on an adams no.18 fly and was tossing it into the holes still very tight at the inlet and was hanging up a on trees and branches as the wind blew my line into them.  Getting a little frustrated knowing these were better sized fish I whipped one of the hangups off the leaf and put it back down quickly into a hole by the near bank and before I knew it I hooked up with a nice 16 inch brown trout that put up a good fight.  I got the fish netted and was getting out my camera for a photo op.  Just as I was bringing it out it slipped from my grip and into the stream went my camera!!  I said a few choice superlatives and fished it out the stream and tried to dry it off quickly but it didn't help the camera was inoperable!!  A few more words and I put the fish back in the water to keep it alive.  It was early afternoon at this point and I was actually out of steam only having a small breakfast.  I made a few more cast and lost the adams on a branch across a deep hole and decided to call it a day.  I kept the brown and quickly got back to the truck, took a couple seconds of video hoping I could get some snapshots of its beauty.  It worked, the brown however became lunch.

My Solo was a success, I got on a small stream and was absorbed by the chess match being played out by myself, the stream and the fish.  It was just what the doc ordered.  I got re-energized and felt good about things going on around me and knowing to focus on the things I can control and letting go of those things I can't control.  The small streamed talked to me and taught me lessons I had forgotten and needed reminding of.  You can put all your efforts into things that you can't control, like the wind and getting snagged multiple times and get upset and lose your focus on what you are really there for, or you can let the loss of a couple flies get in your head and lose the next hole due to rushing into it without thinking ahead and keeping yourself in the right place when needed.  Control your actions, you are in control of them and can control them to remain focused on that which is your purpose.

Fishing Currant Creek

This morning Kelly and I were on the road by 5 am and on our way to an unidentified location when we started out.  I just started driving up the canyon.  We drove past DC and into Heber City and stopped at the Hub for breakfast and supplies.  We continued up the road past Strawberry and Soldier Creek.  By then I had decided to hit a favorite lake of mine that we don't frequent enough, Currant Creek, with the boat in tow we made the corner up Currant Creek canyon, a beautiful steep sided canyon with Currant Creek running through the middle of it.  This is the first time I have taken a boat on the lake.  The road is generally wash boarded and the last 9 miles of it are dirt.  Making for a dusty, dirty boat, oh well.  Being it was Labor Day and knowing the other reservoirs would be packed I was hoping that CC would be tranquil with little activity happening.  I was right, we were one of three boats on the lake all day.  The lake is at capacity also!!  Could not believe my eyes when we first pulled around the corner and seen that it is full.

We launched the boat on their ramp, which is very nice for such a remote location in the western Uinta range.  Currant Creek is fed by three or more creeks one of them being Currant Creek a fun little creek full of Colorado cutthroat and some Brook trout.  The lake is loaded with Tiger trout and Colorado Cutthroat trout and some rainbow trout.  We got on just as the sun was cresting the eastern horizon and giving us a great sunrise.  We went to the dam to begin our day of fishing.  I was trolling popgear and a worm to begin with gold leave red stripe black dot and a two tone JoD.  Kelly put out a rainbow popgear and then he started casting a Pin minnow at the bank.  We got to the spill way and Kelly hooked up with a very nice Tiger trout for the first fish of the day.  After some pics and trying to get it on video we moved on down the dam and over the north shore of the lake.  The weed line was very distinct and thick out to a depth of about 30 feet then it stopped.  The fish were just on the edge of the weed line.  My popgear was not producing anything so I started to put on other tackle.  I notice that it was almost like Henry's Lake was earlier in the spring with all the weeds and grasses in the water.  So I put on two spoons that did well up there thinking that this might be the trick.  Running deep, was, at times impossible because of the weeds, they were terrible.  They took a couple of our lures for sacrifice.  By now we were at the west end of the lake, CC is not a large lake the sides are steep with terraced edges and steep drop offs, going from 12-15 to 40+ feet in the matter of seconds.  Staying on the edge of the drops and the weed line was the key for getting fish.  Kelly got a second Tiger Trout on the rainbow popgear and worm.  The colors on these fish are spectacular and the fight is awesome.  Kelly caught another Colorado Cutthroat running his rapala into the weeds.  He had another big hit and was reeling it in when it broke free, nope didn't break the line broke the lure in half it was a Tiger we seen it at the boat before it snapped it in half.  Luckily for him I had another in my tackle box since it was the hot lure of the day.  We ended up with 6 fish total and a nice stringer to put on the new board dad made for us!!  Left the lake at 1 pm and made for home.  It was great day on the pond.  Will definitely return for more fun on CC!