Monday Morning Coffee with Cardboard Kirk

no cardboard cutouts were scalded in the making of this post

 Ewwwawwwwhhhhuyghgh!!!  Yawn, stretch, scratch, repeat....Man o man, is it Monday again already?  Let's have some coffee.  As you can see, I have some company- Kirk Werner in cardboard form.  We're drinking some Cafe Bustelo- a blast from my NYC days.  I didn't want to take a chance on French press, those Seattle folks need their espresso.  Cardboard Kirk is on a tour of the country or who knows, maybe the world, before heading back to good old Seattle.  He hasn't told me his full itinerary, but to be fair I haven't told him the itinerary here either.  He went fishing for steelhead with Rebecca Garlock of the "Outdooress" blog and the River Damsel out in Idaho.  He then came here.  He says that he traveled comfortably, if a little cramped.  The cup is always half empty and half full for Seattle-ites.  (Kirk wrote about his trip with the Outdooress and the River Damsel here.)

It's very hard to get a Pacific Northwesterner like Cardboard Kirk to come fish the Great Lakes region.  They, after all, live in the original home of the steelhead and salmon that eventually found their way here, and they have that stunning scenery as a backdrop.  The funny part is that both the Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest have similar histories rooted in mining and logging.  So similar in fact, that a lot of the immigrant workers who came to Michigan to work in the lumber camps later moved on to Washington and Oregon when the timber played out here.  I'd like to think we made a fair exchange- we sent them some of our people, and they sent some of their fish.  Both stayed and flourished in their respective new environs.

We're in a bit of a cold snap right now, which has really suppressed the fishing at the moment, but Cardboard Kirk says he doesn't mind hanging out for a couple of weeks, so I'm going to show him some of the sights, take him on a few excursions, and hopefully catch him some fish.  I've settled him in the guest room and we're going to sit around

Kirk tucked into the guest room

 the campfire (not too close) and tell stories and I'm going to show him a few fly patterns.  I'm really looking forward to showing off my corner of the world- we may not have those high mountains, but the northern Great Lakes region definitely has its own beauty and charm- drama even.

This week I'll do the first installment on the new drift boat being built over at Croff Craft, I have a brief post on common mistakes I see on the rivers (including ones I've made myself), and Friday, being April first, I'll continue my Angler's Year series.  So hang with me here, it's going to be a great week.

Congratulations to Brian Kozminski on winning last weeks giveaway- a mixed dozen steelhead flies.  Look for the next giveaway next week starting Wednesday April 6th.  I may have to break down and make it a half dozen streamers.  Why not, I need some help testing them.

All right, coffee is done, and Kirk is going to mind the office while I go to work- let's get after it!

P.S.  I overheard some grumbling from downstairs last night about the fact Rebecca is on Andros Island after bonefish while he's here in frosty Michigan.  He'll change his tune once we get into some fish.

Blogs I have known (Briefly)

I am woefully, embarrassingly new to the blogging world, and my pokings and proddings in that area have been fun and refreshing.  I'm doing this post in part to show off some new graphics, and in part to put some page distance between the male odor jokes and my next big post.

I've added a list of my favorite blogs on the sidebar.  I'm not sure how blogspot goes about listing them in the design features- it's not alphabetical, and not in the order I follow them, so I'll tell you about some of them.  Some you are familiar with, some you've never heard of.  All are worth a look.

The blog I have followed the most and longest is Steve Fraley and John Karakashian at Baldwin Bait and Tackle.  Technically not a blog, but a fishing report, they've been doing for years what I wish all the shops and guides would do- well-written, frequent, informative posting on actual conditions with lots of fish pictures and great scenery.  Karakashian's tying video's were basically my tutorial.  A couple of years back Steve started adding fishing videos, and I have to tell you- they made me quit watching outdoor Television.  They are exactly what I want to see.  His videos from Alaska last year were riveting and even alarming.  My words can't express how much I like watching these, so you'll have to check them out yourself.

To show you how little I've poked around the blogosphere, the blog I've followed second most is April Vokey's over at Flygal, and that for only about a year.  A lot of her posts are trip updates, but every now and then she comes out with a real gem, and what's not to love?  Lovely gal and awesome pictures of wild steelhead in their native waters set against that BC backdrop? Yeah, you're following it too.

After that come my recent discoveries.  Kirk Werner at  Unaccomplished Angler- probably my favorite. Unaccomplished Angler? Maybe, but definitely an accomplished blogger. Great writing, cool graphics, and his understated sense of humor keep me coming back.  His "Fly Fishing Needs Dirty Harry" post is perhaps the funniest thing I've ever read.

Most Things Custom is done by an old friend of mine, and it's worth a look.  Coyote Luke is a die-hard do-it-yourselfer who has recently discovered fly fishing and tying for steelhead and is killing me with all the fish he's catching this winter.  He makes beautiful custom musical instruments and writes about his various innovations.

Jay over at The Naturalist's Angle seems like the kind of normal person you could just go fishing with and have a great time- no drama, no pretenses, just a couple of guys fishing.

I think Owl Jones gets the nod for funniest and craziest; if you're not following his stuff you should be, but then again, you probably already are.

Everyone knows or follows Troutrageous, and for good reason- he gets the nod in the All-Around Entertainment department.  Skillfully done, and always interesting.

I really like the writing over at Fishing for Words.  A lot of his posts are about rod building, but when he waxes on it's always enjoyable.

Someone had to be mentioned last, and I've been enjoying Cofisher over at Wind Knots and Tangled Lines.  I think it's the attitude.  He's like that old guy who was grumpy with you but took you fishing and showed you a lot of stuff.  I've had a couple of those in my life, gone now, and reading his work and comments brings that back to mind.

There's a lot of great blogs out there I'm not mentioning- Eat More Brook Trout comes to mind, or how about this one- TFM?  If I have to spell that one out you've been hiding under the same rock as me.  There's plenty of others that I've checked out and love (The River Damsel etc.), you'll all eventually make it on the list, but I had to start somewhere, and now I have to go to work.

Tight lines!

FR

My Outdoor Voice

Same shirt, different fish

"We're using our indoor voice."  I've actually heard some mothers say this to their kids.  Luckily, my parents never used that kind of ineffectual droning on me, which saved me an early hobo life of grifting.  Instead they just sent us outside.  I grew up outside literally- my step-mother worked nights as a nurse, so I spent entire summers outdoors all day long, until I turned 14, at which time I started working outdoors.  Even when I grew up and moved away to New York City, I ended up working outdoors, doing exterior building maintenance on high-rise buildings for my first four years there.  New York was a tremendous adventure.  I yearned to escape the tediousness of rural life, what I saw as a predictable timeline and foreseeable future- the menial job, a wife, children, the unchanging-ness of rural life.  While it was one of my most formative episodes, working outside in New York those four years may have saved me from the more hellacious aspects of city life- the noise and stench, the crowds, the constant awareness borne of being in a predatory environment.  The bubble-boy narcissism of a society completely absorbed in itself.  Working outside in New York was the closest thing to fresh air you could get, and I regularly saw hawks or even peregrine falcons bombing by.  I recall once sitting, drinking my tea from the top of a very tall building overlooking New York Harbor, and upon hearing some low musical notes behind me, turning to find a mockingbird, watching me from ten feet away, quietly singing to himself while I enjoyed my tea.  For that moment I could no longer hear the BQE.  Quite often I would look out onto New York Harbor only to recognize the signs of breaking stripers and bluefish- the wheeling terns and gulls, the frothing water.  The way to tell which was breaking was easy, by the way- if it was bluefish, the birds would refuse to dive into the water, not wanting to risk a bite from their piranha teeth.  All of it ignored by this world of commerce.  But I digress.

I'm not The World's Greatest Angler, I'm a novice fly tyer, my roster of angling accomplishments is woefully threadbare.  One could say "distinctly Unaccomplished" but that pseudonym has been taken and I've ridden those coat-tails far enough.  I may have reached the "average" level in the casting department.

another cast gone wrong

But my not being an "expert" may be a good thing for you the reader- I'm able to offer you a ground-level, boots-on perspective.  In half of the outdoor writing I read, I can't tell if I'm getting the authors thoughts or I'm reading a gear catalog or travel brochure, bought and paid for by their sponsors.  I respect all those authors- it is a trade; I certainly know the compromises I've made in my business, some good, some bad.  What I bring to you is an over-abundance of enthusiasm coupled with extensive time spent in the outdoors.  A do-it-yourself work ethic, 45-50 days a year bow hunting Michigans 90 day season, several years of 100+ days spent on the water, that without being a guide; I've organized and led multi-day kayaking excursions for my friends in remote places, driven hundreds of thousands of miles on road trips across this country and Canada in pursuits both pleasurable and professional. I've fished many dozens, if not a couple of hundred miles on my local trout streams.  I've taken a lot of pictures along the way.

more than just fly fishing

I've done all this as a working man with a business and family obligations like you, bills to pay, friends to keep in touch with.  I've made do with the gear I have and could afford- none of it the latest and greatest.

I'm writing this in celebration of the 1000th page view of my blog- I'm not sure how great a distinction this is, but it indicates at least some interest- you are listening.  I have always been a writer at heart; my teachers in grade school leaned on me heavily to pursue it, and I've always been an avid reader.  Until now I've kept it all bottled up, kept my voice low.
I hate the state or our media-driven, 24 hour news cycle, Top 40, politically correct, pundit laden discourse.  I want to offer an alternative voice in the outdoors, hopefully a refreshing voice of reason. 

What I'm hoping is that you'll continue to tune in- take a break from your job, read my blather over your morning coffee, or turn off the television, put the kids to bed and escape outdoors with me.

I'll be here, using my Outdoor Voice.

FR

my front row seat to the outdoors

More Trout, Less Cud

The tag-line to this blog being "Ruminations from Trout Country", thus the title here.  Fontinalis Rising was started one week ago today, so it's time for a review of our progress, successes, examine mistakes made, and set goals for the next week.
First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for your overwhelming support.  I had hoped that my friends would take a look and be entertained, and that maybe, MAYBE, some of my Facebook friends would take a look, chuckle and then get back to work.  50 hits in a week would have been nice.  Imagine my surprise when I installed the view counter today and had over 370 hits in just the first week.  So again, I thank you.  I also would like to thank Joe and Rebecca for starting OBN and including my drivel.

For all of you who may be keeping up on this, I have gotten an EPIRB signal from the Unaccomplished Angler, and we at FR have dispatched a garbage truck from Chicago to the rescue.  Oprah's garbage truck, so it smells like jasmine and honey. We'll let you know if it's just a tattered survival suit or if he's still breathing.  Whether, after a lengthy hospital stay, and years of rehabilitation he's able to return to the blogosphere remains to be seen.

found, maybe, sort of, and OWM is on its way

Fontinalis Rising Mission Statement and drumroll
Now to the point of this post, I am here going to make my commitment to excellence, my vision for Fontinalis Rising.  I promise to you the reader, that this blog will be about outdoor writing excellence, that on a regular basis you will find entertaining, informative, and above all, well-written posts that even my non-outdoor friends will enjoy.  Yes, I will have to do what I've been doing, which is sitting down and banging out these 20 minute missives, and yes, it appears that I will have to use this as a means to stay continually engaged with the rest of the OBN blogosphere, but on a regular basis, I will post thoughtful, well-written posts (to the best of my ability) that I have actually put some work into.  I will share as much of my outdoor experiences with you as I can, I will diligently photograph and share, I will do some outdoor reporting, I will strive to make this a place you look forward to checking each week.
And the next time I am tempted to say something negative about another blogger or their work, I will ask myself WWAVD: that's right- "What Would April Vokey Do?".  Which is of course, is to be nice as pie and go fishing.

The Rest of This is OBN Business, for Those Of You Who Have Better Things To Do

This is in response to the OBN writing prompt concerning "Meet Your Favorite Blogger"

It's a little embarassing to admit that before last week, about the only blogs I had ever read anywhere were flyshop/guide fishing reports.  Finding OBN and clicking around this last week has been like finding a home; the down side of all this is that  I'm still getting to know you all and trying to figure out who I've even read so far.  I'm apologizing in advance to all the great writers and bloggers on this forum who I haven't gotten to.

My List, such as It Is.
1.  Kirk Werner ("I demand satisfaction") of the Unaccomplished Angler.  I could sit and read his stuff all day, the kind of writing that I really enjoy.  I'm hoping he'll write a book for grown-ups.
2. Rebecca Garlock of the Outdooress- it was your post last week about OBN that got me into this; and I must admit that I'm a little fascinated by women who love the outdoors of their own volition, and wonder if the motivations are the same.
3. Joe of- you know, Joe, the other founder of OBN, in gratitude as well.  I'll figure out which blog is yours and read it soon.
4. Harold Levett of Wind Knots & Tangled Lines and
5. Jay of The Naturalist's Angle for their early support, they seem like nice guys.
6. Mike Schmidt of Angler's Choice Flies, so I can steal some tying ideas.

My apologies to Coyote Luke of Most Things Custom  for not making the list- I see way too much of your scary hide as it is.

So, who knows what the next week will bring.  Will this blogger slide back into the oblivion from whence he came?  Will there be an uprising of the OBN bloggers to overthrow the regime?  Will Rebecca and Joe go quietly, or will they serve out the rest of their terms and not run for re-election?

Wait, that's Egypt

FR