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Crawling Out From Under My Rock

Hbom

Senior Member
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Well, I'm back. For those of you who might have noticed I wasn't around, I apologize for dropping out without warning or explanation. It turns out that my 1st summer of retirement was interrupted by a couple of months of work. And I don't want to beleaguer that too much as I know some of you who get up everyday and do 8 or 10 hours of hard labor would not agree that spending all day floating down a river in some of the prettiest places in the world as "WoiK!". Or that helping others learn how to feed the fish bits of fur & feathers really qualifies as a real job. I will say that it ain't all glory. And it don't pay near enough.
Just ask the young gentleman who suddenly decided 3 weeks into a 3 month summer job that he really didn't like fly fishing in Alaska! Seems the magazines he had read didn't talk a lot about mosquitoes or rain. Imagine that! Not talking about the bugs or rain in country that only has 3 things, sunshine, bugs & rain. And the bugs are there whether it is raining or sunny.
So when I got a call from my friend that he needed help, I said I could come out for 2 weeks until he lined up someone else, left that afternoon with a small bag. June 24
Did I mention that it rained quite a bit this summer? I think that all the rain that didn't go everyplace in the Midwest this summer ended up in my raft. Everyday! Nobody, I mean NOOBODY, wanted to come out for the summer. Past experience had shown all those invited that long days in the land of the midnight sun " ain't all glory."
So I had a great summer. I met some really nice people. Had a few experiences that I'll never get to have again. And survived.

Now I'm back. I hope to get caught up on honey-do's shortly and get started on the 2 telecaster projects that I had planned for the summer. I think the rosewood body should have dried enough to be finished and I will be looking hard for a neck for the new Warmoth body I received the day before I left. I was thinking a nice flame maple with ebony board, but the 1 I was watching is long gone. So… the watch is on.

EDIT; I understand that only posts with pictures are truly believed. But I have none. Period! One of my better experiences was watching a guest drop my digital camera into the river. On the 3rd day  out! That's my story & I'm sticking to it. 

:rock-on:
 
I got to go on a flyfishing excursion while on a cruise. It was a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. They were so thick you could catch a fish just by dipping a 5 gallon bucket, and they weren't skeert of nuttin. Or if they were they were so quickly replaced by a dozen others in a fish stampede bent on spawning. The spot was just about wheelchair accessible too.

Someday I'd like to do it for real.
 
If ya really wanna try it "for real", have a go at Tarpon in the
Florida Keys...only 12 or 13 things to do just right or it all falls to pieces, and leaves you shaken,
exhilarated, and crushed (not to mention addicted)! Welcome home, Hbom...
 
Swarfrat, Thanks for the reply.Glad you had such a great time. You didn't say where you were but I will assume you meant somewhere in Alaska. And you got me there. Here in Alaska we are just as guilty as the rest of our countryman when it comes to fleecing the tourists.
Back in the early 90's the Love Boats began a major assault on our shores. All of a sudden small villages and towns along the coast were getting the equivalent of a small city dumped on their doorsteps every day or two all summer long. There was a major push to come up with ways to entertain them. (and relieve them of their cash). Half day and one day fishing trips became the in-demand thing and are ideal for those who come up with only a limited amount of time to spend fishing.
We call that 'Sucker fishing'. A term that has more to do with catching the tourists coming off the boats than the type of fish they are after. I tried it for a couple of years but went back to lodge & float fishing as the guests are generally better fisherman.
Seemed like there was always a problem with day trips. If I was lucky enough to find the salmon for them, the complaint was that "It was a bit like shooting fish in a barrel" and when I could get them on a big school of fish that were so fresh out of the ocean that they "were so thick you could catch a fish just by dipping a 5 gallon bucket, and they weren't skeert of nuttin."
Even worse than that were the days when I couldn't find the fish. All you get then is a long day of waving your casting arm over a river full of water. Those days I got to spend listening to stories about how important they were back somewhere and how much money it cost for them to come out there and not catch anything.
I found it much more enjoyable fishing out of lodges or doing float trips. MOST of those people have better expectations and USUALLY only complain about the rain and mosquitoes. They were usually happy to spend the day on the river & actually enjoyed catching fish for the pure enjoyment of it.

Great Ape,
Roger everything you said about tarpon. Easily one of the hardest hitters around. I was lucky and fished in Belize in the late 80's, before it got to be so popular. Tarpon, bonefish and permit! What an experience! Wish I could go back.

Thanks both of you again for your comments

I find fishing a lot like sex. If I can get my line wet every day or two I have a better outlook on the world.
:rock-on:
 
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