Texas Day 3

Today was a relax day. A bit of shopping. Evening church service and a prime rib dinner. We head home to Virginia tomorrow where it will be back at work. But not before I get a whirlwind trip to Wilmington in to try and find some winter red fish. Merry Christmas!

Sunset before the church service. Not a cloud in the sky. 

45 minutes later, it was nearly pitch black. 

Vegetarians, we are not. 

Texas Day 2

I woke for a morning run on the Texas high plains. The frost and cold air made for a trying run in the 4,000' elevation change. The baby went a bit crazy today and grandma got to feel the big kicks. Grandpa liked his new baby book, baby got his first sporting outfit. As a Viking fan, I am having a bit of trouble with this one but I think ill get over it :)

Twas the night before the night before Christmas...

Twas the night before the night before Christmas, when all through the land
Not a fly fisher was casting, neither woman, nor man;
The water kept flowing over limestone beds with ease,
Bathing in moonlight, sounds muffled by snow covered trees;
Somewhere in the Rockies, Appalachains or Midwest,
A lone fisher buckled their waders to their chest;
They tied on their boots, breath steaming from their mouth,
and blowed in their hands looking north and south;
When all of a sudden, a fish rose in the stream,
A ripple released from the eddies to the seam;
It was hard to see on this moonlit night,
But no fish could escape this fly fisher's sight.
So straight to the tippet, then to the pack,
Then to the fly box for the plan of attack;
On Caddis! On Hendrickson! On Blue Winged Olive and Scud!
On Zeebra Midge! On Phesant Tail Nymph and C. D. C. Emerger Bug!
Tied tight to the line then stripped out the rest,
Laying out a cast that was niether good, nor better, but best;
Reaching out flat, a perfect loop to the water,
The line pulled tight and pulled harder and harder;
A flood of emotion, elation, just beaming,

With fish now in hand the fisher saw this was the legend of which the fisher had been dreaming;

Known across this land as only the Czar,

Searched out by many from lands near and far;

In that quiet moonlight it was just the fisher and fish,

No cameras nor witnesses, just a child with a fulfilled wish;

The fisher wispered a thank you and the body slid from his hand;

The adventure ended just as soon as it began;

Walking back along the bank, to the cold parking lot,

This was a Christmas the fisher never forgot. 

So on chilled winter nights, when you are tucked in and covered,

Remember the Czar still swims out there, waiting to be discovered. 

Texas Day 1

For Christmas we are visiting Sara's parents in Farwell, Tx. Here are a few scenes from the day. We finished the night off with Julie Andrews singing in the Alps in The Sound of Music. Not too shabby for day 1. 

Finally, the Australia trip video is done.

It took me a while to sit down and complete it, but it is finally done. As I didn't' really plan on making a video form the start, it is a bit of a hodgepodge of scenes from the trip, but overall, it does a nice job of showing some of the sights we enjoyed on our journey. The music is also provided by an Aussie band, Angus and Julia Stone

For the recap of the days see below.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 - hmmm... I guess there was no Day 3... 

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

An Australian Adventure from My Leaky Waders on Vimeo.

In October 2013, Sara and I made a whirlwind trip to Queensland, Australia. Good food, coffee, waves, deadly snakes and poisonous catfish, great conversation, wildlife and plenty of sunshine. 

Music: Angus and Julia Stone: "Paper Aeroplane"

Painting Through Prosek: Spawning Colorado River Cutthroat Trout

I've been looking forward to this fish ever since a I saw a photo posted by Ivan of Yukon Goes Fishing on his Instagram feed. 

photo by YGF... I think.

Now, I don't really know for sure if that is Colorado River Cutthroat or a Yellowfin Cutthroat. What really amazed me was the spot distribution and stark contrast of the yellow body. 

I have primarily been focusing on the broad side of the fish. As you can seen in James Prosek's depiction, it is rather spotless. That meant I had to get a little creative in how I added the spots in. I could have painted the entire fish or just the tail, but I decided to go a different direction.

There may still be time to put this book on your Christmas list. 

The cheap paint set I bought a while back has lasted.

As you can see below, I deiced to just let the spots run off the page. 

I also painted them to fade out a bit. 

Another look at the spots. 

The Instagram shot. 

Next up, the Greenback.