Flies and Ice Cream

I know it looks messy,
but don't worry, we've got a system.

Flies and ice cream. Tying flies that is. No flies in the ice cream as far as I know. 

In a little over a week I'm going to be heading into the Chesapeake Bay for a day of fishing with Captain Chris Newsome and my buddy Kevin. A fish in hand is long overdue, I'm hoping this trip will change that. 

Line em up, baby.

Kevin and I got together last night to tie some flies in preparation for the trip. 

Red over orange/yellow provides nice contrast
in the mirky waters of the Chesapeake. 

We got creative with out color combinations and made a mixture of clousers and deceivers and a hybrid of the two. 

Dry, epoxy, dry!

To be honest, I'm not concerned if these flies catch us any fish or not. It was just nice to enjoy a night on the porch with good company, music and some VERY chocolatey ice cream. 

mmmmmm..... Chocolate Ice Cream. 

Painting Through Prosek: Dolly Varden

The Dolly Varden and its subspecies cover a large range. They also seem to wear many colors ranging from olive drab to lavender, and they turn brilliant colors when they turn on the spawn. Because of this, Prosek took the time to document the Southern and Northern subspecies as well as the spawning form. 

Instead of painting all three separately or choosing only one to recreate, I incorporated all three into this  painting. I am pretty happy with the result. I'm also excited because finishing the Dolley Varden means I've completed the Char section of the book. Next we will have a short stint examining his paintings of the Apache, Gila and Mexican Trout after which we will spend the rest of out time on the diverse Rainbows/Goldens and Cutthroats and finally finish on the Browns and Atlantic Salmon. 

We still have a long way to go  :)

Painting Through Prosek: Bull Trout

James Prosek paints two versions of the Bull Trout in "Trout: An Illustrated History." This is a good example of variation between subjects. No two trout look the same. Whether you are talking Brown, Brook, Rainbow, Cutthroat, etc, etc etc. The same probably goes for all fish (sunfish/bluegill or even carp for that matter). 

To assist in finding some of the details of these fish, I have been searching images on the web in addition to using Prosek's fish as a guide. As such, there tends to be a few more differences between my and Prosek's rendition. 

Slowly but surely, I'm moving along. I may make a photobook with shutterfly when this is all done. Some way to have these sitting out in coffee-table-book style. Right now, I just have a file cabinet with all of these hidden away. That's no fun. 

Painting Through Prosek: Humper Lake Trout

In the depths of Superior

Many things lurk. 

Large eyes and full bellys

Hug submerged rocks. 

One hundred feet deep

These Humpers dwell. 

Only in a Great Lake

Where it gets cold as hell. 

The Humper Lake Trout from James Prosek's "Trout: An Illustrated History" is a fun one to paint. I enjoyed the subtle variation in the color of the spots. 

Day Hike at Bear Church Rock

Sara getting us started. 

Yesterday, Sara and I woke up early and drove to the Rapidan Wilderness Area to hike up Bear Church Rock. I found the hike on the site HikingUpward.com which has a great list of hikes throughout Virginia and West Virginia. It rates the hikes for their difficulty, views, streams, solitude and camping. I was looking for something that had good views and streams. I was hoping I might squeeze in a tiny bit of fishing along the way.

This guys reminded us of our cat. Very Fluffy.

Bear Church Rock is an outlook that gives a nearly 180 degree view of the wilderness area. It is about 3100ft in elevation. You hike 3.9 miles (one way) climbing 2210ft from the parking area. The first 0.5 miles of the trail is along the Rapidan river. The next 1.7 miles or so hugs the Staunton River before turning up the mountain to snake through a canopy of mountain laurels and eventually navigate its way to the Bear Church Rock Overlook. There is also a small cabin 0.3mi off the trail you can rent. We met a friendly couple who was spending a few nights there.




We set out to enjoy a day hiking, have lunch at the overlook, possibly do a bit of fishing on the way down, and grab some barbecue and cupcakes at BBQ Exchange in Gordonsville for dinner.

Although I didn't catch anything in the 30 minutes I spent fishing,
I saw several nice fish in the Staunton River. I think I'll come back and try to tackle them again. 

Plenty of fungi for this fun guy.....

We did all of that. As you can see by photos, it was a great day to hike. We spotted lots of treasures along the way. The butterflies were out in full force as were the fungi. I got to see a ghost plant (Monotropa uniflora) which was super cool. I even stole about 30 minutes to fish the Staunton with the Tenkara rod. No fish in hand, but I had several takes. Several were nice sized fish as well, probably over 10". This would be a great river to return to in the fall.

Finding bright colors all over the forest floor.

We made our way back to the car and headed to BBQ Exchange. This place is so good and even better after a day of hiking. I suppose it doesn't really matter what you eat after a good day of hiking. Any food always seems to be very fulfilling. But I'll tell you this, there was no talking as Sara and I each got lost in a good BBQ sandwich paired with some fresh slaw.

We found several groups of Monotropa uniflora also known as the ghost plant, Indian Pipe, or corpse plant. 

These are parasitic, non-photosynthisizing flowers. 

Sara by the big tree stump.

Mountain laurel canopy. Very cool. 

I think crossing the path was this little guy's summer activity. 

The panorama view shows no man-made object in sight.

The Tenkara rod came along, but no fish to hand. 

BLTs at the top. Hit the spot.

Rest Easy, Friday Night: Vol. 15: Aoife O'Donovan

On this hot summer night, I bring you the cool, soothing voice of Aoife (sounds like "effie") O'Donovan. I heard her in New York at the Prairie Home Companion Show, and she was phenomenal. She also recently played on the Mountain Stage (hear the recording here).  She has been in the band Crooked Still for some time, but this is her first solo album. Sit back, drink something with clinking ice and beads of condensation dripping down the side of the glass, and have a great night.

Painting Through Prosek: Lake Trout, "Denizen of the Deep"

"The Algonquian tribes called the legendary fish namaycush, or "denizens of the deep,"..."

On page 34-39 James Prosek explores several of the specimens of Lake Trout. I chose to paint a bigger image of the fish as these can grow to become pretty hefty fish. "Some specimens up to 125 pounds" states Prosek. Just do a google image search for monster Lake Trout and you'll see what I mean.