My Colorado friend John Norman caught a big halibut in Alaska recently. Actually I don’t know anything about halibut so maybe, relatively speaking, this is a SMALL one.
I’ve seen John land 26″ rainbow trout on #22 flies. He’s a good fisherman. But I suspect he caught this monster while fishing from a charter boat using a block-and-tackle or maybe an amphibious fork lift.
I’ll bet it was a bitch to clean.
Any way you look at it this is a hell of a big fish. My buddy Carl Walter caught it near Sea Otter Sound off the northwest coast of Prince Of Wales Island. I think that’s in Alaska. But what the hell do I know?
I don’t think he caught it on a #22 emerger with a 3 wt. fly rod and 7X tippet. Anyway it’s a huge fish. Much bigger than any I’ve ever caught. It’s a 37 Pound king salmon and however he caught it, I hope he shares some of that nice pink meat with me.
Mt friend, photographer Jon Blumb, often goes to Scotland to hunt deer and fish for salmon.
Guided by head game keeper Bruce Cooper on Glenprosen Estate near Kirriemuir in The County of Angus, Jon recently bagged this beautiful 6+ point roebuck. Jon downed the buck at 160 yards with Cooper’s .25/06 Sauer rifle.They had been out since sunrise (4:30 AM ) and Jon shot the buck at 7:30 AM.
Jon sent me a photo of himself wearing kilts but his legs are almost as ugly as mine so I did not include it in this post.
Contrary to popular opinion, I draw a LOT of clean, family-oriented cartoons.
Here is just one example from the current issue of Kansas Wildlife & Parks magazine.
The sign on the highway claims you’re entering the Gloss Mountains. It’s a typo. This exotic area has always been referred to by locals as the GLASS Mountains. Located near the Cimarron River in Major County near Fairview, OK , Gloss Mountains State Park has hiking trails, picnic facilities and a gorgeous view of an unusual landscape. The glass (or gloss) moniker comes from the Selenite or isinglass that sparkles in the red dirt mesas.
What’s the old saying? Even a blind hog finds an acorn every once in a while? My long-time fishing buddy and fellow Heart Of America Fly Fishers member Bill Lindley boated this 42.5″ northern pike on a 7 weight fly rod recently.
Where? Someplace between Nebraska and Canada. Wish I had been there to slap high fives with him … after he washed his hands of course. Pike are really slimy.
I always look forward to our One Fly Tournament. The last few years it has been held at Lake Of The Forest in Bonner Springs, KS. This is a very old residential lake surrounded by homes and is full of fat, sassy bass and bluegill.
This year we were joined by some veterans from Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing.
A light rain fell all morning with temperature hovering in the low seventies: a fisherman’s dream. As usual those who arrived early and fished from kick boats or float tubes were the most successful.
The idea is to use one fly all morning. Theoretically if you lose your fly you’re done for the day. Small prizes are awarded for the biggest fish and the most fish and it’s all done on the honor system. Yes, some fishermen are actually honorable. This year the biggest fish award went to a guy who caught a 21” bass (that turned out to be “only” 19” when measured). The award for the most fish went to someone who landed an astounding 63 bass and bluegill. All fish were released.
The morning was capped off with a delicious picnic lunch, lots of bragging and probably some lying. But I didn’t hear ANY bitching.
I don’t remember what year it was but it had to have been in the sixties. That’s a ’63 Ford Falcon in the background. Don’t remember where I shot it . Probably the Marais Des Cygnes Waterfowl Management Area near La Cygnes, KS. Could have been John Redmond Reservoir near Burlington, KS.
I’ve been duck hunting since 1964 and I have eight bands on my lanyard now. You see guys in magazine ads with duck and goose bands hanging down to their knees. Do they plink birds with pellet guns in parks? It might be believable if they were old geezers like me who have hunted for years, but they all look like they’re in their 20s and 30s.
No way!
The recent OWK conference gave photographer Jon Blumb and I a chance to explore the Flint Hills area near Emporia, KS and catch a LOT of fish.
We spent Monday May 4th with guide Bill Hartman fishing a ranch pond for crappie and bluegills from float tubes. Being a terminal geezer and a rooky float tuber I had trouble getting into and out of the tube and I never got the hang of steering with flippers. But once I got seated I found it to be a very comfortable way to fly fish. Our supply of crappie filets was down to zero but now, thanks to Hartman, the freezer is full once more.
While Bill and Jon filleted the fish I sat in Bill’s truck, mesmerized by the solar powered hula dancer on the dashboard. She obviously has a sustainable power source and leaves a tiny carbon footprint.
After cheeseburgers at Jay’s in Emporia Bill took us to Noel Lyons’ amazing antique fishing tackle museum. Among other relics of angling days past was a casting rod made from a Sherman tank antenna. You don’t see THAT every day!
If you want to get off I-35, see more of the Flint Hills, and do some warm water fly fishing Bill Hartman is your man. Check him out at http://www.flyfishkansas.com.
Tuesday we spent four hours on Melvern Lake with Rue Armstrong of the Topeka Bass Club. Between the three of us we boated and released over forty smallmouth bass. The lure of the day was something called a Wacky Worm Rig. I had never heard of it but the funny looking rig quickly made a believer out of me.
Some photos courtesy of Jon Blumb.
