Moments in Time: Photography Tips

In Part III I discuss avoiding blurry pictures.
Moments in Time: Photography Tips: "“How to Get the Most Out of Your Digital Point & Shoot Camera. Part I” A photograph is a visual, two dimensional, frozen moment in time. No..."

Moments in Time: Photos Of The Week

Update of Photos of the Week
Moments in Time: Photos Of The Week: This week a shot of the waterfall that is on Coors cans but from a slightly different angle and a Red tail hawk kills a Coot.

Dry Fly Time!!!

Got Caddis?

It’s my favorite time of the year. Well, it’s tied with Fall, which is also my favorite time of the year. Spring has a slight edge because it leads into Summer. We know what Fall leads to. 

It’s the time of the year when days are longer and warmer, hummingbirds are humming, and songbirds are singing love songs trying to impress the ladies. Trees and flowers are beginning to bloom and fresh cut grass sweetens the air.

On a more practical note, it’s the time of the year when we turn off the furnace and put those saved dollars in the gas tank and get out and fish.

Ah yes…the fishing. Dry fly time!!! Longer days warm the air and water and the BIG bugs start to hatch. (big defined as anything bigger than #22)

First out of the chute in the big bug rodeo is the caddis. Here in Colorado the famous (infamous?) Mothers Day hatch on the Arkansas gets the big bug ball rolling. The hatch starts around Canon City and makes its way up river to Salida and on up toward Leadville. Caddis are now beginning to pop on the lower stretches of the South Platte around Deckers and will soon be going off in Cheesman Canyon, 11 Mile Canyon, and the Dream Stream in that order.

Another, often over looked, benefit of this time of the year is being able to forgo the pre-dawn fish call and sleep in, do some yard work or whatever, and fish later in the day. Many people still get to the river early and leave early too. The best fishing is often later in the day, even toward sunset, when the air and water are warmest and the fish are most active and looking up for an easy meal. Sometimes this time of year I won’t leave the house until 3pm, just about the time many early birds are leaving the river.

So, get out, go fish and enjoy the Spring!

GoLite Pinnacle backpack prelimiary review.

Some months back GoLite had a sale on Closeout items in their inventory. Among the stuff on sale was their 2010 model Pinnacle backpack. At $60 I couldn’t resist snagging one of these. They have a street price of $130 and list for $175. I figured if I didn’t like it I could sell it to a friend for the same smokin price.

Personally, I’ll be using this pack mainly to haul my fishing gear to high mountain lakes during the short summer months (about 20-25lbs including camera gear) and an occasional two or three day pack trip into some wilderness areas to do some photography (about 35lbs).

A little about the pack

The pack weighs in at 2lbs. flat and the volume is 4392 cu in. (or 72 liters) compared to my old Gregory pack weighing nearly 7lbs. of similar volume. This pack is a top loading style pack with a roll down top w/draw cord and one thin webbed strap and snap buckle to secure the top. It has side compression straps, a lightly padded, meshed back pad, one large external pocket on the front, an internal Camelback pocket w/port hole for the hose, sternum strap w/built in whistle in the buckle, lightly padded hip belt w/a small zippered pocket on each side, two water bottle pockets on the sides, a system to compress the pack when not fully loaded to improve stability, two ice ax loops and of course padded shoulder straps. The material used in these packs is Tier 1 Recycled 210 Denier Nylon Gridstop + Dyneema®; Tier 1 Recycled 210 Denier Nylon Double Ripstop; High-Void Polyester Mesh. The maximum weight loaded recommendation from the manufacture is 18 kilos (or 39.7lbs).

First Impressions

On my trip into Cheesman Canyon to fish and test this pack, I loaded it up with, wading boots, waders, lunch, a full camel back, my loaded fishing vest, a Mountain Smith lumbar pack (empty), first aid kit, two 9’ 5wt rods in one tube, my large net, a Nikon D7000 w/18-55 lens, a Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 lens, a Pentax Optio W80 underwater P&S camera. My guess is that it weighed about 20-25lbs. loaded. I hiked in about one and a half miles on a pretty easy trail.

The initial feel of the pack, after adjusting all compression straps and hip belt, was nice and snug but not tight. I could move freely up and down and from side to side without the load or pack shifting, which would suck when you are traversing narrow ledges, jumping from rock to rock crossing a stream or scrambling over boulders. The only thing that felt a little awkward was the sternum strap rides a little high and is not adjustable.

Hiking with the pack on was nice. The back pad was comfortable, conformed nicely to my back and didn’t get my back all wet with sweat. The shoulder straps were padded enough and wide enough to not irritate or dig into my shoulders. The hip belt was snug enough to keep the weight distributed and not resting overly on the shoulders or having to be pulled so tight I could hardly breathe, which was sometimes the case with my old Gregory.

The side pocket and compression straps are nice for carrying the rod tube and the buckle for the top is a great place to attach a net. I stashed my first aid kit and lunch in the large front pocket for easy access.

Once I got to the river and got my waders on I put my hiking boots, windstopper vest, and wading jacket (it’s was a little chilly at 6:30 am) in the pack. After fishing awhile I put the pack on and moved to another section of the river. With waders on, the hip belt slipped some, which could be expected being worn over slick gore-tex material. This put a little more pressure on the shoulders and was a bit uncomfortable.

The Verdict? 

All in all, I give this pack high marks so far. The only thing that concerns me at this point is the sternum strap issue. If they would make this adjustable it would be an improvement. Since this was the first trip with this pack (and a short one at that) I want to do a little more with it before I give it a final thumbs up or down. So the verdict for now is "Looks good, but inconclusive" You can learn more about GoLite products @ http://www.golite.com/main/home.aspx

 

A One Fish Day

A friend from one of the fishing forums, Bennyz and I got together to fish Cheeseman Canyon yesterday. He had never been to either Deckers or The Cheese, so we cut to the chase and cut the Cheese.

Weather was a beautiful 70+*, little wind and blue bird blue sky.

Flows were a little low at 119cfs and there was a thickening hatch of green weeds that fouled our flies on every cast. There was even a lot of clumps free floating in the water column that we would catch on our flies. A real pain in the butt. Fish were spooky as hell and bolted at the slightest movement. 

We hiked up canyon about a mile and a half and found some promising water to try. I packed in my waders and gear in the Golite Pinnacle pack I bought a couple months ago. It was the first trip with this pack so this was kind of a shakedown cruise and test trip for it. I’ll post a review of the pack later today. 

Anyway, we didn’t score a single fish. in the canyon. Benny got a couple tugs, I got nuttin. 

We decided to go try Deckers to try and avoid a visit from tuxedo kitty. It was tough going all day. We threw everything under the sun at these fish from every color and size midge to the entire life cycle of caddis and beatis, with no love. 

We did see a lot of adult caddis in the willows but only sporadic rising fish. After a frustrating day of nymphing we tied on some big dries from size 10 Amy’s Ant to size 20 para adams and just trolled the lanes trying to pound up a fish. We took numerous breaks and just sat on the bank drinking beers and watching small birds chasing caddis in the willows and watching for rising fish. Finally, after one such break I tied on a size 18 black foam body EHC and dropped a size 20 gray Para adams off of it and got a take on the adams.

It was a rough day, but being out on the river, on such a beautiful day was a reward in itself. And fishing with Benny was a hoot. I’d fish with him any day.

This herd crossed the river just a few feet from me

Fished 11 Mile Canyon Today

Went to the Canyon today. The weather was great, about 60* and NO WIND!!!!! The place was mobbed. Every spot you could pull over had at least one car in it. I got there early enough that I got a good spot on the river and before I knew it I was surrounded by Hole Jumpers and Water Slappers. I left my camera on the front seat of my car and wasn't about to go back and lose my spot, so no pics.
Fishing was excellent for the low flow (57cfs). Netted at least 2 doz and lost a few too. Got my first cheap slam of the season, a cutty, a brown, a load of bows, and a sucker.  :P
Fish were taking JuJu Beatis, KF Emergers, Stalcup's Beatis, and got one on a caddis larva. Tried some dries on some random risers but no luck there.

Moments in Time: Photography Tips

Moments in Time: Photography Tips: "“How to Get the Most Out of Your Digital Point & Shoot Camera. Part I” A photograph is a visual, two dimensional, frozen moment in time. No..."