New Year and my guys…

After a year of basically not tying flies, I am trying block blogging…It’s new for me and will take some getting used to… I have also been dealing with a host of surgeries related to kidney stones. It started in mid-June, 2021, and continues through the present with 6 completed surgeries and at least one or two more to go. (UPDATE 4.15.2022) I will probably have mini PCNL surgery performed sometime in May …Having a stent in one’s Ureter, for prolonged periods of time, is not a pleasant experience.

Waiting for surgery #5…ugh…

Big Moo and RoRo

So this year we will try and get RoRo into fly fishing up in the Eastern Sierra. This past Summer he did some exploring at Virginia Lakes…

This is the little guy at Virginia Lakes, CA…

This is a Perdigon box that I am working on that will be featured in my next post. – ( 4.15.2022 )

RoRo and Michael…up in the Sierra…

Ally and HERO – somewhere in Idaho…

Nick with a Steelhead at Heller Bar, on the Snake River…

Nick on the Clearwater…Steelhead madness has set in…

HERO …ready to roll…

Some new stuff to tie with…

Gearing up the “old guy” with some new Patagonia Waders…

Miles…out behind the Orange Curtain…

Because there’s something in it for him…

GMa and RoRo in da’ hood…

Some improvements on the Madison at $3.00 Bridge  ( from Blue Ribbon Flies)…

The three amigos on a 2 day drive down from Pullman, WA …4.12.2022

 

 

PT/TB… *edited (4.15.2022)

Starting again someplace…

I last tied flies in October of 2018. After all of the medical experiences I have gone through since May of 2019, there just has not been a lot of motivation to begin again…well, that’s over…

Back at the vise…

A few items I picked up at Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing Store on 4.16.2021. Most of what I had on my list was not in stock. I suspect it’s sitting in cargo containers somewhere off-shore West of Long Beach, CA… if at all…😓

 

…setting up today to fill a box with some patterns Michael and I will use when both of us have received our Covid 19 vaccinations. I am getting mine in February and Michael has to wait awhile longer…

HOT VACS – the thread version a BRF pattern…

HOT VAC – TMC 2488H, #16…

MONTANA BULLET – TMC 2499SP-BL, #16…

UV OLIVE / PEACOCK – Dohiku HDJ, #18…

B-UV PEACOCK ZEBRA PUPA – TMC 2499SP -BL, #16 – #18…

PEARL / INSECT GREEN FLOSS MIDGE – Firehole 637, # 18- #20…

WHITE HEADED MIDGE (Gray) – Freeman/Variant, Daiichi 1130,#18-#22…

So this is a beginning. I will do a dozen of each pattern with individual, group and materials used – as I have always done…

PT/TB

 

BACK TO TYING…

So…Michael and Ally provided me with some incentives to get on the vise again…

My other light like this is attached to my desk in Pullman, WA…

Ally provided me with some tungsten beads, Dohiku Jig Hooks and 18/0 thread from Semperfli…All from my friend Jacob Adamovich at The Competitive Angler…

Ally, HERO and Nick’s visit out to Rock Creek, WA got my juices flowing again…

 

 

NEXT: Some fly patterns I have been thinking about…

 

 

PT/TB

From THE DESERT to THE MOUNTAINS – Palm Desert / Idyllwild, CA…

Nadia, Miles and Planettrout took a ten day trip down to Palm Desert and its environs to fry in the the 116 degree heat and visit a place( Idyllwild, CA )in the nearby mountains to cool off…

Base camp…one simply does not go outside in the heat of the day…

White reflects heat…built into Nadia’s design of this house…

Pretty Bougainvillea ..at dusk…

While we were there, I went through a collection of photos I had not seen since 1977. Most of them will appear a different places in this BLOG soon…

Nadia cooked up some great meals while we were in Palm Desert…Prochuitto and melon…

Lamb Chops and mashed potatoes…

Miles , John Wayne and Omi…

Palm Desert sunset…

Puffy clouds at midnight in Palm Desert…

The route from Palm Desert to Idyllwild, CA…depending on traffic, it can take awhile to get up there…did I mention complete halts and flagmen ???

Up da’ mountain, Palm Desert below…

Cloud lake , had me fooled, up in the mountains…

A pretty meadow close to our destination…

Looking South at the opposite end of the meadow…

Masked guy in front of Mountain Mikes…he scored some neat stuff there…

Some necklaces for Lil’ Moo…

A leather bracelet with a magnetic closure for Big Moo (Michael Barker)…

A local bakery…

Miles wanted me to buy this ride for him…

The obligatory visit to the candy emporium…

Red Vines…Mmmmm

Masked Banditos wait for their order of Submarine sandwiches…We decided to drive down to Hemet Lake and have lunch by the water…

Waiting for the flagman…on the way down the mountain…

Some of the mountain homes in the area…Arriving at Lake Hemet…need to purchase a day pass to park at the lake…

This looks ok…

Miles decided to get his feet wet after lunch…

Flowering trees along the road on the drive back down to Palm Desert…

More flowering trees…

 

Miles…sporting his necklaces while we stop for some photos in this really spectacular environment…

Panorama of Lil’ Moo and the mountains…

Miles and Mama (Nadia) posing…

Cairn in the clouds…and NO…I don’t ever put these things up…I detest them on Trout waters…

Mountain view…

Desert cactus…

More sharp vegetation not suitable for sitting on…

A final look North of the mountains…

Back at the Casa to watch the sun go down…

 

NEXT: Some RETRO stuff…

 

 

PT/TB

 

 

 

 

 

The Little North Fork of the Clearwater River…

Ally, Nick and Hero and their friend Blaine took a short trip over to the Little North Fork of the Clearwater River this past weekend (August 22-23) to camp and look for some Cutthroat Trout. Their trip was cut short on Sunday by the appearance of a rather large bear which necessitated a hasty pack-up and split…🤪

HERO… on the look out…

A view of driving up in the mountains…

Are we getting close yet ???

More mountain road…

Almost there…

On the other side of the bridge.

This is the spot…but not enough space. So just before dark, a move further upstream…

Where they woke up to this sight…

Nick wades in… but not with the 9′,5wt. Winston Nexus fly rod and Tibor Clearwater reel I gave him to use along with a bunch of leaders, tippet and flies…doh…old habits die hard…

Nice hole…loaded with fish…Another view of the tail end of the hole from above…

Nick hooks up … using (gasp) worms…

A look upstream…with right kind of rods leaning up against the tree…

A confab with Ally & HERO…

A Cutty in hand…Nick caught ten fish out of this hole…

HERO …after being unceremoniously tossed in the 4X4 after the encounter with Mr. Bear – which no one documented…

 

NEXT: …a trip with Nadia and Lil’ Moo from the desert to the mountains and back…

 

PT/TB

 

 

 

 

ANIMAL HOUSE…

So Ally sent me this photo last night which pretty much sums up her life in lockdown in Pullman, WA while she is attending Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Just about everyone in her 2nd. year class has animals, including cows and horses. This is why we have great Vets. !!!

Ally and “Tater Tot”, HERO’s new best friend. “Tater Tot” is blind. She belongs to one of Ally’s study partners and likes to perch on Ally’s shoulders…

HERO in his usual mode when friends don’t drop by…

 

NEXT: Working on a tying SBS…

 

 

PT/TB

Another year…but who is counting ???

On June 18th, I celebrated 26 years of sobriety. Which is a big deal for someone who could not stop starting. I celebrated this year’s cake tour with my family at home where – it was most most appropriate considering the experiences I went through in the last year and being made acutely aware of my limitations by some very good doctors…

The medallion…

Cake from my family with Lil’ Moo…just grateful to still be above ground and breathing…

 

Next: A tutorial I never posted on the Retro Caddis and a fish or two by Michael on the East Branch of the Croton…

 

 

PT/TB

Finally…The North Fork of the Clearwater River…

It has been a long Winter and Spring. None of the family have gone anywhere except frequent Zoom meetings to keep up with what’s going on and the rapid growth of my new Grandson Cairo, who is not ready yet to make his appearance on this BLOG. Ally, HERO and Nick broke the ice with a brief venture over to the North Fork of the Clearwater River in Idaho to wet a line…

Somewhere in Idaho where it’s real green…

An anticipatory HERO on the road…

The North Fork of the Clearwater River in Idaho…looking upriver…

Looking down river…

HERO and Nick doing their thing…

A Cutthroat Trout to hand in net…

Ally’s butterfly feet…

A pooped HERO….

The view around here for the last two months…Lil’ Moo (Miles) and Mom (Nadia)…

 

 Next: I will come up with something to fill the void…

 

 

PT/TB

MUSSO and FRANK and DESERT in SILVERLAKE…

Michael and Aimee flew out from New York in mid-October to spend time with the families and to visit a favorite eatery in Hollywood. In the next posting, a baby shower for Aimee in San Clemente to welcome a new male member of the Barker clan who, for the time being, we call “Baby Bean”…

 

In the parking lot…

Old menu in the hallway entrance from the parking lot…check the prices…

Nadia gives side eye while Greg looks for something VEGAN…

Aimee and Miles…

The gang…Michael, Aimee, Mini Moo, Nadia and Greg…

Bet ya’ can’t just eat one slice of this sourdough…

Part of the menu…

Caesar Salad !!! Yummmmmmm…

Something I can longer have…

No Pacino, Pitt or DiCaprio at the bar…

There they are…in the MOVIE

My parents always sat in the empty corner booth on the far right. I have been coming to M&F since 1950…

Shrimp cocktail that Miles thought was gross…Big MOO finished it off…

Creamed Spinach…Bernaise Sauce 👍👍👍👍

Rings & Fries…

NY Steak…medium rare !!!

Linguini for Mr. Vegan – Greg

The last guy to finish eating – always…

Can’t take these two guys anywhere…

I texted Ally and asked if I could have one for digestive purposes…Yeah, RIGHT DAD !!!

This I can have…

Desert Menu…

Oh yeah…Crème Brûlée…

Something that Nadia had…Cheese Cake…New York style with strawberries…

Parking lot group photo…

A Latte and more desert in Silverlake on Sunset Blvd. …

Big MOO with Ice Cream…

Miles and Dad…

 

NEXT: Welcoming “Baby Bean” in San Clemente…

 

 

PT/TB

 

Big MOO Day on The East Branch of The Croton River…

I was under the impression that Michael would be traveling to upstate New York to spend a day on the East Branch of the Delaware but he fooled me and decided to fish closer to home outside of New York City. He had a good day…

 

East Branch of the Croton on one of Michael’s previous visits…

Sunday, November 3, 2019…

Nice Brown to hand…

Blowdown on the East Branch of the Croton River…

A Rainbow…

Another Brown…

Flat section of the East Branch of the Croton River…

Last Brown…All were caught on the two fly patterns below. A Black Serendipity designed by Kelly Galloup and my Buffalo Jump…

Brown, Winston BIIX, 9′, 5WT., Tibor Reel & Hat of MOO…

 

Next: A visit to Los Angeles by Michael, Aimee and “Baby Bean”.

 

PT/TB