Ashokan Farewell

I love this tune. I never knew it actually had lyrics until my son Devon sent me the link.
It was used as the main theme music in Ken Burn's excellent PBS series "The Civil War"
I find it haunting but sentimental at the same time and at the risk of sounding somewhat morbid I would like it played at my memorial service after I've made that last "double haul"
Anyway here are the lyrics and music...enjoy!


Ashokan Farewell (Words Grian McGregor; tune Jay Ungar)

The sun is sinking low in the sky above Ashokan,The pines and the willows know soon we will part.
There's a whisper in the wind of promises unspoken,And a love that will always remain in my heart.
My thoughts will return to the sound of your laughter,The magic of dancing, of moving as one.
And a time we'll remember long ever afterThe moonlight and music and dancing are done.
Will we climb the hills once more?
Will we walk the woods together?
Will I feel you holding me close once again?
Will every song we've sung stay with us forever?
Will you dance in my dreams or my arms until then?
Under the moon the mountains lie sleeping,Over the lake the stars shine.
They wonder if you and I will be keeping,The magic and music, or leave them behind.

There ain't no cure for the summer time blues

Dog days of August does not apply just to the baseball season to me at least. It's this time of year that the coastal cutthroat trout have retreated back into the salt water bays and estuaries because the coastal rivers are just a mere trickle right now. The Deschutes summer steelhead have not shown in significant numbers and the Deschutes trout are spawning and should be left alone.
Of course there is always the salmon fishing circus of the lower Columbia river at buoy 10 but I refuse to participate in that fishery. I don't do salt water very well and John Montana has yet to convince me of the wonderfulness of fly fishing for carp (great looking family JM) So after a pilgrimage to Mecca aka Metolius and another one to the NF Umpqua I'm just biding my time until the summer steelhead dam counts over The Dalles are numerous enough to entice me and my faithful fishing partner John Ramey over to the Deschutes. I therefore must amuse myself with major league baseball where my beloved Dodgers are precariously perched atop the NL West with a weekend series ahead with the hated Giants.


Or I can continue my search for the "holy grail" of fly reels, to me at least! The left handed retrieve Hardy Perfect.


Now you watch John Montana will claim to have one that he uses for carp and I will be forced to call the fly fishing authorities on him.

My God! Do you think he had me in mind?

This quote says it all! He surely must be talking about me.

"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process." Paul O'Neil - 1965

Fishing and the internet

I'll be the first to admit that I am addicted to internet fishing forums.....so shoot me! I've met a lot of really nice people over the years online. In fact some of my best friends have been met on various fishing forums. I've also met a host of phonies, posers and down right outdoor criminals.
I have stirred the pot a few times on these forums and deservedly, gotten the "cyber" door shown to me. So be it! I am who I am and if someone has trouble with that then they can go f....well you know what I mean.
One person stands out to me as one of the most real and sincere people I know. She suffers from a very serious health problem but you would never know it by reading her posts or her blog. She does not complain at all! She also will rip you a "new one" if you cross her but those who do cross her have it coming. She does not mince words and I find that very refreshing. She knows I'm talking about her and she is what I consider a good "net" buddy and besides she has some really cool tattoos.

Dog days of summer

We are kind of between season now as far as fishing goes. The Deschutes summer steelhead are just beginning to show and the trout fishing is tapering off a bit. I find plenty of diversion, however, in pursuing coastal cutthroat trout.
Very few people bother with them as they are catch and release only and most coastal residents have a harvest mentality so that means limited or almost non-existent pressure on these wonderful little trout.
Very peaceful and reflective time for me when I am out on the river casting to these fish. They aren't huge but are plenty aggressive and fight great!

Could not have said it better myself

Below is a series of quotes about fishing. Some good, some great and all relevant....enjoy

"A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it." -Arnold Gingrich

"Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains." Thoreau"

"Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout." -Irish proverb

"There is certainly something in fishing that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit, a pure serenity of mind." -Washington Irving

"If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere." -Vincent Van Gogh

"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." -Doug Larsen

"Fly-fishing is the most fun you can have standing up." -Arnold Gingrich, 1969

"To him, all good things, trout as well as eternal salvation, come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy." -Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It, 1976

"If fishing is like religion, then flyfishing is high church." -Tom Brokaw

"If fishing is interfering with your business, give up your business." -Alfred W. Miller

"Calling Fly Fishing a hobby is like calling Brain Surgery a job." -Paul Schullery

"The difference between fly fishers and worm dunkers is the quality of their excuses." -Anonymous

"Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God." -Tony Blake

"The two best times to fish is when it's rainin' and when it ain't." -Patrick F MacManus

"Angling may be said to be so like the mathematics, that it can never be fully learnt." -Izaak Walton 1653

"I am not against golf, since I cannot but suspect it keeps armies of the unworthy from discovering trout." -Paul O'Neil

"In my family, there was no clear division between religion and fly fishing." -Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It, 1976

"Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate." -Izaac Walton

Back in the saddle

Went out on Sunday for the first time since my mother in law passed away. Hooked a pretty good sized trout that made the day a real success.

It's tough to imagine that we won't be doing Christmas and Thanksgiving with my mother in law anymore. I think the reality of that fact will not truly sink in until the time comes.

A real end of an era......

Proud Dad

These are my children and the baby is my grand daughter. I love each one of them and am very proud of them all!
Left to right

Troy - 33 Devon - 26 Kari - 29 Bethany/with Heidi Anne - 23

Death in the Family

My mother in law Phyllis J. Lewis passed away this morning. She was, for the last 28 years, a mother to me in every sense of the word. I will miss her dearly

Here she is in February with Heidi Anne

A tough time ahead for my family

What should have been a great weekend for visiting my grandkids and enjoying them was cut short with the news that my wifes mother has taken a turn for the worse in her struggle for life at the ICU.
We had just gotten to Medford after a day of sight seeing the beautiful Crater Lake ( a first for me)
Got the call from wifes sister that my mother in law was barely hanging onto life.
More later......

Priceless

An imported English fly reel - $450

A custom made split cane bamboo fly rod - $1250


Leaving your $30 raincoat back in your car over a mile away while you are caught in a drenching downpour on the Deschutes river because you are a dumbass and you didn't learn from the last time this happened.............PRICELESS

All Along the Lee Shore

I love the ocean. I love the smells that are associated with it. I love walking along the shoreline and seeing the constant movement of life there. Now don't get me wrong I'm no "Salty Dog" or even a Salty Dog wannabe because I am a bit prone to seasickness but none the less I do love the sea and cannot imagine ever living very far from it.
One song that captures the feel of the sea is this one by CSNY from their "4-Way Street" album recorded all the way back in 1970.

The Lee Shore

Wheel gull spin and glide -- you've got no place to hide cause you don't need one
All along the lee shore shells lie scattered in the sand
Winking up like shining eyes - at me, from the sea
Here is one like sunrise, older than you know
It's still lying there where some careless wave forgot it long ago
When I awoke this morning and dove beneath my floating home
Down below her graceful side in the turning tide to watch the sea fish roam
There I heard a story from the sailors on the Sandra Marie
There's another island a days' run away from here and it's empty and free
From here to Venezuela there's nothing more to see
Than a hundred thousand islands flung like jewels upon the sea for you and me
Sunset smells of dinner
Women are calling at me to end my tales
But perhaps I'll see you the next quiet place I furl my sails

The Anglers Reveille

I especially like this poem"The Anglers Reveille" courtesy of the Contented Angler

Then come, my friend, forget your foes and leave your fears behind and wander out to try your luck with cheerful, quiet mind .For be your fortune great or small, you'll take what God may give,and through the day your heart shall say,Tis luck enough to live.

I know that a "quiet mind" is what I'm seeking when I fly fish. Sometimes I accomplish that and sometimes it seems like the worries of everyday life prevent it.

Another year another missed salmon fly hatch!!!

For some reason it seems like there is some sort of conspiracy afoot that keeps me away from the Deschutes during the peak of the salmon fly hatch. This year is no different as the engine in Kathy's car decided to say "adios"
Well at least I got to see a few of them this year in Maupin before they really started hatching.

The Quiet Pool

Welcome all to the Quiet Pool. Sit back and rest awhile and read about my fly fishing exploits.
This time of year is when my fishing really takes off as the coastal cutthroat trout season has begun, The salmon fly hatch is going on the Deschutes and the warm weather has finally gotten here...sort of