Fly fishing diaries | Pflueger spools

Since my antique Pflueger fly reel is the one I'll be fishing with while I learn, I thought it would be fun to learn more about it. With a little digging, I found a series of documents on the Fly Anglers Online website, documents that listed my model of reel and how it changed during its lifetime. My version of the reel was made for two years, starting in 1959, and came in two spool widths. I have the Model 1494; Dave has the wider 1494 1/2.

The reel belonged to my father-in-law, but we never found a 5- or 6-wt rod to go with it. It was carefully packed away in the original box, along with the receipt (he paid $9.95). It was definitely used, and needed some TLC... cleaning and de-gunking and some new lube, and it works perfectly now. It's old and a bit beat up, but I rather like the thought of fishing with a 54-year-old fly reel.

It just has one negative: it has only one spool. When we did our fly fishing classes at Red's, we both bought new Rio floating line. But since we're going to try beach fishing for sea-run cutthroat, I need a second spool so I can have an intermediate line. Dave has two spools, one for floating and one for sinking line, but he'd also like to have a third spool for intermediate line.

So I went to my go-to place for finding just about anything: eBay. And we found the perfect auction, tailor-made just for us: three new, unused spools, two for the 1494 and one for the 1494 1/2. It was fate, I think.

For more on my fly fishing journey, just click on the tab under the header.

Craters of the Moon

We're still on Day 3 of our road trip. We covered a lot of ground today, from Idaho Falls to Ketchum, with stops for geocaching and antique shops and photography, plus a few hours exploring Craters of the Moon national monument.

Drive far enough north of the interstate, and you start to find small towns and valleys and farmland, with a stunning backdrop: the mountain ranges of Central Idaho. I'm sure my jaw dropped when we crested what I thought was a small hill, and saw this huge drop into another wide valley, with a river winding its way through. On the other side of the valley, we headed east toward Craters of the Moon, passing world-famous Silver Creek, which many consider to be the ultimate test of a fly fisherman.

Idaho's Craters of the Moon is a remote national monument that you can read more about here. There's a tour route you can drive, with short walks and hikes along the way that explain the landscape and geology. The first stop was probably the best for seeing different types of lava up close and personal. I love the rich blue colors in this one.

Dave wanted to climb to the top of this cinder cone; I declined and stayed down below, taking photographs. There isn't a trail: you just head for the top. But you can see the wide disturbed streak that shows the most direct route. That itty-bitty white dot near the top was Dave's pale yellow shirt.

On the way out of the park, we took the Pilot four-wheeling on an abandoned dirt road that wound along the hillside just above a huge most-sunken lava tube. You can see it snaking through this photograph; the cracks show where it broke above the surface. (I'm sure there's a more accurate description; I'm just explaining how it looks to the casual eye.)

Our only reason for taking this road was to grab a geocache. But once we dropped down from the main road, we spotted the lava tube. You couldn't see it at all from the main road; it just blended in with the rest of the landscape. And we got another bonus: the hillside along the dirt road was covered in wildflowers. I think the harsh ground they grow in makes them even more beautiful. Nature has a will to survive that astounds me.

Shoshone Falls

Day 3 of our road trip through Central Idaho.

We spent the night in Twin Falls, and as we were headed north, noticed the waterfall symbol on the map. Since we had to stop and grab a geocache nearby, and since the waterfall was just a few miles away, we decided to check it out.

For anyone who hasn't been to Twin Falls, or has just driven past on the freeway, you may not have noticed that the Snake River flows immediately north of town. It's the reason the town stopped where it did, actually. The Snake has carved a deep gorge here, spanned by only a few bridges, with a few overlooks where you can walk to the edge and look down.

Shoshone Falls is 212 ft high, which is 45 ft higher than Niagara Falls. And it flows in several cascades over a 1000 ft wide rim. We were lucky to see it in spring when the water was still pretty high, but I'd like to see it when water is flowing over the entire rim.

We stopped at the upper overlook, and debated over spending the 3 bucks to drive down to the lower viewpoint. A guy who'd just jogged up the steep road overheard us, and said the view was so much better from down below, and worth every penny. So we went, and were really glad we did. This is a truly spectacular waterfall.

Historic Caldwell train depot

Day two of our road trip through Idaho, and we're speeding through the southern part of the state. Our trip is a combination of geocaching (working on the Idaho county challenge) and exploring (fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking locations). We stopped to photograph this gorgeous restored train station in Caldwell, Idaho. The structure was built in 1906 and abandoned in the 1980s, along with seven other stations in Idaho. This one was lucky: a foundation was established to restore the building, and today it's spectacular. It still stands beside railroad tracks, but hasn't been used as intended since 1984.

Trains are really Dave's thing, but architecture is mine. So we always search out old railroad buildings and stations as we travel, hoping to find a gem. I think this one qualifies, don't you?

Fly fishing diaries | The Yakima Canyon

Learning to fly fish has been on my list for years now, not just for myself, but also as a shared hobby with my hubby, and a way to spend more of our time in the wild. So I needed to be patient, and wait until the time was right for both of us. Retirement did the trick. Now we're free to plan trips, and fish whenever the mood strikes us.

My first taste of fly fishing came when a Sage rep (who was friends with a co-worker) offered to teach fly casting to a small group of employees. Anyone interested put their name in a hat, and they drew 10 names. I was one of the lucky ones, and got to spend a workday afternoon at a nearby park, learning the basics of fly casting using high-end Sage gear. My department's new VP was also chosen, and it was a good way to get better acquainted.

I really enjoyed the class, and in the back of my mind always was learning more someday. Mountain biking, then a bright red MX-5 roadster and lots of road trips took most of our free time. Those road trips took us to a lot of prime fly fishing locations in the Northwest, which kept the wish alive.

Fast-forward more than a decade to today. In February, Dave spotted a Groupon for half-price fly fishing classes at Red's, the resort in the heart of the Yakima Canyon. Perfect! We signed up, and today we headed over the pass for a weekend in Ellensburg.

In the meantime I'd acquired an antique Fenwick fly rod and cleaned up my father-in-law's even older fly reel, made a plaid flannel rock sock for the rod, and Dave made me a rod tube. The day before our classes we spent time in the shop talking about gear, and had them load up modern fly line on both our reels.

Saturday was the big day, an entire day learning the basics. I had a blast! Mike, our instructor, was a teacher before retiring, now he gets to spend his days teaching people about his lifelong passion. Red's provided all the gear, including Sage and Redington rods and reels, even the very high-end Sage One (which I loved, but they said it was for experienced fishermen like Dave). Sigh.

Over the course of the day, we learned several different types of casts, spent hours casting out on the grass near the river, learned the basic knots, and even screened bugs from the river to learn about the insects that fish eat. Our class had experienced people like Dave, people taking their second and third round of classes, and beginners like me. One young couple was learning fly fishing because his new job is taking him to Montana for business travel, and he figured that was a perfect excuse to learn... there are few places better for fly fishing than Montana. And his wife is learning, too, which I though was very cool.

Near the end of the day, they videotaped each of us casting, with a one-on-one critique. Then we got to toss a line into the river.

By the end of the day I was hooked. (Sorry about all the puns; I never realized how many of our common sayings are directly related to fishing!)

We decided to buy wading boots and neoprene wading socks, and spend the summer fishing from shore while I practice my casting and boost my comfort level. Then we'll buy waders and do more river fishing, then think about lake fishing and float tubes. Lots to learn and decide, and I think we'll have a lot of fun doing it!

Here's hoping that today is the first step on a journey that will last a lifetime.

The Tav

We've been coming to Ellensburg a lot in the past decade, ever since our good friends moved there in 2002. They hadn't intended to retire there, had other plans. But well, things happen, and before you know it, you take a different path. They grabbed at the chance to leave the city and try a small town, fell in love with the slower pace and friendly people, and never looked back.


Linda introduced us to The Tav. It's a typical bar in a typical small college town, and has been a student hang-out for decades. My favorite part of the place is the exposed brick wall, carved from floor to ceiling with people's names. Linda's name is here, carved when she was a student at Central, and when it's free, we sit in "her" booth. Dark wood, long bar and back bar, great food...  it's one of our favorite places to hang out.








Today we sat outside on the patio, which is surrounded by those same brick walls, carved with names of the folks who've spent time here over the years, leaving their mark on the place.

 Note that it's OK to carve your name on the brick, but you'd better not touch the wood tables!

Fly fishing diaries | How it all started

At the top of my retirement list (the one not in alphabetical order) was learning how to fly fish. I'm not sure why this ended up on the list, but a few years back, while on a road trip through Montana, the idea just kind of got stuck in my head.

My husband was a fly fisherman when we met, and we spent many fun hours at a river or lake, me sitting on the bank with a book while he fished. I loved the beautiful rhythm of fly fishing, but didn't really have any desire to learn. I was content to watch. When we moved to eastern Washington the fishing spots changed to the rivers in the Cascades near White Pass, or the warm lakes near Vantage, or bass fishing on the Columbia. But when we moved back to the west (wet) side, he hung up his rod.

We've always been backroads travelers, keen to take the county roads instead of the highways, the highways instead of the interstates. When we bought our little red roadster in 2005, the need to find the best twisty roads possible led us to explore the Northwest all over again, and every place we went, we started to notice all the potential fly fishing streams and the placid lakes just made for float tubes. Once in a while, we'd stop in at a fly shop, just for fun. But I remained a fly fishing wannabe, until we finally made the decision to retire. And once all those days opened up, the idea of fly fishing really took root.

This weekend it starts:  we're going to Red's in the Yakima Canyon for a pair of fly fishing classes. I can hardly wait!

Dave fishing for sea-run cuththroat
on the beach at Three Tree Point

A year ago

A year ago, I woke up at my usual time of 4:30, and smiled. It was the first day of the rest of my life... literally. The first day free from my job, career, work. The first day where all the hours were mine to spend however I wanted. It was wonderful.

This morning I woke up at 6:30, looked outside at the bright sunshine and the frost on the grass, and smiled. Today I'm taking my new camera out for a drive, to capture the brilliant blue skies and orchard trees in bloom, Mt. Rainier looming over the plateau, the foothills dusted with fresh snow, and whatever else I find along the way.

It will be a beautiful day.

Fly fishing diaries | Fishing with antiques

Back in March, when we knew we'd be taking fly fishing classes, I started looking for a fly rod to get me started on the journey. I still want a beautiful antique bamboo fly rod, but needed something less fragile and more utilitarian while I'm a beginner. Since we've seen bamboo rods in an antique store, we've been looking in other antique shops.

I should explain: I'm more of a "finder" than a "buyer" when it comes to starting out on a new hobby. I could go to a fly shop and buy a brand new fly rod, but would much rather find a used rod to learn with. The expensive new rods will still be there when I'm ready. If I'm ready. What if I hate fly fishing? I don't think that will happen, but still... 

We were in Leavenworth for the weekend, and decided to check out the big antique mall in Cashmere. On the walk through the building I found a couple of McCoy pottery flower pots for my baby African violets; cool! Good vibe so far.

Next I spotted a couple of Horrocks-Ibbotson bamboo rods in a glass case, and asked to see them. Unfortunately, neither was in very good shape, and they were a bit pricey for their condition. I'm not qualified to fix unraveled thread wraps and missing ferrules, so I passed on the bamboo. But around the corner we found a big pickle crock being used to hold old fly rods (I wanted the crock, but it was $200). The best of the bunch was a 1970's era Fenwick; when we pulled it out and saw that it also had a cool automatic Martin reel in my favorite green, I was definitely interested.

Dave pulled out the Android and did some research to see how good a deal it was. It was (especially the Martin reel, which was worth more than the combo). So $47 later, it was mine. Great condition, ferrules tight and wraps in good shape. The only negative was that because it's a 2-piece rod, it will need a long case and won't be very packable. But I can live with that. It's my first-ever fly rod.

I won't need it for the next step in this fly fishing journey. The fly fishing classes at Red's this weekend include use of their equipment. But I'll need it soon.

More on the journey: Fly fishing diaries | Bamboo

Birdfeeder with a tail

Only part of my smoke bush made it through the ice and cold of last winter (winter of 2012, that is). Not being sure exactly how much was damaged, I didn't cut it back. And then I thought, "Perfect place to hang my bird feeders!" The house finches and gold finches are very happy with the new location; the dead branches of the shrub give them lots of perches while they wait their turn at the feeder.

It's also a great place for the squirrels... but the feeder turns into a wild ride when one of them tries to jump on board. It's highly entertaining to watch them try to keep their balance while eating as much of the bird seed as they can.