fly fishing in w. pa

so, its been a while, but there are a bunch of trout in the traverse creek and they seem to like to hang out at the confluence of raccoon creek, they are also partial to caddisflies, or were at least biting on them. unfortunately i cant catch any of them. all i've been able to catch thus far are creek chubs.

yesterday i kayaked about 2 miles upstream from 151 on the raccoon creek and didn't see anything other than minnows and had no other fishing luck. i did manage to break my paddle when i tried to kayak over a log and got stuck. thats all the news i have today.

allegheny river

i have returned from my vacation and decided i would again update my blog with the latest of happenings. my brother and i spent five days conoeing the allegheny river from its humble beginnings at the kinzua dam to the quaint town of emlenton. we completed this trek in a large unwieldy, yet surprisingly nimble metal canoe.



we covered 107 miles of this beautiful pennsylvania terrain, camping on islands, trying to get my camera out in time to get pictures of herons, eagles and other assorted wildlife and deftly maneuvering rapids and riffles along the way. we had zero tippages, and this included us making it through the class 2 rapids in oil city.



the fishing was fantastic, with both of us bringing in about 10 smallmouth bass each. we really only spent the last two days (franklin to emlenton) fishing, so i cant really verify how the fishing was for the first part of the trip. if anyone reading this has a weekend to kill, and enjoys extended periods of time in a boat, i highly recommend putting in around franklin and riding it down to emlenton. river maps can be found at the pa fish and boat commission webpage ( www.fish.state.pa.us). well, thats enough on that, i really just wanted to post a few pictures, but felt i needed dialouge to accompany them.

Happy Birthday

i wanted to point out to any faithful & patient readers that i might have that today is the birthday of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, pioneer of the rigid dirigible. Happy Birthday and thank your for you pioneering spirit and extraordinary work in the field of airships.

trout fishin' in western pa. part 2

as april draws nigh, so does the beginning of trout fishing in western pa. throughout the commonwealth, anglers are picking out flies and brushing up on their knot tying skills. as trout season draws nigh, so does "trout fishin' in western pa. part 2" on joshua's blog. unfortunately it won't be so this year. due to the fact that last year my running log of fishing expeditions turned into a running log of visits to the chiropractor, i decided to put this section to rest. it is also being laid to rest because i'm lazy and don't feel like updating my blog every other day. (my current pace is roughly once every few months.) i rarely turn my computer on every day. pictures may be put up, if i feel so inclined, but in parting, i'll leave with this excerpt from Trout Fishing in America, by Richard Brautigan:
It was not an outhouse resting upon the imagination:
It was reality.
An eleven-inch rainbow trout was killed. Its life taken forever from the waters of the earth, by giving it a drink of port wine.
It is against the natural order of death for a trout to die by having a drink of port wine.

au revoir, ma cherie

good bye, stacey
or
sappy poetry for my ex-car

you were brown
i wore you down

once you were hot
but i rode you ragged

you lost your rear view mirror
i had mr smith screw it back on with a 3/8 inch bolt

when i let you alone
they hit you with force
when i was in you
they did the same
i did nothing...

over hills and down dirt paths we rode
thats why i tore through wheel bearings
that is what i am told

we met when you were merely 19, i was 20
i let you go at 152, i was only 25

i traded memories and character for a new sassy little sweetheart
i have no regrets, i did the same for you

on your deathbed, you made noises no mechanic had ever heard
i had a beard
i was still alive

they called sloopy
i called you a trooper
i sold you out
for 250 dollars

bon voyage, rest in peace

the nutmobile

upon finding things like these freely roaming our streets, i don't dislike capitalism so much...

thank you planter's for making me feel good about america, again . . .

how i feel right now . . .