fishing for words

For folks who remember gas prices crossing the $1/gallon threshold, this might sound familiar:

Stuck in the past: Some gas pumps won’t charge more than $3.99/gallon

$4 a gallon gas is definitely a headache for drivers, but it is posing an even bigger problem for some gas stations. In many rural areas of the country, gas stations with older pumps are discovering their pumps were not made to charge more that $3.99 9/10 per gallon.

Rumors of shortages can’t be far behind. What’s old is new again and again and…

A little bit lighter in the wallet, Christopher and I were another step closer to expanding out fishing horizons.

Finally understanding why fly fisherfolks collect numerous rods, my son and I attended, bid and doled out cash at the Diablo Valley Fly Fishermen’s annual auction. Parting with the green stuff was facilitated by our knowing that it would eventually end up helping any of the various conservation groups supported by the club.

Initially prompted by Christopher’s living and working on California’s north coast, Humboldt County to be exact; we hatched a plan earlier this year to find ourselves fly rods suitable for steelhead. We needed something on the order of 7 wt. rods with matching reels. And that’s exactly what turned up on the auction list.

The bidding was a bit infectious for Christopher but in the end he and I walked out with new Redington 9½-foot, 4-piece 7 wt. rods and CD 7/8 wt. reels. At a heck of a price. I also picked up a Redington 9-foot, 4-piece 5 wt. rod to replace the stick I learned on, an entry-level L.L. Bean 5 wt. rod I hope to hand down to some soul who might want to try a bit of fly fishing. Sean’s first on the list.

Once we get line on the 7 wt. rods it’ll be time to consider steelheading; despite all warnings…adverse weather, high flowing and cold water, and sometimes fickle fish that are constantly on the move.

Yeah, it’s a little bit crazy.

Got some pre-trout season fishing in with the club last Saturday. We headed to Kistler Ranch, which is just off Highway 108 and offers three large ponds (or small lakes if you’d like) containing bass, crappie and bluegill. The sky was clear but the wind played with us all day. Unfortunately, the water temperature was on the low end for bass and sunfish spawning or feeding.

This was my first time float tubing and I think I did well. The wind required constant adjustment, and a day later I felt sore muscles in my legs that I previously didn’t know existed. But it was fun to float around and target the weed beds from an off-shore position.

It’s said that “A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work,” and that adage applies to much of this day. I was able to encourage one strike during the morning, smack dap in the middle of some weeds. Ironically, I was fishing from the shore when this happened.

But I got the stink off in the afternoon with a solid strike and hook up with a decent largemouth bass. This time it was from the float tube, giving me the unique experience of playing a fish while floating in the water. Hope this is a good sign that I won’t see too much skunking during the coming trout season!

P.S. For the non-fishers, one refers to not catching a single fish as being “skunked,” hence the stink reference.