Look what we got

Couple of weekends ago Will and I went to pick up our new boat.

It bare bones at the moment. Over the next few weeks we intend to fit it out. Got to have some small comforts, don't we?

Cheers.


Update #1

We have begun the fiting out project.

Framework for the floor has gone in. Still needs some bracing. But you can get an idea from the pics below.

Time to expand

I've decided to expand the purview of this blog to include certain professional aspects of myself. My edublogs facility is not up to this as it is focused more on the delivery of curriculum content and resources to students.

Somewhere hereabouts will soon be a number of pages dedicated to the dark side (not fishing or bushwalking). There will also be a page or two concerning the more fulfilling aspects of life.

So for now I will say cheers.

Trout Opening

Went off to Trout Opening (two weeks ago!). Didn't catch a thing, not even a cold. It was a great though. Even the weather was on my side.

Got on to the river about 10:00. The only people around that time were a couple of deer crews. But other than that it was a quiet morning. The day was terrific and the river was running like you would'nt believe. The Buckland is not a big river as far as width and depth goes but it has a goodly gradient. On trout opening it was running really fast. Dangerously fast. I'm used to seeing the Buckland somewhat slower and lower. So this was a surprise. Not a fish was to be found and I am not wondering why.

Needless to say, from a fish taking view point the day was not a success. But, at least  I was on the river giving it a crack, which is something a lot of others were not doing.

I had a good day and that's what counts.

Tying flies

I have been busy tying flies for the upcoming trout opening weekend all this week. So far I've tied four dozen Hare's Ear and Gold Rib nymphs in sizes 10 to 16. I need to tie that many because my son will without doubt raid my fly boxes. Only about another six or eight dozen to go. Don't know if I will finish before opening, but that is the plan. Only time will tell.

Tonight I will be tying some midge patterns, sizes 18 and 20. Should be reasonably quick. The patterns are not that intricate. Maybe I can do a couple of dozen.

Got to get some new fly boxes sooner rather than later.

As I wrote somewhere else around here, it has been a while since I tied a fly and I got to say while the skills might be a little rusty, it is slowly coming back. The first few I tied were indeed shameful. Not even worth the trouble of give them a place in the flybox. And the time it took to tie them. . . well, let's not go there. But things have slowly got themselves back on track. While it is not quite the same as riding a bicycle, it is a long way from fallling off a log.

A long time ago, when I was living down in Mornington, a few of us (anywhere from two to five) would gather every Friday night at the friend's house to tie flies. We would talk a lot of crap, smoke too many cigarettes, drink some ordinary coffee and tie a hell of a lot of flies. The amount of material we would go through was amazing. But while my flyboxes were always up to date I never had too many flies. Sometimes I did not have enough and was forever in a state of perpetual anxiety about not having "the fly" at the right time. I suspect that is not an uncommon state to be in. It is a curious thing that while you may have full fly boxes there is always that moment of indecision when considering what next to tie on. It happens to us all, more often than we think.

I really miss those nights. Maybe in the not too distant future the Friday night/Saturday morning (sometimes we would go our respective ways around three o'clock in the morning) sessions will be resurrected. Who knows?

In the meantime I'm going off to tie up some midge size nymphs.

First Mumblings

I really dislike starting these type of things off. For some reason I am under the impression that I need to say something earth shattering, indeed meaningful, to the general populace.When we all know that is not the case. Rather, I think I will use this opportunity to bang on about anything I think is important.

Don't panic. Those things I perceive as important are, fishing (in particular, fly fishing), bushwalking and hunting (more on that later). The first two pursuits are things I am getting back into with a vengeance. In particular bushwalking after an absence of twenty-odd years. Fly fishing, on the other hand, has been something I have been absent from for only five or so years.

I'm now looking for opportunities to combine the idea of fly fishing and bushwalking. In fact now with trout opening approaching I am planing a trip for that weekend to the Buckland River. It will be a great opportunity to scout out the area for a classic walk and stalk (fish) trip or two in the near future. This is something I have great hopes of doing with my son.