Gone Fishing

Woke up at 5AM to do a little fishing.  With a lot of house work to do, I need to make sure I'm out and back before the rest of the family is out and about.  So... got a few hours in on the stream and was home by breakfast.  Not much to show for my efforts aside from a couple of small small-mouth bass, but it was fun none-the-less.

Cooperstown Pick-up

Today was our 3rd trip to Cooperstown pick-up.  It's pretty funny how low key the scene is, even for ultimate.  Yet, they get people out there 4 nights a week so I can't complain.   Anyway, I ran around the joint with Jamie for a while, played 45 minutes or so of 4v4 (barefoot), then strapped on my cleats and ran a few wind sprints just to remind myself what it's like.

Baby Joggin'

Tossed Jamie in the jogging stroller and ran to the boat launch near our house.  Best guess, it's around a mile and a half away, maybe a little less.  We ran there, hung out for a while splashing in the creek and trying to catch crayfish, then ran back.

Camp Travers

We spent 4 days at Forest Lake with Jude and his family at Nancy & Kim's lake house near Grafton Lake State Park.  The awesome mini-vacation include a couple of 5AM fishing trips, and afternoon kayaking (including a bit of possible trespassing in a peat bog - we thought it was the Lake!), and work day at the camp (where we cut down a bunch of trees and hauled the wood to the burn pile).

DB Snatches & Pull-ups

Warm-up:

Running, 3 laps around FCCActive Stretching

21-15-9:

DB Snatch, left arm - 25lbs
DB Snatch, right arm - 25lbs
Pull-ups

7:00 Exercise Bike

Fly Fishing

After a couple of weeks of practicing in the driveway and backyard, I finally got a chance to get out on the stream and try my skills.  Since we had a full day of working on the house planned, I woke up at 5AM and was on the stream by 5:30AM.  It ended up being a beautiful morning.

I spent the first hour or so fishing a deep hole that I know has quite a few trout in it.  I started out with a Wooly Bugger that I thought would be promising and then moved on to some nymphs.  I really don't know how to fish those properly so I'm guessing that's why I had no luck there.  Either way, I was mainly there to practice casting.

From there I switched to dry flies.  I managed to lose two in a tree across the pool in pretty short order and was feeling pretty dejected.  At the point, I switched to a larger fly, which I have since learned is a Muddler Minnow.  I fished it as a dry fly, casting it up stream and letting it drift with the current.  A few yards upstream from the deep pool, I hooked my first brown trout while fly fishing in about 12" of water.  She was about 12" and put up a pretty good fight, mostly considering a fly pole is so flimsy and the drag on the reel was so loose, but I landed her successfully and she's now cleaned and in my freezer waiting for a few more to make a meal.

After that I continued to work my way upstream but the sun was out on the water at the point and I didn't get any more bites.  I didn't even see any fish rising at that point, so I climbed up the bank and headed home.  All in all, I got 3 solid hours of fishing in and got home just as everyone was getting their things in order for the day.

Baby Jogging

In an effort to get a least some sort of cardio work in, I tossed Jamie in the jogging stroller and went for a run around the neighborhood and down to the old soccer HoF.  I didn't set any land speed records, and Jamie insisted we stop a few times to pick wildflowers (I swear, she made me stop!), but at least I was out there.

Basswood Pond

After a day of weekend of working on the house, we packed up the kids and headed to Basswood Pond to meet up with Jesse, Jessica, and family for a Fathers' Day BBQ.  After splashing with the kids in the water for a while, Jesse grabbed his canoe and I my kayak, and we paddled out on the pond to do some fly fishing.  This was must first time using the old Pfleuger Medalist I found at the house, aside from some practicing in the back yard.

While definitely fun, it was pretty tricky trying to cast while sitting very low to the water.  Not to mention that the wind blew the line around and the kayak as well.  I eventually found a pocket on the pond that was relatively protected from the wind and was able to cast much better.  I had no idea what I was doing, and didn't catch anything, but it was still fun.

After tooling around for a while, I went ashore, picked up Jamie, and ferried her around the pond as well.  I think I'm in trouble.  All she ever wants to do is "Go Faster!"

Fishing in the Evening

Jesse and I decided to sneak out for the evening and get some fishing in.  The weather, after having been nice all day, took a turn for the worse.  A little before we set out, a steady rain began to fall and we almost called it off, but decided to man up and go for it anyway.  Driving to the stream, the skies opened up and it really started pouring, but we were not to be denied.  By the time we got to the stream, the rain had backed off a bit, and after a half hour or so, the sun came out again.  It ended up being a spectacular evening.

Due to the nasty weather at the outset, we went with spinning rods and salted minnows.  We hiked around a bit and found a few really nice pools, but sadly, no fish were biting what we had to offer.  I had a few give my minnow a look but the weren't interested enough to take the bait.

Before we knew it, it was getting pretty dark and we had quite a ways to get back to the car.  No fish, but a beautiful night nonetheless.

Cooperstown Pick-up

Once again we headed to C-town for some shoeless ultimate.  This time we brought Jamie and Beckett along and decided to trade off parenting responsibilities.  There was a large crowd out tonight so we picked teams and set up two simultaneous games of 5 v 5.  We played a basic round robin and then set up one giant game of 10 v 10 or something similarly ridiculous.  Again, not the best ultimate ever, but it was entertaining and we got some exercise.

Funny anecdotes:
I was picked first because I was "actually wearing real ultimate shorts so (I) must be really good!"
At one point, upon seeing my NY Ultimate jersey, I was asked if I played for the New York State team.