When the rubber meets the road #41

Late spring is one of the better fishing times of the year. The trout are still on or near the top of the water and they are taking both dry and wet flies. As summer comes around and the water begins to warm up, they tend to go to the bottom and that is a whole different type of fishing.

Late spring is also the time when the woods crews start to fire up their equipment and the trucks begin to haul the wood to the yards and that means that the woods roads, abused by the spring mud and frost are in need of some TLC. Road graders are everywhere, and you can tell where the cutting and hauling will be taking place, because those are the first roads they hit. Usually the cutters and frequent travelers, have geared their vehicles up to accommodate the road surface. But, if you are running four ply tires that come on most vehicles, you could be in for a treat.

Woods roads are constructed to withstand extremely heavy loads and traffic. They have been built with something called, shale. Now, shale is rock that has been split. It can be very sharp and ruthless on rubber tires, especially on four ply tires. In the spring, road crews fix areas that need new culverts or need the water diverted in another direction. After they are done, they lay a layer of shale over the affected area and voila, you have an instant tire cutter.TC and I have tried every which way to lower our chances of cutting tires. That includes, but is not limited to, going very slowly over the shale to try to avoid having the tires get punctured.

Well, first, my trucks have always been outfitted with tires with either 6 or 10 ply and I have never had any problems. Unfortunately, my new truck has 4 ply and I just had not gotten around to changing them yet. So, when TC and I headed up into the woods this past weekend, I knew I could be in for trouble when I got to my first repaired culvert, one of many that we crossed over. We made it safely to our destination pond and had a great time fishing. When we returned to the truck, I noticed that the low tire pressure indicator was on. Now, that indicator never tells you which tire is going down. I guess they just think that it should be evident. Well, I am here to tell you that is not always the case. I walked around the truck looking at all four tires and not one of them looked differently or low on air. So, we took off for home. On our way there, we must have gone over 5 or more repaired culverts, all with a nice coating of shale. After going through the 6 mile gate, we stopped to take another look. It was at that moment that I noticed the right rear tire was down significantly on air. I told TC that we would try to make it into Ashland and find some air. Now, mind you it was now close to 9 pm and the streets were beginning to roll up for the night.  We stopped at the Shell station on Main Street and I asked the lady there where I could get some air. She informed me that she had some and was happy to put the hose back out for me to use. I was able to fill the tire up to 32 lbs. and then we headed for home. I am happy to report that we made it all the way and the indicator light never came on. The next morning when I got up, I went out to get some things out of the truck and the tire was still in good shape. You can bet that I will have it checked and most likely replaced, before I go into the woods again, but we had survived our day on the shale roads.

Don't get me wrong, fixing the roads is an important part of the process in what goes on in the woods each day. Without the repairs, the roads would not be at the level we are accustomed to for the remainder of the year, and the road crews do a fine job of keeping them in top notch condition.  If you plan accordingly, you will be much better off in the long run. At the least, have a very good spare. I have two just in case and when you are 70 or 80 miles back in the woods, you need all the help you can get.

On a different note, TC stated while on our way to the pond, “If we don’t catch any fish, I hope we can see some wildlife, especially a black bear. Low and behold, she got what she wished for. On our ride out, we were treated to views of four moose, numerous rabbits, a yearling deer and our favorite, two Maine black bears. One was so fast, that we just saw the hind end go off the road. The other was a year old bear that was in the middle of the road about 25 yards from us when we drove around a corner. The bear started running to the side and stopped, looking straight at us. It checked us out, got part way up on its hind legs and then decided that it was time to vamoose, disappearing into the trees.

All of these things make this little corner of the world so enjoyable to be a part of. It also inspires me to share it with whomever will read my blogs. It's just good stuff!

The Systematic Approach to Tying Flies #40

A week or so has passed since I was involved in a meeting at work where we took a sort of test to evaluate our personality style. It was no surprise to me that I was rated as Systematic. Now, a systematic personality is a person who needs a lot of information to evaluate things before they make a decision. Information such as data and metrics help me make decisions. The lack of that sort of information drives me to ask questions and seek more information so that I can process it in my mind, and then make an informed decision. I also need to see, in my mind, the finished product in some form or I have to research it until it makes sense.

Well, it should be no surprise to you that when I was asked by some folks to tie a certain fly for them, first I had to look at it, think about it, and then go to you tube for some more information. Unfortunately, that did not satisfy me. So, I sought information from a reliable source, and I knew that he would help me through it.

Let me start from the beginning. While at fourth Musquacook Lake, I was asked to tie some flies for the people there. The fly looked rather simple to make. It was made with two components, chenille and marabou. It seemed quite easy, but there was one thing that concerned me. I had never used marabou before and I was not sure how to transform it from the package to the finished product. My first stop in trying to understand it was You Tube. I watched a video on how to use it, but it really did not give me what I needed. So, I decided that it was time to ask the expert.

So, Saturday, I decided to head to my old stomping grounds, Fort Kent. TC and I headed up RT 161 to one of my most favorite places on earth. We both grew up in Fort Kent and have a lot of special memories of that place. The people there are so friendly, and I always enjoy going back, although many of my friends are now gone, some of my old friends still live there. Once in Fort Kent, we headed for the home of my 87 year old fishing partner, Rosaire. Now, if you have been reading my blogs, you know about Rosaire. You should remember that there are three rules in play when dealing with Rosaire. They are:

1.) Rosaire is always right

2.) When you know Rosaire is wrong, he is still right

3.) Rosaire always catches the biggest fish each year.

We stopped at Rosaire’s place and I told him that I needed a lesson in how to use Marabou. Of course, first, I had to listen to him tell me that he had been fishing that week and he had caught a lot of fish. I asked him where they were, and he said that he had let them all go. Right away, I remembered rule #3. Now at 87, you can imagine that he does not get around as well as he used to. I have known Rosaire for well over 35 years and have been fortunate to have fished with him. I don’t recall too many times when he caught the biggest fish but, again, I remembered rule #1. Rosaire took me down to his fly tying room and I told him what the fly looked like. He pulled out some gray chenille and some marabou, and we proceeded to experiment with the pattern in my head. Rosaire gave me the skinny on how to use marabou, and talked me through it until it made sense. After about an hour, we had copied the fly to the tee and I had a much better understanding of the use of marabou. From the systematic point of view, I had what I needed and was ready to tie some myself when I got home. Once again, Rosaire had helped me when You Tube could not.

As I left, it saddened me that he was having a bit of a hard time getting around. Slowly, his fishing was taking a back seat to his aging and that was unfortunate, but beyond control. Still, it made me happy that I could take some of his vast knowledge and put it to good use. I know for sure when I am stuck, Rosaire will be there to help me and get me through the systematic way of thinking that drives me. The results are far better than any computer video.

Oh, and as for rule #2, you can tell I am processing when I have a smile on my face on certain things he is saying while he is talking to me.

Sound the Retreat, TC, Head for the Truck #39

What could be finer?  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, nice sunshine, warm temperatures, and little to no wind. Sounds to me like a recipe for a trip to the North Maine Woods. So, TC and I loaded the truck and away we went. This time, we brought the 17’ canoe with the motor in case we decided to do some trolling. We also packed TC’s spinning rod in the event we saw a stream that peaked our interest. We made a quick stop at Ben’s Trading Post to pick up some worms, yes worms. In all my days, I never thought that I would have to buy worms with so much dirt everywhere. But then again, I never thought we would have to pay for water either.

We headed to the woods and in no time, we were at the six mile gate.  Ed was on duty and in between printing the pass; he let us know that the bugs were pretty bad. I was not buying it, as I had just been in the woods last week and there were none to be found. No matter, I want you to know that I am pretty tough. I have never run away from bugs in the woods. If you venture into the woods, you just know that you are going to run into them at some time. You learn to co-exist with them, and they make things like OFF and CUTTERS to help you cope.

Well, we got to our destination, and got out of the truck to untie the canoe and get our stuff ready, and I want to tell you we got our first dose of reality. The bugs were there in full force. We knew then and there that we had a fight on our hands. But remember, we don’t back down……

Now, SIMULIUM YAHENSE, or black flies are little flying bugs that tend to be a big nuisance.  When they bite, you know it and you continue to remember for several days afterward. They thrive on buzzing around you, or by you, like Maverick did when he buzzed the tower in TOP-GUN. There is one exception, the black flies don’t stop after one time, no sir, they continue and continue until they get you or you get them, or you retreat to a place where they cannot get you.

TC and I hurried up and got the boat on the water. By then, there was a good breeze and I thought we would escape them. Ah! No… It became quickly apparent that they made the trip to, and they brought reinforcements. They harassed us, landed on us, bit us and we just kept adding fly spray to no avail. A pair of loons on the water kept a watchful eye on us the whole time we were there. They probably had made a bet as to how long we would last. Then the rain came and I was certain that the flies would leave. Wrong again, they stayed and for some reason, I really believe they brought additional platoons. They were everywhere.

Two hours went by and finally we decided to retreat to the truck. Before we landed, TC made a plan to load the canoe real quick and throw everything in the back of the truck and go down the road a ways where we could regroup, and at the same time escape them. Someone in the fly platoon must have heard our plan, because as we landed, the entire army was there to greet us. It was horrible. I don’t quite remember how long it took us to pack up, but let me tell you, I don’t think I can ever do it that fast again.

Once down the road, we stopped and tightened the canoe and took off our rain gear. At that point, I realized that we had lost the battle. We had fought hard, but could not claim victory. They had driven us out of their territory. There was one thing that I kept thinking about as I drove home. I had lost the battle, but not the war. TC and I lived to fight another day and we will be up to the challenge. And, no, we did not stop to do some stream fishing. Now, I wonder what I can buy that will be better than OFF and CUTTER.

One final note, TC did catch her first trout on her new fly rod. See, the trip was not a total retreat!