SUP Herd Thinning and the Good Grog

This was a busy (in a good way) Father's Day weekend. Saturday saw us picking up a Bass for Marlon (he'll be taking lessons this summer), washing both vehicles and dropping off the Starboard Blend in Annapolis as it got sold! If I didn't just buy the Hatch reels, I'd be getting a Hooked SUP - but that's okay - I've got a couple of Hatch reels. I will most likely get a Bak Flip for the truck so I can keep stuff locked up in the bed and a front mounted 2" receiver hitch. These couple of mods will make the truck super versatile - carrying stuff up front (bike racks, T-mount for the kayak, cooler basket with surf rod mounts) mostly and having the ability to keep the bed secure from prying eyes and hands. Well with the traffic the way it was on Saturday evening on I-495 North, we didn't get to Annapolis until 1900. We dropped off the board with it's new owner and went over to Eastport to grab some food. We settled on the Boatyard - pretty cool place and the food was great! And so was the beer. Nothing like good grog ;)

Change of Plan

No new SUP for me. I made a list of things/projects/equipment that I have based on focus areas and outdoors capabilities like SUPing in various its forms, sailing, kiting, fishing in its permutations - Western fly, Japanese fly, spinning, baitcasting, offshore, etc - and equipment in these areas to support La, Marlon and Noe. I prioritized what we have access to and what I've only partially resourced and I have come up with a prioritized list of procurements to fill some key deficiencies. In order, I found that I have Western fly rods without dedicated reels, the kids have outgrown the SUPs I made for them back in Gulfport Mississippi, no whitewater/high activity PFD, no whitewater helmet (although I do have a watersports helmet that may work), aging SUP paddles, a kayak that could use a rudder and possibly a third seat, a speargun with no reel, and finally no racing SUP (and finally finally, if someone buys the Starboard Blend, no flatwater jack of all trades SUP board). Obviously living in Northern Virginia does put a damper on SUP surfing, but paddling SUPs and fishing are very easy to do around here. With that analysis done, I pushed the new SUP (still likely an ULI Race 14) way back and I pulled the trigger on a couple of flyreels to bring that capability up to full capacity. I went with Hatch - and ordered a 4+ in black with silver trim and a 7+ in Silver/Red (as shown in the pictures). Yes these are expensive (I spent all the money and a hair more from the sale of my Naish 14 Carbon Glide) but these will be heirlooms that get passed down to my grandkids someday and they have the quality and performance to get there. And if you have been following this blog, you can see we have adapted to our surroundings and end up fishing a majority of the time anyways. Next on the list - new SUPs for the kids (soft top surfboards that can pull double duty - SUP in flatwater and surfboard at the beach) - keep an eye out as we get into next weekend...

ULI Fat Ass Quad Fishing and the Great Debate

In my last post, I described this quandary I was having regarding a proper fishing SUP platform, and that I was considering procuring an Aguera Hooked SUP. Well I had a little snag in that process - I saw yet another board to consider. The irony is that last night I did manage to sell one of the two boards I am trying to shed - the Naish Glide 14 - and the "other" board is an ULI 14' Race. I am now actively debating what our quiver of SUPs should look like and which of these boards I will end up getting in the short term (ULI 14' Special Edition Race, or the Aguera Hooked SUP). With my brain actively considering where we'll be in the next few years, and what boards would augment those projected moves, I stumbled on the fact that I already have a wide-butt board - my 9'3" ULI Fat Ass Quad. I even had 4 D-rings installed on it when I ordered it to hold a fishing basket... I took it out for a spin this afternoon and with the tally at 2 LMBs hooked but not brought to hand (head shaking hook toss), 5 other LMB brought in, 6 BGs of various sizes and a couple more missed, I would say the board works just fine! The weight of the fishing basket actually helped flatten the nose rocker ever so slightly. I do not think the much shorter length of the FAQ referenced to the Hooked SUP is going to be a disadvantage - the fishing spots around here are not distance oriented - I think the only downside is less front to back stability and a little more effort required if the fishing spot is further away. So almost by default, I think I'll be refilling the gap in the quiver I just opened up when I let the Glide go to a new home - I've got a few days more to contemplate everything (like maybe I need to buy some other stuff instead like a new 78" paddle... It never ends until you're done or you become enlightened huh?

Brood II Party!!!

Last weekend while I was framing the gyotaku, these guys were flying all over the place. When you got out of the car, you could hear a high pitched constant tone in the pitch range of Star Trek tricorders. These guys were dead on the ground - I wanted to study them to have a basis to tie flies from, but since the cicadas haven't invaded our neighborhood, the fish in our lake didn't know what to do with them - the local Canada Geese knew what to do with them - eat them like bonbons. The grouping was artificial - I arranged them like this for the multiple views in one picture. But after looking at it awhile I could imagine them slurring to each other - "Doooooode - I am so wasted...."

Quiver Optimizing

I've been looking at the Aguera Hooked SUP for a while now. I never pulled the trigger because I never saw it in person and when you try to conceptualize the dimensions, I just kept think "behemoth" - 36" wide and the wide square tail... Sure I liked the fact that it does everything - fish, sail, surf, fish, paddle and did I say fish? But I couldn't get over the width. Well when I went SUP flyfishing this past Saturday, I met up with Chris who had one and despite the dimensions, this board looked perfectly proportional! I knew then that one day this board would be mine! Oh yes - it will be mine!!! I broached the topic with La - I told her I would sell the Glide and the Blend and replace them with this - I pointed out that the Hooked SUP does everything the Blend does but better. Then she asked me why I'm going to sell the Glide and I said "to make up the remainder of the cost of the Hooked. Well - the boards are on www.standupzone.com and craigslist. Help a brother out if you know someone who is looking for a board or two - Buy these two boards so I can fulfill my destiny!!!

Brilliant Idea!!!

This was originally posted at www.standupzone.com on their Wind Powered tab. Now this is another way to SUP Sail - looks like we will all have to make a distinction between WindSUPing and SUP Sailing from now on. Seeing this picture sent my mind spinning (trolling lures without the logistics of managing a windsurfing rig, paddling upwind for exercise and sail-farting around back downwind, sailing until the wind dies and then paddle, teaching the kids how to sail downwind - and on and on!!! The things you can do on a SUP never cease to amaze me - besides this being a fun way to SUP on a lazy breezy day, it would also be fantastic spinnaker training - even jibing the chute!!! I've got an old kite downstairs and a crafty wifey who can sew.... I'm not sure who to credit for the picture, but who ever you are - thanks for the catalyst!!!

Latest Completed Gyotakus

I spent more time at the Fort Belvoir MWR Frame Shop yesterday. Enough time to finish up the big GT I printed over a year ago. The framing was actually easy - easier than the printing. The big GT is hanging in our foyer now. Next up is finishing off some bonefish prints, framing those, then to catch a trophy sized sunnie and print it up (and find a good recipe for bluegill...)

More Fishing Pictures from Today

I tied up this Blue Wooly Killer Bugger and got some takers - size 12 hook seemed to intimidate the normal takers... I usually use a size 14. Note the lip hook up on the bluegill - best endorsement if I may say so.

Overcast Sunday Fishing at Lake Newport

We went fishing down at the Lake again. We saw a ton of turtles again (the kids caught them without the net this time - they are getting proficient). Marlon caught six bluegills using an orange scud we bought yesterday from Orvis. He and Noe chummed the water with hot dogs and were not hurting for candidates for the rest of the session. I used a really long #4 line on the Nissin Seiryu rod - I caught a few including this large mouth - it came screaming out of some cover to nail the pink sabiki I had tied on. We saw this dragonfly stuck on the water surface - Noe jumped to the rescue. On the way back we saw this moth on the garage of one of the houses - common wood nymph or buckeye variety. I'll post more pictures in a second...

Amphibious Assault Craft or Nurturing Mother Ship

Catch up post from last weekend. Beaver Dam Reservoir. We went looking for the dense population of carp we saw as the air temps just started to rise - but they weren't there anymore. We did see a bunch of schools of tiny fish (we didn't have a net fine enough to catch them to see what they were - but with the timing, I suspect they are hatching carp) and a few sunnies poking out from the newly grown grass - which leads me to the subject of the post. This kayak kicks butt - we rode right over the dense grasses and got in to the spots where the carp were hanging out (albeit a few weeks too late). But the kayak also offered tons of storage space to satisfy thirsty paddlers and hungry tummies. So this thing is both an amphibious assault craft and a mother ship that can carry the kitchen sink.

Potomac Stand Up Paddle Fishing

Saturday morning dawn patrol of a different kind. Met up with a few other Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders for a SUP fishing session at Fletcher's Cove. There was tons of surface action, but whatever they were, they weren't taking flies. I stopped using my 8wt and picked up my Nissin Two-Way Fine Mode Seiryu rod - and the skunk went away - landed a small - small mouth bass! Fun time!

Might Need An Infusion of Something New

We went fishing - again. We caught the same things - again. We did have a good time - again. We might need a change of scenery to keep everything fresh. It's not that we don't appreciate Lake Newport and all the awesomeness it holds - but it does seem we've mastered certain aspects (catching Bluegill and Turtles). I did catch 10 BGs and 3 LMBs - Marlon and Noe caught as many turtles. I think we were just wishing there was something else to catch.

World Record Turtle Rustling

After we got back from getting skunked by the carp, we had to go take out our aggressions on some form of aquatic lifeforms. Not really - paddling in its own right was fun - better than not spending time on the water (but it still isn't surfing). Anyways - back to the story. SO we got back, unpacked the truck and made our way down to the lake. We brought our two fishing hand nets in anticipation of landing a few of the resident turtles. Well - the kids did that and more - they caught 22 of those turtles! Good teamwork in motion here! Marlon would cast out with a piece of hotdog on the hook and lure the turtle in netting range when Noe would scoop them up. I was orbiting the northern leg of the lake - hooked into some bass and ten or so Bluegill - nothing spectacular since the spawning season is over (fish have moved out to deeper water). Fun day!

Carp Wrestling - NOT

The wind died down today and the temperature was just about right for paddling. We loaded up the truck and hit BeaverDam Reservoir. We had ambitions for catching carp - flyfishing, hand netting and in a cast net - but those suckers were no where to be found. We did see a Great Blue Heron and a bunch of what I believe to be baby carp (swam around in large schools - about a month after we saw the carp spawning). La paddled our Starboard Blend - I had the fishing crate up on the nose and it looked pretty fast in the water. After a couple of hours, we decided to pack it up - darn carp skunked us!!!!

A Little Bit of Everything

So for the something-something details. We caught a few fish. Managed to land a turtle (they were everywhere). I lost my new titanium fly line. And Noe went zoom-zooming around the Lake on the Uli inflatable. Squeezing the maximum out of the weekends - that's our motto!