Isolation Diary
Placement:
A central focus on theme
(placement) yet the internal narrative elastic & nuanced, stretching out to
explore arising avenues & convergences.
In a country of rivers &
mountains without end; the aspens a million hands clapping in a hall forever
lonesome.
Thunder clouds drum from the
far, high Kootenay; sedges stir in nervous swarms above the pines, anticipating
sundown.
The afternoon shower drives
hard against the river stones, bowing the painted daisies to an assemblage of
garish supplicants.
A dark traveler, the angry
elephant head cloud drifts to the south & the sun breaks out bright as a
hubcap.
Moisture steams from the hot
slopes condensing to wisps of cloud rising like the smoke of ancient battles
not yet dissipated.
Let go. The trajectory is
secretly mapped on the brightening void air. Place the fly. Now. Without
thinking.
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| Watercolor & Ink ~ Doris Loiseau |
Easy Trout Spey Leader
Here’s how to build a good
15’ wetfly leader to fish with a floating line: 2½’ of 30# mono / 5’ of 20#
fluoro / 5’ of 12# fluoro / add 2½’ of
10# or 8# flouro. A rigging ring added to the 12# section gives the 15’
leader more versatility; or a ring attached to the end of the 15’ leader allows
attaching lighter tippet for up to a 20’ leader for fishing wee soft-hackles
over hatches. I like fluoro for a bit more surface penetration, though the
entire leader can be built with mono for top-fishing. The 30# mono butt section
provides good transition & a bit of stretch behind the fluoro tippet.
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| B.C. Sky ~ Bruce Kruk |
The Reel News
Review:
The Aquaz Trinity Wading Jacket
Not really in the habit of
endorsing products & don’t do it unless I’m so impressed with the
utilitarian usefulness & value of a piece of gear I’m moved to tell my
readers about it. Being duly impressed with my Aquaz waders now going into the
fourth year of guiding without a leak, I think it will do well to mention the
Aquaz Trinity wading jacket, for those who may be shopping for a pro quality
fishing jacket at an affordable price.
(I would say Aquaz quality is on par with Patagonia,
while the price point is about middle of the pack).
The Trinity jacket is made of
the same waterproof, 3-layer breathable material as the Aquaz waders. I am hard
to fit, being somewhere between a medium & a large, in most cases a medium.
I ordered the jacket in medium & found it to be a perfect fit, with enough
room to accommodate a heavy wool or down sweater worn underneath.
All seams are taped &
reinforced & the pockets tacked.
The shoulder/back section is
caped & ventilated. The hood is billed & roomy, with three adjustment
pulls to shape it the way you need it. The hood rolls into the collar, &
the collar may be worn up or down. The inside of the collar is lined with a
soft, fleece fabric, as are the hand-warmer pockets.
The pockets are impressive,
seven in all, three on each side of the front, the handwarmer pockets & two
ample tackle pockets on each side, one equipped with a row of rings for hanging
leader spools & whatnots. You don’t need a vest or bag with this jacket, as
it will carry all you could reasonably want in your trip kit (perfect for
spey). And the back of the Trinity is double-layered to form a storage pouch occupying the entire back of
the jacket, accessible through waterproof zippers located at both sides of the
back. The back storage will hold a lot of stuff – water bottle, lunch, extra
clothing, whatever.
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| Sculpin tied by Bill Shuck |
At The Tying Bench
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| Red Drake Mayfly |
Red Drake is king of the upper Columbia until the end of July. This big mayfly is actually a form of E. Grandis, (Green Drake), though mahogany colored, not green. It is an important mayfly in some of the Columbia tributaries. Mature nymphs are the same color as adults, so the wetfly I fish while drakes are present simulates an emerger, cripple, or drowned adult.
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| Red Drake ~ hook: #8 TMC 200R ~ thread: rust-brown UNI 8/0 ~ tailing: pheasant swords ~ rib: yellow-gold 'D' rod wrapping thread ~ body: mahogany SST dubbing ~ wing: black hen ~ collar: red-brown hen ~ head: bit of dubbing |
After drakes have had their
day we’re back to caddis, & also a #16 ginger mayfly present in the mix of
sedges into September.
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| Ginger Mayfly ~ hook: #16 ~ thread: yellow UNI 8/0 or silk ~ tailing: coq de leon barbs ~ rib: silver wire ~ body: natural amber seal dubbed ~ hackle: light ginger hen |
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| Late Summer Sedge ~ hook: #12-#16 ~ thread: tan ~ body: light olive or waxed yellow silk with a thorax of hare's mask ~ half-wing: bit of Hareline UV Shrimp Pink Dub ~ hackle: brahma hen or brown partridge |
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| Copper Sedge ~ hook: #12-#16 ~ thread: brown ~ rib: silver wire ~ body: copper tinsel with a thorax of hare's mask mixed witha bit of UV shrimp pink dubbing |
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| Watercolor & Ink ~ Doris Loiseau |
A Barbarian from the West
Emperor Wu: Why, Bodhidharma,
do you come from the West?
Bodhidharma: Waves on the
river.
Emperor Wu assails: What
pious deeds have you done? What merit have you gained?
Bodhidharma: No merit.
Emperor Wu: Then what is the
first principle of the Holy Teaching?
Bodhidharma: Vast emptiness,
nothing holy.
Emperor Wu demands: And who
is confronting me?
Bodhidharma: I don’t know.
From there, Bodhidharma
travels north until he comes to a row of cedars. Beneath the cedars he cuts off
his eyelids so that he cannot fall asleep; & trilliums spring from the
ground where his eyelids fall.
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| Watercolor & Ink ~ Jan Cottrell |
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