Project Healing Waters second annual 2 fly tournament

 

Dispatches from the Potomac covered the sixth annual two fly tournament for Project Healing Waters. This is such a phenomenal group, and I hope my local chapter calls me or emails me back. Soon.

The author, Ed, did a I fantastic job describing the touching wins that happened all day long. His pictures tell a better story still.

Read the post here.

A love of food

There is something that every fisherman of every kind, be it Tenkara, fly, saltwater, freshwater... noodling...

From whatever fishing preference you hail from, we share something in common.

A love of food.

You could even argue on a philosophical level that our love of food is what ties us to the sport of fishing (no pun intended.) We are trying to appeal to one creature's love of food as well, and spend all kinds of time and money doing so.

In honor of this love, I am sharing one of the most amazing foods I have ever fed upon. 

Thank you, Honey, for finding it, and thank you Two Peas and Their Pod for being awesome. (This is an original recipe of theirs!)

I found it intensely refreshing. The cucumber adds a snap that excites the eating experience, but is not required. Note the instructions at the very bottom. 

Enjoy!

The Edamame Avocado Salad Sandwich

 

Yield: Enough salad filling for 4 sandwiches

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon wasabi paste
Garlic chile paste, to taste (I use 1/8 teaspoon)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bread slices (I use Sesame Seed or Whole Wheat Bread)
Cucumber slices, for serving, optional

Directions:

 

1. Place edamame in a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times to chop up the edamame, you don't want a puree. Scrape the edamame into a medium bowl. Add the avocado and mash the edamame and avocado together with a fork.


2. Add in the garlic, green onions, rice vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, wasabi, and garlic chile paste. Stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place salad filling on bread slices and top with cucumber slices. Serve.


Note-The salad is best eaten the day it is made. The salad filling can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but it might turn slightly brown due to the avocado. Save the avocado pit and place it in the middle of the salad or add a little extra lime juice to prevent browning.

Job change and dead week.

Goodbye, US Cellular.

4 years of experience in retail wireless. Just finished my last day about two hours ago.

On to Business Account Management at Terminix!

This week, as mentioned in my previous post, I am graduating from College. I like to call this dead week. The best thing I can do for our home and family right now is help my wife juggle all things that must be accomplished before family comes into town, and that means no fishing.

Be expecting some product reviews. I've got a Panther Vision cap I got from my sister that I want to review, plus I might do one on the fly line I use.

In the meantime, check out River Hunter Flies new creation, the "Gut Buster"! Read his post about it.

Looks great for warm water! Shoot, I'd eat it. If I did that sort of thing.

The Redington Blackfoot River Fly Fishing Vest

Christmas has always been a big gift-giving/gift-receiving time for our family. My wife and children and I received many and gave many last Christmas, but none of mine was so anxiously kept safe for three months than this, bestowed by my mother and sister:


  Redington Blackfoot River Fly Fishing Vest  
When I opened it, I felt giddy. I felt excited. I wore it around my sister's house. I considered wearing it during the hour-long car ride home.

With my fly fishing adventure beginning to unfold in force after two seasons of carrying around a box,  I marveled at the technology that was the fly vest. A tackle box you can wear. How exciting!

So far, I am very passionate about the utility of this Redington vest. I have taken a swim in it before - not that I wanted to - and it dried very quickly.

There are plenty of pockets for all of the different tools and gear that I currently carry, with more for when I have everything else that I might need in the future for fly fishing.

I love it, and I recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive starter or one that will last you a long time.

Please take a minute to comment on some questions:

• Do you use any Redington gear? If so, what do you think?
• Are all vests created equal? Why or why not?
• Was I a weirdo to get so excited about it that I wore it around the house during Christmas?

Discuss.

Carp on the Fly defines the word "Big"

One of my new favorite blogs, Carp on the Fly (link to main page here), posted something today I think everyone should understand better, as I now do: the definition of the word "big" when it comes to fish, especially carp.



The author of Carp on the Fly holding a small horse big carp



This, my first carp, is the antithesis of 'big', and it almost took my line out down to the backing. Can't wait to hook into a 'big' one!



An Orvis affiliate... cool!

Really neat little tidbit... through the Google Affiliates Network, I have been accepted as an affiliate with Orvis!

I will post good advertisements as they come my way. Hopefully it saves those investing in Orvis gear a few bucks, and gets a good name out there for more to see!

They will be figured in the right-hand side, until I find a better place for them.

This week's:

Buy a Pro Guide Wader and Choose Your Boot for Half Price

  Only good till the 30th, so go crazy if you need 'em!   

Graduate? Don't mind if I do. Or am.

What a crazy month! As I organize the mass of experiences I have gone through or will be going through in the near future, 'graduate' is the perfect word. It applies right now in four different ways. Fly fishing is mentioned in two out of the four, although flies have something directly to do with 3 out of the 4.

1. College

First, college.

Yes, ostrich, grammar does matter. A big thanks to Jenna Johnson for sharing this really funny tumblr feed. Just click the ostrich to see them all!

I will become a graduate next Saturday. From college. That's right, folks... it's been 9 years.  B.A. in Foreign Language - Spanish Emphasis from UNO, next Saturday. Woohoo! 

2. Fish species caught on a fly

 I went out with a good friend this morning, Brett Carruthers (featured below), who introduced me to Bennington Lake here in Omaha. He introduced me to the pond on the West side of 180th on that map.

His weapon was a spinning rig alternating between a jig and a large spinner. Hooked into a big one right at the beginning: I'm a witness! It got off like 6 feet from him, so we'll call it a quick release.

How did I graduate in species? Well, I landed a nice, chunky little largemouth first thing on an olive weighted Woolly, switched to a white Wal-Mart popper and caught something new.

Chalk the Black Crappie up on the list of fish caught on a fly.

Then I caught this beautiful little guy. Caught a few of them, actually, but this was the biggest. The beautiful purple coloration is really starting to pop in these guys.

I was very grateful for the action this morning, and to enjoy it alongside a good buddy.

  

3. Awareness of how fishing can help those who hurt 

I absolutely have to give a quick bump to my post about Project Healing Waters, as well as include more organizations that help those who hurt through fly fishing.

Project Healing Waters

(Also, Wounded Warrior Project, a site unrelated to fishing that allows you to contribute to the care and recovery of wounded soldiers in general.)

Casting for Recovery

4. Employment

On Monday, April 30th, I begin new employment as a Business Account Manager for Terminix.

Terminix. Flies. Get it? Okay, maybe it was a long shot, but hey.

Gotta love graduation.