Happy Fishingly New Year

Well, another fishing year begins.

Having and believing in very few superstitions, I am about to change my routine.  I have always been on the water the first day of a new year, because I believed I had to catch a fish on the first day to bring me good fishing fortune for the year.  Instead, Cody and I are going to travel to my favorite trout fishery, the San Juan River.  So, we are headed to a fine fishing destination on the first day of the year, so I think that counts for creating fishing good fortune.

I enjoyed 2011.  I accomplished several goals in 2011, and some went unfinished.  Some will rollover to 2012's goals, like catching a ShareLunker, and some will be incomplete, catching an Indo-Pacific Permit.  I  achieved winning a fly fishing related contest, creating a successful new fly pattern, and getting my picture in a fly fishing related publication.  I attempted setting an IGFA record in light class tippet,  which  is still pending.  I did not catch a ShareLunker, place in a bass tournament, nor did I catch a beautiful Indo-Pacific Permit, but that is okay.  The missing Permit gives good credence to returning to the saltwaters again one day.

For 2012, my goals are:  Catch a ShareLunker, Place in a Bass Tournament, Break an existing IGFA Record, Build a 1# and 3# Rod, Learn to Tye Good Deer Hair Flies, Add Three New Species to my Species List, and Expand Our Blog to 50 Followers.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2012 and catches the fish of your dreams.  Happy New Year!

Mud Hole 2012 Calendar is Published

Mud Hole has released its new 2012 calendar, and we are April 2012!  The entry submissions were impressive and numerous, and Cody and I feel honored to have made the cut.  The overall calendar is a great showcase of what people are creating.  No wonder fly shops struggle to stay in business.  Creating flies and building rods are fun hobbies, limited only by the creator's imagination.  Overall, the calendar has great photos detailing lots of creativity around the globe, with the exception of one month, which is so busy there is no focus.

Cody's original photo

We were disappointed with what Mud Hole did with our photograph, though.  Shot at over 8 MPs, Mud Hole and Fishing Photos, who hosted the contest, really altered the lighting on the original.  We understand it was to showcase the cork handle Cody built for my 6# rod, but it makes the rest of the shot look like Cody took a bad picture.  Being a professional photographer in his working life, their photo edits embarrassed Cody, and he doesn't want folks to know he took the picture.

Mud Hole is our go-to source for the majority of our rod-building needs, and we do like the calendar, especially since it is our first endeavor of entering the print media together.  (Cody has been featured in many different magazines fly fishing, so he is a little famous.)  We bought several, and who knows, we may enter the contest again next year.  We'll see where our fly fishing adventures take us in 2012.