Not my first time there, and certainly wont be my last. Visited some family in Maryland and headed to DC as well. Not all trips were by bike, but I thought I'd post the photos anyway.





Amazingly, thats where I would've tried fishing too.




I guess I probably qualify as a Fred


Really enjoyed the trail, even though it was pretty busy despite the heat.




The next day we headed into DC, since I hadn't been to Arlington since I was very young and know a few people who've started serving their perpetual guard there.




Unfortunately, some graves were fresh. This soldier lived a long life - some weren't so lucky.




The bright flowers provided stark contrast to the white marble that seemed to be everywhere.


This truck was waiting. Waiting for a family to let their soldier go.


There was a Women in Service exhibit there


They had these photos up along one wall with a story, written by the soldier, next to it.


The eyes. Some of them really said more than the letter next to them.


Amongst the somber nature of this place, there was still humor.


Being an inlander you can't go to Maryland and not get some crab


And fresh fish.


30 crab for 4 people. It was a really fun 2.5 hours.


Next time, hopefully, we'll conquer more of the C&O and maybe even some back roads.

Ticking Species Off The Lifetime List

I took a brand new fly angler fishing back in May, targeting small mouth in my favorite warm water small stream Oddly though, his very first fish on a fly rod was one that many fly rodders pursue a long time before landing their first, especially where we live.

Walleye. Not huge, not tiny, every bit as toothy as expected.

I couldn't be shown up by the new guy, so I had to catch my own... and it had to be bigger.

Walleye? CHECK.

Even the Smallmouth Liked The Cold

This April was very warm, and the small stream smallmouth were active.

First smallie of the season

Late Fall Trouting is Risky in Wading Boots

Late last fall I headed north to a river that I had only fished once before to find the water was much higher than I expected it to me. The air was cool, the sun was warm, and the area had the typical smell of blackpowder and leaves that have become so familiar to me in the fall.

I love this time of year. I typically avoid the woods and fishing in general during hunting season but the weather is perfect, so I spend as much time out doors as possible. The only problem is the leaves.

The slippery, wet, dangerous leaves.

I climbed down this, in my waders and wading boots, to fish an area I thought might produce some brook trout only to find the water ridiculously high and completely un fishable.

I then spent the next 30 minutes looking at this.

Since every time I'd try to climb out, I'd slide back down.

I eventually was able to use a combination of trees, rocks, and luck, to get to the top, where I found that I had wandered a bit away from my entry point and was faced with a 6 foot sheer wall of rock.

Obviously, I'm writing this using my solar powered cell phone for internet, because I'm not nimble enough to scale a wall.

At least I managed one fish on the day.

An Icey Recap

As part of my "catching up" series, I figured I should cover my ice fishing season. I had a ton of fun this year on the ice and got out a bit more than I had before, with a bit more success than before. Here's the photo recap.

Fat perch from a small pond

First ice is always fun. Ice came early this season. This photo is from December 20th, 2009

Just a few days later, on Christmas Eve, I went out for a couple of hours solo to a different small pond to find 8+ inches of ice and hungry fish

Ice Out Fishing Is Worth The Frostbite

Fishing ice out can be cold and miserable. The fish are almost always there, but not always hungry, or pissed off, enough to take your flies, lures, or worms.

This year seemed to be different and special.

Short Sleeves and Largemouth On the First Of May?

The weather has been warm and kind of unusual this year. I caught up with an old friend that I hadn't seen in quite a while and we took a boat out on the large lake nearby. It was a slow day, but great for May. I lost one big smallmouth when it jumped and I wasn't prepared for it, but still wound up coming away with one of my favorite photos of this season.

They Will Survive.

As I mentioned last year, June 22nd is a good day for fishing. This year the fishing wasn't spectacular and I was tired from training entering the week before my triathlon but spending time in the woods, away from the masses, was as great and refreshing as usual. Dapping and casting from 7 or 8 feet from the bank were the tickets today. Stealth was important.

Second little guy of the day

And his house

Thin little headwaters

came from a deep bend pool

Fiesty little rainbow

Look closely. Where's waldo?

Where I've Been

I've mentioned a few times that I decided to complete a triathlon. It was a long road there, and my other-than-triathlon life sort of fell by the way side, including fishing. I did get out a bit, but not nearly as much as I used to.

Here's the photos, taken by my loving, supportive wife, during my first ever triathlon.

The helmet matching the bike? Pure coincidence. You see, I had forgotten my helmet at home, and its a requirement, so that was a helmet belonging to a very nice gentleman named Chaz.

The bike ride was harder than I had trained for and my legs felt terrible here. I had practiced this a dozen times and never felt this bad. Luckily, it eventually went away.

My official time was 1:51:19. 236th place out of 250. Last in my age group. None of that matters - I finished a damn triathlon. My time is 9 minutes faster than my goal. Nine. Minutes.