Ice Fishing 101

(On the ice right before sunrise)

Ok, so sorry I haven't had a new post for a few days, I figured people would be busy with Thanksgiving and such and so I let it slide. Regardless, here I am with an informative update. I should charge you guys for this one but we're cool.

Ice fishing 101:

The people. So one of the first people I met in town (Robby) is huge into fishing. In fact, he is currently working on opening up his own fishing guiding company, the dude knows his stuff, is geared-out and fully loves to fish. For me it works out pretty great because I know next to nothing and have zero gear.

The gear.
So some fools have a manual drill, which works fine if you keep it sharp. However, as I implied, Robby isn't messing around and he rolls out on the ice with a power drill so he can make about a ten to twelve inch diameter hole in the ice without so much as breaking a sweat.




(Robby, a couple fishin' holes and the power drill)





Not only does Robby have a sweet power drill, more importantly he has a portable combo sled/tent that he can pack into his truck and slide around behind him on the ice. He's mentioned that when some snow covers the ice it can be tough to move the sled but so far it has been easy going. The tent is plenty big for fishing for two and I've been told we can get a heater going when it gets cold(er).


In my infinite wisdom I forgot to take a picture of the entire tent (in my defense it's pretty chilly outside of the tent and once I'm in I'm in) but this pic shows the view from inside, the fishin' holes and one of the last pieces of equipment, the fish finder. Now when I first went with Robby I thought a high-tech fish finder was cheating, and well I guess I still sort of think that, but if your going to have a successful fishing day it is a necessity.

Finally, the fishing poles. Because space is slightly limited the fishing poles are the equivalent of sawed-off shotguns. The same idea of your regular fishing pole just cut in half.

Fishing. So Robby doesn't screw around when he fishes. He's looking to catch some fish and he makes it happen. Basically, we will slide around on the ice until we find a good spot and then dig a couple of holes. We set up the tent and get to work. If fish aren't hanging out in that area we'll pick up shop and slide somewhere else. The holes freeze back up pretty quickly. Once we're settled inside the tent we'll have two poles going at once using a variety of different lures, bait, etc. As many crazy fishing feeding lures and tricks Robby has the most successful so far has been the good ole nightcrawler (aka worm). We use the fish finder to see when a fish or a school is directly below us near the lines, then you'll move the line a little bit to make the bait look more tempting and hope you get a hit. Once you get the hit it is up to you hook the guy and reel him in. Game, set, match. I guess the fish of choice in Lake Mesa, just outside of Gunnison, is rainbow trout, but I'm told you can catch salmon if your lucky and yellow perch (it's the fish of choice for Robby). We even caught a bottom feeder because it is good for bait.



(No fish were harmed in the creation of this blog. Just kidding, we kept this guy)


The one that got away. Of course you can't talk about a fishing trip to the lake without discussing the huge fish you had but just couldn't quite pull in, so here it goes. We were getting mostly small to medium guys, not many keepers, when Robby finally hooked a beast, he pulled it within a couple feet of the hole, we could see this beast of a fish through the hole, before he finally wriggled free to be caught another day.





(Probably the fish we lost)

Trading basketball shoes in for hockey skates (temporarily)

(Not me)

So one of the reasons I headed out to the mountains for the winter is to play some hockey with my bro, which means I need to learn how to play hockey, which naturally means I need how to learn how to skate, which is a bit tricky.

For example here I am on a breakaway (I'm wearing my Blues jersey)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD-T93jpS5Y

Anyways, I'd like to think what I lack in skating ability I make up for in heart, of course heart is of limited value when your falling on your ass but I'm doing a decent job of mostly staying on my feet and least being around the play (even if I'm not doing too much about it).

I think I'm improving but here are some comments from my first time out last Friday

Me: "Man I'm tired"
Dude: "Yeah you get tired faster when you can't skate"

Old guy: "You look like Zetterberg but you sure can't skate like Zetterberg"

Regarding the second comment Zetterberg is a pro, decide for yourself if you think he looks like me.



And yes it breaks my heart he plays for the Wings.

I played again today with a full crew and it was a lot of fun, but I will say after both times I have played I felt like I was about to throw-up. However, I'm hoping with all my hard work at some point my break away play will improve to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Im9HuZyQh0 (yes it's a nine year old kid but it's the best I could find on youtube).

Regardless, at least I'll look the part with my hockey beard.

Next episode ... Ice Fishing 101.

As promised here is a picture of my beard, I'll try to have weekly updates.

To come, a hockey blog and a blog on ice fishing, so stay posted.

Driving to the next county, Newport Beach v. Gunnison

So I'm not actually sure if Lake City is in a different county from Gunnison (they might both be in Gunnison county) so the title may not be completely accurate but the driving distance between Gunnison and Lake City versus Newport Beach (OC) and lets say ... Santa Monica (LA) is about the same. To make it easy I've attached links from Googlemaps just so you know I'm not BSing you.

Gunnison to Lake City http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Gunnison,+CO+81230&daddr=Lake+City,+CO,+81235&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=26.119945,70.927734&ie=UTF8&z=9

Newport Beach to Santa Monica http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Newport+Beach,+CA+92663&daddr=Santa+Monica,+CA&hl=en&geocode=FQP7AAIdvrL4-CmRQtEQB-DcgDGXhn5a5OmvKw%3BFX4YBwIdyffv-CkZAJHCzqTCgDGr9SP_tQoXtA&mra=ls&sll=38.287915,-107.12049&sspn=0.806273,2.216492&ie=UTF8&ll=33.746039,-118.084488&spn=0.854127,2.216492&z=9

(By the way, I checked the links to make sure they work, copy and paste, and they work. If they don't work for you it's user error.)

Anyways, the point is, although the driving distance is nearly the same, the drive itself is very different. For example, you will see on the trip from OC to LA that the drive time can double if there is traffic. However, for Gunni to LC there is no traffic considerations. In fact, driving back from LC to Gunni after dinner I have seen more of these










than these

To say the least there is a certain amount of relaxation and quiet involved in a drive from Gunni to LC (especially when you can see all the stars) that is lost in the traffic between OC and LA. However, this is not to say that there are no concerns. Deer tend to be less predictable than cars and therefore more of a concern even though there are far fewer of them. Also, it's dark, and the deer can be pretty difficult to see. Finally, ice. Ice is tricky because it usually pops out of nowhere and can be particularly dangerous when you are coming around a corner. I have learned - mom don't read the next line - that my car will start beeping and lights will start flashing on the dashboard when I'm sliding on ice. That doesn't seem very helpful.

Ok everyone, have a great weekend. To make Monday morning a little easier I will have a beard post ready to go for you. Here's a taste of what's to come






(note: this is not me, my beard isn't this awesome ... yet)

Wolf Creek powder

Sorry about the delay in blogging. I was gone all day Monday snowboarding, the first runs of the season. Pretty good time. Unfortunately I made the mistake of going down the "Alberta" trail which was great powder but also in the middle of a bunch of trees, not really conducive to my skill level. Exerted a lot of energy digging myself out of deep snow. Anyways, definitely kept to the treeless paved slopes the rest of the day. Pretty fun way to spend a day. I was beat though by the end and basically did nothing that night but watch "the Prisoner" on AMC. After watching about 5 hours of it I decided it was only ok. Live and learn.

Still haven't balled since I've been out to Gunni, doesn't seem to be a big deal here, but I did meet a dude that said I may be able play on his league team come the new year. That could be fun, show these mountain guys what's up. This dude also is big into fishing so it looks like I will be getting up at 5 Sunday mornings to go ice fishing this winter. Pretty excited about that prospect.

Well, off to go learn how to ice-skate so I can play some hockey this winter and not drag my team down.

Western State Rugby

So I decided to go for a walk yesterday while enjoying a cigar to check out my new town. And as luck would have it I happened upon the Western State (Gunnison) women's rugby team against cross-town rival Mesa (really have no idea where Mesa is from or if they are a rival). What's fascinating about women's rugby is that many of the women there are athletic and into it but there are a few out there that seem to be forced to show up on the basis that they lost a bet or by the force of an underhanded bribe. It is with mixed emotions of excitement and fear when a player that clearly wants nothing to do with the ball happens upon it. It is only a matter of time (not long) until one of the athletic get-after-it chicks from the other team comes upon that unfortunate girl and lays her out. There were definitely some exciting plays and big hits but I think my favorite was when #7 (I think) from Mesa looked like she was going to break free for a touchdown running the entire field. However #13 (maybe) from WSU caught her running her down right before the goal line. Pretty impressed that she caught her. Unfortunately I did not stick around until the game ended to pick up some digits. As I mentioned before the weather changes quickly in Gunni and I started getting pretty cold. I will say, to my chagrin, that Mesa was up four TDs to none by the time I left. I need to plan better for poor weather.

Anyways, I can only dream of what other adventures lie ahead of me in Gunnison.

Is Newport Beach any different than Gunnison?

I'm glad you asked. Yes it is. First and foremost there is a Walmart in Gunnison. This is huge. If there's one in the OC I don't know where. Second, although Gunni is a reasonably sized town with the beforementioned Walmart and a college campus apparently you have to go the next town, Montrosse about 50 minutes away, to get basketball shoes. I consider this shocking. Next, I've seen a few college chicks or skater chicks or something that sag their pants (they wear shorts or boxers underneath) as opposed to wearing tight-ass jeans. They still ride around on cruisers though (now that it's starting to snow I'm guessing that will come to an end, we'll see). Instead of getting Fox Sports West 1 & 2 and therefore access to the Lakers and Clippers I get the Altitude Channel (Nuggets and Avalanche) and Fox Sports Utah or whatever it is called (Jazz games). So I still get as much basketball but not my favorite teams. Let's see, one last one, for your electronic needs instead having Best Buys all over the place there is one tiny Radio shack in the back of an Ace Hardware store.

Oh, and it's cold out here. The weather actually changes from day to day.

Alright, till next time.

Day 2, making Apt 8 on Tomichi road my new home

As I'm sure is well known, moving takes a bit of effort and that's what Tuesday was devoted to (and Wednesday and most of Thursday). For me packing everything up is a bit of a pain but unpacking is kind of fun. Especially if you have time to do it. You get to make an entirely barren unknown place your own by choosing where to put the junk you brought with you. The place is starting to take shape. Also, I'm learning I have impressive carpentry skills having put together a book case and futon.

Pretty excited about the fact that there is a Wal Mart in town, although it's just a regular Wal Mart, not super or anything, a slight disappointment to be sure.

Leaving the warm sunny sand for the cooler sunny mountains

One of my friends at my old job in Newport Beach, California recommended - in light of the significant lifestyle change that I am embarking upon - that I should start writing a blog, if only for the friends I leave behind at my old job. So here's my shot at it.

I left Monday morning 11/7 5:30 a.m. Cali time to head with everything I could fit into my 4Runner to Gunnison, Colorado. It's a pretty long drive (just over 13 hours) but it was a perfect day and with the help of a few cigars, some coffee and good tunes it wasn't too bad. By the time I got into Gunni, picked up my apartment key and checked in it was a little after 8 p.m. Rocky Mountain time (the time change is already an issue as I have to wait an extra hour to watch sporting events including the Lakers who fortunately get tons of national coverage).

I was pretty tired when I opened the door to my new home but there was still a lot of work to be done. First of all, it was a bit dusty and I still had to unpack my truck. Fortunately a friend from Lake City, CO was willing to meet me at my new pad and help me clean and move. It took a while and I didn't crash until after 12, but the place was clean and my junk was at least in the apartment even if it wasn't put away. Day 1 of my move to CO.