See You Next Year

Another year of fishing on the Yakima River comes to an end.

What a year.

The first trip out to the Yakima was the most memorable, despite coming up empty handed. There is nothing like fishing with your dad, even if it was too early in the year for any active fish.

Next time you're in town dad, we'll make it to a hot spot.

The Yakima was really high during the early months and into the first part of summer, which made fishing a little harder.

By the end of May we were able to float the river safely, which is the best way to fish the Yak.

Robin and I hooked into some really big bass this year. On any given day we would hook into at least four or five good size fish in the 3lb - 5lb range. Of course, there was an unofficial new state record set on the Yak this year when a 9.5 lbs Smallmouth was brought in.

I say unofficial because the guy that caught the fish was accused of putting weights inside the stomach of the fish before taking the fish to a state certified scale. Others said he froze the fish first, which is another no-no. The main problem with the catch was that the only witness was his girlfriend. To have a record count in Washington there need to be at least two winesses to verify whether the fish was legally caught, foul hooked, or even caught within the state.

Either way it goes, I've never caught an 8 lbs bass let alone anything close to a state record. But I know I've hooked into some that were close while floating the river.

I managed to hook into a few salmon this year, and though the numbers were extremely low I caught two.

As I spoke to my group of fishing buddies down at the spot in Prosser last Sunday, that was no small feat this year. I didn't fish the spot in Prosser nearly as much as I did last year. Ok, I only fished it three times the entire salmon run.

But all the usual suspects were there on closing day, including the asshole that made me lose "The One" last year.

My old buddie Joe didn't make it out that much this run either, having had a heart attack back in May. With the new stint put in he seems to be doing well, albeit a little slower.

It was nice being able to show off my pics of the beauties I reeled in this year.

Well, here is looking to next year. I'm not waiting around for the fall run, since I learned this year that the spring run is the most fun. (The Yak is only open during the fall)

We'll be hitting the Deschutes, the Klickitat, and maybe some others closer to the sound.

Although I quit fishing all together this time last year, I hear there are a lot of steelhead running on the Columbia right now.

With a couple of pounds of roe left, Robin and I plan on hitting it tomorrow.

Song Of The Day

PANTERA
Mouth For War

Chloe and Mikayla sit next to their trophies after a visit to a local pumpkin patch.

Random Thoughts

Is it just me?

Wasn't it just Memorial Day a few weeks ago?

Where the heck did my summer go?

Hell, where did September go?

Things are moving past way too fast.

I realized it the other day when I looked on top of the fridge to see an UNopened pack of pull-ups sitting there unused. They've been there for months now.

I just barely got the girls potty trained. Well, at least it feels like they just got potty trained yesterday. (Now if I can only get them to stop wetting the bed!)

But anyway.

The girls are growing up so fast. Kayla gets mad when she DOESN'T have homework.

I know I haven't been posting all that much lately on this blog, but hey IT IS COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON.

I've gotten really bad about spending a lot of time devouring sports this fall. NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN Gameplan. I got them both.

Got a new blog at Foxsports.com that I post on everyday. Since I know everything about football it is nice telling everyone else how wrong they are.

Or at least how wrong they are about Missouri this year. (Note to Gary Pinkle: Don't fuck this up or I'll stick my clowny foot up your ass!)

But anyway.

Is it just me or is this the best election year in a LONG TIME?

It is so refreshing having someone other than myself calling Bush a liar, dictator, and drunk. Air America may have died, but that's just because they didn't hire Bill Maher, Kieth Olbermann, or ME.

Did you see Olbermann's special comment tonight? I have been longing to hear this said ON THE AIR by anyone in the media.

I have become a HUGE Olbermann viewer as of late, despite having to sit through the occasional Paris Hilton story.

Here's a little taste of the truth:

"We have lived as if in a trance.
We have lived as people in fear.
And now—our rights and our freedoms in peril—we slowly awake to learn that we have been afraid of the wrong thing.
Therefore, tonight have we truly become the inheritors of our American legacy.
For, on this first full day that the Military Commissions Act is in force, we now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering:
A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from." - Kieth Olbermann 10/18/06

For the complete comment:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15321167/

I head to bed tonight feeling a little better than I did before I watched the news of the day. I'm not the only one with a brain in America. It is a nice feeling.

Song Of The Day

ALLMAN BROS
Midnight Rider

It's costume day at school! Say hello to Cinderella Chloe and Mermaid Kayla.

Hey Dad, you know how Mom says you have Alzheimer's disease?

In Case You Missed It...

(From Reuters and MSNBC)
WASHINGTON - Good news for aging hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.
New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.

Those afflicted with Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and movement skills. The ultimate cause of the disease is unknown, though it is believed to be hereditary.

Marijuana is used to relieve glaucoma and can help reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatment.

Hello Friday

Well, everyone is sick this week. It's a horrible chest cold that has created a big problem for me this morning.

Today the girls are supposed to be headed to a pumpkin patch with other kids from their new school.

It's really cold and wet outside.

I can't take them out in this weather while they are sick. Not to mention I am feeling awful as well.

I do need to go buy some stamps so I can mail my voter registration, though.

I hate Washington's dumb ass Legislature that decided that the postal service is the most accurate way to get registered or to vote.

That's right, we get ballots in the mail and hope that no one raids the mail box when we send them back to the Secretary of State.

Ever since the GOP lost the governorship to.. (gasp) ... a female Democrat the state has been arguing about the most accurate way to vote. Personally I think the GOP is pissed because their tried and true tactics of stealing elections failed here because Dems figured out how to do the same.

Anyway.

I'm going back to the couch now. I keep getting bugged by sick kids that can't seem to get the fact that daddy is in a chair that will roll over their toes when they start playing right under me.

Happy Daddy

HERE IT IS!

New Dog On The Block

Well, we never did get another cat.

We did however manage to obtain an Alaskan Eskimo. It looks like a bigger version of a Pomeranian.

She is snow white and beautiful. Dixie was a little pissed at first, but as soon as they hit the back yard it was all good. They have been running back and forth in circles for an hour straight now.

The first thing Carlie tried to do though was piss on the living room carpet. But she stopped when I hollered and went to the door.

Housebroken my ass.

Anyway, HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS?!!!

They killed Tennessee. Awesome. I even saw dad's Chiefs finally got a win. A good weekend of football all around.

Also, I started a new blog over the weekend. The link should be up now, make sure you stop by and comment. So far I am getting berated for my BCS talk.

Song Of The Day

BAHA MEN
Who Let The Dogs Out