California, I Have Two Words For You

Can you figure out what those two words are?  I'll give you a hint, the second word is YOU.  The first word starts with a F.  Many of my sportsmen buddies come from out of state.  I have yet to figure out why anyone would want to move here.  This place is a dump.  Don't be fooled by the glitz, it's a true shit hole whether your a hunter, fisherman or not.

The People's Republic of California recently passed a law outlawing all lead shot for hunting by 2019 despite the urging from the Game Wardens Association to veto the law.  The price of admission now is starting to get ridiculous.    Its now costs a resident $90.40 for all the stamps to hunt upland and waterfowl.  At this rate we'll have European-style pricing and this sport will be left only to the wealthy few.

I recall buying a hunting license in Utah and the dealer was complaining of the pricing for in state residents.  I laughed and told him despite the fact I was to pay out of state fees its was still far cheaper than my CA license. 

Rant off.  I have a lot more to rage about California but I'll leave it at this for now.

Today's Appetizer

Beef Carpaccio.

Recipe:
USDA Prime New York Strip (other cuts work as well) or Venison
Baby Arugula
Capers
Shaved Parmesan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon
Salt
Pepper

If I Had This In College, My College Life Would Have Been A Lot Different

How is it that there was no such program when I was in University?  I went to another UC school and I'm shocked that any UC school would allow a hunter's camp.  Kudos to California Waterfowl and UC Davis for making this available to students.  Programs like this should be available to all students from grade school to University. 

Fall Colors In Our Local Mountains

Fall is here even though it doesn't feel like it.  It's still hot and I'm waiting for it start getting cooler.  Despite the heat the local mountains have started showing fall colors.  Chul and I hit up one of our local jaunts to see how the water faired after our hot summer.  The water, while still low, has been slightly recharged by the storms we had a few months ago. 

The fishing was much better than I expected.  I haven't thrown a fly in what seems like eternity and I didn't have high expectations for today's outing.  How wrong was I.  While we only fished a few hours we had some legit fish at the end of line.  We started with several dinks and Chul was the first to land a nice fish. 

Fishing was enhanced with the fall colors and being rained on with falling leaves.  If only it were cooler it would have actually felt like trout fishing.

I managed a 12 inch fish that fell off right before I tried to land it.  This was the same fish I tried so desperately tried to catch the last time we fished here.  The fish took an emerger fly I came up with last summer.   After the disappointment, I moved to the pool ahead and managed a fish not as nice but the best fish I managed to land all day.

We moved upstream to some of the "nicer" pools that proved to be a bust.  Surprisingly these holes produced no fish.

A spectator from above that kept an eye on me while trying to get some fish to rise.  We finished before three and headed out for dinner at Rounds Burgers.

C&F Design Rod Rack

This is a post I wanted to write a couple months ago but never got around to doing so.  I received a C&F Design Rod Rack from a friend in Japan who sent me this package.   Anyone who knows me or reads this blog regularly, knows that I am a big fan of C&F products.  Not long ago I saw this product on the  C&F Design's Japanese website and thought that was an interested product and wished they imported it here.

 

The Rod Rack is just one of many products in their line that don't make it stateside.  Because of a change in direction in my business, I haven't been able to fish or hunt or even post a entry.  I finally decided to try out this product to see if its any good.  Up until I bought the Rover, I have been using a sedan to go fishing.  I still use a sedan for local fishing just to save my LR3 from wear and tear so that I can save it for the hunting season or for longer trips.  Using a sedan is a pain if you are moving from spot to spot since you need to breakdown your rod every time or if you don't want to waste time setting up once you arrive on the water.  So when I saw this product I wanted to check it out.

This C&F product uses the same foam found in their fly boxes.  It is firm, dense and high quality.  Unlike my Rod Loft Pro in my LR3, the grip portion holds the rod firmly and given its 12 o'clock insertion point, its unlikely to drop a rod, So I don't think I need to tether it like my LR3 setup.

There are two main sections and to me this should be enough for most fly rod applications.

There is a third "tip" section if you care to use it.  For this auto and for 9 foot rods I don't think its necessary.

Connection of each section is done by webbing straps and tighten adjusted by side release buckles. 

The system allows for four semi disassembled rods to be held without removing your rig's flies or other set ups.  The video posted toward the end of this post with show how that is accomplished.

A close up on there second section. 

A close up of the handle section holder.  The grip is firm but allows for easy insertion and removal.

I sat in the rear to see how annoying it would be for a passenger sitting next to it. 

I did drive around the block to see if the rods would get in the way of operating the vehicle.  It did not seem too obtrusive although I didn't log enough miles to really test it out.  

 

Here is a short video from a German company showing the system in action.

Having not truly tested this product I'm not sure if I really like it or not.  I wanted it for my local fishing where I use my sedan rather than the Rover.  We'll see if this system is any good. 

A few things I don't like already is, while its not terribly difficult to install I not as easy as my Rod Loft Pro.  There is a lot of adjusting and tightening require to get it right.  I found placing the webbing straps directly on the head rest was unstable and would pop out every so often.  I began tethering it to the posts instead.  Also in this Benz there is a middle head rest in the rear seats, it interferes with the system.  I tried removing it but I couldn't.  Of course this is not a problem of the C&F but if that is going to become standard in sedans in the future it will cause problems.  I did mange to work around it but still a pain.  All in all I'm still debating whether this system is worth it or just a nice gimmick.