prayer, fry, fish and fright

Share your fishing adventures, especially ones using antique tackle!
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Ron Mc
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prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

Hookie day Friday, began the day with two 2nd grade classrooms from the nearby Christian Academy, releasing their TIC fry into a great upriver section of our tailwater (maintains 55 degrees throughout the summer)
The owner of this fine property on the horseshoe bend has blessed us with lease access, in spite of grumbles from his neighbors and their association.
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Several dads turned out to help, and they were as excited as the kids, but did a better job of constraining it.
It was somewhat akin to herding cats, though for 3 moments in the event, the kids were still and quiet
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Instructions from the teacher, posing for a group photo with the cooler of rainbow fry, and prayer to open the event - great way to start, though it missed my favorite close - "and put us on fish"
We were also blessed with a nice break in the rain for this event
Every kid got a chance to net and release their fry into the river
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And who should be down from Waco to fish this lease site today, but my buddy Dale, a theology professor from Baylor
I tell you, though, Dale is a Distinguished professor of tightline nymphing
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Between Dale and his compatriots, the kids got to see 4 rainbows caught, and Dale brought a really nice one to the bank for the kids to see
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It went off without a hitch - no one fell in - that was my turn later. It made the local newspaper, which is always good press for GRTU.
So Jimbo and I went downriver to fish the next access down - great drop from a riffle into a flagstone run (think BWO water)
There is some spooky erosion-sloped flagstone along this bank and sure enough, when my first fish went for a stroll, and I went to follow, I did the Buster Keaton banana peel thing on my first step, landed on my sitbone, Thomas rod in the river. Recovered enough to grab my rod just after the current got it, and still managed to walk the fish down to land it.
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A couple more each for me and Jimbo
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I see Jimbo sitting on a rock. He tells me he's having a cardiac event. We wade back across the chute, tediously slow climb back to the car, and I'm spooked by his elevated respiration. Of course the aspirin and nitro is in his car - we made it, and sat him on his fishing stool. He won't let me call an ambulance, and I nurse him through the edge of consciousness from the nitro pouring cold water over his head, and telling him the story of when my mom killed my dad. Seriously, my dad has low blood pressure, only one kidney, and the kidney medication one morning made him pass out. So my mom, who always believes what solves her problems should solve everybody's, puts a nitro tab under his tongue and stops his heart. Luckily, Bulverde EMS is close and responsive.

After a half-hour Jimbo is walking again, making phone calls to the Doc he was going to meet and fish in the afternoon. I spend the next hour with him and he's back to normal in no time, and of course he still meets these guys and sets them up at the same spot Dale was fishing above. I didn't even know he had one a year ago, but he said this was his first angina, and he promised to head straight to his cardiologist. Turns out he and my mom have the same doctor. All in all, a prayer-saturated day.
Last edited by Ron Mc on Sun May 10, 2015 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »

Sounds like you are a good guy to be fishing with. Then you went home and went for a 100 mile bike ride. Right?
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

rode 35mi yesterday and 12mi this morning before the rain (65 miles last weekend, that was 4000 calories )
luckily my contusion was to the left of my actual sit bone, so the ride (and motrin) was good for it.
Putting fry in the river next Friday and next Saturday, including another school by the river, schools from Austin and Houston, and still have another school to go, that we haven't been able to schedule yet, but I'll be fishing since I'm at the river... :fished
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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »

Those kind of mileages make my sitter hurt just thinking about it!
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

Of course I have a drop bar road bike and my old Raleigh is a semi-upright utility bike, but over the winter I built an upright on an Italian cross-racing frame. The 12-mi ride around my neighborhood berg (or longer 24-mi loop if it's not about to rain) is more strenuous than it sounds - I'm in the hill country 1200' above San Antonio, and the end of my ride is a 14% grade to get home. I used everything I learned on my Raleigh cyclotouriste triple and got the range and steps I needed in a compact double with a custom 9-sp cassette (also Italian). Thumb shifters and my first indexed bike. I call it my Italian Huffy. This was my halfway stop on last week's ride.
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(rain cover on the saddle)
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It sits nicely upright with the saddle behind the pedals and the seat is completely invisible. The trick was getting used to steering and especially standing on the wide bars to climb. After I learned to stand, relax my shoulders and grip, I can ride it as far as my other bikes. Not as fast as my other bikes, because my weight is all on the rear, but it's light, quick, cozy soft ride, and the best climber of all.
Here's the details of the build - also have 2 wheelsets, road and dirt.
https://plus.google.com/109016132995287 ... 1BaoQQUJow
Last edited by Ron Mc on Mon May 11, 2015 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »

Nice! At my age the fall in the river would have taken me out for at least a few weeks. You being a youngster, back on the bike same day.
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

no offense, but my goal is to stay on the bike, and in the river, and have one of these when a step-through is all I can ride.
http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/f-cheviot.htm
bettybarr
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by bettybarr »

I am in greatest admiration! A wonderful way to spend Mothers Day. I packed all day getting ready to move to Ky so we can bike, fish and hike. Only 5 days left at the office and I am officially retired after 41 years as a pediatric dentist. Don and I have so much fishing equipment to use up and 8 bikes between us! I want to wear them all out. Thanks for the photos and story. Your friend must love you.
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

It was a chance for me to hug him a couple of times and tell him I want to fish with him a lot longer.
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Wayne B.
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Wayne B. »

Ron:

Thanks for the post. Great thing to read to start the week!
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

The goal of Trout in the Classroom isn't to raise or to stock trout, but to raise conservationists.
If we get one Jimbo out of the group, we've accomplished our goal.
Jimbo is our VP fisheries, handles all the leases, member fauxpas, gets the stocking truck down from MO, monitors the health of the river and is the Ambassador General for our program.

Betty, congratulations on your success and future fun.
(yesterday was just a quick morning ride to get my respiration up, and the rain made my decision about the ride length - ended up at my sister's house with my mom and dad in the afternoon)
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

more TIC results
Yesterday, Matt of Houston Fly Fishers brought 4 coolers from Houston, 3 of the Houston teachers with their families, and another teacher from Austin.
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Couldn't have asked for better weather (with our El Nino spring, it's been raining on and off for a month, and heavy rain projected for the next 10 days)
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This time didn't bring the whole classrooms, but there were still young conservationists here to help
First step into the cold water was a shock
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After acclimating the fish to the river, we could have just poured them in, but the teachers were using the nets to count their results
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Jimbo also has to keep a log to report to TPWD - we have a 30-day permit to release the fry.
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Future conservationists volunteering to help
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So far, we've put 600 or so 2-3" fingerlings into the river, and 3 more classrooms to go.
But keep in mind, this program is not about raising trout or putting trout in the river - it's about raising conservationists.
If we get one Jimbo out of the effort, we've accomplished our goal.

ps, Jimbo's doctor did determine it was a minor infarction, and the damage slightly raised his BP, so the doctor has him on new meds.
But I was very happy to catch up and find out he followed through.
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Ron Mc
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Re: prayer, fry, fish and fright

Post by Ron Mc »

After two-1/2 years, Jimbo had the big one - of course he was on the river.
The doctor said it was amazing for him to have survived. He had a 1-inch blood clot around a stint.
In ICU, he couldn't get enough oxygen for talking all the time.
He expects to be back on the river within weeks, and probably will be.
If you're in the habit, please offer a prayer for his health. The doctor also said he won't get a bye on the next one.

and since it fits here,
https://youtu.be/KTT7i3SKpMQ

Oh, and we're up to 18 TIC classrooms in Texas - we're putting trout eggs in aquariums in 2 weeks
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