The kitchen sink...

It's silly hot outside, but that's not what's keeping me from fishing.  All the rain that fell in MO and North AR had a huge impact locally and on the trout waters.  In short, the lakes in the northern part of the state are high...which means lots of generation.  No kayaking on the Little Red or the White.

favorite SMB fly's

Felsenthal NWR, which is my local water was also high, not now, BUT...it's located in the southeast part of the state...you know what they say...S$#t rolls down hill.  And I don't have time to travel.  So...

This weekend, not putting my kayak in that!

Should look like this but Sh1t rolls south

It's time to start training for my next marathon, up to 39 miles this week.  Gonna run the Tulsa Route 66 marathon in November, this will be my 8th state (10th total)...hope to cross off all 50.  Obviously, I'll be fishing those states as I travel through them (so you want to subscribe to my blog  to see cool stuff).  Running and fishing through 50 states...that's the plan!  I like running in the heat...but I stay on the trails and bring the camelbak.  Earlier, I said it was silly hot, I really meant STUPID hot.  I'm an idiot for running in this, but I do dumb things when I can't fish...

If your running in the afternoon in July or August, stay near water and in the shade!

After I run, I bang out a few patterns.  Hoping to cash in on hopper season.  I know it's getting close when the grasshoppers start bouncing off my legs when I run...starting to happen!  Plenty of high water....get'n excited.  Put a few of my favorite SMB patterns at the top.  The popper is on it's last leg, literally.  Its been money early and late.

Fish'n is in the forecast...check back in to see how it goes (road trip planned).  In parting, I want to say....the cubs got "no hit" yesterday but I'm a Cubs fan for life.  Go Cubbies!!

"Lace Lock" video tip

As an active runner, I also check out running tips but don't usually post them here.  Yet, I ran across this video about creating a "lace lock", seems legit for running.  I'm also going to try it on my wading boots and my shoes for wet wading....and that makes it fishing related.  I'll report back.

Party Foul

Thanks for inviting me, but Winter, your party sucks!  Dude, you drank all the alcohol, the strippers are fat, and it won't end.  Then you went for a beer run and drove the jeep into a ditch.  Seriously, this thing (Another Winter Storm) is out of control...keep it between the lines, plz!

Now we're all walking home in the cold.  You always pick the worst time to have a party.  This year it rained and the temps stayed in the 30's.

But hey, you remembered the ICE.  You owe me a beer, a 2 story one!

Thanks for the fun but I'm tapping out.  Great party, loser.  I hate you!

...I just have to out run you!

Here is SE Arkansas we're experiencing a rare phenomenon.  White stuff is falling from the sky. We don't get snow in the Delta very often.  As such, the roads are deemed unsafe for travel and the local schools have been out since Monday afternoon.  Today I decided to read to the girls for a little while.  I gave up reading nursery rhymes and children's books a few years ago to focus on serious educational material.  After a few minutes, I found exactly what I was look'n for, a book about fly fishing tailwaters.  This won't be a book review, so hang in there a second longer.  Starting in chapter 1 - The West...blah, blah, blah...they made it through one tailwater before getting bored.  Me, I guess I got distracted also b/c I found myself thinking about the possibility of combining my 2 passions, running marathons and fly fishing.  My attention shifted to finding destination's that offered the opportunity to do both on the same trip.  I decided to keep with in the frame work of the book and began in the West.  Below is a list of marathons close to tailwaters featured in the book, "50 Best Tailwaters to Fly Fish".

Ogden Marathon, May 16th, 2015, Ogden, UT.
Recommended for 1st time marathoners.  Mostly a descending point-to-point course.  A shuttle carries you to the start and you run back to the finish in the downtown area.  Either finish or sleep in the mountains!  This would be a great choice for any runner wanting to complete a race and be close to several featured TW's.
Provo River (UT)
Green River (UT)
Few hours - Henry's Fork of the Snake River (ID) and South Fork of the Snake River (ID)

St. George Marathon, October 3rd, 2015, St. George, UT.
Fast, descending point-to-point course.  Runner's World rated it as one of four "Marathons to build a vacation around".  Very popular and limited to 7800 runners, registration is by lottery.  Runners register in April, and hope they're selected in May for the 2015 race (gotta love the lottery).  *2 hours from Las Vegas!
TW's in the near vicinity:
2.5 hour drive to Lees Ferry, (AZ).
4 hour drive to the upper TW's in Utah.

City of Trees Marathon, October 11th, 2015, Boise, ID.
If you're one of those trying to run a marathon in all 50 states (me), this is probably a good choice. TW's in the area:
1.5 hrs to Owyhee River (OR) - Easy road side access all along the river from what I read.
4-5 hours to Henry's Fork of the Snake River (ID) and South Fork of the Snake River (ID).

Portland Marathon, October 4th, 2015, Portland, OR.
Considered one of the best marathons in the West and top 10 road races in the US.  Also recommended for 1st time marathoners.
Besides the race you'll need to find time to fish this TW.
Deschutes River (OR) - enough said.
Many other rivers/streams near Portland.

I realize this information isn't relevant to most or ANY of my fishing buddies.  But I'll leave you with this thought.  If you're fishing with me and a bear suddenly appears - I don't have to out run the bear...

Some serious stuff going on!

Timing is everything.  Can't make this stuff up.  Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from the Little Rock Marathon race directer.  Part of the email read:

"We would like to inform you that our 2015 Finishers Medals are in jeopardy of not making it to Arkansas in time for our race. While we and our medal partner met every critical deadline, our medal is caught up in the middle of a labor strike between the longshoreman union and the Long Beach Port Authority."  Labor Dispute Article

I just assumed it would be the weather, and/or traffic, that everyone would be screaming about.  Personally, I don't care, those things are dangerous.  Look, it's the size of a large skillet and weights 2.5 pounds!  Just what you want around your neck after running 26.2 miles.

Unruly buggers photo bombing

Last year, my wife punched the gas, ENTERING THE DRIVEWAY, and the medal fell from the dash.  Guess who was sitting in the passenger seat and can't move his legs?  Luckily, my shin bore the brunt of the impact or we'd be Fred Flintstoning it today.

Only injury I got was after the marathon from the 2.5 lb medal

The good news is, the weather still looks terrible and after February all my weekend obligations are over...that means fishing is coming back into my life.  Excited!!

Not again...

David Knapp at The Trout Zone posted an interesting read today about winning some cool ice cleats from another blogger, Windknots & Tangled Lines. (The really cool bloggers give away free stuff - disclaimer...I'm not cool so...)  Anyway, back on point, David's post about ice cleats got me thinking about the Little Rock Marathon which happens a week from Sunday, March 1, 2015.  I'm running the half in 2015, I try to alternate between LR's full and half marathons and completed the full in 2014.  Now you're asking yourself...if you're still reading...what does this have to do with ice cleats?

Do I need to explain this?!

I'll share my thoughts.  Let's go back to 2014 and take a look at the weather.  It was suppose to be a warm start around 50F and cooling off as a strong front pushed into the area around noon.  Let's just skip to the point and say it was cold and raining when the race started and dropped to near freezing in a couple hours.

I really never understood the confusion...it was obviously re-routed!!

The weather got so bad that the race directors decided to, some argue, "cancel" the race.  Other's believe it was "re-routed" to get runners off the course quickly.  I was lucky enough to have been past the cut-off point and avoided all the confusion.  Finished the race in under 4hrs, freezing cold and soaking wet, but still smiling!!!

Current forecast for Friday, Feb 27th.  Fun times!!

Fast forward to 2015.  I have been checking the 10 day forecast as I'm sure every runner does before a race, and surprise, looks like I might need to borrow some ice cleats (I noticed they fit around running shoes).  I understand it's way out there...but based off past experience, I'm planning on snow and ice.  AND, adding to the medal bouquet.

Last years "Epic" wouldn't fit into the vase.

There's a glass vase under there somewhere.  Little Rock puts on a great event.  I have run marathons in 7 states and can say LR is top notch!!  Did you happen to find the "unruly buggers" in the above picture (this is a fish'n blog, right)?  Their terrible, always get'n in my stuff!

New uses for the kayak

I didn't mention in my bio that I'm a very active person, I've completed 9 marathon's and various other extreme events .  I work out regularly, sometimes it's biking, running, lifting, etc.  That's one of the primary reason's I like fishing from my kayak and not my aluminum boat (reserved for outings with my family).  Well the last few weeks I have added a new fitness routine to my evening adventures.  I haven't named it yet, but here's how it works...fairly simple format.  I launch my kayak and fish for a few hours.

Dirt road around the lake.  Last weeks rain made it a little rough, good thing I have 4wd.

 When I get finished I beach the yak and run back to where I started.  Now sometimes that could be a 3 or 4 mile run after paddling a few hours or like last night it was about a mile (good thing b/c I ran 7 in the morning) so I sprinted back and my time was 6:30.  Just don't forget the running shoes.  This doesn't work at any lake but if you can find a road or trail to follow back it's a great reason to get out and fish with a little exercise on the side.  The lake I happen to use has a dirt road that follows the lake.  It's about 13 miles around.  I always hide my valuables before I start the run.  Give it a try and see what you think.

Caught 3 but this was the biggest.  Pulled away from a real heavy weight at the last minute.  Need more patience with the popper.