investigation surrounding a murdered mallard on millheim's main avenue
has encouraged me to be circumspect regarding my presence in
pennsylvania this year. had i been in the vicinity of millheim, i'm
sure these would have been some of my comments on the events in the area
between may 14-23...

1. i'm most appreciative of good fishing, camaraderie, drink, and food,
especially when consumed in a pleaseant environment. penns 2004 offered
it in abundance. thanks to tom, handyman, davepa, vince, and makela for
another fine event.

2. rather than dour and serious, swedes seem to be quite humorous,
engaging, friendly, open, and true. they do sing a bit funny, but i
suspect if accompanied by wayno and his dyslexic guitar it would be a
sweet sound indeed. of course, these behaviors might simply have been a
result of the camaraderie, along with the fat, carbohydrates, beer, wine
and whisky we fed this swede.

3. beware playing card games with a country boy who carries his own
pesonally engraved case of poker chips. drink more during the game.
forget bluffing...they're all bluffers...except NSA reid. he's
deadcenter about winning and paints on a face before playing.

4. davepa is jamesjoycean. there isn't a stream of conscious or
conscience he won't fish - shallow and deep. very entertaining. i wish
he lived closer.

5. spring creek above fisherman's paradise is as peaceful a bit of water
as i've found yet in pa. it's a part of the heritage waters, woodsy on
the right bank, and tough to fish without being able to enter the water.
i understand there is a prison somewhere above the stretch i fished...
odd juxtaposition.

6. fished below the hatchery on spring creek in a large pool above the
private club waters. fish rose all day long. i caught 3 lovelies, had
too, too many refusals. i acknowledge it will always be a mystery to me
and that i don't have the skill, luck, or time to figure it out... but,
every so often, here and there, i get a clue. penns reminds me that the
clues are sufficient to keep me happy the rest of my days.

7. the best stock i've ever bought is my 4 shares in the Union County
Sportsman's Club. the annual dividends are priceless...

8. an asadi martini night must be declared penns' de rigueur...to be
followed by penance at heartbreakers or brownies... thanks for the
drinks john...and for the sweet sausage.

9. the smallmouth in lower penns seem a bit...uh...small. of course,
one might say there are no such thing as small fish, only small
fishermen. well, the small fishermen adventure on lower penns was a
happy diversion and new experience. thanks tomG for your efforts in
planning and organizing the jaunt. of course, one among us did manage to
catch one not-so-small smallmouth. as i recall, a few someones owe me
some bucks...

10. the carolina cabin needs some serious upgrading and maintenance.
it's seclusion on the stream is its virtue...and, its vice. it's a
distance from the main crowd, requiring sober drivers for participation
in distant events. might be time to strike the colors on the cabin and
try something new. Lou T. met a fellow at the parking lot at the end of
the tunnel/trestle bridge road (past 3-streamer stan) who claims to own
some rentals beyond the parking lot. joe and i took a look...there is
one very, very fine cabin almost on the stream in a nice setting and a
number of ramshackle buildings up that "private drive" at the end of the
parking lot. a house at the end of the drive has a sign that says
"reed's ranch". perhaps one of you fellers up that way could do some
further investigation.

11. fishing the hatch in 2004 required night vision goggles. i don't
like stalking trout, changing flies, and false casting in the dark.
probably because i suck at it... even worse than when i attempt it in
daylight. but it was a new experience. standing on a rock in the
middle of penns in the dark yields interesting ruminations... like,
"um...now where was that deep spot i avoided in getting out to this rock?"

12. catching the big brown is often pure and simple serendippity...
still, a joy filled event, nonetheless.

13. those of us accustomed to carolina wild trout have real difficulties
in accurately estimating the actual size of those penns browns. fat,
big shouldered non-hatchery browns are mutants in nc mountain streams.
every one of the penns fish i caught or saw caught seemed double the
size of our average 8-10" wild trout. my biggest fish seemed almost 20
inches...but i suspect he was 16-18" at best. he was much bigger than
the two 16 inchers i saw makela catch though g.

14. there is a beauty in flycasting when done by those who have mastered
it. i believe roger could use a flyrod and flyline to sign his name with
60 foot casts. thanks for those images roger...very inspiring. of
course, there was that leader/hook thing... NINE times. hell, i think
i'd figured it out after seven or eight times... but, given you were in
a foreign country, i guess NINE times is understandable. BTW, how do
you say NINE in swedish?

15. there is a beauty in a flyfisherman confident of his methods, and
who applies those methods successfully and intelligently, with a
knowledge of the water and the fish. thanks mikeM for continuing to
endure my matriculation, and for your unselfish lessons...

16. even with a tongue freshly pierced by a barbed hook, indian joe can
recount stories befitting a much better traveling companion than he was
shackled to for the duration at penns. you folks who haven't yet
experienced a few hours or days with the pride of wilmington are missing
a gem.

17. the run on penns just upstream from the carolina cabin, formerly
known as makela's run (2003) or wally's run (2001), is again named
"jeffie's run". Under the 2004 rules, the run is won by the fisherman
hooking a brown trout of at least 14" on a green drake dry fly, on the
last friday of clave week, in the dark, with said hooked brown trout
leaping at least 4 feet out of the water to spit the hook whilst staring
at the defender/pretender to the run (i.e., makela).

18. despite all its flaws, this place has enriched my life, and i am
forever thankful to all of you who have shared your time and good spirit
with me.

19. mallards ought not be waddling across a busy millheim street...


jeff