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Friday, November 14, 2014

Kim Karpdashian and Twerkin' Tail

Dear Kim,

I don't want to hurt your feelings, BUTT, you don't do anything for me.  Nothing at all.  I think you're kind of gross.  Kim, this is some real tail!







And plus Kim, here is some tail sort of twerking.  Oh Kim, I love this kind of twerkin' tail!  It just really gets me going.  

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Marysville-Pilchuck is MY School!



Made primarily of cinder blocks, the buildings at my school are not particularly elegant looking.  If memory serves me correctly the school was built in 1970 at a cost of $6,000,000.  Pilchuck High School became the second high school in the district.  The colors were green and gold; PHS was the home of the Chargers.  With no two story buildings and covering almost 90 acres the campus was sprawling.  Classroom doors all opened to the outside; at the time it was called a “California style” school.  Didn’t the architects know it rains here?   The community was much smaller then.

In the early 70’s there were 9 consecutive school levy failures in the Marysville School District.  To cut costs Marysville High School and Pilchuck High School were merged in to one school in 1975.  That was the year I came to the high school.  Marysville High School’s colors were red and white and the mascot was the Tomahawks.  The newly combined Marysville-Pilchuck High School adopted red and white as the colors and adopted Tomahawks as the mascot.  The Pilchuck High School campus became the Marysville-Pilchuck High School campus.  Marysville High School became the junior high.  The school day was shortened, class sizes ballooned.  They were challenging times. 

In time a group of parents, led by Don DeMarco, came forward and took on the challenge of getting our Maintenance and Operation levy passed for the first time in years.  It was no small task.  In the face of need the community rallied.

Even with the two high schools combined into one, in the late 70’s we could still do an all school assembly in the auditorium.  I believe it seated about 825; we still weren’t really a very big school.  In a few years we had to do two assemblies to accommodate the growing student body.  As more and more new homes were built the student body grew; we moved assemblies to the gym.  In or near the late 90’s we had well over 2,000 students.  I believe we peaked somewhere near 2,650 kids.  We had become one of the two largest high schools in the state.  All the changes brought new challenges.  Students, staff and the community always rose to the occasion. 

I have been a real estate broker the last 5 1/2 years.  I taught from 1973-2009.  I was the Marketing teacher and DECA Advisor at Marysville-Pilchuck; I witnessed a lot of change.  I taught at a AA school, a AAA school, and a AAAA school—all that without ever changing schools.  Early on I thought of MPHS as MY school.  I loved my school and still do now.  Was it those old cinder blocks that grew on me?  Did the warping fascia boards touch my heart?  When the roof leaked in my classroom, did it endear me to that special place?  In a way I suppose it did.  More precisely it was my students who grew on me; they touched my heart.  Touched my heart?  Well, it was more like they became ingrained in my heart—they became a part of me.    

Memories:   

As a teacher I remember kids preparing for competition, practicing presentations, running for offices, and planning large scale projects.  I particularly remember the daily interactions in the classroom.  Sometimes it was an effort just to get everyone to sit down and stop talking.  Sometimes I felt clumsy and awkward with a class or with something I was hoping to accomplish.  Sometimes, certainly not always, things went smoothly.  Sometimes the classroom was incredibly exhilarating.  I enjoyed the good natured bantering with my classes.  I enjoyed getting to know them as a group and as individuals.  I enjoyed seeing kids gain skills and confidence; it was so exciting to see their eyes brighten and their backs straighten.  How many jobs are there where you get to love 150 new people every year?  How many? I had that job; for 36 years I had that job.  It was such a privilege; dear God, it was such a privilege! 

I remember school and community service projects my students and I worked on.  “Think About It…” campaigns were created to encourage kids to make good decisions in all aspects of their lives.





Breaking Down the Walls was a week long program involving hundreds of students and many staff members.  Parents and other community members also participated.  We worked to help kids see how much they really had in common with each other and to see past superficial differences.



Martin Luther King programs were done to honor the great civil rights hero and to celebrate diversity.  The Total Experience Gospel Choir sang at our assemblies.  The first year we had them they performed at 24 schools.  Later, Patrinell Wright, the founder and director of the group, told us our school had one of the two best programs they had seen.  (I never understood why we weren’t THE best.)





Our Proud to be an American program was a response to the 9/11 attacks.  While having students and staff form a 60 yard flag on the football field was the most visible part of the day’s activities the assembly beforehand was by far the best part.  Retired Army Major Daverso’s tearful and emotional response to the assembly was moving for everyone.  Once again students and staff came together to straighten our backs and choose positive responses. 





In conjunction with Marysville Rotary I remember building the Marysville-Tulalip Veterans Memorial; I doubt if there is anything quite like it on any high school campus in the country.  The project took 2 ½ years.  We researched every Marysville-Tulalip KIA veteran going back to World War I.  The dedication ceremony, done in 2005, took nearly two hours.  In attendance were over 200 people from the community.  Frank Gadwa, an Air Force pilot, was shot down over Germany during World War II.  He was a German POW for 2 years.  He attended.  Marine Corporal Jack Elkins, a Bataan Death March survivor, was in attendance.  In uniform.  The Tulalip Honor Guard presented the colors.  Marysville-Pilchuck students interviewed over 250 veterans and the families of KIA veterans.  They made a tri-fold display board for each veteran.  Captain Robert Pearson was shot down over Viet Nam in 1967.  His mother was there to help read the formal dedication of the memorial.  Gary Clifton Paddock, US Navy, died on his last day of service in Viet Nam in February of 1967.  We interviewed his mother; it was still too painful for her to attend.  Marine Lance Corporal Jack Hammond was killed in Viet Nam in October of 1967.  His mother attended the dedication.  After the dedication two students walked her out to the memorial where she gingerly touched her son’s name. 



In all of these instances kids took tremendous risks to organize and put on large scale projects.  Students, staff, parents, and the business community came together to make extremely worthwhile things happen.  This is how I remember my school and the community. 

Darkness comes: 

On the morning of October 24, 2014 the unthinkable happened at my school.  A freshman boy texted his friends and invited them to have lunch with him in the cafeteria.  He walked in and shot five of them; it was vicious, premeditated murder.  The killer then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.  At this writing two of the five victims have died.  Why did this happen?  Why?!  WHY?!!  Why, why, did this happen?!  I am horrified.  I am confused and I am grieving.  This kind of thing happens other places, faraway places, but not here, not at my school.  My school is a good place, a safe place, a very special place.  This boy shot his friends and his cousins; it is more than I can grasp. 

The victims were shot in the head.  Those young faces—smashed…  Those young lives—snuffed out…  So much promise and so much to look forward to—smothered in an instant…

I have so many questions, so many questions…What was the killer thinking?  Why did he do it?  The faces of some of the victims were so obliterated that they had trouble identifying the kids.  What was it like to be a parent of one of the victims and get the call that your son or daughter may have been shot?  If the two victims who are still in critical condition survive, what kind of life will they have?  What are the families of the two murdered girls feeling now?  What is the family of the shooter feeling now?  How are thousands of alumni feeling about their school and their community now?  How will any of the families ever move on?  How does one 15 year old wreak so much havoc and bring darkness into the lives of so many people? 

As a parent how do you explain all of this to your middle school or elementary school child?  Kids who were not even there will have nightmares.  How do you comfort and reassure your kids?  Parents will be more worried and more anxious for years to come.  Trust is broken now for everybody.  In one way or another everyone is marked by this for life.  For life.

Light: 

How do people move on?  Where does anyone begin?   How do we start to find light again?  Two of the shooter’s victims have died, two more remain in critical condition at this writing.  Another shooting victim, Nate Hatch, is currently in satisfactory condition.  He recently tweeted this:

I love you and I forgive you jaylen rest in peace
2:15 PM - 26 Oct 2014
1,656 Retweets 3,461 favorites

I asked how one 15 year old could bring so much darkness into the lives of so many people.  Is it possible that a 14 year old is showing where light begins?  How does he find it in himself to do this—to forgive the shooter?  How?!  How is he doing this?  Where does he find the strength?  Where does he find the courage?  How does he choose light in the face of devastating darkness?


Through the decades, time and again I saw students, staff, and the community come together; they are already doing it now.  They are already choosing light. 

During my years at the high school I knew so many teachers and other staff members who were hardworking, dedicated, caring people; day in and day out they put kids first.  They helped MPHS be a good place and a safe place.  They did through the decades I was there, they still do now, and I know they will in the future.  I am completely confident that the kids, the staff, the parents, the community, and the alumni will reclaim the school.

Students and staff, take the cafeteria back; take it back!   Show respect for the victims.  Paint the walls, make a change of some sort and then walk in there together and TAKE IT BACK!  Take. It. Back!  Take your cafeteria back; take your whole school back!  When the ribbons are gone, when the balloons have deflated and the flowers are faded it will finally be the staff and the students who make the cafeteria and the school your own again.  Take it back; you can do it.  Support each other, work together, trust in yourselves and each other.  I know you can.  It is in your hands.  I know you will choose light; of this I am sure.





Is Marysville-Pilchuck a good place, and a safe place?  Do I dare say it?  Yes.  Yes it is!  Marysville-Pilchuck is a good place, a safe place and such a very special place.  Marysville-Pilchuck is MY school!






Friday, July 25, 2014

When Carp Fishing is Heavenly

There are days when turbid water, wind, and the devil clouds conspire to make carp fishing darn difficult. There are days when the water is clear, the wind blows lightly and the sky is blue; oh, but wait, there are almost no fish to cast to.  Heck that's even worse than the bad conditions!  I have to remind myself that if carp fishing was easy everyone would be doing it.   

There are days when the conditions are tolerable and there are still very few fish.  There are days when the conditions are tolerable but I'm still seeing a good number of targets and getting hook ups; those are great days.  There are days when the conditions are good and I'm getting lots and lots of shots.  When I can cast to those fish rather than reaching out and just dropping the fly in front of them, those days are heavenly.

On my last trip to the Carp Lodge I fished several days.  One of my days was heavenly.  It sounds like kind of a silly word to describe a session but when I got back to my carpwagon as I was getting my boots off I said to myself, "That was heavenly".  It really was.  I was getting so many shots and hooking up so often I just didn't want to get out of the river to take any pictures where I was holding the fish.  I was fishing a two fly rig with a Chocolate Cherry on top and Black Betty as the dropper.  They took both flies.  There were virtually no clouds, the wind was light and the water was clear enough that I was casting a fair distance to tailing fish.  

All the hook ups made me feel more clever than I actually am.  Lets be objective here--I don't have a 20+ fish day when I only see 10 or 12 fish.  It just isn't possible to catch more fish than I see.  On this day I was blessed to be fishing in a very target rich environment with receptive fish.  Indeed, it was heavenly.  












Saturday, July 12, 2014

I laughed at myself and the carp laughed at me too

In 2004 when I started carp fishing I had no interest in blogging or posting fish pictures online.  The years passed and that changed a good deal.  But not completely.  There are still days where I just can't be bothered even taking the camera out.  Sometimes setting up a picture of myself holding a fish just takes more time and effort than I am willing to spend; I would rather just release the fish and go catch another one.

The fish in this next picture made me smile.  I saw the take and he ran in to the backing.  After netting him we walked in to the shore together.  I took Black Betty out of his mouth and left him in the shallow water.  The camera was set up on a rock.  It appears that ten seconds wasn't enough time to press the shutter button, step back to the fish, and pick it up.  Was the fish trying to tell me something?  I tried again to get a picture and didn't do as well.  Maybe the fish was whispering to me. On the third try I depressed the shutter button, turned, and watched the fish swim away.  That fish was definitely trying to tell me something; he just wasn't going to be photographed with me holding him.  Maybe he was trying to tell me to go back to the beginning and just get a picture of him near me while he was in the water and we were still dancing.  Or maybe he was telling me to just not take the camera out at all.

He made me smile because I saw him take the fly, he made the reel sing, he brought out the backing, and he fled the scene while I was trying to get his picture.

As he swam away I laughed at myself and I'm pretty sure the carp laughed at me too.

 


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Not your typical carp

An ordinary Columbia River carp is a common, is about 28-29 inches long and weighs 8-9 pounds.  Some, not many, are smaller but typically not very much smaller.  Some are larger.  Some are way larger.  A Columbia River carp can be 29 inches and weigh more than 9 pounds because his tummy is fat.



An ordinary Columbia common.





This common has more girth so he tips the scale over 10 pounds.  



This Columbia River carp is not ordinary.  He is a mirror and he is longer than 28 inches.  When I see a group of fish and I can tell one of them is a mirror I will virtually always target the mirror.   There was a group of three tailing fish but I could not tell this one was a mirror.  He was the largest of the three so I cast to him.  He picked up Black Betty just like I wanted him to.    He was an extraordinary fish; he reminded me how very fortunate I am to be a carp fisherman.  Damn, I love my river! 









Saturday, June 7, 2014

Thursday, May 29, 2014

An Apex Athlete Mirror

One way of saying it would be that "feeling crappy" had passed so to speak.  Dear God, what a relief!

A cloudy morning did not bode well for a day on the river; at least not for the kind of carp fishing I much prefer.  From a distance I like to stalk fish in shallow water, move into position, and cast to them.  (And of course set the hook when they take the fly.)  I was already in central WA so I went fishing anyway.  I arrived at the river at about 10:00.  Come on, I'm 63; I don't wade the river for 8 or 10 hours, 6 hours is plenty for me.  As the morning unfolded I was seeing fish, but often just as I spooked them; damn the devil clouds!  Wind was churning up the water; visibility was not good.

At about 1:00 the wind gods began to favor me.  First they allowed me to pass wind and be confident that it was wind alone.  As I said, what a relief.  Next they started disassembling the clouds.  Soon the the clouds looked like jig saw puzzle pieces just taken out of the box and scattered across the sky.  When the sun shined through the spaces I could see my friends the carp and I could cast to them.  Several 8-12 pound fish sucked Black Betty off the bottom of the river just a pretty as you please.  Dang that made me happy!







Going away, my favorite fish of the day was this apex athlete, mirror.  Just as I got ready to cast I could see the distinctive, large scales.  That made me want this fish even more.  I called out and thanked him when he took the fly.  That was so dang nice of him.  I thanked him for running into the backing and I thanked him for coming all the way back in to the net.  What a magnificent fish!







I love carp fishing and I am ready to go again.













Sunday, May 25, 2014

Kaopectate Can Only Help So Much...

Following the Gregg Martin Rule I decided to fish when I didn't feel good.  Admittedly I hadn't thrown up for two days but the other end was still not back to normal.  Heck, I hadn't been sick for 5 years!  Not a cold, not a sore throat--nothing.  How the heck did I get sick for several days?

Well, I can say that I did get out and try to fish, but as I said in the title, Kaopectate can only help so much and after that you just deal with it.  I decided to fish from my Zodiac since I felt so "crappy".  I can sit down in the boat and take breaks.  Never mind that the sky and the water were both cloudy


and never mind that there were so many weeds that I could hardly see fish and never mind that I was getting salad on my fly on almost every cast.  Waa, waa, waa!  It was just not the best conditions and I only lasted four hours on the water because I felt so "crappy".  I moved around the lake for an hour and a half before I even saw a fish.  He was moving so fast I didn't bother casting to him.  I managed three fish all in the last one hour plus.  It helped that the clouds broke a little otherwise I don't know if I would have caught a single fish.


Not every day is a stellar day in terms of numbers.  I got out.  I made the effort. I'm still very grateful.

Monday, May 19, 2014

The Gregg Martin Rule and a Wonderful Day on the River

 Bothell, where Katy and I live, is in western Washington, a minimum of 3 hours from the water I carp fish.  It's not a simple afternoon of fishing and then home for dinner.  It is a commitment of at least a one night stay.  Prior to building the Carp Lodge I always came for at least two nights and tried to fish a minimum of two days.

When we built the Carp Lodge Katy and I anticipated enjoying it on several levels.  We enjoy coming over together.  We walk on the river, we hang out, we read, we talk; it's wonderful.  I fish sometimes when we are here together.  I also come over alone  and fish.  We have had several different friends over--Katy's friends, my friends, and our friends.  Our families have come over and our kids come over.  It's all good; actually it's wonderful.

In the past when I came to central Washington to carp fish, and I was staying in a motel, if the weather was sketchy I would just fish anyway; what was I going to do, sit in the motel and look through my pictures all day?

At this writing I am at the Carp Lodge.  It is in central WA; it overlooks the Columbia River.  I can drive 20 minutes to a beautiful flat. There is plenty to do at the here--I mean besides looking through my pictures and video.  There is no TV here but I don't count watching TV as doing something.  If I am at the Carp Lodge and the conditions get particularly bad I don't exactly feel trapped here.  It's a home.  There is a toilet and shower, beds, a stove and oven, a washer and dryer, central heating and air conditioning, a refrigerator, WiFi (I bring my laptop), a patio, some fly tying tools, and a beautiful view.  Oh, and there's a garage too.  I pull my carpwagon in the garage and don't worry about my gear.  Heck I don't even park in the garage at home.

The sky is clear 300 days a year.  During carp season the weather is warm and often just plain hot.  The view is beautiful.  Again, it's wonderful; it is so easy to be here, even on a day when the weather is bad.



The Carp Lodge



                                              


The Columbia River seen from the back patio


"It is so easy to be here..."  Yes indeed, and therein can lie the problem.  Because it is easy to be at the Carp Lodge it gets too easy to not go fishing just because it is cloudy or the wind is blowing (it almost always does), or the river is too high or too low.  Okay, if there is lightening then I should stay off the river.  But if it's  just cloudy, well, then I know it will be tough to spot fish but I can still try.

Recently I woke up at the Carp Lodge with the intention of fishing that day.  The sky was overcast so I immediately let that transfer to my mood and I felt overcast.  I want perfect conditions!  I felt the draw of being too comfortable holding me back.  I knew that if I was at a motel there would be no question; I would just go fishing.  On days like this I remind myself of what I call the Gregg Martin Rule:  "Go fishing--no excuses!"  Here is a link to a post I made a few years ago that talked about Gregg.  He makes the best of it no matter what!  As I have said before, Gregg is an inspiration.

I held myself to the Gregg Martin rule and I'm so glad I did.  I loaded up my carpwagon and headed to the river.  I wish I could say why the fishing was so good.  Obviously it helped that the sky mostly cleared by the time I started stalking.  Truly, I had not taken 10 steps and I spotted my first fish.  He saw the Black Betty but didn't think it looked appealing.  I was seeing lots of fish and they weren't spawning.  Some were cruising, some were sunbathing, and some were tailing.  Lordy, I love the tailers and the slow cruisers.  I particularly like the ones that will take my fly.  I had a fish in the net in the first 20 minutes.  I had lots of shots at good targets.  I particularly liked that I wasn't happening on fish in cloudy water and then dropping the fly in front of them; I was making casts and shooting some line.  That too me is carp fishing at it's best.

The day was very memorable just by virtue of the numbers.  I lost count at about 16.  I know I had 19; it was probably 20 and may have been 21.  It was a special day because 6 of the fish were apex athletes (between 16-18 pounds).  As I was walking back dragging my butt back to my carpwagon, I reeled in.  My wrist hurt from playing fish and I had reached a point where I wouldn't cast to another 8-9 pound fish.  I told myself I will only cast again if I see a fish that I'm sure is over 15.  Near the truck, I did see one and cast to him.  He sucked up the Black Betty and took me into the backing.  It was a tremendous last fish for a wonderful day.  Thanks Gregg for your positive example.

In the interest of full disclosure not all days are like this; most aren't.  




An apex athlete who thought Black Betty looked good enough to eat



They can't all be over 15 pounds but I pretty much like any carp who will take my fly.







This one was particularly strong and persistent about not coming in.  



This carp was clever but not clever enough to know my fly was a fake until I set the hook.  

Carp are beautiful!







Simply wonderful







Sunday, May 4, 2014

Last Year's Last Fish and This Year's First Fish

Last year I saw a grand total of two clooping carp.  I don't count the ones that are just sunbathing with their mouths out of the water; I mean the ones that are actively feeding on the surface.  The two I saw were on the last day of the season and they were right next to each other.  One of them was small and the other one was smaller.  I made a single cast to them and the smaller one took my fly.  I weighed him in the net; he was a whopping 3.5 pounds, the smallest fish I caught all year and my last fish of the season.  I have the take on video.  Here it is:







I thought I would return to that same spot on my first day of this season and see if by some miracle I would see two clooping carp again and possibly get one of them to agree to be my first fish of the season.  I returned this past week to find that not only were there no clooping carp; there rarely are, there were darn few carp around at all. Black Betty tricked three fish.  I was reaching for the first one with the net and the fly popped out of his lip.  Was that my first fish of the season?  It was my first hook up but not my first fish in the net.  I only managed two more in the net over 5 more hours.

My first fish in the net was a mirror.  I enjoy mirrors so much; I particularly enjoy the ones that take my fly.


 
It felt SO good to be back at it!

I went out again a few days later--dear God what a difference--but that's for another post.  

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Welcome to the Future

This video is not meant to be one bit instructional or helpful--well not helpful in the sense of learning how to fish for carp.  It is mostly clips of takes from very visible fish.  Watching my own video clips in the winter is "useful" to me in that it helps me to remember seasons past and to look forward to the summer.  This video is "just for fun".  If you already carp fish then this video might make you smile.  If you don't carp fish this video might make you drool.  I don't know maybe it's the other way around.  If you already carp fish and it is still cold where you live this video might make you drool.  Heck, I took all the footage, I produced the video, and it makes me drool.  I didn't drool on the screen though so don't worry, you won't get any on you.

I had hoped to get three videos produced in the winter before carp season started.  I finished, "Dreaming of Warm Summer Days" and I just finished this one, "Welcome to the Future".  The third video, "Carp Fishing, Casting, and Confidence"--well, it's part way finished but it is highly unlikely I will get it completed before the season starts.  It has some great footage in it and it will also have some useful or helpful information in it.  Maybe I will do it this summer, maybe it will have to wait until the fall.  Time will tell.

This video is best watched on the full screen in 1080p.  Enjoy.

Monday, March 31, 2014

Issue #7 of CarpPro Magazine

Here it is, Issue # 7 of CarpPro Magazine.  Check it out; you'll be glad you did.  Dang, there's some cool carp flies in there!  

Saturday, March 22, 2014

THE carp fly swap





I have participated in some fly swaps through the years for both trout flies and carp flies.  I organized a couple swaps myself. 

In May of 2004 I put my first carp in the net.  My (fishing) life would never be the same.  I purchased “Carp on the Fly” by Reynolds, Befus, and Berryman, shortly after that and read it twice.  They recommended carp flies in the book and I dutifully tied them.  I also experimented with my own flies.  A LOT!  Within a couple seasons I was getting a good sense of what worked and what didn't work here in Washington and Oregon. 

The point of this post is very positive, as such, I reference a couple other swaps only to make a positive point.  The first two carp fly swaps I was in had quite a variety of flies.  I felt at the time, and really realized even more as time passed, that most of the flies in the swaps had never been in a carp’s mouth and many of them had never even been in the water.  I was very open to the possibility that different flies worked in different water.  Through email exchanges we all realized that most of the tiers had fished for carp a few times or were hoping to start carp fishing in the coming season.  Hence, their carp flies were not field tested.  As a result I have stayed away from carp fly swaps preferring to exchange ideas, information, and patterns with people who actively fish for carp. 

I am so pleased that I participated in this year’s carp fly swap!  I look at the flies in the box and I read the posts that Dan and Trevor have made and I realize that this is not just A carp fly swap it is THE carp fly swap.   Man, fly fishing for carp and carp flies have come a long way!  Wow! 

Many years ago when I sent out the carp flies from a swap I organized I remember thinking I wouldn't fish with the flies because they weren't flies I wanted to use.  Now I’m kind of thinking I won’t fish with the flies from this year’s swap because they are flies I don’t want to lose.  I know I’m safe though fishing and losing these flies because Trevor and Dan have posted such good instructions and pictures. 

Dan and Trevor, thanks so much for your work on this; it was simply great.  Thanks Scientific Anglers, Orvis, and CarpPro for the extras and thanks to all the tiers for your cool carp flies.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Dreaming of Warm Summer Days--Video

When I started this video it was 22 degrees at the Carp Lodge.  It was stark and beautiful.  When it is cold like that I tie flies and dream of warm summer days fishing for carp on my river.

There are five takes in this short video.  Watch it in HD and on a full screen so you can see the fish.  The first fish isn't visible until I set the hook but the others are.  You will see three of them turn to the fly; it's very cool!


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Three New Carp on the Fly Videos

Katy and I were at the Carp Lodge for a few days last week.  It was 22 degrees; everything was covered in hoarfrost.  It was stark and beautiful.  

I'm working on three new videos.  The first one is "Dreaming of Warm Summer Days".  It will be finished this week.  It is only 2 1/2 minutes long.  It has five takes in it and a cool special effect.  I have had fun putting it together.  




The second one is "The Future is Now".  I have a long way to go on this one.  I have selected a couple video clips from my accumulated library.  It will have a futuristic special effect in it but I have to get better at using the effect before I can finish this one and I need to select more video.

I have selected 15 video segments from my library for "Lessons from the Carp Lodge--Episode #5".  I'm excited about this one as I have been working on it off and on for months.  "Episode #4" was just published about a month ago so that makes it sound like I was working on "Episode #5" before "Episode #4".  I was working on them at the same time.  "Episode #5--Casting and Fishing with Confidence" will have a lot fishing video in it.  I will write an article for CarpPro magazine in conjunction with producing this video.  

Stay tuned...