Took my cousin John out on the Yakima today. We did Green Bridge to diversion. Thanks to Troutwater for the shuttle.
It was a gorgeous day. A little too nice for fishing, but sometimes the fishing is just the part you do to get out.
Cousin John is not a fly fisher so mostly had him hold the rod and I did pull the plug duty on the oars. LOTS of rowing, but the Saturn was easy. It's a Saturn Triton 12'6" with a NRS 3-person fishing frame. I got it in a straight trade for the Outcast Striker raft. I liked the Striker and even put a frame on it, but the Saturn pushes less water, is more responsive and still fits in my 6.5' truck bed....barely.
I have read the RCWs and I have my flag. I'm legal. 
I did the trade during the winter and just haven't had the opportunity to float much this year. In fact, this was it's first real river day. I really dig the size and function. The firm floor is SO nice.
I set John up with a 5wt single skagit and a light streamer so he could just roll cast. Even that was rough going so we never got to overhead casting with a regular line. He's not the most athletic guy and is also about as ADHD as you could get. Repeatable tasks like roll casting are hard for him. I've coached kids in football and basketball that had similar issues. I think many of us take the ability to learn for granted. Add in the physical/coordination aspects and it really amplifies how those of us that have become proficient at fly casting, can hit a golf ball, make a basket or any other graceful feat really should be thankful. John enjoyed today, but he really was frustrated that he couldn't get what, for most of us, is a simple flick of the wrist.
I will say though, he had less tangles than other newbies I've taken out. Mostly because he was in the front of the boat and I would tell him...for the 10th time...just stick the tip in the water and the line will come free.
He didn't fall in. AND...he landed a decent fish on the last spot before the takeout. Literally across the river from the takeout. In line with his non-athletic traits, he promptly squeezed the crap out of the fish so it flopped right back in the water. So no fish pic for John.
I did get the smile though!
It was a great day. Funny story about cousin John.
He and his awesome wife moved to Maple Valley about 5 years back from Austin Texas. We met them at church. In fact, since we started attending about the same time that they did, we ended up in the same small group study thing. It was a great group and everyone in the group wanted to stay together. It doesn't always go that way. Haha!
Well John & his wife have experience leading groups, as do my wife and I. So we agreed to co-lead our group that we now refer to as Framily. Great folks!
Well, my youngest son got us Ancestry.com DNA kits for Christmas of 2023. In January of 2024 I was scrolling through my DNA matches on the Ancestry app and up pops a name I recognized. It was the same name as the guy we co-led small group with. Hmm.... How many John XXXXXs can there be in this world?
So I text John to ask him if he had grandparents with such & such last name. He says yes. Then he asks me "Why do you ask?" I said "We're cousins man!!"
Turns out this dude that I randomly met at church in Maple Valley and now co-lead group with is my 2nd half cousin! His grandmother on his mom's side was my great-grandfather's youngest half sister. My great-great grandfather died at 29 with 3 kids. My great grandfather was one of those kids.
So my great-great grandmother remarried and had 4 more kids. John's grandmother was the youngest of those 4. So he's my dad's generation, but only 4 years older than me.
We know some of the same people in Oklahoma and Texas. Haha!
So while the small group people can refer to us as Framily, we like to remind them that that's all well and good, but John and I are actually family.
I was a good day.
It was a gorgeous day. A little too nice for fishing, but sometimes the fishing is just the part you do to get out.
Cousin John is not a fly fisher so mostly had him hold the rod and I did pull the plug duty on the oars. LOTS of rowing, but the Saturn was easy. It's a Saturn Triton 12'6" with a NRS 3-person fishing frame. I got it in a straight trade for the Outcast Striker raft. I liked the Striker and even put a frame on it, but the Saturn pushes less water, is more responsive and still fits in my 6.5' truck bed....barely.
I have read the RCWs and I have my flag. I'm legal. I did the trade during the winter and just haven't had the opportunity to float much this year. In fact, this was it's first real river day. I really dig the size and function. The firm floor is SO nice.
I set John up with a 5wt single skagit and a light streamer so he could just roll cast. Even that was rough going so we never got to overhead casting with a regular line. He's not the most athletic guy and is also about as ADHD as you could get. Repeatable tasks like roll casting are hard for him. I've coached kids in football and basketball that had similar issues. I think many of us take the ability to learn for granted. Add in the physical/coordination aspects and it really amplifies how those of us that have become proficient at fly casting, can hit a golf ball, make a basket or any other graceful feat really should be thankful. John enjoyed today, but he really was frustrated that he couldn't get what, for most of us, is a simple flick of the wrist.
I will say though, he had less tangles than other newbies I've taken out. Mostly because he was in the front of the boat and I would tell him...for the 10th time...just stick the tip in the water and the line will come free.
He didn't fall in. AND...he landed a decent fish on the last spot before the takeout. Literally across the river from the takeout. In line with his non-athletic traits, he promptly squeezed the crap out of the fish so it flopped right back in the water. So no fish pic for John.
I did get the smile though!
It was a great day. Funny story about cousin John.
He and his awesome wife moved to Maple Valley about 5 years back from Austin Texas. We met them at church. In fact, since we started attending about the same time that they did, we ended up in the same small group study thing. It was a great group and everyone in the group wanted to stay together. It doesn't always go that way. Haha!
Well John & his wife have experience leading groups, as do my wife and I. So we agreed to co-lead our group that we now refer to as Framily. Great folks!
Well, my youngest son got us Ancestry.com DNA kits for Christmas of 2023. In January of 2024 I was scrolling through my DNA matches on the Ancestry app and up pops a name I recognized. It was the same name as the guy we co-led small group with. Hmm.... How many John XXXXXs can there be in this world?
So I text John to ask him if he had grandparents with such & such last name. He says yes. Then he asks me "Why do you ask?" I said "We're cousins man!!"
Turns out this dude that I randomly met at church in Maple Valley and now co-lead group with is my 2nd half cousin! His grandmother on his mom's side was my great-grandfather's youngest half sister. My great-great grandfather died at 29 with 3 kids. My great grandfather was one of those kids.
So my great-great grandmother remarried and had 4 more kids. John's grandmother was the youngest of those 4. So he's my dad's generation, but only 4 years older than me.
We know some of the same people in Oklahoma and Texas. Haha!
So while the small group people can refer to us as Framily, we like to remind them that that's all well and good, but John and I are actually family.
I was a good day.