Posts tagged: dave roberts

With the world coming to an end at 6pm Saturday, neatness demands I tie up a few loose ends.

First, because I selflessly work my fingers to the bone for the Undergrounders — expecting little in return save the occasional bowl of gruel — it’s pretty clear I’ll be headed skyward when the earth starts belching fire and clouds of stinging asps bearing the face of Donald Trump emerge and go all medieval on the poor schlubs left behind.

It’s equally clear that most of the unappreciative Undergrounders — who never truly recognized my genius and are about to pay dearly for the oversight — will be among the poor schlubs, and it seems only fair to say the following:

Neener. Neener.

You see, not only am I going to a better place (apparently the hot water never runs out), I’ll be headed there with a fly rod in my hand.

Longtime bamboo buddy Dave Roberts and I have been absent from each other’s fishing calendar for far too long, and if the Rogue River’s barely fishable flows hold up, I’ll be cruising north and fishing the just-underway Upper Rogue stonefly hatch for steelhead.

The last time we did this, a great, big, ginormous steelhead ate the big stonefly dry right in front of me, and because I’m a cool, steely eyed fly fishing sonofabitch (“I shot a man in Dunsmuir once just to watch him die”), I set on him like I was trying to club myself with the fly rod, immediately snapping the 3x tippet before… actually clubbing myself with the fly rod.

Dad would have been so proud.

And yes, the Rogue’s flows are unstable enough that there is a Plan B.

A secret Plan B.

The Gear Rapture

Dave Roberts and I met long before I moved to Dunsmuir, sharing an affinity for dry flies, small streams, colorful trout and bamboo fly rods.

We’ve been fast friends ever since, even to the point of Dave being the best man at my wedding (I needed a steady, calm, bamboo-style guy marshaling the flask of Irish Whiskey which kept me from soiling myself on The Happiest Day of My Life).

Over time, our paths have diverged; I’m pretty set for bamboo fly rods while Dave probably qualifies for some kind of intervention.

I’ll bring a strong 6wt fly rod and nymph if needed, but because it’s Dave, I’m also bringing my 8’6″ James Beasley-built Payne Canadian Canoe rod, which is a nice 7wt at stonefly ranges.

And just in case we end up on the highly technical Holy Water, I’ll pack a nice bamboo 5wt (haven’t decided which yet).

If I’m taken in the rapture, I want to be taken while in possession of a couple nice fly rods.

See you headed skyward (well, not most of you), Tom Chandler.