FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors
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Sunday Morning
Rockie Mountain Marmot – The Boss says they look like little grizzles. They live in rock piles and come out late spring.
The weather is stunning so we hit the road for our big loop drive and then a hike way up, and it was a good day. We still find it hard to take in we live here, for 2 kids from Iowa this is so far from our youth and we do not take it for granted. You never know what you will see and today was no different.
When we came around a corner these 2 elk were drinking out of a roadside puddle and took off like a bat out of hell. Love how they run with their heads up.
Until we checked the pictures we did not know they were young bulls. Hard to tell from way out there at a dead run.
These 2 have a ways to go to achieve real “Bull” status.
Elk drop their antlers late and then start growing them at a rate of up to 1″ a day. So these 2 have a ways to go but we love seeing elk, one cool animal. And this time of year they are scattered and way up the mountains. With the rain we have had lately there is plenty of good green stuff to eat and with the runoff plenty of water up high.
A new to us closed forest road at 11,00 feet with the tree line and snow in the background.
Our area has tons of marked trails from easy to hard. Once I discovered that the forest service was closing some of the old logging roads they have become my favorite hike. Almost void of people, many are way out in the woods and rarely do we see anyone else. The goal is to let them return to nature and you can see depending on how long they have been open how it is going. And the chance to see wildlife up close is a lot higher with no foot traffic.
We look for tracks, bones, and anything else worth seeing. Today it was fireweed, which Nancy got schooled on in Alaska. They call it that because when it catches fire it blows away and spreads the fire.
Really pretty
We also see plenty of wild shrooms, some are edible and some will kill you. So we will be taking a foraging class in August and look forward to learning all we can. Every walk is an adventure, and to do it without a sound or people makes it so wonderful.
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Resist
I will never stop advocating for our public lands. An area up the mountain from the house is called Summitville. It has been mined from the early 1800’s until the 50’s I believe. The last miners were a Canadian firm. They used the cyanide method to extract the gold and as soon as the gold played out they hit the road. The creek was/is polluted for miles and miles and the land the same. It is now a Superfund site. There are over 1,300 designated in the US which are contaminated with hazardous substances that are a threat to people or the land that will cost billions and take decades to fix, if ever.
$250 million and decades to go.
This is my point and the basis of my opinion. So, a corporation takes the resource and leaves a mess with the taxpayers footing the bill. In the background used to be a beautiful mountain. We cannot let corporations mine, log, or drill unless we are willing to hold them responsible for the damage. This is at the top of our 50 mile loop into the really high country and is an eyesore in the middle of some of the most awesome woods this country has to offer. They can never be trusted, the land belongs to you and me not them.
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Friday Hike
The Boss at 11,000 feet. The road goes on forever and the party never ends. There are at least a dozen like this close to us, they go on just as far as you want to hike. And not a motorized vehicle in sight.
Spring is here and the high mountain Aspens are in full bloom.
Get up high and see forever.
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Time to Call it Quits
I will always be proud of going back to school, then law school and passing the BAR. The Boss and I worked hard to get it done and we paid for every cent and got through without any debt. Though I could have kept my license it is finally time to call it a day. It has been 20 years since I set foot in a courtroom and there is no way I will ever do it again. I called them to find out if resigning was by motion to the court or what, turned out it was simply filling out one form and that was it. I had a good run but do not miss it in the least. And here is their response.
STATE BAR OF TEXAS
Membership Department
June 11, 2025
Douglas Ray Coppernoll – 24052960
Dear Mr. Coppernoll,
This will confirm the voluntary resignation from the State Bar of Texas for Douglas Ray
Coppernoll effective 6/11/2025. If this was processed in error, please contact me immediately at
Membership Department
Thanks, but no error here. It was fun but I will never say it was REAL fun. So if you whack someone don’t call me.
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Tenkara
Been out a couple of times with the Tenkara rod with mixed results. Last trip it was a totally new area and I struck out. So this morning headed back to the place I first tried it and did just fine. The best place had already been fished so I gave it a rest and tried the other side of the road.
Brown Trout. Looke closely, see that black thing in his upper jaw, super tiny fly.
It is hard to describe what it is like fishing the Tenkara. A combination of cane pole fishing for bluegill, and a really technical method. My area that of course needs work is identifying bugs. Trout can be pretty particular as to what they are feeding on and consequently the fly you need. They were feeding up a storm for a while but I obviously did not have the specific fly but that will come with experience. But I have learned, just go small someone will eat it.
Brown with a nymph I tied.
It is so interesting how you can control the line a little easier due to the small diameter of the fly line, which is really not like fly line. As it is easier to manipulate you can maneveur the fly much easier, which works with the cast. Kind of hard to describe but suffice to say it is fun. Interesting bite and way to fish.
I try to get them unhooked and back as quick as possible.
I am really loving this “few minutes” from the house fishing. There are plenty of areas I have not explored and with the crowd here now and the river running the small streams will be the place of choice for the time being. Plus, the come and go as you please sure makes it nice.
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We have been watching the NCAA softball and baseball and the Hogs are still in it. We are Clark fans as both of us grew up in Iowa and the NBA finals have been good. In fact I would still be fishing but time to root on the Hogs. Everything else is good here in the Mountains. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
