Lucky Man

I been that way my whole life . Now in the military they say luck is where preparation meets opportunity but for me it's just simply curiosity and just a 6th sense that  I listen to in myself that leads me to right place at the right time ...and so it goes in Mexico....How many people do you know who will get on a bus they've never been on just to find out where it goes ?  Me and MPeasy have done it quite a few times. Here in Mazatlan it goes like this - you end up in a Colonia that you've never seen and generally end up in that area's biggest shopping area where you get off and wander and wonder . You jump the same bus name going the other direction and walla, you've made your own luck.

That's my second nice Snook of the season. It's mid morning and well after I've had my yoga nap. I'm trying to read on the terrace and the sun is frustratingly shining onto my tablet making it hard to see the print. I notice the foamy water and tell MP I'm gonna go catch a robalo and get the stick with a green rubber swim fish with a chartreuse tail. I don't get my tackle satchel because I have a feeling that I'm not fishing long....walla.....4 cast later and I'm hooked up. I put ol slimey safely near the shower and hurry down for another cast. I feel the bite and he's gone immediately . I check out the hook and my rubber has been bit in half and I think the wiggling tail has much to do with the lures effectiveness so I'm done fishing . I gifted him to a friend as a Christmas present.....lucky, lucky , lucky is what Chick Kishbaugh used to say.

I remember an Indy 500 win by one of Roger Penske's guy when the race leader crashed on the last lap and Roger's driver won .  An interviewer observed that they got ' pretty lucky ' when Roger quipped "  people who work hard get pretty lucky ".  Here's a pic of our new friend Kurt with his first outstanding Robalo for which he invested hours and days  of casting always knowing that he was getting closer and closer to the catch....which he released giving him a karma bank account to fall back on....

We've all heard the euphemism " I'd rather be lucky than good ' ....well I don't see it that way , in my life I've always wanted to be good and lucky or really good at lucky . The other day I changed lures probably 7 or 8 times before I finally caught a snapper on a small Ernie endorsed rubber swim fish . I released the fish as we were in the middle of a red tide and I just had a feeling....how many people do you know who would take off the proven lure right after a catch....well I was feeling lucky so I gave the brightly colored swim fish the hook and put on a dull red bigger one  and a few casts later had this guy. 

Now if you wanna experience the magic that comes with luck or really is luck ya gotta go in search. You ain't gonna find the silver lining by only looking at the outside. Me and MPeasy love all things Mexico....Carnaval- gotta go...Day of Dead - we come early for that one...Feast  of  Our Lady of Guadalupe - we're in....what could be cuter than kids dressed up as Juan Diego who was lucky enough in 1531to be granted three times the vision of the Virgen Mary who's likeness was etched onto the shirt that he wore and then wrapped roses into to take back to town. What can be cuter than this ?  I 'll answer first.....nothin .

Two blocks surrounding the Cathedral are packed with food carts and picture booths. I throw some lettuce into the offerings bowl that a couple of priests were holding as people made their way into the church, I think of my mom and know she'd like that...So then it's time to quit lookin at all the wonderful fresh food and eat it, MP has a weakness for Churro's . How's about these hotcakes ? We kinda noticed a sweet theme with the food, after all it's all about kids .

So Christmas in coming with our annual Christmas concert . Then first Friday art walk and of course New Years eve when we lie in the sand and look at the stars to prepare for another trip around the sun. I'm even making a resolution and I'll do it right now. I promised at least two  Mile 14 episodes a month to match my new lifestyle and I know I've been just barely making that....I'll try harder in 2023 because....I love you all and really appreciate your interest in this quest that I'm on. Merry Christmas my friends !!!! 

Yawner

 Yup, that first day I caught a snapper and released it seemed to be the entire highlight reel for Team X 2022....Now I've heard my Minnesota fishing friends tell me they call the Muskie the fish of 10,000 casts, well I don't know if that's true or not but if it is this nice Robalo I finally caught is the fish of 25,000 casts. I got him a week ago and I kept delaying my urge to post a Mile 14 update because I just knew there would be more.....nope , just a yawner . 

My friend Raphael who did a wonderful job remodeling our condo was on the beach and I had just told him that the first nice Snook I caught would be a thank you gift for him. As he was exercising I got bit and we both thought Toro until it jumped and then the coaching started. But he entirely swallowed a home made Pluma that Alejandro gave me last year it wasn't getting off. Here's a pic of Raphael and me with his families supper.

As the days drug onto this edition of Mile 14 I caught a Toro about every third day....so, Team X is disappointed and one of our stalwarts and well connected members decides we should try fishing bait on the bottom with live shrimp that are exceptionally hard to get . But Willie gets it done for us and 2 mornings ago at daylight we are all fishing on the bottom with the bait no fish can resist mmmm....well....the can't but they did and we found out that what Alejandro calls the Devil Fish can't resist them either . We caught not one, not two but four of these Skates.....did anyone ever tell you that's what Scallops are made of ? That's another story.

The photo of the week had to be this one...Ol Dan Stewart is a busy guy. As he's gently and respectively releasing a Toro he's scanning the surf for bait or any signals of pescado. He builds lures , ties teasers , fishes for hours and even has his own tech at the Shimano repair center in California....never ceases to amaze me. This guy is in 78 and the rest of the fishing world is in 33 and 1/3 .

Where else in the world can you roll out of bed and go straight to saving the planet ? Through the years I've seen many a Sea Turtle here and their nests. The Mexicans treat them as endangered and we always help them along when ever we can, but rare they ain't ! This nest here was only one of four that we've found in the last three weeks. It was up against the seawall and Kurt and Raphael excavated it so we could save the future a dangerous hike to the H20 .

So with all this excitement going on how's about the timeline for my typical day....

4:30....outa bed , read two papers, Helena and the Anchorage daily news.

6:00 ...sun up, on the beach fishing and of course talking.

8:00 ....meet MP after her walk with the girls for breakfast.

9:00 ...first nap, we call this one the yoga nap as the girls do yoga on the ocean terrace while I sleep to the sounds of the downward dog

10.00 to 2:00...read on the Terrace , two tostados for lunch and a Pacifico followed by the 2nd nap

2:00 to 3:30....get my 10,000 steps. I like to bus it into the gold zone then walk the 4 miles back . I 'm finally making progress and have my weight down to a steady 190 and a respectable body mass index of only 33 %.....headed for the fabled 185 and boy do I feel good.

3:30 to 4:30....hot tub the aches and pains....

4:30 : ..wait for legal cocktail time....

5:00....have a tall orange and practice 6 or 7 seven songs on the guitar

5:30...on the terrace for sunset and fellowship

6:30 .....start the barbecue and overcook what ever todays menu item is

7:00 until 3rd nap in the recliner.....Oak Island mystery , Gold Rush , Yellowstone ( still looking to see myself in that one )....

REPEAT

Normally different

 That title doesn't make sense to you ? Well....Ya know one of the unfair things in life is that anything can become routine if you let it. So that's my mission to approach things I've done over and over in a new light, a new day and a new outlook, things here in Mexico are normal.....but different.

Like one of our first sunsets...look how close I got to getting  the always allusive avian assist.  He wasn't lined up perfect like the a shot I got back on January 17th 2004 but it's a pretty darn cool assist.

We hit Maz at 5:00 p.m. and I had my fishing gear out at 5:04....it took me a couple dozen casts and I had my first consumable which I released to bank some karma . There was nobody on the beach to help with a photo so I had to settle for a sand scene. The last few mornings I've really enjoyed being alone on the playa, we are a few of the first snowbirds to arrive....you know me , like a bad house guest I'm always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

I hadn't seen my friend Alejandro so I wasn't to surprised when I walked out in the twilight of sun up and knew it was him in the surf feeling around for sand crabs to use for his set line bait. 

They call them Conchita's and the snapper just love them. Years ago at the Mayan Palace my first Mexican friend Daniel showed me how to feel for them with your in feet and then grab then when the wave recedes. I've gotten pretty good at it through the years. At first I would use the easy method and watch for a sandpiper or an Oyster Catcher hunting for them and then shooo the bird off and get his crab.

I guess I'm kind of an expert on this stuff in Mazatlan, of course whenever I used the word expert my friend Ralph ImHolte would remind me that an ex is a has been and a spirt is a drip under pressure. So many people have generously showed me the way and it's my mission to do the same...so many people....Carlos Laggette, Slah Salhi , Kiki Isquiredo , Antonio Lopez, Ramon Lizzaraga, Gabriel  . Mario , Sergio Tirado , Ernie Mills and Tim Lockwood, Dan Stewart and this man....Alejandro who I've known for 20 years . Thanks to all of you and I know there are so many I can't print them all....Jason .

As Alejandro and I chat I cast and cast and a toro jumps on the line . Another release and we have a good laugh at the suggestion that we set a up Toro only tournament with a handicap system for gringo's.

On the world famous I used to tell people that the river is always changing, everyday is different as it's a living thing just like us and the salmon it provides for. Well the same is true for the beach and with this seasons 3 near misses by Hurricanes it has changed so much that it's making my everyday life difficult because there is literally 12 to 15 feet of sand  missing and now even a small tide comes up to the seawalls. It's semi dangerous to wade in front of the seawall because when the bigger wave comes you can get smeared against the cement. I learned as a set net commercial fisherman that every 7 th wave is larger so you watch and count...and then run to the other end of the seawall. Here's a pic of a wall that me and Dan normally set our surf satchels on or sit on and have a protein bar breakfast. 

So the other night I ordered our new Limo over to take us out to F.I.S.H. for an oyster Po Boy and an extra Large Pacifico. 

We finished out the week with a Sunday morning bike ride with a stop at our favorite Menudoteria. I always have regular Menudo and MP went with the Barria....life is good and we are soooo happy to be back in Mazatlan. and from a creative perspective the Staff is really happy that I have more to write about than Zuchini's and other normally different things in Montana. I just loaded a new SD card in my camera so I'll be in the watch AND be playing some music real soon. Tonight we are going to old town for the Day of the Dead celebration and will over night at the La Siesta like we do,  should get some great costume photo's and the always unusual free beer truck....so come on back ya'all.

On Big Fish

 As I prepare to jump the jet in 10 days for Mazatlan I've been thinking a lot about my hobby, my vocation and my quest to be a better person and have a happy life. And it occurred to me it's all the same thing. All that I know applies to all I do....make sense ? So, I was thinking about how big fish really define the quest and I have a few insights to share .

This summer on one of the really good days we had one of my fishing buddies said something to the effect that he never really expects to do as good as we did that day, he was surprised. Well, for me I expect to do well every time and each next fish is going to be the big one . Through my years of guiding I even came to the point where I enjoyed the slow fishing better than the fast and furious fishing. I'd look at it as more of a challenge, a bigger mystery to solve....I've never caught  a ' fish of a lifetime '  because my lifetime ain't over .  

Here's pic of the first grande King Salmon I ever wrestled . Me and my friend Paul Kelly went fishing until 4:00 a.m. to get him. Paul who had lost a hand in an industrial accident got him in the net and it was ON...and the outcome was in doubt for quite a spell.

So here's list of the things I've noticed about big fish....You know how I like a list, it's as close to having any order as we ever get here at Mile 14 , Montana Bureau.

1. you hear in fishing circles " the little ones taste better than the big ones "....well, you hear that from people who don't catch the big ones.

2. You hear " I like Red Salmon better than King Salmon ".... well you hear that from people who don't catch King Salmon.

3. And ouch....when somebody loses a big fish you hear " well I was going to release him anyway "....get your pic first, then release....

4.  If you're going to spend your life chasing grande sized slimey's ya gotta take the time to learn the fine art of the pose. My buddy Lowell knows the way and I personally think he should have had and Adjunct Professor position at the Kenai River Guide Academy .

Now for the nuts and bolts of the chase.

5. Now this might sound stupidly obvious but...Fish where the fish are !  Lots of fish = lots of big fish. Few fish = few big fish .

6. No Laziness. Fresh leader, sharp hooks, fresh bait , start at sun-up , end at sun-down . In Montana if you use wigglers, make sure they're wiggling, ol slimey can tell the difference me thinks.

7.Those that know me know what's lucky number 7...eat Licorice. 

7 . A ....use scents. Shoot the locks off that wallet and support Phil at the  Pro Cure Company.....you're going to need Anise oil , sardine butter  and here in Moootana if you ain't got 40 bucks worth of Berkley Gulp products you're wasting time and maybe oughta take up golf.

8. Mental  imaging . I learned this from a friend who kicked field goals for a living . He told me about a kind of self hypnosis drill he would do and see himself accomplishing what he wanted to do....Well I do that daily now and wallla, no surprises because I've done it all before .

9. Don't brag.....ever....bad ju ju to follow if you do.

10. Being confident is not bragging....Ali said " it ain't bragging if you can do it ".

12. Share all and any things you know. Share lures, I love to give away the good stuff, makes me feel like a missionary. Oh....and share your licorice. 

13. Catch and release.....the bigger the better....salmon have between 1500 and 3000 eggs of which one of your buddies just might catch as an adult in a few years.

14.  Notice the small things. Many small things = a big thing. Notice trends, notice fellow fisherman's success , or lack of . Notice the environment. to hot, to cold . Hot wind ? or a steady breeze...it all shapes the day.

15. Show respect. I've seen Humpies kicked back into the water many a time. One day  in Mexico on a hot Toro bite people were throwing the released fish back into the ocean. I quit fishing so people wouldn't think I was a part of that. So just be gentle , bend over , place old slimey in the water until he's feeling like swimming and give him a big ol smiling adios. 

16. Have fun. Through the years I've heard professional people advise to not mix business with pleasure. Well, I respectively and strongly disagree. I think you can make anything, and I mean anything better by throwing in a healthy dose of levity . In my career the thousands of people I've fished with might tell you they don't remember the fish exactly but they certainly remember having fun....and laughing .

17. Any questions ? 

Well , if you're still reading this I'll leave you with a short song from the Movie Tender Mercies  with Robert Duval . I played this song just a couple times before I sang it for you, it was like I just new it . I've had that experience a few times in my life....when ya just know and that's simply magic. So I guess let's all just let it ' flow ' and I'll  post pics from Mazatlan real soon , hope ya come back to Mile 14.

Livingston Saturday Night

 Jimmy Buffet loved this area when he was just starting out and discovering this big ol world . It's weird here in Montana, you hear it all the time in different forms and they might even blame Jimmy to a degree... "it's been discovered '  ' it's been gentrified '  ' it's being ruined '.....What ? Hello ? I don't get ti , not a bit. It looks like all the old timers or non thinkers just like things the way they were and ignore the  never ending spiral of change. I used to tell the commercial fishermen in Alaska that pined away for the old days and wanted to have first rights that if they're able to build a time machine make sure it's big enough for everybody !  For me I see a nice place to live, people who can do it want to live there , it's a good thing and an inevitable thing so the only discussion should be is how do we do community development and shape it into something that is good for everyone....a vital friendly town with an economy and housing for all strata's, THAT should be the goal .

Here's a shot of typical downtown Livingston . It's just gorgeous and certainly has it's share of studios. bistros and real estate offices. I suppose the negativers would rather see empty run down or falling down 100 year old buildings.

Now where I hang my rain gear these days in Helena they took a different approach. In the early 70's while I scratched a living in the frozen north Helena went through a thing called ' urban renewal ' and ripped down major portions of the historic area including the Marlow theatre, the sister to the Wilma in Missoula that is now one of the most wonderful music venues in the Northwest....what kind of town wouldn't want a theater like this one in Livingston ? 

Every town in Montana has one of these . Why should Livingston be any different 

The retro vibe in Livingston is tangible, you feel it. For me it's as simple as the word ' interesting ' and what could be wrong with that....if that's ruined I guess we could all use a good dose of ruinitity....I guess I'm making up a few words here because I guess I just don't have the vocabulary to properly describe how damn stupid people can be...or maybe greedy....it's a type of the old ' I was here first so I have more rights ' , jeez I've bumped into that my whole life and errrrrr... I hate it. 

It struck me....for those that hate change the problem is simple to solve. Just move to Ringling a mere 40 miles up the road, it's a time capsule.

Ringling Ringling slippin away\

only 40 people

livin there today

streets are dusty 

and the banks be torn down 

it's a dying little town

Here's a couple shots or Ringling. One from the road and then a pic of main street and the bar.

behind the bar theres a pile

of beer cans 

been there 27 years

think of all the heartache and tears

in 27 years of beer

So you move to Ringling and you're 40 miles closer to one of the Hot Springs which has wonderfully hot mineral water in several pools. It's one of our favorite places . Interesting Murals of Montana history surround the pools and waterfalls . Because of the minerals etc a lot of the hot springs we've been to look to be rustic with a little algae bloom or debris that collects on the bottom....not this one, it's spotless clean.

And I learned something, which is always good. Untill I really scoped out the murals done by a local guy named Gary Larson I had no idea that the Vikings had a part in pioneering Montana.

11:00 a.m. Sunday in White Sulphur Springs. Church bells are ringing, the air is crisp, cool and clean. There's just a bit of termination dust on the mountains.....life is good.

Well, that's it for my foray into Montana ruininity. Things are different in Jeff's world and I like it. If you don't like the world you're living in I guess there's only a couple things you can do....you can adapt....change your view, get new glasses so to speak . OR....you can move to Ringling.

It's always something

 And I thought Alaska was a place with a lot going on....maybe it's just coincidence but this Montana deal is full of it, dynamic lightning storms that always result in a fire that's treated as routine in these parts. Then there's the accompanying toad strangler as Geno would say, if you've ever wondered what a one and a half inches of rain looks like in 15 minutes here's a  short video. Now in Mexico we've seen some serious rain but not like this and in Alaska the rain just pitter paters around but lasts for days....and I mean days.

In fact as I type this morning the world famous is experiencing another flood watch. The Snow River Glacier dumped ( the Jokulhaup )\which is does routinely and with another 5 days of rain in the forecast the Kenai River is sure to reach at least minimum flood stage. Now in Soldotna I've dealt with that many a time, I've worn raingear for 27 days in a row, I've had it rain so long that I never had to wash the boat for 3 weeks....but I ain't never had it run in the house like here in the Big Smokey Sky country.

And how does that work....well, just the other morning me and MPeasy were driving up the hill to our house when a red pick up with flashing lights passed us and Mp said " guy sure is in a hurry " . And I said  " yup he sure is. looky there ".

That was just the start of the show. Turns out our house was the perfect place to watch from. it is literally only about 5 blocks away right up into our mountain view. Here's a look see without tele.

So for me it was kinda the Helena version of watching Yellowstone being filmed over in Ham Bone. I got on my bike and humped the hill for a closer look. I was impressed with the industry of fire fighting. We easily had 30 trucks and another 20 police blocking traffic as well as two helicopters and a four engine jet that brought the red stuff that put the final touches to the 18 acre fire which nobody knows how it started.  

Now how do I say it...mmmmm.....well I've known a few firemen in my life and I've never met one that don't drive a new pick up truck, ya know what I mean.  So I figure with all the watching, preparing , radio calling and nut scratching there had to be about 1.4 million in payroll hanging around.

But I gotta say , those guys are good and there was no doubt that fire was going out. The State Forestry people got in the air first and the guy driving that Huey pretty much put the fire out single handedly. He flew that thing like a piece of his body . He never hovered just kept moving and swinging the load so the water would disperse in a line . He made a trip from a local lake about every 7 minutes, it was like watching choreography.  He had the bucket on a short leash so it wouldn't swing much, watching a man and his trade is a beautiful thing.....thank you firefighters.

So, being a little stressed from all the natural disaster avoidance me and my running mate decide to hit the links and we drive back to our new favorite golf course in Elliston. We hit our first shots right to the edge of the Blackfoot River where MP notices that the chokecherries are ' gorgeous ' and perfectly ripe. So as we tee up for the next hole out comes a real Bear. Now this guy is about a 300 pounder as ol retired guide 003 has seen a few bears. He's acting like he owns the place because of course he does.  Now the left side of my brain said ' he's only a black bear ' and the 69 year old side of my brain said ' you need to quit doing stupid stuff all the time '....so we decided to not play through. we were the only people around and well it was time to make an adult decision. I left a note in the money box and Tom the owner invited us to another round on him. 

With the air quality index in the red and me being an asthma guy we got up Monday morning and decided to exit stage left. We found nice clean air at our new favorite casino, Northern Quest in Spokane where I won 20 bucks. Yup, we spend gas, food lodging and of course a few Pacifico's for twenty bucks..  But the highlight of the trip was Kootnei Falls in the very Northwest corner of Montana , very close to both Idaho and Canada.

What a gorgeous spot. You can feel and hear the power of the water. It's a mile and half hike to the suspension bridge which of course we had to walk. My only other experience with a swinging bridge is in Puerto Vallarta where they have everyday suspension bridges over the river that are rusty and  well, mexican. But they're only 15 feet above the water....now this baby is tall , long and sways pretty darn good. Perfect . 

And the views....man oh man....

So Team X will be in Mazatlan October 25th.  I'll have pics of Day of the Dead celebration and I'd bet dollars to donuts a few slimey's . I'll get a couple Mile 14's out before but please come back...I'll get inspired by something more often I'm sure....😎