Hobby Sports

I know someone who just returned from Argentina on a Goldern Dorado trip and it resparked my fascination with the place.  For more than a decade now Argentina has been on my mind. Ever since Wild On The Fly wrote an article about fishing Golden Dorados in the early 2000s, I have be dreaming about going. I almost made it too. At one time Argentina was having a promotion, an all inclusive trip including airfare from LAX to Buenos Aires for $2995. You had the option of fishing, I believe 3 days, in Central Argentina for Golden Dorado or fishing in the Patagonia for trout. I almost choose to go after Dorado but I could not find anyone who wanted to go with me. Instead I used that money and went back to Costa Rica with my friend Bryan Webb and his buddies in search of my tarpon.

I still wonder, what if I went to Argentina instead...That particular deal is no longer good and as this economy sucks and my disposable income not quite what it once was I am relegated to daydreaming. So I spend my time reading articles or watching videos.  It seems Argentina is making a strong case as the worlds foremost sporting paradise and pushing it pretty hard.  Years ago they came out with Mel Kriegers Patagonia.  This is a beautifully filmed movie that showcases not only Kriegers talents but Patagonias magnificant trout.  Obviously this film is an hour long commercial for Argentina fishing but I dont care.  I would rather watch this advertisement any day to any other stupid ad that pops up before you try to watch a youtube video.  Its fun to live vicariously through the film as you watch Mel throw some amazing loops to huge trout.  The film showcases the best Patagonia has to offer, including Sea Run browns down south at Tierra Del Feugo among other locations that hold giant size trout.  RIP Mel.

I believe the hunting version came out just last year, I purchased it once I heard about it.  Again the Argentina tourist board were smart enough to hire an authority in his field, Craig Boddington, as they were to hire Mel Krieger, to come and film the excellent opportunities to hunt this large South American nation.  As with the fishing version, Big Game Argentina with Craig Boddington is beautifully put together and showcases the awesome hunting opportunites available throughout the vast landscape of Argentina.  Craig hunts it all from stags, to boar, to mouflon, to waterfowl and doves among others.  If you ever thought about traveling to Argentina to hunt or fish you should check out either one of these DVDS.  If you have no interest in doing either the movies are still worth a look.

My off seasons are usually spent watching hunting videos. This season is no different. Recently I received a package of four DVDs. One of which I just finished watching. Without a doubt, Mountain Buffalo is the greatest hunting film I ever seen. Narration is available in a number of languages including English, German, French, Danish and Spanish. The German client scene is subtitled.

The film takes place in Northern Tanzania near Mount Loosimingor as Rainer guides and narrates each hunt. Watching the film you quickly realize that this film is much more about the hunt and the stalk rather than the kill.

If Mark Sullivan or Mark Buchanan films are your cup of tea youd definitely find this film a bore. Unlike those films Mountain Buffalo is shot in documentary style. The production, cinematography, editing and narration is simply amazing. The film follows three cape buffalo hunts. Each gives you look inside Rainer Joschs hunting philosophy and style. Rainers words illustrate this “The pursuing of an animal shall only become interesting when the hunt provides a challenge to the hunter. The taking of an animal should not be too easy, the risk of an unsuccessful outcome adds mystery and personalizes the hunting experience and is therefore a prerequisite...”

I truly love this film and I found out that Rainer has made a new film. Apparently it is already out in Europe and I cant wait until it comes out here in the US.

Like any idiot that has too many toys, I often neglect some of my material possessions whether it be a fly rod or reel, gun, or in this case a watch.  This Anonimo has been left seating on the benches for years now.  I almost forgot I even owned it.  I have since rectified that and have been wearing it almost daily and on all my fishing outing in the past month. 

This is big watch which is much the fashion these days.  It is a 44mm case and if it looks like a Panerai well it should.  There are some historical influences which I will discuss in a minute.  Anonimo is a Italian dive watch with long tradition of Florentine watchmaking.

Panerai in recent years has exploded in popularity largely from celebrities like Sly Stallone, Jason Statham seen wearing them.  This popularity lead a holding company of luxury goods (I forget which one and Im too lazy to look it up) to buy the brand but the holding company only had interest in owning the name not skills of the Italian workforce.  The company moved Panerai out of Italy and into Switzerland leaving hundreds of Italian watchmakers out of work.  The Swiss Panerais are excellent watches but they fail to capture what made Panerai, Panerai. 
As Panerai left Florence, proud Italians refusing to see their tradition and art die created Anonimo.  Using the abandoned talent and equipment, todays Anonimo is much more in line with the old school Panerai than the modern day Panerai could ever be.  Todays Panerais are Panerais in name only.  They carry very few traits that made Panerais famous.   For what I can see the only thing they kept other than the large face is the crown seal that they use on the Luminor models.  I will say todays Panerai movements are much better than their predecessors and of that of Anonimo.  Panerais were orginally worn by the Italian Navy Divers and were also commission by other Navys across the globe.  These dive watches were made with leather straps.  Yes a diving watch with leather bands.  Waterproof leather bands.  Current Panerais with leather straps can not be swam with as they do not possess the waterproof leather straps.  A diving watch that you can not dive with, makes a lot of sense doesnt it?  Anonimos on the other hand, like the original military watch, can be dove with on as it uses the Kodiak process that waterproofs the leather and can be used in fresh or salt water.
My Anonimo is a Cronoscopio Mark II Special Edition limited to 50 pieces.  Mine is 12/50.  The watch is has a day date function and is a chronograph.  As a limited edition, it has a different face than the regular edition and thats about the only difference to my knowledge.   With a clear case back you can see the movement which is modified Valijoux 7750.  The bezel and back cover are screw locked similar to those early day Panerais.
Much is said about Anonimos cases and the Italians are proud to flaunt them.  Panerai actual started out as a company that specialized in fine mechanisms such as mechanical depth gauges, compasses and torpedo detonators for the navy.  They were tapped into making a dive watch when all other Swiss watches at the time did not meet the testing requirements.  Panerai encased a Rolex caliber in a modified depth meter and delivered it to the Admiralty.  Ten were promptly ordered and the rest is history.  The stainless steel case on my watch is satinated AISI316 Plus and is sand blasted while the bezel and back cover are polished. 

I recently started looking at Anonimos online and am shocked at what they are currently going for, Im sure that is partially due to a weak dollar.  I believe there is small but growing fans of Anonimo, I do not believe it will ever reach the status of what Panerai currently holds but I believe these watches are worth a look.   They are less about status and more about having a connection with the past.  I personally like that fact.

There is some information regarding how Panerai came about and some pctures of early Panerai models in the book 1001 Wristwatches.

After this mornings heartbreak, I chose to hit the water one more time this afternoon. A slight breeze caused chop on the water making it difficult to see any fish in any water deeper than calf level. So all I could spot are fish near the banks. The first carp I saw, I didnt even have a chance at casting to it before it spooked. Moving down stream I saw a small bass or perhaps a bluegill and before I could cast it fled. The second carp I had a good chance and threw the fly just in front of it but it chose not to take my offerings. With only three casts to it, it moved into slightly deeper water and I then lost him in the choppy water. Eventually I got bored of trying to sightcast so I blindcasted into a narrow ambush point and foul hooked a turtle. After releasing it, I moved down the river to see at least 4 bass jump. All out of my reach so I wader toward them but no fish were willing. I decided to head back but before I left I decided to check out one more time the area I got bit this morning. I saw the hump of a feeding carp in the shallows. I moved out of the area and headed 15 yards upstream so I would not spook him. Feeding facing the cattails, the carp gave me a difficult cast especially with the wind in my face. All my casts missed the mark, not one landed toward its face. With a errand cast, I plopped the fly too hard on the water and the fish was gone. I headed back to the car spooking three more carp all of which gave no opportunity for a cast.


Notice the rings at the top left. The hump of the carp may be seen.


Sorry pal that was unintentional. The turtle just before release.

I slept in on accident this morning as it was bone chilling cold.  It actually was a good thing as by the time I made it to the pond I wanted to deke up, I found it was frozen solid.  I would have been pissed had I woke up early just to find out it was a waste of time.  I spent the whole morning exploring for new areas, basically I wasted the whole morning driving around missing exits or making it to roads that were closed due to snow. 

Bill told me of the area he hunted just before Christmas, I tried to make it there but the road was too sketchy for me to go it alone.  Since I was in the area I checked out a few watering holes that I never seen, of course they too were frozen solid.  So I turned back and headed to the lowlands.  I drove around looking for an area to jump shoot some ducks.  After sometime I managed to finally find an area that I could actually walk along the river.  I parked and after about fifty yards, I flushed a drake mallard and took him with the right barrel loaded with Bismuth number 5 load and he buckled as I was tracking him down, fifteen more mallards flushed and I took another drake I didnt track him as Kaiser jumped off the 8 foot bank toward the river.  I knew at least the birds fell on the opposite side within the reddish wood branches.  The river was too fast for Kaiser and he was reluctant to go in.  I climbed down and had to pick him up and put him back on the bank.  I rushed to the car and put on my waders and headed out with Kaiser to find a spot to cross together.

The banks on this section were too high so I put Kaiser back in the River and headed out myself.  I managed to cross and struggled to make it up the bank on the opposite side.  I looked through the vegetation and spent 45 minutes trying to find at least one of those birds.  No luck.  I went back to the truck and drove 20 minute to find a bridge to cross to get the other side.  Finally reaching the spot I let Kaiser out to see if his nose could find the birds but unfortunately I was not exactly sure where the hit the ground.  After about 30 minutes I gave up as we were running out of sun.  When I lose birds, I get pissed, I get even more pissed when they are fat mallards especially when it was my first double on ducks and would have been Kaisers first mallard.  Oh well I guess thats hunting.

I drove to another spot I thought would be a good spot for some pass shooting.  Once I got out of the truck, three unknown ducks flushed and then a hen mallard flushed before I could even get my gun.  We walked along the river as the sun was setting.  Three small ducks flew overhead but were way out of range.  And after that it was time to head back to the motel. Well see what tomorrow brings...

The book is broken down into Mens watches, Chronographs, Aviator watches, Divers watches, GMT and World Time Watches, Watches with Alarm features, Tourbillon Watches, Calendar watches, and Repeater watches.  My favorite companies, Glashutte Original and Sinn, are showcased, as well as the big name and not-so-big name Swiss, French and German makers.

Its printed on quality thick gloss paper with watch porn on every page.  The book is basically almost all watch porn with very little in the way of substance but nonetheless its quite the find.

For more that a decade my copy of Spanish Best by Terry Weiland has sat in my gun library unread collecting dust.  This weekend I decided to actually open the book and finish it.  I have no idea why it has taken me so long to read this book.  Perhaps its because I always  subconsciously thought that Spanish doubles were somehow a "lesser" gun.  Maybe that is too harsh. I have long realized that Spanish guns are nice and an excellent value for the money but always in the back of my mind I always considered them reproductions rather than the real deal.  After reading Weilands book, I have realized that may not be a fair assessment.  The book is an excellent off season read that gave me some insight on Spanish guns and the industry.  It takes a good look at the history of Spain and how it influenced its firearm industry as well as how English influences in banking and royalty contributed to the adoption of the English ideal of the shotgun.  Also  researched is the possible origins of poor reputation and apprehension among American shooters toward Spanish guns.  What I really enjoyed about this book is not only does Terry describe Eiber gun making trade but the actual town itself and it cultural and culinary experiences.  All in all I enjoyed this book and worthy a place in any fine gun library.

I decided to put to use the bounty of the last hunt. 

Ingredients:
Saddle of Cottontail Rabbit and liver (you can use the legs if cooking for more than one person)
Mushrooms
Diced Shallots
Green Onion
Butter
White Wine
Chicken Broth
Fresh Herbs- I used Chives, Thyme and Rosemary since that is all I had
Penne Pasta
Parmesan cheese

Dice the liver and saddle of the cottontail in bite sized pieces.  Slice the mushrooms.  Chop the herbs.  Grate the cheese.

Cook the Pasta in salted water.  Heat butter in a pan and add the diced shallots and green onions.  When cooked add diced rabbit until half way cooked.  Then add the sliced mushroom and herbs.  Deglaze with the wine and broth.  Reduce liquid to about half.  Add cooked pasta and toss. Retain the cooked pasta water. Then add the cheese and toss.  If the pasta is too dry add pasta water.  Of course season along the way.
 

My first real hiking boot ever was a Lowa. I have always been a fan because every pair Ive ever worn have been very comfortable. It has always seemed to me that they require little to no break in period. Ive never had a blister or hot spot with their boots.

I have acquired two new pair of Lowa boots. My father picked a pair of Desert Elites for me. These boots retail here in the states for over $300 and Ive seen them go for over $400. But for some reason, these boots in the UK are going for far less, around $200 USD. I have read that the British SAS and other Special Forces wear these boots. Perhaps there was a contract that was not fulfilled and now the UK has an overrun of these and thus the cheaper price there. My father picked these up from a UK dealer and bought a pair for himself and a pair me for roughly the price of one set that could be bought here.

Other than trying them on, I have not tested the boot. Although on our last hunt my father wore his and said they were very comfortable. One great thing about these Elites are that they are still made in Germany. They are water repellent and breathable and are 8 inches tall. Although these are desert boots they are more than capable for mountainous chukar terrain. Afterall the Brits are wearing these in Afghanistan. One thing I have to get used to is that these boots have closed eyelets. This is because these are designed for paratroopers and open eyelets can get caught or cut up cords. For me this takes some getting used to as all my boots have open eyelets. These boots will be my early season mountain quail boots or hot weather boots.

The boot is a combination of cordura and leather. Tongue is well padded and mountaineer styled.

Eyelets are closed throughout. The tongue is attached to a nice soft leather.

Lowa Renegade GTX Mid

Not knowing that my father picked me up those boots, I picked up another pair of Lowa boots for everyday use or camping. I have a pair or Timberlands I bought years ago because I read that Ed Viesturs wore them. Those were Chinese made junk. I couldnt believe Ed would ever wear a boots like that. I guess he gets them free but since he makes a living mountaineering I would expect that he would go with a more reputable boot company. Maybe he just wears those while in camp and not when hiking to the base camp. Most recreational boots found at outdoors stores are now made in China. Just go to REI and look for yourself. That is just sad. I, for one, will not purchase any of those.

These Lowa Renegade GTX Mids are not German made but at least they are not made in China. It is my understanding that these are Lowas most popular boot selling more units worldwide than some boot companies sell in one year. I can see why. These are some of the most attractive boots on the market.

Like every Lowa Ive owned, this pair is out of the box comfortable. The monowrap comes up and wraps to the middle part of the boot which not only provides stability and durability but lessens weight as well.

These boots have trekking style lace ups which wrap around the contours of the foot. These are open eyelets.


There is a stabilizer in the sole that works like a shank. The soles are Vibram.

Made in Slovakia. Ill take that to China any day.

So far Ive only worn these around town so I can not yet comment how they will do in the field. These boots will be for everyday wear, hiking, fly fishing, camping, off roading and other. Since Ill likely be hunting in the following months, its unlikely these boots will see any "real" use until the hunting season is over. I will however be bringing these to Texas while I take a CSAT Rifle course with Paul Howe in February.

When I get more "real" use out of these two boots I will make a new entry to report.

These interesting videos are from Tenkara USA about Japanese fly fishing originating hundreds of years ago. Even Joan Wulff gets in the action.

My best fish of the day.

The original plan was to backpack deep into the canyon and camp for the night but that plan was scraped so we were just to fish on Saturday.  Chuls girlfriend was to join us.  The new plan was to hike deeper than we did the last time and fish all day.

We made it to the trail head and hiked the trail beyond where we dropped in the last time.  Finding a safe entry point was proving difficult and finding some fly fishermen already on the water moving downstream was discouraging.  After  looking at a few sketchy areas we finally found an entry point and after made our way down carefully navigating over a rocky area.  Our entry point lead us into an area that required that we swim through a deep large pool to make it back.  So before we decided to get wet we ate our lunch not only to lighten our loads but also to make sure our food doesnt get waterlogged if we couldnt get it out of the water.  After lunch we fished a few downstream holes before we started our swim upstream. 

Erica making the swim

I was the one to lead the way.  Honestly I didnt think it was going to be that hard but then again I never had to swim fully clothed and with wading boots and with one hand while carrying my waist pack and rod above the water.  I must have made it about 15 yards before I realized this was going to be a bitch.   Its a good thing we wet waded, had we wore waders we would have drowned for sure.  I swam to the nearest rock face and found a hand hold.  I rested here to catch my breath as I just dove in and the cold water took my breath away momentarily.  After a brief rest I swam to the next rock hold I could find.  This time though my hat and glasses came off and I grabbed them with my free hand I panicked a bit as I sank and took in a big gulp of water.  I managed to find an area in the rock face that I could place my rod and waist pack so I could put away my glasses in my shirt pocket.  Holding my self up here for awhile to try and regain my composure, I decided screw the contents of the waist pack and get it wet and swim with both hands.  I made it to the edge where I could stand, I turned around to find Chul and Erika not there.  Did they find an easier way around?  If they did I would have been pissed.  After a brief moment they reappeared and made their swim.  Chul wore his vest today and was able to place both rods in his rod holder in his vest.  They were able to swim with both hands so they made it much easier than I.    Both made it across and we stood in the sun to warm up wring out water from our shirts.  Im glad we did not backpack this weekend.  It would have been impossible to pass this area with a backpack.  A few more places in this area required some more deep wading and alot of boulder climbing.  It was more exploration than fishing.

Miners Lettuce.  It has a slightly peppery flavor.

Arroyo Toad

After chatting we moved upstream they moved down.   We caught several throughout the day.  Chul managed a solid 12 incher or so in a section of water I would have never fished.  It was slow almost stillwater section of a long pool.  He later told me he caught another about the same size after I left him there.   I fished several pocket water catching fish ranging from dinks to 10 inches.  I did finally see two Federally protected Arroyo Toad that have given our fishermen such a headache.   We managed to finally reach our drop in point from last time.  Chul and I fished the tight section where we saw a flash of a very nice trout  in our past outing.  After a few drifts I had a hard take on my stimulator.  We landed it and it was a solid 11-12 incher.  While a nice fish, we concluded it was not likely the fish we saw the last time.  The flash of the belly seemed much taller and fatter. 

This trip was brutal. Alot of swimming. Alot of bouldering. Alot of tough work. The fishing was not as good as the last time. Mostly because we were working so hard just to get to some fishable water. Nevertheless I think we all had a good time and we managed a few decent fish. I told Chul the next time we trout fish lets choose an easier (in terms of hiking) place. I think he agreed.  We had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant and the calamari and pizza definitely hit the spot.  I was so hungry I probably could have ate a rhinos asshole and it would have tasted good.  Throughout our hike Erica and Chul did show me some more wild edible plants which was nice so if I ever get stuck in the woods at least I will know a few more edibles to keep me alive until help arrives.  Im not sure how many calories I must have burned throughout the day but Im sure it was a lot.  

Chia.  It has edible seeds that when soaked with water enlarge and have a boba-like texture.