Category Archives: Wildlife

July 26, 2021

After tossing and turning all night long from not showering after a long sweaty hike, I woke up to mostly cloudy skies. The sky looked bleak, thick clouds accompanying the already hazy atmosphere. As I left the campsite, I saw a large thunderhead to the north, which was where I was headed. I contemplated again, should I head home early or keep going? No cell service so I couldn’t check any forecasts. Well, I’ve driven this far, might as well try. 

As I drove north into the storm, the sun hid behind the clouds and it started to downpour. By some miracle when I got to Burney Falls, it mostly sunny skies with just a few high clouds. I waited for the sun to be at a higher angle to illuminate the bright blue water. My eyes lit up looking at the blue glow on my dome port with plentiful trout at the base of the falls. That glow, just wow.

Life is all about taking risks. If you don’t take risks, you can’t have fun. Maybe 1 out of 100 trips for me was a waste of time but I would only consider it a waste of time if I didn’t learn anything. It’s always better to go and potentially get skunked than to not go and regret it later. You won’t know unless you go. Sometimes you’ll score and the opportunity may never return again.

600 miles
1 wet wetsuit
No expectations. 

July 5, 2021 Rituals

Fly Catcher 2. July 2021

I awoke at 5:47am to first light on the tallest crags. I tried to close my eyes and sleep for another hour, but I wanted to get to May Lake as earliest as possible to see if the trout were feeding. I also noticed an unnerving amount of flying insects inside and outside of my car; it was time to drive to the trailhead.  

I told myself I was going stay for a maximum of 2 hours and leave by 10:30am so I didn’t have to sit in traffic. I should have known though, as every time I visit here I never want to leave. 

When I first got to the lake, I didn’t notice much fish activity. There was a slight texture on the lake due to a light breeze, which wasn’t a good sign since the flies need calmness if they were to hang around the water. I stood silently and observed but had to dodge the mosquitoes that were swarming my face and avoid the sneaky marmot that almost stole my breakfast out of my backpack. It took intense concentration to train my eye to spot the trout through the reflectivity of the water surface and to patiently pinpoint the moth or dragonfly flying over the water in an erratic motion. 

After 2 hours of mis-shots, it happened. In a split second, I traced a trout adeptly swimming through the water and snatching a moth in mid air a few yards away from me. Yes!! I wanted to scream in excitement as I saw the photo on the back of the camera. I stayed another hour trying to get another shot, but it proved too difficult. I really didn’t want to leave, but it was 11:30am and I had to call it quits; we’ll be back. 

Despite only getting 3 hours of sleep, I somehow made the 5 hour drive back home just thinking about that shot.

500 miles
3 hours of sleep
Tired but happy. 

Fly Catcher. July 2021

February 16, 2020

A combination of light offshore wind and clear skies made for a gorgeous morning at Coal Oil Point. A few surfers were out, but the waves were lackluster. As I contemplated what to do, a sudden light bulb went off in my head reminding me I had snorkel gear in my car. It may have been my only chance to get in the water that day and I didn’t want to go home dry.

At first I thought there wouldn’t be anything but kelp out there, so I expected just a relaxing swim. The water was clear but still lacked visibility when the sand got stirred up. I swam past the whitewash and slowly observed patches of kelp. About 50 yards out, I spotted schools of striped perch finding cover in the kelp. Around the point, surf grass completely covered the sea floor. As a wave passed overhead, the surf grass would drift back and forth, revealing what was hiding underneath for a brief moment before returning to its original position. I got giddy when I saw California spiny lobsters for the first time in the wild. I had a staring contest with a Calico Bass, then drifted with the surf perch through the surf grass. I love it here.

January 11, 2020 The Intertidal

Low tide was a -1.4ft right at sunset and the swell was mellow so I decided spend the afternoon at Maverick’s Beach in Half Moon Bay with some friends. We were lucky enough to get a parking spot despite the large crowds. We started the walk out the point and the tide was already dropping fast, exposing much of the reef. About halfway to the point, anemones and mussels were visible. I tried to find the sea urchins and perhaps do a little taste test of some fresh uni. Right at the edge of the reef was where it was dense packed with starfish, urchins, rock crabs, you name it. Even though we had waders on, it’s important to be mindful of the ocean; a rogue wave landed us in over knee deep water. We couldn’t stay long, as the temperature dropped fast and the howling wind was causing watery eyes.

It was great to see the Ochre star making a comeback. It’s amazing to see the amount of living organisms in an area where it’s know to be chaotic and tumultuous. I wish I had a bit more time and calmer wind to do some macro work, more reason to go back.

January 3, 2020 Looking Forward

Risso’s Dolphins. January 2020

What did I learn from all these past years? Nothing really matters. 

I used to care about the littlest of things, like what brand of shoes I wore, spend vast amounts of money on material items or spend all my mental energy trying to prove to people what’s right or wrong. I look back at the countless hours spent texting on my phone, or watching random videos on my computer, and getting nothing from it (other than worse eyesight). There is no better time to take back control of our lives. For me it’s simple: spend more, if not all, my time doing what I love, seeing the world around me, meeting new people, and learning. If I’m not learning, then it’s not worth my time.

I started to live by a quote said by one of my favorite authors:
“9 out of 10 concerns are unnecessary” – Martin Lindstrøm

Happy New Year.

October 12, 2018 Welcome Fall

There’s no better way to start off the day by getting out of bed, walking straight to the beach, and breathing in the brisk offshore breeze. You know the waves are good when the dolphin squad is out there shredding. 🐬

Fall is here!

Catch of the day 🐟 Can anybody ID the fish?