December 3rd, 2009
I’m not telling you to throw away your other fishing poles but, you just might!
How many kinds of hammers are there? Carpenter, Jeweler, at least 3 kinds of ball pien, rubber, Claw, club, sledge, joiner’s mallet, and so on. Is any one better than the other or more or less of a hammer than the other? No, each is a tool designed for its special functions. We can say the same for pliers, irons, golf clubs, cars, trucks and fishing poles. That leads us to Emmrod!
There are as many fishing poles as you can imagine, in fact there are about half a dozen different basic Emmrod fishing poles! With mixing and matching parts, you can create an even larger pool of choices! So, what makes Emmrod Special?
DURABILITY! This pole just does not break! The Rod part of the pole is Made in USA Stainless Steel. Other parts are made in around the world and assembled in Spokane Washington by a Family owned and operated business. Great care is given to make sure each pole meets the highest standards. The company has been in business building these poles almost a decade and has actively listened to their customers and made changes to continually improve the Emmrod Fishing System. We back up Emmrod with a great guarantee!
COMPACTABILITY! One of the biggest problems with fishing is the hassle of getting from your house to your boat or river bank to fish. With each additional person that problem increases. How many times have you broken your rod slamming it in the door, driving over it, or stepping on it? How many times has your wife had an additional ear piercing from your favorite hook on a pole squeezed between you as you drive? With Emmrod, you can literally put an entire family’s fishing gear in a small backpack! No hassle in dis-assembly or reassembly. Ladies, if your husband does not support you in your fishing hobby, keep in mind, the Packer easily fits in a midsized purse. You can tell him “Honey, I am off to the mall” and he will never know you went fishing!
PACKABILITY! We talk about less clutter and space. That is so important for the hunter, backpacker, Extreme Fisher, survivalist or airplane pilot or crew member who wants a surival pack or anyone who wants to be able to have a lot of capability but does not have room or weight allowances to permit taking a lot of equipment. The Packer breaks down to about 12 inches of space and just a few ounces of weight! Other models breakdown into different sizes but all are very compact.
ADAPTABILITY! How many times have you cursed the fact you have to drag three or four different poles to your favorite fishing area to accommodate the different types of fishing you are going to do? With Emmrod, you may still want to take some different poles, fly fishing pole, bait casting reel pole and spinning pole for example, but, they all fit into a much smaller bag and you can buy several different rod tips to vary your fishing pleasure.
CASTABILITY! The Packer is a 2 foot pole with the action of a 6 to ten foot rod. The spring assist in the stainless steel rod and the minimal number of eyes, usually just one, so reduces friction on the line that you can match or exceed the casting capability of much longer rods. You can cast over head or from the side and in places where there just is no room to handle a long pole.
SHOOTABILITY! What? We are not hunting! True! But, when we fish, often we find ourselves in a place where standard casting is just not going to work. Even underhand casting may be difficult. In these cases, you can grab the end of your pole, bend it back, aim and let her fly. This will work easily up to and sometimes farther than 50-60 feet! Obviously, how heavy the weight is and how much you practice are factors.
HOOKABILITY! I know, just like most of my “Bility” words, this is not a word either, but you understood it! In virtually any use, the spring in the rod helps set the hook, but, in trolling, ice fishing or any use where the pole is not held in your hand, we see this magnified. The fish bites and pulls the rod, the spring pulls back and Mr. Fin is on the line!
DECLUTTERABILITY! I mentioned this in the compatibility paragraph, but, just think how much happier the non-fishing spouse is going to be when all of the gear shrinks down to a drawer or bucket or two instead of taking up the entire garage ceiling or wall space. Be it the garage, the car or the boat, being able to pack a family’s worth of fishing gear in a small spaceis going to make everyone happier. No tripping, no breaking, no huge packinging or unpacking hassles. Less time getting ready, more time fishing!
FUNABILITY! Everything about the Emmrod is designed to give you more time fishing and better luck fishing. The less time in take down or set up or packing, the more time fishing. The more accurately you place your bait, the more you catch. The more durable your fishing system, the less you spend. Add it all together, more time fishing at less expensereally equals a lot more fun. After-all, fun is what fishing is all about!
My Web Sites: www.MYCOMPACTFISHING.COM www.Emmrodfun.com www.Emmrodfunstore.com www.EmmrodIdaho.comet.al.
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, backpack fishing, compact fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Fishing fun, florida fishing, Fly fishing pole, kayak king, mountainer, ocean fishing, Pacific Ocean Fishing, Panama Fishing, Philippines. Emmrod, small fishing poles, survival fishing, The Packer
Posted in Fishing Equipment | 12 Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Wow! What a weekend! Friday, Saturday and Sunday I set up and sold compact Emmrod Fishing poles at the Great Western Sportsfishing Show in the Spokane Convention Center. There was something for everyone there. I think I had to like the big fish tank set up next to me the most. There was something special about being able to actually see fish swiming, following lures and just enjoying life in a manner that made them visible to us. The tank was about 20 feet long, six feet wide and 8 feet tall. There were several small mouth bass, several large mouth bass, at least three really nice walleye, several huge triploid trout, a couple steelhead which really went after the hookless lures used to demonstrate fishing techniques, as well as several other trout. There were also a lot of smaller fish which I never identified.
There were several bait makers, numerous British Columbia, Washington, Alaska and Oregon outfitters pushing their locations for fishing trips. I had a great conversation with a gentleman who has a family business hosting tours to Hawaii, Panama, and Costa Rica. We had a lot of shared fishing experiences to share. He was proud of his son who had a grand slam day where he caught five different marlin–black marlin, blue marlin, silver marlin and a couple more which I do not recall. There was a nice family selling Kayaks in the Sandpoint Idaho area.
Of course, I was there selling my Emmrod compact fishing poles. It was an interesting show. I sold mostly Kayak Kings. I also sold the Packer and the Packrod, both spinning and casting models. The top water tip was also a good seller with three or four of those also hitting the spot. Bass Season is almost hear and a good rod tip for those top water lures really sparked a lot of interest.
Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to put together a few stories from the show so check back from time to time. I am looking forward to the upcoming Big Horn show at the Spokane County Fairgrounds in about ten days. That will be tough as it is a four day show. If you are there, look for me by the fishing pond.
Well, that is about it for tonight. Check out my Compact Fishing system with the unbreakable stainless steel rods at www.whybuyemmrod.com or www.mycompactfishing.com
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, Central American Fishing, compact fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Fly fishing pole, kayak king, Pacific Ocean Fishing, Panama Fishing, The Packer
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March 3rd, 2010
You do not normally start a story with the punch line, but this time, we will. The answer is: In capitalism, as we all know, Man exploits Man. In Communism, it is the other way around. (AKA Man exploits Man.)
So, knowing how the joke ends, I want to explain the difference between a true believer and someone who found it the convenient path.
Whilst working on the POW/MIA investigations, I spent many hundreds of hours in circumstances where we had nothing to do but wait. Wait for a drive to be over, wait for this that or the other chairman or witness or guide to show up. Or, we spent many hours in dinners and parties or events involved with our work. For one who hates the sounds of silence, that means lots of talking. For a guy who loves to argue about politics, that means lots of arguing. Where better for an ardent capitalist to argue than in the Vietnam of the late 1980’s?
One of my favorite guys was Ngo Hoang. I have to tell you, I still have a lot of fondness for this old man who had lots and lots of history under his belt. At the time of this event, he would have been in his early sixties. We had worked together for about 18 months and knew each other well. We discussed this that and the other thing and were pretty free with each other in that few topics were off limits. After the fall of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, one of his jobs was to convert the captured French soldiers to the joys of communism. He was pretty successful from what I hear. As a Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee, his English was reasonably good and my marginal Vietnamese filled any holes he had.
We were enjoying a good-by, end of the investigation joint team meal in Saigon before returning to Thailand and he and I began a discussion on the differences between Capitalism and Communism. We discussed the stock market, the investment of the worker (time) vice the investment of the owner (time, money, capital) and the correctness of making a profit on the labor of others which he denied. We argued through the aperitif, the main course, and finally the desert. Finally, I posed the question above to him. At the point where I explained that capitalism involved Man exploiting Man, he said with conviction “YES, YES, YES!”
When I said in communism it is the other way around, he exploded “NO, NO, NO!!!” That was the only time I ever got him hot and he was hot! He took out a cigarette stuck it in his mouth and lit the filter. You see, Mr. Hoang was a believer. He understood the problems with the difference in the theory and the practice which we had discussed. Yet, he had spent his life promulgating this doctrine and struggled with the growing reality that it did not work.
Now we fast forward to another co-worker of this time frame. Mr. Dich. Mr. Dich had ridden the party as a convenience. He had served the party and the party had served him. I never saw the ideological love which I saw in Mr. Hoang. He HAD paid his dues. As a young man, he had participated in a brutal truly remarkable (from a soldier to a soldier) march from Hue to Dien Bien Phu to provide reinforcements to the Communists fighting the French leading up to the final fall of the outpost. He was wounded in this battle via grenade shrapnel in his leg. He showed me the damage from the wound which 40 plus years or so later was still ugly. He had participated as a party secretary at the Paris Peace Talks in 1972/1973 which resulted in the US withdrawal from Vietnam. My Friend Bill Bell indicates in his book that Mr. Dich may have been involved in assassinations at one point in his career. I do not find that hard to believe. Whereas Mr. Hoang was personable and debonair and a mixer, Mr. Dich was morose, and kept to himself far more. He was a bit grumpier than most of the people we worked with. Being a diplomat, I was able to get along with Mr. Dich fairly well.
On this particular trip, we were in the Ashau-Aloui valley. The north end of this valley was made famous by the movie Hamburger Hill. The terrain was brutal, the malaria which infested the area was a particularly vicious form of cerebreal Malari. The mountains were vertical. In short, the main benefit the area had was the multitude of fish ponds created by the B52 bombing of the area during the war. A couple memories of that trip were the horribly scarred face of the noseless man who was burned almost to death when he tried to open up an unexploded bomb to get the phospherous and to obtain the metal for recycling. He messed up and the bomb went off in a fizzling sort of way. I still can see his face.
I also remember coming down a stream bed where we scaled the walls at the edge of several 100 foot waterfalls. Mr. Dich followed me in the file and I put his feet in cracks and handed him vines all the way down. (Mr. Dich was about 60 at the time of that event and mountain climbing was not in his job description. He stayed in the hotel the next day and we went out without him.)
One evening, we were resting after the day’s work talking about the war–a discussion worth its own story–and I popped the Man VS Man story on him. I tried Vietnamese, I tried English. My team leader, Gary Smith, tried Spanish which they both spoke. He just did not get it. I think one of the team members spoke a bit of French which Mr. Dich spoke well. Still nothing. Later, as we moved towards Hanoi, we stopped for a lunch break. Mr. Dich was in a particularly grumpy mood and was sitting off by himself. I went over and sat down with him and tried to cheer him up. Finally I got out a paper and wrote out the joke. When I visually moved the front man to the back man place and vice versa, the lights came on! Mr. Dich, in his high pitched voice said in amazement, “The SAME, They’re the SAME!” He saw the light! He KNEW the truth! He reveled in it, he rolled in it and laughed out-loud.
For the next three days as we drove from central Vietnam to Hanoi, he sat in the back seat and every once in a while, he would start tapping his knee, smile and say, “The Same! They’re the Same!”
You see, Mr. Dich was pragmatic and moved with the flow. When communism was what worked, he was fine with it. As the country began moving to a more open economy, and these were the very early stages of that move, he could move with it. Mr. Hoang, on the other hand, was a true, orthodox believer and while I believe he saw the truth of the statement, found it brutally hard to bear.
In any case, both men were very interesting and I look back at my association with them with happiness. It was a good work and we as former enemies were able to work together to achieve some measure of success for our respective countries.
This blog is brought to you by the most advanced compact fishing system in the world, the Emmrod system. The Packer, the Kayak King, The stream Master Fly rod are just three of the many fine products this company has created. Check them out at www.MyCompactFishing.com or WWW.WhyBuyEmmrod.com
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, compact fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, Fly fishing pole, kayak king, Pow/MIA, Vietnam
Posted in Fishing Equipment, Vietnam | 2 Comments »
March 1st, 2010
In the Lake Series of Blogs, I am going to purloin basic info from other sites to make a compilation of details about different lakes. I am starting with BASS LAKE which is about 3 or 4 miles from Republic Washington in the NW corner of Stevens county Washington.
Latitude: 48.6324037 Longitude: -118.0010965
MAP LINK: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=bass+Lake+Stevens+County+WA&sll=36.456636,-95.712891&sspn=49.449097,78.662109&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bass+Lake&ll=48.632455,-118.001232&spn=0.020166,0.038409&t=h&z=15
While there is a lot of good fishing in this area, Bass Lake just does not come up on any of the searches as a place for the general public to fish. It is surrounded by pretty heavily treed area and appears to be fed by a couple short streams. The main water flow in terms of small streams in the area seems to pass this lake by. The lake is more or less round and appears to be about 4-500 feet across. The aerial photo makes it look like the east side is fairly swampy in the trees, but, that may be a shaddow effect. There is a road that accesses the hill from the north side of the lake.
due to the lack of information on line about this lake, I would check with local people in Republic before trying to fish it.
This blog is sponsored by Emmrod Fishing Systems. For more information on the worlds best compact fishing system including the Packer, The Mountaineer, the Kayak King, The Gulf Master and the Stream Master Fly Rod, Check out www.MyCompactFishing.com or its alternate address, www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, compact fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, mountain rivers, Philippines. Emmrod, Stevens County Washington Fishing
Posted in Fishing, Lakes or Rivers, Stevens County Wa Fishing | No Comments »
March 1st, 2010
Stevens County Washington is a fisherman, fisherwoman’s dream come true! Look at the list below! Many lakes with a good number of these being actually dammed rivers so the lakes are miles long. I purloined this list from this link: http://washington.hometownlocator.com/features/physical.cfm?class=lake&scfips=53065&startrow=1 I will be doing some updating on this list as I can find information on each of these lakes. I look forward to you being able to purchase a fine Emmrod fishing pole to use as you fish for trout, catfish, walleye, bluegill, sunfish, bass, and any of the other many fish in these lakes. Check back to this blog regularly as I will be updating this list with malice and aforethougt!
Name County USGS Topo Map
Ansaldo Lake Stevens Belshazzar Mountain
Bass Lake Stevens Echo Valley
Bayley Lake Stevens Cliff Ridge
Benjamin Lake Stevens Benjamin Lake
Benson Lake Stevens Nelson Peak
Black Lake Stevens Lake Gillette
Blue Lake Stevens Valley
Blue Lake Stevens Arden
Bowen Lake Stevens China Bend
Browns Lake Stevens Waitts Lake
Buck Lake Stevens Addy
Buhrig Lake Stevens Bossburg
Buzzard Lake Stevens Nelson Peak
Cedar Lake Stevens Leadpoint
Clark Lake Stevens Cedonia
Coffin Lake Stevens Lake Gillette
Dailey Lake Stevens Addy Mountain
De Hart Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
Deep Lake Stevens Deep Lake
Deer Lake Stevens Deer Lake
Dilly Lake Stevens Bossburg
Doe Lake Stevens Addy
Douglass Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
Dry Lake Stevens Echo Valley
Easter Sunday Lake Stevens Churchill Mountain
Elbow Lake Stevens Belshazzar Mountain
Erickson Lake Stevens Arden
Evans Pond Stevens Marcus
First Thought Lake Stevens Laurier
Fourmile Lake Stevens Waitts Lake
Fuhrman Lake Stevens Kettle Falls
Gilbert Lake Stevens Laurier
Gillette Lake Stevens Lake Gillette
Glasgo Lakes Stevens Bossburg
Hansen Lake Stevens Waitts Lake
Harlin Lake Stevens Marcus
Hatch Lake Stevens Addy Mountain
High Lake Stevens Addy
Hill Lake Stevens Marcus
Hirsch Pond Stevens Valley
Hooknose Lake Stevens Abercrombie Mountain
Horseshoe Lake Stevens Goddards Peak
Hyatt Lake Stevens Marcus
Johnson Lake Stevens Goddards Peak
Jumpoff Joe Lake Stevens Valley
Keogh Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
Knight Lake Stevens Four Mound Prairie
Lake City Lakes Stevens Echo Valley
Lake Heritage Stevens Aladdin Mountain
Lake Thomas Stevens Aladdin Mountain
Lamar Lake Stevens Churchill Mountain
Lee Lake Stevens Colville
Lenz Lake Stevens Arden
Little Pend Oreille Lakes Stevens Aladdin Mountain
Little Pierre Lake Stevens Laurier
Long Lake Stevens Addy Mountain
Loon Lake Stevens Deer Lake
Mathews Lake Stevens Little Falls
May Lake Stevens Colville
McCoy Lake Stevens McCoy Lake
Meadow Pond Stevens Waitts Lake
Mission Lake Stevens Kettle Falls
Mitchell Lake Stevens Kentry Ridge
Mud Lake Stevens Chewelah
Mudgett Lake Stevens Hunters
Nelson Lake Stevens Nelson Peak
Nettleton Lake Stevens Rice
Newbill Lake Stevens Hunters
O’Toole Lake Stevens China Bend
Pepoon Lake Stevens Belshazzar Mountain
Perkins Lake Stevens Bossburg
Phalon Lake Stevens China Bend
Phillips Lake Stevens Calispell Peak
Phillips Lake Stevens Northport
Pierce Lake Stevens Cliff Ridge
Pierre Lake Stevens Laurier
Pittman Lake Stevens Laurier
Potter Lake Stevens Colville
Quinns Meadows Stevens Spirit
Red Lake Stevens Tumtum
Reeder Lake Stevens Echo Valley
Rigley Lake Stevens Echo Valley
Rocky Lake Stevens Addy Mountain
Rolly Lake Stevens Arden
Ryan Lake Stevens Bossburg
Silver Crown Lake Stevens Northport
Starvation Lake Stevens Cliff Ridge
Summit Lake Stevens Laurier
Swede Lake Stevens Waitts Lake
Taylor Lake Stevens Laurier
Thompson Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
Turtle Lake Stevens Marcus
Turtle Lake Stevens Turtle Lake
White Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
White Mud Lake Stevens White Mud Lake
Williams Lake Stevens China Bend
Winslow Lake Stevens Cliff Ridge
Check out www.mycompactfishing.com which you can also reach at www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com. You can view videos and photos of this product in use at the main site.
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, Barracuda, Brook Trout, compact fishing, dock fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, Fly fishing pole, fun fishing, Rainbow Trout
Posted in Fishing, Lakes or Rivers | No Comments »
February 28th, 2010
 Beautiful swimming and mud fishing lake This is one view of the swimming hole at Nasuli, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines. This body of water played an important part in my life. I swam in it, bathed in it, our drinking water came from it, I fished it for minnows, eels and mud fish (haloan, or snake head fish), and I caught frogs along its banks. I played in and around this beautiful little lake for many years. I love it and am homesick looking at it.
Today, I just want to make an observation. Not far from the lake, there were several water buffalo wallows. The water buffalo has no sweat glands. It is a beast of burden, ploughts, harrows and works very hard. If you want to keep your water buffalos healthy, you have to give them cooling off time. They love a nice pond or slow moving river as much as the next guy, girl or fish. On the other hand, a little depression in the ground full of water works just as well.
They lie in these wallows for several hours getting rid of all that heat they built up. They lie there contentedly chewing their cud daring you to end their respite early. In the meantime, they churn up the bottom of the pond and conduct all sorts of bodily functions in the water and move around creating a fine slurry of the water, what they produce and leave and the mud on the bottom.
You guessed it! We kids loved to emulate the water buffalo! How many hours I spent jumping in and out and swimming around these wallows. I would play in them with my friends until every fiber of our short pants, when we wore them, was completely surrounded by and infused with water buffalo wallow muck.
Our mothers screamed with frustration when we got home. “You have that beautiful clear swimming pool with crystal clean water and you go swim in that foul, disgusting muck filled with carabao (water buffalo) poop, mud and who knows what else. What is the matter with you? You filthy little urchins!”
As an older man now some 40 and more years later, I have come to the conclusion the issue was that same spiritual battle we all fight. On one hand, God has so much for us that is good and wonderful. Yet, when offerred the choice of His magnificance, you guessed right, off to the water buffalo wallows we go! He must be playing my mother’s tape so He need not keep repeating the line.
Oh for Grace to stay on the right track!
This blog is brought to you by www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com which you can also reach at www.MyCompactfishing.com . Check out all the great products that make up the worlds best Compact Fishing System. It is great for backpacking, Kayak Fishing, Canoe Fishing, shore fishing, trolling and can handle sunfish to sharks. There is also a great Fly Fishing Rod, the Stream Master Fly Fishing rod. Check it out!
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, compact fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, fishing in the Philippines, Fly fishing pole, kayak king, Philippines, Philippines. Emmrod
Posted in Emmrod, Fishing, Growing up in the Philippines, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
February 26th, 2010
In Nov 1969, I won the lottery! It changed the course of my life. I would have pursued a living in horticulture. The lottery changed all of that. Yes, I won that all expenses paid, thankfully, round trip airline ticket. Which one, you might ask? The one to Vietnam, I would answer. Thirteen months later, I got down from the bus at Fort Puke, Diseaseville, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute, Louseyana. (Fort Polk, Leesville, Louisiana.) Basic training, interrogation school, a year of Vietnamese language class and it was on that plane to Vietnam. July 1972, touchdown at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, Vietnam.
In a sense, it was not all new. It was, after all, Asia! Hot! Humid! Dirty! Polluted! Busy! All that was typical with much of my life growing up in the Philippines. On the other hand, the people were smaller and thinner. The noise of war, a bit louder just outside the city limits but also constant in a muted way within the city, made a background soundtrack. Not obtrusive, not overwhelming, but, there. In town, the three wheeled cyclos both motorized and peddle driven vied for space with the taxis, the ugly duckling citroynes, the bicycles, the people, the overloaded motorcycles and push tricycle goods transporters. On top of it all the airhorns of a thousand duce and a half trucks blaring their right of way through the mass. This was offset by the strangeness of this new life. One of the earliest memories I had was my first shower at the Ton San Nhut airport repo depot where we were billeted until we received our assignment. The shower was a big half open building with an open shower bay. As I stood there washing off the grime and sweat of a long trip, I was shocked to see the laundry lady and her teen age daughter walk in, squat down two shower heads away and start to hand wash some clothes. Thankfully, I was highly lathered. I quickly finished my shower and got out of there. This was new and strange.
For what reason, I do not know, I was sitting in an administrative room a day or two later and in walks this tall thin man in civilian clothes. He asked the clerk if he had any 97 Deltas (An intelligence field clerk.) The clerk said, all he had was me. The civilian asked what my field was. “Interrogator, 96C,” I said. ”Can you type?” he asked. “Yes Sir, 65 words per minute.” “That’s close enough for me,” he said.
I worked for this unit for the next nine months. It was great! I shared a hotel room with two guys. Leon C. who worked with me and some other guy I never saw in the nine months we lived together. I guess he had a gal he actually lived with, but, he had to keep the room. I have to say, his part of the room was always neat!
Initially, we all worked in a large part of the ground floor of a hotel near our billet. But, shortly after I got there, we moved our office to General Westmoreland’s old quarters. It was a small house which was nice. We cooked many of our meals there and our small group of five or six men worked long and hard at our assigned duties.
Here are some snapshots of my 9 months there:
The hotel I lived in was just down the street from another hotel the Viet Cong had bombed. They had driven a vehicle packed with explosives up to the door and detonated it destroying the hotel and killing a number of people. Because of that, the front of our hotel was heavily sandbagged. I recall one 90 pound guard who would not let anyone stop including an American CIA operative who showed up on a motorcycle one night. The guard locked and loaded his shotgun, fired into the air and the guy parked down the road and walked back. He was pretty hot, identified himself and was able to move his motorcycle into the protected area. I felt he was pretty arrogant and thought the guard had done a great thing.
The guy who hired me was known for his wild driving. His nick name was Crash K—f. (I will protect the guilty). One day, Gary B. (God rest his soul.) who looked and comported himself somewhite like a French Painter described a harrowing ride with Crash from the office to Tan Son Nhut Airport. They left with about ten minutes to takeoff time. The drive was at least an 18 minute drive for most people. “Gary said, I couldn’t believe it! Sidewalks, ditches, the wrong side of the road, horn blaring all the way. Three chickens, two ducks and maybe a puppy dead. I had my eyes closed when I wasn’t screaming. I almost pooped my pants and am sure I peed them a bit. BUT we made it with two minutes to spare!” I bumped paths with Gary on and off for the next ten to twelve years and recall him fondly.
Bob Hope and the Miss America crew came through along with Ann Margaret as I recall. After about six months of seeing the relatively thin, short Vietnamese women, I walked out of a hotel as the retinue of American Beauties was walking into the hotel. What Giants! I thought. I went to the Bob Hope show, but, it did not do much for me. There was a huge, packed crowd there though and I appreciate his groups willingness to put themselves in harms way to provide a taste of home to us.
There are many more recollections, some vague, some fuzzy, some sharp, some painful and many happy. As time permits, I will try to bring some of them to life for a few moments.
In the meantime, if you are a fisherman, woman or child or know a fisherman, woman or child, you can help support this blog by visiting the www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com, www.MyCompactFishing.comsite (Same site, just different roads.) Check out the Emmrod Packer, The Emmrod Mountaineer, The Emmrod Stream Master Fly Rod and the many other great products there. Thanks for stopping by. Dave Atherton
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, canoe fishing, compact fishing, compact fishing pole, compact fishing rod, Emmrod, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, Fly fishing pole, fun fishing, kayak fishing, mountainer, The Kayak King, The Packer
Posted in Fishing Equipment, Vietnam | 1 Comment »
February 20th, 2010
Growing up in a very conservative missionary family, alcoholic beverages were The Great Satan. Drinking was not a good thing and I was encouraged from my youth to flee strong drink. I am fortunate in that I was never tempted in that area. Even in my most liberal periods, on this issue, I was ambivalent about what others did, yet, I myself virtually never imbibed. I would guess my total, lifetime consumption of all fruits of the vine, grain, hops or trees which have had time to ferment would be less than two gallons. Other than a beer shared with my friend Don at lunch on a very hot day in Tokyo, beer just tastes bad. My occasional sips of wine were enjoyed, but, I have almost no tolerance and move from vertical to horizontal really fast. So, as a policy, as I have travelled the world, I just beg off and have tea, soda, water, lemon juice or some similar non-intoxicating beverage.
In September 1988, I began working on POW/MIA teams in Vietnam with the US Government organization charged with that mission–The JCRC (Joint Casualty Resolution Center.) with the goal of answering the question, “Are there any Live Americans Missing from the Vietnam War in Captivity in South East Asia?” This story really has nothing to do with the POW/MIA issue itself. It is just one of those little narratives that swirl around the edges of big issues that give a bit of spice to life.
Initially, the teams were small. An American Team Leader, Analyst and “Grave Digger” from the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI). The Vietnamese side was comprised of three representatives, one each from Ministry of Defence, Foreign Affairs and the Interior Ministry (Their FBI/CIA rolled into one.) Additionally, we had a driver or two per team who were either Defense or Interior and had alternate duties in the security realm. One of the men who was frequently on my team was LTC Pham Teo.
Ong Teo (Mr. Teo) was a friendly man and we got along well. He always sought some sort of accommodation. I am sure he was trained well in matters beyond normal Army LTC duties. He was a true professional. Over the three years we worked together we developed a very good working relationship.
One of the areas that frequently came up, especially early on was the issue of drinking alcoholic beverages. After the first few trips, Mr. Teo accepted I just did not drink and it was not an issue. However, one day, we ended up on the Cambodian border in an area which had been subjected to intensive US bombing, invasions by the North Vietnamese, abuses by the Viet Cong and ravages by the Cambodians. In short there was nothing left. The people were destitute. Poverty stood out like a sore thumb. The did have one area to hang their hats. They made great moonshine (Quoc Luoi). Totally illegal. Zero taxes paid. Ubiquitously consumed by low born and senior official alike. As we sat down to a dinner with the officials from Hanoi, Song Be Province and the district and the village in a small hut with a grass roof and woven bamboo walls out came the moonshine.
This fine beverage was the toast of the town. It was smooth. It was rice rendered into a fine,crystal clear, potent drink guaranteed to shrivel the hair on a grown man’s chest. I began my routine which kept me from imbibing in normal circumstances.
“Thanks so much, but, my wife has not given me permission to drink!” “Are you afraid of your wife?” No self respecting Vietnamese would ever acknowledge the deep level of fear they have for their brides so my expression of fear normally freed me from alcoholic requirements, so I said “I am not afraid of the tiger in the jungle, I am afraid of the tiger in the house.” Being as my wife was in Hawaii, that did not buy me any traction. Step two. “I can not drink because I am responsible for my team’s security, the rest of the guys will but I can not.” They retorted “The guy at the end of the table with the double sized glass is chief of security for three provinces. If he can drink, you can too.” So, the toasting began. Seven glasses later, pain no longer existed. The number of people present was seemingly doubled.
Mr Teo then leans across the table and says “You never drink with me but, today you are drinking. You have to toast me as well!” He slid the glass of clear fire over to me. It was full to the brim. I said “Here’s to you,” grimaced and shot it down my throat. Crystal Clear plain water! Mr. Teo played the game but respected my beliefs. I have always appreciated him for that.
A sad note is Mr. Teo had a massive stroke about 1993 or 1994 and has been pretty much incapacitated since. Never-the-less, I have a soft spot in my heart for him to this day. So, let’s keep in mind, even when we have competing goals, hugely divergent idiologies, and were on opposites sides in a long and bitter war, there is still room for basic humanity and respect.
As an aside, the case we were working on in the village where this took place involved a young soldier who went missing during an Army Operation in I believe 1968. Another investigation team of forensic scientists were examining remains people had turned in to the Government of Vietnam. They had alleged these were remains of American Soldiers missing from the war. They hoped by turning in American remains, they would get a green card to the US. In fact, this was a huge hoax remains traders played on desperate people. I would estimate, 99.99 percent of all the remains turned in were of Vietnamese. In this case, the young man we were seeking was one of two or possibly three Americans whose remains were recovered from the many hundreds of remains examined in Saigon while we were looking for him in the jungle.
This blog is sponsored by the Emmrod Fishing System which is the World’s Best Compact Fishing System. Check out the Emmrod Packer, the Emmrod Kayak King, the Emmrod Gulf Master and our new Emmrod Stream Master fly rod at www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com or MyCompactFishing.com
Tags: Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun
Posted in Emmrod, Vietnam | 3 Comments »
February 19th, 2010
Greetings to all! This blog is going to be about 90 percent plagiarized! The information is just too cool to pass up. I was researching Eloika Lake, a Lake near my home and found a great data sheet on Spokane County, Washington Lakes. I am going to paste it below.
I like Eloika Lake a lot and am working at getting to know it better this year. The ice is mostly off the lake already–at least the south end and the east side of the lake. The west side and North gets a lot of protection from the sun so according to a gentleman I met there this week (Mid February) who had a boat and was out fishing there was still a lot of ice to the west and the north. It is going fast. He had tried many places and had not had a single hit.
The lake itself is still pretty frigid! I know, I slipped and got my feet soaked. I have fished there the past couple weeks for an hour or so as the afternoon slipped away. One tiny nibble. Watching the water, there is very little movement of fish surfacing so I guess they may still just be hanging out in their little fish beds with their little fish blankets pulled up to their chins and their little night caps pulled down over the gills waiting for it to warm up! So, without further silliness on my part, here is the great list I found listing Spokane County, Washington Lakes.
This is a great start document. Reading through it, much of the information appears to be older so I would strongly recommend checking online for current access and conditions. Some of the lakes had no information and I have sought that elsewhere. Where I could find it, that info is in Italics.
Lakes in Spokane County
Amber Lake (117 acres)
Selective gear rules are designed to create a quality fishery at this popular rainbow and cutthroat trout fry-planted lake 11 miles southwest of Cheney. Electric motors are allowed. The trout daily limit from the last Saturday in April through September 30 is two fish over 14 inches. Anglers must release all trout with a missing adipose fin — only unmarked trout may be retained as part of the legal limit. There is an additional catch-and-release only season from October 1 to November 30. Amber has a public access.
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Badger Lake (244 acres)
This lake 12 miles south of Cheney on the Cheney-Plaza Road was rehabilitated in the fall of 1995. It receives rainbow trout fry each spring. Fishing should be excellent this year. A Mayfly hatch later in the season usually provides great dry fly fishing. Badger has a public access. Open season is from the last Saturday in April through September 30. Disabled accessibility � level 1. WCT, Blk Tpa, level.
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Bailey Lake is totally surrounded by a private gated community (private lake) and is a no motor lake. This lake is 11 acres and is stocked with fish for its community members fishing pleasure. The lakes is 5-10′ deep and 15′ at its deepest; its a nice little sailing lake as well. No Motorized boats permitted. As a licensed realtor, I will be happy to help you purchase a property in this subdivision so you can fish here!
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Bear lake (34 acres)
Located in a county park off Highway 2 about half-way between Spokane and Newport, this lake offers largemouth bass, perch, and planted rainbow trout. Bear Lake changes from juveniles-only to family fishing rules on May 1, 2000: Only juveniles or licensed adults accompanied by a juvenile are allowed to fish. Check with the regional office in Spokane for details. Access depends on whether or not the county park is open. Open season is from the last Saturday in April through October.
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Bonnie Lake
This lake is located SE from Cheney about 15 miles on Cheny-Plaza Road, then go south 1 1/2 miles on a private road.Bonnie Lake has Bass, Crappie, Perch,Sunfish and Catfish.
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Chapman Lake (146 acres)
This lake has a late closure so you can take advantage of good action on its large mouth and small mouth bass then. Chapman also provides good catches of rainbow trout and kokanee, with a generous kokanee limit; check the regulations pamphlet for details. Open season runs from the last Saturday in April through October 31.
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Clear Lake (375 acres)
This spring’s plants of yearling rainbow and brown trout, along with fall fry plants of both, should provide good action. This lake has also been selected to receive a bonus plant of large triploid rainbow trout (averaging 1-1/2 pounds apiece). These sterile fish can grow to trophy size if not harvested. A good largemouth bass fishery is available here as well. Located two miles south of the town of Medical Lake, Clear Lake has resorts and a public access on the south end. Low water conditions can make launching trailered boats very difficult. Small car-top boats, rafts and canoes are recommended. Open season is from the last Saturday in April through October 31.
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Cooks Lake Maybe in Pend Orielle County. Could not find any information.
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Downs Lake (225 acres)
With a mild late winter, anglers can count on large mouth bass, perch, and other warm water fish here, along with stocked rainbow and brown trout. Downs warms up earlier than other area lakes because it’s located in the southwest corner of the county (partially in Lincoln County). There is a resort with a small boat launch. Open season runs from the last Saturday in April through September 30.
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Eloika Lake (660 acres)
Perch, large mouth bass and crappie in the spring and fall are the best bets at this year-round fishery, located 7 miles north of Chattaroy off the Newport Highway. A few 4- to 6-pound large mouth bass will be caught, but because it takes 8 to 11 years for them to reach that size, many anglers voluntarily practice catch-and-release. Some brown trout yearling plants are made, and a few eastern brook trout are also available. Eloika has several resorts with launches, and a public access south of Gray’s Landing. Open year-round. Jerry’s Landing and the public landing is nice and new.
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Fish Lake (47 acres)
Rehabilitated in fall of 1998, Fish Lake will be planted with 15,000 catchable-size brook trout, 2,000 brood brook trout, plus fry brook trout in April and May of 1999. The lake will provide excellent fishing. Located 2-1/2 miles northeast of Cheney on the Cheney-Spokane Hwy, access is via county park property. Gasoline-powered boats are not allowed. Open season runs from the last Saturday in April through September 30.
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Hog Canyon Lake (53 acres)
Also known as Hog Lake, the winter-only season here should produce nice catches of rainbow trout to 10 or 11 inches. Rehabilitated in fall of 1998, Hog Canyon was restocked with catchable and fry rainbows during spring of 1999 and 2000. Dam construction has been completed, and this water levels should be at a maximum for the winter 2000 season. To find this lake 10 miles northeast of Sprague, take the Fishtrap Lake exit from I-90. Check the regulations pamphlet for winter season and catch limits.
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Horseshoe Lake (68 acres)
A shallow lake 10 miles west of Nine Mile Falls, Horseshoe gets annual plants of rainbow trout to provide some fair fishing early in the season. Open all year.
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Liberty Lake (711 acres)
Although large mouth bass, perch and other warm water species dominate here, yearling and brood stock rainbow trout and yearling brown trout are planted. This lake has also been selected to receive a bonus plant of large triploid rainbow trout (averaging 1-1/2 pounds apiece). These sterile fish can grow to trophy size if not harvested. Walleyes have been planted and may be of legal size by now. Liberty is just 15 miles east of Spokane at the town of Liberty Lake. Public access is available. Disabled accessibility � level surfaces, can fish from bank at access. Open season runs from the last Saturday in April through September 30.
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Long Lake (5020 acres)
This is actually a reservoir on the Spokane River, created by a hydroelectric dam 23 miles northwest of town. It provides good large mouth bass, perch, crappie, and bullhead fishing, plus an occasional northern pike. Planted catchable-size brown trout are also taken, and small mouth bass have been stocked. Long Lake is open year-round and has several resorts, plus a DNR camp and boat launch off the Nine Mile Falls road.
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Mason Lake is a Lake in the state of Washington (county of Spokane), located at latitude – longitude coordinates (also known as lat-long or GPS coordinates) of N 47.35183 and W -117.76632. Mason Lake is shown in the center of the topographic (topo) map, which is sourced from the United States Geographical Survey map USGS Fishtrap Lake quad. The nearest major town is Edwall, WA. No real information available on conditions.
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Medical Lake (149 acres)
This selective gear rules lake is open during a limited season in compliance with local ordinances of the town of Medical Lake. Brown trout are the target here, with regular plants providing catches in the 15-inch range. Check the pamphlet for any special regulations.
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Newman Lake (1200 acres)
This lake 14 miles east of Spokane on Highway 290 has something for everybody: largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, perch, catfish, plus some rainbow, brown and eastern brook trout. The lake has also been selected to receive a bonus plant of large triploid rainbow trout (averaging 1-1/2 pounds apiece). These sterile fish can grow to trophy size if not harvested. In addition, Newman has been stocked with tiger muskies, with a one-fish, 36-inch minimum size limit; please check your regulations pamphlet for details. There is public access on the east shore, and resorts. Year-round open season. Disabled accessibility � Level 1. 3 WCTs, Blk Tpa, level, good WC accessibility.
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North Silver I believe this is part of the Silver Lake system at Medical Lake. This is a good spiny ray lake. I have heard late summer fish do not taste that great.
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Queen Lucas Lake No significant information available. Small Lake between the rail roads.
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Ring Lake Another small lake south of Medical Lake. No Data on access or fishing available.
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Silver Lake (486 acres)
This lake receives a small plant of catchable-size rainbow trout. Because of a large tench population, fishing is expected to be poor for trout. Silver has several resorts and public access on the north shore. Open year-round.
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Spokane Lake Nice information at this web site: http://www.riversidestatepark.org/lake_spokane.htm.
Aka Long Lake, Lake Spokane.
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West Medical Lake (235 acres)
Rainbow trout fry plants, plus catchable-size plants in the spring will provide good fishing for the April opener. This lake has also been selected to receive a bonus plant of large triploid rainbow trout (averaging 1-1/2 pounds apiece). Winter aeration and lots of moisture have greatly improved the outlook for this popular water located about a mile west of the town of Medical Lake. Minimal irrigation withdrawals are critical to annual fish survival and related recreation. Because of expanding goldfish and pumpkinseed sunfish populations, West Medical is scheduled to be rehabilitated in the fall of 2000. The lake has a resort and west shore public access. Open season runs from the last Saturday in April through September 30. Disabled accessibility � Level 1.DP, 2 WCTs, Blk Tpa, level, Blk Tpa paths to bankside fishing area. Excellent WC fishing site highly recommended for HC/WC persons.
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Williams Lake (319 acres)
Williams Lake was rehabilitated in the fall of 1995. It is planted with rainbow trout fry annually. Good fishing is expected this year. The Mayfly hatch in mid-May is usually the peak fishing time. Located 12 miles southwest of Cheney via Mullinex Road, it has public access on the northwest shore and several resorts. Shallow water some seasons may limit access for larger boats at the public access site. The lake also has two full-service resorts. Open season is from the last Saturday in April through September.
Here is the web site from which I obtained this information: http://www.angelfire.com/wa/nwfishing/
There you go. A lot of great places to take your Emmrod Compact Fishing System and have a great day! Check out the different products available to you at www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com or www.MyCompactFishing.com
Tags: Bass, Brook Trout, compact fishing, Eloika Lake, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, Fishing In Spokane County, Rainbow Trout, Spokane County, Spokane County lakes, Sting Ray Fishing, Sun Fish, Sunfish, The Packer
Posted in Emmrod, Fishing, Fishing Equipment, Spokane County Fishing, Why Buy Emmrod Fishing System? | 7 Comments »
February 10th, 2010
The Emmrod Packer is the fishing pole that got Emmrod up and running. A short ten years ago, Duane Markley adapted and upgraded a 1930’s product idea with current technology. He wanted to have a fishing pole that maintained the casting ability and benefits of a six to ten foot pole while picking up the benefits of a much shorter pole. He did it too! Ten years later, the Emmrod Packer is still selling across the country and bringing joy to fishermen and fisher women and fisher boys and fisher girls across the world!
 The Fishing Pole that got Emmrod Started What you see here, is the handle and the rod together. The rod, which is the metal end with the spring coil, fits into the handle with a quick set 1/4 turn, spring load that holds the rod firmly into place, yet lets you switch rods in just seconds.
 Emmrod 8 coil casting Rod. Perfect for pan sized fishing. Ultralight Fishing at its best! There are four basic Rods. 8, 7, 6 and 4 coil. These graduate from pan sized fish, to up to two pound fish, ten pound fish and twenty-five pound fish. If you are fishing for larger fish, you can use the double tip rods shown next.
 2 tip Emmrod Rod. Use for those lunkers up to 50 pounds! Check out the blog about Mel. He uses this tip on the Emmrod Packer along with a huge bait casting reel with a harness to catch large fish off Florida Docks. He recently brought in a 7 1/2 foot shark on they type of rig.
This is a good time to talk about reels. The Emmrod Packer uses two types of reels. The closed Face Spinning reel and the bait caster reel. Any standard reel of these varieties fit.
What sort of fish might one catch? The world is your oyster! Sharks and tarpon seem to fall to Mel’s Emmrod Packer. Bass, sunfish, trout and steelhead all end up in the frying pan.
What makes the Emmrod so great? a man asked me at a recent show. First of all, the compact nature of the rod when you prepare it for travel. It is only 12 inches long. Second, you can cast it as well as any standard fishing pole. You can also “shoot” it, hence its nickname “Dock Shooter.” It is unbreakable. It is flexible in that you use the rod designed for the weight of the fish you are hoping to catch, pan sized to shark sized! Simply put, it meets almost all capabilities of a regular pole and keeps on giving with the characteristics mentioned above. So, if you are looking for a cane pole, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a fishing pole you can cast, carry, troll with and keep in your glove compartment, you are looking at the right place.
Enjoy meandering through www.WhyBuyEmmrod.com where you can buy the Emmrod Packer, the Emmrod Kayak King, The Emmrod Mountaineer and many other fine fishing poles. Check out the WhyBuyEmmrod video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ukf-GcVeKY
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, compact fishing, dock fishing, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod Fishing System, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, florida fishing, Fly fishing pole, kayak king, mountainer, ocean fishing, Rainbow Trout, red snapper, The Packer
Posted in Emmrod | 4 Comments »
January 31st, 2010
Generals all have their quirks. It comes with the territory. They have generally paid their dues and deserve to have their quirks. Hey, we can all live with that. Most generals, in my experience had many memorable traits that made you love them or hate them, but, the main thing you remember about them is not their quirk. It goes to the man, the soldier. There are exceptions.
One of our Commanding Generals during my stay at VIIth Corps in Stuttgart, Germany, hated mustaches. He hated them to the point he assembled the entire corps headquarters and harangued us for 15 to 20 minutes about the evils of mustaches. We learned numerous scientific studies proved women did not like mustaches. On and on he went. You know, I do not recall much about that guy except his hate for mustaches! So, being a good soldier, I refused to shave mine off until the day I signed out of the unit.
One day, one of my Sergeants, SSG Brown, came to me all nervous. As SSG Brown walked up the road to the headquarters building where we worked, The General’s sedan had screeched to a halt, The General had jumped out, locked SSG Brown’s heels (called him to attention) and chewed him out berating him for his evil mustache. Now, I have to admit, to a mustache hater, SSG Brown’s mustache was a bright red flag. It was full. It was thick. It was bristley, but, it was legal and neatly trimmed. Never-the-less, any walrus would have been proud to have a mustache of SSG Brown’s Mustache’s magnitude. Finally, The General Screamed, “Where do you work?” “Sir,” SSG Brown said,” J-2 Ops with LTC Sewell.”
“COL Sewell, we have to talk” I said. But, I am getting ahead of myself. My Col, LTC Sewell, was the J2 Operations head. In any disagreement over plans, J3 Operations will almost always win. The Col in charge of J3 Operations was LTC Bailey. LTC Bailey and LTC Sewell had butted heads several times and there was not a lot of love lost between them. So, back to “the situation.”
“COL Sewell, SSG Brown was accosted by The General. The General was really upset about his mustache and screamed at him for almost ten minutes. Finally, he asked SSG Brown where he worked.”
“Oh No!” Said Col Sewell.
“Well, you do not need to worry, Sir, SSG Brown told him he worked for COL Bailey in J3 Ops and Col Bailey said he did not give a hoot for how The General felt about mustaches.”
I do not think I have ever seen LTC Sewell, or anyone for that matter, turn that shade of white. All the blood drained out of his face. I lost it. I laughed so hard I am sure it cost me a point or two on my evaluation that time around. But, it was hard to get around LTC Sewell and I had done it. I guess I do not hate that stupid general so bad after all.
If you fish, if you backpack, if you have a kayak, if you like trout, bass or bluegill, you need to check out Compact Fishing rods made by Emmrod fishing gear. Check them out at www.whybuyemmrod.com or www.MyCompactfishing.com
Tags: 8 coil fishing rod, Emmrod, Emmrod fishing pole, Emmrod fishing systems, Fishing fun, Fly fishing pole
Posted in Germany | 2 Comments »
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