It was a tough weekend for your faithful newbie.  Massive back pain, a horrible sunburn, and a sharp learning curve.

It began with an innocent trip to Piru Creek for some fly-fishing with Hank (my Golden Retriever).

It was a bit warm out so I let Hank do his job as a fish-finder.  He's really good at finding stuff that swims in the water, but lacks a subtle notification system.

Bing... Bing... Looking... FOUND ONE!!!

Afterwards, it was my turn to have some fun.  I tied on a nymph and set out to try to hook up... I failed.

As a reward I let Hank go swimming again.

It wasn't much of a reward since the water softened his paw pads, and the sharp rocks at Frenchman's Flat ripped them to the point of bleeding.  He couldn't walk on them and I ended up carrying him out just over a half mile.  He weighs just over 100 pounds and it was nearly impossible to carry him with all my gear, so I hid my gear in the bushes and humped out with a large dog across my shoulders.  I've since gone back and gathered my gear, so don't bother =]

A visit to the vet and some Nu-Skin and Hank is back in action.  The moral of the story is to keep an eye on those paw pads when letting your fishing buddy swim for any length of time.  He and I really bonded on the way out.  He has always been close to me, but now I can't seem to even get any personal space.  He might be just a canine, but I'll bet you my next 5 pound trout that he knows I helped him without regard for my back that day.  I'd do it again too.

So, Sunday I decided to go fishing in a rental boat at Upper Castaic.  My wife was leaving for a trip with her Mom, my own Mom lives in Alaska and I planned to call her in the evening, so I had the whole day in front of me.  Plenty of time to get a vicous sunburn.

This little guy followed me all over "Suicide Cove".

The only thing that I caught all day was the previously mentioned sunburn... bad enough that I missed sleep the entire night and work the next day.  I guess the best thing that I did was to head down to the lower lake - Castaic Lagoon - to try and remove the skunk.  Yeah, I'm that stubborn.

He fought like a champ and was beautiful with neon accents.  I know it's a Bluegill, but it's the most attractive Bluegill I have ever seen.  Again my camera fails to relay the best features, and the fact that it was laying in water.

Overall, it was a tough weekend.  The only thing I have to show for it is the above picture... and a closer relationship with my dog.  Ok, I guess it wasn't so bad.  I'm gonna put sunscreen in my fishing vest though.