Fly Fishing From Colorado

Okay, I'm feeling a little guilty. Soooo many of my blog entries this year have been not exactly in the Valley. And this one is even further away than most! Most years wewe take a vacation to visit our families back in Colorado, which is another fine fishing state.

The Gunnison

This year we were in Colorado for 9 days. My father and I drove up to Grand Mesa and fished a lake that we had "discovered" last year and we had a ridiculously good day of fishing. It was non-stop action from launch to take-out. Between us we landed maybe a dozen fish, and lost many more. We fished until the last possible moment and then high-tailed it home, with five trout for my mom (who fried them immediately).

A couple of days later, we returned to the same lake but were soon caught in a summer thunderstorm. The rain and hail were NAILING us as we motored our little boat back to the launch. I was breaking down all the gear when a flash of lighting lit everything around me. A tenth of a second later the thunder ripped the air all around, chasing me into the truck's cab. My dad, who was safe inside, said that he thought it had hit less than 500 feet away. I had no choice, I went back out and kept stowing gear. Again, lightning struck very nearby and I found myself in the cab again a second later. Finally, I had to go back out and finish stowing all the gear, knowing that we are at 11,000 feet in the middle of a lightning storm. I got it done but just barely.

We drove back down into the valley, surrendering the Mesa to the storms. Our map showed a body of water on the way home that we were unfamiliar with; the Fruit Growers Reservoir of Orchard City. The launch was decrepit, the water was murky and there were signs that said something about health hazard but they were so shot up with buckshot that we couldn't read anything else. We launched anyway, and caught Carp for a few hours using flies and worms under indicators.

I explained to my dad that Carp is the new rage in the PNW but I don't think he believed me; "Do you realize that they call these fish 'turd suckers' in Texas?" he said. I told Casey that and he thought it was hilarious. Anyway, the strong-fighting Carp were a hoot! They were chasing minnows in the shallows and we could tell when they were near us because all of the sudden the water all around our boat would boil with little fish jumping out of the water in fright. We'd put our flies and worms in the water and BOOM, carp on.

Skunked on the Gunnison

Amy and I took a morning and fished the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of our favorite places in the world to fish. But sadly on this day, the fish just weren't co-operating at ALL. We fished HARD for about 5 hours with not a single tap to show for it. The water was low and the sun was hot. It sounds like we had just missed a great stone-fly fishery by a couple of weeks. As we were driving out Amy said dejectedly "The Gunnison is no longer my favorite place to fish."

In Loveland, we tried to fish for the carp in the nearby irrigation pond (they grow HUGE there) but again, the fish weren't co-operating! I hooked one but broke my fly off in its face. Part of the problem was that almost every single day we were in Colorado we were plagued by intense afternoon rainstorms. In the photo above, the blur on the right isn't a smudge, its yet another thunderstorm coming. The rains definitely kept the temperature down but they also supressed the fishing, too. I can't remember ever getting rained on so much in August!

Coldwater Lake at Mt St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens

My wonderful, older sister Patti agreed to sit Casey for a weekend. It gives us a great gift but also Casey gets to cultivate his relationship with Patti, Vick and Hannah and her beau, Travis Waldmer. We dropped Casey off at her place and stayed long enough to have some of Vick's amazing BBQ chicken for dinner! Then we hit the road and drove the truck down to Kelso, where we stayed at the Red Lion.

Looking Good, the weather I mean!

We woke to FANTASTIC weather and had breakfast at the local Denny's before hitting the road for the drive to Coldwater Lake. The drive takes only 60 minutes but it seems like all day as you climb slowly up into the mountains and eventually into the blast zone and finally arrive at Mt St. Helens National Park and then the boat launch to Coldwater Lake.

The Launch

Coldwater Lake is one of our all-time favorite places to fish. Formed during the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption, this gigantic lake is chronically under-fished and yields big, wild trout. That's right, the trout there are WILD. Their ancestors came down out of protected little pockets of water and repopulated the lake. And the descendants live their lives, spawn and repopulate the lake every year.

Hey look who can catch fish too

The lake is so big (1000 acres? 3 miles long?) that the fish get spread out, often making for slow fishing, or at least, infrequent action. On a personal note: I was prepared to be out-fished and I was okay with that (wink)! I picked up the first nice fish shortly before lunch and then the second soon after. We had sighted minnows in the shallows so I figured that there would be trout waiting just in the deeper water to pick them off. And I was right, at least in the morning. Both of my fish were 15".

Waterfalls

In the afternoon, Amy started picking up fish, too, using the same techniques. But things became REALLY fun when we started encountering the waterfalls. Every quarter mile or so, we'd find a new waterfall draining into the lake. The current that it created in the still water made the fish start acting like it was a river. We could see large trout picking off bugs in the moving water, so we'd anchor the boat and fish each falls as if they were little rivers. It was AWESOME.

Such a great day

Eventually we ended up at the far end of the lake. It had taken us five hours to get there its so far away! A full-on RIVER feeds into the far side creating a delta and broad shallow basin where lots of fish feed on terrestrials and other bugs in the water. We switched our lines to dry lines and each caught some nice, nice fish on dry flies. I fished the only Elk Hair Caddis from my box. I cast to a rising fish, watched him swirl under the fly, turn and take it. It was so sweet. He also was 15" (according to that new net that Amy got me for Christmas).

Amy with a Trout

Amy fished a beetle pattern, hoping to duplicate the experience of catching that giant fish from last year. She didn't get the giant, but she did catch a 16" fish on her beetle. At 4:00pm we decided to head back across the lake and I started steaming in that direction. Even going straight back it took us 3 hours to get to the truck!

The amazing Heathman Lodge

I slept in the truck all the way back to I-5 I was so tired. We had a celebratory dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then stayed the night at the Wonderful Heathman Lodge in Vancouver. I'm telling you, that place is FOUR STAR for a TWO STAR price. Sunday it rained like crazy, so we cancelled any fishing plans and went shopping instead. Like tourists. It was a great little trip. Here's to the next one!

McLeod Lake

McLeod and backdrop

Some days it seems like all the bad luck comes at you at once. Friday, May 14th was one of those days. I've had some ill-fated trips but this one was so bad its almost funny. 

McLeod lake is only 20 minutes from my house, and its a 5 minute walk from the road through the woods in the Hancock Tree Farm.  Again, I decided to take a Float Tube, this time my largish Fat Cat 4, which had just come back from the repair shop.

The comedy of errors began immediately upon my arrival at the parking spot.

10:30am - I open the back of the truck only to find that I'd forgotten half my fishing gear. Fine, so I drive 20 minutes home, get the rest my stuff, stop for a smoothie, and I'm back to the parking spot at noon.
12:00pm - While pulling on my waders, something goes POP in my back.  I'm overcome with a paralyzing pain.  I can't breathe; I'm thinking "this is it, I'm dying in the bed of my pickup with my waders half on, just like I always knew I would."  Eventually the pain subsides enough for me to breathe and move, very, very slowly.  Should I go home?  No, Amy is having a girl party and I don't want to crash it.  Besides, I took the day off, and I figure, if I can get to the lake the water will support my weight and I'll be fine.  So I finish getting ready, very slowly, and proceed to walk to the lake.That 5 minute walk takes 35 minutes as I have to stop every few feet to rest my aching back.
1:35pm - At the lake now.  As I put my float tube down I hear a "POP-fssssssssssssssssss".  The float tube seam has popped (again) and air is rushing out.  I will not be floating in this float tube.   Look up the sky.  "God, am I not supposed to be fishing today?"  No answer.  Well, I did bring a spare tube, and I did take the day off.  So I begin the painful trudge BACK to the truck to get the spare tube.
2:30pm - The round-trip to the truck, which normally would have taken 10 minutes, took almost 60 because the wrenching pain.  I sit down and put a fin on my left boot.  SNAP, the strap that holds the fin onto my boot breaks.  That's never happened before.  I decide that if none of the above things was going to stop me, then a missing fin wouldn't either.  I'd kick around with NO fins if necessary at this point.

Four hours into the trip and I'm just getting wet!

The good news is that once in the water, I felt no pain. The water suspended me and I forgot all about my back. Fishing was extremely slow, though. I caught one fish, on a large snowcone about 12' under and indicator. In fact, it was very nice fish, one of the largest I've ever caught in the tree farm. McLeod can make them bigger than most of the lakes up there for some reason.

I took a picture of the fish.

But I lost my camera somewhere on the way home.

Of course. What a trip!

Fontal Lake

If you look closely at the pictures, you might recognize this as a "secret" lake that I didn't want to divulge last year. However, I'm naming names today, and this one is Fontal Lake north of Duvall.  If you can hike your way in there, you deserve to fish it!  Its about 45-60 minutes by foot, and your GPS will not really help you. Good luck!

On the trail to Fontal Lake

I took a Friday off to enjoy the weather and get in some "adventuring", by which I usually mean hiking and fishing. The fishing is much more enjoyable if there's a measure of planning and effort that must go into it. Fontal Lake is a good starter lake for this kind of trip; it's a relatively flat walk but long enough to keep the hordes away. It's remote enough in that if you were to twist your ankle you might be in serious trouble; I couldn't get cell reception out there. Lastly, in the past there have been nice fish taken there, though I haven't seen any (which is why I'm not afraid to name names today).

I didn't see another soul on the way, or at the lake. I arrived and unpacked my gear. Even though this was the location where I was introduced to the magical Trail Boat, this time I brought my trusty Float Tube. You see, there aren't a lot of fish at Fontal, and you might only get one chance, and if that's the case its nice to have both hands on your flyrod. Vlad and I discussed this strategy and he agreed.


To my dismay, my waders had a gushing leak right at the small of the back. I fished while FREEZING COLD, listening to Fresh Air on my iPhone to pass the time. I was wet and so cold that my legs were numb and my teeth were chattering. As I said, there's aren't a lot of fish in Fontal, and you might get only once chance. As it happened, I did get only only chance and I made the most of it. I landed a very pretty Brook Trout.

After kicking around the lake for over two hours I got out, ostensibly to warm up and have a snack. As I dried off I looked back at the lake and decided that I didn't need to catch any more fish. If anything, I confirmed that my winter waders have seen their last days and that I should get a new pair. I changed my socks to the dry pair I'd brought, loaded my gear into my pack and hiked the hour back out to my car.

On the way home I stopped in Duvall at a place that sold Espresso and Ice Cream and got some of both. I like Duvall, nice town. I hope that our street renovations in Snoqualmie make it look more like what they've done up there. When I finally got home (about 8 hours after I'd left) I was surprised at how tired I was.

It was a good start for "Adventuring".

Flies for the Snoqualmie Valley

Our April fishing trip has inspired me to get some tying done. I only tie about six different types flies; these are most of them. From the top left around clockwise...

• A black Bunny Streamer. Also tie them in Olive.
• 5 diffent types of Carey-Specials.  Amy swears by the two on the right, the Olive Willies.
• Five San Juan Worms.  So easy to tie, ahhh.  The key is to use a lighter on the ends.
• Blue Winged Olives - The only dry I tie anymore.
• Snowcones - black, red, silver and olive, in sizes 14-18
• A Hares Ear - really need to tie more of these, they are so versatile
• 5 Prince Nymphs - Actually use these in the Yakima more than anywhere else

In fact, I'm thinking of blogging a series of "Flies for the Snoqualmie Valley." If you have some recommendations, please send them to me and we'll talk!

Spring Break Day 4: Fighting at Amber Lake

Years ago I read a fishing report about this magical place named Amber Lake, where the lucky fly-fishermen of Spokane go and catch only giant trout. I added Amber Lake to my "must visit" list. This trip appeared to be about just finally getting there but ultimately ended up being about peaceful surrender.

Gearing Up

Amber Lake seems way out there in the middle of nowhere - its like the The Shire. One minute you're driving through tree-less, rolling hills and then the next you come over a rise and there is the lake in a hollow, amidst old barns and evergreens. The boat launch is very tidy with lots of parking and good facilities.

The Fish Master

Of course, Amy immediately started catching some REALLY nice fish. Within 30 minutes of launching she had landed a 16" and a 17" trout, one of which is above. I helped her land the first.... and then we got in a HUGE fight. I mean we were YELLING AND SCREAMING at each other in the boat, for 20 loud minutes. She thought that I was giving her the cold shoulder now that she was catching fish, and I told her I was just trying to retain some dignity after getting ridiculously out-fished every day (tally so far on the trip was 33 to 8)..

Finally she put her rod down and yelled "Fine! Take me home!"

And I roared back, "We did not drive all the way out here just to go home!"

And then I had an ephiphany. I was being a jerk! But why? There could only be one reason: I had been trying to hold on to the idea that I was the better fisherman and it was getting harder and harder (impossible actually) to maintain that position in the face all of all this contrary evidence. So I let it go and admitted to myself that she was now a better fisherman than I was. And I felt a sudden peace.

We made up. I asked her to inspect my line and give me some tips on what she might be doing differently. I even had her set up my rig for me at one point. We got along great the rest of the day. She still totally out-fished me, getting strikes constantly and ultimately landing 5 fish. Me, I caught only one fish, but it was a pretty good one.

My One Fish

At around 2:00pm, the lake just turned off. Even Amy stopped getting hits. Everyone, including ourselves, left beautiful Amber Lake. Amy and I drove to the other side of Spokane and spent the evening in Liberty Lake, as I had some business there the next day.

On the way home we passed 50 miles of hard-blowing snow and sliding cars over Snoqualmie Pass. It was some of the nastiest driving I've ever had to do in Washington state. At one point, my truck lost traction and we were sliding completely sideways down I-90. I turned into the skid, which over-corrected and then we were sliding the opposite way down I-90. I turned into the skid again, and we corrected just right but not before I think I had a mild heart attack.

But back to Amy. She can tie her own knots. She chooses her own flies. She can even attach a tippet to a leader with a blood knot. She can cast farther than I can and concentrate for longer than I can. She is, in the ways that are important, a better fisherman than I am. I'm okay with that. As long as I'm still her best fishing buddy, that is.

Final Trip Tally: Amy = 38 fish, David = 9 Fish

Spring Break Day 3: Dry Falls Lake

Dry Falls Lake is one of the premiere fly-fishing destinations in all of Washington State. The Lake was formed during the great American flood, where a wall of water 1000 feet tall swept across the desert, ultimately flushing through the basin area, creating the incredible 400 foot cliffs of Dry Falls Lake. Its an amazing venue, and the fact that the fishing can be quite good only adds to its charm.

Dry Falls Launch

On Day 3, a Tuesday, we arrived at the lake around 10:00am, and we were surprised to find the lake packed with anglers! I counted two dozen other fisherman, mostly in pontoon boats and water masters and prams. Doesn't anyone work anymore? No worries, fly fishermen are an easy-going lot as long as you aren't mistreating the resource. We launched our craft and headed out through the shallows into the deeper water.

Catching fish

Everyone was catching fish on that day. About half seemed to be fishing indicator setups and the other half a mixture of subsurface flies or woolly buggers. After querying the only other woman on the lake, Amy started fishing a black woolly bugger down deep. She immediately began catching fish. Fish after Fish. Amy really put it to me.

Rex Takasugi

We ran into Rex Takasugi, who was putting on a clinic on the far side of the lake. He gave me some flies and gave us some pointers about where the fish were lying. Amy used that information to really start putting on a show. By now Amy had caught 15 fish. I had caught 1, and I was getting kind of steamed about it. Fortunately, I was able to put Rex's advise to work and I caught 4 fish, including the biggest fish of the day, this 18" trout.

Trout of the Day

Amy caught 21 fish, which is by far her record of most fish caught in a single day. My personal record is only 27. That last fish of hers was one of the nicest of the trip! A beautiful 17" fish, what a way to cap off the day!

Victory!!!

Day 3: Dinner and Lodging
We stayed at the Super 8 on the outskirts of Spokane. Do yourself a favor and stay someplace a little nicer.

Tally for Day 3: Amy = 21 Fish, David = 5 Fish.

Congratulations to Amy for her record day of fishing!

Spring Break Day 2: Quincy Lake & Rocky Ford

Before I continue with the trip report, let me acknowledge that this spring break trip has nothing to do with the Snoqualmie Valley.  Truth be told, there's not a ton of good fishing in the valley right now for the following reasons:

1. The mainstem of the Snoqualmie is closed (as are most salmon and steelhead rivers this time of year).
   
2. The forks of the river don't fish well until late summer, in my experience.
   
3. The valley lakes are either still closed or haven't been planted.
   
4. The Hancock Tree farm passes have sold out already (whoops! should have got mine!)
   

So for our spring fishing trip we went east out to the Columbia Basin.  I love fishing the desert!  Living in Snoqualmie, you can be at the basin in just 2 hours, which is yet another advantage to our little town.

Anyway, On with the report!

After breakfasting in Ellensburg, we hit the road for Quincy, just on the other side of the Columbia river. Quincy Lake is a beautiful desert lake that receives generous plants of rainbow trout early in the year.  It being a weekday, there were only a few other fisherman plunking away from shore as we motored by in our jon boat.  Amy immediately started getting strikes on her black woolly bugger.

Over the next four hours or so, she received strike after strike, ultimately catching 10 fish, which is a lot for her.  None of them were larger than the one in the picture but that's okay, she had a great time.  The lake was quite windy and by the end of our time there my face felt somewhat blasted by all the cold air. Somehow I caught only 2 fish at Quincy Lake, which seemed strange because the water was clearly teaming with trout.
 

We left the Quincy Wildlife area and drove down to the still-sleeping resort town of Crescent Bar looking for ice cream but everything was closed.  We settled for Mexican food in the town of Quincy proper and then headed to Rocky Ford, one of Amy's favorite fishing spots.

If you've never been to Rocky Ford its worth going.  Its a desert spring creek with a hatchery right on it.  The water is loaded with giant trout who are just milling around feasting on bugs all day.  The trout get quite smart so catching them can be challenging.  We usually just fish from the dock.  Amy can cast farther than I can now I noticed.  Of course, she immediately hooked up with a couple of big trout.
 

I caught only one trout, which happened to be the largest one.  Please ignore my funny Elmer-Fudd hat -- it was cold at the end of the day and I appreciated warm ears.

Finally tally for the day: Amy = 12 Fish.  David = 3 fish.

Day 2: Dinner and Lodging

We fished until dark and then drove down to the motel cluster at Moses Lake (all the way back to I-90).  We stayed at the Ramada Inn and ate fast food in our room.   I'd stay at the Ramada again, it was nice and reasonably priced.

Spring Break Day 1: Upper Yakima River Proper

Home from Easter Service

Sunday was important for three reasons.  One, it was Easter.  Two, the end of Lent meant I could eat chocolate again.  Three, the start of our 4 day fishing trip.

After packing our gear, we drove an hour over the pass to my favorite fishing grounds.  I'd heard many tales of large fishing being caught somewhere on the Yakima lately.  It being cold, you can see Amy layering on several undergarments, including non-matching PJs and booties!

Geared up, we hiked through the woods to the river.  We fished hard for about three hours, in the wind and cold and finally rain.

Not a single tap.  So I didn't take any pictures of the river.  But the pictures of the woods were cool so I'm posting them.

Day 1: Dinner and Lodging

That night we stayed at the old "Ellensburg Inn" which is now a Quality Inn.  I like their little breakfast place, the pool and wifi.  We had dinner at this new place down the street called The Roadhouse Grill, which was honestly fantastic.   I had a GREAT rib-eye steak and watched the first Mariner's game on the TV over Amy's head at the bar. :)

So on day 1, the fishing wasn't so hot, but the road trip was going well.  Next up, Day 2, which includes the biggest fish of the trip...

A Handy Guide to Fishing the Snoqualmie Area...

North Bend, Snoqualmie Pass
Alpine Lakes Wilderness & Cle Elum
By Dave Shorett

I have TWO copies of this slim little nugget. One of them is dog-eared and following apart. It has accompanied me on many trips, but its also been my companion late at night when I can't sleep and I start day-dreaming about where to go in the summer. My friend the Alpine Lakes Super Ninja, Vlad Karpinsky, gave me the other copy a few years ago.

If you open it to a random page in the middle of the book, you'll be treated to maps, pictures and short descriptions of Alpine Lakes and the possible of quality fishing therein. A closer look at the book yields a logical division of lands from roughly my Neighborhood, East.

Three main sections define the book, starting with North Bend. This includes the Hancock Timber region that I've written about over the years, including Calligan Lake, Hancock Lake, and others.

The second section is the true gem, Snoqualmie Pass and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There are so many lake descriptions in this section that you get dizzy just thinking about them all.

The last section, East of Snoqualmie Pass, includes the Yakima River system and other places of interest.

Why am I telling you this? I thought long and hard about whether or not I was going to be ruining anything by promoting a guidebook to the very places that I go to get away. But you know what? The book can't give anyway any real secrets, because fishing conditions change year to year in any given lake. So even when the author says "contains small rainbows" you might get there and catch a hog; that something that has happened to me a few times, and its delightful.

So buy this book -- right now is a good time, it being the beginning of the fishing season, and you can start making your plans. Maybe we'll bump into each other on the trail!

The Glamour of Fin Clipping

Its easy to see why people have trouble picturing Amy as the tomboy that she really is. She can glam it up with the best of them! Some have trouble believing she that loves to fly fish. She recently took a temporary job at the hatchery, not that she needs the money; she loves working with her hands, she loves fish and she likes getting dirty!

Fish Hatcheries raise Salmon (and some trout) from eggs and then they let them go as babies into the river. Those baby fish go out to sea for a couple of years and then return as adults. The hatcheries "mark" the babies by clipping off their adipose fin so that when those fish return they can be distinguished from wild fish (who weren't raised in hatchery). The hatchery fish (or marked fish) can be kept by those who catch them.

Here Come the Fish

So who "marks" these fish? And how is it done? Well, its not a very glamorous job! For two and half weeks, Amy and about a dozen other paid temps occupied a specially built trailer where they clipped the fins from hundreds of thousands of baby fish. It was during this time that she took these photos and videos (with the old Nikon, by the way).

The fish come sluicing into the trailer where they swim through a solution that anaesthetizes them, making them easier to handle and in theory they'll feel less pain when their adipose fin is clipped.

After the fluid they get on to the "table" where the fin-clippers have at them. Amy says that as the fins are clipped off, like fingernails, some of them go flying into your hair or on to your coat.

These particular fish are Coho if I remember right. The clipper scissors are specially made. One day she came home in one of my coats - it was covered in little black fins. Later I put it on before it had been washed and I freaked out when all these fins can falling off of me.

Amy clipping some fins

In the video immediate above, you can see the Glamorous Amy clipping the fins from a couple of Coho while wearing one of my shirts (hey!). She says the hardest part about the job is the all the standing. But she's excited to do it again the next time they need some serious fin clipping!

In 2013, if you catch a salmon out of a Washington river and its adipose fin is missing, you may have Amy to thank. And the missing fin from your fish could be one of the ones in my coat.

First Fish of 2010

Haven't been fishing for like 5 months. But today is Valentine's day, and both of us love fishing and the weather was nice. Fished a nearby lake from 3-5pm and caught this beauty on a gold-ribbed hare's ear that I received as part of a fly swap from washingtonflyfishing.com. The fish was SO NICE (probably 15-16" and fat) that I am declining on mentioning the name of the lake just yet!

Here's to a happy Valentine's day.

Three Point and Shoot Cameras

500 different visitors were reading this blog each month during this summer. It's definitely not me they were here to look at, so I figure it had to be all the pictures of the beautiful alpine lakes I visted this year. That gives some meaning to the choice of camera I've been using.

I use point and shoot cameras for a simple reason; weight. My friend Vlad Karpinsky, the uber-alpine-lake-ninja, will lug around ten pounds of camera equipment when hiking for hours to alpine lakes, but I won't. Also, I am incredibly hard on electronic equipment since I tend to fall into rivers and lakes quite often, so that's another reason to avoid the $600 digital SLR cameras.

This year I used three different point and shoot cameras with varying results.

5 Megapixel Nikon Coolpix L10 ($150 in 2007)

10 Megapixel Fujifilm FinePix J20 ($120)

10 Megapixel Canon Powershot SD1200 IS ($180)

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Taken with Nikon L10 - A good camera at a good price.

The Nikon is actually several years old and it has been a trooper. Its maximum resolution is 5M. Without getting too technical, I found the colors to be deep and pleasing. I've always been satisfied with the pictures that it takes. It has survived at least two complete submergings but it is starting to feel its age, and its 5-second delay between pictures seems like AGES. I would buy the Nikon L10 again. A good camera at a good price.

Fujifilm FinePix J20: Terrible Pictures!

The Fujifilm Finepix J20 had a pleasing set of chassis and the price was certainly right -- $120 for a 10 Megapixel camera. The camera seemed to be half the size the Nikon, was more responsive and had a faster in-between-picture metric. I liked everything about this camera... except I hated the pictures. They always looked washed out and the colors were muddy. I tried and tried messing with the settings but honestly 9 out of 10 pictures looked awful.

Canon Powershot SD1200 IS - Good little camera, I'd buy again!

I returned the FujiFilm and, after reading many online reviews, bought the Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. I was a little concerned about getting a camera with a built-in battery, but I ultimately couldn't resist the camera's compact size. I loved the Canon -- it took great pictures and was easy to work with. Sadly, perhaps because it was so small, I lost it a few months after the purchase. I'm hoping its still around the house somewhere, perhaps in the pocket of a jacket I haven't worn since summer.

iPhone 3Gs Image -- Eh, Its Okay

So until I find the Canon again, I use the Nikon or in a pinch, my iPhone 3Gs. The iPhone has no focus feature, has poor colors and is slow. But on the other hand, I always have it.

But when summer comes around again, I think those 500 visitors are going to want to see pictures taken from the Canon, so here's to hoping I find it!