Ep 171: Looking Back at 2025 and Looking Ahead at 2026, with Mel Moss
This episode is our annual New Year episode where my friend Mel and I look back at our previous year of fishing and look ahead at the year to come. We talk about the goals we set, whether we accomplished them, and do a recap of some of our memorable trips and experiences along the way.
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Katie
You're listening to the Fish Untamed Podcast, your home for fly fishing the backcountry. this is episode 171 with Mel Moss, looking back at 2025 and looking ahead at 2026. three two one crack
Mel
was it good?
Katie
yeah it was except you also said crack so we had three cracks going on
Mel
I also counted down because I didn't hear you counting.
Katie
I was counting. Cheers.
Mel
Should we reveal that we're having NA beers together?
Katie
Well, it's out of the bag now. That's okay. I think I had an NA beer on the last one that I had a beer on too. You did and I gave you crap for it. Oh, I meant not with you. The last recording I did. I had an NA beer. So I must have gone on like three whole NA beers at this point.
Mel
I don't think you've had an NA beer with our podcast or our episodes for three years now. We got to get back to the real stuff. Next time. I would have done a real one today.
Mel
Fair. I had limited refrigerator supply.
Katie
So I guess just as a quick refresher for people who aren't aware, this is the annual episode where we cover our past year. We just set some goals. I have some goals. You had one kind of vague-ish goal, but we're going to kind of turn that into a just a yearly review and then set goals for the upcoming year, which is also going to change a little bit, which we'll get into when we get to that point. But I wonder if it makes sense for me just to start with, do you think it makes sense for me to start with my three goals and go through them and then have you go since you are just kind of doing a recap or do you want to take turns like we normally do? I think you should just go through them. Okay, I'll go through. Mine aren't going to take very long, so I'll just go through them and then I'll let you kind of just regale people with with your year and our year since we got to do some fishing together this year. So first one that's easy to check off is backpacking a stream from top to bottom, which was a goal I had the previous year as well. And I didn't get to it last year, I guess in 2024. And I don't quite remember why. I think it just like fell by the wayside because I think I accomplished like most of my other goals. And that one, like I really wanted to do, the idea was to pick some kind of headwater stream, turn it into like a I don't know three to five day backpacking trip and start at one end and just fish my way to the to the other end as a way to like kind of see a stream in its entirety which I still think is a really fun idea but it got bumped to the wayside last time and this side this time it also got bumped to the wayside kind of for different reasons so I guess this is where it all comes out that I just had a baby so I spent this entire last year pregnant
Mel
so cats out of the bag
Katie
It didn't stop me from going elk hunting for 10 days, but I guess it stopped me from doing this. And maybe it's because I made Mike carry everything on that trip. And so if I were to do this one by myself, which I guess it wasn't established that I had to do it by myself, but I kind of pictured doing it by myself because I wasn't sure if I could convince someone to do it with me. I don't think I could have done a five-day trip self-supported, like five months pregnant.
Mel
So yeah, that was going to be my question because I couldn't remember if you had determined that you wanted to do it solo or with a buddy. And maybe the previous year I was thinking maybe you didn't do it because you couldn't get anyone to rally with you. But no, I don't think that was it.
Katie
And I was willing to do it alone. I would have enjoyed having a buddy, but I would have done it alone. I think I think before it's just it's one of those things that you need to plan a decent bit in advance. I just like never really got around to it the previous time. and like I said this time there wasn't backpacking unless I was with somebody else I guess for safety reasons and also just for I couldn't carry as much weight on my back reasons so that one's an easy F on a report card it's a big fat fail probably won't be adding that one again for a while I still think it'd be a fun idea to do but I also remember coming up with that one kind of as a I need a goal to do so like let me try to think of some kind of fun project and kind of came up with that, but it wasn't something that, you know, just hit me as a really cool thing that I need to do. I'm not, I don't feel super attached to it. I think it would be a fun thing to do, but for now, it's put on the back burner and we're going to forget about that, but it was a big fat fail.
Mel
When we're 50, do you want to do that together? Should that be like a, like a future, future goal?
Katie
I mean, I hopefully we don't have to wait until we're 50, but yeah, yeah, we could do it.
Mel
I mean, we now both have very young children. So we'll just see how these next 10 years kind of unfold.
Katie
Well, they can carry our stuff for us. We just have to get them to like, I don't know, 10 or 12. And we can start using them as, you know, pack animals. Pack meals. Okay. So I don't know. We'll maybe check back in in 10 to 12 years. Sounds great. Second goal was to build another fly rod. So I built my first fly rod maybe four years ago, four or five years ago. I don't quite remember. And I've wanted to since then. My buddy John, shout out to Yellowfin Fly Rods, he builds rods and sells them. But he also sells me basically like rod building kits. Like if you ask him for one, you can kind of just buy the parts to make a rod. And he'll kind of, you know, walk you through the steps and send you some how-to videos. So I did that through him a couple years ago. It was a lot of fun. And it's fun fishing that rod. So I just wanted to – I made the goal before getting pregnant. But it was a great, like, pregnancy activity. because it was like, I'll have to do is sit here and build the rod. So I actually aced this one. I built two. Woo! Yeah, one for me and one for Mike for a Christmas present.
Mel
How was that received? Tell me about his opening that. Did he know at all?
Katie
Yeah, he did. I got super annoyed because, like, rod building isn't something you can do, like, very secretly unless you have, like, a private room to do it in because it's, like, a nine-foot-long thing that, I mean, you break it. you can break it down in half and rotate the two halves separately. So, you know, when you epoxy it and when you wrap the threads and things like that, you know, the rod is in parts, but to be able to put it on the motor and turn it, like to make it more efficient, it is built up to the point that it takes up some space. So unless you have like a secret room, which I don't, unfortunately, I would love a secret room. I was just doing it in our basement. And so he kind of knew, I mean, he knew that he was going to get one because I wanted to get his specs. I was like, what kind of rod do you like? What would you want? And he wanted like a – he's been kind of jealous of the 7-foot 3-weight I got last year because we'll be on some little tiny stream and his 9-foot-5-weight is getting caught on everything and he sets the hook on these brook trout that go flying. The 9-foot-5 was his only rod. And I've got this fun little 3-weight that I love fishing. So he wanted something comparable to that. So I think the blanks that were options ended up at like a seven and a half foot three weight. So I think that's what it was. That sounds super fun. Yeah. That sounds perfect. Obviously, he hasn't gotten to use it yet since he just received it. But I'm looking forward to like seeing how it casts. And so I needed the specs on what he wanted. And it was going to kind of just be like, OK, I'll take that and run. But then I'm like in the basement building it. And he's coming down, you know, to do things down there. So I'm like, don't look. but it's like sitting out and then at one point the motor so the motor turns the rod to make the epoxy dry evenly so the rod has to sit there for 24 hours spinning on this motor and the motor like walked itself off the table because it wasn't like perfectly level I guess as it was spinning and so he heard the crash and like went down and fixed it you know like got it back up on the table and I'm like well thank you that is like I that is preferable like I would rather have you go down and fix that yeah but also like I hope you didn't look at it I hope you just closed your eyes and pretended you had no idea what was going on so he didn't see it in its entirety until he opened it but like he definitely knew what color it was and stuff like that beforehand. He would always insist, like, I barely saw anything. And it was like, you totally saw everything. So.
Mel
Oh, that's funny. So my question is, how does the one that you built for yourself this year differ from your first one four years ago?
Katie
First one I built was a graphite six weight, nine foot. So I guess getting into your story a little bit spoiler that's what I caught the the rainbow on I'm sure we'll get into okay yeah all right I think I even remember telling you when we were out there that day that so I had that three weight the three weight that I'm talking about that's super fun that was my that was my other rod and then I had the six weight and I remember commenting to you going from like beaver pond fishing with that three weight to like river fishing with that six weight it felt like I was casting like a like a salt water you know some kind of crate like like a spin rod it felt like I was fishing for like a marlin because you just go from like a real flimsy little fun playful rod to this big stiff break through the wind rod and it was really jarring going back and forth so that's the that's the rod I built a couple years ago and the one I just built is a fiberglass two weight oh my gosh fun yeah so how long six and a half feet wow yeah so I just like went even more extreme on the like Let's just have a tiny, fun little rod. But it's a fiberglass, so it's, like, heavier than it would be if it were graphite. So, yeah, I haven't gotten to fishy yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
Mel
Ooh, that'll be fun.
Katie
Yeah.
Mel
How cool. So can you, I guess, can you pick between a bunch of different colors of the actual rod pieces or mostly just the threads?
Katie
He has, like, a couple colors you can choose from. It's not, like, every color in existence. It's like, hey, the rod you want comes in two or three different colors. And you can choose one. I don't know if some have more options than others. I want to say that Mike's... So Mike, when I asked him what he wanted, he was like, I want a rod that's this color with this color thread. And I went to John and he's like, yeah, I don't have that. So he's got like every color thread in existence. But I made some executive decisions for Mike on what color rod he would like. What did he get? His is a dark green with yellow thread. And mine is a, like a yellowish, like a, almost like a citrus yellow, like a lime green, but more, more yellow than green. So like a yellowish rod with purple thread.
Mel
Ooh, nice.
Katie
Yeah. I thought that was cool. I think he wanted something that's similar to what I had. It wasn't an option for him. So I don't know. Poor guy. Yep. Yep. Well, that's cool. A plus. Plus. Plus. plus plus plus a plus plus and similarly my my third goal which was to catch one species toward the western native trout challenge which I know you wanted me to recap also an a plus plus because I caught two species toward it thinking that that was my goal I thought that was my goal as I caught two and then I came back and saw that my goal was actually one so that's hilarious and I went out of my way to get that second one thinking that I was gonna fail if I didn't do it so so So you went from an F to an A++. Yes, I did. Well, I think it would have been like a C, I think, had I just done half of it. So yeah, as you requested, kind of a quick recap of the Western Native Trout Challenge. It's put on by the Western Native Trout Initiative, which is, I believe, a nonprofit that just kind of benefits native species around the West. And they have this challenge that's kind of a, it's like an honor system thing. I mean, you're supposed to log, you know, where and when you caught the species. And I think you're supposed to submit a picture, but it's basically catching however many number of native species in their native ranges across a certain number of states. And there's different tiers. So the first tier is, I think, six species across four states. Then it goes up from there up to the, I think there's like four levels. And so this is just, my goal was just to catch one, ended up catching two species toward that first level, both in Colorado. So I still have three more states and four more species to hit the first level. But I did the only two that Colorado have, the Rio Grande cutthroat and the Colorado River cutthroat. The greenback is not included in the challenge yet, I think, just because its population is still too low for them to want to encourage people to go out and catch them. So even though they're here and I've caught greenbacks before, and it has to be from their approved list of waters. So like I've caught a Rio Grande cutthroat before, but not from their approved list of waters where the state kind of like designates as, yes, this is a pure strain of this species. And we've confirmed that. And there's no other species mixing in or anything like that.
Mel
Okay. So do they have a big list of the waters to go on? Or is that what you just said on their website?
Katie
Yep. They've got a map for each state. And they're all a little bit different because they're all pulled from the state. So it's not like a sort of like a uniform style. They're pulling different maps that the states provide. So some states kind of provide a bounding box and say like things caught within here count. And other states just say like, here's a spot, here's a spot, here's a spot you can go. And so Colorado is like that. There's just like different spots marked and you can just click on them. It'll tell you the name of the waterway, what to expect, like access wise, any special regulations, like fly lure only, catch limits, things like that. So yeah, I just like browsed the map and found places that were convenient enough to go. Actually, the Colorado River Cutthroat was like a 10-mile hike. So that was a big undertaking.
Mel
How many months pregnant were you?
Katie
I think maybe three. I have to look back at what date I caught it. But yeah, it was like rough times, you know? It was tired times.
Mel
Did you go with Mike? Was he with you?
Katie
I went with Caitlin, actually.
Mel
Oh, nice.
Katie
Yeah, she didn't fish, but it was an alpine lake and hiked up there, did an afternoon. Yuki came. Fun. Fun time had by all.
Mel
Shout out to Caitlin.
Katie
I don't think she listens.
Mel
Oh, dang it. Well, now she needs to listen to this episode.
Katie
Actually, she has listened to your episodes before. I know that. So maybe she will catch this one. All right. We've got a new one coming out.
Mel
Yeah.
Katie
And then the other one was the Rio Grande cutthroat. And that was actually a really fun one. So the flyathlon takes place over in Swatch, which is in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. And to come home, we normally drive north and through like Salida, Buena Vista, and come home. Kind of the route that you and I drove back this past trip. But this time we instead went over to Great Sand Dunes National Park. And there's a four-wheel drive road that connects Great Sand Dunes to the east side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. And it's like a, it's not just a four-wheel drive road. It's like a sandy four-wheel drive road. So, you know, you air down and you're driving through kind of like, you know, the sand dunes blow onto this road. So you like sink down into the sand and got to take your time. It was really fun. We've never done a road like that before. Like we're usually on like rocky things, like creeping over big boulders and stuff that are in the way. And this is a different experience. So like feeling the car kind of like drift underneath you a little bit as it's trying to plow its way through the sand. But there's a creek that goes a lot or like starts at the top of this pass and comes out and it's got Rio Grande in it. So we did this four wheel drive road and popped out and caught some cutthroats in beaver ponds. And it was just a very different experience from what we're used to. Like not usually catching cutthroats in like sandy bottomed beaver ponds.
Mel
Yeah, that's cool. Trying to picture it. Was it were you ever to the point driving that road where you thought you might get stuck out in the middle of nowhere or?
Katie
No, I don't think we ever were worried about getting stuck once we started going. Like we took the precautions, like we aired down and everything like that. But it's a pretty heavily traveled road, surprisingly, because people go there specifically to drive it. You know, it's a fun excursion for like people who are into off-roading. So it's not like middle of nowhere, like random Forest Service road that no one has a reason to go down. Like people are driving this recreationally every weekend. So I'm sure there were so many people in Jeeps who would just love to pull a pickup truck out of the sand. Like, you know, those people are carrying all this gear around and they're just waiting for somebody to be able to use it on, you know, when you've got all that gear. So once we saw, like, how many people were driving this road, it was like, okay, we'll be fine. And then were the trout pretty easy to catch? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, just beaver ponds. They were spooky, very spooky, but eager to eat if they didn't see you coming. We probably caught, between the two of us, maybe, I don't know, eight to 12 of them. And we didn't fish for a terribly long time because we were just stopping on our way home. So it was kind of a quick, I think we stopped in two spots in the way and, you know, caught a couple, had some lunch and then kept going. So another A++ on that one. So I guess two A++'s and an F. I don't know how much the pluses offset the F.
Mel
So you average a B.
Katie
I'll take it. I'll take it. C's get degrees. So B's. I mean, what do B’s do?
Mel
You don't want to know. That's awesome. Very cool. I had one more question, I think. Oh, yes. For the native trout. Remind me? The whole challenge. Western native trout challenge.
Katie
That's the challenge. And then there's the Western native trout initiative, which is like the organization that kind of puts on this challenge.
Mel
Okay. What's your next state that you want to cover?
Katie
Well, the options are probably Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, since those are the three states.
Mel
Oh, the ones that surround you?
Katie
Sorry, Nebraska and Kansas. I don't think they're included. I think the most likely is New Mexico, but I think they're all kind of a similar drive. And we'll kind of get into what we're doing going forward setting goals. But I didn't want to set that as a goal to do another one this year, even though I thought about it because with a new baby, I just don't know if like a six to eight hour drive is in my future and something I can commit to this year. I have no idea what that's going to look like. But I think most of the rest of the species are going to be at least a six hour drive, if not seven, eight hour drive from here. So I'd have to look at Wyoming. I'd have to look at Utah. but I think New Mexico would have to go kind of in the southern part of New Mexico. Because the thing is, you know, New Mexico also has Rio Grande. So you kind of have to plan the strategy around it because it's like a certain number of species in a certain number of states. But I caught a Rio Grande in Colorado, so I can't count a Rio Grande from New Mexico, even though it's a native species there too. I can only count it for one of the states. But New Mexico also has Gila trout. So like I would be going for Gila trout, which are also in Arizona, but Arizona has Apache trout. So you have to kind of figure out where you want things to count. Because if I counted Rio Grande in New Mexico, then I wouldn't want to count Gila trout in New Mexico. And that would bump that out to Arizona. But then if Apache trout aren't found anywhere but Arizona, it would be dumb to include Gila trout from Arizona. So there's just like, you have to kind of think through it. And I mean, you can mix and match after you've caught them. But I did Colorado River and Rio Grande in Colorado. And I'm going to stick with those two. but that means that the Rio Grande, which is closer to me in New Mexico, I could just drive just kind of just over the border to get that one. Now I'm having to drive the whole way into southern New Mexico to get the Gila trout for it to count because there's no point in catching a duplicate Rio Grande for the challenge. It'd be fun to stop and catch them. Well, cool. So, yeah, I don't know. It's two species per state? No, it's – I mean, it's – you mean for the challenge or just how many are available? Challenge, yeah. No, it's the first tier is six species across four states, kind of in whatever combination you want. So like I have got two in Colorado and then I could choose maybe two in another state and then one in an additional two states to get to six. So I think my thought is Gila trout in New Mexico, Apache trout in Arizona. There's a lot of species available in Utah and Wyoming to catch because they've got a whole bunch of subspecies of cutthroats. So I kind of choose whatever's left over. after doing the states where only one or two species are available. Like Arizona has two, Colorado has two, New Mexico has two. But I think Wyoming and Utah each have like four. So I'd rather do the limited ones first and then just take whatever's remaining in those states that have more options. But it's kind of a weird puzzle to fit together. Like you'd think it'd be more straightforward, but you've got to kind of plan it out.
Mel
Yeah. What do you get? You get a cool certificate?
Katie
You get a certificate.
Mel
I love it.
Katie
I do love a certificate.
Mel
I know. You love a good certificate. You can always slap it up on the wall.
Katie
There's always room. I've got three certificates on my wall that mean absolutely nothing except I submitted something to the state of Colorado and got a certificate.
Mel
See, you're a certificate gal. I love it. Well, I think you should add Montana and Idaho to your list.
Katie
So Montana, I remember, has a weird – there's a weird rule in Montana. I don't remember exactly what it is. someone told told me what it was and it was it's something like this qualifying is like a fishing tournament and I think they only I no one take this as gospel I'm just kind of like repeating what I feel like I remember but like tournaments because they don't stock they don't stock their waters the tournaments can only take place like in certain areas and so there's only like one lake in Montana that qualifies for this like I don't know if it's like a lake that was stocked specifically for like tournament fishing or something I feel like I'm butchering this but Montana is like not very represented in this challenge even though you'd think it would be. just popping in with a correction here I went back and looked at the rules for Montana and I was correct that the western native trout challenge counts as a fishing contest and that most waters in the state do not qualify for fishing contests but I was wrong about there only being one lake in the state that qualifies there are plenty of stocked lakes and reservoirs that are included in the challenge and I just wanted to stop in and make that correction all right back to the show. Idaho though has several species to catch I want to say you guys have like a red band would that be down south maybe I wonder I think so I'd have to look at the map
Mel
yeah because we have the west slope cut up here okay and
Katie
that one's definitely available in Wyoming I believe as well
Mel
okay I think you should get that one in Idaho because I can show you exactly where you can go and
Katie
well if it's on their approved waters
Mel
oh right
Katie
which it might be. Idaho may be one of those states where it's just like regional where they just say like anything in this box here's a chunk yeah yeah okay I'm not sure I'd have to look you could look at their website you can just like click on the home app yes I'm curious but it would be good excuse to come up to Idaho that's what I'm saying that's what I'm saying I think you owe me a trip now I but yeah no it is my turn I came to Idaho earlier this year but then you came back to Colorado twice so yeah I'm I'm due yeah
Mel
but yeah we saw each other now that I think about it three times this year yeah that because you came to ski
Katie
that's a good that's a good record respectable number
Mel
I like it
Katie
Well, that kind of leads us into your half. So just as a refresher, last year, since you were also dealing with early childhood, your fishing was a little different. Yeah. Yeah. The past couple of years. So you didn't want to set any kind of crazy goals that you would then just fail and have to be like, I didn't do that. I didn't do that.
Mel
Yeah. I'd be a real bummer. I'd just be like, wah, wah, wah. F, F, F.
Katie
Yeah. So I have your goal written down as just fish more with your child and report back on how that goes. And that's going to kind of lead us into this coming year as well, obviously, now that we're both in this boat together. What did we do? Nothing. But we're going to take this as a chance to just, you know, talk about how the last year went. Like, what did you do and how did that go? And any lessons you learned about fishing with a two-year-old, two-ish-year-old?
Mel
Yeah.
Katie
Yeah, I'll let you take it away and chime in where I can.
Mel
Okay, sounds good. I'll just kind of recap how old my daughter was in my first year when we talked last year at the beginning of the year and kind of then what changed into this past summer.
Katie
I think you had high expectations that first year. I did. And I think watching your expectations go down the toilet has made my expectations go down the toilet.
Mel
Yeah, which is kind of nice for you because you might be pleasantly surprised.
Katie
Maybe I'll like so underestimate what we can do that I'm like, wow, look at us go.
Mel
But anyway, I think that's like I mean, that position is better than the alternative. So you had grand plans. Yeah. Yeah. So so my daughter was about a little over six months or so when I kind of first when my when my goals first started going down the tube. and then and then we talked about kind of like oh my gosh I'm a new mom how what is fishing with a with a little one look like last year and you know that was kind of the age where she's in the chest pack a lot and you know phasing into the backpack that we wear for hiking and kind of not very mobile still. And so it was a little bit easier, shall I say, at that stage, which I guess I didn't really realize going into then this year, this past year, which we'll talk about how it went going into fishing season with a one and a half year old or so. So, you know, because like when they're before they're one and they're just like wanting to be with you the whole time, you'll find that they're content. Just like, as long as you're wearing them, they'll just look around and everything in the world is so new to them. And so when you're out on the river, it's really just fun to see them, you know, just watching you and watching your fishing and just being content for most of the day. And then of course, as long as they're fed, they're happy and content. And then this past year I was like, Oh my gosh, I think I did a, I went to the, let's say we went to the river a lot this past summer with a one and a half year old, or one and three quarters, I guess. Um, but I definitely did not throw many flies.
Katie
That's just a small part of fishing. I mean.
Mel
So, you know, her curiosity is, is growing and changing and it's fun. It's so fun. I personally enjoy just walking the riverbank and seeing her get so excited about a rock that she throws and create a splash in the water. Like that's cool. Cause you know, you're kind of reverting back to your just like kid days when that's all you really cared about is like you can create a splash. So Jarrett, my husband is a little less patient and he'll admit that, with that type of activity. And so he of course loves, loves fly fishing, now. And so I just kind of let him fish a lot when we went for family days on the river. And, I took my turns when, when was available, but I wasn't super bummed to be like, well, you got two hours and I only got 15 minutes, you know? Um, but it was definitely harder this year to, to fish with her. Um, just so much more mobile. You really got to watch them like a hawk at this age, Um, because they'll wander off and you're on a river and there could be like tons of huge bushes behind you. And now your child is gone. I don't know. So, and you know, just water safety and everything too. But, we, we would put her in the backpack to cross the river or, briefly fish while she was in the backpack, but she's so much more antsy to get out now, and, and do her own thing. And so that was the challenge this year with that age. And I think, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, if you remember our conversation last year, I was like, I think I'm going to be able to fish a lot more with my one and a half year old.
Katie
I thought the opposite. I thought you did.
Mel
Okay
Katie
Yeah, I could be wrong. I mean, I haven't listened to it since I basically edited the audio for it but I want to say that the reason you set this goal so low is that you were like I it's gonna be hard
Mel
yeah I foresee this being really hard because I think she was already
Katie
you know she wouldn't have been that mobile by the time when we talked last year she would have been just over one but yeah
Mel
correct correct so she was like just walking and stuff and so when we would take her to the river you know previous to our last year's conversation she would be like crawling on the mat and that I'd put down and having snacks and playing with toys. This year, oh my gosh, it was like, where is she? She's over there throwing rocks. Now she wants a snack. So we're going back to the vehicle. And then she's waving at daddy from like half a mile away because he's down there fishing. I don't know. It was just kind of chaotic, but it was, it was also fun. We, I feel like I'm proud of us. I'm going to give us a pat on the back for how much we went out and it was just local. That's good. Yeah. So it wasn't like, oh my gosh, that was terrible. We only did it once. It was, we, we got out a quite a bit, quite a bit. Um, we did not get to my favorite spot that I like to go at least once a year, but we did, do rock Creek in Montana. Did we do that once? And then just our local rivers around here. Um, yeah. And, and what's fun now is, she, she likes to be on the riverbank. She'll, we'll give her like a, she's obsessed with bubbly water out of the can, you know, like spin drift or something. So it's like, Oh, you get to have your river beverage. Let's crack it. And then she'll just sit on the bank and drink her bubbly have, have snacks. And then now she's really curious about the fly rod. So she wants to hold the rod and whack it down on the water. Oh yeah. I got to give her the not good rod. Correct. And I actually have the perfect one for that. Cause it's just sits in my garage for 10 plus years. It's just a, it's probably a six foot little like starter rod, that I just bought from Ross one time. Cause it looked cool. and it was bright blue. So that's going to be the one she can slap around. It'll be great.
Katie
Yeah, so what does she, does she just like hit the water with it? What does she do when she hits her hand? Is she trying to mimic you or do you get the impression that she's like trying to cast?
Mel
Yep. I think she's definitely trying to mimic us, but then she'll see the tip of the rod in the water and kind of want to like wave it around. Just, you know, she's curious.
Katie
Oh, I get it. Sometimes I want to stir my rod around in the water too.
Mel
That's right. See the current kind of take it one way and you're waving it. It's kind of making a little fun little pattern.
Katie
Is she high? Have you checked?
Mel
Possibly. I mean, honestly, you'll find that kids act either drunk or high all the time. Yeah.
Katie
That's where the game drunk or toddler came from. Is this behavior a drunk behavior or toddler behavior?
Mel
Exactly. And there's really a hard, it's not easy to delineate. Well, that's cool that you got out like more than maybe you thought you would. Yeah. Yep. And then we try to do a annual family trip somewhere after my husband's busy season of work, which is summer, where he can not really join in on many of the adventures we do. But, you know, that's why we do a lot of local fishing and not we didn't get to do big grand fishing trips this summer is because we only really have a night to play with. Right. With his two days off and he can't really take PTO in the summer. And so we just do like a one night camping and it was really loved camping this year. We have a truck top tent and she thought that was the coolest thing this year. we would light it up with our little solar lights and looked like a little, little fort on top of the truck. So she would go, she'd get all excited and be like, no, no, let's go. So that was super fun this year was, was the camping and like kind of everything that surrounded the fishing experience with her. Yeah. And so that got fun.
Katie
It's like fun. I haven't gone through it yet, But I feel like it'll be fun for me to see all the little things that I kind of take for granted now. Like all the stuff that is really cool to look at and explore and play with. But it's like when you've been out there a thousand times, you just kind of overlook it. And to like watch someone discover that for the first time, I think it'll be a lot of fun.
Mel
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And just even making camp meals as a family. And you can really hype it up for your toddler, you know, and they get all excited. And we get to have dinner by the fire and look at daddy's cooking those noodles over there. And we're out in the middle of nowhere. Like it's cool. So, but we did, so our family trip getting back to that, this year we were going to do Hawaii. That was kind of, we've always wanted to do a tropical kind of beach vacation, which we still haven't really done as a family. And, you know, cause prior to having Brynlee, we did Alaska and then we did Europe when she was little last year. And then this year was going to be Hawaii. And I just, we procrastinated on planning it and decided that we'd be better off doing it this year when we have a lot more time to sit down and plan and put more thought into it. And so we ended up choosing, drumroll please, Colorado.
Katie
It's basically the same thing as Hawaii.
Mel
That's right. You guys have those reservoirs with the beaches.
Katie
Both have mountains. Both have water. Both have land and trees. I mean, it's basically indistinguishable.
Mel
Yeah, you're right. You're right. I felt like I was in Hawaii with those elk bugling out my window every morning.
Katie
Well, selfishly, I liked that your plan fell apart and you came here instead.
Mel
Yeah. So that was one of three times that you and I got to see each other this year. But that was probably the most just kind of brief and low key visit that we got together. But we went to, as a family, Estes Park. And that holds a lot of significant memories for me. And I hadn't been there in a long time because that's where I first met you.
Katie
No, I was in Estes Park, I think, last year for our Wilderness First Responder recertification. And it was like a weird blast from the past because I don't go there very often because I live decently far from it now. And with a dog, going to the national park just loses appeal to me because I was like, she can't go in there, so I don't want to go. But being back there, I was just like, I want to go to all the restaurants that we used to eat at. And it turns out that when you're an adult and you have more money, some of the-
Mel
Our restaurants that we decided were amazing are not so-
Katie
Yes. Yeah. I was talking things up to Mike, like, oh my God, this is the best place. And then we would go there. I was like, so at the time, it seemed like the best place. It's all right now, but like way overpriced and not that great anymore.
Mel
Did you have the same experience? Yeah, we definitely did. Yeah. But how was it? We had so much fun. We went into the park. Well, the way we got to Estes actually was driving up and over Trail Ridge from the west side. And so that was cool to revisit Trail Ridge Road and to see all the elk. And our weather was actually pretty good. We were there in October. The leaf viewing was amazing. Fall colors. And gosh, yeah, we fished a little bit. Jarrett fished a little bit, not me, on the west side. I think he caught one or two just in the Colorado. over there but the the fishing we actually had a really cool airbnb on the big t and the fishing right behind it was actually really good so that was fun kind of just walk out your door 10 feet and you're fishing
Katie
I feel like that never happens like you get an airbnb it's like riverfront property and then they don't tell you the fishing is just like gone awful and it's like not right A really fishable section or whatever. So it's fun that you actually got a place that came with fishing.
Mel
Yeah. No, it was awesome. Jared's like, this is the dream Airbnb. I'm like, yeah, I mean, the highway 34 is right there. Like you can hear it, but who cares? Like if you, if you look the other way, you're in, you're no, you're in the middle of nowhere with a great river to fish. So that was cool. And it was just fun to be able to watch the other person fishing while you're in the cabin preparing a meal or something. Yeah. And kind of, Oh, send Brin out the door and say hi to dad while he's fishing, go fish with him for 10 minutes or something, you know? So that was cool. And then, we went and, Oh yeah, we did a high mountain, an Alpine lake hike and just caught some little cutties and that was super fun. So yeah, it was, it was a good trip. It was a good trip. But it was a great alternative, I would say, and just really fun to be back in Estes.
Katie
Yeah, that's a good time of year to be there. Like leaves changing, elk bugling, kind of the crowds are starting to leave because school's back in session and everything. I feel like Estes in July is a lot. Yeah. But October is like a perfect time to be there.
Mel
For sure. Yeah. chilly mornings. You can see the, you know, steam out of the elk's nose as they're bugling. It was pretty cool.
Katie
And remind me, you did the west side, then you came over and stayed on the east side, and those were like the two places you stayed.
Mel
Right
Katie
I wasn't sure if you did one more place.
Mel
No, we stayed in Grand Lake for two nights, and And man, I had really high hopes for this spot that I had fished way back when I lived in Estes and would go over the pass. And there's an epic spot to fish back there. But man, it was so tough this year. It was just super low. Our Airbnb host said that it was the lowest she's ever seen the water. She also fishes. she, you know, knew the, knew the spot and she goes, yeah, she told us that it was terrible that this fall, it was just so low. Um, and I agree with that. It was really, really tough. So we didn't, I don't think we caught anything over there, but we also, it was kind of the start of our trip. We were getting in our rhythm with Bryn and what nap time looks like and all that with being on vacation. So we didn't give it a ton of effort, but fair enough.
Katie
So good trip overall.
Mel
Great trip. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't Hawaii.
Katie
But it was. But it was. As we discussed, it was basically Hawaii.
Mel
Yeah. 10 out of 10. It was a great time.
Katie
And this was your second trip to Colorado this year.
Mel
That was. Yes, correct.
Katie
And your first one was way better because I took part in much more of it.
Mel
That's right. So now we'll segue into that and where you used your homemade rod. Yes. So, yeah, go ahead. You can give a little intro on that. I'll chime in.
Katie
Sure. So every year, a bunch of the guides. So, I mean, I think people probably know, but for anyone who doesn't, you and I used to guide together. And for some reason, so I worked there, I think, four years. I don't know how many you did, but we overlapped for some of those. And in my opinion, my second year there, which I think was your, what, third or fourth year there? Something like that. Yep. Was the people in that group, like, have stayed very close. Like, the other years, there's some people that, you know, stay in touch. Some people kind of fade away and you don't hear from them again. But my second year, that group of people, like, really stuck together.
Mel
Yeah. The core crew.
Katie
Yeah, I think of it as, like, the core crew. And, like, I'm sure, like, Ali, who still works there, has, like, different views of, like, who core crews are because she's been there so much longer. But even she talks about that year. That was her first year. And she still talks about how that is like the core crew. So the fact that she still says that and she's going on like year 12 or something now. Right. Probably more. But yeah, special, special group of people for sure. And it's not just this group, but a whole bunch of the guides every year get together and just do a trip. Same spot. It's like it is the same trip every year, but it's so fun. You know, we get the same cabin, fish the same places, same food. You and I have kind of bucked that trend. And we brought some of our own food this year because the food, sorry, Joe, could use some improvements. Questionable in some areas, in some meals. It's, you know, the nostalgia is there, like enjoying the same food every time. But yeah, we supplemented with other food. But yeah, same food, same accommodation. and same fishing spots. I mean, there's so many spots to fish around this area that every year we do hit somewhere new that I've never fished before. But for the most part, it's a lot of like going back to the places you like to go because, you know, places just, they hold good fish or they have good memories associated with them or whatever. So every year it's kind of the same group of people roughly and just getting together and spending four or five days hanging out and fishing and drinking beers and having a good time. some volleyball thrown out my shoulder playing some volleyball yeah and it's so fun this year was a little different because you you came and you haven't come for a long time now that you're out of state so you you started coming before I did because it used to be no girls allowed and you broke you broke through that barrier and yeah I just thought it was so unfair I don't know how much you know about this or if you remember it but so you broke through and And you were the woman who was allowed to come on the trip. And Allie and I still were not invited on this trip. Seniority baby. Yeah, you convinced them to let you come. And then you moved away. And I think they went a year without any ladies there. And then they came to me and Ali and were like, so we voted. And we decided that we needed some more feminine energy back on this trip.
Mel
Oh, I remember that. Yeah.
Katie
I love that. There's still not a lot of ladies on the trip, but there's a couple. That's right. And we all stay in the same room because there's only enough room for one, like, lady's area. So we all just cram in there, however many of us there are. There's usually two or three. It's usually me, Ali, and then the occasional third person that comes.
Mel
Which was me this year.
Katie
It was you this year. Yep. Yep. It's been other people in the past, but it was you this year. And I forget, why was this year the year for you? Why did you come back?
Mel
You know, I don't really know why I didn't, because it's been, what, 10 years probably since I've been?
Katie
I've never been there with you, and I've been there maybe six plus years, six or seven years.
Mel
Well, I won the Finley in 2014, I think, which I think was my last year. So it was, yeah, about 10 years, 11. And I, you know, I think it was just a combo of, I went to PA. I got another summer job in this area that involved like working seven days a week on the lake every day. And then I went to PA school and then life just started, I don't know, getting kind of busy. And, and Jarrett's birthday generally surrounds or lands within the dates. And so that was like a little bit of guilt every year. But this year was special because it was my first trip for just me after having Brynlee. So it was my first like mommy getaway. And it was obviously what else would I choose besides going to see my best fishing buds in Colorado? I mean, nothing else compares. I know. So I was super, super excited about that. And it was all that I had hoped for. It was so much fun.
Katie
I'm not going to ask you to commit to anything, but do you think that you'll make it back for more? Or do you think this was like a you treat yourself this year, but life's going to get in the way?
Mel
I don't think I'll make it every year, but I would like to make it a goal to come within the next three years.
Katie
Okay. I'll accept that.
Mel
Okay. Thanks. I appreciate it. Well, here's the other thing. This year, you and I were very bummed that some of these core individuals did not make it. Yeah, I'm not going to name names. I'm not going to name names. Andrew and Mike. Nope. Cats out of the bag. We should call this episode Cats Out of the Bag. There's been a couple of those. There have been. So I'd love to coordinate and make sure that they're going to come on the time that I come next. So that's kind of a good goal. three years-ish, but we'll see what life throws at us.
Katie
Also, I want to remind you that your husband's birthday being at that time is not an excuse because my wedding anniversary is at that
Mel
time. Yeah, it's actually the same exact day.
Katie
It's actually, yeah, the last one I missed was because I was getting married at that time. So if I'm still going to make it, then, you know, Jerrett can suck it up that his birthday is during that time.
Mel
That's true. And now we have a daughter who can celebrate it for him so I mean
Katie
he's got somebody he doesn't need you anymore, he's got a new lady in his life
Mel
yeah but I do want to let's talk about our guides trip a little bit and how it went this year so I think before we get to the well let's kind of chat about the premise of it with fishing first and how basically there's a a very friendly competition which sometimes gets a little less friendly
Katie
you know it's really friendly until like something specific happens that just like causes bad blood I feel like right like for the most part most years it's like people aren't thinking about it that much but every so often something comes up and this year I don't feel like this year was one of those years but this year this year just seemed like a tough year in general to get to so
Mel
so basically what it is is catching the biggest fish out of well okay and you've been there more recently yeah why don't you explain it a little better because you've been there more than I have and I can't remember
Katie
yeah so there's two two trophies to go for and one is biggest fish of the trip to qualify for your fish to qualify you have to kill it and you know you bring it back and you kind of contribute it to a fish fry that we do at the end so it's not just cruelty for the sake of it we bring them back and we cook them all up at the end but that way it gets like you know officially measured at the official cabin ruler and you know you get your name on the trophy for that one and there's there's various rules about sizing you know like to beat the previous holder you have to increase it by a half inch or something like that so if you had a you know a 16 inch brown on the board then I'd have to beat it by a certain amount for my fish to count. And then there's another one, which is a beaver pond specific trophy. So the big trophy is usually one out of a river or the lake, things like that. And so there's another trophy for beaver ponds just to encourage people not to just go pound like the quote unquote big fish waters. And big fish here is relative. I mean, it has been as big as like 24, 25 inches. It's often 16 to 18 inches is like the biggest fish of the trip. But those come out of kind of the same places each year. So to prevent people from just going to those places and pounding it, there's a second trophy for just beaver pond fish. It's the biggest fish caught out of a beaver pond. That one you do not need to kill. You just need a measurement and I believe like either a photo or a witness to kind of verify how big it was. And that's just to encourage people to go out and explore because exploring is a big part of the trip too. Like we go back to the same places, but we also usually pick one or two spots that people haven't been to before or haven't been in a long time and there's so many places to fish around this area that like every year there's somewhere new to go or ponds have changed because like beavers have been busy and new ponds form and old ponds get destroyed and so just to kind of keep the the atmosphere of like let's go out as a group and you know fish some beaver ponds there's usually one day where the whole group goes and just like pounds some beaver ponds normally people kind of breaking up into like this car is going here this car is going there but it's usually one day where everyone goes as a caravan of like five or six usually somewhere on some four by four road back in the middle of nowhere just to see what's out there
Mel
and that second trophy was kind of made to encourage people to commit to that day that group day versus being like ah I'm just gonna go for the big the big trophy fish
Katie
yeah it's kind of lame to just you know go out there and just hit the same river over and over again just like trying to catch the big one like it's you know people are going for the trophies but the point of the trip is to like spend time with people and go have fun fishing so it's like just kind of spread people out and not make it all about just trying to catch the biggest fish you can and sometimes the biggest fish comes out of a beaver pond which is really exciting when like a beaver pond produces a random like massive brown it's just like feeding all these little brook trout which does happen so like it's there's still the possibility of that each time but like typically the the beaver pond fish is some kind of like 10 to 12 inch brook trout and the biggest fish is like a 16 to 18 inch like brown out of the river or something so that's kind of the context for for what's going on
Mel
and this year our big winner of the big fish drum roll please was Katie…you!
Katie
yeah you know what was weird this year though is no one like participated until the very last day right like So normally somebody's like on the board on day one or two. Someone keeps a fish just to kind of get things rolling and set a baseline. Someone's like, hey, I don't know. Here's a 15 and a half inch brown I caught or a rainbow. Throw it in the fridge. Like here's the minimum. Go. And now when you catch a fish, you know what you're trying to beat. And so it kind of gives you a gauge of like, should I keep this fish or not? Because most people don't feel like killing a fish that they're not going to actually submit as the winner. Sometimes people go out and do like grocery shopping for the fish where we'll go out. There's like a reliable lake we can go to and just kind of, we call it grocery shopping, where you're going to go catch a couple of rainbows, bonk them on the head and bring them back for the fish fry.
Mel
But like to make a minimum, to set a minimum.
Katie
Well, just to eat, just to have enough food to eat.
Mel
Yeah, I see. Okay.
Katie
But increasingly in the past couple of years, Joe hasn't wanted to clean fish as much. People have been leaving early at the end of the trip. So there's not as many people there for the fish fry. So I feel like the idea of keeping fish just like just bonking rainbows to bring home and eat that you know you're not submitting for the biggest fish. You're just getting them to eat. That's kind of gone away. And once that went away, it was like, well, now there's just we're not keeping that many fish. And so any fish you're thinking about killing is like this is just one more fish that has to be cleaned when we're not doing this big fry anymore. And so then it becomes like I really don't want to kill this fish if it's not worth killing. You know, like, so you catch a, maybe you catch a 14 and a half, 15 inch fish and you're like, well, no one's, no one's put anything on the board yet. So technically if I kill this fish, I am winning. But the odds of that fish winning are so low that you're like hesitant to bonk it. Cause you're like, I'm probably not going to win. Do I really need to bonk this like 14 inch rainbow? But it keeps people from bonking any fish. And so then no bar is set. And, and so that's what's been going on the last couple of years. I feel like before someone would bonk one, cause we'd have a huge fish fry. And it's like, well, even if this doesn't win, we need fish to fry. And so that's kind of just like setting the stage for like why this year was weird. Because we were on like day four of five. And I think still no one had bonked a fish. And so we're like, okay, are we even having a fry this year? Because we're going to have like zero to one fish. Oh, go ahead.
Mel
Oh, I was just going to say, we didn't. Because then you just caught, did we have any more? Did we have two fish? I think we had two fish.
Katie
We had two fish for the final fry. Yeah.
Mel
Yeah. And it was like, here's your appetizer. And weren't you in charge of cooking them too?
Katie
Yeah, I cooked them. I think Joe cleaned them. I cooked them. And then everyone took a couple bites and that was it. But what was funny was there was a weird transition that happened. So no one was killing these fish because no one was catching anything above like 14 inches. And everyone was kind of going through that mental process of, yeah, this isn't really big enough to keep. There's no way a 14 inch is going to win. And so no one kept anything. And we're on day like three or four out of five oh the fish fry happens on the night of or the night of day four I believe so the last night yeah day three and four are kind of the days where people were like well no one's kept anything so technically if we kept a 10 inch fish if no one else thought to bonk one we would still win so so then people are like thinking about what what would be small to count and at some point I think we all became ravenous realizing that there was no one on the board and if it just kept up like that that like the only person on the board would win if they did and I feel like there was a transition from no one is thinking about this at all or caring about it because no one's catching any big fish to everyone was like secretly sneaking off to places and like I don't know I'm gonna go try over here and if I can get like a 15 incher I'm gonna bonk it but no one wanted to no one wanted to mention that they were doing this it was all kind of like discreet
Mel
like hush hush yeah we'll see you guys back at the cabin
Katie
and I feel like all the cars were like discreetly going around and trying to catch fish
Mel
yeah and they we didn't well that was because you and I were like let's stop here but oh my gosh that other vehicle in our group is gonna come by and see that we're here
Katie
but then we all ended up but then we all ended up in the same place
Mel
all the cars all the cars pulled into the same parking lot and then we just eyed each other and we're like are you is that what you're what are you guys doing here
Katie
that was so funny that it went from like no one cared yeah we all silently care and it's like and it's like I didn't care who in my car won but I like wanted my car to win you know where it's like because then it feels like you're on a mission like can our car figure out where the where the like 15 inch fish is so yeah we all ended up at the same place and it was super windy that day I think I and I think you and I didn't stay very long like we took some casts it was frustrating we were on the wrong side of the lake like we didn't feel like walking around it and so we were packing it up and one of the other guys in the group finally caught something that was like mildly respectable and he bonked it and so we're like okay so someone is on the board now and now we know what to beat and now that we know what to beat this becomes a lot clearer because now it's like would this fish win or would it not I don't have to think about whether I should bonk this fish and like submit some 13 inch or which would just feel kind of sad to win on a 13 inch or why don't you take it away from here because I feel like I've I've done all the the summarizing. at this point I don't want to like you already revealed that I won. I don't want to like just start doing a brag session so I'm gonna let you take it till the last day yeah and we just I believe that fish was bonked on the end of day three I think was it okay yes because day four we we did we did a trip over the pass you remember that and drove back drove back through and and then that was the last day
Mel
because then day five we leave so yeah that was the day that everyone kind of decided to disperse after the group trip and try to go sneakily catch something
Katie
so that fish was bonked on the end of day three and on day four we did a group trip to beaver ponds just to have fun
Mel
okay yeah and so we and then it was windy and you and I left that one spot that the other group showed up and then I think we just decided you know very last minute close to the cabin let's go try this one last spot and
Katie
this wasn't after this was this was the day after he killed that fish remember we went over the pass over to fish beaver ponds by the fish hatchery, this is a different day than when we all ended up.
Mel
Oh, okay. Okay.
Katie
This is the next day. We did that trip over the past as a group and then we all drove back. Remember there was a fire and we were all trying to drive back to get back before the fire evacuated people.
Mel
Right. Okay. Yep. And so we just decided to go down to the spot that nobody else was at. And then you were fishing with your nine foot six weight you're correct you're basically tree trunk yep after fishing for like little brookies all day on my three weight yep okay and were you stripping streamers
Katie
I was tripping streamers and I think you were nymphing nymphing yes we're at the mouth where the inlet
Mel
yeah the inlet to the lake yeah so we're up to like our waists it's wavy it's crazy super windy you don't know it's kind of like almost I feel a little bit eerie standing in that water for some reason I don't know why I do too I think it's murky it's murky and you just there could be this river monster right next to you
Katie
I mean there are big pike in there so
Mel
I know that is true yeah but and I do I think it's like the the big current big waves kind of consistently coming through and just like the murky and there's these big boulders that you don't know where they are at
Katie
yeah there's a lot of like plant matter yeah around it's just kind of like a churning vortex and when the weather's bad and it gets choppy you can't really see anything in the water yeah it's just you just feel like if I fell in right now, like I wouldn't have a great time.
Mel
Yeah, exactly. And I think, so I was fishing a little bit further back into the river part and you were way out there at the mouth and I hooked in to one. Did I get it in the net? Yeah, I did. Cause we measured, no, this was after you caught yours. That was, it was after. Okay.
Katie
But you did, you did the one.
Mel
Yeah. So you hooked into one and we measured it and it was 16 and a half I think 16 and three quarters or something
Katie
it was where it was just big enough to qualify
Mel
but do you remember how I I originally measured it wrong and you're like oh you measure that again because at first it was I was measuring it as like a tie and so it wasn't gonna win yeah because you have to beat it by a certain amount
Katie
yeah I do remember I forgot about that but yeah I I want to say I looked down and where you had it starting I think because it's hard to you're trying not to kill this fish unless you want to kill it like so you're trying to treat the fish well
Mel
I was hurrying and trying to make sure and if we were gonna put it back like you gotta hurry you know
Katie
right and so it's like I remember looking down and I saw it was a tie and I looked over and I was like I don't think you had the end of the tape measure at the end of the nose right but I don't want to like harass you about this because Like, we want to get this fish back in the water if it's not going to win.
Mel
Yeah. Right.
Katie
And like, I don't want, I don't want to just be harassing you. Like measure it again. You know, like it's going to change. But I was like, I don't think you had that on the nose.
Mel
I think you gently told me. So we did it again.
Katie
just measure that again.
Mel
And we're like, oh yeah, that's it. That's it. So that was super exciting. And then I, of course, had like a little bit of jealousy because I was like, you know what? There's a little bit of daylight left. Let's keep going.
Katie
Oh, and then more people showed up. More people showed up. More people from our group. Because that's the other hard part is you're visible from the road. Yes. And our group is all taking the same route back at different times. So the rest of our group is like trickling in. They're down there.
Mel
Yeah.
Katie
Yeah. So the rest of our group, well, not everybody, but like other people from our group showed up and started just like fishing there too. And this is a big inlet. So we can all just stand there together, all fishing the same water, all doing the exact same thing. and so yeah there's a little part of you that's like you know and oh and there's so much driftwood floating around you were catching so many sticks and so every every like 30 seconds somebody's like got a bent rod
Mel
something but it's not
Katie
yeah so you're looking around you're like oh bent rod
Mel
like what do they have on it's like oh driftwood yes yes but I went back I went back and got out of the big like vortex and went back to the river section and I hooked into one and it was I think a half inch shy of yours so I was like yeah it was close it was really close but that's okay I'm excited because I was excited because it was our car our car won
Katie
yeah no I agree I wanted our car to win yeah whoever did it because because it just became a matter of like this car is going here this car is going there I know it's like you want to be in the car that like picked the right spot
Mel
for sure so but you know those boys that were down there when you caught yours were like uh-oh we gotta work and they were and people were out I think like almost past dark trying
Katie
oh yeah and you and I left and I was like well you know I wish I'm the best but like I hope you catch something that's just the same size yep I think they caught I think they caught at least one pike though which was cool because oh and that's the other thing is pike don't count it's only it's trout trout only so and they caught yeah I think they caught a nice little pike but well
Mel
overall it was a super fun trip I'm so glad I went and kind of gets me excited for future years that I'm not gonna let 10 years lapse before I go again so yeah
Katie
please don't
Mel
yeah and then our last time that our third and final time seeing each other just to mention this year was you came out to ski with me in Idaho. So that was fun.
Katie
Yeah. And I definitely want to do that again. That was awesome because it turns out there's nobody in Idaho compared to Colorado.
Mel
Hey, don't tell people that.
Katie
Idaho is full of people. Don't go there.
Mel
The lines are insane.
Katie
The lines are crazy. I've never seen anything like it.
Mel
Yeah. And when you go, go to Sun Valley.
Katie
Yeah. Exactly. That was a Super fun trip. I definitely intend to come back. Yeah.
Mel
Good. Because you got to bring your little gal and I got to meet her.
Katie
Well, maybe we can do a Western Native Trout Challenge ski double up. Drive up there and fish in the southern half and then keep on driving up north.
Mel
That sounds amazing. Yeah. I like that plan. You know what's crazy is Idaho, you know, to get to Boise and that area for me is like eight hours. And you can't even go straight directly through our state. you have to go out into Montana and back in. So, quite the, quite the trip, vast north to south. So, yeah.
Katie
Yeah. I was surprised when you said it would take, like, I think, I don't know if we were looking at, no, we weren't looking at going to Southern Idaho, but maybe someone was going to be in Idaho. And I was like, Oh, you know, Mel lives there. We looked and it was like eight hours away and I was like, huh.
Mel
Well, cause we have some buddies that guide down yonder in the southern hemisphere of Idaho. So, but yeah, it's a crazy track.
Katie
So. Well, did you have anything else from last year or should we kind of wrap things up on this coming year?
Mel
Yeah, I don't really think so. I didn't have any other specific trips to mention really. So hopefully, you know, all the other parents out there that try fishing with their toddler slash one and a half to two year olds feel like they're not doing things wrong after this conversation because it's hard.
Katie
Well, yeah, it kind of leads into the, like, it's not really an announcement, but considering you still have a toddler who's making fishing difficult, and I will be having a toddler who's making fishing difficult. Well, this year I'll have an infant, but next year I'll have a toddler. It seems kind of boring to choose a bunch of really lame goals, like I want to go fishing. once, twice, you know. Right. Like that's not going to be a very fun conversation. So it sounds like for the foreseeable future, instead of setting specific goals, unless something comes up that really makes sense to set, we're just going to turn the New Year's episode into a recap of what we did last year. Might be some lessons learned about fishing with kids. So apologies to all the people who don't care about that content, but I bet there's a lot of people out there who have kids of their own and would want to hear that. And then also, you know, the trips we do get to sneak away and do some fishing on our own. We can just talk about what we got up to that year, but without kind of setting really boring goals that we may or may not achieve, despite how boring they are. I don't want a report card full of Fs. No. So yeah, we're just going to do recaps for the foreseeable future, but maybe at some point we'll get back to some goals when we can have goals again.
Mel
I think that's fun. And then, you know, we can always think about talking about a specific topic of fishing that we can throw in there too or whatnot. but it'll be fun just to kind of talk about the trips that we did and the fish that we caught and the tales to be told.
Katie
Absolutely. Do you have any beer left?
Mel
No, I just finished.
Katie
Same. That was perfect timing. Okay. Cheers again.
Katie
Happy New Year.
Mel
Happy New Year, Katie.
Katie
Until the next one.
Mel
Happy New Mom Life.
Katie
Yep. That's one word for it. We're happy.
Mel
We're all happy for you. We're all happy.
Katie
Yes. All right. Until next year. All right. Bye. All right. That's a wrap. Thank you all for listening. If you want to find all the other episodes as well as show notes, you can find those on fishuntamed.com. You'll also find the contact link there if you want to reach out to me. And you can also find me on Instagram at fishuntamed. If you want to support the show, you can give it a follow on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app. And if you'd like to leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated. But otherwise, thank you all again for listening. I'll be back here in two weeks with another episode. Take care, everybody.
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