Tag: trout

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Angling Firsts! Freshwater to Saltwater.

Rita Schimpff with her first redfish on the fly!

Angling Firsts!  Freshwater to Saltwater on the fly.

Trinchera Ranch & The Lower Laguna Madre

We set our minds to it and got it done!  An IGFA Trout Super Grand Slam at Trinchera Ranch and my first Redfish on a fly on the Texas Coast were my goals.

My freshwater first!

We once again enjoyed a wonderful stay and great fishing on 185,000 acres in southern Colorado – The Trinchera Ranch.

 

 

The gathering room at Trinchera Lodge
The gathering room at Trinchera Lodge

 

The sprawling ranch offers 4 species of trout – wild trout – on gorgeous improved streams in the heart of the Sangre de Christo mountain range.

I wanted to catch all four in one day and I knew if anyone could help me it was our friend and guide Doc of Doc Thompson’s High Country Anglers.

We have fished with Doc for 4 years now and he knows this ranch well.

 

Doc Thompson guided Rita Schimpff to her IGFA Trout Super Grand Slam at Trinchera Ranch.
Doc Thompson guided Rita Schimpff to her IGFA Trout Super Grand Slam at Trinchera Ranch.

Doc also knows I only want to fish with only dry flies.

  So the 4 trout I caught were: a Rainbow, Brown, Brook and Rio Grande Cutthroat.

I made the above vignette combining my photos with my paintings of the trout.

 

IGFA trout super grand slam IMG_5707
Special thanks to my husband, Skip, who gave up valuable stream time so I could attain my super grand slam goal!

Meanwhile back at the ranch…..the Lodge at Trinchera Ranch…….

 

magnificent artwork surrounds your soul at Trinchera Ranch and the superb food & service feed your soul!
magnificent artwork surrounds your soul at Trinchera Ranch and superb food & service feed your soul.

The art!  Remington, Bierstadt, Rungius & N.C. Wyeth originals for me to enjoy!

I was in hog heaven.

 

Stack stone fireplace at Trinchera Ranch - fabulous taxidermy
Stack stone fireplace at Trinchera Ranch – fabulous taxidermy

Both of these handsome rams were taken within an hour of each other in huge snow!

 

Heritage-Game-Mounts-Lodge-Inspiration-Trinchera-Ranch-skipdesk
Quiet spaces are designed for guests to relax, read or journal.

 

Every hallway, room and corner are thoughtfully designed and appointed with vintage sporting collectibles.

 

Heritage-Game-Mounts-Lodge-Inspiration-Trinchera-Ranch
In this hallway, one expects Hemingway to return shortly and put the final keystroke to paper.

Now to my saltwater first!

fly fishing with Rita Schimpff and Ben Paschal.
By the dawns early light, Capt. Ben Paschal leading me to my first redfish on a fly.

A redfish on the fly has eluded me for many years.  Skip and I journeyed to Arroyo City on the Texas Gulf coast and the pristine saltwater flats of the Lower Laguna Madre.

 

Rita Schimpff with her first redfish on the fly!
Rita Schimpff with her first redfish on the fly!

 We enlisted the services of Capt. Ben Paschal owner of Lower Lagana Outfitters for help with this seemingly impossible task.

He made it happen!

We returned two months later and a heated competition ensued whereby I beat my husband 8-7!

Skip has thrown down the gauntlet and vowed it won’t happen again!

Ben fishes in Louisiana from November thru March – now I want a super sized Red – stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

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Texas Designers Offer Handsome Gifts for the Sporting Lifestyle

Recently while showing in Holiday Boutiques in Houston and San Antonio, I had the opportunity to visit with some very creative Texans – with unique finds for the sporting style in all of us.

Having time to visit with these talented designers put their art in such a personal light – I had to share.

Clint Orms, a renowned silversmith who works out of Ingram, TX with designs so fresh – he might have just stepped out of the fishing stream.

Sterling silver and gold trout buckle – Martin 1819.

 The Safari lifestyle is represented with several Big 5 offerings – my favorite below – look close at the elephant skin on the buckle set.

 

Another African Big 5 – featuring a drop lock Westley Richards. Clint works in sterling, rose and yellow gold to create handsome works of art.

  It was such a pleasure to visit with Clint and Jim and share some fly fishing tales, and marvel over one buckle with a tiny, real bead head nymph on it!  Clint offers so much more…ladies fashions too. Visit http://www.ClintOrms.com

Another new friend from Houston is Gardner Landry who makes a fabulous 100 percent 3.5 ounce linen camp shirt with an original hand-dyed pocket – called The Sessanta Camp Shirt.

Whether you are a sporting participant or spectator this shirt marries minimum weight with maximum style.
Each shirt features an original hand-dyed pocket – no two are exactly the same.

 The Sessanta is a contemporary interpretation of the  Dolce Vita-era Italian shirt worn by Gardner’s grandfather in the 1960’s. 

A long sleeve version of the Camp Shirt is also available and I think looks terrific for the ladies as a tunic with the sleeves rolled to 3/4 length and worn over skinny jeans.

 Rita Schimpff with Heritage Game Mounts has a new offering to pair with her vintage and new antler mounts – the German Shooting Target.   These colorful lithographs pat’d in 1897, were used in Germany for small bore target practice.  Rita has reproduced them and put them on a hand striped pine disk.

Use them alone on an easle or two or three together paired with antlers or art.

 The series includes the Stag, the Hare, the Boar, the Bear, a Chamois and a Roe Deer in either 6 3/4″ or 8 1/2″.

Happy Hunting!