Monday, April 2, 2012

Bacon Cheese Dogs & a Side of Spam


With the light slowly fading, we placed our head lamps on and began the search for fire wood. We scoured the banks of the river, eventually accumulating enough wet debris to fill the back of the truck. Using a fire starter log and some charcoal ignition fluid, we had a nice fire going despite the wet conditions. Next up, one of the most important parts of the campfire experience: finding the cooking stick. I ended up with a nice branch of a walnut tree that was promptly shaved into a point. It had a 30 degree bend in it, with enough backbone to hold a significant amount of meat. I was pleased.

A campfire is not complete without some form of meat being cooked over an open fire. On this night, we had hot dogs, bacon, and a block of Spam. I planned on initiating the new guys to the art of a fly fishing trip campfire. We chowed down on crisp hot dogs, wrapped in sizzling bacon, and placed into a warm bun layered with cheese. After a long day on the water with little to no food, this was heaven.

Earlier, while picking up the necessary supplies, the men made fun of my request for a block of Spam. They had never had it before. Since I survived on little more than Spam (for a week) as I slept on the beach of a Caribbean island, I thought I'd enlighten them to its qualities. After we achieved our full from the dogs, we separated the block into three equal parts and began roasting them over the fire. We waited until the outside, resembled cooked bacon and then ate the outer layer off. We repeated those steps several times until the spamsicle was gone. They liked it. They really really liked it.

Early the next morning, we hit up the stream located a stones throw from our campsite. We fished for a few hours and caught a good number of browns and bows in the pocket water on dries and nymphs. As the sun finally began to emerge after two and a half days of clouds and rain, we decided to leave. We left behind a great river filled with beautiful fish, but the memories can always be replayed in our minds for the rest of our lives.
















4 comments:

Mark Kautz said...

Nothing wrong with Spam as long as no one tells you what it's made of.

Mark

Wade Rivers said...

Mark,
It's been a real pleasure watching your photography skills and style evolve and come to fruition over the years.

Keep up the fine work.

Gregg said...

Very nice pictures that illustrate the experience well. Good clinger mayfly and small stone detail.

Gregg

Mark said...

Thanks Wade, hopefully you made it out there to fish.