Read Parts 1 & 2

The other day as I was thinking about Kevin’s impact on my life and I pulled a memory out of the recesses of my brain that I hadn’t thought about for years.  This isn’t a typical or especially fun memory of Kevin nor is it a fishing memory, but it is one of a time where he and I grew in understanding of each other and was probably the real start of our friendship.

Shortly after I graduated high school in 1989, I was diagnosed with a strange illness called ITP.  It is an autoimmune illness where your spleen basically turns on you and starts filtering all of the platelets out of your blood.  It is pretty bad because you could easily bleed to death, like a hemophiliac might, with a traumatic injury.  As you can imagine I had A LOT of blood tests during the course of the illness. It was on many of these occasions that I would run into Kevin, who was working as a phlebotomist at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.  Kevin had only recently returned from his mission to Frankfurt, Germany – where I would be called to serve a few short months later – and was embarking on the first steps of his career in medicine.

The months after high school graduation are typically pretty care free days for most, but for me, they were filled with a fair amount of worry and loneliness as I tried to overcome the effects of this illness and, at times, wondering if I ever would.  I remember that my nose would bleed for nearly an hour for no reason other than my blood was so thin it … Continue Reading

Somewhere above the Mythical Confluence

Read Part 1

My first fishing adventure with Kevin was about 3 years ago in October 2008.  We happened to both be at a mission reunion for Fall LDS General Conference.  I was shocked to see him there since I knew he was living in San Clemente, CA.  It was so great catching up with him.  As were about to part ways, he said, “this may sound crazy, but do you want to come fishing with me and Andrew tomorrow?”  I was about to say that I needed to work, when thankfully my wife Crystal told me to go and convinced me I could figure what to do about that.  When I told him I would go he said, “Ok, meet us in Evanston, Wyoming at 3AM.”  Only Kevin would think that was a good idea.  I have fished for a long time and know that most fish like an hour or two after sunrise to wake up, but I agreed just the same.

I showed up in Evanston at particular gas station at the appointed hour.  I walked into the gas station to find Kevin in one of his famous conversations with a complete stranger where they sounded like old friends as he calls them by name (which is gleaned from their name tag or simply asking).  When he is in that mode you can’t quite tell if he is hassling them or just really enjoying connecting with another person.  You soon learn it is mostly the latter, although I still think there is an element of hassle in there.  These conversations can happen anywhere at anytime.

As … Continue Reading

Kevin Hegewald: 1968-2011

I can’t go forward today without writing a tribute to a man I am honored to call one of my friends and one of the most remarkable people I have known. My friend Kevin Hegewald, passed away on September 20th after a long, valiant, and courageous battle with cancer. He faced this challenge with dignity and verve and vowed that his suffering wouldn’t get the best of his enjoyment of life. In fact I would say that even though cancer won the battle, Kevin won the war with his dogged determination to have as much fun as possible in his remaining days.

I have known Kevin my whole life as a neighbor and friend. We grew up about one block away from each other and I have always enjoyed spending time with him, whether it was while hanging out with his sister Christy, or during his band practices and gigs with my brother Jamie, or most especially in recent years when he would call me at strange hours to go on some crazy fishing adventure with him and his family.

Kevin has a smile that is absolutely electric and he is able to make everyone around him feel like a friend. His sense of humor is unmatched and possibly only outdone by his always entertaining choice of words in any situation. Kevin has a “zest” for life, which is a word I will always associate with him. He used to call his little sister, Christy (who is my age), Zest as a nickname when we … Continue Reading

Let’s face it, fish are killing machines.  As beautiful and peaceful as they seem, they know how to eat!  In this episode of fish vs. other creatures, a baby duck finds out what the inside of a pike looks like.  (Thanks to Brett Prettyman for sharing this and the trout rattlesnake videos).  Enjoy it over and over again.  Also please excuse the curse words.

I love this video. Few things are funner than getting a trout to eat some kind of crazy fly.  In this case…a baby rattlesnake.  Love it!

Just thought I’d share a cool photo I snapped on my phone this evening. This dragon fly was buzzing around the yard, but sat still long enough for me to get a picture. The post processing was done in the app TiltShiftGen. Check it out.

Adam Eakle, (Roughin’ It Outdoors) has a nice profile on bonneville cutthroat brood stock management in Little Dell and Mountain Dell reservoirs. Looks like there are some pretty nice trout in there. Wish I could embed the video, but instead check out the link:

Little Dell Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

Mountain & Little Dell’s Bonneville Cutthroat Trout via KUTV

The Kreelex is a successful pattern for trout. I have fished it on the Snake and Green Rivers, both with success. The audio on this isn’t so great.

From This is Fly Daily

via LOADED.

I am a sucker for photos of the old west. This offers a great view of the amazing scenery in the mountains of Colorado. The mountains almost look like a movie set or something man-made. In fact it reminds me a bit of the Thunder Mountain Express ride at Disneyland. Cool photo.

Shorpy :: History in HD – High-Definition Historical Photos

via Cripple Creek Short Line: 1901.

This is a great fishing photo from 1900.

Shorpy :: History in HD – High-Definition Historical Photos
via The Gentle Art: 1900.