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Tangled Lines gift guide
Here is the annual gift guide for those of you with fly-fishers on the list. I have attempted to keep this simple and intelligible to the unafflicted.
The easy way out is the gift certificate. Most retailers offer them. I have been on the receiving end of an Orvis gift card many times.
So how much do you make it for? Hard to say, but know this: $100 just gets things started. If the goal is to get Fred a new set of waders so he stops complaining about the old leaky ones, better start at $300. Note also that they will still leak, eventually, but this is not your fault.
The old waders can probably be salvaged, too. Look for a wader repair kit with a small tube of stuff called Aquaseal and some patches that can be cut to size. Fred should have one of these kits anyway. Sometimes they come with the new waders.
Then you can get Fred a freestanding rack to hold all the spare waders that might or might not leak. (See photo.)
Rods: I am a big fan of Echo rods, especially the entry-level models. You can do a lot worse than getting a budding angler an Echo Lift kit, which is a rod, reel with pre-spooled line, and case for just under $200.
Anything else is going to require some subtlety on your part. Example: “Hi Fred. What sort of fly rod do you really want? And how’s Mom?”
Fred replies: “I have been eyeing the Spatzenjammer GBH 12-foot trout mini-spey for 250 grain Skagit heads.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” you say, keeping it subtle. “Have you seen a specialist?”
For extra subtlety, try asking Fred’s main fishing buddy what a good rod would be. This could be difficult, because Fred probably doesn’t know his buddy’s last name, home town, or anything that might identify him except a phone number. And even that will be in some kind of code. I have a contact in my phone that says “K fishing.” That’s it. I have no idea who or what this is, and when I tried calling I got a no longer in service message. Didn’t delete it from the phone, though. That would make too much sense.
You could throw yourself on the mercy of the fly shop. We have two actual fly shops in driving distance -- the Orvis store in Avon, and UpCountry in the Pleasant Valley section of Barkhamsted, with the West Branch of the Farmington River out back.
You’ll need to know some basic stuff. Where does Fred fish? What does he fish for? And Fred’s dimensions, plus a quick sketch of his condition, habits and general disposition.
Here’s an idea that could work: A bunch of flies and a nifty new box from a big online fly retailer such as Big Y Fly Company in Oregon or Fly Shack in New York.
I’ll save you the guesswork. If your intended recipient is a trout person, get a Fishpond/Tacky Double Haul fly box (about $35) and the following flies, six of each: Chubby Chernobyl size 12, Parachute Adams size 12, Light Cahill dun size 14, Elk Hair caddis size 14, Stimulator size 6, Pheasant Tail beadhead size 16, Hare’s Ear beadhead size 16, and Leadwing Coachman size 10.
The total for this should be about $100.
Don’t put the flies in the box because you’ll do it wrong. Let Fred do it. It will take forever and the family, busy with festive holiday activities, will be grateful not to have the glum snowbound angler getting in the way.
Winter sports await
The flakes have started flying, and the forecast shows nothing but cold for the foreseeable future. After an unusually warm fall, the transition may feel abrupt, but let the frosty temps remind us that it is now December and snow-sliding season is nigh upon us. So unpack your parkas, wax your skis, and don’t forget to pick up any last minute gear.
Listed below are our region’s best offerings for gravity-powered, high-speed, non-motorized winter recreation. Please be aware that projected opening dates are weather dependent, and subject to change.
Downhill Skiing
Mohawk Mountain
The Northwest Corner’s own Mohawk Mountain has taken advantage of the recent chill by firing up its state of the art snowmaking equipment. The resort announced an opening date of Dec. 6, and if the weather stays cold and snowy then the slopes should be ready for your freshly-tuned edges. Season passes and seasonal rentals are available now; information on options and pricing is available at www.mohawkmtn.com. The mountain will be open for night skiing every day except Sunday this season, with the lifts spinning until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Updates on resort operations can be found on its Instagram @mohawkmtn.
Ski Sundown
The classic New Hartford resort also hasn’t formalized an opening date, but when it does, it will be spinning its lifts long into the night with its characteristic long hours. The resort is scheduled to be open until 10:00 pm every day except Christmas Eve, when it will shut down operations at 4 o’clock so employees can enjoy the holiday with their families. The resort will open back up for an evening session from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on Christmas Day. Season passes are still available at the resort’s website at skisundown.com, as well as additional information about events, rentals, and facilities at the mountain. Ski Sundown has also gotten its snowmaking program rolling, as can be seen on their Instagram @skisundown.
Butternut
Butternut has thankfully emerged undamaged and unthreatened from the recent wildfire on East Mountain, and is eager to assure skiers and riders that everything is on track for a great season at the mountain. The retail shop has reopened for weekends after wildfire-induced closures, so be sure to stop by to stock up on winter essentials. Stay updated on shop opening hours at skibutternut.com or on their Instagram @skibutternut. The resort has also extended its $50 discount on both its unlimited and midweek season passes until Dec. 8.
Butternut’s flight chair on a snowy day.Courtesy skibutternut.com
Catamount
The dual-state staple is also advertising short-term reduced prices, offering a slew of Black Friday deals on its website, catamountski.com/. The mountain is slated to open on Dec. 7, and encourages riders to buy their season passes before the first skiers carve their way down the mountain’s 1000 feet of vertical drop. The resort offers a range of pass options, including their Night Summit Pass which allows access from 3:00 p.m. until the lifts stop for just $199. Recent posts on their Instagram, @catamountmtnresort, depict a pleasantly wintry scene on the hill with snow guns blazing.
Bosquet Mountain
Bosquet’s Instagram, @bosquet.mountain, also shows robust snowmaking operations in progress. Information on season passes, rentals, instruction, and package deals are available at the resort’s website, bousquetmountain.com. For the terrain park-inclined, the mountain has announced it will be hosting a rail jam from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 13, its opening day. More details on the event will be announced soon via Instagram.
Jiminy Peak
Further north, Jiminy Peak has announced its own opening day of Saturday, Dec. 7. The mountain has picked up a few inches of snow from recent weather systems moving through, and is forecasted more by the end of the week, setting the stage for some potentially stellar turns on the hill this weekend. Information on season pass sales, rentals, and more can be found at www.jiminypeak.com. Keep up with their Instagram, @jiminypeak, for updates on openings and other news.
Tubing
For those who prefer to careen down icy slopes in a seated position rather than standing, several facilities in our region offer tubing opportunities that appeal to the whole family (provided they’re over 42” tall).
Bosquet will be providing tubing throughout the winter, while Mohawk Mountain and Butternut will offer timed slots on Friday evenings and during the weekends. Information on pricing, schedules, and rules can be found at the resorts’ websites.
Let it snow
Cornwall’s Christmas Pageant tradition
CORNWALL — Jane Prentice of Cornwall has directed the Cornwall Christmas Pageant since 2005. This year will mark her nineteenth and final pageant.
She will be turning the role of director over to Katherine Freygang, who is helping her cast this year’s pageant. “It is time for me to pass it along,” said Prentice.
The pageant tells the traditional Christmas story, complete with Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds, and three kings.
Jane Prentice said they’ve been using the same script since the pageant began. She is not sure how long the pageant has existed, but she has written documentation going back to 1959 and knows that it was going on before that.
Jane took over the directorship from Charlotte Frost in 2005. Charlotte Frost took over from Prentice’s grandmother-in-law, Theodora “Dody” Prentice who, Prentice thinks, took over from Mary Shefflin.
The Christmas Pageant is filled with tradition. “Zejke Herman started as a littlest angel, became a shepherd, king and then narrator – 60 years of involvement,” said Prentice.
“Dody got the job because she had the costumes,” explained Prentice of her grandmother-in-law’s years as director. Those costumes are still in use with some repairs and updates over the years. Prentice said she and others “snatch up things that might fit at Cornwall’s annual rummage sale.”
Casting has gotten harder over the years, she commented. “Demographics and the people who live here have changed. In Charlotte’s day there was a choir at the church, and a children’s choir and the high school had a choir. Now we are a pick-up choir.”
“Before it was kind of like tryouts for the kings and Mary especially. Now it is about trying to fill the cast and find children to fit the parts. It is harder to find people,” explained Prentice. “One year, I called thirty-five men in turn to find the last king.”
“Now we really, really need community to make it happen.”
Added to that is that the parts are sung, so not only does she need someone who fits the role visually, but they have to sing.
Prentice recalled one year that was a disaster. “Mary lost her voice on the day of the pageant. I had to find a new Mary that day.” She added, “Basically it flies by the seat of its pants every year.”
The year of the COVID pandemic, “We did it outside on the front steps of the church. Being outside, we could have Robert the llama from Llama Quilt Farm take part.”
“It was beautiful when it was done. The lighting was great. Luminaries were on the front lawn. It was beautiful.”
She talked about favorite memories. “Something special happens every year.” For instance, one year she remembers “The little angel yawning” in the middle of the pageant.
One year “one of the shepherds had to help a ‘sheep’ (his family’s dog named Minnow dressed in a sheep costume) up the steps,” she said. “He was a Jack Russell, and his legs were too short. He was also elderly.”
Prentice talked about what she will miss about directing the pageant. “I think what I’ll miss is this: When it is all over and everything is cleaned up and everyone’s gone home, I sit in the dark with just the star illuminated, reflecting on how beautiful it is really – even with the disasters.”
This year’s pageant will be on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. with a snow date of Dec. 15, though Prentice said they have only had to cancel for snow twice in all the years of the pageant - once when Theodora Prentice was the director and once Jane herself had to call it off.
The pageant takes place at the United Church of Christ Meeting House at 8 Bolton Hill Rd. Anyone attending is asked to bring a present wrapped in white for children in need.