Cardboard Johnny

There are times when you just can't help but believe you're privileged to have the best friends in the world, the kind of friends who will do whatever it takes to bring you along on a trip even when you can't make it. What?

It started a few years ago when Nick Haxhijaj met me in Woodland Park Colorado for a few days fishing the tailwaters of the South Platte River. In those few days we hit all the spots that everyone hits when they fish the South Platte; Cheeseman, Elevenmile, The Dream Stream and Deckers. We had a blast, caught more trout than we deserved and couldn't wait to get back. We've made it an annual trip since then.

We started planning this year's trip back in March.......I think. Everything went well until I made the move from Texas to Billings, MT. During the move I blew out my knee and word on the street was it would have to be replaced. For a time it looked like I wasn't going to be able make it to Colorado. Even though some of the locations we fish are easy to get to doing so on a freshly replaced knee joint would be problematic at best.

As it turns out the knee replacement is out and even though I did it on a bad limp I still made the trip to Colorado. I drove down the day before Nick, James, Engiell and Justin flew in from Texas. On the day they were arriving I went to the rental in Woodland Park to wait, sent a text asking how long before they arrived and got these back in reply.

You guessed it, I'm the pale one in the middle, kind of, that's Coardboard Johnny. Sitting on an airplane I never got to fly in and sitting in the middle of the SUV they all tooled around in for the week.




Yes I did make this trip but they had the cardboard version made up when my attendance was in question. Like I said a group of friends who will do whatever it takes to make sure no one is left out.


There's a particular lake we like to fish when we're there, unfortunately it's one of the places an old gimp would have a hard time getting into and an even harder time getting out of but at least Cardboard Johnny got to make it.

Thanks guys for bring me along. I had a blast and I wasn't even there. I did n't catch any fish but hey sometimes it just goes that way.

Thanks for bringing me along guys!!