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Song of the day: "What's My Age Again?," Blink 182

The itch was getting unbearable--the prior weekend forced me to remain indoors, partially for health, but primarily due to blustery weather.

Ironically, chum weren't the focus while I bided my time tying flies, the wind howling through the alleyway, whistling as it raked across the windowpane.

Instead, I had cutthroat on the mind and as the weekend gave way to Monday, thoughts of catching a few more of them haunted me as the work week plugged by.

Mercifully, Friday came quickly and my plans would soon come to fruition.

There's been a beach of been meaning to get to for some time, a place I'd long since abandoned as my list of favorite spots grew and my focus shifted to other quarry. But cutthroat were the soup du jour and I knew of no better place to find them and to ease the suffering of having to go two weeks without wetting a line. :)

The following morning I crept along the shoreline, amazed at how the place had somehow escaped time's passing. Everything was exactly as I remembered it from years ago--the clear water, the impossible-to-fish high tide and, as if on cue, the jumping cutthroat.

When last I visited, I was in my 20's. Though that may not seem so long ago, the change from then to now is all too obvious. Somewhere along the way, I picked up more rods than I need, more lines than I can spool and more jackets and waders than I can wear. To justify all this, of course, I developed some skill and acquired experience, or so I thought.

Back then, things were much simpler--a floating line, some poorly tied flies and a 5 weight was all I needed to play the game.

I wondered when the fun in that had given way to everything else.

The real question was if I'd get it back today; if the beach would be as generous as it had been when the focus was on the important things.

A response was quickly issued. A few minutes after the jumper, I was into a fish. The little trout came in, kicking and screaming as it were.

Soon after, Don hooked a nicer cutthroat and periodically, as we covered teh beach, the fish would remind us of their presence, jumping here and boiling there.

For all intents and purposes, life was good.

Though the action wasn't necessarily on fire, it was consistent, and whether it was the fact that being back here had put me in an especially good mood or that I was catching up on lost fishing time, I was having a ball.

It was almost like going back in time. :)

Now the latest good news: He's in the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in his career.

He's seen a huge jump in 2009, starting the season ranked 163rd in the world. A recent surge had him at 75th entering last week's tournament, but a high finish against a strong field were the two biggest reasons for the move to 49th.

The PGA Tour season has one more tournament this week – Children's Miracle Network in Orlando, Fla. – and if Moore remains in that spot, he'll earn an automatic berth to the British Open next year at St. Andrews.

Fourth-round score: 4-under-par 68.

Position: Moore (15-under 273) finished alone in third, two strokes behind winner Phil Mickelson (271).

Recap: What a debut in the World Golf Championships events for the Puyallup golfer, who played in front of the Mickelson-Tiger Woods grouping. He was solid throughout the round, birdied the 17th hole and, by his own admission, should have finished with another one to tie Ernie Else for second, saying afterward, "I hit a heck of a putt on 18 … I really can't believe it didn't go in." He earned a paycheck of $430,078, and will move into the top 50 in the world rankings Monday, making him eligible for next year's British Open.

Next: 2010 SBS Championship starting Jan. 7 in Hawaii.

Third-round score: 2-under-par 70.

Position: Moore (11-under 205) is alone in fourth, three strokes behind leader Phil Mickelson (202).

Recap: Rough weather conditions were the biggest factor in the higher scoring (Tiger Woods and Nick Watney, Moore's playing partners, also shot 70). Moore had a chance to tie for second on the final par-5, but missed an 8-foot eagle putt.

Tee time Sunday: 6:25 p.m. PST Saturday off the first tee with Jyoti Randhawa and Lee Westwood.

Second-round score: 3-under-par 69.

Position: Moore (9-under 135) is tied for third with Phil Mickelson and Alvaro Quiros, one stroke behind co-leaders Nick Watney and Tiger Woods (134).

Recap: The Puyallup golfer kept pace in his first WGC event, and is one of seven golfers in the field to fire back-to-back rounds in the 60s, highlighted by an eagle-3 on the 18th hole (8-foot putt) and a chip-in birdie on the ninth hole, his final one (60-foot chip). Moore said the greens at Sheshan are the best he's putted on all season. He now gets his first career grouping with Woods for the third round.

Tee time Saturday: 6:40 p.m. PST Friday off the first tee with Watney and Woods.

The contract was finalized Thursday prior to Moore teeing off for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, China.

Not only will he become the first PGA Tour player to sign with Scratch Golf to use their irons, the 26-year-old from Cascade Christian and UNLV also become a part-owner in the company, which originated in Eugene, Ore. in 2003 and is now based in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Mike Moore, his father and president of Moore Sports Management, said the family flew out to the company's headquarters a month ago, and spent a day testing the product.

=> Read more!

First-round score: 6-under-par 66.

Position: Moore is tied for second with Germany's Martin Kaymer and Ireland's Shane Lowry, two strokes behind course record-setter Nick Watney (64).

Recap: Twenty of the 78 golfers in the field broke 70, and the Puyallup golfer was one of them in his World Golf Championships circuit debut. He also signed a new equipment endorsement deal prior to his round Thursday.

Tee time Friday: 6:15 p.m. PST Thursday off the 10th tee.

World ranking: 75th.

2009 earnings: $2,,222,871 (30th on the PGA Tour).

Last tournament: Moore finished up his 2009 PGA Tour season with a tied-for-eighth finish at the Frys.com Open (13-under 268), capping back-to-back tournament in which he finished in the top 10. Since the U.S. Open, only Tiger Woods (eight) has had more top-10 finishes than the Puyallup golfer, whose five top-10s is tied with Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker for second. Moore bypassed the last two events on the PGA Tour schedule – last week's cancelled Viking Classic and next week's Children's Miracle Network Classic in Florida – to play in this world-class tournament, which he gained a spot by way of his late-August win at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, his first career professional triumph.

Tee time Thursday: 5:05 p.m. PST Wednesday off the first tee with Greg Chalmers and Wei-huang Wu.

Song of the day: "Creep," Stone Temple Pilots

"The beaches have been good for cutthroat lately."

"That's what I've been hearing. Sounds like I need to break away from my attempts to find a steelhead and head back to the salt."

Over the next few days, I contemplated that idea. And by mid-week, the insane workload cresting over my cubicle walls turned contemplation into decision.

I picked up the phone and a familiar voice answered.

"So I've been thinking about what we talked about."

He laughed.

A few minutes later, I had a general plan laid out.

It was time to head back to the beach.

The first beach, an unlikely spot to find cutthroat, was surprisingly productive. Too bad my ability to keep them buttoned failed miserably.

Figuring I'd outworn my welcome, I moved to my list of usual suspects.

I didn't find any giants, but what I did find was a familiar sense of satisfaction. For whatever reason, cutthroat caught in the fall seem to be much more vibrant than those caught during any other time of the year and landing some this weekend reminded me of why I look forward to this season.

One of the few things that make the rain and cold bearable!

They may lack size, but they make up for it in beauty!

A sign of things to come...

It never ceases to amaze me how many of these critters cling to cutthroat.

A reward for making one more cast. :)

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