Is it a carefully considered plan to restore ecological balance, or the brainchild of over-zealous bureaucrats with too much time on their hands? "The popular game fish has been declared an alien species and put on a hit-list for eradication in a move that has outraged anglers. Trout would be culled from major Victorian rivers such as the Murray, Goulburn and Yarra, despite the Brumby Government pouring about 400,000 trout into our waterways each year." Peter Rolfe notes the apparent shift in policy in Australia's Herald Sun.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Gifford reports on a trip to Deadman's Cay, off Long Island, in the far southern Bahamas, noting that the landscape on the island first "discovered" by Columbus features incredible vistas, and that one pays a price for not bringing rain gear. "An hour after the rain had ended, a 9-weight fly rod in hand and battling a 30-pound blacktip shark, I looked up to see a trio of waterspouts in the distance. They danced, receded and eventually dissipated on the horizon as a beam of sunlight filtered through an aperture in the clouds, illuminating and enhancing the blue water around us." From Oklahoma's NewsOK.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent a couple of years in a valley in Montana without cell phone service, and I can report that it did not hurt the fishing. But as one Craig, Montana restaurant person points out, it does create opportunities for amusement among those who serve visiting fly fishers on the Upper Missouri and elsewhere: "'It frustrates the tourist fly fishing hordes all summer long, much to our delight,' wrote John Heckert, with Izaak's restaurant in Craig. 'Sometimes we tell them that if they stand on the railroad tracks the rails will improve reception, and they fall for it. Oh well, the simple pleasures of a small town.'" Karen Ogden in the Great Falls Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You too can have a trailer on stilts for less than $400,000. And if you have to ask what a house on Shark Key costs, you can't afford it. Yes, in many ways it is exactly what Charles Passy reports in The New York Times: a Jimmy Buffet song come to life. (Side note: Jimmy Buffet is getting into the casino business and just leased a twenty-some-thousand-foot business space in Orlando to help him sell paraphernalia to parrotheads.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Serious fly fishermen may remember 2007 as the year that the invasive species known as 'rock snot' turned into a national problem. For at a least decade, nasty carpets of this algae have been fouling up pristine fishing streams in the western United States. Then, last summer, it turned up in fishing streams in several eastern states." NPR reporter John Nielson offers an update and overview of the didymo problem, along with excellent photos of the invasive algae.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Japanese-born fishing guide Toshiya Babe and a wealthy client died in a fire in their nine-bunk wooden hut, owned by the Department of Conservation, in the isolated Waiau Valley in New Zealand.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It belongs in a Monty Python skit, perhaps, but the New York Inquisition has apparently named departing Field & Stream editor Sid Evans to their list of the "to-be-persecuted." At least that's how this piece in The New York Times presents it. "Since 2002, he had served as editor of Field & Stream, following a stint as the editor of Men’s Journal and senior positions at GQ and Sports Afield. He had worked with highly regarded and hard-living writers like George Plimpton, Thomas McGuane, Jim Harrison and Richard Ford." Article by Eric Konigsberg.

We'll see how Mr. Evans likes the switch from elk chops to roast oysters.

(Thanks to reader Chris Miller for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sage, Redington and RIO are teaming up to offer a limited edition rod, reel and fly line outfit to help benefit Trout Unlimited's efforts to stop the proposed Bristol Bay mine. Available in April 2006, the $600 outfit includes a Sage Z-Axis 9-foot 8-weight rod and a Redington moss-colored CD 7/8 reel pre-spooled with RIO Gold fly line. "A case will also be included, which will be embroidered with a unique graphical slogan, 'More Precious Than Gold – Save Bristol Bay.' Purchased separately, this outfit would retail for more than $875." Pre-orders will be accepted beginning January 3, and Sage and Redington will match additional donations up to $200.

Read the extended entry for the full press release.

Bainbridge Island, Washington - The threat of a massive hard rock and open pit mining district in Bristol Bay has sparked three of the most recognizable names in fly fishing to come together for a fundraiser for Trout Unlimited Alaska.

Sage Manufacturing, Redington Tackle & Apparel, and RIO Products International are creating a special ready-to-fish outfit that will be shipped to customers in April 2008. Only 300 limited edition outfits will be produced. This special outfit will come with a Sage Z-Axis 9-foot 8-weight rod and a Redington moss-colored CD 7/8 reel pre-spooled with RIO Gold fly line. A case will also be included, which will be embroidered with a unique graphical slogan, “More Precious Than Gold – Save Bristol Bay”. Purchased separately, this outfit would retail for more than $875. The companies plan to retail this special outfit for $600.

From each outfit sold, Sage, Redington and RIO will donate $200 to Trout Unlimited Alaska. Total anticipated donation, which will be earmarked for campaign activities dealing with the Bristol Bay mining district as well as production, marketing and distribution of the film Red Gold, will be between $60,000 – $120,000.

Outfits may be pre-ordered beginning Thursday, January 3rd, 2008. Pre-orders will be taken in two ways: By calling Sage Customer Service at (800) 533-3004, or by simply ordering online at www.redington.com. At the time of purchase, customers can extend their support even further by choosing to donate additional funds to Trout Unlimited Alaska. Sage & Redington are set up to accept additional donations in $50 increments up to a matching donation of $200. Dealers who wish to carry the outfit will also have the opportunity to do a matched donation. Everyone who places an order with a matched donation will have their name listed in press releases, on Redington.com, Sageflyfish.com, and the Trout Unlimited official site.

To date, Sage, Redington and RIO have donated more than $10,000 for public and media awareness and the production of a new documentary about the region, entitled Red Gold, about the Bristol Bay fishery.

For More Information:
• www.savebristolbay.org & www.redington.com/bristol.php

• Marc Bale (mbale@sageflyfish.com), Bruce Kirschner (bkirschner@sageflyfish.com) or Karen Curry (kcurry@redington.com), Company Representatives, 1-800-533-3004

• Lauren Oakes, Conservation Programs Officer, Trout Unlimited Alaska, loakes@tu.org (907) 321-3725

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Drift Boats and River Dories:Their History, Design, Construction, and Use (Stackpole Books, July 2007, 304 pages) came out in July and has since gained quite a following among boat builders and fly fishers interested in the lore surrounding the evolution of wooden western drift boats. Author Rodger L. Fletcher, along with illustrator Samuel F. Manning, created an enduring testament to the value of handcrafted fishing vessels and got admiring praise from reviewers like James Babb and Ted Leeson. This morning Roy Gault writes extensively about the recent book in the Oregon Statesman-Journal. "Fletcher first determined the original lines of each boat, drew a pattern, then built the boats as models, scaled one inch to a foot. His intention never was to build every one of the 11 boats himself, full sized. But his book does contain every angle for every cut, every measurement, every ounce of information necessary to build each of the boats. 'I break out in a cold sweat over that, afraid something will be a sixteenth of an inch off,' he said."

Drift Boats and River Dories on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Through accidents of geography and history, Cuba is a priceless ecological resource. That is why many scientists are so worried about what will become of it after Fidel Castro and his associates leave power and, as is widely anticipated, the American government relaxes or ends its trade embargo." In The New York Times, Cornelia Dean notes that despite Soviet-style industrialization of some areas, Cuba is one of the only countries in the western hemisphere to have set aside "hotspots" of biodiversity. The question is, can conservation survive the invasion of investors that are likely to arrive if the government changes? (Thanks to reader Jon Ain for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"My clients frequently ask how a fish can see and be caught by such a small fly. You have to consider a full-grown man eating M&Ms. They are small in relation to his total body size but he eats several of them at a single setting. Midges are the most available food source at certain times and the fish eat a lot of them." Arkansas guide John Berry suggests a few different techniques for feeding trout one of their favorite wintertime foods. In the Baxter Bulletin.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Good health and joy to MidCurrent readers from all of us on one of the year's most hope-filled days. May peace and happiness be yours this holiday season, and may 2008 take you fishing in places you've only dreamed about.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Prospective members, [club president] Arias warned, should be willing to fish through violent thunderstorms, float jungle rivers at night, and drop everything, including jobs or family members, when the snook and tarpon run the coastal rivers." In The New York Times, Dave Sherwood investigates the mania that grabs members of the Costa Rican National Fishing Club, who will do just about anything to fish for big, toothy critters among the crocodiles and mosquitos of the country's interior.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a massive -- 71,429 square mile -- drainage and historical home to untold numbers of migrating salmon. But careless development blocked fish migration that went on for 500,000 years before humans touched the river. Now critics from various countries say it is time for the French to step up and do their part by making it easier for salmon to cross the various hydroelectric dams near Paris. Jochen Bölsche writes in Der Spiegel about investing in the Rhine salmon's future.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As it looks now, Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott will develop a nickel sulfide mine beneath the fragile Salmon Trout River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Chuck Glossenger tells how public opinion is easily cast aside by state agencies when it comes to weighing environmental impacts against job creation. "The company plans to develop a nickel sulfide mine -- known as the Eagle Project -- beneath the Salmon Trout River. These mines are referred to as 'acid mines' because they produce sulfuric acid (battery acid) and release heavy metals -- including arsenic, mercury and lead -- into watersheds, destroying all life." On InTheseTimes.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The British began buying up real estate in the 1880s to lock in fishing rights, and it's not a stretch of the imagination to see the same sequence of events repeating themselves in the U.S., where privatization of fishing water is just now becoming the rage. Our advice, cut to the quick, jump ahead of the curve, and start breeding giant carp. "You can set up a specialist water with big carp, where anglers will typically pay £30 a day or more to fish, or sell larger specimens to another water. A 30lb carp these days is worth around £2,000; a 40-pounder more than double that. A50-pounder is probably the sort of thing to put on eBay with a £10,000 starting price." Keith Elliott in the U.K. Independent.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If I lived anywhere near Colorado, I'd be hoping for stocking stuffer tickets to both the AFFTA and Fly Fishing Show events that run January 4-6 in downtown Denver. There may not be two shows forever, and certainly there will be some oneupmanship on display. Charlie Meyers gives the event details in this morning's Denver Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week a hefty gift arrived on the doorstep of Maine conservationists involved with continued restoration of the Penobscot. "Ten million dollars from the FY08 Omnibus Appropriations Bill passed this week will be directed to the Penobscot River Restoration Project. President Bush signed the bill on Thursday and officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed the agency will direct the funding to the project." From CSRWire.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's almost nothing more enjoyable on a cold winter's day than paging through coffee-table fly fishing books, especially if they combine art and biography. We received Diane Inman's new The Fine Art of Angling (Di Les Books, 205 pages, December 2007) earlier this week and I took a couple of hours perusing its wide-format pages, taking in the perspective of ten notable fly fishing artists. This is a very nicely done book. While the publisher's choices for featured artists all share a kind of classic sobriety -- most of them claim Winslow Homer as an inspiration -- bringing them together like this makes for an interesting comparison. The lengthy biographies that accompany the reproductions of art by Thomas Aquinas Daly, Eldridge Hardie, Chet Reneson and others are well crafted and reveal a common spirit among these more traditional artists: great fishing art is about being humble in the midst of majesty, about the fly fisher disappearing into the landscape. In some of our favorite pieces here, the angler is almost unnoticeable.

Beyond the generalizations though, there is some terrific stuff here from the individual artists. Here's Reneson on his choice to be representational: "Good abstract art is more real than realism. You're taking the essence and taking all the gooey, dooey stuff out of it." And Daly: "One reassuring thread of consistency in our often schizoid lives is nature's adherence to its own quiet and eternal laws."

For a nice glimpse of the book, check out the designer's preview.

The Fine Art of Angling on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With California cities beginning to ban bottled water and the outcry in Michigan over bottlers' plans to tap critical aquifers for more product, it's worth knowing something about how and why water -- which most of us drank from a tap 30 years ago -- is now mostly toted around in petroleum-based containers. While taste testing various brands of designer water for the U.K.'s Guardian Unlimited, Johnny Davis does a good job of reminding us where our water comes from and how the packaging of life's essential ingredient is changing the world around us. "America gets through more bottled water than coffee, milk or beer. According to the US Beverage Marketing Corporation, 40 per cent of the US bottled water market is controlled by Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Between them they own Dasani, Pure Life and Aquafina -- brands that buy tap water for less than the few cents it costs the standard home owner, extract the chlorine and resell it at vast profit."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Moldy Chum, predictably, has a different take on holiday gift lists. This year they offer presents, of a sort, to their various friends in the media and elsewhere, including Save Our Wild Salmon, AEG, and Way Upstream. Apparently they also think our staff could use some augmenting. (For the record, we didn't describe ourselves as the "CNN of Fly Fishing" -- one of our readers did.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We just got word that the 4.5-hour flights that allowed anglers to reach Kamchatka from Anchorage, Alaska will be back after a three-year hiatus. Beginning July 7, 2008 Vladivostok Air will offer the twice-weekly service using brand new 142-seat TU 204-300 aircraft. This makes the trip for U.S. anglers exponentially shorter and allows anglers to be at camp fishing the same day they left the US. It also makes the return trip a one-day affair. For more information, contact William Blair at www.thebestofkamchatka.com or (530) 941-8524.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"After just 10 minutes at full throttle, head guide Neko Pastrana motioned with a flick of his hand to cut the motor. As the boat settled in the water, still dark beneath a purple sky, we jumped to our feet to see if we could discern what had caught his attention. The slick, black backs of a school of tarpon were visible a ways off, slicing through the dead-calm water." Writer Sam Bacon describes the approach to one of Mexico's most favored hot spots for small tarpon, the coastal lagoons and mangrove creeks near Campeche, on the western side of the Yucatan.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As the streets clear in Denver for the high-noon stare-down between the AFFTA and Fly Fishing consumer shows, AFFTA president Robert Ramsey offers some insight into the reasons the organization chose dates that overlapped an established event. "He said AFFTA chose to clash dates with TFFS because fly-fishing exhibitors already were burdened with winter show commitments around the country. 'So rather than present all these companies with an additional show on their schedule, we decided just to ask folks to make a decision.'" Ed Dentry in the Denver Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We got our latest issue of American Angler on Saturday and noted that all the changes promised for 2008 are right there in the year's first issue. The magazine has a crisp, clean new look, an entirely new 16-page saltwater section (thanks in part to the redirection of resources from the now defunct Saltwater Fly Fishing), and a new editorial vibrancy. AA's illustrators (e.g. Jonathan Milo and Bill Tipton) and photographers are the best in the business, in our opinion. Even the cover breaks from the currently popular practice of putting a smiling 20-something-year-old female fly fisher on the cover: no babe, no fish, not even a grinning face, just a guy sitting on a rock doing what we actually do when we fish -- examining a fly. Kudos to Phil Monahan and his team for putting freshness back into the publication and having the courage to deliver a solid package that is not just another rehash of last year's lineup. If you are still looking for a stocking stuffer, an American Angler subscription will set you back less than $20. A pretty good deal if the January/February issue is any indication.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Husbands don't always make it easy for their wives to learn fly fishing. They're dismissive or careless or, even worse, they try to teach them themselves. Some smart women have found salvation in programs like Oregon state's Becoming an Outdoors Woman. "Although Dean prefers to spin and knit with fiber sheared from the alpacas she raises, the concentration and patience needed to fasten 10 metal hoops with tightly wound lengths of nylon thread came easily. Surprising her husband was much more difficult. 'I lied to him,' Dean says. 'I told him I was taking a weaving class.'" Sarah Lemon in the Oregon Mail-Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Veteran steelhead guide John Nagy is releasing an expanded and updated edition of his Steelhead Guide: Flyfishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead (Great Lakes Publishing, December 2007, 320 pages). The 4th edition has 119 new and innovative steelhead fly patterns contributed by guides, fly tiers and steelhead fly fisherman from all over the Lake Erie region -- 44 tiers in all. Deborah Weisberg writes about the upcoming book and a couple of the hot patterns from the book's "Deadly Dozen," including Greg Senyo's Wiggle Stone, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The Wiggle Stone is patterned after the stonefly nymph that abounds on Great Lakes tributaries, and gets its lifelike movement from its jointed construction. 'Stoneflies cling or crawl; they don't swim. When dislodged from rocks, they move frantically, trying to find something to grab onto,' said Senyo, whose Jag Fly Co. employs tiers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan."

You can pre-order a copy of Nagy's new book from his Web site.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Articles like this by Matt Kempner in today's Atlanta Constitution underscore the likelihood that local and state governments will ignore the need for water conservation and growth limits and instead take action on decades-old plans to dam the Chattahoochee and other large rivers. "Metro Atlanta has had a lot of time to get right with water. In 1969, engineers concluded in a regional planning document that without dramatic action water would be in critically short supply by the time the area reached between 3 and 5 million people — metro Atlanta's population today."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The folks who brought you The Offbeat Angler (see our excerpt) continue their tradition of out-of-the-ordinary fishing exploits with this video, which takes a bored office worker to fish the magical mulberry hatch for inner-city carp.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"It was a testament to what could be achieved with an inner-city river. That was until the afternoon of September 17 when, in little more than 20 minutes, years of work was undone. Employees cleaning filters at Thames Water’s sewage works in Beddington accidentally allowed sodium hypochlorite, a bleach, to be released into the river." Brian Clarke and Will Pavia report in the UK Times that Thames Water has agreed to the largest pollution settlement in angling history: £500,000.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Perhaps by choice, Orvis has had to address the challenge of selling good fishing gear to a marketplace that often identifies it with doggy beds and plaid towels. We found this New York Times piece from 1992 where writer Carol Lawson got then-CEO Leigh Perkins to weigh in on the challenge just before turning the business over to his sons. "Some purists in the fly-fishing population grumble about such commercialism. They sniff that Orvis has strayed from the essence of the sport. 'That's too damn bad,' Mr. Perkins snapped. 'The fact that we sell wastebaskets with ducks on them doesn't have any effect on the quality of our fly rods. Our strategy was to build a business that would thrive.'"

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A sobering report from Canadian researchers says that sea lice infestations from salmon farms off of the country's coast have reached the tipping point, and that wild pink salmon in the areas north of Vancouver Island may be gone within four years. "'This is the first time scientists have had enough detailed data to actually measure the impact of sea lice on wild salmon populations,' said Martin Krkosek, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at the Center for Mathematical Biology at the University of Alberta." Associated Press writer Jeff Barnard.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you had any doubt that even fish-farm trout are capable of heroic feats of athleticism, check out this photo from the UK Telegraph illustrating an story on the fantastic efforts of brown trout to escape through a small metal pipe. What's next, motorcycles?

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After falling victim to some last-minute schedule adjustments by Versus this fall, Howard Films's latest installments of "Chasing Silver" will finally air two days before Christmas. The final two episodes will appear back-to-back, at 2:00 and 2:30 PM. From what Howard told us, these segments will be true "reality" pieces: "The program will feature the toughest conditions we ever had to face -- a season of cold fronts and prevailing winds and an early migration."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gary Loomis for president? If those concerned about salmon recovery could have their way, the founder of G. Loomis would at least be on the ticket. As this fine profile in Oregon's Register-Guard points out, Loomis is one of the few private conservationist-sportsmen to fully dedicate himself to salmon protection on a large scale, whether that involves hand-carrying salmon carcasses to feed hungry smolt or pressing the flesh to invite involvement in fisheries protection groups.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Described as a "dashboard guide" rather than a coffee-table book, a new publication from Brushy Mountain Publishing offers a detailed look at important fly fishing waters in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The Western North Carolina Fly Guide's author is J.E.B. Hall, a fly fishing guide for Davidson River Outfitters. "The guide divides WNC and eastern Tennessee into seven regions, offering more than 70 quick, easily digestible stream entries that show the water, tell how to get there and offer tips for which flies to use during various times of the year. The book bills itself as the definitive WNC guide to fly-fishing for trout, bass and musky." Johnny Buck writes about the book in North Carolina's Citizen-Times.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some of the most evocative fly fishing books -- at least in our library -- combine fine and inventive writing with raw but eloquent photographs. One example is Thomas McGuane's and Charles Lindsay's Upstream. Two more would be Andrew Steketee's and Kirk Deeter's books about fly fishing guides. We excerpted their saltwater book in late summer. Now we're happy to be able to show you a chapter of their book about trout guides, Castwork, illustrated with photographs by Liz Steketee.

"Rusty Vorous" is one of many remarkably insightful profiles in the book, but we picked it because we've had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of Rusty's quotable observations and brilliant instruction. The words and images capture not just the man but the land and water that have shaped his unique personality.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Don’t try dying your own fly tying materials. If you can’t resist, know that the most easily dyed color is purple. It is achieved by trying to dye something black." Larry Myhre offers several bits of essential advice for the dedicated fly tier -- all with tongue firmly planted in cheek. In the Souix City Journal.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"When it is bitterly cold and windy, you may find yourself wading deeper to stay warm. I buy my wading boots two sizes larger than I normally wear so that I can wear two pair of expedition-weight socks, a pair of sock liners and still have room to wiggle my toes. It is more important to be able to wiggle your toes than to have additional insulation." John Berry gives some simple but wise counsel on staying warm and comfortable while fishing one of the best seasons of the year. In the Arkansas Baxter Bulletin.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You might never see a Hell's Bay skiff on an Argentinian river. Nor are you likely to see a wrangler stack his saddle and personal effects on the foredeck for a ferry ride, unless, of course, you watch this video that Kirk Deeter and Tim Romano dug up on Field & Stream's Fly Talk blog.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Conservation writer Ted Williams blows the whistle, loudly. "Fluvial grayling, the race that dwells in rivers, are common in the Arctic and sub-arctic, but in the Rocky Mountain West, they survive in only 4 percent of their historical range, and they’re barely hanging on in Montana’s Upper Big Hole River system. Should they be allowed to die out? Yes, says the Bush administration. No, says the Endangered Species Act, which requires the federal government to recover 'distinct population segments' that persist outside a species’ principal range." In High Country News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

George Daniel, who is by all accounts one of the top competitive fly fishers in the U.S., told graduates of Lock Haven University (Pennsylvania) that life isn't about succeeding at everything. "He also told a story about a former coach’s fly-fishing experience with baseball legend Ted Williams. During that adventure, Daniel said, Williams told the coach that even though the opposition got him out six out of every 10 times he came up to plate, he was still considered one of the best baseball players of all time." Lindsay Davis on Lockhaven.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We first saw this interesting new tippet material at the Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver in September. At the time, production issues prevented RIO from handing out samples, but apparently those issues are resolved and the new braided Extreme Tippet is good to go. The new material is actually 100% braided Dyneema, which floats on water and is 15 times stronger than steel. (By the way, we asked Simon Gawesworth of RIO what affect the leader's buoyancy has on a nymph. His answer: "It is so thin that there is no effect on it. It floats if you cut off a piece and throw it on the water without a fly on, but with a weighted nymph on -- even of normal weight -- it will cut through the water easily.") RIO is touting the tippet's sensitivity and recommends it for use in Czech nymphing and other techniques where bite detection is paramount. The suggested retail price for Extreme Tippet is $8.95 for a 20 yard spool.

For more info and the full press release, read the extended entry.

RIO Products introduces Extreme Tippet, an incredible new tippet material.

IDAHO FALLS, December 1st, 2007 – RIO Products proudly announces the introduction of a brand new type of tippet material for the ultimate in all round performance.

The new Extreme Tippet is a super sensitive tippet material with zero stretch and an unbelievable strength to diameter ratio.

Extreme Tippet is actually a black, 100% braided Dyneema® which is a super strong polyethylene fiber that offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. It is up to 15 times stronger than quality steel and up to 40% stronger than aramid fibers. Dyneema® floats on water and is extremely durable and resistant to moisture, UV light and chemicals.

With the no-stretch properties of Extreme Tippet, bite detection increases significantly and setting the hook when striking is instantaneous. This allows for a far greater hook up rate than is usual. When fishing with techniques that rely on feeling the take - such as nymphing, swinging a fly for anadromous fish or fishing streamers – Extreme Tippet is the perfect choice for the fly fisher.

One huge added advantage of Extreme Tippet is the strength to diameter ratio. With a strength of 10lbs (4.5 kgs) for a 5X diameter (0.006” 0,152 mm) it is more than twice as strong as the average material of this diameter and gives the angler all the advantages of this increased strength. The other sizes available are 15lbs (6.8 kgs) at 4X (0.007” 0,178 mm), 20lbs (9 kgs) at 3X (0.008” 0,203 mm) and 25lbs (11.4 kgs) at 2X (0.009” 0,229 mm).

RIO recommends using the 5X for nymphing (especially for Czech nymphing), 4X for fishing hoppers and terrestrials, 3X for streamers and 2X for anadromous fish.

This new Extreme Tippet is available from all authorized RIO dealers and has a recommended retail price of $8.95 for a 20 yard spool.

For more details or information contact: Simon Gawesworth, simon@rioproducts.com or Zack Dalton, zack@rioproducts.com at RIO Products Intl., Inc.

RIO Products Intl, Inc. • 5050 S. Yellowstone Hwy. • Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 USA
Tel. 208-524-7760 • FAX 208-524-7763 • Website: www.rioproducts.com

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Most anglers associate Vincent Marinaro with his seminal A Modern Dry-Fly Code, written in the 1950s about the behavior of insects and feeding trout and championing streamside observation for dry-fly fishers. But Thomas Whittle and Bill Harms also knew him as a great practitioner and teacher of bamboo rod building and have just released a book about their mentor entitled Split & Glued By Vincent C. Marinaro, echoing the inscription Marinaro placed on each of his rods. "The book is a precise examination of the technical expertise developed by one of Pennsylvania's most influential fly fishermen and authors, an exploration of his life and times and a journey through the lore of his home trout waters in the Cumberland Valley. Prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association, which will receive a portion of the proceeds, the 300-page, full-color book includes 225 photos, 50 drawings, 11 original paintings and charts of all of Marinaro's rod tapers." Marcus Schneck on Penn-Live.com.

The book can be purchased directly from the the authors at www.stonycreekrods.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Using its own studies and new data from the U.S. Forest Service, the Washington, D.C., based cold water fisheries lobbying group predicts climate change will cause the widespread loss of trout and salmon -- as much as 90 percent in Appalachia and other regions -- over the next 50 years unless the public and private sectors partner to protect habitat now." Deborah Weisberg in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Although it won't directly influence the ongoing debate over the proposed Pebble Mine, which is in the hands of the state, the BLM's decision to remove decades-old restrictions on mining from some 1 million acres of the Bristol Bay region is angering locals and conservationists. "Large blocks of land that agency officials plan to reopen to mineral entry are located on uplands in the Nushagak and Kvichak river drainages, which feed some of Bristol Bay's commercial, subsistence and sport fisheries. The Nushagak is the state's largest king salmon producer and the Kvichak is the state's largest sockeye producer." Elizabeth Bluemink in the Anchorage Daily News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is almost impossible to explain to someone who hasn't fully invested themselves in guiding for a number of years what being a good guide requires. Taking enormous energy and personal flexibility, it's simply one of those things that you won't fully understand until you live and breath it. Almost inevitably, a long-time guide begins to ask himself or herself "Why?" Coloradan Gary Hubbell guided for 20-odd years before recently deciding that he had given up enough. Here's his well-written explanation, complete with thanks to the horses.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Tim Alpers' Owens River Ranch, one of the more famous trout-fishing ranches in the West, will close to fishing if the proposed sale of the property is finalized." Ed Zieralski in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tightline Productions has just released a new DVD set on building graphite rods that is one of the more interesting instructional videos of the year. In it, Russ Gooding, a recognized master of classic bamboo rod building, takes his cane rod aesthetic and applies it to the modern graphite blank. There is a ton of great instruction here -- 213 minutes total on two DVDs -- as Gooding takes viewers from A-Z, starting with the differences between approaches to classic vs. high-tech materials and taking aspiring builders step-by-step through the process of building a 7'6" 4-weight rod. Gooding is an engaging and intelligent instructor, and the video work is top notch. If you are looking for a way to spend a few very enjoyable hours over the holidays, or just want a little rod-building inspiration, "The Graphite Rod" is a great choice. You can buy it directly from Tightline Productions by calling 800-338-9052. We understand that it will also be available next week on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're less than a month away now from the opening of simultaneous fly fishing shows for consumers in Denver, and apparently tempers are not cooling. Chuck Furimsky, owner of the established event, The Fly Fishing Show, is prepared to lose money for a couple of years to fend of the predations of the new AFFTA show, according to today's piece by Ed Dentry. The only thing that is pretty clear is that consumers won't be gaining much in the short term, since divided loyalties and business connections will separate many of the top names. "Some celebrities are staying with the old show; others willingly have gone over to the far side. Among the notables, for example, anglers will find Lefty Kreh at the convention center, but Dave Whitlock at the Merchandise Mart." In the Rocky Mountain News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several female artists, including Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna, Jill Sobule, and Kristin Hersh are part of a new album covering Neil Young classics that will be released in February to benefit Casting for Recovery. Casting for Recovery enhances the lives of breast cancer survivors by offering no-cost fly-fishing retreats tailored to promote and support mental and physical healing.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

How to know without a trace of doubt that your recently tied fly is a good imitation? A spider crawls across the desk and steals it. Welshman Moc Morgan illustrates his column on flies with the example.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Listen to the author of the new book Backcast talk about moving 17 times as a child -- often skipping out on the rent, learning about the outdoors, and as an adult having to deal with divorce, an event he had promised himself he would never experience. If you've already read the book, the interview reveals a rather heart-warming epilogue: the author's son writes a letter from Peru telling his dad "you'll never lose me."

Also, Chuck Leddy reviews Ureneck's book on Boston.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a pretty funny blog entry by Glen Davis in the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger about what it's like to be a fly fisher in the land of noodlers. "As I turned my head I could see a shirtless young man hanging out of the window of a vehicle. As the line reached me and settled on me like someone had dumped a bowl of green spaghetti over my head, I heard his words 'fly fishing is bull----!' Stung by this profound statement, I turned and hung my head and stared at my boots, which were covered in fly line."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The first thing I do is change flies. Try a different size of the same pattern. Try a different pattern. If you are fishing small nymphs, try a huge San Juan worm. If the tiny Adams fails, try a Dave's hopper. Mix it up." Arkansas guide John Berry offers a few bits of advice about coping with difficult fish and difficult conditions. In the Baxter Bulletin.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Subtitled "The Fly Fisherman's Eternal Struggle," this new book by New Mexico guide Taylor Streit is really a large collection of stories -- most of them quite entertaining -- about this fly fishing veteran's many experiences fishing not just New Mexico and the Rio Grande, but the Bahamas, Patagonia and Mexico. There are even a couple of hunting stories here, rounding out a fairly large picture of how the author has spent his last forty years in the out of doors. As with his earlier book Instinctive Fly Fishing (see MidCurrent's review), you won't find a lot of lofty language or pretension here, but there are plenty of lyrical moments.

Man vs. Fish on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MidCurrent's annual holiday gift list is complete. Although we always find it hard to limit ourselves to a couple of dozen choices, we do have favorites even in this short list: Patagonia's Sun Shade Shirt, Sage BASS Series Rods, and ExOfficio's Men's Give-N-Go Boxers.

Read the list, print it out, and, if necessary, casually leave it in a conspicuous place (we recommend the kitchen table).

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What more can you say about a fly reel that looks like it might have been invented by the Borg for intergalactic domination and approaches $2000 in price? Answer: that it will likely take over collector consciousness in 2008. Dutch reel designer Ari 't Hart -- the only reel maker who can claim a permanent display in the Architecture and Design Collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City -- is taking pre-orders for his latest creation, the eye-catching Astrid. The Astrid's suggested retail price is $1799 USD which includes a case, reel seat and size 5/6 spool. Or if the Astrid is just too out there for you, try the slightly more down-to-earth, but more expensive ($2999 USD), Trilogy, also new for 2008.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sunglass maker Kaenon announced the release of their new Kabin frames late last week. The Kabin is the first of their 2008 line to hit the market, and like all Kaenon sunglasses the new style features their top-end SR-91 lenses. Our field tests of the Kaenon glasses this year proved them to be might fine lenses indeed, so they are worth a close look if you are considering replacing those worn-out old standbys in time for spring.

Read the extended entry for the full press release.

November 26, 2007

New KABIN from Kaenon Polarized - Early Holiday Release from ’08 Collection

Newport Beach, CA – California based Luxury Performance™ eyewear brand, Kaenon Polarized, released KABIN™ today - the first frame introduction from the company’s new 2008 collection.

Marked by its simple and subtle styling, KABIN is a wear-everyday-go-anywhere piece that implements original, back-to-the-basics style. Designed for men - though with unisex appeal - KABIN is equally at home on the street as it is on the water, the golf course, in the mountains or wherever your pursuits may lead.

Ideal for the consumer who wants superior optical performance in a clean and traditional frame, KABIN features slender temples and modest branding. Made in Italy, the frames are injection-molded from TR-90, an advanced material that is uniquely formulated for strength, durability, memory retention and lightweight construction that ensures a consistent fit for superior performance and comfort. Ultra-grippy Variflex™ nose pads are discretely hidden in the bridge to securely anchor KABIN to the wearer’s face.

And like all Kaenon Polarized products, KABIN features Kaenon’s proprietary SR-91® lens technology, a revolutionary lens material that offers the optical acuity of the finest glass lenses with unprecedented impact resistance. Further pushing the lens performance envelope, SR-91 is an extremely lightweight polarized lens; when fused with the conservatively stylish design of KABIN, Kaenon Polarized once again achieves Luxury Performance.

Available in Tortoise and Black in both lens tint options of Grey 12 or Copper 12, KABIN retails for $199 and is RX-adaptable with Kaenon’s exclusive SR-91 prescription lenses in both Single Vision and it’s advanced Freestyle Progressive lens design.

Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically®.

###

Media Contacts:
Glynn Montemayor
Kaenon Polarized
949.574.7918
glynn@kaenon.com

Chris Denny
Denny, ink.
435.655.1609
chris@dennyink.com

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're not familiar with This Is Fly yet and you enjoy a non-traditional take on fly fishing and fly fishing culture, check out the latest issue, which just came online this morning, complete with a snowboarder flying across the cover (gee, I wonder what these guys do when it's cold?). Starting off with an article on how to hold fish for pictures (learn "the missionary position of hand holds"), moving to an interview with the star of the new video Fish Tales, and continuing with a piece on float-tubing for tarpon, there's a surprising amount of entertainment here.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Tis the season for gift lists, and Mark Yuasa suggests the Filson Wading Jacket, the REI Men's Antifreeze Down Jacket, and FishGillz Floating Polarized Sunglasses, among other items. (I wonder if the DropZone Hang Timer would be useful for those big plunges I seem to take every so often when biking to remote lakes.) In the Seattle Times.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to a regular and smaller number of releases from the Wolf Creek Dam, whose repair is the focus of the Army Corps of Engineers, the brown trout in this tailwater fishery are doing quite well, despite forecasts of a massive die-off. But it's anybody's guess what normal rains would bring; the southeast U.S. has experienced severe drought now for several months. "Conditions also are perfect for brown trout to spawn, and Dreeves says they probably have. Whether the eggs will survive to produce little trout depends largely on the weather. Heavy winter rains would restart the power-generation process, tailwater levels would jump significantly and any trout eggs probably would be lost." Gary Garth in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Guide Ray Travis talks about a variety of tactics for effectively fishing the fall steelhead run in Lake Erie tributaries. He covers water flow and prospecting, using the proper amount of weight, and even gear and tippet selection: "'I always use the lightest tippet fish will let me get away with,' says Travis, who usually fishes a 10-foot, 6-weight rod. 'I use 3X and 4X [tippet] a lot. It's a rarity when I have to go to 5X. If the fish are there and they look at the pattern, but [there are] no takes, I'll drop down in my tippet and maybe drop down a fly size, too.'" Deborah Weisberg in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"It took about 2 1/2 hours to reach our destination -- the Savegre Mountain Hotel in the village of San Gerardo de Dota. The hotel is located in the so-called cloud forest, deep in a valley along the Savegre river, but still 7,000 feet above sea level. The climate and terrain were much different than what we'd seen at Tiskita. It was chilly, in the 50s, and the setting appeared more European than Central American. Oak and spruce trees outnumbered palm." Ben Sturtevant survives Cerro de la Muerte ("the mountain of death") and boot-chafed calves to fish for rainbows with Dave Sherwood deep inside Costa Rica. On MaineToday.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Award-winning guitarist Artie Traum writes about a trip he and his band, Big Trout Radio, take to play a small gig in Edwards, New York. Somehow he manages to weave in Eric Clapton ("Eric from England"), a foodless 249-mile drive into the hydrogenated heart of the Adirondacks, and a song inspired by a favorite novelist:

"I played my song 'Big Old Trout,' which owes more than a little to Herman Melville and the whale that obsessed Captain Ahab:

There’s a fish I’ve been after
About 20 years
Just as clever as a trout can be
He lives in a pool on a mountain stream
I think he must have psychic ability
I look at him, he looks at me
I know that I met my match
With his giant fins and big brown eyes
He’s a fish I just can’t catch."

On Chronogram.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)