« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
In case you hadn't clicked through to Jeff Kennedy's daily fly drawings from MidCurrent's homepage this month, we wanted to mention that Kennedy is still at it, doing some pretty cool stuff. If you're like me and depend on daily inspiration, I suggest you check out "Drawing Flies 365." You'll find flies drawn and painted on wood, tablecloths, snow and plain old white paper, all of them different and all of them imaginative.
Not a whole lot new here in Patagonia's advice on how to use their wader repair kit, and that's a good thing: the instructions can be used with almost any wader repair kit on the market. Patagonia does do a fine job of illustrating the details (gotta love that water spouting out of the pants leg).
In keeping with their commitment to resource conservation, Abel just announced a new series of reels that will help support Tarpon & Bonefish Unlimited. Abel has done plenty of similar projects in the past for freshwater conservation, but this time their reels will be illustrated by noted Florida Keys artist and fly tier Tim Borski. "Abel will produce 50 signed and numbered illustrated reels with #1 going to Borski and #2 to the Florida conservation organization for their sale, raffle or auction. The newest fish artist’s representation reel by Abel requires approximately 10 hours to hand paint, and will retail for $1,500."
Read the extended entry for the full press release.
ABEL TARPON ILLUSTRATION REEL TO BENEFIT CONSERVATION GROUP
CAMARILLO, Calif. – An Abel Super 12X model reel – inspired and illustrated by Florida Keys artist Tim Borski – will benefit Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited, announced Don R. Swanson, president of Abel.
Abel will produce 50 signed and numbered illustrated reels with #1 going to Borski and #2 to the Florida conservation organization for their sale, raffle or auction.
The newest fish artist’s representation reel by Abel requires approximately 10 hours to hand paint, and will retail for $1,500.
Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit organization based in South Florida with a worldwide presence. The organization supports or collaborates on research projects throughout the Caribbean and Pacific with a goal to protect and enhance both species by gaining a better understanding of their biology and ecology. It is BTU’s belief “that by bringing together recreational anglers, guides, lodges, the marine industry, and other business interests, they can raise the funds and other support needed to conduct this essential research.”
The organization’s mission statement goals and purposes include –
• To support education, conservation, and research to help understand, nurture and enhance healthy bonefish and tarpon populations;
• To nurture and enhance the bonefish population, initially in the Florida Keys, eventually expanding our horizons globally;
• Serving as a repository for information and knowledge related to the life cycle, behavior and well being of the species;
• Supporting research and gathering information related to the condition of these fisheries, as well as their behavior and life cycles;
• Providing educational material to the public and fishermen;
• Working with regulatory authorities and the public to insure that the laws protecting these species are enforced; and
• Interacting with government agencies to assist in the management and regulations related to bonefish and tarpon.
Borski, a university-trained artist who grew up chasing Wisconsin small¬mouth bass with casting tackle, now gives talks on saltwater fly fishing at the International Game Fish Association and other venues. His contemporary paintings are collected by anglers and birding enthusiasts and are displayed in galleries from Key West to Japan.
Borski paints wildlife art in watercolor, oils and acrylics utilizing bold interpretive strokes. “He has developed into one of the world’s most recognized ‘fish and bird artists’,” according to Swanson.
The Super 12X, a large arbor reel for 11- and 12-weight lines, provides anglers rapid line pick-up capabilities, ideal for tarpon anglers. The reel – designated X for the extra fast line pick-up – was engineered to use Spectra or similar backing. It utilizes Abel’s oblong ported ventilation design, providing full strength and rigidity – critical when recovering hundreds of yards of backing under extreme fish-fighting pressure.
The Super 12X has a diameter of 4.450- and a spool width of 1.125-inches with an arbor of 2.480 inches; the reel weighs 9.7 ounces.
Constructed from cold rolled 6061-T aircraft quality aluminum and anodized against saltwater corrosion using Abel’s proprietary metallurgical process, the Super 12X is fitted with a double pawl system for increased reliability and what has been described as a “high tech sound.”
The spool and frame are interchangeable with either the Abel Super 12 or 4.5 reels, enabling anglers to have two different reels at the cost of about one and one-half.
For information about Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited, contact:
Aaron Adams, Ph.D.
Director of Operations and Research
P.O. Box 2197
Pineland, FL 33945
Abel Super 12X Capacities:
WF11-weight with 350 yards of Spectra
WF12-weight with 300 yards of Spectra
Specifications:
Spool diameter 4.450 inches
Spool width 1.125 inches
Arbor (hub) diameter 2.480 inches
Weight 9.7 ounces
BENNETT J. MINTZ PR/ADV.
22370 Mission Circle
Chatsworth, California 91311
818.718.8566 718.1958 Fax
bjmintz@socal.rr.com
"As it flows to the lake through an industrial valley, the river witnesses graffiti-lined walls and abandoned factories. Its water is sullied by discarded shopping carts and urban runoff. But, too, the river meanders past stands of hardwoods and newly restored banks. Last weekend the river was dressed in its Easter finest: The sun dappled like diamonds in the riffles, marshmallow snow blanketed the banks and striped the trees." Paul Smith gets his bell wrung by a steelhead on one of Wisconsin's little urban anomalies, the Menomonee River in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile the anglers arriving on Wisconsin's Brule at 2 AM are dismayed to find two cars already in the parking lot. "Anglers were right about one thing. It was cold in the darkness before dawn. Right at 20 degrees. A half-moon rode a starry sky above the boughs of white pines. Anglers built small fires for warmth as they staked out favorite runs. Fishing wouldn’t be legal until half an hour before sunrise, about 6:25 a.m." Sam Cook in the Duluth News Tribune.
"The split-cane rods run between 6 feet and 7 feet long and feature special detailing like a rattan grip and Ramanauskas's hand drawn India-ink fly art logo. As expected, a rare rod of fine craftsmanship will cost big bucks: $2,650 in this case. Ramanauskas also makes an elite Eden Cane line of node-less bamboo rods." Tracy Harmon profiles bamboo rod craftsman Bernard Ramanauskas in the Pueblo (Colorado) Chieftain.
You can listen to an audio podcast of an interview with Ramanauskas on MidCurrent.
"In the novel, the Blackfoot, one of the rivers dammed in Milltown, is portrayed as a frontier of unspoiled outdoor recreation. In reality, the reservoir behind the 720-foot-(220 meter)wide, 21-foot-(seven meter)high Milltown dam east of Missoula held 6.6 million cubic yards of sediment laden with arsenic, zinc, copper and other heavy metals. The sediments came from a century of mining at the river's headwaters in Butte, 120 miles upstream." Jeff Hull for Reuters.
Meanwhile New West published photos of the event, which happened yesterday morning.
The more scientists look at the environmental impact of salmon farming, the more grim their assessment. Now it seems that only massive amounts of antibiotics can control the spread of viruses that infest salmon farms, even in remote regions like the Chilean coast. Add this to the general inefficiency of salmon production -- 7 to 11 pounds of fresh fish are required to produce 2 pounds of farmed salmon -- and you get a recipe for environmental abuse.
As Pascale Bonnefoy writes in The New York Times, the companies running these huge salmon farms have an easy answer to the local disasters their aquaculture causes: they simply abandon the contaminated areas and move on. "Since discovering the virus in Chile last July, Marine Harvest has closed 14 of its 60 centers and announced it would lay off 1,200 workers, or one-quarter of its Chilean operation. Since the company announced last month that it would move south, to Aysén, the government has said the virus has spread there as well, in two outbreaks not involving Marine Harvest." (Thanks to readers Bill Klyn and Kyle Moppert for this link.)
Long, narrow-beam flats boats have some big advantages over their wider cousins: they get up on plane quickly, pole like a dream, and tend to use a lot less fuel, making them perfect for long trips. Tim Chapman writes about one of these new hybrids, a custom 23-footer, in the Miami Herald. "On one trip, two guys in a high-end flats boat powered with 150 horsepower outboards stared, then smiled, as they passed the long, strange craft. They headed around an island to fish a flat in about two feet of water. Meanwhile, Gorton cut the power to his 'Seminole'' canoe and started poling in about six inches of water. You can easily guess who landed the better catches -- it wasn't the guys with the big horsepower."
"Most cutthroat in the lower Rogue and Illinois rivers are sea-runs, whose life history mirrors steelhead, including time in the ocean and a river return for spawning. The vast majority of upper Rogue cutthroats are called 'fluvials.' They use the main-stem Rogue like the sea, dropping into the Rogue to feed most of the year before heading into tributaries like Elk Creek to spawn." Mark Freeman writes about what serious anglers do on the Upper Rogue when steelhead are scarce. In the Oregon Mail Tribune.
In the Detroit Free Press, Eric Sharp says forget about trying to match the indecipherable early season hatch -- carry little black stoneflies, BWOs, Hendricksons, some caddis and a few Adamses and you'll be just fine. "If it turns out that the river you fish requires an imitation of a bow-legged yellow pine borer in size 21, you can buy some at the local fly shop. Otherwise, get out on the stream, see what's hatching and pull something out of your box that's close."
Joe Doggett reappears in the Houston Chronicle (thankfully) writing about two people who were instrumental in bringing fly fishing to waters around Rockport, Texas. I've fished with Dave Hayward, who is now Orvis's southwest regional manager, in both Texas and the Keys, and he is easily qualified to be a professional guide in his own right. Chuck Scates was a name in the business at a time when fly fishers were just discovering the fabulous sight fishing in Aransas Bay. "Hayward redeemed the choke with an excellent cast on a 27-inch redfish weaving through water so shallow the gleaming back was exposed. The fish snatched the fly and turned against the positive strip strike. Five minutes later, Hayward held the red against the hull, then opened his hands for a clean release. Scates grinned from the poling platform. 'It's a lot easier when you wait until they get the fly in their mouth, eh?'"
John Holt reviews Taylor Streit's new book Man vs Fish: The Fly Fisherman’s Eternal Struggle for the California Literary Review. "I didn’t give Man vs Fish five stars because it’s written as well as say Trout Madness or Trout Magic by Robert Traver or anything by Roderick Haig Brown, though I suspect that as Streit progresses as a writer he will approach these two in delivery. The book received the top rating because of its honest, humble approach to something I care deeply about. A rare thing these days."
It's good to see Trout Unlimited keeping pace with the excitement surrounding the "new" fly fishing filmmaking. They've managed to get Frank Smethurst (of "Running Down the Man" fame) involved in going around the country fishing some of the more at-risk and important resources and turn it all into a TV series called "On the Rise." You can watch the trailer now on MidCurrent.
The Outdoor Channel is the spot to see "On the Rise," and from the looks of the trailer Barrett Productions has done a very polished job of putting this series together. Here's the full schedule of initial airings:
April - June
Friday 8:00 PM
Saturday 2:00 PM
Sunday 7:30 AM
July - September
Friday 8:00 PM
Saturday 8:00 AM
Sunday 7:30 AM
For more info on the new show, visit the "On the Rise" page of the TU Web site.
We got word yesterday that George Harvey, a fly fishing icon and central figure in Pennsylvania trout fishing, passed away on Monday. Besides authoring a handful of books -- including Techniques of Trout Fishing and Fly Tying and George Harvey: Memories, Patterns and Tactics -- and many, many magazine articles, Harvey is credited with starting the first college course in fly fishing, at Penn State, with which he is said to have introduced tens of thousands of younger anglers to the sport. Of course Harvey was also the originator of the George Harvey Dry Fly Knot, which you can see demonstrated here.
"She was fishing a green butt (my favorite soft-hackle pattern that imitates the emerging rhyacophilia caddis that was coming off then). She also was immediately into fish and was really whacking them. In fact, if the truth be known, she was outfishing me (it happens fairly often). About that time, Lori hit a big fish. I looked over and her Winston rod was bent nearly double." Arkansas guide and fly tier John Berry discovers that giving away all of his flies comes with a price higher than simply an empty box. In the Baxter Bulletin.
Dell and other big corporations are trying to draw the line on employee blogging -- unless it pertains to personal interests. So we're calling on all Dell employees who also fly fish to spend more time blogging about our favorite sport. "'If the subject matter crosses over into hobbies or people's personal lives, 'there would be no rationale for us to get involved in that,' Pearson said in a phone interview Tuesday. Translation: 'If someone is a fisherman and they want to talk about fly fishing outside of work, then that's not our business, it's personal,' said Pearson. 'But if someone is going to talk about notebooks and anything related to Dell, they have to say they're from Dell.'" Anne Broach on CNET News.
Field & Stream magazine just released their "Best of the Best" list of gear for 2008 and Simms has once again made the list, this time with their Simms G4 Guide™ waders and custom Muck® Wetland™ Boot.
In January, Gray's Sporting Journal gave the G4 waders one of its Gray’s Best Awards for 2008.
"'With rugged 4mm high-density neoprene booties, these suckers are built to do battle, and last,' wrote the [Field & Sream] test crew. “The new Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric (five layers in the legs, waist, and seat; three layers elsewhere) is lighter, more breathable, and more flexible that Gore’s previous heavy-duty fabric. Generous leg articulation gives mobility and the YKK waterproof front zipper blessedly simplifies getting them on, getting them off, and answering nature’s call. Piggybacked, zippered chest pockets are functional and secure. G4 Guides are available in a stocking-foot version, but the real genius lies in the style with the lightweight Muck Wetland boots attached: They fit like a slipper and are good to 20 below zero. This was our unanimous top choice.'”
Read the press release in the extended entry.
SIMMS G4 GUIDE WADERS NAMED 2008 ‘BEST OF THE BEST’ BY FIELD & STREAM MAGAZINE MONTANA-BASED FISHING BRAND MAKES ELITE LIST FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR
BOZEMAN, MONTANA (for immediate release) – Simms has done it again.
In the March 2008 issue of outdoor magazine Field & Stream, the Montana-based manufacturer of fishing gear won top honors in Field & Stream’s “Best of Fishing 2008 Field Test” with its American-made Simms G4 Guide™ waders and custom Muck® Wetland™ Boot.
The award marks the fifth time in Simms’ history that they have received a “Best of the Best” honor from Field & Stream, elevating them to an elite cadre of fishing innovators.
“This is an honor that all of us at Simms can share. Design, development and production of products like the G4 Guide waders don’t happen without a devoted team here in Bozeman and feedback from our guide community and product testers around the world,” said K.C. Walsh, president of Simms.
Field & Stream’s “Best of the Best” is awarded by a panel of hard-core anglers and gear junkies assembled by the editors. The panel puts a variety of fishing equipment through its paces, then calls out the outstanding gear they find, from rods and reels to electronics and accessories. Of all the gear tested and tried, only 14 items garnered “Best of the Best” awards this year.
The G4 Guide Waders drew rave reviews from the magazine’s test crew which was made up of outdoor writer John Larison, angling photographer Jim Schollmeyer and Field & Stream contributing editor Ted Leeson. The trio has collectively logged more than a century of fishing experience.
“With rugged 4mm high-density neoprene booties, these suckers are built to do battle, and last,” wrote the test crew. “The new Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric (five layers in the legs, waist, and seat; three layers elsewhere) is lighter, more breathable, and more flexible that Gore’s previous heavy-duty fabric. Generous leg articulation gives mobility and the YKK waterproof front zipper blessedly simplifies getting them on, getting them off, and answering nature’s call. Piggybacked, zippered chest pockets are functional and secure. G4 Guides are available in a stocking-foot version, but the real genius lies in the style with the lightweight Muck Wetland boots attached: They fit like a slipper and are good to 20 below zero. This was our unanimous top choice.”
The breadth of the Simms wader line is unparalleled in the fishing industry, with products for men, women and younger anglers. Made in the USA, Simms waders have become the choice of professional guides across the globe, and the extensive line of gear – from shirts, pants, wading boots, vests and jackets – is the leader in the angling world.
Simms has been awarded four “Best of the Best” honors from Field & Stream: in 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2006 for products ranging from waders, to jackets and travel bags.
"Having the right gear can really affect your day," said Jay Cassell, deputy Editor of Field & Stream from a press release issued by the magazine. "We want our readers to catch more fish and have more fun, so we do the heavy lifting, testing everything to determine what products will help them achieve that goal. Thousands of new outdoor products are introduced each year. The Best of the Best list is great way to maneuver through the mountain of gear available and ensure you come out on top with products that will perform."
For more on Field & Stream's "Fishing Best of the Best," see the March issue of the magazine or visit www.FieldandStream.com.
About Simms Fishing Products: Established in 1980, Simms Fishing Products is the recognized leaders in guide-quality fishing waders, outerwear, footwear and apparel. If they don’t make it, you don’t need it. Simms’ world-renowned line of waders are manufactured in Bozeman, Montana. Their full line of guide-quality gear is available at specialty and large format retailers nationwide. For more information on Simms, please visit www.simmsfishing.com.
On Fly Talk, Kirk Deeter lines up a perfect schedule for the North American fly fisher. Sure, he left out October permit in Key West, but on the whole this list is fodder for more than a few daydreams. "August: Early Mako Sharks, off San Diego (new moon); Early-Mid Tricos, Missouri River, Montana, below Holter Dam; Mid callibaetis hatch, Silver Creek Idaho, Madison Arm of Hebgen Lake (gulpers); Mid-Late Stimmies and beetles, San Miguel River near Telluride, Colorado; Late Hoppers! on the South Fork, Idaho."
This may be one reason why Outdoor Life magazine named an Arkansas town the top place to live for sportsmen in America (see "Paradise Found"): Arkansans take their conservation seriously. Developer Benny Doyal must pay $175,000 to cover legal fees and penalties associated with the damage his developments caused to the North Fork of the White River in August 2006.
"Of the total fine, ADEQ will get $50,000, which will go into a remedial action trust fund, which is a fund set up for civil environmental penalties, according to the decree. Arkansas Council of Trout Unlimited, which also was involved in the lawsuit, will receive $50,000 to pay for attorney fees and for the benefit of the North Fork of the White River or its watershed. The remaining $75,000 will go toward organizations selected by ADEQ, which will be directed toward the benefit of the river and its watershed, according to the decree." Joanne Bratton in the Baxter Bulletin.
Gordon Wickstrom asks which are more essential in fly fishing: lyrical (feminine) or epic (masculine) skills? Perhaps if you are a steelheader, the epic wins, but for dry flies, finesse takes the prize. "That doyen of American fly-fishing, Sparse Grey Hackle, insisted that women are better equipped physically for fly-fishing. They have a finer sense of the delicacy needed, especially in dry fly-fishing. They are apt to be more skillful in approaching a fish, and then to cast more delicately to it."
Just a couple of weeks ago Wickstrom wrote the first part of this essay on women and water.
There are two reasons why "Joan Wulff's Dynamics of Fly Casting" has outsold almost every other fly fishing DVD that's been made to date: Joan Wulff and Jeffrey Pill.
Joan Wulff hardly needs an introduction. She dominated international casting competitions at a time when only men were winning medals, and she became a pre-eminent teacher of fly casting techniques. Director and producer Jeffrey Pill, on the other hand, should be a household name. His work in developing Joan's instructional video, his earlier production of "Successful Fly Fishing Strategies" (with Gary LaFontaine), and then the later "The Art of Spey Casting" set standards that few fly fishing filmmakers have approached. I suppose we should expect as much from someone who is a former senior producer of "20/20" and series producer of "In Search Of" with Leonard Nimoy. You won't find many glory shots in Jeff Pill's videos, but you know after watching them that they will be just as valuable in 50 or 100 years as they are today.
This week we're pleased to show you a biography of Wulff that Pill produced for "Dynamics." It's a cool bit of video about a remarkable woman. New on MidCurrent.
"The official breaching of the dam Friday will have both historic and biological consequences. For the first time in a century, the Blackfoot -- featured in the movie 'A River Runs Through It' -- will flow freely to its confluence with the Clark Fork at the site 10 miles east of Missoula. The dam removal also will facilitate the natural migration of trout up the Clark Fork into prominent tributaries such as the Blackfoot and Rock Creek." Charlie Meyers in the Denver Post.
As we reported in February, the dam breaching will create a wall of water several feet high and is expected to scour 300,000 tons of sediment from the Blackfoot.
If you want to watch the event as it happens, tune in to the Clark Fork Coalition Web site at 8:00 AM (MT) on Friday morning and watch the "Milltown Dam Cam." Should be quite a show.
"Near-real-time" data shows just how far species tagged by various researchers have swum, and the distances recorded for various turtles, whales, sharks and birds is simply extraordinary. This morning the travels of a young white shark are noted by Tom Stienstra in the San Francisco Chronicle: "The shark was released in February from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and in six weeks has already swum past the southern tip of Baja at Cabo San Lucas and is heading south to the Mexican mainland. That is a distance of roughly 1,200 miles covered in 44 days, according to electronic reports, an average of nearly 27 miles per day - and that's if the shark is swimming in a straight line, an unlikely event."
"'It works on little streams. It works on big streams,' [Skip] Morris said. 'Anywhere you have moving water or even still water, a nymph can be effective. Eighty percent of the time, if you really want to have great fishing, you need to fish a nymph.'” So said the Washington state author and fly tier at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission auditorium last Monday. Bryan Hendricks on NWANews.com.
Morris's latest book is Morris on Tying Flies
Jarkko Suominen of Finland took first place in the national competition, which was also open to the teams competing in the World Fly Fishing Championships that start today. Second place went to Sando Soldarini of Italy while Suominen's teammate Janne Pirkkalainen was third. Judges also gave special commendation to ten-year old Jacob Bond from Lake Rotoma, who has been tying flies for just a year.
Read the extended entry for the full press release.
Sunday 23 March 2008
The youngest competitor won a special commendation for his remarkable fly-tying skills at the inaugural New Zealand National Open Feather Merchants Fly Tying Championship in Rotorua today.
Ten-year old Jacob Bond from Lake Rotoma, a passionate fly fisher, has been tying flies for just a year. “For a 10-year old boy to tie flies like this is phenomenal, I was hugely impressed because not only did the flies look good, they would certainly catch fish”, said Nate Jarvis, General Manager of Feather Merchants who provided the prizes. Jacob’s parents were also pleased with their bottle of Trout Valley wine, a merit award received by all entrants.
Though some New Zealanders travelled to Rotorua especially for the competition, the three main place-getters were all from the Finnish and Italian fly fishing teams who are currently in Rotorua for the World Fly Fishing Championships. Mr Jarvis commented that though the competitors were all tying the same standard patterns, every country had a slightly different take on them. Fishing writer Doug Stevens from nzfishing.com observed “I was struck by the quality and craftsmanship that people put into this aspect of the sport” The overall winner was Jarkko Suominen of Finland, while his team mate Janne Pirkkalainen was third. The second place-getter, from Italy was Sando Soldarini.
The event which was open to the public, was so successful, it will now be run annually in conjunction with the New Zealand National Fly Fishing Champs.
An unsuspecting angler might pick up Richard Brautigan's 1967 book Trout Fishing in America and guess wrongly that he was about to read a guide to the country's cold water fisheries. In fact, the book has almost nothing to do with trout fishing but provides a condemnation of a cultural turn away from nature.
Interestingly, Brautigan was also featured in the UYA production of "Tarpon," made in 1974, and coined the phrase "fishing on the ragged edge" in the movie: further evidence that some of the roots of counter-culture literature in the U.S. are closely entwined with fly fishing.
This from the Wikipedia entry on Brautigan: "To his critics, Brautigan was willfully naive. Lawrence Ferlinghetti said of him, 'As an editor I was always waiting for Richard to grow up as a writer. It seems to me he was essentially a naïf, and I don't think he cultivated that childishness, I think it came naturally. It was like he was much more in tune with the trout in America than with people.'"
Moldy Chum picked up on the news yesterday that a federal judge ruled against conservationists who want to curtail commercial fishing of endangered salmon in Puget sound. Apparently the fact that in ten rivers fewer than 500 fish are now returning to spawn is not enough evidence that taking 22 to 76 percent of the fish is any danger to their populations. "Federal officials are not violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing fishing for Puget Sound salmon -- even though it kills up to three-quarters of the fish protected under the law -- U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik of Seattle said in a ruling issued Friday." Article link.
Author and soft-hackle fly expert Sylvester Nemes ties the Tup's Indespensible, a fly first popularized in England in the late 1800s and early 1900s but still a terrific pattern.
"'When I started out I had one rod and two lines. Now I have six to eight rods and 20 different lines.' Most anglers put a fly on and fish it all day. The competition anglers are changing flies every five minutes." In New Zealand's Manawatu Standard, Ewan Sargent interviews Paul Dewar, who describes his 3D approach to visualizing trout water.
Who says you can't save fish by selling thousands of T-shirts? Patagonia just handed over a check for $12,000 to the Yellowstone Park Foundation from sales of its Yellowstone cutthroat trout t-shirts -- part of their World Trout Initiative, which aims to identify the individuals and groups working to protect native fish, tell their story, and support their conservation efforts. Patagonia has given more than $40,000 to YPF, which runs programs that involve volunteer anglers collecting biological data under the supervision of Park biologists.
Read the full press release in the extended entry.
YELLOWSTONE PARK FOUNDATION GETS ADDITIONAL HELP FROM PATAGONIA FOR FLY FISHING VOLUNTEERS PROGRAM
Bozeman, MT – The Yellowstone Park Foundation recently received further help from outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer Patagonia to fund the Fly Fishing Volunteers Program in Yellowstone. Patagonia presented the nonprofit Foundation with a check for $12,000 to complete funding for this program, which will assist Park fisheries biologists with research and conservation efforts through 2009.
The gift from Patagonia represents the final donation of proceeds from the sale of Yellowstone cutthroat trout t-shirts, through their worldwide sales network. The popular t-shirts, which featured James Prosek original artwork and sold out in 2007, were part of Patagonia’s World Trout Initiative -- an endeavor to identify the individuals and groups working to protect native fish, to tell their story, and to support their conservation efforts.
Yellowstone’s native fish populations are being negatively impacted by competition from -- and predation by -- non-native fish species, along with whirling disease and prolonged drought. Much of the Park’s aquatics staff have been reassigned to address these crises, leaving a large number of the Park’s fisheries untended. To help fill this gap the Yellowstone Park Foundation established the Fly Fishing Volunteers Program in 2003 to fund program supplies, laboratory analysis of samples, and the hiring of two Volunteer Coordinators.
Under the guidance of these Coordinators and Yellowstone’s Supervisory Fisheries Biologist, volunteer anglers collect biological data on Yellowstone’s fish populations by recording the species composition, general health, condition, and age of fish caught. They also help gather non-lethal fin clip samples for genetic analysis and assist in tagging studies to facilitate fish population research.
In 2007, 90 volunteers contributed more than 1,750 hours to collect valuable data from Yellowstone’s rivers, streams and lakes.
“Patagonia has not only provided much-needed funds for this important program,” said Yellowstone Park Foundation Executive Director Paul Zambernardi. “Through their global sales network, catalogs, and website, they have helped raise public awareness about the serious threats faced by Yellowstone’s native trout.”
The $12,000 check follows earlier donations from Patagonia to the Foundation, for a variety of fisheries and wildlife conservation projects, totaling more than $40,000 over the past five years.
The Yellowstone Park Foundation works in cooperation with the National Park Service to fund projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance the natural and cultural resources and the visitor experience of Yellowstone National Park. Learn more >> http://www.ypf.org
Those interested in volunteering for the Yellowstone Fly Fishing Volunteers Program should contact Molly Pickall at the Yellowstone Park Foundation at (406)586-6303 or mpickall@ypf.org.
Learn more about Patagonia’s World Trout Initiative >> http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=10153
###
CONTACTS:
Bill Klyn
World Trout Initiative
Patagonia
Phone 805.643.8616
bill_klyn@patagonia.com
Christine Gianas Weinheimer
Yellowstone Park Foundation
Phone 406.586.6303
cgianas@ypf.org
This week Thomas McGuane joins the editorial board of MidCurrent. He brings literary acumen, of course, as well as a unique sensitivity to fly fishing literature and art as a whole. Nick Lyons recently said: "Among all the great fly fishing writers writing today, I would include Tom McGuane at the very top." In an age of increasing political correctness in both art and sport, McGuane chose to loosen the reins. His suggestion, "If the trout are lost, smash the state," gave trout bums a mantra of their own and sent a wake up call to anglers who had ignored the connection between bad government and the loss of fish habitat.
McGuane is perhaps best known among fly fishers for his novel Ninety Two in the Shade, which was nominated for a National Book Award for Fiction in 1974, and for The Longest Silence, a collection of angling essays. His novel The Bushwhacked Piano received the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award for a Work of Fiction in 1971. Some of his other books include The Sporting Club and The Cadence of Grass, and, most recently, Gallatin Canyon.
Tom joins Bruce Richards, Chico Fernandez and John Merwin in helping to guide MidCurrent forward, and we are very happy to have him.
Morgan Lyle found that with less time on his hands, he made some obvious choices about which flies to tie -- choices he probably should have made earlier. Among the decisions: tie more caddisflies, and tie smaller. "Sure, the mayfly is the 'fly' in fly-fishing. But as Rick Hafele, in his recent excellent book, Nymph-Fishing Rivers and Streams, writes 'there are more species of caddisflies than all the mayflies and stoneflies put together . . . you will encounter caddisflies, often in abundance, in just about any water you fish.' It’s time to tie some rock worms, Elk-Hair Caddis and soft-hackles." On DailyGazette.com.
According to the organizers of the World Fly Fishing Championships, "Members of the Bosnian Fly Fishing Team, who have been in New Zealand for 10 days practicing for the world fly fishing champs next week, have learned that may not after all be able to compete. The organization running the championships, the SFFNZ (Sports Fly Fishing NZ) has just heard that the Bosnian fly fishing federation has refused to pay the team's entry fee to the competition. The Bosnian anglers team are said to be stunned at this unexpected news as they have laid out a small fortune getting to New Zealand and cannot afford to front up with the $9750 entry fee. SFFNZ is working with the FIPS secretariat to see if they can resolve this matter before the check-in deadline which is Saturday 22nd March."
This little gem of a quote is hidden in a retrospective by popular Irish sports writer Con Houlihan in Ireland's Independent: "Local fame is like a name carved on a tree destined for the sawmill. Anglers, despite popular belief, are not liars. Such strange things happen on the water that if they told the truth, nobody would believe them. And so they tell lies in an attempt to capture the truth." Read the whole piece; there's some really fine writing here.
While it is only one of three locations under consideration as an alternative to Livingston, Montana, last month Federation of Fly Fishers officials took a close look at his northern Colorado community.
"After a record high run of 804,000 in 2002, only 90,000 adult chinook, or king salmon, returned to the Sacramento River and its tributaries to spawn last year. That alarming drop-off means the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council has to halt salmon fishing along the California and Oregon coasts this year. The next step will be more complicated: working with the fishing industry, environmentalists, farmers and water control agencies to restore the teeming salmon runs that have been a California hallmark for centuries." California's Mercury News editors lay the truth bare.
Their argument is supported by Monday's New York Times coverage, in which Felicity Barringer describes the various theories for the fish's population collapse in detail: "The fishermen think the fish were left susceptible to disease, or to predators, or to being sucked into diversion pumps and left to die in irrigation canals. But federal and state fishery managers and biologists point to the highly unusual ocean conditions in 2005, which may have left the fingerling salmon with little or none of the rich nourishment provided by the normal upwelling currents near the shore."
The truth is that 'bug Latin' is really a misnomer. The classification of insects by genus, family and species really has nothing to do with classical languages; it was just a convenience for scientists (particularly Carolus Linnaeus) who needed to make up a unique name for every living thing a few hundred years ago.
And that really is why scientific bug names are important. It's the only way to refer to one specific sulphur or blue-winged olive, for example, as being different from another. But as Rick Hafele points out in "Basic Bug ID, Part I: Mayflies," the minute differences between bugs are mostly impractical to learn. More important is knowing what a bug is likely to be, based where it is and what it is doing. Only then should you break out the hand lens, and if you do, this article will give you the details you need to impress your friends (and antagonize your enemies). New on MidCurrent.
Among the newsworthy changes for this year's World Championships, which start this Sunday in Rotorua, are rules which prohibit the use of felt sole shoes and the introduction of a new National Open Fly Tying Competition, sponsored by Umpqua Feather Merchants. "The five North Island rivers and lakes where the competition will take place are the Whanganui and Waihou Rivers, the Waimakariri Stream, Lake Rotoaira and Lake Otamangakau."
As we understand it, the U.S. Team handled the new rules by leaving waders, boots and other gear in-country so that there is no possibility of having key equipment confiscated. No doubt this will become the standard practice for competitive anglers in the face of increasing concern about invasive species control.
Read the full press release in the extended entry.
New Zealand Hosts the World Fly Fishing Championships over Easter
The FIPS-MOUCHE World Fly Fishing Championships are being held in the central North Island over Easter week with the opening on Easter Saturday. Nineteen fly fishing teams from around the world and four individual anglers representing a further four countries will gather in Rotorua to compete for team and individual championship titles.
Rotorua is at the heart of NZ's geothermal area and the region abounds in hot pools, wonderful geothermal scenic areas and many of New Zealand's well known fishing lakes and rivers.
Some teams return to New Zealand after having spent time in January when the competition waters were still open to them, becoming familiar with the venues. Others have arrived early to gain experience of New Zealand fy fishing on other waters in the area.
Following two practice days, there are three days of competition at five different lakes and rivers involving both bank and boat fishing. Results are posted at the end of each day's competition at competition headquarters and on the website www.nzfishing.com.
The New Zealand team, the Silver Flies consists of five members, the captain and a reserve. The captain, Paul Dewar, says it is a top quality team which he believes has a great chance of taking out the world title. New Zealand won the event when it was last hosted here in 1991, and won gold in the Oceania champs against Australia last year.
Timed to coincide with the world champs, the very first NZ National Open Fly Tying Competition, sponsored by Feather Merchants and Umqua, is being held at the Kingsgate Hotel in Rotorua on Sunday 23rd March. Viewing of the flies and the master fly tiers at work is from 3.00 to 4.30pm.
The world champs organisers, Sports Fly Fishing New Zealand (SSFNZ), have also arranged a conservation symposium on the Rotorua Lakes Ecology and Restoration Programme to follow the competition days. This event is free and open to the public. It takes place on Saturday 29th from 10am-12.30pm also at the Kingsgate Hotel.
The five North Island rivers and lakes where the competition will take place are the Whanganui and Waihou Rivers, the Waimakariri Stream, Lake Rotoaira and Lake Otamangakau.
All anglers have a chance to fish each of the five venues. SSFNZ has had the job of selecting the fishing beats so all competitors have equal fishing opportunities and no-one is disadvantaged by the quality of the beat.
During the three-days of competition (26th-28th March) each individual angler fishes for five sessions of three hours. Their catches are scored and the 25 individual session scores are collated for each team. Sector judges conduct and supervise the competition, while volunteer controllers measure the fish and ensure the rules are adhered to.
The use of felt soled (footed) boots or waders has been prohibited during the world championships due to the threat posed by the invading water algae, didymo. Though present in some South Island rivers, didymo has so far not been detected in any North Island waters. Inspections of fishing gear are likely to be carried out as competition team members and guests enter New Zealand.
The 2009 World Fly Fishing Championships are being held in Scotland.
For further information:
www.nzfishing.com (see Fly Fishing Events)
www.2008worldflyfishingchamps.com
END
Photo attached:
Fishing at Lake Rotoaira,one of the 2008 World Fly Fishing Championship venues.
Contacts
Jill Mandeno
International Organiser WFFC 2008
President SSFNZ
Phone: 09 630 8826 (home)
Fax: +64 9 630 7170 (home)
Mob: 021 638826
Email: jillmandeno@attglobal.net
Email: info@2008worldflyfishingchamps.com
Paul Dewar
Captain, NZ Silver Flies
Vice President SFFNZ
Mobile: 021 63 88 26
Sports Fly Fishing NZ (Inc)
Phone 64 4 472 7827
Fax 64 4 472 9982
This media release is authorized by Jill Mandeno, President SSFNZ and International Organiser WFFC 2008. It was prepared and distributed for SSFNZ by nzfishing.com.
"At times like this, it pays to consider the nature of the rivers themselves. I have learned that different rivers turn on at different times in the spring. It could be that the Big Thompson will give up a few midge hatches, but there won't be any trout rising to them and they might even be unsettled about taking the pupa below the surface." Ed Engle suggests throwing aside old habits and paying attention to what the fish are doing this year. And it doesn't hurt to have a local who can keep you tuned in to the daily changes in activity. In the Boulder Daily Camera.
Jon Ain and guide Captain Doug Kilpatrick made only a single cast to a permit on day one of the March Merkin Invitational Permit Tournament last week. But by day three (Friday) they had caught the two largest permit as well as tying second place finishers Warren Hinrichs and guide Kris Suplee for the highest number of fish caught (three). Third place went to Michael O’Brien and guide Mark Phillips. 25 boats fished the three-day tournament, which was marked by coolish weather, with many guides competing as anglers in one of the few flats tournaments that allows guides to fish.
All profits from the charity event went to the Don Hawley Foundation and Bonefish and Tarpon Unlimited . At the event Bonefish and Tarpon Unlimited also announced that The March Merkin had been chosen as their first partner tournament. Further information and pictures of the event are available on www.marchmerkin.com.
When Ray Schmidt let us peek inside his fly box last week (see "Inside the Box: Ray Schmidt"), we got curious about sculpin flies and who was tying effective imitations. We found André Brun's clever patterns, developed for Norwegian rivers and lakes, in the midst of our search. Brun uses Antron bodies and grizzly marabou dubbing to form the thick-bodied patterns.
Arkansas guide Duane Hada also wrote an interesting introduction to sculpins on his Web site. His advice on presentation is specific, and based on sculpin behavior: "Once I sight a target fish I cast well away and up current of the fish as not to spook him with the entry of the fly. I also want to have enough space to properly retrieve the fly. I allow the fly to settle to the bottom; hook up, by design, often will keep the fly motionless for some time depending on the spookiness of the fish. I then start crawling the fly slowly across the bottom toward the window of the target fish."
For almost 100 years, the Flathead Lake Salmon Hatchery near Somers, Montana (just southwest of Glacier National Park) has been doing things the old fashioned way: collecting eggs from wild kokanee salmon and maintaining as pure a strain of fish as can be found anywhere. "The troughs and baskets holding fingerling kokanee salmon are exactly the same, and the incubation methods basically are as well. The manager, now Mark Kornick, still lives in a nearby bungalow also built in 1912. [Brian] Strohschein, who has worked at the hatchery for 24 years, is proud to still collect eggs from the wild, as opposed to using eggs from domesticated fish 'brewed in ponds or concrete raceways.'" Article by the Associated Press.
HERE'S A QUIZ: If big trout eat both large flies and tiny midges, how do you know which to carry in your fly box?
a. I carry both; you never know what you are going to come across.
b. I look at the food sources in the waters I'm fishing.
c. Not an issue -- I carry a dozen fly boxes in a vest the size of a type I Offshore Personal Flotation Device.
d. I use only flies that are enormous, because little fish can't eat them.
All of those answers are valid, of course. But if you are long-time Michigan fly fisher Ray Schmidt, there is only one correct choice: d. This week Schmidt, who owns the venerable Schmidt Outfitters in Wellston, Michigan and who has been guiding area rivers for decades, shares his personal fly box with MidCurrent.
"'You can miss where you're casting. You just pick it up and cast it again,' he said. 'You never know if a kid is going to do what you've told him to do and, actually, I've had flies that have reacted a lot better to my instructions over the years than a lot of the players I've had, so maybe I'm better at fly-fishing than coaching.'" Perhaps because screaming at flies doesn't guarantee a good drift.
Bobby Knight will be a featured studio analyst during college basketball's March Madness broadcasts, as noted by Nancy Marrapese-Burrell on Boston.com.
"There are vintage bamboo rods that are worth between $1,000 and $10,000, made by a handful of American craftsmen from the 1930s through the 1960s who were the Stradivariuses and Amatis of their trade. Those rods carry legendary names like Gillum, Garrison, Leonard, Payne and Young. But for every handcrafted rod from a master, factories churned out thousands that are worth a few hundred dollars at most." Eric Sharp writes about the realities of bamboo rod valuations in the Detroit Free Press. One interesting section of his article describes the tip of a 6 1/2 -foot Leonard Baby Catskill made about 50 years ago: it's six strips of bamboo made a tip that was only 30/1000 of an inch in diameter.
Forbes Traveler polls Lefty Kreh, Tim Holschlag, Tim Pask and others for their opinions on the best North American fishing spots. “'When it comes to monster pike, Saskatchewan’s Wollaston Lake is hard to beat,' says Tim Holschlag, fishing guide and writer whose beat reaches from his Minneapolis home far north into Canada." The article by Greg Breining includes a slideshow of the experts' top picks.
If you think that absurd disregard for animal species is confined to Third World countries, this news will make pull your hair out. The good folks at Tarpon & Bonefish Unlimited have uncovered the activity of a group of Louisiana spearfishers who have been spearing tarpon for sport. So while Florida and other states are spending large amounts of money trying to protect these creatures, which live to be eighty years old, at least a few folks in a neighboring state feel it is great fun to kill them for no purpose whatsoever.
Meanwhile in New Zealand a dolphin goes out of its way to rescue a stranded pygmy sperm whale and her calf. Hmmm... wonder which species is smarter.
Read the extended entry for the full press release.
PRESS RELEASE
March 12, 2008
Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited Condemns Tarpon Atrocities
If you thought photographs of dead tarpon were things of the past in US waters, think again. We were recently provided photographs of what appears to be a growing ‘sport’ in coastal Louisiana – spearfishing for tarpon. Here are examples:
http://www.helldivers.org/Photo%209%20HDR%202005/Mark%20with%20Tarpon%20-%20thumb.jpg
http://www.helldivers.org/Archieved%20Pictures%20I%20-%20Slideshow/February%20Main%20Pass%20006.jpg
Even as the last tarpon ‘kill’ tournament in Florida changes over to an all-release format, and the Mexican fishery turns more toward catch and release, it appears that tarpon conservation is not a high priority in some areas. Indiscriminant and wasteful harvest of this important gamefish should no longer be allowed.
It is clear that there are significantly fewer tarpon around now than there were 30 years ago. And it is likely that the killing of tarpon by recreational (and commercial) fishermen of yesteryear contributed to tarpon population declines. This is the principal reason that Florida, Texas and other southeastern US states have severely restricted the harvest of tarpon.
The killing of tarpon anywhere impacts tarpon fishermen everywhere. BTU-supported research has demonstrated tarpon migrations that clearly show that tarpon fisheries throughout the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and the Caribbean are connected. This regional population model is further supported by genetic research that indicates a single large tarpon stock. In other words, there is no such thing as ‘their fish’ or ‘your fish’ or ‘my fish’. They are all ‘our fish’.
Tarpon are long-lived (>80 years) and slow growing, which means that they are especially vulnerable to harvest. The tarpon shown above all appear to be of mature size, so their deaths have important and grave implications for future generations.
Catch and release recreational tarpon fisheries are worth billions of dollars per year. These fisheries rely on healthy tarpon populations.
BTU supports a regional approach to tarpon fisheries management. Part of such a management plan would include the severe limitation of tarpon harvest.
BTU urgently requests that the State of Louisiana, and other states with similar lax restrictions on tarpon harvests, implement measures that severely restrict the harvest of tarpon.
------------------
Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited
24 Dockside Lane, PMB 83
Key Largo, FL 33037
www.tarbone.org
The Free Argentine Waters blog reported today that three US citizens were deported from Chile after being caught guiding professionally under tourist visas, which of course don't allow someone to work in the country.
Like the recent flushing of the Grand Canyon that chased anglers away for a week, the releases of water that create Colorado's "Dream Stream" are susceptible to the whims of engineers and water managers and even the occasional mechanical breakdown. A downstream pipeline problem may mean that until late April, flows will stay below those required to lure the fish out of the lower lake and into the 5-mile stretch that is normally packed with both anglers and trout.
Fly fishing artist and guide Duane Hada's wife was stricken with advanced breast cancer this year, and it has devastated their family. John Berry gives the details on a recently announced fundraiser to aid the family.
Good cause, good people. Do what you can.
“'You gotta use a worm.'
'Oh yeah?'
'Hell, I caught a 24-incher (using his hands to show how big) down there last week with a crawler. You ought to try a worm.'
'I just might.'
Then the man erupted into a strange, maniacal laughter. I kept walking."
In New West, Joseph Friedrichs encounters the most predictable form of wildlife on the early-season Deschutes.
Virtual Angler blogger Nick Mills tells an interesting story about an abortive attempt to catch trout in Afghanistan and his subsequent research, which turned up some history on the country's brown trout, which were first mentioned in the writings of Herodotus and Marco Polo. "As for the origin of the brown trout, Jean-José wrote a book, La pêche à la truite en Afghanistan, in which he theorizes that the trout migrated from Europe in meltwater streams at the end of the last Ice Age." In Maine Today.
If there is a "classic" largemouth bass fly, the Gerbubble Bug -- originally a square-bodied cork or balsa-wood fly developed by Tom Loving for fly fishing bass in the tidal waters of the Chesapeake -- would get many votes for the top position. But writer Amy Hotz is stymied in her search for the Bartlett's version, which is mentioned by Lefty Kreh in his 2004 book Fly Fishing for Bass. "My search for the elusive Bartlett's Gerbubble Bug continues. So far, I've visited every outfitter in Wilmington. I've traveled to Myrtle Beach and given the Bass Pro Shop the third degree. I've searched the library and the Internet and enlisted others to do the same. Still, no Gerbubble. Not even a recipe to make one." In North Carolina's Star News Online.
Well, Amy, we suggest noting William Tapply's description of the original Gerbubble's features -- hackle feathers inserted into slits cut along both sides of the cork body so that the fibers stuck out perpendicular to the hook shank, creating the effect of dozens of legs kicking at the water’s surface -- and substituting marabou for the hackle feathers. Then take the recipe to a handy fly tier who should be able to whip one up in about 5 minutes. It doesn't answer the question of why you can't find a commercially tied Bartlett's Gerbubble, but it's guaranteed to feed your addiction.
For more on the history of bass bugs, see "From Bobs to Bugs" on MidCurrent.
"This is a sport, all wrapped up in mystique like a Christmas gift draped in colorful ribbons. It is a mood, as well as being a happy form of spring enchantment. Not everyone can be a steelheader and not everyone wants to chase these fish." Dave Richey describes the impulse to fish for steelhead as not unlike the same impulse that pushes steelhead upstream. In Michigan's Travis City Record.
Spawning water for Yellowstone cutthroat trout is the focus of Orvis's latest fundraising efforts. Southern Idaho's Teton Creek has suffered for decades from in-stream dredging and illegal channelization by developers, and Orvis, in cooperation with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, is hoping an infusion of cash will help start the stream channel and habitat restoration that will return the stream to health.
You can see a summary of the new effort, as well as see a video slide show and listen to a podcast about the project, here.
Read the extended entry for the full press release.
The Orvis Company to Support Teton Creek Restoration Project Customers to Help as Well Through a Matching Campaign and "Round Ups" at Checkout
SUNDERLAND, VT- Friends of the Teton River (FTR) is garnering national attention as the recipient of a challenge grant from The Orvis Company.
As part of a year-long campaign to raise funds for Yellowstone cutthroat trout habitat restoration on Teton Creek in southern Idaho, the non-profit watershed group is featured on a full page in the Orvis spring and summer fishing catalogs and prominently on the Orvis website.
Orvis, which donates 5% of profits to conservation annually, involves their customers in conservation efforts by challenging them to meet a fundraising goal for selected projects. They hope to raise $30,000 for FTR's Teton Creek Restoration Project from individual donors. Orvis and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will match donor funds, dollar for dollar, tripling individual contributions toward a goal of $90,000.
In March and April, Orvis patrons can contribute to the project via a "Round Up for Conservation" campaign, featured on the Orvis website at www.orvis.com. Internet shoppers can choose to "round up" their Orvis purchase price to the next dollar, with the difference going directly to the Teton Creek Restoration Project.
"We're excited that a locally