GO FLY A KITE……..TYPICAL

A husband in his back yard is trying to fly a kite. He throws the kite up in the air, the wind catches it for a few seconds, then it comes crashing back down to earth. 
He tries this a few more times with no success. 
All the while, his wife is watching from the kitchen window, 
muttering to herself how men need to be told how to do everything. 
She opens the window and yells to her husband, ‘You need a piece of tail.’ 
The man turns with a confused look on his face and says, ‘Make up your mind. Last night, you told me to go fly a kite..’ I know, I know…cheesy…but, had to.

Alaskan Tribes File Against Pebble Mine Project (July 31, 2009)

“In an attempt to head off the project before it gets too big to stop, a coalition of Alaska Native village corporations and others filed suit this week in Anchorage, charging that the state was violating its Constitution by allowing drilling and other exploration to proceed without full environmental review.”

Gold Ore

“Trout Unlimited and other conservationists back legislation that would require a separate set of reviews for the Pebble Mine, given its proximity to Bristol Bay, which generates a third of the state’s commercial fishing revenue. The state Legislature won’t have a chance to act on that until it re-convenes in January.”

“Pebble Partnership Chief Executive John Shively said there already has been full inspection by state and federal agencies, including the state Department of Fish and Game and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. “So it’s not like there’s no oversight,” he told KTUU-TV in Anchorage, “or that the public doesn’t have the ability to look at what our program is and to go tell the agencies what they think about it.”

Catching & Releasing From Rodney Hsu

While checking FB, I noted April Vokey was a fan of Fishing With Rod. I decided to check it out and found an informative BC site from Rodney Hsu. Not all fly fishing but that is ok. Lots to learn and well presented. Any tip of the hat from April is worth a look. 

Good Bye & Thank You~Tony Muncy

Tiger Trout (Reasonable Genetic Mixing?)

Tiger Trout~WashngtonFlyFishing.com

“Tiger trout are a sterile cross of a brown and brook trout. The name comes from the wavy stripes along their body. A hatchery can readily produce them by fertilizing eggs of brown trout with sperm of brook trout, and heat-shocking them to create an extra set of chromosomes. Some claim they grow faster than either of their genetic origins.”

http://tailingloops.blogspot.com/2009/05/big-success-on-little-mahoning.html

Spey Line Innovations (Away from the factory…a two handed compliment)

Matt McCrary~Clack R. 09

“This shit was quietly happening all over the Northwest, influenced directly by one guy a lot of us had never yet met, stories passed down through some quasi-Indian like oral tradition around rainy winter campfires, building to legends and more and more ideas followed by questions. Fucking magic, all that. Felt like an entire region of winter steelheaders were in on something super sinister you couldn’t find out about unless you knew someone who knew something. Home-built gear, light years ahead of anything commercially available at the time, super tailored to the rivers we were and still are fishing.

I was going to say, I couldn’t say it any better, but really I would not be able to speak to it. I am one of those that benefits from the innovators. Such innovations are not just the mechanics of creation but then the applications and failures and redesigns, on and on and the infectious zeal amongst a very few who create the way. The new way. I know such an innovator…Matt McCrary…who no doubt learned at the hands of the Cap ‘n. Thank goodness for these guys….the challenge is there not to adapt to new factory gear or marketed trends but the pre-marketed trend…the real innovations.    

Emerger (Different Sizes and Colors)

Timberline Emerger

 The Timberline Emerger by Kaufmann was originally tied for a stillwater mayfly…the Callibaetis. I have started experimenting with this pattern by replacing the grey tail and body with an olive chickaboo tail and olive dubbing. I have maintained the copper ribbing and grizzly hackle tip wings. Of course, the original pattern is awesome.  Simplistic and reliable.

Fly Rod Basics (Rod Actions and Grips)

Action

Fly rods come in different actions, or levels of flexibility. Action depends on the material used in the blank and the taper of the blank. The action is important because it dictates the speed of the casting cycle—how fast you must move the rod back and forth. The most common actions are:

• Fast: The bend of the rod is concentrated near the tip. Fast action is good for casting in windy conditions because it generates the greatest line speed.
•  
• Moderate-fast: The bend extends through the upper third of this rod.
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• Moderate: The bend extends halfway down the rod. Moderate action is best for casting large poppers or bass bugs (see Hooks and Flies).
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• Slow:The bend extends all the way down to the grip of the rod. Though slow action is not as popular, it has the benefits of reducing false casting and permits a greater amount of sunken line to be lifted into the backcast (see How to Cast a Fly).

 

Grip

The grip, which you hold in your dominant hand while casting, should be constructed of cork rings. Various foams and plastics have been introduced as substitutes for cork, but the organic feel of cork and its excellent wear properties have never been replicated.

 

The grip style you should use depends on the size of your hand and the rigors of the fishing you do. If you’ll be casting large flies or poppers or have large hands, choose a large, fuller grip. Many people cast with their thumb pressing against the front of the grip, exerting tremendous force at this point. For them, a full wells or half wells grip, both of which have a lot of cork to take the thumb pressure, are best. The cigar, reverse half wells, and ultra-fine grips all taper at the front and are favored by those who use rods for close-in fishing with light lines.

My advice rent or borrow rods of different weights, various actions, with different various grips. Sort out your preferences and then fork out the moolah for a nice rod. Don’t buy wrong, buy again and settle and then finally buy what you want.  

Duct Tape (Must Have For First Aid Emergency Care and apparently many other reasons)

How far back does duct tape factor into your outdoor experience? When I was young, my dad did the setup of camp and the maintenance of camp through torrential rainstorms and winds. This was pre-light weight tarps and bungy cords. This was heavy canvas tarps, rope and burdened tent poles bearing the weight of pools of water on the canvas tarps. Somehow my ever resourceful dad started incorporating duct tape into camp repairs in the late 50’s/early 60’s. The inevitable tears and rips were repaired with silver duct tape. Silver duct tape wrapped and covered all manner of damage..even torn Converse hi-tops and low quarters. Now, you can get duct tape in different colors and widths. A must have for an emergency kit and apparently used for all manner of issues.     

Knot for Butt to Fly Line

Fly Line to Butt~FlyBlog357

Anti PETA? (yes, moronic stances, but there are causes worth your consideration…………..)

You don’t have to be a member of PETA to abhor ugly abuses of animal life. I noted on Facebook that April VOKEY had joined a group against the trolling of dogs to catch sharks off the coast of the French Island of Reunion.

Dog Bait for Sharks

“Innocent stray dogs are being skewered alive and being dragged behind boats as shark bait. Help us sign a letter to the French government to ask for an end to this inhumane practice in Reunion Island (French-controlled). We are asking the government to make sure that this practice never happens again!”

Yes, it is a fine line siding with some animal rights organizations as they would ban recreational fishing. But, in this instance, it is an issue of degree and this is obvious, isn’t it? 

Clive at Fishing Fury raises the following considerations re the pic:

I think awareness is great. I think people should be aware that photo manipulation takes place a lot.

Personally I believe this image to be a lie. I could be wrong of course, but if the image is real, the story behind it is fake. It’s most likely that the dog tried to eat the bait and was unfortunately snagged by the hooks – although I dont see any trauma to the face of this dog. I’ve had hooks this size in my skin and there is at the very least some swelling involved, not to mention tearing and blood.

And can you see any barbs on those hooks? I don’t know any shark fishermen that fish barbless. If the vet was removing hooks they wouldn’t take waste time removing barbs, they get bolt cutter and cut them quickly.

Also, the hook placement simply doesn’t make any sense to me. First off, it would pull out too easily. Take a look at seal attacks from big sharks. Rarely are attack made at the nose.

So, I wonder, of course, is this pic legit and is this a legit issue….now that I bit so to speak?