Toyota Floor Mats and Stuck Accelerators (Toyota Recall…)

Toyota to recall 3.8M vehicles over floor mats

“….the inquiry was prompted by a highspeed crash in August in California of a Lexus barreling out of control. As the vehicle hit speeds exceeding 120 mph, family members made a frantic 911 call and said the accelerator was stuck and they couldn’t stop the vehicle.”

“This is an urgent matter,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”

The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010 Lexus ES350 and 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350.

mirror, mirror on the wall…where in the hell am I?

Funny Mirror Mystery

You Can Almost Feel Their Brain Tweak (What does this have to do with Fly Fishing? You shouldn’t have to ask)

Fluoro to Hook Eye Knot (The Eugene Bend, and a few others)

I have been using fluoro for several years for stillwater and stream fishing and rarely have a knot come undone. I have used the improved cinch and loop knots with nary a cork screw. But, I keep reading about the failure of fluoro unless certain knots are used. So, in studying the Frog Hair site, they list several knots for flouro, based upon their research. Additional knots. OK, a few more. Remember to wet the knot as you pull it tight.

cluster F#&k fly fishing (don’t try…not a good result)

Cluster Feck fly fishing

The equivalence of a hogline, bank bound anglers with drift gear slinging bait and hardware in a sequential routine…one waiting for the other and drift after drift in the early morning light. Just as a bobber fisherman has to pick his place in this sometimes combat atmosphere, the novice fly fisherman sauntering down to this mix in the early morning light should think twice. Rarely do the techniques of fly fishing presentation and drift fisherman flow in a synchronized fashion unless adequate space separates the each other (20 yards)….a distance begging for 2-3 more drift fishermen when the salmon are in. Do not insert yourself into the cluster f@#k of bank anglers. You may have to wait until most leave after the 1-2 hour morning bite. Try a weekday when most gear guys have departed a morning bite to go to work. Try mid-day or just before the evening bite. Move to rapids or tailouts. Move to where the gear guys aren’t and see what water they are ignoring. They do tend to like the holes or middle of the drift. As much as a FFer abhors someone cutting in below them on a drift (drift guys always do this without blinking…few ask if you mind)…gear guys, no not abhor, but get pissed off at some gear or fly guy not following the right pace of taking turns casting and drifting. Don’t wait your turn or long line down into the drift beneath you and you are soon going to have lines zinging over yours. So, a fly guy will seldom get the long swing and hold below presentation.

My advice avoid the scene above unless you are a gear guy…then by all means enjoy rubbing elbows…been there done that many times…too many stories of rudeness, ego, assholes….well if you have been there you know. Which reminds me…if you are knew to fly fishing, you can encounter the same looks and comments if you waltz down to a drift and cut in below  a FFer, like you have always done as a gear guy. Fly fishing etiquette requires you to greet, mutter the usual enquiries and move above the fly fisher last in line…go to the top of the drift or above the top most fly fisher. You can ask if they mind if you share the drift. They won’t answer truthfully…but will say go ahead. Don’t cut in below anywhere below on the entire drift with a steelhead fly fisher…they consider they own that water until they have stepped and swung every square yard of it….   Drift boats, sleds, reasonableness of it all for another time…just pick your place and do not try to mix the unmixable.     

knots..knots..knots…(the Straight Pull for the visually challenged)

I get numerous requests for how-to-tie-knots segments…there are quite a few good sites..but here is another one that I found while researching a recommended steelhead knot…the double turle (tippet to fly)..I found the improved turle knot too and a nice link..

Pebble Mine Update (September 2009)

Pebble Mine budget increased to $70 million

The Poll by Opponents? I Googled for a recent poll in September re Pebble Mine…Nada. Anyone have the recent cited poll? Ken Salazar? Carol Browner? Gary Locke? Obama?

Spey Rod Magic (Ed Ward)

I was checking out the always informative and current BusterWantsToFish blog and saw a piece about Ed Ward and a for sale dvd highlighting his skills as a master innovator in the spey rod world. I watched a trailer and once again I marveled at how images so affect my moods and motivation. Some people put together glimpses of a world that so resonate with me. You are immediately transported to that familiar place and also become acutely aware of how important humility is when assessing one’s skills with a two hander. I am way behind on waving the wand. The Deschutes R. is peaking.

Take a good look at Buster’s site and it should be on your links list, especially if you reside in the NW…but even if you don’t! Oh, I bought Ed Ward’s dvd….

 

stinky fly fishers (all things equal, stinky loses)

“A local fly fishing club has an outing on an area trout lake. Everyone is fishing the same general area. They are using the same sink-rate lines, the same test leader, tippets, and the same fly patterns (the successful angler has given just about everyone in camp his hot fly). But the most successful angler just keeps on catching fish, while other fishermen report only spotty results. While the unlucky anglers may refer to this phenomenon as just plain “lucky,” there is usually more to it than simple good fortune. Strange as it may seem, skill may also have had very little to do with it. What one factor could have separated the have’s from the have-nots? A chemical called L-serine. The smell on your hands.“

Sunscreen, pipe tobacco, cigars, food…it is a wonder, I don’t repel myself. At the end of a week of remote camping I have been known to repel the family. How about a biodegradable soap to wash the hands now and then, even out on the water. Smelly Jelly or some such stinky scent will no doubt detract from the human scent, but may I say after years and years of lobbing globs of eggs, sand shrimp or scented tuffs of yarn that I am glad not to have that perpetual smell on my rod handles, clothing, steering wheels and facial hair. So, wash the hands and perhaps that will assist in minimizing the human scent that spreads like a nuclear explosion beneath the surface.  

Streamer Fly Pattern (Pick Your Species)

Taimen Fly

Isn’t this an excellent looking pattern? Not sure if hackle is saddle or CDC or a beard of ostrich or a combination? Earth tones of rabbit fur strip and a similar lighter shade of body…Not sure on eyes….dumbells, which would flip the fly over, or something lighter to allow it to ride upright? Anyway, I like the looks of this pattern. This subtle pattern would be suitable for several species beyond Taimen. If anyone knows more about the patterns tying sequence (hackle and eyes) let me know. 

Dragon Fly (the bearer of good tidings…or a nudge in the right direction?)

Dragon Fly~Tony Muncy

I have previously remarked upon my personal foible of giving a probably inordinate amount of power to the presence of dragon flies. Not the ones that buzz off at rocket speed, but rather the ones that buzz about you in a busy body sort of way. Not like a yellow jacket or mosquito, but rather like a creature trying to awaken you to something right before your oblivious nose. Ok, this is admittedly fanciful and wishful…but, so be it. It has proven itself to me time and again. So, Tony takes the pic of the dragon fly atop his can of chew. Need I say more? Lost upon Tony was the obvious admonition.