Throw That Trout!!!

My son had an odd visual experience on Oregon’s East Lake this week. Maybe it was the altitude? ODFW was there doing some on the water survey of sorts using nets and boats. As my son watched their process he observed them sorting trout and as each one was handled it was then tossed, thrown and slung out from the boat some 20+ feet onto the waters surface. Given I had spent the effort in his formative years to instill a respect in handling the fish, particularly Trout, with care and ease, he was a bit aghast (as were other nearby fishers) in seeing this handling of the fish.

Now I know most of them come into the lakes via trucks and big hoses that shoot them into the water in a harsh manner, but is this normal? Is this a reflection of the ‘put n take’ handling of a commodity with no respect? The reality, I suspect, of those that handle the species day in and out and see them as nothing more than pellet eating pieces of meat that grew in a hatchery pond. We (me) attach spiritual worth to fish and surround them with the whole natural process into one tidy shrine of homage. To others, because I believe our production mentality, they are simply a food/recreation commodity handled by men doing a job on a schedule and trying to satisfy the masses. 

Stillwater Fly Fishing: Good Info on Retrieve & Setting the Hook

Here, I took refuge from the winds by pulling off into a back bay where I could rest from the rowing and kicking. The seam between the quieter water and the wind driven water (almost like a river’s current) was about six feet deep. I was able to maintain position in the quiet water and cast out into the chop and let the wind drift along my fly with success. The quiet water is not always available so anchoring up with the wind at your back is another option.

A video by Bennett Watt on retrieves and hook setting (excuse the up front ad…ugh) (X)

Imagination Station

This photograph was taken in my parent’s back yard as we readied to sell their home after their passing. The playhouse had become a storage place for lumber, an unfitting use considering the intent of building it for their grandsons and what took place in and around the little fort.

I recall several such places like this that my dad built over the years for me. Sturdy, honest construction. Some had ladders to a roof, and others bunk beds. Some had window panes and some were open to the imagination of what loomed outside. Forts and Imagination Stations. My dad built these as surprises. Tired and a busy man, often working two jobs, he built these places to pretend as true signs of love. 

The imagination one has as a child. Pretending. Imagery. Physical effort. Acting. Following or Leading as others participated. Morning sunshine. Evening dusk. Wood floors or dirt floors. Hiding…Seeking. Sneaking. Costumes. Toys. Daydreaming.

Imagination & Fly Fishing

Climate Change & Drivel?

“Two months ago, James Lovelock, the godfather of global warming, gave a startling interview to msnbc.com in which he acknowledged he had been unduly “alarmist” about climate change. The implications were extraordinary. Lovelock is a world-renowned scientist and environmentalist whose Gaia theory — that the Earth operates as a single, living organism — has had a profound impact on the development of global warming theory.”  (X)

                                     

Summertime, Warm Temps and Trout

Finding Trout, in lakes, during the Summer requires some thought. Oxygen, temperatures, inlets, outlets, channels, drops, food, structure…………SwittersB

SOME HELPFUL ADVICE FOR FINDING TROUT IN LAKES DURING THE SUMMER

Red Bead Bugger has been productive at times.

Pink Beauty & The Spark

Pink Beauty

The old adage to stop and smell the roses has never been more true of late. It is, at times, seemingly overwhelming to absorb the obvious beauty around us when life is just too much. 

Trout Tail…Split (photography)

Sometimes even the most beautiful things in life have their flaws and blemishes. The split Trout Tail in no way diminished the early morning beauty of this Rainbow Trout. It is ever more beautiful than that dead Alligator Gar in my previous post…don’t you think?

The Alligator-Gar From A Texas Lake…Beast

Such a critter! From Lake Corpus Christie

“Crawford, with his fishing bow, stalked the great fish carefully, knowing he might only get one shot.  When he finally fired, he scored a direct hit, unleashing the fury of the 8-foot, 2-inch beast, which created an explosion of mud and water before it ran toward the lake.

Big problem, because the nylon cord had become tangled at Crawford’s feet, and when he grabbed the line, as it began to tighten, it became wrapped around his hand.  The line went taut and the fish yanked the fisherman into the water headfirst. That’s when Crawford’s dog, Bleux, grabbed him by the cuff of the jeans, creating a bizarre riverbank tug-of-war.” (Link)

Kind of like a Sturgeon with Teeth. What does one do with that much Alligator-Gar?

Surviving Chaos: What’s on your bookshelf or bookmarked?

Walk into the typical bookstore and there is a now a significant presentation of survival books. A few years ago there were maybe a half dozen. Recently, I found 13 survival books ranging from preparation for urban, suburban warfare in the coming collapse to let’s all get together and start a community garden ignore those guys with guns to how to skin a Newt and stay warm in wet hemp clothing.

It is not unusual to find recommended lists of survival books (practical how to information). Then there are the fictional/non-fictional accounts of chaos and doom that incorporate the mental aspects along with the mechanical how to’s. I have several that I recently bought to review and study. They are mix of the urban collapse…where’s my ammo to stranded overnight in the wilds and did you adequately prepare your pack or car before heading out. Maybe you have a favorite survival book or link, and could summarize the worth of your favorite(s).                            

DROWNING!!!! SEE IT? (Recognize the Danger Signs)

DROWNING PROFILE….READ THIS

Mike Monteith on FB shared this link about the possible signs of drowning. Being an avid fisherman and not being able to swim a lick, I pay attention to such things. Give the piece a read.

“The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television…”