Sunday, August 20, 2006

Monday Morning News On The Fly

The weekend has come and gone and most of us will be making that Monday morning trudge into the office where our day will be filled with TPS Reports and meetings with "the Bobs." Before your own personal Bill Lumbergh invites you to work late, take a moment to catch up on the weekend's news from the world of fly fishing.

The Washington Times is spreading the news from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about their survey that shows rainbow trout might actually be cash cows. In 2004, 11 hatcheries stocked 9.4 million bows, generating a total economic output of over 325 million dollars for the year.

If the Powerball didn't work out for you why not visit Mammoth Lakes, California and pay $25 to participate in the second annual Million Dollar Trout Competition. Your odds of catching one of the 500 tagged trout stocked in 19 area waters are about the same as the lottery.

Finally, according to The Mountain Press which purports to be "the online heart of the Smokies," it would be real nice to see the ban on "trout fishing" in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lifted. The site, which must exist in some sort of Bizzaro World that we have yet to visit, says that "There are enough of them to meet any expected demand. And what could be better than hooking a trout in the beauty of the Smokies?" The author also makes a point to let us know the options that those considering lifting the "ban on trout fishing" have to offer: Two alternatives are being considered at this point: banning trout fishing or restoring trout fishing.

For the record, I fall on the side of those wishing to allow trout fishing in the park. Especially, since we have all been enjoying it for years! I think the author mistook the recently lifted ban on fishing for brook trout for trout fishing in general. Either that or he/she is some sort of purist that does not consider Oncorhyncus mykiss to be a true trout.

This concludes your Monday morning news roundup. Now get back to work! Fly fishing is an expensive hobby and you really need to keep your job.

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