Catch your dinner

From Nickam's flickr stream - an upscale rendition of the claw machine with lobster rather than cheap stuffed animals.

Link via Boing Boing

AFFTA Announces Consumer Fly Fishing Expo

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association issued a press release today announcing the birth of The Fly Fishing Expo. Unlike the AFFTA's Fly Fishing Retailer Show, the Expo will be open to the public and aimed at the fly fishing consumer.

American Fly Fishing Trade Association

The Fly Fishing Expo, a New Era of Consumer Fly Fishing Shows

Denver, Colorado May 31, 2007 The first fly fishing consumer show to be entirely owned by the member companies of The American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) will be launched in January 2008. The Fly Fishing Expo will focus on providing a unique fly fishing experience to both seasoned and beginning anglers. The Expo will be held at the beautiful Colorado Convention Center on January 4th-6th. The Expo has already received commitments from many leading fly fishing companies including Cloudveil, Frontiers International Travel, Orvis, REC Components, Rio, Sage, Scott Fly Rods, and St. Croix Rods. Exhibitor invitations and contracts will be received by all prospective exhibitors no later than June 25th.

AFFTA, with unanimous support from its Board of Directors, has made great strides in the planning and delivering of the Expo. The Expo will feature a new breed of exciting and interactive consumer fly fishing activities with areas dedicated to youth angling conservation, casting techniques, and community involvement.

The focus for the events and programs will engage anglers from all along the Front Range and provide unparalleled opportunities to learn from industry leaders, pros and celebrities.

"From the industry's standpoint, The Fly Fishing Expo will be incredibly appealing" said Robert Ramsay, President of AFFTA. "We are uniquely positioned to ensure that the revenue generated from The Fly Fishing Expo will be used to address the critical conservation, consumer development and business needs of association members and our sport. For the first time, the people who make their living producing and selling products and services for fly anglers will be in control of how our sport is presented to the general public".

Website: http://www.affta.com

Fishing The Caney Fork

Jay Moore sent us some snapshots from his latest trip to fish the Caney Fork tail water in Tennessee. Much of the trout caught on this trip were within yards of a major interstate highway. Jay was accompanied by his new fly fishing protege, Tammy. It looks like she is catching on just fine.

When it comes to redfish on the fly, Capt. Gordon Churchill is a Carolina legend. We noticed that he has posted a new video via youtube. Link to the Captain's website.

Trout River Red

It's a beer,

and a racehorse sired by Indian Charlie,

and a bluegrass mix that features the song "White Trash Wedding,"

and finally a red fish caught in Trout River.

Renzetti's Entry Level Vise

One of my pet peeves is that often the commercially available intro to fly tying kits fail to include the kind of quality tools an angler can use for a lifetime. Renzetti's improved Apprentise vise seeks to provide just that at a $95 price point while including some features that are usually only found on more expensive vises.

TITUSVILLE, Florida—Less than year introducing the Apprentise Vise to give beginning tiers a high-quality tool to learn with, Renzetti has already improved it and created an even more versatile tool. The result is a completely redesigned vise that will satisfy beginning and experienced tiers.

While still machined from 2024 aluminum with hardened steel jaws, improvements include a rotating head, a hinged stem, and a more attractive silver satin finish. Many of the improvements were suggested by tiers who used the original version. The most-asked for and significant new feature is the rotating head, which allows a tier to turn a fly over without removing the hook from the jaws, giving them much greater versatility with this vise.

Additional features of the redesigned Apprentise include a tension-adjustment knob on the rotating cuff of the head and, like its predecessor, jaws that will readily hold hooks from size 28 up to 1/0 and adjust at the push of the cam lever.

The Apprentise is available with a C-clamp and retails for $95. An optional base assembly is also available. All of Renzetti’s products are backed by a limited lifetime warranty and are proudly made in the USA. This vise will be available beginning in January 2007.

For more information on the newly redesigned Apprentise Vise or any of Renzetti’s fine products, visit www.renzetti.com.

The best news is that a quick Google Search reveals that you can get this vise for as little as $59.99

More Wrecks!

According to WRAL The Eastern Carolina Artificial Reef Association is, much to the delight of Carolina anglers and recreational divers, trying to add a few more residents to "the graveyard of the Atlantic."

Now, the group and its supporters want to sink a large decommissioned destroyer, cruiser, or other military ship on the ocean floor. They're eyeing a location about 300 feet to 400 feet offshore near the existing reef created by the sunken USS Aeolus, a Navy cable layer, and the Spar, a former Coast Guard cutter.

"We are actively engaged in trying to get a large reef, a large ship, on the bottom," said Bill Thompson, a member of the nonprofit group.

However due the cleaning and permits required this can be a long process. Here is a link to the group's website.

Why can't we all....

just get along? Here is another take on the fly vs. bait fishing debate. This one comes from California's Truckee River via the Sierra Sun.

A recent letter to the Sierra Sun made some inaccurate assumptions regarding bait fisherman. Most men and women are not fishing from a lawn chair, littering the shoreline, nor are they flinging beer cans to and fro. The people I know that bait fish are walking the river, moving from hole to hole, covering up to two miles as they move along the river. They release many more fish than they keep. A lot of bait isn’t swallowed, many fish are hooked in the mouth. These people care about fish just as the fly fishermen do.

In the words Sir Paul:

We all know that people are the same wherever you go. There's good and bad in everyone. We learn to live, we learn to give each other, What we need to survive, Together alive.

Just don't leave your Styrofoam worm buckets on my favorite creek bank.

Cataraft with Wheelchair Platform

John Bass from North Carolina works closely with Project Healing Waters to help provide fly fishing opportunities for wounded service men and women. John is himself confined to a wheelchair and sent me this photo of his new cataraft complete with a wheelchair compatible front casting platform.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day and we want to take this opportunity to say thanks to all the men and women who are part our military. Thanks for taking the heat for us so that that we can have the freedom to fly fish and to blog and even to blog about fly fishing.

Take a few moments today to visit a couple of links:

The Baghdad School of Fly Fishing and Project Healing Waters. Both are doing great things for our American heros and are worthy of your support.

Friday Deals

You have just a few more days to take advantage of free shipping on orders of $100 or more from Sierra Trading Post. While you are fishing this weekend take a look at your gear and use this additional savings (off Sierra's already deeply discounted prices) to fill in the gaps in your equipment closet. Use the coupon link above to get the discount.

Lately it seems that Sierra Trading Post has come into a large inventory of high quality William Joseph chest packs, satchels, and other gear. This could mean huge savings on their high quality gear. Here is a link that will take you to our showcase where we feature STP's entire stock of William Joseph products at great prices.

Rollin' It Old School: Eric Sharp

This article in the News Tribune tells of how one angler gets his inspiration from Izaak Walton's "The Compleat Angler."

Like him, I use a rod over 15 feet long. But whereas his was made from various woods available in England in the mid-1600s, and probably weighed a pound or more, the one I use now is a telescoping, 19-foot carbon fiber "whip" from Italy that weighs six ounces.

Lacking his knotted horsehair line (although I did make and fish one in North Carolina 20 years ago), I tied 10 feet from the tapered tip section of an old No. 5 fly line to the rod tip, with an 10-foot monofilament leader. My 5X monofilament tippet was probably equivalent in strength to the two or three hairs from a horse's tail used by Walton and his protege, Charles Cotton (who really wrote the fly fishing sections of "The Compleat Angler").

Patent 1,849,899

A patent granted to Stanley M. Wright and Andrew D. McGill in 1931 for a fishing fly that would rival the success of metallic spinners and spoons.

It is made from "thin strips of copper plated with gold, silver, nickle, or the like and highly polished. The strips are preferably lacquered to preserve the polish. This produces a soft flexible blade which will not interfere in any way with the fish striking the hook."

Carp on the Micro

The ever vigilant Tom Chandler from the Trout Underground pointed us to the Fishing & Thinking in Minnesota blog. We here at FlyfishMag are always impressed when we hear of a carp being caught on the fly rod so you can imagine our amazement at an angler catching and landing one on a tiny J. Austin Forbes micro fly rod. We tip our hats!

A Philosophy of Fine Fly Rods (and reels)

Our fly fishing friend and shop owner, "Bo" Cash of Morganton, North Carolina's Table Rock Angler recently penned some words on the subject of spending your hard earned dollars on quality fly rods and reels. The resulting text is something that every angler should at a minimum share with the spouse who shares the purse strings.

I started fly fishing in 1957 at age 8. After some coaching from a step-uncle with his old Shakespeare glass WonderRod and a handful of cork popping bugs used to slay my first farm pond bream and bass, the passion of fly fishing started and I caught fire. The site was Sedgefield Lakes in the Jamestown section of Greensboro, where said step-uncle resided. He was my mentor in the beginning of a life long sport for which I had no other to help.

Once I returned home from that wonderful week, I read every Field and Stream magazine I could get my hands upon and absorbed anything that was related to fly fishing. Being financially lacking, my first fly rod was a Sears rod which set me back the terrible price of 4 dollars. For weeks until placing the order, I ate with and slept with the catalog until wearing out the 2 or 3 pages containing their fly gear offerings. My excitement could not be contained on the day the lady called our house and said: “Your order is here.” My mother somehow found time to take me to the store. I distinctly remember paying for it with nickels and dimes. The rod was 7 1/2 feet for a # 6 line. The first reel was a stamped Japanese skeleton affair: cost; 1 dollar. The matching fly line was a level line by Gladding: cost; 1 dollar. The leader was a 4 foot piece of monofilament stripped from my push button spinning reel. My flies came 2 to the package for a quarter with the brand name: Glen L. Evans, printed on the blister pack. Four packs equaled 8 flies, enough to get me started. Essentially, my first fly fishing outfit was a whopping 7 dollars. For me, those dollars were hard to come by.

Graduating up the ladder, the next rod was an 8 dollar rod, also from Sears. As I thought I needed a different length, this one was 8 feet and also for a # 6 line. The next was a luxurious Fenwick Feralite fiberglass, 7 feet, for a # 6 line. The year was 1969. The price was 30 dollars. By this time I was becoming somewhat accomplished and that rod accounted for hundreds of local trout of all species. Within a week of college graduation, a brand new Orvis bamboo "Flea" found its way to my hands with the last dollars I had in my college savings account, never mind that I owed the government over $3,000 for a student loan. Thus were my priorities: No job, no money, owed money; - but I had a single tipped Orvis Madison bamboo 6 1/2 foot rod that would become my right arm for the next 10 years, cost: $89. The year was 1971.

We move up the rungs. We pay our dues. Some with means choose to start cheap and are never satisfied with what they purchase. This leads to spending more money than necessary as a person runs through a gamut of fly rods and reels that do not make them happy. They spend more money seeking the perfect rod, all in an effort to avoid the purchase of a truly premium rod to start. Some have to acquire what they can afford and this is understood. I certainly understand this as well as anyone. My first pair of "waders" for icy streams were a pair of Converse canvas basketball shoes, no felt, but many hours of numb, wet legs had to be endured as I had no other choice.

I put these thoughts down for readers as I reflect. A potential rod customer called me who appreciates brand X but was hesitant to spend the bucks for the premium models. He has means. At his age and his serious long time fishing passion, I see no reason for him to deny himself the best. When one casts a finely tuned rod that they call their own, they have the satisfaction of knowing that the hunt for the perfect rod is over.

This customer made the decision to go for the best and plans to do so. A life long fly fisherman in his late 50's is replacing a recently broken 35 year old Fenwick graphite and has committed to a premium rod backed by an dedicated American company that will last him the rest of his life.

Before he committed, I shared my " Tackle Buying Philosophy of Life:"

Life is short.

If you are truly and passionately serious about this sport and feeling a finely tuned fly rod unload its line after a well timed cast, buying a top grade fly rod is cheap. It is not like you are purchasing a Ranger Bass Boat, 200 HP Mercury motor that costs as much as your first house, and a Suburban to pull it all with. You are just buying a fly rod for a few hundred dollars that should be with you and a part of you for the rest of your life, with an unlimited life warranty backed by people that do not want you to be unhappy. When personal fishing, I fish the best rods and reels. This is not because I am a show-off but those rods have a different feel and I cannot ever get enough of it. Fishing the best brings me personal pleasure and I also know that I do not have to question whether I should have looked at another brand or a cheaper model. I cannot place a monetary value on that feeling.

Life is short.

I think the above is why we are here. In summary, if fly fishing is your primary focus where you live and breathe it, you owe yourself the equipment that will bring you the most pleasure, as you can afford it.

Y'all be good. "Bo"

**********************************************************

"Bo" Cash is the owner of The Table Rock Angler which is open by appointment. "Bo" accepts appointments as late as 10 PM nightly and is also available by phone or email to help you with all your fly fishing needs including guided trips on area streams. You can reach him at:

"Bo" Cash Table Rock Angler4515
NC 181Morganton NC
28655828-433-RODS (7637)
email: bocash3@yahoo.com

web: http://www.tablerockangler.com/

Turning Interest Into Cold Hard Cash

In a recent newsletter from the Colorado Trout Unlimited Steering Committee for the National Fly Fishing Championships, Paul Prentiss talks about how great most business people think the idea of a national fly fishing event is wonderful. However, thinking something is great and putting up cold hard sponsorship dollars are two very different things. The committee is looking for a few good companies to step up and purchase some serious goodwill in the fly fishing community. Here is the text from their mailing.

When you talk to individuals and company representatives about Team USA and the US Championship process you hear the same comment over and over, "that's a great concept". However, translating this enthusiasm into hard dollars is very difficult.

Getting to the right people who can/will make a decision and understand how this helps the sport, conservation, and youth involvement is the particularly difficult.

I can't tell you how many times I hear "how will your program help me" or ""what can you do for my specific customers." My answer is always the same. Our objective is to promote the sport, youth involvement, conservation ethics, and relationships with other countries via the common language of fly fishing. This is a non-monetary, wholesome activity that is not gender specific.
We need to find individuals and companies who want to make a difference and feel their association with this program is reward enough. Can you help? If so, click here

How about it FlyfishMagazine readers? You may not be in a position to sponsor this event yourself but you might just know someone in the business who is. Spread the word. Ted Turner, if you still read this now would be a good time to step up.

Also don't forget that our own Southeast Regional event is set for August 18th and 19th on the waters near Cherokee, N.C. For more information contact Eugene Shuler

The end is near!

for lots of stockers holding up in North Carolina's Delayed Harvest streams.

Delayed-Harvest Trout Waters Open under Hatchery-Supported Regulations
RALEIGH, N.C. (May 22, 2007) –

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 56 miles of stream and one lake of designated Delayed-Harvest Trout Waters in western North Carolina under hatchery-supported regulations at 6 a.m. on June 2.

Under hatchery-supported regulations, which are in effect through Sept. 30, anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no bait restrictions or minimum size limits.
From October to the first Saturday in June, delayed-harvest regulations allow only catch-and-release fishing, and anglers can fish only with artificial lures with one hook.

Delayed-harvest trout waters are posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs. In the 15 years since its inception, the Commission’s delayed-harvest program has grown from four waters stocked with 18,000 trout to 18 bodies of water stocked with 213,000 trout. Many of the waters are now located on land that is privately owned and could be removed from the program at any time at the discretion of the landowner.

To maintain public access on these privately owned lands, the Commission urges anglers to respect private property. Kyle Briggs, fish production coordinator for the Commission, suggests that anglers properly dispose of trash and litter, park only in designated areas, close gates and avoid blocking driveways and side roads. Hunting, camping, picnicking and activities other than fishing typically are not allowed unless the landowner grants permission.

“We think the delayed-harvest program provides terrific fishing opportunities for the general public, but it has become such a big program that we can only do it in cooperation with private landowners,” Briggs said. “And landowners will only continue to grant access to waters on their properties as long as anglers are respectful of their privacy and their properties.”
For a list of delayed-harvest waters organized by county, click here.

ESPN's Don Barone on Fishing the Miramichi

Don Barone is a most excellent example of an author and ESPN Feature Producer. Recently he emailed me a link to a story about his adventures while salmon fishing the Miramich River. Along the way he and his "Butt Doctor" meet up with a clown - complete with blinking red nose (at a urinal no less), Ted William's waders (on the wall of his favorite lodge), and the 82 years young salmon angler Annie Pearson (in a boat of course).

The first day there, Annie told me: "The person who catches the most fish sits at the head of the dinner table, and their rod goes on top all the other rods in the rack." Most days, Annie sat at the head, and her fishing rod, at the top.

Be sure to read the entire article and whatever you do don't skip the photo albums. In my experience it seems that the surreal is often attracted to the fly angler. I am not sure why exactly. Maybe the universe just smiles on us. This excellent story proves my point.

(Photo Credit - Don Barone)

Buy American...sort of....

"Abel Quality Products touts the fact that all the components used to produce its world renowned fly fishing reels are manufactured in Camarillo, right down to the nuts and bolts.
Every last screw is made in a 16,000-square-foot factory on Aviador Street."


With a bit of foreign investment:

The company is owned by Craig Treharne, a London businessman who acquired the business in September 2006. But day-to-day operations are handled by Swanson, Krapff and sales manager Jeff Patterson.

Pictured above is the Able Prosek Signature Edition Brown Trout Super 5N. Only 45 of this limited edition remain.

Don't get us wrong, we are big fans of Abel products and we like folks from the UK just fine. Just ask Alistair if you don't believe us. We just found it ironic that a company doing this much to manufacture its product in the USA was owned by and English business man. Now you will have to excuse me. I need to go fill up my Toyota Tundra with some Saudi gasoline.

What Size Hook Would You Use On This?

Via e-Bay:

"This listing for a Fishing Fly Tying Vise! It is 5x4x4" with a vacuum base. Clamps to table with unbelievable force! Looks to be in good shape yet! See photos!"

My hand built Yak

Here are a few quick snapshots of my Kayak. This is my father's design and he has built several of them over the years. The one pictured is my second. The frame and trim are made of basswood which is light, strong, and flexible enough to make the curves needed to give it the proper shape. The "skin" is denim coated with oil based paint. While they are very light weight, they are surprisingly sturdy. When Dad was testing them back in the 70's, he and my uncle made some serious whitewater runs through the Nantahala gorge. Almost all of the kayaks survived the trip. I am looking forward to getting this one in the water soon on our local lake.

Review: Redfish On The Fly - Capt. John Kumiski

"Redfish On The Fly" by Capt. John Kumiski found its way into my briefcase before a recent business trip. Before that trip was completed I had devoured its 287 pages and was already plotting a strategy to try to convince my wife that we would soon need to vacation somewhere in Florida known charmingly as "Mosquito Lagoon."

When the subtitle of a fishing book reads, "A Comprehensive Guide," I tend to view it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Often these compendiums are out of date and out of touch with the everyday angler's needs. Saying that "Redfish On The Fly" makes good on its promise of being comprehensive would be an understatement. After reading it I felt that I had gained an excellent head start on my trek to catching a bull red on the fly.

The book is broken down into four basic sections ranging from understanding the fish, a full featured How To section, flies to use, and destinations. Captain Kumiski takes the time to tell us what to do and more importantly, what not to do in order to become a successful fly angler for these "copper coated crab crunchers." His advice on tackle and tactics is both clear and concise and will save the new redfish angler hours of getting up to speed on the water.

The destination section of the book covers the full range of the fish from North Carolina to Texas. A great feature of the book is that each location is described through an interview with a fishing guide local to the waters being discussed.

"Redfish On The Fly" is an excellent reference for anyone considering trying for redfish using the long rod. It is entertaining and full of information that will make you a better saltwater fly fisher no matter what species you stalk. It is available from Argonaut Publishing via Captain Kumiski's website for $27.95. ISBN 978-0-9635118-6-7

Drag Charlie...

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a review of a new fly fishing movie from Australia, Jindabyne.

"Altman borrowed an idea from a short story written by Raymond Carver. A group of avid fly fishermen have hiked half a day to reach their favorite fishing hole when a dead woman comes floating down the river. Figuring that there is no way to predict how much longer the fish will be biting but knowing that the woman can't get any deader, the men decide to anchor down the body and keep fishing. Later, the men get a tongue-lashing from one of their wives and ribbing from their friends, but there is no major fallout from their behavior"

This new version of the story makes leaving the body bobbing in the river more about race and bigotry than fishing but we can't help but be reminded of a float trip of our own during which a fishing buddy narrowly cheated the grim reaper. His brush with death caused us to debate this very point and we came to the conclusion that since the fish had been biting pretty good, the order of the day would have been "fish the hole, then drag Charlie...Fish the next hole, then drag Charlie." You get the picture.

Apparently this sort of thing is the kind of ethical debate that anglers have discussed through out the years. Just check out this thread on our favorite Southeast fly fishing forum.

"for some reason I would draw the line between body and skeleton. Newly dead body - hike out

skeleton - fish my trip and tell somebody after I hike out. don't know why that makes a difference."

Tasty Conservation

In an effort to promote wild salmon,Trout Unlimited brings us the Salmon Consumer's Bill of Rights.

"Individual consumers who care about wild Pacific salmon and steelhead recovery haven’t really had their own voice over the clamor of governments, special interests and NGOs dominating the salmon conservation landscape. Until now. TU is building the community of individual consumers committed to wild salmon and steelhead, and teaming them with the businesses and industries who share the same commitment."

We signed our John Hancock in really large print just to make our point. Now where did we put our lemon pepper?

Crap!

The Associated Press reports on four workers who had to be rescued after they fell into an eighteen foot tank of fish feces.

"One of the farmhands was submerged in what Dion described as a sand-and-feces mix, while the other three had their heads above the sludge, he said.
Dion said rescue workers cut a hole in the side of the tank at the farm, which raises barramundi, a fish farmed as a replacement for grouper."

Later it was reported that it wasn't fish poo that the workers fell into, but rather the much more politically correct, fish bacteria. Either way its the kind of story that makes one appreciate one's day job.

Via Moldy Chum

Fly Fishing in the Media

This week's blasphemous use of fly fishing by the media comes from The Moultrie Observer where the author makes comparisons between no less than iced coffee and a $600 fly rod:

"I don’t drink cold coffee. I know saying “iced coffee” is supposed to give it mystique, but it’s still cold coffee. Temperature is temperature. It’s much like a $600 handmade fly rod. It’s still a fishing pole, and if you slam the truck door on it, it will break. I’ve practiced this on a couple of cheap rods."

The Georgia author does give some excellent advice for the person wishing to stay cool and healthy this summer:

"My first thought of this advice was to hang out at the wash hole and don’t walk alone in downtown Atlanta at night. Takes care of cool and safety."

If Wolf Creek Dam Were to Break....

our Middle Tennessee Editor, Jay Moore, better brush up on his back stroke. Seepage is turning the land around the dam into a swamp, greatly increasing the chances of a failure according to the Corps of Engineers.

If Wolf Creek dam breaks, how bad would it get in Nashville?
Forget Tennessee Titans football. LP Field would be better suited for water polo.
"The 30-yard line would be 30 feet underwater. Everything above Nashville, the effects would be a little more pronounced. Everything below Nashville, a little less," said Lt. Col. Steve Roemhildt of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

We have previously posted about problems with the Wolf Creek dam that led to a massive draw down of Lake Cumberland. In a worse case scenario the draw down could hurt the fishery in the tail waters below the dam.

The Fish Whisperer?

Sport & Competition

Taken from this article in the Baxter Bulletin about fishing the White River:

Cox says he teaches people rod and reel because it tends to lead to more fish being caught.
"You're more likely to catch fish using a rod and reel if you are out to have fun," Cox said. "Fly fishing is more for sport and competition."

Road Tripping - Music City, USA

Monday night finds us in Nashville, Tennessee doing the mergers and acquisitions thing. Unfortunately the work schedule won't allow a visit to the Caney Fork or Duck rivers for trout fishing and Tim and Faith have yet to call with our dinner invitation. We did however get to enjoy a meal of Truck Stop Enchiladas and cold Shiner Bock with native Texican and FlyFishMagazine.com Middle Tennessee Contributing Editor, Jay Moore. The food was great, the beer cold, and fish stories were as big as ever.

Speaking of fish stories, here are two items that caught our eye from today's news wire:

That young angler fishing upstream from you might be a youthful offender learning to fly fish as a means of rehabilitation. Should you worry? Maybe not.

"The boys are unbelievably well behaved. Because of where they are and what they did to get here, visitors might expect them to act up, or be distracted. But that is not the case. They are overly courteous.After each session they thank the men for teaching them and extend their hands for a shake. Hand shakes and high-fives are the only forms of touching permitted between the boys and the visitors.At times it's easy to forget this is a correctional facility. But there are reminders. A boy named Joshua drops a hook on the floor."Whoa," he says. "That'd be bad to have a loose fish hook in here. You should see what happens when we lose a pencil. It's insane. It's not fun."

Did the melamine that has caused the deaths of hundreds of family pets make its way into fish hatcheries trout chow? The FDA says its no biggie.

The department said it's been told by the federal Food and Drug Administration that there is no significant human health risk associated with eating fish that have been fed melamine-tainted fish food and that melamine -- unlike other chemicals such as mercury -- does not accumulate in a fish's body.

Smoke on the water...

According to the Chaser Key West Fly Fishing Report Blog, the tarpon, Summer, and smoke from Florida's forest fires, have all arrived in Key West.

"we have some summer weather and Tarpon showing up in the flats and shallows for Fly Rodden.Late but welcome, in spite of forest fire smoke blowing in from Florida to give an unusual eeriness to the early morning hunt."

Take a Mom Fishing

This article in the Newark Advocate, advocates taking your Mom fishing on Mother's Day. I did just that this weekend and gave my Mom a chance to try out the new fly rod that I had gotten her for Christmas. She's a natural outdoors woman who is already skilled at Turkey and Deer hunting so it was not a big surprise that she took to the fly rod fairly quickly.

When I was a kid I remember that she had a refrigerator magnet with the following poem:

ME MUDDER

When my prayers were early said,who tucked me in me widdle bed and spanked me butt til it was red?

.......Me Mudder!

In the morning,when the lights would come and in me crib me dribbled some,who wiped me widdle tiny bun?

.......Me Mudder!

Who took me from my cozy cot and placed me on me ice cold pot and made me pee-pee when me could not?

.......Me Mudder!

Who's hair so gently she would part and hold me tightly to her heart and sometimes squeeze me til I'd.....fart?

.......Me Mudder!

Who looked at me with eyebrows drooped, and screamed and yelled til she had the croup when in me Sunday pants I...pooped?

.......Me Mudder!

And at night when the bed did squeak and me raised me head to have a peek who yelled at me to go to sleep?

.......Me Fadder!!!!!



She always considered it to be a bit risque but for some reason it stuck with me. Thanks for being a great Mom.

Buy Gear - Help Vinny

Tom from the Trout Underground pointed out this worthy blog / auction site that gives you a chance to bid on fly fishing gear and help Vinny, a little boy who suffers from a rare disorder known as Canavan Disease. We felt that it was worth bringing to your attention:

"Vinny is our boy. He is three years old and has an extremely rare neurological disorder called Canavan Disease (CD). CD is a genetic disorder where both parents have to carry the mutation and even then, the parents only have a 25% chance of having a child with CD. There have been only about 500 cases ever documented in the US. Since he does not have a specific gene, his body does not naturally create a critical enzyme and therefore acid builds up in the white matter of his brain, destroying his motor functions "

FeltSoul Media Announces New Website / Projects

Travis Rummel aka "The Boss" from FeltSoul Media e-mailed us to announce the launch of their new and improved website. You might remember the guys at FeltSoul Media as the talented creators of the excellent fly fishing videos "The Hatch" and "Running Down the Man."

Here is the text of Travis' announcement with info about their latest project in Bristol Bay:

Ben and I are really excited to announce that after months of designing, multiple web programmers, and weeks of toil - we have launched our new and very much improved website - www.feltsoulmedia.com. Please check it out and let us know what you think. We could not be happier to be sharing our work with you and it is a wonderful feeling to be doing so through a site that we designed.

We are less than a month away from heading up to Bristol Bay to begin work on our biggest film project to date. For more info and to lend your support please check out The Horizon section of the site. We will be giving updates through out the project, so please keep an eye on our "Wire" feature to see what we're up to in the coming months.

We are also happy to announce the World Theatrical Premier of the HD version of Running Down the Man – Friday, May 25th at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival (mountainfilm.org). We hope you can join us in Telluride for this special screening. Along with Running Down the Man will be Roam and Nine Winters Old, both come with rave reviews and will leave lasting impressions. See you in T-ride.

Best, Travis
feltsoulmedia.com

Catch and Release

Tonight the wife and I watched the film "Catch and Release." It's not really about fly fishing but when it comes to scenes of Jennifer Garner making out with the guy from Deadwood in a fly shop who really cares.

Jay Moore's White River Fishing Report.

Visit our fishing reports page to read about his trip

Fly fishing the salt in a wooden kayak

More photos from Steve Buck showing the beauty of fly fishing in the salt from a wooden kayak. Another one of his favorite fish to catch on the fly is "the poor man's tarpon" aka the ladyfish.

Cabelas Signs Sponsorship With Paralyzed Vets

David Uchic from the Paralyzed Veterans of America sent us this press release announcing a sponsorhip deal with outdoors big box retailer Cabelas:

Washington DC-Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) has reached a sponsorship agreement with Cabela's, the World's Foremost Outfitter. Cabela's will support the 2007 PVA Bass Tour and the 11th Annual PVA National Trapshoot Circuit.

"Paralyzed Veterans is honored and deeply grateful to have a company like Cabela's on board with the PVA Bass Tour and PVA National Trapshoot Circuit," said Randy L. Pleva, Sr., national president of Paralyzed Veterans. "And we would like to thank Cabela's for providing outdoor clothing to the disabled anglers and trapshooters who are competing in our events."

The PVA Bass Tour, a B.A.S.S. sanctioned event, consists of five annual events from Augusta, GA, to Ft. Hood in Belton, TX. The Tour provides fishing opportunities to both disabled and nondisabled anglers. The PVA National Trapshoot Circuit consists of 10 annual events from Myrtle Beach, SC, to San Diego, CA. The Circuit was created to give individuals with disabilities a chance to participate in the recreational and competitive sport of trapshooting. One of the goals of the Circuit is to enable shooters with disabilities and able-bodied shooters to compete as equals.

Programs such as the Bass Tour and Trapshoot Circuit could not take place without the generous support of sponsors such as Cabela's. "Cabela's is proud to partner with the Paralyzed Veterans of America," said Dennis Highby, president and chief executive officer of Cabela's. "We're honored to help give these anglers and trapshooters a chance to compete in the outdoor sports they, and we, enjoy."

Founded in 1946, Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans) is the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and representation of individuals with spinal cord injury or disease. Paralyzed Veterans is a dynamic, broad-based organization with more than 19,000 members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. To learn more about Paralyzed Veterans, visit its website at www.pva.org.

Cabela's Inc., headquartered in Sidney, NE, is the world's largest direct marketer-and a leading specialty retailer of-hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. Founded in 1961, Cabela's has grown to become one of the most well-known recreation brands in the world, and has long been recognized as the World's Foremost Outfitter. Through Cabela's direct business and its growing number of destination retail stores, it offers a wide and distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices while providing superior customer service. Cabela's also issues the Cabela's CLUB VISA credit card, which serves as its primary customer loyalty rewards program.

Fishing Gods Angered - Laws of Nature Suspended

The following comes from FlyFishMagazine.com Middle Tennessee Editor, Jay Moore. Jay ran into a strange phenomenon while fishing one of his favorite tail waters. The river began flowing in the opposite direction! Here is his report:

On Saturday my friend, let's call him Phil, and I attempted to fish the Caney Fork in a driving rainstorm. Things started out as usual but then got very weird. Things became very much like the Seinfeld episode where everything was backwards.(The Bizarro Jerry).

We had landed a few small fish on midges when we noticed that our flies were no longer drifting. Rather than drifting with the current, they were sitting still. I decided to change sides and made a cast to a good spot but the fly drifted upstream. I tried again with the same result, so I tied on a thin mint and hooked a 15-16" rainbow. Phil netted it and put it on his new stringer (Editor's note: We think this is first spot where Phil got on dicey grounds with the fishing Gods). His old one swam away last trip with a nice rainbow on it. He tied on a trout magnet and the Green Cork of Death (second and third black marks on his permanent record with the fishing deity). It also drifted upstream. Soon there were all sorts of debris moving upstream!

We decided that things were getting strange enough that we needed to get out of the river. By the time we got to the bank the water level was up about three feet. I was as concerned as I have ever been while wading in the river so we were looking for a quick way out if needed.

I would not have believed that the river could reverse course if I had not seen it with my own eyes. I think that either Phil angered the Fishing Gods with his continued use of The Green Cork of Death and by not releasing the only good fish caught that day or it could have been flooding downstream. Either way it was a strange day on the Caney Fork. Oh, the fish count. Jay 8 Phil 0.

As always when we find someone chucking hardware here at FlyFishMagazine.com, identities have been shielded to protect the guilty.

Do you have a receipt for that bait?

Via our partner ProtectYourWaters.net where they lead the fight against invasive species in our nations waters, comes this article that tells about a plan to help curb the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicema AKA VHS in the Great Lakes. VHS is a nasty virus that is roughly the fish equivalent to the Ebola virus in humans.

"As a result of a new state law that took effect in late March, fishermen are being asked by state conservation officers to produce a receipt upon demand from the place where they bought their minnows, certifying the bait is VHS-free. They're also banned from transporting non-certified bait by motor vehicle from one body of water to another. The receipt is only good for seven days. "

If you can't produce the receipt would it be suitable to call your minnows "jail bait?"

Tuesday is Deal Day- Costa Del Mar $49.95 & up!

It was with baited breath and quivering hands that we opened our monthly email from Sierra Trading post. What offering would the month of May bring? Would we be able to add more high quality fly fishing gear to our collection at ridiculously low prices? Would they... could they possibly save us some money on shipping that gear to our office address where our wife can't see it? Sometimes our luck amazes even us!



Use the banner above to get free shipping on orders over $100 (expires 6-4-07). Not sure what to buy? Check out this link to Sierra's current collection of Costa Del Mar Sunglasses from only $49.95 and up!

And I looked, and behold a pale horse...

Boise, Idaho: Outbreak kills 250,000 hatchery rainbow trout - via Seattlepi.com

Virginia: Numerous fish kills on the Shenandoah River - via NBC29.com and the Clarke Times Courier.

Barbados: Fish kill on east coast - via CBC.bb

North Carolina: Cane Creek, a fish kill in our own back yard - via SEFFF

Kayak Fly Fisher: Steve Buck

Today I had the good fortune to run into Steve Buck. When Steve isn't busy consulting on EDI projects for big companies he is an avid salt water fly fisher and fly tier. Steve's favorite way to stalk his quarry on the flats of his Florida home water is from the cockpit of his wooden sea kayak. He was nice enough to share a photo of his favorite quarry, big sea trout, as well as the fly he developed to catch them, the Sea Trout Seducer. Thanks for sharing Steve! We look forward to lots of fishing reports and tips on tactics for kayak fly fishing in Florida.

Steve's kayak of choice comes in kit form from Pygmy Boats Inc.

Tips for Safer Wading

This article in the Connecticut Post gives some good safety advice for anglers who wade. Reading it made us dig up this photo of one of our long time fishing buddies (identity shielded to protect the guilty and our friendship) taken shortly after his pontoon flipped and he took a dunk in the frigid waters of the Watauga River tail water. He has a long swim back to the bank and got completely soaked in the process. It was a cold day and we were lucky to have a spare jacket or two in our boat bags so we were able to avoid a serious case of the shivers.

From the text of the article:

"If you do take a swim, forget trying to save the rod or other gear. Save yourself first. If you are swept away in the current, do what our reef friend did, tighten the belt, pull up your knees, float and shout like crazy.

FYI - This angler's first words when we hastily paddled over to him were, "don't worry about me, catch my fly rod."