Events: Project Healing Waters 2-Fly

Follow this link for more info

From the mailbox: "freshwater fish of the northeast"

Currently in the review queue, because you can never have too many pictures of fish on the coffee table... more later.

Prep The Fleet for Battle!

The weekend weather is looking fine.

Meeting room window view

It's going to be hard to get much done today.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gear: The Future of Fly Rods?

Could your next fly rod be in the shape of a triangle? The Angling times says it just might be:

This unique property is the result of Chris having based his design on the fact that an equal-sided triangle has more integral strength than a circle, a factor incorporated into the unique ‘extended Reuleaux’ shape of D-Flex’s cross section.
“I first developed the idea when learning to Spey cast while salmon fishing a few years ago,” explained Chris, whose 30-year career has been spent designing artificial blood vessels.
“A triangle isn’t practical for rolling rod blanks, but the shape I have come up with - a unique piece of geometry called a curve of constant width - is perfect for fishing rod manufacture,” he claimed.

Industry News: Far Bank Hires Hard Goods Planner

Far Bank Enterprises, Inc. Welcomes Ryan Cade as Hard Goods Planner

Far Bank Enterprises adds to its team to expand expertise in hard goods categories.

04.14.2010 – (Bainbridge Island, WA) – Fly-fishing industry leader, Far Bank Enterprises, is pleased to announce the addition of Ryan Cade as the new Hard Goods Planner. Bringing years of prior product planning experience, Ryan will be working with Sage, Redington and RIO to further develop the planning process and help attain marketing goals.

“The addition of Ryan to our team will bring a new focus to product planning and marketing and will help us expand our expertise to all hard goods categories,” says David Visnack, Director of Marketing & Merchandising. “Ryan brings valuable experience to the Far Bank team, and his skill set will allow us to take our established and successful categories to the next level.”

Perhaps the Perfect Fly Pack!

Maybe it's a girl thing, but it seems I'm always in search of the perfect fly pack. In the same way most women switch their purses around to reflect seasons, activities and moods, I am constantly moving fishing gear back and forth between various front-packs, hip-packs, vests and lanyards.

That may be changing, though, and it's no thanks to traditional fishing gear brands. I think I found the perfect setup. A friend of mine, Eric Miesch at Salomon Sports down in Ogden, UT, suggested that I follow his lead in converting two of the Salomon Adventure Race packs into one dynamo fly pack.

Salomon has what's called the Salomon Custom System. The system is an ala carte of pack accessories like bottle holders, flasks holders and extra pockets. The idea is to "reinvent your bag for every trail run." Maybe they didn't intend that it be reinvented for the perfect nymph run, but they should take credit for it, because it's awesome.


So, I decided to add Salomon's Custom Front Pocket to my Salomon XA 25 Waterproof backpack. The backpack is awesome, because it's waterpoof, so my extra layer of clothing and chocolate-chip cookies can stay dry. And the custom front pocket just snaps on and off as I need it.
I love it. And it brings out my eyes.

Coast Guard Urges ID'ing of Non Motorized boats

I don't do the sea kayak thing very often so I never really gave this much thought.

Unlike motorized vessels, there is no requirement for kayaks, canoes, and rowboats to be registered, and each year the Coast Guard and state agencies spend thousands of dollars, man hours, and resources conducting searches involving non-motorized vessels found adrift because they were not properly tied down, or were abandoned.

Adrift, unmanned paddle craft such as canoes and kayaks, are considered a sign of distress and rescue crews are launched to search for a potential missing person.

More info available via the US Coast Guard release

Redfish Can't Jump DVD's

Capt Seth Vernon emailed me to tell me that the DVD's for Redfish Can't Jump are out. You should get one. Srsly.

http://captgordon.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/redfish-cant-jump-dvds-for-sale/

Ebay Watch: White River Arkansas - $297k

Alright Paisley and Zugbug - count me in for a third on this if the due diligence checks out. Found on Ebay:

"This beautiful two-story home, located on the banks of the famous White River, is just six miles from Mountain View, Arkansas, the folk and blue grass center of the Ozark Mountains. There is a riverside deck with cement steps to the water and the river bank has been reinforced with rip-rap stones. "

"The property consists of 2 1/2 lots (250 ft) all fronting the White River only 40 feet away. You can catch trout from your back yard, tie up a boat on your own property or look out your front door at the National Forest. Other features include central heat and air (heat pump), 10x16 workshop outbuilding, in-ground concert storm cellar, and beautiful landscaping with a circle drive."

20%off $100 at Sierra Trading Post

20% off $100 orders at Sierra Trading Post. Use code: ALAPRIL2KX Offer valid until 5.6.2010

April brings the tax man. If you are getting a refund you deserve some new gear at a discount. If you have to pay taxes you deserve some new gear as a reward for doing your part to keep the wheels of government turning. Either way 20% off $100 helps.

Things we didn't know about Jersey

Three of these bodies of water sit between the FlyfishMagazine.com Corporate Compound and our office. Guess what we will be doing on our lunch hour...

According to the state division, the stocking process commenced on March 22 with fish from the Pequest Trout Hatchery. Nearly 600,000 young fish, which include catchable-sized brook, brown & rainbow trouts, are supplied to 89 streams and 90 ponds and lakes statewide.

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018324800#ixzz0kT6xSFfE

Truly great fishing trip eats!

People talking about Slaw Dogs on Twitter got me thinking about The Big Oak Drive In of Salter Path and El's Drive In of Morehead City and Shrimpburgers. The best thing about it is when you are eating one, you are here, and that is a pretty good place to be.

http://www.bigoakdrivein.com/images/bldg_border.jpg

Economic value of sport fishing

Sport fishing can be a real economic engine for local economies. As much as you and I probably already know this, we still have to beat government agencies about the head with data because the only day to day numbers they will see are from fish landings at fish houses. They see those numbers and assume that this is the true value of a fishery. Whereas the real money comes from angling and it's associated costs such as guide trips, restaurants, gas stations, grocery store visits (for mid day noms) and lastly (but especially not leastly) hotel rooms. In a thriving recreational fishery these types of things drive the economy (just go to the Florida Keys if you want to see for yourself). Check out the new numbers from the Bahamas.

Sadly this is not an April Fools post...

Fellow fly angler, Kurt Finlayson, sends sad news to all anglers thinking about spending their hard earned cash to fish in Utah. He writes:

"Anglers in Utah recently lost a major stream access battle.The Utah Legislature passed the bill during this past legislative session. Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill on March 31 in the face of extensive public outcry.The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has placed some information on its Web site regarding how the bill affects anglers.The information is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/streamaccess .The new law goes into effect May 11, 2010."

We also found a few facts on the web via the Utah Anglers Coalition.

Licensed anglers constitute 21 percent of Utah’s population.*
Angling generate(s) over $11-million in Utah sales tax, over $5-million in state income tax, nearly $12-million in federal income tax, and over $3.5-million in Sport Fish Restoration excise tax.**

The economic impact of anglers’ expenditures generate an additional $468-million in other benefits to local communities.

Bristol Bay Salmon Plan Massive Suicide Protest

(Iliamna, AK) Insider sources within the piscatorial community recently revealed plans for a massive protest against the proposed Pebble Mine project within the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. The source, who for the sake of anonymity we shall refer to as "Hookjaw", and who is a member of a group known as the "Bristol Bay Reds" revealed a highly coordinated plan in which millions of Sockeye and other specie of salmonid plan to give their lives later this year. The mass suicide is intended as a means of protesting the possible fouling of their birth waters by what they refer to as the "Pebble Mine disaster."

Our insider further revealed that massive numbers of the fish are planning to gather off of the Alaska coast before starting the long journey upstream to the home of their youth. Once they have made the perilous trek past commercial fishing vessels, recreational anglers, grizzly bear, and other threats, their plan is to locate a member of the opposite sex for one last fling. The female salmon will then go about the business of laying their eggs while the males stand watch and skirmish among themselves and the region's massive rainbow trout (who hope to make a meal on the salmon's eggs).

Those who survive and complete their procreation will gather one last time and die together in what they hope the world will view as a huge show of solidarity for the cause of fish everywhere. "We will be giving our lives so that both our fry and the very lifestyle of the Bristol Bay region can continue to exist" said one participant. "We only hope that the land dwelling people will take notice and stop this before it all comes to an end."

A spokesperson for company behind the mining project said, "We hear rumors of this sort of thing every year." "While we sympathize with the effect this has on the land dwelling people of Bristol Bay, we really can't concern ourselves with the actions of a radical fringe group such as the Sockeye."