The one that got away: Drunken 22 Year Old Edition

St. Johns County Sheriff's Dept. Photo

They say that a man biting a dog is news, so this must be something...

Fox news reports that a Florida anger missed out on quite a catch while pier fishing. It seems an allegedly highly intoxicated woman, allegedly swam up to him, allegedly bit his line and allegedly swam away with his lure.

GaGa for Fishing?

The Daily Star is reporting that Lady Gaga and friends recently spent some time fishing:

“She’s pretty eccentric, she didn’t take her heels off once.
“She went down to Onetangi beach to go fishing in her eight-inch heels, undies and a man’s business shirt – that’s it. She still had her bright yellow hair.”
Another source revealed: “Lady GaGa on the beach was the funniest sight.
“She was surrounded by surfers who couldn’t believe it was her as she as stood completely still with a long fishing rod.”

No information as of yet as to the truth of the rumor that the event was actually a photo shoot for the next Moldy Chum Friday Pin Up.

Gyoko Band

Gyoko is a Japanese Music group trying to promote the eating of fish to the youth of Japan. It seems their taste for Bluefin and Blubber isn't keeping pace with prior generations and Goyoko sings about the joys of fish in an attempt to boost demand.

An article in the Wall Street Journal spells it out.

"I love fishing, but I hate eating fish," he said, as he hung out with friends in Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku neighborhood. "They smell fishy, and I don't like their bones."

Sounds like their may just be an opportunity for conservation.

**Update - Our man on the ground in Japan, Jason Murdock, provides a culture lesson in the comments to this post. Jason is my Cousin and is one of the American Hero's who protect and serve from our military bases overseas.

Argentina's Pata-variety

Note from Hilary: I figured since my fishing pal Chad is in so many of my Patagonia pics, he'd better pull his blog weight and write a post. So...here's his quick rundown of the past two days.

From Fishing Pal Chad:
Yesterday the alarm jarred me awake at 5am, stealing away my strange dream. I hit snooze twelve times and stumbled down the stairs for a great breakfast and another day in paradise-- Cholila Valley, Argentina.

If one had to sum up the waters here in a word (besides beautiful, fishy, perfect...) the word would be variety. Every river has a drastically different character and there is a lake around every bend. Throw in a spring creek or two also.

We kicked the day off yesterday hike-wading to a public spring creek near Murmullos Lodge. The fishing was tough, but unforgettable. Large brookies, browns and rainbows cruised a rod length away in gin-clear water, unimpressed with our efforts. We did manage to net a few, including the most beautiful 18" brookie I have ever seen.

After lunch, we trucked over to Nico's (our groovy Argentinian guide) private lake on Murmullos Lodge property. It was somewhat of an exploratory trip since it hadn't been fished in eight years. We decided collectively on the name Crapshoot Lake. It turns out Nico has a lake full of feisty rainbows with unlimited growth potential. Pretty cool.

Today consisted of a seven mile zodiak trip to the inlet of Cholila Lake. We cruised upstream on foot-to-spot sippers. The rainbows we found were tucked up under the banks under thick mats of Chihue Bamboo; safe as a baby in Jesus's arms, so I thought. Hilary managed to wiggle her way through a bunch of bamboo and hook a rainbow by flipping/dapping a beetle. We later landed another by setting up in a tree twelve feet above the river. Exciting stuff. Those pics from up in the tree are still in the camera at the bottom of all of our nasty gear, so Hil will post them tomorrow. You'll want to check back to see them because it's hard to believe the story without the proof. Oh, also, she will probably post that pic of me sleeping next to a cow pie.

More to come!
Pulling my blog weight, Fishing Pal Chad

Heaven in High Water

I'm told it was a colder-than-normal November here in Patagonia, southern Argentina, which slowed down the end of the spring run-off. And it's been warm and sunny for the past week, so the rivers have suddenly gone up quite a bit. They're pretty clear, but high. Since we're at the base of the mountains, we can actually see the run-off happening in the form of long, plunging waterfalls. The high water added a bit of a challenge, but wasn't at all discouraging. We had a wonderful day chuckin' new MFC streamer patterns like Weise's Love Bunny and Yost's Hot Ass Sculpin. I've never thrown streamers for eight hours non-stop before. Right now I am typing with my left hand only, because my entire right arm hates me. We caught some really nice big rainbows and browns, but we also missed a lot because we got too excited watching the beasts chase tail, and ended up yanking the bunnies way too early. Today we'll be fishing a more technical river, and our amazing Argentine guide and fishing program manager here at Murmullos Lodge, Nico, says we'll be changing flies a lot more often. "I am going to ask you to use your brains," he said. Okey doke then. Hilary

News: Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Here are a few fishy things we have seen to help insure that you make good choices this Wednesday:

According to WVLT-TV Knoxville, the TWRA is finding problems with fish in the area near the Clinch River fly ash spill. The problems include issues with gills, stomachs, and scales. The news story includes what would probably be our Fly Fishing Quote of the week had we not already selected one: "Many times people don't like to eat something if it doesn't look good."
****
Newsprint Aggregator CommercialAppeal.com, is reporting about a hunter who found out the hard way that a seven point buck's antlers aren't just for decorating your fireplace.

"He came straight at me before I knew what was going on," said Curtis, a stay-at-home dad with four children. "I tried to get my rifle up but it was on safety, and I just didn't have time before he was on me." The deer was apparently enticed by the scent Webb was using (Tink's 69 Doe in Rut Buck Lure)"
*****
Over the past several months Albright Tackle has been running an extended deep discount sale. We even bought one of their reels for our Albright 9 weight. Apparently they are changing their pricing model and clued us in today via a rather strange email:

"Regardless of what you paid for some of our products in the past, we ask you to compare our current prices to anything out there. There's simply nothing remotely close. In fact, after doing an across the board brand analysis, we found that on average we were almost 60% less than our competition."

We took it to say, "Hey dudes, we gave you some super deals but then we looked and found out we were way under market so we have decided to give you some less super deals in the future." We looked and the prices are still really good despite the mixed marketing message.

Don't Drink The Water

The next time you are fishing and decide to bite your fly off your tippet, instead of using those fingernail clippers (or nippers for you gadget folks) on your vest, you might want to think twice. It seems those rivers that flow through those cow pastures might be carrying something else along with fish and bugs. A recent article in South Carolina's The State.com advises that high levels of Fecal Coliform have been found in the Congaree River.

A site is considered risky when more than 10 percent of samples exceed 400 counts per 100 milliliters of water, officials said. It is one of 18 sites statewide that have warning notices to swimmers.
Levels at the Blossom Street bridge were at 560 and 940 counts, officials said.
Coliform mostly comes from leaky septic tanks, sewer spills and animal droppings, DHEC officials said.

No real surprises here, most country boys and girls realize that a river flowing through even the most scenic pasture land is bound to get a regular dose of cow flop.

Where to take a Pope on his day off?

photo via Vatican.va

According to this article from down under about a rumored Papal visit, he might enjoy a bit of fishing. Via Northernstar.com

"If he did come, we would do all we could to make his stay memorable."
Ballina Chamber of Commerce spokesman Brian Marriott said if the Pope was to visit, he could do a spot of fishing off the wharf at Lance Ferris Park.

"He could stay at the Ramada Hotel and Suites and we could give him a special area there in the penthouse - I'm sure management could arrange that," Mr Marriott said.

No word as of yet if the Holy Father prefers nymphing to throwing dries. Rumor has it that the fly fishing tabloid press would pay big bucks for a verified photo of the Pontiff using a strike indicator.

Great White Sleigh Ride

http://view.break.com/496123 - Watch more free videos

It doesn't count unless he lands it...

Versus Country: Like the NCAA for Fish!

We got word of this a bit too late to fill out a bracket but our money is still on the Tarpon. Some lucky angler will get to fish with Tred Barta.

STAMFORD, Conn. (March 5, 2008) – VERSUS Country is once again on the quest to answer the most hotly debated question among sport fishermen since fish have been caught on rod and reel — pound-for-pound, what is the toughest gamefish? Will last year’s winner, the Tarpon, retain its title or will this second installment of Big Fish Madness determine a new champion successor?

The VERSUS Country panel of angling experts, including Tred Barta, Roland Martin, Bill Dance and Hank Parker, have narrowed the field by selecting the top 32 gamefish and seeded the fish in a bracket split into four regions. This year though, the ultimate decision for the toughest game fish will be chosen by the viewers, not the experts. Viewers can log on to VERSUSCountry.com to fill out a bracket with their selections up until March 21. Over the course of four nights, each gamefish in contention will be featured in some of the most spectacular fishing on television and Huntley Ritter, the host of The Huntley Way, will take viewers through each match-up, round-by-round until the field of 32 is down to just one champion.

For viewers filling out a bracket at VERSUSCountry.com, points will be awarded for each correct selection and tallied after each round with correct choices receiving incrementally more points as the rounds advance. Throughout Big Fish Madness, viewers can go to the website to see how their brackets are faring against other viewers. The viewer with the winning bracket will be announced on the last night of Big Fish Madness on April 4. The entrant with the highest point total will win the grand prize – a 2008 Nitro Z-6 Boat with Optimax Motor and Trailer, courtesy of BassPro Shops and Tracker Marine and the first place winner will receive an all-expense-paid fishing trip with Tred Barta. Other spectacular prizes for top point earners include: 42' Panasonic plasma TV's, iPods, Xbox 360 game consoles, a Bill Dance signature rod & reel package, among others.

“After a very successful first installment of Big Fish Madness we decided to bring it back for a second year with an exciting twist—this year, the viewers are the experts as they’ll be deciding which fish is the toughest,” said Jeff Macaluso, Director of Field Sports & New Media Programming & Production for VERSUS. “It’s a great way for our highly passionate anglers to engage interactively with the programming and to see how their opinions match-up against our expert’s for a chance to win great prizes.”

BIG FISH MADNESS PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (subject to change):

Thursday, March 27, 2008: Round 1 - Field Goes from 32-16

7:00 p.m. ET The Huntley Way
7:30 p.m. ET Hunt for Big Fish
8:00 p.m. ET Sport Fishing Magazine
8:30 p.m. ET The Best and Worst of Tred Barta

Friday, March 28, 2008: Round 2 - Field goes from 16-8

7:00 p.m. ET One More Cast
7:30 p.m. ET LL Bean Guide to the Outdoors
8:00 p.m. ET Hunt for Big Fish
8:30 p.m. ET City Limits Fishing- ALL NEW EPISODE
9:00 p.m. ET The Best and Worst of Tred Barta
9:30 p.m. ET Dollar Wise Fly - ALL NEW EPISODE
10:00 p.m. ET Saltwater Experience
10:30 p.m. ET The Bass Pros

Thursday, April 3, 2008: Round 3 - Field goes from 8 to 4

7:00 p.m. ET Escape to the Wild
7:30 p.m. ET The Best and Worst of Tred Barta
8:00 p.m. ET Sport Fishing Magazine
8:30 p.m. ET Hunt for Big Fish

Friday April 4, 2008: Semi-Finals and Championship

7:00 p.m. ET One More Cast
7:30 p.m. ET The Bass Pros
8:00 p.m. ET Hunt for Big Fish
8:30p.m. ET City Limits Fishing- ALL NEW EPISODE
9:00 p.m. ET Best & Worst of Tred Barta
9:30 p.m. ET Dollar Wise Fly - ALL NEW EPISODE
10:00 p.m. ET Saltwater Experience
10:30 p.m. ET Sport Fishing Magazine


VERSUS celebrates real competition in all its forms across all platforms (VERSUS.com, VERSUS on Demand and VERSUS HD). Now in more than 74 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events such as The Tour de France, Davis Cup Tennis, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Professional Boxing. The network also offers collegiate sports featuring nationally-ranked teams from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

Deep Thoughts About Fly Fishing: Jack Handey

SNL staff writer, Jack Handey, of Deep Thoughts fame writes about his 2nd passion in this SFreporter article:

I can’t imagine someone trying fly-fishing and not loving it, but apparently that can happen. I know it’s a cliché, but fly-fishing is one of those meditative things. If the fishing is good, and you’re fishing hard, you can’t think of anything else but the fishing. Adding to the allure is that usually you’re in a beautiful outdoor spot, with flowing water. Also, you get to torture fish. Actually, I do feel guilty about that, but so far not enough to quit fishing.

“Marta says the interesting thing about fly-fishing is that it's two lives connected by a thin strand. Come on, Marta. Grow up.” - Jack Handey

South Korea's Sancheono Festival

From the "festivals we'd like to see here in the states" file:

The annual Sancheoneo Festival, named after a trout also known as "Cherry Salmon", is a popular event which sees participants brave the cold to wait for the fish to bite or have a go at live-fish catching, where participants grab the trout swimming in a pool and stuff them into their shirts.

Link to the ITN article and and video

My favorite non fly fishing reel name

With the same name as the Editorial Wife.

Blue water bacon on the fly?

Break out the 10 weights folks, the hogs are running off the coast of Hawaii:

As the small fishing boat headed for shore at Kahana Bay, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, on closer inspection, the catch of the day was not seafood. It was pork.
"We just hooked up with a fish. As soon as we got it off, I looked over and Aaron was, I thought he was yelling 'fish, fish!' When I looked to my right, it was 'pig, pig!' There was a pig just swimming straight out to sea," fisherman Tyson Pualoa said.

Of course this leads us to wonder what kind of fight one might expect from Porky on the fly? In our humble opinion, a hook up with Bacon would be a shoe in for slab of the month from our pals at Moldy Chum.

Salmon Brings Own Wine to Dinner

This story reported on SonomaNews.com would be pretty unbelievable had I not already been witness to an angler catching a full bottle of Killian's Irish Red beer on a cat fishing trip.

This fish isn't fighting much," he was heard to say.Eventually he brought in a king salmon that weighed more than 18 pounds - no doubt a record for Lake Shasta. Adding to the weight of the monster fish were two small bottles (tenths) of wine in its stomach.

Ok, so it was all just an inventive prank. However, you have to admire the creativity.

The Killian's story is true.

Sockeye Wine (also true) is distributed by Precept Brands.

ESPN's Don Barone: TunaMaster Skeet

ESPN's Don Barone has been fishing again. This time he takes his "butt replacement doctor" and 2007 BASS Angler of the year (AOY) Skeet Reese on a tuna fishing trip.

Picture this: I'm sitting on the rail/facing/whatever the front of the boat is called, and in my hand (running parallel to the back of the boat), is this fully-loaded tackle thing with a fairly peeved 30-pound fish swimming away as fast as it can from the exact spot where I'm sitting, feet dangling, just minding my own non-fishing-at-the-moment business.
And Skeet then lets GO of the rod.

Mac, too far away to save what he calls "his hips" (implanted in me, mind you) can only stare.
Santini and the Captain are frozen in space — I, unfortunately, am not.

Somehow, in a momentary alignment of the fish planets, the striper seems to sense the AOY isn't holding the stick anymore. And that in some stroke of luck the MOY (Moron of the Year) is now controlling his bass fate, and so it pops into fish fifth gear, which completely swings me around, stands me straight up, and frankly almost over the damned Skip-A-Dory side.

Behind me, Skeet is laughing, running around looking for a camera. I manage to get my other hand around and onto the rod at about the same time the fish realizes the stupid one is actually at the other end of the line. And so he dives. Straight down.

My left leg and $23,413.37 hip comes off the ground. Out loud I curse Steve Bowman, knowing that somehow this must be his pet fish about to drown me.

Then Skeet says "Here, put it in your groin."

Read the rest of the story at ESPN.com Photo Credit Don Barone.

New Income for Fishing Villages

What's the latest cottage industry in small island fishing villages? They call it hunting the "white lobster."

The Butt Rest

From time to time every angler has wondered what to do with that pesky rod at times when you need both hands free. Perhaps the answer is the Butt Rest. Our only suggestion to the manufacturers would be to give a fly rod to their fishing babe stock.

Media Fishing Quote of the Week

From a CBS Sportsline Article projecting what might be found in a sports almanac from the year 2057 listed under the heading Extinct Sports Leagues:

"Fishing For Pit Bulls (FFPB): Introduced in 2015, no one believed league founder Michael Vick that it was a good idea to stock lakes with pit bulls. Vick's excuse that he thought dogs could survive underwater for long periods of time fell on deaf ears. "

DIY: Handmade Classic Motor Boat

Winchester, Virginia contractor Dave Hepler built this beauty of a motor boat from scratch. The picture comes from Mike Feinman who is the General Manager of The Contractor Yard in the same town. Mike is our parrott head co-worker pal and helped source some of the special materials for Mr. Hepler's excellent project.