I mentioned the “Bird’s Nest” fly in last nights post, I had the privilege of knowing Calvert Bird years ago when it was created. Cal was one of the most singular and gentle fellows I’ve ever known, he had a weakness for coffee and wreath cake, which I exploited unmercifully.
All of Cal’s well known flies are [...]

Update: It may be missing the yellow and black lateral line, but the Doctor was dead right. It puts me at a dilemma, as these critters have a bounty on their head in Oregon, $4 per fish for the first 1000, up to $8 per fish thereafter. They eat baby salmon, lots of them. The [...]

Experience has driven home the lesson Never Predict Anything, just when you think you can’t miss, fate finds a new way to humble you.
The converse is true when some terrible calamity happens early, like forgetting your fishing rod. Then all hell busts loose and the fish commit suicide, with you grinding your teeth, and some other [...]

Computer technical types love jargon that lifts the customers eyebrow. It’s a simple explanation really, Ma cut the crusts off our sandwich in elementary school, we been on the prod ever since.
“Dogfood” describes the process by which you first eat what you wish to serve the customer. Our cadre of coupon shopping Singlebarbed ultra consumers (me) [...]

The downside of working in fly shops is that instead of getting a paycheck, you get first dibs in the “going out of business” sale.
Downside because 30 years later I still have unopened fly lines in pristine condition, yet have run out of my favorite. An English company, Masterline, made a pebble finished dry fly [...]

I am still scratching my head why the lowly banana bears the brunt of fishing superstition. Both me and Elvis figured bananas was a fine fruit, so how did the “if there are bananas in the boat, no fish will be caught” myth arise?
I read the available explanations, the most common is how a bunch [...]

…especially when it results in you landing something of uncommon girth.
Research shows that girls actually prefer pink, it’s genetic - not some cutesy thing that Barbie taught them.
“We find very clear differences between the males and females we have tested,” Hurlbert said. “We haven’t yet found any exceptions.”
Scientists always copper their bets, and trying to [...]

I got my morning paper and a cup of coffee, I ‘m settling in to start my week and this little gem is on the front page:
“As hunting and fishing licenses decline, wildlife officials are seeking to collect maintenance funds from ‘non-consumptive’ visitors”
California’s fish and game department is funded largely by license revenue, which has [...]

San Mateo Joe,
Will I rever the slaw dog like Wally TC does?
Slaw Dog’s are an affront to the human race. Why any rational human would desecrate an intestine stuffed with lips, beaks, jowels, and entrails - with cole slaw? The real indignity is that they are trying to hide the crime with chili and mustard.
I [...]

Welcome to Singlebarbed. Whose words are you reading?
(SNIP) (HACK) (CUT) (SLASH)
Humor is King, which is why you shouldn’t take me too seriously, unless of course I’m writing on a topic that suggests you should, and it’s possible you won’t know the difference. Sometimes it’s not easy to be you.
Sit back, relax, enjoy — and comment [...]