If a shower curtain assembly was bolted to the roof rack, I think we’d be done. Until then you’ll have to settle for the “exhibitionist” model. Pry them reluctant big city types out of their metropolis with the Bumper Dumper. “Roughing it” appeals to such a small fraction of the population, it’s time we introduce the essential amenities.
A smart fellow would do a head count before getting back on the freeway…
The final 2006 Federal fishing and hunting statistics have been released refining preliminary numbers posted earlier this year.
The most popular fish species among the 25.0 million anglers who fished freshwater other than the Great Lakes was black bass. Ten million spent 161 million days fishing for black bass. Following black bass in popularity were several species with a similar number of anglers and days of fishing. Panfish were pursued by 7.5 million anglers on 102 million days. Catfish and bullheads drew 7.0 million anglers on 98 million days. About 6.8 million anglers fished for trout on 76 million days. Crappie fishing attracted 6.2 million anglers on 91 million days.
That makes trout a distant fourth, with Brownliner fish scoring the top three spots. Most of my trips this year have been “crappy,” it’s nice to know I’m squarely in the mainstream, as it takes the fifth spot.
The sobering element is that fishing still is 75% men, 25% women, and each year of college reduces your chances of being a fisherman. I’m guessing they meant, “each year of college completed” – they don’t count agricultural studies in Hops, Barley, or Hemp.
Technorati Tags: Federal statistics, 2006 Sportsmen’s Census
The Fishing Jones blog had a much better treatment of the whole PETA issue with his comical Penn & Teller YouTube find. It’s worthy of a look-see, as Penn makes mighty short work of the lunatic fringe, including some factoids that most of us only hoped were true..
I’ll make my apologies for the sporadic posting this week, like you I have to put the finishing touches on the holidays. As the “cook” that means the “spirit” part of the holidays are under my purview, I can’t just rely on liquor to get everyone in the mood.
As we’re talking Xmas, I stumbled on one of those oddball stories that’ll make you thankful you’re not the target. In-laws that exchange the same pair of pants for 25 years, escalation is a bad thing.
Technorati Tags: Fishing Jones blog, quick hitters, pants that never die
Sure our numbers are dwindling, but us fellows that are left are doing our part for the economy. While we don’t spend much on sweaters knotted daintily around our neck or “tennis” bracelets, we spend a helluva lot of money where it counts..
If you take the entire Skiing industry, with the pricey equipment, exotic travel, and broken limbs – you get 661 million dollars. We spend 1.1 BILLION on just bait.
I would define that as “Spankage,” pure and simple.
If you want to include ice to keep the bait fresh, that’s another $378 million. None of that ice ever touches bait, we know that but they don’t – and no statistics are available for carbonated beverages, but it’s safe to assume none of us have liver tissue left.
From the “Bite me, PETA” department comes this little morsel:
Hunters and anglers have historically been — and continue to be — the largest contributors to government wildlife conservation programs. Through excise taxes and license revenues, they have contributed more than $10 billion dollars to conservation, and annually provide more than 80% of the funding for most state fish and wildlife agencies.
But before you get all complacent on me, know this disturbing tidbit;
It is estimated that there are 40 million sportsmen of voting age in the United States – nearly a third of the entire vote. Nearly 8 in 10 hunters always vote in presidential elections, while 6 in 10 always vote in non-presidential elections.
While you appear to be the salvation, you’re also the cause of the mess we’re in, as you pick them dimwits during the election, then fight them tooth and nail when they start drilling arctic wilderness.
Less “ice” before you vote next time. Meathead.
It’s the tertiary phase of plundering a communal resource, tensions around the globe are escalating mightily around fishing and fishermen.
North and South Korea got into a shoving match at Panmunjom, the Russians have just confiscated Japanese trawlers, and even Croatia is about to lay claim to parts of the Adriatic. Little wonder that boorish angling behavior is on the rise domestically.
We’ve all been victimized, and we’ve read tales of uncaring oafs disturbing someone’s in-stream reverie in most of the major periodicals. Perhaps it’s not as personal as once thought – maybe it’s a growing trend.
Competition for fishing resources is on the increase, even though anglers are on the decline. “Quality” fishing is available in an ever shrinking area, and despite fewer anglers, fresh and saltwater fisheries are losing ground. Similar issues beset commercial fishermen, with the developing countries protesting their fishing grounds are being ravaged by the fleets from developed countries.
Fishing etiquette assumes neither fellow is starving, while that isn’t likely anytime soon, you may want to pause before ripping an interloper a new one. It’s probable that as the pristine areas shrink, we’ll be forced into ever closer contact.
I’m not saying I like it, I’d rather not go down in history as “..the guy that yelled at Jesus..”
Technorati Tags: fishing etiquette, angling tensions, overcrowded
I’ve never caught a fish enough times to name it, I always thought the practice was proof the angler needed to fish somewhere’s else. Old angling cartoons first acquainted me with the practice, usually with some big city swell telling some kid to put the big SOB back before “Old TackleBuster” expired.
If I was the kid, I would’ve kicked Mr. Aberchrombie and Fitch in the nuts, then taken off running, but I always was an insensitive little brute..
I was supposed to go Christmas shopping and when no one was looking snuck the rod in the back of the truck instead – figuring two hours of fishing and an hour of shopping technically qualifies. If you are lucky enough to have water nearby, Christmas is the perfect subterfuge – you scuff the ground with your toe and claim it’s her present you’re shopping for – otherwise you’d be thrilled at spending the afternoon shopping for Aunt WhatsHerName and her idjit children.
That’s not insensitive, that’s practical.
It’s getting cold in the morning, and even the fish were huddled for warmth. I hit two or three spots and had little success – figuring the bite may pick up with additional sun on the water.
The beaver had completed the dam on the “Hatchery” stretch, raising the water level by two feet. Industrious fellow, I would love to see a time lapse photography of how he managed to get all that brush and timber into the creek. It’s a two phase build method, they plunk all the branches into the water then go upstream and uproot as much weed as they can, the branches catch it all and make a perfect watertight wall.
I had tested Curly’s Nondescript nymphs here last week, and remembering that big smallmouth that cracked me off, I had another six Nondescript Blacks to tempt him. I didn’t figure he would be fool enough to eat another one, I was hoping some of his relatives might.
The fourth cast into the brush pile was perfect, the fly was in the branches above his hiding spot and I let the current pull it off and drop it in his living room. I gave it one tug and then all hell broke loose, water flying, fish airborne, and me standing there with an unlit cigar and a foolish grin.
I got as far as “Son of a…” before the line went slack. “Old Nondescript” had busted me off a second time, and now he had two flies in his face. I can only hope they’re at opposite ends of his jaw so he still swims straight…
Nice fish, and with the extra two foot of water depth he’s likely to get a lot bigger. Addiction to Nondescript nymphs should prove his undoing, as I’m the only “dealer” in the area, I’ll be sure to make him pose.
Technorati Tags: brownlining, smallmouth bass, Old Nondescript
Quoting PETA to generate controversy is as tired as Britney Spears minus undergarments, a quick blip of interest followed by an unpleasant aftertaste, knowing you’ve been played.
Bad taste was what I was left with after reading another nebulous, fluffy article about “Catch and Release” in the Sacramento Bee; grab a couple facts, quote the lunatic fringe, then sign off with a question mark.
I figured to complete the article, purely in the interests of Science.
Biologists are certain that releasing fish helps sustain populations that would falter if those fish were eaten. But they know much less about how repeated releases may affect breeding, behavior and more.
Humans that are released repeatedly show little ill effects; initial relief, then despair as assets are carved up, within weeks the male shows the same self destructive behavior as before the marriage, implying males learned little or nothing from the experience.
It is a comparison that does not sit well with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“Every parent who fishes is telling their kids that it’s fun to torment and abuse animals,” said Lindsay Rajt, manager of the group’s factory farming and vegan campaigns.
“There are a variety of ways to enjoy the outdoors that don’t involve hooking a live animal by the mouth and dragging them into an environment where they can’t breathe,” she said.
Perhaps the above would be a bit more revealing if we altered a couple of words.
Every parent who abuses their spouse is telling their kids that it’s fun to torment and abuse animals. There are a variety of ways to enjoy others that don’t involve hooking a live animal by the mouth and dragging them into an environment where they can’t breathe,” she said.
Most of the husbands I spoke with would consider “holding her purse at Macy’s” or visiting the In-Laws to be just such an environment. Mankind seems to have bounced back from the experience, so can it be as insufferable as the PETA radicals make out?
“Even the world’s most renowned expert in pain can’t tell you if a fish feels pain,” said Steve Jinks, a professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at UC Davis Medical School.
The medical community is split on whether “pain” is only felt by sentient critters, requiring higher brain development than fish exhibit. I have little doubt that fish feel pain, to say otherwise is to dabble in human arrogance.
On the human front pain is essential to our survival, it teaches us what is safe and what’s unsafe, with animals it can be no different.
“We are putting selective pressure on every bass fishery around and selecting for the least aggressive fish,” he said. “It probably means they’re not as good defenders of their babies … which can’t be good for the population.”
I disagree completely. If a fish is caught and associates a Royal Trude with flesh damage, it’s likely that it won’t eat another one. Angling is the art of presenting the Royal Trude in a manner that disguises it as something else, hence the fish can be caught more than once.
For the PETA loyalists,I enjoy both fishing and catching, and I do so with the knowledge that I am causing fish pain. I attempt to minimize suffering by releasing fish with as little stress as possible, even when it pains me to do so.
I am a brute, I share the top of the food chain with other brutes.
Rather than trying to get me to stop fishing, why don’t you prove that a radish has no feelings, as long as there’s reasonable doubt, you’re treading on thin ice.
Technorati Tags: PETA, radishes have feelings, catch and release, brute
The latest Chinese toy recalls include 14000 fishing games, containing a fishing pole and 4 practice fish – all exceeding the allowable levels of lead. With all the furor associated with lead in toys, I’m wondering whether anyone has thought to test real fish?
We yank the plastic rod out of the little tyke’s hands, and to keep him from crying – hand him a Tuna sandwich?
Mercury and Arsenic always get top billing, but lead has to be right up there, and what better way to smooth Sino-American relations then by recalling all them Beijing Fillet O’ Fish sandwiches?
Lead in fish is measured in PPM (parts per million), lead exposure is in micro-grams, lacking a conversion table I’m not sure whether to spit out the tuna or add additional mayo to thin it … This is where it gets really complex, as additional celery or onions may contain Ecoli, mayo is oily “white death”, and more tuna boosts the exposure – it’s a case of “pick your favorite poison.”
Too darn complex for me, I’ll duck the issue by adding pickles and take my chances.
Technorati Tags: lead contamination, pickles, death by eating
It’s called “the things you can’t Un-See,” an Internet phenomenon where a buddy sends you a non-descriptive link with some bland come-hither line like, “I thought you would like this…”
Clicking it results in an involuntary gag, or a spouse that thinks she’s married a pervert – now you’re obliged to find something equally gross to return the compliment to this erstwhile friend.
The link I clicked was not so innocent, entitled “The 10 Nastiest Fish in the World,” – and the result would send a hardened Brownliner fleeing in terror. A better descriptor would be “The 10 Fish you’d cut the fly line to Avoid” – featuring lots of teeth, slime, and the urge to go vegetarian.
Fly fishing for the above Goliath Tigerfish is billed as “one of the last frontiers” by the folks at North Wales Flyfishing School, 9-11 weight, with 40lb single trace wire leader required. It looks more like suicide to me, I’d be lucky if I could summon the nerve to stick my toe in the river.
I figured I was safe, neatly tucked away on the bottom left margin of the Daytripper’s Blog was the “Tying for 2008” entry. Like all great procrastinators I assumed he wouldn’t dare increment it until February, minimum.
Now he’s ahead of us and we’re playing “catch up.”
Brownlining is hell on flies, nymphs mostly, and my nymph stash has been getting augmented regularly. It’s part and parcel of the smallmouth fishing on the Little Stinking – I tie a dozen and leave six on tree limbs trying for that tight cast against the underbrush. Naturally the one cast that gets in close is traveling at 150 mph and blows hell out of whatever I thought lived there..
The concussion alone teaches them fish a lesson.
Prodded by Alex, I cracked open the dry fly box to see what’s missing and found a lot of work for this winter. I should be able to stay abreast of Daytripper, as all of my small dries, rough water caddis, and cripples have been sorely used.
I was introduced to Bob Quigley’s “cripples” years ago when he lived near Fall River, one of those rare fly tiers whose creations are both graceful and practical, flies that fool fish rather than fishermen.
The theory is simple, tie the rear half of the fly in the colors of the nymph, and the front half in the colors of the adult. Grease the front portion only, and the fly will lay “arse down” at an angle simulating an emerger.
I use them interchangeably with the adult dry fly, they work well as the mature imitation in hatch conditions, and in many cases, work better. Any traditional mayfly dry can be adapted to the “cripple” style, just by adding the appropriate nymph coloration.
I had heard that the idea came when he was eyeballing a semi-destroyed Humpy, that may be myth, it was the prevailing story of the time.
Emerger patterns can be frustrating to fish, many rely on the bug being partially sunken, while effective as an imitation it’s difficult to see. Cripple wings are cocked forward at a 45 degree angle intentionally, as the rear portion sinks down into the surface film, the wing rises to the vertical position allowing the angler to retain the traditional dry fly profile, enhancing the flies visibility.
This’ll give you something to keep pace with the Daytripper, he’s got seven done – where’s yours?
Technorati Tags: Quigley cripple, dry fly, fly fishing, emerger, daytripper is a harsh taskmaster