Most of my giggles have been the irrational kind but it’s nice to see that the “we’ll tune Science for pay” phenomenon isn’t localized to the US or an election year … While us Californian’s dicker over whether Striped Bass are the root of all evil, and while federal scientists determine whether the Delta should [...]

Our study involving largemouth bass provides the first direct experimental evidence that vulnerability to angling is a heritable trait and, as a result, that recreational hook-and-line fisheries can cause evolutionary change in fish populations. – via Selection for Vulnerability to Angling in Largemouth Bass A twenty year study on Largemouth Bass yields an eye-opening conundrum [...]

Only recently recovered from the attempt to make Striped Bass the killer of all salmonids, and now on the eve of my Spring Shad orgy, West Coast scientists are suddenly spraying my favorite quarry with the invasive label. … and while they readily admit that most of the science on American Shad has been done on [...]

Until recently fisheries biologists have seen the adipose fin as largely superfluous, and have clipped it to visually distinguish planted fish from their wild cousins. Now they’re not so sure. Recent studies suggest the adipose fin is crucial to fish, aiding it in navigating turbulent water. With the tiny fin removed, he says the fish need [...]

I’m a sucker for the dim view, given that economics and temperature mixed with apathy and the potential decline in size of the US government adds up to be  the worst scenario, not the neutral agent others envision. The short version is that a panel of 11 scientists from Colorado State University, Trout Unlimited, the [...]

As most of you already know, mosquitoes ferret us out due to the CO2 we exhale. Ditto for anything else that sucks blood, and why entomologists lay dry ice on a white blanket and run for their lives … Now researchers claim they can render us completely invisible to the hosts of blood sucking insects by [...]

I think most of the sporting fraternity would readily admit that they’re waiting on only two pieces of technology. Surely a lighter over and under would be a delight to own – as would a nine foot fly rod that could throw itself, but if you really want their research priorities it would boil down [...]

We’ve not heard words like that since the Sixties, yet you’ll be sharing much more with trout than you’d expect, given that soon you’ll be deciding whether Caddis taste better than Mayflies, or whether you prefer your Crane fly larvae straight up or with a hint of Sour Cream. As has been well documented, science [...]

Now that Canadian researchers have discovered that Goldfish under the influence of Prozac do not respond to sexual advances, I’m duty bound to ask how much tap water do our Northern neighbors drink before a Goldfish looks good enough to hit on? … and aren’t we glad that fish have scruples? Californians are known to house most [...]

“Extra labeling only confuses the consumer,” said David Edwards, director of animal biotechnology at the Biotechnology Industry Organization. “It differentiates products that are not different. As we stick more labels on products that don’t really tell us anything more, it makes it harder for consumers to make their choices.” Which is exactly what troubled me [...]