Author Archives: KBarton10

If you can cast better than Brad Pitt, here’s your chance

If your tailing loop is more convoluted than most or a gob of pancake makeup will make you prettier than Brad Pitt, you might consider being immortalized on celluloid. Unfortunately you’ll have to live somewhere near Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York State …

Kype magazine is looking for ardent salmon-steelhead anglers to feature in their magazine and forthcoming DVD.

Kype is currently searching for two anglers at each fishing location along their upcoming film tour to fish side by side with Publisher and film producer, George Douglas. “This is not your typical guide trip,” said Douglas. “This is an opportunity for anglers of all levels to showcase their fishing adventure and help kids at the same time.”

The camera crew will capture you and your adventure on film to be used for national distribution. In addition to highlighting this amazing sport and providing viewers with great fishing action, the underlying theme in this series is to capture the typical or not so typical day in an angler’s life that often includes the frustrations met on the river, to the evening celebration of the big catch. Similar to reality-TV filming, Kype’s film crew documents each aspect of these trips while bringing out unique personalities and the perseverance that drives anglers to their next hook-up.

… loosely translated it suggests they might not dub over your swear words and anything confessed while inebriated will be shared with the balance of the planet posthaste.

Kype apparently sponsors Thetugisthedrug.org angling community, if you don’t embarrass yourself on celluloid – you’ve got a couple more chances in different mediums…

I can’t apply as they’ve used “the tug is the drug”, “tight lines” and “rip lips” on a single page. I’m allergic to all three, combined they’re Kryptonite to us dirty water anglers.

Tags: Kype magazine, thetugisthedrug.org, drug free fishing, new guys, trite angling phrases, fly fishing movie, Brad Pitt

Columbia River to go Barbless for Salmon and Steelhead

Beginning May 1st, 2010, Washington fisheries officials are proposing a single barbless hook restriction for the Columbia River.

Washington fisheries officials are about to deliver a bombshell on Columbia River anglers, proposing single barbless hooks be required for salmon and steelhead angling as far upstream as McNary Dam.

The proposed rules can be downloaded from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website. The changes are scheduled for public comment October 8th, with a potential ratification in December.

#11. Hook Rules for Salmon in Marine Areas
Proposal: Require single-point barbless hooks when fishing for salmon from the Columbia River jetty and in Willapa Bay (MA 2-1) and the Westport Boat Basin from August 1 – January 31.

Explanation: This proposal would require single-point barbless hooks for all saltwater salmon fisheries, making saltwater salmon hook rules consistent and easy to follow, while allowing easier release of any salmon not retained

These types of changes are to be expected, in light of the dramatic decline in west coast salmon populations. This comes on the heels of a $7.50 increase in a Washington license (for salmon) – we can all expect to see stiff sanctions in play as the fish dwindle to extinction.

These are the Good Old days ..

Tags: Columbia River salmon, single barbless restriction, salmon, Washington fish and wildlife

What’s up, Dawg?

What's Up, Dawg! Us native Californian’s pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the next great trend – even marginal ones, just so we’re seen as holding up our end…

… and a pear shaped angler trudging through creek bottom just doesn’t offer the same opportunities as the hard-bodied ultra-consumer crowd – as they troll the beach admiring their reflection in the rear view…

Now I’ve got my own statement, hydration pack lipping full of lemon slices and Fortifido water.

I opted for the “natural Spearmint” assuming that if it can make a dog’s arse fresh – it’d tame the sour taste of cheap cheroots and alkali dust.

I may opt for the Peanut Butter if that doesn’t work, as Parsley sounds a mite off-putting.

We can emerge from some muddy rivulet knowing our skulking days are over, we’re “kissable sweet” – it’s only the rest of us that smells like hell.

Tags: Fortifido water, dog water, brownlining, trendy, wasteful, Peanut Butter, Parsley

Now if they could just do something with discarded water bottles

Angling art takes many forms and covers multiple mediums – yet only the Pristine seems worthy of immortalizing.

Us fellows that trod mud amidst the savagery of the rural-urban interface rarely see much celebration of our craft.

Recycled milk crates strike a special nerve – mostly because we’ve waded through their neatly ordered phalanxes below bridge abutments.

I consider it “gravity-based Moderne”. I like the concept, industrial art mixed with reservation of a favorite riffle … the Milk Crate Fisherman.

Tags: milk crate fisherman, rural-urban interface, angling art, gravity

Angling for a little Swine Flu

You can rest easy knowing ALL the important freshwater gamefish will not be contracting Swine Flu.

Having endured mandatory training due to employment with a “first responder” organization, it’s certain that while humanity may expire in a paroxysm of Phlegm; “Porkulosis”, “Bacon Lung”, or “Pigluenza” will leave freshwater fish untouched.

Yum Yum

The details of fisheries science are a mystery to me, but while listening to the health professionals insist we wash our hands hourly, and how the communal pink donut box is “… a virtual Petrie dish of exotic toxins” – I couldn’t help wonder whether us fishermen were especially at risk.

Really big fish are oft-called “Pigs” or “Porkers” and us fly fishermen lack the good sense to avoid a forcible fish exhale or sputum when the big SOB is gripped too tightly. Waders only protect us from the chest down and we could be unwittingly made “pollination vectors” as legions of big fish wheeze their way to the surface bent on payback.

Not to worry.

I considered prostrating my morals by cornering the market on 100% impermeable facemasks, getting them silk screened with Light Cahill’s and Royal Coachmen, but the thought of making freaking goddamn millions at the expense of the Brotherhood was distasteful …

In a study published September 28th ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers measured oseltamivir carboxylate (OC), the active metabolite of the popular anti-influenza drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate), in samples of sewage discharge and river water

… so if the long lines for the H1N1 become burdensome you could wait a week and gargle river water. Dosages vary based on population size, so bring at least two straws. The “prime lie” will be at the outflow nozzle and bathing in it might provide additional surface resistance.

“An antiviral drug has never been widely used before, so we need to determine what might happen. During a flu pandemic, millions of people will all take Tamiflu at the same time. Over just 8 or 9 weeks, massive amounts of the drug will be expelled in sewage and find its way into the rivers. It could have huge effects on the fish and other wildlife.”

… maybe it’ll restore all that lost testosterone?

Tags: H1N1, swine flu, the other white flu, tamiflu, sewage treatment, fly fishing humor, Light Cahill, Royal Coachman, oseltamivir carboxylate

How to extinct the San Juan Worm without half trying

I’ve been holding this one close to the vest for fear of upsetting the Roughfisher, knowing once he catches a glimpse of what’s possible, we’ll be seeing “Darth Earthworm” and the San Juan Worm’s days are numbered.

Paton Glittallic yarn

It’s actually two yarns loosely wrapped together. One is best described as a trilobal-polyester that glitters like broken glass, intertwined with a soft synthetic braid that can be used as a flat yarn, or you can stuff things inside it to stretch it into a veined mayfly wing, or seal the ends to make a San Juan Worm-killer.

Pink and Amber

The woven strand looks like a shed reptile skin – and whips around in the water like a snake. I used it for the shellback on the October Caddis earlier, and am converting the old SJW to this – more mobile flavor.

The downside is that not a lot of colors are available, and being polyester, dyeing what’s needed is more work than I care to endure. Special polyester dyes are required as is a chemical fixative and a lot of heat.

SJW Killer

I flamed the end to melt some rigidity into the tube, threaded it over a 4mm gold bead and added the SJW headpiece. Both tubes are sealed with a lighter to complete the fly. The motion is so much more wormlike than the velvet chenille that I’m tempted to eat it.

What’s needed is a good rich Olive, but I’ve only found the material in black, Lilac Lame (pink), Cream Gleam, Blue Flash, and Maroon Shine. It’s about $2 per skein on EBay.

Tags: San Juan Worm, Paton Glittallic, Polyester, Lurex, October Caddis, fly tying material, Roughfisher.com. trilobal yarn,

Another Singlebarbed Science post, mainly because absolutely no one else has the patience

Me, I can’t help it. Fly fishing is like the stock market and every channel has some nicely powdered fellow telling you what to buy. Most ignore the larger picture in favor of the populist message; get in now, you’re missing it.

Fishing has the same urgency for me, as I’m forced to eat a great deal of bad news and mold it into glib commentary. Which is why I’m fascinated by stream science (in all its many forms) and insist on posting these tasty little nuggets – despite your collective yawn.

It’s mostly about fresh potable water, something that our piddly little sport requires in great abundance and in the pristine variant. With the increasing density of humans and the decline in freshwater quality, most of the streams we hold dear – will be squarely in the crosshairs of plenty of important people, numerous multinational corporations, and all of them will have bigger war chests and more political clout than every conservation group added together.

… but that battle is still decades distant.

Right now, it’s about 20% of the dragonflies and damselflies disappearing in the Mediterranean, due to the scarcity of fresh water.

Dragonflies are generally known for being good indicators of water quality. Major threats for 67 percent of these Mediterranean species are habitat degradation and pollution. The Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum), which used to be common in the Mediterranean, is now listed as Vulnerable and is declining due to the intensification of agricultural practices in rice fields.

Pollution and rice fields, sounds mighty familiar.

I tromp through the same chemical brew here in California, fishing for panting trash fish covered in Copepods, knowing that some kindred spirit in Italy is cursing his politicians as violently as I am. His damselflies will go the way of my salmon, one day they’re here and the next … the supermarket freezer has pallid stacks of frozen “color added” …

Then it’ll just be us guys spinning yarns about what used to be in that toxic rivulet the neighbor kid emptied his motor oil into.

… but Science ain’t all bad. I’m forced to wallow through an aggregation of dead, diseased, and dying – to find the occasional scientific nugget to cheer us all.

It may be safe to put them big feet back in the creek, as the sand and sediment stirred by your sliding through the fast water allows the creek to hold its shape.

Sand and siltation has always carried the evil label, as it’s known to cover spawning gravel and terraform a cobble bottom to its liking. UC Berkeley researchers suggest it also plays an important role in cutting off meanders allowing rivers to avoid fragmenting into many smaller rivulets.

The significance of vegetation for slowing erosion and reinforcing banks has been known for a long time, but this is the first time it has been scientifically demonstrated as a critical component in meandering. Sand is an ingredient generally avoided in stream restoration as it is known to disrupt salmon spawning. However, Braudrick and his colleagues have shown that it is indispensable for helping to build point bars and to block off cut-off channels and chutes–tributaries that might start and detract from the flow and health of the stream.

Animal trails and depressions in the landscape can be scoured deeper with Winter’s flows, providing the opportunity for channel formation which splits the river and diminishes flows along both branches. A combination of bank side growth and instream sand forms a “self sealing” repair kit preventing channelization of the riverbed.

Science. I got your reality show right here, babe.

Tags: channelization, meander, UC Berkeley, siltation, sand, bankside vegetation, dragonflies, damselflies, rice, tomatoes, pollution

Plight of the Living Dead – George Romero’s ode to Brownliners

The scorn of the fly fishing elite we could shrug off, but brownliners as role model for the latest Zombie flick is applying the boots to our prone form.

It wasn’t the steady persecution nor threat of harm, our numbers were thinned steadily by enraged spouses wielding bars of Ivory Snow. A fellow can only take so many “hose-downs” on his front lawn with neighbors a-titter before he holds his manhood cheap …

It’s proven fact that Mankind cannot survive a Zombie invasion, but us fishermen have always assumed we’d be aligned with the screaming survivors – as Hollywood insists most will be comely high school babes who deserve better than being the entree …

I figured I’d go out like the grizzled old “reptile” that blazes trail for the escapees compliments of a D-9 Caterpillar and a fully loaded fuel truck. He always gets it in the end, but this wise old fellow sacrifices everything knowing that holding a conversation with them gals is worse than living death …

Tags: George Romero, Night of the Living Dead, Zombie menace, Brownliners, zombie fishing, Youtube, teenage girls, shudder

The Czech Republic lends some sparkle to the mix

In Spring a young man’s thoughts turn to love – and in Fall, us mature types think of love too, how much we’d love it to be cooler…

I’m tired of dusty creeks and the rattle of discarded water bottles blowing in the hot breeze. We’ve endured enough fires, sweltering mornings, and fleeing to the safety of air conditioning before noon.

October usually offers the first real respite from Summer’s heat. After three years of drought and yet another fortnight of blazing days I’m ready for mornings chill and the tinkle of something other than broken glass.

I’m going to will a change in the weather, if only by the flies tied.

Jan Siman's Peacock Dubbing

Jan Siman’s Peacock dubbing showed Friday, which had me scratching my chin. It’s a different cut of Angelina fiber that I’ve not seen before – akin to the the soft crimp but with straight fibers rather than crinkled.

The straight fiber offers a much rougher dubbing than traditional soft crimp Angelina fiber, consistent with the dubbing-brush-rough-combed look of most Czech nymphs. I’ll investigate this style with the vendor to see if there isn’t something new in the offing.

Comparatively speaking, the Peacock dubbing package is about a quarter the size of a traditional pack of dubbed fur – and the declining dollar versus the Euro adds to the $4.25 price burden. Beautiful colors useful for much more than Czech nymphs – but I was caught up in a new yarn, a yen for cooler temperatures, and the Fall Big Bug, the October Caddis.

October Caddis, Czech style

It’s a mixture of new materials; using the lace component of a new trilobal yarn I unearthed, mixed with a gold and brownish-burgundy blended fur and topped with some of the Peacock dubbing.

Tied upside down so the the lace is on top once the fly flips over. The Orange lace extends over the bead and is tied on the opposite side. This gives the gold 4mm bead an orange effect, and dulls the shine quite effectively. You can see the raw gold versus the yarn-draped color in the picture shown below.

A gaggle of Czech

Comb out the underside a bit to offer a hint of leg, and start praying for colder weather and fish with an appetite.

Tags: Jan Siman’s Peacock dubbing, Angelina soft crimp, Angelina fiber, fly tying materials, October Caddis, Czech nymphs, fly tying

Denied!

It’s one of those moments where you look at your buddy and wonder what hideous crime was committed in a past life that you’re deserved this fate …

Extreme videos

Nice fish to the boat only …

… and when the day’s events are totaled, who’s telling the neighbor the fate of his borrowed landing net, and is this totaled in your “caught” fish or no?

Tags: Sea lion, salmon, mooching, epic denial