I can only imagine what this would look like coming through the water, or airborne attempting to throw the hook. Now that things have settled down in Croatia, you may have an opportunity to fish for them … using fly tackle instead of an RPG.
The Balkans have at least 5 types of trout not available anywhere else, many appear to share some ancestry with the Brown trout, all have diverged from that gene pool – and yes, all are endangered.
I managed to pry myself from all of the things I was supposed to do, and get a little fishing done. It was a Jiffo-Whip trip, meaning more hours were spent driving than fishing, but it was a welcome and much needed respite.
I hit Manzanita Lake in time for the Calibaetis grab, but it was not to be. Winds gusting to 25-30 mph meant the bugs stayed doggo, with only a smattering of working fish. I managed to tease one 15″ rainbow to hand with a parachute dry, fooled another of similar size with a Pheasant Tail nymph. Activity was sporadic, with no insects visible. Had about 8 grabs total, and I was late on most of them.
Overheard one fellow mention, ” 2 on a streamer, 2 on a nymph, and one on a dry.” Saw one fellow float tubing that landed about 6 fish on a nymph with floating line. Most of the comments ended with, “%$##& Wind.”
In short, no hatch, moderate sunburn, relentless driving, strong winds, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.
I have often wondered whether the feathers from a duck’s arse weren’t akin to bottled water; give it a fancy french name like Cul Du Canard and sell it to the pretentious rubes that lick the pages of anything Ziff Davis.
Heresy? Yep. But having been exposed to duck behavior for the better part of 40 years, neither myself nor science is convinced the preen gland is there for flotation as popularly thought. Preening, is the act of smearing oil on feathers, oil floats, so do ducks – and the common assumption is that oily duck’s arse floats like a cork. But does it?
Most fowl feathers are exposed to a cleansing process that removes and sterilizes the feathers prior to commercial resale. How much of that precious oil remains in the feathers has never been examined – likely it’s damn little, as the feathers are dry to the touch.
A scientific work on the the Uropygial gland of birds suggests there is an uncertain relationship between gland function and flotation:
“On the other hand, birds living in aquatic environments not always have a more developed gland than non-aquatic birds … The role could be more complex than a feather waterproofing function.”
As such, are we paying bottled water prices for a run-of-the-mill feather whose floatation qualities largely lie in its surface tension? Facts make this assertion plausible.
A study by the British Royal Society of Science suggests that the preen gland in sandpipers changes its secretion during the mating season, and is in part used to “sign” the nest. Similar to what your dog does to your carpet when his backside itches, only more photogenic.