Category Archives: web site

Some fellow is out there fishing for me

Fake roadkill prank It was a bad idea to mention road kill as “a virtually untapped source of quality fly tying materials”. It’s risky enough pulling a barely controllable broadslide in traffic – what with the risk to life and limb coupled with all the cell phone calls I interrupt …

Now some sick SOB is gunning for me. It wouldn’t be so bad if he had better taste in synthetics.

Monkey is enough to make me perk up as I whizz by – but a couple of brightly colored stiffy parrots would induce a panic stop.

Tags: Cockeyed.com, fake road kill, fly tying materials, panic stop

 

You owe huge

Elk Hair Caddis still don’t tie themselves, something to consider before you call that Malibu halfway house

vulterine guinea fowl I’ve told you many times how fly tiers are a bestial lot lacking moral fiber and entirely untrustworthy when it comes to brightly colored wildlife …

… all wildlife really … they’re hell on the drab stuff too.

A couple of weeks ago Moldy Chum posted about a rare collection of birds pelts lifted from a museum in England – how fly tiers were being “hobby-profiled” and cavity searched as part of the investigation.

At some point all fly tiers work up the nerve to attempt the full dress Atlantic Salmon featherwing as it’s both work of art and testament to the craftsman. Like Everest it’s there – and that’s enough to draw the bold, the feeble minded, and those that thrive under impossible circumstance.

The genre is utterly brutal; starting with feathers and furs that have been banned for 50 years, and ending in a crescendo of references to out of print books, hooks you have to make yourself and a “trail of tears” with no apparent end.

Accumulating the materials is impossible without risking significant jail time. Those that have them are close lipped, those that don’t rely on dyed imitations of a feather they’ve never seen or felt – unsure if it’s even a good imitation.

Those addicted to the craft will endure any agony and pay any price for the original materials.

Many years ago I did my best to scrape together what I could when some of it was still legal. Despite my best attempts at cloak and dagger 90% of what I needed was only available in dimly lit alcoves – sold by smelly old guys wearing trench coats…

Real Indian Crow Doing a little research recently I stumbled upon Ken Sawada’s storefront where some of these feathers are sold legally. Before you run out and drop $72 for four Indian Crow feathers (which makes two flies) remember it’s not legal to import them into this country – despite their availability in Japan.

The prices are unreal and make fancy fly rods and engraved fly reels pale in comparison. For the fly tiers so afflicted here’s a chance to see what the originals look like. I would save the pictures for reference material.

Speckled Bustard                     Speckled Bustard anyone? The shoulders are only $839 for the pair. Cheap.

Keep in mind that Condor substitute – not the real stuff, is $61 per feather.

By now the non-fly tier’s are thinking we need detox or an intervention – 8 weeks mingling with D-list celebrities in some Malibu halfway house. But rather than condemn us to a fiery hell for our avarice and desire to own rare species, remember that Elk Hair Caddis still cannot tie themselves. You still need us.

I’m sure the decline in the US dollar has aggravated prices just a wee bit. The fly rods are cheaper than ours, but the Ken Sawada hooks are $35 for 25 in the trout sizes. Adam’s are $3.93 each.

It’s an interesting browse just the same. A glimpse at feathers you may never see again – and little wonder that fly dressers in the UK (or abroad) might be fencing Blue Chatterer to the tune of a tidy profit.

Tags: Blue Chatterer, Speckled Bustard, Indian Crow, Full Dress Atlantic Salmon flies, stolen museum birds, fly tying, condor, vulturine Guinea fowl, Ken Sawada

Reader’s Digest feels the sting of a war on two fronts

paperboy The print media continues to struggle in the face of the combined onslaught of economy and Internet. We get mighty few clues on how the fishing press is faring as so few are publicly traded.

With Reader’s Digest filing Chapter 11, swapping debt for equity with its lenders, and numerous newspapers opting for digital only, it’s plain the effect is significant.

Even so, Reader’s Digest, the iconic monthly magazine founded in 1922 as a collection of condensed articles from other publications, has been searching for a new niche as the Internet upends the magazine industry’s traditional business models.

… and for each magazine shuttering its doors we have an electronic startup of the likes of This is Fly, Fish Can’t Read, or Catch – which by comparison enjoy miniscule costs and produce equal or better quality.

If I was a collector I’d be disappointed in the slow but steady transition from print to digital, but as each site archives their past issues for ready access I find it much easier to find the article I wanted to reread – or the pattern I wanted to tie – and they’re not cluttering my tying bench or causing domestic issues when I discover my dog eared trove tossed in the trash.

They won’t always be free – the coming revolt with the “per click” revenue model will be short and violent. Until then they’re best consumed hunkered in your cubicle with a soggy sandwich chaser.

Tags: Fish Can’t Read, This is Fly, Catch, Reader’s Digest, ezine, Chapter 11, debt for equity swap, Web 2.0, online angling magazines, per click revenue, redirected eyeballs

Hemlock Dam deconstruction via Webcam

A little environmental voyeurism is in order – and no, you won’t be asked for your credit card number.

Enviro-Voyeurism

Webcams abound on the Internet, uniting them as wants to show with them as wants to watch. The University of Washington is playing to the highbrow fetish with the first “Dam Removal Webcam” – front row seats to the dismantling of the Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek, allowing you to cheer each blow of the pickaxe – and each truckload of debris hauled off.

It’s enough to give fisherman the Woods – or at least a lot of Nature.

Bring plenty of Popcorn …

Tags: Hemlock Dam, dam removal, University of Washington, Webcam, environmental fetish

Fish Can’t Read – but I’m not so sure

You just think they can't Fish Can’t Read is the latest in a burgeoning trend of online fly fishing magazines promising to be less trite than traditional angling fare.

No expense was spared in sweeping together an eclectic mix of caustic, opinionated burnouts – fresh-faced youth, all buttressed by vast expanses of partially clad salmonids; swathed in the warm colors of mountainous sunsets, the rich sepia of near dark, and clouds of bloodsucking insects.

It’s well documented that big fish can read, albeit lacking full command of the language, they’ve assembled a rudimentary understanding of local signage – allowing them to exploit “No Trespassing” and “No Fishing” with great impunity.

Brought to you by the lads from Dry Fly Media, first issue to debut August/September 2009.

Got content? Submissions are encouraged – part of the agility that is the online canvas…

An open letter to the Trout Underground-Moldy Chum collective fantasy

Really thin, and then only maybe As the bloggers whose content is most likely to contain a semi-dressed hardbody – veiled in some really thin fishing angle, in a round about kind of way, and then maybe … You should know I lived your fantasy last night, and it didn’t live up to your steamy advert.

The idea has merit; young vibrant females (humans this time) draped in various stages of undress, encountered while pursuing this most worthy of all pastimes, is solid. The deed itself, leaves much to be desired…

I suppose the restocking of the Underwear River’s underwear was a good thing, I know now from whence it comes – and after last night’s festivities the female articles now outnumber the male. Biologist’s think repopulation occurs as part of the upstream flight of mating insects – I now know that’s horribly wrong, it’s the downstream drift of mating insects that restores instream substrate.

I’ve never heard the word “like” used as noun, verb, and adjective, and all in the same sentence. I’m thinking these Californio’s were attempting to reestablish the SoCal Mallrat species of the 1980’s; like gross, like ee-Eww, like wet, like never, like Oh My God, like shut up. We’ve always insisted on exporting culture, but like – enough already.

… I did get fairly misty eyed over the loafers-no-socks-Miami-Vice-linen blazer memory – but then I’ve always had a weakness for Ray-ban Wayfarer’s…

I’m innocently waiting between rafts of youngsters, darting glances ahead and behind hoping not to hook the celebrants – while being assaulted by firm expanses of tanned flesh absent restraint. My thoughts were of you fellows – wondering whether your fantasy of Trout & Angling would survive the evening, or whether both blogs would be semi-chaste thereafter.

Sound carries quite a distance on the water, here’s the best quotes from the young ladies to caption your next Permit tattoo, or the next girl treating a boat rod like a stripper pole:

“He’s fly fishing, Old People do that…”

“Eww, fish – that’s so, like gross.”

It’s gut-wrenching, I know – but the shapely ladies that you depict, slathered in lanolin and gazing at the screen like a fat kid steaming a bakery window, the ones that’ll tear the waders right off your portly, aging frame – like, think you’re old – possibly quaint, but mostly old.

Taut and firm, with boyfriend's aplenty

I got the “dime” tour last night – not just perched on the rocks, but prominent in the bow – with the boyfriend’s deep monotone, urging the buxom lass to play with her “cat” – for our everyone’s their mutual entertainment.

… for thirty verdammt minutes.

My lack of interest in the proceedings added fuel to the fire – and now the slack water behind me is occupied with … like … them.

Watching Grandma on the deck opposite swallow her dentures was kind of fun, but neither of us saw any feline.

I’m picking lint out of my reel, attempting to look occupied as another of Cleopatra’s barges idles past, doing my best to remain both cordial and responsive to the display of drunken debutantes and their beau’s..

… upstream I hear, “Dude!, Bro, go left, Go LEFT – you’re gonna hit him!”

I’m retrieving the metal tipped bludgeon wading staff from underwater where it’s unseen – and from the high pitched voices I can tell they’re at least 40 yards off, I’ve got plenty of time to sidestep and sweep their decks with either canister or grape – when I hear the gal chime in:

“You’d better get your act together, that guy looks mean.”

Best quote yet, and perceptive too …

Nothing can match Mother Nature’s natural beauty – especially when they’re untouched by Man. You can tell ’cause they float  Be careful what you wish for – as room for a couple false casts may quickly outweigh both pert and upthrust by a long shot.

We understand you mean it all in good fun, as do I. Those belligerent, drunken boyfriends won’t see it that way, and as non fishing agnostics they’ll take as much glee wrapping precious cane around your neck as splintery graphite – whichever rod you’re holding..

The Flyfish Journal debuts in August

As fast as they’re shuttering newspapers we’re getting more goodies to line the coffee table.

Flyfish Journal logo

The Flyfish Journal’s debut is scheduled for August 2009, featuring glossy paper, quality photographs, and the completely useless articles by a bevy of saints, sinners, and the newly converted.

We seek images that speak to the soulful eccentricities of fly fishing, shots rich in context and character and feeling. Creative shots the others won’t run. We welcome experimentation. The Flyfish Journal is a new and creative vehicle to showcase your hard work.

Until then you’ll have to settle for their website, and the teasers posted in Tailgate…

Lang’s Auction, the estate of Martin J. Keane

Carrie Stevens streamer, one of many For the auction crowd, Lang’s April 17th auction contains the estate of Martin J. Keane, author of “Classic Rods and Rod Makers.”

Lots of classic bamboo rods available with hoary and rarified names; Young, Leonard, Pre-Fire Leonard, Halstead, Thomas & Thomas. Payne, Winston, F.E. Thomas, Goodwin Granger, Orvis, and Edwards. Reels to match with numerous Hardy, Fin Nor, Vom Hofe, Sage, and Orvis.

Flies by Carrie Stevens, Preston Jennings, Edward Ringwood Hewitt, Syd Glasso, Harry Darbee, Lee Wulff, Charles Defoe, and Poul Jorgensen, as well as many other published masters.

Buttressed by scads of first edition books, ancient catalogs, and (my favorite) hand carved fish decoys.

Add wooden duck decoys by the Ward Brothers, Harry Shourds, a leavening of Mason’s in most grades, and a couple hundred hand carved duck calls, and you’ve got an hour of unfettered desire ahead.

Hatches Magazine is looking for the next Theodore Gordon

40 Rivers to Fish and his pals at Hatches Magazine are looking for a few crazed and desperate fishermen who can lie convincingly, or with a straight face, or both.

… and they’re prepared to reward you handsomely for your prose.

Hatches Magazine announces it’s first annual “The Season” Contest!
“The Season” is for anyone who enjoys sharing their fishing stories and pictures with other people. It’s a contest for anyone who keeps a journal, or has wished they would have; chronicling their fishing trips to look back on during the long, cold tying season or 20 years down the road with their grandchildren.

How To Enter
To enter, all you have to do is create a blog on the Hatches Blog Network and start recording your adventures during the 2009 fishing season. Writing a blog is easy. In fact it’s no more difficult than writing a post on an Internet message board. (Persons already part of the Hatches Blog Network are already entered.) You can tell your story through: words and pictures, just words, just pictures, long posts, short posts, whatever- It’s your season, so you can tell your story however you wish! When the snow falls in December, you’ll have a great memoir to read through, reminding you of all your triumphs and lessons learned from the past season on the water.

Only reports and photographs taken between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 are eligible.

Writing a blog is many things but “easy” ain’t one of them. It’s fun, often addictive, sometimes a chore, and always a lot of cursed hard work. As described above, it’s a lot like posting to a message board – only the swear words have to be edited, and for varieties sake – every other post should start with something other than “Dude, your Mom.”

… everything else is just like a forum post, including finding out nobody but you likes that fly and everybody except you knew of that spot already.

You’ll also have the chance to win some excellent prizes…

A panel of judges will award prizes for best photography, writing and the best overall season. In addition, Reader’s Choice Awards will allow the public to vote in a variety of categories. Voting and prize details will be announced as they’re confirmed.

Click Here to Register for a Free Blog

There must be dozens of stalwarts itching to damage English – here’s an opportunity to share your saga while allowing us to live vicariously through your adventures.

Extreme Sports, fishing for animal activists

Remember, if you crack the shell you’re fishing an emerging peanut – which is within the rules – but lacks the nobility of the overhead dry goober.

 You can put Rabbit back on the menu

Squirrel fishing – perhaps the only venue left to us fly fishermen once the litany of ills dispatches the gamefish, carp, and pikeminnow. You’re required to use a rod – but it appears the IGRA (International Game-Rodent Association) has lax tippet standards.

That nice old lady is going to scream and unleash her poodle on you, the tear streaked faces of small children will bring the gendarme, and the quarry is no slouch, positively everything necessary for rich tales of adventure, frustration, and potential incarceration.

Urban setting, shadowy anglers flitting behind a screen of foliage, and the ragged bosom of wine bottles, candy wrappers, and yesterday’s paper?

It’s a “brownlawn” sport.

Considering the mounds of squirrel fur on my desk, Catch and Release is out of the question.  “Park Antelope” is first class dubbing – and I’ll gladly share the meat with my recession strapped neighbors.

Anyone can pull a nut from the hands of a squirrel, but the adept squirrel fisherman must tune his craft, maintaining balance between himself and the squirrel, and eventually rewarding the squirrel for his valiant competition by ceding the nut. Ideally, great care is taken not to overfeed squirrels, not to hit them with nuts, and not to treat them roughly (though verbal abuse is encouraged).

If it’s canny enough to overcome a kite twine tippet backed by disc drag, I’ll surrender my nut. If not, a couple pounds of playground sand in the rod tube will ensure a humane ending to the contest.

With the possibility of uniformed interference and protesters, I’d suggest limiting your outings to weekdays and full dark.

The “Bubonic Plague” thing? – that was rats living in the city, squirrels only carry rabies.