Habeas Corpus may apply to our beloved Asian Carp

I see it as tantamount to complete submission, just one more highly paid fellow standing around scratching his head when the Silvery Horde pours through the locks …

The White House has tapped a former leader of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Indiana Wildlife Federation as the Asian carp czar to oversee the federal response to keeping the invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

via Sacramento Bee

The reference to the former body politic for the Greater Russian Empire, whose family was dragged into the Siberian chill and shot, along with their doctors, maids, and servants, doesn’t breed thoughts of success, and may be partly to blame.

We’ve had security czars and drug czars but their job was easier. Dealing with human foibles or cravings is a sight more predictable than slowing the spread of a remorseless silver vacuum capable of eating half its weight each day.

“When it comes to the Asian carp threat, we are not in denial. We are not in a go-slow mode. We are in a full attack, full-speed-ahead mode. We want to stop this carp from advancing.”

I suppose like his predecessors, the Asian Carp czar will mobilize the military, carefully lining up phalanxes of mechanized infantry and their supporting cast, and unleashing holy hell on the Chicago River and its tributaries, until the environmentalists complain about the swans ingesting spent .223 – and calling a halt to the hostilities.

“Certainly there are some legal questions that are in process, but there has been a history already of good cooperation among the states,” Goss said. “I believe that will be one of my strengths, talking at the level of the department of natural resources in each of the states so that we can very carefully coordinate our efforts.”

It’s certain that I’m cynical and jaded and coloring this in the least favorable light, but this issue doesn’t have the years  to construct some alternate system allowing commerce to flow from the Great Lakes downstream. Our sacrificial lamb and his meager 80 million budget are opposed by both people and fish, not merely the fish alone.

The extensive commerce and barge traffic of the region enjoys voting privileges, which can slow an aggressive solution just long enough to have the fish pour into the area with little or no opposition.

Once established and with free rein of the Great Lakes, everyone can throw up their hands and point fingers, then resume business-as-usual, free of the potential costs of portaging goods overland.

Attorneys for the defense countered that the DNA research has never been used in this manner and was unreliable. They argued that even scientists disagree about the likelihood that Asian carp are capable of sustaining a large and destructive population if allowed to enter the Great Lakes

It’s a repeat of the California Salmon debacle, where the interests of business are at loggerheads with the environment. Attorneys deny the most basic scientific tenets for fear of the financial implications to their clients, and despite plenty of consistent scientific opinion, the process drags on until ..

poof

.. too late, all gone. Now we can all go home happy.

It may be us colonists like a good insurrection

I had wondered whether the e-zine phenomena was a reflection of the US fly fisherman and the paucity of quality reading material we’re forced to endure. With a blizzard of product surfacing, it might be that us colonials are practiced at grass-roots insurrection, and therefore unashamed to show our collective discontent.

Then again, it may be a world wide angling issue and like all asexual invasives, it just takes a little time to gain a foothold in more rarified venues.

New Zealand colonists join the e-Bellion

Instead it may be the colonial thing, what with New Zealand entering the fray with an e-zine featuring horribly colorful and obese trout whose obscene lust for feathers will make you shield your child’s vision, lest they be tainted forever …

We missed the first issue, but it’s available online.

Flyfishers Inc. is in the stunning photography coffee table mode, where you quickly leaf through the pictures in awe, yet there’s little text to accompany the work. Each issue features a reader poll, which is a hint of interactivity, something not yet seen in the US versions.

Something to consume with your lunchtime sandwich.

Art Flick or Roy Steenrod would’ve given away the Farm

It’s one of the necks you’ve always heard about, likely never seen and may never see. Fly shops still maintain pecking orders, some small vestiges of times past, but rare colors require blood kinship – as they’ll never make it past the avaricious mitts of the staff.

It’s the Holy Grail of fly tying and most older books devote whole chapters to the quest of securing enough dun hackle to feel contentment. As most of the old timers were conspicuous hoarders, even plenty wasn’t nearly enough.

The sample cape now dry

You’ve substituted for them since you began tying, usually with regular dun and the offshore fly tying companies have done similar. Many legendary flies are no longer true to pattern because the rarer hues of Iron Blue, Bronze, and Honey Dun, still aren’t readily available and certainly not enough to tie the legions of flies needed commercially.

An occasional cape slips into the Whiting mix, but they rarely make it to the street. Once the proprietor and his staff are satiated a rare color begats a phone call to specific patrons – alerting them to their presence.

Dun necks were dyed prior to the advent of genetic hackle. Commercial fly tiers could sort through thousands of India capes to find only an occasional dun, but white and cream were plentiful and many thousands of capes were slipped into gray RIT or TINTEX to satisfy demand.

From the earliest genetic efforts of the Darbee’s and the Catskill coven, Whiting, Hoffman, Metz, and other chicken farmers developed a plentiful supply for the standard light, medium, and dark, dun with most shops now having a regular supply in both neck and saddle.

When the early strains of these birds debuted in the 80’s, the only commercial offering was from the Metz company. Henry Hoffman was still focused on the perfect Grizzly (among other colors) and most of the Dun necks were only half Dun – the feather tips were nicely colored, but the butts were often white.

Fly tiers fought and begged for the necks uniform in color, but only 15% to 20% of a dun shipment were fully colored. The Blue Andalusian strain was also much leaner of barbule, and spreading a feather would show less barbules per inch than the robust breeds like Grizzly, Ginger, or Rhode Island Red.

Those early chickens could tie far fewer flies than those available today.

Dyeing Dun necks often yielded a superior feather, especially when light barred Grizzly or Ginger was used as the base color. Having a few darker strands in a Hendrickson never hurt much, and Metz Ginger necks were plentiful and easy to come by, they’d be last on the rack after the hordes of tiers had picked through everything else.

Those of us willing to risk the $45 were richly rewarded, as we pulled rare colors out of the dye bath, those self-same colors unavailable today.

The Contemplative Angler outlines many shades of Dun and some of the history behind all the variants. There’s little secret to achieving Honey Dun or a good bronze flavor; shell out the $85 for a nicely marked cream or ginger neck and plunk it in a dye bath.

Some of my past pieces on dyeing covers the rudiments of water temperature, color, and dye selection, the rules are the same only the dollar values increase; good preparation, a known dye, and using some rudimentary lessons from cooking school …

Chicken skin is fragile, treat it as such

A chef is trained to warm a dish or reheat an entree by using a lower temperature than was used originally. It makes perfect sense as the meat is cooked to a certain point by the initial temperature, and will continue cooking if the reheating temperature is raised to equal or greater.

Preserving those rare and medium rare cuts of Prime Rib is important given much of the cooking and preparation is done prior to the customer ordering the dish.

A chicken neck is just skin and feather follicles that have been treated and dried by the grower to remain flexible, it can be cooked further if the bath temperature is too hot.

It’s really the only mistake you can make if unfamiliar with dyeing necks, chicken skin cooks at lower temperatures than elk hide or heavier items, and when dried can shrink as much as 40% in addition to becoming brittle. It’s an imposition mostly, the feather color will be fine but the neck section will snap off the cape if flexed and you’ll have pieces of skin and feathers in the bag, versus an intact neck.

Know the dye, and get a clean color

As Gray is a relatively simple color to dye, it can be done in lukewarm water preventing both shrinkage and brittleness.

The problem with Gray is that it’s a weak black, and comprised of other dark colors which can show unbidden. It can be a “blue” gray or a “red” gray – just like black, so you’ll need to find a clean gray that is free of other tints as is possible.

Test dyeing on cheaper materials is the best way to determine the dried color. Look for a pale gray that allows you to steep the neck for a bit without turning into a shade of charcoal. I’ve found Jacquard’s Silver (gray) to be a really nice color with very few overtones.

The Process of Under-Dyeing

Under-dyeing is simply coaxing the material’s existing colors into something else. Unlike other forms of dyeing we’re not attempting to overpower the material, merely tinting it in the right direction.

Pump until no more air bubbles

Neck preparation is identical to other materials with hide attached, merely place it feather-side-down in a bowl, cover it with lukewarm water and pump the back of the skin until air bubbles cease coming to the surface. This supersaturates the material so the dye hits all the feathers and duff at the same time, ensuring the same tint to the entire neck.

honeydunWe’ll watch the top half of the hackles to monitor how deep the color will be before pulling the cape from the bath. The webby lower feather absorbs dye greedily and will darken much faster than the harder, shiny tips, often causing us to pull the cape from the dye prematurely. Hackle tips take dye slower, and we’ll pull the neck when the top half of the feather is the color needed.

This is the most important lesson of dyeing, picking the “action” area of the material to monitor for color change. Wet materials are always darker than dry, but for exacting matches – it’s the useful area that must be watched, not the webby portion.

Above is a damp Ginger neck pulled out of Jacquard Silver dye bath. I warmed the water enough to facilitate dissolving the dye, and removed the heat and added the white vinegar to cool it to merely warm. This is shown in indirect daylight to show the depth of the gray assist.

Honey_Dun The edges of the cape show the “clean Gray” color – largely absent blue or purplish tinges common to gray or black dye. The ginger center is assisted by the gray to form a really nice tint of honey or bronze dun.

At right is the same damp cape in direct sunlight, which shows the depth of the bronzing or honey color.

A cape this color is a rarity and would fly off the shelf unbidden, little wonder that flies, reels, and even split cane rods were traded for a hint of the proper colors.

The darkness of the Ginger chosen controls the “bronzing” effect on the final color. The dye merely assists the process by laying down a complimentary mask of Gray which acts with the natural color to bring out the final shade. Under-dyeing is really a tinting process designed to preserve the original color while nudging it gently into something quite different.

I still rely heavily on the dyed dun as compared to natural Dun necks or saddles. Their quality has improved a couple hundred fold since the 80’s, yet supply still seems to be an issue. Many shops have an assortment but not all colors are present in the full range of light, medium, and dark.

Ginger necks outnumber Dun by a wide margin, and sometimes I yank a creation out of the dye pot and understand why Art Flick or Roy Steenrod would have given away the farm …

Where we interview for the position of fly fishing sidekick

We’ll be back around seven, and we brought Sweetums’s Frisbee for you to throw. Try not to tire Precious too much, knowing his delicate sensibilities and fragile constitution.”

Right.

I had dog watching duties this weekend, and while tossing slobber-Frisbee is a rarified treat, peeling the layers of domestication off a well mannered beast is twice as much fun.

“Little Meat” is a burner, and freed from the leash and dropped into the primitive, there was a better than average chance that all my Spey flies would be real Blue Heron …

All we had to do is corner one on a stretch with no deer carcasses or desiccated anything – as maggot-ridden has a special draw equal to something fleeing in a panic, and only to a dog occupying the seat next to you.

Triple_axel

… only they were smart enough to keep their distance, mostly …

The nametag says I’ve never seen him before, akin to the perfect crime. While the Fish & Game is frantically searching for a second clip and with closure approaching Mach 0.6, like everything else that breaks cover …  Toast.

Me and “Cheetah” have a few rough edges to work on … Tennis balls can be returned, but anything screaming or bloody should be consumed behind bushes – so I can feign horror like the rest of the onlookers.

Any animal “siding” you while fishing has to have personality aplenty. It may justify its oxygen providing precious “pointer” skills; lift the right paw if it’s a Pikeminnow, left paw if it’s a sucker, droop both ears if its Bass … yet while attentive to my pantomime, Meat’s keen eyesight and rocket-speed were reserved only for terrestrial prey.

eat_drink_roll

While twenty-four hours isn’t enough to undo years of obedience, there was a tell tale gleam of malevolence after a scorching march through the watershed…

Otter fleeing in terror

… especially after consuming two of the three Otter that have migrated down into the Big Fish stretch. It’s both the first and last time such magnificent creatures have been seen on my creek, and despite blanket protection provided by the Fish & Game, ag chemicals made them slow and fat, something my companion exploited unmercifully.

Taco_Bell

Chase stuff, crap on stuff, roll in stuff – look wounded when hurled into the creek after acquiring a disguising scent, and expect to go to Disneyland or Sizzler upon return to civilization.

Almost like fishing, with the only difference being our insistence on cooking or photographing stinky stuff, rather than wearing it proudly.

California Free fishing day tomorrow

Nasty! Tastes Nasty! Just a friendly reminder that Monday, September 6th is the second of the two free fishing days for California. Residents 16 and older do not require a license to catch, thump, or eat anything, in either fresh or salt water.

Note the lifting of the license restriction will not make fish tastier, so the screams of joy and adventure will not extend to the dinner table. Like all real fishermen – kids hate fish – unless a clown serves it …

… and then only maybe.

I’ll urge you to be firm despite the scowls and tears. Teaching them to catch fish may be an elective, but teaching them to eat what they kill is a requirement, a rite of passage.

A lot has changed since A River Ran Through It

I’d guess Madison Ave has found us again, what with a movie in the works and everyone focused on “greening” their septic little township, doubly savaged by the exodus of industry and the continued plummet in home prices.

The image of the fly fisherman plying his craft offered up to establish a little bit of quaint, and a lot of pristine –  because fly fishermen, like other forms of exotic wildlife, only exist in scenic and rural haunts …

 

While them clever advertising types might have rediscovered our appeal, it’s plain they haven’t been in tune with all the revolutionary changes to the sport, like Goat’s Milk from Mongolia, how we’re the dimwits leaving all those predatory aliens in our wake, and the entire Brown water movement.

Just because there’s a fly fisherman dumb or desperate enough to fish in a sewage outflow doesn’t mean you should drink the water.

A bloody important distinction given the grocery list of toxins and shots needed before the rod is pulled from its quiver.

Surprise, It's Brownlining

I had a similar civic-minded bent, convincing the locals that the prospect of “trophy brown” might lure some of the well-to-do element into settling our little burg. We shot plenty of footage and lost a cameraman or two, but I never saw it air … and always wondered why.

The Angling Dream Trip and we leave nothing to chance

Peta strikes the pose While the mighty minions of Peta are busy protecting innocent school children  by soliciting colleges to give up their fishing teams – picking up the slack for lazy, insensitive parents who raised their children to adore fried chicken, comic books, and thick steaks …

… still, occasionally, they hatch a pretty good idea.

This time it’s free advertising when your hindquarters are scanned by the uncaring TSA louts manning the Cavity Search & Irradiation unit at your local airport.

The idea has merit, metal augmented underwear that provides a bit more opaque for those naturally shy, and allows a brief extension of digit for those not at all shy …

Angling boxers

Like us anglers …

Your opportunity to beard the prophet is available whether you’re boxers or briefs, as a touch of rubber cement and a dab of tinfoil and watch their scowl deepen.

Even better, when your fishing buddy lapses into unconsciousness after a full day of hot sun, exotic dream trip, and drinks containing umbrellas; rather than shave his eyebrows you can just rearrange the outfit he’s laid out for tomorrow’s triumphant return to civilization ..

this may backfire

… which may backfire, as the both of you will miss your flight while they remove his fillings looking for contraband.

A pal would have the courtesy to save a couple ice cubes from the airport bar, so Mr. Biggest Fish Mostest Fish can sit comfortably between visits to the Bastille …

Didymo bloom affects California’s Bear River, there’s algae in them there hills

Diatomes are tiny, invisible even It was only a matter of time, the Sacramento Bee reports that a nuisance bloom of Didymo has been identified in a 10 mile stretch of the Bear River, outside of Grass Valley, California.

But scientists know very little about the algae, and they’ve grown alarmed by a mysterious change in its behavior in recent years.

So-called “nuisance blooms” of didymo, like that in the Bear River, are being reported with increasing frequency around the world. Experts don’t know why, but suspect everything from climate change to a genetic mutation in the algae itself.

What’s unfortunate is that the Bear River is a popular gold panning site, and the modern day 49er and his suction dredge doesn’t fit the “clean, dry, protect” solution popularized for fishermen.

… and with Grass Valley being a compelling gateway to the Sierra’s and the gold bearing forks of the American, it’s possible we may see a few more pollination vectors than the birds, bears, anglers, and boat owner crowd.

Those of you frequenting this nearby watershed should be on heightened alert, and anything dampened should be quarantined per standard procedure.

This isn’t a zebra or quagga mussel the size of a sand grain, this is a single celled algae that is too small to see with the naked eye. Anything damp is a potential carrier, and that includes your fly line backing, trapped water in your wading staff, and your flies.

With last week’s Lake Tahoe mix up, where a visiting boater was barred from launching his craft after he identified its use at a “high risk” lake in Arizona, who promptly drove to another ramp and gave the officers different information and launched without decontamination, suggests us wading fishermen may be the only folks taking the invasive message to heart.

A nice $5000 dollar fine doesn’t offset what our pal from Arizona may have left us, but he can tell his pals we take our water serious …

9.5% Unemployment and most are fly tiers

Cubicle wars If you’ve ever supervised others you understand how closely work resembles high school. Inkwells replaced by cubicles and communal refrigerators, pigtails a thing of the past, but the guy that dries his shoes in the microwave, or thumbs the donuts is a worthy substitute.

Come lunch I’d like to be in a happy place, tossing all the responsibility, and with brown bagging the new frugal, take my tasteful little repast into a unused conference room or break room along with a small sack of fly tying materials.

There to repel vegans and animal lovers, answer the questions of the curious, amaze onlookers, and dispense fly fishing doctrine to all those whose dad or grandfather did it years ago, who were always interested, yet never picked it up permanently.

Most tiers would be a tad reluctant, and with good cause, but I find the exercise both relaxing and productive, more focused than the casual version done at home. Time and space are constraints, but the tinkle of the brook and vision of soaring pine trees can make a marginal stress-filled afternoon seem less so, so I keep doing it.

Every couple of weeks I empty out my kit and the flybox and find seven or ten dozen more flies to add to my already cramped vest.

But with all the perils and restraint due the workplace, you should always be low on the radar, alert to avoid complaint or fur-induced adverse action.

The Sacred Tenets of Workplace Fishing

Practice casting or instruction in the parking lot is fine, just make sure you have an old line that can take the abrasion, and don’t mind the labels “Creep” or “Weirdo.”

Nobody likes being seen as a beginner, especially the well tanned, coifed, and fit. Start the lesson after most of the folks have left for lunch.

Recognize the evangelical before you’re in a discussion you can’t win. Animal freaks and Vegans disguise themselves well, they could be your Boss, or even your Boss’s Boss. Their zeal gives them away quickly, so point out that nearly all your materials are synthetic – even when there’s hide visible or whiskers attached.

Despite their beliefs, most have little knowledge of animals outside the freezer section of the store, or their cat – and having never turned either inside out, they’ll be fairly clueless.

If the Office Babe shows an interest, everyone at the table will be as talented and interested as you are. Loosen the reins and let the suitors trip over their shoelaces, it’s like guiding – with the clients ignoring your advice, and always a great show.

“Timmy” the obnoxious kid from High School is now Tim, but if one of the gals shows fear when shown a pheasant skin, or is repelled that it’s a dead-anything, Mr. Tim will chase her around the office with it. Keep the dead stuff close to you – even closer if an eyeball is visible.

Find a quiet corner so you can avoid most of the traffic, even the most hardened fly tier will tire of answering the same question over and over.

Yes, that’s a dead thing, yes, fish eat this, no, I don’t always keep them, yes, that hook is sharp

Your most interested spectator will be the guy that never brings donuts, the lunchroom Ghost. By feigning interest, he can keep an eye on unattended sandwiches, unwanted chips, and what few donuts remain.

Only bring enough materials to tie a single pattern. At most you’ll finish five or six flies, and few materials is fast to gather if you’re summoned for an impromptu meeting or calamity.

An occasional dust mote or loose feather won’t cause alarm, but a fish hook will be an issue. Only lay out a half dozen hooks at a time and return the box to the carrying bag, that way you won’t spill any and can account for strays.

… and resist the urge to imbed a couple in the remaining donut to settle scores with the Ghost. Just restore the donut’s luster with a generous dollop of fast drying head cement. It’s difficult to be sneaky when the entire pink box comes with the prey ..

Don’t be surprised if you unearth a kindred spirit, or a classic rod last used by someone’s grandfather. While most work sites promote sterility and conformity, fearing litigation, what you do to put money on the table is not who you are, and demonstrating same can have occasional benefits.

Just be real vague about key dates like the Trout Season Opener, so you can be sick again.

Fishy Kid, Three Months of Summer contest

fishykidlogo Just a quick reminder that the Three Months of Summer contest is drawing to a close over at the Fishy Kid website. Four categories with kids seventeen and under eligible for some nice prizes. All that’s required is to upload a picture of your beaming child and his catch.

… and it’s not the traditional venue, with prizes for biggest – the other categories are smallest, most unique, most, and a random prize.

… which may be for the kid with the biggest smile …