Date Error on CA License display

Apparently the newspaper article I cited in an earlier post transposed some dates.

The regulation change for California that eliminates the need to to display your license doesn’t go into effect until March 2010. It’s the Bay-Delta stamp that is no longer required as of January 1, 2010.

… and to the alert reader that spotted the issue, telling the Warden that “Singlebarbed says it’s okay” will likely earn you a fast takedown and a brusque cavity search …

Nor is it a sound defense with an angry Judge.

Just saying is all.

Tags: California fishing license regulation change, Department of Fish & Game, cavity search, Bay Delta stamp

There’s always some fellow that wants to paint outside the lines

Hot Orange isn’t high on the list of trout colors, so it’s only natural you suspect I’m up to something gaudy. Not the case, us Impressionists are freed of the narrow confines of caddis larvae and Giant Stone dry flies and recognize Orange isn’t really Orange if you don’t want it to be …

I’m still smarting from the “Polyester Sink Strainer” episode, wherein I subjected the kitchen to hideous odors and obscene colors, just to garner a couple of new halo colors to try.

Being a fan of the “Chaos Theory” of fly coloration, and believing that Mother Nature’s bugs are never a uniform coloration – and there’s always an inherent mottle effect besides the very obvious color difference between belly and back.

Angling books love to describe the “ … mayfly tumbling in the current” representation of nymphing, which I don’t subscribe to either. Throw a cat off the garage roof and he lands on his feet, ditto for dogs and in-laws, so invertebrates likely tumble briefly to regain balance, then swim like hell for safety, or the surface.

Colors can dampen as well as provide highlight or halo effects. My earlier example of adding neutral gray squirrel to yarn blends shows the “dampening” effect of gray, how it can take the bright edge off of the yarn dander and make it an earth tone of the original.

Highlights and halos are often wildly different colors added to dubbing to offer a flash or hint of color to the fly. A bit of boldness on the choice of accent can yield some surprising effects.

Like Hot Orange becoming muted and obvious and all at the same time.

An example of highlights or halo dubbing

Above are two examples of marrying odd colors together to seem much less so. Black and Hot Orange Angelina, and Black mixed with the Grannom Green. (Original colors shown here)

The bright portion of both has been overwhelmed by the surrounding black, and Hot Orange is now coppery colored, and most of the green has vanished.

My war on monochromatic is well documented. I have a goodly supply of the time-honored traditional colors, but most of the unique flies I use each season are a mixture of effects – but almost always polychromatic.

Which isn’t saying much, as any guide can tell you of the client that scoffs at the flies offered him, loudly proclaiming, “I catch all my fish on an Adams” – and if that’s the only thing the gentlemen uses, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Real differences in flies can only detected when pals are present. Count the number of outstretched palms, and figure you’re onto something.

Impressionists aren’t limited to flights of fancy, despite our being able to list a hundred great uses for Claret. We can use the scientific method when it suits us – or succumb to the inner child as we deem fit.

Glance at a natural then immediately glance away. What color was it?

Likely you’ll say brown, or dark, or olive-black – you’ll retain a distinct impression of the predominant color and identify it. Flip the bug on its belly and do the same thing. Now it’s tan, or olive, or another color, Mother Nature always provides a light belly and dark back.

The back color is your base – and make the belly color the halo. It’s quite possible that fish on an intercept may get a glimpse of both – and a foraging fish that’s uprooted the insect from instream vegetation or the bottom will see the tumbling variant – guaranteeing both.

AP Black with Halo colors

Above is the traditional AP Black tied with the mixed black/green on the body, and mixed black/hot orange for the thorax. Those Angelina fibers that are visible are quite muted, but also very obvious.

They look black to me

Moving the perspective a couple inches further away and we’d call both flies … black.

Fish vision and perception are still hotly debated topics, far above our pay grade. What I do recognize is that most artificials are largely stiff compared to the wild gyrations of real insects – and anything I can add that implies motion is as good as the motion itself.

… and Science be Damned, the real fun is in spattering the canvas with Puce, Mauve, and Day Glo yellow, as it upsets conventional bug theory and masks the fact I’ve never been much good at painting within lines …

Tags: Soft Crimp Angelina, AP Black nymph, dubbing highlights, halo dubbing, fish vision, Chaos Theory, Impressionism, evangelical fly tyer

That was some of the best flying I’ve seen yet, right up to the point where you got killed

Her icy gaze punctuated by the bony digit pointed in my direction …

Naturally, I tried the First Law of Backpedalling, innocence.

“ … What?”

I gazed around studiously avoiding That Which She Held, but I guess my look of innocence wasn’t quite up to par – or I’d gone to that well too many times …

I was Flat Busted.

I had counted on her being dazed by the glitzy neon of the Las Vegas strip. A whirlwind of shows, drinking, and pulling handles – and the ensuing hangover would buy me enough time to replace the sink strainer.

Umm, No.

Instead I’m in my kitchen looking “hang dog” while the Gestapo asks me to collaborate.

… and I’ve warned you often enough. Make sure you clean all evidence of dye from the important fixtures and linoleum – so you aren’t pinched in your first attempt.

Angelina & Sink discolor Me, thinking I was a Ninja Master was part of my undoing. The rest was the horrifying discovery that sink strainers contain Polyester.

… there’s no label on the damn things, how was I to know?

The Olive and Peacock blends strained fine. The Grannom Green didn’t leave a mark, imagine my surprise when the Scarlet (which looks very Orange) left a calling card.

Our modern everyday sink strainer appears to have about 10% polyester – just enough to revoke my parole, and land me in the crosshairs yet again.

I’ve mentioned the destroyed feathers, hinted at the strain in relationships, insisted that you’d be a Past Master within minutes – and even tried the Manhood angle.

But you fellows were smarter than I was, and while I’m watching the next nine sappy romantic comedies with one star or less, understand that dinner works – but hell hath no fury like a woman wanting popcorn.

… and I’ll be fishing quite a few Angelina equipped flies this year hoping to get the taste out of my mouth.

Tags: dyeing polyester, soft crimp Angelina, grannom green, fly tying materials, peacock, damsel olive, sink strainer, Las Vegas, flat busted

The Karaoke version of Singing in the Rain

I make it “40 Days and 40 Nights, or at least until Thursday” – and am steadfastly unrepentant because it’s only Day One , figuring if I hold out till about Day 17 there’ll be enough water for both me and them plague tomatoes.

Tamawanis has too much snow, Roughfisher is fleeing his ice-bound pals for Hawaii, and us Californians brace for what could become a fourth year of drought. Even worse, it makes all them other fellows from the frostbitten East want to crowd us further…

…where else are they going to go, Florida?

But the last 24 hours has unleashed a gully washer commensurate with dire need. Horizontal rain in sheets, flooded fields (that are soaking it up greedily), and the South end of the state finally has enough water not to borrow mine …

… in fact they’re wanting to return a goodly portion, gratis.

… and as all those dour faces showed up at work – freshly assaulted by fierce winds, rain, and the death-wish tail-gaiting driver behind them, they were met with the sight of my overly fed form skipping through the hallways with a tune on my lips.

Urinalysis turned up negative – additional proof that non-outdoorsmen are humorless SOB’s.

Singlebarbed’s Official Drought indicator is whether Tom Chandler continues to post. As he’s at the top of the pass, we’ll wait until the snow burden and lack of supplies makes the Wonderdog’s tongue something to eat, and the coughing roar of the Honda generator robs him of creativity.

… today, nothing.

Come Spring they’ll find him face down in the garage – the last match clutched in nerveless fingers. Hand rubbed Spar varnish proving invulnerable to wooden matches – and the snapped remnants of Powell, Phillip’s, and Raine forming an impotent pile of debris amidst a scene from Doctor Zhivago.

Say hello to my little friend, back from the Dead …

Little_Stinking_Flow

What was dry and lifeless is now five feet of roaring filth; tree trunks, rusting cars, and the the unsteady press of a couple hundred tons of upstream gravel headed my way.

From 38 CFS to 7200, washing away the wrongdoings of last season, replenishing the carcasses and goat skeletons at the high water mark – and unearthing my favorite rusting Audi in gunfire black …

Tags: California drought, Little Stinking, Tamanawis, Roughfisher.com, Trout Underground, snapped bamboo rods, Doctor Zhivago, Audi

Where we distill the notion of the Young Angler

Dry Fly Distilling, for the Youth Meeting You’ve watched them gash bosom and plea with club personnel at every meeting. Each plaintive cry falling on deaf ears – and then some poor SOB that’s not there nominated to be the “Youth Coordinator.”

… a title reasonably vague, implying something to do with finding kids that want to unplug long enough to take up the sport.

It’s the greatest hypocrisy of all. Old guys hate kids, wives, and all familial responsibility, which is why they’re at the club in the first place. “Kids” being equally vague – as the usual measurement of years is often superseded by, “is the inattentive little twit related to me.”

Most of us have seen it, and many more have felt it. Perhaps its time we use that looseness in definition to our own ends.

I’m on the receiving end of a brief (albeit wheedling) email that insists it’s time to take some local gentlemen fishing again. This fellow being a work in progress, with an attention span of six minutes, reflexes of a Pterodactyl, with the appreciation and refinement of a Visigoth.

Kind of like a kid – only older.

It’s raining and cold outside, and I figure being housebound with spouse and kids has finally drove him over the edge. Only Wild Men intentionally expose themselves to inclement weather – and leaves me wondering whether we should be focusing on adults that haven’t fished – versus kids that would rather not …

I read further and his sudden passion is liquor related. Dry Fly distilling to be exact, which we assume tastes twice as good if you know how to fish – versus merely swilling it as a soulless Kayaker, or dog walker.

But we’re still golden. “Youth Coordinator” now being synonymous with wet bar and the tinkle of ice cubes, and whatever quota of recruits necessary can be shanghaied by them left standing.

… and the problem becomes keeping the regular membership distant. Compared to cramped chairs, congealing Beef Au Jus, and discussing the dining habits of Poodles with Bob’s wife, them youth meetings will be a lively affair.

Tags: fly fishing clubs, youth coordinator, Dry Fly distilling, artisanal liquor, Wild Men of fly fishing, club dinners, fly fishing humor

Print being Dead, and here is where they buried her

It’s a daunting project that Project Gutenberg & Google has undertaken, scanning all the books in the world and making them available online. It’s not without incident considering they already incurred $124 million in infringed copyrights – but they’re forging ahead undaunted.

With Amazon’s Kindle creating quite the stir over Christmas, and competitors lining up to enter similar products into the mix – it appears we’ll have the opportunity to add to our fishing library virtually.

As my vision is on the wane – I can’t admit to comfort while straining over a dimly backlit screen, but it’s likely to intrude more each decade.

There’s quite a few famous angling tomes already available, and many out of print classics that are unavailable to anyone other than collectors.

George Kelson – The Salmon Fly, how to Dress it and how to Use it (1895)

G.E.M. Skues – The Way of the Trout with the Fly (1921) and Modern Development of the Dry Fly (1910)

Mary Orvis Marbury – Favorite Trout Flies and their Histories

George M. LaBranche – The Dry Fly and Fast Water (1914)

Frederick M. Halford – Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (1886)

There are many hundreds of titles, some you may have never heard of – and the tags under each allow you to refine your search to specific areas of the online collection. Most of the books are old enough to no longer be copyrighted, and it makes sense that Google would want to avoid all the litigation until it’s determined how the author will receive compensation.

Kelson’s book on the Salmon Fly is still considered the Bible of the married wing, eyeless hook crowd. You can download it for free in PDF form versus paying $500 for an old copy.

I’ve read many of these and am continually fascinated over the convictions of their authors. Adding a certain perspective to read, “the Salmon, being the noblest of all fishes, eat Butterflies …” – then grab a copy of a current magazine and read, “they eat leeches because …”

… and in a hundred years will some fellow be giggling over our assumptions?

Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times. – Gustav Flaubert

Anglers today shrink from the old tomes as being antiquated and out of date – and while the language may be archaic, the lessons are still current.

Download a fistful of PDF’s and fish the turn-of-the-century Catskills, or a Irish freshet for sea run trout – then tuck them away as reference materials or simply a good read.

Tags: Project Gutenberg, Google Internet Book Archive, copyright, George Kelson, G.E.M. Skues, Mary Orvis Marbury, George M. LaBranche, Frederick M. Halford, Amazon Kindle, out of print angling books

and The Pale Morning Dun is the tastiest of all

Most of us anglers are oblivious to what goes on in all those streambed nooks and crannies. We’re content so long as it emerges at dusk and exists in enough numbers to keep fish fat and healthy.

Like the dinosaur – scientists assumed that the biggest were at the top of the food chain and everything smaller ran in fear … until they found a Tyrannosaurus Rex and figured a mid-sized predator with a mean streak may be worse than all those enormous herbivores.

So it is with invertebrates, the Giant Stoneflies of our fast water are benevolent – and the mid-size Golden Stone is the T-Rex of the substrate, driving mayflies to flee in terror as it snacks its way through the elderly and infirm …

… and the Pale Morning Dun is either slow as molasses – or tastier than the rest, as more of them were eaten than any other invertebrate.

Which is oddly consistent with my past haunts. All the rivers famous for PMD hatches like Fall River and Hat Creek were absent significant fast water – and where it existed we’d walk past in favor of a slower stretch downstream.

Naturally I’m using the most rudimentary sampling, the widely recognized “fast water = heavily oxygenated = stoneflies” theory of angling. Which gives us something to ponder. Do we mash stoneflies knowing were saving countless smaller bugs – or do we stay out of the fight?

I’d characterize myself as an indiscriminate masher, as once your wading shoes break the Size 12 or 13 barrier – even the Stoneflies flee screaming.

Interesting to note the document suggests that mayflies can distinguish between the Acroneuria (T-Rex) and Pteronarcys (benevolent Giant Fatty Stonefly), and flee from one yet not from the other.

… and the real question becomes, “ was it the current that caused your feet to slip, or was it a million Infrequens with ropes and pullies – getting you to mash invading stoneflies?”

… the little bastards could well be sentient …

Tags: Ephemerella Infrequens, Acroneuria, Pteronarcys, stonefly, mayfly, cobble warfare, tyrannosaurus rex, dinosaurs, fly fishing humor, Hat Creek, Fall River, wading shoes

50 Years of Science fiction ruined by a single biologist

Those giddy days of Halloween television, Ma insisted you were too young to watch a pissed humanoid water breather slime its way through the streets preying on the unwary, dragging screaming female teens into the cold bosom of a nearby bay …

… there to perform unimaginable and completely horrific unknown rituals on their taut … flesh …

Pop wasn’t allowed to watch either – and if the pair of you were caught he’d point finger and rat you out.

50 years of perfectly good science fiction ruined because some biologist discovered different …

Apparently fish gills aren’t just for breathing. A dual purpose organ which assists in ion exchange with the surrounding water, allowing fish to regulate their internal chemistry.

“In freshwater fish, like rainbow trout, they tend to lose ions from their blood to the water, because the ion concentration in blood is greater than that of freshwater,” she said.

The team took measurements from the gills of young, developing rainbow trout to find out what functions they were performing.

“When the gills are still immature, a significant portion of ion uptake occurs at the skin. As the fish get older and the gills mature, [this] can gradually shift to… the gills,” said Ms Fu.

“We found that ion uptake shifted from the skin to the gills earlier than oxygen uptake. This led us to propose that the gills are needed for ion regulation earlier than they are needed for oxygen uptake.”

This recent study suggests you may be twice the oaf for jamming them hammy hands into the gill area, as you may be injuring a delicate mechanism designed to suck up sewage, DDT, and twice distilled female hormones.

The good news is that Hollywood can reshoot all them old movies, and feature a really pissed man-eating-mostly-head Rainbow trout with a preference for nubile teen fems …

… and you get to claim innocence (while pointing the finger at Junior) – as you thought it was a Rivers that Cost Most remake …

I say, do the math. A steady influx of chemicals into the watershed and gills as chemical exchange – begats really muscular gills as the toxic burden increases, requiring evolution and expansion of the skull area – resulting in (possibly) larger brains and huge gill assemblies.

That larger head should make big teeth an evolutionary no-brainer, and the result will be a sentient, really pissed, mostly head, rainbow trout – with the ability to harsh your mellow, babe.

… better learn how to cast from a shark cage.

Tags: fish gills, gill evolution, University of British Columbia, Clarice Fu, DDT, rainbow trout, ion exchange, sewage, DDT, science fiction, nubile teens, pissed water breather

The Sixth Finger Roadmap, a Powerpoint presentation filled with dancing frogs

The prototypes for the next generation of Sixth Finger scissors arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I’d asked for them to add a zipper so I could change it each year and obsolete everything you already own …

I figured I could offer it as a fetching facsimile to the Royal Canadian Mounties and the cord that secured their sidearm. Three and a half feet of ballistic nylon – and should you ever lay them down, they’d be available to sit on once you returned to your desk.

It certainly would reinforce the notion to keep them in your hand – the downside would be you’re having to tie standing up for the next three months.

Madison Ave calls it “branding” – affixing the image of a product into your subconscious so you can’t help but think of me when you see it. I call it a life long scar, and you’ll never be able to look at a Band-Aid or tourniquet without cringing …

The vendor has added all of the enhancements I’ve asked for and produced something quite special.

Issue: The current flavor of scissor is a light-duty specialty scissor, with small light blades and fine tips. It’s wonderful for trout flies and medium sized flies, yet has issues with thick or bulky. Those same light blades offer a small sharp tip – but can be deflected by a heavy woven four strand yarn, or bulky chenille.

Resolution: The debut of the General Purpose variant, designed to accomodate light, coarse, and heavy materials. It is equipped with a larger, heavier blade that cannot be deflected. It’s simple physics that cause the issue, and adding mass to the blade prevents it bending out of the way, and lengthening the handle allows more force to be exerted to sever large materials cleanly.

The General Purpose will be longer by an inch, half of which is in the blade area, and the balance in the handle. The spring mechanism has been shortened yet retains a crisp positive action. Even better is the blades – about twice the mass – both thicker and longer, and we didn’t have to give up the fine tips.

As I eat what I sell, I’ve already started testing the materials that proved difficult on the smaller scissors, and have been chuckling with great glee …

But I didn’t do you no favor …

Pure Tungsten at the tip To assist both normal and this new “General Purpose” variant, I’ve also added tungsten inserts on both models, but I didn’t do you any favor by doing so …

Tungsten Carbide is one of the hardest metals known to Man, and in scissors it makes a superior cutting edge – one that will last much longer than conventional surgical stainless.

It’s also the most brittle. One bleary-eyed late night cut where you catch the hook shank up at the scissor tip, and you can take the points clean off.

This is true of $500 surgical scissors as well as inexpensive flavor. The only known solution is to make a blunt point which allows more tungsten into the area, giving the tip greater shear strength. As fine tips are essential on a good set of scissors, blunt is unacceptable.

Having tied with Tungsten inserts and expensive surgical scissors for the last 25 years, I can vouch for the fragility of the tip. Bill Hunter sold me my first pair and mentioned, “you’ll have to relearn your scissor work, or you’ll tear these up.”

I did. But at the cost of the first pair.

The second set lasted 20 years, so the transition is easy enough to make, but only after you’ve destroyed at least one set. In short, you learn to make all cuts away from the shank – never cutting towards the hook.

We’ve also opted for an adjustable screw to aid quick disassembly for sharpening. Medical scissors attempt to braise or grind the screw to prevent seams that allow bacteria to collect on the scissor surface. This prevents the screw from turning – and tightening the screw is often not possible.

As all scissors eventually need adjustment (except in the medical profession where they’re often discarded) – I’ve got a slightly different screw assembly on these prototypes to see if I can adjust it in the future.

Summary: For 2010 I’ll be offering three models of the Sixth Finger; a larger General Purpose scissor with Tungsten inserts, the current model of surgical stainless, and a variant of the original scissor also with Tungsten inserts.

Pricing and availability should be around the mid-March timeframe. I’m attempting to bring the price in around the $25 dollar mark for the Tungsten and larger General Purpose flavors.

… and my thanks for the many helpful comments and feedback on these “children” of mine. Many of you have been quite candid about changes you’d like – or features that suited you, and I’ve rolled all that into this second generation of product.

Based on what testing I’ve completed, they’ll go through your jeans and a couple inches of Gluteus before you have time to draw a breath …

Testers: Around March I’ll be sending out 10-12 sets of the new scissors to some of the existing owners as a test group. If you’d like to test one model over another I’ll inquire before I send them.

I’d like to upgrade everyone, but the economics say otherwise.

Full Disclosure: I came up with the bright idea, and use them daily, to the exclusion of all other scissors. But as I’m also the vendor – I am not to be believed.

Tags: Sixth Finger Scissor, Product Roadmap, fly tying scissors, Tungsten Carbide, adjustable screw hole, fine tips, Bill Hunter, RCMP, shameless commerce

Nothing like having a chalkstream in your backyard

The ringtone belonged to “Deep Walnut”, the Yolo county landowner I’d turned to the side of righteousness. The pleasantries were brief, and I was informed that the annual “crop report” outlining the sins of watery tomatoes had been secreted on the grounds of my residence.

Sure it’s a touch over the top, but in a smallish town when it’s raining – what else is there to do.

Actually “Deep Walnut” is a double agent – as the document merely outlines the crap I waded through last season, and how far over the state approved environmental standards the pollutants have climbed.

I figure his handlers are slapping each other heartily knowing no sane person would wade through known carcinogens and medical waste – but sanity has never been a strong suit, so I just hand the list to the physician while he readies an armada of large gauge needles with which to violate my posterior.

… and yes, this report was an eye opener. Outlining enough naturally occurring Boron that I’d consider wedging a mandrel in the substrate just to see if I’d have a functioning six weight after a sustained downpour.

… a steady rise in the salinity of the water, as well as a pH of 9.0 – both exceeding state guidelines. It’s a comfort that with all the decline in quality waters that I’ve got a chalkstream being deposited on my doorstep, which should recoup last year’s 50% decline in home value.

Unfortunately most of the wells near my house have been closed due to nitrate contamination. Both Woodland and Davis get much of their drinking water from groundwater, and at least four (those near my house) have already been closed.

… so I’m looking to close escrow with a fly fisherman. Civilians will not appreciate the view from my veranda, nor those contaminated sparkling waters anytime this century, and most of the next.

I’d petition to rename the street “Love Canal” but most of the water managers are too young to get the joke …

I suppose the biologists took one look at the local creek and skipped over the mayflies and stoneflies, choosing Cerodaphnia Dubia (water fleas) to measure toxicity.

Didn’t help, they died screaming …

But the good news has to be the toxic algae bloom and the increase in eColi found. Proof that the local creek is capable of hosting a diverse ecosystem containing predators and killer bio-toxins.

… and with all the microscopic nasty entering the food chain, and slurped gleefully by the young-of-the-year fry, the fish should be virile, aggressive and subdued with nothing less than a single-jack.

… and all it’ll take to realize this angling paradise, this lone speck of quality amidst the dust bowl of the Central Valley? Just add water.

Tags: Brownlining, Little Stinking, Deep Walnut, Yolo County Farm Bureau, cerodaphnia dubia, ecoli, boron, selenium, fly fishing, Woodland, Davis, groundwater contamination