FlyTalk

Take this, "College Game Day" ... we have the 2007 NCAA football season all figured out before it really kicks off. We took Sports Illustrated's preseason top 10 (plus Notre Dame, just for grins), assigned each team a fly that either corresponded by theme or colors to the school, and let the trout in the river do the jawing. The more bites, the higher the ranking. Granted, its not much more scientific than "[email protected] bingo," but then again, it's probably fairer than the BCS selection process.

The Final Six:

Notre Dame -- the Golden Stone (for golden dome). Did better than expected early (a strong tradition), then fell flat on its face. In two words, highly overrated.

Florida -- an Orange Scud. Pretty much just petered along all season, and in this case, didn't pull off the big shocker in the end. Game effort, but no title.

Michigan -- a Yellow (maize) Hopper. Looked great throughout most of the season, then the tippet snapped on a 14-inch rainbow. Anyone who has watched the Wolverines in bowl games lately will understand the irony.

USC -- the Red (garnet) Copper John. Our preseason favorite thumped trout early and late in the campaign, but hit a lull ... analagous, we think, to right around the time the Trojans will be taking on the Cal Bears.

The BCS Championship will feature (according to the trout) the Texas Longhorns -- a Burnt-Orange Humpy -- and the Bayou Bengals of Louisiana State University -- a Purple Prince. Too close to call an eventual winner.

For the record, we didn't test an Ohio State fly, only because nobody had a "Moose Turd" in their box.

Had a chance to revisit the "Hogpen" the other day with my Fflogger friends Nate Matthews, an editor from Field & Stream, and Tim Romano, the photo/blog man. Frankly, the day was really hot and bright, so the fishing wasn't, except for a few sporadic hopper eats and a very sporty interlude of throwing tiny ant patterns at some rainbows laid-up in the same riffle.

The fish finally turned on an hour before sunset, and while Nate and I stayed the course with dry flies ... master Tim tied on a nymph rig and proceeded to hammer fish in a downstream carnage spectacle that smacked of Sherman's "March to the Sea."

Which would have been fine, except it left me feeling soiled ... violated. Maybe it's a generation thing, but I was taught that when heads are popping, it's "go dry or go home." Maybe it's that Colorado-bred nymph-o-mania issue. No doubt, Tim put the smackdown on the trout with at least a 10-1 ratio advantage on us. And yeah ... I know all about dry fly snobs, and have heard the arguments that nymph fishing is actually a more technical and challenging way to chase trout; it's 3-D fishing after all.

But I'm not buying it. I'm not going to sell my soul, and become another "bobber geek." Well, at least not unless I really, truly must. Am I wrong here?

I was guiding the other day, switching rigs from dries to nymphs. I got to that step where I routinely pop a piece of split shot into my mouth as I fumble with the tippet and the dropper fly. As the BB washed around in there, I paused and realized that I was sucking on lead.

Lead poisoning is linked to brain damage, as well as reproductive problems, hypertension, stunted growth among children, and an array of other nasty things -- hence the reason millions of made-in-China lead-painted toys are being recalled at this very moment. I thought, "Wow, this might explain a few of my latest Fflogger posts."

Truth is, lead is dead. It has no purpose or value in the flyfishing context. There are better alternatives that sink just as well, made of tin, bismuth, or tungsten. See www.bosstin.com. Yes they cost a tad more. But they won't make you sick. And they don't kill birds and other wildlife. There are places where lead fishing is outlawed -- New England states mostly, and in Yellowstone National Park. There should be more. You shoot steel at waterfowl because it's proven that small lead shot kills wild birds in numbers. The only reason fly shops sell lead, and we fish lead, is that we're cheap and lazy. Probably because we've been chewing on the stuff for too long. -- KD