 Tim Romano |
 Kirk Deeter |
« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »
Do you ever fish for carp on a fly rod? Tough buggers aren't they? Russ Miller landed this beauty a couple of days ago under heavy police presence. It seems SWAT teams make it even tougher...
Check out this story on carp fishing around the Democratic National Convention the past week and see all the trouble we got into.
Have a great weekend.
TR
One of my favorite writers is Greg Keeler, professor of English at Montana State, who has just written a book called Trash Fish: A Life (Counterpoint Press, coming in October). It’s wonderful. You need to check it out. Put it on your Christmas list. But a word of warning: This memoir is a little saucier than the Norman Maclean/A River Runs Through It type. Oh, Keeler has his own A River Runs Through It-related chapter, it’s called “A Gerbil Runs Through It.” In it, Keeler describes how he once drove to Gallatin Canyon and set up a video camera on the same run where “old Norman” is seen tying on a fly at the end of the famous movie. Keeler did his own voiceover (venting anger at Robert Redford for idealizing the whitewashed values of Maclean’s novella in a way that lured thousands to Montana for a land grab). It goes:
“Hello, I’m Norman McQueeler, and this is ‘A Gerbil Runs Through It.’ We were going to film this scene on the Little Blackfoot, just like the novel, but mining has poisoned that river with cyanide. We’re lucky to be filming it here on the Gallatin River because all of the land around me has been bought up for summer homes, for example Ted Turner bought up most of the land right over the hill there. But anyway, when I was a boy growing up in Montana, my father would take us out behind the shed with a metronome, a gerbil, an enema bulb, a gut bucket and a fly rod…”
Keeler concluded: “The voiceover stopped here because I slipped on a rock and fell in, which was just as well because as soon as I fell, the woman who, with her husband, owned the adjacent property came down and ran me off. I knew her husband. At the time he was the head of the Bozeman chapter of Trout Unlimited.”
Read this book.
Deeter
Our friend over at BASS and ESPN Outdoors sent us this release the other day. Instead of mangling a well written release like I normally do I'm pasting it below. Fly fisherman extraordinaire Jose Wejebe will be hosting the Redbone tourney this year. If you've never heard of Spanish Fly or Redbone, read below and check them out for yourself.
ESPN Outdoors announced today that Jose Wejebe, who has hosted Spanish Fly on ESPN2 for 13 years, will host the ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series television coverage on ESPN2. The Sunday morning shows, which will chronicle the six stand-alone, world-class events, will begin in April 2009. The ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series will kick off Sept. 5-7 with the Southernmost Light-Tackle Anglers Masters (S.L.A.M.) tournament in Key West, Fla.
Wejebe, a longtime resident of the Florida Keys, will also remain as host of Spanish Fly, which will air on Sundays on ESPN2 in 2009. Wejebe is one of the most respected fishing guides worldwide and has traveled the world fishing exotic locations and serving as a guide, tournament angler and TV personality in his diverse career.
Gary Ellis, founder of the Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series, has enjoyed a long relationship with Wejebe, introducing him in 1988 to Jerry McKinnis, who hosted The Fishin’ Hole on ESPN networks for more than 25 years.
“It’s ironic that I started my career with ESPN at Redbone over 20 years ago,” Wejebe said. “This is funny how life comes full circle. I met Jerry at the Redbone and from that meeting we started Spanish Fly some 13 years ago. Now, ESPN is highlighting and giving back to Redbone, which continues to give so much to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.”
As previously announced, www.ESPNOutdoors.com will be the online home for the series, with live daily event coverage including video, photo galleries, articles and features. Competitors in the Series will include celebrities, renowned guides and other luminaries from the fishing industry competing in catch-and-release events.
The popular S.L.A.M. is the first in an annual Florida Keys autumn trilogy of Redbone fishing tournaments. The series was developed by the Ellis family to raise awareness of cystic fibrosis and to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“We are very excited to have Jose on board to lend his expertise to our television coverage,” said Jamie Wilkinson, senior director of event operations and business development. “Jose’s ability to deliver compelling storylines will further add to this tremendous product.”
I'm going on a trip soon. But can you guess where?
The photo above is a sampler of the fly selection I'm bringing, thanks to Brian Schmidt, our "Fly of the Month" guru from Umpqua Feather Merchants. So that alone should tell you I'll be chasing fish that are pretty aggressive. In fact, I'd say this is the "golden age" for this particular species.
Need more hints? Well, okay. I'm not bringing any long johns on this trip. I will bring plenty of bug spray.
I'll be out of the country. Not in Argentina... but I will be speaking Spanish. I'm doing a story for the magazine. It's the "dry season" where I'm going (a relative term)... it shouldn't be salty, but I'm still bringing "stingray guards." Hmmmm....
Tell you what, I'll send an "Angling Trade" baseball cap to the first person who can tell me exactly where I'm going and what I'll be chasing. Last hint, you likely haven't read much about this one before. (No help from those few of you who know what I'm up to... Tim... Joey... Bri...)
Good luck to you... and please wish me some positive mojo also, if you'd be so kind!
Deeter
THE ELECTION TO HELP STOP THE PEBBLE MINE IN ALASKA IS AUGUST 26TH
Unless you've been living under a rock I assume that you've heard about this ridiculously greedy and shortsighted plan of a mine that's close to becoming a reality in Alaska. It's bad news... Really bad news. Check out more information about the proposed mine and it's potential effects on Bristol Bay region here.
The fly fishing trade organization AFFTA and the fly fishing industry as a whole are adamantly opposed to the development of The Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Oh, and we here at Fly Talk find this proposed mine to be a big middle finger to sportsman the world over, and more importantly the multiple species of fish and animals that would be in very serious jeopardy.
All Alaska residents need to help stop this potential environmental boondoggle next week by voting YES on Ballot Measure #4. If you are not a resident of Alaska but you know someone who is, urge him or her to vote YES on Ballot Measure #4 on August 26. Please, do it now! Pick up the phone or shoot an email to all your friends in Alaska.
Basically this ballot measure puts stricter standards in place for NEW mines in relation to water quality. If you'd like more info please visit this site (http://www.alaskacleanwater.org/).
We the people don't have the millions of dollars to drop on BS propaganda that these mining companies do. We only have our voice and our vote. Help the people of Alaska vote with their conscience and get the word out.
Thanks.
TR
Could it be the over-powering stench of the wastewater treatment plant when I open the car door? Doubt it. What about the possible human remains found on the river bottom? Uh, not so sure about that either... The barbed wire fences, or giant dead bloated rats floating in the water? Nope. Could it be the thousands of pounds of trash lodged in the trees or effluent streaming by my bare legs? I really don't think so.
Perhaps it's the fact that I can go anywhere in America and have a legitimate shot at a 30 lb fish all for the cost of a gallon of gas and a bottle of water. That's why I love trash fish on the fly.
