Apology

I am getting flooded with e-mails so as a result I am posting the following as a follow up to the previous post.

I would like to formally apologize to the citizens, employees and University if any offense was taken from my association of Kris Riedy to the great state of Alabama in the prior post.

Kris is "Chuffed" about the maiden voyage the new rig !!

The attached photo shows Kris anxiously awaiting the launch of his new drift boat.

After years of extensive research Kris finally settled on the combination shown above.

Note: oar locks are not present in current set up as configured with a Sears Die-Hard.

Now something that's so totally cool requires an antonym to express its coolness.

Wicked Bad !!!

Kris, sez see em Ducks back er ?

What's in a nickname?

For people who have them – or dole them out – they are a person's stamp of personality, a point of pride, a profile of particular habits or, perhaps, peculiarities. Some people seek out nicknames, sometimes new titles are a consequence of circumstance and then there are some characters whose actions just beg for a moniker.

Nicknames are everywhere. Presidents have them. Even the Pope doesn't go by his given name, They are particularly prevalent in sports, where not only players are known as The Yankee Clipper, The Babe, The Galloping Ghost and The Big Unit,(the lucky guy), but even the games have titles. The Shot Heard Round the World. The Catch. The Immaculate Reception. These titles define the moments themselves and forever stamp the greatness of the event.

Hey who put that there, The Incident !

A spotter is someone trained to look for something. An obstacle is something that impedes progress or achievement. Capsizing refers to when a boat or canoe is tipped over until disabled. The act of reversing a capsized canoe is called righting. If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted.

Translation avoid floating this river if your spotters name is Otis.

Nuff said.

What has 84, check that 80 Chromosomes is sterile and piscivorous ?

Tiger Woods may be in trouble but he's got a trout named after him ?

The tiger trout (Salmo trutta X Salvelinus fontinalis) is a sterile, intergeneric hybrid of the brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). The name derives from the pronounced vermiculations, evoking the stripes of a tiger. It is a rare phenomenon in the wild, with the brook trout having 84 chromosomes and the brown trout 80.^[1] Records show instances as far back as 1944.^{[2]Tiger trout can be produced reliably in hatcheries. This is done by fertilizing brown trout eggs with brook trout milt and heat shocking them, which causes creation of an extra set of chromosomes and increases survival from 5% to 85%.[3] Tiger trout have been reported to grow faster than natural species,[4] though this assessment is not universal,[5] and they have been widely stocked for sport fishing.}

Tiger trout are known to be highly piscivorous (fish-eating), and are a good control against rough fish populations. This makes tigers popular with many fish stocking programs, such as with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Their own population numbers can be tightly controlled as well, since they are sterile.

Many states have had stocking programs for tiger trout. Wisconsin discontinued its program in the late 1970s. Tigers were exclusively stocked in the Great Lakes. After the stocking program was discontinued, a 20-pound-plus world-record tiger was caught in the Great Lakes. I guess the "Chuffed Trout" just doesnt sound right.

Note to Self - Stop by Home Depot to Get Plastic Sheeting Before Fishing Trip

Next time you catch a World Class Brown Trout you should probably have some plastic sheeting to put down so when it drips on moms living room carpeting she wont get too mad.

World Record Brown Trout, 38 lb. 9.0z caught by Huey Manely, Aug. '88. Still the second largest brown ever caught. Six days later, David Wooten caught the 34 lb. 8 oz. brown trout shown here.

Way to Go Huey !! I mean David !!

Is it me or is this Ugly ?

Carp Flyline ?

I guess marketing applies to the Ugly as well ?

Designed specifically for the carp fly fisher. This weight-forward floating fly line combines a medium length head with a smooth front taper for a subtle presentation. Wary carp will not be spooked by either the presentation or the subtle camo olive color. The slick XS Technology coating, over a braided monofilament core ensures easy, accurate, and confident casts.

I feel like I need a shower.

Who knew ??

Tying a Czech Style Nymph by Davie McPhail

This method originated in the Czech Republic where it was used to great effect in the International Fly Fishing Championships. Since then it has been widely adopted by fly fishing enthusiast around the world.

In principle the method is not new – as it presents the right flies at the right depth in a natural manner in a way in which the takes can be easily spotted. In principle the method is simple, short-line deep-water nymphing that covers all of the water.

Yellowstone Suite

Yellowstone is the world's first national park. Since its creation in 1872, it has served as a universal symbol of wildness, mystery, and natural beauty. More than three million people from around the world visit Yellowstone each year, and experience something more powerful than its founders ever envisioned. They discover:
More geysers and hot springs than the rest of the world combined;
The largest concentration of free-roaming wildlife in the lower 48 states;
Three of the world's top trout-fishing streams;
National Historic Landmarks such as the Old Faithful Inn and the grand Roosevelt Arch;
The only place in the world where a wild bison herd has survived continuously since prehistoric times.

"Chuffed"

Chuffed

Pronunciation: \ˈchəft\

Function: adjective

Etymology: English dial. chuff pleased, puffed with fat

Date: 1957

British : quite pleased : delighted

Catch-n-Release

Rockbridge's stunning spring-fed Spring Creek offers exciting fishing for all fishermen from the novice to the expert. Use your fly rod in the rapids; teach your daughter to cast below the waterfall; or mount your own 10.5lb perfect rainbow!

Our spring fed stream offers a variety of conditions unique to both fly-fishing and light tackle fishing. From beautiful rapids to slow moving currents, sunny shallows to shaded deep pools, Spring Creek offers it all. Crystal clear waters, a gorgeous waterfall, towering trees, and monumental bluffs are just part of our spectacular setting. Generation after generation of families come to Rockbridge, Missouri, for the challenges it offers the most experienced angler, and yet the ease and success it offers the beginner. An average trout weighs about 2 pounds, but who knows, you may be the one to break our 16 pound record.

Brooke and Andrew fish on !!

Perhaps the greatest joy in my life comes from the moment captured in this photo. My daughter Brooke Riedy helping our family friend Andrew Mulligan battle a nice Rainbow Trout during the winter catch and release season at Bennett Spring State Park in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks.

Nice Rockbridge Rainbow

Here is nice rainbow caught on a San Juan worm in November 2009 in the Catch-n-Release waters between Rockbridge and Bryant Creek.

This spring-fed Spring Creek offers a variety of conditions for fly-fishing rom beautiful rapids to slow moving currents, sunny shallows to shaded deep pools. Crystal clear waters, a gorgeous waterfall, towering trees, and monumental bluffs are just part of the spectacular setting.

The photo on the left shows the General Store/Post Office circa 1955

Here is a link to Rockbridge http://www.rockbridgemo.com/

von Behr or Loch Leven

Brown trout (salmo trutta) are not native species to North America. The first documented introduction of brown trout was on April 11, 1884, J.F.Ellis stocked 4,900 brown trout fry(von Behr strain) into Michigan's Pere Marquette River. After this initial distribution in 1884, distribution of brown trout was swift and wide. The first North American introduction of Loch Leven trout, Salmo trutta levenensis (a lake form), appears to be made in Long Pond near Saint John's, Newfoundland, in 1884. The sea run strain (S. t. trutta) was also introduced around this time but, the only currently known strain exists in Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. After the first North American introduction of the Lock Leven trout occured in 1884, brown trout were introduced into every province except Prince Edward Island. Incredibly, there was little or no attempt to keep the Lock Leven and the von Behr strains isolated or distinct. Goverment and private fish distribution records listed both types, but widespread shipment from one hatchery to another (crossbreeding), and the introduction of both strains into the same waters apparently resulted in the merging of the original distinguishing characteristics.

The von Behr trout, (S. fario) lived in small streams, were brightly coloured, and rarely exceeded the lenght of 12 inches. In contrast, the Loch Leven trout, (S. levenensis), was a lake-dwelling form, silvery gray with black spots, reaching a size of 18 lbs. If, as reported, the von Behr and Loch Leven strains have been widely interbred and broadly distributed, and if the brown trout has a plastic genetic ability(polymorphic), I'm not surprised that North American brown trout are, in appearance and life history, similar to practically every form originally described in Europe.

One things for sure it was isn't sea run brown ! This Brown measured approximately 23 inches and estimated weight of 5 - 6 lbs. It was released unharmed.

The Legendary Missouri in Montana

Legendary Missouri River Fly Fishing
The Missouri River, below Holter Dam, is one of the nation's premier tailwater fisheries. The next 40 miles that flow toward Great Falls are home to thousands of trout, averaging 2,500 - 3,000 per mile, and with an average size of 14-18". Here is photo of our campsite on an island that is home to an angry beaver.

While there is a lot of great wading water and of all types, there are also many areas where boats are preferred. Deep, quiet runs, pods of fish, and down across presentations are common scenarios.

See if you can spot the bird in the photo.

Slough Creek, Yellowstone

As Howard Back remarked in his splendid The Waters of Yellowstone with Rod and Fly (Dodd, Mead and Co., 1938), this stream is locally pronounced "Sloo." It is a cutthroat stream of rare beauty with an abundance of splendid fish, and a good insect population.

Anglers regard the river as being in four sections. The first mile above its juncture with the Lamar is a cascade-riffle stretch through a steep canyon. It is not much fished. The reason is that from the bench at the head of this canyon to the second canyon, a half-mile above Slough Creek Campground, are three miles of really excellent water much more easily reached. It is pools, runs and riffles, one after the other, through an open, meadow-laced basin, and the largest fish in the creek are to be found here. But they are very difficult to catch in the larger sizes (twenty inches and up). Unlike many Yellowstone Park streams, this one is not paralleled by roadways. It is approachable by automobile only at the trailhead.

A Quartz Creek Dolly Varden in Alaska

Does this count, If it doesn't make the chart below ?

Y E S I T D O ... Definitely Lotic Though!!!

As rainbow trout grow longer, they increase in weight. The relationship between length and weight is not linear. The relationship between total length (L, in inches) and total weight (W, in pounds) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form:

Invariably, b is close to 3.0 for all species, and c is a constant that varies among species. For lentic rainbow trout, b = 2.990 and c = 0.000426, and for lotic rainbow trout, b = 3.024 and c = 0.000370.^[5]

The relationship described in this section suggests that a 13-inch lentic rainbow trout will weigh about 1.0 pound, while an 18-inch lentic rainbow trout will weigh about 2.5 pounds.

Throwin Hoppers ! A Watched Pot Never Boils.

Most fly fishermen "Throwin Hoppers" choose to watch the drift with the "Take" often described as the most exciting part of this style of fishing. Kris however subscribes to the "Watched Pot Never Boils" philosophy which theorizes that trout avoid feeding on flies that are watched intently by the angler. Luck Rules.

Never the less, Kris Scores on a "Hopper" on the Missouri River in Montana !!!

Did you know that grasshoppers are one of the most familiar insect groups in the world and are widely distributed throughout North America. There is an estimated 600 species that have been identified in North America.

Alaska Kenai River - Fatback - Dolly or Bull

The Dolly Varden trout, Salvelinus malma malma, is a subspecies of anadromous fish in the salmon family, and is technically a char. Although many of the fish are anadromous, the fish also exists in landlocked waters.

The Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus),was native to the McCloud River below the Lower Falls to Shasta Lake. This is the only area in which the Bull Trout was native to California although it is widely distributed throughout the interior portions of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and British Columbia. It was our only native char. The name to this trout was orignally the "Dolly Varden". It's name is also a California origination. A publication by Evermann and Bryant in 1919 noted that when this fish was taken by scientists, staying at the Upper Soda Springs Hotel on the McCloud River, the resemblance to a dress material with spots called Dolly Varden, and which was then the rage, led to its being given this name by the lady members of the party, ... "Dolly Varden". The original Dolly Varden is a character in the Charles Dickens's novel "Barnaby Rudge" and was well known as being quite flirtatious wearing her flashy attire and colorful dresses one of which was green with pink polka dots.

The names, Bull Trout and the Dolly Varden, were used interchangeably until 1980 when the Bull Trout was genetically proved to be a separate species. Since that time the "Dolly Varden", which was named on the McCloud River, was actually the Bull trout. The Dolly Varden does exist. But , it is a coastal fish which is distributed just south of the Canadian Border to Seward Alaska and in Asia from the Yali River, Korea to the Anadyr River.

Alaska's Salty Dawg Saloon on the Homer Spit

Kris and I enjoying an Old Inlet Pale Ale from the Homer Brewing Company at the Salty Dawg in Homer, AK.

The Salty Dawg started out as one of the first cabins built in 1897, soon after Homer became a town site. It served as the first post office, a railroad station, a grocery store, and a coal mining office for twenty years. In 1909 a second building was constructed, and it served as a school house, post office, grocery store. And at one time, it housed three adults and eleven children. It was acquired in the late 1940's to be used as an office for Standard Oil Company. In April of 1957, it was opened as the Salty Dawg Saloon. The Alaska Territory became the 49th state of the union in January 1959.

The beer from Homer Brewing Company is served in recycled Sobe bottles, pretty cool huh ?

Denali Glacier Landing

Glacier landing at the Sheldon Amphitheater. the immense scale of the mountains surrounding you.

17% of the park's land is covered with glaciers. The deepest measured glacier is the Ruth Glacier, which is 3805 feet or 1160 meters. The surface ice of the Ruth Glacier moves about 3.1 feet or 0.95 meter per day.

Here is a link to K2 Aviation in Talkeeta http://www.flyk2.com/landings.html

You’re-never-too-old-to-catch-the-fish-of-a-lifetime

From the you’re-never-too-old-to-catch-the-fish-of-a-lifetime department:

Meet Fran Phares, 87, of Mooresville, Mo.

She had fished most of her life without catching anything really memorable — until last year.

When she went down to her pond with her daughter, she really wasn’t expecting much. On her last cast, she threw her crankbait along a bank and immediately felt something strike.

After a tussle, she got the bass to the shallows. But she didn’t have a net. So her daughter waded in, grabbed the fish with a pair of pliers and tossed it onto the bank.

Fran later learned that she had a 6-pound bass, a fish that is being mounted.

“This pond has been around for a while, so I knew it had to have some big fish in it,” she said. “But I never thought I’d get anything http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/story/1688278.htmlthis big.”