“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”


John Muir

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I think there is going to be one hell of a fish fry in Milford, New Hampshire

Pictured here are some random dead trout

Vandals caused death of 15,000 trout


Vandals who broke into the Milford Fish Hatchery Saturday shut off a water pump that resulted in the death of about 15,000 rainbow trout.
The trout were to be used to stock Monadnock region streams, rivers, lakes and ponds this spring for anglers to enjoy, the New Hampshire Fish and Game said Wednesday.
Fish and Game and Milford police are conducting a joint investigation into the incident.
They said vandals broke into the a water pumping station off North River Road in Milford about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.









"The pump station is located in a popular recreational area, so we are hopeful that anyone who has any information regarding this incident will come forward," Fish and Game conservation officer Lt. Craig Morrocco said in a statement.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Fish and Game at 271-3361 or Milford police at 249-0630.
Link 


Just a thought too bad this didn't happen during Lent.

What is the difference between a Lure (Luuuure) and a Fly ?

What is the difference between a Lure (Luuuure) and a Fly ?
Somehow I stumbled upon this video and this guy just managed to piss a bunch of people off.  In the process a discussion ensued regarding exactly what the difference is between a Lure and a Fly ?


According to the commenters: An artificial fly must have Some natural materials, if not, it`s an artificial LURE!!!


Because


#1, The steel in the hook is artificial, doesn't occur in nature, man MAKES it from iron and carbon!
#2 In fact ALL FLIES are classified as lures by the IRS for Federal Excise Tax purposes,
#3 As well as the US Commerce Department for Import Duties!



Sunday, December 19, 2010

River Otters in Missouri

 Last trip in November we spotted two River Otters on the North Fork of the White. Then just this weekend came across a trapper trapping them.

Did a little research and came across the following.

In the early 1980s with overwhelming citizen support, the decision was made to restore otter populations to all major streams in the state. Between 1982 and 1992, 845 otters were released in 35 streams with suitable habitat. From these releases, otters increased their distribution and abundance beyond the highest expectations. By 1996, the otter population had increased sufficiently to support the first trapping season. By 2001, populations throughout the state were estimated to be between 11,000 and 18,000.


The attached article actually discusses methods for setting traps and scoouting areas for trapping Otters.  A bit disturbing for me. I'll let each of you decide.


The trapper did mention that Otters favor trout.







During an 11-year program, MDC released 845 otters, setting them free in 43 streams in 35 counties. MDC traded some of our wild turkeys for wild-caught Cajun otters—the same subspecies that once existed here. The otters not only survived, they flourished. Otters now exist in every county in the state and in most watersheds, even those miles from the original release sites. And, they made their way into places no one believed they could, and where they were really not wanted.





Sunday, December 12, 2010

Wow how technology has improved fly fishing/tying !


Saw this vice on E bay... Had similar when I started tying... All in all we have it pretty good compared to how it used to be done.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

PETA's anti-fishing campaign in Tasmania

From Fishing World magazine in Australia  - Link

PETA's latest campaign targeting fishermen - comes news the campaign has been refused billboard space in a Tasmanian airport.  


In the lead-up to this weekend's opening of the National Fly Fishing Tournament, an airport advertising company has denied PETA space for placement of its anti-fishing ad at Launceston Airport. PETA's billboard shows a fisherman with fishing rod extended from his lower midsection, and caption: "Are You Overcompensating for Something?"
According to PETA spokesman and "former angler" Jason Baker, "The point of our billboard is to knock anglers down to size for going after the littler guys."

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Car Stickers









I think this should read "Would God rather you be in church daydreaming about fishing or out fishing thinking about God ?"



Wait What ? ..........Can Somebody Loan Me $22,000. I Need a Hatch Fly Reel (or two) (or 8) !

Don't believe me follow this link.... to Leland Outfitters.

Link to Leland

Honey ...... just listen ....well they are a limited edition... and it is a set of 8.


A gift of a lifetime for that special fisherman that truly “has everything”.


That comes out to just $2,750 per reel. 


On a separate note it would cost you approximately $650 to put fly line and backing on this many reels. Someone please alert Rio and Scientific Anglers to increase production of their fly line to meet future demand that this will be driving.

Safety First - Don't Look If Your Skwimish

Safety First 



Saturday, December 4, 2010

Sign Spotted In Mountain Grove On One Of Last Years Trips


Sign Spotted On One Of Last Years Trips


Sarcasm (sär'kăz'É™m)




  • A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.





  • A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.





  • The use of sarcasm. See synonyms.
  • Too Cold To Fish ?



    You can always play cards.




    How about Go "Fly" Fish ?

    Interesting Pattern ... $4 a whack


    On E-bay now .....  $4 a whack .......  link listed below



    Up for bid are 6 Flies "Crayfish Crawdad".  These flies are tied by disabled U.S. Veterans & local tyers located in Washinton State.  I tie these flies on sizes 4, 6, 8 or 10.    All of our flies are a piece of art! This fly tied in dark brown. If you are needing a different color please message me prior to purchasing.  Custom flies that are not in stock will be custom tied and shipped when order has been completed. Completion of the order depends on the complexity of the fly and amount ordered. Most flies take 5-10 business days for completion. 

    Got a spare $4,595..... burning a hole in your pocket

    It might look scary (like a body bag that was too short for the victim) but this tinfoil-like sleeping bag has a lot going on that you might want to try. It's part of the Oxygen Detox System from 02 Planet, which claims to relax you, increase energy, and slow the signs of aging by detoxing and oxygenating your body. The system provides a steam sauna, water jets for massage, oxygen misting therapy, and this infrared sauna blanket. Gotta have the incredible O2 Planet Oxygen Detox System? Lucky you, it's on sale right now for just $4,595.

    Perhaps the Best Sleeping Bag Made - Could Save Your Life ? Maybe Not.




    Note to self..................... call Big Agnes, Marmot, Mountain Hardware and Western Mountaineering with this idea !

    Friday, December 3, 2010

    Brains 25 cents


    A fried-brain sandwich is generally a sandwich with sliced calves' brains on sliced bread. Thinly sliced fried slabs on white toast became a ubiquitous menu item in St. Louis, Missouri, after the rise of the city's stockyards in the late 1880s, although demand there has so dwindled that only a handful of restaurants still offer them. But they remain popular in the Ohio River valley, where they are served heavily battered on hamburger buns. In Evansville, Indiana, they are still offered at a couple of "mom and pop" eateries, specifically the Hilltop Inn, and remain a favorite culinary treat featured at the city's annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival.
    Increased incidents of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as mad cow disease, since the late 20th century will likely further diminish the remaining appeal of this curious regional dish. Brains from cows over 30 months old at slaughter are no longer permitted in human food in the United States (Hefling, 2004). Some restaurants have taken to serving pigs' brains instead of cow brains due to BSE concerns. But as pigs' brains are substantially smaller than cows' brains, the amount of preparation required for each sandwich increases. Each brain must be cleaned before being sliced and pigs' brains produce fewer slices.

    More than most ! More than most ! More than most !

    Trout Joke


    A young man and an old man were fly fishing on a beautiful trout stream. The young man started telling the old one that the night before he caught a trout that was over 6 1/2 ilbs. The old man replied "Oh yea, well I was here 2 nights ago and I hooked something huge. After a 30 minute fight I finaly got it up and it was an old lantern and the thing was still lit !" The young man said "Your lying. I can't believe that." Then the old man said "I'll tell you what, you knock a couple of pounds off your trout and I'll blow out my lantern."

    Thursday, December 2, 2010

    North Fork of The White River November 2010


    North Fork of the White River from R. Riedy on Vimeo.

    Frozen Dead Guy Days.....Wait What !


    There is a good story behind this, one that stretches from
    Norway to California to Colorado, involving cryonics, deportation, psychics, celebrations, and a dedicated Ice Man. It’s a tale that has captured international attention and sparked a must-attend annual event called Frozen Dead Guy Days.
    So how did all of this begin… and more importantly (particularly for Grandpa Bredo), how long will it last?

    Life After Death
    Before Grandpa Bredo Morstoel died from a heart condition in 1989, he enjoyed a comfortable life in Norway, where he was born and raised. He loved painting, fishing, skiing, and hiking in the mountains of his homeland. He was also the director of parks and recreation in Norway’s Baerum County for more than 30 years.
    After he died, things got really interesting. Instead of a burial, he was packed in dry ice and
    prepared for international travel. First, he was shipped to the Trans Time cryonics facility in
    Oakland, California, where he was placed in liquid nitrogen for almost four years. Then, he was
    moved to Colorado in 1993 to stay with his daughter Aud Morstoel and his grandson Trygve
    Bauge, both strong advocates for cryonics who hoped to start a facility of their own.
    There he stayed for years under cold cover, in a shed, near his grandson’s home, and about to be
    left on his own due to some pesky visa issues.

    The Grandfather Clause
    If you peruse the laws of Nederland, you’ll discover that it’s illegal to store a frozen human or
    animal (or any body part thereof) in your home. We have Grandpa Bredo to thank for this. When
    grandson Trygve was deported in the mid-90s because of an expired visa, Bredo’s daughter
    stepped in to take care of the household – including keeping her father on ice.
    Soon, Aud was evicted for living in a house with no electricity or plumbing and was about to
    head back to Norway. This meant that the family’s fledgling cryonics facility was destined to
    come to a halt. Worried that her father would thaw out before his time, she spoke to a local
    reporter, who spoke to the Nederland city council, who passed Section 7-34 of the municipal
    code regarding the "keeping of bodies."
    Luckily for Bredo, he was grandfathered in and allowed to stay. Suddenly, he was a worldwide
    media sensation. And he has been well cared for by his family and community ever since.

    It’s a Dead Man’s Party
    For a town like Nederland that thrives on the colorful, the offbeat, and the weird, Frozen Dead
    Guy Days is a fitting way to end the short days of winter and head into the melting snows of
    spring. Trygve Bauge calls it “Cryonics’ first Mardi Gras.”
    The community experiences a new burst of life with the festival’s creative contests, icy events
    (including coffin racing, polar plunging, frozen salmon tossing) basically if it is fun and can be
    done in the cold, it goes! People come from around the world every March to experience the
    legacy of Grandpa Bredo – even representatives of cryonics organizations who want share the
    science behind this unique story.
    Nowadays, when Grandpa Bredo celebrates, he doesn’t celebrate alone. Every year, loyal souls
    go to the Tuff Shed on the hill to have a drink with Colorado’s best-known corpse, marking the
    passage of years.

    Link

    One For Our Deer Hunting Friends



    Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin were going hunting in south Texas. It was a spur of the moment thing; Mickey and Billy were talking about it, they threw some gear in the truck and just went. Mickey said he knew a guy who’d let them hunt on his land — no problem.

    So they drove all night and pulled up in front of this farmhouse just after dawn. Mickey told Billy to wait in the truck, he’d just be a minute, just wanted to let the old guy know they were there.

    Mickey walks up to the door, raps on it and walks in. He finds his old friend in the kitchen, coffee on.

    “Me and Billy just drove down from Dallas, thought we might do a little hunting,” Mickey says.

    “Well, you know that’s OK with me, Mickey,” the old guy responds, “But before you go, I’d like to ask a favor of you — a pretty big favor.”

    “Why sure,” the Mick says. “What is it?”

    “Well you see, Mickey, I got me this old horse. He’s been a good horse, but he’s getting old and he’s in a lot of pain. And I just can’t bring myself to — what I’m trying to say, is Mickey would you shoot my horse?”

    Mickey is, of course, reluctant to shoot the farmer’s horse. But after a few minutes of discussion, he decided he’ll do it for the old guy. And, as he’s walking to the door he’s decided something else as well.

    As he walks out the door, he starts swearing and stomping. He yanks open the truck door and grabs his rifle. Billy looks at the distressed Mantle and asks “what’s wrong?”

    “The old so-and-so says we can’t hunt on his land,” Mickey fumes, “and I’m going to teach him a lesson — I’m going to shoot his horse.”

    Mickey starts toward the barn, gun in hand, as Billy tries to hold him back. But he can’t hold him back. He goes into the barn as Billy cringes outside.

    Boom.

    Mickey smiles to himself, knowing that he’s really worked Billy over good. He waits a minute. Then he hears Billy running back to the truck.

    And then, from outside the barn. Boom. Boom. Boom.

    Mickey runs out. “Billy, what you doing!”

    “I think I got a couple of the old SOB's cows, Mick!”

    Quotes of the day.

    “Don't tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish.”

                                                     Mark Twain

    “Luck affects everything. Let your hook always be cast; in the stream where you least expect it there will be a fish.”

                                                      Ovid

    “It has always been my private conviction that any man who puts his intelligence up against a fish and loses had it coming.”

                                                      John Steinbeck

    Hey ! I'm trying to fish here !!!

    Wednesday, December 1, 2010

    Wait, What ?

    I like Motorcycles and fly reels but this does a disservice to both IMHO.

    Best comment........ What fly did the biker take ?


    The Art of Ray Troll



    Here is a link to the wonderful art of Ray Troll

    Ray moved to Alaska in 1983 to spend a summer helping his big sister Kate start a seafood retail store. The fish store is long gone but Ray is not. There's something about Alaska that has led four of the Troll siblings to call the state ‘home’.

    Ray earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in 1977 and an MFA in studio arts from Washington State University in 1981. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the University of Alaska Southeast. In 2007 he was given a gold medal for ‘distinction in the natural history arts’ by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and in 2006 was given the Alaska Governor’s award for the arts.

    link

    Ladies and Gentleman "The Cleverlys"

    The Cleverly's from The Cleverlys on Vimeo.





    The Cleverly Trio
    Our family comes from the remote part of the Ozark Mountains, near Cane Spur, Arkansas. We spent our days working on the family farm mostly raising our own food and growing dad’s famous pipe tobacco. I guess he grew the best pipe tobacco around. People came from as far as Big Flat to get it. We worked hard but we had fun. In the evening we played and sang. On weekends we had pickens’. There was always a big crowd around. The Cleverly Trio is our family band. It was founded by dad and his three brothers, Turk, Tink and Bunyon. The whole family at one time or another has played in the band. Since 2005 my brother Digger has taken over the band. The current members of the trio are Digger, our brothers Miles and Vernon Dean, my boy Harvey D and our cousin Otto.


    http://thecleverlys.com/


    They are here !!!



    Mountain lion verified in Platte County

    This was the 11th verified sighting of a mountain lion in Missouri since 1994.

    A mountain lion was caught on camera Friday in southern Platte County, the Missouri Department of Conservation said Tuesday.

    This is only the 11th time that Missouri officials have verified a mountain lion sighting since 1994, though the department receives several reports in a normal year. A scientist with the Mountain Lion Response Team found claw marks and hair samples Tuesday in the tree where the mountain lion was spotted.

    The hair will undergo DNA testing to see where the animal originated.

    Mountain lions are a protected species in Missouri, though officials say there is no “self-sustaining, reproducing population” in the state. The few that were spotted in Missouri are thought to have been traveling through to other states.

    Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/30/2487861/mountain-lion-photographed-in.html#ixzz16uSIkv4P



    The following instances have been confirmed by the MDC Mountain Lion Response Team. However, the origin of theses animals (i.e. escaped/released captive or pioneer from other state) is unknown.

    2003 —August, Callaway County: An approximately 1-year-old male road kill. There were no obvious signs that it was formerly a captive animal. DNA analysis revealed its origin to be North America.

    2002 —October, Clay County: A 2- to 3-year-old male road kill. DNA analysis revealed its origin to be North America.

    2001 —December, Pulaski County: A photograph was taken by a motion-detecting game camera. After a lengthy evaluation, it was determined that it is likely a small, sub-adult mountain lion.

    2000 —December, Lewis County: A video was taken by a deer hunter from a tree stand.

    1999 —January, Texas County: An adult-sized lion was treed by a rabbit hunter’s dogs. Tracks in the snow (photos taken) and two deer carcasses characteristic of lion kills were found nearby.

    1997 —January, Christian County: A video was taken by a property owner. The animal’s behavior implied it had once been held in captivity.

    1996 —November, Reynolds County: A video was taken by a conservation agent of a mountain lion with a deer carcass.

    1994—December, Carter County: A small adult female was treed and shot by two raccoon hunters near Peck Ranch CA. The carcass was never recovered, but a photo was obtained of the animal on a truck tailgate. Each hunter was fined $2,000.

    In Nov. 1998, a deer hunter found the skinned pelt of a small adult, a female with head and feet attached, near a remote Texas County road. Evidence suggests this is the same animal killed in Carter county.