The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 07.19.2024
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
A couple things that I love about all these books, essays, stories, songs, and videos that I’ve been sharing is that they don’t have expiration dates and their significance changes over time. ‘New’ is subjective and one line can mean nothing to me one day and then everything a year later. Not unlike the rivers we step into year after year.
Cheers,
Jesse
“On the Clock”
A chronicling of a half-day on the water, fishing for steelhead, by myself, and in my own thoughts.
The thoughts aren’t that deep, but I was definitely deep in them.
A Read
Much has been said about Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler. I’ve heard it referred to as the first published book on fly fishing though this appears to be incorrect. Nevertheless, for whatever reasons, it does seem to get more references than its predecessors, namely A Treatise of Fysshynge with An Angle. I’ve owned a copy for longer than I can remember and I’ve also started it more times than I can remember but I will now admit that I haven’t ever finished it. Evidently I’ve never been in the right head space to make it through. But this older essay by John Knight in the Paris Review has me digging through the unpacked book boxes in search of my copy. Knight’s take on the book (and fly fishing in general) is a unique one and of the many lines that struck home for me is this: “Rarely do we have the excuse to sidestep the human perspective and become something else in a place where the only currency is camouflage and politics are straightforward.”
An Item
When it comes to rigged-rod storage, there are a few options out there but lately I’ve settled on these: Nite Ize Gear Ties. I recommend the 6-inch versions and my strategy is this: I’ll hook my fly on any guide on the top half of the rod then reel in the slack; then I’ll separate the rod in half and fold it over so the tip top is now next to the reel seat; put a reel case over the reel, reel seat, and tip top; then use the Gear Tie to wrap around the two rod sections somewhere above. Very easy and very efficient to get on and off the water. So there you have it!
A Film
If you’ve ever taken a multi-day river trip, you know that human waste management is serious business and there’s no way around it - you just have to pack it out. Nowadays there are some great options for doing so and there are also some great articles on the history of these devices, affectionately known as ‘groovers’. But on a few rivers, even on remote stretches, there are permanent toilets which help with the job of proper waste disposal. The Deschutes is one of these and Oregon Public Broadcasting made a lovely mini-documentary on the gentleman who maintains these facilities, who’s affectionately known as ‘Two-Ply.’ Give it a watch and if it inspires you to do some more ‘research’, consider reading Up Shit Creek: A Collection of Horrifyingly True Wilderness Toilet Misadventures, a book that was recommended to me by the author himself! Fair warning on that one - it’s not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
An Issue
There is a concerning and delicate situation in eastern Canada, especially on the Miramichi, in regards to the balance of Atlantic salmon and striped bass populations. This article has some background information as does this blog post from Brad Burns. In response, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) just released a draft national strategy to “Maintain, Restore, Thrive” Atlantic salmon in the country and they are now taking public comments on the draft.
A Thought
A Great Lakes traveler in the early 1800s timed the voyageurs with whom eh rode during a shore break. They landed their canoe, climbed out, unloaded its cargo, kindled a fire, melted spruce pitch, repaired a tear in the overturned birch-bark hull, reloaded the canoe, cooked breakfast, shaved, washed, climbed back in the canoe, and paddled off, in fifty-seven minutes.
~ Peter Stark, on the ‘voyageurs’ headed west, in Astoria
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