The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere - 09.27.2024
Ramblings & Readings, Creativity & Conservation, Happenings & Hope
My Fishy Friends,
Fall is officially here, so I guess I’ll go fishing. What better reason than a changing season? We’re headed up in elevation as well, and this will be the first time in a while that I’ve had to pack a handful of layers and be thoughtful about it all. I love that invincible feeling you get when you’re bundled well and then put the waders on over it all. It lasts as long as your waders don’t leak.
Cheers,
Jesse
I’m A Believer
I don’t recall when or where or from whom I picked up an amateur interest in cryptozoology but such creatures (or, stories thereof) have seemed to find their way to me over the years, especially in the wild, unpopulated areas that I’ve fished. It’s one thing to hear a story that someone heard from someone else, but when the story is directly from the person who experienced it, that’s different. Such is the case with Caddis Fly Shop owner Chris Daughters and this internet-famous video of his Bigfoot encounter on the upper McKenzie River back in 2008. The action starts at 1:39. For more, listen to this podcast interview with Chris about the day.
The Art of DeYoung
The rise in modern, abstract fly fishing art that celebrates the beautiful colorations of fish can be attributed, at least in part, to artist and angler Derek DeYoung. I had the chance to fish with Derek on the Yellowstone some years ago and witnessed first hand his curiosity with the natural world. He wanted to know what fish lurked in the deepest pools we floated over, and he scoured gravel bars for the biggest agates. Derek and his partner Janell are now in the process of opening a gallery in Livingston and I can’t wait to see it. In the meantime, I’ll keep browsing his website and keep being impressed by the breadth and creativity of his work. He always has something new to admire; something I certainly wouldn’t have ever have thought of myself.
Snake Week
This week is Trout Unlimited’s Snake Week, an annual campaign to raise awareness about declining salmon and steelhead populations on the Snake River and its tributaries as a result of the river’s lower four dams, among other reasons. As TU puts it, “Overwhelmingly, the evidence has led us to conclude that removal of the four lower Snake River dams is the single most important step we can take to recover abundant, fishable and harvestable Snake River salmon and steelhead.” Click here to read more about the lower Snake River, the four dams in question, and find a link to send a note to Congress.
In Tribute
Last month, Pacific Northwest steelheading legend Lani Waller passed. Lani’s contributions to the sport of fly fishing for anadromous fish are many, though he is perhaps best known for his instructional videos, first released in the late-80’s, and now available on the Scientific Anglers YouTube page. I recommend watching his first, “Fly Fishing for Pacific Steelhead” and if you want to jump ahead, fast forward to 18:20. Both Swing the Fly and the American Fly Fishing Museum published tributes to Lani that are worth reading, but to go deep, check out Lani’s book A Steelheader’s Way, with photos by Kenny Morrish. In it is prose that leaves you inspired and smiling, such as:
If I jump around a bit when I write, it's because none of this really happens in a straight line. Time changes places in the mind as you contemplate, describe, or go fishing, because our hopes emerge, in part, from a desire to relive past events. The present thus becomes both the past and the future simultaneously, and as long-time angling companion John Ferguson said, "We are always in the middle of it, aren't we?"
Recycled & Functional
It’s an interesting question, what to do with a well-used fly line, because it feels wrong to throw out a hundred feet of anything, really. But, this is real cool: recycled fly line accessories from Fly Vines. Not only does Fly Vines take unwanted fly lines off your hands, but they turn them into practical, attractive, and wearable accessories. I’ve been using their Original Lanyard for over a decade now and it’s more functional than one might think, carrying up to four additional fishing accessories: my Tie-Fast nippers, my Headhunters amadou patch for drying flies, a pair of mitten clamp forceps, and I can also thread the lanyard through several spools of tippet. Add to that a fly box in a pocket and I’m gone!
The Top Five
Fishing is the most wonderful thing I do in my life, barring some equally delightful unmentionables, and not disregarding gluttony and booze. It’s in the top five.
~ Jim Harrison
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