Linvilla Orchards Expert Trout Derby

My family enjoys Linvilla Orchards in Media, PA. We go at least once a year, usually to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. Lilly likes looking at & feeding all of the animals (here she is quite a few years ago feeding chickens), and K.C. & I love the baked goods.

At some point in time I must have signed up for an e-newsletter from them, and I this week I received and email for their Trout Derby on March 27th.  Thought I'd pass it along for anyone who might be itching to get in some stocked trout fishing prior to the April 3rd opening day.  I won't be able to make it; I'll be here.

For more information, check out the page on the Linvilla website here:
http://www.linvilla.com/events/expert_fishing_derby.php

And We Want To Pump...You Up!

Popular Science is reporting that mad scientists (my interpretation) at the University of Rhode Island are unfortunately trying to create the Hans & Franz strain of trout.

SWAYZE ALERT!

I suppose scientists have been genetically altering other animals (i.e. cattle, poultry, etc...) for human benefit for quite a long time - isn't there some urban legend about Perdue raising boneless & featherless chickens?  But for some reason I just get sick to my stomach looking at the distorted body of what is usually a beautifully proportioned fish.  If one of these escaped supermarket coolers and made it into my trout stream, I doubt my standard 2-lb test would handle this bruiser (if he could actually swim).

Transgenic Musclebound Trout with Six-Pack Abs Could Arrive Soon on Your Dinner Plate

A 10-year effort has finally created pumped-up fish for commercial aquaculture

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 03.10.2010 at 3:33 pm

Rainbow trout with six-pack abs and burly shoulders have emerged from a University of Rhode Island laboratory, and could someday find their way to humans' dinner tables. That's assuming diners don't panic at the sight of the muscular ichthyoid awaiting their knives and forks.

The bodybuilder stature of the trout comes from turning off myostatin, a protein that normally slows muscle growth. Researchers had known of a natural myostatin mutation that allowed for 20 to 25 percent more muscle growth in Belgian blue cattle, but did not know if the same would apply to the different mechanism of muscle growth in fish.

Terry Bradley, a fisheries and aquaculture expert at the University of Rhode Island, worked with a group of grad students for 500 hours to inject 20,000 rainbow trout eggs with different DNA snippets designed to block myostatin.

About 300 eggs ended up carrying the gene for more muscle growth, and eventually produced fish that mostly have the six-pack ab appearance -- even though the fish don't have standard abdominal muscles. A big dorsal hump adds the appearance of muscular shoulders.

The offspring of these muscular trout also carry the gene in their muscle cells. Bradley's group hopes to see if the fish grow faster, besides having 15 to 25 times more muscle without eating more food.

If the transgenic trout meet FDA approval, they could join the 1,000 trout farms that churn out about $80 million worth of trout each year. Such fish also appear to display normal behavior for now, despite a faint resemblance to the Street Sharks.

The full article (with reader comments) can be found on the Popular Science website:
http://tinyurl.com/freaktrout

Images & Video (below) courtesy of the University of Rhode Island 

Sufix Fishing Line Rebate

Got an email today calling out a solid fishing line rebate from Sufix. More or less the rebate is $6 off 2 spools of either Elite, Siege, Deep Crankin, 100% Fluorocarbon, Performance Fuse, or Performance Braid.

Offer expires September 15, 2010.

You can get the rebate form by visiting the Sufix website, or by clicking HERE.

Lilly's 4th Birthday Party

We had Lilly's 4th birthday party at the house over the weekend.  It was basically a princess party (there was one prince in attendance), so there was a lot of dressing up and pink stuff.  Here's a picture of Lilly's cake, prior to being eaten:

Outside of cake & presents, the main event of the party was that everyone got to build-a-animal of their choice.  K.C. found these kits on Amazon, the kids got to stuff the animal, decorate little t-shirts for them to wear, and name them with birth certificates.  The kids had a ton of fun - especially making a mess with the t-shirt paints.

Then it was time for presents...

and cake...


...and a drink for Dad (ok, it was only a Diet Coke)

In all, I'm pretty sure the birthday girl had a good time.  (Or maybe it was just all that sugar!)  Actually, it was probably both.

New Tenkara Rod: Amago

I love my Iwana tenkara rod from Tenkara USA.  I think I used it more than I did my spinning or conventional fly rod combined since I got it last fall.  There's just something to be said for the simplicity of tenkara fishing - just rod, line, & fly.

My Iwana - Rigged & Ready

Tenkara USA released its latest rod recently, the Amago.  Whereas my Iwana is 11' and probably the lightest tenkara rod, the Amago is the longest at 13.5'.  Similar to the Iwana, it's a 6:4 rod (lightweight), but obviously an extra 2 and a half feet longer.  If streamside canopy is not a concern, the extra length should come in especially handy to reach places you just couldn't effectively with the Iwana.

While I'm not exactly in the market for another tenkara rod yet, when I am, I think the Amago is going to be at the top of my list.

Product Description from Tenkara USA website:

Named after one of Japan's most beautiful mountain stream trout, the Amago is our longest rod at 13ft and 6inches long (410cm). Longer rods provide distinct advantages over shorter rods. We recommend using the longest rod you can for the stream you are fishing. The Amago is sure to become a quick favorite for its versatility and reach.

Based on the request of several tenkara anglers this rod has a matte black finish for reduced light reflection. The handle was meticulously designed to provide good counterbalance to the long rod and for extra comfort on a long day of casting your delicate line and fly . The wider end of the handle serves two purposes: it provides a slightly better counter balance to the rod, and serves as a good grip for using the full length of the rod.

The Amago is a lightweight 6:4 rod. The 6:4 action provides a accurate pin-point casting action. The light weight of the rod, similar to the popular Iwana rods, makes this rod a delight to handle and when catching fish of any size.

New Executive Director of the PFBC

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission named John Arway its new Executive Director earlier this week. 

There's a lot going on in PA right now, especially concerning the various fisheries - a new trout plan, concerns over pollution resulting from Marcellus Shale drilling, several dam removals, and the general health of many rivers such as the Susquehanna - so John will have a very full plate.  His background is in environmental issues, so hopefully the PFBC has reeled in the right guy to tackle these issues. 

Here's the full press release from the PFBC website:

Harrisburg, PA – A 30-year veteran of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has been chosen as the agency’s next executive director. During a special public meeting today, the Board of Commissioners selected John Arway to lead the Commission, one of the oldest and most effective conservation agencies in the nation.

 “John brings a wealth of professional experience and institutional knowledge to the executive director post,” said Commission President Thomas Shetterly. “He is an avid angler, boater and hunter with a passion for the outdoors. He embraces the Resource First management philosophy and understands that only by protecting aquatic resources can we accomplish the other part of our mission, which is to also provide fishing and boating opportunities.”

The 57-year-old Mr. Arway had served as chief of the Environmental Services Division within the Bureau of Fisheries.

“I am grateful to the board for providing me the opportunity to lead the agency where I have devoted most of my professional life,” said Mr. Arway, who becomes the agency’s 10th executive director. “Our agency has a tremendous responsibility to the resource and to the anglers and boaters who enjoy and benefit from the resource. We have a very dedicated staff that I am looking forward to working with on the many challenges ahead of us – including the protection of water quality from future pollution events, the threat of aquatic invasive species, the increasing loss of habitat and the restoration of American shad to the Susquehanna River. I am also looking forward to working with our staff and the anglers and boaters on improving recreational fishing and boating opportunities throughout the Commonwealth.”

Mr. Arway has been the environmental advisor to the executive director and other agency staff for more than 20 years.  In addition to leading the Environmental Services Division, he represents the Commission on numerous committees and boards, including the Director’s alternate on the Environmental Quality Board; the Pennsylvania Biological Survey’s Steering Committee; PA Council of Trout Unlimited’s Environmental Committee and Rivers Conservation Camp and Fly Fishing School’s Board of Directors; Governor’s Pesticide Advisory Board; Governor’s Green Government Council; Coldwater Heritage Partnership Program; and the Susquehanna River Smallmouth Bass Water Quality Workgroup.

A native of North Huntingdon, Mr. Arway holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in biology from Tennessee Technological University. He holds memberships in numerous organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Fisheries Society (currently first Vice President of the Northeast Division); North American Benthological Society; Ducks Unlimited; PA Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs; National Trout Unlimited; and the SONS of Lake Erie.

Happy Birthday Lilly!

 

2006 - Newborn

  

2007 - First Birthday

 

2008 - Second Birthday

 2009 - 3rd Birthday

 2010 - Preschool Picture

 
4 years old today...my little girl is growing up!

"Next Blog"...I'm liking it!

Last November I wrote a post about how Blogger noted that they increased the "intelligence" behind their "Next Blog" functionality (a little link in the upper left hand side of the header of each Blogger blog) to direct you to other blogs that share a similar content theme.  It was kind of a facetious post, because after a few clicks, I was no longer looking at fishing websites, but had diverged into Scrapbooking & Norwegian photography sites.

Well, I will have to say that a few months later, I'm taking back any snarkiness (real or perceived) in that post.  After doing a study of the Google Analytics associated with my blog, I've noticed that a SIGNIFICANT portion of the traffic to my blog is coming as a "Next Blog" referral from someone else's site.  North of 40% worth.

Additionally, a nice side effect (I'm assuming), is that I've also almost tripled my "Followers" in about the same time.  Coincidence?  Perhaps...but then again maybe not.

Now, I don't make money off my blog so attracting a huge number of visitors is not really the goal.  (That being said, you can certainly buy some Troutrageous junk here should you be so inclined)  However, since I do use my blog to network & meet people with similar interests, I can't help but applaud Blogger and give credit where it is due; I think the improvement in the "Next Blog" functionality is great!

The Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow

I took some time and went down to the Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow this afternoon.  It was the first year of this show, although there have been somewhat similar shows in Valley Forge and Fort Washington in years past.

I will say something - the organizers did very good job filling the expo hall with vendors.  The place was packed with representatives of all kinds of stuff - equipment manufacturers & retailers, outfitters, lodges, charters, outdoors clubs...you name it.  There was probably a bit of debate on who the headliner was...Bassmaster champ Kevin VanDam signed autographs on Friday night, but I think the true star was Brody the Bear.

Despite all of the stuff there, there wasn't a whole lot that interested me too much.  A lot of it was hunting (which I don't do), and a lot of the fishing tackle on display or for sale was either bass or saltwater.  There was some lighter freshwater gear, but most of it was "garden variety," in otherwords nothing notable to a gear-head like me.

Two booths I did stop by were Wild Water Fly Fishing (based out of NY) and Kennebec Lure Company (based out of ME).

Wild Water Fly Fishing was offering some pretty inexpensive fly rods that without casting them, at least seemed to be pretty nice quality for the price.  One rod in particular called the Wild Country caught my eye.  It's a short (5'-6") 4-piece 3-weight that I thought might be nice for some of the brushy creeks I fish.  Didn't buy one, but am storing that in the back of my mind perhaps for a later date.

Kennebec Lure Company was really one of the only manufacturers of spoons & spinners that I noticed.  The spinners seemed solid, and looked like they'd catch fish.  Of course, I didn't get any wet, but thought they were nice regardless.  Was talking to a gentleman there (don't recall his name), and he mentioned they also offer free shipping on any web orders over $20, so he wasn't in full in-your-face salesman mode, which was also nice.

My trout club, the Stony Creek Anglers also had a booth there.  We were lucky to be near Brody the Bear, so foot traffic was really brisk for the few hours I hung out in the booth.  Most people that stopped by were already familiar with the club and our annual tournament, but I did help give out some maps and fliers to the folks that weren't.  Heck, I even sold a couple of SCA t-shirts & patches, which if you didn't make it to the show, you can find right HERE.  (Hint Hint)

WOOF!

PCU was on TV over the weekend.  It's a movie that came out just at the time I was about to enter college, perhaps it's because of that it's also one of those movies - much like Gladiator - that I'll stop in my tracks and watch at any time, should I notice it's on while flipping through the channels.  Doesn't matter if it's 10 minutes in, or an hour and 10 minutes in, the remote drops like it's hot.


On a subject that appears unrelated until you get to the photo comparison, I got my weekly MidCurrent email this yesterday, and one of the stories was about genetic hackle.  What is genetic hackle you ask?  Well, I won't bore you with the details - click HERE if you have an interest in learning about selective breeding's role in fly tying - but I couldn't help but thinking this chicken is a lost member of the P-Funk All Stars.

Just the dog in me baby...