Bob Barker is at it Again!

Nope, he's not spaying & neutering your pets...his anti-whaling ship is making waves off the coast of Antarctica.

If you're a regular to Troutrageous!, you may recall a post I made in January about a collision at sea between a Japanese whaling vessel and some sort of anti-whaling spaceship looking boat (the best way I can describe it), that resulting in the spaceship getting torn in two and sinking.

Well another ship in Sea Shepherd's fleet, the Bob Barker (named after the game show host who made a big donation), collided with another Japanese whaler.  Click here for full AP article.  Who was at fault is up for debate as fingers are being pointed in both directions - but is clear is that if these guys keep it up at this pace, somebody is going to get hurt, if not worse.

In this photo released by the Institute of Cetacean Research of Japan, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker fires a laser beam at the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru in the waters of Antarctica Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. 

 

In this photo released by Sea Shepherd, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker, left, and Japanese harpoon boat the Yushin Maru 3 collide in the waters off Antarctica Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010

Images & Captions courtesy of Yahoo.

Why February is the Worst Month of the Year

No guys, this post has nothing to do with Valentines Day.

I hate February snow.  It's the worst.  You finish up the holidays, celebrate New Years, and odds are get teased by a couple warmer than usual days in January.  You start thinkin', "hey, the worst of winter's almost over," and inevitably your thoughts turn to warmer weather, opening day of trout season, and other more pleasant things.

All is good until...'BAM!'...Mother Nature turns into a vengeful Emeril Lagasse and raises not one, but two middle fingers in your face and drops 2 feet of snow on your head out of spite.  Seems to happen every year, I'm not sure why I'm still surprised or upset by this Mid-Atlantic fact of life.

Last night into this morning we got our latest installment of "F-U Mike" snow.  K.C. measured the accumulated snow on the table on our deck at 18", but some of the snow drifts I just got finished shoveling were over 3 feet.

Yeah, I know I shouldn't complain...I could live in Syracuse, right?

Feeling Lucky?

My trout club is selling raffle tickets as part of a fundraiser for our upcoming trout tournament, youth programs, & nursery upkeep.

Tickets are cheap, the payout is good, and since I'm the club treasurer  you know I'll get you the dough when you win (which I'm sure you will).  So are you feeling lucky?

Raffle tickets are available online at stonycreekanglers.org

Joined Smallstreams.com

Joined a (new to me) fishing forum last week called smallstreams.com.  It's a very interesting site with all the ingredients I love - tiny water, beautiful trout pics, and of course gear talk.  The site is also moderated closely and has a zero tolerance policy on poor behavior, which is a huge plus.  The unfortunate side-effect of this site - I'm itching for a bamboo fly rod now - shhhh...just don't tell my better half!

So after this, I've taken inventory and noticed that I'm a member of (and participate in various levels) a handful of fishing forums.  My standards are PAanglers.com & WhereIFish.com, but I also drop in on EPFR.net and the Tenkara USA forum regularly.  Now add smallstreams.com to the list and yes, I may need to go cold turkey.

So do me a favor and give me my next fix - go to the comments section and let me know if you belong to any good fishing forums and why you like them.

Dumb Rat

If you read this blog with any regularity, I think you might have noticed my dislike for Punxsuatawney Phil (& his cousin, Gus the Lottery Groundhog).

Anyway, that stupid rat (Phil, not Gus) evidently saw his shadow this morning...meaning 6 more weeks of winter. With all of the hunters in the state of Pennsylvania, how come we haven't taken care of this rodent problem yet?

Made even better with subtitles...

Stony Creek Videos

Thought I'd post a collection of Stony Creek videos I've assembled (for the SCA website) from various online sources.  Not all were shot by me, actually most were not, but regardless they all show the Stony & Kepner Creeks and some of the fishing that goes on there.  I hope to add more videos to this over the next year or so, so if you like what you see, check back often.

Tough Day at Stony

Was hoping to scratch my fishing itch this morning.  Haven't been out since New Year's Day and I decided I needed to go out despite the light drizzle and chilly temps.

When I got to Stony Creek noticed that the water levels were down which would eliminate some of the nice "holes" that appear when the water is about a foot higher.  Saw these guys fishing the "unofficial" fly fishing area.

Stopped and chatted for a bit, neither were having any luck...  I should have took that as advice and ditched the Tenkara fly rod and grabbed my spinning tackle, (when the going is tough, why add the degree of difficulty?) but I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment.

All along Stony, fishing was slow.  Had a few follows, but absolutely no takers.  Talked to a few more anglers during my stroll further along the trails and nobody was doing better than I.  In fact had a nice little conversation with a guy who had traveled from Jersey to fish Stony this AM.  It was his first time so I pointed him toward some of the better holes, but I felt bad for the guy...I think he left out of disappointment shortly following our conversation. (He did take interest in my telescoping Tenkara rod though, think he was having issues maneuvering his 8 foot fly rod through the brush.

Decided to hike along Kepner Creek for a bit in a stretch I'm really not all that familiar with.  Came across these nice little step down pools and decided to fish them for a bit.

Nothing in the first pool, but my first cast into the second pool saw a brookie rise from the depths and go for my Wooly Bugger!

Unfortunately (as would be my luck today), I wasn't able to get a firm hookset and he kicked my hook.  Sure, it was a barbless hook, but I still chalk this one up to user error.  I've got an ok feel for a hookset on my Tenkara Iwana rod, but I'm admittedly not a pro yet.  Tried a couple more casts, but couldn't get him or any of his buddies to commit again.  They were wise to my game.  Here's a shot of the pool that little bastard of a trout calls home.

By this time it was getting late and I told K.C. I'd get home around lunch time to help her with Lilly (and some household chores).  Although it was nice to get out, it would have been a lot more satisfying if I could have brought that brookie to hand.  Instead, he swam off and all I grabbed were some pics of the scenery.

The Video Orvis Didn't Want You To See!

Who needs $700 fly rods and fancy $300 waders?

Sonny Bono (sans pants) & Billy Mays (khaki shorts) are evidently alive and well catching trout in some unknown backwater with their bare hands.

Or perhaps this is simply a glimpse into Heaven?

One Big Kitty?

I received a forwarded email from one of my friends today.  This was a real friend, not a prince of a remote African country looking to bestow a small fortune upon me if I was to kindly forward him some advance funds by wire.  The pictures are almost as unbelievable as the story, literally.  See below:

-----Original Message-----

From: Fishy Friend

To:  Troutrageous!

Sent: Mon, Jan 18, 2010 3:42pm

Subject: FW: Just a Catfish!

For all those crazy guys who go 'noodling' for catfish and stick their arms down the fish's throat!! This would be 'all the catfish you can eat'.

Each year, a few people were drowning or disappearing mysteriously in Huadu's Furong Reservoir. It was not until recently, when the son of a government official went swimming, in the reservoir and was drowned, that the secret was revealed.

It is a 3 meter long man-eating catfish whose head alone is 1 meter wide!

After cutting up the catfish, people were surprised to find the remains of another man inside!

Swimming in the reservoir is now forbidden because it is feared another similar man-eating catfish is still lurking in the waters.

 

So what's the real deal with these pics?

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fish/ss/furong_catfish_8.htm

Ahhh....the Pennsylvania Farm Show

I'll admit it, I haven't been to the Pennsylvania Farm Show since I was in 8th grade as part of a school trip - which was almost 20 years ago. Time flies when you're having fun I guess...

No, I'm not going this year either (it's ends this weekend), but something about squaredancing tractors is sort of amusing to a city boy like myself.


What am I getting at? Well besides the large population of livestock and Amish folks, the one thing I fondly recall from the PA Farm Show was the food court! We're not just talking fresh fruits & vegetables (yeah, there's a lot of that healthy stuff), but there's also obnoxiously gluttonous delights like BBQ, pies, milkshakes, apple dumplings, and gigantic sticky buns!  I think I took care of a month's worth of caloric intake that day on sweets alone.

There's also a unique concoction called Trout Chowder. While I've never had it, after looking at the recipe it looks like it could be tasty.  The only ingredient I'm skeptical on is the ketchup.  I'm half-Italian, so ketchup in/on anything but a burger & fries seems like some sort of sin.  But then again, everything is better with bacon!

Deluxe Trout Chowder
1 pound trout fillets fresh or frozen
1/4 cup chopped bacon or salt pork
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups boiling water
1 can (1 pound) tomatoes
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
chopped parsley

Remove skin and bones from fresh or thawed frozen fish. Cut fish into 1 inch pieces. Fry bacon or salt pork in a 3 quart saucepan until crisp. Add onion and cook until tender. Add water, vegetables, ketchup, and seasonings except parsley. Cover and simmer 40 to 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add fish, cover and simmer about 10 minutes longer, or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork. Garnish with parsley. Serves 6

Recipe courtesy of Pennsylvania Aquaculture Association & PennLive.com