Hey, How Much For That Baby Tiger?

The quarantine continues... and so I write... and I'm excited to say there's going to be a little bit of fishing content in today's blog post!

Tuesday, March 24
Yet again, today was a blur when it came to work. Nonstop from 8 to 8. I won't even get into it because I have so many other things to recap... so we move on...

K.C. decided to sneak out today and head to BJs wholesale club to try and find some food as we ate through a lot of our "two week supply" in about a week and a half. While her trip was fairly successful on the food front, she shared this interesting observation regarding personal hygiene supplies when she returned.

"The employees were telling people they were out of toilet paper, and directing them to buy napkins or coffee filters instead and just don't flush them."

Thank you BJs for that sage advice. It was too good not to pass along. And since we're not flushing them, will probably make for a tasty cup of coffee.

One of the foods she acquired, more like a junk food, is this chocolate covered S'mores mix. Let me tell you something, if we come out the other side of Coronamania 2020 a post apocalyptic society, grab as many bags of this stuff a you can now. It is so ridiculously good it will replace all forms of currency. I think this handful is being traded for more than any shares of airline stock right now, although that isn't saying much.

Before I get to some fishing content, can we talk about the elephant in the room for a second? Or should I say tiger? Stop whatever you are doing, log on to Netflix and watch Tiger King. Or at very least the first two episodes. For real... I'm not joking.


Everything about this docuseries is totally mind-blowing... every time you think you have some idea of what's going on... it takes another unforeseeable twist. Come for the chaos, stay for the country music. We started watching this on Tuesday night. It's Academy Award worthy television, and you can't even win one of those for tv shows.

On to a bit of fishing. I received a thank you note from the folks from the Pittsburgh Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing for a donation I made for a raffle. I'm not using this to pimp out the donation, but to call attention to the fact that they raised quite a bit of money at the event which goes to a really awesome cause. If you're not familiar with PHWFF, you should really check it out. Thanks to Nick Cobler (who also happens to be the designer behind the Tenkara Angler logo) for pulling me in, and for Howard's Tavern for hosting the "Tie One On" fundraiser.

Last but not least, on Tuesday evening I acquired a few pieces of folk art from good friend of the blog, Owl Jones. Yes, you remember... that guy. He's not fishing as much these days, but he's still passionately creating art. Unfortunately, he had a few showings cancelled due to recent events, so check out his Facebook page, where you might see something you'd like to add a little cheer to your quarantine headquarters. I can't wait for these technicolor birds to come home to roost in Florida.

Wednesday, March 25
Woke up to see the there's finally a Coronavirus Stimulus Package on the table to be approved by the Senate. It's crazy the numbers being tossed around in it when you read some of the details. I know there's been a lot of haggling over making sure there's not too much "pork" hidden inside the proposal... hopefully there's some positive movement, one way or the other.

For the first time since we started working from home, things slowed down to a manageable pace. I actually had time to catch up on some neglected emails and didn't feel totally frazzled by the end of the day. I really hope this is a turning point, at least for a few more days. The first week or so was really tough.

Today was also an interesting day for some fishing things. First off those Tenkara Rod Co. guys are doing a Kickstarter for a mini Beartooth rod. They've already raised $35,000 in like a day and a half. I'm not the biggest fan of their rods, but they certainly do have this fundraising thing down pat. That much, that quickly in a tough economy? Wow!


Personally, I'd recommend sending your biz to Tenkara USA, or TenkaraBum, DragonTail, or several other vendors first, but I've got to tip my cap to the TRC guys... well done.

I'm also looking forward to watching Rolf Nylinder's new video short. Nobody is really making fly fishing movies quite like him these days. I really enjoy pretty much everything he does, I'm sure you will too.


Finally, happy to report some really speedy delivery from The Rogue Angler. Mentioned in a prior post that I ordered a few things from them the other day. The box arrived today, better than expected. I didn't realize the brook trout book was almost a coffee table sized hardback (and it's autographed)! I've only paged through it so far, but it looks amazing. Can't wait to dig in.

To end the night we binge finished Tiger King. I cannot reiterate how good this is. The "out of left field" craziness from the first few episodes does subside a bit, then it turns into a full on episode of Dateline NBC or something... I had no idea "big cats" were such a cut throat business. I'm sure the fly fishing industry is exactly the same behind the scenes... am I right or what Angling Trade?

Side note, there's a great article on the MeatEater website written by Sam Lungren about the effects on the fishing (& hunting) industry during this virus-induced recession. It's a must read if you're into the business side of the outdoors.

Depending on how Thursday goes, I may write a totally "normal" fishing blog post on Thursday for Friday publication and catch up on quarantine posts following (sort of like today). We'll see...

Until tomorrow!