Wednesday Nibbles - The Shirtless Shark Bite Edition

Hey, look, it's Wednesday.  "Hump Day" to some, a phrase that even today still makes me chuckle like a 3rd grader.  ....he said Hump Day...   Anyway, thought I'd toss out some pre-packaged pop culture and hermetically sealed fishing randomness today, you know, to help move Wednesday along a bit.

Let's start with a bit of fishing...well sort of...yeah, we still talk about that here...sometimes...

Did you happen to see the new "flash sale" site called Wide Open Spaces that opened for business last week?  It's similar to Groupon or Woot in that it offers deeply discounted products for a short period of time, like a day or two.  It's not just fishing, it's hunting and general outdoors, so the opportunity to find a deal you might like is pretty good.

It's interesting to see how these outdoor deal sites are spreading like wildfire...Deals on the Fly, The Clymb, TightLinz, just to name a few.  (Yes, a few of those are referral links, I'm not ashamed).  I've personally bought a handful of Simms products from DOTF and some Redington gear from The Clymb, so as far as I'm concerned, competition is a good thing and means more deals for us.

Okay, changing gears, I really wanted this shark video to be funnier than it is, but still...I give credit to fake Che Guevara for not spilling his beer mid attack...or totally punting that fish 35 yards following...  

Moving on...ever notice how each time of those online fly fishing magazines drops a new issue, seemingly every fishing blogger out there drops a post (and/or a tweet or Facebook link) announcing its presence?  Talk about inexpensive marketing.  Those Catch Magazine guys have it made (until they start charging for issues of course), because once their latest goes live a legion of Paul Reveres instantly mobilize...  

Anyway, while I never quite understood that phenomenon, I did kinda enjoy the article/interview with bamboo rod builder Jared Makowski in this month's This is Fly and thought I'd highlight it here...makes me wonder if an interview with a snowbound Erin Block is far behind?

This.is.fly...

How'd you all spend your Super Bowl Sunday?  Heck, even if you don't care for football, I hope you used the occasion to totally dominate via a HUGE caloric intake.  Pizza, nachos, wings, whatever...Super Bowl Sunday may even top Thanksgiving in terms of an excuse to eat....and eat...and eat...

Here in Philadelphia, we have an event the Friday prior to the Super Bowl called the Wing Bowl where contestants (complete with a harem of Wingettes) battle in a massive chicken wing eating competition.  It's so big it's held in the Wells Fargo Center (the same place the 76ers and Flyers play), and just celebrated its 20th year.

The winner? Takeru Kobayashi of Nathan's Hot Dog eating fame.  He downed a record 337 wings in his first year in the contest, demolishing the old record of 255.  Quite impressive.  I'd tap out at about 50.  Maybe 60.

To close, time for some blog love.  This week's version of blog love comes from Connecticut, and goes to a blog that I don't even think is in my blogroll (I can't keep track anymore), The Weary Angler.

I enjoy Steve's blog because while it's well written, it's also done with a touch of a conversational flair...you know, writing in the same fashion you might talk...kinda like how I write....save the excessive use of periods...not that I talk with periods...but I do write with them...  Go check it out, I think you'll dig it.  A little bit of everything.  I did notice a few familiar faces in the Google Members widget thingy, but I think we can add more this week...right?  Thanks in advance.

Weekends Past & Future

I didn't go fishing last weekend, but intend to change that this upcoming weekend.

See, a lot of things contributed to the weekend off.  

1)  I'm nursing a bum leg, don't know how I hurt it, but it actually started to swell and hurt so bad for no apparent reason that I got a little concerned.  (It's a story for another time but I was hospitalized with a blood clot in my lung about a month before Lilly was born - K.C. loved that.)  Anyway, I went and got an ultrasound on it on Thursday.  Don't worry, it wasn't pregnant, just muscular.

If amputation required a prosthetic, I'd so be rockin' this look.

2)  I received an extortion letter from "FishPorn Quarterly" on Thursday.  Actually since I don't care much for cats, this was no biggie, but worth mentioning.

Oh well...

3)  We added a mutt to the family on Saturday.  Actually a pug/chihuahua mix named Pugsley.  We rescued him from Peaceable Kingdom in Allentown and he's really fitting in well.  He's playful in spurts, but also likes to sleep a lot.  Much like me.  At least the money we dumped at PETCO on a bunch of doggie goodies and new bed was well spent.

Deservedly spoiled already

4)  I work in sports.  While yesterday was the Puppy Bowl, it was also the Super Bowl, so I was working (in standby mode all day) through the late evening.  Go buy a t-shirt & hat.  Cool?  

So with all that said, I not only should, but deserve to go fishing next weekend.  Yeah, I could do the safe thing and go over to Valley, but I'd prefer to fish somewhere besides there for a change.  Somewhere relatively new, but within a 2 hour driving radius might be nice.

I live where that little "A" is on the map.  Not actually inside the little "A", but that's the ballpark.

I'm open to suggestions....

So Let's Check The List...

Last Sunday I had a checklist for myself.  Some of it actually involved fishing.  I wrote about its construction HERE.  For what it's worth, I like lists.  I like marshmallows more, but I do like lists.  Curious how it went?  No?  Well tough, I'm going to show you anyway...

• Wake up

(No picture, but it happened, I swear)

• 2 for $3 Wawa Sizzli

Breakfast of Champions, Begin the caloric tally now...

• Wader Up

Hippers

• Fish

Water was way too high

• Lose Some Flies

(I lost more than a few)

• Catch Something (Maybe)

Troot

• Waders Off

Drop the drawers

• Lunch

Yeah, 3,500 calories and counting...

• Watch Eagles Game / (NASCAR Race on Prev. Channel)

0 to 0, when things were hopeful

Kurt Busch, led lap 9.  Also led lap 400

• Dinner

Caloric count - Just north of 5,000

• Tickets for Cliff Lee

Top of the 4th.  Things were looking good

After the 6th, Lilly was none too impressed

• Late Night Traffic Exiting CBP

Bonus points for tapping the bumpers of Lexii

• Bed

(Like waking up, it happened, I swear)


Crossed 'em all off.
Heavyweight. Champion. Of. The. World.
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Past Our Bedtime

That's not a pile of blankets on my lap.  That's the kid, 8th inning, Phillies/Cardinals game last night.  Not even an entire box of popcorn could sustain this 5 year old 6 hours past her bedtime. Damn you Cliff Lee.

Wednesday Nibbles - Live TV Edition

Hey all, Wednesday Nibbles time again.  No particular theme this week, gonna keep it random, as it should be.

Cool fishing gear find by Cam @ TFM courtesy of his Facebook feed...nobody digs this stuff up better.

Do You Vedavoo?

Vedavoo started as a rock climbing company, but has recently branched out and is now making fly fishing bags & packs.  Even better is that said packs also happen to be made in the U.S.A.

The Tightlines shoulder pack & chest pack are both definitely my style.   I am a purse bag junkie after all.  Check out their website HERE or their Facebook page HERE.

On to other events...Senor Clif alerted me to this masterpiece of TV news.



Reminds me of one of my all time faves, which I also happened to witness on live TV a few years back.  Claudia Rivero...yum.



Here's some randomness from Tuesday night's Twitter #fishchat...

Clearly the marketing potential of the Troutrageous! brand knows no limit...

T! Spotting

Anyone like NASCAR?  No...um...okay...how about potty mouths...0:04 seconds in...  Much like the TV reporters above, live TV mishaps never get old.



Did a little bit of blogroll adding and subtracting this week (mostly adding). So to end, I'll give the blog love to one of Howard's protégées (scary right), Justin from Fish Tales and Fish Tails.

This little dude's got an awesome blog for being a midget...I mean when I was his age I know I wasn't catching fish like this.  Heck, I wasn't catching fish at all, I think I was trying to catch a grade-school honey by pairing a whiteboy box top fade with a fly pair of Z. Cavaricci's, (with tight-rolled cuffs of course).  But I digress...  Check out Justin's blog HERE.

Oh, and while you're still here...Name the fish before Saturday...a'ight?

Wednesday Nibbles - Macho Man Edition

This is not a fishing post. As much as I enjoy fishing, as a kid, I enjoyed wresting 100x more. Sure, all the matches were fake and we later found most the wrestlers 'roided up, but to this pre-teen, Saturday mornings might as well have been holidays...and don't even get me started on "Saturday Night's Main Event."

I vividly recall not only watching hour after hour of WWF programming on the weekends, but also wearing out the laminated membership card by renting VHS tape after tape from the video store. Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine...yeah, I had just about every copy from 1985-1992. I collected all the rubber action figures and my grandfather even crafted a "ring", complete with ropes and turnbuckles for me to play with. (Thanks Grandpop!)

So with the recent passing of one of the greats, I dedicate this Wednesday Nibbles to the incomparable "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

Yes I was/am a dork - as a little kid, Hulk Hogan may have been my first favorite...

Unfortunate picture of yours truly rockin' the Hulkamania tee (& bowl cut) while flexing in the back alley

...but as I grew a little I quickly realized "Macho Man" was where it was at.

I mean, who was as devastatingly high flying as Macho Man...


or flowed rhyme like Macho Man...


...or did interviews like Macho Man...


...or had better taste in ladies than Macho Man...


...or sold dried meat sticks like Macho Man...


Nobody, that's who.

With "Macho Man" once again strutting down the aisle with Miss Elizabeth on his arm toward the big squared circle in the sky, I can think of nothing more appropriate to close.



Well, almost nothing...


Ohhhhh Yeaaaaaaah!

May Be A Bit Quiet Around Here For A Few Days

I'll be out of town on business the rest of this week in search of the largest HD video screen in the world.  As referenced in a prior post, my work tends to lead me to these modern marvels of technology quite frequently.

Last November's Adventure

While I'm away there may be some mobile blog posts of extremely sub-par quality, but then again maybe not.  Who knows.  I wasn't smart enough to write any posts in advance to auto-publish in my absence.  Oh well...

So in the meantime...here's a reminder that there's only a few more days to enter that Tie Fast Combo Tool Giveaway I'm hosting...so if you haven't entered yet, get to it.

You enter yet or what?

See you on the flip side (or at the impending Armageddon, which ever happens first).

Wednesday Nibbles - The YouTube-Centric Edition

Time for Nibbles.

First, I shall present you with good news.  I mean it sounds good to me anyway.  Got an email yesterday from NOAA...no not the animal herder who built the cruise ship..or that wussy doctor from E.R...but the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.  Yeah, they announced that the last bit of federal water still closed from last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill (I refuse to acknowledge the company involved by name) has now been reopened to fishing.

The water's been tested and all those dispersant chemicals used to clean up the mess have evidently dropped to levels well within FDA regulations.  Who knows what lies beneath...in the spooky depths...but I'm not a glass half-empty guy - with Earth Day on Friday, that's good news.

I can't really take credit for this next one.  Clif sent it over to me.  You know, when you write a fishing megablog like yours truly, people like to send you content.  (How do you think the Chum gets all their filler?)...  Anyway, you may have seen (or maybe better said "heard") this before as it's been making the rounds, but for those that haven't...I present Wally Backman, manager of the South Georgia Peanuts of the South Coast League.  Those not in tune with the unique language of baseball probably shouldn't watch...


I got another solicitation email this week, this time from the North American Fishing Club.  You know, that group that tries to sucker you into being a life member by sending you prizes and crappy magazines?  Actually the articles in their magazines aren't terrible, it's just there's 8x as many pages of advertisements.

Well, they've put out a fishing app for iPhones, iPads & Android phones based on their Knot Wars series.  Basically gives you a bunch of knot tying tutorials on your smartphone for just $1.99...but unfortunately no Angry Birds.


Anybody care that there's still no progress in the NFL labor negotiations?  Since there's a lockout going on right now, there's been no exciting offseason player movement like in years past.  Kinda sucks for those of you who are into crap like that.  No Albert Haynesworth to the Redskins, no Julius Peppers to the Bears, although I'm sure Brett Favre is still sending texts somewhere.  Well fear not...one of the biggest signings has been made...yup...Mike Iaconelli has signed with Rapala & VMC!

Okay, not really news that'll make the headlines...some of you probably don't even know Ike.  He's that BASS angler who weighs like a buck-twenty soaking wet and screams like crazy when he catches a toad.  I like Ike quite a bit.  He's from South Jersey (basically a Philadelphia suburb) and gives tons of props to Philly all the time - as evidenced by the hat in his "never give up" logo.

Now this news station won't allow me to embed this video (which is a damn shame), they even prohibited YouTube from letting people embed it...so I can only offer the link to view it on their website HERE.  It's well worth the click, especially at the 0:25 mark.  Eric Hubbard will be the next YouTube auto-tune remix star a la Antoine Dodson...mark my words.

Tornado victim Eric Hubbard - this is just a still pic, not a video, so don't click it.

Now for the blog love.  The last nibble kinda made light of all of last week's tornadoes, but honestly they created a very serious situation, one that took far too many lives.  r.b. wright, from r.b. wright outdoors has a video segment on most Tuesdays called "Tuesday Tip".  It's kinda like the Nibbles, except it's actually informative and not a waste of your time.

"An everyday guy talking to everyday outdoorsmen about extraordinary passion"

Anyway, this week's Tuesday's Tip was very topical and related to the recent disaster, as he happens to call North Carolina home.  Very well done, it's definitely worth a peek.  Check out r.b.'s blog when you have a spare moment, you won't be sorry you did.

Sorry, No Wednesday Nibbles...

...as yesterday was my wife K.C.'s birthday.

So no time to scrape YouTube & other various websites for random nonsensical content last night.  Perhaps you should go to Moldy Chum if you need a fix of that today.  Instead, we went to the Phillies game (which they promptly lost), but did get her happy birthday wishes up on the scoreboard.

Yes, The Diaper Bag Wrangler made her own felt crown...or is it a tiara?

That kid on the scoreboard is pretty stoked to have his picture on Troutrageous!

After that we tried to have a bit of a date night...downing some greasy grub at Nifty Fifties, but Lilly sabotaged that mission somewhat.  She was supposed to sleep over a friend's house, and we'll just say that didn't work out.  We had to leave a little earlier than planned, but it was fun night anyway - however like I said, no time for Nibbles.

Cheese fries were ooey gooey good, but unfortunately rushed

But who knows...maybe a rare edition of Thursday Nibbles might be in store this week.  We'll see...

Wednesday Nibbles - Helping Those In Need Edition

What's up everyone, having a good Wednesday?  I had no idea I had so many readers intensely devoted to their headwear.  Glad to know everyone is "touched" just like me.  However, Clif, I think it's time to give up.

That chemical imbalance must be why you all keep coming back, because these crappy Wednesday Nibbles certainly can't be the draw.  But since you're here already...

Wanna drop $1200 on a fly reel?  Sure why not, right?  Hardy will have you covered come April.  Yeah, this St. George Commemorative reel is a limited run of 100.  There's some sort of uber-Royal backstory with Princes, Dukes, and probably inbreeding that evidently makes this reel hot sh*t, but I really don't want to get into all that.  It's expensive, but essential equipment for every weekend warrior.  Jay, I bet this Hardy reel is the perfect match for your bargain bin fly line.

$1200 gets you this or this.

So how's everybody's bracket going?  Mine sucks.  The Big East is screwing me big time - Pitt & Syracuse can both...well, I won't say it.  Those who have hitched a ride on the Jimmer wagon are probably looking really good right now...even though this song spawned by Jimmermania is pretty lame.

But this is what you get when presumably white LDS guys with no flow try to rap.  That should be in total violation of their honor code, but at least they do toss in a token brotha.  (Warning, this video is on the long side 5+ minutes, so don't bother watching if you aren't intensely Jimmered.)


Thought I'd use this next fishy spot to drop notice that my trout club, the Stony Creek Anglers, is hosting the 25th Annual Stony Creek Cleanup this weekend on Saturday the 26th.

If you're a local reader (yeah, I know there's a few of you) and want to participate, the meetup is at the Fire Chief's Band Shell in Elmwood Park in Norristown, PA at 8AM.  Gloves & trash bags will be provided, all you need to bring is yourself, boots or waders, and proper attire as this is a "rain or shine" event.  More info can be had on the Stony Creek Anglers' website HERE.

It's a fun event and we fill a few dumpsters with litter, old tires and scrap metal each year. Who knows, maybe this year we'll remove the holy grail of a discarded toilet or mattress. You never know what you're gonna find in an urban watershed.

The SCA will also be celebrating it's 14th Anniversary in 2011!

Stupidity rules.  Especially when it involves children.  I won't say too much about this one other than stop looking at the pre-teen in the tight shorts' butt for a second (pervert) and concentrate on what's going on in the background.  Yeah, I know, I love Dance Dance Revolution too, but this is worth it.


Last but not least, time for this week's blog love (which, by the way I'm thrilled to read is going viral in places like THIS & THIS).  It goes to a blogger who received the love here once before, but I fear has truly gone off the deep end this time and needs all of our support and best wishes.

So our friend Howard...aka Cofisher...aka the Wright & McGill guy...evidently unleashed some person, object, or the way things in blogdom are going, probably his cat, on us.  I don't actually know what it is, (hopefully not one of his body parts), but he calls it "Auntie".  According to one of the voices in Howard's head, Auntie is evidently is some sort of expert on something or other and will answer all your questions if you ask nicely.  Kind of like an outdoor blog version of Miss Cleo...I think...but more likely an excuse for Howard to dress up like a woman again.

I beg you, reach out to Howard in this time of crisis and assure him
everything will be okay...and that he looks much better in the blue bikini.

Wednesday Nibbles - The March Madness Edition

No "Play-In" games here. Nibbles.  Now.

Got some extra money?  Want to buy a really expensive fishing net?  Wanna help the people of Japan?  Tenkara USA has you covered.

There's an eBay auction of a rare tenkara net (or tamo) going on now in which 100% of the money will go toward Japanese relief efforts.  The current bids are up to $430, but the auction runs for another 3 days so hopefully they will continue to escalate.  This blog pokes somewhat distasteful fun at a ton of different subjects, but the tragedy going on in Japan will not be one of them.

On a lighter, and definitely distasteful note, did you see this!?!  I caught it on the Fail Blog last week...and although it must of hurt a bit, I still think it's pretty funny...once you get past how scary this prostitu....I mean working professional is.  Good work Kaa, this might even earn you a spot on Abnormal Outdoors.  Didn't know snakes had a taste for silicone.



I received a promo copy of River of Monsters, a fiction book by George Douglas this past weekend.  Yeah, that George Douglas, Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Inductee and Publisher of Kype Magazine.

I read the first chapter or so and it's actually a pretty interesting book - considering I'm not a huge fan of fiction...or reading books for that matter.  Allusions galore to sabertooth fish or something like that.  I'll be doing a full review of it once I finish, but something you may want to check out if you're looking for an easy read.  It's the kind of book you could pretty much finish off during a long plane ride or over a leisurely weekend.

Have I mentioned it's time for March Madness yet?  Who's in your Final Four?  K.C. went to Kansas...so there's a big Jayhawk flag flying in front of our house.  You can probably tell where our allegiance is - Rock Chalk.

I went to Division III Widener University...and well...no matter how far they expand the field they're never getting to the 'Big Dance.'  That would probably change for next year if they recruit this guy...oh, wait...that's how my alma mater ballz already.



Oh, and if you haven't seen that ESPN Film on the Fab Five that ran on Selection Sunday...you must see it.  I can't help but agree with Jalen Rose's opinion of Duke.

Finally, this week's blog love goes to a new blog to the blogroll, Dustin's Fly Box.  I've noticed that Dustin has been making the blogging rounds lately, and to be honest I'm glad he is - there's some great flies on the blog that is also written with a good sense of humor.  A recent blog milestone was 50 followers, I'm sure my readers can add a few more.

And if you don't visit his blog, his puppy will bite your face off...seriously...

A Missed Milestone

Yesterday's Wednesday Nibbles was a milestone for this blog.  And I totally missed the significance until today.  It was this blog's 500th* post.

Why the asterisk?  In this era of steroid-inflated everything, the 500 blog post milestone just doesn't resonate like it did back in the good ol' days.

Say it ain't so Joe!

No, in today's blogging world 500 blog posts is pretty commonplace.  Some bloggers hit that total in their first week of writing.  That magic number certainly doesn't guarantee you a spot in the Fishing Blog Hall of Fame (conveniently located somewhere in Northern California, I think).  It will probably get you on the Sports Medicine School's list though...

Where's Wally the Wonderdog's plaque?

Although they'll never openly admit it, the Fishing Blog Writers Association of America appears to hold a grudge against any bloggers of the "iPhone Era."  Even if you don't juice your numbers by blogging remotely via email, cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, (yeah, they've got an app for all that)...the feeling is that today's technology simply makes it too easy to accumulate cheap numbers quickly.  Fairly or not, you're automatically guilty by association.

Blogging been berry berry goo to me

In the voters eyes, today's achievements will never match those great blogging feats of your grandfather's generation - those epic posts that were written over dial-up modems that made a skrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhh sound when they turned them on.

So while this milestone would have once insured immortality, today I'm barely batting an impotent 8th in a lineup of other musclebound bloggers.  Oh well, I'll just need to accumulate my numbers over time...just like the real King did.

Now to the real message of the day.  Enjoy Spring Training everyone.  Come April 1st, The Four Aces (& Joe) await.

Thanks to Ivan's comment for today's inspiration.

Wednesday Nibbles - Monkeys Run Amok Edition

This winter has been brutal.  Seems like every 3 or 4 days we get hit with snow, and lucky for me the ice storms are evidently coming this week.  Now it's not enough snow to cripple the region (despite what the weathermen say), but enough to make all the shoveling a pain, create stupid slow traffic jams, and make fishing opportunities few and far between.  At least some humor can be found in the local weather big board....

He's in the wrong profession.

On that note, time for the nibbles...

Got this email from Bass Pro yesterday.  Looks like they did an off-price buy on some of last year's Pflueger Supreme XT spinning reels.  Originally $129.99, now $69.88.  Gotta make room for the 2011s I guess.  I've never used this reel so I can't say if it's good or bad (it did get a 4.4/5.0 customer rating), but seems like a good deal, at least from a savings standpoint.

Hot Buy?  Sure, why not.

Now I treated you all to a stupid video yesterday, but here's an equally stupid video that I assume will entertain and amaze and all that good stuff...it's far from new (it has over 4 and a half million views since last fall) but tell me you won't be humming this tune after watching this.



Midcurrent's Ask The Expert section posed the question "Imitation or Presenation" in last week's newsletter.  Lots of good responses/opinions from very reputable sources.  It's a very good read if you have 10 or so minutes.  I'm not typically serious in the nibbles, but I enjoyed this so much I figured I'd pass it on.  For real. There's no imitation in this presentation.

Not a MidCurrent subscriber?  Change that now.

Is there a football game or something this weekend?  Oh, yeah, that's right, I guess there is.  So who are you rooting for, Packers, Steelers, or the commercials?  I really don't care who wins the game, but I've got my fingers crossed that standbys like Coke, Pepsi, Miller Lite, & Budweiser bring their A-Game.  Everything old is new again, so I think it might be time to bring Spuds MacKenzie out of mothballs...I mean the "Big Game" is in Dallas this year after all.



Finally, I got the blessing of the better half to go "have fun" at this summer's (date TBA) OBN Rendezvous in Colorado.  K.C. has no interest in going, so I guess I'm rollin' solo.

Speaking of the OBN, I'm going to use their weekly writing prompt as a way to share the blog love this week.  I believe the question was "Which Outdoor Bloggers Would You Like To Meet?"

Pleased to meet you

Now I read & actively participate in a lot of great blogs, but I suppose this is my short list (there's so many so this was pretty tough).  Mel from Blog Cabin Angler, Shoreman from Northern California Trout, Clif from Lunker Hunt, Ben from Ben G. Outdoors, and maybe that guy from Georgia.

Honestly, I was originally going to make that a list of all female bloggers (such as Kari, RD, Lizzy, Stephanie, & Tami)...but I don't want my travel ticket to be revoked.