Wednesday Nibbles - The North Jersey to North Georgia Edition

Wednesday...

...Nibbles

Wednesday...

...Nibbles

Wednesday...

...Nibbles

Let's Go!

Tie One On...

Got the flyer (or is it flier?...perhaps it's more like a pamphlet) in the mail for the 2015 International Fly Tying Symposium up in Somerset, NJ the other week. In case you're interested in attending, it'll be the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 21 & 22.

It's been maybe 3 or 4 years since I've been to one, and unless you're a hardcore fly tyer, it's probably not an event you need to go to each and every year, but I have to tell you that if you haven't been, it's definitely worth swinging by. Getting up close and personal and being able to observe and ask questions of folks who really know their way around a vise is a serious treat. Plus, it's not all tying, there are usually some retailers in attendance, as well as a casting pond.  Heck, it's the 25th anniversary of the event this year, maybe there will be cake too...as the image above suggests...mmmm...cake...

Just Because...

I'm sure you've seen this by now, or purposely chose not to watch it...but it's so funny, I'm embedding it because I can.  And don't take offense to the Democrat angle, there's a Republican one too...


It'd be kinda hilarious if someone did something like this to "A River Runs Through It"...maybe someone already has. Buster wants to fish...

New Stuff...

Did you see that TenkaraBum is selling a branded rod now? Touted as "the first tenkara rod designed by an American tenkara angler in collaboration with a Japanese rod company," the Suntech TenkaraBum 36 is kinda guaranteed to catch your eye.

Image courtesy TenkaraBum

Designed with a midsection stiff enough to fish nymphs, but a tip section limber enough to cast light lines, this Swiss Army knife of a rod sizes up to be a pretty rad new option. Oh, and it's going to be sold in Japan as well as the United States, so that's pretty much all the street cred it needs. Plus, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't place an order for one yesterday, so hopefully more to come soon...

Hungry..?

Totally nothing to do with fly fishing...but did you see the news that "they" want to open a few Hunger Games theme parks over the next few years, including one in Georgia?

Originally a skeptic, I have to admit that the movies grew on me, but a theme park? Wonder if you pay admission or get selected in a lottery?  All I know is that if I got anywhere near the park and heard cannon shot(s) off in the distance, I'd probably turn around immediately. Unless of course instead of meals with Princesses, there was "breakfast with Katniss" or something...then I'd be so in.

Blog Love...

Last but not least, time for some blog love...and holy smokes...look who's back!

This week's blog love goes out to Fontinalis Rising who took time out of his schedule to put on a fresh pot of Monday Morning Coffee...the first one in like 4 or 5 months. Talk about caffeine withdrawal...

Glad to see JT back writing again, even if it was simply a token update as to his current whereabouts.

Welcome to the South Mr. Tucker, just steer clear of 'em Duke boys if you know what's good for ya...maybe we'll meet up at Hunger Games Land in the not too distant future...

Wednesday Nibbles - Record Bass, Trophy Trout, Internet Fishing, Spycams, & RD Edition!

Hey it's Wednesday...we've made it half way through the week! No small achievement these days...so let's celebrate with some fresh Wednesday Nibbles. After all, the more time you spend reading this post, the closer you'll be to the weekend upon completion. So let's get at it...


Record Fish In The Chipola River

The folks over in the Northwest corner of Florida are catching some really big bass, in particular Shoal Bass in the Chipola River.  Toward the end of September, Stewart Mayeaux caught a 4.85 pound, 20.9 inch shoal bass, a Florida state record, breaking the prior record which was only set back in March...in the same river!

Photo: MyFWC.com

According to the Florida Wildlife Commission, "Shoal bass thrive in the Apalachicola water system, including the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers of Alabama and Georgia, and the Chipola River in Florida. Once thought to be redeye bass, they were determined to be a separate species in 1999."

So I've evidently got to get to the Florida "panhandle" ASAP...have tenkara rod, will travel!


Extreme Couch Fishing

For those not interested in traveling to the Chipola to go fishing...well...I'm not gonna lie, I'm not exactly sure what to say about RoboFisher, so I'll let their video and website do the talking for me...

"Robofisher is a revolutionary device, installed on the banks of a lake, in a corner of the planet, which can be controlled online, from another corner of the planet, from your computer, in order to fish real fish."


So yeah, it's like a interwebz video game...but you're catching real fish all over the world via fishing drone...and ummm....okay...yeah, I got nothing else...


Pennsylvania Trophy Trout

Some cool things going on in Pennsylvania (holla!) around their trout stocking program...

The announcement of "Keystone Select Trout Waters," an initiative by the PA Fish & Boat Commission, promises to excite anglers by stocking 8 different bodies of water with 3,200 "big" fish, ranging from 14 to 20 inches.  The waters will be overseen by Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO) regulations, meaning fish can only be kept during certain months of the year, the rest of the time reverting to catch & release.

I know, perhaps not too exciting for my friends out West accustomed to catching big fish like that, but it's baby steps for Pennsylvania, a generally behind-the-times state in which you can't even buy beer in the supermarket.


New Wearable Camera Option

I have a GoPro. I don't really use my GoPro. If I didn't use gift cards to fund the majority of the purchase, I might feel like I wasted my money. I'm just not really into setting up shots, editing video, or any of that stuff, much less wearing a plastic-encased camera awkwardly on my chest or head or wherever.

If you're like me, perhaps the Narrative Clip 2 is for you. Far more passive than a GoPro, the Narrative Clip 2 is basically a very small, wearable camera that takes 8MP photos and 1080p HD video in a hands free fashion, automatically at a time interval of your choosing.

So essentially, you clip it wherever you want it, set it to take a photo say every 30 seconds, minute, 5 minutes, whatever, and go about your business, hiking, driving, fishing, etc...  At the end of the day, you'll have a bunch of spontaneous photos to review of your outing. Upload them to cloud storage, delete what you don't want, and you're good to go.

Honestly, I'd be curious to see what I ended up with. Hopefully not a ton of out of focus photos. The only drawback for an angler; it's not waterproof...so keep it high & dry.


Blog Love

Last but not least, time for some blog love. Because that's just what we do here at Wednesday Nibbles.

I have to say my Blogroll has become a sad state of affairs...so many blogs that I used to enjoy reading have gone dormant over the past year or so, it's slowly but surely gotten smaller and smaller (by about 2 to 3 blogs) each month.

So I figured I'd shout out to 3 of the blogs that have been in my blogroll the longest, heck, even pre-OBN days, and are still kicking out posts at least semi-regularly...because you've gotta throw some love at a good long-term Blogbuddy.

• Northern California Trout - Good ol' Shoreman's been a bit quiet the past week, but he still cranks out posts with regularity. His tales of lakes, Powerbait, and sometimes float tubes (and bears) are always the highlight of my day. Hope he gets some snow this winter to keep the water flowing.

• Windknots & Tangled Lines - Yeah, you all probably know Howard. Knocking out humorous posts, living life, being the man. I still owe you breakfast the next time I'm out in Colorado buddy. Check out his blog for what is typically a daily dose of irreverence.

• The River Damsel - Holy smokes, after a long hiatus, she's back! Glad to see it too, it's tough to keep up with her exploits scattered across Facebook. I don't think I have another friend in blogdom that is more "fishy" (in a good way) than Emily. Keep doin' what you're doin' RD, you're awesome (& an inspiration)!

R-Domination!

Wednesday Nibbles - Apps, Rocks, Daiwas, & Rambles

Welcome to Wednesday Nibbles...the blog post that pulls some fishing randomness together from across the internet in bite sized chunks. A semi-regular feature here, I just so happened to have enough nibbles in my inbox this week that made sense to make a post.

Enjoy...or not...I don't care...well I kind of do...eh, whatever...


Chasing Trout Stocking Trucks Just Got Easier...

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission announced yesterday that they have launched a new smartphone app for anglers that crams a lot of the most popular features of their website into the palm of your hand. The "FishBoatPA" app provides access to navigational tools, trout stocking charts, a fish identification guide, the "My Trophies" section where users can upload pictures, and of course, rules and regulations including details on where to find the closest licensing agent.

The part of the app that I think may be the coolest, but perhaps the most controversial is the "Near Me” feature which uses your phone and GPS to locate and display trout waters within 5, 15, 25 and 50 miles of your current location. I don't think it's going to give away any honey holes, but I could see a lot of people with their panties in a bunch.

Either way, the free app is now available for download for Apple or Android products.


If You Smell What The Rock Is Eatin'...

It's been mentioned quite often as of late that the ocean's fishery is in a rapid state of collapse. I'm not going to debate you on whether it is science or sensationalism, however one thing is clear...if fish stocks are falling at a rapid rate, you can blame it on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Photo courtesy Muscle and Fitness.com

Now of course I'm joking, however an article on the statistic-driven fivethrityeight.com outlined his daily caloric intake. The Rock eats 821 pounds of cod per year to fuel his "rock" physique...which is astonishing...and a ton of fish (well almost half a ton). Wow.


Getting Started In Tenkara...

As a consumer of pretty much everything tenkara, I may have simply missed these videos from Daiwa making the rounds when they were released about two weeks ago. However since they are on a Japanese language site, maybe not. Either way, if you're into the art of telescoping graphite cane poles (like me), these videos are probably worth your time, even if they aren't in English. (Give it a sec, it's a little slow to load...)


This particular video is about reading water, and there is a second video (that I won't embed) which is an intro to tenkara gear - rod, flies, line - and a basic casting stroke.

Note: For some reason I wasn't able to watch these at work...my IT guys are probably on to me...but they worked fine at home. 


Time For Some Blog Love...

As usual, I wrap up an edition of the Nibbles with some blog love...calling out a blog that is either doing something of note, or just worth your time reading (and typically lives in my blogroll). Today's blog love goes out to Rivertop Rambles.

Rivertop Rambles is certainly not a new blog, around since 2011, but I've found myself going back and reading Walt's writing more and more frequently. That's one of the joys of a blog with a history, as a new(er) reader, there's a lot to go back in time and discover.

Topics are varied, with a little bit of everything for the outdoors-minded; if you haven't been a regular reader of Rivertop Rambles, I'm sure you'll find it quite enjoyable.

Wednesday Nibbles - The "Van Down By The River" Edition

So...umm...yeah...it's been a while since I've written one of these.  Please excuse me as I blow off the dust, shake off the cobwebs, and get this rust bucket moving again...

I have to admit, I'm a bit out of the mainstream fly fishing scene.  I've been on this 100% tenkara bender for the last month or two and I'm not sure what is up, down, or otherwise out there these days in terms of rods & reels & flies that actually look like bugs...plus, I only visit Moldy Chum on Fridays...

Seems every fishing magazine I pick up these days is all moist and tingly about carp and two handed rods...switch rods, spey rods...all that crazy stuff.  Did you know there's a two handed tenkara rod?  Actually a few...could probably catch a carp with one if so inclined.  Check out this split grip from the mad scientists at Riverworks...

Post by Riverworks Company USA.

Okay, okay, okay.  I need scoop.  If I go get me one of those newfangled GoPros...can somebody show me how to make one of these RKO videos?  Like what software do I need?  Can I do it in MS Paint like everything else?  Holy crap, the comedic fly fishing applications are endless with nonsensical edits like this...nobody would be safe...


I was wondering...and this is the stupid kind of $hit I think about when I can't sleep...like what would be the ultimate fishing mobile?  Yeah, I dig my Subie and all...as do most other 50-something lesbians (no offense ladies, you're my demographic)...but I was thinking an old, inexpensive beater van of some sort that could be pimped out after the fact.  The kind you could just throw a kayak...or cot...or fly tying desk...or keg in the back along with all of your gear and bring around from place to place.  Sort of like a mobile fishing station.

Perhaps the wiener dog of transportation, the Sprinter van, would be a most awesome solution, but damn, those things can be deceptively expensive...  Maybe a "Who's the Boss?" Tony Danza primer-colored van would be the ticket...  But then my demographic would immediately shift to "creepy dudes in a vans."  Not good.  Especially in a neighborhood full of children, like the one I live in.

I did get a flier (flyer?) in the mail for the 2014 International Fly Tying Symposium the other day.  It was one of my favorite events to attend back in the day when I lived in Pennsylvania (it's in North Jersey).  If you're not in the know, at least a gazillion fly tyers get invited...most from the US, but some from beyond our borders (that's what makes it "international")...they tie stuff at tables lined up around the perimeter of the show hall...and you get to walk around, watch, and ask questions...

"Do you prefer ceramic bobbins with your horsehair thread...?"  

"What gauge wire are you using on your nymphtruders...?"  

"Does Clear Cure Goo burn if you get it...down there...?"  

You know, geeky stuff like that...

Plus, there are a bunch of vendors in the middle of the hall selling all sorts of wares...there's nothing better than rooting through a bin full of questionable feathers, factory second beads, and left over Christmas tinsel.  Really, it is fun.  No joke.  Like trying to find the prize at the bottom of the cereal box even though you know it'll probably suck (they don't do that anymore, right?).

Two things of note this year...  1) They're inviting folks from the 51st state this year.  Welcome Canada!  For real.  No jokes about hockey, igloos, or the propensity to say "Eh" allowed I guess.  That's a shame.  And 2) There's going to be a fiberglass rod casting competition.  And where's there's fiberglass, there's guest judge Cameron Mortenson.  Fly fishing social media royalty in the house...TFM represent!  So go check out the rods and bug Cam for free stuff...I bet he'll have at least some stickers...

Last but not least (cue the trumpets) BLOG LOVE!

My new blog fetish crush is a blog from Japan called: ぺたうろの毛鉤釣りと 愉快な仲間たちの日記 逆さ毛鉤巻き動画.  Got it?

Seriously, it's a pretty fun tenkara-ish blog to follow around, although I really don't expect my readers to take to it since it's written in Japanese.  Maybe if you can tolerate broken "Google Translate" English it'll be up your alley.  I just like looking at pictures in posts like THIS and trying to figure out what's going on.  Regardless, it's pretty rad, and probably one of the only Japanese fishing blogs that doesn't have either ridiculously tiny fonts, excessive images of wacky cartoon characters participating in hijinks, or the combination of the two.  There's actually some really good fishing reports if you go back in time a month...great pictures of streams and fish...

Well, that's it...enjoy your Wednesday...I got a van to buy.

Wednesday Nibbles - The FU February Edition

I'm just going to come out and say it, February as a month kind of sucks...and I don't even mind Valentine's Day.  For whatever the reason, February possesses the power to rob me of all creative juices - hence if you check my monthly post tallies in the Archives over in the right sidebar, February's totals are always among, if not THE, lowest of the year.  So I figured I'd combat writer's block by resorting to an old standby, Wednesday Nibbles, so enjoy...or not...whatever...

I ditched the Mangrove.  The rod gave me fits so I figured I'd try an ECHO3 Saltwater model from Echo Fly Rods.  The specs were good, the price was right (thanks eBay) and heck, it's just fun to try something else...especially if you're not keen on what you've got.  Hat tip to Carp on the Fly.  If nothing else they seem durable (peep the video below), which was an issue with my previous 8-weights.  I'll (hopefully) give it a good workout during Lilly's spring break on our mini-vacation to Clearwater Beach.


If all goes well, I might try an ECHO glass rod in a lighter weight as well.  Damn that Cameron Mortenson...but I could just watch this video over and over and over.  One might say it's "superfine," but let's not confuse the two rods.


Why no L.L. Bean the perceptive reader might ask?  Because they have an annual fishing gear sale that corresponds to the beginning of trout season in another month or two and I needed an upgrade before then.  Any purchases with the Bean will need to wait until the 20% off thing they do.  I may like to buy stuff, but I try to be frugal.  I'm thinking of selling one of my 3-weights to bankroll that Pocket Water Bean rod...anyway...

Holy crap.  Yeah, did you see Taco Bell is going to start serving breakfast?  While this concept goes against the calorie counting that I've been doing since the holidays...their main menu item is just about enough to make you say "screw it, and my cholesterol."  As such, I present the Waffle Taco in all of its scrambled eggs, cheese, sausage (or bacon), and syrup wrapped in a waffle glory...

I was always partial to the old school Egg McMuffin, but nothing says "opening day of trout season" like a Taco Bell waffle taco...  Side note, the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league team in Allentown updated their logo to be a strip of bacon this week.  Inspiring.

Speaking of over the top, what is the deal with this trend of folks tying these obnoxiously ginormous streamers and posting them on the social interwebs?  Maybe I just have dubious Facebook acquaintances, but all I see are folks lashing together parts of chickens, rabbits, heck probably even pandas (and hopefully cats) to 8 inch long hooks and applying liberal amounts of Fish Skullz and Clear Cure Goo.  Articulated, of course.  Perhaps it's in preparation to combat Godzilla this summer.  I guess I get it, big flies catch big fish...at least I think that's the idea.  I wouldn't know anything about big fish.

A fairly tame example lifted from Nomad Anglers

I probably shouldn't knock it because tying these monstrosities is plenty more manly on many levels than tying petite reverse hackle kebari.  Heck, if the name of your fly ends in the letter i, it's kind of effeminate by default, it might as well be called Tutti Frutti...

Yes they are...

Did you watch the Olympics?  I won't pick on Bob Costas, he's received enough grief for coming to work sick...  I also won't pick on the US Hockey team for pretty much mailing in the bronze medal game.  What I will say is Snowboard cross is by far my new favorite sport.  Racing, crashing, racing, and even more crashing.  I could watch this over and over and over again...kind of like when I'm flipping through the channels and stop in my tracks each and every time I notice that Gladiator is on.  (MAXIMUS!)

To close it out, time for some blog love.  My blogroll has gone through some updates recently, in with the new, out with the old and non-updating.  With that, three blogs worth your time checking out are The Rogue Outdoors, The Barbless Angler, and Low Gap Creek.

The first one is a multi-interest blog, one of those interests being adventures in herping.  I had no idea what herping was, but fortunately it does not involve venereal diseases.

Herping...courtesy The Rogue Outdoors

The second blog is about a dude who fishes and ties some really sweet flies.  I get lost in the pictures, I wish I could tie like that.  Oh, and I guess the last blog is the latest creation of that Owl guy.  At least for this week.  I mean just when you think he's finally gone...

So do yourself a favor and check 'em out!  Post annoying comments in their blog posts while you're at it.  It's fun.  Blame me, it's all good.

Wednesday Nibbles: The Return Edition

So I figured if JT...(no not THAT JT) can resurrect Monday Morning Coffee, I can certainly bring back Wednesday Nibbles, at least for a week...  New to Wednesday Nibbles?  It was a weekly post I used to write that sort of had fishing news in it, but more so just stupid stuff...well stuff that was more stupid than my normal posts...

Did you happen to catch the three-headed monster of a collaboration between Vedavoo, Recycled Waders, and artist Jeff Currier?  Yeah, they're making some packs that will be auctioned off in April with the proceeds going to a slew of charities.  You can win one too if you promote it through social media...details HERE.

Pure sexy

While the charity angle is pretty rad, the concept of a pack with both Vedavoo & Recycled Waders DNA is a total wet dream for a man-bag whore like me...you know...wet...because fish...umm swim in water...and all that stuff...

OMG, OMG, OMG, GOOGLE READER IS GOING AWAY...

HOLY CARP WHAT AM I GOING TO DO...OMF'NG!!!!

This is actually pretty cool, and perhaps ironic at the same time.  Tenkara USA recently announced the hiring of a new product design guru named Luke Uyeda.  According to their blog post Luke views this as an opportunity to, "bring the process of design thinking into the fly fishing industry; new perspective and innovations through qualitative research, insight analysis, ideation, and form/function development."

Tenkara Luke

Sweet, sounds good to me...and I'm interested to see where Luke's influence might take future TUSA offerings.  Oh yeah, the irony?  Check out the first example of one of Luke's design concepts on his personal portfolio site.

Speaking of new product design, forget Apple, forget Samsung, the interactive urinal is where it's at...

Can't make this up....game examples HERE.  Damn I'm gonna miss Pennsylvania...really need to get to an Iron Pigs game before I head South...

Any finally with an unfortunate segue of pee, what's the reason why I really brought back the Nibbles?  Because my Mom's birthday was Monday...and she told me she missed them. So she gets the blog love this week.  Happy birthday Mom.  You're awesome & I love you.

My mom, my cousin, and somebody with rad hair and a tasteful tie.
Photo circa 1993ish

Wednesday Nibbles - The NSFW? Artistic Fishing Photo Edition

Before I jump straight to the pictures, allow me to first give you the back story...

So we're at the bar eating and drinking after the Fly Fishing Show on Sunday, and Mike from Dub The Thorax goes, "hey, I'm gonna text you this link one of my friends sent me...it takes women in waders to the new level"...and with that smirks and makes some side comment that this will be one of the more f'd up things I'd see on that particular day.

And with that I get a link to an imgur site hosting some wacky foreigner's photos that I'm not going to link to here...because I don't want you getting in trouble at work.

Instead, I present the Cliff's Notes version...for somewhat safer consumption...

To start, a chick in the water holding some sort of ginormous fish.  Probably a catfish or something, it's huge, but the crazy meter is probably only at about a 7 out of 10.  Nice sunset...

Eastern European Sea World?

Well...um..next she (or a friend) is in a boat with a similar fish...could be the same one.  I'm sure the photographer figured you'd get a rise by strategically putting a giant, sloppy dead fish in between her wickets or something...whatever...

Is her face a different color than the rest of her body?

Which immediately leads to who I assume is a "friend" in a skirt who has an affection for lipless crankbaits and little else.  Although she is looking at that poor dead fish with mentally unbalanced bedroom eyes...

This one needs to go back on a plane to Hungary

This chick hates bedroom eyes and clearly hates this fish too.  I think she's pissed she forgot her top all together.  This may actually be the same fish from the photo above...it may just look smaller due to the size of the objects on either side...

She should really work on that grip...

Had enough?  No?  Okay...and then we shoot back to the multi-colored girl in the boat, who is now not in the boat and has freed her pelvis from megafish...but instead has now acquired some sort of sabertooth reptile fish that probably tastes good deep fried....

Not sure where my eyes go first...

But who wants deep fried food?  Not this dirty bottom feeding bastard...who appears to have a craving for breastfeeding???  Is this why all you roughfishers do what you do...?  Damn, this is going downhill fast...

This river is certainly wild...

And finally, this is just demented...so much so that I uncomfortably sort of have to show you anyway...

Admit it, you can't look away...

Thank you Dub The Thorax, you've made it far too easy for me to officially stoop to an all new low.

Wednesday Nibbles - The Insert iPad Mini in Post Title to Get Search Results Edition

Hey, welcome back to Wednesday Nibbles.

Figured if I was going to break down and write a week of posts, it would only make sense to include this semi-regular segment.  I know, I know, it doesn't have the allure it used to...but let's give it a go anyway...oblige me.

First off comes some gear.  Well, not exactly gear but a t-shirt.  No, not a T! Shirt, I said a t-shirt, duh.  Well actually two t-shirts.  The first one is a collaboration tee from Allen Fly Fishing and artist Jake Keeler.  Allen's put out some very cool tees to date in their "artist series" and Rainbows In the Dark is no exception.  Only $19.99.  Pretty sweet.  Jake the artist also has a blog, found HERE.

Oh, the second shirt?  Well blog buddy Ben from Arizona Wanderings is having a bit of a sale on his Arizona-centric tees to celebrate his blog's birthday.  Check out his blog HERE to pick one up for only $10 or $12 (depending on design), or click these links HERE to see yours truly awkwardly modeling one.

What's next...ummm...did you hear about the Bigfoot sighting in Pennsylvania?  Yeah, no surprise, I mean we all know he's out there.  The ol' Squatch evidently was sighted molesting some dude's crappy camper.


There's no reason to doubt the guy above, right?  Watch the video for yourself.  If nothing else, his Bigfoot calls are extremely authentic....I guess....ummmm....  Oh, and evidently female Bigfeet are "top heavy," I hope Moldy Chum has made note of this.

You've proabably heard by now that Apple is unleashing a smaller iPad called (duh) the iPad Mini on the world.  Yeah, it's a bit smaller, and Android fans everywhere are laughing...but you know legions of people will line up to get one.  Makes me wonder what you could shrink in fly fishing that people would still want to buy.  Sub size 20 flies are a reality.    The Unaccomplished Angler evidently already comes in fun size.  I'm not even going to talk about tanago for fear of riling up the tenkaraians.

Personally, I vote Spey Rod Mini.  Get on that manufacturers.  Not a switch rod, not a fishing rod pen, legit mini-Spey.  I wanna take Spey to small streams ASAP.*

*Honestly, I have no comprehension or understanding whatsoever of Spey rods or casting.  All the cool fishing kids say it's rad and I want to be cool like them.

Yeah, everyone's favorite Fly Fishing guide Hank Patterson put out a new video this week... but more importantly have you seen this?


Close call...or good editing, interestingly enough, somebody posted this "video reply" of Russian idiots dropping live grenades off the side of their boat.  Like what did they think was going to happen?  That said, might be interesting to see some drift boat jockeys emulate their antics.


To close, some blog love.  Well, actually love for Wally the Wonderdog.

I don't plug The Subterranean Trout here all that often, but THIS POST is a very worthwhile read.  Judging by the comments, most of you appear to have already read it, but for the few of you that might have been internetless for the past few days, or heck, anybody who's ever befriended a dog (I miss you Caesar), check it out.  It'll warm the heart of anyone.  Well put TC, and godspeed Wally.

Wednesday Nibbles - The Non Tenkara Edition

Before I begin, I need to apologize for all of the tenkara posts lately.  For better or worse it's what I do probably 70% of the time I go fishing these days, so it also fuels a lot of the inspiration for the posts around here, no matter how silly a method of fishing it appears.  It's probably fitting that I fish with an obscure type of fishing rod, that way I have an excuse when I don't catch fish.

Anyway, with that out of the way, it's Wednesday, so let's do the Nibbles.

Just to temporarily remove the smell of tenkara from my hands, here's a pic of the CLS reel, the "Best Freshwater Reel" at the recent IFTD Show out in Reno.  It's a cassette reel from Hardy, who, well, I've always had a total gearcrush on.  It's also a back to back win for them after they won the same award in 2011 for their Ultralight DD reel.

I've always dug Hardy's design aesthetic, from classic to modern, even though my wallet protests a purchase.  I should really give in someday and just pay the $$$ and do it up right.  Heck, their North American HQ is only about an hour drive from my house, maybe I can just go beg at the doorstep.  Perhaps when they make a tenkara rod...just kidding...or am I?

You may have already hear this story, but in case you didn't, here you go.  Evidently some clown got run over by a car driven by teenage girls.  Why a clown?  Because the guy was evidently dressed up in a Ghillie suit and running around a road trying to create a false Bigfoot Sighting.  I know a person died in this little stunt, but that's just stupid.  Everybody knows you just need to hit a tree trunk with a stick and a real Bigfoot will appear...duh!  I was just relieved it wasn't Adam from This River Is Wild.

Actually, I had several people send this story to me via Twitter earlier in the week, heck, even one asking about MY safety.  My fondness for all things 'Squatch must not be much of a secret anymore, huh...?

Speaking of Twitter, do you have a Twitter account?  Have you harassed Jimmy Kimmel today?  You know, the comedian and late night talk show host...  If you answered yes to the first question and no to the second, please reconsider on behalf of everyone's favorite animated piece of fishing tackle.

Yeah, the latest tactic by Olive's creator Kirk Werner is evidently to stalk celebs on Twitter and send promotional messages to them based on their innocuous tweets regarding technology.  Actually, it's not as creepy as I just made it sound, it's actually kind of fun.

It's much easier just to read about it over at the Olive blog, so go there by clicking HERE, and then get to copy and pasting and harassing Jimmy Kimmel.  It only takes a few minutes...or an hour if you do it over and over and over again...

The wife & I have planned a mission for the weekend.  I have to take her to the fabric store...and a winery...and then I get this...


...well I get the burger.  Maybe two.  That's right, beef, pulled pork, and onion rings...with cheese and barbecue sauce.  We're driving almost an hour away from home to git 'r dun...because they don't have Carl's Jr. or Hardee's near us.  Yes, I'll do anything for science.

To close, time for some blog love.  I'll be totally honest, I haven't been reading a lot of blogs lately.  I click on a few of my longtime favorites and then maybe one or two that migrate toward the top of my blogroll after they publish a new post, but on the whole, I haven't been seeking out new reading material like I used to.

That said, I've somewhat recently added High On The Fly to my blogroll.  It's not a blog that writes terribly long posts, but to be honest, it's pretty much tuned to the length my current attention span.  A couple paragraphs, a picture or two, and done.  Check out Jeff's blog some love when you have a free minute and see what I mean.  I think you'll like it.

Wednesday Nibbles - Searchin' For My Lost Shaker of Salt Edition

It's time for Wednesday Nibbles, your what-used-to-be-weekly dose of fishing and not so fishing crap found all over the web.

First off...did you know you could buy tenkara rods on Orvis.com now?  No...well neither did I until last night.  They simply appeared as a magical option in the right hand navigation while shopping the Orvis site.  Pretty slick, huh?

Is this the beginning of tenkara going mainstream?  Will Cabela's be private-labeling rods 6 months from now?  Who knows, but it's pretty big step forward for Tenkara USA and the "legitimization" of the technique/tackle in the U.S.

[ EDIT: A press release was sent out by Tenkara USA shortly after I wrote this post - read it HERE. ]

What next....???...oh, how about the freakin' crazy dude driving this car around the streets of San Francisco.  You might have seen this elsewhere this past week, I think I first saw it shared on Google+, but this is so insanely cool, I felt compelled to post it here too.  Yes, it's almost 10 minutes long, but it's worth watching.

My question is how the hell do you practice this?

Want more fishing...oh, I got more fishing.

One of the most impressive fish I've seen online this past week was Jason Tucker's (no, not THAT Jason Tucker, THIS Jason Tucker) smallmouth hauled out of what I assume was Northern Michigan waters.  Yeah, the smallies don't look like that around here...in shape or color.  Even now, I'm still mesmerized just staring at this pic.

Want a stupid video?  I've got a stupid video.  Actually, doesn't get much more stupidly intoxicating than this...




Huh?  I don't know what's going on either, but I bet that clam likes body shots.

To close, some blog love.  I've done a little fiddling with the blogroll recently, a few blogs fell away due to inactivity, while a few more were added to take their place.  Who's new might you ask?

First is Angler Gang.  Honestly, this was just an oversight.  I've been conversing with Angler Gang on various social media sites for a while now...I just assumed they were in my blogroll.  I was wrong.  It's been rectified.

The second is Ghost Pepper Fly Fishing, which isn't so much a blog, but a fully featured fly fishing (say that 5 times fast) website with a blog component to it.  As Ryan, the founder describes it:

"I’m sure your first question is what does a Ghost Pepper have to do with fly fishing? Absolutely nothing, but seeing as the Ghost Pepper is the hottest pepper in the world I felt it was only fitting to name the hottest fly fishing site after it."

So check them both out...or don't...I'm not your Mom...I can't tell you what to do...

Wednesday Nibbles - The First One Since February Edition

Hey look what's back...Wednesday Nibbles.  Yeah, the sh*t show that just won't go away is back once again, just like scabies on a hippie.  So what are we...we?...I mean what am I going to talk about today?  Probably nothing worth noting, but I missed writing these things, so here we go anyway...

So what's the deal with Michigan?  Has that damn state become the fly fishing epicenter of the universe or something?  Seems like every blog I read...and probably a few I don't...are all raving about Michigan fly fishing.  Fontinalis Rising, Pile Cast, TFM, Fishingpoet, The Freshwater Fly, just to name a few.  Steelhead, trout, carp, bass.  It's like nuts or something.

In 2013 I think a trip to Michigan in is order, because like Wisconsin, I've got Mitten Envy.  Anybody want to go with?  Buckeyes need not apply.

Speaking of Buckeyes, remember that short bus that took you to school back in the day?  Yeah, I know you do.  Well evidently fire trucks come in the same size.  Hey Small Fly Funk...what is this...a size 26?




For those of you that don't know, friend of this blog Owl Jones (okay, we have a weird bromance...we're like a trailer park version of Tom Chandler and Singlebarbed) has started a popper business called ZazzyPop.  If you're reading this, you probably already know about this venture, but I thought I'd plug (get it...plug?) two things he's got going on.  Why?  I guess because it's good karma and these one of a kind bad boys are handcrafted in the U.S.A.

First off, through the end of this month, which is May...and only a few days away...ZazzyPop is running a "Buy 3 Get 1 Free" deal.  I mean that's a pretty good offer if you ask me.  What's free these days?

Also, a good reason why you should definitely consider taking advantage of the offer is because ZazzyPop is also holding a 2012 "Big Fish" contest where all you have to do is send in a pic of a big fish caught on a ZazzyPop and you can win a free custom fly rod from Misfit Rods as well as a barrel full of ZazzyPops.  What?  Yeah, I'm not lying.  More contest info can be found HERE.  You can't win if you don't play, so get some ZazzyPops and get on the water!

Ummm...do you like to dance?  These folks evidently do...and no, there is no truth to the rumor that this is behind the scenes footage at last year's Tenkara Summit.  Although with enough Sapporo sake bombs, I'm certain Dr. Ishigaki and Daniel-San can make this look tame.




Totally random thought...anyone else excited about the sequel to Anchorman?

Finally, time for some blog love.  Yeah...with a three month Nibbles hiatus I'm horny as a two headed rhinoceros...and need to give out all kind of virtual hugs and kisses and other unwanted advances.

First on the list is Fly Hook Chronicles a blog written by "Fish4Life" but also known as "flyfishing84" on Instagram...or Steven Carr.  It's a blog with a lot of pictures, a lot of fish, and just interesting to look at from time to time.  Check it.

Fly Hook Chronicles Ink

The second bit of blog love is actually just re-establishing the locale of a blog that's been highlighted in this space before.  What was once "Average Outdoors" is now post identity crisis and is now going by "The Eastern Fly."  This blog is currently in it's tenkara phase, which I can appreciate, but if that's not your thing, don't get lost in that.  There's a lot of other content on here that's worth checking out too.