sure, AHW sucked this week, but we're STILL better than Fly Fisherman magazine

We promise to do better next week. until then, enjoy this clip of John Cooper Clark reading his most famous bit o' "verse"

and then you die (part 3, death from above)

and then you die (part 2 in hi-def!)

Seals getting snuffed in hi-def. Yet more proof that one should use more streamers.

update: it's tarpon

the "carp of the keys" wins the versus "big fish bracket challenge".

american idol: wanda jackson

holy jesus! jesus fishing with hunter s thompson!!! AHW has the pics!

teddy roosevelt clears his throat

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt

down with the captain

Captain Morgan, the deliciously trollish troll over at The Klan is suddenly not so popular. She's still funny, but the Klansmen are a bit peeved.

and then you die

Terror of the Deep

dredging a pit of despair

This is perhaps the funniest troll on a FFBB we've seen in a while, and if it's not a troll (very unlikely), it's at least got their peckers up over at The Klan.

I raised one daughter and divorced a wealthy man at 48, Meantime, I had a wonderful career and now find myself faced with knocking about the countryside in search of fish. Most of the men I meet my age have forgotten what it means to be a gentleman. They have poor taste in food, alcoholic drinks, have no idea how to fish properly, are generally churlish and adolescent in their behaviors and are poorly read. What happened?

Hilarity, that's what happens....

reminder: fishing tackle is for pussies

something fishy in the Big Fish Bracket Challenge

Yeah, it's the season for all things "march madness" but our pals over at the network VS have taken March Madness into the outdoors with their ridiculous -- yet somewhat entertaining -- Big Fish Bracket Challenge. The've got it whittled down to the "Elite 8" at the moment and here's how this shit is shaking down:
In the Zane Grey bracket, it's bonefish vs brown trout
In the Hemmingway Region it's Tarpon vs Steelhead
In Lefty's Region it's Bluefin vs Permit and finally,
In the Wulff Region it's Tigerfish vs Smallmouth Bass
This bracket is bullshit for a coupla reasons:
1. Where's the Bill Dance region? How can you talk big fish without Bill fucking Dance? Answer: YOU CANNOT! It's like having the NCAA hoops tournament without Billy Packer
2. Where is the capr? Oh... I see, Capr was beaten IN THE FIRST FUCKING ROUND! Whaaa??? Yes... and beaten by Smallmouth Bass. YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! THIS IS BULLSHIT!
3. And finally, again referring to the troublesome Wulff Region -- who fucking fishes for Tigerfish?

thee bad livers

A recent post on the chowhound food site points to the upsurge in home distilling... a.k.a. moonshining. of course, thee kollecktive applauds this effort.
money quote:

When he gets off work, John Sherwood, 28, makes whiskey. The culinary school graduate and café manager buys a type of processed corn at a home-brewing store, ferments it with water and yeast, and runs this “mash” through a still. He barrels the resulting corn liquor to age. He’s accumulated 20 gallons that he hopes will be transformed from hootch to mellow whiskey by New Year’s Eve 2009.

“I want to make a quality, higher-end whiskey—not like Jack Daniels,” says Sherwood..."

holy jesus! CATFISH IN THE L.A. RIVER!

More than anything else, the LA River is a flood control channel, but some bloggers have noticed fish living in the thing!!! This gives all Washington anglers hope for our own beloved drainage ditch, the Yakima River.

attention bog trotters: commence drinking!

the dubliners and the pogues chase the devil round the meetin' house. real irish!

serious question: what the fuck is wrong with you, donny?

The uber-bagger of the spring ridge club speaks in a new interview that can only be described as a "cyber rim job". yuh... we laughed out loud. money quote:

Q: You advertise the club as “conservation-minded”. Tell us about some of the steps you’ve taken to cultivate that value in the club’s organization and among your membership base.

A: During the interview process with prospective members, we ask them to share their conservation goals with us. The vast majority of our members are already active in land trusts and other conservation-oriented organizations. Also, the Club has a very active Conservation Committee made up of members and staff who constantly monitor our fisheries and surrounding lands.

Yea... with a shotgun.

Wherein Bobby Knight's Fishing Season Commences

UPDATE: The "other" fly fishing coach, Gonzaga's Mark Few, is now wondering just what vest pocket he stashed those mushrooms in.

recent keyword activity

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Admit it, it sucks: Seattle Media Outdoor Coverage

Please god, send Seattle's MSM an outdoor writer who -- like -- actually writes about the outdoors. The Seattle Times outdoor coverage consists of Mark Yuasa keying in press releases and printing F&W fish checks. Woah! Enterprise journalism! At the Post-Intelligencer, things are marginally better. Greg Johnson will occasionally get a few inches to write about offshore trolling or some sorta gear chucking, but c'mon.... The P-I now has a "flyfishing blog" written by David Williams, but the disclaimer makes it clear: Williams' Flyfishing Northwest blog is... "not written or edited by the P-I. They are written by readers, for readers. The authors are solely responsible for content."
Hey, thanks

thee olde fish slapping dance

clicky! only 15 seconds! funny!

digital hotspots (besides AHW, of course)

Holy smokes, while thee Kollecktive was away recently the issue of digital hotspotting has become the latest shrieking point on the fly fishing pits of despair. What's digital hotspotting? Well, over at the Digital Fishing Guide they'll send you GPS waypoints of an allegedly super-dooper fishing hole, a flash slideshow of the site as well as some PDFs with additional info. How much? $45.00. HAW-HAW-HAW!!
Blogger Zach Matthews now offers zip files containing google earth files of locations including the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Matthews does not charge for his downloads. So why does he go through the trouble?

I believe that our fisheries are becoming overcrowded, particularly in the Southeast. The reasons for overcrowding aren't natural, however, but instead are a product of a crowd mentality. On any given Saturday morning on tailwaters throughout the eastern U.S., you may find yourself seeking solitude among a crowd of other anglers standing shoulder to shoulder. This is ironic, because perfectly good warmwater and lesser trout fishing opportunities abound in every state. Are "lesser" streams still fun to fish? Of course they are, particularly if the pressure is less and you have room to breathe. Further, many of these spots are close to towns and cities, providing harried workaday anglers the chance to get on the water when a full day trip isn't on the table.

There's one other big goal here, and I think it is important. Rivers need friends. While too many friends can crowd out and kill a river, having none at all is usually worse. If you visit a location you see here to find that it is littered or degraded, please consider organizing a clean up. Many "marginal" fisheries got that way through neglect, and with a little attention, could once again support excellent fishing.

And so the bulletin boards are in yet another tizzy. The action can be followed at FAOL, the Drake, Fly Fishermen and certainly a host of other sites (sigh). Feel free to add your insights in comments.

O! Thee, where ya been for so verry long?

We been a ramblin'...

One small step for bacon, one giant leap for fishermen

Besides getting the grand idea to start up Flytimes "Old Timey" Fly Fishing Blog, the smartest thing WT ever did was invent the bacon fried cinnamon roll --- a monument to culinary inspiration if there ever was one. But what's this? Coming from Portland's Voodoo Donuts we have recieved word of the Bacon Maple Bar. YES! THE BACON MAPLE BAR!!!

your favorite flies -- smashed to bits

Da. It's in German. Deal.

Gone Fishing

Posting to resume around Wednesday or so...