gone fishin'

me and "old-timey" wally is outta here for a coupla days.

uh oh... bass in Davis Lake

the Eugene Register-Guard has a well-done recap. Money quote:

In its first attempt to estimate the size of the bass population last year, the ODFW calculated that in excess of 8,000 bass greater than eight inches long lived in the lake.
Follow-up sampling completed the weekend of May 19-20 indicates the population is now about 14,200.

in the end, it all comes back to bacon

Lord knows we've spent a number of very valuable AHW posts discussing bacon -- there was WT's bacon-fried connamon rolls that started it all; there were the maple bacon donuts, and now: maple bacon cupcakes with maple frosting. Money Quote:

The brown sugar and maple syrup make the cupcakes sweet while the minced bacon salts it. The maple frosting is then sprinkled with turbinado sugar and sea salt. The cake is light, salty, sweet, and just... well, different. In a good way. If you're a fan of salty sweet combos, then you'll like this cupcakes as it shows off bacon's true versatility as not just a tasty breakfast bit, but a true key ingredient in sweet things.

anglers! commence thee commencing!

Hey! It's the weekend -- and a long one to boot! Woot! Woot! Woot! Your pals at Thee Ass Hooked Whitey Kollecktive (and brewery) wish yuo and productive holiday. As for thee Kollective, well, we'll try to do better after the break. And now, we're gonna kick it over to our close personal friends, The Specials, who request that you "Enjoy Yourself". Take it away, kids!

holy jesus! world record* capr!

I was pretty excited to see the picture of the world record capr (above) until I actually took the time to read the story in the Daily Mail. Seems the angler, Graham Slaughter, caught "Kylie" using tuna for chum and something called "solar byt bolies" for bait.
"I used Solar byt boilies as bait and had laid down some tuna in the water. It slicks and attracts carp which have a great sense of smell. "The boilies are a mix of shrimp, yeast and tiger nuts. They love the taste of the shrimp and yeast and the tiger nuts are crunchy which they like.
"I then went back to the shore where I sat and waited for a bite.
"It gave me a real buzz when my alarm went off. It's the moment you are waiting for when you are sitting there with your rod.
chum?... bait?... ALARM?!?! OK, world record, maybe, but world record wiff an *

George Bush hates this fish

From the ENS newswire:
Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today into reports that a Bush political appointee may have improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened species in order to protect her own financial interests.
Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior Department deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, was actively involved in removing the Sacramento splittail fish from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of a farm that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish, according to an investigative report published Sunday by the "Contra Costa Times" newspaper.

thee now we've seen everything dept: a dog what loves crass!

We've never pegged little dogs as having much musical taste, but here it is!

all is well in the midwest... except...

thee FW Daily News is on the story:

A new controversy is flaring up along our local trout streams. It involves a hot fly that attracts trout like iron filings to a magnet.

Some fly fishermen declare the killer pattern profanes fly-fishing’s sacred traditions. They declare its use is abhorrent, marking the end of civilization as we know it. Others are more relaxed, viewing its appearance on our local waters as a passing fancy, an aberration in the evolution of fly-fishing that soon will fade into oblivion, like the Studebaker automobile.

Who is right?

More importantly, what is the name of the fly?

stupid, stupid whales

Delta and Dawn (yup, they have now been named) continue to swim in circles in the Sacramento River. Why won't they go back into the ocean? Why are they just swimming in circles. What do they want? What are they attempting to tell us? Why does Trout Underground's Tom Chandler do nothing? We want answers, dammit!

UPDATE!!! Chandler fishes the upper Sacramento, but still...

No more free meat. Alas, Les Schwab is no more

Good night, radial king. Crosscut has a nice send off.

holy jesus! cicadas! CICADAS!

If you still reside in the Midwest, be on the lookout for what is being called "brood XIII" -- it's the every-17-years-or-so emergence of the loud, red-eyed hard-partying cicada. But what we really wanna know is, can you eat them? Answer: Yes! Both cicadas and shrimp are arthropods, so melt some better and todd a few hundred on the Webber!

rejoice! thee AHW has returned!

gone fishing

we shall return in a couple/few days

whein it becomes thee weekend

ahh... thee wild billy childish (wiff, i think, wolf howard on harp) in the midst of an old blues situation. we'll be back next week, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. until then, o! anglers, chin up!

a new condo in hell!

Yep, the auction over at http://v-bay.blogspot.com/ is still going great guns and you should head over there and bid on something for this great cause. Bloggers from all over the FF blogosphere have posted about this and most FFBB also have a post or two about this very worth cause.
Uh.... "most"?
Yup... "most" as in not all.
A note regarding this auction was removed by Fly Anglers Online (no link, no way). Hard to believe, but true. After hearing about this, thee kollecktive emailed publisher. Here's her response:

We do not allow auctions or charity requests on FAOL.
We never have. We receive about a dozen requests a week to post for fund
raising for some good cause - and we can't do them all. If we do it for
one, we must do it for all...so we just don't allow it. Plus, most are not
fly fishing related.
Sorry if that offends you.
Regards,
Deanna Birkholm
Publisher, FAOL

Well, it took our crack research staff all of 30 seconds to find these:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=16133
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15834

We'll allow thee angler to draw his/her own conclusions

...and then you die vol. 4

the ever-popular AHW mini-jumbo series is back and 169% badder than ever! we'll admit to cribbing this one from our close personal pals over at kissing suzy kolber (and we'll even steal their 4 inherent truths about this video):

1. It desperately needs to be at least four times longer.

2. Everything becomes 40% cooler when it's set to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage."

3. Hyenas are fucking assholes.

4. Male lions always get a bad rap. "Oh, the lionesses do all the hunting and killing; the males have little purpose besides roaring and insemination." Oh yeah? Well, it seems to me that the pride would have a big fuckin' hyena problem if Mufasa didn't pull the occasional deus ex machina. RAWR! Run away from this, shithead. Oh wait, you can't -- I've snapped your hind leg with my jaws of death. FACE.

ANGLERS! IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! AUCTION FOR VINNY

Who is Vinny?

Vinny was born with an extremely rare neurological disorder called Canavan Disease (CD). Only about 500 cases have ever been documented in the US. Because he lacks a gene that controls acid build up in the white matter of his brain, his motor functions are severely affected. Since his grey matter is not affected, his thinking ability is not diminished. But he cannot walk or speak or even hold up his own head. He can, however, reach out, communicate through noises, and smile and laugh to let you know he is happy. While there is no cure for CD, we want you to join us to help the Wardens make Vinny as happy and comfortable as possible while we are graced with his presence. You can read more about this wonderful little boy at www.vincentshope.org or on V-bay: the charity auction site to benefit Vinny Warden.

What is V-bay?

http://v-bay.blogspot.com/

As suggested by the name, V-bay is a charitable auction of (generally) fishing related goods and services donated from the heart.

You’ll find:

Flies of all kinds: Unique fresh and saltwater selections handmade by some of the most skilled and inventive tiers around.

Gear: Quality new and gently used rods, reels, nets, and other essentials you wouldn’t want to hit the water without.

Services: Take a guided trip or boost your fishing and tying skills with the help of Vinny’s aunts and uncles.

Vinny’s attic: To us, you’re like family. Feel free to poke around here. You never know what you might find.

Got your attention? Good. Please visit V-bay today at http://v-bay.blogspot.com/ where Vinny and the high bidder always win.

WHO KNEW? Eastern Fly Fishing Mag plays dumb re. Donny Beaver

UPDATE!
We received plenty of responses on our piece yesterday "letters to other editors" wherein reader Steve Bacon sent a letter to John Shewey, Managing Editor of Eastern Fly Fishing questioning the propriety of featuring the Spring Ridge Club within the pages of the magazine. Here's Shewey's response:

Our intention with “Exposure” is always simply to present a spread of great photos. Certainly we had no idea of the issues surrounding the Spring Ridge Club—we simply received a query from a freelance photographer suggesting an Exposure piece on “Pennsylvania Spring Creeks.” Seemed like a good topic, photographed by a great photographer, so we accepted. The normal process is to have our art staff choose the photos and then ask the photographer to provide captions; obviously we made a mistake in using one of the captions to provide a website plug for the club—thanks to your email, we realize now that our policy in the future should be to not provide plugs for private businesses photographed in the Exposure section. In some cases, we do run feature and short articles about private fee fisheries and in all such cases we disclose the fact in the text. As I said, however, in the case of Exposure sections, our aim is simply to provide our readers with a spread of great photos, captioned appropriately. We’ll pay closer attention to those captions in the future!

Thanks for you input.

Regards,
John Shewey
Managing Editor

from the about gotdamned time dept: puget sound steelhead listed as threatened

From the Seattle PI

On Monday, the federal government decided it is time for serious changes to prevent Puget Sound steelhead from disappearing altogether.

The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the fish as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. The agency proposed the listing just over a year ago in response to a petition from Sam Wright of Olympia.

The "threatened" listing is not as severe as the agency's strongest protection, "endangered" but it still provides substantial protections for the fish, spokesman Brian Gorman said.

"In terms of their present condition, they were in perilous shape, but it also means that they are now afforded some very serious federal protections," he said. "Other federal agencies (now) need to come to us for permission to do anything that might affect these fish."....

Heather Bartlett, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that the most rigorous restriction available is to require sport fishermen to release wild fish. That rule is already in effect on all Puget Sound-area rivers, she said.

there is more to life than an improved clinch knot

Our close personal friends o'er at Mother Earth News illustrate a coupla sexy knots for your titillation. Ohhhh.... sheepshank! Ahhhhhh.... taut line hitch. Mmmmmmm.... carrick bend.

digression: western conference championships (nhl)

letters to other editors

A Kollecktive reader submits this note:

To Steve Probasco, Editor-In-Chief--Eastern FlyFishing,

A faithful reader of Eastern FlyFishing, I had not noticed there is no "Letter to the Editor" Section. Until now I had not looked. The May/June 2007 Issue featured a photo-spread on fishing Pennsylvania Spring Creeks. Photo captions, and the featured angler's hat, referenced the Spring Ridge Club. A caption also referenced its web site. Recently, a Pennsyvania Court found that the Spring Ridge Club and its proprieter, Donny Beaver, were illegally keeping anglers off public water. In some instances by stringing wire cables across streams. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07031/758103-358.stm (Post-Gazette Article) Beaver has also engaged in efforts to turn Ohio's steelhead fishery (a resource created and maintained with public funds) into a pay to fish "destination".

Does Eastern Flyfishing condone these activities or other efforts to keep the fishing public off of public waters? I noticed that you accept advertising from an "outfitter" that in Beaver's own words, acts as a "trojan horse" to allow Mr. Beaver and his club to see if individuals fit the "club profile". If someone fits the profile (the membership fee is over $80,000.00) they can be taken to the "inner sanctum" at various flyfishing shows and be shown what life can be like when you exclude the people from what is rightfully theirs. http://troutunderground.com/pdf%20files/springridgenewsletter.pdf

There was no disclaimer in the issue calling the "article" an advertisement. Please advise as to whether other waters featured in your magazine require an over $80,000 deposit to fish. If this is a requirement on waters you feature, you should disclose such a fact. I imagine that most of your subscribers do not fit this demographic and would appreciate such a disclosure up front. I am not against a property owner exerscising his or her rights. I am against a property owner hijacking a public resource for profit and calling it conservation.

Steve Bacon

is it friday already?

Another 169% action-packed week at thee Ass Hooked Whitey Kompound has come and gone. We'll allow our close personal friend, Taj Mahal, to usher in the weekend. See ya next week.

wherein we post a gentle reminder to thee angler

bugs we love: caddis

Thee Kollecktive is gearing up for the upcoming caddis storms on our locals. Generally, our boxes are stocked with Al Troth's elkhair and a whole bunch Iris caddis, but we couldn't help but be impressed with this amazing pattern as tied by Graham Owen

update: FUGAZI!

We had a large response to our post regarding the question: "what the heck ever happened to Fugazi, anyway?". Well, they are alive and well on the internets! The band has uploaded twelve (12!) free shows for streaming or download enjoyment over at archive.org. Woot!

holy jesus! petrified forest found in Yakima

From this morning's Seattle Times:
"SOMEWHERE NEAR YAKIMA -- Clyde Friend was bulldozing a driveway around his shop when he first saw them in the dirt: gleaming pieces of the past. A forest of stone, more than 15 million years old." Check out the cool pics in the slide show.

Relax Ladies: the ass hooked whitey kollecktive shall return tomorrow

thee official japanese baseball team of AHW

Go get 'em, Capr!

holy jesus! another edition of Triploid!

Worse and worser: screwing washington anglers on TWO rivers!

It's bad enough that Red's fly shop is ripping up the Yakima River canyon to install a private "fractional membership" lodge and cabins along the Yakima River (with a swimming pool and decorative vineyard!) even though the lodge sits in a flood plain. Now Steve Joyce and co. are preparing to pimp out dearly-held carp flats along the Columbia river. No, we NOT providing a link.