Traveling Stickers...

Out there in the distant lands of the USA and Canada, there's few of these beauties floating around.

Some in Utah.  Some in Idaho and Montana.

I know some superstar blogger that has one or two in South Carolina

None the less, always makes me smile when the logo shows up in my inbox, showing me where it's traveled to.

Springtime Lighting

In the turbulence between seasons, the lighting is pretty damn amazing.

Get out and enjoy it.

Hatcheries are Good, Um...What?

El Guapo at the Chum brought this wonderful bit to light today on his blog, and I couldnt help but re-post.

I wonder if you started a tally, how many things does this guy say go 100% against what is true in the hatchery vs wild debate.  My guess...everything he says

Enjoy!  Bring a barf bag along with you.

Wild Steelhead Coalition Benefit Dinner...WOW!

What a stunning display of top shelf food and drinks all to benefit a great cause.

The Dry Fly Distillery and Sante Restaurant 2 night dinner event to benefit the Wild Steelhead Coalition was a smashing success.  Over 80 people over the 2 nights got the chance to enjoy some of the most creative food and drink pairings I have ever seen.  Check out the menu

The theme was Pub Food Done Better, and man alive it was.  When's the last time you had Wild Alaskan Salmon, Frog Legs, Duck Wings, Kangaroo, Rabbit and Ostrich in the same meal?  Yeah, same for me.  The entire meal was focused on local ingredients (sans Kanga) and sources of sustainability.

The bartenders at Sante created some off the wall but amazing drinks to pair with the four course fest.   Check out the second course.  That drink is TROUBLE.

A great deal of funds were raised for the coalition, and we are extremely grateful to the Sante and Dry Fly Distillery for the opportunity.  We hope to combine efforts again soon to make impact for the WSC and other conservation organizations

We'll check back when the official tally of what was raised is confirmed.

Indoor Fishing With Big C....

I now know why my father did his best to keep us from fishing the tanks at the sportsman's shows that rolled into town in the spring, but ultimately never succeeded.

It smells horrible.  The kiddie pools are filled to the brim with some of the saddest fish on the planet.  Think about it, raised in a hatchery then put in a bathtub to be caught.  Not the world's best existence right?

But when Big C saw those fish swimming around and with his emotional mixture of curiosity, excitement and a bit of nervousness, I knew we'd be all over it.

$3 bucks per fish, a rod with a fixed line, bobber weight and a crappie jig.  To really speed up the process the volunteers had cans of corn, which to these fish are the equivalent to magnets

In the pool the offering goes and C's hands clutched the rod with all his strength, which is considerable considering he's 2 1/2 but the size of your average 4 year old.  Bobber down and fish comes tail-walking with our assistance over the rail, splashing C in the process

So terrified yet so excited.  We repeated this process 3 other times till we had a nice mess of hatch dogs.

He wanted to carry his bag of fish, and "no dadda/momma, I carry it" was all we heard as we left the ponds....oh wait....indoor lakes....oh hell, they're kiddy pools of fish

But to C, it was pretty darn fun.

I guess I owe my father a big thank you for letting me do the same when I was young.

The Legendary Frank Moore

If you've ever read any fly fishing magazines, you've seen this gentleman staring back at you.

The North Umpqua  Ambassidor himself, Frank Moore

Never have met the man, but I find it uniquely awesome that through steelhead and conservation, I feel a kinship that can only be shared by those of a shared goal

Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to shake his hand in person.  First for his service to our country, and second, for well....something in the whole scope of things, is far more trivial

Enjoy the show....

Guideline Eyegear Review....

Yes, why yes they do. 

My answer to the question "Do they make you handsomer?"

Beyond the trivial questions like that, these glasses get the Chucking Line and Chasing Tail stamp of approval

The good folks at Guideline gave me the opportunity to put these eye covers to the test and they have lived up to what I was hoping for.    

Model Tested--The KEEL

Here are the top reasons 8 reasons I dig these glasses from Guideline

1.  Lightweight-- After a while, you kind of forget they're there.   As in they might float away

2.  Snug to the face--Two soft plastic points in the frame, from the temple piece that sits near the ear to the nose bridge where it molds around your snozzle

3.  Unfair to the fish--The smarter people than I tell me that they screen out 100% of UV A and B Rays and the polarization is superb.  All I can say is that I can look through the water and see fish before they see me

4.  Eye coverage-- One of my biggest pet peeves is when frames come into the field of view.  Big lenses on this frame give me no issue with this here

5.  Warranty--Because when my goofiness comes down on the frame, it's nice to know that their warranty will take care of you.

6.  Wife Approval--Check, check and check...she digs them..

7.  Great in low light and high sun--pretty self-explanatory

8.  Less dent in your wallet--They're a heck of a value for their price point.  You get a lot for $69.95

So what would I change......

I cant speak to the technical aspects of the frame or the levels of polarization, but what I would do is consider offering a few more frame and lens combinations.  Right now there's 3 styles to choose from.

Other than that...go and check them out.  I think you'll be happy you did   

Find more info about Guideline and their offerings by clicking HERE

Tomfoolery...

It's getting to be that time of year.  Gobble Gobble.

I spend a lot of time searching this things out and finding places to hunt.  But just to spite me, there's a large flock in my darn neighborhood that are safe from my calls and ultimately, my Benelli.

Driving home I came around the corner to a very special sight, 2 very mature tom's beating the hell out of each other.  

They were so absorbed in the fight that I stopped my car, grabbed my Iphone and snapped away for 5 minutes.  Only after one asserted dominance did they wander off into the bushes

Here's where the pecking order was confirmed

They spent a long time biting each other and chest bumping.  These birds werent jakes, but full blown boss toms.  Sex and turkey testosterone are crazy things.

Good luck this turkey season. 

Civil Disobedience Steelhead....Occupy Skagit!

Like a little protest in the name of what's right in steelhead fishing?....then if you can,

you've got something to do on April 6th

You get to Occupy the Skagit River

A group of like minded anglers started this cause to revive the Catch and Release season on the Skagit River system.

Learn more about the cause and what you can do to join and help out

Click HERE to visit the group's facebook page and hopefully you can Occupy the Skagit on April 6th, starting at 9am at Howard Miller Steelhead Park on the banks of the Skagit in Rockport, WA

Catch and Release is not a crime!

Hey Beaver.....

Your work is not, and I repeat, not done

Gets to chomping!