The Low Energy Trout Underground: Waiting to Cast

I’d love to wax rhapsodic about the beautiful, sunny day, but in truth, I’m a little beat up, courtesy several late nights and a truly irritating leg injury. So after two weeks of work, travel and more work — basically not fly fishing — I’m making it a point to go this afternoon.

Where? I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter. I’m sure you understand.

Wayne Eng gets to go fishing. Now I do too.

Of course, even though my metabolism has ground to a halt and my brain feels like it’s draped in cobwebs, the fly fishing world continues to bomb along, leaving humor, absurdity, perception and even a little weirdness in its wake.

Barbed Humor

Of course, for weirdness, there’s no better place to go than the Contemplative Angler, who once again exercises his wry wit, penning an excellent article about the use of barbless flies. After reading it, we know why he fishes alone.

Donny Beaver Humor

Our good friend Donny Beaver bought (and immediately posted) yet another piece of property on Pennsyvlania’s Yellow Creek on behalf of the Spring Ridge Club — that much loved organization dedicated to creating a lot of fat trout and then selling them to those with the most bucks.

Private fishing clubs are a reality, but what burns me about Donny is that he masquerades as a conservationist. He’s not.

So where’s humor? Guess there isn’t any.

Good News for Salmon

A federal judge delivered a smackdown to the current administration’s attempt to include hatchery salmon in wild salmon counts. (A somewhat pathetic attempt to skirt endangered species protections for salmon.)

From the Seattle Times :

The “threatened” listing was based on a decision by the government to count millions of hatchery fish alongside wild salmon when determining what protections to place on several Washington state runs.

Coughenour maintained there is a difference between hatchery and wild fish, and said government policy must be focused on preserving natural life cycles.

“Though it scarcely seems open to debate, the Court concludes that in evaluating any policy or listing determination under the ESA [Endangered Species Act], its pole star must be the viability of naturally self-sustaining populations in their naturally-occurring habitat,” Coughenour wrote.

“To be sure, the inclusion of hatchery fish alongside natural fish … strikes the Court as odd.”

Odd. That’s a pretty nice word for a pretty fucked up policy, but the good guys won this one. For now.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

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