January 2008

You hope you don’t come home from a fishing trip to find a headline like this waiting for you, but there it is — the New Zealand Mud Snails have been found in Lake Shasta, which — you’ve gotta figure — means they’ll probably end up in the Lower Sac at some point in the near future.

Mud snails are tiny, but very hardy and tenacious.

The Upper Sacramento? Who knows. It wouldn’t take much to spread them upstream. From the Redding Record Searchlight:

In an effort to stop the spread of a tiny, invasive snail, anglers are being asked to freeze or dry out their waders after a dip at Lake Shasta.

Last month the lake was discovered to be the latest body of water in California where the hardy New Zealand mud snail lives, said Kyle Orr, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game.

Hopefully, anglers will act responsibly to avoid spreading this invasive species — which has no known predators in the USA.

It covers lake and river bottoms at such high densities that other invertebrate life is simply squeezed out of the food chain. And of course, less food = fewer fish.

If you’re not sure how to remove New Zealand Mud Snails from waders and boots (they’re extremely good at hitching rides), then you might want to read California Fish & Game’s report on their field tests, which include this summary paragraph:

We believe that the use of copper sulfate, benzethonium chloride or Formula 409® Disinfectant immersion baths or in dry sacks provides an acceptable alternative to the current physical methods of removing NZMS from wading gear. Copper sulfate was also effective when sprayed on the gear.

These have the advantage of requiring less than 30 minutes to complete versus freezing (4 to 6 hours) or desiccation (possibly days) and cleaning can be done in the field. However, it may be necessary to carry a container to place the gear in during cleaning. After cleaning, the gear should not be rinsed with site water as this may place NZMS back on the gear. Care must also be taken to ensure that the cleaning solutions not enter surface water.

We propose that a possible cleaning protocol based on the results of this study could be distributed through an outreach program to various fishing groups, consultants and researchers that may visit NZMS infested waters (Appendix 3).

Freezing your boots and waders for 4-6 hours is also an extremely effective way to rid yourself of the pests. In addition, I now use a second set of waders and boots when I travel (Tennessee, Maine, etc) in the hopes I’ll prevent the spread of something vile and as yet unknown (either way).

I’ll post more on this infestation as the information becomes available.

See you at the wader cleaning station, Tom Chandler.

Technorati tags: mud snail, new zealand mud snail, lake shasta, mud snail infestation, invasive species, bad bad news

Nestle’s McCloud representative will tell you the company is a “good corporate citizen” (apparently with a straight face), but all that talk falls completely flat in the face of the multinational’s actions on the ground.

We’ve seen it in McCloud, where they stated categorically their withdrawals wouldn’t affect Squaw Creek — without even bothering to monitor existing flows.

In Maine — after being told repeatedly by the people of Fryeburg that Nestle’s proposed 50-trucks a day loading station wasn’t welcome — they filed suit, lost, appealed to the Maine Supreme Court, and lost again (here’s the YouTube video of the arguments).

Yet they’re still not done trying to force 100 truck trips per day down the small, rural town’s throat. From the MaineBiz site:

After a long, drawn-out battle with the town to set up a water trucking station where 50 trucks a day would load up with spring water from a nearby aquifer, the planning board in November said the facility did not fit within the town’s rural zoning district.

In the last two years, the case has circulated through the planning board and appeals board, and up to the Oxford County Superior Court and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Both courts remanded the matter to the planning board, according to the Sun Journal in Lewiston.

In November, Fryeburg residents approved a six-month moratorium on the bulk transport and processing of water in town.

Now the bottled water company, owned by Nestlé Waters North America, is trying to get another verdict from the board of appeals.

Notice that the residents of Fryeburg said “no” to Nestle’s trucks — loud and clear — and Nestle doesn’t care.

Nestle even argued before the Maine Supreme Court that their right to grow their market share superceded the town’s right of self-determination.

Good corporate citizen?

Apparently, when “good corporate citizenship” clashes with their bottom line, Nestle’s real character is revealed — and not even their extensive PR department can hide it.

I have few illusions about the Underground’s ability to bulldoze a predatory multinational out of Siskiyou County, but I’m even less amenable to the idea of standing around with my hands in my pockets.

If you’re inclined to let Nestle know you’ve noticed their words don’t match their actions, then consider visiting the Protect Our Waters Coalition Web site.

The coalition includes CalTrout, Trout Unlimited, and the McCloud Watershed Council, and they’re dedicated to protecting all of Siskiyou County’s water (which includes a hell of a lot trout rivers and streams) from predators like Nestle.

They’re not a membership organization, but if you’re inclined to join something, make it CalTrout — they’re doing more for fisheries in the state than anyone.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

Technorati Tags: nestle,nestle waters,fryeburg,mccloud,bottled water,predatory multinationals

As I leaf back through the Trout Underground’s 2007 archives, I’m struck by the fact that yes — the year has officially passed me by, and yes, I’ve got several hundred thousand words to prove I was awake while it happened.

(I can’t remember — is it the memory that goes first or is it the knees?)

 
Maine ain’t hard on the eyes.

The Environmental Thing

We had more than our share of fun in 2007, though if you take a run through the archives, you’ll notice it’s also the year the Underground got a little cranky with the people (and the predatory corporations) that want to denude our watersheds, extinguish our salmon runs, steal our water, privatize public water, and flood our rivers with higher dams.

I have little desire to turn the Underground into one of those spittle-streaked blogs where every other post features a venomous attack on Nestle or Westlands or our prehistoric Board of Supervisors (not that it wouldn’t be fun) or some other environmental miscreant (plenty of available villans), so I’ve passed on stories I probably should have run.

Those are backcountry Brookie rise rings. We love it.

And I haven’t even touched on California’s water wars, which encompass a battery of largely farcical statements, unacknowledged realities, and plain stupid behavior.

The obvious answer is to fire up a separate water/fly fishing issues blog — complete with an “action” list of people who need to hear from the “strike team” of readers.

Sadly, there’s that little question of time. Given the amount of non-revenue producing time already invested on the Underground, a new blog represents a one-way ticket to insolvency and divorce.

I have no answers, but I did want to acknowledge the question. If anyone has an idea, feel free to write it on a winning lottery ticket and mail it to me immediately. I’ll give it every consideration.

Stoneflies in June. Part and parcel of every year.

In 2007, the Underground Stayed Close to Home

Though I fished in Maine and Tennessee again, 2007 found me sticking closer to home. No trips to Idaho in Winter or Belize in fall, though I did hike my way to a lot of backcountry waters I hadn’t seen before (and a few I had), and yes, that did cut into my time on the Upper Sacramento.

I’d feel bad about that, but it’s hard to argue with jewel-like (and admittedly small) trout in tiny streams and impossibly beautiful mountain lakes, and there are only 24 hours in a day.

The backcountry. Spent a fair amount of time there in 2007.

And admittedly, the latter part of 2007 was consumed by things which — like a herd of little space-time carnivores — pretty seriously ate into my fishing time.

In the interest of not sounding like a massive whiner, I won’t list them here (though our very time-consuming fight with the Sisikiyou County Board of Supervisors ranks among them). Sometimes, life just intrudes.

Still, anyone who lives near a lifetime’s worth of fly fishing water probably shouldn’t expect a lot of folks to cry along with him, and so I’ll move on to…

What’s Next?

That’s a good question. If the Trout Underground were a corporate enterprise, I’d have a “Mission Statement” and Team Building exercises (and you’d all have to take drug tests).

Given the somewhat doubtful chemical histories of many of my readers, I suggest we skip the corporate angle, and move forward with the predictions.

Expect to see the usual philosophical fishing reports, the typical barrage of pictures, the same snarky take on the industry and world at large, and a few longer, more serious articles.

 
There’s a stream there somewhere. Rest assured we fished it.

We might also plunge into the shadowy realm of podcasts, and yes — I am trying to find a sound commercial footing for the Trout Underground.

I love this blog and the community of seriously odd people that have gathered round it, but in truth, it’s hard to imagine any non-trust-funded writer generating original content at this pace without eventually burning out or enjoying some kind of financial return.

That’s the subject of another half-written post: The online fly fishing world — where it’s headed, and why it’s probably not sustainable in its non-commercial form. Stay tuned.

Of course, feel free to post ideas, suggestions and rants in the comments section.

Above All Else, Enjoy Fishing in 2008

That’s the bottom line. Fly fishing is simply an excuse to do something engrossing in a beautiful setting, and while there are a million and one reasons not to go fishing, they’re mostly bullshit.

Ian Rutter on Hazel Creek.

Each year gives us a handful of real memories, and while I’ve got a bunch tied up in the L&T that we’re not going to discuss, most of the others revolve around friends, trout, fly rods, and — in my case — some outrageously beautiful backcountry settings.

You don’t generate those memories from your office, and you won’t generate them doing something you don’t want to do, so here’s the Underground’s advice — get out and fish the way you want to fish, and to hell with all the folks who think you’re not being as “efficient” as possible when it comes to catching fish.

We really are here for a short time, so don’t waste it generating non-memories. That’s 2008 in a nutshell.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

 
Home, sweet home.

In yet another stunning example of just how much more the Euros think of carp than your average US-based fly fisher, we bring you this little gem from the FishUpdate:

UNSCRUPULOUS fishery owners will have to think twice before buying dodgy carp from fish thieves in the future. Environment Agency Wales and Peterstone Fishery, near St Mellons, Cardiff, have joined forces to tag newly-stocked carp.

The fish of up to 30lb in size will each be identifiable thanks to an unique electronic tag inserted into each fish. The technology is already widely used by pet owners to tag their cats and dogs.

Anglers thinking of stealing fish from one fishery and either taking them to restock another water will not be able to tell if the fish they have caught are tagged or not.

Fishery owners wont be able to tell if the fish they buy have been secretly tagged or not their first indication that they’ve been duped by the rustlers might be Environment Agency Enforcement Officers or the police knocking on their fishery door.

Wow. Frankly, I can think of some fishermen I’d like to tag (thereby tracking them to their secret fishy holes), but fish? Carp? Carp thieves??

We’re simply going to recline for a while and try put this into perspective. The floor is yours, Undergrounders.

Prices at the annual Lang’s fishing collectibles auction went through the roof at this year’s event — so high that even the “if you have to check how expensive the magazine is, you shouldn’t buy it” Barron’s couldn’t fail to notice:

THE STOCK MARKET IS sinking, the dollar is diving, and housing has hit the skids, but the market for fishing “collectibles” — rods, reels, creels, lures, flies and more — is on the up, up and even further up. Witness the prices realized, some absolutely crazy, at Lang’s auction in Boxborough, Mass., in November. Two years earlier, Lang’s had set a world angling-auction record by topping $1 million. Since then, for the fifth straight sale, the Waterville, N.Y., firm has set record after record, with this last auction totaling a new high of $2.8 million.

OK? Is every one of the Undergrounder’s running trhough a mental inventory of their old gear — just in case there’s an old reel in the back of the closet that might finance a whole year of fishing?

We thought so.

Some of the highest prices were fetched by Zane Grey artifacts, including the love letters written to him by his (apparently) many mistresses:

Zane Grey prices were, well, zany. His original fighting chair (estimated at $7,500 to $10,000) realized $24,640. His personal fishing pennant in red and blue, with initials “ZG,” (estimated at $3,000 to $5,000) went for $23,400. A pair of leather cowboy pants he wore in the West (estimated at $3,000 to $4,000) sold for $9,625.

A recent biography by scholar Thomas Pauly revealed that although Grey was married, he had a dozen women on the side. The auction included four lots of love letters to him in a code that he devised for his gals. The top lot: two partly coded letters from a Mildred Smith (estimated at $300 to $500) brought $1,064. Well, the man didn’t fish all the time.

The Underground is tempted to sink into frat boy-level humor about Zane’s use of flies (and his inability to keep them zipped), but damnit — just this once — we’re taking the high road. Sorta.

I mean, we’ve gotta wonder when the guy found time to fish, but I’ll bet he didn’t own a snowblower. That’s all we’re saying here.

See you on the auction block, Tom Chandler.

The new Trout Underground World Headquarters is higher up the mountain than the old homestead, and while we knew — on an intellectual basis — that we’d see more snow, we hadn’t entirely confronted the issue in the truly visceral sense.

Well, I can scratch that item off the list (”Confront increased snowfall on a visceral level: check).

Friday the snow was wet and heavy; lifting a shovel of the stuff was an act of elbow abuse, and yet the new Trout Underground World Headquarters had a 200′ driveway jammed with a foot of the stuff — and that after I’d completely cleared it of eight inches of snow on Thursday.

This — unfortunately - set the stage for the Great Snowblower Disaster of 2008:

Sadly, my ailing snowblower wasn’t up to throwing wet snow, which lead to a lot of shoveling, which lead to my cough/cold coming back, which lead to a call to Chris Raine, which happened just before the power went out, which lead to a cold house, which I left just as Chris showed up with his snowblower, which wouldn’t start, which happened just before his truck got stuck in my driveway, which was just before I dug out my Bronco, which we used to unstick Chris’s truck, which was just before I broke his snowblower (which finally started) throwing the wet snow.

Simple, eh?

Snow Business

Over the last four days, we’ve seen more than a couple feet of snow, and the Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters backyard features belly-deep drifts that swallow Wally the Wonderdog whole when he hurls his sausage-shaped body at them in pursuit of dog treat.

It’s what passes for entertainment when the satellite dish is too clogged with snow to function, and besides, the whole house is suffering a bit of cabin fever.

In fact, I’m taking a little snowshoe trip up the road to where the county road ends and a forest service road begins, and the Wonderdog and I will spend a couple hours trying to navigate through several-foot drifts of what will become next year’s trout stream water.

Then I’ll come home and finish up my 2007 wrap-up post, which shouldn’t be too hard, what with the week ahead promising little but more snow.

There’s nothing like a captive writer when there are words to be written, though Wayne Eng told me the river’s actually fallen into fishable shape, and since it’s going to stay cold, it’s possible you’ll see a fishing report.

See you somewhere, Tom Chandler.

Development, drought and dewatering in the Northern Rockies are changing the streams and rivers of Montana — and not in a way that’s going to make too many fly fishermen happy: (found via Ted William’s Excellent Blog)

But now, a series of recent studies show the future of Montana’s fabled waters is in doubt. These days, drinking out of the once-pristine Gallatin is not recommended. There’s more algae on the river’s bed, and soon, thanks to increased sedimentation, those mayflies may disappear entirely. Assailed by drought, development, pollution and dewatering, the Blue Ribbon trout streams that form the great Missouri River are troubled waters, indeed.

An article in the Montana Standard suggests the biomass in many rivers and tribs in the Upper Missouri River basin is shifting from coldwater species to those that thrive in warmer waters:

At the Bozeman meeting of the American Fisheries Society last year, Dan McGuire, a researcher who has been studying the Upper Missouri basin for 30 years, broke grim news with his presentation, titled: “Long-term macroinvertebrate monitoring indicates fundamental environmental changes in the Upper Missouri River basin.”

McGuire looked at historic levels of aquatic insects, plants, sedimentation and flow rates on the Madison, Jefferson, Big Hole and Upper Missouri Rivers. After repeating a 1978 Fish, Wildlife and Parks study on the Jefferson River, McGuire wrote: “The differences in the macroinvertebrate community were dramatic.” Like the Gallatin EIS, McGuire found the traditional clean and cold water species of insects were diminishing and being replaced by non-insects such as “mollusks, worms, crustaceans.”

While McGuire says the main cause of the changes appears to be drought, he also mentions water use and management.

And Enjoy That Prozac — Compliments of Your Neighbor

Warming, over-fertilized rivers draw a knowing (if grim) nod from most of us, but later in the article we stumbled across some even less pleasing information — the damage done to groundwater supplies by the thousands of new septic tanks added to the landscape due to Montana’s development boom.

What are we talking about? Get this — the drugs that have already passed through someone’s body and septic tank (wretch):

What was perhaps less expected, but much more shocking to the general public, was the discovery of 22 PPCPs (pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disrupting compounds and pesticides). Of the 38 public and private domestic water wells tested, a shocking 80 percent contained the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and 40 percent contained the broadleaf weed-control herbicide atrazine, with lower detection rates for carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant, anti-manic agent used to treat epilepsy, neuralgia and bipolar disorders), dilantin (an anti-seizure medication) and diclofenac (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body).

Also present were detectable amounts of DEET (insect repellant); Ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory); 17-betaestradiol (estrogen); Bisphenol A (used in plastics, but also activates estrogen receptors); Diethylstilbestrol (estrogen replacement removed from market in 1997); estriol (estrogen); fluoxetine (anti-depressant); gemfibrozil (cholesterol treatment); meprobamate (used to treat anxiety/tension); naproxen (antiinflammatory); oxybenzone (sunscreen); pentoxifylline (treatment of leg pain from poor blood flow); progesterone (female hormone replacement); triclosan (antibacterial agent in soaps and detergents); and timethoprim (used to treat urinary tract infections).

Sure, the glass half full guy realizes he’s enjoying a free dose of Prozac just by drinking from his well, but if you’re not necessarily disposed towards drinking someone else’s chemicals, you might just shudder a bit.

Concentrations of most of the drugs are low, but then, they’re talking about the groundwater that folks drink every day. Exactly what would be the effect of a lifetime of that kind of exposure?

No, we don’t know either.

See you at the water faucet, Tom Chandler.

We all know the drill; bamboo fly rods are fragile things, fit to be viewed only in a controlled atmosphere where no loud noises are made and soft, pre-warmed gloves are worn.

Ha! In another major Underground coup (sent to us by Alert Underground Reader WeForgotHisName), we discover they’re building bridges from bamboo — so how weak could it be?

Bridges built from bamboo instead of steel could provide a cheaper, more environmentally sustainable engineering solution in China, a recent experiment suggests. A novel type of bridge with horizontal beams made from a bamboo composite proved strong enough to support even heavy trucks in tests. The bamboo beams are cheaper and more environmentally friendly to make than steel or concrete, yet offer comparable structural strength.

You can read all about it here: Bamboo road bridge can support 16-tonne trucks

Finally — a video game that allows you to urinate on things to mark your territory. If you’re like us, you’ve been waiting all your life for just such a chance.

The Minnesota Zoo is freely distributing WolfQuest — a video game that lets you chase down elk and rabbits by assuming the identity of a wolf:

The new video game “WolfQuest” allows players to follow the call of the wild in the role of a wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Players learn quickly, with help from realistic graphics, that wolves do a lot of running across plains, through forests and up and down steep slopes.

“You have to learn how to hunt, survive, defend your territory and ultimately find a mate and establish your own pack,” said project director Grant Spickelmier, assistant education director at Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

Whoa, dude! Even better, you simply press the “H” key to howl at the moon (a natural for Alert Underground Reader Mad Dog). Frankly, I’m interested. Frankly — after I’m done writing this — I’m downloading this puppy and giving it a shot.

Of course, we’re waiting for the “Trout” version, where you muscle out smaller trout for desirable feeding slots, avoid ospreys, learn the difference between real food and the fake stuff hucked at you by anglers, and presumably emit tiny little trout laughs at the clumsy antics of stockies and once-a-year fly fishers.

We’re waiting. Breathlessly.

While I’m furiously typing away on the Underground’s “2007 Year in Review” post, I thought I’d ask the Undergrounders fly fishing’s most loaded question — where are you planning to fish over the next 12 months?

I spent more time in the backcountry in 2007 — and who can blame me?

Any “Trips of a Lifetime” planned? Anyone madly scanning maps for blue (or brown) lines worth fishing? Got your eye on a lake you’ve never fished — or even a species you’ve never caught?

Let us know, Undergrounders.

Me? Who Knows?

I might return to Idaho’s Big Wood in February, but my plans for the rest of the year are wholly up in the air. One recurring thought is to resurrect the solo road trips I used to take when I lived hours from decent trout fishing — the kind of multi-day trip that’s fallen by the wayside now that I’m surrounded by more beautiful places than I could fish in a lifetime.

Last year, I also didn’t wholly scratch an itch that had me hitting the backcountry with some regularity, and I expect I’ll be spending more time on small, little-fished areas in 2008 too.

Sure, that means giving up precious time on the Upper Sacramento, but life is never without its trade-offs.

So what’s the word, Undergrounders? Where you going fishing in 2008?

UPDATE: Tom M at Two Heel Drive and Rick at the Best Hikes blog are asking their readers the same questions. Are outdoorsfolks inveterate planners? We wonder…

Technorati tags: fly fishing, fishing, trout underground, fishing plans