Archive for March, 2008

Underground Book Review: Kerplunk by Patrick McManus »

Kerplunk by Patrick McManus is another solid addition to the well-known outdoor humorist’s bibliography.

Anyone Want A Pet? Perhaps a Sea Lion? »

From New West:

Oregon wildlife officials are asking zoos, aquariums and theme parks across the country to take in sea lions that will be captured in the Columbia River early next month.
Federal authorities gave Oregon approval this week to remove sea lions that gather at Bonneville Dam’s fish ladder to feed on salmon, the Oregonian […]

The Five Zen Photography Tips You May Not Have Heard Before, Part II »

The response to Part I of my Zen Photography Tips was gratifying; the resulting traffic pretty much hammered the Underground’s bandwidth limits (which I had to raise).
That’s good. That’s great. It means you know the path to better photography (like the path to a better cast) doesn’t necessarily run through a $1000 camera or $800 […]

The Drake Magazine Turns Ten: The Underground Offers a Few Reasons Why You Should Care »

The Drake’s 10th anniversary issue just hit the stands, and while I’m normally pretty droll on the subject of anniversaries, I’d say this one matters. Why?
An editor of a mainstream fly fishing magazine - responding to online criticism that his magazine ran the same stories over and over - said a large pool of new […]

Snow, Whiteness, and the Seasons, Stylishly Written: Fly Fishing in Yellowstone Scores »

The Fly Fishing in Yellowstone blog posted a wonderful essay describing his brief escape from the monochromatic whiteness of winter.
I sympathize. Most of my yard is covered in snow, yet 30 minutes down the canyon, the grass has already turned a vibrant green, and spring is underway.
Still, if you were to ask me, I’d say […]

It’s Outdoor Survival Week at the Underground »

I seem to be going through a "pulp" survival phase, so in the interest of "anything worth doing is worth overdoing" — I’m steering you towards Survival Topics: an interesting site jammed with outdoor survival tips.
Found via the always-interesting Two-Heel Drive, the Survival Topics Web site includes handy information like how to make your own […]

Is The Fastest Thing in the Ocean a Bacteria? »

Are saltwater fly fishermen overlooking the ocean’s fastest swimmers? If they’re not fishing for bacteria, they probably are…

The Funniest Four Minutes Of Your Day »

No, this isn’t a fly fishing video.
Yes — especially in light of Saturday’s "pulp outdoors journalism" post — it’s a hilarious reminder that "pulp" outdoors journalism is alive and well (if refined a little) at the broadcast level.
Yes, it’s one of the best outdoor video spoofs I’ve seen.
And definitely, it may be the funniest […]

I Plunged Into the Icy Waters of Doom… and Lived! »

I’m a little too young to have truly experienced outdoor journalism’s pulp period, where every encounter with the wilderness became a Blood-Soaked Brush With Death.
As real outdoor journalism, it’s a joke, but as literature, it’s hugely entertaining high camp, and high camp pretty accurately describes Friday’s trip to the Upper Sacramento River… which became my […]

More Fallout From the West Coast Salmon Season Closure (or, "Oh Crap") »

With partial closure of the West Coast’s commercial and sport chinook salmon seasons already a fact and a full closure of the season not far behind, the media are sitting up and taking notice.
The economic impacts will surely be huge — big enough to garner attention from around the globe. I thought a quick roundup […]

A Reconnaissance in Fur: The Wonderdog and I Eyeball the Upper Sacramento River »

I need one more big project to clear the boards before firing up some fly fishing time, but instead of a Wonderdog-driven afternoon walk, I heaved the sausage-shaped mammal into the truck and reconnoitered a couple of spots on the upper river.
The gods Wonderdog is pleased, my friends. That means […]

The Ultimate Web Site for Western Drift Boat & Dory Nerds? (And we mean that in a good way.) »

Rogue and MacKenzie River drift boats and dories are elegant craft; writer Roger Fletcher has written a book detailing the history, use, and dimensions of those lovely craft.

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