Could the slaw dog become fly fishing’s perfect shore lunch? Eating while fly fishing is a pretty low-key affair, but until you’ve experienced a guide’s shore lunch, you don’t know what you’re missing…

From Alert Blog Reader Anonymous (would you want to be identified on this blog?) comes startling (and distressing) news of another culinary craze sweeping the south:
The Kool-Aid soaked pickle.

Truly the mind reels. Some dillhead (get it?) has taken a perfectly good dill pickle, and then soaked it in Kool-Aid. And got someone else to pay […]

Chris Raine has packed up his shiny new Airstream trailer and - with his just-graduated, headed-for-the-Air Force Academy son in tow - is headed for parts of the West commonly associated with big trout.
Because the technologically challenged Raine refused to install a digital satellite uplink dish on his trailer (or buy the equipment needed to […]

The Upper Sacramento continues to fall, and it’s conceivable we could be fishing reasonable flows in another 1.5 weeks or so. As it is, Wayne Eng and Steve Bertrand are finding rising fish at their better high water spots, and you can bet that I’ll be running in that direction soon.
Still, my Monday experience on […]

The list of things that keep us away from fishing is a long one; work, distance, family, etc. One that’s not often on that list is “stupid leg injury due to running,” but there it is in black and white. Gimpiness meant I didn’t hit the Upper Sac yesterday evening, but (with enough ice and […]

While I remain trapped in my chair by the weight of multiple deadlines, there’s been a veritable flood of Underground-worthy news sent by Alert Readers. It’s a weird, weird world out there, and at the Underground, we’re dedicated to making that as clear as possible to you.
When I die, I want to go to heaven […]

Your penniless, wandering correspondent visited the Upper Sac yesterday, and though I managed to hook six fish, I only landed two. With the river headed back up to 3,000 cfs, I probably should have run to the middle or lower river, but chose to try the upper canyon. The water is high (and getting higher), […]

Wednesday is an odd day to post what amounts to the Monday Roundup, but those of us who are in tune with nature’s rhythms know that when the words appear (or the backlog of weird news stuff builds up), it’s time to throw it all up on the Internet to see what sticks.
First, the local […]

It’s raining, so this must be Monday. Cooler temperatures actually dropped Upper Sac flows a little over the weekend, but you knew the runoff would hit the river as soon as the ground was saturated, and with the river now spiking towards 9,000 cfs, I’m guessing it’s happened.
That’s OK – we’re not the only fly […]

It rained lightly last night, and river flows have actually exceeded the 6,000 cfs mark. With most local options looking grim, I’m staging an afternoon jailbreak and heading into the hills to what might best be described as “Longshot Lake.” This is little more than an opportunity to waste $3.21-a-gallon gasoline, but a long shot […]

The hot weather in the Upper Sacramento River Canyon is melting snow and driving flows ever higher – the river’s nudging an amazing 6,000 cfs (historical data suggest 1500 cfs is average), and the upward trend continues. Despite the fact the Upper Sac’s currently best suited for use by whitewater enthusiasts with a death wish, […]

Due to overwhelming demand (and several thinly veiled threats from Dave Edmondson), Tuesday evening will find me hosting a Tennessee Slaw Dog cookout at the Trout Underground World Headquarters.

For those who can’t make it but wish to simultaneously participate in this homage to Eastern Tennessee gas station food, the equipment list for the original slaw […]