Germs, Deals, and BWO Weather

October 5, 2006, by 2 comments

Yesterday the first real “BWO day” of the fall descended on Mt. Shasta (drippy wet, not windy, grey), and if you’re a fly fisher who likes chasing working fish with tiny dries, you anticipate these days like a child anticipates Christmas (though xmas presents don’t swim away if you spook them).

The fantasy finds you out on a choice run, big fish sipping #20 BWOs, the weather just bad enough to make you feel like a monster stud, but not so bad that you’re suffering any real discomfort.

Sadly, the fantasy ran headlong into a raging virus (a gift from the L&T Nancy), and instead of doing my best crippled mayfly imitations on the river, I spent the day indoors, doing my best Steve Prefontaine imitation by dashing between the medicine cabinet and the bathroom.

Still not everyone was sick, and Chris Raine was last seen headed downriver, cane rod in tow, and I expect to hear – in graphic, minute, excruciating detail – just how good it was. When I do, you’ll hear it too.

Still, as long as you’re breathing and you’ve got an unbroken fly rod, hope springs eternal, and I’m much better today. Better enough that I’m squinting out the window, looking for any hint of good cloud cover instead of blue skies. Maybe that’s the beauty of killer BWO days. Unlike Santa, they come more than once a year.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

[tags] BWO, Blue winged olives[/tags]

Tuesday’s Underground Entertainment

October 3, 2006, by No comments yet

It’s a cloudy Tuesday and the BWOs are probably pouring off the water like shedding fur off the Wonderdog, and yet I sit here typing. And typing. And typing more. Aiiiyeeee.

Still, my loss is your gain, and the two upcoming days could even feature lots of cloudy, drippy weather. Be still my BWO-ing heart.

fly fishing the upper sacramento river
I took this months ago, but saved it for an art-less day. Steve Bertrand on the Upper Sac.

Shopping London.

From the Windknotter blog comes a fun article about shopping in Farlows of Pall Mall – a London outdoor retailer which traces its roots back to the 1840s. His take is predictably amusing, and the picture of the rod room alone is worth the visit.

Ouch.

If you’re the squeamish type, then Fly Fishing in Yellowstone’s latest post probably won’t be of interest, including as it does a picture of a hook in a pair of (quite pouty) lips. Plus another salvo in the “fly fishing bikini wars” which I apparently have no hope of winning.

Dating the Great Outdoors.

Finally, what should land in my inbox but this little bit of spam about a dating service for singles who enjoy outdoor pursuits. Look at the bright side; if you’re desperate enough to use this service, you likely have time for the therapy it’ll take to get over the emotional damage of the average online date (don’t ask me how I know).

And speaking of emotional damage, the Underground is still wrestling with skipping tomorrow’s brookie trip in favor of flogging the Upper Sac in what could be cosmic dry fly weather.

Those who live far from great trout water are probably having trouble working up even a smidgen of pity, but remember – all suffering is relative. See you on the psychiatrist’s couch, Tom Chandler.

[tags]farlows, bikini, dating[/tags]

Scotland’s Favorite Smell? Plus… Squirrel Bridges.

October 3, 2006, by 4 comments

This extremely informative article from the Evening Times (Scotland’s best-selling paper) makes it clear what smell people really like (and it’s right down the Underground’s alley).

Scotland’s favorite scent? Fish & Chips. No word yet as to whether the slaw dog scent was even tested.

There’s also this critical bit of environmental news about the construction of rope bridges over roadways to protect squirrel populations, including the interesting fact that the involved town did a risk assesment of the project (squirrels apparently being famous for committing pranks on motorists).

Self-congratulatory note to self: we scooped the hell out of those Scottish blogs on both these.

It’s October. Do You Know Where Your Caddis Is?

October 3, 2006, by 3 comments

I’m still putting gear away from the backpacking trip and getting it assembled for tomorrow’s small stream adventure, which is to say I’m engaged in that mental tug-of-war where I balance my quest for minimalism with an unreasoning terror that I won’t have the one gadget/rod/fly I need on the water.

Recreation can sometimes be testing.

Upper Sacramento River October Caddis 2005
An Upper Sac rainbow with an October Caddis toothache. (2005 photo)

The good news for those prone to recreating on the Upper Sac is that anonymous, highly placed sources have admitted that October Caddis have begun to hatch. “Caddisgate” – as I’m calling it in deference to the media’s need to create a cute name for every event – is apparently a high point for a lot of Upper Sac fly fishers.

At this time of year, the river tends to draw pretty good crowds, especially on weekends. It’s likely the dry fly fishing’s better in spring, but spring flows and weather are largely uncertain, while fall flows are wholly predictable and the risks are smaller.

Chris Raine and I have been fighting a running battle over fly patterns for the October Caddis hatch, and at some point he’ll realize that he’s dead wrong and I’m dead right, but until then, the invective will fly and fish will be caught.

It’s a crazy week (FFF Conclave this weekend in addition to the Outdoor Blogger Ho-Down), but despite the gathering media storm around Caddisgate, I plan to keep you as up to date as possible on matters of absolutely no importance.

I know. It’s a gift. See you on the river, Tom Chandler.

[tags]october caddis[/tags]

Backpacking in Lassen; Fly Fishing the High Country

October 2, 2006, by 2 comments

Backpacking into the high country is essentially a sweaty way to fish water that others rarely fish. That’s the good news.

The bad news is the season is short, the fish are usually small, you can’t bring a lot of gear, and the fishing can be moody. Still, even if the fishing isn’t spectacular, the views almost always are.

Lassen park moonrise
Moonrise, Lassen. The daytime views are cool, but the star views are even cooler.

Hiking in, setting up camp, eating, sleeping, breaking camp, and walking out don’t leave a lot of time to fish.

And when you get up early in the morning to fish and can’t because the line keeps freezing in the guides, it’s clear you’re about to experience a “quality outdoor activity” as much as a fishing trip.

The final tally wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the Lassen scenery; three grabs, one frisky rainbow landed.

Lassen Park map
The closer the squiggly lines, the harder you’re going to breathe.

Because you can’t fish anything you didn’t haul yourself, I left the 22 pounds of float tube, fins and gear behind and simply brought my 8.5′ 4-pc fiberglass rod and a few flies. The fly fisher in me didn’t appreciate the compromise, but my back sure did.

Lassen park leaves

The fishing wasn’t spectacular, but lots of other things were. The deciduous trees were dropping their leaves, and the Lassen Wilderness is pretty stunning on its off days, and it doesn’t have any off days in the fall.

Lassen park treeThe hike out wasn’t long (7.5 miles), but it was mostly uphill, and it was during that hike that I developed a deep and abiding appreciation for the trend towards ultralight backpacking, where 40 pound packs are a thing of the past, and 18 pound packs are perfectly doable.

The success of the experience suggests I should take a hard look at my fishing vest.

What about the Brookies?

Originally I planned to fish a brook trout stream on Monday, but – crafty devil that I am – I pushed that back to Wednesday, when I get to fish it until dark.

Some say that modern fly fishing’s all about hunting trout, but I disagree. Most of the time, it’s really about the sleight of hand you play just to get the chance.

[tags]lassen, backpacking[tags]

Think Montana’s Crack-Smoking Trout Were Spooky?

September 30, 2006, by 4 comments

A life-size catfish statue?! I’m posting this and running for the hills (very, very quickly).

[tags]catfish, statue[/tags]

The Backcountry Trout Beckon. And Ian Lives!

September 29, 2006, by 2 comments

While the tech wizards at SBC scratched their heads over my dead DSL service ALL DAY LONG, I spent my Internet-free time pulling together gear for this weekend’s backpacking trip to the Lassen backcountry.

This, I think, will be fun.

You gotta sneak up on ‘em…

High altitude trout are best approached with a guerrilla mindset, but one tempered by a minimalist approach (remember; before you can fish all that gear, you’ve got to carry it there first).

When I fish the river, it’s often a contest to see how much gear I can jam in my vest. When I fish the backcountry, I wrestle with how little I should load in my pack.

Fortunately, backcountry trout are rarely picky (note the “rarely”). The hard life in the rarefied backcountry environment rewards aggressive feeders, but also creates trout that are pretty damned spooky (that guerrilla thing again).

In the end, you end up fishing for naive, innocent trout that freak at the sight of you (much like the girls in high school).

This backcountry trip ends Sunday afternoon, but I’m going to play the self-employed card and tack on a Monday exploration of a Brook trout stream near Lassen.

I’ve never fished it and the whole thing is speculative – based as it is on rumor and the fly fishing equivalent of a ghost story – but dismissing anything that’s not a “sure thing” is probably a sign of impending doom (not physical doom, but the metaphysical kind where fear wholly overwhelms your sense of wonder).

As always, I’ve got a camera in my pack and a pad of paper in my pocket, so you’ll hear about it right after the L&T Nancy does. See you on Tuesday.

The Rutters Return…

Ian and Charity RutterThanks to the magic of e-mail, we can now safely end the Underground’s Ian Rutter: “Lost in Montana” Vigil.

Twenty-four days after disappearing into the trout candy store that is Montana, Southeast Tennessee’s hardest-working guide(s) finally surfaced with an e-mail suggesting Montana was wonderful, but that it was good to be home.

If Ian ever figures out his new digital camera, we might even see pictures of the trip. Ian also mentioned stumbling across Alert Underground Reader Matt Smargiasso, who left home Labor Day weekend and wouldn’t go home until early October.

Some might applaud that kind of commitment, but once again, the Underground is left to wonder why the hell weren’t we invited?

I weep bitterly. See you in the backcountry, Tom Chandler.

[tags]backcountry, lassen, backpacking, brook trout, Montana[/tags]

Are Montana’s Trout On Crack?

September 29, 2006, by 11 comments

A leading Montana Fly Fishing Blogger recently posted a “suspicious” [ahem] October Caddis pattern suggestion on the Underground – the third such questionable pattern suggestion from a Montana-based Undergrounder in 18 months.

Clearly, it’s time someone in the outdoor media stood up and asked the question that others don’t have the guts to ask:

Are all Montana trout smoking crack?

One bad fly pattern could be an anomaly, but given the wholly unproductive “sure thing” patterns offered by other Montana-based Undergrounders, a larger picture begins to emerge.

And it’s an unpretty picture indeed – one of trout so stupid that they’ll eat October Caddis imitations other trout won’t touch. Or even hopper patterns more Dali-esque than duplicative.

Montana Foam Fly image
Is this proof of excessive drug use among Montana’s trout?

It’s starting to look that way to this reporter.

I’m reminded of a local fly fisher’s quote upon his return from Montana; he was asked about the fishing, and replied “It was about what you’d expect from a place where they mostly fish flies made from foam.”

Revealing. And damming.

Foaming at the Mouth

Everything I’ve said so far could simply be the ramblings of a deranged fly fisher (not that there’s anything wrong with that – it works for most political pundits), but careful examination of the lyrics from Montana’s Official State Song offers incontrovertible proof:

Montana, Montana,
Glory of the West
Of all the states from coast to coast,
You’re easily the best, and your trout are as dumb as rocks.

It’s time to save the Montana trout. By getting them into rehab…

.

.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: It’s the expectation of any brilliant (nay, genius) journalist that breaking the big story could mean you’ll experience attacks by those desperate to preserve their dark, dark secrets. Fly Fishing in Yellowstone has launched the first, though his latest “can’t miss” pattern frankly tends to support my theory. (Either that, or Montana’s filled with a lot of fly fishing musicians.) Don’t miss the notes for what might be the funniest fly pattern of the year…

[tags]montana, October Caddis[/tags]

Great News for Klamath Salmon – Judge Rebukes PacifiCorp

September 29, 2006, by 1 comment

The battered, beaten Klamath River’s salmon and steelhead runs received some good news this week when a judge backed a push requiring Pacificorp to install fish ladders instead of the less-costly (and likely fruitless) trucking plan proposed by the utility.

This decision comes on the heels of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision that sided with the utility, but then, FERC are largely a bunch of yahoos unconcerned with environmental issues.

Many opponents of Pacificorp’s trucking plan now believe that the cost of building fish ladders will convince the utility to simply remove the series of dams on the Klamath, helping restore the runs of salmon that have been so dismal lately that slamon fishing up and down the West Coast was severely restricted this year.

More on this cool new development at the LA Times…

[tags]klamath, pacificorp, salmon, FERC[/tags]

Who Wants to be King of Missoula? (And See the Stones?)

September 28, 2006, by 2 comments

If I was the King of Missoula, I’d set everyone free to go fishing for a day (though because I was King, I’d go fishing the day before).

And how does one get to be King? Bloodline? Royal proclamation? Violent, bloody coup?

Nope.

All it takes are 300-500 words.

King of Missoula

The New West Magazine Contest

The exceptional New West Magazine (an excellent online magazine covering the Rocky Mountains) is running an essay contest, with the first place prize being two tickets to a Rolling Stones Concert (plus two tickets to the magazine’s conference on development in the West). Don’t wait too long – the contest deadline is the 30th.

Sure, the conference part doesn’t sound too hot, but the Rolling Stones would work. Plus, as King (or Queen), you’d get to issue decrees left and right. (Anyone who’s read the Heart of Darkness knows how that’s going to end up…)

I issue decrees all the time, but nobody listens. But they’d have to if I was… KING. Even Wally the Wonderdog.

[tags]missoula, new west, rolling stones[/tags]