Enjoy.

Just Thinkin’ About the Weather

California’s in the grip of a three year drought, though all that *could* change over the next 2-3 weeks – and in catastrophic fashion.

A 200+ mph El Nino jet stream is aimed squarely at the coast of the state, and we’re expecting a potentially disastrous situation: a big, cold, snow-laden storm followed by a big, warmer, wetter storm.

Something similar happened at the end of 1996, and half the state disappeared underwater. Those that fish the Upper Sac at its mostly serene 200cfs – 350cfs will be shocked to know that flows handily exceeded 100,000 cfs on Jan 1, 1997.

We could be looking at something similar.

At Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters – which is now entirely snow free (an astonishing thing at this point in the winter) – we’re trying to batten down the hatches a bit.

More on Harriman Ranch

The storm of controversy brewing over Idaho Governor Butch Otter’s plans to de-fund the Idaho Parks Department (handing the state parks to an agency without a recreation/access mandate) has escalated to the point where it’s officially OK to call it a “shitstorm.”

We couldn’t be happier.

The Henry’s Fork Lodge has posted a note on their Web site urging anglers to send emails to the governor, and we’re going to echo that with a post of our own next week.

In the meantime, perhaps someone should point out what Governor Butch Otter should have learned from his counterpart in California (Ahhhhnoooold), who learned the hard way. Screw with the state parks, and you’ll be walking funny for the next couple weeks…

The AFFTA Trade Show Wars – Over?

Is the dust finally settling on the AFFTA Trade Show wars? AFFTA’s announced dates for its own IFTA show in September (Denver), Fly Fishing Show owner Chuck Furimsky has cancelled plans for his own dealer show, and the CEO of Far Bank (Sage, Rio and Redington) is circulating a letter in support of the new show:

As part of the debate around the various shows, I think I’ve heard most of, if not all, the reasons for not supporting an industry trade show: the show is at the wrong time, not enough retailers come, not enough manufacturers come, my reps do a great job and thus the show is irrelevant, it’s too expensive, it’s the heart of our season, I don’t like Denver, and on and on. I won’t try to contest all these arguments in this letter. Rather, I’d like to give you my pitch for why I think everyone should support the show: It is the only venue in the world where the fly fishing trade gets to come together in one place and at one time to work toward improving an industry and a sport that for most of us provides both our livelihoods and our lifestyles. I am convinced that without a strong show our industry stands little chance of effectively competing against the macro forces working against our businesses – things like kids not being exposed to the outdoors, the closing of public access to fishable waters, and aquatic nuisance species to name just a few.

In addition, it appears new hire – and trade show czar – Randi Swisher is being groomed to run AFFTA. Current AFFTA Director Gary Berlin is becoming an operations manager, and it appears he’s going to eventually step aside.

World Trout Coughs Up $$

An email from the folks at the World Trout Initiative wanted it known they just threw down $75,000 for eight conservation projects:

Ventura, CA (January 12, 2010) Patagonia, Inc, the outdoor gear and technical apparel company announced today their World Trout initiative has issued eight grants totaling $75,000 to global grassroots groups whose diverse efforts to protect and enhance fish and their habitat around the world exemplify the philosophy of World Trout.

Grant recipients include the Wild Salmon Center at $10,00 for their Koppi River Salmon Diversity project; Pacific Rivers Council at $8,000 for their Umpqua River Legacy Program; Truckee River Watershed Council, who’s efforts on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Restoration received $15,000; Takshanuk Watershed council was allocated $10,000 for completion of their water rights reservations initiatives; Bahamian-based Friends of the Environment was the recipient of $8,000 for their sustainable crawfish campaign, Henry’s Fork Foundation’s film, Watershed, which is about impressive hands-on projects completed over the past 25 years, was allotted $3,000 to help distribute this informative film to anglers and other grassroots groups in the hopes these efforts can be replicated; Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s research on critical tarpon habitat received $15,000 and Italian group Societa Valsesiana Pescatori Sportivi was sent $8,000 for enhancement of their threatened grayling habitat.

Want to know more about World Trout – or maybe snag a little of their dosh for your project? Click here.

Rhode Island Catch & Release Site

A site (and group) dedicated to seeing more catch & release waters in the state of Rhode Island (there are currently only one) has been formed (it’s a nice looking site too).

Think You’re a Trout Bum?

The phrase “trout bum” has become overused to the point that it’s lost all meaning – especially among those who actually have jobs, or worse – trust funds.

Here’s the story of ski bum who frankly puts everyone else to shame – and how the police are mishandling his situation. It’s not all that pretty…

Toups’ tale is the embodiment of ski bumdom. Since the 1970s, he has bummed at Mammoth in California, Snowbird in Utah, Oregon’s Mount Hood, Aspen Highlands and all the ski areas in Summit County. His home — for nearly a decade — was a Volkswagen Beetle, the passenger seat torn out so he could sleep.

“He had a little tunnel down to it like a snow cave,” said Halsted Morris, a longtime Loveland skier.

The story surrounding his recent arrest is not a pretty one, and suggests a heavy-handed approach by the police. Read it, and tell us what you think.

Enjoy Your Weekend!

Play, have fun. After the wear and tear of the last couple months – a hectic kind of time that’s had its lows right alongside its considerable highs – I may just take the whole weekend off from the Underground.

See you on the (swollen) river, Tom Chandler.

Remember that warm, satisfying catch & release glow? If you were using a grip, you might have killed nearly half your catch:

the lip-gripping device caused mouth injuries to 80% of bonefish restrained in the water and 100% of bonefish held in the air, always when fish thrashed while being held. Some of the injuries were severe (40%) and included separating the tongue from the floor of the mouth, creating tears and holes in the soft tissue of the lower jaw, and splitting the mandible.

See you on the bonefish flats, Tom Chandler.

From the Chattanoogan:

Catch and Release fishing will be banned in Switzerland from next year, it was revealed this week.

And anglers in the country will have to demonstrate their expertise by taking a course on humane methods of catching fish, under new legislation outlined by the Bundesrat – the Swiss Federal Parliament.

The new legislation states that fish caught should be killed immediately following their capture, with a sharp blow to the head from a blunt instrument. Under the new regulations, the use of livebait and barbed hooks is also prohibited except in certain situations.

The laws come into effect in 2009 but while the Swiss government does not mention Catch and Release specifically, it does say that "it is not permitted to go fishing with the ‘intention’ to release the fish."

Wow. What about tiny, juvenile fish? What about accidental bycatch of other species?

A little more digging takes us to the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association’s site, which covers this story in depth, concluding that:

EFTTA acting president, Pierangelo Zanetta, said: "EFTTA does not believe that forcing anglers to kill their catches is either good for nature or for recreational sport fishing – which makes a significant financial contribution to the EU economy.

“Making the killing of fish obligatory will simply reduce fish population and, at the same time, run the risk of having a negative impact on sport fishing.

"Anglers and the sport of angling invest time and money to improve water quality and create larger and healthier fish populations. We believe is it far better for the fish if the fisherman decides, according to the situation, whether to keep and eat the fish or to release it."

How about it, Undergrounders. Is that fish you just caught better off dead? And has Switzerland just written the epitaph of its sustainable sport fisheries?

A roughly 4-mile stretch of the Penobscot near Bangor will be open to catch-and-release Atlantic salmon fishing annually from May 1 to May 31 under new rules approved Thursday. This spring’s opening day will mark the first time springtime fishing for sea-run salmon has been allowed on any Maine rivers since 1999.

The regulations limit each fly fisherman to ONE salmon a day (catch him, let him go, go home), and the whole season will end once 50 Atlantic Salmon have been caught and released.

It’s tempting to look on this as a success story, but deeper research suggests this is more a gesture of defiance than an omen of success.

Only 920 Atlantic Salmon actually returned to the Penboscot in 2007, and some organizations were so divided on the issue of a fishing season that they didn’t weigh in on the regulation change one way or the other.

Frankly, it’s hard to say which way I’d go on this one. 920 fish is damned few, yet perhaps a short C&R season would help drum up the political will necessary to make more.

Undergrounders?

You can read the whole story here: Maine OKs catch-release salmon season this May

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