Fishing Report,    Food,    Upper Sacramento

It's Wednesday. Time for the Monday Roundup

By Tom Chandler 5/31/2006

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 news. The Upper Sac flows have spiked a bit due to the warmer weather, but they still hover in the mid-2000s, which prompts me to wonder about some of my better high water spots. Wayne Eng – who wonders less and fishes more – mentioned seeing a few mayflies (the somewhat underappreciated Pink Albert hatch). The flows aren't great, but the river's close by. And you never know what you might run into:

Rainbow to Fly Fish by

Of course, beauty is as much a part of the fly fishing experience as the fish (which are often beautiful too), but the ability to root me in the moment might be fly fishing's biggest contribution to my hold on sanity (a tenuous one at best). While I'm fishing, life recedes, and I learn to enjoy what I've got because the hatch is only going to last an hour, and tomorrow it may not happen at all. In simplest terms, one day you're Tommy - Lord of the Stoneflies and Slayer of Trout - and the next you're scooping bird shit and moldy leaves out of the rain gutter with your hands. The lesson? Enjoy it while you can.

Feeding Time...

Ian Rutter
continues the Great Underground Slaw Dog controversy that's consumed the entire fly fishing world by posing a critical socio-culinary question: "An important question that I'd really like to find out, perhaps in my retirement, is what are the socio-geo-political boundaries of the slaw dog? I know they have them in western NC, and southwest VA, but I'm not sure how far north, south, east, and west they can be found with regularity. Slaw is offered as an add on at local Sonic drive-ins, although slaw isn't offered at all locations. I had a slaw dog in Damascus, VA once at an ice cream and burger joint. How far does this go?"

Food helps define any fly fishing outing, whether it's because you ate something regional and unique, or simply because you pounded junk food every day and somehow lived to tell about it. From the Amiratti's Burrito to the Tennessee Slaw Dog (and points in between, like Sully's bell-bottom-era Cinnamon Jerky Roll), we all seem to have a fly fishing food fixation. Here at the Underground, we want to plumb the depths of your culinary depravity. Slip us an e-mail or just post a comment with your story. Free angioplasty to the best one.

Today's
Underground Entertainment

We've got exciting, happy news about how global warming could create a psychotic, hyper-toxic strain of Poison Ivy (my arms are itching already), and a Moldy Chum link to a story about the fabled Skwala, the once-secret stonefly hatch whose noteriety attracts anglers and angers locals who used to have it to themselves. This writer debunks the belief that these things are hatching everywhere. They're not.

There's also a link to The Art of Fly Fishing, a Danish site selling some really interesting mayfly posters. It's worth a peek. As for me, I'm trying to get some work done so I can sneak out to the river with a clear conscience. See you on the water, Tom Chandler.

Mayfly poster for fly fishers

AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

8 comments
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Longcreek's referring to the "Tourist Version" of the slawdog, though he embarassingly substituted mayo for the organic free-range onions (granola sometimes subbed for the onions) and feta cheese (an admittedly optional accessory) for the vegan chili. Thank god he can cast. And Gek, I like your analogy. I'm way behind on my "Tennessee trip reprise" article, but the differences in flies are a small ... more part of that. Someday...
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Gek, Be carefull that you don't get the upscale version featuring baby greens, feta cheese and organic turkey franks dressed with honey dijon mustard and lo fat mayonaise.
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I think the slaw dog debate should be brought down another level on the food chain. As I do appreciate the friendly comparison of the East TN vs. Upper Sac vs. Southwestern VA vs. XXXXXXXXX slawdog to a different species of "trout," I believe it's more closely related to trout food...flies. Those of us gifted with artistic ability, patience, and most importantly, opposable thumbs are able to recreate ... more nature in order to entice a fish to take a further look with the hopes of it looking appetizing, and ultimately, inhaled. Too bad I only qualify for 1 of those 3 traits of a true fly-tier, unless of course I have my thumb up my.... I'm of the opinion that, regionally, certain flies are tied differently. We have different sizes and we have different materials. Either way, all of that is put together much in the same way as what we all know as a "slawdog," no matter where we are in the country. For me, being of the East TN strain, much prefer the P-66 version, though it's not to say I wouldn't eat your purple cabbage, unsweet onion, all-beef frank excuse for a slawdog after a long day on the Upper Sac...heck, I might even try it with avocado.
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Brian; You don't know what you're missing; not only is the slaw dog a Complete Meal on a Bun (just count 'em -- every food group but beer), it's also a tasty treat. Of course, the Amiratti's burrito is also a culinary delight. Receptive to the microwave's warming rays, it washes down great with a beer after a long day of fishing. On the Upper Sac, we are truly blessed.
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Must admit that slaw dogs dont look very appetizing. I'll stick with burritos instead. Brian
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That was funny. Somethings are sacred though. Let me digress. I built a house in Borneo, and the builder was running a little behind, so I was there a little longer than I planned. Even though I love the food (chinese + indian + malay + muslim), one day I just went nuts and had to have a hamburger, hot dog or pizza. Everything was some weird variant. I went on a shopping rampage, finding the only ... more jar of yellow mustard in Borneo, some hotdogs, buns, and the right ingredients for a proper potato salad. I won't even go into what they consider charcoal there. If it wasn't for that potato salad, I wouldn't be alive today. That is the danger of variants.
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I knew someone would eventually ignite the slaw dog bonfire with questions of authenticity. This, of course, begs the basic question of essential slaw dogness; does a “pure” slaw dog really exist? Or should we adopt an Einsteinian view that suggests all slaw dogs are relative? Sartre, of course, writes that we are islands of subjectivity in an objective world, so the “rightness” or “wrongness” ... more of a slaw dog is a judgment of our own value systems. Thus, the existence of a slaw dog does not necessarily imply the essence of the slaw dog, which can only be defined through an act of free, creative expression. Of course, the shorter, fly fisher-friendly answer is that the Western slaw dog is a unique species. Regional variation is inevitable, with no less than the Underground's Resident Slaw Dog Authority (Ian Rutter) directly addressing the slaw variable with: “I had a slaw dog in Damascus, VA once at an ice cream and burger joint. The slaw was different than what I'm used to. I've always wandered if that was unique to the restaurant or a regional variation.” Aha! Moreover, I'd like to point to the spirit of the slaw dog, which suggests a snack quickly assembled from the components at hand. In addition to the “California” cole slaw – which was not as creamy or sweet as the Tennessee slaw – I purposely chose a semi-sweet onion to better match the “standard” Tennessee variety, which is slightly sweeter than those commonly found in California markets. Ian even volunteered a specific brand of canned chili to match that available in Tennessee, but it wasn't available here and I went with another choice. Does this mean the Western Slaw dog is less deserving of our attentions? Clearly not – assuming that Sartre was right and the simple creative act of building a slaw dog implies its slaw dog essence. We pay homage to the Tennessee variety as one would to any ancestor, but must recognize the existence of other, equally deserving dogs.
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Ok. I can't take it anymore. Has I mentioned, my brother lives in Maryville, Tn. I've consumed a few. The coleslaw on the "western style" is just wrong, even for California. If you look at a Tennessee slaw dog, the coleslaw doesn't have red/purple cabbage, and is good old white trash coleslaw. It is a "slaw dog" for cris-sakes. I'm suprised you didn't put avacado on the damn thing.
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