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Mecca Declined

Most people tend to turn their face toward Mecca, but in a blatant disregard of protocol, I turned a blind eye toward Mecca and rode on. Actually, truth be told, one eye was on Mecca and the other was on the road. OK, OK, sometimes both eyes were on Mecca and I was lucky to not crash and burn.

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• NY Times – Catch and Release Debate
  August 10, 2010 @ 7:27 am
  Catch and release, as well as fish pain, debated (not really, one-sided for the most part) at NY Times' "Room for Debate." Six "panelists" state their position regarding this discussion starter: The practice of catch-and-release seems to be a commandment, not to be violated. When scientists or environmentalists or even widely admired writers on the sport politely suggest that it sometimes makes sense to keep and eat what is hooked, the reaction can be indignant. Why is that? What if nature might be better off if we eat fish that are invasive species, for example? Does research show whether fish feel pain? Read the comments left after each of the six panelists make their point. It is telling to see how "regular" people stand on the issues. Maybe this will jump start more serious discussion on fish and pain? We'll see.
  
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• “Fly Box” – Mixed Media Presentation
  August 5, 2010 @ 7:51 am
  Move over "A River Runs Through It," fly fishing is being taken to a whole new place. For those of you anywhere near Racine, WI on August 12, you might want to check this out. As mentioned in the Racine "The Journal Times": ...a multi-disciplinary performance piece about the art of angling called "Fly Box." Suchy's mixed-media presentation - which incorporates live original music, photography, video, poetry, textile art and actual fishing flies - will premiere during the Racine Art Museum's Meet Me on the Patio event on Friday, Aug. 12. Read the full piece. Many currently in the sport often wonder if another angler is a BTM angler or ATM angler (before THE movie or after THE movie). Will this new mixed media presentation be enough to spark the next generation of anglers to join the sport causing all pre- "Fly Box" anglers to curse the post- "Fly Box" anglers? Only time will tell. (If somebody goes, see if you can sneak in a video camera inside your hat, cleverly aimed through the hole you poke through the dotted "i" in the Orvis logo. It will be like those pre-DVD releases of movies still in the theater you can download by torrent. (At least, that's what I've heard. I wouldn't know from personal experience.) Please be a little more discreet than these folks.)
  
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• Save the Paiute Cutthroat (Again)
  May 2, 2010 @ 8:54 pm
  We went through this (last year or year before), and it looked like we had things wrapped up until a last second (literally) call stopped the project. If you are in the least bit interested in native fish, this is an important species to help. The few remaining fish in their native range in the entire world are in just several miles of creek in the High Sierras of eastern California. Read more about Apache Cutthroat on Gary Marston's blog. Being the lazy guy I am, I'm just going to copy an email I received from Gary concerning your role: -------------------- There is an open public comment period to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed restoration of Paiute cutthroat into Silver King Creek below Llewellyn Falls till May 10th 2010.  I strongly recommend that everyone write in support of this as this will be the LAST chance to get our voices heard before the final decision comes down! For more information http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-7952.htm To see the EIS http://www.fws.gov/nevada/protected_species/fish/species/pct.html You can address your comments to: Robert D. Williams, State Supervisor Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard Suite 234, Reno, NV 89502 telephone: 775-861-6300 fax: 775-861-6301. Gary Marston http://www.nativetroutflyfishing.com
  
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• Ted Williams’ – Wildlife Fauxtography
  April 15, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
  Ted Williams exposes the seamier side of "wildlife" photography, citing examples of different game farms catering to photographers looking for a "nature" shot. He cites Animals of Montana, Inc. as one such farm. Check out his article. It's unfortunate that glory seekers do this, both photographers and hunters/fishers. How many "amazing" fish shots have actually come from a pay-n-catch river? I can say that I have not faked any of my pictures on this site (who needs to fake a 12" cutthroat).
  
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• Conservation News – Native Cutthroat
  April 4, 2010 @ 9:03 am
  A couple of native trout conservation topics to keep tabs on. One is the continuing problem of rainbow trout in the South Fork Snake River. It appears the numbers of rainbow and cuttbow are on the rise again. Sam Snyder, of Headwaters blog, has a great piece on it (including some info about the "prizes" for catching certain rainbows). Yellowstone NP is making another concerted effort to stem the tide of non-native fish within the park, called "The Native Fish Conservation Plan." There are several sources to find out more. The Island Park News has a quick overview of what the park is doing. The park has a home page to find out more. They are currently taking public comments, and you can go to this page to add your voice. You can see the detailed letter sent from Walter Wiese, Head Guide at Parks' Fly Shop in Gardiner, MT to get some ideas (if you need them).
  
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• Need Plans to Fuel Your Pre Fishing Season Excitement?
  February 20, 2010 @ 7:33 am
  Head on over to Island Park and watch the big cutts on their spawning run as they make their way from Henry's Lake to Hatchery Creek. You can watch the IDFG as they take eggs from the fish at the fish ladder. This supports their stocking program with 1.2 million fingerlings released back into Henry's Lake in the fall.
  
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• If only you were born a few million years ago…
  February 20, 2010 @ 7:16 am
  ...then you could have posed for your ultimate grip-n-grin shot with the Leedsichthys, a filter-feeding fish that reached lengths of 30-50 feet.
  
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• Update Your Links to Mike Savlen’s New Blog Address
  February 20, 2010 @ 6:57 am
  If you've tried getting to Mike Savlen's Fresh Art Blog and keep in touch with his excellent artwork, but you're having trouble, make sure you update your address for him (see link above) since he's recently changed it.
  
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• Rock Rollers at Soul of Streams
  February 18, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
  Robert Williamson from "Soul of Streams" has a great little piece on rock rollers (aka rock worms, aka cased caddisflies). Robert is an excellent fly tier here in Utah, specializing in air-filled and chain-stitched flies. He first had this current piece on his blog published in Fly Fishing & Tying Journal (in other words, this guy is legit when it comes to writing and tying—not a hack like some of us). He has some nice science and history in the post. Go check it out.
  
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• Five More Angling Artists
  January 30, 2010 @ 9:37 am
  Here are five more angling artists for your optic pleasure. Derek DeYoung's Canvasfish.com bills itself as "art for the avid angler." His artwork is stylized using a bold palette with much of the work being close-ups of fish. I didn't notice any people or landscapes in his work, just fish. He has originals, prints, decals, notecards, etc. for sale. The originals are pricey (as one would expect), but his giclee prints are quite reasonable. Bob White's Whitefish Studio offer's Bob's original artwork. John Gierach's Fly Rod and Reel columns were illustrated with Bob's paintings. He uses a more traditional palette and I believe all of his pieces include people except his landscape series. His "Fish Prints" feature several species and all of them depict a person holding a fish out of the water except for his two "Three Wise Men" series. Besides angling art, he also offers other sporting works. [His site can be a bit difficult to navigate to find all of the angling art, but the link I give probably provides the best option, but be sure to browse the other areas as well.] Matt Zudweg's Carvedfish.com offers hand painted signs, including a nice selection of angling signs. The signs are created in such a way that gives them a vintage look. He also offers some actual carved signs with fish on them. The fish are painted by Derek DeYoung. Kelly Dangerfield has about ten paintings of fish. They are all headshots. It looks as if most of the originals are sold, but prints are available from Imagekind. Fran Friesen has some angling art displayed at FlyBC.ca Gallery. She has some nice mixed media pieces and an interesting set of flies painted on small river stones. I can't seem to find any information on how to contact her for purchasing. [The FlyBC.ca site has some additional artists you may be interest in.]
  
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• Aspiring Writers: 2010 Traver Writing Award
  January 30, 2010 @ 8:18 am
  The 2010 Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award sponsored by Fly Rod and Reel is now accepting entries. This "is your chance to get your original work read by fly-fishing-writing professionals and possibly published in FR&R. The Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing award carries a $2,000 First Prize, from the John D. Voelker Foundation, sponsor of the award; a Second Place award of $750 will be included this year; Third Place is $250."
  
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• California’s DFG’s Hatchery Stocking Report
  January 20, 2010 @ 7:33 pm
  For those of you concerned about the impact of hatchery released fish into native fish habitat in California, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) released their Environmental Impact Report (EIR) / Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on January 11. It's a weighty tome consisting of over 25 PDF files. The reason for the EIR/EIS is because of a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Rivers Council and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in which they said that the CDFG's stocking program failed to meet the standards of California's Environmental Quality Act. The CBD released a statement January 18 responding to the EIR/EIS in which they said, "Although the report disclosed many severe impacts of the program, it failed to analyze the full impacts of stocking or adopt adequate measures to reduce the program’s harm."
  
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• Super Bow – from Flydaho
  January 12, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
  Granny (Bob Granstrom) runs a blog called Flydaho, dedicated to fly fishing Idaho (although this story takes place in Oregon, we'll forgive him). His health has slowed him down this past year, but he's come roaring back to start off this new year with a great piece of writing. He tells of an adventure titled "Super Bow" with his faithful dog Bozo back in June of 1964 (most of us young punks weren't even born yet--full disclosure: I was conceived one month before his story took place, so I can claim "young punk" status on this) and the black drake hatch. Get over there, enjoy the piece, and drop him a comment.
  
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• In the Land of the Cutthroats – DVD
  January 12, 2010 @ 7:39 am
  I saw this over at Mike's blog: Of Dry Flies and Fat Tires (fly fishing and mountain biking the west blog—go check out his site). Nick Clement of Reel Escape Films has a nice trailer (4:33) of his In the Land of the Cutthroats (this is the link to the HD version on Vimeo). This is what fly fishing for cutties is all about: the scenery and the fish. If this doesn't get you ready for the upcoming fishing season...well, may the fishing gods take pity on your angler's soul. "Full Trailer for 'In the Land of the Cutthroats' a short film that tells the story of three native trout species that evolved along the Continental Divide in Colorado. The film is an official selection of the 2010 Fly Fishing Film Tour" Music by Drew Goldstone www.reeltoreelrecords.com
  
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• Thom Glace – Watercolors of Trout
  January 2, 2010 @ 10:56 am
  Thom Glace is a painter living in central Pennsylvania. He works in watercolors. Check out Thom's latest painting, a California Golden Trout. He has a nice series of trout and bass as well as some other fish that may be of interest to fly fishers. Look at the buttons on the left of his home page to access them. He does have a painting of a brown trout with a double humpy fly at the bottom of the "Fish Art III" section. His art reminds me of early fish illustrations found in biology texts. I think it's because he uses a lot of browns and there seems to be a type of stippling to his work. I think his warm water fish are especially good. All-in-all I think Thom has some nice work being offered.
  
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• Colorado River Cutthroat Trout – Suit Aims for Protection
  November 25, 2009 @ 7:18 am
  Yesterday, the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the USFWS to seek protection for the Colorado River cutthroat under the Endangered Species Act. They claim that the USFWS dened the protection in 2007, it was based "on a flawed Bush-era policy that allowed the agency to look only at current range when considering whether the trout is endangered." The CBD would like a more expansive interpretation used, reflecting the historical range of the fish. (See a pdf file containing the full suit here.) "The Center for Biological Diversity has been actively working to overturn Bush-era decisions limiting protection for endangered species, including suing to overturn decisions affecting 54 species. To date, this campaign has been highly successful, with the Obama administration agreeing to reconsider 45 of the 54 decisions."
  
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• Mike Savlen’s New Cutthroat Art
  October 10, 2009 @ 8:39 am
  Mike Savlen has done his first (I believe it's his first) painting of a cutthroat. The colors are exceptionally brilliant. It's for sale too. Go check it out and buy it for me for your favorite angler me again who would really appreciate it. I'm saving my pennies Mike!
  
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• South Fork of the Snake & Teton Rivers – Scenic or Recreational Waters?
  October 10, 2009 @ 8:08 am
  Things to keep an eye on. Anyone familiar with the Teton Valley or Swan Valley in Idaho knows about the rivers flowing through them: The Teton River runs through the former and the South Fork of the Snake River through the latter. The BLM is considering if parts of these two rivers should be designated as scenic rivers or recreational rivers. Here's a nice article (from the Rexburg Standard Journal) about the efforts on these two rivers. This website has information about wild, scenic and recreational designations of waters.
  
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• Local Cutthroat Rehabilitation Project
  September 24, 2009 @ 7:17 pm
  A local (just over the mountain) creek, Swan Creek, is being rehabilitated and restocked with Bonneville cutthroat. There are multiple ongoing projects to help Bear Lake's feeder creeks. DWR will rotenone the creek this fall and then restock with Bonnies. For those concerned about "killing fish," there is a pretty decent comparison in the article: "Just as rogue weeds that choke out native plants are eradicated to preserve natural ecosystems, the alien hybrids in Swan Creek will be wiped out to make way for natives."
  
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• Fishing Imperiled in the Rocky Mountains
  September 23, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
  Public lands are being leased for oil and gas extraction, just like they always have. However, over the next 20 years, "an estimated 126,000 new wells are planned." Last week the Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (SFRED) published a report, "Hunting and Fishing Imperiled," in which they name ten large parcels of public land that are under siege. The World Fishing Network has a nice overview of the report. You can get SFRED's executive summary (4 page PDF file) or the full report (31 page PDF file).
  
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