Artist – Nick Mayer – Escape Studio

Nick Mayer’s watercolor artwork at Escape Studio. Nick’s pieces have a “technical” feel to them, with a clean, precise look, but the watercoloring softens them, bringing a warmth and aliveness to each piece.

A New Season’s Topography

I’m just dying to get on the river, but the weather and prospects for local fishing in the winter is pretty low. In anticipation of the new season, I bring you something a little different: me reading the post to you.

Book Review – An Entirely Synthetic Fish – Anders Halverson

Book Review of An Entirely Synthetic Fish, by Anders Halverson. The book goes on sale next week. You’ll want to grab a copy of this fascinating look at the history of stocking and conservation of non-native fish in the United States that is told with a reporter’s zeal for facts yet with a storyteller’s touch.

IFWF 2010 Trip Auction Open for Bidding

The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation has 42 great experiences still open for bidding. The first item to be sold outright was a wolf pup count for two people in the Sawtooth National Forest for $900. As much as I would have loved to win that bid, it’s a little out of my price range. Most of the trips are under $100 for starting bids, and quite a few below $50. Check out the cool trips (jet boat patrol on South Fork Snake River, Hells Canyon white sturgeon research, guided fly fishing on Silver Creek, elk calf capture, back country lake fish planting by horseback, several spawning surveys, etc., etc.), and bid on something.

Need Plans to Fuel Your Pre Fishing Season Excitement?

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.

If only you were born a few million years ago…

If only you were born a few million years ago, 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.

Update Your Links to Mike Savlen’s New Blog Address

If you’ve tried getting to Mike Savlen’s Fresh Art Blog and keep in touch with his excellent artwork, make sure you update your address for him (see link above).

Rock Rollers at Soul of Streams

Robert Williamson from “Soul of Streams” has a great little piece on rock rollers (aka rock worms, aka cased caddisflies).

Cutthroat Stalker Ezine

The ezine version of Cutthroat Stalker is hitting the virtual stands today. Get your free copy and give me feedback (please).

Winter River Walks

The temperature inversions in our valley have one positive affect: some incredible hoar frost (radiation frost) builds up. As I wait for ice and joints to thaw, and fish to move, I walk the valley. Exchanging fly rod and flies for tripod and camera, I stay as close to water as I can.

Stalking scenes of [...]

Five More Angling Artists

Five angling artists to peruse and purchase from.

Aspiring Writers: 2010 Traver Writing Award

The 2010 Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award sponsored by Fly Rod and Reel is now accepting entries.

California’s DFG’s Hatchery Stocking Report

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.

Book Review – Inventing Montana – Ted Leeson

Ted Leeson has been one of my favorite authors since his first book in 1994, The Habit of Rivers. Inventing Montana has a lot more personal feel and more humor than his previous works. For those of you who might have tried Leeson before but didn’t quite get into it, give this one a try. For those who already enjoy Leeson, you’ll love the extra dimensions this book adds to his repertoire.

Some Art of Angling

A handful of artists are featured in this post as I try to get caught up. Fly fishing art has some great artists plying their skills. In addition, I find many of them keep some great blogs where you can get a behind-the-scenes look at an artist at work.