Saturday Comics

Hey by the way...

I am now an official, card-carrying (wait...Hey, Nick--do I get a card?) guest author on Brookfield Angler. After Owl Jones got signed up over there, I figured that I had to throw in my name as well. I approached Nick about the opportunity, paid him $50 and that was a done deal. I'll be the "conservation author" there, but I'll still post "fishy" stuff here.

If you haven't been by the site before, take a minute and browse it. It's legit.

"Catch of the Day" ...yeah, right.

I don't normally speak up about most things; I try to keep the peace and not be a disturbance. Sometimes, however, something begs for more attention than it is originally given; it's then that I can't resist speaking up or speaking out. In this case, if they could talk, I think the fish and plants of Maple Lake in Illinois would say "thank you" to me (and anyone else who joins me!) for it. Read the article below from The Reporter, on August 4 of this year:

"Catch of the Day"

I'd love to hear your thoughts regarding the article and the actual story presented in it. I was moved to write a response to the publisher which I've included here:

Ms. Richards,

I found your website and this article through a friend who linked to it on Facebook. As an avid fisherman and conservationist, I was immediately curious and read the article through twice as soon as I could. As I worked my way through the story, I enjoyed the writing and the human element of the devoted fisherman and how the catch played out with his and others' reactions. I was ultimately disappointed, however, after finishing the article. I strongly feel that it is incomplete and lacking a crucial element of responsible journalism. The article, I'm afraid, may convey the wrong message about the fragility and value of our local, natural resources.

That now-dead Pacu is not native to any part of Illinois, the Midwest or North America; this was alluded to once in the article. As a non-native, one must come to the conclusion that it was artificially introduced, most likely intentionally. For native species in any given ecological sphere, the introduction of non-natives is an unwelcome and volatile event that can turn dangerous very quickly, often irrevocably so. While it was mentioned that the Pacu is responsible for injuries and a purported death in Papua New Guinea, no mention was made of the ecological effect it has had on the lake there (i.e. nearly complete eradication of native plants and fishes), and no mention was made that there too were these Pacu introduced artificially by humans. Thankfully, the waters of Maple Lake are likely not ideal for a large, sustained and breeding population of these tropical fish; the mention of several Pacu having been caught in the past few years in Maple Lake may suggest otherwise, however. That they are exotic and have a known (and article-referenced) history of destructiveness in the waters into which they're introduced is a real cause for concern. The article, though, made no mention or suggestion that the Pacu, being an exotic, are anything but something about which anyone should or would be "thilled." The fact that it was caught, and therefore earlier released into, a forest preserve lake makes this even more sickening.

While this is a curious catch for the fisherman, it is not an isolated incident. Unfortunately, you are in a hotbed of aquatic invasive species being so near to the system of the Great Lakes. Zebra mussels, Sea Lampreys and upwards of 180 other invasive species are now present in the Lakes; many of these have worked their way into the drainages and are spreading south through the Mississippi and tributary drainages. Zebra mussels alone cost each state hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of dollars in efforts to keep water treatment plants clear of them--that money is drawn from tax payers. Sea Lampreys are parasitic and regularly kill native fish. The now (in)famous "flying carp" of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers are silver Asiatic carp, an invasive species of fish that is steadily sterilizing miles of river of any other species, simply by out-competing them. Silver carp are responsible for millions of dollars in lost revenue, jobs and mitigation costs; no one, however, believes that these waterways will ever again be free of them. Non-native species can and do cause immense damage to native species and cost taxpayers unnecessary bills in control attempts. Obviously, neither is something which should be aired in a whimsical or ambivalent tone.

Given the relevancy, proximity and seriousness of non-native species which have been introduced into waters very near to Chicago, I would expect any journalistic opportunity on the subject to be taken with the intent of education, not just stimulation. There are many resources available to give ready access to a wealth of information, news and activity on invasive species in the Great Lakes region; I recommend that you avail yourself of their information as soon as possible (Illinois DNR, Sea Grant and Protect Your Waters are just a few). It is not only helpful for the responsible citizen in general, but in many ways quite interesting as well.

Finally, please consider issuing a follow-up to the original Aug 4th publication making some mention of the inappropriateness of this catch on Maple Lake and the why it is infelicitous, dangerous, and unfortunate. People are informed and swayed by the media, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. If the media is irresponsible, however, it does an injustice to its readers. Please offer your readers an opportunity to become more informed, and through that, more responsible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on this issue, and--hopefully--for reconsidering the proper content and tone of the article.



Best wishes with great respect,

Will King
St. Louis, Missouri

BlogRod Poll #4: Choose the Seat

I've taken down the grip style poll--Fenwick stole the show 2-1 over Full Wells. I love that you guys are a little old school with that, and Fenwicks are fun to make, so thank you! Good choice.

The next, and probably last, round of voting is for the reel seat. To refresh your memory, here is the rod so far:

Fly Logic FLP 7wt
Fenwick Grip

The reel seat options are below; please notice that I've chosen seats that are saltwater-safe for those of you who may be getting into some blue with this rod.

OPTION #1: Struble U15 in Black

OPTION #2: Struble U15 in Grey

OPTION #3: PacBay A6 with Dynawood Rosewood

Progress

The Trash Contest is in full swing, but so is the heat. I'm hopeful that I'll be getting dozens more emails with photos like this soon as it cools off. I need to hear from a lot of people still that have emailed me for entry--you gotta pick up at least a can to be entered!! Get out there and eye some garbage--show it to me and get entered.

Peter C. collected this junk out of Oak Creek in Arizona. Pretty gnarly looking and happy it's out of the water! Great work, Peter!

This from Karli-Rae:Hi there! I would like to be entered in the trash contest! On Saturday, July 30th, my fiance and I were traveling through Iowa City and stopped to take a break and walk around the river there near the River Power Restaurant. Near the river we saw some trash and just started picking it up. In about an hour we picked up the trash shown in the picture.

Great idea and it reminds people that every little bit helps! (A random guy fishing there said to us, "You guys picking up....trash?" And we told him we were. Five minutes later he comes up to us with two HUGE snags of mono that he said he had seen earlier but hadn't thought to pick up since there wasn't a trash can nearby. So it's motivating other people to clean up trash as well!
Thanks!

P.S. I am making a pouting face in the picture because mono in the river makes me sad.

Great work, guys; keep it up! I wanna see more photos!

What's This I Hear??

I recently spoke with Dave Hise of Casters Fly Shop in North Carolina (check out the website here, great content, videos, etc.!) and he mentioned, in passing and very casually, the name of a fish I've rarely heard spoken in those parts. It peaked my interest and he agreed to an interview about it. He's somewhat of an expert on these matters, so I listened closely!

Me: Where was this fish discovered?
Dave: In the Appalachian Mountain Chain.

Me: What flies does it seem to prefer?
Dave: Anything that touches the water. Just be sure to make a stealthy approach and present your offerings delicately. It is a very opportunistic creature but is also very wary, like the Abominable Snowman. Some have said that it has a particular liking to cigarette butts but I haven't tried a cigarette butt pattern yet.

Me: Do you think it will overtake other fish in terms of popularity?
Dave: Not necessarily but there is definitely a cult following. People in these parts worship the little fellas. By little, I mean little. Most of the streams have minimal biomass therefore there is very little for them to eat. These streams are often over-populated; a combination of that and the lack of food stunts their growth.

Me: Do you offer guiding for this new fish yet?
Dave: Not really. Well... I mean, Ill take people out for them but I have a difficult time charging normal guide rates for a "do it yourself" species. If you are willing to hike 4-8 miles a day along a copperhead and rhododendron laden stream bed, then you can fish for these wily critters. Live by the cooler rule (the rule states- certain anglers can only go so far with a 12 pack of tall boys in their cooler so if you hike beyond that point you will find yourself in the mecca).

Me: And finally, what is the name of this almost unspoken-of fish?

Dave: Brook Char

Me: I think there are more species yet to be identified out there. Misnomers abound in literature, catalogs and blogs. What do you think?
Dave: Well, I have fished for and heard of numerous species but they continue to elude me. Most notably, the lake char, Atlantic brown, and bull char; the lake char resembles that of the lake trout; the Atlantic brown resembles that of the Atlantic salmon; and the bull char resembles that of the bull trout. I have caught the bull trout and lake trout and oddly enough, they seem to look very much like a char. Don't get me started on the Atlantic salmon. I thought salmon died upon the completion of their spawning ritual but those damn Atlantic salmon live on to spawn another day. They must be a special kind of salmon or maybe even the relative of a trout.

(...a little Monday fun.)

Kids Rock

This is why kids are the undisputed champions of the spirit of fishing.