Photo by Becca Skinner, New York Times.
I read this piece the other day in the online edition of Sierra Magazine, and immediately identified with author Christopher Schaberg, a professor of Englis and Environmental Studies at Loyola University in New Orleans. The gist is this: the intense pressures being put on our environment by a decidedly anti-environment element within the current administration can leave many of us conservation-minded anglers frustrated. The fly-tying vise can help us find our center. Like Schaberg, I tie flies for the peace of it all. And lately, I’ve been tying a lot of damn flies, all the while contemplating the eventual state of the nation’s environment when it will be left to my kids.
And I hope my kids (and your kids, too, for that matter) will be able to do something about it.
Thank God for the vise. Without it, I wouldn’t know where to find my Zen. Eventually, it’ll warm up, and I’ll find it on the water, assuming its still there to enjoy. Alarmist? Perhaps. But, as the kids are saying these days, the struggle is real.
Here’s what else is happening in the fishing world these days:
- Industry efforts to target female fly fishers might be paying off. Women make up the fastest-growing demographic among anglers. According to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, 142,000 women were new to fly fishing in 2016. Year of the Woman, indeed.
- Here’s a great little piece about Peach Tree Bar in the Sierra. Finding remote places to fish and hunt these days can be a challenge, but with some boot leather and determination, it’s always possible.
- What will a wimpy, glass rod, 5x tippet and a size 20 scud pattern get you at Rocky Ford Creek in Washington state? A 30-inch behemoth, that’s what.
- It’s show season, and I’m sure I’ll find my way to an expo or two over the next few weeks. The reason? I’m on the prowl for the perfect fly-in Canadian lodge for my uncles and cousins to gather at the end of summer. With any luck, the endeavor will end something like this.
- Never heard of Salalah? You will.
And, finally, your moment of fly fishing Zen:
Fly fishing the Missouri River in winter. Photo courtesy Todd Tanner, Hatch Magazine.