Fall Fishing

Well, it's that time of year. Big fish are on the move, and when you find them it can be magical. I fished yesterday and managed to hook into a very nice brown trout...



When fly fishing, it's easy to create quite a bit of micro trash - spent split shot, small pieces of tippet, etc. It can be challenging to keep up with all of this stuff. However, there's a nifty little product that I've recently been turned onto that makes keeping up with all of this micro trash a cinch. The Piopod Microtrash container from Fishpond. If you're an avid angler, and you don't already have a solution for your microtrash, check out this nifty little gadget.

Fish - Number One Cause of Mercury Poisoning in U.S.

In a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), every single fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the United States was found to be contaminated with mercury.

"This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that builds up in the food chain at ever higher concentrations in predators such as large fish and humans. It is especially damaging to the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, but can have severe effects on adults, as well. The pollutant enters the environment almost wholly as atmospheric emissions from industrial processes, primarily the burning of coal for electricity. It then spreads across the plant and settles back to the surface, eventually concentrating in rivers, lakes and oceans, where it enters the aquatic food chain.

The number one cause of human mercury poisoning in the United States is the consumption of fish and shellfish.

Read the full article here.

Ice Water

I guess I was good enough this year to make Santa's list. He brought me a nifty new digital camera that is waterproof, freezeproof, crushproof, dustproof, etc. Now if I can just figure out how to work the thing I'd be all set. It came with a 275 page instruction manual. And that's just the English version. I have a bit of reading to do...

Nonetheless, I took the camera to a local tailwater river yesterday to see if I could get some underwater shots of trout. First, of course, I had to catch them but that wasn't terribly difficult despite the 12˚ air temps. The hardest part of fishing in the winter is keeping your hands warm. Well that and getting out wind knots in tiny monofilament tippet and tying on size 22 midges (tiny, tiny bugs).

Regardless, I did catch some fish and I did take some underwater shots. For a first attempt, they weren't too shabby.





I got to thinking about respecting wildlife on the drive home, and having this new camera reminded me that there are definitely ways to enjoy wildlife in ways that are both legal (catching and releasing fish) and ethical (not getting too close, not feeding, etc.). It boils down to doing what we can to respect and protect all wildlife.