Archive for February, 2008

INVASIVE SPECIES: What of the Snakehead?

Posted on February 21st, 2008

Singlebarbed posted on snakeheads finding their way into English waters. I wrote this response, twice, yet somehow managed to pull off leaving a blank comment box on his site. Twice. So here’s my comment: “The critics were quite nasty about the newcomers, variously described as scaly, voracious, monstrous and homely. They stole food from natives. They had sharp teeth. They ate their young…” A description of the introduction of brown trout to U.S. waters in 1883. Also, “It has displaced resident trout from the small rivers and lakes of Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and other mountain states. The brook trout’s main victim is the cutthroat, so called for the bright slash of crimson under its jaw. Squeezed on one side by invasive brook trout, native…

Lateral Line Media Shouts Out, Causes Flashbacks

Posted on February 20th, 2008

Joey of Lateral Line Media unwittingly uncovered some old scars with this post. No way he could possibly know that back in the day, fresh out of college, the only apartment my buddies and I could afford in NYC Metro was a railroad sitting atop an Irish bar in Hoboken. No way he could know that said Irish bar never attracted more than four patrons on any given night, but the drunken Irish owner insisted on cranking the same mix tape at full volume until closing. And that the mix tape, on a perma-loop, included the songs “Rosanna” and “Rains in Africa” among other torturous acts. I had to drink heavily just to get through it. I am haunted by Toto.

All Aboard the Meatwagon

Posted on February 19th, 2008

Just got in a sampling of meat wagon flies from Jerry Darkes, a Great Lakes steelhead guide and tyer. I know by looking that the northern pike are going to go off on this pattern in the spring, but I’m going to bring them down to Florida next week to see what happens.

VIDEO: South African Safari

Posted on February 18th, 2008

Here’s some footage combined from two different game reserves, Kwandwe in the Eastern Cape, and Madikwe in the North West provence on the border of Botswana, as well as some shots from my day on the Vaal River with competition fly angler Shayne Prinsloo. Some more notes. Cape Town is one of the great cities of the world. Geographically, it sits within driving distance of the Cape of Good Hope on the Southwest tip of the continent. The waters surrounging it remain shockingly cold as they are fed by the Benguela current running unimpeded from Antarctica. It has Mediterranean weather, and, physically, it brings to mind a mix of South Beach and Sausalito. It has a laid back beach vibe. Johannesburg is like New…

Say Yellow…Yellow

Posted on February 17th, 2008

The head of the 8-pound smallmouth yellowfish I caught drifting a nymph along the banks of the Vaal River under the tutelage of competitive fly angler Shayne Prinsloo. More detail to come, but for the most part, smallmouth yellowfish feed and behave exactly like trout, except that they have about twice the pound-for-pound fighting strength.

Greetings From the Miami Boat Show

Posted on February 15th, 2008

So this is what insomnia feels like. I touched down at JFK on Wednesday after a 20 hour flight from Johannesburg,  ran home to repack and hopped a JetBlue flight to Miami. I’m chilling in my hotel room on Collins Ave waiting for the precise moment in about 30 minutes when the jack-hammer starts on the new build next door. No mind, I’ve been up since 1:30am–I crashed at one–because that’s 8:30 am South Africa time. But I expect no sympathy because, overall, life’s pretty good. For those who don’t know me personally, in my real life I am a card carrying member of the dead tree media. I test and write about boats, and about anything remotely to do with being on boats and…

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