Comments on: A Brief History of Ditch Fishing

By: beer and bone study reveals another hidden health benefit of fly fishing – fishing for words

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:47:03 +0000

[...] pretty obvious that except when bass fishing or brownlining it would be counterproductive to consume beer prior to stumbling around boulders in a favorite [...]

By: Ditch Fishing Paraphernalia: Shorties « Fishing Jones

Ditch Fishing Paraphernalia: Shorties « Fishing Jones — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:45:03 +0000

[...] man serious about the prospecting of ditches needs a shorty. As discovered researching ”A Brief History of Ditch Fishing” a 7′6″ snub-nosed can be a deadly weapon at close range. My dad’s old [...]

By: Pete McDonald

Pete McDonald — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:02:22 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Norman. It’s great to hear from one of the original trail anglers. I’d love to find one of those Rocky Weinstein 7 1/2 footers.

By: Norman Duncan

Norman Duncan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:38:23 +0000

The recent MidCurrent article about short rods brings to mind the Tamiami Trail guide Rocky Winestein, he guided around Everglades City in the late 1950′s and early 60′s. He made and sold 7 and 7-1/2 foot fly rods that he made from either the Lamiglas 1145 blank or a Conolon flyrod blank, they were good in the canals and creeks for the big snook and small tarpon we caught there. He would come into Miami and peddle his rods to all of the tackle shops and tank-up. Little John and I were fishing the tamiami canals on the west coast in the mid 1950′s, we were friends with some other fishermen that started fishing there in the 1920′s, boy did they have stories!

By: murray

murray — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:38:15 +0000

Very interesting read. I didn’t know I was a brownliner or a ditch dawg. I grew up and learned most of my fishing tricks in Tampa and surrounding areas. Lot’s o’ canals and ditches for a youngster to “wet a line”. Your story definitely takes me back, especially as I am now in Nova Scotia and have a much smaller fishing time and target species….

By: Pete McDonald

Pete McDonald — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:59:33 +0000

Tom, does this mean you and KBarton are fly fishing’s Megan Jasper?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge_speak

By: The Trout Underground

The Trout Underground — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:33:03 +0000

The whole “brownliner” thing was really just supposed to be an ironic statement – a sort of verbal prank that afforded Singlebarbed and I a one-word shorthand for making sport of each other.

Like all pranks (and most sci-fi movies dealing with scientists) the creature appears to have acquired a life of its own, and is on the verge of turning on its creators. A “movement” is the last thing I had in mind.

Everybody’s got a little brownlining in their past (mine was a muddy, manicured private lake in Southern California which you weren’t allowed to fish unless you lived there, which we didn’t).

It’s not a new sport, just a new name. And lest anyone forget, the Offbeat Anglers book of a few years past certainly deserves a mention – the “Brown Water Boys” who wrote it sure had the brownlining thing bad.

By: murdock

murdock — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:44:19 +0000

Great post. I owe you a cold one for showing me the glory of ditch fishing.

By: WT

WT — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:08:30 +0000

Excellent post. The SI link was exceptional as well. Thanks, Pete.
WT

By: kbarton10

kbarton10 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:27:04 +0000

I can’t say I’d be able to resist adding a frog to my streamer – purely for scientific testing … naturally, I’d claim I foul hooked it.