It looked somewhat promising. Partly cloudy and about 20C outside the kitchen window in Whitecourt, Alberta.  Thus far during our little vacation with Colleen, my son and I have not had much opportunity to experience any fishing in Alberta. The days we thought we’d head out turned out to be rainy, chilly and windy - not conditions adverse to myself but not the best for a seven year old.

A few days ago, we were in Al’s Sport Quest in Whitecourt and talked with owner Al about local fishing holes.  As well, Ian Bews of Whitecourt’s “Castaways Fly Tying Club” offered his advice during a phone call with him.  Both mentioned Emerald Lake, north of Whitecourt which holds rainbow and brook trout. In the vicinity of Carson Pegasus Provincial Park, it sounded like an interesting place to try.

The day after we arrived in Whitecourt, we drove through Carson Pegasus but it seemed that fly fishing was best done from a boat or canoe.  Most of the anglers were spin or bait fishing from a boardwalk where a back cast was impossible.

So today, with the what seemed like decent weather, my son David and I headed out to try to find Emerald Lake. We knew it was north of Carson Pegasus but I was confused about how exactly to get in to it.  We drove up Highway 32 and turned east toward Carson Pegasus looking for a road that would take us north, only knowing that Emerald Lake was about 3 km away from the park. The only roads we found were marked as “Private” and being unsure about whether we could legally use them, didn’t. We hoped if nothing else that we might see a bear or two wandering along the side of the road like we had, four days ago.

I finally decided to head back to Highway 32 and go north and try to find a public road heading east off the highway that might perhaps lead us to Emerald Lake. Five kilometres later, we found a road that was not marked “Private” and turned along it, only to discover signs later marking it as private. But we decided to continue on, coming to a T Junction, where we turned south and drove a couple of kilometres when we saw a lake on our right hand side.  From the descriptions provided, I am sure it was Emerald Lake - there was the Muskrat Lodge we were told that we could fish from and have a good chance to get ourselves into some fish.

Except… by the time we arrived, the skies had turned to gray and black clouds and cold rain showers fell.  The wind was so strong that trees were bent right over. I set up David’s spin rod and baited the hook with “Berkley’s Power Bait” - I don’t know anything about the stuff, but it’s what was recommended when not fly fishing.  I set David up on the Muskrat Lodge, gave as good a cast I could in the wind driving right down upon us, then set up my fly rod. Not only the wind, but now the rain was driving down and as I expected, “Dad, I’m cold!”

My fault - I really should have prepared for the possibility of changing weather conditions but didn’t expect the temperature to drop from 20C to 9C in an hour with rain and strong winds. So David agreed to try to warm up in the Jimmy while I thought I might as well try to wet some flies if I could fight the wind.

I had my TCO 9′ 5wt. and tried my best over the next hour or so to cast a few different flies with the challenge of the high wind.  I did have one good tug on a Wooly Bugger, but that was it. Because the lake seems to be surrounded by a marshy area, it was not practical to try the other side of the lake.  After awhile, I realized that it was going to be futile to continue fly fishing in these conditions, and David was getting bored.

Three days ago, Colleen, David and I drove to Fort Assiniboine to check out the museum there, and on our way back, decided to return to Whitecourt via Swan Hills.  South of Swan Hills, I spotted Freeman River which looked like a gorgeous bit of water from the highway.  So, David and I decided that we might as well head up that way to take a closer look at it.  About 15 to 20 minutes north on highway 32, we pulled the Jimmy off the road and walked downstream along the south bank.

Ah… now this is a river I must try!  The water was quite shallow along the bank we were walking, and the water is very wadeable.  It seems to be deeper along the other bank, and as we watched the river, we saw some small fish rising to take flies off the surface.  It seems there are rainbows and grayling in the Freeman - I’m not sure exactly where the best parts might be to fish, but for now, if we get a chance before we have to leave Whitecourt, this might be as good a place to start as any.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Jasper and I’ll take the rods along too, just in case. Maybe on Sunday, we’ll have a few hours to explore the Freeman River - and wouldn’t that be awesome if I caught my first greyling!

I’m wondering if it is possible.  Am I there yet? Except, I wouldn’t part with any of it except to my sons or my best friend (if she decides to seriously take up fishing, she can have and use whatever I’ve got! It’s a deal, Colleen ).  I’d lend some of it to others - as long as I were present while it was being used.  But maybe I have too much.

I’m planning a trip out west with my “wee man,” who will be 7 in August.  I haven’t had time to do much research on what exactly the fly fishing opportunities are in the area I’ll be fishing. I know there is a lake with ‘bows in it, a couple of rivers with who knows what, and a small pond with some stocked trout - but I am not sure what will be best suited and time is drawing near. So I’ve been going through my stuff, and realizing I’ve got stuff here that I love, but haven’t used in a long time, and need to enjoy the pleasure of again.  I’ve also got fly lines coming out of my ying yang - stuff I purchased two and three years ago with a plan in my head, but since then, my head lost those particular plans.  And being ADD apparently, naturally I forget to put the little labels that tell me what line and wt. are on the various fly reel spools I have.

As I type this, within four feet of me in either direction are:

3 Talon Fly Rods.

1. One I built myself about 14 years ago, and I love that thing, but the ferrule was crushed, and I still need to try to get it off to Ralph O’Quinn who believes he can fix just about any graphite rod damage so it is like new.  Ralph for those who don’t know is the brains behind the U-40 products, and a fantastic guy.  The one I built was a 9′ 5 wt. IM6 Plus that has been used more times than I can remember.  I loved - and still love - that rod.

2. Another is a 9′0″ 8 wt IM6 Plus, built in the Talon factory.   A lovely rod for large size bass, steelhead and salmon.  Admittedly, I have not used it as much as I would have liked.

3. Then there is the 3 piece Talon Elite 9″0″ 9 Wt. “Big Game” rod. Beautiful cork grips on this! Again, a rod I have not used often, but have enjoyed when I have.

1 Grey’s Greyflex M2

I picked up this 10 1/2′ 7/8 wt when I was in Belfast, Northern Ireland in June of 2007.  I was looking for a three piece rod that I could travel with and that would perform well while lake or loch style fishing in the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships held September 2007 in Grande Prairie.  I really enjoy this rod, but when conditions are warranted, I do prefer the Meiser Switch Rod (more on that later).

3 Sage

How many Sage rods do I have?? I think there are three, but only  one is a fly rod. Back when I built rods, Sage made some nice spin blanks, and I’ve got a couple of them. The fly rod is an older “Graphite II” 7′9″ 2 wt.  I haven’t used it much, but when I’ve been out on some small creeks, I’ve enjoyed it.  I think it’s been ten years though.

At Least 2 Loomis

I’m looking at the rod tube and know it’s a 2 piece, one I built about 18 years ago - an IM6. I disliked very much their IMX stuff back then - seemed too many of them broke. This one is a bit on the heavy side, I think it’s a 9′ 8 wt.  But I can’t remember. I’ll have to give it a few casts this summer.

1 Tony Spezio

Never heard of a Tony Spezio? Pitty! I have a lovely two tip cane rod he built and it’s lovely to cast! I don’t know why I don’t use it more; perhaps because it is one of those rods I think will be an heirloom to one of my children and their children.

1 Admira

A 10′0″ 4 wt. that I purchased last spring at the behest of Ernie Kalwa, Captain of the fly fishing team I was on.  Apparently a good rod for Czech nymphing, but I’ve never used it.   Turned out that I resigned from the team due to health concerns (don’t ask how I managed to severely sprain my right hand - I’m still trying to figure it out) so I never did compete and didn’t get a chance to try this rod.

2 Temple Fork Outfitters

I’ve got two of these - a 5 wt three piece and a 10′ 0″ 7 wt. 4 piece that was my backup rod to the Grey’s in Grande Prairie. I didn’t use it much, but I did like it - but preferred the Grey’s when fishing from the boats.  I liked this one for fishing from the shore of the pond that was one of the venues though.

The 5 wt is what I’ve been using on the Grand River and other such places after the ferrule was busted on my Talon, above.

For the money, TFO rods are hard to beat!

1 Fisher

About 8 or 9 years ago, I was looking for a 9 1/2′ 5/6 wt rod, and they were hard to come by at 9 1/2′.  I can’t recall now why I wanted a 9′6″ 5 wt, but I did, and this one was relatively inexpensive.  I think I traded a year’s worth of website hosting for it.  I remember when it arrived - I was quite excited to try it out, but when I did, I was disappointed.  I’ve never used it since. But I will.  I think the action was just too slow for me at the time.  I recall I did not like it as much as the Talon that I had owned and been using for so long. But maybe it’s time to revisit this one and give it another chance.  If nothing else, it’s a spare and one that I can lend to someone else if they don’t have one or their’s breaks.

1 R. B. Meiser

A disclaimer: R. B. Meiser (actually, I shoud have noted that Talon is too) is a client of mine.  So I realize that giving such positive reviews of both R. B. Meiser and Talon rods could be construed as a conflict of interest for me.  In Meiser’s case, I think Bob has done well by me and I’ve done well by him long before I ever tried out one of his rods though.  In the case of Talon, I loved Dwight’s rods and blanks long before he ever became a client of mine, and used to build a lot of custom rods on Talon blanks when I had my own custom rod building business.

Anyhow, prior to the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships in Grande Prairie, I was talking with Bob Meiser about some work to his website and I mentioned I the competition and that it would be fly fishing from boats for all but one venue.  I told him I had picked up the Grey’s and the TCO, and he said, “Ian! You should have told me! I’ve already supplied another competitor with a rod that will be perfect I think, and I could work something out with you too.”

I kind of felt ashamed that I hadn’t even thought of talking to Bob before selecting some gear for Grande Prairie. Anyhow, he agreed to build me a rod on his System 2 blank - a “switch rod,” and shipped it out to me. Sadly, the rod did not arrive in time.  It arrived here in Ontario the day after I arrived in Alberta.  When I got back, I was eager to try it out, and it seems ideal with the Sixth Sense series of lines.   Although this rod is built with the two handed style of fly fishing in mind, I can easily lay out 70+ feet with one hand. That is why it is called a “Switch” rod - you can switch from one to two hands and cast comfortably either way.

I’ve never much got into spey or two handed casting but I’m hoping I can get out with Neil Houlding at some point this summer and we’ll see if we can teach me some two handed techniques and put that Meiser rod through it’s paces.  But as it is, I’m very pleased with it!

So those are my fly rods in my office here. I’ve got more in the porch, and at least one more in the trunk of my vehicle.  Do you think I have too many?

Perhaps I’ll write about my reels and spare spools the next time!  Colleen - forgive me if I’m a bit disorganized here with all this stuff, but we’ll get you set up with something, for sure! Looking forward to fishing with you next week!

I managed to get quite a bit done early today, and then scheduled some time to tackle an SSH server problem on a linux server here at the office.  After about three hours of struggling with it, and not getting it to work correctly, I decided “enough lousy struggling for the day, let’s see what’s going on at the ponds.”

It was a beautiful afternoon - sunny with cloudy periods and no thunder storms in the outlook like yesterday.  So off I went to the pond, thinking it might be too bright for the fish but what the heck. I could use another few hours wetting flies and contemplating ssh servers while enjoying the ocassional croaking of bullfrogs and watching red winged blackbirds flying near shore. As I did yesterday, the first fly I tied on was my “Malteser,” that crazy fun fly that I tie up using my Maltese dog Rudy’s hair.  The thing works so often and often works when nothing else will.  I always get a kick out of catching fish with it and of course when I get back, I give Rudy an extra little pet around the ears.

But today, the Malteser wouldn’t produce for the first 45 minutes, so I decided to try a black leech pattern that is tied with rabbit skin strips.  If white doesn’t work, try the opposite.   Well, at least one big rainbow wanted a leech for dinner - and it wasn’t long before I was involved in a fun struggle! I knew this fish was bigger than the one I had on yesterday even though it never jumped - it pulled hard and went for the bottom, towing my rowboat behind it.  Eventually, I brought it to the net and decided I wanted another trout dinner.  It turned out to be about 22″ long and on the kitchen scale, 3 lb. 14 oz.

I thought I’d keep trying and see if I could get more fish to hit, but that seemed to be the life of the leech pattern - one very nice rainbow.  But I wasn’t done yet.  My friend Arron Varga had tied up some flies for me last year - I cannot remember the name of them - bright yellow with a beige coloured tail - and thought “what the heck, let’s try it out.”  I was about to give up after about 20 minutes when I felt an awesome tug - and another fun struggle began.  Once again, the fish never jumped but I did get a look at him as I managed to bring him close to the boat, but then the hook broke free. Ah well..  three casts later, another fish on!  But that only lasted about 15 seconds.  But it was interesting that the fish seemed to be interested in this fly so I continued to fish it.   Several minutes later, another fish on - this one was obviously smaller than the previous ones - and again, within seconds, it was lost.  I think the hook needs sharpened on that fly, so it came off the leader.

The sun was still high in the sky but above some cloud when I decided to try on a chironomid pattern.  Very basic and thin red body tied onto a red hook, with a gold beadhead.   Very slow retrieve - most of the time just enough action to allow the fly to drift in the water.  After a few casts and some ultra slow retrieves, another fish on! And this fly had a sharp hook.  Again, not quite as large as the first fish I had caught, but about 19″ - the same as yesterday’s fish.  Headed straight for the bottom and my R.B. Meiser fly rod felt wonderful.  Looked wonderful too:

I Love This Rod!

I brought the fish to net, and it stayed still enough for me to get this shot of it:

A few more casts later, I realized I had to get back to that other server struggle - and regretfully leave the pond.

It has been sometime since I posted here - been a very busy spring both business and personal wise.  The weather hasn’t always been co-operative either.  Today, I felt as if I just needed to get out and wet some flies so I drove over to the ponds that are only about 7 minutes away.  The afternoon was pleasant - partly cloudy skies and the temperature around 20C.

When I arrived, I decided to take out one of the rowboats and after setting up my gear, I tied on a Malteser and rowed out so that I could drift into some holes I know.  I love that Malteser fly!

Within 20 minutes, I had a lovely rainbow on! Fought  good and hard with my Meiser Rod bent right over, the nice tip absorbing the fish’s fight.  The fish made three spectacular jumps before heading towards the bottom of the pond - one of the jumps it must have cleared the water by more than two feet.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had a meal of rainbow trout, so I decided to keep this one, and it will be cleaned and then baked soon.

When I got home, I put it on my kitchen scale and it was 2lb. 9 oz. I’m estimating it was about 19″ long.

Did you know I enjoy making my own wine? I also have a home winemaking blog.  I think I will open a bottle of Liebfraumilch and enjoy with my rainbow trout.

Your rod and reel are the most important parts of your fly fishing gear. There are a few simple things you can do to make sure they give you years of great service.

Reels

There’s really not much to say about maintaining reels, other than … lubricate them as per the manufacturers’ instructions! As with anything that has moving parts, friction develops. The heat caused by excessive friction will cause wear and tear that did not have to happen if the part was properly lubricated. The best lubricant to use is lithium grease - don’t be trying to squirt 10W-30 inside your reel!

For the most part, today’s reels require very little maintenance and you shouldn’t have to do to much to keep them in good shape. One thing that is very important, especially if you spend any time at all on saltwater is to rinse your reels completely and thoroughly in fresh water. It’s a good idea to give your reels a quick rinse after each fishing trip anyhow, to remove any dirt and grime.

Check for bits of dirt between the spool and the reel. Today’s reels usually are constructed with very close tolerances, and a bit of grit can cause the reel to not perform well.

You might also want to consider cleaning the cork drag system. Wipe it clean with a paper towel, being sure to remove any dirt or grit on the surface.

Fly Rods

Most anglers spend more money on their fly rods than any other piece of tackle. They also expect it to perform optimally all the time, yet many anglers forget that a fly rod is in fact a tool that is made from several different parts. If one of those parts is defective or worn, it could dramatically decrease the performance of the rod. Be sure to take a look at the following parts of your fly rod, and if you find anything that seems amiss, take it in to the closest competent repair shop, or contact the manufacturer to determine whether the problem is covered by warranty:

Guides, or ‘eyes’ as they are sometimes referred to, ensure that your line is properly carried along the rod and is acted upon during the force of casting. There are different types of guides that are now used on fly rods, however traditionally, and probably still the most common, are what are known as ’snake’ guides. Most snake guides are made from hard chrome. One of the most important guides to take a good look at is the one at the very tip of your rod, known as the ‘tip top’. This guide bears the most pressure of all, and consequently, is the one most prone to wear and tear.

If you are at all dubious about the amount of friction that a fly rod guide puts up with, try this experiment: Have someone hold a piece of fly line against some part of your body. Ask them to pull it back and forth over your skin with some force and speed. I guarantee that in a few moments, you will be asking them to stop as the heat builds up and your skin begins to wear off!

With this experiment in mind, check that tip top for signs of grooving. As the tip top grooves, this causes even more friction against your lines as it travels through the guide. As well, small microscopic burrs can develop which in time will damage your fly lines and decrease their life. If your tip top has any signs of wear, have it replaced, or try replacing it yourself. If you have a professional repair done, you shouldn’t expect to pay anymore than $5.00 to $10.00 for a simple chrome tip top.

The rest of your guides are actually held onto the rod with thread that has been wrapped around the guide feet. Modern rods have an epoxy coating over the thread wraps. Sometimes, the epoxy can develop cracks with the constant flexing of the rod. The cracks themselves are not unexpected nor will they cause any decrease in the performance of the rod. However, over time, the epoxy can weaken and the guides may loosen away from the blank. So, check the guides and ensure that there is no wiggling from them underneath their wraps. There is no need to use a great deal of pressure - just a very light tug to ensure they are still secure. Again, if you find one that needs attention, a good rod builder should be able to rewrap the guide for you. Better this than have the guide come loose all together and impede your casting performance!

Ring type guides are becoming more popular on fly rods, rather than snake guides. The inner ring that contacts the fly line is usually made of Silicon Carbide (SiC), a very hard and smooth material that provides great heat disipation and less friction than chrome. These rings will not groove like chrome will, but you should still give them a quick check. For one thing, on guides that are not of the best quality, the inner ring can come loose from the guide frame. If this happens, you will want to ensure the complete guide is replaced.

The next thing to check is the reel seat. There is the possibility that the bond between the reel seat and the rod blank has weakened and the reel seat is not solidly attached. This is more true with older rods but it is always a good idea to check anyhow. If you do find a reel seat that is need of repair, this is best done either by the manufacturer, who will probably replace the whole butt section, or by a competent rod builder, which could be a bit more costly. Some rods simply wouldn’t be worth it.

Finally, why not give that cork handle a nice clean-up? You probably have forgotten how much brighter it looked when it was first new! Over time, cork can become very dirty, but this is easily removed with a good scrubbing using a damp, fine soap pad such as Scotch-BriteTM or an S.O.S.® pad. When you’re done scrubbing, give the handle a final rinse with water. You will be amazed at how good that cork handle will look.

Now, that you’ve got your fly fishing equipment all tuned up, you’re ready for the season! Go catch some fish.

If you have ever experienced a day where the fish were hitting the fly but you had problems setting the hook, then it is likely that the hook you were using needed a few good strokes across a sharpening stone. It can be quite frustrating to know that you have tied the right fly pattern to the end of your line, but every hit comes with only fleeting joy because that hook simply won’t set.

Do yourself a favor and invest in a hook sharpener. You can purchase a sharpener that will fit neatly inside your vest or shirt pocket for just a few dollars. Believe me, those few dollars will pay off handsomely in solid hook sets.

It’s pretty easy to take the edge off the point of a hook. If you have ever had the hook strike against a tree branch on a back cast, or smack against a rock, you’ve probably dulled your hook. Either tie on a new fly soon, or simply hone that point with a few strokes from the sharpener.

To sharpen the hook, hold it point facing toward you, and simply angle the sharpener, making 3 or 4 strokes. Turn the hook about 90 degrees and again, 3 or 4 strokes should be fine. Repeat this step two more times, and you should have a hook that will set nicely.

There are a couple of other things worth thinking about when you inspect your hooks this spring. Let me relate a frustrating experience I once had:

Last year, while fishing for some very nice smallmouth bass, I tied on a Muddler Minnow. Sure as I expected, it caught the interest of a nice fish. I felt that tell tale tug and then heard the splash of a bass beginning its fight as the hook set. Well, the fight was on, but only for a few seconds. My first thought was that it was just one of those times when I hadn’t set the hook well. I didn’t even bother to check the fly - I was too excited about the prospect of enticing another bass to hit the muddler.

The next cast, the same thing happened, only this time, I could feel the fly come loose in a weird kind of way. I decided to change flies, and when I went to remove the fly on my line, I discovered that the whole point of the fly was missing. Because I was fishing some very fast water flowing over a lot of rocks, I initially figured I had been fishing with a defective hook that broke when it struck a rock.

I tied on a second Muddler. As it drifted down through the rapids, I again had that excitement of ‘fish on!’ as another nice smallie took the fly. The excitement was short-lived for a second time as once again I discovered that the point had broken off.

I went through about 5 of these muddler minnows, all with the same experience. It was only a bit later that I realized that what had probably happened was that whoever had tied up those flies had used way too much pressure on the hook in the vice, and it had weakened it at the bend enough that the point simply broke off every time a fish hit the fly.

The moral of the story is make sure you don’t over tighten that vice when you’re tying up fly patterns for the coming season!

There is another way you can cause your hook to weaken and possibly break off at inopportune times, and that is by improper removal of the barb. Often, I have seen anglers remove the barb by placing a pair of needlenose pliers across the point, and squeezing down over the barb. A better way to do this is to have the point of the hook between the pliers, with the pliers extending beyond the barb before squeezing down and removing the barb. You’ll spread the pressure over the length of the point rather than risking weakening a smaller area of the hook.

There are an almost endless array of fly lines available, some which cost extraordinary amounts. If you have invested money in a quality line, you will want to ensure that it lasts for as long as possible.

The single most important thing you can do is keep it clean. After each trip, take a little time and rinse your line with soap and water. Stay away from detergents and use a mild handsoap. Detergents tend to dry out the line and could result in your line developing cracks in the outer layer. This of course will hasten damage to the inner core of the line.

For some years, there has been a debate about the use of Armorall® and other similar products. Fly anglers who have used it discovered that it seemed to make their lines slicker. Others I have talked to have suggested that this is just a short term advantage and over time the chemicals in Armorall® will damage lines with regular use. I am not a chemist, and neither have I conducted any personal studies on the matter so I can’t advise you one way or the other. Bob Kloskowski of the International Fly Fishing Association interviewed Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers and asked him specifically about using Armorall®. Here is what Richards had to say on the matter:

“Armorall and 333 contain some plasticizers and lubricants and will lubricate the lines surface, temporarily. They also contain a small amount of detergent that theoretically would reduce line life, but the affect would be minimal. These products can be used without noticeable negative affect, but the positive affect of lubrication is very short term as the product washes off quickly.” - 1997 Interview on NBC

Before you do head out for the first time this season, you might want to inspect your line for signs of cracking or even cuts. I remember some years ago, while casting on a windy day and getting into one of those cursed tangles where my leader caught my line and discovering that the leader had actually cut through the outer layer of the line. I was still able to fish the line that day, but replaced it before the next trip out.

Regardless of what sort of dressing you use on your line, the main thing is to keep it clean! Your fly line(s) is a very important part of your fly fishing equipment

Maintaining your fly fishing gear is one of those things that many people forget about yet can be the single most important thing to ensuring that your gear lasts for years to come. It will only take a few moments and won’t cost you very much, either!

For those who have just recently converted to fly fishing from other angling methods, it will likely be no surprise that hooks should be inspected and sharpened as needed, but it might seem strange to think about cleaning lines. Fly lines are simply too expensive to replace every year as is recommended for monofilament. Not only are they too expensive to do so, there is no need to replace a fly line every year, but you should keep it clean and inspect it for damage from time to time. In the section on fly lines, we’ll also examine the “Armorall®” debate.

Your reel also deserves a little bit of TLC too. If you want to keep it working well for years to come, be sure to follow the manufacturer recommended directions for lubrication and cleaning.

Many people take their rods for granted. They take it out on fishing trips, run line through the guides, and expect it to deliver wonderful casts time after time. But did you know that there are some things you can do to ensure that your rod delivers optimum service to you? You can also clean up the cork handle and get it looking like new again!

You’ve spent some good money on your gear, why not take the few minutes it takes to clean, lubricate and give some care to so that your fly fishing equipment can give you many more years of service? We’ll discuss the various items that make up your gear and what you can do to keep it all working and looking good. The Spring season is the best time to do it, and will get you back into the fishing mode and ready to go on Opening Day. Perhaps you’ll even find yourself landing more fish too!

Just received this from Ian James:

“Just when you thought you had seen it all…
On January 11th, I was giving a quick talk at the Zone J section of the O.F.A.H (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) here in London. At the meeting I heard the term “Sea Kitten.” The good folk at PETA have started a campaign to have fish renamed as sea kittens. If you don’t believe me, here is a quote from the PETA web site.

“Of course, if you look at it another way, what all this really means is that fish need to fire their PR guy—stat. Whoever was in charge of creating a positive image for fish needs to go right back to working on the Britney Spears account and leave our scaly little friends alone. You’ve done enough damage, buddy. We’ve got it from here. And we’re going to start by retiring the old name for good. When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it’s time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?”

If you still don’t believe me, click the link, and while you are there, you can create your own sea kitten. No guff! I just know that this is going to drive up the price of Friskers cat food as this, and the Cat’s Whisker fly pattern, will be the only two items which will be productive on the sea kittens. Still, I dare say that if I keep a bit of fur on my sea kitten fillets, it will help to prevent freezer burn.

learn more …
http://www.peta.org/sea_Kittens/about.asp“

I have no comments - at this time.

Some readers may be interested in attending this event, about which I just received the following email:

” Hi folks:
This message is being sent to all Friends of the Grand members and old members, whom I am sure support us in spirit.

An public open house will be held next week to review 10 years of operation under the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan. Friends of the Grand River is sponsoring this open house.

The Fergus-Elora open house will be held on Wednesday, January 7, at 7 p.m. in the Wellington County Museum on County Road 18 between Fergus and Elora, just west of the Trestle access point. It’s the big majestic old building up on the hill. Short presentations will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback on your views about management of the Grand River.

This is the first of a series of open houses; others will be held in Cambridge (January 21), Brantford, Dunnville and Six Nations. Full details of the other venues are available on the GRCA web site (www.grandriver.ca).

If you received this message in error, I apologize. If I’ve reminded you that you forgot to send us your membership cheque, feel free to send one in. Membership info is on our web site (www.friendsofthegrandriver.com). I hope you will consider coming out to one of the open houses. This is how we get to understand what people want from the Grand River — anglers and others.

Thanks for your attention. Have a Happy New Year!

JohnD
Secretary, Friends of the Grand River
and FOGR rep on the Grand River FMP Implementation Committee”