STATE OF THE BUCKTAIL ADDRESS
Tonight, before the president orated on the state of our nation, I attended a seminar put forth by the local CCA chapter titled "Bucktailing Montauk." In it, surf fishing guru Bill Wetzel (accessing his site requires a $25 subscription) lectured for an hour and a half about the techniques for using a single lure. There probably is no more basic lure than the bucktail, and probably none more deadly when used to its full potential. I heard a few ways to use one I hadn't considered before.
Anyway, some might read this and wonder, do you really need an hour and a half to explain a bucktail? Does fishing really need to be this complicated? The more I go to things like this, and the more I learn, the easier it is for me to answer "Yes," if you want to be good at it. I don't even surf cast all that often, but I learned things I can apply to light tackle fishing from a boat or even fly fishing. Plus, it reminded me to have more appreciation for surf casters out there. The really good ones are aren't just out there slinging weight, they're artisans. Every discipline of fishing has those guys. And I have to ask them, Hey man, will you take me fishing?

BASS: Want to speed up your winter catch rate? Slow down.

TROUT: I will be getting my NY State fishing license after work this evening because my local trout stream opens for catch-and-release tomorrow.

TARPON: Kayak fishing for the silver king.

VIDEO: Puffer fish vs. otter, who wins?
(Video follows the brief promo.)

GEAR: Making sense of monofilament lines.

TRAVEL: Another article about bass fishing at Disney World.

SCIENCE: An artificial reef that resembles the lost city of Atlantis will be constructed in the waters off Miami.

FUEL PRICES: I'm paying $2.63 a gallon at the pump, and close to $4 at the marina, and yet Exxon Mobil sees a record profit for any U.S. company. Thanks guys, thanks a lot. (And when was that accompanying photo taken, 1992?)

FISH STORY: One angler describes his experience while beach fishing in Hawaii. Quote--"Suddenly, men too lazy to roll over to avoid sunburn want to take a long stroll to the end of the beach...Guys who haven't caught a fish in two decades become the world's foremost experts in bait presentation and technique."

TROUT: One angler who's not buying into the promise of midwinter fishing.

SCIENCE: Hurricanes have altered coastal ecosystems, and pretty much the entire Gulf of Mexico.

SOMERSET UPDATE: ...Like a kid in a candy store. A whole lot of fun to walk around the Fly Fishing Expo in Somerset, NJ. Did some serious investigation into a bluewater 12-weight, saw some cool and innovative products that I'll go into more detail about another time, and went to two lectures. One, Northern Pike on the Fly, by Barry Reynolds, proved excellent. So much so that I bought his book, Mastering Pike on the Fly, and had him autograph it. I also went to a great lecture on catching muskie on the fly, and hope to get the book by that lecturer, Muskie on the Fly, when it comes out. Also took advantage of several deals from fly tyers, including getting a dozen trout flies for eight bucks and a dozen saltwater for 15. Saw master tyer Enrico Puglisi. And bought one more book, Zane Grey on Fishing.

NEWS: Anglers share online.

UPDATE: Off to the Somerset Fly Fishing Show. Hopefully, I'll have something interesting to report about it.

BASS: Florida's Lake Okeechobee still hurting from the hurricanes.

FISH STORY: Fly fishing in the wind is like having your little brother "grab your arm from behind every time you want to make a cast," and other musings.

FLY TYING: If only Picasso had tied flies.

TROUT: Apparently, the fish that frustrate so many fly anglers the world over are dumber than goldfish.

FLORIDA: Snook season begins at midnight.

WASHINGTON (state): Chinook still biting.

PELAGIC NEWS: At a Keys tournament, anglers chase Atlantic sailfish on the fly. (Photo from Miami.com)
Quote--Said Miami attorney Pat Ford, who holds the Florida record for sailfish on fly rod (55 pounds): "The Pacific sailfish is an amberjack with a point on its nose. The Atlantic sailfish is mucho smarter. They come up--one pass of the tease--cast your fly. You've got one shot, and they're gone. It can only be done if the fish is stupid, hot and hungry enough.''

(I had the opportunity to try this once, with guide Scott Hamilton in Palm Beach. He teased up the fish behind the boat, we watched it come in hot on his hookless teaser rig, and when it was in range, had me cast a 'Hoo fly slightly to the side and behind it. It turned on the fly, charged, missed it, and kept right on going. The most exciting 20 seconds of my fishing life.)

NEWS: Flyfishmagazine has a post about an "eBay" phishing scam targeting anglers.

NEWS: I will be attending the fly fishing show in Somerset, NJ, this week. Any fly fishing enthusiasts in the tri-state area might want to check it out.

FLORIDA: Bass regulations aim to improve fishing.

NEWS: Scientists Discover World's Smallest Fish. And tackle companies are now developing the world's tiniest hooks.

PELAGIC NEWS:In Guatemala, an angler catches a sailfish from a kayak--an inflatable one. Crazy stuff.

(Thanks to JR Absher of the Outdoor Weblog for the link. Go there for the video link.)

FISH STORY: An angler writes of his lifelong "flirtatious affair" with the brown trout.

PANFISH: Sinking old Christmas trees to add fish-attracting structure. What a great idea. (Photo from theweekly.com.)

SCIENCE: I've posted on this before, but another article on how keeping the biggest fish results in a population of smaller fish that produce fewer eggs.

TECHNIQUE: A Georgia guide tries to answer the question, How do you find fish 12 months of the year?

MORE VIDEO: A humorous take on the big one that got away.
(Man, I'm just borrowing all of today's content from Moldy Chum, so please go visit there, too.)

VIDEO: An exercise in tarpon frustration and exhiliration featuring world-class angler Andy Mill. Plus, the background music is Johnny Cash.
(Link taken directly from Moldy Chum.)

TECHNIQUE: Fly casting guru Ed Jaworoski explains the physics of the sport. A repost of the recent Peter Kaminsky article from the New York Times, from the Tapei Times, in case you couldn't log-in to the original.

STEELHEAD: High water fishing can pay off.

Florida Peacock Bass Fishing

With a cold front bringing the water temperatures down throughout South Florida, Capt. Mark Hall worried I'd have a tough day. I said, I'm here anyway, so no expectations, and no pressure. I'm glad we went. We fished a canal system in South Miami rife with butterfly peacocks. I basically alternated between two rods: A five-weight rigged with a clear floating line and a green and white clouser (with orange accents), and my saltwater six-weight with 150 grain sink line and a green and white "Eat Me" fly.
Fishing was tough. Mark had me cast the 5w around bridge pilings and structure, and the 6w in deeper pools and culverts. We got a few small peacocks here and there. But then, as the day warmed up in the late afternoon (to about 74 degrees) the fish started to turn on. We changed tactics a bit and I used the 6w and sunk the Eat Me deeper in the water column under the bridges, and started nailing the fish. My nicest one of the day (pictured) took me to the reel, made it sing a bit, and kept trying to wrap me around the pilings, like a snook. Just a tremendous fight. I can't say enough about how hard these fish hit and how well they fight. If you base your estimate on a smallmouth or largemouth fight, you'll overestimate the size of the peacock you've hooked. These chiclids are fast moving up my list of favorite fish to pursue. I can't wait to get after them again.

WATER RIGHTS: A controversy runs through it. Who gets to decide access to a popular trout water.
(NYTimes log-in required.)

TRAVEL UPDATE: Blogging again from Ft. Lauderdale, this time at the airport. Today I was exposed to a very high level of skill and commitment. Spent the day fishing with two amazing anglers, world record seeker Marty Arostegui and guide Alan Zaremba. I was out with them for an article I'm working on--can't say about what or where here--and you couldn't ask for more enthusistic guys. I learned more about fishing from Marty (who has over 100 world records to his name) while casting a spinning rod in a roadside canal for a few hours than I could acquire in a month on my own. He corrected some of my bad habits, and taught me some new techniques and how to practice them. Very cool and very humbling.

PEACOCK BASS: Another quick hotel room blog. Had a great time fishing with Capt. Mark Hall down in Miami. I caught a really nice peacock under a bridge that made for the pilings like a snook. He made some nice runs on my six-weight. Comedy ensued when we dropped the Boga Grip overboard and had to retrieve it with the peacock still attached. More to come when I have more time and can upload some photos.

FLORIDA: The local reports, with a sentence or two about the shrimp run. I had the opportunity to go shrimping a few times as a kid, and it's a cool thing to try, seeking out those glowing red eyes and scooping them with long handled dip nets.

NEWS: Nicaragua bans freshwater fishing for bullsharks. Yeah, that's right, freshwater. I remember hearing once that a bullshark once made it pretty far up the Mississippi.

FISHING BLOG: Introducing Shoutfish, for fly fishing and fly tying.

PERSONALITIES: Apparently, Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers (the victim last weekend of the worst instant replay call in the history of, well, whatever) is a fly fisherman. Murdock from FlyFishMagazine offers him a fly-tying suggestion.

BLOG UPDATE: Making a quick blog from my hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale before I head over to the IGFA Hall of Fame (for work-related purposes I assure you). I found my list of "Fishy Sites" to be growing unwieldy, so I broke them down into three categories: Fishy Blogs, Fishy Podcasts, and Fishy Sites. I left the Cool Guides and Conservation links as is. In the process, I deleted some links that no longer update. (If I deleted your link, and you're only on hiatus, shoot me an email and I'll restore it with apologies.) Hope this makes it easier when you visit Fishing Jones.

MUSKIE: Jim over at Sportsman's Blog shares his take on the world record controversy.
For more reading, The Outdoor Weblog has a post as well.

NEW FISHING BLOG: Actually it's not new, but I just got this link to Fish the West, from Nevada blogger Kristy Crabtree. It's got some great reports and photography, as well as a blogspot blog.

TRAVEL: There is now a fly fishing academy in the United Arab Emirates.

FLORIDA, PALM BEACH: Hand-lining a spinner shark, and other observations in Capt. Scott Hamilt0n's updated log.

PHOTO: Reuter's pic of anglers in the fog in my home waters of Manhasset Bay. (When I shoveled my driveway this morning in a bone-chilling wind, the 52-degree day seemed like a distant memory.)

WINTER READING: An outdoor writer lists his favorite fishing books. To this list I would add two books that I truly love---
Striper: A Story of Fish and Man, by John Cole
and
Founding Fish, by John McPhee
If anyone has any great fishing books to recommend, shoot me an email. I have a lot of plane flights coming up and I'm in the reading mood.

TROUT: Wading the riffles.

HORRIBLE NEWS: The Compleat Angler, one of the coolest angler's bars in the Western Hemisphere, burned down in Bimini this morning. I am glad I had the opportunity to down a few drinks there almost exactly a year ago.

VIDEO: Underwater video of a pike attacking a lure.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Getting skinny for the redfish.

ENVIRONMENT: Fire retardant found in the tissue of Great Lakes walleye.

FLORIDA SPACE COAST: Redfish biting in Mosquito Lagoon.

SNOOK: Fly fishing for linesiders under the docklights. The author describes one of my favorite things to do in all of fishing, one which--because I live up North--I don't get to do nearly as often as I'd like.

TROUT: Mastering the San Juan's Winter Moods.

PERSONALITIES: Messier gets his number retired, and some fishing loot.
"Messier, an avid fisherman, was presented a captain's chair for his boat, new rods from the current Rangers, a portrait of the Stanley Cup victory parade down the Canyon of Heroes and a trip to Ireland for him and 20 members of his family.
Former goaltender Mike Richter, whose No. 35 was retired in 2004, evoked laughter from the crowd when he said the ceremony was being 'sponsored by Kleenex,' referring to Messier's penchant for weeping at such tributes, and asking why the bald Messier needed 'a barber's chair,' gesturing toward the captain's seat."

VIDEO: Here's a link to the kamikaze fish video that's been circulating via email.

TRAVEL: Guatemala sailfish on the fly.
(Link provided by Midcurrent, the Instapundit of fly fishing.)

SCIENCE: Culling the largest fish of a species can create "Darwinian Debt."

PELAGICS: Anglers fishing Palm Beach's Silver Sailfish Derby collectively set a world record.

IDAHO: Boise River receives a 70,000 trout infusion.

NEW YORK: New York Game & Fish publishes its Top Ten Ice Fishing Hotspots.