HEAD OVER TO FISHING JONES VERSION 2.O

I haven't worked all the kinks out of the new system, but Microsoft is a multi-billion dollar company and they release stuff with bugs in it all the time, so I don't feel too bad. From now on I'll be posting over at Fishingjones.com. Consider it the Fishing Jones BETA. I'll be keeping this blogspot blog up and running as an archive. Also, I have to manually import all my links to the new location, so if you're listed in my links here, but don't see it at fishingjones.com, sorry about that, but I will get to it.

SNEAK PREVIEW: I'm down in Florida for a work trip, but when I get back I'll be making a move to a different blogging service. In the near future, you'll be able to get to Fishing Jones by typing in www.fishingjones.com. I've been doing a couple of test posts there and eventually plan to add artwork, and get a new logo.

NEWS: From Blogfish: Toxic algae in Klamath River. "Like a radioactive putting green."

NEWS: The most dangerous job in 2005? Commercial fishing.

CANADA: A mysterious fish kill on the Ottowa River.
(Thanks to reader David Callum for the link.)

SIGHT FISHING: Capt. Gordon with a Carolina Red. He's got some footage of the experience over on youtube.

NON-FISHING ITEM OF THE DAY: BOOOO! As a Yank's fan, this kills me. I love the old Yankee Stadium, it's one of the most electric places to watch a sporting event. And the Yanks already draw 4 million people a year. Do they really need this?
It still makes me cringe that the Dolphins dumped the Orange Bowl in favor of Joe Robbie. But for real historical precedent, look at the two other teams with the most championships in pro sports. The Celtics haven't done jack since leaving the old Garden, and the Canadiens have been a shadow of what they were when they won so man Cups at the Forum. Damn, you Big Stein.

SCIENCE STUFF: I love this page on the Rosenstiel School's website, called Science Snapshots. Check it out, you'll find excellent overviews on many topics.

CONSERVATION: On Monday, I attended a press conference that included a presentation by Ricky Gease, executive director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. I have never fished the Kenai, but it is naturally a dream to one day get there--actually, to get to Alaska, period. I'm obviousy not alone, based on the millions of anlger hours logged on the river each year. The problem is, according to Gease, that those anglers who flock to the Kenai are "loving it to death." Like Trout Unlimited, one of the goals of the KRSA is habitat restoration, specifically preventing erosion of the river's banks due to overfishing. They also participate in fisheries management.

TUNID FRENZY

There are times in the life of an outdoor writer, specifically when hanging around with old friends who make a killing on Wall Street, when you question your chosen profession. Last week was not one of those. I won't go into too much detail since I'm getting paid to write an article about it, but lets just say after spending time chasing school bluefin tuna off the coast of Rhode Island, there is no other job I'd rather have.
I got to fish with two of my favorite fishing buddies--my brother Mike and my old college roommate Mike (pictured below)--and make a couple of new ones. Basically, for this article I'm doing, I joined forces with Jeremy Cameron of Flies and Fins. I trailered my boat to Rhode Island, and he hooked us up with a tuna fly guide named Mike Warecke (860/304-9131.) Tom Rosenbauer, the fly fishing guru at Orvis, also joined us, jumping at the chance to target bluefin on the fly.
In summary, we spent four days on the water. Capt Mike Warecke gave us a bluefin primer, and then we spent the rest of the time chasing them ourselves. What amazing fish. It takes total teamwork to catch them--from spotting the busting fish, to positioning the boat, to the guy on the bow making an accurate cast into the boils (and even that doesn't produce a hook-up most of the time). The angler has to play the fish with great patience--we lost a few at the boat rushing the landing--and then the guy responsible for grabbing the tail can't miss. For their size (10-20 pounds) these bluefin will put the hurt on you, ripping line off a large arbor reel like nothing and putting a deep bend in a 12 weight fly rod.
We also got into other great tunid species, skipjacks and bonito. The skipjacks, according to Capt. Mike, are even harder to fool with a fly than bluefin, but they don't fight as hard. And the bonito are great fish in their own right.
A few points to make. Tom, a master tyer, caught all of his fish on his own flies, but the rest of us hooked them on Capt. Mike's fly--the Mike's Minnow. It's a great baitfish imitation for targeting tuna species. Two, for an angler with such an impressive track record, Tom is one of the nicest, most down to earth guys you'll ever fish alongside. And third, Jeremy has some of the best fish spotting eyes I've ever seen. He's going to have some sick video of it all on his site, which I'll link to when it goes live.

ENVIRONMENT: Apparently, Al Gore is practicing the old parental, "Do as I say, not as I do" technique.

NEWS: Look who made the list of top ten fly fishing blogs. I'm going to print out a copy and hang it next to all my grade school "participant" ribbons.

BLUEFIN ON THE FLY: We did it! Here's my buddy Mike with a nice school bluefin from our recent trip. More to come on Monday.

GONE FISHING: I'm trailering the boat up to Rhode Island tomorrow morning at first light. I may be able to blog from the road but may not be. Hopefully when I get back I'll have pictures to share of stripers, bluefish, false albacore, bonito, and (fingers crossed) school bluefin tuna.

TUNA: Just signed up for my tuna permit today so I can stalk school bluefin offshore on fly. Turns out you need one even for catch and release. You can get one online here.

HAWAII: I always get a kick out of this...Trout fishing season on Kaua'i begins soon.

ART: AHW has a link to this cool artist who carves fish into rocks and leaves them streamside.

TRAVEL: Fly fishing for trout in England. As an aside (I'm referring to just one sentence in the article), it's funny how the myth that fly fishing is for the aristocracy is perpetuated. And I've certainly met people on streams eager to perpetuate that myth--I'm thinking of my local trout stream, specifically of the guy blasting Wagner from his car, talking in an affected accent while assembling the expensive custom rod he'd purchased in Scotland. He'd bought into the whole "gentlemen fly fisher" thing to the point of caricature. I swear at one point he called me "old boy," or maybe it was "old chap." He was pleasant enough, but a little suspicious of me because I don't wear a vest (I try to keep everything minimal, and cram it into a small shoulder pack). Or maybe it was because I was standing around in my long underwear before I put on my waders. Either way, on the walk to the stream he engaged me in this long discourse on fishing English chalk streams and "real" fly fishing. He seemed especially pleased with himself. I'm not one to keep score on the water, but I took great satisfaction in catching several fish before he'd hooked one, and looking over to see his brow furrow as my fish slapped back into the stream. He walked down the bank and asked me what my secret was. I pulled out my flybox and gave him a simple black wooly bugger. On the walk back to the cars, I got to hold court, and tell him how one of my favorite things to do in fly fishing is pull peacock bass from a Florida irrigation ditch.

NON-FISHING ITEM OF THE DAY: There's a blog dedicated solely to finding lunch in the neighborhood where my office resides. This is fantastic.

GREAT LAKES: A deadly virus is plaguing gamefish.

MONTANA: Fish Wildlife and Parks Dept. closes the Blackfoot River to afternoon and evening fishing, adding it to the list of other closed waters.

FLY FISHING: Dispelling the sport's mystique.

CONSERVATION: Virginia puts a commercial harvest cap on Menhaden.

SOLITUDE: In this week's Newsweek, Columnist Anna Quindlen has a great essay on the virtues of solitude. It resonates with me because I truly love fishing alone. My wife always asks me, "don't you get bored?" Others have commented that I don't have witnesses to back up any catches, pretty much diminishing any bragging rights. But I love being alone on the water with my thoughts. And when fish are actually biting and I get lost in the concentration and focus of trying to catch them, six hours goes by like ten minutes. I'll forget to check my watch, forget to eat, and forget pretty much anything except the water and the fish right in front of me.
I'm no hermit, spending the day with fishing buddies is equally enjoyable, but for different reasons. For all the different types of fishing--fly fishing, spin fishing, inshore, offshore--you can really break it down to two types of experiences: fishing with your friends and fishing alone.