Go soak your head...

It's time to get your head under water and start thinking like a fish! To be a good fisherman (or fisherwoman) you need to gain a fish-eye-view of streams, rivers, and lakes. There is a science to understanding what fish eat, where the lunkers are hiding, how to read water, and how to adjust your presentation to match ever changing conditions. This blog is intended to break down the science of moving water, lakes, invertebrates, and fishes into concepts you can take with you onto the water. So lets start thinking like fish and until later, keep your fly on the water!

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Heart of the Matter...


(Moraine Park - Rocky Mountain National Park -Taken By Jessica Stitcher)

There are millions of blogs out there where individuals share their opinions about every topic under the sun, and this blog is not intended to be one. The focus of this blog is to explore and simplify the science and research around stream dynamics, aquatic food webs, fish feeding habits, to increase understanding and appreciation of the natural world, and to use this knowledge for increase your fishing success. I did want to take a moment at the inception of this blog however to digress from the form and encourage my fellow fishermen and women with a couple words. Our lakes and rivers are being degraded at an unprecedented rate. Stories of fishing holes and abundant salmon runs told by our elders are drifting into fond memory and looked upon as the unattainable past. This is not the case! Those of us that find solace in nature, healing in the water, and life at the end of a fly must protect that which we love. The rivers can run clear again, the runs can return, and our children can yet thank us for the foresight and stand we took in our generation. So I leave you now with the words of Edward Abbey (1927-1989)

"Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am-a reluctant enthusiast... a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards."
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