I happened upon this pod of brown trout in the kitchen the other day.  Holding in a lie below the cheese grater they seemed to be content to rest, with only the occasional lazy rise at passing food upon the counter.

Somewhat unfortunately, these trout were one by one picked off by a larger and more cunning predator.

Pardon me while I wipe the crumbs from my beard…

Tags: Culture, Books, Art

Now and again we’re compelled, despite our proudly displayed claim of “lying about fly fishing since 2007” above, to be honest about something.

In response to several emails like this one (minimally edited in all its glory) that have come in over the past few weeks……

WTF are you guys shilling for tu all the time? (CW-we’re assuming you read that as ‘Why the….’) is tu now your sponsor? tu is just another corporate fly fishing machine taking money and making life better for the rich guys and ******* we pee ons. i dont give a **** what these guys have to say about their stuff…none of it helps me at all…. **** corporate fly fishing -RK (from Denver per IP address)

Speaking only for myself (not Jake, Quinn, Jess, Al the Pal, Steve or anyone else who’s posted on Chi Wulff) – I’m not a paid shill (or even an unpaid shill) for Trout Unlimited. Unless Quinn or Al have been getting big TU residuals on the side, none of us are on the TU payroll.

Hell, at this point in time, I’m not even a member of TU and haven’t been for years.

Though that’s about to change, hence my confession.

Back in 1984 when my first fly fishing mentor was patiently showing me the ropes, he shared one day on the way to the river that he was a TU member. He’d been a member since he was in his teens (probably back in the 60s) and I joined up at his urging, not really understanding much about the organization or involved much at all with the local guys in SLC (heavy work and play demands).

Though details are a little foggy now, within a couple of years I’d dropped TU – somehow I’d begun to picture them as a flock of gray-haired, tweed-draped, navel-gazing elitists who focused more on Eastern issues. The final straw was some stance they’d taken on a now long forgotten issue that rubbed me the wrong way; I do remember tearing my card up and throwing renewal mailings away unopened, finally calling and telling them to take me off their damned mailing list.

As any fly fisher with children understands all too well, years spent raising young and growing kids are a worthy investment, though time to ‘do other things’ shrinks down to almost nothing. Such were my days.

Fast forward to 2001, with kids now able to fish and row and after living in Montana among several of the storied rivers of the West, a subtle reality began to sink in.

There were groups of men and women quietly working on watershed and fishery related projects around the greater neighborhood. They were out picking trash off of river banks and out of riparian bottoms, they were rescuing fish out of irrigation ditches, advocating at local Montana FWP hearings and having some fun along the way.

All with very little tweed evident.

Fast forward to 2009 and a deeper look into some critical watershed, fish and fisheries issues proved, at least IMHO, that TU was investing a great deal in the science underlying hot button issues as well as in genuine relationship building not only with their own constituents but with land owners, managers and other advocacy groups.

Delving personally into some of the issues facing waters in the northern Rockies over the past couple of years has convinced me that TU gets it. They’re not only working hard on a hoard of hot-button issues, but working to embrace the heart and soul of fly fishing – which means a hell of a lot of different things to different people.  Membership costs less than buying burgers and beer for the family; your real investment is your time and effort – though it does mean getting off of one’s ass and getting your hands dirty now and again.

Is TU the perfect advocacy /stewardship / affinity group?

As an obvious outsider, it’s a safe bet to say “surely not”; no doubt some of you will say “hell no”. Haven’t seen an organization yet comprised of humans that didn’t have at least a few warts. But as a fly fisher today it’s hard not to support their efforts as they engage effectively in a host of front-line issues.

The time of sitting on the sidelines doing nothing, fishing your home water and taking that trip out to destination waters once a year, is long past. Not a fan of TU? Pick whatever team you think is doing a better job on the issues that pique your interest and get involved. Time to pony up.

And yep, we’re going to keep chatting now and again with TU folks, peeking into projects they’re working on and interviewing some of their guys and gals who are making a difference out there.

If that’s being a shill, so be it.

Tags: Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Tags: Chi Wulff

We’ve already written about anticipation a couple of times this year – Quinn did back in August and I did back in July.

There’s another kind of anticipation in the fly fishing world – a more immediate and pressing anticipation.

Whether it’s at the ramp getting the boat and gear rigged, standing on the bank watching emergers disappear in flashy swirls or even standing by the pond right before the rain starts – that final pause to rig before stepping into the watery world might be the richest anticipation of them all.

You’re there.

The drive out to the river is history.  Your buddies are already rigged.  First fly decisions must be made now.

Time for the final piss before zipping up the waders.

Line up the guides, thumb the reel in, thread your line and tie one on.

It’s time to go.

Anticipation. How sweet it is.

Tags: Inquiring Minds Want to Know

No, we haven’t fallen off the face of the planet.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are en route from Austin to Bozeman and have been running hard for the past couple of days.  Had a little business to take care of in Ouray / Montrose and blasted on north from there to Jackson Hole arriving late last night.

Just about every river we’ve seen from northern NM on has been high and dirty; just about every river north of Durango that we’ve seen has been running out of its banks.

Pics to come this afternoon – on the road early through GTNP and Yellowstone to Bozeman for an afternoon meeting and then a bit of play time.  Caught a great sunset outside of Pinedale looking at the Wind Rivers last night.

Tags: Chi Wulff

Life in the real world (read work) requires pretty damned frequent attendance at auctions held at county courthouses; the first Tuesday of every month is a guaranteed travel day.

The weather here in central Texas has been foggy, drizzly and gloomy for a few days and today offered more of the same.

Headed to the metropolis of Llano (maybe pushing 20K, but with several great BBQ joints) this morning the call of water mandated a course deviation to run by the shores of Lake LBJ (only 11.4 miles longer).

The lake was slick as glass.

Couldn’t get back until the last hour of sunlight and was run off this shoreline by a more than slightly agitated property owner within 10 minutes of taking the pic.  Looks like a nice corner.

Addendum – Playing with the pics from this afternoon the piers on the other side of the lake offered almost perfect reflections in the water.  They just look fishy.

Next time.

Tags: Fish Stories

Recently seen in Rockport, Texas.

Tags: Culture, Books, Art

Tags: Economics for Fly Fishermen

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America.  If I I’m not there, I go to work. – Robert Orben

Chi Wulff Corollary to the above:  Then I go fishing. – Mark

[Ed. note - the Forbes' list icon above is an active link so you can check and see if you're on the list.  If you are on the list, call me .  I'll make you an offer you can't refuse.]

Tags: Quote of the Day

The last several days my fishing colleagues and I have chatted a time or two about the dramatic reports of snow-induced travails of those living along the eastern seaboard.

The media has portrayed a couple of feet of snow as an almost apocalyptic event, paralyzing the cities and and painting a broad stripe of hardship across a fairly impressive expanse of geography and culture.

Not that anyone gives a hoot in hell, but we call bullshit and say send the snow out to our neighborhood – we’d love to have it piling up on the neighborhood peaks.

Ed reminds me this morning that we had a two foot snow fall late last fall here in Bozeman that didn’t even grant local school kids late arrival that morning, and there sure as hell wasn’t a shapely Weather Channel info-babe assigned to cover our struggles……(Montana for the most part remains invisible on the national news radar – a fact which grants the majority of her residents quiet pleasure).

There is a bit more sincere grumbling about the snowpack being offered up by the locals – it’s pretty skinny for this time of year.  Here’s the latest from the Snotel site this morning per watershed…..

It’s easy to tell that no watershed is in great shape (save for the Smith et al) right now, and the Bitterroot and Clark Fork look really skinny.

The short term climatology forecasts don’t exactly offer a great deal of encouragement at this point in time – here are the temp and precip forecasts for the nation for March-April-May.  Looks like El Nino is still in charge….

We’re putting our money on an early and very fishable spring season for the neighborhood with a skinny water summer and fall.  Hope I’m wrong.

Tags: Weather

The last week with the flu has left me feeling a little bit like the mini-van in the vid below….

The new week has dawned for the most part bright and sunny here in Bozeman this morning and we’ve been blessed with a call from a new fly fishing journalism friend who happens to be passing through the neighborhood.  (He’s playing hooky today so I’m not sure I should mention who it is just yet….)

That full day in the office has been thrown to the dogs for a lunch meeting and what very well might turn into a quick run to the Madison or lower Gallatin.

We’ll get back in the saddle in terms of more regular posting in the next several days….

Pics and a quick story to follow later…..

Tags: Chi Wulff

Dammit, I’ve got the flu.

Back in a day or two.

The wife’s new mantra – “don’t kiss me”.

Tags: So What?

Several friends of the blog have called or emailed this week to chide us a bit.

We’ve been pretty light in the posting department here on the blog, and I think Al is the only guy who’s said much of us about rivers and fishing.

Most of us go into a funk this time of year – Yellowstone has been closed now for almost three weeks, the last of the blue wings are gone, the streamer bite is waning, and winter keeps trying to make an appearance (snow due in town and the neighborhood) tomorrow.

We’ll get over it – the rhythm of winter season fishing is very different but comforting in a way – nymphing cold water can generate lots of good thinking time.

Time to ponder redfish in south Texas or Louisiana and plan a few floats on the tail waters just to do it.

There are lots of pheasants still around and a few weeks left in the big game season too.

We’ll get back in the game next week…..

Tags: Chi Wulff

Popped over the past to the Paradise Valley a couple of days ago to discuss a nifty new project concept (hot damn!) with a colleague; it happened to be Monday afternoon in the several hours before our latest little batch of weather moved in.

The beauty of the surrounding countryside is truly a two-edge sword; it’s a never ending distraction, offering a siren’s call every minute of the day to leave the pile of work on the desk behind and just get out and wander.  That can be a bad thing.  On the other hand, it’s a constant source of inspiration when pondering the great questions and opportunities that surface now and then.

As is often the case, the wind was howling down the valley – it was damned windy even for those of us who are used to it (I spend some of my early years in the Texas Panhandle where some spring days boasted of winds gusting in the 70-80 range).  Clearly the blog scale limits the resolution of the photos, but you can easily see the snow plumes blowing off the Crazies in the background – 25 miles away (or better) as the crow flies.

Starting to look like late fall / early winter around the neighborhood with snow showers knocking around the valley all morning.

Tags: Pic of the Day

Eat your dog (or cat) and save the planet?

So say Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, a pair of university based architects who specialize in topics related to sustainable living.

A friend, who begged to remain unnamed and will so as she has private land connections to a little known regional spring creek, and who holds a major university post  (University of Utah) in environmental biology, sent this email and link to the following article –

…check this out – Bozeman is such a dog crazy town what the heck do you think the Prius driving dog owners will think of this?  I can hear the gasps as I write this note, and can imagine the defenses that are rippling around the world as their book and premise gains some traction this week.   Interestingly their book is available on Amazon but neither B&N nor Borders carries the title as of this morning.  Somehow I doubt the independents in Bozeman will have it either…..

From today’s Dominion Post in Wellington, New Zealand comes a provocatively titled article  – Save the Planet, Eat a Dog? Here’s an excerpt:

The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.

Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.

The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created by popular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.

“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.

“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”

In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.

They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle’s eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog’s.

They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.

Professor Vale says the title of the book is meant to shock, but the couple, who do not have a cat or dog, believe the reintroduction of non-carnivorous pets into urban areas would help slow down global warming.

My first thought in reading the article was to see if the more “enthusiastic” proponents of anthropogenic global warming would be willing to, pardon the irony here, “put their money where their mouth is” and follow the admonition proffered in the book.

In the interest of complete disclosure, my family has over the years owned a number of dogs and cats, in addition to a number of horses, chickens, turkeys, fish and birds, and unwillingly sponsored the livelihood of legions of gophers, moles, ground hogs, mice, elk and deer who trespassed upon the grounds of our various residences.   With livestock roaming the place we couldn’t hunt the game; the tropical fish were too small to eat as were the songbirds.

We happily ate the chickens and turkeys although never went as far as contemplating horse, though there were a couple of times I’d have sent a stubborn steed to a boucheries chevalines had one been readily available.

Now that I think about it, my favorite grad school Chinese eatery (San Antonio) was busted years ago for serving meat predominantly harvested from stray neighborhood felines;  well seasoned in the various Chinese dishes we enjoyed it was just another white meat.  Friends in the food industry suggest that the practice still survives and in places thrives today.  Yum, and pass the chicken kitty curry please.  The eatery, remodeled and renamed, is still in business today.

Finally, the bold band following Lewis and Clark across the nation were apparently particularly fond of dog for dinner and were introduced to what they often wrote of as a delicacy (roast dog) by more than one of their Native American hosts.   The Vales would call the behavior of these men well ahead of their time in terms of environmental stewardship.

Food for thought by a couple of rational, forward thinking scientists?  Maybe.

Likely to happen in our neighborhood?  Not a chance in hell.

Tags: Culture, Books, Art