Fishing

Glass is not dead!

March 1, 2011 By Tom Sadler

To paraphrase my hero, the immortal Doc Holliday, my vanity knows no bounds….

Cameron Mortensen runs some fun contests over on The Fiberglass Manifesto. Because I am the proud owner of a T.F.M tee shirt I slung an entry into the pile for last month’s T. F. M. Spotting Photo Contest.

I thought Cameron’s write up was kinda clever. What do you think?

Oh by the way did I mention the prize was an awesome Scott F2 fiberglass rod.

Yeah that is a Scott hat I am wearing. I love the Scott Fly Rod Company folks and their rods outstanding. When I don’t fish tenkara, I fish a Scott.

Well the votes were tallied and guess what?!?

Looks like I have a shot at getting that F2!

Hey Cam you asked “How is that kitchen remodel coming along?”

Check it out!

Guess the time on the remodeling job had a special reward!

A Conservation Nightmare

February 26, 2011 By Tom Sadler

We were warned

When Bob Marshal wrote, This will be the year that will test the commitment of the outdoors community, he gave us fair and early warning of the assault on conservation that was coming.

The conservation battles sportsmen fought to protect fish and wildlife habitat in the past may seem like speed bumps to the wall being raised in Washington this year.

Hal Herring took up the battle cry when he wrote Are There Any Politicians Who Really Understand Sportsmen’s Concerns?

What is disturbing is that we seem to have lost any conservative political leaders who understand sportsmen’s concerns, or, in the same vein, who recognize that there can be value in undisturbed land, or waters, or that intact ecosystems, with their healthy game and fish populations, also hold economic value in producing clean water, clean air, grazing, wildlife, flood or invasive weed control, all those elements that may not always add to the bottom line of corporate profit, but are the actual bottom line of life on this planet.

Not long after that Kirk Deeter added his voice in Should Conservation Be a Political Issue?

In my humble opinion, conservation shouldn’t be a political issue. It should be a cultural issue. And in that regard, I think those doing the real heavy lifting to protect wild places for fishing and hunting aren’t so much “green” as they are “camo.”

U.S. House takes an axe to conservation

Yesterday Deeter sounded the alarm loud and strong in his reaction to the US House of Representatives passage of HR1, Proposed Conservation Funding Cuts Could Devastate Fly Fishing Resources.

HR1 is a bill in Congress right now that would slash funding for a number of important conservation programs that impact fly fishing from coast to coast. I don’t care what your political persuasion is…if you’re a fly fisher, this should concern you, because any threat to habitat is a threat to opportunity. And in many cases, once a resource is gone, it’s gone.

He joins calls to action from Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited!

Are you getting the message yet? If not, then you are not paying attention!

Fear no plaid

February 18, 2011 By Tom Sadler

The jesters over at Moldy Chum are goading Tom Rosenbauer in their blog, Thurston! be a good man and fetch my kilt.

Since I know Mr. R is a good sport in every sense of the word I thought I would give him some support and encouragement by showing some tartan solidarity.

Cheers! — Any guesses where the tee shirt is from?

And as soon as it warms up I am going to add a photo of the latest fashion in tenkara fishing… stay tuned!

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Virginia’s rivers are an economic engine.

February 15, 2011 By Tom Sadler

One of my favorite statesman, former U.S. Senator John Warner of Virginia, penned a great editorial, Protect Virginia’s rivers, about how important Virginia’s rivers are to our culture, health and economy.

Senator Warner wrote about the value of our rivers as blue ways or water trails:

“A water trail or blueway is a dedicated stretch of river that enjoys special clean-water safeguards and is a destination for fishing, boating and other recreation. Water trails also benefit our economy, bringing valuable tourist dollars to local businesses and providing recreation-related jobs for Virginians.”

Virginia’s rivers are a gift in many ways. Hopefully when the America’s Great Outdoors report is released tomorrow it will include, as Senator Warner hopes, strong support for rivers and water across the county.

By making rivers the centerpiece of America’s Great Outdoors, the administration will ensure the rivers of our states will flow with beauty and vitality, enriching lives for generations to come.

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