The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fishing

Counting coup

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Fall

It is not always the best time for fishing, at least in the mountain streams here in Virginia. The water levels can be iffy and more importantly the brook trout are going about their biological imperative. Don’t want to upset that apple cart!

So with time on my hands I like to go scout out some of my favorite streams or pick a new blue line to investigate.

When I am fishing I tend to get a little tunnel vision. I am looking through the water so hard that I sometimes forget to look around and enjoy the view. I probably know my location on many streams by what the bottom of the stream looks like rather than what the banks or surroundings look like.

For me fall is a great time for hiking and sight (site?) seeing. I still look at the water but I really have a chance to see what is surrounding all that water. A chance to see where I am fishing not just what I am fishing.

Of course I tote my tenkara rod and a few flies. And while I am not looking to fish, if the brookies happen to be rising then I just might decide to float a dry their way. But in the fall I like to just count coup on them.

How to count coup

During the year some of my flies will get the hooks broken at the bend. I keep the Adams’, BWOs or  Wulffs  and use them in the fall. I am not trying to catch the fish, just trying to get them to take the fly.

Counting coup.

Kind fun and let’s them get back to the more important business of reproduction.

Bully for them

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It is always a pleasure when a friend calls out of the blue.

Yesterday while pondering the post mid-term election scene one of my western friends rang in for a chat. He is one a small group of hunting and fishing friends out west who work as hard at conservation as they do at fishing and hunting. So after catching up on our adventures afield and talking about politics he asked if I knew about the Bull Moose Sportsman’s Alliance. “Sure do” was my reply.

Bull Moose Sportsman’s Alliance

We talked some more about the alliance, some recent press they got and where they were headed. Given the fact we have just finished a pretty intense election cycle the need for this group is pretty self-evident.

I came across them on Facebook and after checking out their web site really liked what I saw.

Click to learn more!

As a sportsman, Theodore Roosevelt’s passion for the rod and gun was equally matched by a strong conservation ethic for the sake of both sport and wildlife. It is time sportsmen revive Roosevelt’s passion and unite around an agenda built on common values to respond to the 21st Century challenges facing hunters and anglers.

The Bull Moose Sportsmen advocate for our outdoor traditions by building a network of sportsmen to advance our collective interests with policy makers.

Sounds pretty good don’t you think?

It gets better. There is also the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance Action Fund. The action fund makes campaign contributions to candidates who support the goals of the Alliance.

You can join the Alliance for free, but they will certainly put donations to good use.

If you want to help in the political game then send a contribution to the action fund.

Looking ahead

The need to educate our elected officials on the important contribution hunting and fishing and conservation makes to our economy and our quality of life continues. As hunters and anglers we need to engage our elected officials and educate them. The Bull Moose Sportsman’s Alliance gives us a chance to do that.

almost like a neon beer sign

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Shin Deep

My copy of Shin Deep by pal Chris Hunt arrived this week. Haven’t read very far but not surprisingly there is already a turn of phrase about brook trout that deserves quoting:

In the last few moments of the day’s light, I was able to glimpse the brilliance that makes brook trout, no matter their size, so wonderfully rewarding to the fly fisherman. Its deep colors seemed to provide a beacon of light in the near darkness of the evening, almost like a neon beer sign in a dank, dark, but wonderfully familiar tavern. You can’t help but stare at it.

Yup, brook trout water does have that familiar tavern feel, is it any wonder we care so much for these fish?

R2 bellies up to the bar

When you walk through the woods

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Many years ago when I was contemplating my own view of religion, divine beings and spirituality my father gave me a poem, When you walk through the woods. The poem speaks of the things you see, hear and feel as you walk through the woods and realize those things are not of the hand of man.

The poem as it was know in my family, became a touchstone for me as it helped define my love for the wild places. Even today when I take my fly rod and venture up some remote blue line stream I recall portions of that poem.

The poem got new life for me yesterday.

My friend Chris Hunt who pens the excellent Eat More Brook Trout blog has posted a truly delightful story, God and Fly Fishing, about his recent appointment to oversee Christian education in his parish.

But after a bit of reflection, I agreed to do the job, largely because I think there a lot of people like me out there who don’t necessarily buy into the Biblical aspect of religion, but who value the overarching message of the faith that asks for good deeds, a life well-lived and a charitable heart.

And we get a sip of wine on Sunday mornings to take the edge off.

He goes on to make the connection to fly-fishing that speaks to many of us.

I’m not sure how much credence my priest put in my carefully crafted answers about how my faith and my fly fishing are often one in the same. I think it’s kitschy and probably a bit disingenuous to say that I’m closest to God when I’m fishing, but it’s not far from the truth, either. A lot of anglers—especially backcountry anglers who loathe the idea of fishing along the road when other options are available, or who don’t care for the idea of elbow-to-elbow fishing along some crowded stretch of river—know exactly what I mean.

Do your self a favor and give it a read…

Learn about GoFishn

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I am a big fan of the guys over at GoFISHn. I have worked with Brian and fished with Ned.

I have watched with great interest as they nurtured their startup (or is it upstart) web site to a full blown new media presence.

Not sure what GoFISHn is all about?

Ned has put together a nice video that explains it all.

Take it away Ned > The goFISHn video