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Monday, February 28, 2011

The box is getting there

I used to have a ton of fly boxes, one for nymphs, one for dries, one for large dries, a couple for streamers, etc... Now I just carry one, the same one all season. So while I probably won't be fishing hoppers on Saturday, they are in there, along with some flies that I probably will fish. Enjoy. And yes, that is the smuggler rod- all cleaned up and ready for action.




Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Writer in Isolation

I've been writing a lot lately and searching for advice on it from one of the greats....

"Talk is a danger to writers. More than that, talk is a positive, ugly menace. Talk is so much easier than writing , its satisfactions are so immediate, that some of the need to write is all too easily lost in it. It may be true that no man will talk himself out of being a writer if he has it in him to write, and no doubt some men have capacity for both. But I think the frustration of enforced silence is good for most of us. Young writers who meet in groups to discuss their own work would be better at home writing more and talking not at all; and old writers who yield to the incessant demands of service clubs and other organizations are bleeding energy they need for the vastly more important business of writing. Even service club members can read if they would; and if they want a writer's words, the printed page is where to find them....

In the end, all writing is isolation. A man observes and absorbs readily enough among his friends. He may test ideas or sharpen argument or search for encouragement in talk. But he must mature his thought, develop and control his emotions, plan his work, alone. And he must write it alone."

Roderick Haig-Brown
The writer in isolation: A surprise exploration of a given subject (1959)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Supplies coming in for the 9' 3wt

 Cork reel seat. From Jann's Netcraft.
Practicing some guide wraps on a broken scrap rod before I tackle the real deal.
The jig and dryer.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

SE Minnesota

Not much to report, some pretty small fish. I was expecting some biguns, didn't find any. Will be back.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tree map of the budget

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/02/01/us/budget.html
The above link will take you to something called a squarified tree map. It is of the Presidents proposed budget. I love squarified tree maps. We have been using them at work to condense and display huge amounts of long-term data. As it is used in the link, it is a very nice way to show how much money would get spent and where.

It’s probably time to start hacking away at National Defense, Social Security and Medicare. Or maybe we should cut spending on Natural Resources, since it comprises a whopping 1/16th of the budget, and because clean air and water aren't really needed, nor wilderness, fish, wildlife, birds, etc...-Sarcasm.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Rod Wrapper



I finished building a rod wrapper / rod dryer this weekend. I bought the motor from Jann's Netcraft. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/rod-wrapper-parts/028090500002.aspx . I picked up some bolts & nuts at the hardware store. The rest of the build was materials I had. I used an old lamp to power the motor. Used an empty mono line spool and hair tie timing belt to slow the factory 36 RPM to 17 RPM. Now my blank and components just need to arrive and I'm ready to build my first.

Helpful rod building links:
http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/FlyrodFanatic#p/u

Friday, February 11, 2011

Climate Wisconsin

http://climatewisconsin.org/

From warming trout streams to decreasing ice cover, lower lake levels to extreme heat, Climate Wisconsin tells stories from a rapidly changing state. While this collection of stories and research is a starting point, there are many more stories of change waiting to be told. Have you noticed changes in your community? Maybe you know someone who is changing the way they live because of climate change.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Iowa

We're approaching a heat wave in Iowa. Next week would be a good time to fish. Goodbye backyard snowman.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

New 'to me' bamboo

I came into an unknown bamboo rod a while back. It had a few guides missing, and the ferrules were loose. It was a modified rod. You could tell that it was originally a 3 piece, 9 foot rod, but someone had cut the but section, took the ferrule from it, drilled a hole in the handle of the rod and then sunk the ferrule into it. This made it a 6'10" rod. Folks call these 'banty' rods. I took all the guides off, sanded the blank, put the guides back on, glued the ferrules on, and varnished it. It casts a 4wt line pretty well. A little investigation on the handle and the reel seat indicate that this was no doubt a South Bend model #59 ca. 1950.The South Bend Company put a patent on this handle, calling it 'comefficient' a combo of comfortable and efficient. -It is comfortable.
Added the writting so if I loose this thing, someone will know it was a South Bend, modfied to a banty rod.
Its a pretty straight stick, which says alot for a 60 year old rod.