So I’ve recently become a pick-up truck owner. I've only had SUVs in the past, but given the nature of my hobbies, I finally decided that a pick-up was more practical in many ways. I only had one problem: I couldn’t stand laying rods in the bed with them hanging over the tailgate. I’ve just seen too many sticks get snapped or lose guides that way. So I began to tinker.

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Every now and then I dabble in the dangerous editorial waters of trying to write about subjective topics like the Best Fishing Towns in America... which usually makes me a temporary chamber of commerce hero in a few places, and a full-blown idiot in others (I'm not bringing this up to remind the good folks of Cody, Wyoming, to re-start the E-mail campaign)...

So now I'm going to share the heat.  I'm interested in how the Fly Talk Nation would rank the best fly fishing STATES in America.

Oh, I have some opinions, but don't let them sway you.  Feel free to agree or disagree and mix in a few of your own (as if that's ever been an issue).

Highlighting my list would be:

Florida. Pros: Think about all the myriad species to be caught on the fly in Florida, from tarpon and snook, to bass and panfish.  Fly fishing isn't, after all, only about trout.  Cons: You cannot catch trout on a fly in Florida, and despite what I just said, the best fly fishing state should at least offer some trout fishing, yes?

Montana.  Pros: Wild, brawling rivers, beautiful fish, a strong fly-cultural tradition, and wide-open spaces made available by enlightened stream... [ Read Full Post ]

Sometimes you read something that - to be perfectly honest - leaves you feeling hopeless and doomed. Something so depressing it makes you want to throw up your hands, shout "to hell with it all!" and head straight to the nearest bar. Something like this, from the LA Times.
 
The latest figures from Nielsen have children's TV usage at an eight-year high. Children's health advocates warn of adverse effects.
 
More than an entire day -- that's how long children sit in front of the television in an average week, according to new findings released Monday by Nielsen.

The amount of television usage by children reached an eight-year high, with kids ages 2 to 5 watching the screen for more than 32 hours a week on average and those ages 6 to 11 watching more than 28 hours. The analysis, based on the fourth quarter of 2008, measured children's consumption of live and recorded TV, as well as VCR and game console usage.

"They're using all the technology available in their households," said Patricia McDonough, Nielsen's senior vice president of insights, analysis and policy. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet. They're not giving up any media --... [ Read Full Post ]

While surfcasting in Rhode Island over the weekend, I stopped for a look at an old favorite spot where I no longer fish—off the aptly named Hazard Avenue in Narragansett. (As in “Hi, Neighbor! Have a ‘Gansett!” for those with a memory for old beers.) These rock ledges (pictured) are algae-covered and slicker than oil on ice.

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Just yesterday, Merwin posted a blog on essential items you should never forget to bring out on a boat. I might have a new essential item if the Bheestie Bags I received the other day do what they're supposed to.

I have a terrible history of ruining electronic devices on fishing trips. I've burned I don't know how many phones, a hand-held GPS, and most recently, $2,000 worth of video and still-camera equipent when some high-salinity water found its way into my dry bag. I baked all the gear on the dashboard of a fellow angler's truck, but it didn't matter. It was trashed. That was in Texas, and I had to waste a whole fishing day driving 67 miles in the lodge truck to the closest Best Buy. What can I say? I'm dedicated to my craft and wasn't going home without a video.

Though there are all sorts of tricks for saving wet electronics (salt, bag of rice, etc.), Bheestie Bags weigh nothing, travel easily, and are loaded with beads that are supposed to draw water out like no other and hold it there without re-wetting the... [ Read Full Post ]

From the East Hampton Star:

On Sept. 30 [New York’s new saltwater fishing license] . . . requirement was temporarily nullified at the request of trustees from the Towns of Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island.

Since then, the Towns of Huntington, Oyster Bay, and Brookhaven have joined the action [and are] . . . seeking a permanent injunction with the support of Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. of Sag Harbor.

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With striper season just beginning to take shape in the Northeast, I'm starting to get in that mode where I check tackle shops reports 3,000 times a day. My stomach knots up a bit every time I get a cell phone call from a friend who is more than likely on the beach while I'm at work. I go to bed at night wondering if I should have gone fishing and if the morning reports will tell me working all day on a couple hours sleep would have been justified.

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I struggled how to work this image into a blog post about fly fishing for the past couple of weeks. Then it hit me...The caption contest. I mean, how could I not post this gem of a restroom sign? I found it while shooting a web story for F&S about stocking the high altitude lakes with airplanes (story forthcoming). I figure the bathroom was in a Department of Wildlife airplane hanger, and the pilot was stocking fish, so yeah - I can post it on a fly fishing blog. Right?

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Sunday afternoon I got a call from my friend Dieter Scheel, who is a local Delaware River guide stationed in Lambertville, NJ. "The smallmouth bite is on fire," he said. "Want to come out this afternoon?" Of course I did, so I quickly pulled together boxes of poppers, stickbaits, Senkos, tubes, streamers, bunny flies...you name it. I was going armed to the teeth. When I get to the boat, Dieter says, "Just leave all that stuff in the car. It won't do you any good."

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You've probably heard about the great white sharks off Cape Cod that are hunting seals, getting tagged by scientists, and making national news. Well, here are video and photos (as well as some quick background info) from the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game about how the scientists are going about the process:

After multiple shark sightings off of the coast of Chatham last week, [Division of Marine Fisheries Senior Biologist Greg] Skomal and other state biologists set out to identify the species of the sharks recently sighted in the waters off Monomoy Island in Chatham. On Saturday, [harpooner Bill] Chaprales placed tags on two sharks. An additional three sharks were tagged today in the waters off Monomoy Island in Chatham. The tags, which use satellite-based technology to record where a shark travels, allow scientists to better understand migratory patterns. [ Read Full Post ]

Without question, a large part of what makes fishing so appealing is the chance for the unexpected. Well, this Sunday, something incredibly unexpected happened...and my camera was rolling. Chad Love, who many of you know from our Field Notes blog, flew out from Oklahoma for a shot at his dream fish: tuna. He never caught one, but instead ended up boating a near 600-pound blue marlin, which in my opinion trumps any tuna in the ocean.

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So Mrs. Merwin and I are headed for Cape Cod in the morning, an annual fall vacation on which we generally follow the migratory route of the fried clam. We will also of course be looking for stripers like this one that ate one of my homemade plugs down there a few years back.

Getting ready is not half the fun. Like Joe Cermele and his fishing log, my good intentions far exceed my abilities at organization. In this household, the most terrifying words sound like: “Honey, what did I do with the....?” You pick the item.

Whatever, it’s essential, and I can’t find it.

I have met people whose outdoor gear is supremely well organized. I envy them. I have never been able to do that. If I put something in the classic “safe place,” it seems like I forget where almost immediately. If I just set something down randomly, it’s as good as 
gone. I do know this isn’t an age thing. It’s been that way all my life. If I sat with two pair of pliers in an otherwise empty room, one pair would be lost within 5... [ Read Full Post ]