Yeti Sighting! - Northern Minnesota

As the snowpack is finally diminishing here in northern Minnesota there have been some strange sightings as of late. Most recently has been a confirmed sighting of a YETI in Detroit Lakes. I intially spotted the YETI out of the corner of my eye. I was unsure of what exactly I saw, wondering if my eyes had been playing tricks on me. It's not uncommon for mirages to appear over snow, much like the apparition of water in a desert. But a YETI? Something came tumbling out of the woods, right at my truck. I came to a screeching halt as my front tire made contact with the object. What was it? I hopped out of the truck to see just exactly what it was.


I couldn't believe I was seeing this with my own eyes, a YETI in Detroit Lakes! A perfectly unscathed specimen too! Wow, the press will have a field day with this one! I quickly looked over the YETI for any signs of injuries and none were to be found. I quickly secured the YETI in the cab of my truck and made haste back to the Roughfisher Command Post.


After a closer inspection back at home base, I identified the YETI as a 50 quart specimen from the Tundra. A beautiful specimen indeed! There was so much potential with this YETI! I was practically giddy with excitement, dreaming of all the possibilities for good times I can share with the YETI! Think of all the fishing and camping trips we can go on! I can't wait to dress up my YETI. I'll be sure to post stories of my new YETI's adventures. Stay tuned!


Thanks YETI!

welcome to the instagram show

Finally joined the party and hopped on the instagram train. Plenty of eye candy and fish porn to go around. Check us out and follow at instagram.com/roughfisher. Here's a teaser.

Reality Bites

I recently did a guest post for the Scientific Anglers & Ross Reels Insider blog, encouraging folks to hit up the Fly Fishing Film Tour, a highly successful and well attended event held at theaters across the country. While the rationale listed are compelling enough to head out to the show, here's what really happens at the F3T.

Listed are the reasons published on the SA/Ross Insider blog followed by my repsonse.

1. An evening packed with fly fishing footage captured in near every corner of the planet chasing foreign as well as familiar species of fish is always a great time, and a great way to get excited for the upcoming season. It is always interesting to see how the action is captured from the different perspectives of the cameraman and director.
For half the show you're sitting in your seat wondering where in the world is Uzbekitajikikurdistan and why in the hell did they travel all that way to fish for stocker rainbows? The other half you're wondering if everyone in the film is stoned the whole time, how did they pass through customs, how did they get any sponsors to pick up the tab for this film, and how do I get in on this racket? Show us something really bold and daring, like fishing the muni cesspool for mutant cyprinids.

2. The F3T is a great place to catch up with friends, reconnect with old acquaintances, and meet some new folks, possibly even future fishing buddies.
The F3T is a great place to see wannabees, Orvis boys, hacks, and washed up old guides hitting on little duck lipped girls, cougars, pumas, divorcees, Stage 5 clingers, and anything else with a pulse. Even more entertainment when the burnouts are trying to score with industry gals who are way out of their league. Word from the underground has it that April Vokey will be making a cameo at this year's tour stop.

3. Your ticket will get you access to great SWAG and killer prizes from the tour sponsors during the show, as well as sweet discounts at participating fly shops across the country.
Watch from the crowd as some clueless first timer newbie walks up on stage to claim the grand prize of an all expense paid guided trip to the tropics or the newfangled, industry over-hyped rod and reel. If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all. I'll stick to my F3T swag trucker hat thank you very much.

4. The F3T road crew are an eclectic group of passionate, die hard anglers. These guys are true road warriors and have fished across many borders. Their fishing adventures are unforgettable and their exploits from the road are even more legendary. If you get the opportunity, don’t pass up the chance to shoot the breeze with one of these colorful characters.
I've witnessed firsthand folks playing pimp for some of the tour members, hooking them up with everything from women to weed. When last call comes around, you'll be sure to find these guys getting swept out the door. Rode hard and put away wet. Don't drop the soap!

5. Unless you’re fortunate to live in a warm climate with access to year-round fishing, or have got a hot tropical trip lined up for the winter, is there really anymore reason to leave the snowy, icy grip of winter behind for the evening and talk fishing?
Do you really need an excuse to get out of the house and get hammered on cheap watered down beer, making a complete and utter fool of yourself in public? I bet you a Hurricane High Gravity you don't.

Everybody have fun and I hope to see you all at the F3T in Minneapolis this year! Stay classy, Minnesota.

What You Think I Do

Figured it was about time I jump on the bandwagon and do one of these for carp...

Don't Tread On Me

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Goddamn, well I declare

Have you seen the like?

Their walls are built of cannonballs,

their motto is Don't Tread on Me

Build It

If you're looking to waste a few minutes online (or an hour) and you like guns, I've got the perfect site for you. Developed for airsoft no doubt, Dr. Noob provides the ultimate fantasy for most any gun build. They even have a full assortment of Magpul furniture, Troy hand guards, battle sights, and most other popular AR accessories to play mock up with.


It's actually a pretty nice tool to see a virtual build of your gun with various accessories before you lay down the cash for a new set of rails or optics. That way you can verify that your new set up will be tacticool before you even install it. The above image is a snapshot of my future build.

Tis the season

Merry Christmas everyone, from the roughfisher.

FX

Thanksgiving 2010

Last year's Thanks were a classic, so why would you want to mess with a good thing? Here's an updated list of thanks for 2010 and a ghettofabulous clipart image:



Time for the roughfisher to throw around some thank yous:

I give thanks for the little roughfishers,
and the fact that Mrs. Roughfisher stuck around for another year.
Thank you for Columbia River carp, surviving death on the DSP, spectral dubbing, and my new stash of antron.
Thank you Phil, Bobby, Jeff C., John, Joe, Sunshine and Jeff P. for futhuring the unbroken chain of music on stage and in my ears.
Thank you High Gravity malt beverages.
Thanks for cleavage, tight shirts, and cold breezes.
Thank you carnitas.
Thanks to my 5 eight readers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stormy Monday

Dedicated to the stormy weather of summer TwentyTen.

For Your Eyes Only

When Singlebarbed told me that he literally had risked life and limb to smuggle some Classified materials into the Roughfisher Command Post, I thought he was putting me on until I saw proof. He warned me of the inclement danger inherent when handling this stuff and told me to survey my surroundings before opening. He was right, this stuff should be locked in a vault in Fort Knox.


Regarding the classified contents of the container:

You all are on a need to know basis, and right now you don't need to know.

All I can divulge is that this stuff rocks the shit and will blow your mind. It will change the face of fly tying forever.


End Transmission.

It's an illusion

I got the idea from a solarized photo I took of the Admiral Akbar. The image resulted in pattern that mostly resembled the original version, save for green eyes instead of orange. I thought that was a tasty little tweak, and just had to find out in person if that was indeed the case. You be the judge: compare the solar phase tie to the original image.



Here's a rubber legged version for added awesomeness.


Slight of hand, or is it real magic?

swazzle

More items have been recently added to the roughfisher.com zazzle store, including "I heart" tees and bumper stickers, some cool logo art tees.




Git yo' self some swag.

Admiral Akbar

Thanks go out to The Daily Fly Paper Blog for recently featuring the Admiral Akbar pattern on their site. The Daily Fly Paper often showcases patterns from legends like Carrie Stevens, Davie McPhail, Paul Schmookler, the Global Fly Fisher, and now me. Now I know I made it. Bask in my glory.

Exposed

Light cahill (orange phase), Stenacron interpunctatum.

Throwing Stones

Fuck you BP, fuck you corporate America, and fuck you all you fucking fucks who have sold the environment short just to make a fucking buck. FUCK YOU.

Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste.

There's a fear down here we can't forget.
Hasn't got a name just yet.
Always awake, always around,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

Now watch as the ball revolves
And the nighttime falls.
Again the hunt begins,
Again the bloodwind calls.
By and by, the morning sun will rise,
But the darkness never goes
From some men's eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets,
Staking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat,
It's you and me.
You and me.

Click flash blade in ghetto night,
Rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley, roll them bones.
Need that cash to feed that jones.
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

Commissars and pin-stripe bosses
Roll the dice.
Any way they fall,
Guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray,
Selling guns 'stead of food today.

So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

Heartless powers try to tell us
What to think.
If the spirit's sleeping,
Then the flesh is ink
History's page will thus be carved in stone.
And we are here, and we are on our own
On our own.
On our own.
On our own.

If the game is lost,
Then we're all the same.
No one left to place or take the blame.
We can leave this place and empty stone
Or that shinin' ball we used to call our home.

So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north.
In a whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashion sets the pace,
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical, he rant and rage,
Singing someone's got to turn the page.
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone.
But his pants are down, his cover's blown...

And the politicians throwin' stones,
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And it's all too clear we're on our own.
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.

Picture a bright blue ball,
Just spinnin', spinnin, free.
Dizzy with the possibilities.

"Throwing Stones" Words by John Perry Barlow; music by Bob Weir. Copyright Ice Nine Publishing.

Fools Rush In

Hard to believe it's been almost two weeks already.



This weekend is the upcoming fishing "opener" across Minnesota. This is the time I take the weekend off and let all those ass clowns beat each other up at the boat ramp and fish elbow to elbow to each other. I'm not into jockeying nut to butt with other guys, and for what? A walleye? Homey don't play that.


Little do those guys know that I've been fishing open water since early March. I think I'll sit right'here, crack open a tall one, and bask in my awesomeness.

There's always next week.

Tribal art

I have yet to get inked, but if and when I do, tribal fish art is a serious contender.

I got a fever! And the only prescription...

...is more cowbell!

I recently got a scrip from the Doc saying I need to curb the gear purchases. Not good. The failing of any gear junky, I went out and picked up a "dirt cheap" waterproof camera, an Olympus Stylus 550WP. At $112, it was a tough deal to pass up, even if I wasn't an addict. 10 megapixels and submersible to 10 feet, sounds like a good investment to me. As far as models go, this was an older model, hence the blowout price. It's not the best camera on the market by far, but it's one I won't cry over if it happens to die out on the water. It still carries most of the desired features of a point and shoot, except the newer models all are capable of taking HD video. This camera still takes standard resolution video, but that's not why I bought it. I wanted a cheap, throwaway, waterproof camera I could take along on river trips and not have to worry about bricking my Canon.


This camera comes with a macro and supermacro function, which is handy for capturing images of macrophytes and other streamside macroinvertebrates. While the features are not as crisp as my Canon in low indoor light, it should be inconsequential, as the majority of the photos will be taken outside, with ample sunlight. The case is kind of a ghey teal color, but again, I didn't buy this for a fashion statement. Function over fashion. I know a few of you guys out there rock the Pentax and Panasonic waterproof cameras, and have definitely captured some nuggets on film. I preferred the operation of the Olympus, as it seems to more closely resemble the operating functions of my Canon.


I debated long and hard on opting for a camera with an HD video function; I've seen Creekaddict's video footage and it is crispy. I even looked at a few waterproof dual HD cameras like the Sanyo Xacti. In the end I decided that if I wanted to shoot HD video, I'd be better off buying a standalone HD camcorder like a GoPro or Kodak Playsport instead of a camera that can shoot HD vid or a dual camera. But it looks like I'll need to wait at least another 1 to 2 months before I can even think of acquiring more gear. Doctor's orders.....

Signs of spring?

Spring is creeping about, haunting my thoughts. The National Weather Service is busy forecasting for another major flood on the Red this spring as FEMA and the local media are busy hawking, pushing flood insurance down homeowner's throats. As people are starting to prep sandbags for a flood a month away, all this talk of melting snow and spring runoff has got me thinking sucker, white sucker.


Last year I made it out on February 25. Even though we are near the same amount of snow pack as this time last year (20+ inches), temps have remained fairly cool making it hard to think outside winter mode. Regardless, river flows are well above last period. The Otter Tail has been above the 80th percentile all winter long, and is now at record flows downstream of Fergus Falls as the Corps of Engineers plans maximum drawdown before spring run off. Flows will be high again this spring and will likely prove a challenge locating concentrated fish, and even harder getting a fly to them.


I've still got a few more winter missions planned before ice out. Late ice is always a hot time for filling the freezer and smoked fish. I need to get my share of tullibees this year. Meanwhile, I've been casual at the vise and my flies haven't really amounted to much other than a few Czech style nymphs ready for the first sign of the spring sucker run. Maybe it's the gray-skied daze or the stockpile of unused flies piled in my boxes from last year, but I'm just not motivated. Yet.


Maybe the first robin sighting or a day above freezing will break me from this funk. Just Maybe.