The Great Shutdown

The sign posted on my office building, effective July 1, 2011:


Our wonderful State Legislature and Governor have failed to reach a budget agreement for Fiscal Year 2012, thereby laying off 56,000 of some of Minnesota's finest and most dedicated working professionals, including myself. I don't ask for your pity, nor for a handout, but I beg the question as to why it is de rigueur to bash public employees? Like every workforce, there are individuals who may lack motivation or abuse the system, knowing no discrimination between private or public sector. But why disrespect the countless professionals who have sacrificed family and salary for a career that is at times less than rewarding? We are taxpayers just the same as everyone else. Before you begin to pick apart my argument with baseless accusations and proclaim that we do not need government in our lives, just remember who helped make Minnesota's fisheries some of the best in the nation, if not the world, next time you're out on the water. You're welcome.

The roughfisher has left the building. See ya on the river.

Another one bites the dust

Every year at about this time (Read: after May 1) this is a common sight. And for what? I just don't get it.


The significance of May 1st? The opening of taking roughfish by spear, harpoon, or archery. One day we will wake up to find out that all of Earth's viable resources have wasted, spoiled, and shriveled up and died. And surely, man will be to blame.

The Chimes of Freedom

It has come to my understanding that there is a small faction of my viewership, or should I say former viewership, that is unhappy with my recent posts on firearms. To all you folks out there who don't believe in our right to bear arms, well, you can all go and fuck yourselves. That's right, I said it; I don't really care if you don't follow the blog anymore. The Second Amendment is a core of the foundation of our great nation, whether you choose to believe it or not. I'm not going to go into a rant on here on why the Second Amendment is a necessary component of our freedom, or of the merits of gun ownership, but I will give you a virtual bitch slap for comparing my responsible ownership of a firearm to a violent crime committed by some dipshit who disrespects life.

This is not an issue of Left or Right. Gun crimes and deaths unfortunately occur across the country every year, but so do malpractice deaths, vehicular accidents, lung cancer deaths, poisonings, falls, etc. Yet, if you look at the actual numbers, gun deaths are one of the lowest causes of death. Don't believe me, then take a look at the facts. So how can some "hippie fly fisherman who listens to the Dead", support guns and gun ownership? Because I am an American first and foremost, and transcend above labels and stereotypical ideology.

For those who may ask why a fly angler needs guns, the answer is simple, I like to harvest my own fly tying materials as well as provide the occasional meal to my family. While I don't feel obligated to justify the needs nor defend my rights to gun ownership, I will say that a game animal taken in the humane manner of hunting suffers far less in providing its flesh and hide than any livestock slaughtered from a feed lot. For those fly anglers or tyers who think that they are above the need for guns or weapons of any form in order to participate in this sport, think again. Hand over those flies. Hell, handover those gotdamned $50 Abel nippers hanging from your vest, as the TSA likely classifies that as a weapon too.

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.

I don't tolerate violence of any form, but in the course of preserving freedom, understand that sometimes it is a necessary evil to bear arms in order to defend the rights that made this great nation what it is today. The very fact that we are able to voice opinion in an open forum without fear of persecution or even death (unlike the folks in Libya, Egypt, Turkey, the list goes on and on) is a very testament to the rights many have served and died to protect. For all those servicemen and women and members of the law enforcement community, I want to thank you for your service. To all of the men and women who have died while in the line of duty, there is nothing that I can do or say other than to proudly honor your memory for sacrificing your lives defending the freedoms of our great nation. You will not be forgotten.

Liberty And Justice For All

the peacemaker

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

FUBAR

WTF is up with gear these days? Manufacturers complain about recruitment and the often high barrier to enter this sport, yet they release stupid ass shit like a pair of goddamn nippers for $50 bucks. For fifty bones, that babdboy better be sporting a Class 4 laser that'll cauterize your tag ends of tippet. Recently read was a conversation debating the merits of zippered waders. No offense, but the items brought up for comparison were a couple of high buck models topping the charts at $425 and $450. $450! For a pair of waders!? What the hell has this industry come to? $450 waders puncture on barbed wire just as easily as a pair of $150 breatheables. Between angling, guiding, and my other occupation (fisheries management), I spend a lot of days in the water. Alot. I've been wearing the same beater pair of waders for going on 6 years now and not one hole or leak has sprung. Not one patch in those badboys. They aren't a pair of Patagucci or Simmps, but rather a $150 middle of the pack model store brand that didn't break the bank. What's the secret? I take care of them.

I'm not the only who's refusing to drink the kool-aid; I know of a fellow blogger and angler who'll soon be ditching his Simms for a similar performing "generic" at a quarter of the price. I'm not saying that the innovation or the technology that gear companies are bringing to the table are unappreciated, because I love gear. I'm a gear junky. But I don't believe that the bar for a mid-level piece of equipment should be set so high. Retail markup on soft goods are ridiculous. The same goes for hard goods in this industry; every "pro" knows the general rule of thumb for wholesale that a fly rod or reel is going for. Times are tough on everyone right now, but a $500 fly reel from a start up company is no way to enter the marketplace. Perhaps take a look at cutting profit margins a bit or ditch the no-fault warranties to move more product. I suppose you'd need to first move out of the Neolithic Age in order to begin embracing the principles of micro and macro economics in the Digital Age. All I know is that an $1100 spey rod isn't going to curry much favor with recruiting folks from the bait dunking and gear tossing crowd. Bubba ain't gonna pay $1100 for any gear but a new compound bow or an AR-15.

So what to do about those extravagant markups? It used to be in the past that the industry just held us all hostage. Unless you were on a pro plan, you had to pay full retail for gear. It took a great deal of time and resource to become outfitted with enough gear to meet your needs and interests; likely more than you paid for your first car, for some, maybe your first house. It seems the prices of these items just kept rising with the times, often higher than the rate of inflation. Where did the profits all go? Aside from a handful of companies, I can tell you where they didn't go: back to the resource. Likely, those huge margins went to stock fridges full of Nestle bottled water and wild PNW steelhead in more than a few executives' guest ranches on a reach of private water on some stream that we all wished we could afford to fish. Lucky for us consumers, a few folks fed up with the whole scene had the balls enough to put themselves out there and found companies that stand for something. Companies like Rise Fishing Co. are selling high end rods at guide prices and donating 20% of their proceeds to fishy causes. These are the guys that are making a difference. They are building a nice user base that will be around long after the old schoolers die off, likely taking a few of the aloof, apathetic companies with them. I say good riddance. Either change with the times or die off. It's called survival of the fittest; natural selection.

If you're in the industry, do me a solid and check out this piece on Angling Trade about the Bristol Bay Academy and see what you can do to help. If you're not, check out organizations like fishy kid, the TU conservation and fishing camp, or the National Fly Fishing in School Program and help get our youth involved. It's up to us because clearly, the mainstream industry isn't doing anything about it. All they care about is whether or not they should get their next pair of nippers in the Brook Trout or Cutthroat Trout graphic finish.

Best Sign Ever

Don't know when or where these signs came from but a bunch of them recently showed up at my favorite stretch of river. And they're totally legit, mang. I'm glad someone besides me finally had enough of those slovenly pigs tossing their fish up on the banks to rot. Victory never smelled so sweet.

If fly fishing is metal.....

If fly fishing is metal, then brownlining is The Jungle.

Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun n,n,n,n,,n,n,,n,n,n,,n,n,,n knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed.

You can't touch this.

roughfisher's vault 2010.08.05

Because I can...

Fuck you Right Wing America. This is my country too. Dog Bless....

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.

the brownline 2010.01.07

• Drowning the Beaver. Another AMFF/Cheneyesque type controversy? The boys over at Buster's discover that Donny Beaver's Spring Ridge Club was selected by an independent panel of judges as a finalist in the Investing in Nature program in the Ecotourism category from The Nature Conservancy. In another move of brilliance, Cathy Beck pimps some chrome on their newsletter, then gets thrown under the bus.


• More bullshit news from the home front: The Obama administration Tuesday opposed Michigan and other states that want to close shipping locks near Chicago to prevent ravenous Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

"In a host of ways, the federal government has demonstrated its commitment to protecting the Great Lakes from the expansion of Asian carp," she said in a written memo. "Nothing in federal law warrants second-guessing its expert judgment that the best information available today does not yet justify the dramatic steps Michigan demands."

Except for the fact that you've dropped the ball with your head up your ass for the last decade, preventing the spread of these fish from downstream. Different regime in the White House, same bullshit policies. It's obvious that the Feds and the State of Illinois both don't care about the devastation of the Great Lakes' native fish populations and the region's $7 billion fishing and tourism industries.


• More anti-coal sentiment hits the blogosphere over at The FlyFish Journal. Good to see my brothers in arms not afraid to speak their minds on the ravages of coal generated electricity. Thanks for joining the fight. It's apparent the "clean" coal lobby won't rest until we and our children and our children's children are all dead from the ingestion of toxins and heavy metals and lung disease.


• Major flooding possible in the Red River Valley this spring, AGAIN. The most recent forecast issued by the National Weather Service gives the Fargo/Moorhead area of the Red River of the North a 49 percent chance of major flooding and an 80 percent chance of moderate flooding, with near-certainty of minor flooding. I think the solutions to this problem are more ditches, more dams, more tiling and wetland draining, unsustainable development and new construction in a floodplain, and a massive pork barrel proposal to construct a huge non-eco friendly river diversion complex to bypass the cities of Fargo and Moorhead. Oh wait, that's what they've already been doing, and you can see how well that's been treating them the past few years. #FAIL

If the fish are gone, burn the country.

Olaf, Berserker!

Longtime reader Brother Olaf has shared a few of his brilliant musings and designs. You can check out his works over at his zazzle site.

Take that in the nutz you dirty bowfisherman. How's it feel?

Harvest Moon

Thanks to Brother leechbait for hooking me up with some rice. This is the real deal, not that paddy rice shit you find in the stores. Manoomin.

Source: Minnesota Historical Society

Manoomin, or “good berry”, is a sacred food to the Anishinaabeg, a gift given from the Creator, and is a centerpiece of the nutrition and sustenance for the community. Wild Rice is currently under threat of genetically engineered strains of rice potentially being introduced into the wild. Support efforts to save wild rice from becoming genetically engineered.

Gego Aanjitooken Manoomin. Don't Change The Wild Rice.