shameless

Here goes a shameless corporate ploy:

The roughfisher.com store, hosted by CafePress, has been recently updated. New items have been added, along with updated logo wear. You know you've always wanted that roughfisher.com thong sticker for your ride.

We've got your junk in the trunk right here.

roughfisher's vault 2008.12.02

Another blazing show from the Dead at Raceway Park, September 3, 1977, Englishtown, NJ.

A long time taper fav, The Marshall Tucker Band opened for this legendary show, and the boys proceed to blow the doors down, ending with a stellar Terrapin encore. Not much could go wrong on this run.

Long live '77!

Another score

Every once in a great while, a fly tyer is able to stumble upon a great alternative source for a commonly used item like head cement, or $ 1.37 tinsel. But rarely is one able to outsource an alternative for antron yarn, the holy grail of fly tying supplies, twice, in one week.

I hit a craft warehouse on the way back home from visiting the outlaws last weekend. I was oblivious to the fact that this craft mecca even existed, yet my wife knew of its existence for some time now, all without telling me. Thanks. She stopped off for a cup of coffee while I hit the aisles in search of some booty. I perused the jewelry aisle, only to be disappointed by the paltry selection of metal beads. A few racks down, I found some treasure, 26 gauge craft wire, in a rainbow of colors. 40 yards for $1.99, pretty rough to beat. When I turned the corner to the next aisle, out of the corner of my eye, I caught some plastic canvas creations. To the average male, this stuff looks like the kind of crap your grandma used to make. But to the astute fly tyer, mixed among those geriatric craft supplies, are some precious treasures, nylon craft cord.

Yarn investigation: Antron, Needloft craft cord, and Amy's craft cord

The Amy's craft cord is a perfect mix between antron yarn, and the Needloft craft yarn I discovered last week. The cord is braided, so it's a pain to separate, but well worth the effort. The fibers more closely resemble the stiffness of antron, yet have more body like the Needloft yarn. Should be a perfect compromise. At 8.76¢ per yard, retail, it's a penny more than the Needloft, 7.9¢ per yard. But really, what's a penny worth these days? Even if you bought a couple hundred yards of this stuff, it would only put you out a couple bucks more.

I'll continue to experiment with ties and creating custom dubbing blends over the winter. I am hopeful to achieve success and find a perfect balance of body, durability, and flash. Man, I love fly tying.


- the roughfisher

something smells funny, and for once it ain't me

Look at these dirtbags at the Drake forums kick the old roughfisher around like a fleshy beanbag. A social experiment gone wrong. Turns out that not all dry fly guys play nice.


I'm sure some of you frequent that site, but I think that what goes on over at the Fakes clearly defines the current state of fly fishing: there is a clear rift emerging between fly anglers. There's the Madison Ave weekend warriors, sporting grass sticks, clad in Orvis armor sipping single malt swill from a fucking figured glass. Don't know shit about fly fishing, but look good doing it.

On the other hand, there are the working stiffs, the Gen Xers, can't rub two pennies together to save their life, but have a complete arsenal of Sage, Scott and Winston rods stuffed in their cute-utes, an array of patterns stuck in their visors, know the flow conditions on any river at any given time, and are complete assholes, on and off the river. These are guys the fly rags are sticking on their magazine covers. Sure, many of them may be accomplished anglers, but their confidence on the river is easily transformed into pomp and swagger.

If one of "you" are reading this, FUCK OFF, your kind is not welcome here.

The rest of us, well we just have to deal and put up with all their bullshit and crap that they try to force down out throats.

I'm not sounding off here because I'm jealous of those clownshoes on that forum, or pissed off at the "youth" of today. I tried giving some solid advice on a thread and ended up getting bitch slapped by some wannabes. So much for trying to help another angler. I learned a couple things from my foray over at the Drake forum:

• Blueliners don't like brown. I give them an olive branch, they kick me in the nutz.
  
• Dudes that live in the basement of their parent's house and post on the forums, can't really fish, but play a good game.
  
• I don't need some stupid-ass message board to know that what I'm doing is legit; I'm not looking for a fucking pat on the back.
  
• I'm not going to be that ashhole.
  

Pete McDonald from Fishing Jones, said it best,

"Those seem to be the only two rules that fly fishermen should live by: Don’t be an asshole and make the cast."

Clearly, I'm dealing with a bunch of assholes. Let the flames begin.


- the roughfisher

the brownline 2008.12.01

• Recent habitat work performed on the Turtle River last month, by the roughfisher and fellow coworkers. In addition to walleyes, this should also allow for spawning fish passage of "other" important fish species, like white suckers and shorthead redhorse.
  
  Your tax dollars hard at work.



• The inaugural meeting of the Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council convenes today, Decemeber 1, 2008. The council is charged with the responsibility of providing annual appropriation recommendations to the Minnesota Legislature from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, created by the Nov. 4 passing of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The amendment increased the state sales tax by three-eighths percent, approximately one-third of which is dedicated to the Outdoor Heritage Fund. Let's keep our fingers crossed that these guys can keep politics out of their discretion.
  
  Possibly your taxes dollars not hard at work.