roughfisher.com is getting a facelift. You may notice some irregularities with the blog site over the next few days. Some of the major changes to the layout include a WIDER body, a third column, some header and graphics changes, as well as a sell out to the corporate shill.
The web page content on roughfisher.com will soon be dissolved, as Google is phasing out their Page Creator and supporting development of Google Sites. I'll be transitioning everything back to the blog, and will eventually streamline the URL to roughfisher.com (dropping the blog.*). The Blogger interface has been much easier to work through compared to GPC, as the Google servers would not allow users to execute AJAX/perl/php scripts, and other rudimentary functions now standard on many web servers. I spent more time trying to dumb things down to Java, in frustration, and waster my time more than anything else. It's been a failed experience, that fortunately had some good learning value.
The Trout Underground's recent redesign to a 550px body width has left many viewers expecting to see widescreen photos become the standard on angling blogs. Singlebarbed didn't stray far behind and followed suit with some graphical header changes. I'm just trying to keep up with the Joneses. Not to be outdone, roughfisher.com is now coming to you in 580px body width.
Eat your heart out Tom Chandler.
- the roughfisher
October 30, 2008
October 29, 2008
the brownline 2008.10.29
- After nearly two decades, Tom Dickson follows up his groundbreaking book, Fishing for Buffalo: A Guide to the Pursuit, Lore and Cuisine of Buffalo, Carp, Mooneye, Gar and Other "Rough Fish" with the The Great Minnesota Fish Book, featuring the amazing illustrations of Joe Tomelleri. A must have for any serious roughfisher.
October 28, 2008
snow capped
It's been a couple days since our October snowstorm, and there's still snow on the ground. Drifts in some of the ditches and field approaches are still 3' to 4' deep. Sloughs, ponds, and shallow lakes even had a skim of ice on them, some lasting throughout the day. You gotta love Minnesota. Where else can a flatlander experience snow and ice 8 months of the year?
Air temps were a crisp 25 degrees this morning, a plus, since the forecast was supposed to be a balmy 15 degrees. The sun was shining with a slight breeze at hand; the day was supposed to warm up fairly quickly with a high near 50. I was hoping a warm front from the SW would shake things up today. The fish must have been on Fall Break.
I got my 8 weight back from Scott last week and hoped to put it through its paces. Flows on the river are still well above the 80th percentile. I was optimistic that the higher flows would bring some fish upstream and up onto the shallows. Not the case, as cold water temps kept the fish at bay (near 41 degrees). I could not find any fish schooled up, and turbid flows kept sight fishing out of the cards. It was tough.
I really had to work for these fish, and bites were few and far between. There was no standout pattern on the water today, lord knows I about tried them all. With water temps as cold as they were, I knew I'd need to slow the presentation down quite a bit. Difficult to do, considering all of the current I had to now deal with due to high flows. I tried to downsize my offerings, but with low fish numbers in this section of river right now, it just didn't make a difference.
It was nice to get back on the water; it had been nearly a month. I tried overlining my 8 with a short, heavy head line, in efforts to improve the performance of my single-handed skagit casting. I was a bit rusty on my first few casts. After several failed drifts, I switched to my 6 weight, and a different fly pattern. My casts started to come back together, and eventually I managed to land a a few fish on the 6. Even though I eventually switched back and forth with my 8, I was blanked on it. It did, however, cast just as well as it had with the original rod sections.
I was lucky to end up with the catch that I did. At least I had variety. I may try to get out one more time this season, later in November. Hopefully flows will subside by then, and the water less turbid. I should have a decent shot at some redhorse and quillback, the only species I predominantly find during the coldwater season. Maybe I'll find a random carp and snag him in the mouth. Until then, I'll be getting my fly tying operation under way, and will be busy gearing up for the hard water season.
Cheers!
- the roughfisher
Air temps were a crisp 25 degrees this morning, a plus, since the forecast was supposed to be a balmy 15 degrees. The sun was shining with a slight breeze at hand; the day was supposed to warm up fairly quickly with a high near 50. I was hoping a warm front from the SW would shake things up today. The fish must have been on Fall Break.
I got my 8 weight back from Scott last week and hoped to put it through its paces. Flows on the river are still well above the 80th percentile. I was optimistic that the higher flows would bring some fish upstream and up onto the shallows. Not the case, as cold water temps kept the fish at bay (near 41 degrees). I could not find any fish schooled up, and turbid flows kept sight fishing out of the cards. It was tough.
I really had to work for these fish, and bites were few and far between. There was no standout pattern on the water today, lord knows I about tried them all. With water temps as cold as they were, I knew I'd need to slow the presentation down quite a bit. Difficult to do, considering all of the current I had to now deal with due to high flows. I tried to downsize my offerings, but with low fish numbers in this section of river right now, it just didn't make a difference.
It was nice to get back on the water; it had been nearly a month. I tried overlining my 8 with a short, heavy head line, in efforts to improve the performance of my single-handed skagit casting. I was a bit rusty on my first few casts. After several failed drifts, I switched to my 6 weight, and a different fly pattern. My casts started to come back together, and eventually I managed to land a a few fish on the 6. Even though I eventually switched back and forth with my 8, I was blanked on it. It did, however, cast just as well as it had with the original rod sections.I was lucky to end up with the catch that I did. At least I had variety. I may try to get out one more time this season, later in November. Hopefully flows will subside by then, and the water less turbid. I should have a decent shot at some redhorse and quillback, the only species I predominantly find during the coldwater season. Maybe I'll find a random carp and snag him in the mouth. Until then, I'll be getting my fly tying operation under way, and will be busy gearing up for the hard water season.Cheers!- the roughfisher
October 27, 2008
roughfisher's vault 2008.10.27
RIP Merl Saunders, 1934-2008.
Legion Of Mary, June 22, 1975.
Keystone, Berkeley, CA.
Featuring one of my favorite Merl tunes, Wondering Why, and also Favela.
So long Merl.
Legion Of Mary, June 22, 1975.
Keystone, Berkeley, CA.
Featuring one of my favorite Merl tunes, Wondering Why, and also Favela.
So long Merl.
Fixed
I got my Scott rod back from repair last week. The top two sections of my 10' ARC 8 weight were replaced. I'm itching to see how it performs, compared to the original sections. Scott allegedly finds a replacement blank when repairing, to match the characteristics of the original rod, and give the same feel and performance.
My foremost concern when sending in the broken rod, was that Scott would no longer have any blanks of the discontinued ARC series remaining, and would not be able to repair the rod. The only salve was that the replacement rod series to the ARC are the T2H series rods. The specific replacement to my current rod would be the T2H 1088/4 switch rod. When Scott contacted me last month, they informed that they would be able to replace the top two sections of the rod, instead of having to resort to a replacement. So much for getting that switch rod.
I heard the horror stories from other broken rod victims, on how excruciatingly long the repair process was at Scott. I heard one account of an angler waiting three months and counting to get his A2 repaired. Other accounts of a three month wait were quite common amongst internet fly fishing message boards. I guess should consider myself lucky that the repair process only took me around two months. Staffing concerns in the repair shop were addressed by management after the recent reorg. Apparently, I must have benefited from the increased labor force.
The quality of the workmanship on the repair matched that of the original craftsmen. Aside from some wear on the blank and the reel seat, it is difficult to distinguish the original sections from the new. Hopefully it will cast just as seamlessly as the original.
Thanks Scott.
My foremost concern when sending in the broken rod, was that Scott would no longer have any blanks of the discontinued ARC series remaining, and would not be able to repair the rod. The only salve was that the replacement rod series to the ARC are the T2H series rods. The specific replacement to my current rod would be the T2H 1088/4 switch rod. When Scott contacted me last month, they informed that they would be able to replace the top two sections of the rod, instead of having to resort to a replacement. So much for getting that switch rod.
I heard the horror stories from other broken rod victims, on how excruciatingly long the repair process was at Scott. I heard one account of an angler waiting three months and counting to get his A2 repaired. Other accounts of a three month wait were quite common amongst internet fly fishing message boards. I guess should consider myself lucky that the repair process only took me around two months. Staffing concerns in the repair shop were addressed by management after the recent reorg. Apparently, I must have benefited from the increased labor force.
The quality of the workmanship on the repair matched that of the original craftsmen. Aside from some wear on the blank and the reel seat, it is difficult to distinguish the original sections from the new. Hopefully it will cast just as seamlessly as the original.
Thanks Scott.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)