Summer on Silver Creek

SALAD DAYS - Silver Creek from BLOODKNOTS on Vimeo.

This is a great little video fishing on Silver Creek--it gets it just right.

Silver Creek Photos

Last week we went out with Christine Olsen, our photographer for the big day.  It was a beautiful day on Silver Creek and she did a great job Photoshopping out my HUGE mosquito welts.  Worth it.  Here are some of our photos.

A dumb pic, but when we travel we always take an explorer shot in honor of our mutual favorite explorer, John C. Fremont.  No, we're not nerds.

Yellowstone Angler Wader Shoot-Out

The last few weeks have been IN-SANE!  I am the new fly-fishing buyer for Sturtos Hailey, which Jeff Davis bought from Sturtevants.  We are so excited for Jeff and expanding our fly-fishing and especially fly-tying materials. 

I'm shopping around getting ready for IFTD and found Yellowstone Angler's Wader Shootout.  Yellowstone Angler, definitely one of the best fly shops I've ever been to, provides some of the only honest gear reviews since Fish and Fly went out of print.  These guys are extensive, and I'm glad to say that my wader was the top-ranked wader, Simm's G3 Guide Wader.  Check out the full report here.

Casting for Recovery is Less than Two Weeks Away

You all know about Casting for Recovery, but it really is an amazing organization.  I never expected it to make such a big difference for the attendees, or for me.

Cake as Art

This is a great video I poached from Etsy.

Anglers Spend $22 Million in Blaine County in 2011

Fishing brings millions to county
Report: Anglers spent $22 million in 2011

By KATHERINE WUTZ
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Express Staff Writer
Idaho Mountain Express

A fly fisherman tests his skills on the Big Wood River south of Hailey. Express file photo

    A study released by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game last week shows that fishing brought the state more than $548 million in 2011—the most recent data available.

    The agency’s summary states that the agency conducted a mail survey, sending out 59,200 surveys to Idaho fishing license holders in 2011. Nearly 26,000 anglers returned responses, which the agency compiled into a study. 

    The study separated out counties as well as fishing spots, but State Fishery Manager Jeff Dillon said in an email that more specific numbers—i.e., those for certain fishing spots—might be “influenced” by small sample sizes. 

    “For example, the mean trip cost on Silver Creek was $426 in 2011, compared to $246 in 2003,” he said. “This increase is probably related to one or two anglers who told us they spent thousands of dollars to fish there, skewing the average up more than expected.” 

    Dillon also noted that 2011 was a “wet year,” with nearly-full reservoirs and high rivers. 

    In Blaine County, anglers spent an average of $233 per trip, and the average trip lasted 1.9 days. However, anglers took about 98,527 trips in Blaine County in 2011, bringing total spending to just under $23 million—not including the cost of fishing licenses and permits, which brought an additional $430,438 to the county.

    The report states that anglers spent the most money fishing the Big Wood River, at $9.9 million in 2011. Though anglers made fewer trips to the Big Wood River than they did to Magic Reservoir—25,539 trips as opposed to 41,820—anglers visiting the Big Wood spent far more on restaurants, groceries, fishing supplies, transportation, guides and motels than those visiting Magic. Magic Reservoir anglers spent about $4.5 million in 2011.

    Silver Creek brought an estimated $5.2 million to the Blaine County economy in 2011, while Little Wood Reservoir and Gaver Lagoon, the fishing pond at the Hayspur Fish Hatchery outside of Picabo, brought in $952,000 and $398,000 respectively.

    Spending by anglers in Blaine County ranked ninth in the state. Statewide, anglers spent $548.4 million on fishing trips and an additional $15 million on fishing licenses and permits. Anglers made 2,772,547 trips in 2011 and spent an average of $197.78 per trip.  

    Spending related to the Big Wood River averaged $391 per trip in 2011; angler spending in Blaine County was an average of $233 per trip, well above the state average.

I'd Probably Sew More Clothes if my Patterns did this

 

Scientific Illustration

Dayna Gross, Silver Creek Watershed Manager for TNC, and the person responsible for bringing me to the Wood River Valley eight years ago next week wrote this post for Cool Green Science, The Nature Conservancy's blog.

Silver Creek Preserve manager Dayna Gross used her love of painting to help convey complex stream restoration plans.

Scientific illustration is more than just pretty pictures — a point made quite clearly in my own work at the Conservancy’s Silver Creek Preserve, as we tried to convey restoration plans to the general public.

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed painting flowers, insects, and landscapes.  There is something so enjoyable about capturing colors and textures in paintings.

In the last ten years this hobby has expanded into my work: illustration has become key in how I view the world, understand conservation and communicate ideas.

Science has always relied on visual representation to convey key concepts. While representation has varied from Audubon’s bird paintings to high-tech GPS imagery, illustration has at is core always been about conveying information.

However, while we have inarguably made amazing advancements in information technology, high-tech does not always mean “easy to understand.”

You can check out the full piece here.

The Airflo Story

This has been in my inbox for a while, but I hadn't gotten around to watching it.  This is a great video about Airflo and how fly lines are made.  It's almost a good as Mr. Rodgers at the crayon factory, but that's the gold standard for educational videos.

I've Been Meaning to do this for a While

Having the time of my life at Mood NYC.

Over the last six months or so my blogging has been pretty lacking.  The main reason is that I haven't been inspired by my fishing excursions and I spend a LOT of time doing other things these days.  I have a business, The Brown Drake, and am helping grow Paddy's business, Crazy Guy Tomatoes.  I spend a lot of time baking, gardening, sewing, doing stuff outside, and generally making a fool of myself.

A couple of weeks ago, Christine, at Fly Fish Chick, said there's not a New Coke.  I'll agree with her in that I'm sticking to what I've always done, but there will be other stuff, too.  It's more like MexiCoke--better than regular Coke.  I think a new format will help me make a fresh start and there will be some tweaking over the next few months.

I plan to write about the things I love and the things I do every day: fly-fishing, cooking and baking, gardening, sewing and crafting, making, building, destroying, liberal artisting, and my new venture into shoemaking.  Yes, I did say shoemaking.  There is also sure to be a few posts of epic crashes as I get back into mountain biking this year.

I hope to keep you entertained, and to keep myself entertained as I explore to my heart's content.

A Little Pond Fishing

A couple of weeks ago I was in Texas for Easter.  I had a couple of saltwater trips planned with my sister, brother-in-law, and their guide in Corpus, but the wind was roaring so we had to cancel.

It's hard to beat the fight of a fat catfish.

Growing up, my dad always took us fishing on Good Friday, which was always more than enough fishing for the year--ha ha.  My dad and I went fishing on the ranch on Good Friday and I caught a catfish (only my second ever) and he caught a nice bass.  There wasn't a lot going on, but it's so fun to catch something different.

A delicious bass.  Pop did eat both fish for dinner.  I like my fish in the form of raw tuna on rice--ha ha.

Fly Fishers Disagree on Silver Creek Restoration Proposal

These anglers agree with the restoration project--join them!

Fly Fishers Disagree on Silver Creek Restoration Proposal

Please support the project by writing a letter to:

Send them to the Blaine County land use office by mail, by email (pzcounter@co.blaine.id.us) or by fax (208-788-5576). Bergin expects the written comments already received to be posted on Blaine County’s website soon.

Casting for Recovery Seeking 2013 Applications

 (Ketchum, Idaho) January 25, 2013-Are you or someone you know currently undergoing breast cancer treatment or are a breast cancer survivor?  If so, Casting for Recovery invites you to apply for their 7^th Annual Southern Idaho retreat May 31-June 2, 2013.

Casting for Recovery is a national support and educational program for breast cancer survivors.  Casting for Recovery provides free three-day fly-fishing retreats to women affected by breast cancer.  Not only do the participants learn to fly-fish and the physical and emotional wellness it can provide, the retreat provides a forum to broaden the understanding of breast cancer treatment and enable sharing among participants.  An all-female staff of medical and fly-fishing professionals guide you through the weekend held at the beautiful Living Waters Ranch in Challis, Idaho.

To apply for the 7^th Annual Southern Idaho Casting for Recovery Retreat, visit www.castingforrecovery.org and click on ID-1, or call (888) 553-3500.  The application deadline is March 15, 2013.  Applicants are randomly chosen to attend and will be notified by the Casting for Recovery national office.  For more information about Casting for Recover or to make a donation to the Southern Idaho Casting for Recovery Program, please visit the ID-1 page at www.castingforrecovery.org.

Casting for Recovery is a non-profit organization providing educational, recreational, and emotional support programs to breast cancer survivors for 17 years.

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