fishing for words

I’m not the philosophical fly fisher. I fish to catch…despite knowing it’s called fishing, not catching.

I care for my gear, ensuring that loosing that bigger-than-expected trout can only be blamed on my lack of skill bad luck.

And I tie flies to replace those that have proven to be effective.

March has become the month of anticipation. The worst of winter is probably past, spring’s ahead with another season of trout fishing; either fishing alone, with my sons, with club members, or with a fellow fly fisherman just met on the stream. The Sierra Nevada streams in which the flies I tie will float or sink…and sometimes float when they should sink and sink when they should float…won’t be open to trout fishermen for another 58 days, 5 hours, and 42 minutes.

But fly tying isn’t a cure for the itch to fish. It’s merely a distraction.

I tend to use subsurface flies, or nymph, a lot. Last summer I discovered that a certain nymph designed by a certain guide produced quite a few fish for me on a certain river.

I’m not a great fly tier. Those who call fly tying an “art” haven’t seen some of my attempts. And by no means was I able to dissect a fly and end up tying a suitable duplicate.

Until now. The key: nail polish.

Any fly tier with more experience would appropriately laugh at my discovery, but for me it was the lost ingredient in this fly’s recipe. I’ve never dabbled with nail polish in fly tying ‘cause I never used any fly recipes that called for it.

But that thin, clear coating of polish that brings out the rainbow, almost opalescence, of the flash tied on the base of black thread. Cool stuff.

Now it’s only 58 days, 5 hours, and 41 minutes until Opening Day. But there are plenty more flies to tie. A few to lose in the bushes behind me, a few to share with family and friends, and at least one to tie for that bigger-than-expected rainbow.

This snarky little item recently graced my inbox (with a friend suggesting it might be the ultimate evolution of the float tube.):

I was going to build the Gazebo on the edge of my dock down by the lake but I thought…I might just as well build the deck with floats on it and I can then take it out fishing too…has a 15,000-pound capacity.

The deck is 18 feet x 18 feet with 12 plastic foam filled dock floats that are 4 feet x 4 ft feet x 18 inches high, and the Gazebo is a 10-foot hexagon with a table and chairs.

Inside, under the table is my trolling motor so I can take it out to my favorite fishing hole. The trolling motor is remote controlled so I can fish outside and operate the motor. On top of the table I have a Lowrance fishfinder with depth sounding sonars and temp gauge. I have two electric winches with 40-pound anchors.”

With our Opening Day 72 days away, things are looking pretty good. The Sierra snowpack appears to be in fair shape, particularly on the Eastside. New flies have been tied. Gear’s ready.

But wait.  It gets better.

One beverage of choice for the post-fly fishing adventure has been deemed to be a great source of stuff that’ll improve bone health.

Researchers at the nearby University of California, Davis (and now friends of fly fishermen everywhere), have published a study showing that beer contains a large amount of dietary silicon (Si). Thankfully, better-tasting many microbrews seem to be the best source of the mineral.

UCD researchers tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and organized the results according to beer style and source. According to the study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, India Pale Ales (IPAs) offer the best bet at boosting bone mineral density (BMD) with a silicon content averaging 41.2 parts per million (ppm). Ales offer an average of 32.8 ppm. Lagers like Budweiser, PBR, Coors, and Molson aren’t worth drinking offer only half as much silicon as IPAs, at a relatively feeble 23.8 ppm. Since boosting BMD protects against osteoporosis, does more beer drinking equal more time on the water in retirement? We’d like to think so.

Note of Warning

It’s pretty obvious that except when bass fishing or brownlining it would be counterproductive to consume beer prior to stumbling around boulders in a favorite stream. Less obvious is that one should leave the beer behind during winter fly fishing. Beer freezes fairly easily.  That’s where the whiskey comes in.

[Article: “Silicon in Beer and Brewing.” Troy R. Casey and Charles W. Bamforth. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Published Online: February 8, 2010 (DOI: 10.1002/JSFA.3884); Print Issue Date: February 2010]