Days On Road and Water

A spring road trip through southern CO and NM always affords the angler a chance to fish quality water. This particular trip found me meeting with some great Patagonia Fish accounts and spending some time with the folks that make them the great places they are.

Jon Harp of the Conejos River Anglers was kind enough to take me on a quick tour of that storied fishery. If you have never had an opportunity to walk the land and water of that canyon, make a plan to do so. "Spectacular" does not do it justice. Although the water was running closer to chocolate milk, the company and scenery more than made up for it. Jon has done an incredible job with the Superfly event and the potential for some amazing river habitat improvements over the next few years is quickly becoming reality. Kudos to all the staff there.

From there it was off to the San Juan to meet with Larry Johnson and Leslie Jedrey who operate the Soaring Eagle Lodge. Short story - get there. Great company, excellent guide staff, productive private water and fantastic meals are just the tip of the iceberg. The fabled waters of the SJ produced many a hungry rainbow and brown trout, and the unique nature of the fishery demanded a diverse skill set and patience.

To top it all off, there is no better chance to drill professional guides on Patagonia gear. Even I got to put some products I had not used to the test including the Stormfront Pack, the Hip Chest Pack and the new Guidewater Waders. Make no mistake - the water of the San Juan never really warms up and merino-lined booties make and 8-hour day of wading plenty comfy. As always, the Great Divider stands out as the premier drift boat bag. I got to row Larry's Clackacraft (exactly the same as my boat which made it easy...) one day and the GD keeps everything where you need it and dry to boot.

Thanks to everyone for your hospitality, local knowledge and dedication to the Patagonia brand. I have to give a special bonus award to Larry and Leslie - waking up every morning to the Red Sox scores outside the fly shop was just sensational - the fact they swept the Yankees series boded well for tight lines on the water!

The Remat!

One man's trash is another man or woman's…wader changing mat. The ultimate recycled product, the Remat is a byproduct from automobile gasket manufacturing (o-rings), reworked and repurposed for a long life of heavy-duty use. Beyond wader changing, it doubles (or triples) as a driftboat seat cushion, work station floor mat or boat floor protection from studded boots. The tough, cushy, water- and stain-resistant Remat is also showing up in front of kitchen sinks and mudroom doors wherever anglers live. Surfers, skiers and snowboarders have found the Remat to be ideal for parking lot changing as well as for cushioning between surfboards on the rack. It's a good thing to have around camp too. Made from 100% synthetic nitrile rubber.

Details

• Withstands temperatures from -40 C to +125 C
• Oil/fuel resistant
• No off-gasing
• Abrasion-resistant
• Water-resistant
• Extermely flexible and lightweight
• No PVC content; floats; easy to wash
• Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber (NBR) with 30% – 35% Acrylonitrile Content. Commonly referred as "Nitrile" or "Buna-N" rubber.
  
• Recyclable through the Common Threads Recycling Program
• 354 g (12.5 oz)
• Made in USA

Photos by Billy Smith, S. Stracqualursi and Rene Braun

Scanout Mag Delivers!

"Online publishing tools continue to help spawn new format offspring as paper dependent purveyors struggle to adapt. The most recent evolution is Scanout Magazine. Here's what Tim Pask had to say about this new "off the road" venture:

"Yngve, Peter and I had been tossing this idea around for several months and went to work on the project just after Yngve returned from Argentina. Our magazine concept is very simple and along with our Art Director, Peter Huber, we have decided to release a new issue every time we return from a trip. We will release issues from previous trips, but for the most part we will focus our efforts on recent travels.

The first issue of Scanout Magazine focuses on a trip that Yngve Ask made while traveling throughout Patagonia. It is titled Mustangs of Stag River and Yngve takes us on a photographic tour of this amazing Estancia and the Mustangs that roam its seemingly endless territory. The second issue of Scanout Magazine takes place in Miami Beach, as we pursue The Silver King with Captain Carl Ball.

This latest issue of Scanout Magazine focuses on a Steelhead float trip. We hope you enjoy our newest project."

Thanks, once again, to El Pescador...

Issue 16 - So Good...

CNN Delivers Well-Deserved Press on Project Healing Waters

MADISON COUNTY, Virginia (CNN) -- Amidst the tranquility of a fishing trip at the Rose River Farm in Madison County, a wounded warrior says he almost feels "semi-normal again."

The amputee is one of about 1,000 servicemen and veterans who have reaped the benefits of the therapeutic art of fly-fishing, with the help of retired Navy Capt. Ed Nicholson.

"The demons of war, you just don't set them aside," says Nicholson, 67. "But once you get out on the river, the serenity is incredibly healing."

While recovering from cancer surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2004, Nicholson witnessed wounded and disabled men and women -- many of them amputees -- struggling with their injuries.

"Other than being in Vietnam and seeing people in the process of getting hurt, I never really had a full appreciation for the recovery part and what happened after they came home. My recovery was nothing compared to what they were facing. It planted the seed that maybe there's something I could do," Nicholson says.

The solution was obvious to Nicholson, who says being an outdoorsman is in his blood: Get them out of the hospital and into nature.

Through free classes and outings, Nicholson's organization, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, helps rehabilitate injured and disabled servicemembers and veterans.

"We would run these classes that would better prepare them to be fishermen when the weather got nice and we could move outside, start casting lessons and go fishing," he says.

Nicholson and ty flying instructor John Colburn saw that the discipline of tying flies, which requires patience and training, benefited veterans recovering from injuries. And it helped them relax.

Read more HERE.

See video HERE.

Courtesy of CNN.com

BWO's Starting To Cause A Stir In CO

"It isn't necessarily carved in stone that the meek shall inherit. But, in the case of a certain tiny insect, it certainly can cause a lot of commotion.

You'll find this occurrence on display at rivers all across the Colorado high country, where an emergence of miniature mayflies has touched off what may be the most dynamic surface fly-fishing event of the season.

This little bit of a bug is the baetis, better known and loved by its descriptive name, the Blue-Winged Olive or, for simplification, BWO. The beauty of the baetis is in its punch, the sheer strength to endure a cold weather lifestyle where other mayflies cannot survive.

In doing so, it serves a serendipitous function both for hungry trout and eager anglers. The season's first significant dry fly event features the perfect insect for Colorado, where higher elevation and a plenitude of tailwaters demands a bug tough enough to take the chill. This tough little bug also has the punch to produce two separate broods each year; rare among mayflies, it yields a second hatch almost precisely six months later, in late September and October — just in case we didn't have enough fun first time around."

Read more here!

By Charlie Meyers
The Denver Post

Photo: Charlie Craven's Soft Hackle BWO Emerger has proved deadly for spring hatches on the Arkansas River. ( Charlie Craven, Special to The Denver Post )

Congrats YC!

Jim Range Conservation Vision Award: Yvon Chouinard

"Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia's founder, started Patagonia in 1973 to meet the equipment and clothing needs of outdoor enthusiasts, primarily rock climbers, hikers and anglers. From the very beginning, Patagonia devoted time and money to the increasingly apparent national and world-wide environmental crisis. Yvon saw what was happening in the remote corners of the world: creeping pollution and deforestation, the slow, then not so slow, disappearance of fish and wildlife and decided to do something about it. Since then, Patagonia never looked back.

Yvon had the foresight and commitment to have Patagonia become a leader in giving back to natural resources to ensure their future viability and stability. In 1986, Patagonia began a program that makes it unique among corporate entities that care about fisheries habitat. Patagonia committed to donate 10% of profits each year to grass-roots environmental groups. They later upped the ante to 1% of sales, or 10% of profits, whichever was greater. Patagonia has kept to that commitment every year since, and placed a high emphasis on fishery habitat protection over the years, as evidenced by the starting of the World Trout Initiative to specifically address trout habitats and populations, the 1% For the Planet program that supports local grass-roots projects which include fishery habitat projects, and the Conservation Alliance – a program that enlists other funding sources to participate in wildlife and fisheries habitat projects."

Synopsis:

SECOND ANNUAL NATIONAL FISH HABITAT AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Award Ceremony to be held at Jim Range National Casting Call, Winners include: EPA, Patagonia, Project SHARE, LLI-University of Wisconsin-Extension Lakes

(Washington, DC) – A group of the nation’s leading authorities on aquatic conservation, the National Fish Habitat Board, will honor two exceptional organizations and two individual champions in aquatic resource conservation at the Second Annual National Fish Habitat Awards ceremony on April 27, 2009 at the Jim Range National Casting Call hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association.

From nominations submitted by the hundreds of organizations that comprise the National Fish Habitat Partners Coalition, the awardees demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to fish habitat conservation, science and education. They are leading by example to help resolve the nation’s most significant fisheries problems.

For 2009, the selection committee added an additional award category, Extraordinary Action category in support of fish habitat, bringing the total number of awards to four. Also, in honor of the recently passed Jim Range, who tragically lost his battle with cancer, the selection committee has re-named the Exceptional Vision Award in Jim’s honor. The award will now be the Jim Range Conservation Vision Award. “Renaming the Award in honor of Jim, is just a small token to honor all that he has done in Washington to support fish and wildlife conservation. The Board found it fitting to rename the award and there is no better venue to honor Jim than Casting Call.” said Kelly Hepler, National Fish Habitat Board Chairman. “Jim was a true pioneer for conservation and was a true visionary when it came to fish and wildlife related issues.”

Pack Vest Revisited!

Patagonia introduced the Pack Vest in 1996 and holds the patent on this modular backpack and utility vest concept . This award winning product continues to provide straight forward, reliable functionality even though it hasn't changed all that much in over a decade. The latest version of this piece of gear has some crossover functionality with the Stormfront Pack. The front vest component connects to that as well. What inspired the post though was that I saw reviews of the Sun Mask and Pack Vest in Steve Schmidt's Western Rivers March newsletter that I wanted to share. Here's what Steve wrote about the Pack Vest:

"Over the three decades I’ve been seriously chasing fish with a fly rod, I’ve not found a more versatile vest than this. For 2009 it’s been revised, and it's better than ever. It can be either a very light and perfectly functional vest, or a vest with a comfortable pack on your back for carrying rain gear, camera, lunch, water, etc…or it's just a very good backpack for wherever you may wander. For the money, considering the cost of a good vest these days, it’s also a great value at $180.00 (US Dollars)"

Visit the Patagonia web site to learn more about the Pack Vest.

Once again, thanks to Steve and Way Upstream for a great post.

The Divider Series - Live And Direct

From standing waves to blue-water wind chop, there's one universal truth: Watercraft decks get wet. Hence, the award-winning Great Divider and new Sub Divider. These soft-sided gear cases efficiently organize and protect everything a waterman needs. They are built from 840-denier nylon with a polyurethane coating on both sides and patented molded top and bottom "pans" for waterproof protection even in standing water (up to the #10 reverse coated zipper). Welded seams eliminate leakage. Shock-absorbing high-density foam gives these gear cases structure and can be removed for cleaning or to create an occasional cooler. Inside, foam dividers can be arranged in multiple configurations. Transparent pocketing makes locating things easy plus the end pockets are removable and are excellent for organizing small items. Access through the highly water-resistant zipper is aided by a new t-grip plus we've eased the corner radii for a little smoother zipper action. The Dividers are now more streamlined than ever with a single, widely adjustable, removable handle/split shoulder strap. Both the Dividers make great air travel carry on bags for sensitive equipment. Note that the time tested Great Divider fits into the base of the Freightliner Max as well as the newer Freewheeler Max. You'll find the Guidewater Duffle collection to be Divider-friendly too.

Photos by Rene Braun

Thanks to Steve and Way Upstream