Harness your inner salmon goddess
Miss Norway, it me. Tying night success, updates from the alchemist's cave, and ten(-ish) fishy links to start your week with trout in the tabs.
Current Flowers of State:
Competing in the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand last week, Miss Norway, Leonora Lysglimt-Rødland shocked the world with the power of sheer animal (fishy) magnetism when she wore an epic salmon outfit for the "National Costume" part of the pageant.
Strutting as a salmon, then opening her filets to reveal beautiful metallic flesh and even the tiny bony details, Lysglimt-Rødland struck a nerve with her creativity, and inspired anglers around the world to wonder: Is she farmed, or wild? Does she have an adipose fin?
Even if this winds up being a ploy from some soulless megacorp pushing yucky net-pen farmed salmon, I'm feeling Ms. Lysglimt-Rødland's audacity.
We push relentlessly towards our fate, braving the deepest oceans, following instinctual truths against all odds.
"This river runner is a stunner."
On the myriad measurements involved in fly fishing tackle:
Understanding all the differences with measurements in fly fishing can feel like it requires a math degree, or some sort alchemy.
Dig in to understand the main measurements, how they work, and where they came from. And then, forget what you learned and just go for what feels right.
Thanks for tying!
Thanks to everyone who came out to our second Pheasant Tail Simplicity tying night on Friday! Folks tied PT nymphs and Sparkle Duns.
There was talk about continuing this tie-and-hang thing, with something like a standing monthly fly-tying night. I'm up for it if others are. At least through the winter. If it sounds interesting, hit this button:
Get the gift of tying gear this season
Now's probably the time of year to get the elves working on your fly tying vise or tool kit, if you're serious about taking the plunge.
I try not to make this another venue for "gift guides" or "gear reviews"—nobody needs more "Buy This!!!" junk in their inbox. (Learn more about my cynical and jaded worldview formed by years in the publishing trenches in the Current Flow State editorial policy.) BUT you can always just give me a shout if you're interested in Serious Commercial Opinions. I'm happy to tell you what's worked for me, and what to avoid. Just rely to this email.
Ten Foot Leaders ➰
Ten(-ish) fishy links to start your week with trout in the tabs.
Events 📆
Registration is open for Winter Term classes through PCC. There are just five spots left, so if you're on the fence, now's the time to get involved! (link)
In upcoming PDX event news, Portland Fly Shop is hosting Todd Moen from Catch Magazine next week at McMenamins Mission Theater. Todd will be screening a selection of films from Catch. Grundens will be there, too, printing and giving away custom hats. Tickets are $20, which is a steal. The shop is also having a pre-screening steelhead tips event with guides Jack Mitchell and Jason Osborn. (link)
Mindset 🧘♂️
"'The problems you see — and sometimes the problems you hear,' he says, wryly, as he adjusts the operational shaft, 'are not always the real problem.'"... "How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life" by Kurt Streeter in The New York Times is worth your click. (link)
Here's another from phys.org to include in a PTO request for that big fishing trip: "A new paper by evolutionary anthropologists...argues that modern life has outpaced human evolution. The study suggests that chronic stress and many modern health issues are the result of an evolutionary mismatch between our primarily nature-adapted biology and the industrialized environments we now inhabit." (link)
Environment ⛰️
Salmon are making it further up metro SF's Alameda Creek drainage than they have in 70 years. (link)
In 2018, the EU banned the use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides. 2022 surveying in France found insect-eating bird populations have increased 2-3%. A neonic ban in the U.S. would do wonders for our bird and fish populations. (link)
Just in case I'm chosen as the Cascadia representative for the Mr. Universe competition I should get started making my national costume: The ecosystem-building beaver. Read "Beaver-related restoration and freshwater climate resilience across western North America," published in Restoration Ecology (link)
Tools 🎣
What terminal knot is best for steelheading? Kait Sampsel asks fourteen west coast steelhead guides in Swing the Fly and gets (seriously) nine different answers. Leading the way? Non-slip mono loop knots, Turle knots for up-eye hooks, and improved / regular clinch. (link)
This link is buried in the Arcane specifications meditation, but looking at how the IGFA (the arbiter of fishing world records) tests tippet will help you understand the variance in the system. (link)
Technique 🤺
Over at Flylab, casting instructor and former owner of Blue Ribbon Flies John Juracek makes a solid argument that many casters try and learn the double haul too early in their development, and sacrifice fundamentals at the altar of line speed. Come for the JJ wisdom, stay for the embedded video of Joan Wulff teaching the DH. (link)
Game & Fish magazine goes on a bull trout safari and thankfully only calls out a few watersheds in Idaho as viable bull trout fisheries. The reality is it's tough to fish for bull trout responsibly, and I'd be happy if they remain an "If you know, you know" species for now. (link)
Conservation 🌲
The great Public Land Robbery continues, at a few different level. Former candidate for Montana governor Ryan Busse details what's going on across the policy map. (link)
🎥 The macro theft is one thing. But, for every big policy change attempted, there are local end-arounds. This week's video pick isn't a portal to fishy glory, rather an explainer of the micro-theft, that's the responsibility of one guy. Watch The Theft of the Lower Blue by Huge Fly Fisherman (link)
Community 🏘️
The Flylab crew also resurfaced this excellent profile of guiding legend Rusty Vorous from their 2002 guide profile book Castwork. In 2022, Kirk Deeter looked back on Castwork and wondered if there were any great guides anymore. I remember reading the Vorous profile when the book was first released. While it still holds up after all these years, it's almost as if it came from another dimension. (link)
More from Current Flow State
Here's more of what's been happening recently:
Nets are for protection. They protect two things: the fish, and the angler's ego. Read the CFS lowdown about net styles, the perils of netting fish for your friends, and why nets are an essential carry to make sure you've got it bagged up
Nick Parish
Nick Parish
Nick Parish
Nick Parish
Nick Parish
What do a legendary surfer, Hollywood director Christopher Guest, and zen archers have in common?
Nick Parish
Learning to cast a fly rod like Harry Potter uses his wand.
Nick Parish
Are Grateful Dead collabs the sign that outdoor brands have jumped the shark? A look at Simms latest, and the value of high-quality gear.
That's it for this week! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.
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