Redfish Fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

Redfish - Mosquito Lagoon, Florida
Redfish - Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

Quick note about my last outing of 2011 — what a great way to end the year! I fished with John Kumiski who runs The Spotted Tail, a guide service operating on the Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River and nearby locations around Cape Canaveral, Florida. We went out one afternoon the last week in December. A cold front had come through the day before and the water was discolored and the fishing reports were grim. But John put us on a bunch of redfish! I hooked three or four, and if my casting had been better I’m sure I could have had a few more, but the one pictured was worth the trip.

Virginia Trout Stocking Schedule Jan 13 2012

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

I am going out this weekend to catch my first fish of 2012. Only in the thirties for the highs this weekend? No problem. Like the Scandinavians say, “no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” And where to go? Might be Shenandoah National Park (and this weekend admission is free at all National Parks), might be near some power plant on a big river, or might be one of the places below.

This is a great time of year to fish for trout. Certainly the stocked fish are abundant (if you get there before they get taken) but also the trout are active so long as it’s not too cold. Murray’s Fly Shop reports hatches of midges coming off some streams this past week. Generally you can best find fish if you’re nymphing, a drawback bigger than the weather if you ask me, but it’s almost always effective. This cold snap is pretty new so our streams should still be above the dead cold that makes the fish really lethargic. And the best part is everyone else stays warm by staying home. I’ve often had entire streams to myself this time of year, depending on the stream. Notable exceptions like Passage Creek exist and will always have some folks fishing. I see a bunch below that are worth checking out…

Alexandria (City of)
Cook Lake (01/09)
Amherst Co.
Davis Mill Creek (01/11)
Pedlar River (Upper) (01/11)
Augusta Co.
North River (Upper) (01/10)
South River (Ridgview Park) (01/11)
Bath Co.
Jackson River (Hidden Valley) (01/09)
Bedford Co.
Liberty Lake (01/10)
Botetourt Co.
Roaring Run (01/11)
Dickenson Co.
Cranesnest River (01/10)
Pound River (Flannagan Dam) (01/10)
Russell Fork River (Haysi) (01/10)
Russell Fork River (Bartlick) (01/10)
Floyd Co.
Burkes Fork (01/11)
Fredericksburg (City of)
Old Cossey Pond (01/09)
Giles Co.
Big Stoney Creek (01/11)
Montgomery Co.
Craig Creek (01/12)
Poverty Creek (01/12)
Patrick Co.
Dan River (below Powerhouse) (01/10)
Prince William Co.
Locust Shade Park (01/09)
Rockbridge Co.
Irish Creek (01/12)
Rockingham Co.
South River (Grottoes) (01/11)
Scott Co.
Big Stony Creek(01/12)
Little Stony Creek (01/12)
Smyth Co.
Middle Fork Holston River (Marion/Chilhowie) (01/07)
Washington Co.
Beartree Lake (01/11)
Wythe Co.
Cripple Creek (Rt. 94) (01/12)

Fly Anglers Online Article Archive – A Great Resource

I was searching for a way to quickly thin some head cement so I didn’t have to drive to the store (a drive to anywhere from my house is not a short trip), and I stumbled upon Fly Anglers Online. The tying tips articles archive is a fantastic resource. It has tips for nearly everything, from making your own head cement, general proportions for dry fly components, how to store threads and tools — almost anything you can think of and a ton of things you never have.

Anyway, I ended up using some denatured alcohol to thin some lacquer based head cement that’s been here for two years. Hope I didn’t screw anything up but it seems to be working fine.

Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition

Salter - Brook Trout

Just got notified that the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition in Massachusetts is accepting dues and payment for limited edition artwork on their website:

Hi Folks, The Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition website is now set up to accept Paypal for annual dues and sales of the limited addition James Prosek print of the Red Brook salter. Please visit the SRBTC website for more information.

They also indicate on their website that they are “actively seeking sponsors and members.” It’s a good cause if you are interested in conserving this wonderful strain of brook trout, which run to and from the ocean and get quite large for brookies.

Virginia Trout Stocking Schedule Jan 6 2012

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

First Virginia trout stocking report of the new year for me. We’ve had a few cold days and now we have a couple days in the 60s, just in time for the weekend — go fishing!

 

 

Alleghany Co.
Pounding Mill Creek (01/04)
Smith Creek (01/04)
Amherst Co.
Piney River (S. Fk. and Proper) (01/05)
Augusta Co.
Braley Pond (01/03)
Falls Hollow (01/05)
Hearthstone Lake (01/03)
Rockbridge Co.
Maury River (01/05)
Mill Creek (01/05)
Staunton (City of)
Lake Tams (01/04)

EPA Implicates Fracking in Groundwater Contamination in Wyoming

Fracking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has for the first time implicated hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in groundwater contamination. Though hardly the last word on this increasingly common practice for extracting natural gas from the ground, and not a blanket indictment of the practice, it is a significant finding. This whole issue is heating up in the east, with Pennsylvania and New York at the center of what has become a well-known controversy in the Marcellus shale region.

My own view is that while it may be possible to do hydraulic fracturing safely in a lot of places, there have been so many allegations of energy companies contaminating groundwater and dumping the wastewater from fracking operations irresponsibly that it’s hard to feel confident about how safe it is. And I still don’t feel comfortable hearing from these companies that there is no reason to worry about the millions of gallons of water and toxic fluids being injected into each gas well since, as they claim, these fluids are put so far below the water table that this stuff will never find its way back up to contaminate our groundwater.

How many times have we heard from companies, “Trust us, it’s safe,” only to find out years later how wrong they were. Once groundwater is contaminated, it’s not easily cleaned up. We don’t even know where a lot of this water goes once it seeps into the ground. We don’t have extensive maps of underground reservoirs and waterways. How can anyone guarantee the safety of the waters we drink and fish without understanding this in much greater detail?

Be circumspect about all this. The brook trout that rely on all this groundwater are watching closely!