As evidenced in recent print publications, SE Alaska guides have discovered it’s best to net steelhead from the other side of the river. It is also advisable to thrust one’s subdued adversary skyward, which both pleases the Great Spirit and thwarts escape by initiating the vigorous application of centrifugal force
(see “lacrosse.” Homies appear to be goaltenders.)

You’re welcome. And please be sure to check back regularly for further installments of You’ve Been Doing it All Wrong.

Trending.

#SpringBling.

Game on, Fisha.

(photo from Matt Smythe)

The proper adjective is ornery.

Saving Bristol Bay for future generations

By Former Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) – 04/16/12 01:00 PM ET

We live in a time where jobs don’t exactly grow on trees, but in Alaska, it is fair to say that jobs grow on rivers. The Bristol Bay economy is threatened by the prospects of two foreign mining companies seeking to begin mining in the area, and it is up to Alaskans to protect their own economy.

Bristol Bay is legendary for sportsmen from across our great country. The sport fishing industry in Bristol Bay alone generates $65 million annually and supports more than 800 permanent jobs within the local community. Every year more than 60,000 visitors travel to the region for recreational opportunities. They come to absorb the scenic views, fish, hunt, and study the wildlife. These folks buy plane tickets, stay in local lodging, hire tour guides, purchase gear from local supply stores, and enjoy the local cuisine.

But all of what I have just talked about would be threatened by the creation of the Pebble Mine. The advocates for the mine suggest it will add jobs to the region, but fail to recognize that the mine’s presence could jeopardize an entire industry.

At its core, the issue is simple. The proposed Pebble Mine would be built at the headwaters of two rivers that feed Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska. The site contains a low-grade deposit of gold, copper, and molybdenum. Over its lifetime, the mine could produce up to 10 billion tons of toxic waste, which would be stored forever behind a series of dams in an area prone to earthquakes. If even trace amounts of this waste seep into the Bristol Bay watershed, much of the fishery and other wildlife could be seriously threatened.

The EPA has a rare opportunity to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to issue a narrow 404c ruling to protect local jobs and fishing habitats in Bristol Bay. The agency is currently undergoing a watershed assessment, which will be out in the coming weeks. If the EPA finds that Bristol Bay’s resources would be adversely affected by the enormous scale of the Pebble Mine, it could block the required federal dredge and fill permit.

The dangers posed to Bristol Bay are clear and abundant. Can science and engineering eliminate the risks posed by the Pebble Mine to Alaska’s economy? If the answer is yes, the mine’s backers should show how in a clear and unquestionable manner. If the answer is no, then mining companies shouldn’t be forced to throw away their capital needlessly.

I support protecting the current Bristol Bay economy and the environment at the same time. If a conservative Republican from North Carolina with a lifetime rating of 11% from the League of Conservation Voters can fight for this issue, I hope you can too!

Robin Hayes is a former Republican Congressman from North Carolina and current Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.  He is frequent visitor to Alaska’s Bristol Bay, where he stays at Brian Kraft’s Alaska Sportsman Lodges. Kraft is one of 40 sportsmen from 17 states in Washington, DC this week to express their support for protecting Bristol Bay and its watershed from the Pebble Mine.

Lifted in its entirety from The Hill’s “Congress Blog”.

The first installment in our new, “Things seen from the back of a driftboat” series:

Contracted while wade fishing for Texas redfish…

A) Ocean chiggers
B) Red state psoriasis
C) Larval jellyfish attack
D) I call bullshit. He got that from some bar hag
E) __________________________

Some new stuffis in the Buster choppe. First, a shirt that’s almost guaranteed to get you excused from Easter dinner so you can go fish. You’re welcome.

Also, because ALMOST nobody demanded it (hahaHA y’bahstids), the Izaak Has a Posse super multi-fun pack sticker. Four of these things just happen to fit perfectly all up on a standard bumper sticker. Cut em apart your damn self for extra fun! Stick em up on shop doors, your guitar, whatever, and enjoy a vague sense of wry hipness, iconographic whimsy, satirical virility or maybe mild chagrin.

(Yeah it’s a joke, and not a terribly original one. It’s another send-up of the Andre the Giant Has a Posse sticker. But it’s cool, trust us. That might be a lie. )

“I’m the guy next door with the ugly lawn. Yeah, it’s small and I should probably do something with it , but you can suck it because I know where my water comes from…”

- Compleat Thought

http://savethecolorado.org/

The story behind Bob White’s cover art for Pulp Fly:

Pulp Fly: Volume One is now available for Kindle, iPad, etc.

And to find out more about Bob White’s fine works, check here.

Moose River Streamer – Fly & Photo by Glista, mad genius.

PULP FLY: VOLUME ONE

Forward by Kirk Deeter

Cover Art by Bob White

Contributors:

Matt Dunn

Bob White

Davin Ebanks

Michael Gracie

Alex Landeen

Bjorn Stromsness

Ralph Bartholdt

Alex Cerveniak

Matt Smythe

Pete McDonald

Bruce Smithhammer

“In leafing through the pages… well, actually punching buttons to turn pages… I was impressed by the eclectic array of emotion and subject matter. From a candid muse on the “blood sport” appeal of fishing, to a witty essay on the “metamorphosis” of the fly angler, it’s all very gritty, honest, and entertaining work. And I’m pretty sure this “book” contains the first piece in the history of fly fishing writing to include Jai alai as a story element… which might be one of the few genuine “firsts” to happen in fly fishing writing in about 30 years.”

- Kirk Deeter

Available Now for Kindle. Click here.

Only $4.95 on Amazon. Because the second pulp revolution is upon us.

www.pulpfly.com

Why did St. Patrick drive the snakes from Ireland?

They were too drunk to drive themselves.

Courtesy of Life is Fly.

Took the day off to go steelheading.  Got to the Upper Queets Campground an hour before sunset.  Water was greenish clear blue.  Swung thru a run.  Nothin.
Woke up to rain.   Water color was good till about 10:30.  While fishing thru the second (last) run of the day  I saw the river blow out right in front of me.  One minute I can see my feet in knee deep water – a dozen casts later visibility is less than a foot.
Salvaged the day by ranging around the Park and adjacent forest lands.  Also let loose a box of .357 magnum.

note to self: bring ear pro next time you go fishing.

Tuesday, March 13, 7 p.m.

@ The Wort Hotel

50 North Glenwood St.

Jackson, Wyoming

Free admission, refreshments and giveaways including a chance to win a guided trip down the Green River.

Check out the trailer here.

While scooping out the cat box this morning, our IT intern noted a few curious search engine phrases that have landed folks on BWTF in the past couple of months.

SEARCH TERM (FREQUENCY)

Trash art (39)
Bigfoot sightings (12)
Santa weed (9)
Better not disturb mah fishing (8)
Rose Wylie (7)
London water park (6)
Bitches and weed (6)
Quotes about boys being pricks (5)
Tasteless asshole pic (5)
Yutub (5)
Bird leg (5)
Good weed v. bad weed (5)
Smartassery (4)
Meat slab heart (4)
Screaming reel alarm clock (4)
Dirty hippie (4)
Green butt piggy (4)

While we’re not really sure what any of this means from a search engine optimization standpoint, it does beg the question:

Who are you people?

“The Tongass is America’s salmon forest and one of the few places in the world where wild salmon and trout still thrive. Some 65 percent of  Tongass salmon and trout habitat is not Congressionally protected at the watershed scale, and is currently open to development activities that could harm fish. It’s time for Congress to better protect the richest resource of the Tongass: Wild Salmon.”

Tim Bristol
Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program Director

Fact: The Forest Service spends roughly $25 million annually on its timber program in the Tongass National forest, which supports about 200 jobs. By contrast, watershed restoration annually accounts for some $1.5 million spent in the Tongass.

Fact: The salmon and trout of the Tongass National Forest – through commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries – contribute roughly $1 billion annually to the economy of Southeast Alaska and employ some 7,300 people either directly or indirectly.

Fact: Many scientists agree the key to maintaining the biodiversity and ecological integrity of the Tongass National Forest is to protect the region’s high-value salmon-producing watersheds – entire drainages that stretch from ridge top to ridge top and from river headwaters to river mouths.

Fact: Despite the natural richness of the Tongass National Forest, some 65 percent of Tongass salmon and trout spawning and rearing habitat is not Congressionally protected at the watershed scale, and is currently open to development activities that could harm fish.

Researchers from the Alaska offices of the Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy and Trout Unlimited used state-of-the-art GIS and conservation planning software to identify the watersheds they consider the “best of the best” for salmon and trout habitat from the hundreds of Tongass watersheds not currently protected at the watershed scale. The 77 high-value watersheds they identified, comprising some 1.8 million acres, are currently open to development. Based on their outstanding fish habitat, the highest and best use of these “Tongass 77” watersheds should be for the production of salmon and trout.
At present, no-harvest buffers of 100 feet minimum are required on all larger Tongass anadromous streams (Class I and II). Additionally, about 35 percent of salmon and trout habitat is protected at the watershed scale on about 35 percent of the land base of the Tongass National Forest. The “Tongass 77″ high-value salmon and trout watersheds cover about 11 percent of the Tongass land base, but represent almost 22 percent of the total available salmon and trout habitat of the Tongass National Forest.

We know how development and unsustainable logging practices affect salmon and trout habitat. From California to Northern BC, we have seen the effects of watershed development undertaken with wild salmon and trout viewed as a resource not to be worked around and protected, but to be mitigated against, almost as an afterthought. The time has come to place salmon and trout conservation and restoration higher on the priority list. Trout Unlimited Alaska, along with a small but growing coalition of folks, is pushing to gain durable federal watershed-scale conservation measures for 77 watersheds deemed the “best of the best” in terms of spawning and rearing habitat for wild salmon and trout in the Tongass National Forest. In addition, a group of Alaska commercial fishermen, anglers, guides, naturalists and tour operators will be in Washington, D.C., this week (March 5th-9th) to advocate for more conservation and restoration of fish habitat in the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. Read the press release here.

Each year, abundant wild salmon runs return from the ocean to Tongass streams to spawn and die. In this process, these fish bring nutrients from the productive North Pacific Ocean to the much less nutrient-rich land. Because the ecosystems of the area are sustained by the annual salmon returns, the Tongass National Forest is literally “America’s Salmon Forest.”

Read more about America’s Salmon Forest and the “Tongass 77″ at www.americansalmonforest.org

Part of what makes Montana super-badass is that all streams designated as “navigable” in the state are in the public trust, not just the water but the streambed beneath. Additionally, the state has accepted a very broad definition of “navigable”. Due to a recent Supreme court ruling, that designation may now be in jeopardy.

Over the past decade, the State Supreme Court has liberally applied the designation of navigable and repeatedly upheld the public trust law when various wealthy asshats attempted to keep the unwashed masses off “their” rivers. A few years ago some jackass at the capitol saw this as an opportunity to make money.

In 2007, the state of Montana joined a lawsuit to sue PPL Montana, the private corporation that runs and manages the dams in the state, for $41 million in unpaid rent plus interest. Their claim was that the riverbeds are owned by the state, so any commercial operation utilizing that land (the streambeds) should give the state a cut. The rivers involved in this lawsuit are the Missouri, Madison, and Clark Fork. Multiple complicated court cases followed but eventually the State Supreme Court once again upheld their definition of navigability and had no choice but to find for the state. PPL appealed and, last December, the case went before the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week they issued a ruling that threatens the future of the Montana stream access law.

“To be navigable for the purposes of title under the equal-footing doctrine, rivers must be “navigable in fact,” meaning “they are used, or are susceptible of being used . . . as highways for commerce” . . .  it is doubtful that the segments in this case would meet that standard . . . Thus the State Supreme Court was wrong to conclude . . . that portages were insufficient to to defeat a navigability finding.”

The U. S. Supreme Court made one important addition to their decision. “Montana’s  suggestion that denying the State title to disputed riverbeds will undermine the public trust doctrine–which concerns public access to the waters above those beds for navigation, fishing, and other recreational uses–underscores its misapprehension of the equal-footing and public trust doctrines. Unlike the equal footing doctrine . . . the scope of the public trust over waters within the state’s borders is a matter of state law.” I don’t speak legalese but what I interpret this to mean is that the U.S. supreme court tried to limit its decision to the definition of navigability to commercial issues only, leaving the recreational definition in the care of the state. It appears, however, that their ruling may create the possibility of altering Montana’s stream access laws to be more like those of other states.

For now, our rivers (and the beds below them) remain public but this case creates a very bad precedent. You can bet that many landowners are licking their chops and preparing their legal teams armed with a decision from the highest court in the land. This is all on the Treasure State. Montana chose to press this issue over a paltry $4o million, knowing full well that the outcome might threaten our stream access law and a significant factor in our tourism economy. Shameful.

If you want to read the whole court opinion yourself, here it is:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEIQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supremecourt.gov%2Fopinions%2F11pdf%2F10-218.pdf&ei=C3xGT5SPLIGNigL6wvTaDQ&usg=AFQjCNGQQE8QGZIsFiu5hLDaoDqCoFRoUg