Roman Clarkson

Today was a hot day, 95 degrees, and the humidity was high in the open but low in the creek areas.  It was refreshing to say the least.  I hit route N towards Blue Springs Ranch as far as I could go but the road was washed out and I could not make it to the public parking where the creek meets the Meramec.  Besides, there were a lot of people along the road swimming and splashing in the creek.  I went to the southern most public parking just south of Blue Springs Road and NO ONE was there.  Great parking place and I was the only one.  I when upstream about 100 meters with no fish in site and no bites.  I turned south and fished the next half mile or so.  I caught three fingerlings.  One was most definitely a rainbow trout, the other two were something I had never seen before.  It looked almost like a catfish, it had skin and a round mouth.  I am sure they were not sucker fish, some kind of catfish?  I caught the trout on a green scud with orange duck flanks for a tail that I tied, I was proud even if it was a fingerling.  Anyway, I won't be back for a while until I found out more about the area.

Peace.

Fly Fishing

So I sent an email to Whiting Farms asking how they treated and harvested their chickens.  Here is the email I sent and the one they responded with.

Love your products.  Lately I have been wondering about your harvesting practices.  How do you harvest your poultry and how do you dispose of the meat?  I ask because I am wanting to buy products that utilize the entire animal and not parts of the animal with the rest going to waste.  Any information you have would be fantastic.
Thank you and sincerely,
--
Roman Clarkson

They're response

Dear Roman – thanks for your email.  You ask some very good questions.  Because we must protect the feathers, we harvest with gas which is quick and more humane than most methods.  As for the meat, remember most of our birds are 45+ weeks old when they are harvested, (what is sold for food are 6 to 8 weeks old) therefore they are too old and tough for food, plus most are roosters which would be tough as leather so we compost the remains.  Dr Whiting is one of the most environmentally conscious people I have met.  The soil in this part of CO is very poor  for farming so he uses the compost for a small tree farm and for acreage that is cultivated. Also, the USDA will not allow the use of this meat for pet food.   We do everything possible to be responsible.  Feathers are actually a great resource for nitrogen which is needed in this area. I use manure and feathers for my home compose unit.  This is probably more than you wanted to know but be assured that not only is Dr Whiting a genetic genius, he is a very responsible citizen.   Thanks again for your interest in Whiting Farms.
Best wishes,
BJ Lester
Sales and Marketing Manager
Whiting Farms Inc.
bjlester@whitingfarms.com

Does this settle my mind?  I think the only other question I would have is are the chickens caged for life or free range?  I know I feel better about choosing Whiting Farm products.  I know now that I need to be more conservative with my materials.  Just because I buy a saddle doesn't mean I can just waste whatever I want.

Fly Fishing whiting farms, peta

I took my son fly fishing this Friday.  We did not catch any but had a great time.  I caught a couple of insects on film though.  I have been doing some research into the entomology of the Meramac but have not found a lot of information.  If you come across this and know some links please pass them on.  I need to check out the other insect on the right because I need to tie that as well.

Peace

Fly Fishing

I started doing some research on building my own bamboo rods.  Pretty neat stuff but I am not sure I am ready to make the leap yet.  Here are some web resources that I have found. (I keep adding to the list.)

http://hipwader.com/2004/building-custom-cane-fly-rods/1
http://www.thomaspenrose.com/tonkin.htm
http://www.2computerchicks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GW&Category_Code=RAWMAT
http://www.bamboobroker.com/order.html

Fly Fishing

I have been fly fishing for a little while and I have to say that I have gone through a lot of paradigm shifts.  At first it was all about catching a fish, then how many can I catch, how many can I eat, how many can I catch and release, how many, how many....

I finally got over that on my last fishing trip.  Probably because I caught so many I could not keep track of them all.  The real magic did not have to do with the numbers at all.  Rather it was the experience of fishing my own tied flies and an original fly by a buddy of mine.  I never caught a trout on a dry before and it was unbelievable.  Yeah there were a lot of them pooling together and it was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel but who cares?  Not me.  A close friend and I got to go to our fishing hole and just have fun all day playing "where's the trout" and winning.

This article by Tom Chandler touches on some of my thoughts about the "fishing game".  I would have to say that he poses some good questions about why fishing is the way it is and lets you come up with the answers. http://www.troutunderground.com/bodycounters.htm

Fly Fishing, Reviews

Several times a year a friend and I go trout fishing. We almost always take a day off in the middle of the week to go angling for trout. We prefer the weekdays because there so many fewer fisherman in the rivers. I have to say that I really cannot stand to go fishing in public parks on the weekends. The reason that I even started fishing for trout was to experience the art of fly fishing and simply enjoying the great outdoors. I just find it hard to enjoy relative peace of nature in a park with a hundred other anglers all vying for the same trout in the same one mile stretch of river. I mean really, can you image trying to catch a fish while someone down the river, just out of the corner of your eye, is catching a fish every few minutes. What pain! Hurray for the guy, but what about me. What about my fish, my fishing experience? I guess I will get over it and just keep looking for some new holes.

Fly Fishing

With the Meramac at flood stage we are have to choose an alternate fishing hole.  Here is the location to a great trout ranch Rainbow Trout and Game Ranch, Inc. and their link is web site.

Fly Fishing