Trout Unlimited, still not just coffee and doughnuts; also Cabela's CGR review.

People are slobs.

I think we've exhausted the not just TU thing? No? Good. Because there was official TU coffee and doughnuts provided yesterday.

Well, munchkins, at least. Although I'm pro-munchkin, I'd have clubbed baby seals for a boston cream, dig?

Anyways. Monocacy Chapter sponsered their stream clean up yesterday, and the weather was rather uncooperative starting our day with torrential downpour... didn't stop multiple TU members from stepping up, along with a host of community service minded folks. We split up into sub groups, then were dispatched out by our fearless leader to various portions from rt512 down to, I think, Union Boulevard. Once the rain broke, it wasn't bad. I had one of the community services guys fall into place beside me, and we had a nice time walking, talking, and cleaning up.

George, if you should ever read this, I'm up to take you out for your intro to fly fishing, duder.

Pointless gear reviews!

So then, it ended up being a pretty nice day, with a fresh burst of rain to the stream to bring it up, only so it could fall back again. The rain broke, the sky was gently overcast and I bet fishin'' would've kicked ass.

So I went shopping, instead.

I'm being forced to visit FL in a few days, and my luggage won't accomodate my chosen lighter rod, and I needed a new one. Enter the Cabela's CGR, the Custom Glass Rod, a nice, and weird, thing to show up in a big box store. I like glass, I don't like Cabela's branded gear, but fuck it, sometimes you make your choices and pay your money.

But, is it really a custom rod if its off an assembly line like everyone else's?

Tying. You can't afford endangered shit unless you want to buy endangered shit.

Single step, thousand miles, all zen and shit.

Tie flies. Save money. Loose alot,  all that.

You ask around, and everyone tells you to buy the tools, exert financial discipline, and only what you need. A select few tell tales of woe, and others go cheap.

They're all right.

You can get going as cheap as you want tying flies, or you can go crazy. I went the latter, and it was all pointless, but fun. Really you only need a few basic tools, then the materials for the flies you want. Or, go crazy. Or, jump start, buy a crappy kit and then go back and spend too much the next month or two, anyways.

meh.

Summing things up, nicely.

Kid B gone to the doctor to get the cast off his arm; Kid A is at home watching Youtube crap on the AppleTV with me.

I put some Fugazi on, its about as child friendly as I get. I try to talk loudly during the bad words, though, coz I exhibit good and neccessary parenting skills. He's not so into it, but I can get him to shout out the chorus to Song #1 with me, that's good. He's not generally into hardcore, but he's down with Bolt Thrower, and thats pretty awesome.

Anyways, there's bad fan videos, y'know, a string of Innerweb sourced photo montages, and there's Ian.... and, well shit, he's old. I mean, I wasn't cognizent of Minor Threat during their actual activity, but I was a bonafide fringe member of the hardcore scene for the debut of Fugazi. However, I get to laugh at brash young  skinheaded Ian MacKaye next to old, bald and pudgy Ian MacKaye. The more things change, eh?

What's this got to do with anything, at all, in regards to the general subject matter of this blog?

Welcome to Open Season, SEPA!

Collateral damage.

Well, the trout season is upon us. Not that qualified anglers haven't been able to fish pretty much all year, but it generally announces the arrival of Those Guys at the streamside.

You know who I mean. Boat rods spooled with what appears to be 20# test, throwing enough hardware to equipment a Sports Authority. Swivels to snelled line, monster size 8 hook with globs of PowerBait and a couple of size 3/0 Watergremlins an inch above the hook. If you're really lucky, there'll be a giant red and white strike indicator bobber there to bring it all together.

Its not that I belittle them for the insane ways in which they angle (well, I do, but still, work with me), its about the absolutely barbaric way in which they destroy every living thing they come across. 

I dunno, but I find it inherently displeasing to see fish gasping their last with a wire clamp out their gill, or worse yet, the ones in a plastic bag.

Nor will I belittle the guy's who was 'pinning the Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem... OK, yes, yes I will. I mean, sure, he and his buddy were putting them back, which is nice and all, but really... you broke out the centerpin...for....that?! Talk about bringing a knife flamethrower to a gun fight.

Knotted, tapered leaders. An excercise in minuetae.

Amazingly, not all from Stackpole.

When I first started, I used the extruded mono leaders. I mostly made a mess of things, and didn't have a clue. Someone, somewhere, talked about furled leaders and I bought a Blue Sky furled leader.

It was awesome. I was sold. I rocked the piss out of those for quite some time, last year learning how to handfurl my own in a much simpler method. Someday I'll explain that.

However, I wanted to perfect them, and to perfect them I wanted to understand leader design better. To do that, you have to delve into the world of hand tied leaders.

So, after a trip to the store, I was ready to start.