Category: Quick mends

Short takes from around the Web.

Ecology, Quick mends

Quick Mends: List of toxic fish grows

Oh boy, not really the kind of thing you want to read on a Sunday, especially this Sunday, yet there it is: Tony Barboza penned an excellent piece in today’s Los Angeles Timesoutlining species joining the unlucky White croaker on the “do not eat” list.

The familiar "no dumping" warning, featured on sewers around the city (Courtesy ESLPod.com).

From the article: “In the so-called red zone that reaches from Santa Monica to Seal Beach, four fish besides white croaker … are now considered so contaminated with the long-banned pesticide DDT, PCBs and mercury that they too are unsafe to eat.”

Added to the list:

— Barred sand bass

— Black croaker

— Topsmelt

— Barracuda

This revelation, which comes from increased scientific scrutiny, not more dumping, led me to wonder about the Los Angeles River and its carp and other fish populations. The FOLAR fish study from several years ago found surprisingly low levels of toxins in the resident fish population.

Is the L.A. River, butt of many a poo-poo joke, actually cleaner than our slice of the Pacific Ocean?

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Quick mends

Quick Mends

Why is it every Friday I could be fishing — at least for a few hours — it’s raining in L.A.? Tomorrow, snow is in the forecast!

Anyway, while housebound, surfing for carp stories, I found this interesting piece from Cape Town, South Africa, on the blog paracaddis.

It’s worth a read for several reasons:

Fat evidence that carp are alive and well in South Africa. (courtesy paracaddis)

First, it’s a heroic tale about a skunk.

Second, the weather is frickin’ hot.

Third, the fishers talk about Czech nymphing, or short-distance nymphing, akin to “high sticking,” but with more flies (OK, that’s really an oversimplification. For more, read the link.)

In my short experience, I’ve found that on our river, if you don’t see them, you won’t catch them. And, well, even when you do see them, you need a stealthy approach. They are some spooky fish.

Enough of this. Sunday morning, I’m going to try out my theories — unless, of course, it’s still snowing.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Quick mends

Quick Mends
The power and majesty of nature (Courtesy Ron Dudley).

Thanks to Ron Dudley and Feathered Photography for this amazing sequence of our national bird getting a tasty meal of common carp. Wow, worth a look.

 

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Quick mends

Quick Mends: Carp patterns

I wanted to highlight this terrific thread from our Kernville brethren in the golden bonefish.

You've got yer San Juan Worm, yer Carp Worm ... (Courtesy ClauserFreak).

If you’ve been wondering if the GloBug is really the only fly to use to entice a carp, this primer will be very enlightening. By the looks of these many patterns, they aren’t too discriminating!

See you on the river,

Jim Burns

Equipment, Quick mends

Quick mends

I’m writing this while listening to Clay Dyer, a professional bass fisherman, who doesn’t have any limbs. Never heard of this guy, but found his video when I was researching C.A.S.T. for Kids. Turns out that this truly amazing fisherman is also the group’s spokesman. It’s based in Renton, Wash.

Children get a taste of the reel life through the Dan Hernandez Youth Foundation. (Photo courtesy Dan Hernandez Youth Foundation)

Closer to home, check out  the Daniel Hernandez Youth Foundation. Another professional fisherman, Hernandez started  “Meet Me at the Lake” to help under-served children get their first fishing experience.

Question: When are flyfishers going to start doing something like this  on our river? If you’ve been following these posts, you’ll remember I met a couple of kids a few weeks ago, and we all had fun fishing for carp.

At least we know that the equipment is there. Bob Milne explains the ins and outs of the Redington Crosswater Youth Outfit in an informative post.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Events, Quick mends

Quick Mends
You never know when a carp might be wondering if you're real or just hiding out.

Here ye, here ye!

Ready to tell some tall fish tales of the carp that got away …?

Give your wife and buddies a break, and come over to the Departures LA River StoryShare Initiative. Let’s do it by the letters:

Who: Councilman Ed Reyes, KCET
What: see above
When: Saturday, Dec. 4
Where: Opening of the new Elysian Valley Bike Path
To preregister, follow this link, or just show up!

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Ecology, Quick mends

Quick mends

Even if you heard this piece last night on New Jersey’s Passaic River, check out the video in which NPR  reporter Art Silverman talks about the rise, and fall — and hopefully rise again — of a waterway that jump-started our new country back in the day.

“She is crying out to be saved,” says the urban sherpa.

See you on the river, Jim Burns