Category: Worth a thousand words…

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Ecology, Worth a thousand words...

Speaking of astacology

I never thought I’d see one of these critters on the river, but there he was this afternoon, feeling all full of himself, putting his mini-lobster claws up in a defensive posture.

Crayfish, crawdaddy or mudbug, whatever you like to call them, they're alive and well in the L.A. River.

What’s also truly wonderful about seeing crawdaddies in the river is that most species can’t tolerate polluted water. That means that sweet smell of treated water must be more than just a scent. True, we’d all be much better off without the toxic runoff that spills through the basin, but seeing these tiny creatures just adds to the hope — and to nature’s mystery — as a multitude of birds, and several different species of fish, continue to make the river their home.

If you haven’t been down to the river lately, make it a New Year’s resolution to go often. It’s a wonderful, free experience in the heart of our city.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Spots, Worth a thousand words...

Pass the Dijon
It's 94 pounds of carpilicious fun for lucky Brit Paul Roberts, who caught the purported world's largest mirror carp near Dijon, France. (Credit Y&M Media)

Christmas came early for Brit Paul Roberts. According to the Daily Mail, the bloke from Dorset snapped up the world’s biggest (caught) carp at Le Graviers, near Dijon, France. That’s big as in 94 pounds, so big it has a name on the local waters, “The Scarred Fish.”

To make the story even better, Roberts, a boat builder, witnessed his friend, Richard Middleton, pull in a brown fish, weighing 83 pounds only the night before.

That made the two buddies a double-threat — all in only 48 hours.

“As I was reeling it in, I saw what fish it was and then my legs turned to jelly,” Roberts told the Daily Mail.

But a quick bit of Internet reporting reveals that in June the same fish was caught at the same lake as — a 99-pounder! Maybe we should blame the Lap Band. Or the Daily Mail should get a better scale.

If it weren’t raining as I write, I’d grab my rod.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Worth a thousand words...

Worth a thousand words …
How many guys carry their own scale? Jim Graves does!
Worth a thousand words...

L.A. River gets some exposure

Under shameless promotion, get thee to a newsstand (are there still newsstands … ?) and buy the latest issue of California Fly Fisher magazine.

David Wratchford checks out his bad self in the new issue of Cal Fly Fisher.

My piece talks about history, Friends of the Los Angeles River, getting a ticket, and there are some beauty shots of guide David Wratchford pulling in carp.

See you on the river, Jim Burns