Anybody seen....

Stam hanging out in "Fins 'n Feathers" ???
Swear We saw him w/ a Bug Rod...

What disguise was he wearing? Aside from holding a bug rod, I mean.

Sg

1) Where rumors start...
2) No, Thank God...

Besides being a legend, Stam is funny as all get out.

I definitely recommend against the second ascot Stam, the blue and pink one. It could get in the way of casting for an experienced Spey caster, and for you, the result could be disasterous.

Sg

I actually thought about including an ascot with your recent request of feathery tid bits... BUT, there aren't many places to get an ascot in my neck of the woods, so you got lucky...or did you?

Stam:

As a former, self-appointed president of the Order of the Ascot (I was demoted when I failed to properly execute the legendary "Snap-XYZ Cast" at a recent Spey Pride gathering), I can assure you that any of the fine styles you selected for our review would be deemed more than appropriate. Salmo may have a point in that the second from the top might restrict your range of motion on some casts, but such problems can be overcome with practice, and so should not be viewed as reasons not to sport a piece of such magnificence.

I can't help thinking that it was not by accident that one of your choices (third from the top) was none other than the prized Golden Ascot, which is the trademark of only those who have achieved the pinnacle of Spey Pride.

I ask you, my brethren: could it be that we are in the midst of the Chosen One?

Stam, you know that once you join the Order, you can't drink Rainier Beer any more, right? Just thought I'd warn you before you take the plunge...

Fish on...

Todd

Well, it is about time. I have been suspicious for a while.

First the bit about "finding" a spey rod on your BC trip. You might as well just used the tried and true "It's not mine, I was just holding it for a friend" excuse.

Don't be ashamed.

Wow, We make 1 trip to Forks...and look where it goes...
Sorry Stam...We only had the matches, somebody else supplied the kindling...lol

Fixed that for ya.

This could get to be f'n funny if it turns out that the Legend that is Stam is because he is also the Chosen One, the natural leader and ruler of Spey Pride. It could take a while to persuade all the true believers over at Spey Pages that the "Chosen One" hails from a humble birth of Buckley, WA, who grew up fishing worms and then fish guts for bait, only to become the iconic symbol for all who wield the Spey!

Heck Stam, for all we have left of Puget Sound fisheries, you might as well Spey cast. An empty creel is an empty creel, no matter what we flog the water with.

Sg

Oh, and Stam, there might be some reprieve on the cheap beer. Among the Spey, there is a younger cult of Spey-di-cators, nymphers, who wield Spey rods, fish wrong but still catch fish, and drink copious amounts of PBR. I think they also listen to music called "metal."

Sg

The Chosen One speaks the truth. Fly rods I have, but Brad Pitt I ain't.

There are a lot of generalizations out there regarding gear fishing vs. fly fishing, and I think they add something to the fun of the sport we all enjoy, which in the end is just fishing. There are people out there who take those generalizations far too seriously in my opinion, and I think that must detract from their overall enjoyment of the sport. Fly fishing is what I do in most situations where the conditions allow it, but I have had a lot of fun fishing herring, spinners, spoons, plugs, jigs, and draggin' yarn through water that I could have flyfished this year with members of this board, and I hope for many chances to do more of the same in the future.

To Salmo's point, my brand of fly fishing (at least for salmon and steelhead) is not always "pure," whatever that really means. Sure, I'm partial to swinging for steelhead where I have a legitimate chance, but I'll dead drift yarnies and beads at 'em if they want to try and hide in water I can't swing 'em in. Whatever it takes. Heck, I heard what I thought was a great twist on the idea that flyfishing is the most "pure" way to fish from our own fp, who announced to a group of us fishing together last fall that he was "too much of a purist to use an artificial." Great stuff there.

For the record, on the off chance anyone might be interested, I will drink whatever's around if the muse (demon?) strikes. I definitely appreciate the good stuff, but after choking back a couple drinks of the not-so-good stuff, I tend to shed any prejudices and go with the flow, just like a dirty, filthy nymph rig through a prime slot.

Must have bought himself a one hander...

This is getting a little off topic, but speaking of fly rods, many years ago there was a small rod building shop in Carnation owned by a gentleman named Jerry Fleming. His brand was Totem Traders, which produced both fly and gear rods.

He had a great guarantee, if you didn't like the rod you had purchased, you could return it for any reason.

One day he got a complaint from one of his customers, that said the fly rod he bought wasn't any good and he wanted to return it.

Jerry asked him what was wrong?

It doesn't cast a number 8 nightcrawler worth a damn, was the reply.

When I was growing up in SE Oregon, the standard rig for crick fishing was
an 8-1/2 to 9 foot fly rod which we used dew worms, grasshoppers and salmon eggs
for bait. Many used telescopic metal rods, that wouldn't cast a fly very well but was great for bait fishing little cricks.

Stam's got a 4-piece smuggler! WTG!

Frankly, I think Stam will look better wearing an ascot than most people I know. And Stam, it doesn't matter what beer you drink. I drank Bud for a long time until I discovered micro brew in the late 80s. So I became something of a beer snob, not for the snob appeal, but because micro brew is simply better tasting beer than macro. Same with fly fishing. I didn't take it up and become addicted to it for any snob appeal. It's just that once I learned to fly cast, I realized it was the most fun I ever had standing up. And it still is.

Sg

Most haven't discerned that you're just applying these rules to fishing and life for the full enjoyment of same....

http://calvinball.wikidot.com/

Rock on!