So long 2020, it’s been strange to know you.
Been quite awhile since I’ve posted anything here on SHJ. It’s been an incredibly busy & eventful year, time slipping by too, too fast. Unfortunately my idea to present SHJ as a quarterly collapsed, time constraints preventing me from putting together full issues, so have decided to remedy that by returning to a more flexible random posting. It’ll be more eclectic, looser. Of course, we’re not going to throw out the tying bench & that feature will remain, running at the end of each post.
Want to thank those of you who have made contributions to SHJ this past year. Contributions to this journal support Upper Columbia Native Fish Alliance (UCNFA), writers committed to stewardship of our section of the Columbia River in Northeast Washington. Proud to say our contributions have had some success in recent years, beginning with our efforts supporting the cessation of chemical waste dumping from the Teck Cominco smelter in B.C., & more recently kill limit reductions for native redband trout, reduced from five daily, to two (we’re working on getting that reduced to one). Our input has contributed to getting the daily kill limit lifted for invasive walleye & smallmouth bass. Research indicates that 50%-65% of upper Columbia native trout are consumed by invasive, non-native predators (walleye, bass, northern pike) before they reach maturity. There’s still a lot to do. My hat is off to those of you who belong to a club or support organizations that take up the responsibility of stewardship for our streams. In a time wherein so much is threatened or lost, many of us believe this to be a fundamental responsibility upon those of us who partake in these waters. Need something to do? Write letters to agencies who need to know your concerns. Choose a local brook or stream or river & become a streamkeeper on its behalf. A good place to begin is writing for reduced kill limits, catch & release & single barbless hook, artificials-only regs.
Sponsor swag was thin this past year nevertheless donator names went in the hat & some trinkets are going out this week. Again, thank you all. And thanks to all of you who read Soft~Hackle Journal. Wish you all health, success, fun, & the best in this New Year. ~Steve
Been saving this selection of interesting & informative articles for winter reading & food for thought. You guys my age & suspecting creeping dementia might consider reading all of it. Use it or lose it brothers.
Oneness.
Working for the donors.
Puritan outrage.
Maintaining our commonwealth.
Doing wellness.
The world-altering power of fake news.
Paul McCartney at home.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/paul-mccartney-interview?utm_source=pocket-newtab
At The Tying Bench
Considering some winged wets for next season. My aim is to build some patterns combining tried & true materials. Lots of things work. But consider those material elements that work most consistently.
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| Hook: #6 ~ Tailing: teal flank ~ Tag: blue tinsel ~ Rib: silver wire ~ Body: copper tinsel / hares mask ~ Wing: slate gray hen wing primary slips ~ hackle collar: brahma hen |
