Outside Bend

Haha, sorry about the delay DaddyO, I was preoccupied herding cats with work last week. Flies will go out by Wednesday.

Just got the last flies, definitely worth the wait! I'll start mailing stuff out Monday.

Haven't seen FS's flies yet, but I don't think the mailman's been by yet today. I'll get everyone's out ASAP.

Caddis should be going, try tan-bodied Elk-Hair caddis and other dry caddis patterns in 14-18. Smaller parachute Adams and blue quills in 18-20 can also be pretty effective this time of year. Pat's Rubberlegs in the deeper runs and if the water is up, sizes 4-8, Pheasant-tail nymphs are usually pretty productive, Griffith's Gnats too. Mohair leeches and buggers are both pretty consistent.

I believe that as long as you have the confirmation number for the license you purchased online, you'll be set.

Thank you for keeping on top of this, Phil!

And even if we can't agree on why the climate's warming, I think most folks would agree our modern society is based on a fairly stable, predictable, global climate regime. That those regimes are being perturbed could spell trouble for a lot of different areas around the world- not just for wildlife and ecosystems, but the humans which depend on their services. Regardless of whether you believe humans play a role in climate change or not, it's important to devise strategies ahead of time which limit the damage.

Glad to hear everyone's safe.

Nice Pup Jason, looks like a good one! I'm sure you two will have a blast in the coming years.

Love that line

Nice photos!

No Gotmuddy, episodes of mountain building, volcanism, and other factors played a role- factors which don't explain the climate shift we're currently experiencing. The one that does is pretty simple: the CO2 present in the Miocene atmosphere was eventually sequestered in formations of coal, natural gas, oil, peat, limestone, fossilized dino turds, and other carbon-bearing deposits. The reduction in atmospheric CO2 brought more moderate global temperatures- the climate our species adapted to. The stuff wasn't interacting with our atmosphere, until we dug it up and started burning it. The same chemical compound then seems to be the culprit today, how it's getting into the atmosphere makes no difference. While it's all well and good that Greenland was warm 15 million years ago, we're only adapted to the climate of the last 200,000 years or so. We don't know what an ice-free Greenland means for our species, we don't know how it affects trade, agriculture, geopolitics....we don't know what it means for habitated areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, central Asia, Australia, the American Southwest, or even Missouri. But if we look at recent history- drought and wildfires in Russia which reduced grain exports to the Middle East, and subsequent food riots which sparked the Arab Spring- it likely won't be pretty. Point is, I guess, it's about more than polar bears and cow farts.

The one time I went I snagged a 15 lb flathead, and an undersize paddlefish. Does anyone know the mortality rate for undersize fish which have been snagged and released?

This. I'd argue MDC's job isn't to provide anglers or meth addicts additional employment or supplemental income, but rather protect the state's aquatic resources. The reason why paddlefish caviar is so valuable right now is because sturgeon stocks are exhausted- every single sturgeon species on the planet now receives some sort of protection, largely due to overfishing by the caviar industry. To me, that doesn't mesh with the Department's objectives to promote conservation and the wise use of resources. I worry that creating a market for paddlefish eggs creates an entirely new constituency- one interested in economics over conservation. I could see it opening up a whole can of worms regarding stocking rates, length limits, creel limits, etc. We've seen how tough it is to balance conservation needs with commercial interests in our wild sturgeon fisheries, in our big-river catfish/carp/buffalo fisheries, in our aquaculture industry...I'm not sure bringing on more economic interests is wise, nor whether it really does MDC, sport anglers, or the resource any long-term good. And their are tradeoffs for the fishery, too: with more anglers and more pressure there's a reduction in the total numbers of fish, the mean size of fish, and often, the quality of the angling experience. Maybe the money's worth it, but I'd be reticent to tell my kids I traded their opportunity at a 70-100 lb paddlefish for a thousand bucks.

While sea ice may be growing, the article omits that ice sheets on Antarctic continent itself are shrinking. It all depends on what you choose look at.