The Wired Angler - Bass Fishing Blog, Tackle Tips and Bait Making Advice

Lake Mead is Screwed

Most of us know that Lake Mead's waters are really, really low, but to see just how bad the situation actually is, check out these satellite images - the first is from 1985, the second was taken this year:

1985	2010

The lake is suffering from a combination of natural forces and man mad problems. The lake's levels naturally fluctuate, but a 12 year drought is kicking its ass. The second part is all of the water that is pumped out to Las Vegas and elsewhere exceeds the amount of water flowing in. And the demands are growing.

The scary part is that according to one study the lake could be completely dry in just another decade (here's a link to the study). So the question is: what can we do about it?

Read more:

"Why worry about Lake Mead?" on Boing Boing

I linked to this one before, but it's a good one: Lake Mead on GOOD.is

Aug 2010 article in the NY Times about the low waters

Official National Parks Lake Mead page

Some Striped Bass Spear Fishing Video

Last week Paul Young went spear fishing for striped bass at Block Island. Paul has shot numerous underwater videos that have been featured on the Wired Angler in the past.

He got video of this 39 pounder being shot. Paul also got a 51.5 and 52 pounder that weekend. All the video was shot using a Liquid image dive mask camera.

Paul Young with a 51.5 and 52 pound striped bass, get out the grill!

Tackle Warehouse has a new website

I stopped by today to look for something or other and hey! new website!

It looks great. Really clean, well organized.

Some of the cool new features: 

The "Video Vault" with tons of video

The ability to shop by fishing technique, like punching, drop-shotting, or swimbait fishing

They have a category for lure customization with eyes, rattles and also tools

Prostaff bios with their recommended gear (click on their picture to go to their info)

Take a peek: While you're there buy one of my new Pack Rats.

Tackle Warehouse site redesign

Introducing: Tactical Bassin' from Matt Allen

Matt Allen a well known California trophy bass fisherman who has also contributed to The Wired Angler has just launched a new, video-intensive bass fishing blog called Tactical Bassin'. He's got a few videos up already with  more to come, including this one showing a bass hitting my JSJ 10" wake bait. The funny thing about this particular video is that I was on the phone with Matt when this bass hit the bait.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Matt.

TacticalBassin.com

How the Male Angler Fish gets Completely Screwed

The sad but true story of the angler fish's doomed quest for love (along with many other awesome things, like "How many hungry weasels could your body feed" and "How everything goes to Hell in a zombie apocalypse") HERE on TheOatmeal.com

Two blogs dedicated to historic fishing gear

I came across two blogs recently that are both dedicated to old-school fishing lures.

The Van Buren Boys' Blog is written by the guys in charge of recreating the mid 19th century fishing gear for the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York. The group is made up of historians and craftsmen who are making everything from old-school reels to replicas of Victorian fishing tackle and making horsehair fishing line (the author says he's able to make 30' in 2 hours).

Soldering a replica of an 1852 J.T Buel lure

It's full of photos of their progress and interesting tidbits of lure history. LINK

The blog Fishing for History covers a more broad base (and it's where I saw the link to the Van Buren project blog) about all manner of vintage tackle and antique fishing lures.

He also has some great fishing news link roundups, old ads for lures and fishing accessories, and lots of pictures of weird old lures.

Here's a LINK to his blog

Video Of A Spotted Bass Being Hand Fed Crawdads

Once again My friend Paul Young was out diving and got some cool footage of hand feeding a crawdad to a spotted bass.

Paul Uses the Liquid Image camera mask for all of his underwater footage. These masks are surprisingly inexpensive and capture really nice clear footage. They will soon be coming out with a new HD version as well.

Mexican Pirates On Falcon Lake

Falcon Lake in Texas has a little pirate problem. Boaters that cross over to the Mexican side of the lake have encountered armed gadget stealing "pirates".

From the San Antonio news story:

"If you go too far across the lake and past the international boundary bouy, you are in Mexican territory and subject to attacks by pirates toting assault weapons.

"It is unsafe in Mexico. Don't go to Mexico," warned Game Warden Capt. Fernando Cervantes. "We can not cross over onto that side. If a boat goes across, that's it. We stop there at the line."

One man fishing on the lake Thursday, Lucas Garza, said he'd be staying away from the boundary. "We're not planning on going to that side," he said. "We just know there's no good news on that side." He and his friends have heard the warnings about Zeta cartel pirates ambushing boats on the Mexican side, operating with virtual impunity as they steal cash and electronics at machine gun-point."

What's really interesting about this is to see the different ways that people are responding to the story.

Comments from the San Antonio news site:

"If we don't secure are borders real soon it is going to be too late! A couple of helicopter gunships could clean up this mess. Just don't ask for any I.D.'s. We wouldn't want to offend."

"This is a great reason to endorse open carry laws here in Texas. You have a right to protect yourself."

"Arrrrr! Gather around Maties ! Belay that passive attitude and load the 12 pound guns ! We will toast them tacos and rip out their hearts before their fading eyes!"

Comments from BoingBoing.net where I first saw the story:

"The unstated assumption is that Americans are entitled to cross this border freely, but I don't think this is really the case. If the pirates weren't making Americans afraid to cross the border illegally, the Americans would be fishing in Mexican waters. Isn't that like poaching?"

"It would be interesting to see what the reaction would be if the situation were reversed, with armed bands of Americans waiting for Mexicans to cross the border."

It is also interesting to note that the story seems to kind of gloss over the fact that Texas boaters are crossing over into Mexican waters, presumably without passports or permission, which is a whole other can of worms, obviously.

Video here on BoingBoing.net

Trout falling from the sky

I just discovered a new blog that has a terrific introduction to the history of Rainbow Trout on the West Coast.

There's a new book called An Entirely Synthetic Fish about the introduction of Rainbow Trout into our waterways, that documents some of the ways that these fish were introduced by very novel means.

It turns out that in the 1950s apparently they decided that dropping trout from the sky into California lakes was a good idea.

"In one of the more surreal sections of the book, Halverson describes the origins of aerial fish-stocking missions, as surplus World War II planes and demobilised pilots were successfully redeployed in the 1950s to introduce the rainbow trout to previously fishless lakes, high in the California mountains. Even as you anticipate the disastrous ecological consequences, it’s hard not to be amazed by the gung-ho ingenuity of former crop duster and California Department of Fish and Game pilot Al Reese:

First, Reese tried freezing the fish in ice blocks and parachuting them in ice cream containers. Both of these techniques, though, proved dangerous and difficult. And so, one day, Reese and his assistants tried a simpler technique. They put fifty trout and some water into a five-gallon can and threw it out the window toward a hatchery pond about 350 feet below. They missed, and the can bounced along the rocks nearby instead. But when observers recovered the twisted metal debris, they found sixteen fish still swimming in the small amount of water that remained.

Ultimately, Reese and the team ditched the barrels altogether in favour of releasing fish that would hit the water “with a vertical speed of about thirty miles per hour,” in a scene described by observers as “a cloud of mist that suddenly appeared behind the plane, full of the barely distinguishable dark shapes of small fish.”

Read the rest here: The Amazing Allegorical Synthetic Fish 

"There’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead."

On the list of other watery hobbies we could be enjoying:

Apparently in the 60s it seemed like a good idea to dive into the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest and wrestle octopi from the watery depths.

In April 1963 the "World Octopus Wresting Championships" were held in Puget Sound, Washington. 111 divers brought up 25 giant octopus weighing in at up to 57 pounds, and had as  many as 5000 spectators.

I'd like to see the trophies.

In 1965 an article about the sport in "True: The Man's Magazine" they talked about a guy called the "Father of Octopus Wrestling."

". . He knew how to outmaneuver them, to outflank them, and to outthink them. He knew full well, many years ago, what today's octopus wrestlers are just beginning to learn--that it is impossible for a man with two arms to apply a full nelson on an octopus; he knew full well the futility of trying for a crotch hold on an opponent with eight crotches."

From Time Magazine circa 1965:

"Merely to minnow about underwater is no longer enough, and such sports as octopus wrestling are coming increasingly into vogue, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where the critters grow up to 90 Ibs. and can be exceedingly tough customers. Although there are several accepted techniques for octopus wrestling, the really sporty way requires that the human diver go without artificial breathing apparatus"

And this awesome illustration comes from a 1949 Mechanix Illustrated, from an article called "Octopus Wrestling is my Hobby"

According to them, this is some serious business.

"Like to wrestle an octopus? I realize it all sounds like a loathsome sport but it’s really more fun than hunting some poor harmless creature. When you wrestle and kill an octopus, you’re ridding the marine world of a treacherous enemy.

And you’d better watch your step, too. For there’s no such thing as a reckless octopus hunter. You’re either careful or dead."

Found via this site, which has lots of other good stuff, most of which has nothing to do with Octopus: Futility Closet