FoulHooked...(how'd that get there?)

"It's like GE's numbers are from Mars and EPA's are from Venus," said one of the members of the panel, environmental scientist Timothy Thompson. ...or was it... ... EPA's description of the PCBs left in the river "were from Mars, and GE's figures were from Venus. No matter. Point is, GE still hasn't given up on giving up. I hate to sound cynical, but the recent reports make it look like their mindset all a long has been "if we make a big enough mess of this, maybe they'll have to let us off the hook." Big Mac is headlining the sports news with sustained contrition these days. Sure, it's more about the new jobby job than anything, but at least it's something. At least he's not still denying...er...ignoring. From where I sit, EPA looks more like Canseco every day. Sure, not too many people up there are happy with them, and nobody has really loved what they have to say, but at least they seem to be telling the truth. ...

Preliminary EPA and GE independent reports on Year 1 of the Hudson River dredging project are out, and they're something to take note of. The major highlights: -Dredging is dirty work -There's a lot of dirty dirt Neither of these is a real revelation, but they were two of the main arguments used by pro- and anti-dredging advocates. What are the implications? The antis were right, dredging mucked things up pretty good . Concentrations of contaminate in air and water spiked above EPA standards. Anyone who has been following the issue at all knows that dredging activities were suspended when downstream sampling indicated elevated PCB levels over the course of the season. We're putting people and the environment at risk by dredging. The pros were right, something needed (needs) to be done. All indications are, there's a lot more nasty stuff down there than we had hoped to see. It hasn't decayed, been buried or washed away. It's both a ticking time bomb and a slow do...

...or so I've been told. I don't buy it though. Might even go so far as to say; everyone should be so lucky. And in truth, many are. Find something you love, and pursue it to no end. It will bring you happiness. Passions need not be singular, exclusive of, or competitive with one another. For some it's a "passtime." Of course, to them, passtime does not suffice as a descriptor. Perhaps it is the love of another person, or many. Maybe it's creative, objective, subjective, active, passive...maybe it's sleep. Maybe it's god, or God...or the gods...or our study thereof. Philosphy, history...future. Babies. Babymaking. Cats. Supernova. TV. Drugs. Work. Baseball. Noun. Verb. Adjective.... Nobody shouldn't be obsessed with something . Better yet, some things. Life's sweetness is in caring. On another, sadder, note; fare thee well Coach C. For a select, lucky group, your obsession was mentoring and interacting with us for up to and...

SPEY NATION III IS ON THE CALENDAR !!! Unofficially...I may have to miss it for a wedding. But don't let that stop you. Good food, nice people, great beer, fantastic presentations and demos, incredible raffle prizes...not enough superlatives to describe. Hopefully I'm just misremembering the matrimonial date because this is at least as important. Spey Nation III only happens once in a lifetime...who knows how many times you will get married?

Check out LLBean's sale pages for some interesting discounts. I noticed previously that the Orion series of rods and reels weren't to be found on the website and that the reels were not available in-store; looks like they were discontinued?(I'm very late on this I guess) No idea of the details (some rumblings of bad blood between Bean and Loomis, their supplier), but you can reap the benefits with half-price Orion rods online (5 wt and 8 wt only available for $130 and $150, respectively, or half-price) or check a retail store if theres one near you. Bean's "top of the line" rod with their legendary guarantee for that price...think about it.

You know how sometimes (most times for me at least) you find it just a bit too difficult to leave the water? I mean, it's time to go, you know it, I know it...there's someone waiting, it's getting late, or dark, or light, or cold or hot, rainy or sunny, crowded or deserted, you're famished or thirsty, loops are getting ugly...t is for time to leave. But you can't. You're just not finished yet. Don't quit...don't even quit. Gotta finish out the run, or put that last decent cast/drift/swing together. Gotta get that one last rising fish in the corner to commit...or at least show him one last variation. Just one more... Gotta end on a good note. Never mind that your buddies are staring daggers into the back of your head from the running car or the lady is wiping your number from her phone. Sometimes you just need one more cast. "The Trip" still consumes me. Can't help it. Probably won't be able to do much about it until next fall. There wer...

I called out for a killer I looked for a knife I drank from this river It ruined my life I saw him comin' at me Empty and so cold I never knew emotion Till he caught me in his fold Part III; Last Days It doesn't take much to change the entire mood, outlook, perception of a trip. We've all been on either side of the tracks at one time or another, the beneficiary or victim to a minor shift in events that starts gaining momentum, for better or worse. Averaging less than one fish per four angler-days, our once bright armor was starting to show the wear and tear of frustration. Sure, we were having fun. To this point, it was a very successful vacation. It's hard to complain whenever you can do what you love for an extended period. In terms of an overall angling experience however, we were rapidly approaching failure mode. Hitting morning thruway-rush-hour at Rochester, approaching Syracuse, and then turning north, I wondered how much gas I had left. By the time the first Exi...