What is the monster in Cloverfield?

If you've seen the "Cloverfield" commercials then you know it's some kind of monster movie, but what kind? On the surface, it seems like another Godzilla movie, but when you really check it out the truth points elsewhere. (I know, I know, this is a fish blog. You'll see how this relates in a moment.)

In the commercial something big is obviously wreaking havoc, tossing the head of the statue of Liberty into the city street. However, there's also a brief clip of hazard suit garbed guys escorting a woman behind a bio-screen type curtain. This is what made me think that there is a main monster, but that it was created by some sort of parasitic infection. Then as I found stuff online about the movie, I've settled on this idea: the monster is some large sea creature somehow infected by [whatever], which comes ashore and somehow infects others. Something that big ain't gonna infect people by biting anymore than a Musky could infect a minnow by biting.

The big boy is an infected Blue Whale or Killer Whale which somehow mutates into being able to motivate across dry land, and pustules on it's skin allow the infectious parasites to escape. That's what I'm thinkin' anyway.

I found a cool 5 minute preview at a site discussing the movie, where I later saw a picture someone had drawn of what the creature will look like, and lo and behold, it has the head of a whale!

Merry Christmas!

Hi fish folk, I just wanted to take a moment and wish you a very Merry Christmas in the name of The Savior Jesus Christ. I hope yours brings Him home to you!

Do you have video of your hunt?

Are you a photog who has good video of your outdoor experience? Check this out from PA Back Country:

Have you ever thought it would be great to showcase some of your outstanding video from past hunts or even just wildlife videography you have acquired over time? Pennsylvania Back Country would like to give you that opportunity to display your video to a national audience. We are currently looking for home video of hunts or wildlife involving deer, bear and turkey. The only restriction is that we ask it be taped in Pennsylvania. The video can be funny or serious, however we do request that it follow all hunting ethics. If your video is used on “Pennsylvania Back Country” we will mail you a special gift in appreciation.

These guys are a class operation all the way 'round. I had the opportunity to film a fishing segment with them and it was great fun while remaining completely professional the whole time. Check them out here, and let me know if you submit some video, I'd like to see it too!

Fishing on YouTube!

There's plenty of stuff to run from for various reasons on YouTube. If you look carefully though you can find some neat stuff. Even with the good clips you have to beware of the moronic/crude comments that show up to drag down every comment thread. The other day I was researching some fishing lures and came across this very interesting video. It's an unusual technique called noodling and you shouldn't hold your breath waiting for me to do it. I kinda like having all ten fingers.

A great floater/slider fly

I just tied a bunch of these for a fly swap at Fly Tying Forum and I thought I'd share a pic. These guys work really well as a crippled minnow. It lies flat in the water (one eye up, one eye down) because the hook is sideways instead of up-and-down, and the synthetic hairs create great follow-up motion. The shine down the middle is just a piece of flash material.

Cast, sit... twitch-twitch...pull...twitch...KA-BLAMMO!!

Dead waders

[Hmmmm... maybe not the most accurate title ever...]

I see conversations all the time online, and I hear them in the bait shop, from guys who've spent hundreds of dollars on their chest waders because anything less would mean cheap, low-quality waders that would fall apart if a gnat sneezed on them. I'd laugh inside every time because my less than $50 Gander Mountain brand breathable chest waders have carried me through nearly 5 years of trouble-free wading through water, mud, weeds, down rocky banks, up two trees, over thousands of miles of highway (I put them on before I leave the house in order to save time), into a few pizza shops, innumerable trips into bait stores and fly shops, and probably have become my most often worn article of clothing.

So that's why, when I felt the sudden rush of cold hitting my left ankle last week, I was hit a very real sadness. I knew their time had come.

I was wading the shallow edge of a deep pool on the Allegheny River, casting minnows to some very cooperative Smallmouth Bass. It was a Grey day, and I was bundled up against the cold. A denim jacket, two sweatshirts and a hoodie covered my upper body, and beneath my treasured waders I wore only sweat pants.

I'd caught a number of fish and was delicately poised between 3 boulders, about calf deep. I'd wedged my right foot between two of the boulders, and rested my left against the base of the other. I was slowly retrieving my minnow while admiring a flock of gulls coasting out over the river, calling to each other over and over again, when the top of my left ankle turned to ice! My instant fear was confirmed in less time than it takes to tell, as that icy grip spread across my ankle and down my heel.

My heart sank as I realized that, with my love of wading, my fishing year was coming to a serious postponement, if not end. I left about an hour later and drove home dispirited to say the least. I stood in my kitchen prying off the stockingfeet of my waders, exposing my now certified wet stocking foot.

I briefly pondered repairing the leaky foot, but quickly realized two things: they were inexpensive when new and this could be my excuse for a new pair!

I could make the effort to repair them. I have repaired neoprene waders before, and every blood stain, scratch and smell in these things has it's own unique story. However, if memory serves, they cost me about $40 and that's real close to the tipping point of the "repair and spend labor-hours/spend a few dollars for a new one" value.

I think the toughest part is that I'm a sentimental kinda guy. I dig the idea of looking at a pair of old waders, covered in patches and various stains, and reliving the stories that put each blemish in place. You can imagine the difficulty I have with the manufacturing standards of today. "Build it as cheaply as possible out of the cheapest materials and they can buy another one in a year" is the mantra of so many companies these days that fewer and fewer people even expect high quality out of the material goods they buy now.

Many kids aren't taught how to repair things anymore. "Smaller and lighter" have somehow become adjectives denoting quality, when just over a decade ago the terms large and heavy indicated something made with quality ingredients and a portion of pride. But, I digress...

I haven't checked wader prices recently, but I could probably get another pair of the same brand for nearly the same price. I can't justify the expensive (over $120) pairs on my budget, although I seriously want a pair with the built-in fly (no explanation needed.)

So, fix-'em or buy a new pair seem to be my best options. Which would you do?

Hello there!

Hi, many people call me luvinbluegills, and I like fish.

I'm a Christian guy who likes fishing and every kind of fishing, I read books on fishing and fly tying, I tie flies (I'm a 2-time fly tier of the year contest winner), I like cooking and eating fish, I like aquariums, I like the nature shows that focus on living things under the water and pretty much everything to do with fish. So what's this, yet another blog, gonna be about?

My various adventures with fish!