Goon Fishin'

@ Yo Gabba Gabba Channel Happy Halloween 2010

Complex equation

surfboard + reef + fly fishing = slight mishap

Photo courtesy of Corbinafly

Special Outreach Program

Stripers Forever is looking for a volunteer to work with their board on a special outreach program. They have seen numerous articles in various news sources about striped bass as restaurant fare and believe many of the food distributors selling striped bass and those people promoting striped bass as a food source are unaware of the disease issues facing wild striped bass and of their heavy contaminant levels. Stripers Forever wants to educate this group about the big concern that current fishery management practices are severely depleting the brood stock of large fish, and that the result is repeated year class failures and very few small fish in the population. Stripers Forever believes East Coast stripers are on a crash course for disaster and they want to take action to reach those people who might care but who simply don’t know the present day situation of this historic fish.

Stripers Forever wants to mobilize their membership to be the eyes and ears seeking out distributors promoting striped bass and to scour the news on a daily basis using the various search engines to find mention of striped bass in restaurant reviews, food columns, etc. The leads will be funneled to the designated volunteer who would then reach out to these people and provide them with the issues facing wild striped bass.

"The ideal volunteer candidate would be someone with decent computer and writing skills, an ability to think creatively to help find the proper people to communicate with, good organizational skills, a determination to help striped bass, and enough available time to do this work. 4 or 5 hours a week over the next 6 months would put a big dent in what needs to be done."

If you are interested in working on this please contact Brad Burns at bigbass@maine.rr.com to discuss the position.

Photo by Runar Kabbe

Fishing with Spinoza

Fishing with Spinoza is a seven minute story about two fuzzy friends, Jude and Ruby who are out angling for a legendary fish called Moby. While fishing they engage in a conversation about Hemingway, the movie "Wild at Heart" and the controversial philosopher Spinoza. During their discussion, Jude is snatched out of the boat and into the depths of the lake. Ruby jumps in to save his friend and a struggle between life and death begins.

Fishing With Spinoza from The Animation Workshop

Film by: John Kenn Mortensen
Direction, Script, Storyboard, Background, Animation, and
Editing: John Kenn Mortensen
Producer: Michelle Nardone
Music/Lightning Bolt Sound: Thomas Richard Christensen
Voice-over: Lawrence Marvit, Hugo Cataldo

Gone Fishin'

"Mr. Satch" and "Mr. Cros" recorded this 2 & 1/2 min. track in 1951.

Changing Seasons

Photo and illustration by Steve Stracqualursi

Spots Vs Stripes

Cadbury decided to create an animated, ocean environment themed advert to promote a game called Spots Vs Stripes. The inspiration for it all centers around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the goal is to engage the online community in a fun, competitive way. Unfortunately I can't comment on the "big game" but the short film is amazing.

Special documentation

Tarpon on the feed from Sam Root on Vimeo.

This 2 minute video captures feeding tarpon within a very short distance of the camera. Various types of birds work the busting bait patches while anglers watch with amazement. Huge silver kings slice through the balls spraying glimmering protein into the air. I'm glad the folks at Saltyshores.com had the mindset to grab the camera instead of the rod. This is special documentation.

Letting Go

Photo by Runar Kabbe Illustration by El Pescador

Public Service Announcement

NRDC Flix's Channel www.StopPebble.org

An Exploration

Artist, writer, and conservationist James Prosek made his authorial debut at the age of 19 with Trout: an Illustrated History, which featured 70 of his watercolor paintings of the trout of North America. Prosek has shown his paintings throughout the U.S. and has written for the New York Times and National Geographic. He won a Peabody Award in 2003 for his documentary about traveling through England in the footsteps of Izaak Walton, the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler. His book Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Amazing and Mysterious Fish, was recently published by HarperCollins. I was privileged to receive a copy of the manuscript and found the content to be fascinating. This new book is an exploration of a special yet "uncharismatic" creature but I couldn't help feeling that it was as much about a transformational journey for James as well. Check out the review in Yale Environment 360. You can read more about eels in articles that James wrote for National Geographic and Orion Magazine. Also attached is a video called eel•water•rock•man that highlights a unique individual named Ray Turner who has spent his lifetime harvesting wild eels with an ancient stone weir on the East Branch of the Delaware River. Take some time and review the eel topic further and consider picking up a copy of the new book. I think you'll find this exploration to be fascinating too.

eel•water•rock•man from Orion Magazine on Vimeo.