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Angling his way to the world championships
Eventually the truth would have to come out and if finally did when Todd Oishi's wife Robyn grew concerned that the family's cat might have mange. Oishi, a national champion fly fisherman from Maple Ridge, never reveals what he uses to make his flies unless he has to. In this case, he had to let his wife know Tinker Bell was fine; Oishi had just snipped off a few off the cat's hairs in order to make a fly. As Oishi puts it, you can use any sort of feather or fur to make a fly, as long as it looks life-like. For example, he made numerous flies using the feathers from the three African guinea fowls he purchased for his wife's birthday. Sadly, they died a few years ago and their feathers are now part of Oishi's fly collection. It wasn't what he planned - he gave the birds to his wife for a birthday present, along with some jewellery - but it ended up working well for him.
Lampreys put a bite on lake trout
Lake trout, once the dominant predator on Lake Michigan, are so rare these days that salmon have replaced them as the fish of choice whenever a backyard boil is in order. While most longtime big-lake anglers admit today's salmon and steelhead are far more fun to catch, high-fat lake trout have a one-of-a-kind taste after being boiled with potatoes, salt and onions and smothered in melted butter. "They're a little better tasting, a little more moist," said Denny VanDenBerg of Kewaunee, who has been boiling fish for almost 50 years. "They might fight like a log, but then again, so do walleyes." Brian Frerk of Green Bay gives away almost all of the salmon and trout he catches while fishing with his 6-year-old son, Josh. He may not fully understand, then, the love affair with lake trout by those who grew up with them when they were the only game in town in the 1960s or who targeted them in spring or whenever nothing else would bite on slow days from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Event features fishing legend
The Blue Grass Chapter of Trout Unlimited will host a special event on Monday, Aug. 14, with fly-fishing legends Dave and Emily Whitlock. Dave Whitlock is a renowned conservationist, fly tyer, writer and artist. His presentation and fly casting demonstration will be held at 6 p.m. at the Good Ol' Days Farm, 544 Old Frankfort, in Midway. Reservations are required, and tickets are $30 per person. For tickets call Holly Phipps at (859) 351-7158, or e-mail: hphipps@ballhomes.com. "How fortunate for the world of fly fishing that Dave Whitlock was born in the right place, in the right era, and got started on the right road," wrote John Randolph, editor of Fly Fisherman, in 2000. "In a sport where the arcane is standard fare, he makes fly-tying innovations and new fishing techniques practical and understandable.
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