Rest in Peace, Barbaro

This is how I choose to remember Barbaro. None of those bothersome legs painfully testing the ground beneath. Flying. Unbeaten. Unbeatable. You were a special horse.

(Photo by Ed Reinke, AP)

Florida Wildlife

Well, not a lot of fishing got done this weekend, and no fish to report. But many photos were taken. So instead of a fishing report, here's a photo essay from the Sunshine State...

Why the long face? Pelicans on the pier at Flagler Beach. They didn't catch any fish either. At least not while I was there.

Royal Tern, same pier. I thought this guy looked like a candidate for hair plugs. If your bald spot meets your receding hairline, it's time to do something.

Is there a bigger dork in the animal kingdom than this guy? I think not.

We watched the sandpipers for hours...

...well, we weren't JUST watching sandpipers. That would be boring, now, wouldn't it. (Yes, I have been known to drink watery mass-produced American beer while at the beach. After all, you've got to stay hydrated!)

I had never driven on the beach before! But you can do it at Ormand Beach, north of Daytona, where I snapped this picture of my Fishing Transport Vehicle (note the license plate). It was pretty fun, a little like driving in the snow.

Also fun: This bar in Orlando where the bartenders danced on the bars and where I think there might have been some other band thing or something. Details fuzzy.

One more note about wildlife. We saw three bald eagles on this trip. Two in Florida -- one was actually eating carrion off the highway, I did not know they did that. The other we saw flying. We also saw one on the drive back, in Virginia, north of Richmond. I know they are making a huge comeback in the east, but it is ALWAYS a special occasion when you see one.

A Previous Life

Almost three years ago, I picked up a fly rod for the first time. My golf clubs have been gathering dust ever since. But Wednesday we're heading down to Florida for a few days to visit some family and get away from work and winter for a while. My father in law loves to golf and told me to bring the clubs, so I dug them out of the basement. Something else you should know about my father in law: his house is right on the Intracoastal Waterway. So I figured that golf bag has room for one extra club.

I'm bringing my 8 weight because the reel that goes with it has a non-corrosive finish that will be okay in saltwater. But I have no idea what kind of fish are in there, if they are catchable, or how to catch them. But it's definitely worth a try, so I'll bring some baitfish patterns and other streamers, and see what happens. What's the Florida state record for a manatee caught on a fly?

This is kind of funny and I hadn't thought about it until I hauled these clubs out for a photo. But it seems that even before I all but gave up the game for an even quieter sport, I must have had fishing on my mind...

Sketch and Release

Josi Etter has come up with a unique way to utilize her talents in both art and business. I have seen her work displayed at Whitaker's in Pulaski, NY while salmon and steelhead fishing up there, and it's beautiful. She creates wonderfully detailed paintings from a photograph of your fish, and she creates them life-sized. So if you've got a photo of a special fish and you're having trouble convincing your spouse that a fiberglass mount would look great hanging anywhere other than over the washer and dryer, a painting by Josi might be just the solution everyone in the house can agree on! Bookmark her web site, and I'm adding her to my list of links.

Photo of the Week

I came across this photo while surfing some fly fishing sites, this one comes from Alaska Adventures. I emailed them because I really wanted to know if this was real, if someone actually captured these sockeye salmon underwater and a big-ass bear onshore, all with one snap of the shutter. They have not yet responded, but if this is an undoctored photo, I'd like to shake the hand of the photographer. Very, very cool.