Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).

So, a post about SOPA and PIPA on Bonefish on the Brain? What gives?

Well, I work and live in Silicon Valley and happen to be at a startup now. So, the topic comes up a lot in my daily life.

While I’m not really stealing a lot of IP, I do link to things like YouTube and Vimeo and I do actively look for stories from around the web. Now, I attribute the stories I find and I never post very much of it… I’m well, well within my rights under “Fair Use,” but SOPA/PIPA does make the world a little more scary for me and other bloggers around the web.

Here’s some information about how it all works.

[vimeo clip_id=”31100268″]

We’ll be back to our normally scheduled Bonefishing fixation tomorrow.

On a related note, a friend is formatting a soon-to-be-released ebook that features fly fishing bloggers from around the web, some of whom you’ve probably heard of (like, well… me, Michael Gracie, Pete McDonald, Davin Ebanks, Bruce Smithhammer and more). The SOPA/PIPA issue is really close to that good friend, so as a way of saying thank-you, I wanted to highlight this issue.

Since I just mentioned Kalik, I thought I’d write a little bit about the other beer I associate with the Caribbean, Belikin, the Beer of Belize.

Mmmm... good.

I found this review of Belikin:

Belikin Lager tastes pretty much like most tropical beers: slightly sweet with very low hops flavor and a clean finish, making it a refreshing beer you can drink a lot of in the tropical heat.

Those Belikin bottles are heavy.  They weight more than any bottle of beer I’ve ever encountered.  The bottles are heavy, but don’t hold that much.  9.7 ounces, meaning you can put away quite a few. When my buddy Shane and I were down at El Pescador we put away enough for the bar tab to be over $300.

Crafty.

Belikin isn’t the kind of beer I’d drink if I were some place other than Belize. I am partial to Nut Brown Ales… Newcastle, Downtown Brown, 20″ Brown, Moose Drool.  However, I count myself lucky to drink a Belikin, because it means I’m in Belize and there is a prospect of a grand slam around the corner.

I do love some Kalik.  It means I’m in the Bahamas.

Now, this guys is saying “Kal-eek” but I’ve only heard the locals say “Kal-ik.”

Either way… it is a great beer when in the Bahamas.

I just read an article about a new bonefish stamp coming out in the Bahamas.  Since I love all things bonefish, I went looking for it.  What I found was a little more retro.

Now, people just have to start sending letters again.

The pic of the new stamp is a little less clear… but it is a bit more modern.

The season for shows, that is.  Anyone going to any of The Fly Fishing Shows?  My local isn’t for another month plus, but I’m looking forward to it.

I’m wondering if any of you are headed to your local shows and if so, what are you looking to go for?  Fly tying, cast a new rod, talk to one of the legends they roll out?

I’ve loved these shows for a long time.  At first there was the Sportsman’s Expo, but that kind of died out here and it has been replaced by The Fly Fishing Show. The fly specific show has been a good format and it has grown in popularity.

I mostly go to the show to see old friends.  Having been a guide for a very brief time I still have good friends that I like to catch up with. Nice to see a new rod or two and turn the new reels over.  There aren’t really many deals to be had and I don’t make big purchases, but it is fun to see all those rods all lined up, looking new and expensive.

So… use the comments section to say if you are going and why you go. Love to hear your thoughts.

Well, that was just about the longest I haven’t updated the blog in about a year. So… where was I?

I was up in Montana for a second Christmas with my girlfriend and her family along the Yaak River. Stunning country and a great way to ring in the New Year.

In short, this is a very exciting year and I’m very much looking forward to it.

From the perspective of the blog, I think there are some good things afoot as well. Here is what I’d like to see happen…

• A very exciting trip is shaping up with some amazing anglers.  I’m low man on the totem on this one, by a ways, so it should be a really great learning/drinking experience.  That’s around April.
• I’m hoping to get 3-4 more reels to test.  Anyone with connections to reel makers who want to help get this to happen, please let me know.
• I’m hoping to do 6 or so more interviews. I’m always open to suggestions for folks to talk to.
• I may end up with a second saltwater-type trip later in the year, but this might not be so much of a fishing trip as a special kind of family trip… more on that in a few months.
• I hope to sneak a trip in to San Diego to catch a California Bone and maybe a trip to Florida, if I can swing that on the end of a business trip.
• I should tie about 300 flies.
• I should give away about as many… and I need some help figuring out a good plan to make that happen.
• There should be an e-book released soon with contributions from me as well as Davin from Flatswalker, Bruce Smithhammer, Pete McDonald, Gracie, Bob White and more.  Should be a good read and I hope I can count on all of you to buy one two copies.

Alright… so… let’s get 2012 started.  It is going to be a fantastic year.

Wow… what a year 2011 was for me.

I started out the year as a stay-at-home dad with a very-much less than awesome domestic sitch.

In the span of 365 days I re-joined the working world, ended a 7 year marriage, moved into my own place, became a part-time single dad and found a very, very nice woman to close the year with. Upgrade.

I’m still a dad, just not 24/7.  That takes some getting used to, but I’m adjusting, as is my little sidekick.

From a fishing perspective, I had two trips to the salt. The first was to Andros South as part of FIBFest II. What a fantastic experience.  I’ll always be grateful to Andrew at Deneki for that opportunity.

Andros

The second trip was to Hawaii to close the loop on the past 8.5 years and I pretty much did just that, although the fishing was beyond tough.

I had some nice carp and some decent trout fishing in there too, but my days-0n-water saw a steep decline as I dealt with the plummeting Domestic Tranquility Index and new job at a startup.

As 2011 comes to a close, I have to say… I feel more excited about my future than I have in a great, long while.

Thank you for reading the blog and being a part of Bonefish on the Brain.  I’m looking forward to keeping it up in 2012.

Happy New Year and I hope you have ample time in the salt in 2012!

(PS – I’m in Montana as I write this and won’t be updating until I get back to Cali around the 3rd).

From Xmas –

Head east, past the cruise ships, tourist traps, and taxis, past the miles of coastline, muddied by the winds of the last fortnight. Small bays open unexpectedly around corners glimmering blue through vignettes of seagrape groves, crowned by black and white reefs. Spindrift mists the windscreen, blurring details. The horizon seems impossibly far off.

I’m glad that there were some pretty big changes in my life in 2011, but I’m also glad that some things stayed the same… like the Flatswalker blog still being awesome.