gesture

some old digital work, just for fun...

the same idea, learning from the land; from the people live close to the nature.

Food testing - Polish edition!

This is another Non-flyfishing related post! Be aware : )
but.. who can resist the calling of delicious food?! Since AD move in to our lab, and as I strategically make the family to live not more than 50 yards away from my house, I am so fortune to get the opportunity to take a glimpse of the food art from Polish people. Every time I visited AD and GS(AD's wife, a.k.a hungry terminator!), there is always fabulous food waiting for me, weather it is a fresh salad or a delicacy dish with beautiful decorations. They are always eye opening! If you guys allow me to speak for Polish food depends on those several month's experience.. Polish food are really emphasis on the natural flavor of freshness of the material.. fresh, smooth and full of natural energy (hmmmmm, I can hear the potato salad and tomato soup are calling me!). As a food lover and a amateur cook enthusiast. I have to say I absolutely love the Polish food! So far we have visited several restaurants together,I really enjoy talking about food and cooking with GS and AD; And also enjoy watching Stash gulping the delicious food! : )

field research with AD

it's summertime, 90'F and the temperature keep climbing up and challenging the 100F scale every afternoon. still, it's really great to put my feet back to the field. As I mentioned before I am a Ornithologist (biologist study birds). I do a lot of different things with birds, obviously... : ) the reason I did not mentioned it here much is because I tend to maintain this blog in a way that not talking about work... something other than work... but I guess it is hard to separate work and leisure time (sometimes). A good friend of mine, a professor from Poland - AD come to our lab in this past spring, he is a researcher studying plumage color in birds and how the color change depends on the external factors. General speaking, he is interested in why color changes overtime. It sounds easy to understand right? your t-shirt color will fade overtime, because the pigment might been washed out, sunlight might destroy the texture of the cotton or pigments in side it. Or simply due to other stain. It is! Like your t-shirt, birds' plumage has many different kind of textures and many kind of pigments and structure organization to generate the color we see. However, different than t-shirt user, birds has very interesting behaviors to protect their plumage and plumage color. Put this color fading in to it's environment and evolutionary context, the experiments become so fascinating to us... (ok, maybe too much of science, I will talk about it later...)

Here is some photos I want to share here, we had a great fun doing the field work together, it is about measuring plumage color in eastern bluebirds...

family AK trip

Images Of Western Australia's Kimberley from Michael Fletcher on Vimeo.

I did not go... but they managed to take some photos for me to drool! a lot of spectacular glaciers, salmon, shrimps crabs and awesome seafood!@@ eh...AK... I will be there soon! I promise! : )

fiberglass water - chewacla park

a creek full of energy!

"glass" water with a soulful reel

A tiny creek with a lot of green leaves are always has it's special place in my heart. I am lucky enough to have several of those tiny creeks around my house. This very one is located in a state park, just about 5 minute away from my desk. It's my favorite "fiberglass" creek. As you can tell those fish are always eager to test the "chewiness (a way of describing the spring action)" of a yellow rod, also their color is a perfect match with the yellow blank. It is a very soulful fishing! : ) I need it very bad on this week, because everything went wrong in the lab... "well... you got to enjoy those kind of black days because there are not many out there" I told myself with a positive attitude... and I remembered a voice had told me "when you are on the water, you just focus on fishing". That's right! I was so focus and so calm in this quick fishing trip. The tree the water just calm me down... needless to say some surprise actions from the #14 softhackle!


Sometimes I looks up, look for the light, the positive energy on top of my head : )

a little surprise from the 7x #14 softhackle! Thank you bass! : )

FIFA 2010

hell yeah!! great games..(USA 1:0 Algeria) (Japan 3:1 Denmark) two day in a row! : )

good time!

fish + man

fishman is a man who looks like a fish, but think like a man...
fishman can hold his breather so long that he even can take a nap before he take another breath... he is the man like to dive, when he dive, he like to listen... listen to the bubbles came out from his mouth occasionally. Or when it become so quiet... he searches the most distant sound he can pick up from the sea floor... maybe is a sound from a shrimp that walking through...(to be continued)

good causes

what one individual could do? could be a lot.. good will and good causes are what we should live by...

happy is...

feel a bit uptight lately?

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.

check out this video and this blog...love the fair use statement in the blog! a fun project of lip dubbing. I remember last time I had a lot of fun doing this with friends, and it was a opera!

Yes, being alive makes me happy...

What makes you happy? - shot on 5DMKII from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

saturday fishing..

Saturday Striper Fishing from yuhina on Vimeo.

a quick relax in the Saturday morning, really nothing to report...
The most important thing is probably to try out Ed's dry line set up in this 6/7 Dredger. Ed is kindly enough to sent out a note to help me adjusting the finesses dryline skagit setup (see below for the original note from Ed (modified)). All I have to say is WOW (again)...I REALLY appreciate the new finesse adjustment! This is such a wonderful line to cast, I feel a lot of load, yet, the line just zoom out there with accuracy and delicate. It's powerful and accurate. Have a lot of "penetrations". I really can't ask more! Thank You! Ed. This is so cool and so fun to cast this rod! (Note, I did not video tape this rod in casting though... the rod in the beginning of the video is a different rod.)

"...I noticed your quest to find a "finesse" approach for your Striper fishing with streamers near-surface. You might want to try this: make a 5 to 6 foot long floating tip that weighs about 50 to 60 grains (mine was cut from the front end of a #9 floating bass bug taper). Loop this on to the Skagit belly that you cutback for the Dredger, along with a 10'-12' tapered mono leader. Use sustained anchor technique casts, but be sure and back off on the speed/power used during the Sweep phase as compared to that of casting sinktips. This rig speedily zips 1" to 3 1/2" unweighted streamers and up to 3"ish weighted streamers really well. And, if you make the aimpoint for your forward cast about eye level ABOVE the water in the target area, the fly will land without much commotion. Keep in mind that this setup is aimed at casting steamers and such and casting smaller stuff like trout soft hackles would require a different line.
Cheers!
Ed"

Wild Steelhead on the Spey

Northwest Flying Fisherman Season 1 Ep2 Deschutes River from Scott Gribble on Vimeo.

the swing, the feel of a subtle take... the film capture the moment...

Wild Taiwan Masu

Wild Taiwan Masu from yuhina on Vimeo.

My brother Yang CH sent this video to me. It's really great to see the fish is doing well... the conservation work really took off lately and have expand their current ranges to several historical habitats... just thought you might like to see those underwater footage... Czech nymphing tactic? : )

Master Instructer - Ed Ward - The Man

Lately, I have been cutting and splicing different lines to test different casting styles, but mostly was concentrated on the skagit casting - Ed Ward Style. Why Ed Ward Style... because it give me the most trouble in learning and I am sure this would be the most powerful cast I ever learn in the future... see my previous post LINK. Briefly, Ed Ward's Style is more focused on the "centrifugal movement", in my words it is utilized the angular momentum principle to generate a incredible power from a limited space. Brilliant! The idea just brilliant! I still remember my high school physic teacher told us how brilliant is the idea of angular momentum application in the sport of disk throwing... The circular movement not only conserve all the power in a tight spot, also the acceleration along the long circumference will give you the ultimate burst power. (ok, I will stop! I know I am a physic freak...).
The problem I have is not because I can't make a fishable cast... what bothered me is the consistency of "a clean cast"... see video below. So I went back to the drawing board again and try to figure out what is going wrong with the cast... I decided to ask Ed himself. He is a super star to me, so it really need to take some courage to write my email... : ) ... just like a little fan, for sure. The result is astonishing... Ed replied my email in few hours... I can not believe it! : ) I am so excited! I modified the line as he mentioned, and all I have to say is WOW WOW... in the river... the line just shoot out just like a lazer... (ok, not like a lazer, but it is as clean as I can imagine...) not just one BAM... but... is "bam, bam, bam.."...Consistency is coming back to me gradually... I am so glad I regain the rhythm of this Ed Ward style casting!

In addition, another surprise of the casting practice that, I got a little 10 inches stripped bass! I can't believe it and I think I even do a little dance on the river. NOT because I got a bonus fish in casting...The main reason I am so excited is because this is the definitive evidence that the stripers is reproducing in this river... Stripped bass need a really long undammed free flowing river to be able to reproduce. It needs a certain amount of water velocity to let the egg free drifts and develop in the first few days... and to my understanding, there is not really a good evidence that striper is reproducing in this section...(I have to double check with the local scientist though...) anyway... a good day! a good learning! and I am ready to take another challenge to tame my another rod!! : ) see below the email contents (modified!) and Ed's awesome video. Thank you Ed, you are the man!! (Note: if you have the same rod, try the line formula provided by Ed, it works so well for me, you might like it!)




Q:
Hey Ed,
...would you mind I ask how long of a line you use in the Dredger 6/7 12'9? I recently purchased this rod and have paired it with Airflo 450 compact skagit line (23') +(10' T11). But I felt it it a bit too long and too clumsy to lie my line close enough, I like the way you did in the DVD, the head of the line just lie beside your body ... I am thinking to cut the line, but I was wondering what length you used in the DVD... thanks again in advance...
Sincerely, Mark

--------------------
A:
Hello Mark,
Try a RIO 400 or 375 (what I use) Skagit Short - these lines rocks with 7'-9' of T-14 and 4" stringleeches, so it should do 10' of T-11 easy. Or, cut your 450 back to 400 (first), or 375 (after you've tried 400). Part of your lifting issue is that 450 is too heavy for that rod. The Dredger series are at least a class or two lighter than any other Spey rods out there. Let me know how it works out for you!
Cheers!
Ed

awesome landing net

I have been dreaming for a landing net like this for years... still waiting for the Santa to send me one... (if you are listening... ha) Check out the awesome craftsmanship from Shu Craft LINK MR. Shu does a wonderful job to create those beautiful artworks... That having been said..."life is too short to use cheapo net..." : ) also check out his cool fishing log - Bloody L, and yes, as you can tell from the blog name, he is another Spey Junkie...

saturday fishing

..finally it's Saturday again, and I knew I will feel good to see the river again! went to the "lazy spot" and met with another friend... it's a wonderful light_mist day...some great actions to give the rod and reel a wonderful workout... (to be continued)

skagit master II

fishing attitude..

by fishing those vintage tackles or spin rods, it really bring back all the sweet memories in my childhood. I miss my uncle L a lot! He has a superb fishing attitude just like this Ed "rock hopper" in the film... dee.. d.. d.. deee.... good fishing attitude cure the world!! hope you enjoy the video... : )

Scandinavian underhand casting - light line style

hi friends,
the summer is in it's full swing here in Alabama, it's hot weather and the water is low and clear...I just want to share some casting style I have been doing to cope with the spooky summer striper fishing. It's scandinavian light line style. What I mean "light line style" is by using a extremely light shooting head to cast a light/small flies. This will give me a extremely soft and accurate control. In this case, I was using Guideline LeCie 8/9 weight 13'7 fast action rod. This rod is extremely crispy on hands, felt like a regular 6 weight rod. It is amazing sensitive, thus it allows me to feel the light line and the subtle load. In the video, I was using a custom cut scandi head which is 270 grain and 24 feet + long mono tippet 10-17'. You probably won't believe this is a right match... but I just want to share my experience that I have so much fun to fish this light line style. This is the idea originated from the scandinavian casting father - Goran Anderssen. Hope you enjoy the video, comments and critics are welcome. (please enlarge the video to full screen to see the detail)

Scandinavian style light line spey casting from yuhina on Vimeo.

forever young

I always enjoy spending my fishing time with friends, there is always something new to learn, whether it is a technical knowledge or it is a simple attitude, "the view of life". Frank is a friend that fish with me sometime, we don't call each other when we want to go fishing, we just meet at the riverside "occasionally" and we really enjoy the time together. He is a very humble person, a very skillful and knowledgeable fishing nerd and he is a lure fisherman, a super skillful lure fisherman I might add... it is so delightful to see him launch a 150 ft long cast and the lure set right in to a small pocket water. He is a fisherman with good attitude, humble, polite and witty. Unfortunately, He was one of the victim got laid off during the economy crisis last year... but, he always has positive attitude and his philosophy about it... This year, I am so glad to hear he get a new job! and the job can keep him fishing here... I am so glad for him! I told myself, if there is one day I have to go down in my life, I want to have a attitude he has. Always positive, forever young!
NOTE: On this very day, we exchanged our cell phone numbers, he said, "call me if you think you might want to go fishing..." that just made my day... now, I can call him and "beg" for more big fish stories if I get bored... note: Frank is a striper guru in this area, he frequently land 30 pound plus stripers on this water. This season, he has landed 20 fish already, and 4 of them are well over 20 lbs.

professor's brook trout

professor Chen sent me this native brook trout which was caught from his back yard in greater Boston area. If this is the trout I will be catching in the coming year, then, my life is darn bright... I would say... : ) good one! SN

Fiberglass Switch Rod Lawn Casting Video

Untitled from yuhina on Vimeo.

Hi friends,
Here is a video of lawn casting the Fenwicks fiberglass switch rod at my front yard. It has a sweet fiberglass action. The rod is 10 feet long and about 5/6 line weight in the two handed rating system. I was using a custom cut scandi line, 24 feet and about 270 grain. I think this is a light match, pretty sweet for the scandi style casting. It could go up to 400 grain when paired with skagit style and sink tips ... I did not use grass leader for this casting practice, so you can tell I am a bit cautious about blowing the anchor. If test this set up on the water, the rod could load a bit deeper and the line will go smoother... (enlarge the video for more HD detail)

Dream species to pursuit - Ito

Dream species to pursuit.
I had a conversation with my brother BG years ago, about a dream place to visit in the future. I remembered Bryan proposed a trip to New Zealand chasing those giant brown trout. I told him if interested in chasing big trout, why not we just visit Hokkaido Japan? it's closer and the trout species are amazing there... included one of my dream species Ito - Sakhalin taimen Parahucho perryi (a.k.a ito, the ghost fish).

It's an amazing creature which can grow up to 2 meters/ 30 kg. Also, they are native species! Catching a fish in their native environment always has it's special place in my heart. I have wanted to catch one of those fish so bad, and the urge to pursuit them are just keep growing every time when I read about them. They are truly magnificent fish with mystery life cycle. Unfortunately,like other salmonoid species around the globe, the habitat loss has push those fish into the endangered species list... Recent conservation acts has put a lot of restrictions and regulations on this species in order to protect this population...at the meantime... my dream to catch them is fading away... here is some video clips from University of Toronto, Dr. McLennan's lab is studying the evolution of salmonoid's breeding behavior. Check out all kinds of amazing salmon and trout clip from her lab! LINK

Recent post from a friend Yun's blog - Slow Fishing. Has shown a great time they have in catching one of those awesome fish...Great photo and wonderful article... check the post. Now... it seems I still have some hope in catching this magnificent fish... time to work harder and save some money... : )

sneak peek - kid's coloring book

hi friends and families... here is the recent works for FISHY KID coloring book. It's a brand new season...so here is some of my recent works for you to take a quick look... I have a lot of fun doing it and it's a great honor to me to be invited to do it again. One of the special feeling about fishing with kids, for me, was coming from my Uncle. My dear uncle L was the one brought me fishing when I was a kid and he did it many many times, even I felt he would rather spend more time with his gang...he probably feel annoyed to have me buzz around every afternoon. Every summer in my childhood was spent in the mountains, our families are all very "aquatic like", me and my brother was taught how to swim in the type 3 white water in a mountain creek (ok. not type 3, but at least type 2 @@). Even though, there is a rule about fishing and swim in the creek. The rule is we have to get a adult companion to be able to fish or swim. For some reason, uncle L is the only option, he is my only chance to fish the creek... although he is the one willing to bring me fishing, but, he has a RULE for it too... if we heard thunder, then NO FISHING... as you can tell, there is very high chance to have quick summer storm in the mountain area... I still remember the scene and scenario clearly, every morning it would start with a beautiful bluebird sky, then around 10 am you start to see some clouds emerged from the edge of the mountain ring... by noon (at the time I gather all the gears and dig all the worms out...)... a "KON", a angry voice from the thunder will just crash my day dream of fishing... although I did not get as much fishing as I was hoping, I did get to fish and learn a lot from my uncle...there is more stories to come...
By the way, feel free to download those pages and color it with your kids. Visit the FISHYKID website. LINK