Tom Hazelton
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Great article on some really cool fish!
One comment though — our southern App brookies aren’t just relicts of this last glacial cycle — they’ve been doing their own thing and genetically separated from their kin to the north for hundreds of thousands of years. There’s a decent argument to be made for recognizing the southern populations as a distinct species (and there’s a surprising amount of variation between river drainages down here as well).
That’s very interesting. I would love to read more about it if you have a link or two. The changing post-glacial genetic landscape is a fascinating study, especially where fish are concerned. I wonder if the southern muskies are following a similar course.
Good stuff Tim. For what it’s worth I agree with your last assessment, as much I don’t like it.
The irony is that it forces the line junkies to experiment until they find the perfect setup, which is really what they should be doing anyway. These are guys out there who think you should be able to make a perfect rod and line match with nothing but the internet and a calculator.
Gents,
I picked up an Orvis Gale Force Sling Pack and put it to a pretty good test on a rainy weekend of day and night fishing. It rolled around in the bottom of an aluminum canoe in 1-3″ of muddy water with my camera, phone, keys, etc. in it and stayed plenty dry. Its long-term durability is the only thing that remains to be seen — it is very lightweight and this gives the impression of thin fabric and straps. We shall see. I’ll be very careful with sharp metal parts/tools.
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=4h1p
For padding, I purchased this insert:
…and it fits perfectly inside the Gale Force Sling and holds the camera snugly. It won’t hold the D7K and a lens like the picture shows, but it will hold the camera and some other small items (I have a pair of filters, a lenspen, and a small towel in there). As a bonus this insert fits perfectly in a Maxpedition Jumbo Fatboy pack (which I already owned) so now I have a padded EDC camera bag.
Access is easy when wearing on the back or in the boat once you get used to how the water-resistant zippers feel. There’s plenty of room for a couple fly boxes, a lunch, or a jacket in there too, but they have to sit on top of the camera.
Thanks, guys, for the suggestions. I guess it will just take me a while to get used to not babying the D7K… other than a car or a diamond, it’s the most money I’ve ever spent on anything. Been meaning to look into the insurance aspect just for peace of mind.
The Orvis Gale Force sling pack looks interesting — a friend has one I’m going to check out.
I would have to come up with some kind of padding for the camera/lenses while it’s in the pack. I’ll also look at the Patagucci offerings.
My only concern with slinging it over my neck with something like that speed strap is that between wader suspenders and fishing pack I’ve already got a lot of straps going on. This will undoubtedly take some experimentation.
