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3. I hope we find out how this goes! Obama the fly fisherman.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/president-obama-the-trout-fisherman/

I want pictures! He has a way of looking cool while doing almost anything, except bowling and riding a bicycle. However, I don't know anyone whose fly casting was anything other than hilarious on their first try, so I've got to think this might more closely resemble his bowling.

Then again, that's only for the moving picture. It's a rule of coincidence that if you take lots of still pictures of a new fly caster he'll look like a pro in a few of them, and a complete doofus in others. I'm curious which, if anything, will filter through.

Regardless of that, though, it's great that he'll be getting a lesson on fisherman's access issues. From his Deputy Chief of Staff, who's the one taking him:

My guess is, if anything does filter through, it will depend on which news source one views the pictures. I’m sure the NY TIMES will paint him as a pro, and I’m sure Glenn Beck will paint him as a doofus.

Yeah, and we'll have angry bait fishermen loudly complaining to their senators and representatives that he's going to put a federal quota on the number of fish they can kill, and force their elderly uncle to report to a mandatory panel who will determine whether or not he can fish, etc. Not only do people slant coverage, some lie outright out of sheer malice and willful ignorance.

In Glenn Becks case ya gotta paint what you know.

Well, his trip is over. Apparently he didn't catch any fish, but had a couple bites.

No doubt the Republicans will view Obama's fly fishing outting as yet another sign that he is an "elitist" who can't relate to "middle America", i.e. worm-and-bobber fisherman. Who, obviously, have no clue that we ALL started out that way and are simply passionate enough to take our favorite pasttime to its logical extreme. I sincerely hope that Mr. President goes fly fishing again, and that he takes Sasha and Melia fly fishing at a pond full of bluegill and bass. I have some recommendations if they need 'em...

Jonathon

P.S. Glenn Beck can eat my sh*t and die. Oh wait, there's already sh*t pouring out of his mouth every time I see/hear him, so I guess he will, unfortunately, continue to live...

Take heart, Jonathon. It seems that "responsible" advertisers are abandoning Beck in droves. What goes around....

I, too, would love to see President Obama take Sasha and Melia fishing, though I wouldn't particularly mind if that was worm-and-bobber fishing. As for the political significance of fly fishing, let's not forget that even Darth...er, Dick Cheney is a "fly fisherman."

Well Gonzo, You’ve gone and done it now. As much as I’ve tried I just couldn’t keep Jack quiet on this one. Jack says Cheney is much better with a shotgun than with a fly rod. He says that Cheney could become a “fly fisherman” if he could just overcome one slight flaw in his back cast. Yes it’s true, Cheney’s back cast is forever tangled in a Bush.

Or perhaps that Bush in tangled in Cheney's backcast. Either way, Obama will be picking out the knots and tangles for years to come.

Amen. Let's just hope that the next time the Pres. goes fly fishing, he picks a better place to fish. I have it on Aaron's good authority that there are no trout in Montana. :)

Just a lot of whitefish brother, although, he could try to catch some of the cancer fighting bacteria they are studying in the Berkley Pit in Butte.

Yes Louis you are right, but therein lays the problem. A good “fly fisherman” knows that trying to pick out knots and tangles, often times, only adds to the mess and is a waste of good fishing time. There are times when simply severing the leader and starting from scratch is the best option.

Jon Stewart did a hilarious demonstration of Glenn Beck's insane level of hypocrisy on the Daily Show this week:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-13-2009/glenn-beck-s-operation

I really don't understand how Glenn Beck can be so popular with conservatives. Rush Limbaugh I can understand. As much as I hate him, I can see the appeal to a certain kind of person. He may be a slobbering, obese drug addict in real life, and an unabashed liar, and a blithering idiot, but his voice projects a sort of tough, straight-talkin' good-ol'-boy persona, kind of like Fred Thompson's does. For those in white rural middle America who resent the demographic changes in this country, I can see how that's an appealing character.

But Glenn Beck??? Really, conservatives?? The guy looks, acts, and sounds like a sleazy, unsuccessful used-car salesman who's just trying to make a buck after serving out his sentence for pedophilia. He's got all the real character problems of the other conservative pundits, but unlike them he doesn't give the illusion that he's some kind of all-American archetype. It's always a little disappointing to wake up and check the news and not see any stories about him being hit by a bus.

Yes; that is, if you have another leader pre-tied, or sufficient tippet material to work with. I'm afraid our President only has available what he's been left. I do believe that with his intelligence, patience and moral center he will have the country in business again in time. I only wish some weren't so bent on trying to make him fail.

And Jason, the Jon Stewart's bit is fall-out-of-your-chair-laughing funny.

If Dr. Evil - er, I mean Dick Cheney - is really better with a shotgun (!!) than a fly rod, I won't ever be sharing the same square mile with him when he goes, lest I get his #6 Stimulator (or perhaps he fishes with a fly known as the Waterboarder) in my eyeball...

BTW, my father made the best ever comment I have heard about Cheney. Remember how he was in a wheelchair for Obama's inauguration because he had hurt his back while moving out of the VP office (oh, poor baby...)? Upon seeing this, my formerly Republican-voting Dad, now a firm Obama supporter, exclaimed: "LOOK, IT'S DR. STRANGELOVE!"

Jonathon

P.S. That's one of my favorite movies of all time. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the WAR ROOM!"

On another forum I came across a link to the photos from Obama's trip, taken by the official White House photographer:

Getting ready:



Obama "almost hooks a trout":







He looks like he's having a hell of a good time. It could be great for the sport if he takes it up and gets involved in some of the relevant conservation issues.

Then again, with so many mindless Republicans reacting violently against everything Obama says or does, I would be a little worried that his endorsement of trout streams would cause Glenn Back and friends to organize "rotenone parties" to kill off all those no-good sociofascist communist anarchist terrorist trout!

Great photos. That's not a bad loop either. I'm tempted to send him an open invitation to get out for the sulphurs next spring and hope it's one of those crazy things that just happens. There's a good spot I'd like to show him. You know the place, Jason. :)

Geez, that sure warms this fly fisherman's heart! As others have said, I sure hope this makes Mr. President aware of conservation issues and the need to protect the environment in the face of increased pressure from the energy industry (I just received my latest issue of Fly Rod & Reel and Ted Williams has an article on natural gas extraction in the northeast Appalachian area).

Republicans be damned, OBAMA ROCKS!!!

Jonathon

P.S. "Drill, baby, drill!" - as in, drill a hole in your SKULL and relieve some of that pressure building up in your brain from all of the anger over losing the election...

Someone has to help the man with those "tailing loops"!

I wonder where the Secret Service are hiding? I saw an article a while back where Cheney floated I think the Snake near Jackson Hole. Some reporter from Washington was invited to fish with him and the guide's car etc had to be seriously searched...You can bet he was holding his breath that no "seeds" were found on the floor boards etc...

They alluded to scuba divers being somewhere in the river and the extra boats with the Secret Service in them etc. Definitly not how I'd prefer to fish.

I was fishing years ago on the North Branch of the Au Sable. It was raining and a pretty gray day. I heard some strange noise and looked up to see a half-a-dozen helicopters right at the top of the trees. I threw up my hands and said, "Damn! Another secret spot blown!"

Actually, as most of you may already know, Grayling is the location of the Michigan National Guard base. We have to deal with them blowing things up all summer. The night time war games are pretty surreal to a guy who has never been anywhere near a battlefield.

The president looks like he's having fun, but he looks rushed to me. His flyline hasn't been straightened out and is still showing coils. It's too bad. We all know how wonderful and relaxing our hobby can be. It would be nice to see him able to give it a moment.

Spence