Annual Slide Show
Don't forget the program for our regular January meeting (1/6/05) is the Annual Slide Show. Many members have already submitted lots of pictures from our fishouts, but we can always use more. We also like to see pictures from club members' fishing trips that are not club fishouts. As we did last year, the presentation will be in digital format. If you have pictures taken on club fishouts, or your own fishing trips that you would like to submit, send them to me. If they are from a digital camera, attach them to an email, or save them on a CD. If they are prints or slides, mail them to me and I will scan them into digital format and return the prints or slides to you. My email is doscott@cruzio.com. My mailing address is 116 Allegro Drive, Santa Cruz 95060. Don't be shy, share your pictures with the club. - Dougald Scott
Holiday Happenings At Ernie's on Saturday, November 20th
We would like to let the club know that we are planning a Holiday Open House and a celebration on November 20th to welcome the steelhead back to our local waters (steelhead season opens on December lst). Hours are approximately 10 to 4 and will include fly tying, a casting presentation by Tony Yapp at 2 PM, and a game barbecue. In addition we will have much of the new gear and gifts we saw at the Denver Fly Fishing Retailer Show. So, if there is a Fisherman that needs new gear or wants to see what is newÉ here it is!!
Tony Yap is well known in the local fly fishing circles as one of the top casters. He is a teacher and award winner for distance and accuracy in many competitions. He has been actively involved in the sport of fly fishing for over 35 years and is a personable and enthusiastic spokesman for the sport. Come, meet and watch Tony at 2 PM and join Ernie and Diane for a fun day!
Ernie's is closed and I am heading up to the Rogue River to do some steelheading and the shop will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday November 2nd and 3rd. - Ernie and Diane
Hello from Lee Vining and Mono Lake
Tioga Pass closed October 17th, the earliest date since 1949. For current Mono Basin weather forecasts and information, please see our road and weather conditions page (www.monolakecommittee.org/visiting/roadinfo.htm). - The Mono Lake Committee.
Eating lots of fish tied to high mercury levels:
A study sponsored by an environmental group has produced new evidence linking high fish consumption to potentially unsafe levels of mercury. Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Asheville tested hair samples from 1,449 people nationwide who volunteered to participate in the study after hearing about it through Greenpeace USA and other groups.
The study is one of the first to examine the relationship between mercury levels and the consumption of three categories of fish: canned tuna, locally caught fish, and fresh or frozen fish sold in stores and restaurants.
* About 50 percent of the participants who ate seven or more 6-ounce servings a month of fish purchased in restaurants or stores exceeded the safety guideline of 1 part per million.
* Almost 33 percent of those who ate four or more servings a month of canned tuna had mercury exceeding the guideline. The study questionnaire didn't differentiate between different types of tuna. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that canned albacore has three times the mercury as chunk light.
* Almost 36 percent of the people who ate three or more 6-ounce servings a month of locally caught fish exceeded the guideline.
Coal-fired power plant emissions and natural rock formations release mercury into the environment. The largest single source of exposure in the United States comes from fish in the diet.
"I would expect there to be some bias in our survey because the participants were self-selected,'' said Steven Patch, statistics professor at the University of North Carolina, a study co-author. Patch said he believes the study may overrepresent people who eat a lot of fish, and may underrepresent those consuming locally caught fish. - Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer