Cameron Miller(time) photo.
Just the other day I joined Andrew Bennett, who owns Alaska West, among other excellent fly-fishing operations, for a couple brews at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle. I can say this, get the mussels at Ray’s. They bathe them in a curry sauce and those things are awesome. Don’t talk up Katie, the barmaid, because I havemy sights set on her. Ok. It’s tough enough out there without all of you breaking down the doors. Do order margaritas on the rocks. And enjoy the view.
At Rays with Andrew Bennett.
After speaking with Mr. Andrew I fished around the Deneki Outdoors Facebook page and found all kinds of interesting images and stories. The one that stood out was what follows, a dictionary of terms that fly fishing guides use. Good stuff here. Enjoy this post and check out Deneki’s Facebook page for more CLICK HERE
GUIDE SPEAK
Fishing guides spend a lot of time together in remote places. Over time, a guide staff’s dialect develops to the point of becoming close to a foreign language.
If you’re heading to Alaska West this summer, learning the terms in this handy glossary will help you understand what the heck your guide is talking about.
Tiddler – n. A particularly small fish. “I tried to get my flesh fly in front of Walter [see below], but a tiddler grabbed it first.”
Blub – v. To briefly break the surface of the water, as done by a king salmon. “I knew I was about to hook up when I started seeing all those kings blub.”
Mega – adj. Big, many, or extremely. “That king was mega!” “There weremega silvers stacked up at Zoo Bar.” “Billy was mega frustrated when his brother kept catching fish behind him.”
Gagger – n. A big fish.
Slab – n. A big fish, particularly one with big shoulders.
Pig – n. A big fish.
Choker – n. A big fish.
Toad – n. A big fish.
Hawg – n. A big fish.
Torpedo – n. A big fish.
Gack – n. A gross, slimy substance. ”I need to get this salmon gack off my hands before dinner.”
Walter, Jerry, Jethro, et al – n. A specific particularly large fish, usually a rainbow trout, or a mythical giant fish. “I know that Walter lives down by Puppy Bar, and I’m going to try to catch him today.”
Tumbler – n. A spawned-out salmon tumbling downriver. ”I got gack all over my waders when I got hit by that tumbler.” See also Chumbler.
Chumbler – n. A spawned-out chum salmon tumbling downriver. “There were chumblers everywhere– flesh flies worked good.”
Critter – n. A resident fish (e.g. trout, grayling). “My arms are tired – let’s go fish for some critters.”
Critter – v. To move with stealth. “I crittered my way along the high bank, looking for Big Jerry.”
Crittery – adj. Shaky, unsure. “He must have had a rough night – he looked awfully crittery on the river this morning.”
Farm – v. To lose a fish once hooked, usually due to angler error. “I can’t believe I farmed Jethro this morning.”
Grocery hole – n. The gaping mouth of a giant protein-fed rainbow trout. “You should have seen the grocery hole on the choker that ate my mouse yesterday.”
Got ‘em all memorized?
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