The ubiquitous Wooly BuggerWritten by Cameron Larsen
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What fish think they are hitting when they hit a Bugger is somewhat a mystery. To human’s eyes it could be a bait fish, a leech, a grub, a cricket, a stonefly, a dragonfly nymph, a damselfly nymph, list is endless. And perhaps that is what makes it such a great all-purpose pattern. It is a nymph, a streamer, and an attractor all in one. We’ll let fish classify it. New twists on this pattern have even added to its effectiveness. Now usually tied with krystal flash or flashabou in its tail, for added attraction. A wire rib counter-wrapped through hackle can also add flash and more importantly durability. It seems history of Bugger is still being written and while we all try ways to ‘improve’ this most popular pattern. Fish, that put in a whole lot less thought about this pattern will curse day Mr. Blessing or whoever first tied one on a hook.
Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly fishing guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Company. Http://www.bigyflyco.com. He can be reached at info@bigyflyco.com. The above article will appear in the Big Y Fly Fishing E-Zine at Http://www.bigyflyco.com/Bigyflyfishingezine.html
| | T.E.N Sports NBA Power RankingsWritten by Gary Whittaker
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16. Golden State Warriors. Speedy Claxton and Derek Fisher can handle an offence. Look for Murphy and Dunleavy to bounce back from an off-year, as they will need to step up and help Foyle at center as they replace departed Dampier. Richardson is their main go-to guy, and he should continue to get points at SG. In addition to Fisher, this team has strong veteran leadership from Clifford Robinson, Dale Davis and Calbert Cheaney. 17. Portland Trail Blazers. Should Golden State falter, Portland will be there to take their place. Zach Randolph is undisputed #1 of this team, and they still have Abdur-Rahim coming off bench! Damon Stoudamire can lead this offence, and Theo Ratliff is equally adapt on defensive side of game. Throw in Ruben Patterson, and you have a team that can surprise quite a few teams out there. 18. Philadelphia 76ers. No player has more guts than Allen Iverson. You need to break both his arms for him to stay on bench. The problem is, Allen plays like he needs both arms broken. No matter how cold his shooting is, he will not stop. I do not understand why they just don't surround Iverson with a center, and 3 power forwards. The 76ers apparently thought that giving Allen a 2nd option on offence by way of Glenn Robinson, he might pass ball a little more. Nope. 19. Los Angeles Clippers. We will be taking a chance with Clippers. If Lakers start off slow out of gate, that may be all incentive Clippers need to finally get some respect in L.A. They are now ONLY team in L.A to have 2 legit 20 point a game guys in Brand and Maggette. Kittles brings leadership and a winning attitute, while Kaman and Jaric are now entering their 2nd and 3rd years respectively. Depth may be an issue over an 82 game season however. 20. Bucks. Michael Redd took his place as a star player last year, to surprise of many, but there is no reason wny that should not continue again this year. Van Horn is also great for regular season points, but if he hits his cold streak, Desmond Mason can easily step in. T.J Ford is a legitimate point guard, but his injury problems may be an issue. If so, expect Mike James to do a decent job as his replacement. 21. Cleveland Cavaliers. King James made everyone on Cav's better, including Boozer, who they lost unexpectedly in free agency. There is no reason why he cannot do same thing with 3rd year prospect Drew Gooden. At SF, Ira Newble is only keeping seat warm for Luke Jackson. If he can maintain same 3-point % he had in college (44%), he should really help open up offence for Cleveland this year. 22. New Orleans Hornets. Losing Jamal Mashburn for season may be a big loss for most teams, but chances are he would have been a major problem, then help, had he played this year. With Mashburn out, Byron Scott may be able to coach these guys into respectability. Baron Davis is insane, and Jamaal Magloire has now become a force at center. P.J Brown is dirty, and capable of manning PF position. 23. Orlando Magic. It will be interesting to see if Steve Francis can maintain his 16.6 PPG without a big man to creation some lanes for him. Grant Hill will try and start at SF this season (I challenge anyone to bet that he will play more than 60 games this season!). With rookie Dwight Howard also penciled in at starter, it will be up to reserve core of Battie and Turkoglu to balance out this roster. The South East is very weak, and if Miami catches injury bug instead of Magic, they may actually win their division. 24. Washington Wizards. If this isn't season for Washington to move up rankings and be a legitimate contender, than Wizards fans should give up and wait for Expos. The talk right now is for Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywood to step up, all they really need to do is improve defensively and on boards. Gilbert Arenas will also need to improve on his turnovers, but between himself, Larry Hughes, and newly acquired Antawn Jamison should provide 1-2-3 punch they need. 25. Chicago Bulls. Despite emergence of Kirk Hinrich, everyone is wondering if Eddie Curry or Tyson Chandler will blossom this year, after 3 disappointing seasons. People seem to have forgotten that these two guys are still younger than most of rookies starting this year. This time, they have a full season to learn from Antonio Davis, Othella Harrington and Mutombo and how to be a presence inside. Look for Bulls to pull it together by end of season, and make a run at respectability. 26. Seattle SuperSonics. With Ray Allen and Rayshard Lewis, this team may move up rankings, but not much. Best change for this team would be if feud between Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant sparks some competitive play leading up to, and just after their games with Lakers. 27. Atlanta Hawks. This team will be interesting, if only to watch their 2 cornerstones develop into NBA players. Josh Childress is a tall SG, and if he can play defence, will cause major problems for his defence match-ups. Josh Smith has been compared to Dominique Wilkins. Playing in Atlanta, that will be a hard image to live up to. 28. New Jersey Nets. Management gave up on them, so why wouldn't Jason Kidd. Jefferson's dunks off a turnover will go down this year. 29. Raptors. The sorry, sad state of affairs brings shame on a franchise whose fans are crazy about basketball. Toronto is one of most popular places to play in, simply because of atmosphere. From Mighty Mouse, to Lenny Wilkins, T-Mac to Carter, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Torontonians to keep their love for Raptors alive. 30. Bobcats. First year for an expansion team. If they beat Raptors in standings, I will burn my Raptors jersey. Gary Whittaker is editor of http://www.tenwebzine.com
Gary Whittaker is the editor of T.E.N Magazine, a social commentary magazine with balls! You can check out more articles at http://www.tenwebzine.com
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