Singing Bass and Fishing Pens

Late last night I was dumbstruck by the appearance of an infomercial touting the benefits of the “Fish Pen.” Turns out someone has made a rod that extends from a tube the size of a ballpoint and is selling it on TV this season (“Only two payments of $19.95 plus shipping and handling!”). Then this morning Bill Thompson’s amusing rant against the hyper-marketing of outdoors gifts reminds us that the spirit of P.T. Barnum (or Joseph, “Paper Collar Joe”, Bessimer, if you prefer) is alive and well in fly fishing. “I was immediately drawn to the luggage made from, ‘Safari-Grade camel leather and tweed.’ What sportsman would not be delighted to be spotted carrying a matching set of camel luggage? Personally I was unaware that camels wore tweed and what the heck is ‘Safari-Grade’?”