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To Live In a Place Where The Brown Trout Fall From the Sky

By Tom Chandler 4/27/2009

It's not as if Brown Trout fall from the sky and onto Trout Underground/Man Cave World Headquarters every day, but - after a significant investigative news effort - the Underground's Crack Investigative Reporting Team
has concluded it happens at least once in a while.

Really.

And no, I am not making this up (this time).

Wally The Really Wonderdog

Every Undergrounder knows Wally the Wonderdog is a special beast, but I didn't realize how special until he handily outfished many of California's fly fishermen on opening weekend, and did so while miles away from the nearest trout water.

Get ready.

Early Sunday afternoon, I was in TU's back yard, and heard crunching noises. Wet, crunching noises.

Wally the Wonderdog and the Brown Trout That Came From Outer Space

There was the Wonderdog - chewing on a foot-long... brown trout? Really??

No way.

Yes.

Way.

At this point you rub your eyes a couple times. And then look again.

And wonder if this isn't some odd dream, and soon you'll be standing naked in front of your high school English class writing "I will not come to class naked" 100 times on the blackboard (not that I've ever had that dream, mind you).

After several fully clothed seconds, I realized I was awake. And that I needed photographic evidence of the First Dog-Caught Brown Trout in My Trout-Less Backyard Ever, and that the evidence itself was disappearing fast.

Wally the Wonderdog and his fast-disappearing brown trout

At that moment - in a fit of liturgical plagiarism - I decided to call this the first Immaculate Ingestion
.

(It's fast thinking like this that's rocketed us to the top of the fly fishing blogosphere.)

It's Raining Trout, and We Ask the Tough Questions

Where did the relatively fresh brown trout come from?

My neighbors don't fish, so Wally didn't steal an un-cleaned brown trout from one of them.

And no, he didn't make the 12 mile round-trip to the lake, catch an apparently stupid brown trout in his jaws, then carry it home either.

After a few minutes, the answer became clear.

The brown trout had fallen from the sky.

CSI Shasta

The Trout Underground isn't like those lazy news blogs, which would simply Photoshop the Wonderdog && trout into a picture of Paris Hilton and call it solved.

No, at the Underground we investigate random trout appearances in dry, trout-less areas. We consider it our civic duty (and suggest our exceptional level of civic-mindedness should excuse us from jury duty).

In this case, my clearly Pulitzer-ready work consisted of five minutes crafting lucrative headlines for the Weekly World News - until the real solution occurred:

Barring serious evidence of alien brown trout abductions in other regions, I'm going with the "Osprey Dropped its Dinner" theory - an assumption bolstered by the existence of an osprey nest 1.5 miles to the southeast.

The Osprey Nest in Question

Draw a line from the Osprey nest to the hatchery in Mount Shasta (The Osprey Cafeteria), and you'll neatly intersect our otherwise trout-free property.

So yes, the Underground Investigative Reporting Division
now suspects...  fowl play.

Where the Trout Fall Like Rain

It's stories like these that make fly fishing journalism worthwhile, because they allow us to say the following:

Eat your hearts out, Undergrounders: In addition to living near some pretty decent fly fishing, it's now scientifically proven the Trout Underground/Man Cave is situated in a part of the world so perfect, brown trout periodically fall from the skies like rain.

See you in the backyard (with a net), Tom Chandler.

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AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

43 comments
Couching Tiger: just needed a laugh and missed Wally. I miss him too.
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just needed a laugh and missed Wally.
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This story begs the question, what would have been the appropriate protocol had that the mostly dead, hairy vermin actually landing directly on the grill. How much extra barbecue sauce did you have on hand? (And remember, should Singlebarbed have been in attendance, etiquette demands "guests first.")
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I picked up on this story from your piece over at Blood Knot (nice work, as always). A couple of months ago, I was standing at the BBQ in our backyard, holding a beer (that goes without saying) and had just opened the lid to check on whatever meat I was charring into a carcinogenic culinary masterpiece. As I turned to talk to my daughter I heard a THUMP and when I looked back at the BBQ, I noticed ... more a dead rodent that apparently fell from the sky and missed landing on the grill by inches. While we live out in the country, what we lack in ospreys, we make up with various species of hawks. This story begs the question, what would have been the appropriate protocol had that the mostly dead, hairy vermin actually landing directly on the grill.
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[...] Wally ate the brown trout that fell from the sky, I haven’t seen the Wonderdog eat anything fishy, but he’s always on the river with me [...]
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[...] life moves on, though sometimes in odd, erratic ways – like when I found Wally the Wonderdog contentedly munching a still-wet brown trout in my backyard, despite the fact we live miles from the nearest trout [...]
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This has to be one of the most entertaining posts I have read in a while... GREAT investigating. A Plus.
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Megan: This is nothing short of a miracle.I'd be really thrilled if Lake Superior Salmon started falling on my lawn. Can I borrow Wally? I agree about the miracle. In fact, I don't understand why my back yard hasn't become a site like Lourdes where I can charge people to visit. I mean, the sap in some stupid tree in LA runs in the shape of Virgin Mary and people from other continents flock there. ... more Here, we've got real live trout falling from the sky.
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This is nothing short of a miracle. I'd be really thrilled if Lake Superior Salmon started falling on my lawn. Can I borrow Wally?
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Bernard: Have you asked the dog? The Wonderdog never tells.
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Lucky you were on the scene in time. Hmmmm perhaps this isn't the first time. Have you asked the dog?
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[...] First – in what was clearly a test run of their new strategy for becoming the dominant species on the planet – over feathered friends offered Wally the Wonderdog a meal of a fallen-from-the-sky brown trout. [...]
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Kentucky Jim: Well, since I'm outa work, old, and basically unemployable anyway,Hey, you've got those things in common with the Wonderdog. No wonder you get along. Good luck with the search.
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Well, since I'm outa work, old, and basically unemployable anyway, due to a mildly intolerant attitude, maybe I'll come up there and bring him a bag of Bacon bits, or whatever it is he likes. Glad to hear he's ok.
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Kentucky Jim: Ahhh…the Wonder Dog lives up to his name. Scheez, about time. The Wonderdog was wondering where his biggest fan had gone. In fact - so as not to violate your delicate sensibilities - I'd forgone mentioning the Wonderdog's unfortunate run-in with a pickup truck that earned him another visit to the vet and left him limping for a couple days. He's OK now, but there goes another of his ... more nine lives (I'm guessing he's down to five left).
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Ahhh...the Wonder Dog lives up to his name.
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Very funny, many thanks. I once had a wonder dog. Malcom was big, friendly and liked a bone now and again. Later, as we slept, there came a room-filling stench from the big boy. Silent and deadly. We went under the covers. Wonder what a raw brown trout would do.
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Way to much to respond to, especially since I'm teaching online marketing classes this week, and still suffer from that nasty need to work for a living. I myself find that work cuts into my spare time, and have little stomach for it. The Wonderdog ate the whole fish - despite my attempts to take it away from him. It didn't take very long. And so far, no ill effects, though I'm keeping a close eye ... more on him. And yes, there are two cats at Trout Underground World Headquarters whose job it is to keep the Wonderdog in line. They're pretty good at it. Amusingly, a portion of this post appeared on a USA Today feed, though not because of the story or the Wonderdog - but because I mentioned Paris Hilton. You gotta love civilization.
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So did you let him eat the fish?
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Does Wally know his way around an automobile? I'm puzzled as to how he was able to get that trout out of the engine compartment where I had cleverly stashed it as a little surprise for you. He really is the Wonder Dog, and he's apparently got your back.
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Wow! Awesome! Of course, someday I'll be reading Singlebarbed and read that he was fishing some brownline and all the sudden Wally fell from the sky and was eaten by carp. The circle of life, sad but true. Once he's tasted the blood of a trout, it might be harder for you to practice catch and release with him around!
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A classic story and somehow I am not a bit surprised that it features the Wonderdog.
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Happend to me once but was due to some overzealous hatchery workers who didn't want to walk down the bank to the creek...
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This is a funny post. My wife and I got a really good laugh out of this one.
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Best post ever. And it's true, even.
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What a tale...Loved it. How did Wally the Wonderdogs tummy take to a whole fish to gobble down? I hate to think of it. And I bet the cat gets even...cbc
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I must now throw a trout over some avid angler's fence.
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This is the best blog post I've seen in a long time, maybe ever...thanks for making my day!
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I love all Wally the Wonderdog stories but this one is an instant classic. That kitty cat in the background is pissed!
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now that's some funny stuff right there.
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[...] To Live In a Place Where The Brown Trout Fall From the Sky [...]
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Egads man, that's either some fine investigative reporting or Wally has become some kind of Zen mater fisherdog. Since Wally hangs out with you, I figure it's the former.
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Chupacabra sightings, Area 51 reports, alien spacecraft and now this.......................WOW!!!!!!!! For a minute there I thought I was reading something from Art Bell. I am an avid reader of your blog and love all of your posts, but with three dogs of my own, I especially appreciate your stories about Wally the Wonder Dog. This one however rates as a genuine classic. Thanks for putting a smile ... more on my face each and every morning and allowing me to experience albeit vicariously, life along The Upper Sac. Stuck in Oakland and chompin' at the bit to wet a line up there soon, Aram , Hilary, Sammy, Baby and Annie
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I think this is evidence that someone's been busy misappropriating your FlyFishFromHome business plan. Just ask yourself, what's the easier skill to pick up: Photoshop or falconry? Bingo. See where this is going? Wally's wondertrout is obviously a casualty of some preliminary training sessions for the soon to be launched venture, BrownlineFromASafeDistance. Once the process is fine-tuned, you can ... more surely expect to see a whole lot more of this as the wings of profit bear a skanky trophy back to BFASD headquarters so that it may be photographed in the (elbow-length nitrile gloved) hands of the effete brownliner who wants all the glory but none of the mess. Oh, they're out there. And we all know that if anyone's got money to spend, even in this economic ohcrapalypse, it's the gentleman brownliner. Long story short? Somebody is using your local trout (worthless chum to a brownliner) as part of a pilot program before they start targeting the cyprinids and firing up the marketing blitz. If you have any friends in the venture capital biz down Silicon Valley way, I'd suggest you ask them to keep their ears to the ground for you. You and your hard-won copyright infringement dollars can thank me later. With a Phillipson you don't use much, perhaps.
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Is there a Trout Underground kitty that we don't know about (photo #2) Amazing story
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The best part is what looks like my very jealous 14 lb. calico cat in the background of photo #2. If she teleported from VA, we really have a miracle of epic measure.
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Wow, what are the odds? You know, a thousand years ago this would be proof that you are some sort of prophet. Burning bushes, healing the lame, fish falling from the sky, its the lord's way of telling you, if you don't get to the river, the river will come to you.
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Hahaha, I love it. I wonder if he stumbled across it, or if it fell from the sky and landed in Front of him! Either way, I'm sure he was thrilled for a snack!
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Great post. I am thinking of all kinds of catchy one liners, "It's raining trout", "Here comes the trout again, falling on my head like a memory". Great read. Tight lines
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Eric: This is possibly the best post I've seen, and I read a lot of blogs. Thanks. Once again, the Wonderdog comes through in the Weirdness Department. kbarton10: I was emptying my cooler prior to the long drive home. You're just jealous that Pikeminnow don't fall from the skies where you live (envy's never pretty). Kara: What a great post for a Monday. Not from my perspective; I already know my week ... more isn't going to get any more interesting than it already has.
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What a great post for a Monday.
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I was emptying my cooler prior to the long drive home. Knowing Wally's Bottomless Gut, and not wanting to disturb your reverie - I just hurled the leftovers from the road. The balogna was met by a black thunderbolt - ingested mid-air, as were the cottage cheese, oatmeal cookies, and the half pound of black licorice. The trout was accidental.
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This is possibly the best post I've seen, and I read a lot of blogs. Simply incredible.
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