David Siskind | Sunday, 7 December 2025
A week ago, after the rains I walked a couple of miles of LA River and found a bunch of fish milling around in a slow run 3-4’ deep above a big deep pool, where the fish might have sought shelter when the river swelled. Elsewhere there were singles but no pods or groups. Water clarity was and has been exceptional. Ben went last Monday and found the same group, and only that group, showing themselves. Two days later I walked 3 miles, and with the exception of a few pushes and swirls at dawn saw not a SINGLE FISH over six hours. Maybe the clear water is freaking them out in the full light of day. Maybe it’s the colder nights. I vote for fear of death from above. But it was a beautiful day. I got my steps in and tied on a small popper at a big pool and practiced snakehead shots for a while.
Mostly I'm practicing on grass. The river is 25 minutes away. The park, a five minute walk. I’m circling around my goal of SHS competence, beginning each practice session with a new thought about the secret to nirvana and coming out at the end of each with something else new to think about. I’m really working on this and will be super embarrassed if my efforts amount to naught. So far, pretty good. I had three “swing thoughts” that set up my week’s training. First, to work on loop visualization and control. I practiced throwing a medium diameter loop and concentrated on forming it and feeling it as it rolled out. Second, I worked on tracking. I started to visualize forming the SLP while keeping the entire rod in a single plane while making the stroke. There might be other ways to describe a SLP with the rod tip but all require more complex movements - I believe. And finally on weight transfer. Obviously you don’t want to overdo that in the bow of a boat but casts do work from the ground up. I usually place my right foot slightly forward (I’m right handed) and cast with a closed stance. I only last night realized that shifting my body in a closed stance is best done by shifting my weight to my left foot on the backcast and to the right going forward. You’d think that would be obvious but it wasn’t to me. This is all in addition to the slip, the slide loads, shoots and checking the line in position to retrieve, all practiced in the context of the drills Paul gave me. I wish I could have more time to work on it.
The 2025 National Security Strategy dropped Friday. Amidst the puffery, environmental denial, implied racism and misinformation, the strategic goals are stated here and are disturbing. The document trumpets a return to the great powers’ spheres of influence which encouraged exploitation and war before the post WWII order. One goal is to reverse the “weakening” of Western culture now progressing. The document explicitly suggests encouraging right-wing nationalists and undermining the existing liberal democratic order wherever it’s found. It’s an angry document and a new world.
David Siskind