Islands in the Stream
Upon catching his first Dolly Varden in Alaska, my cousin – who knows little about fishing but who is a fan of country music and camp – declared that Dolly Varden would be the perfect name for a Drag Queen. That led me down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out if Dolly Parton (confusingly, not the namesake for the trout, which are apparently named after a Dickens character) actually likes to fish. While I was able to find the promotional picture above, I could get no confirmation of whether the legendarily buxom songstress can flip a jig or double haul. Nevertheless, a number of other fishing, apparel and knickknack merchandisers have connected the two. Here are some examples.
As long as we have your attention, here’s Dolly’s “Something Fishy” for your listening pleasure.
Picking your favorite fish replica is kind of like picking your favorite child – they all have different pros and cons. Of the eight mounts we have, my cutthroat is the smallest, but it provides a disproportionate amount of joy. I caught it on our 10th anniversary trip to Triple Creek Ranch in Montana in 2015.