In the Loop 10.21.10

 Scientists searching for an explanation for the record-breaking number of sockeye salmon returning to Canada’s Frasier River have come up with an explosive theory. A 2008 eruption of a volcano in the Aleutian Islands may have created just the right conditions for a massive bloom of Phytoplankton, the sockeye’s favorite dish.

 Fly fishers in the Southwest are gearing up for the 2010 Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Expo, at the WNC Agricultural Center (just outside Asheville) on November 6 and 7. A host of manufacturers (including Orvis), fly shops, guides, lodges, and organizations will be exhibiting their wares, and there will be a slate of educational programs, as well.

 The Helena Independent’s Bruce Auchly offers an interesting primer on trout reproduction behavior, explaining why some species spawn in the fall, while others do so in the spring.