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As part of a continuation of our '20 Questions' series, following is our interview with Jim Plante -- guide on the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers in Connecticut. To learn more about Jim, including links to his blog, check out his profile.

Hatch Magazine: What's the first fish you can remember catching? Tell us about it.

Jim Plante: I remember my very first trout on a fly rod. Was on the Salmon River in CT. I was actually fishing a small tributary of the river with a Mickey Finn. Nice little brook trout. At that very moment, is when this became an obsession. I'll never forget it.

HM: What's your favorite piece of gear at the moment?

Current Precip from Tropical Storm Lee

Fisherman across the Northeast United States can expect a continuation of high, often blowout water conditions. After many streams had just begun to return to traditionally considered fishable levels, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are slated to bring significant amounts of rain to many of these water bodies. The storm system has most recently dropped over 12 inches of rain on parts Tennessee, and areas of central Pennsylvania and New York are expected to over 10 inches in certain locations.

Current Precip from Tropical Storm Lee
Latest precipitation totals from former Tropical Storm Lee.

The remnants of Lee are currently centered approximately 60 miles northwest of Atlanta. While precipitation totals are currently tapering off, the NWS expects precipitation potential to increase as Lee continues to absorb tropical moisture streaming northward ahead of the storm's track.With dozens of rivers already at or near flood stage, many regions are at risk for additional flooding. The National Weather Service has placed the majority of counties in NY and PA under flood watch through Thursday evening.

Ambush 375s reading for boxing and shipping.

If you're one of the many hardcore , your wait is over. Cheeky announced that their Ambush 375 reels are being boxed and shipping out today. The Ambush 375 is a freshwater reel designed for line sizes 5 through 7, which holds up to 200 yards of Dacron backing while weighing in at only 5 ounces. It features Cheeky's KarbonEVO sealed disc drag system, built from Formula 1 racing components.

If the whole "built from Formula 1 racing components" thing didn't clue you in, Cheeky reels don't come cheap, but fans swear by them. The Ambush 375 retails for $640, with spools clocking in at half that price. Pre-orders are still available via Cheeky's site, but there's no word on whether the currently shipping stock only fills pre-orders or leaves enough for newcomers to buy the Ambush and have it ship relatively quickly.

A typical Pennsylvania wild trout stream.

According to an article published yesterday in the New York Times, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's ongoing project to assess and identify previously un-surveyed wild trout streams -- now in its second year -- is slated to receive $240,000 in new funding. These funds will provide a major boost to the proactive Pennsylvania effort to identify and manage wild trout streams, which many consider particularly important given the relative co-location of many of these streams with the ever-increasing natural resource excavation efforts in areas of the Marcellus Shale.

TL + jet boat.

After years of fishing everywhere we can, and getting to know people in the process of doing so, we've been lucky enough to build relationships with some of the best and most innovative fisherman out there today. Some are professional guides, some are part-time guides, some are captains, some are just fisherman. All are brimming with experience, insight, and good stories. So we cooked up this idea to do a "20 Questions" segment with some of these folks. For now, it is just that, but we've gotten the not-too-subtle message from our first two interviewees that we need to learn to cork it after a while. So, we'll see.

Following is our interview, somewhere around 20 questions, with Tom Larimer -- guide on the rivers of Oregon's Columbia Gorge for steelhead and trout. To learn more about Tom, including links to his blog, check out his profile.

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