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NAT GREENE CALENDAR

MEETINGS & EVENTS

Tuesday February 8 - Monthly Meeting: Nat Greene member Jim Brady will present a program entitled, "Fishing the North Carolina Striper and Shad Runs", Lewis Recreation Center, 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday March 8 - Monthly Meeting: Special Guest Author Jim Casada.  Lewis Recreation Center, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday March 26, 2005 - Annual Flyfishing Seminar and Spring Banquet with Special Guest Speaker A.K. Best, Fly Tying Specialist, Author, World Famous Fly Fisherman, 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m, Cardinal Golf and Country Club, 5700 Cardinal Way, Greensboro NC

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2005 SPRING BANQUET

Saturday March 26, 2005

Special Guest Speaker:  A.K. Best

• Born and raised on an Iowa farm.

• Educated in Iowa public schools.

• BME and MME degrees from Drake University, Des Moines, IA.

• Musician in 56th Army Band, Japan, 2 years.

• Professional musician, 12 years.

• Music educator, 24 years.

• Community symphony orchestra conductor, 4 years.

• Community concert board member, 17 years.

• Michigan State Arts Council advisor, 8 years.

• Fly Tyer and Fly fisher 40 years.

• Photographer, 45 years.

• Author of “Production Fly Tying”, Pruett Pub. Co., Boulder, CO. Has now gone into a second edtion.

• Received 1989 book of the year award from United Fly Tiers, an international organization for “Production Fly Tying”.

• Authored “Dying and Bleaching Natural Fly Tying Materials”, April , 1993, Lyons and Burford, NY. This book was used as a text at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia in July, 1993. Second edition available now.

• Author of “A. K.’s Fly Box”, Feb. 1996, Lyons & Burford, NY.

• Author of “Advanced Fly Tying”, poublished by Lyons Press

• Author of “Fly Fishing With A. K.” soon to be published by Stackpole

Over 100 articles written for the following:

• Contributor, “From The Vise” column for Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide.

• Contributor Editor, Fly Rod and Reel Magazine.

• Column, “A. K.’s Corner”, Fly Rod & Reel Web Site

• Fly Tying Editor, Fly Tying Board, VFS

• Contributor: “The Fly Tyer” magazine

• Lectured and demonstrated fly fishing and fly tying from coast to coast and taught classes in fly tying in Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Wyoming, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Calgary, Alberta Canada, California, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Arkansas, Alaska, Texas, Toronto, Canada, Denmark, and the National Fly Tiers Symposium in New Jersey.

• Have made some appearances which were sponsored by “The American Center for the West”, of Colorado University in Boulder, Colorado to present an outdoorsman’s look at the Rocky Mountain environment.

• Fly fished for Tarpon, Bonefish, Stripped Bass, Blue Fish, Bass, Pike, Blue Gills, Crappie, Steelhead, Grayling, Char, Salmon, and all species of trout.

• Originated a series of dyed quill body dry flies which are being produced by Umpqua Feather Merchants, Inc. of Glide Oregon in their overseas fly tying factories and sold throughout the nation and parts of Europe and Asia.

• Recently (11/98), produced with Video Adventures of Portland, OR, a series of video tapes which include: “Tying Dry Flies” 120 min. (based on the book, “Production Fly Tying”), “Tying Blue Wing Olives” 60 min., “Tying Caddis & Midges” 60 min., “Tying Callibaetis & Green Drakes” 60 min., “Tying Nymphs & Wet” 60 min., and “Tying Terrestrials” 60 min. An Additional 5 tapes were produced in early ‘99: “Tying Tiny Dry Flies” 55 min., “Tying Streamers” 100 min., “Tying With Quills” 60 min., “Techniques for Tying Saltwater Flies” 120 min., “Tying Biot Duns and Melon Quills” 60 min. All tapes are based on the books, “Production Fly Tying” and “A. K.’s Fly Box.”

• Quill body flies were exhibited in Boulder, CO and Moscow, ID Museums through the program: “Confluence, Art and the Trout Fly”.

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NAT GREENE FLYFISHING LIBRARY OPENS!

Longtime Nat Greene member Harry Sledge recently looked at his collection of flyfishing books and videos and thought that it would be great if all this knowledge could be shared and made available to other club members.  He took it upon himself to catalog these materials and they are now available for loan.  The collection will be housed at the Lewis Recreation Center and for now can be viewed and borrowed from during Nat Greene's monthly meetings held on the second Tuesday of every month. 

Please take a look at the collection listed below and if you have any books or videos collecting dust, please consider adding those materials to our collection so that others might benefit.

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FISHING THE NORTH CAROLINA SHAD AND STRIPER RUNS

What

Fly fishing for American shad, hickory shad, and striped bass during their spring spawning runs.

Where

The Roanoke River near Weldon has both hickory shad and stripers whereas American shad ascend the Neuse River as far as a dam outside the Raleigh beltway.

When

Hickories ascend the Roanoke River in late February through early April, the run peaks around mid-March. They are accessible near the Weldon boat launching ramp. The state posts weekly information at http://www.wildlife.state.nc.us/pg03_Fishing/pg3d16.htm.  New reports are posted on Fridays.

American shad run up the Neuse River all the way to a dam just outside the Raleigh beltway. The run begins in late March and lasts until mid-April. Currently there is no web site giving information on this run.

Stripers typically ascend the Roanoke River by the third week of April. They will stay up near Weldon until the water gets over 65. Check the web site!

Both the hickories and the stripers produce very heavy runs of fish, literally thousands of fish may be in the river at any time.

Note: Due to the popularity of these runs, conservation officers are out in force. Be sure to have your license because you will be checked (Licenses can be obtained on-line: http://www.ncwildlife.org/fs_index_01_license.htm) or by phone (1-888-248-6834) Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m; credit cards only). If you bring a boat, be certain you have the gear required by the Coast Guard (boat registration, life preservers for each person, and a throwable floating cushion or life ring). The live wells of all boats are checked for stripers when leaving the ramp.

How

Boat vs. wade - At Weldon there is some shore fishing, but very limited. Shore fishing better is suited to spinning tackle because of the high, slippery banks; fly fishing would be restricted to roll casting. If you want to use a spinning rod to catch hickories, try shad darts, silver spoons, brightly colored crappie jigs. You will lose a lot of tackle on the bottom so bring lots of lures.

There is also some shore fishing on the Neuse, again depending on conditions. A canoe can be used in the Neuse (larger boats cannot be launched). A canoe could be used for the hickory shad in the Roanoke providing the water conditions are right because there are several good spots within an easy paddle from the boat ramp.

Most fishing on the Roanoke is done from a boat. Bass boats are very good because you can stand up and not be restricted to casting from a seated position (as in a canoe). Bass boats also have a shallow draft that helps to avoid the rocks. You can also cast from a seated position in a canoe always keeping in mind the “tippy” nature of the canoe.

There are several guides that work both runs. You can split the cost with a buddy, it will give you great sport and provide lasting memories. The web sites of several guides that work the run and have assisted Nat Greene in the past are listed below.

Finding the fish. Anadromous fish are always looking for a place to rest on their way upstream. So the goal is find holes where the fish pause. On the Neuse, they are stuck at the base of the dam. On the Roanoke, there are several places below the falls or downstream of large rocks. Also keep an eye out for boats with anglers holding bent rods. Some fishermen prefer to drift until they find a group of shad and then set the anchor. If your boat has a fishfinder (sonar detection), use it!

Hickory shad. Use 5 to 6 weight rods, 175 to 225 gr. sinking lines, two ft. leaders (6 or 8 lb. test), and bright flies in #4-6 (small Clousers, various shad flies). Loop the fly onto the leader to get more action of out your retrieve. The Roanoke is never clear so the brightly colored flies are easier for the fish to find. Get a hook hone and use it often! Nine times out of ten you will hook the fish in the lower jaw which is extremely tough tissue, not bone, but difficult to sink a hook into. I landed several that simply had the hook point hung up on the lower jaw. Use a hook hone to make the point needle sharp to begin with then frequently check the point and touch it up. The point should be sharp enough to be ‘sticky’ when dragged across your thumbnail.

Hickories seem to like warmer weather, a cold front will reduce the bite. They hit all day so you don’t need to get there early. They are aggressive, hit hard, and will often whack the fly several times until they finally get hooked (surprise!?). Then they pull hard, jump, and tail-walk like miniature tarpon. Cast quartering upstream to give the line a chance to take the fly to the bottom. Keep the rod tip low to the water and pointed directly at the line. Follow the drift of the line with the rod tip and make lively strips back to the boat. It is important to vary the speed and length of the strip to find what works on a given day. Strike by pulling back hard with the line hand; you will get a faster and more powerful hookset than by lifting the rod. Strip the fish in, don’t bother to put the line back on the reel; you will just have to pull it off to cast again. The fish run about 14 to 20 inches with 16 to 18 inchers common. They run up to 2.5 lbs.

American shad. Use 7 to 8 weight rods, 225 to 325 gr. sinking lines, two ft leaders, and similar flies as for the hickories. The fish fight well but are not as aggressive as the hickories; Americans do not jump. Use the same technique as described above. They range from 2 to 8 pounds with 4 to 5 lbs common. Both shad species have an aggregate limit of 10 fish/angler/day.

Striped bass. Use 7 to 9 weight rods, 325 gr. or heavier sinking lines, short leaders (10 lb. test), and large Clouser minnows, Deceivers, ect (size 1 and larger). Stripers are light aversive and prefer to feed in periods of low light, in the morning until around 9:00 and then pick again when evening shadows start to fall across the water around 3:30 or 4:00 until complete darkness. Stripers love cloudy days, better yet drizzly, rainy days. You will catch mostly smaller males (3 to 5 lbs.) although the possibility is always there for bigger females (8 to 20 lbs.); this is because the smaller, faster males outnumber the larger, slower females about 19:1.

Fly lines. For all of these fish, the fly must be fished on the bottom. That means using sinking lines, not sink tip lines; sink tips don’t go down far enough. I recommend three commercially available lines: Scientific Anglers (The FlyLine), Cortland (GOPC), and Teeny lines (The FlyLine). All of these lines have sinking heads attached to running lines; try to find the ones with sinking running lines (the Cortland saltwater “Quick Descent” lines have intermediate sinking running lines). These lines are all versions of shooting lines: you cast the head portion that pulls the running, or shooting, line along with it.

You can also make a homemade version that works well and is commonly used. Purchase enough Cortland LC-13 (13 gr./ft.; $0.50/ft. at GOPC) for your rod weight and attach loops to each end. Fill the reel spool with Sunset Line Co. “Amnesia,” a flat monofilament shooting line (available at The FlyLine or GOPC). Web sites listed below describe how to make the lines and figure how much lead core you’ll need.

To cast shooting lines, you must remember it is the weight of the head that does the work. Because you will start out with the head just beyond the rod tip, you gain nothing by false casting. Simply make a low backcast and throw a high forward cast applying the power stroke at the very end of the forward cast. As long as the line is in the air, it will continue to move forward so a high forward cast can easily travel fifty feet or more. With all the weight concentrated at the forward end of the line, shooting lines essentially turn a fly rod into a spinning rod.

Despite all this verbiage, these runs are not tackle intensive. I carry a spool of tippet material, hook hone, and wear a clipper pinned to my shirt. I have a box of flies in the boat. I also wear a hat and polarized clip-ons. Always wear some kind of eye protection, the wind could change at just the wrong time! A net is needed for the stripers and a smaller version could be carried for the shad (a bass-sized net will work fine).

Summary

These runs are a great way to start the fishing year off with a bang. Once you get into a rhythm, you’ll see the technique is straightforward: cast quartering upstream, give the line a chance to sink, start stripping and sock it to ‘em! I know the technique of throwing (actually a better term than ‘casting’) a shooting line will seem foreign at first but with a little practice you’ll be amazed at how far you can toss a fly and how productive the method is. Expand your fly fishing horizons and have a blast!

See you on the river!

Web sites of interest:

1. Making homemade shooting head lines:
http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/shootingheads and http://www.flyfisherman.com/skills/dslinebuild/index1.html 

2. USGS water gauge at Weldon:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/uv?site_no=02080500 

3. Fishing guides:
Capt. Gordon Churchill http://www.geocities.com/~flyfishnc
Capt. Dean Lamont http://www.centerpath.com/tightlineflyfishing/index.shtml 

Both of these sites have articles about fishing the shad and striper runs.

4. North Carolina shad information:
http://www.sefly.com/nc_shad.htm 

http://www.ncfishandgame.com/fish/shad.html 

5. Fishing information:
http://www.landbigfish.com/fish/fish.cfm?ID=182 

6. Photos of shad:
http://www.fisheries.vims.edu/femap/fish%20pages/American%20Shad.htm 

7. North Carolina angler recognition program:
http://www.wildlife.state.nc.us/fs_index_03_fishing.htm

Jim Brady

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2003-2004 NAT GREENE FLYFISHERS CLUB OFFICERS

Greg Peters, President
656-7379
632-2366
greg.peters@syngenta.com

Neal Mitchell, Treasurer
643-5001
cell 706-1123
nealmitjr@msn.com

Jack Patterson, Board of Directors
674-9700
664-7776
jwpatterson@worldnet.att.net

Linke Combs, Board of Directors
282-7040
632-7572
lccombs@earthlink.net

Al Spicer, Board of Directors
855-1325
373-7087
alspicer@yahoo.com

Lorraine Rothrock, Trip Coordinator
288-9976
272-3962
cell 707-3761
lbrothrock@mindspring.com

Cindy Spicer, Banquest Chair (and a darn good one at that)
855-1325
703-5632
cell 406-6171
cspicer@BBandT.com