www.natgreeneflyfishers.org Email: info@natgreeneflyfishers.org
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www.natgreeneflyfishers.org Email: info@natgreeneflyfishers.org
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Nat Greene Flyfishers June 2005==================================================== NAT GREENE CALENDARMEETINGS & EVENTSJune 2-4, 2005 - 2005 FFF Southeastern Council Conclave, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia. Tuesday June 14, 2005 - Monthly Meeting: "Tackle, Tips & Techniques" -- an open forum to ask questions, offer tips, brush up on techniques, etc. Bring tips, questions, & suggestions, whether it's for freshwater, saltwater, fly fishing, fly tying, knot tying, leader building, rod building, etc. Attending will be expert fly tiers, rod builders, casting coaches, and others. Tuesday July 12, 2005 - Monthly Meeting (Tentative): Annual picnic or discussion of Smith River. Lewis Recreation Center, 7:00 p.m. Tuesday August 9, 2005 - Monthly Meeting (Tentative): Annual picnic or discussion of Smith River. Lewis Recreation Center, 7:00 p.m. Tuesday September 13, 2005 - Monthly Meeting: Eugene Schuler from Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing and finalist in last years Fly Fishing Masters Southeastern Division, "Fishing Opportunities in Great Smoky Mtn. National Park," Lewis Recreation Center, 7:00 p.m.
==================================================== FFF Southeastern Council 2005 Conclave - June 2-4, 2005Make plans now for the 2005 Conclave to be held June 2-4 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. If you've never been to Callaway, this is an experience the whole family will enjoy. The gardens are fabulous, the golf is world-class, and then there's that lake which holds some of the most notorious bass and sunfish in all of North America. A two pound sunfish? Heck, that's the little guys! We were also able to obtain a special room rate of $89 per night during the conclave, and it is good for single, double, triple or quadruple occupancy. The room price includes admission to the Gardens. Another plus to Callaway: we will be able to put all of the show in one area, along with the seminar rooms and casting. If the rooms book up, there are motels and cabins around Pine Mountain. Also RV campgrounds. The June date should ensure that all schools are out, and we can have a really great youth program! ==================================================== Return to the roanokeWhen spring finally arrived this year, I was raring to go back to the Roanoke River near Weldon, NC to fish the hickory shad and striped bass spawning runs. Mark Grunenwald, Dick Feulner and I braved 50 degree temperatures the day before the banquet to catch just enough hickories to be able to say they were indeed there. Dick and I returned for the stripers the third week of April only to be turned away with a meager reward. We were just too early. So we gave it another shot the first week of May. This time our persistence paid off. We did not have an auspicious start. We headed to Weldon knowing a cold front was dumping heavy rain. The car’s outside temperature indicator dropped at an increasing rate the closer we got to Weldon. A 45 degree downpour greeted us. Things looked bleak but we ventured to the launching site to inquire about how others had done. Surprisingly, fishermen had done well on live bait. So ever the optimists, we donned raingear and headed downriver. The only thing we got was cold: not a fish, not a strike, not a single positive sign. So we pulled the boat out and headed for the motel, which was at least warm. I poked my head out between the curtains early the next morning to see the front had cleared leaving a nearly cloudless sky behind. It was still cold but with luck the sun would bring needed warmth. Based on Dick’s observation that the fishing couldn’t get any worse, we launched by 7:30 along with other crazies decked out in sweatshirts and woolen caps. We drifted along the west bank to take advantage of the sun. I hooked a fish around 8:30, the first action we saw. At about 9:30, Dick and I discovered we were fishing in the wrong places: two guys in a bass boat were fishing jigs very close to the bank, much closer than we were, and one guy was usually into a fish. We re-positioned the boat about fifty feet from the bank and cast the flies against the edge. Suddenly our lines went tight as stripers materialized from the greenish water. The sun did its job and at 10:00 the fish turned on. Now we were into fish with regularity. We drifted from below the big rock to downstream of the power lines. We had more success lower down and stayed in that area. In a few places, such as almost directly under the lines, the fish seemed to congregate and we were almost guaranteed a strike. The snags were hungry, too, and I broke off at least a dozen flies. The technique we used is simple but physical. We used eight-weight rods and 325 grain sinking shooting lines. A five foot length of lead core was added to the lines to bring them down even faster. A large Clouser minnow was looped onto a two foot piece of 10 lb. test that served as the leader. We made a long cast and let the weighted fly and line sink. Then we dipped the rod tip into the water, pointed it directly at the line, and made hard, quick strips about six to eight inches at a time. With the rod down low, you have a direct, straight line to the hook point. When the fish strikes, just yank the line back hard and drive the point home. This is easy to describe but can give you a sore arm, just ask Dick. Our traditional chartreuse over white Clousers were easily out fished by red/white, blue/white and even blue/yellow versions. I guess the color of the water made these colors easier to see. One of my retrieves was stopped solidly and I thought I had hooked another stump. Then the stump slowly began to move. The fish stayed down and put a deep bend in my rod. Finally I got a glimpse of it and I knew it was a good fish. After five minutes of resistance, I drew it to the boat and clamped the Boga grip on its lower jaw: the grip read 6 lbs. We got a quick picture and I released the fish. I paused to catch my breath and massage my rod arm after that one. As the day wore on, our stomachs growled because we didn’t bring any lunch so we survived on pretzels and apples. The fish continued to hit steadily even in the bright light of mid-day. We ended up drifting well downstream of the power lines to get away from other boats and had continued success. For about 45 minutes, a guided party drifted just upstream of us but didn’t connect. They weren’t letting their flies sink deeply enough and the guide wore a pained expression. By late afternoon, we called it quits due to exhaustion and hunger. We estimate we took about fifty fish, mostly two to three and a-half pounds, but several in the four to six pound range. They fought hard and just wore us out. Not too many expeditions end by being worn out from catching fish but thankfully this one did. Dick’s willingness to give it a try despite last night’s miserable results paid off. Maybe we’ll get one more shot at the stripers before they head back to saltwater, if our arms recover in time. It’s a three-hour drive to Weldon, but we’re optimists, so what the heck. PS. Dick, Jacques Gagnon and I did give it another try, this time over the weekend of May 20. Friday saw another cold front move through and that evening we struggled to catch 20 fish. The next day the sun again awoke the fish, this time around 9:40, and they hit steadily until the intense sunlight of mid-day when we took out for lunch and a nap in the shade. We and the stripers went back at it by 3:30 with Dick taking two in quick succession before Jacques or I could catch up. Everyone was into fish until around 7:00 when the spawning ritual was in full swing. For almost a mile of river, pods of males splashed vigorously on the surface to excite females to release their eggs. It looked as though people were failing the water in the act of drowning. It’s a tremendous spectacle everyone should experience. I estimate we took 60 to 70 fish and donated about dozen and a-half flies to the downed timber. We emerged from the river with tired arms and weary grins. All we can do now is savor the photos and wait till next year. The stripers will be back and so will we. ==================================================== Float Tube Liners Available to FFF ClubsThe FFF has float tube liners available to FFF clubs. The liners feature horizontal rod holders, two armrest pockets, back storage pocket, Lash tabs for accessories, adjustable seat, inflatable backrest, anti-slip seat top, quick-release seat buckle, and orange safety panel. Clubs may obtain one box containing six float tube liners. A $30.00 fee will be charged for shipping and handling charges. Contact Matt at educate@fedflyfishers.org or call 406-222-9369 ext 103. Hook Assortments Available to FFF ClubsAvailable now are hook assortments to FFF clubs to use for their fly tying programs. Because of a generous donation from the Mustad Hook Co. the FFF is able to make a pack of 500 various size hooks available for the cost of $5.00 each to cover shipping and handling. Contact Matt at the Fly Fishing Discovery Center to obtain these hooks for your club. Email Matt at educate@fedflyfishers.org or call 406-222-9369 ext 103. ==================================================== Take A Wounded Warrior FishingThanks to television, we all know the latest count of service men and women who have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. What the TV reporters don’t tell us is that at least ten are wounded for every one killed, and of the nearly 20,000 wounded, many have lost arms or legs or suffered wounds that will prevent them from using or limit the use of their hands or feet—often for the rest of their lives. These wounded warriors are in military and veterans’ hospitals across the country, many of them far from their homes and families, and being stuck in a hospital for months of rehabilitation is a fate they don’t deserve. Watching TV, reading, playing cards or video games, or sleeping can get old pretty fast, and trips away from the hospital are pretty hard to arrange because of the limited staff available. Here’s where fly fishers can really be useful in the rehabilitation of these wounded warriors: Go to the nearest military or veterans’ hospital and talk to the rehabilitation and MWR (morale-welfare-recreation) staff and offer to take one or two out for a day or half a day on fishing trip. Find out what limitations the men and women have—what they are capable of doing and what you can do to make the outing a pleasant one. Don’t plan on going to your favorite mountain stream because wheelchairs, crutches, and artificial legs don’t work very well on the rough terrain along most streams. Find a lake or pond where the warriors can get to the bank and fish for bluegills and other panfish and maybe bass or trout. Plan on spending a little time teaching them to cast—nothing special, just a simple pick up and lay down cast of 35 or 40 feet will get the fly to where the fish are on most any water. Save the double hauls and fancy casts for later. You’ll probably have to furnish the fishing outfit, but your fly fishing club may have rods and reels that you can borrow. An 8 or 9 foot, 5 or 6 weight rod and a single action reel loaded with a weight forward floating line, a leader, and backing; a spool of tippet material, and a small box of flies will suffice for starting. A nipper or fingernail clipper, a forceps, and a small towel for hand wiping will complete the outfit. Remember, you’re not going to try to set any world record or catch enough fish to feed everyone—you’re just going to let the warriors have fun and maybe catch a few fish. Now for the wounded who can’t get out and go fishing, you might start a fly tying class. Fly tying can have definite value in the rehabilitation of those who have suffered hand and arm injuries. The fine motor skills used in fly tying may help in recovering the use of the hand and arm. Talk to the rehab staff and maybe give them a demonstration so they can see what’s involved. The Introduction to Fly Tying booklet published by the Federation of Fly Fishers is a good, inexpensive text to use. It’s available through the FFF web site http://www.fffcatalog.com/ for $2.00 plus shipping. Your FFF club can get quantities of the booklet at a discount. The tools and materials needed to tie the flies in the booklet are relatively inexpensive. If you explain to your local fly tackle shop owner what you planning, you may be able to get a reduced price or even a donation. The vise for most warriors can be one of the simpler ones similar to the old faithful Thompson A. However, an inexpensive rotary vise like the Dan vise or Griffin’s Odyssey might be needed in some cases. C-clamp vises will probably suffice, but pedestal based vises will allow almost any flat surface to be used for tying. The other tying tools: scissors, whip finisher, hair stacker, hackle pliers, and bobbin should be good but not fancy. Bobbin threaders can be the “dental floss threaders” from the local drug store—three bucks buys a lifetime supply for several people, and a bodkin is just a fairly stout needle in a handle, preferably one that is not round so it won’t roll off the tying bench. Get sufficient materials so that your students will be able to practice tying between class sessions and provide each student with his or her own packet of materials. They may not be able to get together for tying sessions. Also, provide a container for all the materials and tools because storage space is often limited in hospital rooms. Remember the “KISS” principle in teaching fly fishing and tying to these wounded warriors—Keep It Simple, Stupid. You will be working with people who have a full load of difficulties and trauma; don’t add to that load. You want to give them something to do to relieve the monotony of the hospital and teach them a hobby that they can enjoy the rest of their lives. Regardless of your opinions about the current or previous conflicts, don’t burden these young men and women with those. Share your pleasure of fly fishing and tying with them and let them know that you care. ==================================================== NAT GREENE FLYFISHERS CLUB OFFICERSGreg Peters, President Neal Mitchell, Treasurer Jack Patterson, Board of Directors Linke Combs, Board of Directors Al Spicer, Board of Directors Lorraine Rothrock, Trip Coordinator Cindy Spicer, Banquet Chair (and a darn good one at that)
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