Nat Greene Flyfishers    December 2007

MEETINGS & EVENTS

Reflections on Fly Fishing 2007

Maybe it is because I am getting older. At the ripe young age of 46 and 11/12ths maybe it is because the Good Lord is finally starting to chip away some of the crustier edges of my soul. For whatever reason, I am now much more reflective and sentimental than in my younger years. As I reflect on the fly fishing trips I was blessed to enjoy in 2007 it is often other things, rather than the number and size of fish caught, that stir that sentimental spot in my heart, warm my soul, and bring a contented smile to my face.

My fly fishing in 2007 started with a short 4 mile drive at noon on January 1st to the pond in Lexington’s Finch Park. When I arrived there was an elderly man with his 4 year old grandson fishing. He had bought his grandson one of those infomercial fishing contraptions for Christmas. This fishing contraption has a reel and tube for a rod that shoots a bobber, hook and line out into the lake. They were trying it out for the first time. I strung up my 4 wt. fly rod and started to cast a small #8 synthetic hair jig-fly suspended about 5 feet under a foam strike indicator. I was casting around the deep end of the peer and almost immediately started catching small to medium sized bluegills.

They saw me catching fish and came over to where I was fishing. As we talked the grandfather told me they had been fishing with bread as bait and had not caught anything. He said his grandson had never caught a fish before and he was hoping that today he could catch his first one. I told the grandson to stand close to me. I made a short cast and let the fly sink. I gave a short strip and the indicator dived under. I set the hook and handed my rod to the young boy. As the light fly rod bowed over he felt the tug of the bluegill and his big brown eyes widened and absolutely lit up. A huge smile spread all over his little round face as he struggled to reel in the fish. I took these photos with his first fish and later sent them copies.

For the next two hours I enjoyed casting the fly, hooking the fish and allowing my new little friend to reel them in. He giggled with delight and grunted as he wound the fish in and lifted them up with the rod. He insisted on holding every fish he caught and letting them go himself. His grandfather then continued to thank me as he told me the story of how he and his wife had custody of the child because the mother was not able to take care of him. The little boy had been physically abused by one of his daughter’s boyfriends. (Their names are withheld from this article by their request). He told me that I had made his and his grandsons day. As I look back on that fishing trip now, it was really them who made my day. That child’s smiles, giggles, grunts and “awes” as he fought landed each little bluegill and the way he gazed at the fish in his hand and stated how pretty they were, will warm my heart for a lifetime.

An early spring trip was with my friend, John Slack, on March 10th on High Rock Lake for crappie. It was the first time my boat went into the water in 2007. We fished the little #8 chartreuse over orange craft fur jig-flies 6 feet deep under strike indicators. On this rather chilly day the crappie were abundant and very willing to eat our flies. We each caught lots of crappie, but it was John who caught a true slab crappie that was 15 inches long. I really enjoyed seeing John catch that big crappie, the biggest he has ever landed on a fly. What I remember most about that trip were the two ospreys that were fishing in the cove where we were catching the crappie. They would dive-bomb the water and come up with a fish, usually a shad, every time they tried, and take their fish back to a nest up on the hill to feed their fledglings. We both thoroughly enjoyed watching those beautiful birds of prey fish.

In 2007 I enjoyed two excellent trout fishing trips with my friend Joe Craig III. Joe is the best dry fly fisherman I have ever fished with (meaning no offense to any of my other fly fishing buddies). Joe and I spent a wonderful late April Sunday afternoon fly fishing together. We spent the first hour and a half catching some truly huge bluegills and small bass from a private pond near High-Point he has permission to fish.

Then we drove up to the Smith River special regulation section near Basset, Virginia to hit the evening sulfur hatch for brown trout. It is the first time I have experienced this hatch and the dry fly fishing was phenomenal for the wild brown trout. We each caught several on Joe’s #16-18 dry CDC sulfur patterns. Most of the trout we caught were 7 to 10 inches long. However, Joe got an honest 13-14 inch brown trout that was absolutely beautifully colored. It is the biggest brown trout I have ever seen caught from the special regulation section of the Smith. I really enjoyed watching Joe, hook, fight and land this beautiful trout on 8x tippet. It is like watching a master artist paint a portrait.

A second trout fishing trip with Joe was on June 18th in a private spring creek near Spruce Pine, NC. Joe had managed to achieve access to this private creek and he invited me to join him for a day trip. When I arrived at the cabin by the river where Joe and his son Ian was staying, the River Keeper and Joe started laughing at my little ash wood landing net, saying it was way too small for the trout in that creek. The River Keeper loaned me a huge wooden landing net that was so big it looked like it was intended for stripers, not stream trout. I then laughed back at them and asked “are you kidding me?” They told me to tip-toe down to the creek and look in the pool behind the shed. When I did the rainbow trout in that pool were big enough to be salmon. Joe guided me to some of the best trout fishing of my life on this day. It was here, with Joe’s patient scouting and coaching instructions, that I caught the biggest rainbow trout of my life on a dry fly. This rainbow hit a #16 parachute Adams with the force and splash of a polaris missle. It ran several yards into my backing on the small 4 wt. outfit and jumped several times before I finally landed it 20 minutes later about 75 yards downstream from where I initially hooked it. That big landing net really came in handy on that fish. Joe took this photograph for me. He was very tickled to help me catch this big trout and it made me feel good to share this moment with him.

I ended up hooking 6 more huge rainbow trout that day, losing all but one of them. I did catch this beautiful 19 inch long male rainbow trout on a #14 Copper John nymph.

Joe insisted that I take most of the first shots at the pools and runs. We both caught plenty of 7-14 inch trout. It was a day of fly fishing with a good friend that will forever touch the pleasure centers of my memory.

I was fortunate to be able to take three river canoe floats with friends for smallmouth bass in 2007. The first smallie trip was on the James River near Lynchburg, VA on June 23 with my good friends Mike Perry (who shared my canoe for the day), Tom Parshley and Jim Brady. What was most fun about this trip was helping Mike catch his very first smallmouth bass.

The water was low and the fishing kind of slow that day, but we all caught several smallmouth bass on flies.

What I also will remember about that trip was the wonderful after lunch nap on a sandbar and being woke up by Jim’s snoring and loud splashing as Tom was fighting a nice smallmouth bass.

The next day I herniated a disk in my lower back while lifting sacks of horse feed out of my truck. I would spend the next few weeks in significant pain, taking strong pain pills and being mostly immobile. Luckily I would not need surgery this time. I would not be able to fish again until July 23.

I visited my parents in Florence, Alabama and to see my sister, brother 3 nieces and 3 nephews who were visiting from Arizona. I got to take all of the kids, (Adam, Ramsey, Tyler, Nadya, Layla, and Sammy) ages 4-15, fishing for bluegills. We fished below Wilson Dam on Pickwick Lake. They used spin-casting or spinning rods, bobbers and live crickets to catch more than enough large bluegills and medium sized catfish for a very delicious fish fry that evening. My job was to bait hooks, undo tangles, and take fish off the hooks. The giggles, screams of delight, and laughter that I heard that day was more than enough reward for my soul. The kisses and hugs of appreciation I received from all of the kids really touched my heart and made it hard to leave them when I had to return to North Carolina. I feel very blessed to be their uncle and treasure every moment I get to share with them.

My next smallmouth float trip was for two days of fishing August 17-18 with friends Tom Parshley and Tim Pastoor on the North Fork Holston and Clinch Rivers in southwestern Virginia sort of near Abingdon. Tom and I floated the North Fork Holston River on Friday and Tim joined us for Saturday’s float on the Clinch River in his kayak. These rivers are very beautiful and remote (i.e. your cell phone will not work here). They are in some absolutely beautiful mountain scenery. We all caught plenty of smallmouth bass on both days along with rock bass and sunfish. The special memories of that trip are first of Tom catching seven 10-12 inch long smallmouths on seven straight cast out of one small pool on the North Fork Holston. Another is of the little white tail deer fawn, still with the white spots on its side, wadeing into the river to take a drink just 50 feet downstream from me. It seemed to be totally unafraid of me. It also thrilled me to watch Tim catch a very nice Clinch River smallmouth bass on his first cast with a Hipps’ Hellcraw Nymph I had just given him to try. On the Clinch float the Hellcraw was the fly of the day and accounted for most of our bass. Fly Tyer Magazine had just published my article on the fly in July and it was rewarding to see it working so well and Tim and Tom having so much fun with it.

Another trip of note was with my good friends Brian Newell and his 15 year old son Max on November 17th. We went to Lake Tillery hoping to find schooling largemouth bass. On this trip we never found the bass schooling, but we each managed to catch a few small bass on clouser minnows or jig-flies. I even caught my first ever Lake Tillery smallmouth bass on a clouser minnow, a beautiful 17 incher.

What was memorable about this trip was renewing an acquaintance with cherished friends I haven’t fished with over 2 years. I gave Brian and Max their first fly tying and fly casting lessons 5 years ago. It was a pleasure for me to see the beautiful flies Max had tied and how far they had both come with their excellent fly casting and fishing skills. The fishing highlight of the day was getting into a big school of crappies and having over 2 hours of constant action catching crappies on the jig-fly indicator rig. Max caught a big 13 inch slab crappie for the biggest crappie of the trip.

There were a few other trips with other wonderful people, including great trips with my brother in August and my parents in Alabama on November 3. All of these are sentimentally special to me for a lot more than catching fish. What is so special to me about fly fishing now is the scenery, the sound of moving water, the wildlife viewing, the natural beauty of God’s wild places and most of all the treasured friends, new and old, I have been blessed to share it all with. I have come to the point in fly fishing where I truly enjoy watching my friends catch more and bigger fish than me. To remember a friends bent fly rod and hear their laughter of satisfaction, and to remember the big smiles on their faces is going to keep my memory fires warm this winter. I am certainly blessed with some wonderful fishing buddies and I hope some more of you will share the experience with me in the near future.

A Randy Travis song, Three Wooden Crosses, makes the statement “It is not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it is what you leave behind you when you go”. Randy is right on. I get far more pleasure out of what I give away and a far bigger return than I could ever expect. Make a pleasant memory by sharing some fishing time with others. Be a teacher and guide for an elderly person, handicapped person or a child. You may just change their view of the world for the better and it will certainly improve yours. To all of you in NGFF who have shared so much of yourselves with me over the last 15 years, THANK YOU!

God Bless, Tight Lines and Merry Christmas
Anthony Hipps

Yellow Stonefly Pattern

Several members expressed an interest in the yellow stonefly imitation I was tying at the October meeting. It’s my take on Dave Whitlock’s red squirrel nymph and has been a real winner for me. The chief aspect that attracts the fish is the dubbing mixture for the abdomen, which glows when wet. I think the fish can see the fly from a distance. A few years ago I fished a forerunner to the present pattern in the Eagle River just downstream from Vail, CO. The water was clear so I could see to the bottom. In one deep hole, I saw a grayish streak move across the bottom and fortuitously settle above a lighter, contrastingly colored rock. It took several attempts to adjust the weight to get the fly to the bottom but finally I could feel the fly ticking across the stones. I saw the gray form moved rapidly to its right and when it disappeared from view the strike indicator plummeted. I set the hook into what turned out to be a fine fifteen inch brown. I estimate the fish traveled at least a foot and a half to grab the fly but whatever the distance, it was obvious the fish liked what it saw. I have also had excellent luck with the fly in Helton Creek during the high water of spring using it as a tail fly with at least one other fly strung higher up the leader.

Here’s the recipe:

Hook: 3XL nymph hook, 12-8
Bead: brass bead sized to hook
Lead wire: sized to hook
Thread: 6/0 or 3/0 white
Tail: ten to fifteen guard hairs plucked off the back of a red squirrel skin
Rib: brass wire (I get mine from craft stores)
Abdomen: orange-yellow mixture, see next paragraph
Legs: pumpkin Sililegs (available at Great Outdoor Provision Co.)
Thorax: mixture of the dark hairs and under fur from the back of the red squirrel skin

First prepare the dubbing mixture for the abdomen. It’s composed of 1 part ‘A’ and 2 parts ‘B’. ‘A’ is equal parts of yellow and orange synthetic dubbing such as the Wapsi series of synthetic dubbings. ‘B’ is made of rabbit fur, including the guard hairs: 2 parts bright yellow, 2 parts orange and 1 part tan. You can get these colors from the Hareline dubbing series. Mix ‘A’ and ‘B’ together separately and then combine as described above. You will end up with an orangey-yellow mixture that has glistening highlights from the synthetics.

To tie the fly, start by slipping a brass bead onto the hook. Add about ten wraps of lead wire to the shank and slide the lead against the bead to seat it. Attach the thread and tie in the guard hairs for the tail. Tie in some brass wire for a rib, let it hang for the moment. Dub an abdomen of the orange-yellow concoction and counter wind the wire to reinforce the body. Tie in the middle of one piece of ‘pumpkin silileg’ along each side of the thorax (which is about ½ the length of the abdomen); this will leave you with two legs on each side. Dub the thorax over the legs. Tie off the thread against the rear of the bead. Trim the legs about as long as the body. The final act is to scrape the dubbed areas with the dubbing needle to make the fly look fuzzy. Neatness doesn’t count.

Soak the fly thoroughly and hold it up to the light. It will glow brightly and is translucent along the edges. I think this is the key to the fly’s success. I recommend bouncing it along the stream bottom on as short a line as you feel comfortable. I don’t use more than a foot or two of line outside the rod tip. Follow the drift with the rod tip to stay in touch with the fly.

I don’t normally take so much time and effort to put a fly together, but this one is definitely worth it. Give it a try and see what you think. Good nymphing!

Gary Borger to Appear to 2008 Annual Spring Banquet

Gary Borger has been booked as the special guest speaker at Nat Greene Flyfisher's Spring Banquet and Seminar on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at the Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport. 

Gary holds a BS (1966), and an MS (1968) from Penn State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1971). He is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Wisconsin Campus in Wausau where he taught for 28 years. During his career he offered Botany, Zoology lab, Natural History Photography, Writing in the Sciences, Dendrology, Ecology, Taxonomy, and other topics. He was presented with the Teacher of the Year Award on two different occasions. His achievements have been recognized in “Who’s Who in the Midwest,” “Who’s Who in Science and Engineering,” “Men of Achievement,” the “Dictionary of International Biography,” “Who’s Who Among America’s Teacher’s,” “Outstanding People of the 20th Century,” and “Outstanding People of the Millenium.”

He has been a fly fisher since 1955, and since 1972 has taught classes and lectured internationally on all aspects of fly fishing for trout and salmon. A free-lance writer and photographer and a former active member of the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America, Gary is also Midwest Field Editor for Fly Fisherman magazine, Editor at Large for the Virtual Fly Shop, and Fly Fishing Columnist for Midwest fly Fisher. He has written five best-selling books on fly fishing: “Nymphing,” “Naturals,” “ The Borger Color System,” “Designing Trout Flies,” and “Presentation.” Gary pioneered fly fishing video instruction with his release of “Nymphing” in 1982. Since then he has appeared in four videos for the 3M Company; and in cooperation with the Federation of Fly Fishers, produced the environmental video “Where The Trout Are.” His video production company has produced an additional 21, internationally acclaimed videos in the “Skills of Fly Fishing Series.” This production work has earned him a listing in “Who’s Who in Entertainment.” Gary was also a consultant on Robert Redford ’s movie “A River Runs Through It.” With his award-winning CD/cassette tape, “My Madison,” he pioneered fly fishing, nature-music audios. In addition, Gary is a the designer of the Weinbrenner Ultimate Wading Shoe, the Gary Borger Fly Vest, the Gary Borger Signature Fly Lines,, and many other innovative angling products and unique fly designs. He is a founding board member of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federation of Fly Fisher’s fly casting instructor certification program, a member of The Order of the Jungle Cock, Trout Unlimited, United Fly Tyers, the Federation of Fly Fishers, the American Museum of Fly Fishing, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center, and other conservation organizations. He is a recipient of the Ross Allen Merigold Complete Angler Memorial Award, the Charles K. Fox Rising Trout Award, the Joan and Lee Wullf Conservation award, and is internationally recognized for his conservation efforts; in recognition of this work he received the first Lew Jewett Memorial Life Membership in the Federation of Fly Fishers in 1979. Gary is currently Executive Vice President of Targus Fly and Feather, Inc.

http://www.garyborger.com

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