Across the Stream – October 2008
A Publication of Heart of America Fly Fishers
HOAFF September Meeting
Monday, September 15 - 6:30pm
HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
Shawnee Mission Park • Shelter #4
President’s Message
Club Picnic
by Darren Watson
Our next club meeting is the annual club picnic at Shawnee Mission Park. It reminds me of the first time I attended a HOAFF meeting. It was about 3 years ago. It was at the annual picnic that I first came and joined this club. I have learned a great deal and improved my fly fishing skill a great deal over the last 3 years.
And don’t forget: The auction is just around the corner. I have been busy making some of my favorite fly’s to donate. If you know of someone who may want to help support our club let someone know and we will contact them. Also, if you have some gear not being used, consider donating it.
The Southern Council FFF Conclave in Mountain Home, AR is about a month away. It will be my first time to go, and I’m really looking forward to it. I know there are quite a few of us going, and we’ll try and get some fishing time in as well. The following weekend is the Montauk/Current river outing. Maybe we should just stay south and fish all week!
HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
by Ron Carruthers
What: HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
Where: Shawnee Mission Park • Shelter #4
When: September 15, 2008 • Starting at 6:30 pm
It is hard to believe but our annual picnic is just around the corner. Can summer have gone by that quickly? Anyway, just an early heads-up that we plan to have our family picnic again this year at Shawnee Mission Park, Shelter #4.
The club will provide the BBQ, bread/buns, utensils and beverages. You should plan to bring a covered dish or dessert to help round out the meal.
We plan to have an honest to goodness casting course for everyone this year so bring your favorite rod. If you forget we plan to have the club rods available. Casting lessons will be given before the start of the July and August monthly meetings so be sure not to miss those.
Directions: From I435 and 87th Street go west on 87th to Renner (1st street west of I 435). Turn north (right) to the Shawnee Mission Park entrance which will be on your left about 1/2 mile. Enter the park and stay to the right. Go around the north side of the lake and look for Shelter #4. Our HOAFF banner will be out front.
See you there!!
2008 Officers
President
Darren Watson
816-805-8761 dwatson@lawingfinancial.com
Past President
Mark Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Secretary
Jim Jorgenson
913-469-1950 jjorgensen@ci.lenexa.ks.us
Treasurer
Paul Bennetts
913-338-3837 pbennetts1@comcast.net
Newsletter
Tom James
816-718-0393 tom@blackdogsports.com
Newsletter Assistant
Mark Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Programs
John Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Cliff Cain
913-558-5069 cliffcain@hotmail.com
Education
Outings
Ron Carruthers
816-741-7251 rcarruthers2@kc.rr.com
Jim Bebb
913-721-3397 jbebb@communitynationalbank.net
Membership
Frederick Clark
913-831-0305 fclarks@planetkc.com
Dan Sulit
913-268-3848 kenaisu@aol.com
Conservation Team
Kevin Carril
913-362-9379 rrac3@sbcglobal.net
John Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Library
Doug McDonald
913-764-6678 mcdoug5148@sbcglobal.net
Web Master
Bill Brant
816-941-9691 billandkathy@kc.rr.com
Raffle/Auction
Mark Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Spring Programs
Dick Martin
816-781-9557 rlm@mllfpc.com
Don Grundy
816-781-9019 dgrundy@sbcglobal.net
Event Coordinator
Bill Brant
816-941-9691 billandkathy@kc.rr.com
Southern Council Liaison
Hod McIntosh
913-722-3684 singingreels@kc.rr.com
Supernumerary
David Andrews
816-741-8314 davidgandrews@kc.rr.com
An Addition to My Life List
by Norm Crisp, Stream Side Adventures
What: HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
Where: Shawnee Mission Park • Shelter #4
When: September 15, 2008 • Starting at 6:30 pm
One of the wonderful things about fly fishing is that there are some many different members of the trout and salmon family waiting to be caught. Sure, just catching them is fun but to catch them from their native range is even more special. Unfortunately many of our native species are extremely rare or have been extirpated from their original range. On August 25th my life list stood at 23 species or sub-species. On August 26th I added Thymallus arcticus the Artic Grayling!
According to Dr. Robert Behnke, the authority on the trout and salmon family, since the last glacial period Grayling have only been know to occur in portions of northern Michigan and the Missouri River Basin above Great Falls, Montana. In Michigan they were extirpated from their last refuge, Otter Creek in the mid-1930’s. In Montana they didn’t fare much better and their range has been reduced to the upper portions of the Big Hole River – generally above the town of Divide - and to a few Big Hole River tributaries. I made several trips between the Kansas City area and the University of Montana to see where my son and money were going and each time I searched for a grayling but never found one. This trip proved to be the charm. My research had told me that one tributary stream in particular should have a viable population. The water levels and temperatures were just right this trip. Another quest ended.
Grayling from both the Big Hole River and many locations in Canada and Alaska have been artificially propagated and stocked in many mountain lakes in the western states. Some of these fish have moved short distances and occur in the inlet and outlet streams. I’ve caught them, but adding one of those to my life list would have been like cheating at solitaire. A fish this special deserved my respect.
Under the Haystack
by Steve Jenkins
Fran Betters has become a fly-fishing legend in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. His patterns, like the Ausable Wulff and the Usual are well known and real producers. Yet, he is also the active promoter of an old, old pattern known as the Haystack. This is a dry-fly pattern tied without feathers – just deer hair and a dubbed body. It is the picture of simplicity. And, it has been the basis of more modern patterns, like the Comparadun, created by Al Caucci. Gary Borger’s sparkle dun pattern comes from the same line.
I’ve tied and fished this Haystack pattern for over 40 years. It was an essential part of my flybox for fishing the West Branch of the Ausable River in Upstate NY. Fran’s shop is near by. And the pattern works well for me elsewhere, like in the Ozarks and in Colorado.
Doug, one of my fly fishing mentors from New York, introduced me to the Haystack. When he and his wife moved to Phoenix after retirement, we’ve managed to fish together most summers on the Frying Pan in Colorado near the end of August. In late August, there are three flies of significance on the Frying Pan, other than the omnipresent midges. When it is a bit cloudy, blue winged olives (BWO), or Baetis, are abundant. Also, PMDs are still on the water, and, there are the Green Drakes. The drake hatch works its way up the Roaring Fork and up the Frying Pan where the hatch finally expires by mid September.
Now Doug is a good friend, but not someone you want to follow up the stream. He cleans up! But he has taught me heaps. He is a pocket water addict. The Ausable and the Frying Pan are classic pocket water. I relish pocket water, too, but not with quite the passion of Doug. And pocket water cries out for flies that float, and float well. Pocket water is a mighty difficult venue if only small flies are on the water. But, whether it is the Ausable or the Frying Pan – or other similar water – sometime in the day, you will find both of us fishing an Ausable Wulff, size 12.
Regrettably, Doug’s schedule and mine this summer didn’t click. So, I had the water to myself, undisturbed by my “vacuum cleaner” buddy. But, there is another obstacle on the ‘Pan in late August – high water. The Frying Pan is a tailwater and this year Ruedi Reservoir was full. Downstream in the Colorado River there is an endangered “trash” fish which needs more water to spawn. Releases from Ruedi are the answer. At flows much above 250 cfs, the Frying Pan can be tricky to wade – It was running nearly 300 cfs this year.
My first day found me starting in a quieter stretch to try out a new streamer pattern. (It produced only one anemic strike.) Some PMDs were showing by 10 AM and I took two smallish browns on a size 16 blonde Haystack. The emerger on the dropper did nothing. So, soon I moved downstream about a mile to Doug’s favorite run of pocket water. It is about 1⁄2 mile long and even with normal water levels, it is swift for the whole distance. I managed to get in and across the stream without mishap. The drakes were beginning to show, so as soon as I got to a safe spot, off came the PMD haystack and on went the drake rig.
Fishing two flies is something Doug taught me. Now, it is like your American Express card – I don’t go out without it (two flies). I used a 9 ft. leader with 5X tippet and a 4X dropper about 20 inches up. The tip fly was a Grey Wulff and the dropper carried a Haystack – both in size 12. On the first cast – no lie – a 13 inch brown ate the Wulff. Soon another, and then another, and I hadn’t moved five feet! It was barely 11 AM and I’m really into fish. But, the Haystack produced absolutely zero, even when I later lost the Grey Wulff and changed over to the Ausable Wulff. 19 fish – not too bad for the first day on the stream!
Day two was still bright and sunny, but had become very windy. I tried the same approach – fished with the new streamer and then to the PMD, before returning to the same stretch as earlier with my drake rig. But, the fish gods were frowning. Very little action, however, what success I had was on the Haystack. The Grey Wulff lost the day before was not replaceable. It was a lone creation in my green drake box containing probably 75 flies of all descriptions. After loosing the Wulff, that evening I over wrapped several olive body Wulffs with light grey dubbing, but those fish that were eating were into Haystacks. The count at the end of the day was 8 and nothing of note except the first rainbow – about 9 inches.
The Haystack is a ridiculously simple fly to tie. Good materials make a difference. It has a deer hair tail and wing, flared in about a half-circle on the shank of the hook. The dubbed body follows and I also dub a bit in front of the wing to keep it upright. In the past my Haystacks for drakes used light deer hair and an olive-green dubbed body, sometimes with a maroon floss rib. This year I had used mule deer hair for the wing and body. It is more grey, but a bit more fragile than white-tail deer. The body was dubbed with a “super secret” material purchased last year at Taylor Creek fly shop, near the Frying Pan. It seems to be mostly rabbit fir and some synthetic, but is it anything but green or olive – it is more bluish grey, and light. This was the Haystack the fish were eating on the windy day.
The next day, another “blue-bird” day, found me in different water, somewhat farther upstream. Once I got into the water – wading up there was scary -- I immediately took a nice brown on the PMD Haystack, size 16. This fly used light elk hair for the wing and tail and a pale yellow synthetic dubbing. The thread was fire-red. This color bled through the dubbed body and provided that unique reddish abdomen color of the PMDs on the Frying Pan. But the drakes were coming and I rerigged. Day three netted 23 fish, 22 on the drake patterns. And, the Haystack was the king, again. I only had three Haystacks in the “new” colors and they got beat up quick. I did take a few fish on the modified Grey Wulff, but the over wrap grey bodies came off and that was the end. But, I was a happy guy.
The last day was the best. Weather hadn’t changed. I know the guys who came to fish the Baetis hatch were upset – no clouds meant very few flies. But, I was like a pig in mud with the drakes. The PMD Haystack produced three fish before I switched. Although my Haystacks were in shambles, they took most of the fish, including two 14 inch rainbows and one at 15+. One brown taped at 16+ inches. By late in the day, I put on the Ausable Wulff because all the Grey Wulffs were in shreds or soaked. But by then, the fish were punching out and heading home for the day. So did I.
The Haystack is appealing not only because it is easy to tie, but it sits flush on the water. Sometimes, this presentation must be taken for an emerger. But, I’m not trying to figure out why, I just liked the results.
HOAFF Logo Lapel Pins
We now have enameled Lapel/Hat/Vest Pins with the HOAFF logo. Every new member who joins in 2008 will receive a pin. The pins will be available for sale for $5.00 each.
HOAFF Apparel is here
Hats $15 • T-Shirts $12
Now you can get a T-shirt or a fishing hat with the new Heart of America Fly Fishers Logo.
Revenge of the Trout Zombies
Bruce Cochran’s new book, “Revenge Of The Trout Zombies”, published by Willow Creek Press, is a humorous look at trout fishing.
It’s paperback, retails for $9.95, and is available at book stores. If they don’t have it on the shelf, they can order it. It’s also available on Amazon.com and of course personalized copies are available from me.
Grasshoppers on Dry Run Creek
by John Berry, www.berrybrothersguides.com
I recently guided two young men, Austin (eight years old) and Andrew (six years old), on Dry Run Creek. For those of you who are not familiar with this body of water, Dry Run Creek is a small stream that is set aside as Catch and Release for children under sixteen years of age and the handicapped. It is a tributary of the Norfork River and it is teeming with huge trout. This is the perfect place to introduce young people to fly fishing. Both of the boys fished but had never fly fished.
I picked up Dad and the boys at 7:30 AM at the camp site. We drove over to Dry Run and we gathered up our gear and went far up stream. The boys did not have waders so I chose a spot to fish where we could effectively cast and land fish from the bank. I carefully rigged Austin’s rod. I used 4X tippet and a large San Juan worm under an indicator with a bit of lead to sink the fly. I placed him where he could easily cast into a fast riffle. I turned my attention to Andrew. While I was rigging him in a similar fashion Austin landed his first trout a small rain bow. His dad helped him release it and he was fishing again.
About that time, I heard him yell out “big fish”. I grabbed my big net and walked over to get a look at the fish. It was huge! I began to calmly coach him. He responded well and kept the line tight. He quickly reacted to the swift movements of the big rainbow. After what seemed like an eternity, the bow finally surrendered and allowed me to net him. He was a beauty. I pulled out my tape measure and he registered a righteous twenty four inches. We quickly posed for a couple of photos and I then released him unharmed into the stream. He slowly swam off. Austin stayed in the same spot and picked up several nice fish in the process.
Andrew was not doing as well. He was struggling a bit. He was in decent water and was getting takes. Every time the strike indicator went down he was a bit slow on the trigger. The trick to guiding is to match the technique with the client so that you are maximizing their potential. I thought about using a dry fly. The natural tendency on fishing dry flies is to set the hook too soon. I thought that Andrew’s slower hook set might be effective on the dry fly.
I chose a large foam hopper from my fly box for a couple of reasons. It was big and floats like a cork but I had also observed some grasshoppers on the bank as I walked in. I tied it on with 3X fluorocarbon tippet. I do not usually use fluorocarbon on dry flies because it has a greater specific gravity than water and does not float. I thought its abrasion resistance and greater strength might be an advantage in this situation. We walked the stream until we found a nice trout holding in a prime lie. I had Andrew cast the fly above the trout and allow it to drift over the fish. The trout followed the fly for four feet and finally took it. Andrew lifted the rod but no hook up. The trout moved on.
We found another fish and set to work casting at him. He followed the fly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he rose and nailed the hopper. Andrew tentatively lifted the rod and the next thing I heard was the whine of the reel as the rainbow ran down stream. I grabbed my net and carefully coached him on the fight. He did a masterful job and in a few minutes the seventeen inch rainbow was in the net. His first trout and he caught it on a dry fly. He stuck with the hopper and caught a couple more. The next fish was a twenty-two inch monster that swam across the stream to attack the hopper in still water. This struggle took a bit longer. Dad was able to come up and watch the landing. He took a quick photo and we released the trout.
Andrew was interested in fishing hoppers now. I rigged him up like Austin. He was a bit quicker on the trigger and missed a couple right off the bat. With a bit of coaching, he landed a nice sixteen inch bow. Once he had accomplished that feat, he returned to nymphing and landed the fish of the day. It was a twenty one inch rainbow that had a sixteen inch girth and he humped six times. It was a protracted struggle but he finally gave it up. By this time it was getting hot. Even Dry Run Creek can get a bit muggy. The boys were worn out and we reluctantly pulled the plug. It had been the sort of day where memories were made.
John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished the local streams for over twenty-five years. John can be reached at (870) 435-2169 or www.berrybrothersguides.com .
The Treatise of Fishing with an Angle, Dame Juliana Berners,
Abbess of Sopwell , 1496
“I charge you, that you break no man’s hedges in going about your sports, nor open any man’s gates without shutting them again. Also, you must not use this aforesaid artful sport for covetousness, merely for the increasing or saving of your money, but mainly for your enjoyment and to procure the health of your body and more especially, of your soul. For when you intend to go to your amusements in fishing, you will not want very many persons with you, who might hinder you in your pastime. And then you can serve God devoutly by earnestly saying your customary prayers. And in so doing, you will eschew and avoid many vices, such as idleness, which is the principal cause inciting a man to many other vices, as is right well known. Also, you must not be too greedy in catching your said game (the fish is meant here) as in taking too much at one time, a thing which can easily happen if you do in every point s this present treatise shows you. That could easily be the occasion of destroying your own sport and other men’s also. When you have a sufficient mess, you should covet no more at that time. Also yo should busy yourself to nourish the game in everything that you can, and to destroy all such things as are devourers of it. And all those that do according to this rule will have the blessing of God and St. Peter. That blessing, may He grant who bought us with His precious blood.“
Montauk/Current River Fall Outing
The last club sponsored outing of the year, before the annual banquet at Bennett Springs, will be the Montauk/Current River outing on October 10, 11, 12. The Club has reserved three sleeping cabins in the park. Each cabin has two double beds. They rent for $69 a night, double occupancy. To reserve a place on the list please give your name and check for $69 (assumes two to a cabin) to Jim Bebb or Ron Caruthers. Rooms at the lodge may still be available if you want to make your own arrangements. The phone number is 573-548-2434. If you go to the web site for Montauk state park there are links to other venders for lodging.
Upcoming Events & Programs
Sept 15 Annual Picnic Shawnee Mission Park
Oct 10 - 12 Montauk/Current River Fall Outing
Nov 17 Annual Auction & Raffle
Dec 5-7 Annual Banquet Bennett Spring
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