TIGHT LINES June 2006 Newsletter of the

Rabun Chapter (522) of Trout Unlimited

Visit the Rabun TU website: http://www.rabuntu.com/

"To thoroughly enjoy fly fishing you need to get totally immersed every once in a while." Jimmy Moore

THE CHAPTER MEETING PLACE

Clayton Presbyterian Church (Located behind the Post Office) - Clayton, GA

3^rd Tuesday of the Month 6:30 pm – Social & Yarn Spinning 7:00 pm – Program & Meeting

(You don’t have to believe the yarns - - if you don’t want to)

At every regular chapter meeting there will be a raffle for fishing or camping items to help pay the cost of mailing the newsletter to members without E-mail.

Bring an item to donate and a dollar or two for raffle tickets - you might win something.

"I fished a little while ago with a man, not in his first youth, who had wasted the flower of his life on business and golf and gardening and motoring and marriage, and had in this way postponed his initiation (to fly fishing) far too long."

From "On Giving Advice To Beginners" by Arthur Ransome (1929)

“FORWARD CASTING” Important Dates - See you there!

June 3 (Sat) Kids Fishing Event; 8 am, Tallulah River – Sponsors: USFS, GA WRD, & TU

(Rabun TU is supporting this KFE with a donation of $300)

June 7 (Wed) GA TU Council Meeting, 6:30 PM, Bass Pro Shop, I-85 North of Atlanta

June 10 (Sat) Kids Fishing Event, Has been re-scheduled for 9 am, Black Rock Mountain State Park Lake

(Rabun TU is supporting this KFE with a donation of $200)

June 11 – 16 (Sun – Fri) GA Trout Camp; RGNS; All Day & All Night;

We need all the help we can get!

Contact Charlie Breithaupt, he is the Camp Director:

Ph 706 782 6954 or E-mail knc615@hughes.net

June 20 (Tues) Chapter Meeting, 6:30 PM, Clayton Presbyterian Church Program: Mack Martin “Alaska Fishing Trips to the Dog Salmon River”

June 29 (Tues) Board of Directors meeting, Location TBD

July 11 & 12 (Tues & Wed) Electro-Shock Sampling of Chattooga River (USFS, SC DNR & GA DNR).Lots of Volunteers needed!

July 18 (Tues) Family Picnic, 6 PM, Kelly’s Water Falls Park

July 25 (Tues) Board of Directors meeting, Location TBD

FLY OF THE MONTH

by Terry Rivers

MARCH BROWN

THIS FLY IS A MUCH NEEDED FLY PATTERN THIS TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN MAYFLYS ARE HATCHING AND YOU THINKING, “I WILL TIE ON A LIGHT CAHILL” WITH NOT TO MUCH ACTION. AND THEN YOU REALIZE THAT THE FLY SEEMS TO BE OF A LITTLE DARKER COLOR. YOU CAN SURE BET THAT IS A MARCH BROWN HATCHING. TIE ONE OF THESE ON AND SEE THINGS CHANGE.

HOOK: STANDARD DRY 12 TO 18

TAIL: BROWN HACKLE BARBS

BODY: BROWN DUBBING

WING: WOODDUCK FLANKS OR TIE IT PARACHUTE PATTERN

HACKLE: MIXED BROWN & GRIZZLY

RIB: BROWN 6/0 THREAD OR I USE SMALL VINYL RIB

"The flytier who practices with the flies he or she has created soon realizes that there can be a large degree of difference between a fly pattern that catches the admiration of anglers and those that catch trout."

Ken Iwamasa

JUNE HATCHES

The Bugs Time of Month Time of Day Suggested Flies Grey-Brown & Green Caddis Early Late PM 14–16 Dark Elk Hair Caddis w/Green 14–16 Dun & Green Caddis Pupa

Speckled Grey-Brown Caddis Early Late PM 14–16 Dark Elk Hair Caddis w/Yellow-Brown 14–16 Dun & Yellow Caddis Pupa

Small Dun Caddis All Month Mid AM 18 Brown Elk or Deer Hair Caddis 18 Grey Caddis Pupa

Giant Black Stonefly All Month Dawn to early AM 4–6 Black Stonefly Nymph

Brown Stonefly All Month Early to Mid AM 10–12 Brown Stonefly Nymph

Golden Stonefly All Month Early AM 6–10 Golden Stonefly Nymph

Light Cahill Mayfly All Month E to L pm 12-14 Light Cahill 12-14 Light Cahill Nymph

Trico Mayfly Mid to Late Mid AM 20 Parachute Trico

Trico Spinner Fall Late PM 20–22 Poly Wing Black Spinner

Midges All Month All Day 18-22 Griffith's Gnat 18-22 Midge Pupa

Terrestrials – Ants, Beatles, Crickets, Inch-Worms, Etc Various Times & Sizes

TU Chapter ‘Website-of-the-Month’: http://www.blueridgemountaintuonline.com/

(Take a look at “Members Scrapbook”)

The Fourth of a Series:

Traditional Southern Appalachian Trout Fly Patterns

Smoky Mountain King: Size 12-16 Smoky Mountain Rattler: Size 10-14 Smoky Mountain Fork Tail (burnt orange): Size 6-10

Another set of 3 in the Smoky Mountain Series of Dry Flies

“By Golly Boys - - it takes a BIG fly to catch a BIG fish.” A Kellyism

Would you like to have the original receipt for any of these Traditional Southern Appalachian Trout Flies?

Do you have a favorite Traditional Southern Appalachian Trout Fly Patterns you would like to see featured here?

Just send an E-mail request to: edadams1@alltel.net

Rabunite Clay Hudgins has spent about 10 years researching, information collecting, and compiling a wealth of pictures and data on the Traditional Southern Appalachian Trout Fly Patterns.

Clay has given us permission to share the results of his hobby with the readers of TIGHT LINES.

“It is quite easy to debase the sport, change its values, dilute its ethics and destroy its traditional associations with quietness, relaxation and the opportunity to think. Angling is not a competitive sport.

The fisherman’s only real competition is with his quarry and his only real challenge is the challenge to himself.

Nothing can add to this, but the blight of interhuman competition can certainly detract from it.”

From “Bright Waters, Bright Fish” by Roderick Haig-Brown

50 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH

Georgia published this magazine. The Burton Hatchery was new and was one of the finest in the South.

Trout Unlimited is Committed to Protecting and Preserving the Upper Chattooga Watershed

I, Max Gates, being first duly sworn, depose and say:

1. I am a citizen and resident of Clayton, Georgia.

2. I am competent and have personal knowledge of the matters discussed herein.

3. I served as USDA Forest Service (“USFS”) Forest Ranger for the Andrews Picken District of the Sumter National Forest in the Walhalla, South Carolina office from 1961-1972.

4. I served as Resource Assistant District Ranger for the USFS Tallulah District of the Chattahoochee National Forest from 1972 to 1986.

5. During the course of my employment with the USFS from 1962 to 1986 and as a citizen that often used and still uses the Chattooga River for personal enjoyment, I had regular and consistent opportunity to observe the Chattooga River and its uses before and after its designation as a Wild and Scenic River.

6. During the course of my employment with the USFS, I regularly traveled to and observed other wilderness and park areas throughout the Southeastern and Northwestern United States.

7. During the course of my employment with the USFS, I was involved in the study as how best to manage the newly established Wild and Scenic River portion of the Chattooga River.

8. Prior to this period, users of the portions of the Chattooga River that are now designated as wild and scenic enjoyed an experience of solitude and enjoyment of nature that was unique in the Southeast.

9. Following the publishing of the Wild and Scenic River Study (1971) and the release of the movie Deliverance (1972), boating usage of the Chattooga River increased dramatically.

10. As boating usage increased, we in the USFS had to respond to a number of boating accidents on the river both above and below Highway 28. One group involved 15 to 20 boy scouts in canoes floating from Burrell’s Ford. Two of the boys showed up at my house at midnight after becoming separated from the rest of the group. Each of the canoes had capsized and I do not believe we recovered any of the canoes. We simply did not have the resources at the USFS to monitor and regulate adequately all this usage above and below highway 28.

11. As boating usage increased, we also had to respond to reports of conflicts between boaters and non-boaters. Many local non-boaters told me that they felt that boaters were intruding on their feeling of safety and solitude in areas long used by such non-boaters for camping, swimming, hiking, fishing and picnics. Some of these people responded by expressing their anger at boaters through verbal barbs, throwing stones, and even firing of gunshots. USFS and other law enforcement personnel had to break up a number of such confrontations.

12. I concluded that the increased boating usage presented a threat to the quality of wilderness experience available to non-boating users.

13. I, with other managers, concluded that the area of the Chattooga River being designated as a Wild and Scenic River should be divided into zones of usage so as to allow citizens reasonable use of the Wild and Scenic river while minimizing conflicts between user groups, maximizing the ability of the USFS to manage the resource, and preserving the unique natural qualities of the river that resulted in such designation.

14. We concluded that boaters should be allowed access to sections of the Wild and Scenic River (often referred to today as Sections 2 through 4) but that the portion above Highway 28 should be preserved for those who desire the solitude experience that all sections of the river formerly provided.

15. The USFS adopted these recommendations to zone use.

16. Following adoption of the use zoning, there were many people drowned while floating the Chattooga. (I remember 19 people were drowned in the first three years alone) There were a number of conflicts between boaters and other users in the sections zoned for boating. However, the conflicts between boaters and other users gradually declined because of limited road access and the sheer number of floaters which discouraged other uses.

17. In my opinion, based on 25 years of professional forestry experience in the area and 40+ years of enjoying the use of the Chattooga river, the portion of the Chattooga River above Highway 28 is unique in the Southeast in terms of the quality of its wilderness solitude experience, and the quality of its wilderness hiking, nature watching, fly fishing and other outstanding recreational experience.

18. In my opinion, based on 25 years of professional forestry experience in the area and my years of enjoying the use of the Chattooga river, lifting the ban on boating above Highway 28 will damage the unique wilderness solitude experience and quality of wilderness hiking, nature watching, fly fishing and other outstanding recreational experience above Highway 28. Boaters already have access to the majority of the river and their usage of the river has impacted the quality of usage by non-boaters. Therefore it is fair to protect the interest in solitude and outstanding recreation experience of non-boaters in the remaining section. In short, something should be set aside for solitude and wilderness experience.

19. Finally, in my opinion based on 25 years of professional forestry experience in the area (that includes 14 years of responsibility for USFS law enforcement) and 40+ years of enjoying the use of the Chattooga river, the USFS would not be able to enforce adequately any rules for limited boating access above Highway 28.

Further, Affiant sayeth not. Max Gates April 10, 2006

I, Jim Barrett, being first duly sworn, depose and say:

1. I am a citizen and resident of Rockport, TX.

2. I am competent and have personal knowledge of the matters discussed herein.

3. I served as USDA Forest Service (“USFS”) title District Ranger for the Andrews Pickens Ranger District of the Sumter National Forest in the Walhalla, South Carolina office beginning in 1972. As such, I was responsible for timber, recreation, wildlife and general forest management in the District, including management of the portion of the Chattooga River that flowed through the District.

4. I served with USFS for six years in the USFS regional office in Atlanta. I then transferred to Louisiana and retired in 1987. Although I lived in the Atlanta area during this period I had regular opportunity to observe the Chattooga River and its uses before and after its designation as a Wild and Scenic River and still visit the river. I also had the opportunity during my 23 years of work with the USFS to travel to and observe forests and rivers throughout the Southeast.

5. During the course of my employment with the Andrew Pickens Ranger District, the USFS was conducting its study of the portions of the Chattooga River that were being considered for designation as a Wild and Scenic River and I had responsibility to assist with that study.

6. As part of its study, the USFS held a number of public forums to receive input from the general public, and various user interests and groups participated. We also discussed at these public forums proposed changes to the historic practices the USFS had used to manage the area, including the proposed zoning of the river for boating below Highway 28.

7. After much study and consideration of the public comments, we recommended and the USFS approved the use zoning that is still in place, and that I understand is currently being challenged.

8. In my opinion, based on 30 years of professional forestry experience in the Southeast and years of personal experience enjoying the Chattooga river

a. The portion of the Chattooga River above Highway 28 is unique in the Southeast in terms of the quality of its wilderness solitude experience, and the quality of its wilderness hiking, nature watching, fly fishing and other outstanding recreational experience;

b. lifting the ban on boating above Highway 28 will damage the unique wilderness solitude experience and quality of wilderness Hiking, nature watching, fly fishing and other outstanding recreational experience above Highway 28. Boaters already have access to the majority of the river and their usage of the river has impacted the quality of usage by non-boaters. Therefore it is fair to protect the interest in solitude and outstanding recreation experience of non-boaters in the remaining section. In short, there is no legitimate, valid reason to allow boating from Burrells Ford to Highway 28, or from even further upriver as some suggest; and

c. given its limited budget, the USFS has done an excellent job of managing the Wild and Scenic Area of the Chattooga River, having a bright line demarcation between boating and non-boating areas has made that job easier, and maintaining the existing status quo would help the USFS continue to manage this unique resource for the benefit of all users.

Further, Affiant sayeth not. Jim Barrett March 30, 2006

What’s New?

Boaters File Suit Against the USDA Forest Service: On May 18th several boating organizations and 3 individuals signed-on as the plaintiffs for the filing of a lawsuit against the Forest Service (FS) in federal court in Gainesville, GA. The suit seeks to overturn the 30-year old zoning of the Wild & Scenic Chattooga River. As a result of an appeal to the FS filed by the boaters in April ‘04 and in accordance to the instructions from the Chief of the FS in April ‘05, the Sumter National Forest is currently preparing a user capacity analysis for the Upper Chattooga. The boaters are now saying, “The user capacity analysis faulters with delays, communication breakdowns, and inherently flawed study designs.” The present zoning allows boating below the Highway 28 Bridge and the entire West Fork of the Chattooga. The private boaters are seeking immediate and unregulated access (any number of boats, anytime, any water level) for rafting, canoeing, and kayaking on the last 21 miles of the Upper Chattooga. The stretch of river at issue is presently zoned for foot travel only (no horses, no bicycles, no boats) for those visitors seeking solitude, remoteness, and a true wilderness experience. (Editor’s note: The Friends of the Upper Chattooga believe this is fair and reasonable zoning.)

The Friends of the Upper Chattooga believe the lawsuit has no legal merit and expect the FS to defend itself vigorously in this matter. The group anticipates the FS will heed the lessons it learned downstream years ago as it continues to protect the resources of the Upper Chattooga. That experience reveals an 800-fold increase in boating along the Lower Chattooga from 1968 to the 1990s, a 500 percent increase in the 20 years after 1976, and a host of accompanying problems (including conflicts between user groups and resource damage). “This kind of usage suggests the outstandingly remarkable values of the river will be at stake if the federal government opens the river above the Route 28 Bridge,” said Buzz Williams, spokesman for the group.

To see the FS Use Data for the growth in boating count downstream of the Highway 28 Bridge since 1968, click on: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/recreation/riveruse.html

The Friends of the Upper Chattooga include the Chattooga Conservancy, Georgia ForestWatch, various state councils of Trout Unlimited, the Whiteside Cove Association and several private landowners along the upper corridor of the Chattooga, a Congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River. Members of the group, individually and collectively, possess decades of experience on this river.

The primary goals of the group are to help protect the Upper Chattooga’s wild and scenic values, to educate the public to threats to these values, and to assist the Forest Service in arriving at a reasonable decision that, above all, protects this river’s resources. The stretch of river at issue is a haven for hikers, hunters, naturalists, bird watchers, swimmers and trout fishermen. It includes the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area and Rock Gorge, among the few remaining wild places in the tri-state area that still provide high-quality solitude and wilderness experience. The group wants to help the Forest Service do what is best for the long-term future of the Upper Chattooga.

Take a few minutes, tell the Forest Service what the Upper Chattooga means to you by sending your comments to:

Project Coordinator - John Cleeves, E-mail jcleeves@fs.fed.us USDA Forest Service, 4931 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29212

For info on the User Analysis, click on: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chatt.shtml

NEWS RELEASE from TROUT UNLIMITED, ARLINGTON, VA (5/4/2006)– Brook trout populations have been eliminated or greatly reduced throughout more than 80% of their historical habitat in Georgia and South Carolina. These results reflect the condition of brook trout across their entire Eastern range, according to an assessment released today by a coalition of natural resource agencies and Trout Unlimited.

“Brook trout are the canary in the coal mine when it comes to water quality,” said Gary Berti, Trout Unlimited’s Eastern Brook Trout Campaign Coordinator. “The presence of brook trout in a watershed indicates that water quality is excellent. Declining brook trout populations can provide an early warning that the health of an entire stream, lake or river is at risk.”

The report, “Eastern Brook Trout: Status and Threats,” is the first comprehensive assessment of the status of brook trout in the Eastern United States. These beautiful fish historically thrived in rivers and streams stretching from Maine to Georgia, but land use pressures and stocking of competing fish species have largely relegated the remaining isolated populations to the headwaters of high elevation streams.

The Georgia/South Carolina assessment looked at 118 different watersheds of about 15 square miles each. Brook trout were found in streams in 25% of the watersheds where they likely existed prior to European settlement. Brook trout are currently found mainly above barrier waterfalls in headwater streams on U.S. Forest Service lands. Most of these populations have been stable for the last 50 years due to their isolation and good public lands management.

The loss of brook trout range began with early settlers clearing the land and continued through the early 20^th century when most of the Appalachians were extensively logged by industrial interests, without any environmental controls. Because these events reduced trout populations in many streams, hatchery trout were often stocked to restore trout fisheries. In many streams, brook trout have been unable to compete successfully with browns and rainbows, and many miles of former brook trout streams now support reproducing populations of rainbow and brown trout.

While the limited number of intact brook trout populations is cause for concern, it is not necessarily cause for undue alarm, since most of the loss of brook trout range occurred prior to the middle of the last century. Since that time, many streams have recovered to the point that they will now support wild trout fisheries, although they may be naturally reproducing rainbow or brown trout.

“While these results are sobering, we are already pursuing conservation opportunities with our partner agencies and volunteer groups to benefit Georgia’s brook trout resource,” said Lee Keefer, Fisheries Biologist, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “Our collective challenge is to determine the most effective brook trout conservation measures while balancing factors such as cost, probability of success, and potential impacts to other forest users. Obviously it would be impossible to restore the brook trout to its entire former range. We must prevent further loss of brook trout habitat, enhance the habitat we have, and investigate the potential for restoring this species to some of its former range.”

“The Georgia Legislature recently named the Southern Appalachian Brook Trout as the state’s Cold Water Game Fish,” explained Kevin McGrath, Back-the-Brookie Chairman for Trout Unlimited’s Georgia Council. “They recognized the brookie as a ‘significant component of the state and region’s ecological integrity, biological diversity, and sport fishing legacy.’ Wanting to ‘contribute to the efforts to protect this magnificent state natural resource’ the Legislature included the Southern Appalachian Brook Trout in the list of state symbols.”

This assessment represents the first stage of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture’s collaborative efforts to restore brook trout habitat. The Joint Venture was initiated in 2002 as a pilot program of the National Fish Habitat Initiative. Participants include fish and wildlife agencies from 17 states, federal partners, conservation organizations and academic institutions. The results of this assessment will be used to develop state-by-state strategies for brook trout conservation and recovery.

The full report, as well as state-specific data and maps, are available at www.brookie.org.

Contacts: Kevin McGrath, 404-668-5835, TU Georgia Council Lee Keefer, 706-947-3112, Georgia DNR

Jim Wentworth, 706-745-6928, Chattahoochee NF

Kathleen Campbell, 571-274-0597, TU National

MARCH BROWN

Trout Unlimited is Committed to Protecting and Preserving the Upper Chattooga Watershed

New Data Shows Brook Trout Imperiled Throughout Entire Eastern Range

Georgia and South Carolina Brook Trout Populations Greatly Reduced From Historic Levels