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TIGHT
LINES
September 2006 Newsletter of
the Rabun Chapter
(522) of Trout Unlimited Editor –
Doug Adams edadams1@alltel.net Visit the
Rabun TU website: http://www.rabuntu.com/ "Caution
is a most valuable asset in fishing, especially if you are the fish."
Unknown |
THE CHAPTER MEETING PLACE
Clayton Presbyterian Church
(Located behind the Post Office) - Clayton, GA
3rd 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.
"Why
does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm half way through my FISH burger
and I realize,
Oh my God .
. . I could be eating a slow learner."
Either by Lynda
Montgomery (comedian) or Lyndon
B. Johnson (36th President of
the United States)
Sept 16 (Sat) Waters Creek
Work Day (USFS / GA WRD / NGTO / TU)
Sept 19 (Tues) Chapter
Meeting, 6:30 pm, Clayton Presbyterian Church Program – Sheila & Dave Humphrey: Youth
Environmental Education Program & How to Catch Those Dukes Creek Trout
Sept 23 (Sat) Outdoor
Adventure Day at Unicoi S.P./Smith Creek
Sept. 26 (Tues) Board
of Directors meeting, 6:30 pm at the Church
Sept 27-Oct 1 (Wed – Sun)
Fishing & Camping West Fork, Holcomb & Overflow Creeks with
Camping at the Blackwell Place
Oct 14 (Sat) Chili Cook-off Coosa Valley TU, Rome, GA
Oct 17 (Tues) Chapter
Meeting, 6:30 pm, Clayton Presbyterian Church Program – Anthony Rabern: How to catch those BIG Lake
Burton brown trout.
Oct 24 (Tues) Board of
Directors meeting, 6:30 pm at the Church
FLY OF THE
MONTH
by Terry Rivers

As far as
what this pattern looks like? Some
think it suggests two mating midges.
Whatever. It has peacock herl, a
material with trout catching ability that should never be underestimated. When and where should it be used? During midge hatches (size 14-18) or anytime
you feel like casting a dry fly and there is no hatch in progress. Also in calm water, but use a long leader
with at least 7X tippet with a great presentation and it should get results.
HOOK: TMC 100,
SIZES 10-18
THREAD: BLACK 8/0
RIB: FINE GOLD
WIRE
TAG: GOLD MYLAR
TINSEL
REAR
HACKLE: BROWN
BODY: PEACOCK
HERL
FRONT
HACKLE: WHITE/ CREAM/ OR GRIZZLY
"The
great advantage one will have in creating his own patterns is in being able to
match more closely the size and form and hues and colors of the insects trout
feed on in one's favorite water."
Sylvester
Nemes
SEPTEMBER
HATCHES
Small Dun Caddis All Month Mid AM to Late PM 18
Brown Elk or Deer Hair Caddis 18 Grey Caddis Pupa
Speckled Grey-Brown Caddis Late Late PM 14–16 Dark Elk Hair Caddis
w/Yellow-Brown
14–16
Dun & Yellow Caddis Pupa
Large October Caddis Late
Early AM and Late PM 8-10
Ginger Elk Hair
8-10
Ginger Caddis Pupa
Trico Mayfly Early AM 20
Parachute Trico
Trico Spinner Fall 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, Hoppers, Various
Times & Sizes
Yellow Jackets, Etc
TU
Chapter ‘Website-of-the-Month’: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/5696/
Check
Their Main Project: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/5696/class.htm

Stekoa Creek enters the W&S
Chattooga River.
Lets Work
Together. Volunteer just one morning
per month (2 to 3 hours) to take water samples.
Contact Jenny Sanders – Project Manager at 706-782-6097 info@chattoogariver.org
For more info on the project: http://www.chattoogariver.org/index.php?req=stekoa
Rabunites,
we have talked about this for years, now lets do it!
Expert Panel Criteria and Nomination Form Nominations
Due September 1, 2006
For
details, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/panel.shtml
If you are familiar with the Upper Chattooga backcountry, if you are an experienced high water wader, if you can fly and spin fish, if you are available on short notice then please consider submitting your nomination.
The selection of the expert panelists will include about 16 members per panel, with the target of 6 to 8 panel members participating in the site reconnaissance trips, depending on the availability of the individual panel members. Selection of panelists will be based on the following qualifications: years of experience, skill level, previous experience participating in flow studies, level of availability, and knowledge of the area and/or river. Safety will be a key consideration. Members of the boater panel must have Class V whitewater boating experience. Members of the angler panel should have experience in a full range of angling techniques (fly fishing, spin fishing, etc.). Due to the nature of the flow variability, panel members must be able to participate on short notice. Ideally, all members will have experience in similar collaborative flow studies, have both angling and whitewater boating experience, and have utilized the Chattooga River for a variety of recreational activities.
Members of the public may nominate themselves or other qualified individuals through September 1, 2006.
Applications can be obtained on the Forest Service website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/epform1.pdf
The applications should be
sent to Email: lyaukey@louisberger.com
AW is
seeking immediate and unregulated access
A boater wrote, “Also, boating in the Headwaters will only
occur when the Chattooga is at high flow, so it will be when fishing and
swimming will be out of the question due to swift, high, brown water.”
Another boater wrote, “I fish, hunt, hike, ect. And I also like to boat on whitewater. These activities do not all coincide
with each other. Mother Nature does not
see fit to give us enough rain anymore to do much boating during the better of
the three seasons.”
A boater wrote, “Kayakers and fishermen must
work together to address the real threats to the Chattooga head
waters. The threats are 1) Overuse by all groups 2) Poor Forest Service
management and 3) Encroaching development.
Fighting over use rights while the river dies is pointless.”
Another boater wrote,
“Other growing threats are encroaching development and weak and
poorly enforces erosion control regulations on nearby private lands.
There are these and other real threats to the headwaters area that already
exist.”
And a 3rd boater wrote, “We should agree to disagree
in non-personal ways and carry our issues in a professional manner to maintain
working relationships that foster joint efforts to protect the resources
threatened everyday.”
And a 4th boater wrote, “The power of two groups working together have more
political power than splitting the groups into one that ‘has what they want’
and another that ‘wants want the other has.’ “
And a 5th boater wrote, “We
should refocus the direction of protecting the Chattooga by investigating the
building and development of the surrounding areas to determine the impact of
those things on the river rather than spending so much of our resources on
resolving a solution between user groups.”
And a 6th boater wrote, "I continue to be amazed that everywhere in
the country, except Rabun and Oconee county, TU and AW works together
cooperatively." “I have no doubt that TU and AW could work together
successfully on the Stekoa creek project. “
And a 7th boater wrote, “Thought you would like to see
AW's level of support and partnership in other regions of the country.”
And a 8th boater wrote, "I would hate to see the resources of TU or AW
continue to be wasted for years to come on this debate- there are more
important conservation issues (such as the extremely polluted Stekoa Creek)
that need to be addressed by both organizations."
A boater wrote, "It is discriminatory for one group (i.e. Boaters) to be excluded
from the use of a natural resource and public site while other groups are
allowed free reign."
Another boater wrote,
“Why do fishermen think they can own the river?”
And a 3rd boater wrote, “We all pay taxes too. Why is your
use to be given preference over other uses?”
Editor’s note: The
Chattooga is zoned with approximately two-thirds available for floating and
one-third for “foot travel only.” Zoning of
conflicting uses is good stewardship, not discrimination. Stewardship encompasses far more than
picking up litter; it includes the protection of the
aesthetic values of natural resources such as remoteness and wildness, the
proper regard for the rights of others to solitude, and the responsibility
of preserving those values intact for future generations.
Whitewater boaters try end-run around Upper Chattooga
analysis By Joe Gatins
(Excerpts from GA ForestWatch Summer 2006 newsletter article reprinted
here with permission of the writer)
American Whitewater and several other whitewater enthusiasts have filed
suit in U.S. District court in Gainesville to try to force immediate opening of
the upper 21 miles of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River to so-called
“primitive floaters.” Butch Clay,
of Mountain Rest, S.C., an advisor to the Georgia ForestWatch board, and real
“poet of the Chattooga,” perhaps best defined what is at stake here: “… the headwater
reach has remained to a large extent unsung, surviving as an improbably intact
and almost unbelievably wild vestige of primitive America, a last resort of
peace and quiet for humans, and a small but blessedly untrammeled haven for
flora and fauna widely (and increasingly) supplanted in this region by the
sprawling expanse of un-abating urban growth.”
The question for the Forest Service and all Americans is whether it is
better to maintain this virtually unique treasure, or open it up to increasing
pressures, including the commercial rafting and kayaking companies that
inevitably would seek access to the Upper Chattooga if the whitewater industry
managed to crack the headwaters’ door open. To read the complete article, visit
http://www.gafw.org/06SummerNewsletter.pdf
Q & A (“Q” from
the public & “A” from the USFS)
Q. Will
all user groups be treated equally in this study?
A. Yes,
all user groups will be treated equally.
(From Frequently Asked Questions – Take 2, Formulated
following October 13, 2005, Public Meeting
As posted
on the Sumter NF website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/faq.shtml )
Editor’s note: However, some stakeholders
feel they are not being treated equally.
The idea of selecting panels of expert boaters and anglers to serve as
focus groups didn’t sit well with most people attending the USFS public meeting
in Highlands (NC) on 7/27. (The following
are excerpts from the 8/2/06 Smoky Mountain News (SMN) article about the
meeting, to read the complete article, visit
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/08_06/08_02_06/out_my_chattooga.html )
“There’s hikers,
photographers, birders, swimmers. There should be a panel of those kind of
people, too,” said Doug Odell who lives on Lake Glenville near
Cashiers.
Following the
presentation, a crowd gathered around Doug Whitaker, a consultant hired by the
forest service to oversee the data collection, to complain about the study
format.
“You guys are
framing this as boaters against anglers,” said Buzz Williams,
director of the Chattooga Conservancy. “All these other user groups are
legitimate uses, but they’re being treated like red-headed stepchildren.”
“You’re acting
like there’s no interest other than from anglers and boaters,” said
Patrick Sanders, a second-home owners in Highlands who likes to hike.
“By not having a
panel you aren’t going to have the same caliber of information from others
users as you do boaters and anglers,” said Bill Rethorst, a
resident of Highlands and avid hiker with the Over the Hill Gang.
Amy Chase, who
lives in Cashiers, said input should be sought from more than just the avid
outdoorsmen, but should also include those in the local area who may never even
venture to the river. “It is a community resource in Cashiers and a
community issue,” Chase said, suggesting mailing surveys to homeowners.
“When I want a
wilderness experience, the only place left is the upper portion of the river,” Rethorst
said.
“Every other
river in the entire National Forest Service Wild and Scenic River system is
open to boating,” Colburn said. (Kevin Colburn with American
Whitewater)
“That’s exactly
the point,” said Pam Simion of Highlands. “Do you have to use every
resource?’
A fisherman told
Colburn that boating infringes on the ability to fish. “When a boat goes
through, the fish are down for an hour,” said John Benbow, president of
the N.C. Wildlife Federation.
“That’s an
inherent situation on any river,” Colburn said.
"For the rich, there is
therapy. For the rest of us, there is
BACKCOUNTRY solitude for hiking, birding,
and angling!"
Q
& A
Q. Are
there any restrictions or zoning on anglers like...equipment, lure or bait,
type of hook, time of day, time of year, size or creel limits on any sections
of the Upper Chattooga?
A. Yes, there surely are. The trout fishery in the North
Fork of the Upper Chattooga (a “foot travel only” area) is managed by the WRC /
DNRs of 3 states (NC, GA, & SC) and is "zoned" based on what is
biologically suitable for the steam conditions and also so that anglers with
different objectives, different social desires, and differing ways of
experiencing trout fishing and the environment can seek the area that best
suits their needs.
Headwaters (above Bull
Pen Road – 3 miles on FS land with an access trail setback from the river)
– ‘Wild trout/natural bait‘ management.
Upper Ellicott Rock Wilderness (NC portion from Bull Pen Road to Ellicott Rock - 2 miles without
an access trail along side) ‘Wild trout/natural bait‘ management.
For both above areas, NC WRC
stopped all stocking about 15 years ago. May be fished with artificial
lures or natural bait, except live fish. Lures and natural baits are restricted
to one single hook. The minimum length limit is 7 inches, and the daily creel
limit is 4 trout. NC fishing license
with trout permit required. The
solitude is excellent. The wild brown
trout fishery is in very good condition and stable. (see article that follows
this Q&A)
Lower Ellicott Rock Wilderness (below the NC line – 3 miles, easy access trails alongside
the river, overused by casual visitors) - ‘Wild Trout’ management. Any
bait or lure. Open 24-h / 365-d. Creel limit 8 trout. No size
restriction. Floating is not allowed. SC license or GA license with trout
permit required. The wild brown trout fishery is in good condition and
improving. The solitude has been
compromised by the high visitation rate attracted by the Wilderness label and
easy trails. The catch rate is lower
due to the elimination of the annual helicopter stocking and increased fishing
pressure facilitated by easy access trails.
The signage encouraging "catch & release" helps. It informs the casual anglers that the area
does not have the ‘easy’ stock trout.
It applies peer pressure to release the wild trout.
Burrell’s Ford Area (3/4 mile) – ‘Put and Take’ management w/truck stocking paid for by
fishing license fees. Overused and abused area. Any bait or lure. Open 24-h / 365-d. Creel limit 8
trout. No size restriction. Floating is not allowed. SC license or GA license with trout permit
required. The ‘put and take’ fishery has improved since SC took over
the Wahalla hatchery. The stocking rate
is higher, more frequent, and has a higher percentage of larger than average
rainbow and brown trout.
Backcountry (Burrell’s Ford Area to Reed Creek Confluence – 9 miles, good trail access
with 2 long reaches where trail is away from the river) – ‘Put and Grow’
management w/helicopter stocking of sub-adult trout every fall. Fishing license and trout stamp fees pay for
the trout and GA & Rabun TU contribute $1500 annually towards the helicopter
costs. Any bait or lure. Open
24-h / 365-d. Creel limit 8 trout. No size restriction.
Floating is not allowed. SC license or
GA license with trout permit required. The results are Excellent! The “Put & Grow” trout provides an
excellent catch rate. The fall stocking
provides the opportunity for the trout to disperse, grow, and become
stream-wise by springtime. The
backcountry solitude is outstanding, far better than in the Lower Wilderness
area. The trail access is excellent for
those that backpack in to camp, or for those that walk in or out in the dark
with a flashlight. The Chattooga
Coalition is responsible for the restoration of this backcountry fishery to
better quality than it was 35 years ago.
Nicholson
Fields Area (Reed Creek to Highway 28
Bridge – 2 ½ miles, easy trail access both sides of the river) – ‘Delayed
Harvest’ management (with 6 ½ months of ‘Catch & Release’ w/artificial
only, single hook & 5 1/2 months open for harvest w/any bait or lure,
creel limit 8 trout, no size restriction) w/helicopter and truck stocking of
trout paid for by fishing license fees. Open 24-h / 365-d.
Floating is not allowed. SC license or GA license with trout permit
required. The results are
outstanding! This beautiful section of
river now has a fishery that far exceeds anything it ever had in the past: high
catch rate, larger than average trout, and the opportunity to catch trophy size
rainbow, brown & brook.
Long
Bottom (below Highway 28 Bridge – 2 ½
miles, easy access) - ‘Put and
Take’ management w/truck stocking paid for by fishing license fees. Any bait or lure. Open 24-h /
365-d. Creel limit 8 trout. No size restriction. Floating is
allowed year around. SC license or GA license with trout permit
required. The fishery is better for the same reason described under the
Burrell’s Ford Area.
Wild Trout & Natural Bait In North Carolina This special regulation provides
unique opportunities for Tar Heel trout fishermen on some of the most
intriguing streams in the western part of the state. By Jeff Samsel
(Excerpts reprinted here from the NC
Game&Fish Magazine website, visit
http://www.ncgameandfish.com/fishing/trout-fishing/NC_0505_02/index.html
)
|
Photo by Ron Sinfelt |
Reaching among the submerged branches of a tree that stretches across a
remote mountain stream, an angler breaks off the deepest branch he can reach
and lifts it for examination. To his delight, the branch contains a gold-mine
of "stickbait" -- all he'll need for at least a couple of hours. So
he pulls a small container from his fishing vest and begins carefully
collecting treasures.
Stickbait, in
traditional Southern Appalachian lingo, refers to caddis fly nymphs, complete
with the little stick-like cases they build and inhabit. Old-time flyfishermen
often tipped nymphs with stickbait or fished the same baits alone on tiny
hooks, but still with the use of a fly rod to deliver the offering.
Not many
mountain anglers drift stickbait anymore, and regulations probably have played
some part in that change. Most tumbling high-country creeks, where stickbait
fishing once was popular, are now managed under wild trout regulations, which
do not allow the use of natural offerings. Several western North Carolina
streams, however -- 19 to be exact -- fall under a special designation of
"wild trout/natural bait," allowing anglers to probe wild trout
waters with natural offerings.
The streams were given this designation about a decade ago, as part of a
broad-based reclassification of trout streams by the North Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission. The NCWRC did not want to completely upend the way
anglers were accustomed to fishing on
many streams, according to Scott Loftis,
the fisheries biologist over District 9, where all 19 streams under this
designation are located.
The designation
blends wild trout regulations, which include a four-fish limit, a 7-inch
minimum size and an allowance of only a single hook, with hatchery-supported
regulations that permit the use of natural bait. It allows anglers who favor
bait, to fish backcountry streams for wild trout.
Wild
trout/natural bait waters tend to get overlooked by anglers, but they include
several outstanding streams. Brown, rainbow and brook trout are all part of the
mix in the streams, which are spread over eight western North Carolina
counties. The streams also vary dramatically in size and character.
Following the
special designation of these streams and other changes in the 1990s, the NCWRC
conducted electrofishing and creel surveys in several watersheds for five years
to measure impact. They found that angler pressure and harvest had virtually no
effect on stream populations in remote wild trout streams, even with the use of
live bait, Loftis said.
Because the wild
trout/natural bait streams vary so much in character and in the makeup of trout
populations, the best stream depends largely on an angler's specific
preferences. Loftis pointed toward the Chattooga River, the North Fork of the
French Broad River, Big Creek, Kimsey Creek and Buck Creek as some of the
streams that offer the best opportunities for fishermen.
The Chattooga
River, a National Wild & Scenic River beginning in the lower end of its
North Carolina run, is best known for its world-class whitewater offerings
along the Georgia/ South Carolina border and to a lesser extent for its trout
fishing farther up the same border. Through North Carolina, an outstanding
population of wild brown trout, including some large fish, gets minimal
attention from anglers because of the stream's remoteness and ruggedness.
Shocking surveys
on the Chattooga, conducted from 1992 to 1996, consistently showed high numbers
of first-year fish, which indicated that good conditions for natural
reproduction exist here. The surveys also turned up plenty of adult fish in the
stream. Most adult fish were in the 6- to 12-inch range, but stream surveyors
would sometimes bring up fish up to 16 inches.
Bull Pen Bridge
crosses the Chattooga a couple miles upstream of the North Carolina/South
Carolina/ Georgia border. Upstream or downstream, all access is by wading
(sometimes difficult wading) or by hiking one of a couple of trails, each three
miles or more in length that lead to the river near the border.
The most effective way to fish the Chattooga is to backpack into the
Ellicott Rock Wilderness by one of the trails and spend a couple of days
fishing, ideally with a Georgia or South Carolina license in addition to a
North Carolina license. Live crawfish dropped to the bottoms of big
boulder-strewn pools on gray days offer the best prospects for enticing hefty
brown trout.
Loftis noted
that two of the Chattooga's main tributaries, Scotsman and Fowler creeks, also
support good wild brown trout populations. These are much smaller and tighter
but lower in gradient overall and easier to access. They also get even less
fishing pressure than the main river.
Overflow Creek
in Macon County is also in the Chattooga River watershed; however, its flow
feeds the West Fork of the Chattooga River in Georgia, which joins the main
river more than 10 miles south of the North Carolina border. Small and fairly
remote, the North Carolina section of the Overflow supports mostly brown trout,
but has brook trout in its upper end. The topography the stream flows through
is unusual and a cause for caution by anglers: The stream will be strangely
flat for a long stretch and then plummet over a major waterfall.
BEFORE YOU GO:
For complete regulations regarding wild trout/natural bait waters and a
complete list of stream sections under this designation, visit the North
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Web site at www.ncwildlife.org. The site
also offers downloadable maps of trout waters. http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg02_Regs/pg2b3.pdf
“ I early learned that from almost any stream in a trout country
the true angler could take trout, and that the great secret was this, that
whatever bait you used—worm, grasshopper, grub, or fly—there was one thing you
must always put upon your hook, namely, your heart; when you bait your hook
with your heart the fish always bite; they will jump clean from the water after
it; they will dispute with each other over it; it is a morsel they love above
everything else.”
“Speckled
Trout” from the book "In The Catskills" (1910) by John Burroughs
What’s
New Elsewhere?
USFS - Washington Office Officials Uphold Forest Plans for Five Southern Appalachian National Forest (7/31/06) Columbia, SC - The Forest Service’s Washington Office on July 24 issued its decisions on several appeals of revised Land and Resource Management Plans in the Southern Region. The decisions affirmed the Regional Forester’s approval of management direction for the Chattahoochee-Oconee in Georgia, Cherokee in Tennessee, Daniel Boone in Kentucky, Sumter in South Carolina, and Jefferson in Virginia, as well as the National Forests in Alabama. “We are pleased the plans were affirmed, and we are excited about implementing the natural resource management direction these documents provide,” said Regional Forester Chuck Myers. Appellants raised similar issues in each set of appeals, covering issues such as forest management, terrestrial wildlife and aquatic species, wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, oil and gas development and mineral leasing, roads, and social and economic considerations, as well as procedural and planning requirements. A separate appeal of the Sumter National Forest plan, regarding the potential of opening the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River above Highway 28 to floating, is