|
|
TIGHT
LINES
November 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/ “My rod
and my reel, they comfort me.” |
CHAPTER’S NEW
MEETING PLACE
Community Bank & Trust, On US 441 next to Ingles, Clayton, GA
We meet in the Community Room (Outside Entrance on
South Side)
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.
"There are two distinct kinds of
visits to tackle-shops, the visit to buy tackle and the visit which may be
described as Platonic when, being for some reason unable to fish, we look for
an excuse to go in, and waste the tackle dealer's time."
From On Tackle Shops by Arthur
Ransome (1929)
Nov 1 (Wed) Start Date of
GA’s Delayed Harvest Season
Happy
Second Season!
Nov 8 – 12 (Wed – Sun)
Campout and Fishing with Camping in Long Bottom and with Fishing
in the Chattooga DH, backcountry, and front-country.
Contact Terry Rivers: Ph 706 782 7419 E-mail tlr1121@alltel.net
Nov 21 (Tues) Chapter
Meeting, 6:30 pm, Community Bank & Trust Community Room Program – Jeff Fields, President of
NGTO: Who Are We and How We Can Work Together (i.e. Trout Camp)
Nov 28 (Tues) BOD Meeting
and Rod Building Workshop at Terry River’s shop. BOD at 6:30 PM & Rod Building at 7 PM.
Dec 2 (Sat) GA TU Council
Annual Planning Meeting with USFS, GA WRD, and NPS. 9 AM at USFS office.
FLY OF THE
MONTH
by Terry Rivers

THIS FLY IS
VERY EFFECIVE WHEN YOU SEE BIG SWARMS OF MIDGES, TIE THIS IN OLIVE COLOR AND
DROP BEHIND A BLUE WING OLIVE WHEN YOU SEE THEM HATCHING AND THIS COULD LAND
YOU A BIG SURPRIZE OR MAYBE A ‘GOODUN.’
HOOK: TIEMCO 2487; SIZE 14-20
HEAD: BLACK
GLASS BEAD OR TUNGSTON
BODY: BLACK
THREAD AND PALMER WITH SILVER WIRE
“John
Harder (of Orvis) tells me that though Orvis gets frequent requests for hackle
necks with size 20 to 28 hackles on them, the company receives so few orders
for hooks in those sizes that it’s hardly worth keeping them in stock. His opinion is that precious few people
actually get around to tying up many size 24s compared to the attention those
small flies get in the magazines. “
From American
Fly Fishing by Paul Schullery
NOVEMBER HATCHES
The Bugs Time of Month Time of Day Suggested
Flies
Small Dun Caddis Early Mid AM to Late PM 18
Brown Elk or Deer Hair Caddis 18 Grey Caddis Pupa
Blue Winged Olive & All
Month
Late AM to Mid PM 16-18 BWO, Blue Quill or Adams
Parachute
Blue Quill 16-18
BWO nymph or Pheasant Tail
Midges
All Month
All
Day 18-22 Griffith's Gnat 18-22 Midge Pupa
TU
Chapter ‘Website-of-the-Month’: http://www.saludatu.org/
Read
about Safety Concerns on Tailwaters: http://saludatu.org/news/www/articles.cfm?fo=Articles&method=story&RecordID=402

Stekoa Creek enters the W&S
Chattooga River.
Lets Work
Together. Volunteer just one morning
per month (1 to 2 hours) to take water samples.
Contact
Jenny Sanders – Project Manager at 706-782-6097
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!
Ask your Representatives for help to
clean-up Stekoa Creek. It only takes a
few minutes. Click on: http://www.chattoogariver.org/index.php?req=stekoa
"Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for
wise men to contemplate."
Izaak Walton
National
Trout Unlimited honors WRD's Jeff Durniak
Jeff Durniak Recognized for Conservation and Education Efforts

Steve
Moyer-VP, Jeff Durniak & Charlie Breithaupt
Durniak is the Fisheries Management Region Supervisor for Northeast Georgia. Trout Unlimited honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the professional fields that influence the success of TU's mission. This organization recognizes award winners for their passion for conserving, protecting and restoring coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.
"We should
consider ourselves fortunate to have someone of Jeff Durniak's caliber
protecting the water resources in the northeast part of this state," said
Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Director Dan Forster. "I am sure it is
rewarding for Durniak to receive this award from Trout Unlimited, but it also
is rewarding to those of us with this agency, who know how worthy he is of that
recognition."
Durniak began his career with WRD in 1986 as a fisheries biologist at the Lake Burton Trout Hatchery in Rabun County.
He has a
Bachelor's degree in Biology from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in Fisheries
Management from the University of Tennessee.
Durniak was
promoted to Region Supervisor in 1995 and oversees a 16-county area, which
includes two state trout hatcheries (Burton and Buford), many major reservoirs
and much of the trout waters in Georgia.
During his
career with WRD, Durniak has achieved an impressive list of accomplishments
including: Initiating and coordinating an annual Outdoor Adventure Day that
provides over 1,000 participants an opportunity to begin or improve hunting, fishing
and other outdoor activity skills, working with the U.S. Forest Service on a
management plan to assure good watershed restoration and protection,
implementing the first "delayed harvest" program for the State,
through which portions of certain streams are managed as "catch and
release" through part of the year in order to ensure high catch rates, and
his tireless efforts of encouraging those he comes in contact with, whether
they be conservation organizations like TU or just individuals, to introduce
someone new to fishing.
Visit, http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/index.shtml
Editor’s notes: Congratulations, Jeff ! Jeff was the Charter Director of Rabun TU in
charge of arranging meeting programs.
Coleman Awarded AW Steward
of the Year Award
Charlene
Coleman Recognized for River Access, Conservation, and/or Safety Contributions
Annual Gauley Festival in SUMMERSVILLE, WV (9/27/06)
[The following are excerpts from the American Whitewater (AW) website] American
Whitewater and Wave Sport presented the AW Steward of the Year Award to
Charlene Coleman of Columbia, South Carolina, at the
annual American Whitewater Gauley Festival in Summersville, WV this past
weekend. Coleman is the first recipient of the annual river
stewardship achievement award, which recognizes individuals who make
outstanding contributions to river access, conservation, and/or safety on
behalf of American Whitewater. Along with the recognition Coleman was
awarded the Wave Sport boat of her choice. When
speaking about her work, Charlene states “The Chattooga River raises such soul
wrenching emotion in so many people, it makes it hard for many to understand
what we are doing is pointing out a wrong, that if not corrected could effect
all natural resource users in the future. It’s not just about boating, it’s
about the law.”
To see the complete article, visit
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/10191/display/full/
Editor’s notes: Congratulations,
Charlene ! Charlene is an active and valued member of Saluda (SC) Chapter of
TU and a SE Regional Coordinator for American Whitewater (AW). She
has been an integral part of the AW "Chattooga
Defense Team”, along with AW Vice President Don Kinser (a member of Rabun TU – see
Don’s Letter to the Editor elsewhere in this newsletter). Charlene was a signer
of the April 2004 Appeal Document that AW submitted to the USFS for
opening the North Fork of the Upper Chattooga to unrestricted year-around
private boating.
Dream Trip
Raffle
For A Fly
Fishing Vacation!
The winner and their partner will each receive:
• 5 days
fishing and 6 nights lodging and meals at the Green River Guest Ranch in Cora,
WY http://www.grguestranch.com/
Dates July
21-27, 2007
• 9 ft 5
wt Winston Boron II X custom made fly rod
• An Orvis
Battenkill barstock reel with line
• A fly
box and flies for the trip.
(Approx.
5-7 dozen per box)
• $650 in travel expenses (this is total, not per person)
For
complete rules and details visit www.georgiatu.org

Ticket
price is $10 and proceeds will go to the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited to
help fund the annual Georgia Trout Camp and the Back the Brookie campaign which
helps brook trout restoration and educational projects.
Contact
Prez Terry Rivers for your raffle tickets: Ph 706 782 7419
E-mail tlr1121@alltel.net
"The
best fishermen I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again;
instead
they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they
learned from them."
From "Fly Fishing the High Country" by
John Gierach
The future of Fishing & Hunting in Georgia is up for a
vote. A Constitutional Amendment to protect our Outdoor Traditions will
be on our ballot in November.
While most folks in Rabun County would probably assume that
our right to pass along our heritage would be an easy choice, there is reason
to be concerned.
There are now about 4 million people in the greater Atlanta
area. Many have little or no roots in the rural South where hunting
and fishing are mainstays of our lifestyle.
Passage of Amendment 2 in November will provide the highest
legal protection for the preservation of these outdoor traditions. It
will ensure our grandchildren can enjoy the real outdoors and not have to
experience it on some hand held computer toy.
Many people know that hunters and fishers have provided the
overwhelming majority of funding for forest and stream habitat conservation for
generations. License sales and special taxes on fishing and
hunting related gear have provided hundreds of millions of dollars for
conservation projects. We need to support the continuance of this funding
for our wildlife by voting for Amendment 2.
Remember, there are millions of people in Georgia who do
not fish or hunt. They are likely to be badgered by radicals who
would oppose protecting our outdoor traditions under the guise of animal rights.
Their misdirected advertising won't mention how members of the hunting and
fishing community are the true conservationists.
Please plan to vote for the "Right to Fish and Hunt"
by voting for Amendment 2 in November.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, talk with your friends who do not fish or
hunt, and make sure they understand how important this issue is. Help
them understand that it is those who fish and hunt that are the true defenders
of wildlife, and they can provide their support by voting "Yes"
on Amendment 2.
For more information, go to the Georgians for Outdoor
Traditions" web site at http://GaOutdoorTraditions.org.

The backcountry
of the Upper Chattooga’s North Fork is unique in the Southeast in
terms of the high-quality trout fishing experience on a large
stream in a wild and remote setting that is boating-free, In 1999, the Chattooga’s North Fork
(upstream of the Highway 28 Bridge) was named one of the 100 best trout streams
in America. The area has always
been a haven for hikers, hunters, naturalists, photographers, bird watchers,
and swimmers as well as anglers. Since 1976 it has been
zoned for foot travel only (no horses, no bicycles, no boats) to protect and
preserve the outstanding remarkable values (ORVs) of recreation that
include backcountry wildness, remoteness, and solitude.
The following
excerpts are from the Sumter NF website: “In 1974, the 57-mile Chattooga
River was designated Wild and Scenic for its “outstandingly remarkable” fish,
wildlife, recreation, scenic, and historic values. A 2004 revision of the
Sumter National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) addressed several recreation
issues in the corridor; among the management actions, the Forest Plan retained
a 1976 ban on boating use upstream of Highway 28 (about 21 miles). This ban was
later appealed by American Whitewater (AW), and the Forest Service (FS) agreed
to reassess that decision as part of broader examination of visitor capacity
issues on the Upper Chattooga River.
The Forest
Service is employing a modified “Limits of
Acceptable Change” (LAC) planning framework for evaluating visitor use and
potential impacts on the environment. This document describes data collection
and analysis to be used as part of the LAC effort. The Forest Service response
to the AW appeal (Forest Service, April 28, 2005) and the LAC framework provide
specific objectives of the data collection and analysis:”

For the
Appeal Response and Data Collection
Process details, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chattimpplan.shtml
The
current division of the river into boating and non-boating activities is a
perfect example of the wisdom of earlier planners, something for everyone, but
not everything for everyone on the same acres.
POINT> and
<COUNTERPOINT The First
of a Series:
Editor’s note: A boater recently posted a link on
the Sumter National Forest Bulletin Board to “ Frequently Asked Questions.”
To read the all 17
boater questions and answers, visit http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/aw:chattooga_faq We believe readers also should have the
“counterpoint” answers provided by the “foot travel only” stakeholders. Here are the first 2.
Do
kayaks, canoes and rafts belong in Wilderness areas?
Boater’s Point: Yes. The Wilderness Act explicitly states that
non-motorized boats are wilderness compliant uses. The Wilderness Act is clear
that Wilderness areas are to be managed to allow and encourage backcountry
recreation on foot, in boats, and on horseback. As Aldo Leopold wrote in
“Wilderness” from A Sand County Almanac in 1949, “Wilderness Areas are first of
all a series of sanctuaries for the primitive arts of wilderness travel,
especially canoeing and packing.” The right to paddle down Wilderness rivers is
at the very core of the Wilderness Act and the concept of Wilderness.
Counterpoint: We agree that the Wilderness Act of 1964 recognizes that
non-motorized boating is a wilderness compliant use. However, each Wilderness area is managed differently to protect
its unique wilderness character. There
is nothing in the Wilderness Act that says all compliant uses must be
permitted in all Wilderness areas.
To allow otherwise would set a precedent that would open all
Wilderness lands to all activities and thus destroy everything embedded in the
concept of Wilderness and the Act that led to its establishment. The Wilderness Act speaks to administration for "future
generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness ", "unimpaired for future use as wilderness", "preservation
of wilderness character", and "solitude",
- it does NOT say “unlimited use” for recreation.
The Ellicott Rock Area provides an
example of the importance of balancing competing uses. In 1975, Ellicott Rock Scenic Area was
re-designated as the Ellicott Rock Wilderness (ERW). Like a magnet, the new Wilderness label soon made ERW the most
visited Wilderness in the entire Forest Service system (measured as
visitors/acre/year). However, only 13%
of those visitors were anglers (from page 29, “Ellicott Rock Wilderness
Management Plan”, prepared 1982).
The Management Emphasis for ERW: “The emphasis is to allow
ecological and biological processes to progress naturally with little to no
human influence or intervention, except the minimum impacts made by
those who seek the wilderness as a special place that offers opportunities to
experience solitude.” (Quote from page 3-1 of the Sumter NF
RL&RMP) Obviously, LWD (large
woody debris) in the river should not be manipulated, especially to facilitate
visitor recreation.
And trout have never been stocked in the ERW. The management must not in any way degrade the wilderness
character of the ERW, including its biophysical or social / experiential values.
The ERW management plan does not allow recreational gold panning,
horses, or floating (all are Wilderness compliant uses). With the ERW already experiencing
impaired wildness and solitude, the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) must be
established before there is any consideration for adding another user group.
For more on LAC, http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/steps.shtml
To review the Wilderness Act, visit: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=legisAct&error=404
Is
the boating ban illegal?
Boater’s Point: Yes, the US Forest Service is breaking the law. The
office of the Chief of the USFS determined that the ban was totally unjustified
and thus violated the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. We
agree. The Chief’s office then decided to allow the illegal ban to be continued
for 2-5 years. This decision to allow an admittedly illegal action to continue
is what paddlers are challenging in court because it is arbitrary and
capricious. The greater legal issues remain: primarily that the USFS has been
breaking the law for thirty years by banning a use they are mandated to protect
and enhance under both the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the Wilderness Act.
Counterpoint: No, the USFS is not breaking the law.
Rather the USFS is complying with the decision of the Reviewing Officer
of the Office of the Chief of the USFS.
Although the Reviewing Officer reversed the Regional Forester’s decision
to continue the no-boating zone above Highway 28, the appeal decision confirmed
that the zoning should remain in place while additional studies are performed,
which, in the end, could continue to support the present zoning. AW has raised this issue with the Chief of
the USFS and he responded to AW, consistent with the decision of the Reviewing
Office, in a letter dated 5/12/06, “Associate
Deputy Chief Manning provided interim management direction instructing the
Regional Forester to manage boating above Highway 28 by applying the management
direction from the 1985 Forest Plan, which includes direction maintaining the
boating closure that had been established previously. In your letter, you state your belief that it is wrong for the
Regional Forester to “interpret and implement [the appeal] Decision in a way
that maintains the pre-Decision status quo”.
However, the Regional Forester is required to follow the interim
management direction provided in the appeal decision until such time as a new
decision can be reached. The interim
management direction is fully consistent with the National Forest Management
Act and the regulations governing appeals of land and resource management
plans.” Six days later the
boaters filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding immediate and unrestricted
access to the foot travel only zone.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Judge threw out their
lawsuit.
Further, the Chief’s position is supported fully by the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act (W&SRA), which directs the Agency (in this case
the USFS) to protect and enhance the Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORVs)
that caused the river to be included in the W&SRA in the first place.
For the Chattooga, the ORVs include geology, biology, scenery, recreation, and
history. "The recreational values
of the river and corridor are outstanding along its 57-mile course. The river
offers a wide variety of activities in a high-quality setting. Activities range from swimming to hiking and
horseback riding with spectacular scenery, to excellent trout fishing and
nationally recognized white-water rafting opportunities. Other activities include backpacking,
photography, and nature study. Most of
these activities take place in largely unmodified natural surroundings, with
many opportunities for remoteness and solitude." (Quote from page 3-52
of the Sumter NF RL&RMP.)
Protecting the aesthetic, scenic, historic, archaeologic, and scientific
features is to be done in the context of administering the ORVs. [Definition: aesthetic - Features or
qualities that are pleasurable (as contrasted with the utilitarian features of
a resource) such as opportunities for remoteness and solitude.] There
is absolutely nothing in the Wilderness Act and/or the
W&SRA that says all compliant uses must be permitted in all
sections of the river.
To review the
Wild & Scenic River Act, visit http://www.nps.gov/rivers/wsract.html
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.
The Forest
Service should heed the lessons learned in the Lower Chattooga where the growth
of whitewater boating activities has impacted all visitors, has displaced
most non-boaters, has resulted in recreational conflicts (anglers vs. boaters, private boaters vs. commercial
boaters, and boaters vs. horseback riders) in addition to decreased opportunities
for remoteness and solitude.
For the benefit of present and future generations (and to avoid more recreational conflicts) the North Fork of the Upper Chattooga must continue to be managed with lower degrees of intensity to protect and enhance the ORVs of backcountry solitude, wildness, and remoteness.
SECTION 1. (b)
“…shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future
generations.”
What’s
New in the Chattooga Zoning Issue?
Oct 5 (Thur)
USFS posted on their website the names of the Expert Panel Members and
information about how they were selected.
Visit, http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/expertpanels.shtml
Oct 5 (Thur)
USFS posted on their website the Public Comments received from July 20 through
October 5.
Visit, http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/CommentsJuly_Oct.pdf
Oct 6 (Fri) Court dismisses the boater’s lawsuit. Senior U.S. District Judge William
C. O’Kelley issued a 20-page opinion to throw out the lawsuit that sought to
immediately open the North Fork of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River (above
the Highway 28 Bridge) to unregulated boating access.
In part, the decision said, "The court can think of no greater waste of
time and effort than to proceed to consider the merits of this action, -
-" "Simply having to litigate this action diverts personnel
away from the study, and the court’s opening the Headwaters to unanticipated
users would certainly substantially interfere with the agency’s ability to conduct
its visitor use capacity analysis."
The Judge
concluded, “Judicial resources should not be wasted on such fleeting
relief, especially where, as here, the court has found that judicial
intervention would inappropriately interfere with ongoing agency efforts, that
the court would benefit from further factual development, and that plaintiffs
would suffer little, if any, hardship from the delay.
Frankly, no
party, including those not before the court, would be served by a “temporary”
decision from this court. A floater
should be able to easily determine whether he can float on a given part of the
Chattooga River without worry of fine.
Likewise, a fisherman should know whether he will have to cast around
floaters while enjoying the quiet solitude of the Headwaters. The possibility that this court could reach
a decision opening the Headwaters, thereby overriding thirty years of agency
policy, only to have that decision superseded by a valid amended revised
management plan less than a year later counsels in favor of judicial
restraint. The law ought not be seen as
so whimsical, and although there are circumstances where justice demands that a
court intervene despite the real possibility of its decision being immediately
overridden, those circumstances are not present here."
The boaters react to the dismissal: The AW
website stated the plaintiffs (boaters) “will promptly appeal this
decision.”
Editor’s notes: To do so will be a further
waste of taxpayer’s money. And the
Judge agrees as he stated, “The court thus agrees with defendants (USFS)
that judicial intervention at this time would inappropriately interfere with
ongoing agency efforts to amend its revised management plan, causing the
agency, but ultimately United States taxpayers, substantial harm.”
If you want
an E-copy of Judge O’Kelley’s complete decision to dismiss the boater’s
lawsuit, E-mail edadams1@alltel.net
Oct 12 (Fri) USFS
posted on their website the Implementation Plan with the Protocols for
the Data Collection Process.
Visit, http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chattimpplan.shtml
Obviously,
however this issue is resolved it will be precedent setting with far reaching
consequences into the future and across all federal agencies that manage and
zone recreational waters. You need to
share your views NOW.
Have you
experience user conflict or interference from whitewater boating on a mountain
trout stream? Is it worse now than it
was 20 years ago? What’s it going to be like in another 20 years? Do we need more stream sections zoned like
the North Fork of the Upper Chattooga, for “foot travel only”? If you have an opinion, please take a few minutes and tell the Forest Service.
Send your
comments to: Project Coordinator - John Cleeves, E-mail jcleeves@fs.fed.us ;
US Forest
Service, 4931 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29212.
For more
info on the User Analysis, click on: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chatt.shtml
Happy 20th
Anniversary to the Rabun TU Chapter!
On
September 30th we concluded our 20th Complete Fiscal
Year. We were chartered in July 1986
with 28 members.
At that
time, Rabun was the only TU Chapter North of Metro Atlanta and East of
Dalton.
Now Rabun TU has 150 members and there are 5
additional TU Chapters in NE Georgia.
“I’LL MEET YOU IN MONTANA”
by Donna Claridad (a Rabunite) - Clayton, GA
Most vacations
are anticipated with excitement and pleasure.
The trip to Montana had that, along with the potential for failure and
embarrassment. I was to hook up with a
couple of world savvy anglers; men who had experience on rivers from Scotland
to South America and places in between.
I’ve been
enchanted (but not devoted) with the fly rod for about 10 years, which included
two seminars, a few private casting lessons, about six days with various
professional river guides on some pretty good water, plus approximately twenty
fishing days of low intensity. The fact
that I recently married a great fly fisherman has not particularly improved my
abilities. It did escalate my stress
factor, as it was his dearest friend we met in Montana. The latent agenda in my
mind was to show whether he had or had not married a woman worthy of
world-class water.
The plan was
three days reserved private spring creek and one day on the Yellowstone. Sure enough, my waders leaked. I slipped in the mud, stepped in cow pies,
forgot my sunscreen and failed to pack drinking water. Awkward rod management
the first day resulted in the premature loss of a nice trout and the resolve to
pay proper attention. The nonchalant
quasi-accidental capture of a Yellowstone white fish served to focus on the
real deal, i.e. a rainbow, to be caught in the proper manner and on my
terms. The next day would be
different.
Thus, reading
the local hatch report was a good idea.
Careful analysis of local flies, flies brought from Georgia,
determination and pure heart resulted in my own “Zen” on the water.
Montana spring
creeks have stretches that are crystal clear.
In August, tall slippery waterweeds grow abundantly, hiding holes in the
creek bed and providing cover for elusive trout. Having succeeded in gaining a good standing place mid-stream and
up from a clear pocket containing a targeted rainbow of exceptional size, I
presented a #22 last-chance crippled yellow PMD. The target stayed low, foregoing three perfect drifts. I moved away, attached a #18 serendipity to a 7x dropper and provided
my lazy guy a feast directed dead-on the nose.
(Inexperience yields unconventional combinations.) AHA! Luck combines
with skill! I set the strike and he’s
a’ running. Two beautiful jumps! The splashes of my devoted spouse and his
hulking buddy place me as the center of a whirlpool of fly-fishing splendor.
My darling takes
notice, “Oh! It’s a big one. Where’s
the camera?” Naturally, it’s in the dry
pocket inside my vest. This fish is strong and there is plenty of
time between runs to fumble for a killer Kodak moment featuring one disappointed
trout and the usual goofy smiles.
Having entered
the realm of people-who-actually-land-trout was good; but, I wanted more. Now, there remained the joy of the sport in
solitude. I would land trout, release
without harm and without group participation.
Some folks make
great fun of anglers who insist on taking only with a dry even when nymphs and
woolly buggers are going like gangbusters.
I like to watch a dry fly, if it’s mine. I would give the sublime elitist method a go on the spring creek.
Ankle-sucking
four-inch deep mucky mud and a slip-slide total emersion baptismal necessitated
a temporary retreat to the bushes. I
discreetly stripped and dumped a gallon of water from the leg of my wader,
which did not leak while making a
mental note to get a better wader belt.
I gladly found my duds really were quick dry and the trail mix had
survived. Soon revived, I sallied forth
again.
The lure de jour
appeared to be something yellow. A nice
#20 white-dot parachute PMD was visually easy to track. I stationed myself at another hopeful spot,
casting above any sign of ring or roll.
Neither does, fawns, pintail ducks, swallows nor any other living thing
noticed the next trout slurp the fly.
How good it felt to sing out, “I’m good. Stay your place!”