“FORWARD CASTING” Important Dates - See you there!

April 8&9 Campout Friday & Work Project Saturday Morning, Ramey Creek for a ‘Back the Brookie’ stream restoration. Contact Ray Kearns (706 782 9913) or Charlie Breithaupt (706 782 9913) as they are planning the cooking!

April 19 Chapter Meeting, 6:30 PM, Clayton Presbyterian Church Program – David Grainger: “The ‘Back the Brookie’ (BtB) Program & the Difference It Can Make”

April 26 Board of Directors mtg, Chattooga DH in SC Parking Lot, 4 PM

April 29&30 TU southeast Rally, Abington, Virginia

“Deep in the Heart of Trout Territory and Dead Center of the World”

(see notice on next page for more info)

May 7 Kids Fishing Event; Black Rock Mtn State Park Lake at 9 AM

May 11-15 Fishing & Camping (Wed-Sun) Chattooga Backcountry with Camping at Cherry Hill C.G. (with toilets & tables)

May 17 Family Cookout 6 PM at Indian Lake; Fishing Mentoring of Clayton Girl Scout Troop (our guests)

May 24 Board of Directors meeting, Location on a stream for the Green Drake Hatch

REMEMBER TROUT CAMP! June 12-17th! We need you to mentor our campers – put it on your calendar!

In The Beginning - - -

“Fishing simply sent me out of my mind, I could think nor talk of anything else, so that my mother was angry and said that she would not let me fish again because I might fall ill from such excitement.” Sergei Aksakov (1791-1859) in Memoir

FLY OF THE MONTH

LIGHT AND DARK CAHILL by TERRY RIVERS

To me, the light or dark Cahill represents the ideal of the traditional dry fly. The Cahills are a fine choice for imitating mayflies from dark to light; and, for imitating other insects. The light and dark Cahills were created on the east coast by Dan Cahill; but, are now used all across America.

Hook: Standard Dry Fly – Sizes 10 – 20; Thread: Tan, Brown, Black 8/0 or 6/0; Wings: Wood Duck or Dyed Mallard; Tail: Brown or Ginger ackle Fibers Hackle Fibers; Body: Cream or Dark Rabbit Dubbing; Hackle: Brown or Ginger.

April Hatches

The Bugs Time of Month Time of Day Suggested Flies .

Quill Gordon Mayfly Early L am to M pm 12-14 Quill Gordon

12-14 Quill Gordon Nymph

Blue Quill Mayfly Early L am to M pm 16-18 Blue Quill, BWO, or Blue Dun

16-18 Prince or Pheasant Tail

Small Dun Caddis All Month L am to M pm 16-18 Gray Elk Hair or Deer Hair Caddis

(Important) 16-18 Gray Caddis Pupa

March Brown Mayfly All Month L am to M pm 12-14 March Brown or Adams Parachute

(Important) 10-14 March Brown Nymph, Dark Hare's Ear, or Pheasant Tail

Cream Caddis All Month M day to L pm 12-14 Elk Hair Caddis

(Very important) 12-14 Dark Cream Caddis Pupa

Yellow Stonefly Late E to L am 14-16 Yellow Stimulator or Elk Hair Caddis (Yellow)

L pm to dark 14-16 Yellow Stone Nymph

Light Cahill Mayfly Late E to L pm 12-14 Light Cahill

(Important) 12-14 Light Cahill Nymph

Speckled Gray Caddis Late M to L pm 12-14 Dark Elk Hair or Deer Hair Caddis

12-14 Dun & Yel/Brn Caddis Pupa

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

18-22 Midge Pupa

Cook a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend. Mother to Daughter Advice

To help you plan for a day of Rabun County trout fishin’

For the Chattooga River Water Level, click on: Chattooga

For the Tallulah River Water Level & Rain Fall Amount, click on: Tallulah

For the Ten Day Weather Forecast, click on: Forecast

For a Real-time Weather Radar Loop, click on: Radar

4th Annual Regional Rally - April 29th thru May 1^st - Abington, Virginia

“Deep in the Heart of Trout Territory and Dead Center of the World”

Join over 100 of your closest TU buddies (or future TU buddies) across the Southeast along with a few of your favorite national staff for a weekend to remember! Activities include fishing, workshops, fishing, contests, networking, fishing, prizes, spouse activities, a live band…and more fishing!

Cost is $60 per person or $170 per couple for private rooms. Make check payable to Trout Unlimited and send to P.O. Box 1192 Black Mountain, NC 28711 along with your name, email address and phone number.

Deadline for payment is April 25, 2005.

“BACKCASTING”

March 5^tham - Georgia TU Council Meeting: All 12 active Georgia chapters were represented (including 4 members of Rabun TU). Minutes will be available for viewing on the council website.

March 5^th pm – Hoot on the Hooch: Good bluegrass music, great bar-b-que, and a fun event put on by the Foothills TU Chapter was attended by about 20 Rabunites. The winner of the Dream Fly-fishing Vacation to the Green River Guest Ranch in Wyoming is Diane Minick of Canton, GA. Diane is an active member in the GA Women Fly-Fishers. Her husband, Ron who is active in the Cohutta TU Chapter, will be going with her. To read Diane’s bio, click to: BIO Thanks to everyone who supported this event. With your help we were able to raise almost $11,000 for TU projects here in Georgia, including the GA Trout Camp! Hopefully, we will be doing this again next year.

Rabun TU and Reeves Hardware (Dillard) donated a beautiful 8’6” 5wt Diamondback fly rod with case, a fly line, and landing net to the Foothills TU fundraiser. We had a total of 9 Rabunites who contributed flies to the box that Jeff Durniak assembled for another Rabun TU donation to their silent auction. We had a total of 5 dozen flies in a box donated by Frank Tolbert and won by Bob Foster's wife, Pat, a big friend of our chapter and one main reason why the first Georgia Trout Camp was so successful. Many other Rabunites donated items for silent auction and bucket raffles. The donations were appreciated by the Foothills bunch.

If you read the winter edition of Trout magazine, you'll see the Foothills chapter's youth education efforts mentioned. Rabunites should know that you have played a small part in that program's continuing success.

March 8^th – Fly Tying: More good bluegrass music, great brownies with coffee, another fun evening with eight Rabunites (6 tying and 2 observing). Some good tying tips were shared and lots of story telling (but, by golly, you don’t have to believe ‘em if you don’t want to). It was a lot of fun. It is worth a trip out there just to see Terry’s Shop! Thanks Terry.

March 12^th – TU Youth Conservation Camp Conference: Rabunites Charlie Breithaupt & Doug Adams attended the conference at the Allenberry PA trout fishing resort (click on: allenberry ) on the banks of historic Yellow Breeches Creek. Attendees shared camp concerns and solutions with representatives of 9 other youth camps from Maine to the Olympic Peninsula in WA. Representatives from National TU, a lawyer, and an insurance specialist were also there to answer questions. Saturday morning breakfast was provided in the Yellow Breeches Outfitters (click on yellowbreeches - a classic fly shop). On the walls of the fly shop was artwork (for sale), including framed LE prints by Rabunite Tom Landreth.

March 15^th – Chapter Meeting: About 20 Rabunites attended. Our own Terry Seehorn gave an excellent PowerPoint presentation of his study of the GA brook trout streams in the Chattooga watershed. This was the project Terry has been working on for the last 3 or 4 years with the GA DNR, USFS, Clemson U, and Western Carolina U. Rabun TU provided some of the funding plus some in-stream volunteer labor. The project was a part of his studies for a Doctorate degree (he is now Dr. Terry). His work included the genetic typing of the brookies in each stream as southern, northern, or mixed strains. It also identified streams that are candidates for brook trout restoration. Thanks for the good work, Terry. Terry also gave an overview of the Ramey Creek ‘Back the Brookie’ project work planned for April 9^th.

We held our first raffle at the meeting and the lucky winners got 5 nice prizes (including 3 assortments of flies). It raised $85 to cover the copying & postage cost of the newsletter to members without E-mail.

March 17^th thru 20^th – Camping & Fishing: About 15 or 16 Rabunites (plus Sophie & Dixie Darlin’) enjoyed the wonderful fellowship, good fishing, great cooking, nice campfires, funny stories, original tunes and some sing-a-longs at Sandy Bottoms on the Tallulah River. We had a lot of fun and made some new memories. Thanks to Terry Rivers and Charlie Breithaupt for the great planning and delicious camp cooking. Ask Jimmy Whiten and Ray Kearns to show you the pictures of their really gooduns. And ask Tom Landreth what the game warden said to him while checking his license. Check the pictures on: http://www.rabuntu.com/

March 22^nd – Board of Directors meeting followed by Fly Tying: Eight Rabunites gathered on a dark and rainy night to practice tying the Parachute Light Cahill. Another fun evening, - - - kinda like an old fashioned quilting bee.

March 26^th – Betty Creek Work-outing: The Council Workday went well. We had representatives from the Upper Chattahoochee Chapter, Foothills Chapter and Rabun Chapter for a total of 19 workers. We cleared a lot of low limbs from over Betty Creek to make it a better
experience for the Trout Campers. We did not complete the project so several Rabunites will go back and finish the job soon. Thanks to all who joined in the effort. It was so good to see Rocket Roy Lowe back in action.

March 29^th – Fly Tying: Five Rabunites were there for the final session of this winter’s tying series. Join us again next year. It’s fun.

Give Something Back: Become a TU Volunteer!

(Information from the National TU website: http://www.tu.org/index.asp )

Volunteer Power

Trout Unlimited's active volunteers number over 10,000 in 35 states. The conservation clout of this dedicated group of anglers, river enthusiasts and others is tremendous. In 2000 alone the amount of TU volunteer time dedicated to conservation activities was equivalent to 201 full-time people valued at more than $5 million. If you're already a TU volunteer, thank you for your commitment to the future of trout. If you're not, please consider becoming one–it's a great way to give something back to the resource that brings you so much pleasure.

What Do You Want To Do?

Volunteer opportunities exist in the Rabun Chapter and the Georgia Council. What would you like to do? Do you like to:

    A. Roll up your pant legs?
    B. Roll up your sleeves?
    C. Both A and B?

If you picked "A," you like to get wet…literally. If hands-on work appeals to you, you might start by becoming involved in the Ramey Creek restoration project on April 9th or assist with the Chattooga River fish population surveys in July. If you picked "B," maybe you'd like to write an educational article for our ‘Tight Lines’ newsletter, help develop a chapter action plan to address a particular environmental concern, write a letter to your elected officials encouraging them to support "fish-friendly" policies, or become a Rabun Chapter officer. We need mentoring help during Kids Fishing Days and The Georgia Trout Camp in June, which introduces young people to fishing and coldwater conservation (combining "A" and "B").

Finding the Right Opportunity

There are many volunteer opportunities available. You should take the time to find the one that best matches your skills and interests. Start by considering the following questions: What TU causes or issues matter the most to you? What tickles your fancy? When you roll up your sleeves and get to work, are you happier in a stream or in a state house? Working with your hands, or with your mind? With people, or with fish and fish habitat? Do you know what challenges our local trout waters face? Do you know with which conservation issues or projects our chapter or council is involved? Are you concerned about the future of fishing and the health of your favorite waters? Are you concerned about a conservation issue that no one else seems to be tackling? Are you willing to spearhead a new effort? Do you feel it’s important to educate others about coldwater conservation?

Some volunteer commitments require a lot of time. But others can be accomplished in a shorter period, even one day or part of a day. A lot of TU volunteering takes place during evenings and on weekends, and in short bursts of intensive time. Can you give 10 hours a month? 4 hours a week? Start small and expand.

Expect volunteering for Trout Unlimited to be a personally rewarding (and even fun!) way to spend your valuable time, with the added benefit of helping the fish we all love and their fragile habitat. Volunteers ARE Trout Unlimited - our conservation work, grassroots leadership, and future! From hands-on conservation work to youth education to fund-raising, there’s something for everyone who’s interested in giving back to trout as a volunteer.

Members: US Forest Service of GA, SC, & NC; the DNRs & WRC of GA, SC, & NC; and the TU Councils of GA & SC with Monte Seehorn, fisheries biologist (now retired from the USFS), as the Chairman (Monte has remained the Chairman since the very beginning, and Monte is also a member of Rabun TU).

Goal: The goal or purpose of this Coalition is to give special emphasis to protection and enhancement of the fishery resources, water quality, and overall health of the Chattooga River and its tributaries.

Objectives:

· Determine past and present water quality conditions in the Chattooga River.

· Inventory overall watershed conditions in the drainage.

· Inventory in-stream habitat conditions.

· Inventory fish populations, including historical data, present, and future potential.

>Determine species distribution patterns and biomass.

>Determine genetic distinctions of the brown trout in the watershed.

>Determine the role hatchery trout serve in the fishery.

>Determine food utilization characteristics of the brown trout.

>Develop stocking recommendations.

>Analyze current harvest regulations and recommend changes.

· Determine angler use patterns.

· Inventory current access and determine future access needs (more or less).

The meaning of “fisheries quality” is elusive when applied to angling. Some anglers measure “fisheries quality”:

· in terms of the number of fish they are able to kill in a day.

· in terms of the number of fish they are able to release in a day.

· as the chance to catch a large fish, even just one every now and then.

· as the chance to catch wild or native fish.

· as the opportunity to fish when they choose.

· as the opportunity to fish using the method they choose.

· as the opportunity to fish in wilderness or backcountry solitude.

· as some combination of all of these.

Anglers measure success in terms of ‘personal satisfaction’; agencies measure success in ‘columns of statistics’. That is why it is important that anglers are full partners in The Chattooga Coalition.

(The Chattooga Coalition Story: to be continued in next issue).

Ode to the Rabunites by “The Professor”, a Rabunite

Each year, when April rolls around,

A certain group on THE RIVER can be found.

Working all day with glazed walled eyes

That eagerly anticipates the evening rise.

Hurrying from work with supper in a sack

Turning public roads into a racetrack.

Blasting the flatlanders with all kinds of hell

Before they have even reached Warwoman Dell.

Getting in front of every fisherman they see,

Each thinking THIS RIVER belongs to only me.

Fishing till dark to fill the sack

Showing no mercy in putting little ones back.

Eating fingerlings and telling lies

About big browns that stole their flies.

Screaming and hollering like a troupe of baboons,

Turning peaceful campsites into outdoor saloons.

Returning home late, without a care.

Bluegrass music pollutes the night air.

Reaching home to find all in bed,

Except for the dog standing in grass over his head.

Hitting the sack and falling asleep,

Counting rises instead of sheep.

A BIG Thank You to the 85 Donors for the 2005 Rabun Rendezvous

Businesses & Organizations: The Foxfire Boys, The Dillard House, Unicoi Outfitters & Jimmy Harris, Reeve’s Hardware & Lewis Reeves III, “Blackhawk” Trout Stream, Fly Fisherman Magazine, Action Optics, Rio Products, L. L. Bean, Frank Amato Publications, Inc., Dr. Slick, Upper Hi Fly Shop, ‘End of the Line’ Sportsman Retreat, The Big Green Egg, The Hollow Log, June & Tom Landreth - Artist, Broderick Crawford - Artist, Dick Albertelli’s Glass Art, Patsy Lewis Gallery, Karen “Shayne” Durniak – Singer/Songwriter, Sweet Earth Pottery, Main Street Art & Antiques, Valley Drapery & Design - Debbie Justus, Tiger Mountain Vineyards, Persimmon Creek Vineyards, Callaway Gardens, Rabun County Bank, Regions Bank, Community Bank & Trust, Kountry Vittles, The Cottage Door, LaCabana Restaurant, Bluegrass Café, Valley Café, Whitehall Inn & Cupboard Café, The Feed Mill, Inger’s Fine Foods, Grapes & Beans, Mountain Nature & Wild Bird Supply, Duncan Oil Company, Valley Pharmacy, Amrine’s Small Engine, The Candy Man, Greg’s Tire & Service Center, Prater’s Main Street Books, Savannah Beauty Works, Georgia Women Fly-Fishers, Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of TU, and the National TU Banquet Program

Individuals: Russell Burken, Don Edwards, Steve Raeber, Max Gates, Emily Perry, Pat Landreth Boyd, Kelli Landreth, Ken Bradshaw, Sharon & David Grainger, Garland Stewart, Julie & Duane Stalnaker, Regina Bennett, Betty & Leigh Wyatt, Mack Martin, Jr., Sid Elliott, Gordon Fowler, Pat & Bob Foster, Dot & Ray Kearns, Jeff Durniak, Brent Sexton, Jean & Bill Kelly, Maria Rodeghiero, Terry & Terry Seehorn, Gail & Frank Tolbert, Kathy & Charlie Breithaupt, Kathleen & Russell Johnson, Monte Seehorn, Travis Barnes, Amanda & Brooks Adams, Allison Adams, Eedee & Doug Adams, Emmilyn & Terry Rivers, Sandy & Ralph Morgan, Jim Nixon, Tommy James, and Jimmy Whiten

The Proceeds from the Rabun Rendezvous are funding the 25 Line Items in the 2005 Rabun TU Budget - $11,300

Youth Programs in Conservation & Environmental Education - $6990: Sponsor 2 kids to The Georgia Trout Camp in 2005; Financial Support of the GA DNR Environmental Education Program at the Smithgall Woods Conservation Center; Sponsor 2 Summer Interns w/USFS working in Cold Water Fisheries; Financial Support of National TU “First Cast” Program; Sponsor for 2 Kids Fishing Days - Black Rock (State Park) and Tallulah River (USFS); Scouts (Boy & Girl); Sponsor for North Region of GA Enviro-thon for High School Students; Sponsor for GA WRD Outdoor Adventure Day at Unicoi State Park; 12 Gift TU Memberships (3 Libraries, 3 State Parks & 6 Students)

Enhancement of Cold Water Resources - $3050: Pay 50% of cost for 2 Backcountry Helicopter Stocking of trout with USFS & GA DNR (Fall-Chattooga River & Spring-West Fork); Financial Support of the National TU “Embrace-A-Stream” Program; Financial Support of the “Back-the-Brookie” Program and the SE Region Coordinator; Cost of 2 In-stream Chapter Work Outings/Campouts in Rabun County; Sponsor for Clayton Greenway

Other Outreach Support - $200: Financial Support of the “Casting For Confidence” Program for Survivors of Breast Cancer

Chapter Operations - $1060: Website/Newsletter; Use of Meeting Place; Hospitality; Leadership Training; Support of Other TU Chapters

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“There are fishing tournaments, contests and pools, to be sure, but - - - by far the most rewarding forms of competition in angling are those that take place between the fish and the angler, and within the angler himself.” James Westman

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

A Big Rabunite welcome to 2 new members this month: Tom Shirley, 1743 Devils Branch Road, Clayton, GA 30525

And James Friedman, 369 Turkey Mtn. Road, Clayton, GA 30525

It is time to renew your membership: Patrick Gorman, Andy Gaston, Fritz Vinson, Dave Schmidt, Bill Talbolt, Andrew Wylie, Randall Corbin & Joan Crawford

Hey Rabunite, your membership has expired: Terry Seehorn, Jimmy Whiten, Frank Tolbert, Bill (Clem) Defino, Tommy James, Dave Jensen, Alan Roberts, John Duncan, Sharon Wilson, Kincaid Patterson, Paul Eden, Joan Sauer, & Larry Brooks

Rabun TU Officers & Directors

President Ray Kearns Phone 706 782 9913 E-Mail pndmilck@alltel.net

Vice President Tom Matthews Phone 706 782 0369 E-Mail tmatt@hemc.net

Treasurer Russell Johnson Phone 706 783 2424 E-Mail rwjrabun@alltel.net

Secretary Russell Burken Phone 706 779 5597 E-Mail mkopchic@alltel.net

Past President Charlie Breithaupt Phone 706 782 9913 E-Mail knc615@direcway.com

Directors: Kathy Breithaupt, Tom Landreth, Doug Adams, Terry Rivers, Terry Seehorn, Ralph Morgan, & Travis Barnes

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Fishing is not a hobby. A hobby is something you do in your spare time.

Hi Folks,

Well, spring has sprung, the hatches are hatching and the bugs are biting. Be sure to put the insect repellent in your vest and use it.

As some of you know Dot and I have six sons and every April the boys and I go on a fishing trip to the Gulf for red snapper. It’s a trip we all look forward to. The boys call it our special time together. I feel very fortunate that we all enjoy each other’s company and build lasting memories. There are times when we can sit back relax with our favorite drink and think back on all the good times we’ve had over the years with family and friends.

I believe that those of us who went on the camping/fishing trip on March 17 – 20 had a similar experience. We will have outstanding and lasting memories to think about on some cold winter night. I feel the chapter is my other family and the good times that we share will be with me for the rest of my life. If you missed this trip try to make the next one because it is a great way to enjoy the fellowship of this great bunch of people and build your own memories. One day when I told Doug about the large trout I hooked but was not able to net him before he broke my tippet, Doug said “But you have the memories”. How true.

Ray

P.S. By the way Tom, how’s Martha Ellen? (More memories)

For pictures and more info, visit the Rabun TU website: http://www.rabuntu.com/

Georgia TU Council website: http://georgiatu.org/ or National TU Website: http://www.tu.org/index.asp

We would love getting your suggestions, stories, articles, and questions for our panel of experts in the Q & A section, or your comments about our Website and Newsletter.

Send them to: edadams1@alltel.net Or to: Rabun TU, PO Box 65, Rabun Gap, GA 30568

Please tell us if you have E-mail, it will

Save the chapter $.79 per newsletter mailed:

E-Mail edadams1@alltel.net

RABUN TROUT UNLIMITED CHAPTER

PO BOX 65

RABUN GAP, GA 30568-0065

Clayton Presbyterian Church - Clayton, GA 3rd Tuesday of the Month 6:30 pm - Fellowship 7:00 pm – Meeting & Program

In The Beginning - - -

FLY OF THE MONTH

The Proceeds from the Rabun Rendezvous are funding the 25 Line Items in the 2005 Rabun TU Budget - $11,300

Clayton Presbyterian Church - Clayton, GA 3^rd Tuesday of the Month 6:30 pm - Fellowship 7:00 pm – Meeting & Program