Streamside on Line
Volume 13 |
The
Quarterly On Line Newsletter |
April |
In this issue:
Articles, news and fly tying tips are gratefully accepted. Please e-mail them to Roy Cubbler. Thank you.
| Annual Fly Fishing Course Attracts a Crowd |
The club's annual Fly Fishing Course was indeed a success. A total of 33 students took advantage of the opportunity to learn the intricacies of the "mysterious art of fly fishing." One of the major points made by most of the instructors was, there is no mystery . . . . It is simply a matter of learning techniques and then, as they say, "practice, practice, practice." After registration, coffee and doughnuts, President Bob Molzahn provided a brief welcome. Bob Moser kicked off the instructional session with his usual informative delivery concerning fly rods, reels, and lines. If one pays close attention, this veteran fisher also provides, in passing, some hints and suggestions which only come from lots of experience. Moser then joined President Molzahn in a discussion of fly fishing equipment. Troy Dunn "handled" the difficult subject of knot tying. After the students untangled themselves, Mike Costello, a FFF certified casting instructor, amazed his audience with his casting skill. Costello's task was to explain the basics of various casting methods, but while he talks, it is obvious that he can make a fly line do everything but help him put on his waders.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the course comes each year when Rick Stevens brings out his jars of insects. Most of his bugs were, a short time before Rick's presentation, happily whiling away their time clinging to rocks in local streams. His understanding of entomology is outstanding, and his knowledge concerning the little critters is evident to all. After some on-stream demonstrations in dry fly, streamer, and nymph fishing (by Molzahn, Joe King, and Moser respectively), and at the point where participants were feeling that there was no more room in their brains, they took to the open field to practice their casting under the watchful eyes of the many DJL members who were on hand to assist.
As a special addition to the program, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Officer, Bob Bonney was on hand to cover, discuss, and answer questions about our state's fishing rules and regulations.
Participants in the course demonstrated that they had learned their lessons well during the end of program question and answer session. The questions asked indicated a new-found comfort with the concept of fly fishing.
Club members did their usual fine job in preparing, organizing and presenting the course material, but a large void was noticed by all of the DJL members. DJL member Sheldon Toombs was unable to be present this year. He is recovering from surgery on his knees which will soon (we all hope) allow him to hit the streams with new vigor. Get well soon, Shel. We missed you.
| Notes from the Tying Bench by Bob Molzahn |
This may not be my last "Notes," but it is getting pretty close. Last year I announced that I would be finishing up my term as DJL President in April 2008 after 12 years. I think that is long enough for a club that has had a 36 year history. I am looking for a passionate and an astute person to take my place. Frankly, I do need someone to step in and provide a different perspective to the club in September 2008. I will be talking with you.
That being said, I will continue to be the Chairman of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Anglers Coalition (SPAC) through 2009. This newly formed group has about a dozen or so member clubs and includes trout, fly fishing, bass, muskie and TU clubs among others throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. This organization shares best practices and should be of great benefit to all fishing clubs in the region. Bob Bonney was instrumental in organizing it and should be commended for his efforts.
A few weekends ago, a number of club members took a long weekend to the Gunpowder River in Maryland. We stayed at a wonderful cottage in Gunpowder Falls State Park that had all the amenities that we ever could ever need including a wide screen TV and fireplace. Although the Hendrickson hatch didn't come off as predicted, there were still a few around and all of us managed to catch a few trout. It was a great time and we will plan to do it again next year.
Our 14th Annual Fly Fishing Course went off without a hitch on April 28 and turned out 32 students...most of whom signed up in the last 10 days. The weather held up and, as always, we had a great time. It is always good to have the same instructors each year led by Bob Moser, our Master Instructor, to pull off a great fundraising event. Many thanks to Roy Cubbler for taking care of the food and for his wife, Charlotte, for making the list of things he needed to do.
Lastly, I wish you good fortune in this coming fishing season...tight lines to all!
| WCO Bob Bonney is the Right Man for the Job |
The Japanese commandant of the POW camp on the River Kwai used to say, "Be happy in your work." The subject of this issue's "Spotlight," Pennsylvania Waterways Conservation Officer, Bob Bonney, is just that. He is happy in his work. Bob has been a conservation officer since he became a deputy WCO in 1994. Two years later, he attended police officer training for four months and spent eight more months in conservation training, and then became a full-fledged Conservation Officer. He is currently that organization's District Officer for northern Chester County.
Bob lives in Exton with his wife, Sharon. The couple has two children, a daughter, Duana, and a son, Robbie, both of whom live in North Carolina. They are also grandparents of teenager, David. Bob is a graduate of Octorara High School, where he played sports including basketball for Coach (and avid fisherman), Gary Wetzel. Bob was a member of Octorara's first championship soccer team. In addition, he is a graduate of Rockingham Community College in North Carolina. He is also a veteran of the United States Navy.
Bob became interested in becoming a Waterways Conservation Officer after he was invited to ride with a WC Officer one evening. He enjoyed the experience so much that he began to consider the occupation for his future. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, and loved the out of doors, and realized that taking a position with the state would certainly cut into his fly fishing time. It took him two years of contemplation before he took the plunge by taking the required civil service test. The rest is history.
Bob still enjoys the out of doors. He lives for fly fishing, especially for steelhead on the Salmon River in New York, and on Lake Erie. He has been a member of DJL for 10 years, and is a familiar face at meetings where he keeps our membership up to date on the rules and regulations concerning our sport. We are indeed fortunate to have an officer like Bob Bonney as an associate. He is totally dedicated to waterways conservation. Whenever one of our members has the opportunity to hear Bob's presentations, the impression is always, here is a man who is "happy in his work." Thanks for all you do for Pennsylvania sportsmen, Bob. The Spotlight is on you.
| DJL Seeks Young Campers for "Watershed Wonders |
The Dame Juliana League of Fly Fishers is again pleased to announce that it will sponsor two students who wish to participate in the 2007 edition of the Chester County Conservation Camp. The program, entitled "Watershed Wonders," will take place from July 15 to July 21, and is open to boys and girls ages 11 to 14. The purpose of the camp is to educate young people through experimental learning in a traditional outdoor camp setting. Campers take part in a program designed to build understanding and appreciation of the environment, wildlife, and the beauty of the natural world. Campers will spend the week living in the out of doors and learning skills such as orienteering, boating safety, fishing, hiking, and other enjoyable activities, shared with campers of the same age. The camp takes place in French Creek State Park. Dame Juliana will cover the tuition of $200 for two youngsters who wish to attend. Students or parents should contact program director, Margaret Van Gilder at (610) 873-0831, or contact DJL President Bob Molzahn at (610) 524-1911
| Ziegenfuss "Invades" Montana by Scott Ziegenfuss |
Hi All,
Two full weeks in MT are behind me now, and I'm beginning to live something of a normal life again after months of being engrossed in this relocation thing. The sale of my house in Audubon closed the other day, so I guess I'm a Montanatuckian for real now. At this point, it's down to things like getting Montana license plates and a new car insurance policy, organizing the house, and so on. Over lunch one day last week, I ran up to Stevensville ("up the road a piece") to get a Montana driver's license. On the way I saw a sign on a small business; instead of "Open" or "Closed," the options were "Yep" or "Nope." Little things like that remind me where I am.
Before I forget, for those of you who haven't seen it, "The Mist Net Chronicles" is a blog that is authored and consistently updated by
the best writer that I know personally, our very own Matt Freeman. Never mind that I don't know all that many writers personally, "Mist Net" is really good stuff.
The weather here in western MT continues to be very hospitable, highs in the 50s or even 60s here in the valley. The word on the
street is that the mountain snowpack is ~90% of average this year, and so there will be adequate water for both irrigators and fish this
summer. Today is a wind storm, dust blowing every which way; and it looks like it might even rain, which is a pretty major event
around here, worthy of much discussion and head scratching.
So this past Friday afternoon, I got the following e-mail which was addressed to all GSK Hamilton employees, it said: "It's BEER
FRIDAY! Join us after work at the Bitterroot Brewery for a beer on GSK!" I figured this was some sort of ploy in which the new guy (that would be me) gets duped into paying the bar tab for 37 coworkers on a Friday night. But, it turned out to be legit, every 3rd
Friday is Beer Friday, and beers are on GSK down at the Bitterroot Brewery. That sounded like a fair deal, so I stopped in after work
for a few beers with my coworkers.
Talk turned to fishing at the pub and I ended up with plans to float the Missouri River on Sunday with a couple of characters named
Pete and Mike. Pete is a coworker here, originally from London. He transferred out here from GSK's site in Parsippany, NJ last year,
undoubtedly dreaming of big, honkin trout. Mike is a local outfitter who owns the first fly shop that you see coming into town. We
met at Mike's shop at 6:00 am Sunday; piled into his 260,000 mile old truck ("just got a new transmission, runs like a champ"), hitched up Mike's driftboat, and headed north. We went through Missoula and stopped for groceries, beer, breakfast, and gas in four
different places, we must have spent an hour fartin around. After all provisions were finally stocked, we headed up route 200 towards
Great Falls, along the Blackfoot River Valley (of "A River Runs Through It" fame). All I can say is, "holy schmoly, what an
astoundingly beautiful place." Mile after mile of national forest and ranchland, through the grizzly bear preserve where a guy went
missing last year and 'got et' by a bear. It continues through Lincoln, MT, former home base to one Ted Kazinski (I think that's right),
better known as the Unabomber, along the Blackfoot Recreation corridor, with pull offs and campgrounds all along the river, over the
continental divide at Rogers Pass, and down into Craig, MT, on the headwaters of Missouri River.
To me, being from St Louis, the MO River is sort of near and dear as runs into the Mississippi River in St Louis. Of course the upper
river looks little different than the mile-wide swath of muddy water that I used to see. It's pretty much a smaller scale version of the
Bighorn, complete with rocky buttes, rattlesnakes, sagebrush, clear blue water, weed beds, and big, honkin' trout. It turned out that the
water temperature was 37 degrees and the fish were pretty much still glued to the bottom in a stupor. Although the air warms up early
here, the streams do not; as they are mostly fed by snow melt. Olives don't hatch until April no matter what. Anyway, having read up
on the MO a bit, I'd learned that the fly of choice for early season is a pink scud. You heard right, a pink scud. So I tied up three of
them the night before, stashed them in my fly box, and figured they'd never get wet.
We stopped at a local tackle shop in Craig (a story unto itself), arranged for a shuttle, bought a few odds and ends, and finally
launched at the Wolf Creek bridge by the crack of 11. Within 50 yards, we'd run aground once, hooked 3 fish, and then Mike got tangled up with the landing net, anchor line, camera, and a flopping fish, and managed to break a (his) fly rod. It was a pretty eventful
start, sort of Three Stoogesesque.
But, we got things squared away and had a great day on the water. The weather was warm and overcast, but the wind was howling, as
it's prone to do in that part of state. I'll also point out that the wind was from the south, typically bad news for the fishing off the
Jersey coast (and maybe here too). I can't say the fishing was fast, we had to work hard for them, but we ended the day with about a
dozen landed, several missed or lost, and a number of good sized whities landed too. And don't you know, the dreaded pink scud was
the fly. I fished one with a serendipity dropper at first, caught three in a row on the scud, lost the dropper somewhere along the line,
and never replaced it.
So while we didn't have a banner catching day, it was really good to float and fish the MO for the first time. And I heard along the way
about a place on the river between Hauser and Holter Lakes, near the mouth of Beaver Creek, where rattlesnakes are abundant, that's
hard to access, is lightly fished, and gets a run of big rainbows from Holter Lake in March and April. Hmm... sounds like my kind of
place, I might have a report from there in the next edition. Tight lines to all....
Scott
Cooper's Backcast May Need Mending by Pete Cooper |
Pete Cooper fondly recalls a lifetime of angling memories. His take so far includes:
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One dead groundhog nymphed from the depths of Spring Creek |
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One live beaver from a trib of the Salmon River |
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Two live bats while night fishing Valley Creek |
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One live duck from the pond at Boiling Springs, which provoked a vociferous attack from a purse-wielding old lady |
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One sleeping angler hooked on a backcast at Tashmoo - he was indistinguishable from the seaweed high-tide line in the dark. That reminds me of another incident that resulted in a near-hookup and subsequent near-fistfight resulting from trolling the beach itself with a whole bucktail in the dark to imitate a curious beach-kitty (skunk) sniffing around another sleeping angler at Tashmoo. But I digress... |
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One live gull during a bluefish blitz |
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One putrid deer carcass at night on Valley - technically a wading mishap, not a hook-up (thanks for the memories, Brian) |
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One bullfrog - he actually ate an elk hair caddis that I dangled in front of his face. |
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One irate steer while stalking carp w/ crazy charlies in a frog water oxbow of the Beaverhead. |
And, of course, countless guides, boats, vehicles, mangroves, trees, jetties, bridges, hats, vests, waders, angling partners, and last, but by no means least, my wife.
Pete Cooper
(Pete Cooper is the former owner of Brandywine Outfitters.)
Pete has obviously had some strange events occur while fishing. How about you? If you have had an especially unique fishing experience, write it up and e-mail it to
Cubblers@AOL.com. We'll share it with Streamside readers!
| To Cement or not to Cement |
OK, fly tiers, here is the point of contention: Joe King, et al, maintain that the use of head cement may hold your fly together, but it is a deterrent to catching fish. At a recent meeting of DJL, while the tiers were hard at work, the discussion ensued, and attracted several listeners who added their thoughts. Several theories were voiced. Some members felt that the cement had no effect whatsoever on whether a fish took the feathered offering. Others felt that the fish could smell or taste the glue, and thus would either refuse to take the fly or, if the fish mouthed a treated fly, it would spit it out instantly. An interesting sidelight to the debate came up when one member stated that not only does he not use the head cement, but when he catches a chub, he will rub the fly on the fish in hopes of transferring some "flavor" to the lure.
We'd love to hear from you on this issue. Whether you are a DJL member, or a casual reader of our newsletter, feel free put your two cents in. We will print some of your comments in the next issue, and we will certainly advise readers of the consensus based on responses. The editor's e-mail address is
cubblers@aol.com