Streamside on Line

In this issue:

  Articles, news and fly tying tips are gratefully accepted. Please e-mail them to Roy Cubbler. Thank you.

As a fly fisher, you have two choices: Lots of fishers go into a local fly shop, find out what they’re hitting today, and buy a bunch of flies tied by some guy in Bangladesh. But there is another group of fishers who take their sport to another level. They buy the equipment, they read books. They watch others. And finally they get out their gear, select a hook, some thread, fur and feathers, and they begin to tie their own flies. And one day they have the ultimate thrill of having a trout hit one of their flies. One of the benefits of coming to Dame Juliana meetings is that from time to time you get to watch in awe as many of the League’s resident tyers put their talent, experience, and skill on display. It is an amazing thing to see as they work their magic. It is an especially valuable experience to those members who are either thinking of giving the hobby a whirl, or who have started tying and want to learn from the best. Such a meeting took place on Monday, March 31. Joe King, Dick Allebach, Lance Morien, Rich Stevens, and Don Burgos set up their vices, locked in the hooks and put their expertise to work. As they work, they answer questions posed by those who had come to watch and learn. Often they reveal some of their secrets, give advice, and put forth the kind of knowledge which helps to make everyone who listens just a little bit smarter. When the novice tyer sits at his own tying table, he will put the lessons learned to work. These meetings alone are worth the price of our dues. If you are just starting out, or if you have tied for years, you should make it a point to attend the meetings where our own tyers sit down and start to weave their magic.
 

The forsythia is showing some color now, and my view of the creek will surely be obscured by a sea of oak, sycamore, willow, and green ash leaves. Springtime is an exciting time of year filled with anticipation of the waves of hatches that are nearly upon us. Likewise, the club has been very busy gearing up for spring. Special thanks go out to all the folks who were able to adjust their schedules to accommodate the unusually early stocking this year on French Creek. As many of you are probably aware, this year’s stocking of many of the delayed harvest and catch and release areas, including the C&R FFO reach on French Creek, occurred in late February due to “excess bio-mass in the hatcheries.” Bob Bonney, our local waterways conservation officer, commented that this was a “once in a lifetime stocking” of exceedingly large trout. Reports from the team that float stocked French Creek indicated that this was no exaggeration. As temperatures warm and the fish get more active, some of the larger rainbows should certainly give your 4 wt. a workout. The annual DJL Learn to Fly Fish Course will be held on Saturday April 26th in the usual location at the Phoenixville YMCA. As always we need volunteers to come out to lend a hand with the casting instruction portion of the class. Please let us know if you can help out. As of this writing, the course is already half full, and it is highly likely that the course will fill up prior to the 26th. If you know someone who is thinking about signing up, tell them to hustle up before it’s too late.

In other news, some club officers will be meeting with French and Pickering Trust to discuss their plans for a new pubic picnic park just upstream of the C&R reach on French Creek. Look for an upcoming article soon on this interesting development.

I was looking forward to our April meeting when I was to present round 2 on Fly Fishing in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, but unfortunately, I will be away on business that week. Therefore, as you’ve probably heard by now…we now have Wendell “Ozzie” Ozivitch of Underwater Oz Productions bringing another one of his outstanding presentations, this time on Fishing for Atlantic Salmon. Atlantic Salmon Fishing is a video presentation on the life cycle of the Atlantic Salmon, and fishing the Matapedia, the Restigouche and the Miramichi rivers in Canada. It also answers the question, "what should we look for in a guide?" We'll look at good and not-so-good Canadian guides, and of course, underwater video of the salmon. Don’t miss this meeting as Ozzie’s presentations are never duds.

And finally a word of thanks to our outgoing president, Bob Molzahn. Bob has truly been the binding force of our organization for over a decade. Bob’s tireless efforts were so vast it will take an army of folks to fill the void. Fortunately, Bob will remain on the Board of Directors, and intends to continue to lead the Fly Fishing Course for the foreseeable future.

Tight lines- 
Troy

Keeping your streams clean involves more than just dealing with household trash. All of us know that paper, cans and plastics are important to recycle and most sanitation contractors in this area of Pennsylvania have recycling programs. However, these contractors do not collect household hazardous waste (HHW). That is the job of the Chester County Solid Waste Authority. Each year they hold four HHW collections at various locations around Chester County. Unfortunately, the collection in Phoenixville on April 5 has already passed but three more dates have been scheduled. These are:

May 17 – HHW Only
Owen J. Roberts Middle School
881 Ridge Road, Pottstown, PA 19465

September 13 – HHW Only
New Garden Township Maintenance Building
8934 Gap Newport Rd., Landenberg, PA 19350

October 11 – HHW and Computers
Government Services Center
601 Westtown Rd., West Chester, PA 19380

HHW is identified on the manufacturer’s label by the following words: Caution, Toxic, Danger, Flammable, Warning, Corrosive, Reactive, Explosive, Combustible, Poisonous, or Hazardous. Lithium/NiCad batteries, oil based paints, pesticides/herbicides and fluorescent light bulbs (including the small table lamp type) are included. Computers include monitors, CPUs, keyboards and printers. Used motor oil can be recycled at local auto repair shops such as Pep Boys. For more information on the disposal of this waste visit the Authority’s website at http://www.chestercountyswa.org/HHW.asp

Many thanks to West Chester Fish and Game Association for letting us know about this program.


 

It took about a year to bring it to fruition but the Southeastern Pennsylvania Anglers Coalition or SEPAC is now reality. Originally the brainchild of our own Waterways Conservation Officer Bob Bonney, SEPAC has brought together a dozen and a half angling organizations located in southeastern Pennsylvania.

SEPAC's stated Mission is to provide a coalition of fishing organizations in southeastern Pennsylvania that acts in an effective forum to:

At the time the idea was originally hatched, Bob felt that he needed some support to make it happen and turned to myself and Glade Squires, President of West Chester Fish and Game Association for help. After an initial meeting among the three of us we identified as many angling organizations in southeastern Pennsylvania as we could and set about to contact all of them. Surprisingly, there seemed to be much interest and we held our initial meeting late in 2006. Over 20 people attended representing more than a dozen clubs. Clubs participants included folks from bass, muskie, trout and fly-fishing groups, including the League. There was a lot of energy at the meeting and also a desire to continue with the discussion and interchange of ideas on a regular (a few times a year) basis. We drafted up a mission and some operating procedures and, at a subsequent meeting, I was somehow nominated and elected Chairman of the group for an initial two-year term.

SEPAC members met several times in 2007 and in January 2008, Dr. Douglas Austen, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, spent an entire day with the group at the East Bradford Township Building. About 38 people attended the meeting. Each club presented an overview of its history and activities which I found most interesting. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Austen and a lively and wide ranging discussion on a variety of angling and PFBC issues including the youth license proposal. From all reports, the group’s interests, activities and energy impressed Dr. Austen. It will be interesting to see if this idea will be carried out in other regions.

Since that meeting, a SEPAC website was launched (www.sepacoalition.org) by our webmaster Gil Padovani, and we are looking for ideas as to how best to move forward. No doubt you will be hearing more about this organization in future editions of our newsletter. If you are interested in getting involved in SEPAC, please contact me at sepacoalition@comcast.net.

Trout Unlimited has announced that its new television program "On the Rise" has already begun airing on the Outdoor Channel this spring. Hosted by Telluride, Colorado fly fishing guide, Frank Smethurst, future programs will feature some of the best fly fishing around the country. 

Traveling in an Airstream trailer painted in trout patterns, Frank travels to rivers and streams where TU has made a difference and takes the viewer on a fish-filled journey across America. The first program aired on April 4, and TU advises that those interested in viewing future programs should keep an eye on the schedule announced each week by your local cable channel.

The show will feature famous (and not so famous) rivers in such varied locations as Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Northern Ohio. Samplings of the rivers to be featured include the Big Horn, Madison, Deschutes, Snake, Gunnison, Fraser, and the Davidson. This series sounds like one that dedicated fly fishers will assuredly want to catch as often as possible.

  Summer is just around the corner and the Dame Juliana League is again sponsoring two boys or girls, ages 11 through 14, for the Chester County Conservation Camp. The sponsorships mean the camp is FREE. 

This year the overnight camp will be held from July 13th to the 19th at French Creek State Park. Activities include fishing, boating safety, canoeing, salamander and frog hunting, critter collecting, owl prowling, capturing the flag, orienteering and many other outdoor activities that don’t involve text messaging or video games. The facilities are great and your child will certainly have a memorable experience.

This testimonial by one camper speaks for itself:

“They made it totally fun and exciting and we learned a lot too! I liked tipping over the canoe in boating safety.

George W. Harvey
November, 14, 1911 - March 24, 2008

George W. Harvey, 96, of State College passed away at the Mount Nittany Medical Center on Monday, March 24, 2008. In 1934 as an undergraduate student, he organized and taught the first angling and fly tying class at Penn State, the first of its kind in the United States. From 1943-1973, he was an Associate Professor of Physical Education at the main campus of the Pennsylvania State University. In 1947 while at Penn State, George developed and taught the first accredited university level angling and fly fishing course in the United States. George taught more than 36,000 youngsters and adult students angling, fly casting, and fly tying. George was an accomplished author writing numerous articles in national angling magazines such as Field and Stream, Pennsylvania Angler, Fly Fisherman, and Outdoor Life. He authored the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's "Fly Tying Manual," and coauthored, "Tie a Fly, Catch a Trout." In 1986 George wrote the book, Techniques of Trout Fishing and Fly Tying, a classic book in the fly fishing world. George was the recipient of numerous national awards. He was the creator of fly patterns such as Harvey’s Favorite, the Spruce Creek fly, the Harvey's Stonefly Nymph, and the George Harvey Pusher Night Wet Fly. George's fly fishing leader design and the slack leader fly cast is used by fly rod anglers all over the world. The flies he tied are cherished by fly pattern collectors to this day. As a flyfisher, he was the best there ever was -- second to none! Burial will be private. A celebration of life will be held at a date to be announced.

The River’s Roar at night, brings thoughts that delight,
recalling events of the day
The perfect drift ends with a splash that ascends a
column of crystalline spray

The line surges down, snapping tight with the take
He behaves like a brown, sulking deep; I feel his head shake

Did I say he? It could be a she; a football-shaped Rainbow hen
The trout jumps, far from done, a blistering run,
then takes to the air once again

Another wild leap, I’ll see in my sleep,
confirms it’s a Brown sure enough
The fly holds in the snout of this marvelous trout,
amid slashes showing all of its stuff

The fish, nearly spent, gently glides to the net,
displaying a bronze-speckled side
Released safe to his lair, the trout resides there,
neither baked, nor poached, nor fried

Caught and released. The contest now ceased,
neither side having lost or won
Later that night, I savour the fight, while
the trout feasts on caddis and dun

Awaiting my sleep, I return to the deep,
and replay the bout as before
I pray to repeat that timeless feat and Thank God
For the River’s Roar

(Submitted by Lance Morien)