Streamside on Line

In this issue:

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

Have you given any thought as to whether trout should be considered an endangered species? Well, someone has. Several groups which pay attention to such matters have asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare the famous Yellowstone cutthroat trout as threatened. They firmly believe that there has been a marked reduction in the number of cutthroat trout in recent years due in part to disease, habitat reduction, and crossbreeding with other species of trout. The federal government has thus far refused to take action to move cutthroat onto the endangered species list.

As if to back up that refusal, new federal studies have shown that if there has truly been a reduction in the number of cutthroat, the rate of decline has slowed considerably. Using streams in sections of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, researchers found that cutthroat trout occupy slightly less than half of their range and that figure compares favorably with a similar study done in 2001. Those who disagree point to a 2003 study in which the decline was more obvious, but the federal government believes the new study is a better vehicle for comparison with the 2001 investigation. The environmentalist also like point to the government’s way of putting things: A decline in the rate of reduction obviously means that there is still a reduction going on. 

Reduction or not, the question of crossbreeding remains a concern to state fish experts as well as to environ-mentalists. Other types of trout, including rainbow and brook trout, are seen as culprits in this crossbreeding. In an attempt to solve the “hybridization” problem, some state agencies are killing brookies in certain streams and using only sterile fish when restocking.

This disagreement among state, federal, and environ-mental officials is sure to continue. We easterners can only watch with interest, especially those who can find the time and the funds to head to the Yellowstone for the special thrill of casting a fly in hopes of enticing a cutthroat.

Summer is almost half way over, so ants and beetle patterns should be working best on most streams. I haven’t been able to get out and fish much this year as I have been hobbled with a herniated lumbar disc and a lot of arthritis in hips, hands, and feet. Exactly what happened to my Dad at my age. I hope that things will improve but that remains to be seen. A bummer for sure. I may have to revert to bass fishing and sit on a boat all day long.

Anyway, I have been working on next year’s program, and we should have some good speakers. If you know of anyone you would like to put on our agenda in the spring, please let me know. We need all the help we can get. This is your club, not my club. Everyone needs to contribute in some way, shape, or form.

Our French Creek email address has not been working because of some major technical dif-ficulties. For the time being, please use wradrb@comcast.net or call me at 610-524-1911 to get in touch. I will let you know when things are back to normal.

Many thanks to Ed Nugent, Bob Moser, Roy Cubbler, Jerry Knepp, Bill Fedora, Mike Dougherty, Rich Uhlig, Bill Daly, Troy Dunn, Joe King, Ted Nawalinski and Shel Toombs for their help in taking parking donations at the Kimberton Fire Company Fair. Their efforts will allow us to use the meeting room at no charge to the club. By the way, Troy Dunn is organizing a work party to patch and paint the meeting room prior to our September meeting. More to come on this.

I will be finishing up my last year as president after 12 years in April 2008. This is certainly a time to have new and younger blood step in. We have had a core group of folks taking on many responsibilities. They have done a terrific job and I hope many of them will continue on. I am not planning to step down completely from responsibilities but, frankly, I am burned out in orchestrating everything for this many years. Hopefully, someone will step up to the plate and take it on. If not, I am not sure where the club will go. We all need to do a part and if you are just a “meeting attendee” you really should get more involved. 

Have a great summer. See you in September.

I just came home from a wonderful day of fishing. Who could ask for more? I fished on one of the premier trout streams in Pennsylvania, with my son, under the watchful and knowledgeable eyes of a personable guide, on a beautiful day, and we caught some very nice trout. 

As a Christmas gift, my son and daughter-in-law treated me to a day on the Yellow Breeches with Eugene V. Giza, from Boiling Springs, PA. No need, of course, to explain the Yellow Breeches. Fishers know of its legendary reputation. I had not fished it for years, and I was anxious to get there and get started. There was a super trico hatch as we arrived, and my son, Scott, took advantage of that with some dry flies tied and offered by Mr. Giza. I wanted to do some more work improving my nymphing skills, so I spent the day watching a strike indicator. We both did very well, and caught some nice rainbow and brown trout. Those with which we tangled did not lack for fight or stamina. They did not come gently to net. One interesting feature is that Gene (as Giza prefers to be called) lives right next to the stream, and most of our experience occurred within 100 yards of his home. When a particular fly is called for, and he does not have one in his box, he simply runs home and ties up a couple and we are back in business. We tried a number of nymph patterns, but the ever reliable “green weenie,” with a “pink San Juan worm” at the bottom of a drop pattern, seemed to be the most successful. Our nutritious and delicious lunch (provided by Mrs. Giza) was devoured at a picnic table in his back yard.

I will recommend Gene Giza to all comers. His guide service is known as “Four Seasons Flyfishing Guide Service.” The phone number is (717) 258-9655. His web address is:
www.fourseasonsflyfishing.com.

Even an experienced fisher will enjoy the experience, and the Yellow Breeches offers a number of productive holes consisting of deep or shallow waters, running fast or slow speeds, as it runs by Gene’s back yard. 

Whenever you are trying to cast to a rising fish, especially trout, one of your most important considerations should be your position. In considering where you should stand in relation to the fish some things to keep in mind should include:
    1. Your casting skill
    2. Drag
    3. Type of fish

Your Casting Skill
If you know that you cannot accurately cast more than 20 feet, then obviously you want to be within that distance of the fish. Trying to cast to a trout out of your range will probably cause you to “slop” your line or “line” the fish (having your line fall or splash on the water over or near the rising fish). Either of these things may scare the fish and cause it to cease rising.

Try to get into position within your accurate casting range of the fish by slow and careful wading.

Drag 
(Stream currents pull on the line causing the fly to act unnaturally or sinking the fly)
Drag often occurs because you cast across stream currents when you should be positioned in the water casting up or downstream so your fly floats in and with the current at the same speed as the current. Try to look at the current flow(s) between you and the fish so you know where to stand on the stream bank, or in the water, to prevent drag after you cast. Usually you will want to stand in the water.

Mending your line is also a technique used to prevent drag, but I will not deal with that in this article. Good positioning will many times prevent you from having to mend your line.

Type of Fish
Casting position is much more important when dealing with rising wild trout than hatchery fish. Stocked fish are much more forgiving of casting mistakes caused by poor positioning. Sometimes we overlook this fact and this results in poor positioning habits that lead to not catching fish.

Back in March, at the behest of members of DJL and other fishing organizations to which he belongs, President Bob Molzahn wrote a letter to Dr. Dean Austen, Executive Director of the PFBC. In the letter, Bob made reference to the commission’s Youth Fishing License Proposal, and provided the director with a number of reasons that DJL members voted against supporting the proposal. 

Director Austen replied to Bob’s letter in May. The director responded to each of those reasons listed by Molzahn. As to the concern of reducing the spontaneity of the fishing experience, Austen indicated that there were a significant number of license-issuing agents available, and that youngsters could certainly use the Internet purchase option. He also assured our president that young people who lost their license would not be arrested on the first offense, but would be “informed rather than punished.” Of course, chronic offenders would not be so lightly treated.

One of the suggestions mentioned in Molzahn’s letter was to add a few dollars to the adult license. The director advised us that a combination of income generated by the sale of the youth license and from federal funds would net between $700,000 and $2 million, monies which would be invested in new and expanded youth education programs. Bob asked that Pennsylvania not rush into a new program until studies were conducted which gathered facts from other states which have tried a youth license program, but Austen wrote that no other state had a program which directly corresponded to the Pennsylvania proposal, especially since the monies generated in Pennsylvania would flow directly back into youth programs. Studies do indicate that most states which require a youth license have seen an increase in youth participation. 

Finally, Director Austen pointed out that the proposed program has a seven year “sunset clause,” meaning that the program would end after seven years unless it has proven to be effective and satisfactory. Austen closed his letter with the following: “I believe the expanded youth programs will be substantial and will lend to the development of fishing and aquatic stewardship skills among a whole generation of youth.

Ed Nugent ties great big flies. He does that for the same reason lots of us do. “So I can see the darned things.” Well, Ed does enough for Dame Juliana League of Fly Fishers that we can forgive his not being able to see as well as he used to. A member since 1984, Ed has helped with the fly fishing course since its inception. He has pitched in for stream cleanup and improvement projects, and has helped with stocking activities many times. A member of the DJL Board of Directors, Ed knows the impor-tance of saving a buck or two, so he helps collect donations at the Kimberton Fair in order that we do not have to pay rent for a meeting space. He has even hosted some fishing trips to his camp in Centre County. Now all of that represents the definition of true participation.

Ed resides in Maple Glen Village, Lower Pottsgrove Township. In addition to his fishing activities, he serves on the Village’s Homeowners Association, on the Montco Partnership Career Day Conference for students, and on the Board for the SpringFord Counseling Service. This busy man is also a member of the Blue Chapter of RMEF. He still finds ample time to fish locally and around the State College area. He has also done some salmon fishing off the west coast of Canada. Ed has two daughters and four sons, and lots of grandchildren. It is hard to imagine, but he even has two great grandchildren.

Ed retired from the sales division of UTI/Uniform Tubes in 1996. He especially enjoys reading (mostly history), and loves to construct models, draw, and paint watercolors.

In his column for this issue, our club president points out that a club is only as successful as its members are willing to contribute. There is no doubt about it that much of our club’s success comes from active and productive members like Ed Nugent. Ed, for all of your hard work, the spotlight is on you.