Streamside on Line

In this issue:

    Change is Good (Chuck Hodgson)
    Change is Bad (Chuck Hodgson)
    A Shrine for Trout May Change Forever (Stephen Sautner)
    Notes from the Tying Bench (Bob Molzahn)
    The Mighty Serendipity
    What's New in Fly Tying (Jack Mickievicz)
    New Members

Articles, news and fly tying tips are gratefully accepted. Please e-mail them to us using the Feedback section shown on the left.

There is nothing quite as fascinating to watch as a fly fisher presenting a small fluff of a fishing fly delicately onto a stream’s surface. The only sound you hear is the whispering made by the fly line moving through the air. There is no violent impact that you would normally see with bait smacking into the water. Just a few tiny rings forming on the water where that tiny fluff has gently settled. This is one reason that fly-fishing is considered a silent sport.

Fly-fishing has always generated its own mystery due to the fly casting presentation. It has been interpreted by some as a difficult skill akin to practicing precise ballet movements. This perception of a fly fisher’s skill over the years has added to the belief that fly-fishing is difficult to master. People believe that only years of instruction and dedicated practice can prepare someone to successfully master this presentation technique. Add to this mystic that the practitioners of this silent sport have also been labeled by their mannerisms.

One such mannerism regards their choice of sporting apparel. You can automatically look at a group of fishers heading towards the water and instantly pick out who are the fly fishers. Looking at their costumes and the tools they are carrying easily does this. A fly fisher’s costume consists of a variety of boots and chest high waders, vests with multiple pockets, instruments; such as, hemostats, line clippers and other small gadgets can be seen dangling from their clothes. You will notice that they usually have a laminated wood landing net hanging down their backsides, clipped to a ring on the back of their vest. If you could see inside their vest’s bulging pockets, you would find a number of small hinged boxes. Each box is filled with hand-tied hair and feathered hooks of all sizes, colors and shapes. The majority of the fly fishers tie their own flies. And this practice creates another large and unusual variety of tools and materials in order to accomplish this activity.

Their hand carried tools consist of a fly rod and reel. Simple quickly turns to complex when you learn of the various combinations of fly lines loaded on their reel. These lines are labeled as, sinking, sinking tip, floating, and weight forward, double taper, shooting heads, etc. Their fly reels vary from being very simple fly line holding devices to sophisticated instruments computer machined out of exotic aerospace alloys. These state-of-the-art reels possess efficient adjustable drags and carry large amounts of braided backing lines. Their fly rods are classified by weight, length, flex ratios and handle designs and they may be made of traditional bamboo, fiberglass, or exotic combinations of graphite and boron composite materials.

It’s no small wonder that most men and women, who pursue fishing using the hook, line, sinker, and worm norm, do not understand fly fishers. The fly fisher investment in their apparel, tooling and materials may be thought of as an enormous expense. Expenses which the typical bait and spin casting fishers believe are unreasonable. However, if they ever compared the fly fisher expenditures against the new breed of the so-called semi-pro or pro-tournament Bass fishers, these expenses become less unreasonable.

Another mannerism that categorizes fly-fishing is that it has been around for hundreds of years. The well known knowledgeable voices (the writers, photographers, fly shop owners, guides, instructors, and fly tiers) and practitioners of fly-fishing is typically dominated by a limited group of ladies and gentlemen. These "old sage prophets" are the recognized subject matter experts and they are very opinionated in what they believe is the specific conduct to be practiced by the fly fisher. These are the sources who have always perpetuated the traditional knowledge of fly fisher costuming and tooling.

Mannerisms may also be attributed to some of the attention that today’s fly fisher is receiving from the news media. This generally focuses on the practice of "catch and release" of gamefish. This is not a new practice as it has been around for years as a personal choice of the fly fisher. Fly fishers and the associations they belong to, have always supported the statement "a good gamefish is too valuable to only be caught once." Lee Wulff, a New England fly fisher prophet and an early founder of the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF), who now makes presentations in heavenly waters, is credited with making this statement back in the 1960’s.

Some government authorities and conservationist groups treat "catch and release" as a necessary measure in order to eliminate the over harvesting or what they believe is the extinction of gamefish. It is questionable whether or not this is an effective restraint due to the unintentional damage, which can be caused by the improper handling and release of gamefish. The lack of controlled harvesting can also nurture large qualities of small gamefish.

Fly-fishing proves to be the most successful in the safe release practice. This is due primarily in the method by which a fish is hooked by a fly versus bait. The fly hooks in the fishes’ lip areas versus the deep throat hooking resulting from bait. Another plus for the fly fisher is the usage of barbless hooks and their knowledge of the correct handling and release process. Both the FFF and Trout Unlimited (TU) organizations have published documented guidelines to address the proper handling and release procedures. The additional usage of "slot regulations" to establish size restrictions on "catch and release" promotes the development of a larger sized fish population.

The majority of fly fishers treat "catch and release" policies as a manner of personal choice as they believe that conservation is better served by the protection of the gamefish’s habitat. As habitat conservationists, fly fishers are the outspoken and strong defenders of environmental issues related to gamefish. They are key financial supporters and volunteer workers for organizations such as the FFF and the TU. The support of environmental issues is a natural for fly fishers as their success in resolving these issues ensures that their adversary, the gamefish, will continue to prosper and perhaps even have an opportunity to extend its range.

There have been a number of significant things that have a direct impact on fly-fishing and its future. These events have promoted fly-fishing into what could be considered a growth industry.

A significant growth of new people, both men and women, are adopting the sport of fly-fishing. This specific demographic age group can be referred to as "baby bloomers". They are now approaching their early 50’s with the end of their careers around the corner. They can afford the cost of outfitting themselves with the latest clothing and equipment. They believe in education and are willing to pursue the instructional training they need along with the expert knowledge of a hired guide.

Their interest in pursuing the role of a fly fisher can be measured by their large numbers attending regional fly fishing shows. A noticeable indication of their interest and influence is the increased usage of the fly fisher theme in commercial advertising on TV and within other news media? "Baby bloomers" are the advertising and major product sector executives today and they understand their targeted audience.

They are definitely providing increased visibility and awareness for fly-fishing. This influx of new enthusiasts has an impact on the availability of fly fishing consumer products. This is nourishing the motivation and the growth of the fly fishing product industry. Suppliers are now making tremendous advances with the variety, quality and functionality of their equipment. When you combine this increased numbers of consumers along with the recent challenge of saltwater fly-fishing, the amount of product choices now available can be overwhelming. Not only has the available market increased but also so have the number of competing suppliers, in both saltwater and freshwater, and their increased variety of new products.

Yesterday’s suppliers provided the basic fly fisher with what may be referred to as the traditional products. These products had made little if any technological advancement throughout the years. They were considered tried and true by their users and were relied upon due to their extensive heritage.

Today’s suppliers have embarked upon some great product improvements using technology advances in materials and manufacturing processes that they could not have considered years ago. However, product advances of this nature require costly investments in order to take advantage of technology gains. Development, testing, advertising, endorsements and the initial release of a new product is a costly undertaking and the consumer absorbs these costs. This may help to explain why new fly fishing gear continues to be expensive with no price reductions. Even the traditional equipment is holding its values. I suspect this is a result of limited new production on the traditional items. The suppliers are aware that the traditional equipment will phase out of favor as the consumer is attracted to the latest technology advances.

Last January, I was eating lunch at the Fly-Fishing Show in Somerset, New Jersey. I was sharing a table in the crowed lunchroom with a fly fisher, unknown to me, who was at least 10 years my senior. This gentleman, without even requiring an introduction, just started presenting a personal opinion dissertation regarding the large number of people in attendance at this show. Why they were at the show and their impact on equipment prices. Not to mention what he thought about the parking conditions outside the building. I did agree with him that this year’s attendance seemed quite a bit larger. But, I also suspected that there were more exhibitors added this year. I discounted the parking, he should have seen last year’s parking as a result of a snowstorm. While I quickly tried to finish lunch, he continued his out-spoken theory on why there was a large crowd. His belief centered on his theory that the sport of fly-fishing had become way too easy. Everybody sees it on TV and it is now in all of the movies. Everybody is doing it and there’s no technical skill or challenges required anymore. The new and expensive equipment that is available today just makes everything way too easy. That’s why all these young people are here at the Show. They’re the ones with all of the good jobs, making lots of money and their buying habits are pushing equipment prices way too high. He continued his dissertation by stating that he wished that fly-fishing were as difficult as it used to be. "Why, when I started, it was . . ." I quickly excused myself from the table.

You know, I had just listened to a theory which proclaimed "Out with the new – go back to the old" or "Change is bad" without offering any comment. Just think, I have been attempting to fly fish and tie fly’s for over 38 years and sure I haven’t been doing it on a consistent day-to-day basis, but when did it become too easy? I had seen the movie "A River runs through it" a couple of times, read the book and I have the video of how Jason Borger did the shadow fly casting scenes. But I don’t recall my casting improving from watching. Did I not watch it enough times? Didn’t I pay attention? When can I expect my casting or my fly tying to not require practice or skill development? What did I miss? Do I have to start paying more attention to the TV commercials and the sea of new products? Should I start investing in all new equipment so it would be easier like it was theorized? Maybe, but I don’t think so.

In the days when trout fishermen wore fedoras, cast silk lines with split-bamboo rods, and thoughtfully smoked their pipes between mayfly hatches, the Letort Spring Run in the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania stood as the crown jewel of American dry fly fishing.

Made famous by the writings of Charles Fox and Vincent Marinaro, anglers nationwide would descend on this gentle limestone creek for the privilege to cast to its exceptionally large and selective brown trout. An entire subculture of angling evolved along its banks, when Fox and Marinaro realized that many of the Letort's more prodigious browns spent their days picking crickets and beetles from the surface film, rather than aquatic insects. The rich vein of fly patterns that followed the Letort Hopper, Letort Cricket, Jassid, and others have become standards in fly boxes worldwide.

Today, the Letort may still be one of the most-visited trout streams in the Northeast, though for many it has become more shrine than fishing destination. When I first came to the creek several years ago, the first angler I saw asked me to take his picture as he stood thigh-deep in the river. He came from Ohio and always wanted to see the famous Letort, he told me. When he drove off, I realized he never made a cast. Come to think of it, I did not either.

For the regulars who do challenge its skittish trout, a fish or two per day is considered a very good outing. In essence, the Letort has become almost a sanctuary; where a wild trout can wax fat on bugs and minnows and perhaps even die of old age. But now the Letort's big browns face more than just the ogling of a visiting angler or a well-placed Letort Cricket drifting over a favorite lair. The Atlanta-based retail giant Home Depot wants to build one of its megastores virtually on the Letort's banks. The proposal, which has been approved by the Borough of Carlisle, calls for clearing 19 acres, much of it on a wooded tract where a defunct radio station once stood. The development would come within 300 feet of the river.

Yet a Home Depot spokesman, John Simley, said that there is still plenty of room between wild trout and shoppers. "Three hundred feet gives you an awful lot to work with," Simley said, pointing out that the store would be landscaped to create a visual buffer.

He said that Home Depot plans to construct a complex water treatment system to trap the grease, silt, oil and litter that would inevitably gush from the store's parking lot when it rains. The water from the treatment system will be of "drinking water" quality, Simley said.

The Letort's regulars remain unconvinced. "Quite frankly, I feel that this isn't the best use of the land because of the inherent danger to the stream," said Ed Shenk during a recent walk along the river. "Everybody who's ever really fished here is deeply concerned. "Shenk, widely considered to be the Letort's best angler, has fished the creek for more than six decades. A spry man in his 70's, he has witnessed many changes to the river, from a steady decline in water flow caused by drilling of nearby wells, to siltation of much of the streambed. In the early 1980's, a pesticide spill nearly wiped out the creek's population of wild browns. But the Letort's trout and aquatic insects have persisted, thanks in large part to the limestone springs that still replenish the creek with mineral-rich 52-degree water.

"The Letort's in amazingly good shape for such an urbanized setting," said Fred Bohls, vice president and conservation chair of the Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited/FFF. Bohls said Trout Unlimited has not yet opposed the Home Depot development, but has instead given the retailer a long list of conditions that would have to be met to win the conservation group's approval. Besides stormwater issues, these include controlling light pollution that could draw mayflies away from the river, and protecting a small tract of existing wetlands on the property. Carlisle has said it would withdraw its approval of the project if Trout Unlimited's criteria were not met.

One of Trout Unlimited's primary questions is why Home Depot has not chosen to build at a massive strip mall that sits less than a mile away. Two of the stores, Montgomery Ward and Ames are closing, which would free acres of space.

"The Home Depot proposal is far from a done deal," Bohls said. "There are still lots of unanswered questions, which is why we're asking anglers to go to our Web site," "then write or e-mail Home Depot and voice their concerns about this project." The Web site is www.homestead.com/cvtu.

Eventually, Shenk came to Vince's Meadow, where Marinaro himself developed his famous Jassid pattern. Just upstream, where the river flows past a twisted ramble of submerged branches, Shenk caught Old George, a 27-and-a-quarter inch hook-jawed male that took three years of stalking before Shenk finally fooled it into taking a streamer. Directly across from Vince's Meadow is where Home Depot wants to build.

"It's remarkable that the Letort has lasted as long as it has," Shenk said, stopping at plaques commemorating Marinaro and Fox. Inscribed below a stern-looking likeness of Marinaro is an excerpt from his seminal book, "A Modern Dry Fly Code." It reads: "The Letort is a hard taskmaster and does not treat lightly any violation of dry fly technique."

How Home Depot will treat this quiet river, so rich with angling history, remains unresolved. But Shenk and many other anglers, who have seen the Letort's ups and downs through the years, admit it is something they do not care to imagine.

The long, cold rainy winter has drawn to a close and the prospects of good spring trout fishing are upon us. In fact, I can think of a nice local stream I would prefer to be on right now instead plunking away on my PC in an effort to wrap up this edition of our newsletter. As you will note, we are starting the seventh year of STREAMSIDE and for better or worse, I have been at the helm of it since its inception. Needless to say, I am at the point of wanting someone else to step in and take over some of my administrative responsibilities with this and other duties. Actually, if someone has some reasonably good PC skills, and software that includes MS Publisher, Word and/or Excel, boy do I have a job for you. A few hours a month would be a big help and take some of the load off of yours truly so he can devote some time to other pursuits. If you are interested, call me or email me at your convenience.

Speaking of other pursuits, I have been nominated to be the next President of the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers. The Council has done a lot for our club and I have certainly enjoyed the fellowship of a dedicated group fly fishers who are working hard to make a difference from a conservation as well as a youth education standpoint. This summer I will be travling to Livingston, Montana to attend the FFF’s National Conclave and will represent MAC. Joe King has decided to come along with me and we are hoping to hook up with club member Bud Bovard wants to show us some streams in Yellowstone Park that few fisherman visit. Bud works in the Park selling flies at a local shop during the summer and has fished the Park extensively over the course of his tenure. We are also hoping to get up to Rock Creek the week before to check out the feisty rainbows that live there. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the fires will not strike again as they did last year. Apparently, the Bitterroot was hit particularly hard and was closed for almost two months to fisherman.

Closer to home, the float stocking effort on French Creek on March 10 was hugely successful mostly because of the great turnout we had from our club members. We were even able to float stock the open water stretch from Hoffecker Road Bridge almost all the way to the Kennedy Bridge. This is the first time this section has been floated by the club in over 12 years. By the way, this section can be accessed from the Hoffecker Road Bridge by walking downstream on the south side of the creek. The property is owned by Camp Hill and is open to fishermen. My thanks to all who participated and to Bob Bonney our Waterways Conservation Officer for a great job in organizing this annual event.

A few weeks ago we also received a load of browns and some big rainbows from our friends with the Chester Valley Sportsmen’s Association. Member Jim Younker worked with hatchery manager Ray Andrews to set it up. Fishing in the French should definitely be good this year.

Our Learn to Fly Fish Course on April 28 is filled and overflowing with a long waiting list. This is the ninth year for the course and is shaping up to be the best one ever. This event is a major fundraiser for us and allows us to pay for top notch speakers like Barry and Cathy Beck.

We also have 14 club members going north to the Ausable River in northern New York State and the Hungry Trout on May 18. We will be mixing it up with an equal number of Long Island Flyrodders. I grew up on Long Island and I have come to consider them a sister club, mostly because their members have always shown our club members a lot of interest, respect and friendship whenever we have been with them A few of us, including myself and my brother, Dean Molzahn, are members of both clubs. We are looking forward to a good time, as always.

You may also have noticed we have a few new sponsors thanks to the efforts of Joe King. Eyler’s Fly’n Tackle in Bryn Mawr, TCO Flyshop in Reading and the Sporting Gentleman in Media and Wilmington have joined us. We also added Virtual Farm Creative in our last issue. Sponsors are those organizations that provide us with raffle prizes. Raffles generate income and we continue to thrive as a result. We urge our members to support all our sponsors with their business.

In the words of John Dwyer, "May your leaders sink, your felts hold, and your flies float high !" Tight lines!

Next to the Green Weenie this could be the best fly ever invented. Try it as a dropper and your catch rate will increase.

I was monitoring the Flytying bulletin board and noticed several favorable comments about a relatively new tying thread, at least new to me. People were repeatedly looking for a supplier of Giorgio Benechi's 12/0 thread for tying midges. Apparently, it is only available from Chris Helm’s Fly Shop in Toledo Ohio at the present time. He sells it for the discounted price of $2.35 per 100 meter spool.

Exclusives like this don't last long in the day and age of the internet, besides; I just LOVE upsetting apple carts. I'll have samples to look at and try at the next couple meetings if I don't have a brain fart and forget to come that is.

Here's a rundown.

Incredibly strong for its size, gel spun polypropylene. Colors available: Black, Brown, Sandy Dun, Lt. Dun, Dk. Dun, green, Dk. Green, Orange, Yellow, Red, Olive, Lt. Brown, White, and Grey. 100 meter spool with color coded end clip.

Available NOW.

WE WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS!