Streamside on Line
Volume 5 |
The
Quarterly On Line Newsletter |
Summer |
In this issue:
Skunked (Beth Wilson)
Notes From The
Tying Bench (Bob Molzahn)
Stream
Improvement '99 (Larry Heimes)
All
Purpose Emerger
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.
| Skunked by Beth Wilson |
"Nothing. Not a bite."
To be outsmarted by a creature whose brain is the size of a chickpea is to learn humility. It is astonishing to discover that, in some circles, it is a matter of controversy whether what goes on in a fish’s head can be considered thought at all. Some believe that it is merely a random firing of electrical sparks that barely gives the fish itself the perception that it’s alive.
That theory is insulting to anyone who has ever fished, and could not be proven by the experience of any one of them.How can an organism that cannot think be so subtle, so wily, so maddeningly selective? Not only do they have intelligence, but intelligence that is observable. Trout are capable of determining not only the size, color and palatability of an insect, but the sex and age as well, a skill that I sometimes find difficult among my own species on Friday night at the mall. Anglers through the ages have spent hours on the stream and at their tying tables attempting to reproduce various mites and noseeums only to find that trout will only hit them for a fifteen minute period once every three years, during a three-quarter moon, if the wind is blowing from the north-northeast and the water temperature is exactly 52 degrees. This fly works only if you tie on the female version: the male version will put them into a fishy snit that can drop them to the bottom for hours.
Contrary to popular opinion, fishing with an angle is not an exclusively male sport, as Dame Juliana Berners could have told anyone. Being female sometimes has its advantages, and at no other time is this more evident than during a royal skunk. Any woman who has tried to disguise brussels sprouts as something that a five year old finds particularly delectable, preferably resembling gummy bears, will know the feeling of having a nose turned up at what she is serving: technically, this is a skunk. Any woman who has put on something filmy and red and barely there in the hope that she can be more intriguing than
game seven of the World Series knows what a skunk is. Any woman who has gone looking for a bathing suit that makes her look like those women in the magazines has clearly been skunked. The random experience of females give them a certain familiarity with being skunked, thus making the experience a little easier to bear.My grandmother taught me much regarding how to deal with a skunk; she was a great blessing-counter, and believed that this particular skill was the key to a happy life. I have learned that it is the key to becoming the sort of angler that does not become bitter and resentful of even the most particular and fussy of fish. No matter what, a slow day on the stream can be a full one. It is an opportunity to feel the sun, to keep company with the breeze. It is the chance to feel part of the fish’s environment, and it’s not a bad environment at that, as trout are as choosy about where they live as they are about what they eat. It is yet another excuse to practice the cast: have any of us really perfected that? Is there anyone whose cast is so exquisite that it could not use another 3000 practice casts just to give it that much more of an edge? No time on the stream is wasted time if you refuse to let it be wasted.
It’s also the chance to quietly examine the reasons why one fishes to begin with. After many fishing expeditions, I’ve come to the realization that, while I love to actually catch fish, it is not the main reason that I love to go fishing. My time on the stream is a backlash against all the hours I have spent sitting under fluorescent lights, breathing canned air and staring at the artificial colors on my computer screen. It is a peaceful response to traffic noise, standing in line, television ads, ringing phones and the other chaos of living in the ironically monikered "real world". It is a way to remind myself of the true meaning of the word "real" when the world I know just gets too fantastic.
More than all of this, fishing teaches grace: it teaches how to accept the grace of catching a fish, and how to be graceful when the fish aren’t interested. When you hook a trout, it is an act of grace that nature has shown you, because, through some act of providence, you have chosen the right fly on the right day on the right part of the stream and for this particular trout. Then again, maybe it was just a happy accident that you don’t deserve at all, which is true grace. In return for the grace that you’ve been shown so many times, you then must return the favor on the days when absolutely nothing seems to work, no matter what you do. You face your skunk with dignity and patience, with the full knowledge that you are being given the opportunity to show your ability to accept the wisdom of nature for
not allowing you to catch anything on this particular day.In the best of all possible worlds, being skunked would be as enjoyable as catching fish, and all of us would be counting our blessings and showing our graceful side every day.
But this is not the best of all possible worlds, is it?
So, in spite of all our protests to the contrary, it really does bother a fisherman when he is skunked, and when there are more signs of life in his wading shoes than there are in the stream. What are we doing wrong? Why can’t we find the perfect fly? Why is that fish just staring at absolutely everything I’m chucking at it? What is the joke? Because I don’t get it.
So it is not unheard of for an angler to become angry and petulant when presented with a fishless day, no matter how graceful and dignified he can be at other times. It is only natural for a person to feel less than self-assured when one realizes that they have been outsmarted by a creature who, if rumor is to be believed, cannot think. But there are always days when being graceful is easy—when the sun is shining and the breeze is cool and the water is the perfect crystalline shade of silver blue…
And the fish are biting like mad.
| Notes From The Tying Bench by Bob Molzahn |
Thanks to the efforts of Larry Heimes we have received $1200 in funding from the Federation of Fly Fishers for our 1999 stream improvement projects. Larry will tell you all about it in his article. I am personally pleased that the FFF is providing support to smaller clubs for these activities.
At our April meeting we took orders for Charlie Meck’s third edition of "PA Trout Streams and Their Hatches" at $20 a copy.For those of you who weren’t in attendance there may be a possibility we can get you a signed copy at this fantastic reduced price if you give me a call (610-469-6365) right away. By the way, you missed a great presentation.
For those members that may be traveling west for some summer fishing, don’t forget that the club has several rod and reel sets that are available for loan. We have an Orvis 9’3"-5 wt. (2 piece), an Orvis 9’6"-6 wt. (3 piece), a Fenwick 9’-5 wt. (4 piece), and an Orvis 8’3"-7 wt. (4 piece). All rods have matching reels and floating lines. Give me a call if you would like to reserve one or make arrangements to pick it up. All we ask is that you bring it back unbroken.
We are beginning to plan our fall lineup of speakers. At our next regularly scheduled meeting in September, Don Baylor will be making a presentation on Eastern Hatches. In the meantime, we will be holding monthly stream improvement workdays on French Creek. We are hoping for a good turnout from our members so we can complete the projects planned.
Pray for rain, have a good summer and hopefully I will see you on-stream
| Stream Improvement ‘99 by Larry Heimes |
First the good news, grant funds have been received from both the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers and National FFF totaling $1,200.00 and earmarked for habitat improvement work on French Creek. To my knowledge these are the first grants received from an outside source since at least the mid-80’s. It is also the first time that National FFF has authorized funds for this type of project on a local level. These funds however, come with two strings attached. The first I will handle, which is to produce a report on the projects including how the money was spent and slides of the progress of the project for use in FFF publications and slide shows. The second depends on you, we will need to repeat the excellent turnout that we had last year for our stream improvement days.
Our goal is to start our habitat improvement project at the upper reaches of the FFO stretch and work our way downstream to progressively improve the water quality and fishing on French Creek. We also want to build new and better relations with the landowners along French Creek. To accomplish this, we have scheduled three workdays this summer on July 24, August 28, and September 18, all Saturdays. Please mark these days on your calendars. We will begin on July 24 by completing the bank restoration below Sheeder Mill Rd., doing some minor repair work to the stone deflectors and surveying upstream stretch of stream for our August and September work days.
In August and September we will be installing a number of deflectors in a stretch of stream just upstream from the FFO section. Our hope is that we can deepen the channel in this area and add structure to improve water quality during the low summer flows, which is currently about 24 CFS and well below normal for this time of year.
As I mentioned, it is critical that we have a good turnout to complete these projects. As we have said before, "your involvement is a measure of our success". Get involved and bring your family. I look forward to seeing you this summer.
| All Purpose Emerger |
Hook: #14-20 Grub
Thread: Tan
Shuck: Zelon-Green for Brown Body, Orange for Tan/Yellow Body
Body: Dubbed Brown, Tan or Pale Yellow
Wing: Deerhair, Tied Short
Head: Hares Ear Mask, Dubbed
The brown body version is best used during the sulphur hatch. The tan and yellow body versions can be used during caddis hatches.
It is an excellent pattern to have in your arsenal when nothing else seems to work.
When you tie this pattern make it buggy; perfection is not what you want to achieve.
| New Members |
We extend a warm welcome to our new members: Carol and Dave Sutton, Doug Warren, George Robinson Jr., Paul Hannagan, Robert Riegl, Ron Wagner and Ted Danforth.