At our April meeting, the Rusty Hook Awards for 2003 were presented to Ed Nugent and Shel Toombs. This beautiful shadowbox, with hand tied, realistic flies created by former DJL President Jeff Nissle is a work of art and memento to be treasured forever. Ed and Shel have been the organizers of the Learn to Fly Fish Course we teach on the last Saturday of April each year. This was our 11th year and quite an achievement. Ed and Shel deal with all the "stuff" that goes into making this event the most successful fundraiser we have ever had. We thank them for their hard work and hope that they will continue in this role. Understand, both these guys are in their 70's but look a lot younger. I am sure it is because of the course and their willingness to volunteer for something that provides so much fun for families, kids and individuals. We all applaud their success and offer our thanks for a job well done.

Its 5:15 AM, this late May morn 2003….
The weather, the skies, has those clouds and sprinkles of rain that either means "yea" or "nea" for a fishing trip. Its overcast, gloomy, and I am damn sleepy when I drive up to Capt. Barry Kanavy's, NaturalAnglers.com, abode on the Great South Bay, Long Island, NY and meet Paul McCain, my fishing buddy, for this trip.

5:40 AM
The "Bay" was like riding on glass, and not another sole in sight…(That's right…no jet skies, no crazy speed boats). Just "us" three, the whole Great South Bay, and an amazing array of birds. From Oyster Catchers to White Egrets and Mergansers to Terns… "Nature as it should be", I thought. And I breathed in, and smelled the air, and took in all I could see as we cruised towards the "Cap's" first fishing spot.

6:00 AM
The tide is just about at peak high here for this morning, and the "outgoing" has already started in the main channels further west. The "Cap" deftly pulls up the boat so that we can drift just off the "bay" island and into casting range. I am using the "Cap's" 9 weight with a "Chartreuse Deceiver" and Paul is using his own rig with a floating "Gurgler" as his fly. After getting used to casting the heavier rod and the intermediate line (a lot different than using the lighter 3-5 wt.'s with weight-forward floating line for trout/bass than I am used to), I got that deceiver to where the "Cap" said the fish should be…

And then, with a couple of strips back, Bam!!! Striper ON!!…(I can't say it was a "crashing hit", but it certainly got Mr. Sleepy Eyes out of me and the adrenaline going!!). After landing the fish, and some "High 5's" from Paul and the Cap, (and only 20 minutes from the onset from "Cap's" dock)…well…I knew this would be a special day. 
Next, it was Paul's turn. He just set that "Gurgler" out, just a couple feet from the little bank of the island, and stripped it in with erratic motions…and then there was a swirl right behind it…and then…Bam!!…Striper ON! AND ON THE SURFACE!!…What a Blast!!…"And the bass just sucked it in, like a big ol' brown trout", said Paul, modestly.
After a few more strikes, and a "Schoolie" that I landed, the "Cap" decided to say…"Boys, lets head West"…

7:15 AM
The "Cap" saw some birds working just past one of the bridges that cross onto Jones Beach. Again, he gingerly positioned the boat to put us into casting distance, just west of the bridge, to get us into a mix of bluefish and hickory shad that were working underneath…

"Bam, Bam, Bam"…. Another 5 or 6 fish for both Paul and I, "Damn, those Blues can really chew through your line!", I said, with a tone of concern, to the "Cap". 
He replied, "Yup...But isn't it FUN!!" (He had this big grin on his face as he tied another deceiver to my tippet.)…
Well, the birds left (meaning the school of fish underneath left also), so the "Cap" decided to go further west to Pt. Lookout, and a deserved coffee break with a quick trip to the "head". We tied up at the "barren" dock, (Eddie's…No "T"eddies), an old dock that he knows, "all to well", as a longtime, born and bred, "Bay man" from the past…

8:30 AM
Ok, now its secret place time, in the "back bay", and just west of the bridge at the Point…and another back bay island and another drift…
Upon the Caps' instructions, I switched to a semi-fast sinking shooting head with running line on the spool, and with darker-backed deceiver. The technique here is like "Nymphing" for trout. Lie out the fly up-tidal flow/upstream and let it sink deep, while at the same time keeping control of your line and feeling any hit. Let the outgoing current (like in a stream/river) take the fly and then slowly, in off time pulse motion, strip-back on the end of the drift.
After I got the "rhythm" down for this technique…BAM! I got the biggest "hit" of the day! And whatever fish hit the fly; it almost took the rod from my hands!!…Fish lost, but a good lesson from the "Cap".

9:30 AM
It's time to head east, and the sky has cleared a bit with the clouds breaking and time to fish the "high of the outgoing". 
After we checked out a few "spots", the "Cap" calmly races towards something he sees in the horizon…"Birds working, and Big-time!" He shouted, "Yahoo!" we shouted back.
Again, the "Cap" got us "up tide", and into best position, so that we could drift into the feeding frenzy towards the bridge substructure (the birds were in a their own "blitz" mode as they crashed into the water to engulf their prey)…

Casting no more than 40 feet, and, "Just let Mr. Brassy Eye (Deceiver) sink a bit and, strip a tad", I thought… And then, Bam…Bam, Bam, Bam! Twas a huge school of Hickory Shad with some "Blues" mixed in…

Paul and I could do no wrong as we brought in fish after fish! We had singles, doubles, triples and triple triples. There must have been a thousand fish underneath us. And feeding like they were contestants at the finals of a Nathan's hotdog eating competition! It was like going to "flyfishing heaven" with just so many hungry fish hitting and just pounding the fly!

Let me tell you, these Hickory Shad, pound per pound, fight and dive harder than a striper or blue, jump like a decent sized rainbow and are GREAT fun on a fly rod! They are only about 14-20" long, but they, with their "tuna type tail", can put on the speed. (This species would be great when using a 5 wt.).

10:45 AM
Well, smiling, and with a look of "Yup, Good Trip", the "Cap" says, "All good things come to an end". By a glance, Paul and I both agreed. We both were happily tired from a good day of fishing and the camaraderie between us three.

Cruising back to the dock I thought about our day, of me remembering how to tie a "perfection loop", of the glide of the "Caps" flats boat skimming over the glass of the bay in the early hours, of Paul placing that "Gurgler" right where it should be and that big swirl and the "Cap," smiling as he tied another deceiver on my tippet. Along with the blitz, the birds, the stripers, the blues, the shad, the bay houses and the folklore from the "Cap". 

My friends, this will go down as, "It doesn't get better than this," trip and I hope you can experience the same. 

Shepherdstown, WV. - You are invited to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Council (MAC) of the Federation of Fly Fisher's (FFF) Fly Fishing Festival and their 2003 Banquet and Auction on Saturday, September 27, 2003. 

The Festival's activities include a "Learn to Fly Fish", a preparation class for the "FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor" certification test, and introduction and advanced "Fly Tying Classes". These Festival activities are limited in attendance and pre-registration is required. For more information on the classes and the pre-registration form please go to www. MACFestival@macfff.org, the MAC-FFF Web site, or call 610-524-1911.

The MACFFF always can use additional help during the Festival. If you are interested, please contact Bob Molzahn at 610-948-8411 if you are willing to help out. 

Following the Festival's daytime activities you can enjoy attending the MACFFF 2003 Banquet and Auction in the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Once again, the Dame Juliana League will have a table reserved and you are invited to come join us.

When:
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Festival during the day.
Banquet in the evening.

Where:
The Festival takes place in "Devils Backbone County Park" located 20 minutes away from Shepherdstown in Maryland. 

The Banquet takes place at the: 
Clarion Hotel and Conference Center
17 Lowe Drive
Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 25443. Room reservations 304-876-7000. Special MAC-FFF discount room rate.

Activities:
Reception, Cash Bar 5:00PM
Dinner, Auction and Raffles 7:00PM

Banquet Costs:
$40.00/per person
$300.00/per table of 8

"The Shepherdstown area is an easy 3 hour drive and has a number of historical attractions, Civil War battlegrounds, quaint shops, unique restaurants, not to mention the outlet stores and biking, kayaking or trying your luck for Smallmouth's in the Potomac River. A great place for a getaway weekend."

My only issue regarding Indian Rain dances is the fact that they never got around to developing a "stop-the-rain" dance. But after watching our aquifers and reservoirs essentially disappear over the last several years, we probably should not be complaining too much. 

But fourteen weekends in a row is getting to be a little too much, isn't it?

I spent the last two weeks of April and the first week of May fishing the streams and lakes of Southwestern Missouri (Ozarks) and South Central Kansas for trout and bass. So I missed helping out at the Fly Fishing Course and several other club activities, which I normally enjoy participating in. From the reports I've seen and heard, the Fly Fishing course sounds like another success. And once again congratulations to Ed Nugent and Shel Toombs for being awarded the 2003 Rusty Hook awards. These two guys do a great job pulling this together every year and they have earned this recognition.

The following summary of my Ozarks' fishing is provided to introduce you to a region, which most people do not consider for trout fishing: 

There's a secret regarding trout fishing in the Midwestern part of the United States involving the states of Arkansas and Missouri. But first you need to know a little history regarding the main watershed in this hill country known as the Ozarks. The watershed through this region is dominated by the White River and the area flourishes with large spring fed creeks and rivers.

The White River originates in Northwestern Arkansas and then travels North into Missouri before it turns back down Southeast into Arkansas terminating into the Mississippi River. The Spanish explorers, some of Ponce de Leon's boys, actually explored the river. And its name, the White River, became its label as a result of the Spaniards interpretation of the local Indian name, which meant clear or clean waters. 

Prior to the 1950's and 1960's, the White River watershed was an excellent Smallmouth Bass fishery along with Crappie, Bream and Largemouth Bass. Essentially it was a crystal clear but warm water fishery, which supported three to six day guided float trips, all aimed at catching bass.

Then our good friends, the infamous Corps of Engineers, arrived to build hydroelectric dams on the White River in the 1950's. Three dams went up, named Power Site, Bull Shoals and Beaver. These dams only averaged around 90 feet high. And the river and the reservoir impoundments behind the dams continued to maintain their warm water fishery that the White River was famous for. But the dams sure messed-up some good-ole boy's drift boat guide services. 

This continued until 1960 when the Table Rock dam was built between the Power Site and Beaver dams. Table Rock became the deepest reservoir in the Ozarks with depths over 300 feet. 

The Power Site impoundment, named Lake Taneycomo, at Branson, MO., was now being fed 45-degree water from the base of Table Rock, through its power generating turbines. The warm water fishery in Taneycomo soon disappeared along with the tailwater areas of the Power Site and Bull Shoals dams, which are both downstream from Table Rock. These waters now have 45 to 50 degree water year-round. 

The Missouri Conservation Department (fish and game) experimented with stockings of Rainbow and Brown trout in the early 1960's. Their experiments worked, as Lake Taneycomo had now become a cold-water fishery for its entire 23-mile length. The trout did well, so well in fact that stringers of 5 to 8 pound trout were common, with no limits or size requirements, strictly a meat fishery. This was a well-kept secret until the city of Branson, MO. exploded to become the USA's capital for country western music and family styled entertainment. The secret was out.

Today the Missouri Conservation Department stocks Taneycomo on a monthly basis with Rainbows; around 1.2 million fish a year. Taneycomo is a year round fishery. Browns have not been stocked for over 20 years, as they are now sustaining a wild population through spawning. However, the days of the 5 to 8 pound Rainbows have now disappeared. And the state has finally set limits and size restrictions. Now don't get me wrong, there are still large Rainbows, over 25 pounds, and Browns, over 30 pounds, in Taneycomo and there is a belief that the next world record Brown will come from Taneycomo. The current Brown trout World Record of 40 lbs 4 oz was caught in the Red River, Arkansas, which is a tributary of the White River below the Bull Shoal Dam.

Taneycomo has Rainbows up to 28 lbs and Browns that we know of up to 37 lbs. The 37 lb. was discovered dead (boat prop cut behind its head) along the bank by several fly fishers several years ago. The Conservation Department was notified and they came, measured it and took it away. They estimated the fish to have been dead for at least ten days and its length was 2 inches longer than the current world record.

Taneycomo's large Browns and Rainbows are primarily nocturnal feeders and they will hit on dark colored large Wooly Buggers and Scuplins patterns. During the day, I have been successful with Clouser Minnows, Scuds, Sow Bugs, and Caddis Flies. There are also a number of local favorites, such as, the Red Assed Ant, and a number of nymphs, which are tied using primarily red squirrel hair. 

Taneycomo trout grow rapidly as there is an abundance of natural aquatic life to feed upon. Presently the minimum length for all Brown trout is 20 inches and there are slot restrictions (up to 12 inches and then over 20 inches) for Rainbows in the artificial lure areas, three miles below the Table Rock dam. Floating fly lines are recommended and most fly fisher's use from 4wt to 7wt rods. Sinking tip lines are recommended to dredge-up the large trout during the night. Taneycomo's waters are crystal clear with a slight green tinge. Therefore, most of the locals recommend using tippets made of slightly green tinged mono. Non-resident fishers can buy licenses either by the day or year, plus you will need to purchase a trout stamp. 

The first three miles downstream below the Table Rock Dam's face are restricted waters. Artificial lures only and the area is primarily fished by fly fishers. In all of the years I have gone there, I've never seen anyone fishing legally in this area except fly fishers. The larger trout concentrate in this area especially in the late fall as they are returning to spawn. The Missouri Shepard of the Hills Trout Hatchery is located at the base of the dam. You will see numerous redds in the gravel beds if you are fishing around Thanksgiving, please avoid wading through them. The rest of Taneycomo is open to every type, size and description of baits, both natural and man-made. The most popular being "power bait eggs". And you will still see the locals using corn straight out of the can. Note; hatchery fish food is primarily a corn meal mixture. 

You can wade this entire length and width of the restricted waters as Taneycomo runs from 100 yards to a quarter of a mile wide as it follows the White River's ancient valley channel. The bottom is gravel with a few football-sized rocks to trip over. Felt soled waders are recommended. The water temperatures, even in the middle of August are still in the low 50's, so you will not see any fly fishers wading in shorts. There are also some deep cuts (ledge rocks), which will surprise you when you step into them as you may suddenly drop a couple of feet deeper. A word of caution, night fishing may produce the largest fish, however if you are not familiar with the bottom structure, stay out of the water at night. 

Another word of caution, listen for the Table Rock Dam's warning horns as they mean business. They start going off 30-minutes before the dam starts to release water through its turbines. You do not want to be caught in the water at this time, as you will suddenly realize what white water rapids are all about. As a reference, boaters in Taneycomo are not allowed, by law, to have anchors, as a number of boats have been swamped when the water rose rapidly and their anchors held them under. 

Further downstream the water becomes deeper until the Power Site Dam, which has a depth of 90 feet. But even after going 23 miles, Taneycomo still averages 55 degrees, year round, so this is definitely not a swimming or water skiing lake. The boats you see are out there to do one thing and only one thing, catch them trout.

For you trivia buffs, trout in Missouri and Arkansas is not a new idea or something that started in the 1960's. They have been stocking trout in the Ozarks' spring fed streams and rivers since the late 1800's. One variety of Rainbows, living in Crane Creek, MO. is now the only remaining source for these wild trout in the USA, which originally came from the Far West. If you would like additional information or have questions regarding this beautiful part of our country, please contact me. I have been fishing the Ozarks since I was a kid so I have seen it evolve from a warm water fishery to its current cold-water fishery.