Across
the Stream – March 2007
A
Publication of Heart of America Fly Fishers
HOAFF March Meeting
Monday, March 19, 2007 - 7pm
Montana Fly Fishing Guide
John
Bell will host a discussion about Montana Fly Fishing
President's Message
by Mark Borserine
Due to our members’ continuing generosity our
Club is blessed with the ability to help worthwhile projects. This year, we
chose to help fund the purchase of a mile of Mill Creek in central Missouri for
the Department of Conservation. We feature an article by Spence Turner about
this remarkable resource and its remarkable history in this newsletter.
Your
generosity has made it possible to purchase fly tying kits and rod/reel outfits
that we are even now using in Seminars at Cabelas and
to teach in the Women in the Outdoors program sponsored by the National Wild
Turkey Federation.
Your
generosity allows us to offer exception al programs at our meetings. I am proud
to say that as I talk to other club Presidents around the Southern Council, I
find that while the HOAFF is certainly not the largest club in overall
membership, we consistently have a very high percentage of our membership at
our meetings.
An
acquaintance of mine once said it very well:
“no money, no mission”. The HOAFF is truly lucky to have the funds to
provide our members and our community with excellent programs and support for
projects. Thank You!
Were We Crazy?
by
Steve Jenkins
Okay. I’ve fished in hot weather before. I’ve even fished for trout in hot weather –
hot weather just can’t get in the way of fishing. In these “modern” times, we go fishing when
we can, and if the weather cooperates, so much the better. Actually, I enjoy bass fishing in the hot
weather, especially if I’m wading in the creek in my overalls and jungle
boots. The creek just seems more
intimate – I feel closer to the surroundings.
And if it is 90 + degrees, that’s okay.
But, trout fishing is somehow different.
Sure, there is the wading wet aspects of trout fishing, too. However, if it is June, and I’m in Vermont,
it just shouldn’t be 90 + degrees for days on end!
Doug
and I had met via the Internet several years ago. We both share a passion for the Battenkill and the sad state of the fishing situation there,
both in Vermont and New York. He has a
good relationship with the State of Vermont’s top trout biologist, works
closely with the state and US Forest Service soil conservation folks and is
active in a local Trout Unlimited chapter.
Several years ago I joined him and the TU folks, planting willow
saplings in many spots along the Battenkill and some
of its main tributaries, working the morning and fishing the afternoon. Another time, when I was visiting family, we
fished over a great Hendrickson hatch near Shushan,
NY, and were dismayed that we caught no fish – didn’t even see a rise, in spite
of the near blizzard-like presence of these mayflies.
We
had tentative plans to fish the Battenkill together
this year, when I would again be in Vermont visiting family. The fishing plans were tentative because,
sadly, Doug has to work and my weekends are to be filled with family
stuff. Miraculously, I was able to get
clearance to fish on the appointed Saturday afternoon. But, little did we know that the weather
would turn so blistering. Doug made the
drive from his home in eastern Massachusetts, and I would be coming down from
northern Vermont — about 100 miles over Vermont’s primitive road system. When we talked Friday evening, we quickly
decided to work the headwaters, where hopefully the water temperatures would be
lower. Doug reported some success about
three weeks earlier with a surprisingly strong spinner fall of grey
drakes. He had caught numerous fish, and
about 70 % were brook trout. The Battenkill is almost totally void of rainbows.
On
the drive south, my car thermometer was registering mid-90s. In Rutland, it showed 96 degrees! And, this is Vermont! Were we crazy? Doug and I agreed to meet at the Orvis store
in Manchester Center before 5 PM. He was
checking out the casting pool when I got there.
After a quick look through the fly bins and the bargain table, it was
time to get at it, 90 + temperatures or not!
In the parking lot, Doug gave me a couple of flies – Vermont caddis, in
size 16, with a dubbed hare’s ear body and cree
hackle. This was the key fly in his
prior trip. He also muttered something
about grey drake spinners.
Our
first stop was the West Branch of the Battenkill. It meets the East Branch in Manchester, but
parallels VT hiway 30, between Manchester and
Dorset. Access is not a big issue
because of the crossing roads and turn-outs along hiway
30. The West Branch is a tight casting
situation, rarely over 20 feet wide and generally less. Overhanging trees and limbs in the creek make
very challenging casting. But, fishing
small creeks has its own joys. Getting
into the fishing suit was a trial. Sweat
had me totally drenched – not a dry stitch in my shirt. Doug was wading wet. I rigged up my 7 ft., 2 in. five weight
rod. But, Doug had the prize for the
stream – a five-foot bamboo, one-piece rod that loads a five-weight line. This little wand was a dream. It was beautifully finished with a cork reel
seat and gold and medium green wraps, the product of a local rod-builder. And, to see how well Doug worked this tiny
rod on the little creek was almost worth the trip in itself.
Downstream
from the bridge, we were in the water in a flash. Doug pitched his Vermont caddis into the foam
below a small man-made rock dam, but got no response. After several casts, he tried the slow-water
area above the dam and immediately had a good strike. I moved downstream, tied on a size 18 Adams
and went to work on a faster run about 20-yards below. At first, there was no response – then, the
first strike. I missed the fish. But, I stood my ground and saw numerous looks
and refusals while casting over this faster water. Finally, I had a hook-up and landed the first
fish. These brook trout, in their native
habitat, were very colorful and frisky.
I stood in that one spot, with my shadow broken by a bank-side tree, and
took three more brookies.
Doug
had moved upstream and was out of sight because of the stream-side brush. I crossed the stream, found it to be at 69
degrees, and went downstream about 50-yards to where it turned to the right
below a riffle and deeper pool. Small
streams can be surprisingly deep, and the West Branch was no exception. Before getting into a good casting position,
I waded through water almost four feet deep.
The bank near this pool was deeply undercut, and I could visualize a big
brown trout hiding safely there. The
pool above was not that deep, but through a fast tongue of current I managed to
snag another bunch of brookies on the Adams. But, the sun was getting lower and the glare
was increasing. Changing flies to an Ausable caddis, size 18, didn’t diminish the action and it
was a bit easier to see.
Doug
wanted to show me another spot, upstream, so off we went. About a mile upstream, at a road side
turn-out, we began again. This time, we
hop-scotched upstream. He continued with
his size 16 Vermont caddis and I used the Ausable
caddis. After catching a fish, we
switched places, and thereby worked upstream several hundred yards, catching
more brook trout. Doug had taken some
browns along this run previously, but not today. His little rod worked wonders — he handled it
well. These caddis imitations also
worked well fished downstream, sunk like a soft-hackle.
The
evening spot was to be the East Branch which parallels (historic) hiway 7A, north of Manchester. We drove several miles and finally stopped at
a bridge where access was simple. Doug
now produced two more flies – a grey drake spent spinner, size 12 and a similar
fly with upright wings. I stored these
away and mounted a size 16 grey fox, a classic, conventional dry fly. Using the hop-scotch approach, we worked up
stream. Here the water was 63 degrees
(Doug got into his waders for this spot.)
We alternately fished through several runs and pools, but there were no
takers. So far, we had seen very few
bugs over the water.
At
one spot Doug’s turn ended with a fly in a branch and I took over. Finally, I caught the first trout – a brookie, similar to those on the West Branch. As we moved upstream, we were each taking
more fish, on our turn. After releasing
my fly against a large tree root where there should have been a brown trout,
Doug moved ahead for a couple of fish.
Soon, I noticed some spinners dancing in the air. They were not abundant, but active. Perhaps this is what was triggering the
action. Doug had noticed them, too. While he was changing flies to his grey drake
pattern, I moved ahead, toward a gentle bend where there was a nice run and
pool against the far bank. I now began
to take fish regularly. The grey fox did
its magic.
The
fish we took were all brook trout. They
weren’t selective, taking all we offered.
And with 90 + degrees in Vermont, and after driving over 100 miles, were
we crazy? I caught more fish – over 20 —
but they all were between seven and four inches long! Were we crazy? You decide.
Special Membership Meeting in March
by Bill Brant
A
special meeting of voting members will be held at the club meeting March 19th.
The purpose of the meeting will be to vote on club directors and to conduct any
other club business that is of interest to the members.
Current
Directors are John Bell, Tom James, and Bill Brant. The slate of new Directors
includes Jim Jorgensen and Cliff Cain. Nominations from the floor for
Directors will also be accepted.
Once
the new Directors are elected, they plan to vote to elect this year’s officers.
The proposed slate of officers.
If you are interested, we would be glad to have your help.
If you want to provide any input on the running of the club, feel free to
contact any of the Directors before the March meeting or attend the March
meeting and speak your mind.
2007 Officers
President
Mark
Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Past President
David
Andrews
816-741-8314 davidgandrews@kc.rr.com
Secretary
Jim
Jorgenson
913-469-1950 jjorgensen@ci.lenexa.ks.us
Treasurer
Paul
Bennetts
913-338-3837 pbennetts1@comcast.net
Newsletter
Tom James
816-718-0393 tom@blackdogsports.com
Programs
John Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Cliff
Cain
913-558-5069 cliffcain@hotmail.com
Education/Recognition
Bill
Lindley
913-888-3177
Norm
Crisp
913-645-1994 streamsideff@yahoo.com
Outings
Membership
Travis
Knight
816-246-4168 tdk883@yahoo.com
Frederick
Clark
913-831-0305 fclarks@planetkc.com
Conservation Team - Arkansas:
John Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Library
Doug
McDonald
913-764-6678 mcdoug5148@sbcglobal.net
Web Master
Vicky
Newton
816-943-8306 svnewton@sbcglobal.net
Raffle/Auction
Jim
Mattes
913-268-6161 jimmattes@mattesappraisal.com
Spring Programs
Dick
Martin
816-781-9557 rlm@mllfpc.com
Don
Grundy
816-781-9019 dgrundy@sbcglobal.net
Historian
Bill
Brant
816-941-9691 billandkathy@kc.rr.com
Liaison SC
Hod McIntosh
913-722-3684 singingreels@kc.rr.com
Supernumerary
Ray Zook
816-941-2862 rzook@kc.rr.com
Heart
of America Fly Fishers Meetings
Meetings
are held at 7pm on the 3rd Monday of each month
Community
of Christ Church
79th
& Mission Rd, Prairie Village, KS
Refund for Annual Banguet
Members
who paid $15 each for the Annual Banquet can request a refund from now until
the April member meeting. After that the funds will go towards the Mill Creek
purchase. Contact Paul Bennetts, Treasurer.
Blue River Cleanup
Saturday, March 31,
2007 – 8:00am
by Bill Brant and
Kevin Carril
Come
join your fellow fly fishers the morning of Saturday, March 31st for this year’s annual Blue River
Cleanup! As in previous years, we will
be coordinating our efforts with the Lakeside Nature Center’s Project Blue
River Rescue.
Our
site this year will be located along Blue River Road, under the I-435, bridge.
To get there, take I-435 to Holmes (2 miles east of State Line), go south on
Holmes 1 mile, turn left (east) on Red Bridge Road and go 1 mile, turn left
(north) on Blue River Road.
Go
north ½ mile and park in the gravel lot at the Alex George Lake. Since there is a limited amount of parking at
the location where we will be working, we plan to meet at the Alex George Lake
parking lot and shuttle the short distance to the clean-up site.
Our
part in this stream restoration effect will include picking up trash along this
stretch of the watershed. In addition, for those so inclined, we will be
cutting the invasive Asiatic honeysuckle.
Wear
your work clothes and we’ll provide the snacks, gloves, trash bags and great
company! You can sign up for this worthwhile event at the March meeting or by
contacting Kevin Carril at 913-362-9379. (You are
welcomed to attend even if you don’t sign-up ahead of time).
HOAFF Apparel now available
Now you can get a T-shirt or a fishing hat with the
new Heart of America Fly Fishers Logo. Hats $15, T-shirts $12
Whitecaps on the White
by Mark
Borserine
YES!
The weather gods continue to follow the HOAFF with a vengeance. We had 30mph
winds and comparable wind chills at our Outing at White River Trout Lodge on
March 2,3,4. However, this time, our members did not flee the onslaught of
nature; they held their ground and fish were caught!
Unfortunately
we missed the peak of the Shad Kill but some good trout were caught as you can
see in the accompanying photos. Bob Valentine holds up a nice brown for the
camera while whitecaps break behind him – yes, whitecaps! A nice, nice photo of Darren Watson’s brown;
Darren’s net is 22 inches long! Nice
catch, Darren.
Fortunately,
good companionship and comfortable accommodations added to the enjoyment of the
barbecue on Saturday night. Clint Wilkinson and his fiancé, Danielle Rogers
joined us for the evening and Danielle demonstrated some of her signature flies
for the members (photo). The barbecue was a great success and our members went
to bed with happy tummys to wake to much improved
weather on Sunday morning.
Despite
the weather and missing the shad kill, everyone caught some fish, everyone
enjoyed themselves and the intention is to make the outing an annual event.
Recommend
you check out White River Trout Lodge; the accommodations and rates are great
and the location is outstanding! The
Narrows is quite simply one of the best spots on the entire Bull Shoals Tailwater. White River Trout Lodge’s ad is in our
newsletter, stay there and I guarantee you’ll return!
Start of the Rainbow
Mill Creek’s trout history began late in 19th century.
by
Spencer E. Turner, Special to the Columbia Daily Tribune
Mill
Creek near Rolla has a self-sustaining rainbow trout population, but it wasn’t
always that way. In the 1880s, trout were introduced to Missouri streams.
Last
month, the Missouri Conservation Commission approved establishing the Bohigian Conservation Area on Mill Creek. This new 437-acre
area includes more than a mile of Blue Ribbon trout stream and connects two
other segments of Mill Creek owned by the U.S. Forest Service. This conservation
area opens the upper end of Mill Creek from Wilkins Spring downstream
approximately six miles.
Mill
Creek is located southwest of Rolla and just south of Newburg. It was one of
four original streams with wild rainbow trout populations designated as Blue
Ribbon trout streams in 1982. The other streams designated for wild trout
management included Spring Creek, Blue Spring Creek and Crane Creek. Wild trout
management, or what is now called Blue Ribbon management, means that the
streams contain self-sustaining wild rainbow trout populations. Anglers can
harvest only one trout of at least 18 inches each day using artificial lures.
All other trout must be released unharmed.
Purchase
of this new trout area was leveraged with help from the Mid-Missouri chapter of
Trout Unlimited, the Missouri Council of Trout Unlimited, the Missouri Cold
Water Conservation Fund and individual donations from trout anglers.
Those
are the facts. Let me add some additional historic information about this
unique stream and some conjecture about what took place 127 years past.
Trout
are not native to any Missouri streams. The only evidence they once lived in
the region came from a a highway dig near Mammoth
Spring, Ark., where fossilized fish bones including some belonging to a char -
brook trout fall into the char family of salmonids -
dating back 13,000 years or so.
As
the climate warmed and glaciers receded, trout disappeared from the small,
cold-water refuges. Missouri streams became too warm to support salmonids.
Man,
in an attempt to improve fishing, changed this beginning in 1878, when the U.S
Fish Commission and the Missouri Fish Commission teamed up to stock Pacific
salmon in the Missouri River and a few tributaries. The salmon eggs came from
the Russian River in California and were transported by train to Missouri’s
first fish hatchery located in St. Joseph. The eggs hatched, and the fish
commission stocked the fry in the Missouri River to create a salmon migratory
run from Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico and back.
It
didn’t work.
However,
in 1880, the U.S. Fish Commission sent eggs collected from rainbow trout
spawning at the McCloud River egg-taking station, located north of Redmond,
Calif., to the St. Joseph hatchery. Rainbow trout eggs from this collection
station were sent around the world, establishing many of the great rainbow
trout fisheries we enjoy today. Missouri received some of the first rainbow
eggs.
The
Missouri Fish Commission loaded the fry and fingerlings in milk cans along with
ice and transported them by train to be stocked in streams between St. Louis,
Springfield and Joplin. The train stopped at river crossings and the crew
emptied a milk can of fry to the river below.
Missouri
Fish Commission reports document trout stockings in Meramec River, Spring River
and Crane Creek. In 1882, Missouri rainbows were reported spawning for the
first time in Crane Creek and Spring River.
This
information comes from U.S. Fish Commission and Missouri Fish Commission
reports and the archives of the Neosho Federal Fish Hatchery built in 1889.
Now
let me add some speculation about Mill Creek to the mix.
The
railroad line that carried those first rainbows in milk cans ran through
Newburg. At that time, Newburg served as a major railroad center, where train
crews changed and engines were turned around in the round house. The railroad
yard and tracks ran alongside the Little Piney River. Mill Creek joins the
Little Piney River at the western edge of the railroad yard, and Spring Creek
flows just over the hill to the west.
Now,
if you were a train crewman asked to stock some trout at crossings along the
track, would you save a can or two for your home creeks? I think so and suspect
Mill Creek, the Little Piney River and Spring Creek were all stocked for the
first time in 1880 and have had reproducing wild rainbows since about 1882. In
addition, the records show that Missouri received several shipments of rainbow
eggs from the McCloud River station between 1880-88. It’s not clear where the
trout were released, but I suspect some of the same streams that received
rainbows in 1880 received additional trout during this period.
I
had the privilege of knowing Lilly and Clarence Hudgen,
whose family homesteaded the Mill Creek Valley in the 1800s. The Hudgen farm is part of the Bohigian
Conservation Area. Clarence remembered catching spotted fish with his mother in
Mill Creek in the late 1800s.
I
suspect these were rainbow trout from that early 1880 stocking. Both Lilly and
Clarence are long since dead, yet their legacy lives on in the Bohigian Conservation Area.
Dr. Bohigian - an eye, ear and nose physician from St. Louis -
purchased the Hudgen farm from Lilly’s estate to add
to his original purchase along Mill Creek. As a conservationist, he realized
the value of this unique wild trout population and protecting this cold-water
stream.
Sister Carol Anne Corley
Sister
Carol Anne Corley works with a Catholic elementary school in Hot Springs where
she teaches fly casting for physical education and fly tying for art.
To
assist with her fly tying classes, she needs fly tying materials. We need to
gather our extra materials, feathers, thread, dubbing, whatever we have that we
can spare and bring them to the March member meeting. Mike George will collect
the items at the March Meeting to send to her.
Upcoming Events &
Programs
March 19, 2007 Cliff
Cain & John Bell with Montana Guide
March 31,
2007 Blue River Cleanup
April16,
2007 Brent Frazee
May 21, 2007 Norm
Crisp: Traveling & Trout Fishing
Visit
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Yager’s Flies
2311 Wakarusa Drive, Suite B
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(866) 359-7467
www.yagersflies.com
Lilleys' Landing
1-800-LILLEYS
367
River Lane
Branson,
MO 65616
Wilkinson
Outdoor Adventures
Clint
Wilkinson
272
Wild Cat Shoals Road
Gassville, AR 72635
870-404-2942
Saltery Lake Lodge
1516
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Kodiak,
AK 99615
1-800-770-5037
Fax
(907) 486-3188
Fishing
River Custom Rods
Bill
Kreitz
13715
Nation Rd.
Kearney,
MO 64060
E-mail:
b.kreitz@att.net
816-628-5071
Cell:
816-392-6720
River
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2626 Hwy
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MO 65616
417-332-0460
877-699-3474
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Branson
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2456 State Highway 165
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1-800-334-3104
Eleven
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Guide
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Camping
417-778-6497
Fishing
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Bow
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Crownsnest River
Southern
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Walk
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Mountain River Fly Shop
1177 West Main
Cotter, AR 72626
870-435-6166
Gartside’s Secret Stuff
www.jackgartside.com/tying_material.htm
Bennett
Spring State Park Concession Shop
26248 Hwy
64 A
Lebanon,
MO 65536
417-532-4307
1-800-334-6946
Gaston’s
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Bennett
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11798
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MO 65536
417-532-9449
Sand
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1996 Hwy
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Lebanon,
MO 65536
417-532-5857
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Brass
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Hwy 62W
Gassville, AR 72635
Motel
Phone
(870)
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Restaurant
Phone
(870)
435-2288
(877)
272-7736
White
Sands Motel & Restaurant
Highway
62B - Next to Cotter's Rainbow Arch Bridge
870-435-2244
Bass Pro Shops
Chapman Creek Fly & Tackle
2701 North Marshall
Chapman, KS 76431
785-922-6630
Rim Shoals Lodge & Fly Shop
River Front Lodging
Guided FIshing Trips
Boat/Motor Rental
Full Service Fly Shop
Gary & Paula Flippin
(870) 435-6144
Anglers
and Achery Outfitters
136B Eden Way
Branson, MO 65616
(417) 335-4655
Parkview
Lodge
1-888-727-5883
5477
Hwy 165
Branson,
MO
Reading’s Fly Shop