Tale Waters The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers

Transcription

1 The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers February 13, 2018 North Arkansas Fly Fishers North Arkansas Fly Fishers meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held at the Van Matre Senior Center located at 1101 Spring St Mountain Home, AR Membership meeting starts at 7:00 pm. All members and guests are welcome and encouraged to attend. NAFF Board of Directors meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:00 pm 1st Security Bank on 9th St. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Visit North Arkansas Fly Fishers Online at Officers President Mike Tipton (870) Vice President Susan Parsons (618) Secretary Pat Smith (870) Treasurer Cindy Lewis (870) Directors Conservation Tommy Hagan (870) Property Kevin Boddy (870) Education Ceil Gasiecki (219) Membership Paul Ashton (870) Past President Ken Sickels (870) Appd. by Pres. Danny Barker (870) is published 2nd Tuesday of each month. Article deadline is 1st Tuesday of the month. Staff: Mike Tipton & Rita Billbe Contact: sowbug@northarkansasflyfisher.org Ken Forman to talk about Karst Topography At the February NAFF meeting Ken Forman will discuss our Karst Topography that is so important to our local environment and fishing. Ken currently works for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as an educator at the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek. He helps students and visitors make that all-important connection between themselves and the natural resources of the Ozarks. Ken grew up in a small town in the Deep South, around 500 miles south of here. This small agricultural town had about 300 people living there in the 60s; but of course like so many places, there are quite a few more people there Cont. next page Sowbug Solicitors Hard at It! The 21st Annual International Sowbug Roundup is next month, just around the corner! The local business solicitors team is hard at it. The team consists of seven solicitors to hit over 100 local businesses. Over the years the process has become quite organized and efficient. Each solicitor is given a list of local businesses to approach. The list includes the name of the contact person, an address, and identifies what the business donated last year. The usual question is, What did we donate last year? The solicitors also have a letter that explains why they are banging on business doors, some cards to display near their cash register, a Sowbug poster (Friday night I saw one in the window at Dusit, our local Thai restaurant) and a free ticket to Sowbug. Each solicitor wears a NAFF name tag and a Sowbug or NAFF hat. After 21 years, everyone recognizes the Sowbug Roundup. No one has ever spoken sharply to me when I have asked for a donation. The only pain involved in the process to having to return to a business several times in order to speak to the right person. Sowbug can still use volunteers. See the Sowbug Volunteer Opportunities elsewhere in the newsletter

2 Page 2 Forman from page 1 now. He spent much of his time outdoors, playing in the nearby river, climbing trees, fishing, catching crawdads, looking for snakes and lizards many of the typical things young kids do outside. This is surely the beginning of most wildlife biologists like Ken. As a young adult, he studied forestry and silviculture at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff Arizona. A downturn in the local economy encouraged him to move to Las Vegas, Nevada. In that desert town, Ken worked a number of jobs including night watchman, appliance salesman, casino restaurant manager on The Strip, and tortoise wrangler. He eventually wound up taking his Environmental Science degree from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV Go Rebels). His education landed him work at Lake Mead National Recreation Area helping develop their General Management Plan and eventually at Hoover Dam as an interpreter and tour guide. That s right; he was a Dam Tour Guide. February President s Message 2018 has gotten off to an interesting start for NAFF. Our first meeting of the year was cancelled because of weather. I hope that everyone understands that if the Mountain Home public schools cancel on the day that we have scheduled a meeting, we will can- cel the meeting for that day. We gave a beginning fly tying class and an intermediate fly tying class. We had six students in the beginner s class and 11 students and an auditor in the intermediate class. Tom Emerick and Susan Parsons did great jobs as the principal instructors in the beginner s class. We had enough assistant instructors that each student had someone helping him one on one. The club provided the equipment and materials for this class. Dennis Galyardt taught the intermediate class. Dennis and his students all thought it was great. The students really like Dennis s teaching techniques and Dennis enjoyed having a class in which every student was truly an intermediate tyer. We have previously given intermediate classes in which one or more of the students had just completed the beginner s class. They were really in over their heads in the intermediate class. One of our filters to ensure that we had intermediate level tyers was to require that the students provide The Milky Way in Montana their own equipment. Most of you are probably aware that the CAFO hog farm near the Buffalo River has lost its permit. Environmental organizations were very happy to hear this. However, the permitting process is hanging fire in court and is not a done deal. Agricultural interests have met with the governor to whine about how unfair and mean this situation is. NAFF member Steve Blumreich, wearing his hat as the President of the Friends of the White and Norfork Rivers, is organizing local environmental and outdoor recreational organizations to send a letter and to meet with the governor. They will explain that the economic impact of a clean Buffalo River is much greater than that of a single hog farm which overnight does terrific damage to the river. The Board of NAFF is supportive of this initiative and I am willing to join in the meeting with the governor if necessary Mike Tipton President

3 Page 3 Fly of the Month Purple Zebra Midge Basic zebra midge, in purple. Hook: Nymph or wide gape dry fly, size 18 & 20. Thread: Ultra Thread 70, purple color. Bead: Silver 1/16. Wire: X-small silver. Smash barb & slide hook through the smaller hole of the bead, to where the bead rests at the eye of the hook. Tie on thread 1/3 of the way back or enough to firmly secure thread. Tie in wire from the bead to the end of the hook shank, keeping wire on the side facing you. Thread should be wrapped evenly, covering wire. Then evenly wrap the thread back forward to just behind the bead. You may wish to apply a few more evenly spaced wraps as you approach the hook eye in order to form a slight taper from the rear forward. (optional). Note: This fly should be thin, keeping thread build-up to a very minimum. Counter-wrap the wire with four or five evenly spaced segments back to the hook eye. Trim or helicopter the wire to remove the remaining wire as close to the fly body as possible. Whip Finish or use four halfhitches to finish the fly. Apply a thin drop of head cement at this finish point and a very small dab of cement to the very rear of the fly where your thread ends. This has been my favorite go to fly in the last several winter seasons. Last year it was superb on both the White and Norfork tailwaters. My best days, both in numbers and larger fish, was when using this purple zebra midge. Fly designed and tied by Vern Berry Membership Report Please join me in welcoming our latest members, joining in January: Brad Eubanks of Mountain Home, AR Brad Morris of Lakeview, AR William Osburn of Mountain Home, AR James Shafer of Mountain Home, AR Stan Helms of Mountain Home, AR Dave Gobeli of Lakeview, AR Eddie Dean of Norfork, AR Andrew Dutcher of Yellville, AR Mike Enger of Gassville, AR Jim Wise of Mountain Home, AR Membership totals are 360 memberships with 506 members. Six members are overdue on their memberships and have been notified. Paul Ashton -NAFF Membership Director

4 Page 4 Sowbug Tyers Update The tiers for the 2018 Sowbug are fairly well set. We currently have 140 registered tiers. Among this group are most of the regular talented and creative tiers, as well as some new ones. Since these tiers are the stars of the show, we can have high expectations for the 2018 Sowbug Roundup. The tiers party is going to be a major event with over 110 tiers and guests indicating they will attend. We would like to have 2-3 volunteers to help with cooking the meat for the Tiers Party (To volunteer call or Ron Beasley at or rkbeasley@suddenlink.net). The Featured Tiers are also set for the 2018 Sowbug event. On Thursday morning will be Leslie Wrixon, followed by Paul Hoelscher (Thursday PM), Fred DuPre (Friday AM), Peggy Brenner (Friday PM), Son Tao (Saturday AM), and Reid Benton (Saturday PM). This is a great lineup of Featured Tiers and we will have a new banner, and hopefully helium balloons at their tying table. We also have a great lineup of tying classes for the 21st Sowbug Roundup featuring very talented tiers and teachers. There will be no charge for these classes, but class size will be limited to 10 participants. Materials will be furnished, but tiers must bring their own equipment (vises, bobbins, thread, scissors, anything you need to tie). For preregistration in these classes you may Mike Tipton (michaeltipton@centurytel.net), or you can register at the NAFF table when you arrive if there are still openings. The classes in order are: Thursday, 3/22, Jack Harford, at 1:00 PM, House Fly Foam Techniques (Flies Fish Like To Catch!!) ; Friday, 3/23, Tom Bullock at 9:00 AM, Two Easy Methods for Woven Flies ; Friday, 3/23, Scott Hendricks at 1:00 PM, Methods for Tying Better Dry Flies ; and Saturday, 3/24, Fishy Fullum at 9:00 AM, Creative Flies using Traditional and Nontraditional Materials. More information on these classes may be found at (click on Tying Classes). Ron Beasley 2018 Sowbug Fly Tying Chair

5 Page 5 Jimmy T s Fishing Report January Every winter this guide hopes for a shad kill. Every year I get asked the same question? Will there be a shad kill?? My crystal ball has been in the repair shop. It has never worked and I ve often missed my prediction. As of now in early February, a few shad have trickled through early in the mornings during heavy generation; but this does not make for a kill. To identify it, we must see the fish key in on them. The shad (threadfin shad) need to make it further down the river than they have been. There also needs to be some generation and one needs to fish it out of a boat. At any time of the year when generation is heavy (especially 8 units) there will be a few shad come through and one can catch them on shad patterns and do well. For a shad kill to occur, the general belief is that the main lake temps need to be at 41f or below. A day or two ago that temp was at 45. The shad also need to be bunched up at the 60 to 75-foot mark at the dam where the intakes are; and some heavy generation needs to happen to suck them through. Ideally the shad will come through with their swim bladders intact and float to the surface. So any type of floating or slowly sinking shad will work. The competition jig hooks with a pearl white or white tungsten bead on them will work for the slowly sinking shad patterns and foam type flies or mink flies that will float on the surface are good as well. Try using a floating shad fly with a lightweight dropper underneath. Two chances that way. If the shad are not coming through at this time of year, eggs on generation are good; and if the water is low enough for wading, midges are a must. Use a long leader and the smallest indicator you can find in the C&R area to avoid spooking the fish. A smaller fly in the #18 size and below is often a good choice for this area as are soft hackles. Good fishing. Jim Traylor Weather Cancellation Policy NAFF Activities or Meeting will be cancelled or postponed when the Mountain Home Public Schools Cancel Classes. Check KTLO radio website for school closing info.

6 Page 6 January Raffle Spring River Report Joe went bonkers in the storage unit! Lots of good stuff from Blue Ribbon Fly Shop. Cedar Wine Rack Hands Free Magnifier Trout Belt fly tying kits John S. Barr fly tying book Rio and Silver Creek leaders hooks beads Thin Skins Flash Foil Gummi Bodies, Markers Fishing Pack fly tying material lanyard Water levels are running at 230 cfs, 350 normal, and water clarity has been clear. The river is low and easy wading. With low water conditions, it has made the fishing more difficult. On sunny days a Y2k with a dropper like a small nymph or midge can work great. Lately bigger fish have been hitting woolly buggers in olive, yellow and brown. The big white fly called white lightning has been very good on bass, browns and rainbows. Hatches on bright days have been midges and caddis. Any of these imitations can work well during a hatch. Attached is a picture of a 20-inch brown caught on a Tenkara USA rod. Tight lines and good luck, Mark Crawford springriverfliesandguides.com

7 Page 7 Meet Your NAFF Board of Directors Susan Parsons, Vice President A love of nature has always drawn Susan to outdoor recreation including horseback riding, hiking, camping, windsurfing, fishing and gardening. Always an animal lover, Susan rode and trained Thoroughbred race horses in high school; she hunted groundhogs with Jack Russell Terriers as an adult. She was a working judge for the Jack Russell Club of America for over twenty years; certifying the ability of terriers in natural hunting situations which involved digging down to dogs that had cornered groundhogs in earthen dens. Susan and her husband Steve were first introduced to fly fishing eight years ago while visiting the White River with friends. Susan s only regret is that she did not catch the fly fishing bug sooner in life. But she has done her best to make up for lost time fishing regularly in Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas, with fishing ventures to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota thrown in. Learning to tie flies soon followed learning to fly fish (always learning!); and it soon became a passion (addiction!). Susan enjoys the peace and solitude of wading in small streams best; but wear and tear on joints makes fishing from a boat a viable option now. She is not particular about the size or species of fish catch; being outdoors embraced by nature is reward enough. Recalling kindnesses extended by fellow anglers when just beginning to fish, Susan is honored to share tips and flies with others she meets on streams. Professionally Susan was a hospital pathologist practicing in the St. Louis, Missouri area her entire career. In 2015 she retired from St. Louis University where she was a Professor of Pathology in the School of Medicine. She and Steve bought a river boat and a home in Lakeview and moved to Arkansas in November 2016 with two of Susan s retired terriers. Susan and Steve look forward to many hours on the water with a bent rod in hand, sun on their backs and friends nearby. Sowbug Volunteer Opportunities Setup and teardown. A few hours on Wednesday morning and Saturday afternoon. For the last few years we have had an external organization provide muscular young men to wrangle the tables for us. Donuts, soda and pizza are provided for the helpers. Front door. We need two or three people, at a time, to sit at the front door during the show to sell tickets, answer questions, and determine where everyone is staying so we can continue to get funding from the Mountain Home A&P commission. The typical shift at the front door is two hours. First come, first served in signing up for the good shifts. Raffles and auctions. We need people to sell tickets, watch over the items on display, take payment for auction items, and so on. The more volunteers the better. Sowbug Shindig. We need people to setup and take down the Shindig. This takes a couple of hours prior to the Shindig and about 30 minutes afterwards. Six or seven volunteers can easily accomplish this task. Bartenders. We need four people to serve the wine, beer, and water at the Sowbug Shindig. If we have four volunteers, the bartenders can split their time on duty. Grillers. We need two or three people to assist in grilling the brats and hamburgers for the Wednesday night fly tyers party. Remember! Every volunteer get one these cool stainless steel, insulated beverage containers. We will be circulating signup sheets starting in February. But if you see anything that meets your fancy, you can contact Mike Tipton ( or

8 Page 8 Nymph Fishing with Tenkara.In this series of Tenkara articles I will explain techniques used to fish traditional Western flies with the Tenkara rod. Western flies are anything but the traditional Kebari style soft hackles used for eons by the Japanese Tenkara anglers. A Tenkara rod may be used with dry flies, dry dropper rigs, nymphs with indicators, Czech style nymphing, French nymphing, soft hackles, traditional wet flies, streamers, wooly buggers and bass bugs. I have fished in creeks, golf course puddles, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and even salt water. You can too if that is your goal. But if you are just getting into Tenkara on tailwaters and local streams, you might want to narrow your options. When fishing, I usually have a goto-system. An indicator nymph/ midge rig is my choice. Indicators may not be necessary in all situations, but the beginning Tenkara fisherman may find them helpful. There is much to learn to become a Tenkara nymphing master. The Gear Tenkara rod, 6:4 or 7:3 action. Long is good. Stiffer is better than soft. Line/tippet should be 100 to 200 percent of the rod length. Tippets may test 6X to 4X. Indicator this varies according to personal preference and conditions. Flies: Western style nymphs, Euro-style jigs and midges weighted and unweighted. Split shot use only when absolutely necessary. It s much easier to cast a weighted fly. Rod Setup To rig for fishing, attach a furled or level line to the lillian. I prefer my Tenkara line to be 2/3 the length of the rod. If the line has a tippet ring on the end where the tippet is to be attached, that s great. If not, tie one on. To the tippet ring I attach my 4X tippet with an improved clinch knot. Usually I fish 3 or 4 of 4X with another piece of 4X (or 5X) at- Dropper Fly Two Fly Indicator Rig Indicator The distance from the indicator to the point fly varies from 2 to 5. tached. For this knot I use a double surgeon and leave about a 4 piece of the original 4X as a dropper. The tippet below the dropper should be about 18 long to separate the flies. The total line and tippet should be at least 15 long for a 12 rod. This is a 2-fly rig that utilizes combinations of midges, nymphs and jigs. By using two flies you can cover varying depths in the water column. Two flies also allow for variations in size, weight, color and style of imitations. If the water you are fishing is three feet deep or more, tie the heaviest of the two flies at the end of the leader at the point position. This fly serves as the anchor fly dragging the other one deep. If the water you are fishing is shallow, or the fish are tight to the bottom you can use the heavier fly on the dropper. This way both Tippet Ring Double Surgeon Knot Point Fly

9 Page 9 flies are near the bottom and not in the water column. In either case most fish take the point fly, but sometimes the dropper is more effective. This is usually true when insects are emerging. The Cast Casting a dry fly or single soft hackle is not like casting a pair of weighted nymphs plus an indicator. Therefore slow down your casting stroke and do NOT make false casts. If you DO, you will get tangles. Cast your rig up and across stream. Hold your rod high at the end of the cast and keep as much line and tippet off the water as possible. As the current carries the flies back down the stream, slowly raise your rod to the 12 o clock position. When the rod is straight up cast again. Indicators I am amazed to find that the choice of indicators is such a personal one. Perhaps that is why there are 27 varieties of indicators in the fly shop. I suggest that you use a light weight indicator that does not plop on the surface and disturb the fish. Use bland colors such as white, clear or even grey. Fluorescent colors may spook fish. Different situations call for different indicator styles. They must float and cannot be sunken by weighted flies. Sometimes when using midges, a tiny dry fly can act as an indicator. Other times the pinch on variety works if the flies are not too heavy. Styrofoam indicators with toothpick pegs are adjustable, but they are more likely to plop. Thingamabobbers are heavy, but they will float a hefty nymph. The Fishing Once you ve tossed out your fly rig and they have sunk nicely under your indicator, KEEP ALL OF YOUR LINE OFF THE WATER. You do not have to mend your line as in Western style nymphing. The currents are free to carry your rig WITHOUT drag. No drag means more fish. Now, watch that indicator. What to Watch for As the indicator moves down river look for: The indicator slowing down or hesitating. Any side to side movement of the indicator or twitches. The indicator goes under. If any of these things happen, SET THE HOOK! When I was guiding I probably said that about a thousand times. It doesn t cost anything to set the hook. So, do it and make sure that the little twitch is not a good fish. I ll be the first to tell you that the style of fishing I just described is not pure Japanese Tenkara. It is American nymphing with a Tenkara rod. It is ideal for the winter months on the tailwaters. The water is cold, the fish have slowed down, bugs are scarce and bites are subtle. But the Tenkara rod will allow you to fish delicately and without drag. This makes Tenkara a perfect fit for this style of fishing. By next month fishing should warm up and we will learn to use soft hackles with the Tenkara rod. Dennis Galyardt

10 Page 10 The Importance of Patterns in Nature Patterns are especially important to fly fishermen as they relate to creating just the right fly for the right fishing opportunity. right based on the conditions. Is it going to be a Prince Nymph or an Elks Hair Caddis? The pattern has to be The same can be said of patterns in nature which have developed over billions of years to create and support ecosystems and life in general. An example is the pattern of a watershed. This pattern has developed over billions of years to convey water from small headwater creeks and streams to rivers, lakes and oceans and along the way create and sustain ecosystems which support all life on earth. Notice the pattern of a plant s root system. The pattern is identical to that of the watershed and its function, like that of the watershed, is to deliver life sustaining water and nutrients to the plant. Now compare the pattern of the vascular system of the human heart and notice again the similarity of this pattern designed to sustain human life. So why are these patterns important to us; why should we care about them? I believe these patterns were created to sustain all life on our planet. Protecting the health of watersheds and the small headwater creeks and streams is just as important to human life as a healthy heart. If we degrade our watersheds we are degrading the life creating and sustaining patterns which were created to sustain our lives. What can we do to protect these watersheds and their streams and creeks? Develop good watershed health practices. Understand the importance of protecting the riparian zones along creeks, streams and rivers. The riparian zones are the first line of protection for keeping the waters clean and healthy. Let grasses, bushes and trees grow along the banks to slow and filter storm water runoff and reduce bank erosion. Bank erosion and sediment are one of the largest contributors to water degradation. Don t litter, pick up litter, reduce the amount of fertilizer on our lawns, be sure septic systems are working properly and not leaking, understand what happens to storm water run off, be aware of how agricultural nutrients impact water quality and ecosystems, encourage cities and towns to develop storm water retention ponds rather than concrete canals. Join and support groups like Master Naturalists and Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers and participate along with our NAFF members in Stream Team events. Friends of the Rivers along with NAFF members, ASU Mountain Home and Mountain Home High School Stream Team members conduct quarterly water quality testing and stream life sampling on Dodd Creek on the ASU MH campus. Come join us. Steve Blumreich President Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers Sblum1326@gmail.com

11 North Arkansas Fly Fishers PO Box 1213 Mountain Home, AR Events of Interest to NAFF Members February March 2/6/2018 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM NAFF Board Meeting, 1st Security Bank, 105 E 9th St 2/13/2018 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Sowbug Roundup meeting, Baxter County Library 2/20/2018 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM NAFF Membership Meeting, Van Matre Senior Center 3/5/2018 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Trout Unlimited Meeting, El Chicos 3/6/2018 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM NAFF Board Meeting, 1st Security Bank, 105 E 9th St 3/13/2018 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Sowbug Roundup meeting, Baxter County Library 3/20/2018 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM NAFF Membership Meeting, Van Matre Senior Center 3/22/2018 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sowbug Roundup, Baxter County Fairgrounds 3/23/2018 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sowbug Roundup, Baxter County Fairgrounds 3/24/2018 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Sowbug Roundup, Baxter County Fairgrounds