Tale Waters The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers

Transcription

1 Tale Waters The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers December 11, 2018 North Arkansas Fly Fishers Tale Waters 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 Louis (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) Tale Waters is published 2nd Tuesday of each month. Article deadline is 1st Tuesday of the month. Staff: Mike Tipton & Rita Billbe Contact: sowbug@northarkansasflyfisher.org Beginners Fly Tying Class Starts in January It's that time of year again for our Beginners Fly Tying Class. But this year, we are pleased to announce that ASUMH has accepted our class as part of their Continuing Education program. This is a class for beginners to learn the basic principles of fly tying. Students will tie two each of two different flies at each class, all of which can be used on our local rivers. All tools and materials are provided by the North Arkansas Fly Fishers. Mentors will be available on a one-to-two or one-toone basis. The class is taught by Tom Emerick. Tom and our mentors are members of NAFF in good standing, and have experience teaching the local Home School group, our annual Sowbug Roundup, Con- Sowbug Update The 2019 Sowbug Roundup is less than four months off. Time will fly during the next four months. If you are a kid waiting for Christmas, that is a long time! If you are a club planning an event like Sowbug, that s almost like next week. Things are starting to accelerate as we go into the final months of planning and preparation. An event like Sowbug lives and dies with tables and volunteers. We have lots of tables, but always need volunteers. In January we need volunteers to solicit local businesses and help sort our donations. The solicitors work at their own speed. Sorters meet once a week and are plied with lots of goodies. If you are interested in volunteering, contact me or Amy Galyardt will be Terry Briggs last year coordinating the kids activities. He is looking for an understudy to take over for I am planning to retire as Chair-

2 Page 2 clave/fly Fishing Fair, and/or past Introduction to Fly Tying Classes. Most importantly, all are active fly fishermen/women with a minimum of twenty years experience in the sport, and on our local waters. These are well seasoned individuals who love the sport with a willingness to share their knowledge and experience. In addition, mentors are on hand to assist the students as they tie the subject fly. The class will be held on Mondays in January, 2019 from 6 to 8 pm, specifically January 7, 14, 21, & 28, and will be held in the Ozarks Regional Arts Council Conference Room at The Sheid. The class is $20.00 and includes a one year membership in NAFF. If you are already a NAFF member, we will extend your membership by one year. If you are interested in taking the class...or know someone who is, register on line with ASUMH at ervices/ community-education.html. Scroll down until you find our course, check the box, and a registration form will appear at the bottom of the page. Class is limited to the first 12 registrations. man after the 2019 show. I am looking for an understudy to take over for My job is probably the easiest of the bunch as there are a lot of volunteers who do the real work. Contact me if you are interested in either Terry s job or mine. Where the Parking Lot Will Go at Roundhouse Shoals December President s Message I think that almost anyone who actively fishes has fished Roundhouse Shoals at one time or another. And has noticed that the parking area is full of mud holes and that you need four wheel drive to get back onto the pavement. A few years ago, NAFF installed steps at Roundhouse Shoals to facilitate access, with the expectation that a parking area would quickly follow. No parking area materialized. For the last several years Tom Emerick has been working with the Union Pacific Railway, the City of Cotter, and AGFC to obtain permission to build that real parking area at Roundhouse Shoals. Things have finally come together. The estimated cost of construction is about $31,000. The construction work will be done by the AGFC. Both TU and NAFF each have committed to contribute $5000 to the project. AGFC will cover the rest of the cost. At the January meeting, I will be bringing a proposal to the club membership to allocate $5000 for this project. It looks like we could get a real parking area this year! Tom Emerick has really knocked himself out trying to make this happen! 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.

3 Tale Waters Page 3 December Fly of the Month Sunday Special nymph. Other combinations can be used depending upon water conditions and the season. Fly tied by Tom Emerick Hook: #14 Scud #14 - #18 commonly used Thread: Black Wapsi 70 denier Weight: Gold or brass bead Body: Haretron dark hare s ear plus Tying Instructions Bend down the barb of the hook Thread the bead onto the hook with the small opening facing the eye. Place the hook in the vice, start the thread just behind the eye and wrap rearward to ½ way down the bend. Dub a tight tapered body of dark hare s ear plus Wrap the body forward to the bead Finish with half hitches or a whip finish This simple fly can be fished alone or on an indicator nymphing rig or in combination with other flies. Common combinations are Sunday Special with an egg, or a bead head

4 Page 4 Sowbug Donations Needed know, John Berry, that you can t do that!). When you end up at the great riffle in the sky, you stuff will end up at the Salvation Army. Make your wife s life easier, donate it to the Sowbug now. If have something to donate, you can contact me at michaeltipton@centurytel.net. Tie-In for CTO Proposed The Back of Mike Tipton s Closet The Sowbug Roundup will be upon us very soon now. We have club members on the street soliciting local businesses for donations. They will wheedle a lot of stuff for us. But! The club s biggest potential source of stuff for Sowbug raffles and auctions is you, the members. All of you have closets full of stuff that you will never use again in 1000 years. And most of you don t even have 1000 years. Donate some of this stuff to Sowbug and get it in use and in circulation again. Most of you lied to your wife about how much it cost (I Cross Trail Outfitters is a mentoring program geared to instill in young people an appreciation of the great outdoors through hunting and fishing. NAFF makes financial contributions to the local chapter which is headed up by Duane Hada. Though the youth in the program learn to tie flies, there is (of course!) always a need for more flies. At the December NAFF Board meeting the idea of holding a member tie-in with all flies donated to Cross Trail Outfitters was suggested. We need to get an idea of how many members would be interested in such an event, so we can make plans. We will need to determine a date and location, but it will likely be in late Jan or Feb. Duane says nymphs (sz 12-14), midges and wooly buggers are the flies the group is most in need of. General White River stuff. Blue gill flies are also great. Please let Susan Parsons know if you are interested in getting together to tie, tell fish stories and contribute to CTO. Susan.parsons137@outlook.com or phone

5 Page 5 Membership Report Below are the latest members who joined at the most recent club meeting, the Fly Fishing Fair, or the Dave Hughes event last month. Dana Green of Flippin, AR John & Beth Holler of St. Robert, MO Kathy & David Willis of Mountain Home, AR Rod & Karen Purvis of Mena, AR Victor & Sheryl Edwards of Crestview FL Paul Shepard of Branson, MO Fred Isensee of Maryland Heights, MO Jim & Brenda Dugan of Mountain Home, AR Total membership is 530 members and 376 memberships with 11 members overdue on their dues and the December/ January Renewal notices going out.

6 Page 6 MS4 IS NOT A BRITISH SPY AGENCY OR THE NEXT Y2K FLY BUT IT DOES IMPACT OUR FISHING. MS4 stands for Municipal Separate, Sewer, Storm, Systems According to the federal law commonly known as Stormwater Phase II, permits are required for stormwater discharges from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) in urbanized areas and those additionally designated by the Department. The city of Mountain Home is currently completing its MS4 permit requirements and will begin implementing them in Urban stormwater can be a significant source of water pollution and public health concern, however not all stormwater is polluted. It can be a source of pollution but it is not the only one. As communities continue to grow and develop their local economies, they look for sustainable and effective approaches to reduce these existing and emerging sources of pollution. Because approximately 90% of the City of Mountain Home s storm water runs into the White River, it is a significant contributor to the water quality of the White River. In addition, Hicks Creek, which carries much of Mountain Home s storm water, has been and is currently on the ADEQ s 303d (impaired) list of water bodies. According to the EPA, Polluted stormwater runoff is commonly transported through municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), and then often discharged, untreated, into local water bodies. To prevent harmful pollutants from being washed or dumped into MS4s, cities are required to develop stormwater management programs (SWMPs). The SWMP describes the stormwater control practices that will be implemented consistent with permit requirements to minimize the discharge of pollutants from the sewer system. Part of the SWMP is creating public awareness through educational programs to reduce the amount of urban pollution. According to Arnold Knox, P.E. Director, City of Mountain Home Street Dept. the City of Mountain Home will be very proactive towards implementation of our MS4, once we get it approved. The City realizes that the City and our environment are intertwined and what hurts our environment hurts us. We are always open to new ideas on outreach and enforcement, and would love input into our future progress. The City of Mountain Home will be actively pursuing the location of any source of pollution in Hicks Creek and will be enforcing the laws to protect it. We even believe Hicks Creek will be entirely off the 303(d) list in the future. (Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers and Mountain Home High School Stream Teams conducting water quality testing on Dodd Creek) Storm water-related Activities Adopt-A-Stream Programs Reforestation Programs Storm Drain Marking Stream Cleanup and Monitoring Volunteer Monitoring Wetland Plantings As the City of Mountain Home develops and implements its MS4 plans, Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers, NAFF, Trout Unlimited and other groups will all be able to help the City of Mountain Home in various ways to protect our water resources and our fishing. Thank You Steve Blumreich President Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers

7 Page 7 Sowbug Tiers Report The 2019 Sowbug Roundup Tier invitations have been out about three weeks now and we have already received acceptances from almost 100 tiers from as far as the U.K. and already nearly 90 have indicated that they will attend the Tiers Party. If you are a tier who intends to have choice tying times, you need to register soon. The Friday AM session is nearly full, and the Saturday sessions are almost full, particularly the morning (AM, FULL) session. If you want to be one of the Stars of the Show be sure to register as soon as possible. If you are a local tier, please consider registering for Thursday AM or PM, Friday afternoon, or particularly Saturday afternoon. I will be sending out a reminder in a week or so and that will bring more responses, so register now and become one of the Stars of the Show. Because of the large and enthusiastic response to the Tiers Party, I am going to need help with it this year. I believe a crew to cook the meat is close to being in place, but I need a committee to help prepare food and to act as hostesses at the party. If you would like to volunteer for this committee, please c o n t a c t m e a t r k b e a - sley@suddenlink.net or We won t do much until around early to mid-march, so it won t interfere with the holidays or with other Sowbug activities. It will be fun to be involved, and you get to meet and socialize with a great bunch of Fly Tiers. Ron Beasley Christmas Party - More on page 5 and page 3

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9 North Arkansas Fly Fishers PO Box 1213 Mountain Home, AR Events of Interest to NAFF Members December 12/11/2018 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Sowbug Roundup meeting, Baxter County Library