TROUT LINES. President s Message

Transcription

1 TROUT LINES President s Message By Mike Beachy Here we go! The opening day of trout season 2017 is almost upon us. Saturday, April 29 at 6:00 am marks the official opening of the trout season in Indiana. It is a fisherman s first shot at the Indiana State stocked rainbows that get planted into the Little Elkhart River en masse. This event can be taken with a variety of attitudes. On one hand, it is by far the easiest weekend of the year to catch a bunch of trout and if the weather is cooperative is a great opportunity to take children and newbies to fish for trout. Their chances of success are about as good as they get. On the other hand, the river can get crowded with the once a year trout fishermen and you can expect unethical practices. For the last several years I have been assisting the Indiana Conservation Officers targeting poachers. There have been several areas along the river where tent cities spring up on the Friday prior to the opener. It is pretty easy to identify the places where problems are likely to occur. If you see families with children, they are most likely not going to be an issue. When you see bonfires that are twice as big as a normal campfire and way too many guys for the amount of river all drinking beer, whooping it up, you can figure it out. This is a good place for the CO to show up unannounced to check licenses and count the bag limits. In the past several years there have been many arrests and cited violations. The most common is taking over the legal limit of trout. They commonly stash them in the beer cooler after all the beer is gone. Another is taking more than one brown trout per day. The violations range from outstanding warrants and drugs to no fishing license. I have to give these conservation officers credit. They do a good job trying to maintain the regulations. There is a faction of the population that takes the attitude that these planted trout are placed there for them and by gosh they paid for their trout stamp and they want their fair share. It is an unfortunate occurrence. The good news is that most of the guys on the river that opening weekend are there for the same reason and it is not poaching, it is to catch some trout. Usually after the first weekend this bad behavior goes away and the Little E returns to its normal intimate little trout stream. Instating the catch and release water has discouraged the poachers and most of the guys you will see in this section on the opening weekend are nice guys. It is more of a social event with fishermen talking on the bank taking turns fishing. The outing is more important than the actual fishing itself.

2 The rainbows will acclimate to the river after several weeks and they will begin to act like regular trout. They will begin to pick up color after about a month and by midsummer be even somewhat difficult to catch. They are fun fish and augment the brown trout fishery we are attempting to create. The opening day is an historic event despite how you feel about it. It is kind of a circus at the popular areas like Riverbend Park in Middlebury or Bonneyville Mill County Park between Middlebury and Bristol. It is something to see If you have never observed it. I avoid these places like the plague. The state plants a huge number of trout at these places in an attempt to appease the crowds. Fishing is easy because most fish from the bank with corn, worms or scented synthetic bait. Lots of people enjoy it but it is what it is. In this edition of the newsletter, I have written an article about fly fishing opening day trout. This article is written for those who wish to go out, catch some fish or expose someone to the splendors of trout fishing. If you have the right attitude it can be a blast Spring Outing Saturday May 6

3 Registration begins at 8:00am at Riverbend Park 511 East Warren Street, Middlebury, IN. The Spring Outing is the one gathering of the entire membership and for friends of LECTU. You can bring non-member fishing buddies, friends, family or come by yourself, all are welcome. This is the best place to get information about this chapter and the work we are doing. Need fishing intel about the Little Elkhart River, access information or fly selection? This is the place to get all your questions answered and get enthused about the local trout fishing. The event is held on the banks of the Little Elkhart River so afterwards you can fish the river. 9:00 am The Fly Casting Course opens and Fly Casting Instructions begins with Charlie Ray our member casting instructor. Charlie has been a real asset to the chapter. His ability to critique and correct your casting ability is uncanny. Charlie has been a fly casting instructor for many years. He is patient, soft spoken and very good at it. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran Charlie can help. I thought I was a pretty good caster and got along fishing alright but Charlie saw several things that I was doing and tweaked my technique. It has made me a better caster and has improved my fishing ability removing some frustration. These were little things I didn t realize I was even doing. Charlie has put together a casting course to challenge your skills and holds a friendly no pressure competition. This is also a good way for Charlie to observe your casting ability and give you some assistance if you desire it. The casting instruction will remain open throughout the morning session. I recommend bringing your own equipment however Charlie will provide rigged rods as well. Andy Kitson will be doing an Advanced Nymphing for the Little E class. Andy is a member of LECTU and operates Amish Trout Outfitters Guide Service. Andy has come up with a modified Czech Nymphing technique for the Little Elkhart River that has proven very effective. This will be an educational class and an in-stream demonstration. We are lucky to have Andy and this class will be well worth your attention. reference. Artwork by Andy Kitson 9:30am The stream access tour has historically been very popular. Last year we did not run the tour because we had done it for nearly 10 years in a row. We were asked multiple time about it last year so we decided to bring it back. Keith Loutzenhiser will be conducting the tour and acting as the bus driver, driving around the Amish countryside stopping at several access points to the river. He will talk about the river and the areas where he stops to give information and what to expect at each section of the stream. The bus is limited to 15 persons. However, if more folks want to take the tour they can follow along in their own vehicles. LECTU provides a road map that has the different stops along the way for each person to take home for future 10:00am LECTU President Mike Beachy will be doing a fly fishing class, Advanced Swinging Techniques for the Little Elkhart. Mike has been fishing the Little E for around 50 years and fly fishing exclusively for 20. He often times uses unconventional methods to stimulate trout into taking a fly. He will be talking about some of these outside the box approaches.

4 The Fly Tying Demonstration will be done by our featured speaker Will Winans. He will be tying smallmouth bass flies that he uses with his guide service Big River Fly Fishing. Even though it is the Little Elkhart River and the trout fishing that brings us together you cannot deny that most of us fish smallmouth bass with regularity. Living in Indiana, Smallmouth bass are very common and generally within convenient travel for most of us. These patterns will be beneficial for most of us. 11:00 am Featured Presentation. Captain Will Winans owns and operates Big River Fly Fishing in northeastern Illinois. Will focuses on the Kankakee River and other regional smallmouth fisheries. Will is no stranger to fly fishing or the fly fishing industry. He spent time working in Colorado prior to joining Orvis in the eastern states. Will then worked at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters for 10 years during the beginnings of his guiding career and several years ago started guiding full time. Big River Fly Fishing focuses on the Kankakee River in Illinois. This is a gorgeous river with nice rock bluffs, deep seams and quick flow. Some of the smallmouth bass caught on Will s boat are nothing short of outstanding. Will not only puts you on the fish but teaches you how to take these impressive fighters. Check out Will s website prior to the Outing and come with questions. 12:00/Noon Cookout Luncheon. LECTU member and resident chef, Bill Myers will once again have his culinary entourage on hand to whip up a cookout style luncheon for everyone. After Lunch 1:00pm In the afternoon LECTU will do some fundraising. You can expect some quality items for Silent Auction and pick of the table raffle. We will also be holding the drawing for the Adopt-A-Trout grand prize of an Orvis Helios 2 9ft 6wt with a Mirage III reel or $500 cash winners pick. This year we have a second prize of a 7ft 5wt custom built bamboo built by Dave Prichard. You can expect to see framed artwork, custom rods, reels and all kinds of trout related stuff. We are unable to accept credit cards as payment so plan accordingly. Grab that wad of cash out of your sock drawer or ask your wife to give you a check that you can fill out after the event. Other than the Adopt-A-Trout the money raised go to running the chapter. The Annual Spring Outing is a free admission event. The only cost would be a lunch donation and whatever you decide to spend during the fundraising portion. It is a rain or shine event so dress accordingly hopefully we will have nice weather but it is early May in northern Indiana. The Annual Spring Outing has grown over the years I hope that means we are doing a good job putting on a nice event. Please consider attending this year's Outing.

5 LECTU Fundraising One of the functions of this our Spring Outing is fundraising. One good thing about LECTU is we really do not require a lot of funds to function. That being said there are areas where LECTU has started to expand where funding is needed. We have started a youth outreach program to expose kids to fly fishing and fly tying. This program does require funds for materials and equipment. We would also like to, at some point fund scholarships for sending candidates to TU youth camps. We do have expenses in the area of stream habitat improvement, purchasing small equipment and maintenance of that equipment. The brown trout establishment project is self-funded through the Adopt-A-Trout raffle. This raffle is Earmarked for that specific purpose so none of our general funding goes into that. Our fundraising portion of the Outing consists of raffles and silent auctions. Most of the items we gather for this are donated by manufacturers, fly shops, bait and tackle stores and such. We have found lately that these sources have really started to tighten their belts when it comes to giving away their goods. Because of that we have had to start to purchase more and more items in order to hold a raffle that is worthy of member participation. We are looking for any donated items for these raffles. Most of us have way more fishing stuff than we really need. My wife accuses me of this all the time. If you have extra stuff that you are not really using and would like to donate it to a good cause, we could use it in our raffles. We will take new, used, antique fishing equipment, flies, fly boxes or non-fishing items that might interest outdoorsmen. Either bring it with you to the Outing or contact Mike Beachy to schedule a pick up. Contact Mike at (574) or beach@bnin.net. One man s trash is another man s treasure. Beginning Fly Fishing Class On Saturday, June 3rd LECTU will be offering Beginning Fly Fishing Classes. The classes will be taught by Charlie Ray. Charlie is an avid fly fisherman with an education background. Charlie was a teacher then administrator for many years. He has been a fly-fishing instructor for many years, teaching fly casting and fly fishing to youth and adults for various city parks and camps throughout the area. This class is open to anyone wishing to learn the basics of fly fishing. You do not have to necessarily have to be a member of LECTU. Charlie does have an age restriction of at least 11 years old. This would be a great activity for families or individuals who have a desire to learn the art of fly fishing or even have an interest and want to get exposed to it without the investment of equipment. The class will be offered for a nominal fee around $10-15 per person. The class will be held in Middlebury with the final destination undetermined at this time. The cost, venue class time will depend on the numbers of entries we receive. Interested parties need to contact Mike Beachy at (574) or at beach@bnin.net in order to get on a list of students.

6 LECTU Recognized in TROUT The Little Elkhart Chapter was recognized by TU National this month in the Spring 2017 edition of the TU magazine TROUT. In the Action line section, page 65 appears the article Annual Outing of the Little Elkhart Chapter with a byline Trout 101 Clinics in Indiana. Thank you to Charlie Ray who wrote and submitted the article on our behalf. The article gives an overview of our chapter s 2016 tenth anniversary Annual Spring Outing. The article is very well written and gives us some credit and clout as part of the larger Trout Unlimited National organization. LECTU volunteers have put a lot of sweat equity into the Little Elkhart River. We do it for the river, for ourselves, for the trout, for the community and for the future. Even though we don t do it for the recognition it is always nice to get a pat on the back occasionally.

7 Opening Day Fly Fishing Secrets By Mike Beachy Trout Season opening day has long been a tradition in Indiana. I have been fishing for trout on opening day since I was around 5 years old, I will be 59 this year, and it is still exciting time for me. This is a perfect time to take a youngster trout fishing. Reserve this day for taking your children, grandchildren or just borrow a neighbor kid and expose them to the outdoors. There are a lot of trout in the river this time of year and the fishing can be extraordinary. In an effort to make this year s opening day outing one to remember I would like to offer some tips to help you have as much success as possible. Kids like to catch fish, the more the better. The following are secrets that most trout fishermen don t realize or don t think about. I have been doing this for quite a while and it s time for me to let go of some of this information so everyone can benefit especially the kids. The river trout season is essentially open yearround in Indiana if you are a catch and release fishermen. If you are a catch and keep guy the stream trout season runs from the last Saturday in April until the end of the calendar year. The streams are closed to everyone two weeks prior to the opener in order to accommodate the State s stocking of the hatchery rainbows. This year the season opens on Saturday April 29 at 6:00 am. Secret #1: In the Little Elkhart River the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fisheries plants their rainbow trout the Friday afternoon prior to the Saturday morning opening. Historically this has always been the case and I have no reason to believe it will change. Because the trout come straight from the hatchery to the river and have been stocked less than 24 hours by 6:00 am, the majority of the freshly stocked rainbow trout will be located within sight of the stocking site first thing in the morning. It is important to get to the area you want to fish early enough to claim your spot fairly close to any of the bridges. It is an advantage to scout the area prior to that morning since it will still be dark at 6:00 am that Saturday morning. Don t forget a flashlight you will need it for the first half hour or so. Secret #2: Do not get into the river. When I finally talked my dad into purchasing a pair of waders for me as a kid, my grandfather looked at me and said, just because you can walk in the water doesn t mean that you should. I am always amazed at the number of opening day trout fishermen who get to the river, don their waders and immediately enter the river without making their first cast. Usually when you see this happening upstream, you can expect to see a bunch of rainbows come swimming past because they just got spooked out of the small nook they were piled into by the river walker. If you do not spook the trout, you can pick them off where they feel safe and are undisturbed so stay out of the river and bank fish as much as possible. The river is not that big anyway. This holds true for any time of year when fishing the Little E.

8 Secret #3: Once you have taken a rainbow from a hole do not move. Remember these are newly stocked rainbow trout right out of the hatchery raceway where they were raised in close proximity with a horde of other trout. They are used to being in a crowd and do not know how to act in a river setting. They like the security of having buddies there beside them. If you find one newly stocked rainbow you can rest assured that that hole probably has a cloud of them in there. These trout will end up moving out once they start getting caught but early on it is a safe bet to stay put. Secret #4: The rainbow trout that are selected for stocking into the Little E are the last trout to be stocked out of the hatchery because of the proximity to the Curtis Creek State Hatchery and they come out of the raceways. Unlike some of the trout that are raised in ponds these trout are accustomed to some current. I believe it makes them a little stronger and more aggressive than those coming out of the ponds. The biggest and strongest hatchery fish got that way by being the most aggressive feeder. They learned that the faster they attack the food pellets dropped by the feeders the more pellets they can consume. They did not take the time to study the food source prior to eating it. This in turn means that the fly you use should be larger than a normal trout fly with some flash in it in order to trigger the instinctive aggressive attack. Secret #5: You do not have to match the hatch on these rainbows. Just because these trout are newly stocked doesn t mean they are stupid. They simply do not know anything about living in a natural environment. When I used to eat these trout as a kid it was not unusual to discover sticks and stones in their stomachs because they would swallow almost anything moving along with the current. It takes these hatchery rainbows about two weeks to learn what is food and what is not. Once they figure it out they begin to act like real trout. Early on these rainbows don t know what a real bug is yet. Secret #6: Make sure your fly is moving. As fishermen begin to arrive to the river and walk down the stream the newly stocked rainbows will begin to scatter from the stocking site. They generally head for the deepest cover they can find. If you can find a bend in the river with deep dark water on the outside bank you can take a lot of rainbows on the swing with a flashy ugly imitation of nothing in particular. These trout are attracted to anything moving with the current. As a kid, I would catch many trout using an inline spinner. A spinner needs to be moving against the current to spin and I believe it was this movement and flash that got the rainbows attention. I do take rainbows hanging a fly into cover but usually I will twitch it to give the fly movement forward against the current then let it fall back. Secret #7: Newly stocked rainbow trout taste like fish pellets. I mentioned earlier that as a kid we would take these fish home and eat them. I remember my mother refusing to partake in this opening day ritual. I also remember not really liking the taste of these trout either. It was because they didn t taste very good and I like eating fish. They were small enough to be riddled with small bones and the flesh was a little fishy. The average length of these rainbows is about 11 inches and there is not a lot of meat there to begin with. I have totally converted to a catch and release trout fishermen because they are a lot more fun to catch than there is value to cleaning them and eating them. That is just my opinion but eaters be warned.

9 Secret #8: After the first couple of weeks of the opener there are still a lot of rainbows in the river and all the crowds are gone. The IDNR says that their Put and Take program is a success if half the trout planted are taken out by week two. If you think about it that is a lot of fish! The Little Elkhart River and Rowe Eden Ditch system receives nearly 5000 hatchery rainbow trout. With a daily limit of 5 trout per day per fisherman it takes a bunch of fishermen all catching limits of trout to accomplish this. You can expect crowds of people especially at the popular stocking sites like Bonnyville Mill County Park and Riverbend Park but don t be discouraged because these stocking sites receive a large number of fish. The good news is that after week two there are still at least half of those trout still in the rivers. They have wised up and spread out. There are still a lot of targets to fish for. These rainbows will wonder around and you may not find a hole that yields ten trout but you will certainly find ten different spots that will give up one fish apiece. As these fish learn what is food and what is not, fishing with flies that imitate natural food begins to become important. Secret #9: Pray for nasty weather. Most of the opening day crowd are not true trout fishermen. They are there because the promise of easy fish. They are not dedicated trout fishermen and foul weather will limit the crowds. If it is cold and rainy and especially if the river is muddy and swollen the crowds will be down and a lot more of the rainbows will survive the impending massacre. It may seem selfish of me but it will provide more trout for us later in the year and I like that. Bad weather can work to your advantage. Don t stay home because of bad weather. Dress accordingly, come out and fish and be rewarded for your effort. Back in the day, the measure of how good of a trout fisherman you were was how fast you could catch your limit of trout. I evolved from that to keeping a tally of how many trout I could catch and release on the opening day. That soon got out of hand with each year competing against the prior year s total. It was like a job, not pleasure fishing. I don t count anymore and I don t compete against my fishing buddies, I just fish for the fun of it. I find that I get the most satisfaction from helping a struggling fisherman learn how to catch trout than anything else. I hope these tips are helpful to anyone venturing out on opening day seeking a good experience. Have fun, be courteous and help others catch fish.

10 VOLUNTEERS WANTED! Habitat Projects By Mike Beachy Every summer LECTU works on the Little Elkhart River to improve trout habitat. These projects have ranged from cleaning up trash to permitted projects improving cover and preventing stream bank erosion. The projects chosen are dependent on the river and mother nature. Last year our focus was in a meadow section of the river that was pretty much void of trout habitat with stream bank erosion a concern. We spent the majority of our work sessions reinforcing the banks and accentuating and constricting the main channel flow. Although there is more work to be done in this section of river it may need to wait. The emerald ash borer has left a devastating effect in some of the wooded sections of the river. These dead trees that are quite large have begun to fall. There are sections of river that have accumulated massive log jams. These jams can be a blessing and a curse. Initially they create a hole under the log that scours out the bottom and that can be a good thing. As more and more logs accumulate the jam gets larger and tighter. The river can then widen and start to cut into the banks on either side in an effort to go around the obstruction. Bank erosion, wide shallow spots begin to form and the water that is backed up due to the jam warms in the summer. These are all results we do not want to see. In order to create a deep central channel conducive to good trout habitat these jams need to be opened up. We do not want all the material removed simply rearranged and secured in a trout friendly manner. This requires manpower to accomplish. We do not implement large equipment because that would require special permitting but rather use hand tools and chain saws. It is rewarding and fun to do, but it is not easy. We need volunteers to pull off these projects. The more hands we have the easier it is to accomplish. Most of our workdays are scheduled in July and August when the river level is the lowest and the easiest to manage. Presently we do not have the dates nailed down but should have by the Annual Spring Outing. They will appear again in the Summer issue of this newsletter and we will probably send out an concerning volunteers in addition. All those willing to volunteer for the workdays are asked to contact president Mike Beachy at (574) or at beach@bnin.net to be placed on a list to be contacted specifically. The habitat work that we do is one of the most important and unique aspects of our chapter. It has a direct effect on the trout population, trout holding capacity and the fishability of the river.

11 FOX S MANGO CADDIS POOPHA MODIFIED by Steve Mack In many discussions about what fly to use on the Little Elkhart, many of us have delved outside the match the hatch mind set, and offered our trout a number of unique patterns with measureable success. Many of us can agree that trout can be opportunists, and rise to something different. One pattern that I have tied and reached for is a modified version of Fox s Mango Caddis Poopha. While there are a numerous caddis pupa patterns out there, and no two flies looking like the other, this pattern is more of an emerging nymph. This bright and sparkling little guy works well when water can be slightly murky or tea stained, or in low light conditions when you re trying to grab some illuminance. Hook: TMC3769 Size 12 Thread: Veevus 14/0 Black Bead: Tungsten 7/64 (2.8mm) Black Body: Hairline Pearl Core Braid, Chartreuse Rib: UTC Small, Copper Antenna: Mallard Barred Flank, Mayfly Yellow Legs: Turkey Plumes, Black Tipped Hackle: Ostrich Herl, Black If you are looking for a good detailed video for this pattern, I suggest the following YouTube link. You will the notice the changes I have made in the materials. STEP ONE: With hook and bead in vise, lay a fine layer thread base from behind the bead head, approximately the width of the bead. STEP TWO: Cut a piece of wire 3 to 4 inches long. Tie it to the hook shank facing you, and continue a tie in a thread base down the hook shank, to the hook bend. Note: For a more subdued look, use black wire. Or, for more of a flashy look, use a bright silver wire. STEP THREE: Tie in a 3 to 4 inch length of tinsel, and run the thread forward to the front of the hook, behind the bead. Note: I use Holo Tinsel for more flash. For a more subdued look, use a translucent pearl tinsel that lets the black thread base show through. STEP FOUR: Do a single, overlaying wrap of the tinsel around the shank, and tie it off approximately a bead s width behind the bead head. Trim off the excess. STEP FIVE: Melt the tip of the Pearl Core Braid, and form it to a point. Note: If you do not want a blackened or browned tip, do not use a lighter or match. These are carbonizing flames. Use a cotton Q-Tip dipped in clear alcohol, and lite it for your flame source. Be careful.

12 STEP SIX: With the melted tip of the braid body extending approximately a hooks gap length behind the hooks curving point, tie off the braid about a bead s width behind the bead head. Wrap the wire around the braid and hook shank forward, about 4 or 5 times. Tie off the wire with a couple of thread wraps, and cut off the excess. STEP SEVEN: Select about 6 strands fibers of black tipped turkey biot or feather. Trim the strand's soft brown tips off to the black edge. Note: Original Pattern used softer mallard flank. I prefer my legs to be a bit more stiffer and thicker. STEP EIGHT: Tie the turkey strand legs onto the bottom of the shank, with a few thread wraps. Trim off the excess, and trim down the legs to size about halfway inside the hook gap. STEP NINE: Tie in 2 or 3 stands of Black Ostrich Herl, behind the bead head. STEP TEN: Give the Ostrich Herl strands two wraps, and tie off. Trim off excess. Give the herl a hair cut to desired hackle length. Note: If you want a tighter, less fluffy hackle, substitute with peacock herl. STEP ELEVEN: Invert the fly, and curve the body braid into an emerger pattern curve. Apply a light coat of Zap-A-Gap to the braid to dry and hold the curve into place. FINAL NOTE: The original Fox s Caddis Poopah pattern had a pair of antennas added, using either white or yellow single fibers of mallard duck flank. These are extremely fine, difficult to tie in, and seem to be the first material on this fly to take a beating and loss. You may refer to the original pattern video, if you wish to add.

13 Little Elkhart Chapter of Trout Unlimited 509 Gra-Roy Dr. Goshen, IN Little Elkhart Chapter Officers Directory President Michael Beachy V. President Leonard Gustin Secretary Lee Troyer Treasurer Joe King Newsletter Editor Brandon Rasler