Tale Waters The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers

Transcription

1 The Voice of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers June 13, 2017 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 Director s 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 Ken Sickels (870) Vice President Tom Emerick (870) Secretary Pat Smith.... (870) Treasurer David Hea.(870) Directors Conservation Tommy Hagan..(870) Property Kevin Boddy..(870) Education Fred Stumpf Membership Paul Ashton (870) Past President Mike Tipton..(870) Appd. by President Vern Berry (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 Darryl Ward to Speak on The Rivers of Southern Mo. Darryl Ward will speak on fly fishing four rivers of Southern Missouri. His presentation will focus on four selected rivers in Southern Missouri that he has fished off and on since the late 70s. He will include maps, pictures, and time tested ways that he likes to fish these waters. The rivers are the Current, Meramec, Niangua, and North Fork of the White. Darryl notes the info is of course pre-flood. It will take a while for waters to get back to some sense of normalcy and remains to be seen the impact to the trout population. Darryl is retired from the US Army (27yrs) and now helps consult in the development and management of Army education programs. He has lived in the Mountain Home area since Dar- Blue Ribbon Fly Shop Update As you who live in the Mountain Home area know, Blue Ribbon Fly Shop has gone out of business. Shortly after the store closed, I received a call from John Berry telling me that he had suggested that remaining inventory be given to NAFF. I thought that sounds nice but didn t expect much and didn t think about it much. Blue Ribbon had their close out sale; and on the last day Pat Smith and I asked (at the suggestion of my wife) if we (NAFF and Federation Fly Fishers) could get a special deal on some of the remaining items. We were told call us back next week. I called back next week. I was told, in effect, If you are a 501 c3 organization, you can have it all! Very surprised and expecting things to fall through at any time, we provided the paper work they were asking for. After a large team of NAFF members spent the better part of two days inventorying the contents of the shop, the contents were moved to a large storage locker. NAFF and the Federation of Fly Fishers (their share is 30%) are now the proud owners of a bunch of fly fishing stuff: zillions of flys, rods, reels, books, hooks, thread, Cont. next page

2 Page 2 Blue Ribbon from page 1 tools, prints, DVDs, etc., etc. The retail value is about $100K. However, the wholesale value is about 40% of that. The value to us for Sowbug Roundup, monthly raffles, etc. is more like $15K to $25K. It will take a few years of Sowbug to realize all this value. The stuff is in more than 80 boxes. There will be a lot of effort to break it out for Sowbug, monthly raffles, fly tying classes, etc. Having this stuff in hand does not alleviate the need to canvass local businesses for donations. The variety of donations is one thing that makes the Sowbug raffles and auctions interesting. Mike Tipton Darryl Ward from page 1 ryl enjoys fishing for both cold and warm water species and preserving the outdoors for future generations. 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. Lassiter Access of the Spring River June President s Message Landon Mayer will be our guest speaker in October. Landon is a guide on the South Platte in Colorado, writer and author. He will be presenting on Saturday and Sunday October 28th and 29th. This should be a great event with further details to follow. I encourage you to visit his website to learn more about Landon. Wade fishing and high water aren t good partners. When will it be safe to wade fish the Norfork or White Rivers? Perhaps we should have a raffle when we have sustained minimum flow. Members should have some opportunities on the Spring, Crooked Creek or North Fork of White in Missouri. Did you catch the caddis hatch on the White River this spring? It was great. Be safe and great fishing. Ken Sickels

3 Page 3 Fly of the Month Stewart s Black Spider Hook: #12 16 wet fly Thread: Brown 70 denier Hackle: Starling 1. Start the thread at the eye and wind to mid-shank and back. Strip the fuzz from a Starling feather. Lay it on the shank, concave side up, tip extending past the hook eye. Bind it down with touching turns and snip the excess stem. Return the thread to mid-shank. 2. Be gentle starling stems are fragile. Take the feather tip in a hackle plier and take three to five wraps back toward midshank. Cut the tip with thread and snip off the excess. 3. Carefully wind the thread forward through the hackle, back to the eye, zig-zagging it to avoid binding down any feather barbs. Make a small head and tie off. James Stewart describes the fly in his 1857 book The Practical Angler, Or, the Art of Trout-Fishing, More Particularly Applied to Clear Water. Even in the 1850s Stewart lamented that fly fishing was getting too complicated with expensive gear and flys designed to catch more anglers than fish. Stewart wanted to simplify and in his explorations, he discovered this fly which was the only fly used by a professional Scottish angler, whose fishing rig consisted of a line attached to the end of his fishing pole. The spider was fished as an upstream wet fly. I never had much success with the Stewart Spider until I realized (DUH!!) that it was to be fished as an upstream wet fly. Recently I caught a bunch of fish fishing with a Stewart Spider with my Tenkara rod at the Spring River. Fly tied by Mike Tipton. Tying instructions from Simple Flies by Morgan Lyle. Membership Report I am pleased to introduce the second group of our newest members to the North Arkansas Fly Fishers, joining at this year s Sowbug. Keith Holt of Claremore, OK Craig Jones of Springdale, AR Thomas Mason of Bath, NY Rocky Milford of Wichita, KS Doug Miller of Holiday Island, AR Rick Padgett of Bull Shoals, AR Bob and Betty Palmer of Memphis, TN Randy Perryman of Little Rock, AR Glen and Susanne Populorum of Batavia, IL Mike Ross of West Plains, MO Robert Sirtak of Lake St. Louis, MO Dakota Smith of Licking, MO Boyd Tillotson of Mountain Home, AR Herbert and Charlene Turner of Jerome, MO Gary Watson of Muldrow, OK Cathy and Mike Wilhelm of Collierville, TN John Woodburn of Peel, AR Total membership is 525 members with 372 memberships; Tying a Steward Black Spider is about as simple as it gets. The only difficulty is being careful not to break the stem of the hackle. Paul Ashton Membership

4 Page 4 Spring River Fishing Report Water levels have been running at 488 cfs at the spring with partly cloudy water. The trout have been biting great. Rain over each weekend has kept water levels up and off color. Hasn t really affected the bite. Bead head woollies in olive, brown or black have been great. It has been harder to get the fly down on the main river. Versa leaders have been great for helping get down deep. Hoping for a dry spell soon to get water low and clear again. Tight lines, and good luck, Mark Crawford Riverside Retreat on the White River Cabins with hot tubs and fireplaces Lodge that sleeps 20~Guided Fishing 10 minutes from the North Fork River

5 Page 5 Jimmy T s Fishing Report June The flood gates are off, the lake level is down a bit and the fishing has been spectacular. Yep! Pity those poor fly fishers with the wade fish only attitude. They have missed some outstanding fishing on the White River. But that has now passed us by and we are down to just 5 units of generation. This article I put up on my website last week. If you are one of -THOSE- fisherman who limit themselves to a strictly wade fishing diet then you are starving yourself of some great fishing. The White and Norfork rivers are running full bore after some heavy rains in May. The White River is flowing at 28,600 CFS or roughly the equivalent of 9 full generators. It s a wide and fast flowing river and Big Water means BIGGER fish on the White. This is nothing new for the White this decade saw some big flows with water the equivalent of 12 units and again in 2011 with flows the equivalent of 14 and 16 units. If the truth be known, 2011 saw some fantastic fishing on those flows (check out the 2016 gallery). So this is the third time the White River has seen this action. Dinky little stocker bows are few and far between; but the better, bigger, longer fish are taking flies on the long rod. The oxygen levels are great and the fish are fighting mad and healthy. So if you are looking for some great action on the long rod with some better and bigger fish, then the White River is the place. The temps are great; the scenery is beautiful; the locals are friendly and the fish are taking flies. Big water equals big fish and we still have 5 units of generation. The fish are still taking flies and the fishers are still hooking some great trout on both rivers. Think SJ Worms, Cheetos (glo bugs), sow bugs, yes and even midges. This 5 units of water will make the streamer fishers happy for sure. Stay safe. Jim Traylor

6 Page 6 Sowbug Report Escape the High Water at the Spring River Every May for the past few years I have gone up to Lanesboro, Minnesota to fly fish the Driftless area. This year I learned that there would be a Tenkara event in Coon Valley, Wisconsin, which is not that far from Lanesboro and scheduled for the same weekend that I usually start my fishing week. I decided to attend. The trip to Coon Valley was well worth the effort; I met face-to-face several of the guys who agreed to speak at Sowbug. I met and spoke to Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA and he agreed that they would be a vendor at Sowbug. In past years, we have given hats to kids that attend Sowbug. These have been hats that Bass Pro or other companies have donated to us. The hats do not mention Sowbug Roundup. While I was at the A&P Commission meeting in May, it occurred to me that the commission would be willing to pay for hats with something like Sowbug Roundup Mountain Home Arkansas on them. So, I will add hats to the list of items that we would like the A&P commission to support. The Sowbug Roundup committee meets at the Baxter County Library every second Tuesday at 1:00 pm; year around. Everyone is invited to visit and participate. Mike Tipton Tom Emerick fishes the Spring River at Dam #3 The current (no pun intended) high water situation on the White and Norfork rivers greatly limits the options for wade fishing. The most likely spots are the Spring River and the Greer s Ferry tailwater. One is a 90-minute drive and the other is a two-hour drive. Of late I have been doing a lot of fishing on the Spring River. And I have had good success. The NAFF booklet The Wade Fisherman s Pocket Guide to the White, North Fork, and Spring Rivers gives a good overview of the access points on the Spring River. The State Park and Lassiter Access give good access with plenty of parking. There are not any problems with canoes and rafts in these areas during the summer. Dam #3, the state fish hatchery, gives excellent access, but you will encounter a lot of bait fishermen. The water right in front of the parking area is a spring creek fed by the outflow of the hatchery but the main river can be accessed by going around and below the hatchery. The pool above the culverts has lots of fish and very easy wading. During summer weekends, there is a very large canoe and raft hatch at the boat ramp. Bayou Access is a little complicated to reach but is wilder than the others. There is lots of parking but the canoe hatch is very real on summer weekends. The Many Islands area is also good. If one leaves for Mammoth Spring at the crack of dawn, the new McDonalds is open 24 hours. The Baskin Robbins is conveniently located for a cone when you return. The deck on the River Bend Café in Mammoth Spring also provides a nice location for breakfast or lunch. Newsletter columnist Mark Crawford can provide lots of up to date information about fishing the Spring River.

7 Page 7 Fishing the Spring River The Parking Lot at the Hatchery / Dam #3 Bob Jensen fishes a hatchery outflow Lunch on the deck of the Riverbend Cafe Dennis Galyardt at Bayou Access Bob Jones and Jack Manning at Bayou Access

8 North Arkansas Fly Fishers PO Box 1213 Mountain Home, AR June Monday 5th Trout Unlimited 6:00-8:00 El Chico Tuesday 6th NAFF Board Meeting 1:00-4:00 First Security Bank Saturday 10th Kids Fishing Derby 8:00-2:00 Quarry Park Tuesday 13th Sowbug Committee Meeting 1:00-3:00 Baxter County Library Saturday 17th Trout Days 8:00-1:00 White River State Park Tuesday 20th NAFF Club Meeting 7:00-9:00 Van Matre Senior Center July Monday 3rd Trout Unlimited 6:00-8:00 El Chico Wednesday 5th NAFF Board Meeting 1:00-3:00 First Security Bank Tuesday 11th Sowbug Committee Meeting 1:00-3:00 Baxter County Library Tuesday 18 th NAFF Club Meeting 7:00-9:00 Van Matre Senior Center August Tuesday 1 st NAFF Board Meeting 1:00-3:00 First Security Bank Monday 7th Trout Unlimited 6:00-8:00 El Chico Tuesday 8th Sowbug Committee Meeting 1:00-3:00 Baxter County Library Tuesday 15th NAFF Club Meeting 7:00-9:00 Van Matre Senior Center