Newsletter of the Evergreen Chapter of Trout Unlimited www.evergreentrout.org The Evergreen Trout The Drag-Free Drift by Mike Kuberski, ETU President January 2009 Vol. 28, No. 1 In October 2006 I bought all the gear to rekindle a love that had been put aside for almost 25 years, fly fishing. And today I m sitting down to write the president s Drag-Free Drift for Evergreen Trout Unlimited s newsletter. How great is that? My name is Mike Kuberski. My wife and I moved here to Evergreen in March 1975 from Moline, Illinois, to start our new life together and haven t looked back once. We bought a summer cabin in the Mountain Park Homes subdivision and remodeled it. After one child and several years there, it was off to Conifer where I built a cedar log home just in time for our second child s arrival. In 1987, we moved to Evergreen Meadows where we live today. During this journey my wife worked for Jeffco Schools and I worked as a Union Carpenter and Executive Secretary/Tresurer. We are both retired now and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Both of our children are on their own building families and careers in the communities around Evergreen. Before telling the board that I was considering the position of president, I wanted to attend a board meeting to get a feel for the commitment and dedication of the leaders. It took all of about 10 minutes to see that this group was committed and dedicated to the organization. That made my decision real easy. I will admit that as I considered what I was about to get into it wasn t in line with my retirement goals. When I finally said Yes, I ll do it, there seemed to be a wave of reassurance that came over me. That feeling made me feel like I had made the right decision and could move forward without apprehension about the decision. I hope to bring to ETU fresh ideas and new energy to the programs that are so much a part of today s ETU. I d like to, with the board s approval, enhance the efforts of our home water: Bear Creek. Another area I d like to see advanced to a new level is the building of coalitions within the community to strengthen our efforts to have common goals that will help build a better community. Through these efforts we should be able to build on our base of fundraising and bring more money into the organization for our present and future goals. ETU as an organization standing by itself will achieve many good things, but with your increased participation and other coalition partners we ll even be more effective. November s meeting was well attended. Pat Dorsey once again provided a very comprehensive program on the Tail Waters of the Blue. The Blue Quill Angler provided a half day trip on Clear Creek as a fund raiser and Jack Gary, with a big smile, will be fishing the always surprising Clear Creek with Jim Cannon. Marty Buckstein is now the owner of a fly box and 14 new flies as a result of getting the consolation prize. I wish them lots of tight lines for their support of ETU. Inside this edition: Top Colorado Flies Revealed... 3 Meet the Volunteer of the Year... 2 Become a Fishing Reporter... 8 Chapter Contact Info... 2 Fishing Report & More... 5 Monthly Program Info... 7 Upcoming Events... 8 The Evergreen Chapter of Trout Unlimited meets the third Wednesday of the month at Beau Jo s Pizzeria in downtown Evergreen (across from the Little Bear). Join us for dinner, chapter business, and classes at 6:30 pm followed by the program at 7:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you there.
Joe Kerper ETU Volunteer of the Year At the annual holiday party in December, as everyone gathered around in the lower level of Randy and Lisa Huiting s home for the main event of the event the announcement of ETU s Volunteer of the Year, Joe Kerper stood ready in the back with his camera to snap photos for the newsletter. Instead, it was Joe s name that was called out. Over the past year, not only had Joe snapped plenty of photos, he had edited the newsletter, redesigned it, and somehow managed to get it out month after month. He also had volunteered for various events such as the electro-shocking crew on Bear Creek. Seems little question about why Joe was selected by the ETU board as the organization s photo by John Haile Volunteer of the Year. The presentation was made by Rich Reynolds, who served so many years as ETU president that he holds the title of ETU president-for-life. They re both smiling in the accompanying photo. That s Joe on the right. For his efforts in 2008, Joe received a certificate noting the recognition and an engraved fly box filled with a wonderful selection of flies tied by ETU members. He and Rich also got their photos in the Canyon Courier. It s worth noting that Joe also started a family in 2008, helping bring a new daughter into the world only 20 minutes shy of the new year. So, volunteering for ETU wasn t all he was doing. Congratulations, Joe. Evergreen Trout Unlimited P.O. Box 1974 Evergreen, CO 80437 www.evergreentrout.org President Mike Kuberski Vice President Len Wheaton (303) 674-4243 Treasurer Steve Murray murray_sp@msn.com (303) 670-7942 Secretary John Haile johnhaile@aol.com (303) 679-3262 Program/Members Randy Huiting rhuiting@comcast.net (303) 670-5083 Newsletter Design and Editing Joe Kerper editor@evergreentrout.org (303) 674-3188 Special Projects Hugh Gardner hughgardner@gmail. com (303) 697-5876 At Large Mike Goldblatt mike@lamtree.com (303) 674-7122 At Large Rich Reynolds mdirich@msn.com (303) 674-4861 At Large Wayne Kosloske (303) 674-4092 Colorado Trout Unlimited Office (303) 440-2937 www.cotrout.org Trout Unlimited National Office (800) 834-2419 www.tu.org Joe Kerper, at right, ETU s 2008 Volunteer of the Year, pictured with past-president Rich Reynolds. Youth Education John Ellis jellis@enbcolorado. com (303) 674-1017 Youth Education Jim Wilborn jpwilborn@hotmail. com (303) 670-3306 Webmaster Karen Christopherson Karen@evergreentrout.org (303) 674-0252 Editorial Policy: All newsletter submissions must be received by the newsletter editor by the last Friday of the month. All items are subject to editing/space limitations. Articles are copyrighted by the author unless otherwise noted. Contact the newsletter editor for additional information. 2 8 www.evergreentrout.org
You voted on what should be the dozen flies any serious angler should have in his fly box if starting out to fish Colorado s world-famous trout streams and what you came up with was not just a dozen, but a baker s dozen flies that Pat Dorsey, the man known as perhaps the top guide in the state, says you could take anywhere in the West and catch fish. They make a fine fly box, he says. ETU members had little doubt about the top two-thirds of the list. They were close to one mind about these, especially since we didn t specify size or color: 1. 2. 3. Parachute Adams Copper John Elk Hair Caddis Your must have flies for fishing Colorado streams by John Haile, ETU Secretary; photos by Tim Stechert 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Pheasant Tail Woolly Bugger Blue Wing Olive RS II Stimulator After the first eight, the votes became much more split. Some folks voted for more midges; others believed there needed to a hopper or a stonefly, or perhaps something else that could serve double duty. The choice, though, was this: 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Mercury Midge Black Beauty Ant San Juan Worm Prince Nymph You Voted. Now, Here Are Your Picks for Colorado s Top Flies... So, why 13 flies? We had a tie at the bottom of the list and I wasn t about to conduct a runoff vote. Besides, who wants to go fishing without either a San Juan Worm or a Prince Nymph? The worm is good in any stream, especially as a dropper. And the Prince Nymph can fill several roles, depending on size and how it is fished. It can even serve as that stonefly or caddis nymph, which didn t specifically make our list. What else is missing? When I asked around the Blue Quill at a fly tying session there a few weeks ago, the first response I got from almost everyone was an egg. The guys also had some ideas about why one wasn t on the list. See Top Flies, on page 4 Prince Nymph San Juan Worm Red Ant 13. 12. 11. Black Beauty Mercury Midge Stimulator 10. 9. 8. RS II Blue Wing Olive Woolly Bugger 7. 6. 5. 8 www.evergreentrout.org 3
Top Flies, from page 3. Roger Bittell, a long-time guide who helped popularize the egg in Colorado, said he still finds that a lot of fly fishermen just don t consider it a fly. Sometimes people are a little afraid to fish the egg, he said, but fish are spawning in the streams out here pretty much year round now, and it s going to catch fish. There was also some concern that our list was tilted too much toward tailwaters, because of the number of midges chosen. The lake fishermen would have made a couple of substitutions, too. But, we did specify that this was for Colorado streams. Overall, people in the know really liked the selections. After all, we limited ourselves to a baker s dozen and we acknowledged that this was what an angler could start with. We figured people would choose a range of sizes and colors for each. As we went through the nomination and voting process, several of our members expressed preferences for certain varieties of these flies. For example, the black or the olive Woolly Bugger, which imitates either a minnow or a leech, seems to be a preference. The red Copper John, a great multipurpose nymph, ranks high on most lists. Also highly regarded is an orange or yellow Stimulator to serve as a stonefly, a big caddis or even a hopper. In recent years, Bob Churchill s sparkle wing RS II has become a favorite of many of our members. The RS II pictured here is closer to the original as tied by Rim Chung, except that he used the web of a saddle hackle feather for the wing rather than antron, z-lon or sparkle wing. (Bob s pattern is on the ETU web site.) You can fish the RS II to simulate pretty much any emerging mayfly nymph, but mainly a Baetis. It also works great as a midge pupa during the winter months. As for an ant, currently the Amy s Ant is hot as a multi-purpose foam ant, but the traditional, smaller foam, dubbed or thread ant continues to be especially effective, even if not as versatile. Even the Elk Hair Caddis, which serves as our adult Caddisfly, is being fished in various forms. A number of ETU members like the wrapped-foam version developed by Larry Kingrey down in Canon City. (Tying instructions available on the ETU web site.) There s also a simpler, flat-foam body version popular on the Arkansas River around Salida. Then there s always the traditional pattern shown here. Dorsey says the main thing with choosing a fly is to pick something you believe will catch fish. He calls it your confidence fly. Don t know why, but you will just catch more fish on that one fly, he says. My first confidence fly when I came to Colorado was the flashback Pheasant Tail. More recently, it has been the Black Beauty. Suggests one of the other guides listening in on our conversation: Maybe it s just because you fish it all the time. Why wouldn t you catch more fish on it if you re not fishing any other fly? So much for the wisdom of choosing flies for catching fish. As for the other flies on our list The Parachute Adams is a good all-around adult mayfly pattern. It is so good, in fact, that it was the No. 1 choice in our poll. Even if the fish are mostly feeding below surface, fly fishermen just won t give up trying to bring the trout to the top. Our Pheasant Tail serves as another Baetis nymph or as pretty much any mayfly nymph. The pattern shown here is a standard PT, though the flashback pattern is definitely popular, especially in the riffles, along with a bead head pattern to get the fly down in the water column more quickly. The Blue Wing Olive is a classic adult Baetis or other mayfly pattern. It is simple yet elegant. Few flies are as pretty with a soft cast to a rising fish. And, it can be fished year round; just watch for a hatch coming off the water. The Mercury Midge has Colorado written all over it. Pat Dorsey created it for the South Platte River and has watched it evolve into a fly used all over the West. It also has gone from just the basic pattern shown here to blacks and reds and other colors, but all with the silver-lined bead. The Mercury Midge imitates a midge pupa just before emerging as an adult and normally is fished just below the surface. When there s no hatch going on, Pat will dredge it deeper as an attractor. The next fly on our list is another Dorsey creation: the Black Beauty. It is an earlier stage pupa imitation and is normally fished deeper. Any time I ve seen the stomach of a fish around here pumped, it was filled with small bugs that looked like Black Beauties. See Top Flies, on page 5 Pheasant Tail Elk Hair Caddis Copper John 4. 3. 2. 4 8 www.evergreentrout.org
Top Flies, from page 4. In the cold tailwaters we find in many areas of Colorado, small midges are the main food source for the trout, so flies such as the Mercury Midge and Black Beauty are fished small, as in sizes 18 to 22. The worm is just a worm, and it works. Pick your color. Do the fish care? For whatever reason, red and pink, especially hot pink, seem to work best. Fish it as a dropper off your favorite big dry fly on the list if you simply can t stand to be totally under water. Parachute Adams The main thing, though, is that ETU members picked these flies because, more than anything else, they consistently catch fish. They are a great start to any fly box. And, it s no wonder Dorsey liked the list. When I asked him what he thought of it, I didn t realize two of his own creations had been picked. He should have loved it. Got a few Big ideas for our newsletter? Found a new places to fish? Developed a crazy new fly that WORKS? Have some advice for members new to the area? Then please e-mail them to the editor. Right now. editor@evergreentrout.org Fishing Report and More by Mike Goldblatt, ETU Board Member For you hardcore winter fly fishers here are some current tailwater flows: S. Platte near Trumbull 110cfs Blue below Dillon Res. 29 Taylor below Taylor Res. 88 Yampa below Stagecoach Res. - 64 Fryingpan below Reudi Res. 75 Williams Fork below W.F. Res. - 77 Catch and Release probably kill and eat a trout about once I every two or three years. My wife loves trout and every so often will ask me to bring one or two home for dinner. Or once in a while I ll keep a few brookies and roll 1. them up in tin foil with some butter and seasonings at my campsite. A few years ago I was camping with my son Ryan near Reudi Reservoir and fishing the Fryingpan River below Reudi. Since supplies were low, we decided to cook up a few browns. The water immediately below the Reudi dam is often called the catch and release section, and local fly shops will still tell you that it is catch and release, but if you read the D.O.W. regulations, it clearly says that you can keep 2 browns under 14 inches on the entire stretch. I had read the regulations, and we were planning on a trout dinner that evening. Browns between 12 and 14 are plentiful See Catch & Release, on page 7 Gear Locker Got extra fishing gear? Sell it here. Orvis Safe Passage fishing pack, $60. Hydration backpack/chest pack combo. Will accept up to a 1.8 liter water bag. (Original bag has been removed for safety.) Hydration system has its own sleeve in the main pack (378 cu in.) and is insulated by the pack s neoprene back panel. Front chest pack has 13 pockets between the two pouches. They can be removed and placed in the pack for travel. Rod tube holders on each side. Like new, rarely used. Phil Waters, (303) 670-1344 Caveat Emptor. (That s Latin for Let the Buyer Beware. ) Gear Locker is a fishing-related listing service from the Evergreen Chapter of Trout Unlimited for our members. We can t verify the condition of items listed, so please use common sense. We reserve the right to limit the number of items listed, as well as the right to refuse listings at our discretion, and make other common sense decision as they occur to us. All listings will be listed for one month only. Only e-mailed listings will be accepted and must include a brief item description, your name, phone number, and e-mail address. Photos will not be accepted at this time. E-mail your listings to: editor@evergreentrout.org. 8 www.evergreentrout.org 5
The ETU Board at Work by John Haile, ETU Secretary Usually, the ETU board skips the December meeting because there s not enough business to merit getting together, but last month we met and met and met maybe the longest meeting ever. We all blamed it on this being Mike Kuberski s first meeting as president. Or, maybe it was that we had plenty to do. What follows is a brief summary of the minutes just the highlights so you will know what s going on and what may be in the works. First was that we had a visit from David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited, to brief us on what CTU is doing and planning do. It was also a chance to rebuild some bridges between our two organizations. In recent years we ve drifted apart a bit as our participation in state events has fallen off. David talked about the major initiatives CTU is working on in the state legislature this year, including 1) safeguards for streams as oil and gas exploration expands and 2) reauthorization of the Habitat Stamp, including an increase in the total license fee to $36 in 2010. Part of that last initiative is to get more of the proceeds allocated for fish habitat rather than so much of the money going for big game habitat, especially since fishermen contribute most of the money. ETU also was encouraged to sponsor a high school student for a week-long CTU stream and fish biology program this summer in Basalt. In other business of note, Treasurer Steve Murray reported that ETU has $4,688 in the bank, with only a few small bills outstanding. There was a good bit of discussion about whether ETU needs to maintain on-going fundraising programs to assure that the organization has enough money on hand to meet whatever needs may arise. The consensus was that we need to do more than we have, but that our needs are not huge except when we have major projects. Mike indicated that he would like to have a stronger, coordinated approach to fundraising. Steve Murray also will renew the chapter raffle license. Because of a number of issues, plans for an event with photographer John Fielder are being postponed until the fall of 2009. Mike said he also would like to set chapter goals for the new year and plans to devote a good portion of the January board meeting to that. Questions were raised about reviving ETU s participation in a July 4th children s fishing clinic at Evergreen Lake. The Park and Rec District folks seem to think we were missed last year and that attendance for events overall fell off as a result. It was agreed to review a number of issues, including volunteers available, and get back with the district. A similar question was raised about doing a second children s early summer fishing clinic at Buchanan Ponds. The one clinic we do has been such a success that there is interest in a second one later. The sense of the board was that, with the possibility of the July 4th event, the two Camp Comfort weekends, and other commitments during that period, we are risking taking on too much. A question was raised about whether the Buchanan Ponds need to be stocked in the spring, and Rich Reynolds suggested doing a fish finder survey first to get some idea of how many fish are already there. The plan to mail the newsletter to all ETU members was reviewed and the board agreed to target the mailing for late spring. The plan will be to include a postcard that can be returned with email addresses as we try to convert more members to electronic communication. David Nickum offered a rod and reel set for a drawing as an incentive for those who return cards. We readily accepted. At John Ellis suggestion, a motion was approved to donate $100 to the Audubon Society toward a memorial bench for the late Bill Brockner, a prominent environmentalist who had supported ETU and its initiatives. Finally, as the board moved toward filling officer slots for the new year, Len Wheaton announced that he would like to step down from his role as vice president and John Haile asked to be replaced as secretary, having served three years. John agreed to replace Len as vice president, however. Officer nominees will be presented to the membership in January, it is hoped. 2008 Fishing License Good Until April 1 Since the Division of Wildlife is switching from a calendar year to an April 1 renewal date on licenses and habitat stamps, the ones you bought last year are good for a few extra months this year. DOW believes the new dates will coincide better with the hunting and fishing seasons. Old regs will be in effect until April as well. You can go ahead and purchase your 2009 annual fishing license now, if you just can t wait, and it will remain valid through March 31, 2010. 6 8 www.evergreentrout.org
Catch & Release, from page 5. on the Pan, usually with firm orange meat from feeding on the abundance of mysis shrimp and other plentiful protein-rich food. We had kept 2 nice chunky browns just under 14 inches. They were in my net hanging from my vest as we walked back to the truck. Those fish would look a lot better swimming in the river, the guide said to me, showing off his wonderful dedication to conservation to the couple he was guiding. You could still see the creases in their brand new waders. Yeah, well they re going to look even better in my bleeping frying pan tonight! I responded. more than the occasional fly fisher who cooks up a few. When I m having an epic day on a heavily fished river, I ll sometimes switch to what I call touch and release fishing. This is simply dulling or cutting off the hook point in addition to using a barbless hook. You still get to fool the fish, play it for a few seconds and then she s gone. I ve even gotten a few to the net in this manner. Another thing I ll do is try to unmatch the hatch. After catching 20 or 30 trout on a perfect imitation of a #18 PMD, I ll see if I can get them to take a #12 Royal Wulff. Now don t get me wrong, I only try this stuff when I m really hauling them in. Most of the time I m trying to get as many fish to net as I can. But when you think about it, how many fish do you really need to catch in a day? Do you think I m crazy? Let me and our chapter know at etufishingreports.blogspot.com. We then continued a heated conversation as he proceeded to lecture me on the merits of catch and release, while I explained the reasons for river regulations to him as we continued to my vehicle. I d like to think that D.O.W. allows us to take two smaller browns on the Fryingpan for a reason. After all, they spend a lot of time studying these things. I imagine this guide to be from Aspen, on the water 200 days a year, charging $400 or so a day. If he s any good at what he does, his clients get into maybe a dozen fish in a day. If you multiply that by the 200 days, he s responsible for about 2400 lips getting pierced and many fish dying from exhaustion and various other reasons related to playing a fish. And yet here he was, lecturing a guy who fishes maybe 25 days a year, and who had killed two fish in the past 2 or 3 years My point here is that catch and release has its effects on fisheries, especially when people are making a living at it. Even with barbless hooks and careful handling, there is a toll on the fishery. Most Trout Unlimited members, including myself, release most or all of their catch. But we shouldn t be on a high horse when discussing catch and release with others. If you practice catch and release often enough, you are probably affecting a fishery MONTHLY PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009 LOCATION: BEAU JO S (Downtown Evergreen, 303 674 2744) DINNER AT 6:30 P.M., CHAPTER BUSINESS AT 7:00 P.M. FREE PRESENTATION AT 7:15 P.M. www.evergreentrout.org FEATURING ACCLAIMED FLY FISHERMAN, Capt. Matt Thomas & Steve Thomas, Bones in The Keys & Bows @ Roaring Fork Join us for an evening with the most dynamic father/son fly fishing duo in the Rocky Mountains! We are pleased to have acclaimed fly fisherman and guide, Capt. Matthew Thomas and his father, acclaimed local fly fisherman/writer/realtor, Steve Thomas. Capt. Matt will tempt us with stories of his recent fly fishing expedition by Kayak in the Florida Keys, then both Capt. Matt and Steve will take us home with fly fishing secrets of the Roaring Fork and Colorado. A fly fisher his entire life, Captain Matthew Thomas has been a professional fly fishing guide for many years. Each Spring you can find him on the flats the Lower Florida Keys chasing his favorite fish the Silver King. Capt. Matt spends the rest of his year avoiding hurracanes in the cool, clear waters of the Roaring Fork Valley, rowing his drift boat through rapids and along dry fly banks. His next adventure will include fly fishing charters for Asian Jumping Carp on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. And father Capt. Steve Thomas, well, he taught Capt. Matt everything he knows about fly fishing! (????). Be sure to visit www.riplips.com and www.stealthwater.com. 8 www.evergreentrout.org 7
Upcoming Events January 2008 14th (Wed); Monthly Board Meeting; Place and Time: 7pm, Beau Jo s Restaurant 21st (Wed); Monthly Meeting and Program; Beau Jo s Restaurant - downtown Evergreen; Program: TBA; Dinner at 6:30pm; Chapter Biz at 7pm; Program at 7:15pm February 2008 11th (Wed); Monthly Board Meeting; Place and Time: 7pm, Beau Jo s Restaurant 18th (Wed); Monthly Meeting and Program; Beau Jo s Restaurant - downtown Evergreen; Program: TBA; Dinner at 6:30pm; Chapter Biz at 7pm; Program at 7:15pm Become an ETU Fishing Reporter! Hopefully you are aware that ETU s website has a Fishing Reports section. Here, fellow ETU members post fishing reports for Bear Creek and other Colorado waters. You, too, can be a fishing reporter! Currently 4 members are active reporters - we need more Clark Kent angling reporters! Being a reporter is easy. You login into the reports website, write your report, and click on a button. You can report whenever you want; there is no required commitment. If you are interested, please e-mail Karen Christopherson, Karen@ EvergreenTrout.org. Report From the Fly Fishing Show by Mike Kuberski, ETU President The one person who stood out at this years show was Gary Borger. His predominate saying was, It s all about the drag. What he was talking about was the amount of drag during your presentation will dictate the amount of fish you ll catch, and that works both ways. Too much drag in some types of presentations distracts, and not enough drag in other presentations distracts as well. He was a one man walking show. He had classes on fly tying, nymph fishing, stream reading and casting. If there ever was, and I m no expert on this, he was an exponent of the true all around fly-fisher. The casting demo he gave was like watching a sharp shooter knock clay pigeons from the sky looking backwards with the use of a mirror, unbelievable. He could do things with a fly rod and line that I would have never thought could be possible. He could mend a cast so that he not only moved the fly line to one side or the other, but would also pool line where he wanted it. With the mend he would cast the fly line around, under and over objects. An additional talent he had was he was an outstanding teacher. I ve seen people who had the talent, but couldn t get it out of their head and into an understandable format that you and I could understand and relate to. This applied to all of the arenas he participated in during the show. I could go on and on about the other programs he addressed, but it would take an entire newsletter to do it justice. If you ever get a chance to see him in person, do so! Evergreen Trout Unlimited www.evergreentrout.org 2006 Exemplary Chapter Award 2004 Outstanding Chapter Project Award 2000 Outstanding Youth Education Program Award 1999 Outstanding Chapter Communications Award