Fly of the Month

 Want to know a professional guide’s "secret weapon"?  Here’s your chance.  Mike Adams will demonstrate his Soft Hackle Bead-Head Quill Nymph for the February meeting.  If just half the tales he tells are true he’s a remarkably honest fisherman and it’s a very effective fly.

Hook:  TMC 2457 size 12-14
Thread:  Yellow 8/0
Bead:  3/32 Taper Drilled Brass
Tail:  Hungarian Partridge
Body:  Light Ginger Quill
Thorax:  Medium Hare’s Ear
Legs:  Hungarian Partridge

The partridge should be sparse but long enough to reach to or past the beginning of the tail.
There are a few nuances to building it so you don’t want to miss Mike’s demonstration at this months meeting

Rocky Fork Has New Owners

A timber company has purchased the 10,000 plus acre tract of land in Unicoi County known as Rocky Fork for 16.5 million dollars.  The property has been important to area hunters, hikers, and fishermen for decades.  The previous owners leased the holdings to the Tennessee Wildlife Management Agency who regulated it as a Wildlife Management Area assuring public access.  Rocky Fork Creek and Higgins Creek on the property are superb wild trout fisheries with brook and rainbow trout populations managed under special regulations by TWRA.  When the previous owners placed the property on the market many area fishermen were alarmed, fearing that it would end up in the hands of developers and closed to public access.

 Fishermen weren’t the only people who had reason for concern.  A section of the Appalachian Trail crosses the property.  Mountain bikers use the logging roads.  The timber and the cuttings provide good habitat for deer, bear, and small game.

Unfortunately the State of Tennessee had just spent 20 million dollars on wetlands in West Tennessee and could not come up with the funds to purchase the property when the owners placed it on the market.  The Federal Government stepped in and appropriated funds to purchase a corridor for the Appalachian Trail and The Conservation Fund, a private organization made an offer on the property.  They lost the bidding war to a timber company headquartered in Macon, Georgia.

 Ed Williams, a local attorney and active conservationist, fought the fight start to finish for The Conservation Fund.  In a phone conversation he expressed optimism that the new owners would preserve the status quo.  "They appear to have a history of responsible stewardship," Williams said, "and I don’t think they will make any radical changes."  His feelings were that the new owners would be willing to sell portions of the holdings to the State or conservation groups as they extracted the timber.  Over time the important riparian areas in Rocky Fork could be purchased for public use.  In the meantime, the new owners are likely to continue the lease arrangement with TWRA in order to defray some of their costs.

 Rocky Fork is a real treasure for the area.  The creek has a thriving population of wild rainbow trout that are beautiful and full of fight.  The creek itself is picturesquely beautiful especially in the lower reaches where numerous cascades and small waterfalls abound.  Huge boulders divert the course of the stream in many places; moss covered witnesses to the power of fundamental forces in nature. It has provided wealth to the owners and pleasure to the people of the area.  We need to make sure that area leaders and state agencies are prepared to acquire the portions of it that may become available in the near future.

Visit Alaska in February

 This month’s program will take you to one of America’s most spectacular destinations, Alaska.  John Rucker, a self-described full-time philosopher and part-time writer, is more than just a tourist in the far north.  For six summers John lived in a canvas tent pitched in an Eskimo village on the Bering Sea and earned his living as a commercial fisherman.  John’s skill with words and his deep appreciation of nature should make this program as good as being there, and somewhat warmer.
 John, a Greensboro North Carolina native, has made the Tri-Cities home base since 1992. John is an avid tailwater fisherman, and bird hunter.

     He counts among his writing credits a novel, The Barney Years, a nature guide, The Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year for the Southeast, along with magazine articles for Grey’s Sporting Journal and Upland Bird Hunter. His words and pictures will bring the beauty and majesty of Alaska alive.  Don’t miss this exciting program.

Lane Presents Hatchery Report
    by Paul Anderson

 The state trout hatchery in Erwin had a "positive stocking year in 1998" with few complaints and good water and temperatures throughout the February to June season, Hatchery Manager David Lane  reported to the Overmountain Chapter January meeting.

 With addition of rainbows from the national hatchery in Erwin and 6-inch browns from Dale Hollow for the Doe River, more than 100,000 trout were stocked during the year, Lane said.
 While weekly stocking streams in Carter, Johnson, Unicoi, and Greene counties has been well-received by the public, the increased work load has stretched the truck hauling capacity to its limits. As a result, no more streams will be added to the weekly stocking schedule.

 The annual disease inspection conducted by Auburn University found the hatchery free from all viruses and parasites. And Lane was pleased to report that the whirling disease test was negative.
 The hatchery crew was concerned about the low rainfall from July to September, but the October rains have kept the water levels in the runs normal.

 For the last two months of 1998 the hatchery has been helping stock the Watauga and South Holston reservoirs with adult rainbows from Buffalo Springs and the national hatchery at Dale Hollow. Also the crew has been stocking some surplus rainbow trout from the national hatchery in Erwin into the South Holston, Wilbur, and Fort Patrick Henry tailwaters and the Nolichucky River, and some fingerlings into Buffalo Creek.

 In summary, 1998 was a good year at Erwin hatchery with no major stocking problems, no loss of fish, no disease, and no public complaints. Congratulations, David and crew, and keep up the good work!

 Because of added job responsibilities National Hatchery manager Jack Jones was unable to attend the January chapter meeting, but he did provide some statistics: for the year.

Four strains of Rainbow trout make up the hatchery’s population of 35,600 fish.
Twenty-four federal and state hatcheries received a total of 11,103,744 disease free eggs from the Erwin facility.
10,252 spent broodstock were distributed to Tennessee for stocking.  Cherokee Tribal waters received 2,406 fish.

In 1998 43,800 registered visitors toured the facility.
The Erwin National Fish Hatchery participated in two fishing derbies for kids and continued its partnership with the Unicoi County Heritage Museum.
Stocking Stats.
68,500 adult Rainbow trout were stocked in Watauga, S. Holston, and Patrick Henry Reservoirs.
Watauga River received 45,000 Rainbow and 17,500 Brown trout.
South Holston was stocked with 45,000 Rainbow and 17,500 Brown trout.
Ft. Patrick Henry tailwater received 13,950 Rainbows and 5,000 Browns.
Exclusive of tailwaters, 19 streams in 5 counties were stocked in 1998.
Whenever possible, fingerling Rainbow and Brown trout are stocked in addition to the adults listed above.  Brood stock from the Erwin National Hatchery are stocked from October through February as they become available.

Resource  Committee to  Meet

 The Resource Management Committee will meet February 15th at 7:00 PM at Jack West’s home on the S. Holston.  All committee members and any interested chapter members are urged to attend.  Committee Chairman Bill Beazell will be finalizing plans for Chapter activities.  The calendar for  March includes:

 TWRA trout Removal on  Hampton Creek March 9th, 10th, and 13th.  Volunteers are needed.

Bugs 101
                                               First of a series by  Charles Martin
Ever wondered how those who agonize over the Latin names of insects figure out that they have identified a Buggus insectus.  Knowledge of zoological names is not really critical to fishing effectively. Many serious fly fishers, though, want a basic understanding of aquatic insects including the correct zoological names of the major insect hatches.

Except for esoteric techniques such as DNA matching, professionally trained entomologists and their amateur counterparts identify insects by matching bugs to pictures.  First, though, you have to get a bug.

Insects are collected in several ways.  The flying form of the insect can be caught in nets by hand or trapped.  The aquatic form of the insect, known as a nymph, can be collected by turning over stones in the streambed and plucking them from the underside of rocks or allowing the current to wash them into a net. Insects in or near the surface can be collected in a small net held in the current.

If the captured insect is several inches long the identifying features can observed with the unaided eye.  Smaller insects require a magnifying glass or a microscope.
Fishing texts contain very helpful pictorial information but the final authority is a scientific reference containing drawings or pictures. Regardless of the reference used, a multi-step process comprised of concluding whether the insect being identified does or does not have a particular feature identifies the insect. This process is repeated time and again until the insect is identified.

Net Fishing

 By Mike Widner

 Lefty Kreh said, "don't show knowledge, share knowledge."  That is what most fly fishing types do best.  Luckily, fly fishing is an art form that one person can never completely master.  Magazines, books, and videos offer specific information on products, techniques, or methods. There is great source you may be overlooking
 The internet never goes out of  print or suffers from a broken tape.  If you desire to learn new tying patterns, get destination fishing reports, find out what the weather or stream flows are, or sell old equipment so you can buy new toys, you need to fire up your personal computer.
   To help you explore this brave new world, I have been asked to list some of the better sites to visit. Here are a few to get started with:
TVA Flow Information   (No Busy Signal; just pick the body of water)  http://lakeinfo.tva.gov
Wes's Undiscovered Fly Patterns  (Slick bunch of patterns that work anywhere) http://www.magiclink.com/web/wesn/
L.J.'s East Tennessee Fly Fishing Page  (Knoxville based site) http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ldecuir/home.htm
Alpha Listing of Fly Fishing Sites  (L.J.'s collection of sites)     http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ldecuir/websites.htm
Hatch Chart for Southern Appalachians  (A month by month schedule) http://www.public.usit.net/skulpa/flyfish.htm
Fly Fishing East Tennessee (An at home site) http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~ldecuir/hatch.htm

 If you follow the links from these sites, your knowledge base will expand with minimum effort.  The ability to read is all that is required.  Fly fishing chat rooms and bulletin boards also exist that open the way to show  news, fly swaps, and all kinds of other fun for winter or down days.

Mountain Bridge Chapter Sets Banquet

 Barry and Cathy Beck with be part of the festivities at the Mountain Bridge Trout Unlimited Chapter’s banquet planned for February 25th this year.  Banquet tickets will entitle you to fun, food and auction offerings at this fund raising event.  A Winston rod and Hardy reel combo valued at $750 will be among the items offered at the banquet. Tickets to the banquet are $30.00 for singles and $40.00 for couples.
 The Chapter, headquarted in Greenville, South Carolina, will be offering a limited number of tickets for a special casting clinic with Barry and Cathy Beck scheduled for February 26th at their meeting on the 9th of this month.
 For banquet and drawing details, call (864) 834-8670 or speak with Jeff White at (864) 233-1665