Fly of the Month
Parmachene Belle

 One of the best known classic American wet flies, the Belle’s color scheme incorporates two of the most effective colors for Brook trout, red and white.  The day of the colorful wet fly is past, at least as far as fishermen are concerned.  If you swim it through a pool of Brookies though, you’ll find the fish haven’t changed their opinion about this classic.
· Hook:  Partridge Limerick wet
· Thread:  Black 6/0
· Tail:  Married slips of  White over Red Goose
· Rib: Flat gold tinsel
· Body:  Gold floss
· Hackle:  Dyed Red and White
· Wing:  Married slips of White over Red over White died Goose
     Don’t let the married tail and wing intimidate you.  Basically birds use the technique when they preen their feathers.  Patience and a gentle touch are all that’s required.  Any "bird-brain" can do it.
 

Educational Project Continues

 For the third year students at Elizabethton High School are participating in a project that teaches important elements of environmental quality.  Under the direction of their teacher, TU Board Member Gary Barrigar, they will raise Rainbow trout from fertilized eggs to fingerlings.
 By developing and maintaining the proper environment for the project the students learn about the critical factors of water temperature, oxygen content, and purity.   During the course of the project they will also learn about the development of trout from fertilized egg to independent fingerlings.
 The educational project is sponsored by our chapter and has received awards and recognition from the school system.  Erwin National Fish Hatchery donated the eggs for the project.
 Gary reported this week that the eggs have hatched and that the trout are at the "swim up" stage in development.
 If you’d like to take a look for yourself, Gary has extended an open invitation to chapter members.  Give him a call at 543-7576 to make arrangements.  Be sure to leave your fishing gear at home.  You wouldn’t want to frighten the fish.

Net Fishing - Part II                                                                       by Mike Widener

Conservationist or Environmentalist?

Which type of person should you be, a conservationist supporting the maintenance and replacement of natural resources, or an environmentalist who watch dogs the natural surroundings for the dangers and encroachment of man?  Personally, I try to do both and sometimes end up feeling like a hypocrite to one or both concepts.  The main priority is to act with knowledge and be armed with hard facts of what actually pertains to a situation. If you work on opinion, without the benefit of facts, you may become the biggest danger to a well-intended project or effort. To become knowledgeable about what States have conservation or environmental problems similar to Tennessee and what they do about them, use your computer and the Internet.
When the average fly fishing type is asked about technical issues or the status of a specific species, most will answer with opinion.  Opinions can originate on the stream or from cracker barrel sessions at the local fly shop.  Such opinions may be founded without benefit of reference or scientific study.  Those friendly opinions are fun and food for thought. However, what happens when policies or state programs are founded on opinions or uninformed outcries from the public? How do you feel about seasons for Tennessee trout waters?  You picked up the litter from your favorite stream, but what was the effect of the oil and emissions left by your vehicle?  You could create an impressive list of conservation and environmental issues, but you must always ask what are the facts and issues.  Chances are someone has already spent bunches of grant money coming up with a workable solution.  By accomplishing a "word search" in a favorite Internet browser, one can become armed with answers instead of guesses.
Our parts as responsible fly fisherpersons is to read, research, and know the answers.  This is especially true when we live in a state where many forms of watershed are present.  These watersheds are competing for the same funding, and one watershed may suffer from what was done to another.  The topics may include the stream flow rates, population densities, and other public domain information.  Watching local news and press releases may also prevent a new battery or tire plant from being built next to an ecological sensitive watershed.  Remember that if a watershed will not support fish, it will not support man.
To start you on your way to become a knowledgeable benefactor of wild brown trout in Tennessee, I offer a few sites and links to show you what is going on with your tax dollar:

Ø http://www.tntech.edu/www/acad/fish/trout/tailwater.html
Ø Tennessee Tech tailwater trout projects and reports

Ø http://www.nfwf.org/bbn/bbn.htm
Ø TU org site for native trout restoration includes grant info

Ø http://water.usgs.gov/public/realtime.html
Ø US Geographic Survey for Real Time Flow Info

Ø http://www.whirling-disease.org/
Ø Whirling Disease, The Foundations story

Ø http://www.sca-inc.org
Ø The Student Conservation Association

Ø http://www.edf.org/programs/International/Dams/index.html
Ø World Dam Conservation Movement News

Ø http://www.amrivers.org/abouthrc.html
Ø Dam Alerts and News

Ø http://www.epa.gov/surf/adopt/main.html
Ø Environmental Protection Agency  Friend or Foe

Next month, my favorite fun sites for information exchanges, fishing reports, fly tying, and just plain old shop talking chat.

Can A Lightweight Rod Kill a Trout?                                              by Charles Martin

"How can a fly rod kill a trout?  I thought only hooks and things like that killed trout." Light weight fly rods, such as 1, 2 and 3 weight, are lots of fun and have clearly found a place in modern fly fishing but they have an inherent capability to reduce the survival rate of released trout well below the survival rate associated with rods of conventional weight.
When a trout is engaged and begins to fight the level of oxygen in its blood rapidly diminishes.  The longer the trout is fought the more oxygen is depleted.  This can continue until the trout becomes so anoxic that it simply dies.
Although there are no reliable data as to the amount of oxygen a trout requires to survive after being released it is beyond question the chance of survival of a released trout is inversely related to the amount of oxygen in its blood at the time of release.
With lightweight rods there is a tendency for the fly fisher to play a trout longer. The oxygen level of the trout is significantly diminished as a result. Consequently, misuse of a lightweight fly rod can result in a trout that literally has been "beat to death".
The solution is simply to limit the time the trout is played prior to release.  Like a lot of things related to fly fishing, this is often easier said than done.
There are generally three limitations preventing a fly fisher from promptly bringing a trout to a releasable position.
Obviously, the size of the trout is a limitation.  A very small trout may entirely eliminate the problem but try as we do; we have little control over the size of the trout that elects to take our fly.  The best solution to the size limitation is adopt the commendable conversation practice of avoiding use of a light weight rod when fishing waters known to contain larger trout.
Another limitation, and probably the most important, is the size of your leader.  Clearly, the smaller the leader the less tension you can place on the line without breaking the leader.  Use as large a leader as is suitable for the fly so that after playing the trout for a reasonable amount of time you can "horse in" the fish.  In this regard, use of a 5X or larger leader is often a complete solution because it normally permits even a moderate size trout to be pulled through fairly swift water.
That leads us to the last limitation, which is the speed of the water.  The faster the water the more difficult it normally will be to bring a trout to a releasable position. If a trout is in swift water attempt to guide the trout to calm water.  If the trout is in calm water, keep him there.
Aside from these limitations there are a few tricks which can be very useful in limiting the time a fish must be played.
One trick involves rod position and rod movement.  Instead of holding the rod in the traditional upward position, hold the rod parallel to the water.  Then be conscious of the direction the trout is moving and pull in the opposite direction.  If the trout heads left you pull right.  If the trout reverses movement and goes right you pull left. The result of using this approach is that the trout can generally be landed more quickly.  Some authorities believe the reverse pull disorients the trout and somehow it just gives up.
Another even more effective trick is to move below the trout.  When a trout is hooked in fast water, there is the backward force of the water and the force of the pull on the line.   If the fly fisher is above the fish the pull of the line creates a forward force opposite the direction of the force of the water and the fly fisher, not the fish, is fighting the current.  It helps to turns things around and put the force of the current on your side and make the fish do the fighting.  To accomplish this move downstream so that the pull of the line and the force of the water are in the same direction.  This way the fish, not the fly fisher, must fight the force of the water.
 So if you are fishing with a lightweight fly rod resist the temptation to pretend you are a world famous fly fisher and a movie is being made of you playing a trout.  Instead, concentrate on getting your trout released after a reasonable time by using a 5X leader and getting below the trout when possible.

February Program
 Local author John Rucker presented last month’s program on fly-fishing in Kamchatka.  With spectacular slides and a writer’s eye for detail John took us along on the trip of a lifetime.  In crystal waters he and his companions fished the almost undiscovered rivers of Eastern Siberia.  Against a backdrop of active volcanoes and roadless wilderness Rainbows averaging 25 to 30 inches were common along with Char and a species unique to Siberia.
 After the program John autographed some of his books for members.  I can highly recommend John as a writer.  He has a knack for capturing the details of an event and a place that reveal its essential spirit.  His Guide to the Natural Year for the Southeast can reveal small wonders throughout our region.  Pick up a copy if you get the chance.
 Thanks for a great program John.

Bugs 101 (Part II) by Charles Martin

We all know folks who agonize over the Latin names of insects and announce to the very few who care the precise zoological name of a particular insect they have collected. Most folks would agree that entomological correct identification of every insect is not the difference in catching or not catching fish. But it is worthwhile for the serious fly fisher to be able to identify the general type of insect on which trout are feeding.
 Students of the natural sciences will recall that zoologists use the word "order" to designate a group of many species that have the same general characteristics.  The insects of most interest to fly fishers are grouped into the four familiar orders of mayflies, caddis flies, stoneflies and midges. It is generally a manageable task to identify the order of an insect if one knows just a little about the insect.
The velocity of a flying insect and the flight pattern are often sufficient to place the insect in the correct order.  The flying form of a midge is so small and departs the water surface so quickly it is rarely seen.  Except on a few Western streams the flying form of the stonefly is rarely present.  Therefore, an insect flying in the vicinity of a trout stream is most likely either a mayfly or a caddis fly.  If the insect is flying quite fast and the flight pattern consists of a series of short and generally straight-line segments at differing angles the insect is most likely a caddis fly.  If the insect if flying fairly slowly and the flight pattern is a continuous somewhat curving line the insect is most likely a mayfly.
The general shape of the insect on the surface of the water after emergence can also be used to place the insect in the correct order.  As previously noted, midges normally emerge far too fast for detection.  Stoneflies do not emerge from the surface at all.  Therefore, if an insect is resting on the surface it is normally either a mayfly or a caddis fly.  Mayflies have wings that protrude upward quite high giving them the appearance of tiny sailboats.  Caddis flies have a much lower profile.
Remembering these characteristics will allow you to make a quick streamside identification. Mayflies can identified by slow continuous flight and a high and upright appearance on the water; Caddis flies by rapid flight in different directions and a low profile on the surface of the water.

Feeling Lucky?

 Ever notice how someone always wins the door prize?  I tell you its spooky.  A winner every month.  It must be fate or something.  I predict that someone will win the bamboo rod that R. L. King will build for this year’s grand prize.  That’s right you  could end up a winner.  You’ll be able to start getting your name in the pot at this month’s meeting.  You’ll also be able to find out some interesting details on fishing The Smokies from Ian Rutter our guest speaker.
 Be sure you’re names in the pot.  Join the lucky ones at this month’s meeting.

Making Plans?
 

 The fourth annual South Holston River Cleanup is planned for Saturday, April 17th.  Our chapter and the area citizens sponsor it.  Every year the turnout has grown, but there are thirteen miles of river and a year’s worth of dumping and littering to deal with so we really need you to pitch in.
 The cleanup will be headquartered at the TVA Weir Dam Picnic Area.  TVA will provide trash bags and gloves.  A selection of Door Prizes will be offered by area businesses and the US Forest Service, TWRA, and TVA will have exhibits.
 For more information on the cleanup call Bill Beazell at (423) 239-6991 or Dave Lawrence at (423) 349-7336.