Farrow Allen speaker for the October meeting

If you were there you probably smiled as you enjoyed an exciting South American adventure with Farrow and his friends on the Amazon River in search of peacock bass.

Far more than fishing yarn, Farrow's program painted a vivid portrait of the world's greatest river and the people of its region.

If you've got an idea for a program or speaker be sure to give Ken Chase or any other of the Board Members your suggestion. We're trying to firm up the 1999 schedule and we'd love to have your input.

October was the end of the Take A Kid Fishing Contest and the winners were announced at the meeting. Gary Barrigar originator of the contest; Josh Culbert who was standing in for the kid who won, John Roberts; and Jim Culbert who was the adult winner in the contest.

Jim's trip with John Roberts on July15th to the Watauga River to fish for brown trout earned them an entry into the contest. In the drawing that was held at the meeting the trip proved to be a winner. Since the trip was listed as Catch and Release we can assume that any fish caught that day are smiling as well.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the participants, especially the sponsor, Reddington Rod Co.

Tim Landis Scheduled Speaker in November

Tim Landis will regale TU members with exciting tales of adventure in far-off lands, well Canada anyway. Tim, owner of The Holston Angler fly shop, tries to make a yearly pilgrimage to wilderness areas in search of something more elusive than a trophy trout. He searches for a trophy experience. Find out about the search and the discoveries at this month's meeting.

Tim has assured me that the rumors about his battle with the Aliens that were trying to kidnap a convent of Carmelite Nuns on the shores of Hudson's Bay are completely false. Nothing that exciting happened to him. Although he did have a few nervous moments during his attempt to land a killer whale he had hooked on a 2wt. rod and 8x tippet. This ought to be good. Don't miss it.

Mike Adams to tie YALLERHAMMER

For many years fly fishermen in the Great Smokey Mountains fished with an infallible fly, the Yallerhammer. Tied with plumage from the protected flicker or 'yallerhammer' woodpecker the traditional dressing was credited with an almost mystical effectiveness. Now that the original material is illegal, Mike will show you some acceptable substitutes that can be used to tie one of the most effective flies to ever swim through a mountain pool.

Mike is a native East Tennessean who, after a few years out West, has returned to the mountains he loves. From his home on the S. Holston he operates Mike's Little River Fly Fishing.

Something New

This month's Newscaster features something new.... Advertising. Without the support of North American Fibers publishing the Newscaster will be expensive. A recent look at projected expenses for the Chapter prompted the Board of Directors to seek advertiser dollars to help defray the cost. So
far three businesses have decided to support us. Whenever you can support them.

MIKE'S LITTLE RIVER FLY FISHING

The Premier Guide Service for Northeast Tennessee's
Rivers and Streams
Offering Instruction in:
Fly fishing, Casting,
Rod Building and Fly Tying
MIKE ADAMS, OWNER Phone (423) 538-0121

Fax (423) 538-9794
4197 Rockhold Rd.
Bluff City, TN 37618

MAHONEY'S FLY FISHING

Get ready for Cold Weather Fishing With Neoprene Waders by Hodgeman, Simms,
And Fly Tech Prices Start at $89.95

MAHONEY'S
830 Sunset Dr
Johnson City

Phone (423) 282-5413

GOOD FLY FISHING

Group and Private  Instruction

Guided Fishing on the Clinch River

Linda Good, Owner Phone (423) 450-5040 goodflyfish@aol.com

HAMPTON CREEK PROJECT MOVING AHEAD

By Paul Anderson

(Some material in this article was excerpted with permission from an article by Kristen Hebestreet that appeared in the Johnson City Press.)

A few fish at a time, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency fisheries crews from all four TWRA regions across the state scooped up rainbow trout from the left fork of Hampton Creek for three days in late October. It's part of an Overmountain Chapter Embrace-A-Stream grant project to preserve
habitat for brook trout. These are the data on the three-day project that covered 1.2 miles of stream:

1,730 fish taken
1,328 rainbows placed in Hampton Creek on the side Opposite the SAHC land.
393 rainbows placed between the Park and the town of Roan Mountain
126 rainbows placed below the harrier and between the road
10 adult brook trout returned to the stream

A special thanks to the following TWRA stream work team members on this Embrace-A-Stream project for all the hard work they put in: Bart Carter, David Lane, Frank Fiss, Allen Pyburn, Jim Pipis, Jim Habera, Mark Fagg, Rich Bivens, Steve Seymour, Jerry Storm, Chris Simpson Jack Swearingin, John Mayer, Carl Williams, Neal Bates, Rick Hollifield, and Scotty Webb. Thanks from all of us in the Overmountain Chapter!

And while we're thanking folks, we want to include Board Member Gary Barrigar and the following members of the Elizabethton High School Ecology Club who helped out: Jarrod Ellis, Ritchie Reece, Joseph Stenat, and Jesse Williams.

Our gratitude also extends to Judy Murray and Hank Gamble of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy who also spent a day on the three-day electro-shocking undertaking.

And last, but certainly not least, thank you to the following Overmountain Chapter members who volunteered their time: Bill Beazell, Bob Bierbaum, Ken Chase, Jerry Houser, Lance Houser, Greg (a friend of Lance's whose last name I couldn't get), Don Kreh, Bill Taylor, and Paul Anderson.

We know everyone's time is precious, but without your volunteer help, our preservation and consideration projects would fail. If you couldn't make it this time, try to set aside some time to help with the next workday. Your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other chapter members will thank you.

Stream work teams will electro-shock again in February or March. So far, none of the rainbows marked and placed below the barrier earlier this year have been able to breach it and return upstream, Bart Carter said.

The left fork of Hampton Creek flows through the Hampton Cove State Natural Area off Little Hump Mountain in Carter County. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation owns the 693-acre natural area, and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy manages it. SAHC bought the natural area in 1986, but continues to allow grazing on the land so the property can still be a habitat for the golden-winged warbler, a neo-tropical migrant that prefers living on the edge of fields, said Judy Murray, SAHC stewardship director.

"The underlying philosophy here is to return native species, such as the brook trout, to their original habitats whenever possible," Murray said. Half of the left fork of Hampton Creek will still be a wild rainbow trout fishery, but 1.3 miles of the creek closer to the summit of the mountain
will be for the brook trout.

"This may  turn out to be the best brook trout stream in the state," said Neal Bates, TWRA wild trout projects fisheries technician. "This stream has one of the highest population densities of rainbow trout in the state for its size."

The Overmountain Chapter won the national 1997 Silver Trout Award for its work on the Hampton Creek project for building the barriers within the creek to separate the two species and prevent the rainbows return.

WHERE'S MY TU TV???

Good news for those of you who have been dutifully tuning ESPN2 on Sunday morning and missing some of TU's programs because they were pre-empted.

The show is back for the remainder of the season (through December) on Sundays at 7:30 a.m., with repeat broadcasts on Wednesday at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Enjoy!!