President’s Corner
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)
I am somewhat of a flyfishing book junkie. I find more pleasure in reading (and learning from) a good flyfishing book than sitting down with a novel. In fact, I can’t remember the last novel I read (probably a John Gierach novel based on flyfishing). I know – I need to get out more!! While there are a countless number of anglers who have acquired much larger collections and others who have a passion for building great collections of classics. But I have quietly been buying flyfishing books for years. Before retirement I had the bad habit of buying books, but never seeming to find the time to read them. But with retirement I now have the gift of time that enables me to read more, usually in the mornings with my coffee. As I come across what I consider a good book, I’ll pass that on to our membership. Likewise if any of you have a good book review you would like to share, please let me know. This month I’m recommending “The Trout and the Fly” by Brian Clarke and John Goddard. I’ve listed a short review later in this newsletter.
Smokemont Chapter Fishing Trip
We had a great Chapter fishing trip in August over in the Smokemont area. The Smokemont Campground proved to be a great place for our group to camp. The Oconaluftee and Bradley Fork were fishing reasonably well. No reports of really big fish, but most were able to catch. Bill and I fished the Oconaluftee near Collins Creek. Fishing was mixed, with rainbows and browns chasing dries and nymphs. We fished Bradley Fork the following day and were surprised that all the fish we caught were on dry flies. As far as I can remember, neither of us caught a rainbow on a nymph. About half way through the day, I ran a dry fly through a run that a nice rainbow chased twice, the second time I did set the hook for a brief second. Bill was nearby fishing a different dry fly pattern, so I motioned for him to come over. After resting the spot for a few minutes, Bill hooked and landed the rainbow on his first drift through the run. As Bill said with a smile, “That poor fish didn’t stand a chance being double teamed”.
Our resident Outdoor Chef Extraordinaire Mike McKinsey did an outstanding job of preparing Saturday night’s group dinner. The menu included Mike’s smoked ribs, baked potatoes (baked in the campfire), baked beans, grilled corn salad (recipe listed in this newsletter), along with homemade carrot cake and spiced apple cake for desert.
By all accounts everyone had a great time. Many thanks to Mike for coordinating the trip and cooking, and everyone who pitched in to make this a great trip!!
Conservation
Several of us from the Chapter were able to attend the first Clinch River Cleanup back in July. It was a great event that was well organized by the folks of the Clinch River Chapter. I’ve never understood the reason or need to litter. River clean-ups are a good way to remind us that we must continually be good stewards of our natural resources.
New Chapter Brochures
One of our focus areas in the Chapter will be growing our membership. A healthy membership is vital to sustaining our future conservation efforts. On-going recruiting of new members is a first step in building tomorrow’s volunteers and future leaders needed to carry on our mission. To help with our recruiting efforts, we have created and printed a new Little River Chapter TU brochure that communicates who we are, our mission, history and activities. We will use this tool to help enroll prospective new members. The brochures will be available at chapter meetings, events and shows where we will have a presence. The brochures look great! Many, many thanks to Byron Begley for all his help in laying out the brochure!!
September Meeting
We have a great program lined up for the September Chapter meeting (Sept. 26). Dane Law (owner of Southeastern Anglers based out of Reliance, Tn.) will be presenting the “2014 Patagonia Brown Trout Extravaganza”. I’ve known Dane for many years. He’s a great person and talented, experienced guide. Please note the additional details listed below. Make sure to mark your calendars for Thursday, September 26. We will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall at the Monte Vista Baptist Church. The meeting will start at 7:00pm.
September brings football, cooler temperatures, fall colors in the mountains and turns our thoughts to big browns. I hope to see you at the September Chapter Meeting.
Be Safe,
Mike
