Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

STREAMS OF THOUGHT—NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT

Zoom Meeting : March 30^th 7pm—Spey-Rod Fishing by Tim Flagler.

Newsletter

BIG CREEK DRIVES ME BATTY, HAS IT BEEN COLD?, TECHNICAL FOUL UP & PATIENCE

If you follow sports at all you have heard or seen the phenomenon that some teams just have it over others no matter their relative standings or skill levels. Well, that is me and Big Creek at the north end of the Park.  Some of the most beautiful and fishy-looking water I have seen—but Big Creek wins out most every time despite my best efforts.  I have done OK on occasion but my Batting Average and RBI totals aren’t the greatest.  But having said that, will I be going back?  You betch’um Red Ryder!!—laughing fish or not.  Also, a day on the stream doesn’t have to be about catching fish, but rather the beauty of nature around you and the wildlife you see.  My Big Creek day was highlighted by this little fellow I found on a stream-side rock sitting in the sun.  I thought it was dead but a little nudge and it came to life.  I think he/she was too cold to fly which didn’t portend well for the coming evening, but feisty enough to let me know to keep my distance!

Some folks have told me that this winter hasn’t seemed too different than previous.  But my heating bill and ‘fish-o-meter’ say different.  Our kwhs for January and February are the highest of our 9-year run here.  My lack of fishing time because of low water temps also fuels my prejudice!  But the immediate forecast looks more ‘spring-like’.  Time for me to hit the water—hope you can too.

Big thanks to Charity and Ian and all the Little River members for having the patience to preserver through my technical goof-up.  For the first night I somehow made 2 Zoom meeting notices, kept one for me and sent the other to everyone else.  Well patience paid off as we had a great turnout on the next Tuesday (over 30 participants) and were treated to a very informative talk on winter fishing by Charity and Ian.  Although spring appears to be coming along there is bound to be a cold snap or two before spring comes to stay and those coaching tips will be useful.

Best wishes and tight lines! — Steve Young

FISHING QUOTE OF THE MONTH
‘STRESS IS CAUSED BY NOT FISHING ENOUGH’

STREAMS OF THOUGHT—NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT
WINTER FISHING, I GOT THE SHOT, UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Steve Young

Newsletter

I saw the quote at the top of the page somewhere online and thought ‘yup, that’s me’. I realized that it has been nearly a month since I had ventured out to cast a fly of any type. It seems like the weather has conspired against my, admittedly, relatively narrow requirements. Often plunging water temps bottoming out in the low 40s and lower and/or rainy, dreary days discouraged me from having a go. The few times the temperature was on the way to decent levels, water levels were also on the way up—way, way up toward levels which Matt Culp, our speaker this past month, calls ‘significant high-water events’. There were a few (very few) scattered days where productive (and comfortable) fishing was possible, and I had something going on (a rare thing in these COVID days!). I know I will get out again but it won’t be soon enough.

Speaking of Matt Culp, we had our first chapter meeting in a number of months this past January via the ZOOM online meeting system. Matt gave us our annual review of Fisheries activities in the GSMNP; it was, as always, informative, well done, and brought us up to date on their latest thoughts on trout (and other fisheries inhabitants) conservation as well as their future plans for streams in the National Park. It was my first go at hosting a ZOOM meeting and everyone helped to get through it successfully. Matt provided a video of the presentation which Joe Hatton has posted on our website; those that missed the presentation can view it there.

In the last newsletter I mentioned that I had gotten the first installment of the Moderna COVID vaccination and told you the second was coming. Well, that has happened and I am now fully inoculated, to the best level modern medical science can achieve. I had a little shoulder soreness and felt a little tired the next day and then was pretty much back to normal. This is matched by my wife’s experience as well as a few fellow firemen in the department at which I volunteer. This also matches our oldest son’s experience; he is a physician with the Army and went through the Pfizer protocol. The full effect is still somewhat in doubt, particularly the fact of whether, despite being inoculated, I am a carrier and spreader. So I still will be wearing the mask (irritating as it is), maintaining social distancing, and washing my hands often, with the goal, if nothing else, to protect those around me.

Returning to winter fishing, even when I get out, I am not very successful and know I could use some pointers to help me up my success rate. To that end I have asked the Rutters to give us some pointers on fly fishing this time of year at the February meeting. It will be on February 23d at 7pm, also via ZOOM. Look for the invite before then.

Other activities coming up are the Pistol Creek Cleanup, the mid-March water sampling exercise in the Park, and hopefully a Little River Cleanup sometime this spring. All great service activities that will get you out of the cabin and into the out of doors. Look for further information either in the Chapter Newsletter or other announcements
.
Best wishes and tight lines!

Matt A. Kulp is the Supervisory Fishery Biologist at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gave to our chapter  ‘Fish and Water Quality Updates’ at our January meeting. If you missed it or would like to see it again. Please see the link below.

Matt Culp Presentation to LRCTU January 2021

Matt is discussing ongoing research and restoration projects in the park and opportunities for our members to volunteer this upcoming year.

Good Fishing <(((<

Joe Hatton