Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

P r e s i d e n t ’ s C o r n e r

Newsletter

Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

I think I’ve fished our tailwaters more this summer than I have collectively over the past decade.  I’ve always wanted to fish tailwaters in the past, but for a variety of reasons it just didn’t happen all that often.  Last spring, Bill ad I hit the caddis hatch on the Holston.  This summer, I have fished the South Holston and the Caney Fork, mostly the Caney.  The Caney seems to be loaded with fish, and some big fish.  While I haven’t caught any of the huge fish yet, I’ve seen them.  I watched one very large brown open his mouth and eat my #22 midge pattern.  I waited a split second, lifted the rod tip to set the hook and immediately felt…. nothing.  Somehow that small hook didn’t find its mark.  I’m sure it wasn’t operator error!! But despite missing that large fish, it was a good day of fishing.  I learned a new stretch of the Caney and caught a bunch of browns, rainbows and even a brookie.  On another earlier trip to the Caney, John and I had to opportunity to wade fish in the middle section.  There was a nice long riffle.  A #16 soft hackle pattern was the ticket to fooling a lot of 12”-14” rainbows that fought hard.  Upstream of the riffle, a small pod of 14”-16” fish were schooled up in a small slick less than a foot deep actively feeding.  I switched a small #18 pheasant tail.  After catching and releasing 4-5 fish, the pod of fish decided they weren’t hungry anymore.  All in all, a good day of fishing.

I’m currently gearing up for a trip out west to fish the Smith and Missouri Rivers.  Fishing out west is always a fun experience.  The scenery is so different and beautiful.  The possibility of big trout and fishing with friends is always one of life’s good moments.

Last month, we awarded the 2015 Eddy George Award to Steve Van Vleet for his outstanding volunteer contributions.  With the award comes a custom made fly rod to be built by Steve Moore.  Congratulations and thank you to Steve for all his efforts to help the Park.

Also, many thanks to Charity Rutter for a great program last month on fishing and enjoying the great outdoors in Yellowstone and the Rockies.

I am hoping for cooler temperatures and some rain so you’ll have the opportunity to get back into the Park this fall.  Be safe.

Mike

President’s Corner

Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

Newsletter

July ended up being a great month of fishing for me. John Reinhardt and I fished in central Colorado for a week in mid-July. The trip was great. Lots of browns, cutt’s, cuttbows, rainbows, and some brookies caught on six different streams. Beautiful country along with fishing, beer, food, and friendship made for a memorable trip. Probably the biggest surprise of the trip was the midge fishing. On at least four four different streams, we encountered trout sipping small midge emergers or adults on the surface. Fortunately I did have some size #22 adult midge patterns and small BWO’s that fooled multiple fish. The fish were picky. There were times when the fish wouldn’t eat an adult midge pattern with a white wing, but readily ate the same pattern with a gray / dun wing. What a challenge and great time.

Closer to home, fishing in the Park continues to be good, despite the hot weather and at times, low water levels. Bill and I fished part of the West Prong one day. We caught a bunch of rainbows on both Stimulators and the classic Green Weenie. It’s an absolutely beautiful stretch of water that reminds me of Greenbrier but with rainbows instead of brookies. Later in the week, Bill and I fished the South Holston as well. Again, a great day of fishing with many browns and rainbows brought to hand. Despite the direr reports on this year’s sulfur hatch, we lucked into a sporadic hatch that gave us the opportunity to dry fly fish for the majority of the trip.

I’m gearing up for a trip to Yellowstone / Missouri River in October. Midges and BWO’s will likely be the insects to imitate, so I’m busy tying a multitude of midge larva, pupa, emerger and adult midge patterns. Of course, I know whatever I tie will be the wrong, size, shape or color . I can’t wait.

When not fishing, I was able to help with the Anthony Creek restoration efforts this month. The work of eliminating rainbow trout is labor intensive. But when the restoration is complete, Anthony Creek will be a beautiful small stream that should be perfect using a short rod chasing beautiful brookies. I’m so thankful for the incredible efforts of the Park service and our volunteers to protect, restore, and preserve our natural resources. Many thanks to all of you have had the opportunity to help with your time, talents and money. It’s truly appreciated. Be sure to check out the update included in this issue.

Many thanks to Mike McKinsey for yet another great meal at July’s outdoor meeting. A crowd of more than thirty folks from our Little River Chapter and the Great Smoky Mountain Chapter showed up at River John’s for a great meal and fellowship on a great July evening.

Finally, as summer moves into fall we will be adding three new schools to our local Trout-in-the Classroom program – Lonsdale Elementary, Heritage Middle School and Tate School of Discovery. This puts our local TIC programs at eleven.

Monthy Meeting – Thursday, August 25

We’ll be back at Calhoun’s for the August meeting. Ian and Charity Rutter (R & R Fly Fishing) will be presenting a program on fishing in the northern Rockies and Yellowstone. Ian and Charity always provide excellent programs, so this is one you do not want to miss.

Be safe and stay cool. I hope to see you on the stream and at our August meeting.

Mike