President’s Corner
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)
After a terrible month of fishing down in the Everglades, I was a happy camper to be back in the Park chasing trout again. Trout tend to be happy this time of year, and they didn’t disappoint with splashy rises to my dry fly. Most of my fishing in the Park over the last several weeks has been up on Middle Prong. Trout are definitely looking up. One afternoon, I didn’t see many bugs coming off the water, so I tied on a trustworthy Parachute Adams. As a habit, I try to learn something new every time I get out on the water. On my parachutes, I’ve been testing different colors for the post. On this bright clear day, I tied on a #14 Adams with a fluorescent orange post. While it was easy for me to see the fly, the fish weren’t all that thrilled with it. I decided to downsize to a #16 with a white post. Immediately the rainbows changed their tune and starting rising to my fly. The next day, the wind was blowing like crazy. So I went back to that #14 Parachute Adams with the orange post, thinking that a bigger fly would be easier for the fish to find in choppy water. Rainbows rose to that fly all afternoon. So when you get the opportunity to wet a line, try to get in the habit of observing, thinking about the conditions and experimenting.
This year looks to be a busy time for volunteer work. Matt Kulp has an ambitious plan for new brook trout restoration efforts, mercury studies along with our on-going water and fish sampling studies. The Park Service will again rely on our support with our time, talents and donations. Given our Chapter mission is to support the Park, we need everyone’s help. In this newsletter, you’ll find more details on volunteer and fundraising opportunities.
And remember, our annual Little River Clean-up is Saturday, April 30. If you can make, consider bringing a kid. It’s a great way to expose them to our Park.
Many thanks to David Perry for his great tailwater presentation at last month’s meeting. I learned a lot!
This month’s program is Thursday, April 28. Jake Rash, the Coldwater Research Coordinator for NC Wildlife Resources Commission will provide a presentation on Gill Lice and Whirling Disease recently discovered in North Carolina. This will be a very important discussion regarding new invasive species threats to our waterways. You don’t want to miss this talk. Enjoy the weather and outdoors. I hope to see you at the April 28 meeting.
– Mike
