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)

My fishing attempts have been noticeably lacking over the last month or so. Lots of excuses (some of them valid) regarding the holidays, family, weather, high water, low water, and / or very cold water. Bill and I did manage to fish near the Elkmont Campground on a day that was supposed to reach 60 degrees. We did find some fish feeding in a pool and I did manage to land a small brown with Bill guiding my casts. But with the water temperature at 42 degrees, most of the fish were hunkered down. That brown was my only fish of the day. I think Bill managed to raise a couple of rainbows. Not much to write home about, but we were outdoors and pretty much had the stream to ourselves.

I’ll be gearing up for the annual Everglades trip that Jan and I make every winter. I love fly fishing for trout in the Park and saltwater species in the Everglades. Both places are beautiful in their own special way. I am blessed to be able to fish both.

With the 2016 Board of Directors and Officers now in place, we have started mapping out plans for the new year. Probably the biggest challenge will be in fundraising. To keep it fresh we will be trying some new ways to raise funds for the Park and the Steve Moore Youth Education Fund. I’ll be sharing more details in the next couple of months. We will continue to support Matt and his crew with our volunteer efforts. We expect to continue growing our Trout-in-the-Classroom program, expanding the number of 5 Rivers college fishing clubs in Tennessee and helping with this year’s Trout Camp
.
I would be remiss if I didn’t provide a big THANK YOU to the four Board members who rotated off the BOD this year – Sheila Bolinger, Wayne Everbach, Chuck James and James Locke. Each has made major contributions to our Chapter and the Park. I will be acknowledging their efforts at upcoming meetings, but please let them know that you appreciate their efforts and leadership.Check out Steve Young’s article on the Trout-in-the-Classroom release event last December. Our TIC program is going strong and will continue to grow in our region. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed with your time, talents and contributions!

Stay warm and safe. I hope to see you at the January meeting.
-Mike

A River Runs Through It (novel) was the first fly fishing book that I read.  It was a must read back in the late 1980’s.  The book was published in May 1976.  It had a following with some members of the Smoky Mountain Chapter back then. The Web-page has  71 quotes from Norman Maclean   and  the novel  A River Runs Through It   ( Link)

My favorite is

“In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”

You can order the book from here  (link)

Good Fishing

Joe <((((<

President’s Corner
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

Newsletter

Seems like every year the holiday season sneaks up on us. With the demands of the holidays and cooler weather settling in, my fishing time tends to drop. This year is no exception. It’s mid-November and I have been on a stream only a handful of times in the past six weeks. In October, we did manage to camp at Smokemont and fish for four days. We really never did figure out what the fish were up to. Bill, a couple of his good friends and I fished hard every day. We caught fish, but the number of fish and the size were definitely down from previous fall trips. The water was great. Cool, clear and good flow. Yet the fish just weren’t interested. But it was great to be out, even with 29 degree mornings!
But overall, I have no complaints about the fishing this year. I’ve had the opportunity to fish in the Everglades, small mountain streams in Colorado, spring fed creeks in Pennsylvania, as well as our local Park streams and tailwaters. And I had the opportunity to return to Lynn Camp Prong! Great memories.

As the weather cools down, I will be ramping up my fly tying. The Fly Tyer’s Weekend held in early November was a success. Nearly fifty tyers demonstrated their skills and knowledge. I had the opportunity to tie, but also met some incredibly talented tyers as well.

Last month, we delivered a $15,000 check to the Fisheries Dept. of the Great Smoky Mountain Park. Earlier in the year we donated $4,000 to the Friends of the Smokies Fisheries Scholarship Fund (supporting the hiring of interns in the Park Fisheries Department), bringing our total donation to $19,000 for the year. Not bad!! We had the opportunity to meet the new Park Superintendent Cassius Cash at the check donation ceremony. He was well aware of the Chapter’s on-going support and showed his appreciation. You can read the press release in the newsletter.

Looking ahead, we will be voting on next year’s Board of Directors at the December 3 meeting. The slate of candidates is listed further down in this newsletter. We’ve accomplished a lot in the past year, none of which would have happened without the leadership each officer and board member. And I am looking forward to keeping our momentum going forward with next year’s Board.

Membership Meeting (Thursday, December 3)
At the December 3 meeting, Justin Murdock will be presenting his learnings on didymo (invasive algae). Justin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Tennessee Tech University. His work on didymo included assessing the distribution and impact that didymo has on our local waters as well as best practices for geardisinfection. A $10,000 grant from the Tennessee license plate conservation fund (managed by the Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited) helped support Justin’s research. This will be an educational and enlightening presentation; one you don’t want to miss. We meet again at Calhoun’s in Maryville. Social hour and dinner starts at 6:00pm and the business meeting followed by the presentation at 7:00pm. As always,you do not have to buy dinner to attend. Everyone is welcome!

Be safe and I’ll see you at the December 3 rd meeting.
-Mike