Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

P r e s i d e n t ’ s C o r n e r
Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

Newsletter

I hope everyone has had a great summer so far. It’s been both a busy and productive season for Jan and I, though we were both worn out after a couple of consecutive weeks of visitors. Our seven year old grandson and three year old granddaughter have a seemingly endless bundle of energy. But we had a great time with them, taking them into the Park and fishing as well. After the kids and grandkids left, our best friends from Arizona came to stay with us. We fished up in the Park and both friends were able to catch wild rainbows despite the low water conditions. Despite the typical summer slowdown, fishing continues to be pretty good for me personally. Check out the article below on summer fishing in the Park.

The Lynn Camp brook trout evaluation was completed in June. Overall, there is good news on the health of the brook trout population. I was able to help out one day and was happy to see brookies taking hold in the stream. I forgot how pretty this small stream is and look forward to the day we can fish there again. Charlie Chmielewski has an article below with the details.

Thanks to Bill McConkey for coming up from McMinn County to present at our June Meeting. Bill is active in bringing trout wildlife management to the classroom and he provided us with aquatic insect behavior information as well as thought for how we might do a better job at getting classroom kids involved in preserving our waters for its inhabitants.

I was also able to help out at Trout Camp this past June. The folks who organize and lead this program do an outstanding job. The kids were energetic and eager to learn. This is a great youth educational program that will definitely pay dividends in forming our conservation leaders of tomorrow. More details can be found in Charlie’s in the Newsletter.

One Final Comment: About three weeks ago, I was fishing the Little River above the Elkmont Campground. When I started walking up the trail, I saw a truck pulling into the lot with three gentlemen who obviously planned to fish there as well. So I walked up the trail a good mile or so before wading into the stream, assuming the others might want to fish the lower section. After fishing for about an hour or so, I finally figured out what the rainbows were willing to eat and I started to have many successful hook-ups. At one point I happened to glance up on the trail and noticed the three others watching as I hooked a couple of nice trout. I went back to fishing without a second thought, happy at my success. Unfortunately, five minutes later I looked upstream and saw two of the gentlemen fishing literally only 75 feet upstream of me. With 800 miles of trout streams in the Park, you would think they would have had the courtesy of walking up farther and given a fellow fisherman his space.

There have been times when I have waded into a stream only to then see someone already fishing there. When this happens, I reel up and get out of the stream so they can continue to fish. I think I recognized one of the three and knew that he should have known better. Fortunately, most of us have enough common respect and courtesy to spread out. We live in a great part of the world, and there are plenty of great streams to fish, so consider your fellow angler before dropping down into a stream. Just something to think about.

I hope you’ll plan to come to the July meeting – free dinner, casting lessons, fishing opportunities. Doesn’t get much better than that!!!

– Mike

J u l y M e e t i n g a t R i v e r J o h n ’ s

How about a free dinner?? Our July Chapter Meeting (Thursday, July 24) will be outdoors at River Johns Outfitters. River John’s Island – located on the Little River, just northeast of Maryville on Cave Mill Rd. (Map)  http://www.riverjohns.com/

Directions: From the last Pellisippi Pkwy exit, go left on Hwy 33, right on Sam Houston, left on Wildwood, right on Cave Mill. (Map)

Under the capable hands of Outdoor Chef Extraordinaire Mike McKinsey, we will be grilling some great food. There’s the opportunity to fish, meet fellow members, learn a thing or two about fishing in the Little River. There will be casting lessons given by Ross Schweinforth, a IFFF Certified Casting Instructor. Class size is limited to six, so make sure to reserve a spot.

We are very pleased to have Ross teach this class. He has the background and top-shelf credentials to provide excellent instruction. He is a certified Casting Instructor with the International Fly Fishing Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF), the premier organizationdedicated to excellence in fly-casting instruction through rigorous examination, continuing education, and strict standards. Ross has been actively involved with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) and serves as the PHWFF Program Lead for SE Tennessee and-NW Georgia.

After a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps and a tour of duty in Vietnam, Ross settled with his young bribe, and the two have remained together in the southeast. His 34 year career encompassed fisheries biology, aquatic toxicology, environmental engineering, and regulatory compliance management. Retirement has allowed Ross to travel, fish, tie flies, build rods and generally be engaged in anything fly-fishing.

We are going to offer the casting class from 4-6PM at the picnic area. If there is enough interest we will have a second class. If you are interested in fly-casting instruction please Email Chuck James at huck3185@gmail.com to reserve your space. I will need to set the schedule no later than Wednesday, July 16, 2014.

If you are going to take the class Ross is suggesting that you bring an 8 1⁄2 – 9ft rod with X0 or X1 leader. He will supply the ribbons, no hooks needed. Regardless of your fly-casting ability, Ross will be able to help you become a better fly-caster.

Chuck James – Program Chair

The guys at Tightline Productions have a great video on building knotted leaders  link.  I have been using knotted leaders for a few years that are tied and sold by Christopher Fave at this website link.  Tim Flagler in this video uses Maxima leader material for his leaders.  Maxima leader spools can be found by doing a google search.  I personally found that I like the way the knotted leaders turn over when casting. Whether you decide to tie your on leaders or purchase them, give knotted leaders a try.

Good fishing

Joe <((((<

President’s Corner

Mike Bryant (mjbryant1954@hotmail.com)

Newsletter

As the lack of rainfall continues into early June, low water levels are starting to impact the trout in the Park. Only a few short weeks ago, despite lower than average water levels, the trout were eagerly taking dry flies, including the larger than average size trout. But as the water dropped, normal lies became too shallow and the fish seem to be hunkered down and less willing to take a dry fly during the day. I’ll be spending more time nymph fishing early and late in the day and praying for rain. Hopefully we won’t have a repeat of the droughts of recent past.

Pat Tully and I did manage a trip up to Greenbrier to chase brookies back in May. The weather was good and the brookies were happy to take dry flies. I think we both cut off our nymph flies and fished with only dries for most of the day. It’s a beautiful stream, but not a stream you want to fish alone.

Ernie Frey and I reviewed the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program with the curriculum board at the Clayton Bradley Academy. The school has agreed to the program. We hope that this will be one of many TIC programs to establish in the area. Funds from the Steve Moore Youth Education Program will be used to procure the equipment. Ernie will be the TIC coordinator working closely with the teachers in equipment set-up, egg procurement, and troubleshooting as needed.

Have a great summer and be safe!
Mike

“It’s A Small World After All” Aquatic Entomology –
Presented by Bill McConkey

The presenter at our June, 26th meeting will be Bill McConkey. Bill is a native of Englewood, TN moved to Etowah, TN when he married. Bill has been teaching in McMinn County for a total of 35 years. Eighteen years as an Earth and Life Sciences teacher at Mountain View Elementary School (8th Grade). For the past 17 years he has taught at McMinn Central High School, teaching Biology 1 and upper division Biology and Physics.

Bill is a member of the Hiwassee Chapter of Trout Unlimited and a life-long fisherman. About 12 years ago, Bill became involved in aquatic biology through the local Boy Scout Troop as an Assistant Scout Master. Bill has also taught First Cast at High School level for the past 8 years along with fly tying.
Bill and his wife have two sons Cody and Kevin. Bill is a rabid Lady Vols Basketball and Softball fan and also enjoys outdoor photography. Fly-fishing is more than a hobby with Bill, it is a passion.

Bill’s presentation will be on aquatic entomology of East Tennessee. He will show the diversified aquatic life in our streams and rivers and the importance of realizing what our fish are feeding on, as well as the importance of knowing the details of some of the more notable bugs for our fly tying bench. He uses an artist approach to knowledge of our aquatic life making better flies.