October 25 Meeting is at Monte Vista Baptist Church – 1735 Old Niles Ferry Road in Maryville, Tennessee (Map). Meeting program: Clayton Gist will give us an update to this year’s Trout Camp program. This was the second annual youth summer camp. The camps are held each year at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in June. Please visit the Tennessee Trout Unlimited Youth Summer Camp website. (Website)
See You at the Meeting
Joe
“The October caddis is the “Isonychia of caddis hatches” in that it is a large insect that hatches sporadically, and the trout become accustomed to their presence for about two, autumn-colored months of the year. ” This is another Tightline Productions video. Please see the Practical Patterns post in June. October Caddis primarily hatches at night into very early morning. Early morning till noon and after 6pm is the best time to fish the fly. Cast the fly along the margins of fast water and bank side pockets. The flies are large, size 10 and 12 and make a big meal for hungry trout.
RECIPE
Hook: #8-12 Standard dry fly
Thread: 6/0 Orange
Tail: None
Body: Mixed rusty orange rabbit and zelon (or antron)
Underwing: Amber zelon
Wing: Orange dyed elk body hair
Thorax: Same as body, touch-dubbed (It should seem somewhat heavy when you dub it, but after a cast or two, the loose fibers fall out, leaving a nice, fuzzy, floating thorax.)
Good fishing
Joe
Posted on September 21, 2012 by Chris Hunt ( TU National web-site) Link
Earlier this week, a federal judge upheld a U.S. Forest Service decision to keep off-road vehicles out of sensitive native brook trout habitat in the Tellico River drainage in the Nantahala National Forest–excessive ORV use was contributing silt and sediment to the watershed, impacting brook trout spawning habitat.
“Locking out” certain users of public lands is always a touchy subject, and it’s not surprising that ORV user-groups sued the Forest Service over its decision. But, in this case, where native brookies were clearly at risk in the prized river’s upper reaches in North Carolina and Tennessee, the decision was justified. The area receives more than 80 inches of rain each year, and with runoff flowing over bare earth, the mud and sediment entering the river were impacting insect populations and smothering spawning gravel.
And, as a side note, the area is still accessible by foot, and since ORVs have been redirected to other trail systems in the area, the fishing is getting better and better.
Trout Unlimited, and its grass-roots volunteers in North Carolina and Tennessee, supported the Forest Service decision, simply because the impact on native brook trout and their habitat from ORV use was severe. For clarity, it’s extremely rare for TU to engage in legal cases–we only resort to the courts when efforts to reach compromise fail, as they did in this case.
In fact, one of our partner programs,Sportsmen Ride Right, actually works from within the ORV community to support responsible riding. SRR encourages ORV users to help make sure members of the community are doing their best to minimize impact on natural resources and other recreational users on public lands in order to protect motorized access.
SRR has helped avoid issues like the one facing the Tellico today, particularly in the West. Unfortunately, no middle ground was accessible on the Tellico, but perhaps this case will lead to more fruitful negotiations in the future. One thing is certain: it will lead to better fishing for brookies in the Tellico.
