STREAMSIDE Volume 18 Issue 1 Periodical Newsletter of the Dame Juliana League Winter 2012

View from Kennedy Bridge by Troy Dunn, President Featured Article: Happy New Year! some print copies available so long as it The Reach Cast By the time you re- does not stretch our resources too thin. By Mike Costello ceive this newsletter, Check out the spring line up of guest we will have man- speakers coming to DJL. It’s quite impres- If you’re new to one aged to survive one of sive. We continue to get excellent sugges- of the challenges you will encounter is the wettest years on tions from our membership for speakers and overcoming “drag”. Drag is probably record in Pennsylva- topics. Please keep them coming! the number one nemesis to both be- nia. Although the French Creek float stocking and the ginner and expert fishermen alike. flooding rains of 2011 annual Learn to Fly Fish Course are just Water currents rarely flow at uniform may have spoiled a around the corner. As always we need vol- rates and can drag your fly and / or fishing outing or two, unteers from our membership to make these your fly line at varying speeds. If the consistent supply of cool water into our events successful. Please watch your e-mail your fly looks like it is water skiing, fisheries provided a heat-stress-free summer and check the website for updates on these then it’s dragging. Unwanted drag can for many of our fisheries, and I am hopeful activities. If you are interested in participat- occur while nymph fishing or streamer that this will be reflected by good fishing ing in either event let us know by sending fishing, but it is particularly problem- reports in 2012. an e-mail to [email protected]. atic in . You want your The fall of 2011 turned out to be a Finally I would like to call your atten- fly to float naturally, as if it is not fairly quiet one for the club. You probably tion to the article on the Chester County tethered to the fly line and leader. noticed that the newsletter has gone elec- Conservation Camp. Each year DJL solicits One the most useful tactics to tronic, and has taken on a slightly new for- nominations, from membership, for the prevent drag and one of the easiest mat. We have been making print copies Lance Morien Scholarship to send a youth methods to learn is the “Reach Cast”. available for those without e-mail address- to this wonderful camp. If you have chil- Curiously, as in all things fly fishing es, and to leave at our local sponsors, but dren or know of a child who would like to we have a way of complicating things, are still debating the fiscal merits of the attend, I would encourage you to make a the Reach Cast is not really a cast at policy. If you have an opinion on this topic nomination. Tight lines… all, but rather what is called an “In the we would certainly love to hear it. For now Troy air mend” or “aerial mend”. Con- we anticipate that we will continue to make fused? (My goal here is not to write a book or put you to sleep, so I’ll keep this brief) “Mending” means reposi- 2012 Winter Meeting & Event Schedule tioning some or all of your fly line. Winter is about to unleash its wrath so why not make a plan to beat the doldrums There are two basic types of mends: of cabin fever and attend our January meeting. Craig Hull will present "Fishing “On the Water mends” and “In the Small Trout Streams from the Adirondack's to the Blue Ridge" Craig is a local Air” or Aerial Mends”. Both types of guide and fly-tier from Carlisle. He is the owner of TroutGetter Flies and mends are done after the completion Guideservice. You can check out his website here http://www.troutgetter.com/ In of the cast: “On the Water Mends” addition to his presentation Craig will bring his famous flies to sell at unbelievably after the cast has been completed and low prices for premium hand tied commercial flies; $10 for a dozen trout flies or a the fly line is on the water; “Aerial dozen saltwater flies, $20 for a dozen of freshwater bass flies. Mends” after the cast has been com- - January 30, 2012 - pleted but the fly line is still in the air. “Fishing Small Trout Streams from the Adirondack's The purpose of the Reach Cast is to the Blue Ridge” to reposition the fly line at an angle, featuring Craig Hull across and upstream of the fly. If there February 27– DJL Movie Night! The movie "Trout Grass" is a are varying current rates between the documentary of the journey of tonkin cane from its origins rod tip and the fly, positioning the fly in China to the fly fishers cast. line across and upstream from the fly March 26– Speaker to be announced! Stay tuned... will allow the fly to float freely before April 28– 20th Annual Learn to Fly Fish Course, Phoenixville YMCA the faster moving currents affect April 30– Mid-Atlantic Saltwater fly-tier and instructor Steve Farrar (drag) the end of the fly line. will be present a program on fly fishing the Atlantic coast. (continued on page 3) Page 2 STREAMSIDE

Saltwater Adventures: Annual Trip to Harkers Island, NC Contributed by Emerson Cannon

Each year from Sept through the beginning of December, chartreuse over white or pink all about 3.5” in length. Size 8 baitfish followed by false albacore invade the water around Cape hooks for early October followed by the size 4 or even size 2 Lookout, North Carolina. Weather permitting, fishing can be fast sizes in the clouser style for later on. The bait might be the and furious. Bait will start its yearly migration followed by nu- schooling type like bay anchovies or the smaller non-schooling merous species of fish ‘puttin on the feed bag’. like spearing. When the bait is thick, let the games begin! Baitfish will be anywhere from 1” to 5”, purrrrrfect for fly There are numerous other fish that join the Cape Lookout fishermen. Matching the hatch is critical. Flies, 1.5” in length, party seen. Some names are spanish mackerel, king mackerel, tied in all white for the early days of the run work well. As the monster sharks and the huge prize, red drum! different species of baitfish arrive, size and color change. Late The size of the albacore can be 7 - 20 lbs. October is the time for gray, tan or pink over white, brown or

Photos by Emerson Cannon

Time is probably more generous to the angler than to any other individual. The wind, the sun, the open air, the colors and smell, the loneliness of the sea or the solitude of the stream, work for some kind of magic. – Zane Grey STREAMSIDE Page 3

Dame Juliana League The Reach Cast Sponsors Chester County (continued from page 1) To execute the Reach Cast, let’s as- Conservation Camp sume the target is directly across or slightly Did you know that every summer, across and downstream from you and the the Dame Juliana League sponsors boys current is moving from your right to left. and girls between the ages of 11 and 14 to Make an overhead cast in the direction of attend the Chester County Conservation your target, then after you stop the rod on Camp at French Creek State Park? It is the forward cast and while the line is still true! The club has established a permanent unrolling in the air you reach (hence the scholarship which allows club members to name Reach Cast) the rod upstream from nominate deserving youths from our area you.. This move will place the fly line up- to attend the camp for free! “The Lance stream from the fly and the intended target. Morien Memorial Scholarship” was estab- If the current is moving from the right to lished to fund this program in memory of the left, you reach your rod to the right. If Lance Morien a former board member a the current is moving left to right you life long outdoor enthusiast. reach to the left. Or more simply said: Al- The Camp's mission is to educate ways reach upstream. By positioning your youth through experiential learning in a line and fly rod tip upstream you have set traditional outdoor camp setting. Through yourself up for a good drift. As the line adventure-based activities, campers ex- floats downstream, plore local natural follow its path with resources, experience “Persistence , for the fisherman, is the rod to prevent varied ecosystems a virtue that transcends the line from pull- and aspire toward ing tight. There stewardship of the patience.” A.J McClane are two key cave- environment. The ats you must keep camping program strives to build under- in mind. First as you reach the rod up- standing and appreciation of local and stream you’ll most likely be pulling the fly global conservation issues. short of the target line. There are two ways The Camp's activity-based pro- to make sure the fly stays on target. Either gram uses the environment as an outdoor cast enough line to overshoot laboratory to experiment and discover the the target by two feet or so, or natural world and to explore the diversity preferably shoot some line as of Chester County. you execute the reach up- Previous DJL sponsored partici- stream. Either method will pants can’t say enough great things about ensure that your fly remains this camp as John Burgos’ daughter and on target. Secondly, and per- Joe Vasile’s grandson have attested to in haps the most important thing articles posted in this newsletter. to remember is to Stop the rod So what are you waiting for! Do and then reach, not cast and you know a child between the ages of 11 reach simultaneously. and 14 that would enjoy a week in the out- The reach cast is an easy doors in a hands-on learning environment. and effective way to counter- Send us your nomination today but no later act drag. However, a little than May 1, 2012. practice won’t hurt. I For more details on the camp had to finish by say- and dates you can check out: http:// ing that. www.chesco.org/ccparks/cwp/view.asp? Mike Costello has been a=1584&q=614750 fly fishing for over 20 A nomination form will be posted to our years and is a Federa- website soon, but you can email us at tion of Fly Fishers [email protected] and we can provide you (FFF) certified fly cast- with information on how to apply. ing instructor. He is the lead instructor

at the League’s annual Learn to Fly Fish Course held each April.

Page 4 STREAMSIDE

Favorite Fly Patterns: The Beldar Rubberlegs Olive Color Pattern By Troy Dunn Hook: #4-#8 long Streamer For catching big trout you need big simpler than that. One of my favorite flies Thread: Olive (or Black, it’s not gaudy streamers. Streamers that imitate for getting the job done is called the Beldar critical) smaller fish such as sculpins are best. Rubberlegs. It’s essentially a glorified Weight: Lead Wire Since many of these fish have no swim with a tungsten conehead Head: Large tungsten conehead bladder (i.e.- they cannot equilibrate to (get it?) and rubberlegs. It’s a piece of (you want this fly to maintain vertical position) they spend cake to tie, and will catch heck out of the sink fast) much of their time on the bottom of the fish! I like to fish the brown color in the Tail: Olive Marabou with a bit of streambed bouncing around between the freestone streams and rivers of the flash (four to six strands rocks. In addition to being attractive, you intermountain west, while I find the green of midge flash or need a fly that will sink fast and stay down. color to be an excellent pattern for fishing flashabou) In bigger water, this means a fly that has high mountain lakes on a sunny day. I’ve Body: Olive Chenille some serious weight. Of course there are a included an example of the fly as well as Hackle: Grizzly Olive variety of patterns out there you can use, some examples of the fish you can expect Collar: Grizzly Olive some folks spend all day tying those to catch! Legs: Olive rubber legs double articulated streamers with crazy names, but if I’m tying for a big trip, I like Troy Dunn lives adjacent to French Creek to keep and spends his free time fishing the Brown Color Pattern things a backcountry of Montana and Wyoming. little Hook: #4-#8 long Streamer Thread: Brown (or Black, it’s not critical) Weight: Lead Wire Beldar Rubberlegs Tied by Head: Large tungsten conehead Troy Dunn Tail: Brown Marabou with a bit of flash (four to six strands of midge flash or flashabou) Body: Brown Chenille Hackle: Grizzly Brown 18” Cuttbow Trout Hybrid, Collar: Grizzly Brown Unnamed Lake, Wind River Legs: Brown rubber legs Mountains, WY

22” West Slope Cutthroat Trout, South Fork Flathead River, Bob Marshall Wilderness, MT

Membership Renewal Request “The time must come to all of us, who live long, Mike Ferraro, our Membership Coordinator, is reminding when memory is more than prospect. An angler all our current members to please send in their renewal dues payment to our post office box or bring it with you to one of our who reaches this stage and reviews the pleasure meetings coming up. As you know, memberships run on a of life will be grateful and glad he has calendar year basis so this is the time to do it and avoid those pesky postcards and annoying emails Mike likes to send out. been an angler.” We appreciate your attention to this! Quote by Lord Grey of Fallondon (circa 1899) STREAMSIDE Page 5

Reminder: Parking on French Creek’s Fly Fishing Only Area For those of you who will be fishing French Creek this year you are well aware that the parking situation has changed since the new bridge was finished. Board member Dick Allebach has spent considerable time developing relationships with the adjacent land- owners to establish several parking locations for fly fishermen to access this section of stream. DJL members are encouraged to use ONLY those areas marked on the map and try to make sure other fishermen do the same. Remember also to keep the noise down.

® ORVIS DOWNINGTOWN ARTICLES WANTED!! BRANDYWINE SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER 70 QUARRY ROAD, UNIT K (Just Off Rt. 30) The next edition of STREAMSIDE is DOWNINGTOWN, PA 19335 due out in March 2012. If you would Over 10,000 Flies like to write an article, story, share a Extensive Selection Of Fly Rods, Reels, And Lines fly pattern or write a poem please do so Materials And Supplies and send it in MS Word format to Casting Lessons And Trips Available Bob Molzahn at Tel/610-873-8400 [email protected]. All articles received will be published. Fax/610-873-3830 A Sporting Tradition Since 1856

Page 6 STREAMSIDE

A Day on Spring Creek with Four Penn State Fly Fishing Legends By John Burgos

On April 9th of this year my wife the speakers. A casting demonstration was tions". Not only did he have a thorough Gloria and I had the pleasure of attending given by Joe. You bet this guy can cast! slide show, but the previous day's field a fundraising event hosted by and for the His approach to teaching is much different work yielded live specimens of many of Clear Water Conservancy of Central Penn- than what we generally see in books or the bugs we discussed. It was enlighten- sylvania. The ClearWater Conservancy videos. Incidentally, Dame Juliana has a ing to see common stone fly patterns being has a mission to promote conservation and copy of his casting DVD, "A Casting Ap- nuzzled up to by actual giant yellow restoration of natural resources in central proach to Fly Fishing". I strongly encour- stones. Pennsylvania. Sounds age members to view this video. The sim- Afterwards, festivities continued at familiar. plicity of his approach is worth your con- the Governor's Pub in Bellefonte with a We participated in the program, “A happy hour where we were all able to Day on Spring Creek with four Penn State share notes and experiences. Fly Fishing Legends”. This program fea- The day was fun. The cause was tured four of the most experienced Penn- serious. The Conservancy beat there goal sylvania anglers and was held on the banks and raised over $10,000. The money of Spring Creek at Fisherman's Paradise. raised was used for the Galbraith Gap The presenters included Greg Hoover, Land Acquisition Project. The goal of this Mark Belden, Vance McCullough and project is to secure a 152 acre land tract in headlined by Joe Humphreys. the headwaters of one of the few remain- For any Pennsylvania angler who is ing brook trout streams in the Spring unfamiliar with Joe Humphreys his biog- Creek watershed. To learn more about the raphy is too long to be included here. He ClearWater Conservancy and how it pro- was the long time instructor of the Penn The Four Legends (l to r): Vance McCullough, tects resources important to our sport, visit Mark Belden, Greg Hoover, and Joe Humphreys State University Fly Fishing program, (Photo courtesy of Jim Strauss, ClearWater their site at http://www.clearwater commonly Conservancy) conservancy.org. regarded as At the hap- one of the sideration. py hour I had to finest an- Vance McCullough opportunity to glers Penn- and Mark Belden each talk with Joe. I sylvania followed Joe, in order, as asked him sever- has ever instructors and promoters al questions, but produced. of the Penn State Fly my favorite Consider- Fishing Program. Vance was this. I asked ing the gave an interesting him if the fly likes of presentation entitled "The fishing commu- Vince Stealth Approach to Fly nity took excep- Marinaro Fishing covering a wide tion to his teach- Joe and John sharing stories at the end of the day and variety of common sense ing methodology. George Harvey, this is no small statement! concepts that we often overlook. He shook is head He is the author of "Trout Tactics", which Mark led the group on a walk along in agreement. even through the simplicity of the title is Spring Creek offering insight for Joe Humphreys making a point Leaning over to an indication of his pragmatic approach to reading trout water, pointing out during a casting lesson me he said, this sport that many of us try to make com- feeding lanes and demonstrated different "500,000 trout can't be wrong!" plex. A day on the water with four of the The days leading up to the fund- “The great charm of fly fishing is that best, doing what you love! What a mem- raiser were forecasting cold and heavy orable day it was. rain. The event was scheduled rain or we are always learning.” shine. Fortunately, the heavy rain left Theodore Gordon John Burgos is a long time member of us the day before. Saturday was a the League and serves on the Board of cool but dry day with none of the outdoor techniques to use. Directors as the Stream Improvement Co- activities impeded. Greg Hoover, author and entomolo- ordinator. He has fished all over the The day's agenda was filled with gist for Penn State, held a discussion country and is a frequent contributor to topics tailored to the strengths of each of "Trout Stream Insects and their Imita- this newsletter. STREAMSIDE Page 7

Why We Fish: One Angler’s Reflection

One evening I had dinner with people I hardly knew and in that cleanses us when we've become muddied and makes us the course of conversation a smiling woman turned to me and healthy when we've become sickened. It's a brace against pessi- asked why I fished. I had never given the question much mism. thought. Fishing, I should have explained, teaches us to perform Fishing, after all, is a simple pleasure, and simple pleasures small acts with care. It humbles us. It enriches our friendships. It rarely require scrutiny. But the woman deserved an answer, so I cultivates reverence for wild things and beautiful places. It re- said it was important to understand the difference between fish- minds us that time needs occasionally to be wasted. It makes us ing as it is commonly perceived (as goofing off, a way to kill participants in nature instead of spectators, a crucial distinction time) and fishing done with attention and passion and the belief because participants tend to be passionate and protective and that it offers emotional sustenance. The woman smiled like she spectators tend to become indifferent. had a tablespoon of paint thinner pooled in her mouth and asked I could have said that looking down into a lake, an ocean, how I could find it emotionally sustaining to impale a helpless or a river is like looking up into the night sky; that both water creature with a hook and yank it from the water. and sky are filled with mysteries, and when we peer deeply into There was silence, and everyone at the table looked at their them we connect with every man and woman who has ever felt plates. I tried to lighten the mood by joking about my luck as an the tugging vitality of the universe. We become part of a larger angler. Most days, I impale very few creatures, innocent or oth- community, united by mysteries so vast they make our differ- erwise. But the woman was not amused. I suggested that in a ences of opinion and philosophy seem very small. world as troubled as ours fishing is among the least harmful of I wish I told her that anglers are people who want to get activities. There was another silence, longer than the first, and beneath the surface of things, and fishing is simply a way to finally the host steered the conversation in a different direction open our hearts to the world. and that was the end of it. The incident bothered me and I was sorry that I did not Excerpted from “The River Home: An Angler's Reflections”, pub- have a better answer for the woman. lished by St. Martin's Press, 1998; named the best outdoor book of If I had the wit and the woman was inclined to listen I 1998 by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. could have told her that fishing makes us alert, pulls us out of ourselves, and engages us in something bigger. It's restorative

An Incredibly Beautiful Thing... The river flowed smooth and dark beneath the fringing What an incredibly beautiful thing, he thought. No wonder alders. Here and there on the surface little rings broke the reflec- trout rose to it so avidly. He looked up at the branch again. There tions and occasionally a splash showed white against the bank. were several of those lovely flies resting there, and one seemed A boy was lying prone, peering over the grass into the clear different from the others. The boy stood up and looked more water. His breath came quickly as he saw a big tail appear in the closely. He saw an insect, darker and duller in color, its back center of a ring, waving slowly from side to side before it quietly split down the middle, and from its body was emerging another, sank again. the delicate, bright one he had already seen. There was life in the air as With a sudden movement, well; tiny gauze-winged forms it pulled itself clear. The wings Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine, were rising and dipping over the were not erect but seemed to be water, sometimes lightly touching No blood of living insect stain my line; folded close to the back. As he its smooth surface. The boy Let me, less cruel, cast the feather'd hook, watched, he saw them begin to looked upward to watch them. open. The metamorphosis took He raised himself and grasped an With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook, place quickly before his eyes, alder branch for support. He felt a Silent along the mazy margin stray, and in a few moments there was delicate touch on his hand and, another fly, complete, shining, And with the fur-wrought fly delude the prey. turning saw the insect resting drying itself in the sun. He there, its wings slowly opening John Gay ( circa 1720) looked away and when his eyes and closing. returned again it was gone. The splashes in the stream continued. It was an exquisite creature. The wings were nearly trans- It is no wonder that, with the impact of that introduction, I parent, of iridescent pearly color. The up-curved body was shad- became a fly fisherman. Surely, I thought, an art based on imita- ed darker on the back, tapering to the slender whisks of a tail tions of such lovely fragile creatures must offer a great deal, long and curved. The eyes protruded prominently and were col- especially if the angler could create them after his own fashion. ored a wonderful violet. It held out its long front legs in an al- most supplicating attitude, and all its legs were marked with col- (A. Nelson Cheney, 1878) or, speckled and delicately shaded.

Page 8 STREAMSIDE

Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers Officers and Board of Directors President– Troy Dunn Vice President– Emerson Cannon Secretary– Don Beideman Treasurer- Joe Vasile Membership– Mike Ferraro Sponsor Relations- Joe King Fly Fishing Course– Bob Molzahn Stream Improvement– John Burgos Outreach– Ted Nawalinski Other Board Members- Dick Allebach, Bob Moser Jr., Ed Nugent Member dues per calendar year are $15-Individual, $20-Family. For new members please add $5. Editor and Publisher- Bob Molzahn Articles, news, and fly tying tips are gratefully accepted. Please send them to [email protected] Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers is an affiliated member club of the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers Visit our website at www.djlflyfishers.org Send comments, inquiries and address changes to [email protected]

STREAMSIDE Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers P. O. Box 178 Kimberton, PA 19442 www.djlflyfishers.org

Winter 2012 Newsletter