sep - oct 2005 trout line newsletter, tualatin valley trout unlimited

8/9/2019 Sep - Oct 2005 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North Americas Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

THE TROUT LINETualati n Valley Chapter News

September/ October 2005 Editor: David Illig

Chapter Meetings are held at t he LuckyLABRADOR on the second Wednesdayof each month at 7:00 pm wit h a social get-together andthe formal meeting at 7:30 unless otherwise noted in thenewslett er or website. Lucky Labrador, MultnomahVillage, 7675 SW Capit ol Hw y . Port land , (503) 244-2537.Food and Bev erages avail able.

Board of Dir ector s Meeti ngs held j ust prior t o ourmonthly Chapter meeting at 5:30pm at the Lucky Lab.

Wednesday, September 14Berni e Taylor and Biological Tim e.Bernie will show that salmon have precisely timedmovements, and crit ical events such as spawning, t hatcan be calculated to alm ost th e day. Hi s programchroni cles the lif e of a salm on and weaves in st ories ofhow nati ve peoples gauged t he strength and m ovementsof the runs. This program is not only helpf ul for t heangler who is looki ng to better pl an his f ishing excursionsbut also f or t he conservati onist int erested in learnin gmor e about the natur e of anim als. The presentation goesbeyond the right flies and terminal tackle, delivering anextraordinary perspecti ve on how t hese anim als navigate

ti me and space. Berni e Taylor , aut hor, f isherman, f ly t yer,is a widely t raveled lecturer and wri ter whose work hasappeared in magazines such as Fly Fisherman, AmericanAngler, North American Fisherman. He is the author oftwo books: Big Tr out (2002) and his recently releasedBiological Ti me (2004).

Wedn esday October 12, Joe War renon Chi lean Brow n T rout

Joe's program is on lake fishin g for Chilean brown t rout in

the Lakes District in northern Patagonia, visiting ArdillasLodge.20 lakes and streams in the area.360 slides shot on last trip. The landscape is beautiful,the water i s prist ine and you'd thi nk nobody has everstepped f oot t here. One of ou r Chapt er members alsovisited.

Guest Colu mnFewer Ar eas Wil l be Protected t oHelp Salm on . Dev elopers are Mor e iNeed of Suppor t? Dav id I l l ig

I have always been concerned that I am suf f eri ng fr om aperceptual deficit, or that perhaps Im actually of alienstock. Oh no, not a native? I always thought t hat thewealthy, powerful, gifted, lucky, healthy, skilled, educatepeople of t he world woul d do just f ine. Wit hout m uchhelp. Of course I hoped I could be one of t hose, andsometim es f eel I am. However, I also beli eved that thepoor, weak, il l, t roubl ed, ungif ted, unluck y, endangered

beings should be given ext ra help and supp ort . I did notrealize that those doing very well were so endangered.Even when I was doing well I di dnt reali ze that I wasendangered and needed special help.

The f ederal governm ent has reduced t he protected habitafor 19 species of threatened and endangered Pacificsalm on. They have proclaim ed that an earl ier designati ondemanded by environm entalist s was poorly executed anthat voluntary habitat impr ovements will work better .NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible forbringing many salmon and steelhead species in t heNorthwest and California back from the danger ofexti ncti on, agreed t o revise the habit ats aft er being sued

by the National Association of Home Buil ders for faili ngto include an economic impact analysis when the habitatwere set. I just cant see that develop ers have been veryactive in voluntarily protecting salmon and steelhead.Isnt t heir j ob to maximi ze their profi ts? Do they evenpretend that its their job to take care of societysenvironm ent? I di d th ink that was the work of r egulatorybodies. And I di dnt know t hat Home Buil ders wereendangered. At least not because of l ack of water orhabitat.

The move in earl y August r educes the miles of p rotectedriver i n Washingt on, Oregon, Idaho and Calif ornia by 80percent -- fr om 167,700 mi les to 33,300. In those areas,activities such as logging, construction and livestockgrazing are restricted to avoid disturbing the stream bedwhere the salmon mi grate and spawn.

The new designation includes only rivers salmon currentoccupy, and it identifies whether a part of a river is usedfor spawning or j ust mi gration. Why would we want t oprotect the salmon as they move through? Thedesignati on also exemp ts ri vers on Indian reservati ons,military bases, private land with habitat conservationplans in f orce, and some urban areas where the economi


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im pact on t he area's businesses would be too great . I treall y does seem t hat more and m ore our regulator ybodies are more responsive to t he fi nancial im pact oflobbies and donors r ather than the needs of th e weak andunder-resourced where protection is needed. The strongget mor e protection and th e weak get less. Does th ismodel and phi losophy really work in buildi ng asustainable society? Is thi s reall y t he way we want t o doit? Is this how you want your government to operate?Protecting the weaker is really different than protectingthe str ongest. Of cour se th is could be pushed to suchextr eme such t hat i t breaks down . Balance is requi red.

Please comm unicate to your pol it ical l eaders as well asregulatory agencies what type of society you want them toencourage and fost er. Let t hem know who and what youdo want prot ected. Encourage th em to end patterns ofprotecti ng only t hose who contri bute the most money andresources to their system. IMHO David Ill ig

Fly of t he Mont h The Mack s Cany onAlex Barkum e

It s that t im e of the year again, when large num bersof summer steelhead move over the fish ladders of theColumbia in search of the cooler waters of its tributaries.This m onths fl y of t he month was designed t o take thosesteelhead, and it s one of the best. The Macks Canyon isa classic greased l ine patt ern capable of m oving f ishwit hout being too gaudy. Like the leaves of t he oak alongthe Deschutes canyon that marks the beginning of thelower river drift, Macks Canyons colors seem to jump outlater in the fall. It is one of my favorite patterns. Ofcourse it doesnt hurt that its the same color scheme asthat of my alma mater.

The Macks Canyon

Hook: Tiemco 7999, Part idge N , orAl ec Jackson Spey hook siz es 6to 1/0.

Thread: Black, 6/ 0 thread, or 3/ 0 on largerpatterns.

Tai l (opt): Orange saddle f ibers or GoldenPheasant crest feathers.

Rear Abdomen: Orange seal f urFront Abdomen: Black seal f urRibbing: Silver French Oval Tinsel, small or

medium size to fit .Col lar: Black Hen Hackle or saddle.Under Wing: White Polar bear hair

Over Wing: Hot -orange polar bear hair

1. Tie in a few wisps of orange saddle/ hen hackle orGold en Pheasant crest

2. Tie in a 3 piece of silver French tinsel.3. Thinly dub in back half of body with hot-orange

seal fur.4. Thinly dub in front half of body with black seal

fur.5. Wrap oval tinsel forward through the body and tie

of f6. Tie in the black hen hackle and wrap one and a

half ti mes. Tie off .

7. Stack and tie in a small bunch of white polarbear or buck-tail no longer than tail.

8. Stack and tie in a small bunch of orange polarbear or buck-tail no longer than tail. When tyin goff , be sure to snug up by pull ing thread ti ghtfrom underneath the hook-shank.

9. Tie off a small, neat head (leave room for a riff lehitch) directly behind the eye or the hook andepoxy.

Hints: Start end of body just above the hook point . Th

is called low water st yle. Make sure to keep t he body dubbing fairl y thi n

the most comm on mi stake I see by folk s juststarting to t ie this pattern is to m ake the body tothick.

I

Its one of those moments Ill remember. I stepped ointo the water sweeping around the corner at the head the run and started lengthening my casts. I had ti ed onf resh siz e 4, Macks Canyon. I could see th e orange buof the f ly swinging around under the water just below mI stripped off another (3) feet of line, took a step anextended the next cast. Thi s ti me, j ust as th e fl y startto slow down at the end of the swing, I felt somethingrab my f ly, turn and charge down the river. Line peelesteadily of f the reel and I w as starting t o worry about t hfi sh spooli ng me. Just then it broke water and cawheeled across the river. It was a good fi sh of about tepounds.

The fight went on but steady pressure soon had the fison i ts side in t he water at my feet. I pul led the MackCanyon out of the corner of her m outh and carried her deeper water. The sun was nearly set as I watched hswim of f , f ree to migr ate once again. The red refl ecti oof the sky accented the colors of the Macks Canyositt ing in the river at the edge of my f eet.

Fish this fly with a riffle-hitch, quartering downstreaand hang on. Youll be glad you did.

Tight Lines, Alex


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Fly Ty er s Corner Dick Rohrbaugh

Over the years t yers have accumulated a l ot of creati veideas. In tyin g, li ke everything else, experience is alwaysthe best t eacher. Here are a new set of t ips t o tr y th e nextti me you tie. While we usually have commented onmaterials, techniques and t ools in th is column, thi s tim ewe will concent rate on materials alone.

MaterialsIt is a good idea to collect di ff erent types of deer/ elk hairfor di ff erent tying applicati ons. All deer hair is not alik e.Depending on th e species of deer or the location on t hehide from which th e hair is taken the material wil levidence markedly different tying characteristics.

Most (but not all) deer hair is holl ow. The result i s that itflairs sharply when tied in the more pressure you applywit h the thread the more it fl airs. Hollow deer hair alsoprovides good flot ation. These are desir ablecharacteristics when using hair for spinning somethinglike muddler heads or irresistible bodies, but not at alluseful when using t he hair for wings or tails.

Tying hair wi ng fl ies with hollow deer h air, however,produ ces a mess. It f lairs out of control . The same istru e of deer hair tails. Holl ow hair j ust does not work. Sowhen using deer hair f or wings or t ails, look for the smalldiameter hair that i s not so hollow. You can applyconsiderable pressure with the thread and it will not fl airout of control.

Hollow deer hair has another characteristic that may notmake it desirable for all patterns: it is rather f ragile andcan easily be cut by excessive pressure on the t hread. Fora whil e some tyers got int o using Kevlar th read whenspinning hair because its strength allowed reefing downon the thread enough to reall y fl air the hair. The problem

is that it also cut the hair.

Most elk h air, by contr ast, is not as holl ow as deer hairand th erefore will neit her fl air nor float quit e as well. Insome applicati ons that is highl y desirable. If you want thehair of a down wing fl y such as an Elk hair caddis t o layfl at on top of th e body, elk hair wil l do that nicely. It alsowork s well f or hair tail s and wings. Because it is not ashollow as deer hair it is also pretty t ough stuf f. Threadwill not cut it nearly as easily as it wil l hol low deer.

Elk mane is another t ype of hair wit h usefu lcharacteristics. It i s not hollow and all and thus will layvery f lat when ti ed in. It makes beautif ul wings on a

golden stone or salmon f ly patt ern if you want the wing tolay fl at over the body. The downside is that it does notfloat well because it lacks the buoyancy of hollow hair.

Because these dif f erent characteristi cs of deer and elk hairyou can t ailor your r esults i n a wide variety of ways.Some t yers, for example, prefer somewhat holl ow deerhair f or t he traditional Elk Hair Caddis because it fl airsthe wing a bit m ore and f loats bett er t han the traditionaldeer hair . That m ight be a desirable way to go, especiall yif you are fi shing fast rif fl es. In calmer water, however,that m uch f lair and f loat m ay not be needed.

Finall y a word on where to get a wide vari ety of hairquick ly and inexpensively. Go to your local taxidermistaft er hunt ing season and ask fo r scraps. Most wil l sellthem. You will get a lot you dont want, but if you sortthrough the stuf f you wil l f ind plenty you can use. Best all you will get hair with all measures of hollowness and wide variety of characteristi cs. Many times you can getcaribou, antelope, moose, big horn sheep, coastal deer,mu le deer, whit e t ail deer and elk on i n one big grab bag.A li tt le experim enti ng with each wil l q uickly suggest wayto be creati ve. Dick

TU Fishing Outin gsThe Fall Riv er September 21st through 28

Please join use at the Fall River Campground located onSouth Century Drive between Sunriver and Lapine inCent ral Oregon. The Fall River i s a spri ng creek about 12mil es long from it s head water to it s conf luence with t heDeschutes. Come out and learn to f ish some new waterand there will be plenty of good campf ires andconversati on. We wi ll h ave a bar-b-cue on Satur day night

wit h the meat provid ed. It would be appreciated if youcould provide a dish or m unchies to go along with dinneFor m ore inf orm ation, cont act Andy at 503 969 2246or [email protected]

Metoli us Riv er Bul l Tr out RendezvousRestor ation Project and Outi ngOctober 8 th, 9 th and 10 th

Lake Creek i s a tri butary that enters the Metoli us Riverand has been t he center of our conservati on eff ort s forthe last two years. Bring work gloves, comf ortable bootssome f ishi ng gear and your enthusiasm. For more

information contact Andy at 503 969 2246 [email protected] The primary objective of thtri p is rehab of a forest / stream area. But some folk wohalf and fish half. Depending on how many show up,there may only be enough work t o take you to noon. It spretty m uch up to the individual. A f ew just go to fish.Theres always a campf ire and conversat ion.

Im not sure how thi ngs will be set up t his ti me butgenerall y t here is a bar be cue wit h m eat pr ovided onSaturday night by Clackamus Chapter.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Crooked River October 28 th, 29 th and 30 th

OK all of you procrastinators. Thi s is your last chance atan overnight t rip wi th TU f or the 2005 season. TheCrooked is not an int im idating river to fi sh and it fl owsth rough a beauti f ul desert canyon. There wil l be aSaturday night bar be cue wit h the meat provi ded. It isalways appreciated if you can provide chips or some sidedish for di nner. For more inform ation, contact Andy at503 969 2246 or [email protected]

Paul Ellis fishes the Crooked River

Chip of f the block.

Remember t o Sign up New Members toTrout Unl imit ed . Its a great bargain f or what theyget. Especially at the half-off int roductory m embership a$17.50 Lots of people arent members who would enjoy We sti ll get som eth ing f or new member signups. Newmembers can sign up at www.tu.org/ intro and enteringcode 633 for Tualati n Valley chapter. If they prefer apaper membership application, contact Erle to send it tothem.
mailto:[email protected]://www.tu.org/introhttp://www.tu.org/intromailto:[email protected]


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Tr ip Planing 2005:What Should I Br in g? Rod Lun dbergId l ove to t ell you about th e unbelievable tim e I had onmy u nguided 9-day f loat t rip w it h t hree other buddies on aremote river in southwestern Alaska.

It would be great to t alk about th e fish: the numerousrainbows, grayling, char, and coho salm on, caught undersuperb weather conditions morning, noon, and night.

The story would include descript ions of t he wildli fe wedseen: black and brown bears, wolves, caribou, otter,golden eagles and falcons.

It would probably also include some humorous anecdotedescribi ng how one of t he guys slipped on a rock andended up on his backside in t he water whil e trying t o landMY fi sh, with t he 12-pound silver still thr ashing about andsmackin g him in t he face wit h its tail.

Id love to tell you all about it, but I cant because this triphasnt h appened yet.

My f light leaves in 4 days, and i ts about t ime.

Planning f or t his one has been a major h eadache. Campinggear, rafting gear, cooking wares and emergencypreparations all require attention. Group logistics arentmy specialt y, so I delegated that one - I am seri ous uppersenior management pot ent ial. I have to take care ofmyself , of course, and thats challenge enough. So what itreally comes down to i s the fl y box inventory.

Specif icall y, I have to ask i f Im prepared f or everyconceivable situation that I mi ght f ace on thi s unknownriver with its unknown fish. Ill squeeze in an emergencytying ki t, cert ainly, but I cant bri ng all of my m aterials.

The foll owi ng questi ons arose:

1. What nu mber of f li es i s enough ?2. What pat t er ns do I need (other t han egg-

suck ing leeches)?3. H ow man y col or com bi nat ion s d o I need

for my egg-sucking leeches?4. H ow m any f lies of each of t hese

combinations is a safe number?5. H ow m any sl ugs should I bri ng f or my

shotgun 2 boxes or 3? Had to t hrowth at one in, but a reasonable questi on, Ithink.

6. How big should I t ie?7. How small?

8. How heavy?

9. (T he m ind st ar ts wan der ing af t er a f ewdozen fl ies at the tying table.) Whatwould I do if the silvers seem dialed in t oa parti cular fl y pattern, color, and siz e,and I h ad the only 3 copies? Thi s onesmultiple-choice. Would I:

a. Cli p of f t he f ly on m y li ne andhand one fly each to my 3companions,

b. St ar t t he bi dding at $100,c. Lau gh . Ou t l ou d. H yst er ical ly,d . Tel l my compan ions t o be t he bal l , Danny ?

Af ter four w eeks of ty ing, I thin k I have the answers:

1. There is no answer (152 f l ies but st i l l count ing).

2. 18, apparently (ESLs bunny and woolly-buggerstyl e, fl ash f li es, chum candy, sharp steeli es, Davisspankers, bucktail streamers, wogs, mouse patt erns, egpatt erns, yell ow hu mpi es, hares ears, pheasant tail s,Pri nce, soft hackl es, parachute Adams, elk hair caddis,and flesh flies).

3 . The fo llow ing mathemat ical calcu lat ion may notreall y be a legiti mate operati on, but i f I use fou rcombinations of m arabou (sticking wit h purpl e andblack) and flash color f or t he tail, 4 combin ati ons ofhackle and chenille color (again sticking with purple andblack) for the body, and 3 combinations of egg-sucking(pink , peach, chartreuse), then I coun t 4 x 4 x 3 = 48. Iguess I didnt hi t t hem all, damnit.

4 . Min imum o f 3 one on the l ine, one backup, andone backup for the backup. (No sharing in thissituation. If sharing, 6. But t hen only claim t ohave one more. Just so theyre extra careful.)

5. 3 boxes. (No point messing around on th is one.)

6. Super , super-duper b ig. And smal l . Super , superduper small. (Also medium.)

7. Super , super -duper smal l , at least fo r the eggpatterns.

8. Super , super-duper heavy. And l ight . Super ,super-duper light.

9. d., def ini tely d.

An d back to t he ty in g bench I goRod

UPCOMING Newsletter Materi alWe need m aterial f or upcom ing issues Or j ust send somenice pictures you have. We need your input, please.Dil li [email protected] 296 9050
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Scott Borders sent some pictur es fr om Florid a of recentcatches. Enjoy. This goliath was 150-200 pounds. Checkout t he poor guy in the background that f ought thi s fish.He's wondering why he did it. That's Scotts son Matthewin t he foreground. His head would have easily fi t i n t hisfish's mouth.

Estimated 50 pound goliath grouper

Matt hew with a monster ladyfish

Matt hew and one of m any tr out

On the Back Page, Joe Warren, our Octobespeak er, show s a ty pical tr ophy Brow n h ew il l tel l us about.


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Tualati n Val ley Tr out Unl im i tedSept ember / October 2005

r esid ent: Open Posit ion

r easurer: Rod Lundberg91-5308 rp lun dberg@hot mail .com

oar d of D ir ector s:

ank Hosfi eld228-6553 hank h@im agina.com

r ic Thompson 297-0718angli ngeri [email protected]

ick Rohrbaughb augh@lclar k .edu 636-3877

Alex Bark um e - 642-7024alexbark um [email protected]

Andy Andrews Raddi cio@aol .com969 2246

Erl e Nor man 293-6006caddis2000@hot mail.comMembership Chair

Jerr y Heppell jheppell@telepor t.com639-9408

Communications DirectorSeth Isenberg 293-3290

sbisenberg@com cast.net
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

sep - oct 2005 trout line newsletter, tualatin valley trout unlimited

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