Volume 11 • Issue 4 • April 2006

A Sense of Misadventure

The weather had been raw a day before, but now I was free to spend time on the river at La Junta under cobalt blue skies. I would be roaming about hoping to seize the thrill of catching one or more of those battling trout. Sadly, they would be spending their last days before Mother Nature would prevail with water temperatures too warm for cold water fish to survive. I had no plans for keeping the two that we were allowed in a day of fishing. No one in my household has any taste for fish except myself, and though I may contribute all sorts of colorful, zesty enhancements to embrace a prize catch wrapped in foil and placed within a mound of glowing charcoal, I have yet to measure up to expectations as an accomplished chef. Although keeping the catch now is most logical, I would have been content with my circumstances to continue catching and releasing on this fine day.

Having been completely skunked on my last outing at La Junta, I was anxious to redeem myself and soothe some nagging feelings of angling inferiority. Perhaps a half hour had passed before I felt the first mouthing of either my trusted Bead Head Woolly Bugger or its companion Pheasant Tail Nymph that trailed a foot behind. Instinctively, I raised my rod tip and pulled back with my line hand to set the hook. The battle was on.

I was determined not to rush this battle, yet I would be mindful to bring in the rainbow as soon as I could raise its head above water. Immediately apparent was a defiant affirmation of strength at the end of the line. The coils in front of me dissolved into an outcry from the Battenkill reel. A feeling of urgency suggested that I would not turn this fish without breaking the tippet, but about that time the creature paused for rest, and I was able to regain a fresh spark of confidence by taking in enough line to resume the battle with invigorated tenacity. I had survived the first resistance, but an angler's feelings of confidence are sometimes the first sign that the fish will have its best chance for escape.

It didn't escape. Instead, after several more strong runs, I raised my rod into a high arch that exposed the head of what turned out to be about a 17" rainbow. A first reaction as I guided the fish toward me was inward celebration that on this day I wasn't going to end up with a "0" on the sign-out sheet. My attention quickly anticipated the procedure of handling a bundle of squirming muscle, removing the hook embedded in the corner of its mouth, and releasing this proud fish into its temporary habitat, but the task turned out not to be without complications.

At this point the trouble began. My prize still had surprising spirit, and handling the slippery, squirming body with its broad girth took longer than expected. The fish slipped out of my hands back into the water before I could pinch the fly and remove it. All this time, I was trying to avoid getting snagged by the dangling Pheasant Tail dropper. Finally, I wrestled the creature back onto my float tube's apron, this time being grateful at last to remove the Woolly Bugger with success so that the splendid catch could finally be released. The awkwardness of my release presented a new problem. The big trout was weakened and disoriented yet still defiant enough to resist my efforts to revive it. I was haunted by the awareness that in my clumsiness I had drained some of the life from its streamlined body. I was ultimately able to move the tired battler back and forth to assist in channeling fresh water through its starving gills, but it was unable to swim free when I offered the opportunity. I cussed myself in disgust, but further humiliation still lay in store.

The only choice at this point, I dismally admitted, was to search out a stringer that was supposed to be in one of the zipper compartments of my float tube and to let the fish stay in the water as I continued fishing, perhaps to be later released if it showed ample recovery. I unzipped all pockets of my float tube and hurriedly reached into every corner among all of the contents with no luck in finding the stringer.

Fortunately, I do sometimes find creativity amidst desperation to come up with something that may work. With fumbling fingers, I unzipped my chest pack and found a spool of 4x tippet material. A yard of it could serve as an emergency stringer. I yearned for the Swiss knife resting at home in my desk. I would have used it to cut a slit in the seam of skin near the fish's tongue in order to run the portion of tippet through. Desperately, I pulled off a Bream Master from my fly patch and used its hook to punch through a hole to enlarge enough for my improvised stringer to pass through. All of this I rushed to accomplish while the mishandled rainbow rested on the apron of my float tube. Finally, I was able to put the poor creature back into the water to afford it a slim chance of its reviving while tied to a ring on my U-tube vessel.

I managed to subdue a lump in my throat as I continued my day of fishing, which eventually ended with four more nice trout successfully released after thrilling battles. At one point, my heart was buoyed when the fish at my side seemed to be gaining strength and some mobility. As the evening grew chilly and I headed toward the bank to finish the day, I saw that my companion had not survived. The day had been a memorable one in several ways with its magical beauty of clean clear sky, picture book water, and exciting catches, all offset by the sad experience of mishandling a poor fish into its awkward termination.

This tale is not meant to be melodramatic. Bothersome, yes, but there are some constructive suggestions that may be salvaged from the experience. What I learned was that, even though not intending to keep any trout, I should have had a stringer and a knife so that the fish could have been effectively returned to the water, perhaps to revive and thus be released for someone else to harvest. Also, if ever again it seems like it's going to take too much time to remove my fly from a fish, I will use my snippers and cut the tippet close to the hook for a quick release. Probably the best item I should have had, but it's awkward to carry in a float tube, was a net. This fish was just too slippery to handle without one.

There are a couple more afterthoughts to this episode that should be mentioned. Firstly, if no one had caught this fish, it would have died a pitiful death as the water warmed to above seventy degrees–not all that uplifting and not an excuse for my mistakes; secondly, something I did do, was to put the fish on ice at the first quick stop store I came to in order to keep it fresh. Next time, the ice chest will be standard gear. I ended up giving my rainbow to a neighbor who is a fine cook and also loves fishing. He's not a fly fisher, but he may become one after having seen the beautiful trout that I brought to him. From now on, I think I will be giving away a lot of fish to friends and neighbors at the end of our trout season.

–M.A.

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Minutes of the Hill Country Fly Fishers
held March 16, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by President Danny Wheat. Twelve (12) members and one guest were present.

Doc Harrison reported on three items: 1) A fly tying class for club members is scheduled to begin in June. The class will meet once a week for five weeks, and the cost will be $ 10. At least three people are needed to offer the class. Also, fly casting instruction for members will be offered on three weekends in May; these training sessions will be held in Louise Hays Park. Members may begin tonight to sign up for these two activities. 2) The Guadalupe bass fry were moved to indoor ponds in mid-February. The males were moved to outdoor ponds about 10 days ago, and the females will be moved on Monday, March 20. The fingerlings will be ready to be stocked in the river about the middle to latter part of May. Some $12,000 has been obtained so far this year for the program. 3) A local Methodist church is interested in offering a fly tying and castling program for members on April 22. They hope to have a minimum of 13 people. More on this activity later.

Rick Wilson was not present at the meeting but had sent out an e-mail massage to trout lease members that effective beginning yesterday, March 15, members may begin to keep up to two fish per day.

John Floyd handed out new members' badges which he had prepared; the new badges have a very nice logo imprinted along with the name. John also handed out lists of 1) committee assignments for the present year, 2) current members, and 3) members listed in the 2004 directory but who have not paid their dues for 2006. John, Gene Smith and Martin Pursch are working on a flyer which can be handed out to RV parks, business, etc. to publicize our club and its various activities. He requested that members e-mail to him a few pictures they may have of members fishing. These, perhaps, could be used in the flyer.

A discussion was held on the trout lease program and its history, its membership from the Kerrville and Fredericksburg clubs and how club membership as it relates to the trout lease program should be addressed. The Fredericksburg club now has about twice our membership. Various ways of attracting new members were discussed, including possible incentives that could be offered to current members for bringing in new members. The board will continue to evaluate such strategies.

Bill Elgin reported on the salt water outing planned for June 25. Six motel rooms have been reserved, and it is hoped that six to eight people will sign up. A fall salt water outing to the Texas coast was discussed. Elgin also reported on a discussion with Ed Stach regarding a possible fly fishing trip to Belize. Results on the recent survey of club interests in salt water fly fishing are still being studied.

Keith Masters, the warm water committee chair, was absent, but a possible white bass outing was discussed. Members who hear of white bass activity should pass the word.

The date of the Shonto Ranch outing was set for April 20, which is also the date of the next club meeting. We will have a short business meeting and a program by Mick McCorkle, president of the Trout Unlimited chapter in Austin at the Shonto Ranch outing. [Editor's note: following the March meeting, the schedule has been changed — regular monthly meeting at UGRA at 7:00, April 20th and the Shonto meeting at 2:30 p.m. on April 27th. See latest details in a separate article in this issue.]

The program for the evening was a video, "Anatomy of a Trout Stream" by Rick Hafele. Thanks to Martin Pursch for the loan of the video.

Meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.

Submitted by:
Roy D. Hickman
Secretary

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Shonto Ranch Outing
For Members of the Hill Country Fly Fishers and Guests
Thursday, April 27th, from 2:30 P.M. until Dark
Barbecue will be served when the fishing is done.

Shonto Ranch is renowned for its exotic wild game hunting and its rainbow stocked lakes and streams. People come from all over to catch twelve pound rainbow trout or bag a trophy deer or antelope.

It is a real treat to have access to this wonderful hunting and fishing resort. Our hosts will be Bill Childs and his son, Chris. Bill has said there are ten pound bass, big catfish and monster trout ready to be snagged by a lucky fisherman. Catch and release will prevail, but pictures are permitted.

The trout are deep in the lakes and will best be reached in a float tube or small aluminum boat with an electric trolling motor. Boats will also be good for fishing for the bass since they are near the bank in shallow water and can be effectively fished from a boat casting toward the bank. There are ample bank fishing possibilities for those without boats or float tubes and fishing is good from the bank.

Make reservations and pay when you arrive. Bill will have the same release for each fisherman to sign, same as last year. There will be maps of the ranch available to guide you to ponds.

Cost per fly fisherman for this event will be $ 30.00. Make reservations by replying to Danny Wheat, who will send you the combination to the gate. Invite a prospective new member to come along and enjoy a wonderful afternoon of fishing and wild game viewing. Reservations will be taken up to our regular club meeting at the UGRA on Thursday evening, April 20th.

Danny Wheat, ccwdpw@ktc.com

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From FFF ClubWire. . .

Why Salt Water Fly-Fishing from a Kayak?
By Jose Colon–Taken from
Salty Flyrodders of New York
Newsletter

The simple answer to this question is–location, location, location. The fish can move freely about the water depths and wading anglers cannot. Anyone experienced with fishing from the surf can probably recall many times when distance in the cast often made a big difference in the quantity and quality of fish caught. Though techniques in distance casting taught by some of the masters like Lefty Kreh and Lou Tabory can help the average angler to send a few extra yards of shooting line through their guides, there are still often situations where being able to chase the fish down into some deeper water or more rapidly down the shoreline can translate into more fish caught and released.

Taking the game to the fish opens more opportunity for the angler but also has its compromises. Beginners at fly casting should probably hone their skills on terra firma before taking their first fishing outing. Seasoned casters will still need to make adjustments in their casting technique but will find that all the same principles of casting apply on the kayak as they do on the shoreline. One dramatic change will be the requirements of often making long casts. The unique advantage of fishing from a kayak is that the angler can literally sneak up on the fish undetected. Of course, this won't automatically translate to an immediate catch, but it increases the angler's opportunity at fish.

Some locations simply fish better from a boat. If the fish are waiting in ambush formation on the deep side of a drop-off for the local bait fish to swim across from the shallows, even the best placed fly from the shoreline may not inspire a strike: the fly is swimming the wrong way! Casting into the shallows from deep water may be the only way to make the right presentation.. It may also be an advantage to fish submerged or partially submerged structure from different angles. It's rather difficult to cast around a huge boulder sticking ten feet out of the water thirty feet off the shoreline, but that may be where the fish are located.

Kayaks allow for extensive installation of electronic devices to navigate, locate fish and even propel the kayak by using electronic trolling motors. Add to this the ability to install rod holders, stow equipment and mount pontoons permitting the angler to stand in the kayak while casting, and you have a highly versatile craft that can tolerate extensive accessories and help the angler avoid wasting time in fishless waters, consistently return to precise locations that have produced fish, and execute presentation of the fly in just the right way . Though some anglers take a dim view of the technique, it is possible to troll a fly as you leisurely paddle along, and you may find that an area devoid of life on your fish finder may suddenly produce hidden treasure.

Perhaps the most commonly agreed advantage of the kayak is that it avails previously inaccessible fishing locations to the paddling angler. It is common in the Northeast to observe sandbars or flats which would most certainly produce fish all around or on them but may not be accessed by wading, nor may it be possible to reach some of these areas with a flats boat. However, the kayaks enable anglers to explore locations that were preciously only the stuff of imagination and the best fishing in these locations may be realized by dismounting the kayak and wading the area. Talk about the best of both worlds!

Whatever the motivation to try kayak angling, be sure to be familiar with and observe all boating safety rules. Above all else, use common sense. Renting or borrowing a kayak to try it out (without the fly rod at first) usually helps the beginner to more rapidly develop confidence in paddling. Working through the adjustment of kayak angling will be easier at that point. A multitude of expensive accessories are not required to start, but a good paddle and some safety equipment are a must. There are many websites and discussion forums which address common questions about equipment, techniques and locations from which to launch. A simple "kayak fishing" search on an internet search engine should suffice.

April Meeting: Thursday, April 20, 2006; 7:00 P.M.; UGRA Offices at 125 W. Lehmann Drive (behind the Texas Dept. of Public Safety on South Sidney Baker)' Business: Committee reports and items of current interest and information; Program: Mick McCorkle, president of the Guadalupe Chapter of Trout Unlimited (re-scheduled from March).