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| Volume 12 • Issue 8 • August 2007 | ||
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Rain and More Rain
“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.” Way back in the days of youth that little rhyme settled in my mind. It rained in Beaumont, Texas, where I spent the first dozen years of my life, much more than I experienced afterwards living in South Texas, the Panhandle, and the Hill Country, where moisture frequently came out on the short end of the stick. As a child, I recall my mom telling me about a time when a fellow named Noah built an ark and managed to squeeze in a pair of all kinds of animals following forty days and nights of rain. When it rained in Beaumont, I sometimes wondered if it would break that ancient record. Mom assured me that as long as we behaved ourselves, we’d never have to face such a situation again. And then there was a time when my dear little grandmother, who lived next door, assured me following a loud blast of thunder nearby that I didn’t have to worry, that the good Lord protected young children from lightning. That one remark comforted me even after I passed the magical age of twelve when a different set of rules came into play.
Over the past several months, I have been reminded of those long ago pronouncements as not only our part of the country has gone to extremes on climate changes but the world as a whole also has been sending us some new messages. I like to think that my adult mind is a little more prepared for the subtleties of who is safe and who is not, but nevertheless, it has called to my attention the rather hit or miss limits even educated guesses boil down to as to what Mother Nature will do despite the tools of modern technology. Rather than tossing about philosophical wanderings on the larger picture of such observations, let’s focus on how the almost ceaseless rains we local anglers have encountered have affected our fly-fishing endeavors.
Having to postpone or delay either individual or group plans for an outing, a meeting, or a fishing vacation are the first hurdles that come to mind. The rains have been so steadily passing our way that even rescheduling in hopes of a sunny day or clear water have been accorded in stingy fashion. The situation hasn’t been limited to our precious hill country having too much rain, but also to areas on a national, even worldwide, extent that has some favorite fishing places, especially in the western states, burning away with high temperatures and crying for rain.
Even when weather in our area permits, the water is too muddy or murky to offer much incentive for a day on the river. The fish are undoubtedly about as surly as we, though for different reasons. Coastal fishing is no exception as the inland rivers misbehave when they run head-on into the Gulf.
Accounts voiced by several of our local fly-fishers who have managed to work in some days on the river, indicate that what used to be “sweet spots” for catching fish have changed and the fish have migrated to new locations. Popular channels have been filled with gravel. On the other hand, what used to be shallow water is now deep in numerous places. Wading is tricky with the new underwater topography often accompanied by slippery surfaces covered with algae.
Using a wading stick during these conditions makes good sense. On one of the few outings I have experienced downstream from Bear Creek Crossing, after fishing the rapids and the “big hole,” exploring around the northern edge further downstream was strictly a guessing game as to depth and stability in water just knee high, so muddy that the bottom wasn’t visible. I found that where the current is swiftest the visibility is best. I did manage to catch six Guadalupe Bass about six to seven inches long in the rapids near the north bank. I wondered if they might have been some of the ones released by Texas Parks & Wildlife with the Guadalupe Bass restoration efforts.
Bill Emshoff in a recent post on our website gave an interesting account of his wading downstream from the dam at Louise Hays Park toward G Street and being thankful that he hadn’t taken a dunking in the swift water with a slippery bottom. He was wearing felt soled wading shoes but said that they were virtually useless, that studs on the soles might have made wading more secure. Bill was rewarded in his effort, commenting that it seemed that apparently new fish had moved into this stretch and that he made a number of catches. In the same post, he described in detail his experience in fishing on the Llano since the floods. He had some good action there, too.
Other interesting posts made by Bill Elgin and Jimbo Roberts add further insight into conditions pertaining to the Guadalupe and other rivers. Check out the most recent reports and make some yourself on the latest conditions on the popular places we fish. In this manner, we have an excellent opportunity to learn about what to expect on the rivers after all of the rain and river rises.
One last word of caution regarding these storms in case you are in the water fly-fishing when lightning starts cracking its whip. You’d be well advised to head for safety–most likely your vehicle. Remember, a fly rod is made of material that begs for a lightning strike. If too far away from a safe shelter, lying flat on the ground away from tall structures is your best tactic, and I think you should keep some distance from your rod. Remember, regardless of what my mom and grandmother told me when I was a child to calm my fear of lightning and thunder, I think most of us are long past the twelve-year-old umbrella.
By the time you read this article, we may have had some sunny days. In the long run, all of this water will benefit our rivers, streams, and lakes. The end result is that our fishing holes will have been refreshed and our outings will hold some interesting new ventures.
–M.A.
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“For my part it will be a sorry day when any character can ever tell me ahead of time what my fishing is going to be. To me the indescribable sense of anticipation and mystery in simply going fishing is almost half the fun. It is the beckoning lure of the unknown, the very unpredictability of the enterprise, that draws me on and on.” –John D. Voelker (AKA, Robert Traver) in Trout Madness. (West Bloomfield, Michigan: Northmont Publishing Company, Inc., 1992).
“The attraction of angling for all the ages of man, from the cradle to the grave, lies in its uncertainty. Tis an affair of luck.
“No amount of preparation in the matter of rods and lines and hooks and lures and nets and creels can change its essential character. No excellence of skill in casting the delusive fly or adjusting the tempting bait upon the hook can make the result secure. You may reduce the chances, but you cannot eliminate them. There are a thousand points at which fortune may intervene. The state of the weather, the height of the water, the appetite of the fish, the presence or absence of other anglers–all these indeterminable elements enter into the reckoning of your success. There is no combination of stars in the firmament by which you can forecast the piscatorial future. When you go a-fishing, you just take your chances; you offer yourself as a candidate for anything that may be going; you try your luck.” –Henry Van Dyke in “Fisherman’s Luck,” in The Armchair Angler. (New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.
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Dr. Guy Harrison Named Recipient of the Dr. James A. Henshall
Warm Water Fisheries Award by the Federation of Fly Fishers
The following text of the nomination letter of Dr. Guy Harrison to receive the Dr. James A. Henshall Warm Water Fisheries Award will reveal the context in which this honor was considered by officials of the Federation of Fly Fishers, later revealed at the 2007 FFF Conclave in Livingston, Montana.
Some would consider it an extraordinary coincidence that two men would have so much in common–both devoting many years in serving their honored profession as medical doctors; both taking up the sport of fly-fishing at an early age and pursuing it as a passion for treasured decades; both identified closely with conservation related to protecting natural waters and their piscatorial occupants; and both focused particularly on the bass species though superbly familiar with fish of all types.
Dr. James A. Henshall passed away in April, 1925, at the age of eighty-seven. Dr Guy Harrison, our nominee for the award memorializing Dr. Henshall, is midway into his eighties, continuing with full vigor in an endeavor Dr. Henshall would have applauded, that of championing the cause of a remarkable species of bass, the Guadalupe bass, native only to the Hill Country of Texas and appropriately designated by legislation as the state fish of Texas.
With some of the same intensity that Dr. Henshall championed the black bass, Dr. Harrison continues to rally support for an effort the he initiated several years ago to preserve the Guadalupe bass as a pure species that has been severely challenged by unanticipated crossbreeding with smallmouth bass first introduced into Texas in the 1970's. The accompanying documentation contained with our nomination describes the man we know as “Doc” and the remarkable vigor that he, almost single-handedly, has put forth in calling attention to the critical threat that this previously unchallenged crossbreeding presented to the very existence of the Guadalupe bass. Indeed, not only is this beautiful sporting fish now on the road to salvation, but there is a fine chance that it will continue to exist with ever increasing numbers as a unique species.
Considering that Dr. Guy Harrison of the Hill Country Fly Fishers of Kerrville, Texas, was voted by member of the Southern Council Federation of Fly Fishers as Conservationist of the Year 2006, his nomination for the 2007 Dr. James A. Henshall Warm Water Fisheries Award, seems especially appropriate, not only because of the award’s recognized merit but especially because both of these distinguished doctors chose to follow remarkably parallel goals in pursuit ot their professions and in their devotion to the preservation of fish and their natural habitats. Finally, both men, past and present, epitomize and reflect the highest aspirations of the Federation of Fly Fishers. Thus, we proudly nominate Dr. Guy Harrison for the award so deservedly named in honor of Dr. James A Henshall.
Nominated by Robert Bays, Vice-President of Conservation, Southern Council FFF and Mike Andrews, editor of the Hill Country Fly Fishers’ newsletter and contact person with FFF and the Southern Council.
[Editor’s note: At the suggestion of Robert Bays, Doc did not know that his nomination had been put forth to the Federation of Fly Fishers. He was surprised to be informed shortly before the 2007 FFF Conclave that he had been selected as the recipient. Though unable to attend the Conclave, Doc expressed great surprise and sincere appreciation at receiving this notable honor.]
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From FFF ClubWire. . .
FFF Opportunity for New Members
Sign up new FFF members at a discount rate. This promotion runs from July1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Here is a great opportunity for those individuals to become Federators. From July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, club members may join the Federation at the special discounted price of $15.00 for a regular one year individual membership. A creative club membership chairman could package the special price with his/her normal club price to bring new members to the club at the same time. These memberships will qualify for credits towards New Member Rod Incentive Program during this promotion period. Membership form must be signed by the club president to certify that the applicant is a member of the affiliate club. This is not for FFF membership renewals.
Soft Hackles
Submitted by John Berry–
FFF Life member
My love affair with Soft Hackles began in the summer of 1989. I had been fishing in Yellowstone and had stopped for a late dinner at a pizzeria in West Yellowstone, Montana. I struck up a conversation with a gentleman at the next table over. It was Sylvester Nemes, author of several books on tying and fishing Soft Hackle flies. We talked about his flies and the next day I went to the Federation of Fly Fishers National Conclave to watch him tie. I ended up buying his books and several flies. I started fishing them immediately and found that they were incredibly easy to fish and effective at catching trout. They were not difficult to cast like heavily weighted Woolly Buggers. You don’t have to constantly watch them like you do nymphs, and they are not as fussy to keep afloat as the dry flies. The fish seem to set the hook for you.
To fish them, I prefer a medium fast rod with a sensitive tip and a weight forward floating line. My personal favorite is a Sage Light Line nine foot four weight and a Courtland 444 SL line.Lori favors a Winston Joan Wulff Favorite with the same line. I use a seven and one half foot 4X tapered leader. To that, I tie a five foot 5X tippet (if I am fishing catch and release water, I will use 6X tippet) with a surgeons knot. I tie on my soft hackle with an improved clinch knot. I trim the tags very close, pinch down the barb, and test the knots.
The Soft Hackle is most effective when used as a searching pattern. Use it to cover large sections of water when you do not know exactly where the trout are. I look for broken water, particularly below rapids. I face down stream and cast downstream to the right at forty-five degree angle to the bank. As soon as the fly hits the water, I strip it back a foot or so to sink the fly into the film. I keep my rod tip low to the water to track it as it swings in the current. When it is directly below me, I may nudge it a bit (move it upstream maybe a half inch). That can sometimes generate a vicious strike. I then cast to the left and go through the same process. I do this three times and I take one step. If I get a good bump or catch a fish, I begin the process anew. With this technique. I can cover large areas in a systematic manner.
Generally, you feel the strike and you know when to set the hook. Sometimes, however, the strike can be very subtle. What I do to help detect these strikes is to watch the end of the line. If I see it stop or straighten out, I set the hook, feeling the fish only when I lift the rod.
My favorite Soft Hackles are Partridge and Orange, Partridge and Green, Partridge and Yellow, Green Butt, Hares Ear Soft Hackle, and Red Ass. The Partridge and Orange, Partridge andYellow and Partridge and Green are ancient Scottish border patterns that have been tied and fished for almost 200 years. Any fly that lasts that long must be effective. The Partridge and Orange is my most productive Soft Hackle. I do not know what it is about it. It may be it is just easy for the trout to see. The Partridge and Green is a killer caddis emerger imitation. The Partridge and Yellow is a good Sulphur Emerger imitation and it could also imitate drowned Sulphurs. The Green Butt is my pattern. I developed it to imitate the Rhycphylia caddis hatch we get in March and April. The Hares Ear Soft Hackle just looks buggy. It can imitate a wide range of insects. Finally, the Red Ass is the go-to pattern for the Little Red River and it works elsewhere. I carry every one of these patterns at all times.
The Soft Hackle is also an easy type of fly to tie. I can crank out a dozen in no time. As a guide, this is important. I need a fly that is easy to fish, easy to tie and can catch trout. The Soft Hackle fits the bill. If you do not already fish them on a regular basis, give them a try.
[For the recipe and instructions on tying the Soft Hackle along with a little of its history, click on http://www.fedflyfishers.org/FlyOfMonth/softhackle.htm. It was Fly of the Month in November2000]
August Meeting: Thursday, August 16, 2007; 7:00 P.M. at the Riverside Nature Center (located on the north side of the Guadalupe River on Francisco Lemos St. at the west end of Louise Hays Park; Business Committee Reports and Pending Topics; Program:Kevin Hutchinson from Austin, noted fly fisher and top-notch fly tyer, is on tap for a first class program.