March 12, 2014 Club Speaker – David Edens; Fishing the Georgia coast for Tripletail
Arrive before 6:30 PM and program starts at 7:00 pm. See club events for location information.
Capt. David Edens is the Coast Guard licensed captain of Fly Cast Charters and is an Endorsed Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide. He has received 5 out of 5 ratings on the Orvis sight. A typical day of fishing with Captain Dave will be spent sight casting to feeding or cruising red fish. If the tides are high enough, we will look for Tailers on the many grass flats in the area. As the tide changes, we will target either Redfish or Trout with a fly rod or light tackle.
Tripletail reach a maximum size of 40 pounds although the average size is much smaller. Tripletail, as the name implies, have a body that appears to have three tails. This is actually just the anal and dorsal fins. Tripletail are common in the Gulf of Mexico but are a species that gets little fishing pressure. Most tripletail are caught as an incidental catch by anglers targeting lemon fish or sometime snapper fisherman if they happen to be in the right place at the right time and stay alert.
AFFC member Clyde Buchanan recently published a novel that includes a lot about fishing. The Drug Store: A Fisherman’s Account is based on his experience working in his father’s drug store. His fishing mentor also worked in the old-time drug store located in Eastern North Carolina. It is fiction as to characters, names, dates, places etc. but is written as a memoir of a teenage boy coming of age in the 1960’s. This is not about fly-fishing but about how one kid learned life lessons from learning to fish.
Here are links to the ebook (it hasn’t been published in hard copy):
February 12, 2014 Club Speaker – Rus Schwausch of EPIC Angling & Adventure
Due to projected bad weather during our meeting, the board has opted to cancel this months meeting. This only the second time since 1990!
See you in march!
EPIC Angling & Adventure offers fly-fishing adventures in one of the most isolated coastal fishing areas in Alaska. It is also one of the best places in the world to pursue chrome-bright, ocean-fresh silver salmon. The SAFARI camp is a true outdoorsman experience and a separation from all the things that business and technology do to clutter our daily life. The area is noted as “one of the fifty places to fly fish before you die”.
Come out to Manuel’s Tavern and share the adventure. Program begins at 7:00 pm, but most members arrive at 6:00 pm.
Our January 8, 2014 Atlanta Fly Fishing meeting we will feature Captain Charlie Beadon and be will be on coastal fly fishing opportunities near Hilton Head, South Carolina. Topics for the meeting include areas and species to fish, equipment and casting requirements.
Captain Charlie Beadon is originally from Daytona Beach, FL but now operates as a saltwater fly fishing guide out of Hilton Head, SC and Key Largo Florida. He is a FFF fly casting instructor with a passion for sight fishing in shallow water and teaching others about fly fishing.
Bob “Taj” Prator and I braved rainy skies to travel up to the beautiful area of Brevard, NC this past Thursday. I had my doubts. It was pouring as I left my house and I was wondering if the trip would be a wash out. I’m very glad I continued because for the majority of the long weekend, the rain only came at night, and the fishing was unimpeded during the day. In fact, when we arrived at Brevard, the skies were turning blue.
Fly Fishing on the Davidson River in December
Taj and I headed up to the Davidson, close to the hatchery. The fishing was pretty tough, but very interesting. I got 5 or 6 with some on a copperhead softhackle midge dropper and some on an Adams. Nothing big, but interesting, challenging fishing. Taj had the major excitement, with one hitting his dropper and breaking off (I think that was a pretty big one) and a really big boy hitting his Adams and Taj fighting it for a while before it threw the fly. I know that was a big boy (18-20 something or more) because we saw it flash.
We ate supper with Tyson “skinny boy” Reed and Rob Kissel. (see their trip report below) They had come up on Wednesday and fished with Alex Bell (the presenter of the NC fly fishing trail at the club meeting). They had nothing but praise for Alex as a guide and a great day on the NC Pigeon, a dh stream. They also fished on Thursday with a guide from Davidson River Outfitters. He had them throwing size 22 and 24 midges with a touch of weight and using pinch on strike indicators. They were successful at this fishing near the hatchery and even saw a 26 inch bruiser. In the afternoon they hit the shop’s private water and pulled in some big boys.
It was good to see Jerry Sherman and Mike Behan at the campground. They had a good day on the Davidson.
On Friday Taj and I fished really hard, I mean really hard on the Davidson and we might have gotten one strike between us. It was made even worse when Rob Kissel pulled in 6 and had a really big boy on (he estimated 20+) until it threw the fly. Rob had a very good day, especially when the guy at the fly shop said he also had a tough time that day. Sonny Marshal and his friend, Wally, came in the campground that day. It was good to see them.
Taj and I were so frustrated that on Saturday we headed to a dh, the East Fork of the French Broad. This small stream is south of Rosman, NC, and is a bit of a strange fish. It is country, but there are several farms and houses around that make you feel you might not be in public water, but it is still a dh and the fish loved the y2k. Between Taj and I we had 30 or 40 fish in a couple of hours fishing. Taj had to leave at noon and I had enough of catching dh fish, so I headed back to the Davidson.
I fished 2 hours when I got back to the Davidson without so much as a nibble. I changed flies over and over and never had a hit. My last choice was a desperation choice, the San Juan worm, and it worked to my surprise. I had 8 or 9 fish before it got too dark to fish, including my last and biggest fish of the weekend, an 18-19 inch brown.
Sonny was kind enough to invite me over for some of his spaghetti that night and it was really good-I mean REALLY Good! Thanks Sonny. Wally and Sonny went the fly fishing show in Asheville that afternoon (it turned out the show was only 17 miles from the campground) and they had great time at the show. Thanks to Jerry and Mike for having me over-I sure enjoyed the fire.
Sunday I awoke to 38 degrees and rain and the rain didn’t seem to be stopping and that was confirmed by weather radar so I broke camp and came home.
All in all it was a great trip and I think everybody who went on it had a good time. If you really want to get to know people in the AFFC and make fishing buddies, I encourage you to make it to one of these trips. The next one is tentative for the 2nd weekend of February on the Nantahala, details later.
JD
Tyson’s Report
The brookie, fly photo, and Kissel with the guide from Davidson River Outfitters were from the Davidson River. The others were from W Fork of the Pigeon River where we fished with Alex Bell that spoke at November’s meeting.
Kissel and I fished Wednesday afternoon with Alex Bell of AB’s Fishing. The generation on the Tuck didn’t cooperate, so we fished the DH of the West Fork of the Pigeon River near Waynesville, NC. Great afternoon. We caught lots of decent fish and several large fish despite fishing behind the morning fishers. Thursday we fished with Ken Hardwick of Davidson River Outfitters on the Davidson River.
Thursday morning we fished near the fish hatchery. What a learning experience. The lightest sets you’ll ever imagine needed. We both probably broke off six or eight fish before kind of getting the hang of it. Tiny flies–sizes 20-24. EXCEPT when the hatchery discharges into the river…then it gets nasty. Ken had us switch to pegged beads above a size 10 or 12 bare hook like fishing in Alaska. Crazy…but it worked! Apparently some of the browns were still spawning…or at least the rainbows thought so. That afternoon we fished their private section. While we did some nymphing, we actually got to cast dries instead of that mind-numbing high stick nymphing! We caught several nice fish late in the day there.
Friday we caught up with JD and Taj for breakfast then headed back to the river. The weather wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as pleasant as the first two days or the following day–Saturday. Tough day. I may have stuck one and missed a couple all day. But seeing Kissel miss a GIGANTIC trout was priceless. I turned to look just in time to see the small breaching whale of a trout splashing back into the river then Kissel jumping with frustration and excitement. Of course, he spent a couple of hours again Saturday trying for that same fish!
I had never fished the Davidson before and was a bit intimidated by its reputation. But it is easily accessible and a comfortable sized water. While the areas near the hatchery can get crowded, there are plenty of really good stretches all the way down to town.
December 2013 Club Speaker – Ben Moore – Trophy Trout on the Saluda River
December’s Atlanta Fly Fishing meeting features guide Ben Moore who will be speaking about fly fishing in Columbia South Carolina on Wednesday December 11, 2013 at 7 p.m. Most club members start arriving at 5:30. The December meeting is one of the best of the year as it is always a full house and has some of the best raffle prizes of the year.
The Saluda River is one of those “undiscovered” gems of the south. To see why, take a look at Gregg’s fly fishing trip on the river earlier this year where he landed a 22″ brown (see post).
The guide said it was the biggest brown he had seen taken on the river.
Ben guides fly fishing float trips and wading trips on the Saluda River in Columbia South Carolina, the Chattooga River, and the Savannah River. He has spent his entire life on these waters and has mastered the secrets to catching trophy fish in local streams. The cold, fast-flowing oxygenated water offers a perfect environment for growth and survival, he said. “I’m catching fish all the way up to the 24-inch range.” Ben guides for East Anglers out of Augusta, Georgia
Come out to Manuel’s and hear Ben as he shares some of his secrets for catching these trophy sized trout.
Freshly back from a Cajun redfish adventure resembling more of a Bayou Beatdown than a victory over our piscatorial prey, Big Bill Kessler, Colonel Rob Kissel, Gordon Middleton and Doug Brady almost cried “uncle”, uncle Boudreau that is.
Venturing out of our back door at Camp Drum in Port Sulphur, or driving down to launch at Venice, we were like all anglers at the beginning of each day, stoked, confident and ready to slay. However, for the most part when the days were done, we were left to nurse our bruised egos with adult beverages, and wonder at what had just happened.
What causes a hooked fish to come unbuttoned, or incites one to charge a fly 4 feet away, while another ignores the same fly 4 inches away? Why do we insist on pulling the fly out of the fish’s mouth, or use a trout set versus line set. What happened to our casting skill, and what has happened to our eyesight, and how do we keep confusing 9 o’clockwith 3 o’clock, and what the heck is a goat rodeo anyway?
These wily reds were full of trickeration. They drifted up and down in the water column, ( more often the color of yoohoo than gin) allowing us only the narrowest window of opportunity to place a fly on their noses before they disappeared, while managing the movement of the wind and boat.
Now you see them now you don’t.
Oh, to be sure there was plenty of user error, but the 15 foot back cast to a vanishing fish moving one direction, boat and wind moving two other directions, is tougher than it sounds.
Fortunately the fellowship, food and fun, (thank you Abita and Kettle One) helped make up for the slender fish count.
Captains’ Nick Sassic, and Scott MacCalla, once again did a noble job of getting us to big fish, but they could not cast for us, nor coax the fish to bite, nor fight the fish for us.
Certain things beyond the rod, are squarely in the angler’s hand, while other things, such as weather, habits of Cajun redfish, and luck, are in no earthly hands at all.
And before you think we were completely ruined, take a gander at the beauties below.
There were indeed moments of fishing bliss, with greedy charging reds, mighty runs, screaming reels, big grins and trophy catches.
Rob KisselDoug BradyGordon Middleton
When all is said and done, this adventure will join the pantheon of fishing trips in our four memories, grow fonder over time, and be remembered not for the errant casts and missed hook sets, but the entirety of the experience. Selective memory is a good thing indeed, and next year on the Bayou already tempts us with opportunity and the promise of epic fish and great fellowship.
November’s Atlanta Fly Fishing meeting features guide Alex Bell. November 13, 2013 at 7 p.m.
The Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail features some of the best trout waters in the Great Smoky Mountains. The trail covers 15 excellent spots for catching brook, brown and rainbow trout. Alex Bell is a fishing guide, educator and adaptive Fly Fishing Practitioner who helped create the concept of the trail in conjunction with the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. Come out to Manuel’s to learn how you can take advantage of this fly fishing opportunity.
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JD, Ed, Eric, and Rob go to Montana
Months before the departure
The first question is how to get there from Atlanta, where to fish, then where to stay…
Aug 3 leave Atlanta, stay around Kansas City
Aug 4 stay around ?Wyoming? ? South Dakota?
Aug 5 arrive Big Horn, stay in Cottonwood Campground
Aug 9 depart for Dillion, stay KOA in Dillon
Aug 13th depart for Rock Creek, stay at Ekstrom’s
%%
This was close enough…
Part 1-the Big Horn
This August Ed Chamberain, Eric Davies, Rob Kissel, and I headed to Montana. Our first stop was the Big Horn, reported to the the best river in Montana, maybe the West. Our experience with the Big Horn did not damage these reports.
The first day we both had guides on the river. We wanted to have a good dry fly day (like Uncle Miltie and I did last year) but it was not to be. The cool summer had cooled the water and caused the dry fly action to be delayed. The water temps from the dam was around 43. It may have slowed the dry fly action but the nymph action was great. Ed and got numbers in the 40’s and I think Eric and Rob got even more.
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The next day Eric and Rob decided to wade fish and they had a really good day with around 13 each, with several on a dry. Ed and I had a guide trip and unfortunately the guide decided to experiment with us. We went on a jet boat ride on the lower river in search of dry fly action. We saw little dry fly action and in fact, it was pretty slow all day-especially for the Big Horn.
The last day Ed and decided to rent a drift boat. We managed to make it down the river but I do think Ed would have caught more fish with an experienced boatman. We did get 25 or so each with a nice 19 inch bow on a dry and a big 22 inch bow on a nymph. The guys who did really well was Eric and Rob. They caught so many on a nymph they told the guide they wanted to use a hopper. The guide was not too excited about the use of a hopper but he finally agreed. Bam, Rob gets a nice fish. Then double bam, both Eric and Rob get a 20 inch brown on a dry. What a day.
Again, in my opinion, the Big Horn is the best river in the Montana, maybe in the West.
Seldom seen bear on the Big Horn
Back at Home…
We had to miss our club meetings and unfortunately left a few good friends back at home. A few of our club members also decided to join us.
Uncle Miltie missing his friends at a club meeting
Part 2-Dillon
After having a great three days on the Big Horn, we were excited about going to Dillon, Montana. Dillon is in SW Montana and is centrally located to several very good fishing rivers-the Jefferson, the Ruby, the Big Hole, and the Beaverhead. Dillon was also located just outside of Twin Bridges, Mt, the home of Winston fly rods. We stopped in just before closing time and had a great time looking at the historical pictures, items, merchandise, and testing rods. Ed cast a sweet B2t (by the way, that rod is going on close-out) that got him thinking. Rob got a date on one of his rods and Eric, Rob, and I got some Winston hats. All in all, the Winston factory was a great stop.
On the way to Dillon we saw several up-rooted trees. Seems they had a “micro burst” that had did damage to several buildings and trees in the Twin Bridges area. I guess wind does damage to places outside the South.
Due to the lower water and high water temps we were only able to fish the Beaverhead and the Big Hole. The Beaverhead is reported to hold the biggest brown trout in Montana and probably the West, but you could not have proved it by us. We had a tough time with the Beaverhead. A few fish caught, but mostly frustration and lots of removal of moss from the fly.
We did have a Nascar sighting while in Dillon. “Nascar” Bob Chambliss and Tom Gage had flown to Montana to do some fly fishing. We did hear from Nascar now and then but had little physical contact except for one day we did eat breakfast with Nascar and Tom. We did hear from Nascar that he was chased by an 8 ft. rattlesnake on the Beaverhead, well, make that 6 ft., well, make that 5 ½ ft. Nascar and Tom did pretty good though fishing at the corral.
Not everything was a loss; We met a couple in the KOA in Dillon. The man’s name was Seth Simpson and he and his wife were on tour to pottery shows and between shows he was getting in some fly fishing. His method was to go out at dust and throw a leech. He had pretty good success and pulled in a 24-25 brown, much bigger than we saw.
Rob liked Seth’s pottery so much that he brought a vase. You can see his work at www.arcataartisans.com/artists/seth_simpson/ 707-601-2535 We enjoyed talking with Seth and his wife at the campground, and maybe we felt a little jealous.
The Big Hole
The next river we fished was the Big Hole. The Big Hole is a very beautiful river, but areas of it were shut down at 2pm because of the high temps. The section we fished was open all day and we had a pretty good day. I finished with around 15 with a couple of nice fish on a dry. I even caught a few “whitefish”-more on that later. Rob told me a story about seeing a big fish, making a tough cast, and having the fish hit and be landed. It wasn’t so much about catching the fish, but the excitement of doing several things correctly and winding up with the fish is wonderful.
The next day we headed back to the Big Hole and we caught plenty of fish, but they just happened to be mostly whitefish. For example, Ed found a hole and I thought he was killing them. He was doing great but mostly they were whitefish. For those of you who don’t know about whitefish, they are a native species that are considered a “trash” fish. They do grow large and fight hard but are not as valued as trout.
Ed catching whitefish on the Big Hole
I think the Big Hole is the whitefish capital of Montana. We had some unusual weather in Dillon. Almost every afternoon a storm would come up with lightning, rain, and in one instance, hail. Although Dillon is a wonderful area, I won’t be going back unless it is a normal water year. This is the 2nd year of a Winter drought in the Dillon area.
We did have some of Uncle Miltie’s steering wheel sized breakfasts in Dillon. I high recommend the Long Horn Saloon-if the cook shows up on time. Well, on the last stop of the trip. Tom recommends a Mexican bus on wheels for lunch.
We also enjoyed an ice cream parlor near the university, but the recommended steak house was only good for the scenery and not the food.
Looking Upstream on the Beaver. This stretch fished very well while wading. Called the Corral
Beaverhead at the corral
Looking downstream from the corral. Bob is working a seam against the opposite bank. There was a strong current near the bank, but wading out got you into smoother water so you could fish the seams.
Big Hole
Rob Kissell on the Big Hole
Clarke's Fork
Nascar bringing one in on the Clark's Fork just below where the Big Hole enters. Rowing is club member Danny who now lives in Missoula
Decorations in a steak house in Missoula
We went to a steak house outside of Missoula. Scenery was great but the steaks were all either over cooked or under cooked. Not a great experience.
Entire town came out for ice cream
Downtown Missoula had this ice cream shop that you would think they were giving it away
winery in Missoula
Hills outside of Missoula. Great winery in town worth visiting
Bob Chambless
Probably on the Beaver
Great lunch
A local favorite for Mexican food. Great restaurant in down town Dillon worth stopping at
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Heading up to the blow down on the big hole
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upstream on the big hole
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If you look carefully, you see Rob being stealth against the rocks. Rob knew how to get fish in clear water!
Eric Davies
Eric Davies working a seam using nymphs
JD, Ed, Eric, Rob
the guys ready to break up camp at the KOA. This is an outstanding place with an even more outstanding restaurant!
Heading up the road on Rock Creek
Pretty tame....
JD hamming it up
JD... he may have set the hook... but you never know!
BEAR
That small black spot on the ridge is the bear
Ed with a nice fish
Ed in front of the dam
Ed working a hole
Working a seam
Fish on!
Ed had a pretty good day.
Uncle Miltie in Colorado
Uncle Miltie in Colorado
Lookin' for a ride...
Uncle Miltie
Uncle Miltie did not join us for the Montana trip having gone fishing with Dave Peacock earlier. He later joined JD in Colorado. Pretty sad picture waiting for his friends to show up at the club meeting!
Montana Road trip
Trip looked something like this...
The star of our stay at Rock Creek
The restaurant at Rock Creek has a fantastic chef serving 5 star meals. Our waitress was one of the most pleasant individuals you would ever want to meet. (and is a damn good fly fisherman!)
Tom joined us for breakfast
Eric's camper
Packed up and ready to start the long trek home to Atlanta
While there may still be some fishing tomorrow–cutthroat in Maroon Bells/Aspen area, private water here on the Frying Pan, or further upstream where we’ve fished twice–we have had a good and interesting three days of fishing.
Day one was supposed to be a full day float on the Roaring Fork. But recent rains…yes, I know, what a shock!…made the better option to full day wade the Frying Pan first with Cameron Cipponeri of Frying Pan Anglers–the speaker at the club meeting in April. What a great guy and a very good guide. Sadly I am the most experienced of the three anglers with one guy being a fairly recent interestee in flyfishing. So he needed and got lots of one on one time with Cameron. We all managed to catch some nice fish. I probably caught 12-15 fish. A nice 15-16″ rainbow. But the “one that got away” was really big. I managed to hook it in a small pool Cameron pointed out. He said to try that pool for a bit then left to help the other two that were 30 and 40 yards downstream. (We have been spread apart several times because all other waters usually fished by those in Denver and Vail have been blown out, so they have to travel here to fish.) Within a few minutes I got the big’un to take a BWO on my 4wt Sage ZXL (Great rod rec, JD!). I fought the fish in the 30 feet of river around me for 4-5 minutes while hollering downstream for them to send Cameron up with the net. That’s when the real fight started. That fish began making runs nearly into backing–once barely into it–downriver. I had to start stumbling downriver. That fish and I covered 40 or 50 yards of river before it wrapped on a stick…within arms reach of Cameron with the net. Gone. I was devastated. I had fought that fish for almost ten minutes only to lose it at the guide’s net. In his defense he had to run upstream about 20 yards after hearing my dilemma relayed by the middle fisher. He saw it up close and declared it to be in excess of 24″.
Day two was a 14 mile float on the Roaring Fork. Again Cameron took on the least experienced fisher while Rick Conner and I fished with Eddie Deison–who also guides at Matlacha, FL (Bonus find!). I had apparently impressed upon him how much I enjoy streamer fishing because with the exception of only two short episodes of nymphing like the others did all day, I threw streamers on my 6wt all day. Thought my arm and right shoulder were going to fail. I wasn’t chucking and ducking like on the PM, but the weight of those two ridiculous (but mostly effective) streamers was something. One of them is best described as a black multi, plastic beaded zonker strip bugger with a spinner blade at the front. I probably only caught a dozen fish all day–no real notables. Rick only caught two Kissel-fish–uh, I mean whitefish–all day. The “newbie” managed three or four, I think. Lots of fishers again due to flooded waters elsewhere.
Today we half day waded with Cameron on the Pan. The weather started off chilly but real nice…then got colder and windier. Despite that we managed to catch fish. I pretty much stayed with dries (Drake and BWO mostly) all afternoon and managed 8-10 fish…maybe a few more. Then we finished the day further downriver playing around with rising behemoths (18″-36″, no kidding) just above Bass Pro Johnny Morris’ private section. The wind was hellish. I managed to land only four or so there, but no big’uns. I did hook two or three, but yipped my way out of landing them. Rob S, I caught a few 14-15″-ers on the little Hardy 3wt even.
While it did rain lightly and briefly a little today, the wind was the monster…until dinnertime. It began to SNOW. It actually lightened up and quit as we drove back into Basalt for dinner. Since our steak minded appetite could not be satisfied in Basalt, we drove another 25 minutes to Aspen. It began to snow pretty good on the way there and a few flurries on and off while we were eating at Jimmy’s ($ome famou$ place). But five minutes into the return trip about 8:30 local, it turned into a full fledged snowstorm…a la Duck Lake! We drove back all but the first five minutes in a blizzard…road coating, hypnotic driving big flakes…at 20-25 mph. Crazy. So our plans for tomorrow depend on what we find in the morning after tonight’s 32 degree freeze warning with rain/snow in the forecast.
I highly recommend staying here at Taylor Creek Cabins. And I would probably put Cameron in the top five guides I have used. He kept needlessly apologizing for the conditions which kept us out of the “real experience.” But I am completely satisfied with what we’ve had. Lots of fish, big fish, fish on dries. Just a really good trip even if tomorrow is a bust.
I don’t have many photos–only a few on my iPhone which I have not hooked up and transferred. Wifi here at the cabin but not good enough for the iPhone to transmit and no cell service until you get close to town. We’ll send Tom some later that Larry took.
