Across
the Stream – September 2008
A
Publication of Heart of America Fly Fishers
HOAFF August Meeting
Monday, August 18
- 7:00pm
Sam Potter- Tight Lines Guide Service
President’s Message
Wyoming Cutt-Slam Scavenger
Hunt
by Darren Watson
It seems that I’ve traveled farther this year to
my fishing destinations than in years past. I’ve visited Mexico, The Bahamas,
Texas, Wyoming, Arkansas, and South Missouri. I’ve caught big fish and small
fish--from a 150-lb Black-Tip Shark to a 6-in Yellowstone Cutthroat. With the
wading conditions south of here getting better I look forward to fishing our
home waters this fall.
I just returned home from a great fishing trip
to Wyoming. This was my fist visit to Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. Wyoming is
a beautiful state, and I would like to give a special thanks to Norm Crisp for
his expertise in geography, fishing, and camping in this great state. Norm is a
great asset to our club, and I would recommend using his company in booking
your next fishing adventure.
This month’s issue includes a small summary of
the trip. I will also detail my trip and the Cutt-Slam Program in a future club
meeting.
I would like to remind you that we have a couple
of outings scheduled in the next few months: Our Annual Picnic in Shawnee Mission
Park on Sept 15th and The Southern Council FFF Conclave from October 2nd to 4th
in Mountain Home, Ark. The next fishing outing will be at Montauk/Current River
from October 10th to 12th. And don’t
forget our annual Auction and Fundraiser to be held during our November club
meeting. We’re still looking for your generous donations!
My Cutt-Slam Scavenger Hunt
by Darren Watson
I flew into West Yellowstone, and Norm Crisp of
StreamSide Adventures picked me up. As we waited for my luggage, Tom James of Black
Dog Sports joined us, his video cameras in tow. We headed to Bob Jacklin’s fly
shop to look for his input on where to catch the Yellowstone Cutthroat. After
Bob highlights a map with a couple of suggestions, we head out.
As Norm Crisp describes, our objective will be
similar to a scavenger hunt. We need to catch four native species of Cutthroat
Trout in their native waters in Wyoming. This will be a very challenging task
without Norm Crisp and Tom James. Since both had completed the Cutt-Slam about
this time last year, most of the homework is already done. Norm also knows his
way around the single lane mountain roads better than I know my way around my
own Johnson County neighborhood. After reviewing the research, I realize that
the Cutt-Slam is will not be an easy task, especially during one trip.
Our first stop is down a gravel road in
Yellowstone National Park near a campsite on Slough Creek. Norm and I rig up
our fly rods, and he prefers to use a Caddis Dry fly, so I asked him to point
one out before I tie it on. I’m excited to use my new 0-wt, so the size of fish
I will catch seems less important. It’s always fun to catch the first fish on a
new rod/reel setup. After a little instruction from Norm on presentation, I
land my first Yellowstone Cutthroat, a colorful 6-in fish.
Our next stop requires a
bit of travel. We later stay the night in Jackson Hole. You know you’re in a
great fishing town when you wake up the next morning to find the streets lined
with drift boats...We drive past the
Snake River that morning, and Tom shoots some drift boat fishing video. We then
move on to catch the Bonneville Cutthroat. After following Norm a few hours
down a dusty graveled road, we arrive at the Smith’s Fork of the Bear River.
Within 15 minutes, I land my Bonneville Cutthroat. I later read that it is the
hardest one to catch. So far I have two down and two more to go.
We drive some time down the same gravel road and
set up camp next to the Grey’s River around sunset. As everyone else sets up
camp, I fish a little more. I land 8 Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat in about
an hour--including a 16-in fish. Considering the stream is about 3- to 4-ft
wide, and that I’m using my 0wt, this is a great fish. I’m sure the echo of my
“Fish-On!” is heard many times for miles through the canyon. I notice Tom
filming me from on the top of the hill. Now I have three down and one more to
go.
The next morning the fishing seems more
difficult. There’s nothing better than waking up to find a small creek to fish
in right next to you. I land two more and continue to fish with Norm and Tom,
both of whom have to still catch up. After packing up camp, we journey deeper
into the Wyoming Mountains. According to a map, South Cottonwood Creek will be
an easy walk down a gravel road. If only the mountain range wasn’t here.
We arrive at McDougal Gap. I’ve visited many
scenic places, usually with a crowd of tourist snapping pictures. The Taj Mahal
is at the top of the list for me. Second is McDougal Gap, which is unexpected
and breathtaking. It’s one of those places off the beaten path, far away from
the crowds. I will have this view in my head forever. After Tom takes his video
and I soak it all in, and we catch up with Norm. About three hours later, it’s
time to catch my final Cutthroat Trout.
We stop at a lake that I would guess few people
have ever been too. With the mountain stream flowing right next to our trucks,
I rig up with a Caddis Dry Fly. With my third cast, I yell “Fish-On!” and land
the final Cutthroat--the Colorado. My Cutt-Slam
is finished! I take a few more pictures and we all continue to fish. I catch a
couple of 15- to 16-in fish in one of those “perfect spots” before we move
on.
After a couple of more stops down long gravel
roads, I catch a Tiger Trout (my first ever) at an amazing tailwater fishery.
Then it’s time to go home. I had finished the Cutt-Slam, and I will now be able
to hang the certificate in my office with all my other fishing memorabilia. Tom
has me sit down on a nearby boulder so he can film me while narrating my
fishing adventure.
The Wyoming Cutt-Slam was started in 1996 and
less than 500 have completed it. That’s less than 50 people per year. As I
already mentioned in my President’s Message, we are very fortunate to have
someone like Norm Crisp in our club. He helped me complete this feat in less
than four days. It’s not a competition, but a challenge that helped me
appreciate the great and wonderful country we have in the United States. And
it’s a unique experience to cast a dry fly up a stream that’s less than 4 feet
wide, to see the take, land a 16-in trout, take a picture, and then be able to
look up at the mountains and know that less than 10 people are within 60 miles
of you ... and that you are with 4 of them.
For your own CuttSlam
adventure contact Norm Crisp at Streamside Adventures, 913-654-1994,
www.streamsideadventures.com.
2008 Officers
President
Darren
Watson
816-805-8761 dwatson@lawingfinancial.com
Past President
Mark
Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Secretary
Jim Jorgenson
913-469-1950 jjorgensen@ci.lenexa.ks.us
Treasurer
Paul
Bennetts
913-338-3837 pbennetts1@comcast.net
Newsletter
Tom
James
816-718-0393 tom@blackdogsports.com
Newsletter Assistant
Mark
Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Programs
John
Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Cliff
Cain
913-558-5069 cliffcain@hotmail.com
Education
Outings
Ron
Carruthers
816-741-7251
rcarruthers2@kc.rr.com
Jim
Bebb
913-721-3397
jbebb@communitynationalbank.net
Membership
Frederick
Clark
913-831-0305 fclarks@planetkc.com
Dan Sulit
913-268-3848
kenaisu@aol.com
Conservation Team
Kevin
Carril
913-362-9379 rrac3@sbcglobal.net
John
Bell
785-843-1782 j.bell@kcc.state.ks.us
Library
Doug
McDonald
913-764-6678 mcdoug5148@sbcglobal.net
Web Master
Bill
Brant
816-941-9691 billandkathy@kc.rr.com
Raffle/Auction
Mark
Borserine
913-381-0722 majborser@aol.com
Spring Programs
Dick
Martin
816-781-9557 rlm@mllfpc.com
Don
Grundy
816-781-9019 dgrundy@sbcglobal.net
Event Coordinator
Bill
Brant
816-941-9691 billandkathy@kc.rr.com
Southern Council Liaison
Hod
McIntosh
913-722-3684 singingreels@kc.rr.com
Supernumerary
David
Andrews
816-741-8314 davidgandrews@kc.rr.com
HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
by Ron
Carruthers
What:
HOAFF Annual Family Picnic
Where:
Shawnee Mission Park • Shelter #4
When:
September 15, 2008 • Starting at 6:30 pm
It is hard to believe but our annual picnic is
just around the corner. Can summer have gone by that quickly? Anyway, just an
early heads-up that we plan to have our family picnic again this year at
Shawnee Mission Park, Shelter #4.
The club will provide the BBQ, bread/buns,
utensils and beverages. You should plan to bring a covered dish or dessert to
help round out the meal.
We plan to have an honest to goodness casting
course for everyone this year so bring your favorite rod. If you forget we plan
to have the club rods available. Casting lessons will be given before the start
of the July and August monthly meetings so be sure not to miss those.
Directions: From I435 and 87th Street go west on
87th to Renner (1st street west of I 435). Turn north (right) to the Shawnee
Mission Park entrance which will be on your left about 1/2 mile. Enter the park
and stay to the right. Go around the north side of the lake and look for
Shelter #4. Our HOAFF banner will be out front.
See you there!!
Lenexa WaterFest 2008
by Mark Borserine
Saturday, August 2nd, the Heart of America Fly
Fishers set up and manned a booth at the Lenexa WaterFest. Bill Brant, the
club’s Events Coordinator orchestrated the entire operation. Bill always draws
a crowd with his excellent displays of rainwater storage, rain garden and
porous concrete which you can see Bill demonstrating to a family. Bill has gone
to a lot of effort to put these displays together and even gives those who
watch his demonstrations handouts that they can take home and put to good use.
Many kudos to Bill Brant for his excellent work in water conservation.
In addition, Bill always catches some nymphs and
bugs from the Blue River near his home (and faithfully returns them to the Blue
River – you just think you practice catch and release!) for our displays.
Members can then show the curious the actual insects and their imitations; people of all ages find this absolutely
fascinating. Some of our members show people how to cast or help them with
their casting questions. The booth is always a great success because we have
something to show almost everyone and I can honestly say that people learn from
it!
In addition to acknowledging Bill Brant’s
efforts and expertise which is truly the foundation of our successful
presentation; we want to acknowledge the participation and contributions of Dan
Sulit (demonstrating fly tying to a group of youngsters), Bill Lindley and John
Bell who patiently taught casting, Jim
Jorgensen who demonstrated the nymphs and corresponding flies and Mark
Borserine who carried water.
The real hit of the day was, however, the
snorkel truck from the Lenexa Fire Department that sprayed cool water over the
crowds; they would start the snorkel up
and kids (and adults) would run from all over Sar-Ko-Park to get under the
spray. It was seriously hot Saturday evening!
HOAFF Logo Lapel Pins
We now have enameled Lapel/Hat/Vest Pins with the HOAFF
logo. Every new member who joins in 2008 will receive a pin. The pins will be
available for sale for $5.00 each.
HOAFF Apparel is here
Hats $15 • T-Shirts $12
Now you can get a T-shirt or a fishing hat with the new
Heart of America Fly Fishers Logo.
Revenge of the
Trout Zombies
Bruce Cochran’s new book, “Revenge Of The Trout
Zombies”, published by Willow Creek Press, is a humorous look at trout fishing.
It’s paperback, retails for $9.95, and is
available at book stores. If they don’t
have it on the shelf, they can order it. It’s also available on Amazon.com and
of course personalized copies are available from me.
Crooked
Creek Adventure (One of Many)
by
Lori Sloas, www.berrybrothersguides.com
My sister Terri and I love to fish Crooked Creek
for many reasons. First it is very
peaceful and secluded you often don’t see anyone, which is highly desirable for
me. Secondly, it is a warm water creek
(not as cold as a trout stream) so if you get hot, you can go for a swim. Thirdly, it holds some nice smallmouth, long
ear sunfish and a few other species.
Flyfishing for trout is my favorite but on Crooked Creek I can let my
hair down and enjoy fishing in a remote area.
No fancy waders or gear just a fly box, tippet and nippers. Terri and I were raised on a farm close to
the Mississippi River and have enjoyed fishing together all of our lives.
Since I keep my tackle simple and travel light.
I thought åwhy carry a camera? Most of
the fish that I land at Crooked Creek aren’t particularly large by any
means. John always says that I need to
carry a camera, since you never know when you will land a trophy. I have landed three trophy fish in the past
where the camera fried, the picture didn’t come out or I had no camera. When my sister visits we usually fish Crooked
Creek by ourselves. We look forward to the adventure. We have had many
memorable “adventures” on Crooked Creek including a canoe trip that I will
never forget. Since I have these adventures
etched into my mind, why carry a camera?
Terri, Ellie (my lab) and I headed for Crooked
Creek and the weather was questionable to say the least. Dark clouds and thunder was heard a few miles
away. I rushed down to my hole and
within minutes, I had hooked a good fish. The bass hugged the bottom like a big
brown trout and there was a major bend in my six weight rod. I saw the big
smallmouth jump and my heart started racing.
The whole time I was thinking, please let me land this fish. I then remembered that I had a 2x leader and
size 10 funky looking woolly with rubber legs (much larger tackle than I
normally fish). I suddenly felt better. I began moving to the bank to land this
fish which I typically do with trophy trout.
I had to butt the rod against my forearm in the fight with this bass to
give me a bit more leverage. After a few
minutes, I landed the smallmouth bass and it was about eighteen inches long. It
was the biggest smallmouth I had ever landed. I was as excited as Ellie
was. I started yelling for Terri to come
take a look at the fish. Then, I
remembered that I had my cell phone and disposable camera in the car. I thought that Terri could keep the fish in
the water and I could run to the car and get the camera. I keep shouting “trophy” to Terri and saw her
point to the sky. I thought how odd,
what does trophy have to do with the sky?
Gift from God, yes it was. Well,
Terri never came and I released the fish unharmed so someone else could have
the pleasure of landing him. Several minutes
later Terri walks up and she thought that I was shouting about the lighting
miles away. That explains why she
pointed to the sky.
The good news is the storm went around us and we
caught several more fish that day. We
had a nice swim (except for the swim back upstream) I always forget that my
sister is taller and can wade deeper. At the end of the afternoon, we decided
to head back to the house for happy hour and some KT’s BBQ. As we loaded our gear into the car, we
reflected upon yet another adventure and memorable trip at Crooked Creek. The lesson learned, carry a camera, you never
know when you will land a trophy. I
wasn’t too upset because I have the vision locked into my brain and sometimes I
think it just isn’t meant for some big fish to be photographed.
Lori Sloas is a fly fishing guide in Cotter,
Arkansas and has fished Crooked Creek for almost a decade. She can be reached
at (870) 435-2169 or www.berrybrothersguides.com.
Fly Fishing the Little Red River
by
John Berry, www.berrybrothersguides.com
The good news is that the
Little Red River is the closest trout stream to Memphis and Little Rock. The
bad news is that the Little Red River is the closest trout stream to Memphis
and Little Rock. Since the Little Red is fairly quick to get to for two major
metropolitan areas, it can get crowded. In addition, there has been quite a bit
of development on it and access has become more limited over the years. That
said this river has developed into a legendary brown trout fishery that has
produced the current world record. Rip Collins caught this massive forty pound
four ounce monster trout on a brown marabou jig and four pound test line.
This is the Greers Ferry
Dam tail water and it is subject to severe fluctuation. Be on constant alert
for any change in the current or a change in the water sounds. As soon as you
detect the water is rising, get out. Hopefully on the same side of the river
your car is on. The phone number for the Greers Ferry Dam generation
information is (501) 362-5150. They will tell you what the current level of
generation is when it began and when previous generation ended. If you are
unsure about the water level or need to buy some local fly patterns, stop by or
call the Little Red Fly Shop (501) 887-9988. It is conveniently located at
swinging bridge, a local fishing hot spot.
The Red is generally a
small stream when compared to the White or Spring Rivers. It is mostly gravel
and bedrock and in general is pretty easy wading. I generally fish the little
Red with a nine foot four weight rod loaded with a floating line. There are a
lot of weed beds that produce a fair number of sow bugs which is the dominant
food source. This makes the sow bug the fly of choice. If I were to have only
one fly to fish the Little Red I would choose the sow bug size sixteen. The
other local pattern that is a must carry is the red ass. This is a peacock soft
hackle with a red tag and red rib. Other effective flies would be bead head
pheasant tails, partridge and orange soft hackles, red or worm brown San Juan
worms, elk hair caddis and olive woolly buggers.
One of my favorite places
to fish is JFK Park just below Greers Ferry Dam. I park near the boat ramp and
walk far up stream. This section has a nice population of brook trout. I think
they are the prettiest species that we have in Arkansas and this is one of the
best places to fish for them. There are also plenty of browns and rainbows
here. There is very little current here. I usually do the best near the top
where there is one shallow riffle. The best flies here are soft hackles like
the red ass or partridge and orange.
Another hot spot is Cow
Shoals. This is where the annual brown trout spawn occurs in October. It can
get unbelievably crowded during this event. There will be anglers standing
shoulder to shoulder trying to land the big one. This is not fly fishing to me.
I prefer to fish it in winter after the spawn before the big browns have left
but after the crowds of anglers have. The rest of the year this is a great
place to catch wild brown trout.
Swinging Bridge is the most
popular spot to fish the Little Red with good reason. There is a lot of great
fish holding water there. This is named after the wooden suspension bridge that
crossed the river here. A few years ago it collapsed and killed a few tourists
in the process. You should Park in the lot on the west side of the river near
the old bridge abutments. Directly below is a huge pool that fishes well with
olive woolly buggers. Down stream is Winkley Shoals This is a long bedrock
shoal that hold several nice runs. This is a great place to fish sow bugs below
strike indicators in the faster water and soft hackles in the slower water.
If you want to avoid crowds
try fishing the Little Red during the week or during inclement weather. Nothing
thins the herd like a little rain. There are plenty of good fish there. Give
the Little Red a try.
Montauk/Current River Fall Outing
The
last club sponsored outing of the year, before the annual banquet at Bennett
Springs, will be the Montauk/Current River outing on October 10, 11, 12. The
Club has reserved three sleeping cabins in the park. Each cabin has two double beds. They rent for $69 a night, double occupancy. To reserve a place on the list please give
your name and check for $69 (assumes two to a cabin) to Jim Bebb or Ron
Caruthers. Rooms at the lodge may still
be available if you want to make your own arrangements. The phone number is 573-548-2434. If you go to the web site for Montauk state
park there are links to other venders for lodging.
Upcoming
Events & Programs
Aug 18 Sam Potter -
Tight Lines Guide Service
August 23 Olathe Aquafest,
Cedar Lake Park, 11AM to 2PM
Sept 15 Annual
Picnic Shawnee Mission Park
Oct 10 - 12 Montauk/Current
River Fall Outing
Nov 17 Annual
Auction & Raffle
Dec 5-7 Annual
Banquet Bennett Spring
Visit
our Advertisers:
Black
Dog Sports
The
Fishing Hole
Ray & Jonell Fincke
(913)
642-5554
3731
W. 95th • Overland Park, KS 66206
Rainbow
Fly Shop
4706-D
Shrank Drive
Independence,
MO 64055
816-373-2283
9-5
Tuesday - Saturday
K&K
Flyfishers’
Everything for Todays Flyfisherman
• Total Equipment Selection
• Great ”How To” Schools<