Guadalupe River Chapter Trout Unlimited

Editor: Bob Tuttle 207 Finn Austin, TX 78734 (512) 261‑4409

Contributors: Bob Brunsell

OFFICERS President: Erik Bataille 250‑9194

VP Chapter Affairs: Alan Bray 263‑9619

VP Fishing Affairs: Mike Small 258‑0946

Secretary/Treasurer: Bob Story 327‑6381

Recording Secretary: Barbara Parvin

DIRECTORS

Clem Bird

Cyndie Schmitt

David Hotz

Jeff Schmitt

Jon Morse

Marion Tilson

Irving O'Neal

*Jim Vynalek TU

Judy Presswood

*Ex Officio

January 1993 Notice of Annual Winter Meeting & Newsletter

DATE: SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 1993

PLACE: St. Thomas Church Activity Center adjacent to the church [Just below Canyon Dam on River Road] ‑Sattler, Texas. TIME: 10.00 AM ‑ Registration & Socializing

10:30 to 11:00 ‑ Meeting Business

FISH'N PAL ONE‑MAN BOAT (See Raffle insert Sheet) Program 11:00 ‑ 12:00 ±

Raffle of

LUNCH:(optional) 12:30 ‑ Guadalupe CHILI, Various Salads, Ranch Beans, Chips, Bread, Relish, possibly some unusual desserts and maybe a choice of wines. Delicacies gladly accepted! Margaret Ann Betsy & helpers are to be congratulated for their participation. If you dine, remember to feed the "kitty" on your way through the line.

DIRECTORS MEETING 1:30 PM

Our chapter name is new and reflects our location and purpose. As there is another chapter, Brazos River Chapter in North Texas, the former name (Texas Chapter) was no longer appropriate.

THE PROGRAM .....

Check out the BOAT that is being raffled at this meeting. The accessories and options shown are NOT included.

Erik Bataille our current Kingfish, has lined up Steve Magnelia and Dave Terre from Texas Parks & Wildlife to explain the great new trout program that has been approved and some very surprising discoveries when they surveyed the river with their shocking paraphernalia. Suggest that you bring some heavy spinning tackle and maybe a harpoon or two along with your usual gear. We are talking about 40 pound critters et al. Attend and hear some frightening details.

Jim "The Traveler" Vynalek has promised once again to show color slides from some of his most memorable fishing trips that he was unable to show at our October meeting. Make one of your New Year's

Resolutions to attend these interesting gatherings held in January, April, and October of each year we have had TU members from as far away as Michigan and Vermont show up so how about you?

At the October meeting, the drawing for the SAGE travel rod was won by Spike Pattillo of Waco. The silent auction was a success with many objects d' piscadoras changing hands. Even some ~ d bamboo rods. The weather was excellent and 3 cheers and one hurrah were given for our Weather Committee. They promised to do their best for the January meeting.

Our first trout drop: Browns & Rainbows went off as planned on December 8. The eyed‑egg order was cancelled because the river water temperature was not cold enough. Maybe later for the next Colorado order. Thanks to all that showed up to help.

Still time for voluntary Chapter dues and Lease Permit cards. Included are forms for voluntary dues and the lease permit applications. Having a lease permit gives you the right to fish on special lease properties, obtain special rates on certain other properties, and be advised of all programs involving the leases: trout stocking, eyed‑egg programs, etc. Remember .... your membership in National Trout Unlimited governs your participation in Chapter activities. Keep your TU membership current as that is a requirement for membership in the Chapter and/or having a lease permit. Lease permits are limited so don't delay if YOU want one.

How To Catch More Fish On Wet Flies And Nymphs

Have you noticed how often fish take a wet fly or nymph as it swings at the end of a drift? Or when you pick up for another cast? The most life‑like action an angler can give a nymph is to start it moving rapidly towards the surface. Such motion suggests an emerging insect and is almost a sure fife way to trigger a fish's feeding instinct. Aquatic entomologists tell us the surface film is as hard for an insect to penetrate from below as above. They just strike it with considerable velocity to burst through.

Fish also take on the retrieve. They may follow a sunken fly for sometime before deciding to see if it is good to eat. This is especially true in still water like ponds or pools. Actually anytime your nymph is submerged, it is working for you. That is one of the advantages of this kind of fishing.

In most all of these situations the fly is taken going away. It is likely to be snatched from them when you try to set the hook.

Fish don't have hands so they use their lips like we would a thumb and finger to ascertain if something is edible. If it turns out not to be, it is ejected usually with considerable force as we might throw away a wormy apple. This is the "tick" we sometimes reel and find nothing there when we try to set the hook.

There is a growing interest in nymph and wet fly fishing and much to be relearned about it. Years ago, kirbed, snecked and reverse bend (all trade names for off‑set points) hooks were very popular with fly fishers. To understand why, insert a hook in your vise and pull on the eye enough to bend the shank slightly towards you. You have just offset the point. Take another hook and grasp it between your thumb and finger like a fish would bite down on a fly. See how it turns on its side?

Pull on it as you would if you were trying to set hook in the fish’s mouth. See how easily it slips through the fingers.

Now do thee same thing with the one you bent in the vise. Gently though- it will want to dig into a finger right away.

See why off‑set points used to be so popular! They went out of style when light wire hooks for dry flies came in. Any deviation from a straight line greatly increases the chances of fracturing such hooks. Nymphs and wet flies customarily are tied on extra stout wire so for them this is no problem.

For fifty years the emphasis has been on floating flies. Most tyers and anglers have forgotten why off‑set points were once so widely used. Because the demand isn't there, it is very bard to buy them today. I usually use Mustad hooks for sunken flies. They aren't tempered as hard as English or French ones, so it is easy to reshape them without breaking. After I clamp one in the vise I bend the shank sideways to get the offset I want, then tie the fly. I also make sure the hook point is very sharp. This is important because with an offset bend the line pull is not parallel with the point. Remembering these two things can make your reputation as nymph fisher: offset bend; and very sharp points.

Dry fly fishing is different. Most of a fish's enemies are from above, It's really kind of worrisome for a fish to come to the surface after food so when it rises to take a fly. It immediately returns to its station before even pausing to see if what it took is edible. Most of the time it is hooked going away from the angler so there is little chance they will be pulled out of its mouth.

Four Useful Items for a Fly Fisherman’s Kit

Besides obvious gear like your rod, reel, creel, and net, do you have some pet items that you would be lost trying to fish without? Probably every fly fisher has, and often they are things most people don't associate with angling.

As for myself I try to make sure one pocket contains ignition point file, a piece of inner tube rubber, a short length of lead wire and a nail clipper They are not only useful but inexpensive and easily procured to boot.

In casting, the line itself is thrown. The leader and fly are carried along and made to lie out ahead as the line settles to the water. Because the weight of the line energizes the rod, fly lines of necessity are bulkier than those used for spinning or casting.

Most of us have heard fly fishers say, "Long casts are fine, but it's hard to set the hook with so much line out".

Whether in or on the water, a fly line is almost always curved by wind current or both. With much line out, this belly combined with a fly rod's natural flexibility and the line's bulk does make it harder to set the hook by a solid pull.

Any fly fisher knows that it is normal for the best fish to rise at the extreme range of his casting ability. What most don't realize, however, is that it's not all that hard to catch these fish if the hook point is super sharp.

Instead of trying to pull hard enough to take the belly out of the line, , a quick movement of the rod will start an impulse through the line that will tip will travel to the fly and twitch it enough to set a sharp hook. Either floating or sunken the water’s resistance to a fly line moving broadside and straightening is great. The line will, however, easily slide longitudinally through the water and move the fly. A hard pull hinders this impulse by forcing the line sideways against the water.

To prove this to yourself, make a long cast with a bug or popper. Let it on the water till the line has taken a curve. Give the rod tip a quick lift line curve won't be disturbed but the bug will make a noticeable wake on water as it moves in response to the tip motion.

Fly hooks should be kept super sharp and this is where the ignition file comes in. Most tackle stores sell good hook sharpeners. These are usually stones or hones and work well with large hooks. On small hooks, however they will only

dress the point's bottom and sides. An ignition point file will let you make and keep a fly hook ultra sharp because it will work inside the gap between fly body and hook point. The ones I use are strips of slightly flexible carborundum and are sold in auto supply stores.

Straight leaders are also important in hooking fish that take a fly. Between fishing trips, even when not stored on a reel, they tend to revert to their original coiled shape. This means the leader lies on the water in a series of spirals unless straightened before starting to fish. Even one or two of these spirals make it hard to set the hook. They absorb the impulse given to the line when you lift the rod tip and the fly won't move enough so even a sharp kook will not take hold.

This is where the inner‑tube rubber is used. Fold it around the leader, squeeze tightly and pull the leader through the rubber. Even the most stubborn coils will be straightened. Do this before the first cast. Super sharp hooks and straight leaders make you look like an expert when it comes to hooking fish.

At times it is desirable to sink a fly deeper than it will travel unweighted. Split shot, small sinkers, and other devices designed to be used with casting and spinning gear are much too heavy for f1y casting. Lead wire such as is used by fly tiers to weight fly bodies is much better. Sold on spools or cards, it can be bought at tackle stores and fly tying supply houses. If you fish with a tippet tied to the leader, making a simple overland knot with this wire just above the tippet knot will take the leader down and still let the fly swim free of the bottom.

When long casts are necessary, it may be better to have the lead wire tight against the fly. Above the tippet knot it can act as a buffer between the fly and rod tip and make setting the hook difficult with a long line.

Be sure to nip any projecting wire ends off closely. Otherwise the knot may revolve in the current when retrieved, and twist the leader. Most uses of the nail clipper are self‑evident. Besides cutting line, leader material, it works wonderfully well for trimming fly hackle and wings. With it you can make a small fly out of a large one, a wet fly out of a dry, and a nymph out of a regular fly. You can remove ea wire without damaging the leader when you no longer want to fish deep.