Nat Greene Flyfishers    June 2007

URGENT:  Volunteers Needed for Boy Scout Flyfishing Merit Badge Class

From: Laura Kennerly, Nat Greene Flyfishers

I am in last part of teaching BSA Troop 117 the fly fishing merit badge. On Saturday, June 9th from 9:30 - 12:30 we will give casting instruction, then go fishing at Shelter #8 which is located next to the pond behind the Wildlife Center at the Bur-Mil Club. I am in desperate need of instructors. We will be using the clubs rods and reels. As soon as the boy's have a decent cast they will attach a fly and move to the water to learn a roll cast. After that they will fish on their own until 12:30 when we will have a hot dog cook out. Everyone is welcome to stay for lunch.

Please, even if you have only an hour to give please come out. I'm probably poorest/weakest caster in the club, so don't let that be an excuse!

I teach the "do as I say, not as I do" method, so I am hoping to have so members who can show just how pretty a cast can be.

Please contact Laura Kennerly if you can help, 336-707-7665 (m), 336-605-8020 ext. 7 (w), Lkennerly@engconcepts.com.

Laura Kennerly
Lkennerly@engconcepts.com

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Smith River TU Picnic, Saturday, June 16th

We are on track for the previously announced Smith River Trout Unlimited Picnic & Fishing Event, Saturday, June 16, 2004. (Meet for fishing at 8am and picnic at 4pm)

We will kick it off at 8am with a gathering at the Mirror Factory of anyone who wants to fish or learn more about the Smith River. If you are new to the river and can make it there by 8:30am we will pair you up with a "Smith River Regular" who will help shorten your learning curve.

Lunch is on your own but be sure to save some room for a hamburger and hot dog cookout at 4pm at the foot of the dam ((Hwy 727 which is the first side road to your right as you leave the Mirror Factory heading back to town of Bassett - road turns to gravel and dead ends at COE area at foot of Philpott Dam). We will compare notes, tell some lies, try to convince you to lend your support to the Smith River fishery and maybe head out again for some evening fishing if the generation schedule allows.

We will provide the main course, i.e. burgers and hot dogs along with the condiments. We will also provide soda and water (No beer or booze in COE picnic area - O'Doul's or Near Beer ok). Participants are asked to bring a covered dish or finger food to add to the table.

SRTU will have items for raffle so bring your wallet and walk away with some fishing related bargains.

You do not have to be a member of TU to attend this event. (You must be a member in order to vote on Chapter business) Anyone who has an interest in the Smith River Fishery is encouraged to attend.

For more information and to help us estimate how many will attend please contact Chapter President Robert Woods , (276) 806-0548 kfboyd@kimbanet.com or Chapter VP Al Kittredge, (910) 868-5235 aakitt@earthlink.net

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That’s some good bread!

While guys in jump suits better suited to NASCAR were chasing bass in glitter spattered speedboats in Lake Townsend, I was preparing for a rite of passage. I finally had the chance to take my eight year old granddaughter, Sarah, fishing for the first time. Her school class had fished from the pier at Lake Higgins where she caught a gar and a catfish. I missed that due to poor weather. Now I was to have her all to myself, for better or worse. I read many years ago not to take children fishing until they initiate the request. When that momentous occasion finally happens, take them to a place where they will have plenty of action to satisfy their short attention spans. I’ve enjoyed some good bluegill fishing in a small pond nearby and decided that would be the place.

My first bluegills were caught on bread mashed on a hook. There were so many in the small lake at day camp they practically impaled themselves to get at a scrap of food. In fact, they mistook the hairs on my legs for something edible when I stood in knee deep water during swimming lessons. Maybe I subconsciously became a fly fisherman to get even with them. Anyway, I decided we would use bread for bait. I bought some small jigs with green curly tails and took a box of flies along as a backup.

We arrived at the pond to be greeted by a baying mule. He was friendly and fortunately corralled. We walked around the far side of the pond to fish in the shaded area. I explained to Sarah the fish didn’t like the bright sunshine and we had to go where they were. I used an eight foot fly rod with a small mono leader tied to the line on the assumption most work would consist of poking through the bushes and real casting wouldn’t be necessary. Sarah promptly informed me she “knew how to cast” and made a swinging motion of her arm to demonstrate. I tried to downplay the need for casting and swung the baited hook about a rod length out. I handed the rod to her but she had other things on her mind. “Can I have some bread?” she asked.

It was close to suppertime. She finally took the rod and we stared at the bobber. Nothing happened. Not a good sign. I said we should check the bait. She lifted the rig up and no bread. I re-baited and swung out the line again. A minute later, no bread. Either these bluegills were the stealthiest things on the planet or that bread wouldn’t stick. I even tried tossing small pieces out to chum the fish into a feeding frenzy. No dice. Sarah ate another slice and commented, “That’s good bread, granddaddy.”

I didn’t want to switch to artificials so early, but off went the bobber and hook. I tied on one of Anthony Hipps’ foam poppers in a garish chartreuse and orange. I made a short cast and handed Sarah the rod. I said we have to wait a few seconds before the fish got used to the funny thing that landed on their roof. “They’ll come back to check it out in a little while,” I said. “Don’t move it, just let it rest,” I added.

She looked at the fly and then at me. I said, pay attention, you never know when they will eat it. I knew these pauses with nothing happening were not helping, but, heck, that’s fishing. Gratefully, the stillness was shattered when a fish crashed into the bug and it disappeared in a terrific swirl. Sarah knew enough to yank back on the rod and by a miracle, the fish was attached! She had not figured how to retrieve the fish and it swam back and forth, putting a good bend in the light rod. She giggled and screamed with delight. Finally, she just backed up the hill and I grabbed the leader and pulled the fish on the shore.

It was a darn big bluegill, about nine inches long. It was as fine a fish as the best I have caught there. She wanted to hold it and I showed her how sharp the fins were and how to fold them down out of the way. I held the fish and she touched its side, deciding it was slimy. I said I wanted to get a picture of her with the fish but I didn’t want to keep it out of water very long. So I gently placed the fish at the water’s edge and fumbled with my digital camera. But by the time I was ready, the fish had slipped off the slack line. The big one got away again.

Sarah was, thankfully, not disappointed and I said something like “Let’s get another one!” Now her attention was focused. I swung the bug out again and just as I handed her the rod, another bluegill smashed the bug. Again she yanked backed and a second miracle occurred. This time she took no chances and dragged the critter right up the bank. I got the camera out and she proudly displayed her fish. It was a smaller male, decorated with the distinctive blue tab on the gill plate. I put it back and she observed it didn’t swim away. I poked it to life with a stick and it took off. Sarah wanted to be sure it went back to its friends.

After disturbing this area for a while, we moved down the bank to a fresh spot. A cast quickly resulted in another hard strike and a third miracle. I wondered how long her luck would hold out. This was another big one, about eight inches, and we got two good pictures before releasing the fish. Sarah smiled at her trophy in my viewfinder, and I thought of myself at her age.

The fish did not come to the bug for a while, so we moved down the bank to try some other spots. Still nothing, so granddaddy showed her how to cast into a tree. She laughed at my skill as if I had done it on purpose. But a glance at my watch said our time was up. I didn’t want to stretch our time out, especially because the “catching,” as my mother-in-law put it, had slowed even though the “fishing” was just fine. We were having a great time and I wanted to end it on a high note. We packed up and she grabbed another slice of bread, again praising my selection. I told her she would have to thank “Mimi,” her word for my wife, Molly.

We arrived home triumphant anglers. Three fish landed and no one hooked. And that good bread! I passed the camera around and we all “Ahhhed” appropriately. This was indeed a good day. I promised Sarah I would take her in my boat to Lake Higgins where the trees wouldn’t interfere with her “casting.” Maybe I have a fisherman in the making, and a fly fisherman at that! Now I will have to learn how to duck in the boat. A small price for sharing time with my granddaughter.

Jim Brady

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