Nat Greene Flyfishers    March 2008

Anthony’s Fly Fishing Lamentations

Personal Lost Fishing Access

A couple of miles south of Greensboro I was enjoying a nice late summer evening of casting flies to eager bluegills and bass at a private family farm pond just a few miles south of Greensboro. I had received permission to fish here from a co-owner of the property over five years ago. In those five years I had enjoyed numerous pleasurable fly fishing evenings after work catching some large bluegills, shellcrackers, crappie and largemouth bass. This pond is absolutely loaded with fish and I was seldom disappointed in the fishing action it provided. This evening was no different as the bluegills and foot-long bass were eagerly striking my popper/nymph dropper combination about every third cast. I had caught about fifteen fish when my friend, Randy, one of three family members that are co-owners of the pond and surrounding farm property, came walking across the pasture toward me.

Randy is a great guy and good friend, but he is not a fisherman. Often he came over to the pond to talk to me and watch me fly fish. This time I could tell by his demeanor as he walked toward me that something was not quiet right. His head was down and I could tell that he was not in a jovial mood. As Randy approached me I quit casting and reeled in my line. I walked up the grassy bank to meet him and we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Then Randy gave me the bad news. He told me that I was a good friend, a welcomed guest and an excellent steward of my fishing privilege. He appreciated the way I have always respected his property and did all he asked of me. Then he lowered his head and said, “Anthony it hurts me to tell you this. The family has made a decision to not let anyone accept family members have further hunting or fishing access to the property. However, you are welcome to fish in the pond for the rest of the evening.”

Randy went on to explain that the reason for this “family decision” was due to their farm liability insurance and family lawyer. Their insurance rates would go up significantly unless they posted their property and restricted access. The lawyer had emphasized their financial risk if someone got hurt or killed in an accident on their property. As their farm has not been a money making operation for several years, they decided they would reluctantly follow the insurance companies and lawyers advice.

I thanked Randy for the fishing privilege I had enjoyed over the last five years and told him I understood. I decided to just quit fishing and drive home. And yes, I really do understand the decision by Randy and his uncle/brothers/sisters to restrict access.

You see, my dad posted our family farm in Alabama for the first time ever just three years ago for the same reason. My dad’s farm has two stocked ponds (one for catfish) and a small creek filled with bass and panfish that runs through his property. It is also blessed with a population of wild Canadien geese, white tailed deer, ducks, coyotes, bobwhite quail and wild turkeys. He also has a big black-angus bull named Homer that we warned people to stay away from and watch out for. Homer has never offered to hurt anybody, but a bull can be an unpredictably onerous creature. Dad had always been willing to let anyone who courteously asked fish the creek and one of the ponds. He had also allowed some hunting access to a few friends and acquaintances who asked permission. Now, due to the insurance issue and because we are such a litigious society, he lets very few people, only very close friends and relatives, have access to hunt or fish.

Over the last ten years I have lost access to all but one of my favorite private ponds. With the loss of these ponds, I lost a lot of good fishing close by my home. I can’t blame, or be angry at, the landowners as it is their right to manage their property and the access to it as they see fit. I just wish our world was different where people do not have to be afraid of frivolous lawsuits. The world has become so litigious that I am now afraid to even ask a friend for permission to hike or fish on their property.

Access to Public Waters Can Be Lost Too

Loss of fishing privileges doesn’t stop there. Just last year I returned to my favorite delayed harvest section of the Watauga River near Blowing Rock, NC. When I got to the river there were POSTED – NO TRESSPASSING signs on every other tree. There was a written note below the NO TRESSPASSING stating that the fishing privileges now belonged to an exclusive “Fly Fishing Club”. I went by Theo and Haden Copeland’s Fly Shop to find out that indeed that section of the Watauga was no longer public water. They did point me to another section of the Watauga that was public delayed harvest water and I still had a good day trout fishing.

I found out later, from a club member I met at a fly shop, that if I was willing to shell out several thousand dollars I could become a member too. When I voiced my displeasure at the concept of paying thousands of dollars to fish a short section of river the club member gave me a lecture in return. He told me that in his view most all trout water should be in private club hands to “protect the resource”. He explained to me that he viewed fishing like the game of golf. He asked me “you wouldn’t expect to play golf, even in a public park, without paying the green fees would you?” “Then you shouldn’t be able to fish a trout stream without paying a fee either”. I told him that I and a few hundred thousand other citizens did pay a fee through our fishing license and trout stamp. He was a nice enough guy so we just agreed to disagree. We shook hands and then he drove off in his Porsche.

On another trip I decided to wade-fish for smallmouth bass on my favorite section of the North Fork of the New River. A mature aged farm owner and his wife had always given me permission to park in their driveway and access the river from their property. It had been at least three years since the last time I had fished this water. When I drove up the road to this section of the North Fork New River on this trip, I came to a large gated housing development with a security guard stationed at the gate. My friend’s cabin and farm were gone, replaced by a three story mansion with two Mercedes parked in the drive. I turned and left without even asking to fish.

Did you realize that a significant percentage of our trout water in North Carolina flows through private property? The Mitchell River and Helton Creek are two popular delayed harvest streams where their whole flow is through private land. If a group of very wealthy “investors” were able to convince the land owners to lease them the fishing rights for a significant sum of money, you can bet the public’s (that is you and me, guys) fishing privileges would cease on these two waterways. And you really couldn’t blame the farmers for seeking a large profit for their mostly break-even farms.

Large “Navigable” River Systems Are Not Immune

You say you only fish for trout and bass on the big rivers that are “navigable” and therefore you feel safe because “these will always be public waters”. Don’t bet on it. Right now there are some well financed homeowner groups challenging the definition of “navigable” waters in several states with the goal of restricting or stopping public boating and fishing access. Their lawyers are arguing that “navigable means the water can support barge traffic for commerce. If the water is too shallow or not navigable for commercial barge traffic, then it is by definition ‘not navigable’ and therefore ‘not public water.’ They are arguing before the courts that “navigable” does not apply to canoes, kayaks, drift boats, or john-boats since these are not commercial barges.

Fellow fly fisher folks, this isn’t fantasy. It is a real-life legal battle going on right now in north Georgia on the Taccoa River, upper Chattahoochee River and the Chatuga River trout waters (and other public trout waterways) that flow through private property. It is also happening in Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, New York and practically all of our trout rich states out west.

What About Our National Parks and National Forest?

Our national parks and national forest waters are not totally safe for the future of public fisherman either. Several so-called “green” groups are pushing the National Park Service and National Forest Service to institute “no consumptive use” laws. You have probably heard or read in the news that the big issue with these “green” groups is stopping access for gas powered vehicles, especially snow mobiles and ATVs. In reality these “environmental activist” are pushing for legislation to stop all consumptive uses, including berry picking, mushroom picking, firewood gathering, hunting and yes, fishing. In their view the only thing you should be able to do in our national parks and forest (including our public beaches such as Cape Lookout and The Outer Banks) is hike in (only on marked trails) and hike out, supposedly not disturbing anything. Several of these “green wacos” have written articles published in Audubon Magazine which I read with alarm at my last doctor’s office visit. They now form a percentage of Audubon Society membership.

What Can We Do?

What can we, as fly fisherman, do to stem the tide of losing public fishing access and protecting our fisheries? The first step is to get our head out of the sand and be aware of what is going on. We should not panic. However, to effectively deal with the issues we must be educated and informed. We must continue to purchase hunting and fishing license. We can (and must) continue to support state wildlife commissions and national parks/forest in the purchasing of land for public outdoor recreation and conservation. We should maintain memberships, monetary, vocal and moral support for like-minded groups such as Trout Unlimited, Federation of Fly Fishers, Coastal Conservation Association, The Nature Conservancy, The New River Preservation Society and locally The Piedmont Land Conservancy. Believe it or not, one of our biggest public fishing access advocates is Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS).

Like BASS, we must enlist, involve and teach kids the beauty and fun of fly fishing. These kids are the conservationist, fisherman and voters of tomorrow. Believe me, tomorrow is not far away. We must become involved in the political process and let out political representatives, local and national, know where we stand and this issue determines how we vote. We must stand together and be a political voice and force like no time before in our past.

There is a lot of hope for our fly fishing future. But, we best not take it for granted or we may lose it.

God Bless and Tight Lines
Anthony Hipps

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Fly fishing for Shad: A Primer

I talked about pursuing shad with the fly rod at the February meeting. We had a good size group, but obviously many of the club’s members were not there. So for those who couldn’t attend and those who would like something in print to refer to, I offer some suggestions for catching shad on the fly.

In the first place, there are two species of shad that ascend North Carolina rivers on spawning runs: the American, or white shad and hickory shad. The Americans run three to seven pounds and due to commercial overfishing are few in numbers but making a slow comeback. You can find them in the Cashie, Tar, and Neuse Rivers. A very small population is in the Roanoke River. Hickory shad are twelve to twenty inches long and full of fight. They can be found in the same rivers but the population in the Roanoke River is simply enormous. There must be many thousands of fish in the upper river during the peak of the run, which is roughly mid-March until the end of the first week of April. Hickories hit the fly hard and spend much of the fight in the air.

Another difference between the species is their mouths. Hooks are usually implanted in the hickory’s lower jaw which is made of very tough cartilage. Only sharp points penetrate so carry a hook hone and use it frequently. If the point isn’t dangerously sharp, its not sharp enough. American shad, in contrast, have soft mouths from which you easily tear out the hook. So regardless of species, enjoy the fight and don’t force them in.

Both species like to find someplace to rest on their journey upriver. Look for them behind an obstruction or on the bottom of a pool out of the force of the current. Places where tributaries meet the mainstream are often very good.

Wherever you find shad, they will be on the bottom. A fly passing overhead usually goes untouched. That means sinking lines, short leaders and weighted flies. I like a seven weight rod for the Americans and a five or six weight for the hickories. Match these rods with 250 and 175 grain sinking shooting head lines, respectively. Make sure the running line sinks (usually intermediate sink rate). You can buy these pre-made in one piece or make your own using lead core or Rio 14 grains/ft sinking line (available by the foot at Great Outdoor Provision Co.). Just cut off enough line to make the required number of grains and attach a running line to it. On the front end attach a permanent mono loop as a leader connection. Actually, the word “leader” is a misnomer here because a single piece of eight pound test mono about twenty inches long does nicely. A loop in one end connects it to the line. When the “leader” gets too short, cut it off and loop on another piece.

Fly selection is not rocket science. Shad are not selective by any means and are not, in fact, supposed to even be feeding during their spawning run. But hit a fly they will, and with vigor! Flies should be brightly colored to be seen in the murky water and weighted to get down to the bottom. The few shad flies in print are usually gaudy red, chartreuse or white things that look like a child’s first stab at fly tying. With enough weight added, they should all work. I favor ye ‘old Clouser minnow in size four. I carry several color combinations because some colors show up better than others depending on the discoloration of the water. I like fluorescent pink over white, chartreuse over white, red over white and bright orange over white. Whatever you use, flatten the barb and check the point regularly. Bouncing the fly over the bottom is a good way to dull the point.

Fly presentation is straightforward. Cast quartering upstream to allow the fly and line to sink. Point the rod tip directly at the line during the entire drift. If you hold the rod in one position, water pressure against the line will cause the fly to rise and prevent it from staying close to the bottom. When the line is straight across from you, starting stripping in six to ten inch strips; you will have to experiment to find the length and speed of strip that turns the fish on. Continue to follow the line with the rod tip during the entire retrieve.

When a fish hits, simply pull back on the line with your stripping hand. Lifting the rod, as is commonly done in trout fishing, introduces slack into the system and greatly reduces hooking success. With the rod pointing straight at the line, and hence at the fly, you have a direct “line” to the hook point. Set it firmly, eight pound test can take a lot.

Hickories are one fish that you can catch more of by simply keeping the fly in the water as long as possible. If you miss a strike, pause a bit before resuming the retrieve. I think the fish think the fly is injured and when it starts to swim away again, they will hit it again. They also will often hit a fly simply hanging in the current straight downstream. David Dow tells me that when he misses a strike on a fly hanging in the current, he lets out a little line before beginning his retrieve again. I have counted four or five strikes per retrieve when I simply kept stripping and didn’t set the hook. There are not too many fish in my experience that are so willing to hit a fly so enjoy it!

I play the fish by stripping the line in by hand. I don’t reel the line in because I would just have to strip it off again to make the next cast. The Americans like to slug it out in the depths but hickories readily go airborne so enjoy the fight and don’t just pull them in. I have learned that by holding the rod high when a hickory approaches the boat I can induce him to jump until he throws the hook. Then I can quickly make another cast and be into another fish in seconds!

This brings up the subject of casting sinking lines. Most of us start our fly fishing careers with floating lines and have little or no experience using sinking lines. They are certainly different critters. The most obvious difference is that you cannot simply pull the line out of the water and start a back cast like you can with a floating line. You have to retrieve a sinking line first because it’s not possible to rip the thing out of the water. Using a shooting type line adds another twist. All of the mass that is cast backward and forward with a shooting head line is in the front end of the line so you only have to work with this part. False casting a floating line is done to extend the length of the cast. False casting a shooting head line is unnecessary and wears out your wrist. Get the forward portion of the shooting head moving and it will go on its own accord.
Remember to keep the running, or shooting line, clear of obstacles. I have found that stepping on the running line is the easiest way to reduce the length of my casts. Sometimes I take off my shoes and fish in my socks because I can feel when I’m stepping on the line. Socks also don’t damage a fly line the way shoes or sneakers with grit on them might.

What time of day is best to catch shad is a subject of debate. My experience has shown that warm afternoons are the best times. It seems that the morning sun warms the water to a range that makes the fish active, about the mid to upper fifties. On days with air temperatures in the high sixties or low seventies, the fish might turn on by eleven o’clock or even ten-thirty in the morning but early to mid-afternoon seems to be the rule of thumb. I have even had good fishing as late as seven o’clock in the evening on a pleasant spring day. Both species have large eyes characteristic of the herring family but bright sun doesn’t seem to have dimmed their enthusiasm. This is probably due to the off-color water the runs occur in. I’m sure the sediment load of coastal rivers prevents a lot of sunlight from penetrating very far. At any rate, cold, damp days have produced slow fishing whereas warm days can be fantastic. Two fishermen taking one hundred fish in an afternoon is not unheard of.

Now you know what to do. The question becomes when and where. Aside from calling your fishing buddies, I suggest using the internet. Two sites have been useful to me. The North Carolina Wildlife Commission posts a weekly fishing report on the Roanoke River runs from early March through the end of May. Go to ncwildlife.org and click on the Roanoke River fishing report. I have the link bookmarked. Another source is ncwaterman.com. You have to register (give your email address) but otherwise it’s free. You can find recent fishing reports that may be less than a day old. These reports also deal with rivers other than the Roanoke. There are several postings on shad fishing already this year. Grifton, NC has its own web site (grifton.com/shadfest) and an annual shad festival, complete with crowning of Miss Grifton. You might be able to get some information from the site as the runs progress.

Other useful sources include tackle shops. Bobby Colston’s tackle shop in Roanoke Rapids (Colston’s Tackle Box, 252-537-6485) has truthful, up to date information. I‘ve even called them from the boat and they put me onto fish. The Neuse River Sport Shop (252-527-5058) in Kinston is practically in the Neuse River so they should have fairly current information.

Like many of you, I began my fly fishing life as a trout fisherman. I have, however, branched out into catching many other species that eat artificial flies. Shad are one of the best. They are a terrific way to welcome in the springtime. Enjoying the sun and a warm breeze is my way of saying goodbye to winter. And catching fifty fish in an afternoon can’t be beat! I highly recommend that you expand your horizons and enjoy one of the best fly fishing opportunities North Carolina has to offer. Go get ‘em!

Jim Brady

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Gary Borger to Appear to 2008 Annual Spring Banquet

Gary Borger has been booked as the special guest speaker at Nat Greene Flyfisher's Spring Banquet and Seminar on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at the Greensboro-High Point Marriott Airport.  Our banquet is a family friendly event which includes dinner, cash bar, silent auctions, door prizes, and raffle items for the fly fisher and non-fisher alike. The technical seminar will be held from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and will feature discussions and demonstrations of casting, tying, and fly fishing techniques. The evening banquet will be held from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm and will feature a presentation geared towards a general audience including non-fishing spouses and young fly fishers.

Gary holds a BS (1966), and an MS (1968) from Penn State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1971). He is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Wisconsin Campus in Wausau where he taught for 28 years. During his career he offered Botany, Zoology lab, Natural History Photography, Writing in the Sciences, Dendrology, Ecology, Taxonomy, and other topics. He was presented with the Teacher of the Year Award on two different occasions. His achievements have been recognized in “Who’s Who in the Midwest,” “Who’s Who in Science and Engineering,” “Men of Achievement,” the “Dictionary of International Biography,” “Who’s Who Among America’s Teacher’s,” “Outstanding People of the 20th Century,” and “Outstanding People of the Millenium.”

He has been a fly fisher since 1955, and since 1972 has taught classes and lectured internationally on all aspects of fly fishing for trout and salmon. A free-lance writer and photographer and a former active member of the Outdoor Writer’s Association of America, Gary is also Midwest Field Editor for Fly Fisherman magazine, Editor at Large for the Virtual Fly Shop, and Fly Fishing Columnist for Midwest fly Fisher. He has written five best-selling books on fly fishing: “Nymphing,” “Naturals,” “ The Borger Color System,” “Designing Trout Flies,” and “Presentation.” Gary pioneered fly fishing video instruction with his release of “Nymphing” in 1982. Since then he has appeared in four videos for the 3M Company; and in cooperation with the Federation of Fly Fishers, produced the environmental video “Where The Trout Are.” His video production company has produced an additional 21, internationally acclaimed videos in the “Skills of Fly Fishing Series.” This production work has earned him a listing in “Who’s Who in Entertainment.” Gary was also a consultant on Robert Redford ’s movie “A River Runs Through It.” With his award-winning CD/cassette tape, “My Madison,” he pioneered fly fishing, nature-music audios. In addition, Gary is a the designer of the Weinbrenner Ultimate Wading Shoe, the Gary Borger Fly Vest, the Gary Borger Signature Fly Lines,, and many other innovative angling products and unique fly designs. He is a founding board member of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federation of Fly Fisher’s fly casting instructor certification program, a member of The Order of the Jungle Cock, Trout Unlimited, United Fly Tyers, the Federation of Fly Fishers, the American Museum of Fly Fishing, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center, and other conservation organizations. He is a recipient of the Ross Allen Merigold Complete Angler Memorial Award, the Charles K. Fox Rising Trout Award, the Joan and Lee Wullf Conservation award, and is internationally recognized for his conservation efforts; in recognition of this work he received the first Lew Jewett Memorial Life Membership in the Federation of Fly Fishers in 1979. Gary is currently Executive Vice President of Targus Fly and Feather, Inc.

http://www.garyborger.com

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17th Annual Federation of Fly Fishers Southeastern Council Conclave & Fly Fishing Show

May 29 - 31, Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Georgia

• Special guests including Lefty Kreh & Steve Rajeff
• Seminars and workshops on many fly fishing topics
• Fly-tying demos and instruction by dozens of the best tiers in the country
• Free fishing on one of the private Callaway Gardens lakes for show attendees
• Casting instruction for novices to experts
• Low-cost hosted fishing trips on private Callaway lakes
• An abundance of non-angling activities for family members
• Commercial exhibitors with great deals and special offers
• Special saving for Callaway activities
• Special rates on fishing boat rentals