Fly Fishing Gear of President Eisenhower
Ike undoubtedly owned a good many rods and reels and some have perhaps been lost to history, held in private collections, or may be stored at Abilene. While he enjoyed all manner of fresh water fishing, Ike was particularly fond of fly fishing for trout. Local rumor has that streams around Camp David were stocked with trout whenever Ike was visiting and local anglers, upon hearing that Ike had been at camp, would flock to fish the downstream areas of these creeks and catch the remaining fish.
I’m not sure if he spent much time salt water fishing however there are three different sand spikes and a chum pot in the NPS collection. The fly rod is a Pflueger R3780 in eight foot length and made of fiberglass. The White House tag can be seen on the rod bag. The small bottle is dry fly treatment and labeled Silicote Dry Fly Dressing, copyright 1946. I’d like to believe that this fly rod and some of the other gear might have some neat stories to tell. Ike loved fishing and, with the great responsibilities he carried on his shoulders, one certainly can’t begrudge him his days on the stream.
For Eisenhower, like many of us who love fly fishing, the sport probably served as...
Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association Heritage Day 2012
The Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association Heritage Day was a fun and informative event, as usual. The weather was gorgeous and the turn out seemed good. I had the pleasure of hanging out with forum members Troutbert, Wetfly01, and dc410 among other Pa fly fishing luminaries. Good stuff. Enjoy the pics of us and some of the artist/vendors.
Forum members Fishidiot and Troutbert
New and old editions from Dwight Landis
(Link to interview on Paff)
Fly fishing stuff from Fishidiot found at www.rodandbrush.com
(link to interview on Paff)
Forum member and wet fly master: Wetfly01
www.wetflywaterguides.com
Wetfly01’s handiwork
Artist Michael Simon
www.michaelsimonanglingart.com
Fish artist Thom Glace
www.thomglacewatercolors.com
Allenberry pavilion
Lots of bamboo rod vendors
So much bamboo, so little time.
Forum member Lestrout typically finding the sweet spot.
Forum members Fishidiot and Troutbert
New and old editions from Dwight Landis
(Link to interview on Paff)
Fly fishing stuff from Fishidiot found at www.rodandbrush.com
(link to interview on Paff)
Forum member and wet fly master: Wetfly01
www.wetflywaterguides.com
Wetfly01’s handiwork
Artist Michael Simon
www.michaelsimonanglingart.com
Fish artist Thom Glace
www.thomglacewatercolors.com
Allenberry pavilion
Lots of bamboo rod vendors
So much bamboo, so little time.
Forum member Lestrout typically finding the sweet spot.
Book Review: Dynamic Nymphing by George Daniel
Throughout the year trout feed a disproportional amount of the time under the water. For me even during a recent sulphur hatch on Spring Creek trout were not rising and could be seen actively feeding below the surface. George Daniel's book, Dynamic Nymphing, offers an extensive look at tactics and strategies that get to the heart of subsurface nymph fishing.
I enjoy all the puzzles that fly-fishing provides and always appreciate ways to overcome those challenges. George shares the best of these techniques in solving many of these trials with his book in a wonderful format of instruction, photography and sketches for some of the best approaches to nymph fishing.
A range of chapters provide: a nymphing systems overview, riggings, casting techniques, tight-line tactics, fly patterns, small streams, challenging locations and much more.
Anglers not as familiar with all aspects nymph fishing or looking to extend their subsurface skills will quickly enjoy all facets of this book.
For example George provides details for the Curly Q rig, which is ideal for shallow water and longer casting requirements. This may be a more advanced technique for some and is broken down into a couple parts within the book for use and clarification. Explanations of how to make the Curly Q and ways to cast this rig are completely covered. In addition, he provides many other detailed leader formulas making it easy to understand where and when to implement these different strategies.
Dynamic Nymphing provides several for tight-line tactics, which is a method of nymphing without the use of a suspension support device. Joe Humphreys mentored George and details of the Harvey/Humphrey high-stick methods are explained along with several European nymphing styles as well.
George provides well over 60 detailed fly patterns ranging from pheasant tails to Czech nymphs. All these flies are...
A range of chapters provide: a nymphing systems overview, riggings, casting techniques, tight-line tactics, fly patterns, small streams, challenging locations and much more.
Anglers not as familiar with all aspects nymph fishing or looking to extend their subsurface skills will quickly enjoy all facets of this book.
For example George provides details for the Curly Q rig, which is ideal for shallow water and longer casting requirements. This may be a more advanced technique for some and is broken down into a couple parts within the book for use and clarification. Explanations of how to make the Curly Q and ways to cast this rig are completely covered. In addition, he provides many other detailed leader formulas making it easy to understand where and when to implement these different strategies.
Dynamic Nymphing provides several for tight-line tactics, which is a method of nymphing without the use of a suspension support device. Joe Humphreys mentored George and details of the Harvey/Humphrey high-stick methods are explained along with several European nymphing styles as well.
George provides well over 60 detailed fly patterns ranging from pheasant tails to Czech nymphs. All these flies are...
A Great Fish
This article is another in Dave Weaver’s on going “Casting through History” series. His previous article in this series was John Brown’s Bass.
Over the years many of you, if you’ve visited Yellow Breeches Anglers in Boiling Springs, have probably gazed at one particular dusty old mounted brown trout. When I was a kid, I’d look at this fish and think that it wasn’t the best taxidermy job. If you’re a Cumberland Valley regular or otherwise familiar with the writings of Charlie Fox and others, you’re probably aware of the story behind this fish. If not, we’ll re-tell the story behind this dusty old trophy…..a veritable sacred relic of Pennsylvania fishing history.
Ed Koch is part of Pennsylvania’s unique fly fishing heritage. His book Fishing the Midge is a classic and, like many of the writings of his generation, is always worth a re-read. Ed was also the long time owner of the Yellow Breeches fly shop. Many of you may remember chatting with Ed in the shop. This was Ed’s great trophy, caught from Letort Spring Run in August 1962. Charlie Fox recollects the story in his classic, This Wonderful World of Trout: Ed had hooked the fish three times previously. Finally, he saw the giant again and, after several casts, the big brown rose and ate a Letort Cricket, a popular deer hair dry fly. After a tough, twenty five minute fight in the weeds, the fish came to the net: 27 and a half inches and over nine pounds. Fox describes Koch’s trembling hands when the fish was weighed and photographed. Shortly later, the Fish Commission announced that this was the largest brown trout ever caught in Pennsylvania on a dry fly. Does this fish still hold this distinction today? I don’t know - perhaps. I think every fly fisherman dreams of that fish of a lifetime; a fish that takes perseverance and...
Ed Koch is part of Pennsylvania’s unique fly fishing heritage. His book Fishing the Midge is a classic and, like many of the writings of his generation, is always worth a re-read. Ed was also the long time owner of the Yellow Breeches fly shop. Many of you may remember chatting with Ed in the shop. This was Ed’s great trophy, caught from Letort Spring Run in August 1962. Charlie Fox recollects the story in his classic, This Wonderful World of Trout: Ed had hooked the fish three times previously. Finally, he saw the giant again and, after several casts, the big brown rose and ate a Letort Cricket, a popular deer hair dry fly. After a tough, twenty five minute fight in the weeds, the fish came to the net: 27 and a half inches and over nine pounds. Fox describes Koch’s trembling hands when the fish was weighed and photographed. Shortly later, the Fish Commission announced that this was the largest brown trout ever caught in Pennsylvania on a dry fly. Does this fish still hold this distinction today? I don’t know - perhaps. I think every fly fisherman dreams of that fish of a lifetime; a fish that takes perseverance and...
Trip Report: Northwest Michigan Fall Fly Fishing
Bruno called fellow board member Acristickid on his cell phone as we headed up Route 79 North from Pittsburgh and Acristickid told us to turn left when we got to Erie and head for Michigan!
The heart of the fishing near Wellston in Northwest Michigan is 8 hours driving time from Pittsburgh which compares favorably to the seven hour drive to Pulaski New York for anglers in Western Pennsylvania. We fished October 10-12 in 2010 which was a little late for the salmon in Michigan.
This year Bruno, Brian Charlie and I made our way north again. We fished September 18-21 which was close to the peak of the Chinook Run. The Coho salmon also were out to play this year. Our trip was a little early for the steelhead, they run late October to late April. Part of the appeal of fishing in Northwest Michigan is that nearly all of these fish are naturally reproducing from ancestors stocked decades ago. The spawning gravel in these rivers and streams is immaculate!
We caught a few King salmon on our own, but the best day of the trip was our day our on driftboats with guides from Schmidt Outfitters on the Manistee River. They put us over a Coho hotspot. Bruno and I hooked and landed many of these wonderful fish that really love to take a fly. We also hooked a few King salmon with the guides, but the landing of Kings was more difficult.
What happens to trout during a flood?
This past weeks flooding from Tropical Storm Lee left much of region devastated. The rains produced floods that rivaled the 1972 storm of storms Hurricane Agnes. Sadly, there are countless tales of significant property loss as result of flooded waterways from the Susquehanna in the Wyoming Valley to the Swatara in Lancaster County. Hoping everyone has a speedy recovery.
A lot of questions have been asked on the site as too what happens to the trout under such conditions?
The short answer is it depends, but for the most part fish and the aquatic life recovery reasonably well in these situations. That is not to say there won't be some short term issues. Trout and other fish instinctually know how to respond to these types of floods.
During high water fish will get into the safest flow of a a stream or river, which would typically be at the very bottom of a stream. This is where the velocity of the flow is the slowest. Rocks and other structure can provide some needed protection.
“The fish tend to hunker down,” said David Lemon, fisheries manager at the NY Department of Conservation’s Cortland office. “They get behind current breaks, in deep pools ... sit on the bottom.”
Certainly severe conditions can leave fish in some bad situations. Floods can deliver pollution and heavily silted water that can cause additional challenges. More problematic for trout is they can find themselves outside the banks of streams when the water retreats.
"Generally speaking the populations do quite well, bouncing back quickly, or never seeing a reduction. Occasionally seen, populations decline substantially and remain down for a number of years. This has usually been true only when the storm or flood has ravaged the habitat and for the long term left it much worse than before. In those cases, primarily brook trout streams, many to most of the pools were lost. The populations in those cases found...
The short answer is it depends, but for the most part fish and the aquatic life recovery reasonably well in these situations. That is not to say there won't be some short term issues. Trout and other fish instinctually know how to respond to these types of floods.
During high water fish will get into the safest flow of a a stream or river, which would typically be at the very bottom of a stream. This is where the velocity of the flow is the slowest. Rocks and other structure can provide some needed protection.
“The fish tend to hunker down,” said David Lemon, fisheries manager at the NY Department of Conservation’s Cortland office. “They get behind current breaks, in deep pools ... sit on the bottom.”
Certainly severe conditions can leave fish in some bad situations. Floods can deliver pollution and heavily silted water that can cause additional challenges. More problematic for trout is they can find themselves outside the banks of streams when the water retreats.
"Generally speaking the populations do quite well, bouncing back quickly, or never seeing a reduction. Occasionally seen, populations decline substantially and remain down for a number of years. This has usually been true only when the storm or flood has ravaged the habitat and for the long term left it much worse than before. In those cases, primarily brook trout streams, many to most of the pools were lost. The populations in those cases found...
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