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...
Book Review: Fly Fishing Evolution by George Daniel
The book is structured into three main parts, each dedicated to a specific fishing technique, offering insights into gear, patterns, tactics, and presentations. The general flow of the book is easy to read and provides thoughtful insight with clear explanations. Specific illustrations and photographs help enhance the presentation. This colorful approach adds to the engagement of the book.
The three main parts cover:
- Nymphing: Explores nymphing tools, patterns, and key concepts, including suspension tactics and tightline/Euro tactics.
- Dry Fly: Covers tools, patterns, and the art of casting and presenting dry flies.
- Streamers: Discusses streamer tools, patterns, and various presentation techniques.
What I Liked:
The book's strength lies in its organization, where George breaks down complex tactics into simple, rudimentary steps without losing the depth required...
Penns Creek, Union County, October 10/5-7/2023
Life has been very good lately, but very busy with my daughter getting married last week and a move coming up. All good things and no problems. I made the last minute call to get away for a break and fit in a few days away for some fall fishing. The weather, water and time were perfect. Having moved a year ago I really missed my backyard fire-pit. Part of my plans for fishing included a fire, a steak, and some bourbon. The trip turned out perfect and had a bonus of some nice fall colors to add to the atmosphere.
Thursday
The weather was beautiful for an early fall morning - sunny with temperatures in the low 70’s. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was nice to see the leaves turning. I started up off Tunnel Road and there were a few people around but clearly not like the spring. The water was running at about 220 CFS, clear and around 62 degrees. Hatches were a mix of BWOs and caddis.
I tried a lot of different tandem rigs, but had my best luck with a caddis and zebra midge combo. I caught a few smaller bows that seemed like fingerlings that were stocked. I moved to a lower section of the special regs for the afternoon. By 6:00 pm the caddis really picked up along with BWOs, and BWO spinners.
The evening came together with a nice fire, steak and some Basil Hayden.
Friday
Maurice joined me in the morning for the morning assault. The weather turned cloudy and dropped to the low 60’s. I was very optimistic for the day. We went back to the Special Regs section but had a slow go. I picked up a nice 16” bow on a black wooly bugger - looked like a fish that was stocked a few miles below in the spring. It was a very slow morning.
[ATTACH...
3 Tips for Fishing Montana's Salmon Fly Hatch
By Brian McGeehan at Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana’s rich and varied wild trout fisheries offer anglers year round fishing opportunities. While it is difficult to elevate any one time of the year as the “best” time to fish the Big Sky state’s blue ribbon rivers, there is no doubt that the most anticipated time of year coincides with the emergence of the legendary salmonfly hatch.
Salmonflies, which derive their name from their salmon orange abdomens as adults, are the largest aquatic insects found in our local rivers. They are a type of stonefly that are found in rocky and swift flowing rivers and are part of the Pteronarcys genus. Salmonflies dwarf most other aquatic insects and often exceed 2 inches in length. It is the large size of the insect that garners so much attention from fly fisherman. While smaller trout will spend their day hunting much smaller morsels of food; large trout tend to eat large meals less frequently. Most of the year anglers in search of truly large trout need to fish subsurface patterns such as streamers that imitate small fish. The salmonfly hatch is one of the rare times when even the largest fish in the river will be tempted to feed on the surface to intercept the oversized adult insects.
As juveniles salmonflies spend 3-4 years as immature nymphs in the river before hatching into adults. Although the nymphs can be a year round food source, they become much more accessible to trout just before the emergence when they migrate towards the banks.
Salmonflies begin hatching in lower elevation rivers that warm faster such as the Smith and as late as mid July on the Upper reaches of the Yellowstone River inside of Yellowstone National Park. Although the hatch can be encountered in different rivers over the course of several weeks, on any one section of river they are only on the water as...
Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited Summer Picnic 2023
Rick Nyles (PVTU/Sky Blue Outfitters) and Derek Eberly (Sky Blue Outfitters)
PVTU member, Rick Nyles, organized the day's activities, and the Sky Blue Outfitters Guide Team, including expert caster Derek Eberly, volunteered to teach casting techniques throughout the day. Also everyone had the pleasure of hearing from Dave Rothrock, of the Ranting Angler, who shared his knowledge on drop shot fishing techniques and led an entertaining entomology program right by the stream.
Dave Rothrock of the Ranting Angler
To raise funds for chapter projects, there were silent auctions and raffles with a great selection of prizes to choose from.
Let's talk about the food—it was simply exceptional! We were treated to a mouthwatering pig roast, accompanied by delicious salads, side dishes, and desserts. Kudos to Rick and other organizers for making sure we were well-fed and happy!
Who doesn't love a good summer pig roast?
After the scrumptious lunch, Bryan Fulop, the Chapter President, provided us with important...
Beginner’s Strategy for Locating Small, Wild Trout Streams in the Wilds of Pennsylvania
I often see a common question come up early in the learning curve for anglers looking to get into small stream, wild trout angling: How do I find good streams to fish? It can be an intimidating first hurdle to overcome, but once over it, the way is open to a very rewarding angling experience. It requires some homework, often good for a cold evening in the dead of winter with your beverage of choice. You’ll swing and miss sometimes, but the home runs you hit will be well worth the strikeouts.
Below is the method that I’ve developed and relied on, and that has led me to many good small stream days in the woods of Pennsylvania:
1. Locate via some simple Googling, the following three lists published, and regularly updated by the PFBC: 1) Natural Reproduction List. 2) Class A Wild Trout List. 3) Wilderness Trout Streams List. They contain different information, and there is some overlap between them, but it is all useful. They all indicate the county the stream is in, so you can use that to begin to narrow things down.
2. (Optional, but not necessary. Good for a beginner with this method, but the more successful you get, you’ll find you’ll rely on these less.) Purchase a couple of PA stream guide books. Dwight Landis’ is very good, and is my personal favorite, but there’s several other good options out there as well. Again, some simple Googling will head you in the right direction if you wish to purchase these. They all run about $20-$30.
3. Review the above-mentioned lists and books and locate some streams in a given area that you think interest you. Cross reference those stream’s locations with a good mapping software. Google Maps works very well for this, and of course, is free. Are the streams on publicly owned land? If not, who owns the land? What are the potential access points? Of course, it goes without saying, always...
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Weather 30 years ago Northwest PA/NorthEast Ohio November 9th-14th- Latest: rustbeltwilds
USGS Stream Gauges
