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Snags & SnarlsPisgah Chapter Trout Unlimited October 2008

Fish by Dotson Photo by Simons

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President’s Letter

First it was too little rain, then a little relief, thoughwe could use a lot more. Someone recently told me

that during a trip to the Davidson, the game was notfishing but rescuing—netting fishstranded in isolated pools and movingthem to deeper water. Now we suffera shortage of gasoline. Hopefully,however, intervention at the state levelwill ease the shortage and we can getback to “normal”. Among necessaryschedule changes due to fuel shortagewas the cleanup of the roadside alongthe Davidson.

By the time you see this, delayed harvest will be in fullswing again, that time of year that we so eagerly await.Hopefully there will be enough water in streams tosustain what promises to be a fairly normal volume oftrout. Stocking of the Green River is scheduled forOctober 7. The Little River was actually moved upfrom October 3 to October 1.

Elections will be held at the October meeting. JimHoskinson, membership chairman and Snags & Snarlseditor extraordinaire, has graciously agreed to rejoin theboard. Mike Dennis, retired Hendersonville physician,

The USDA Forest Service and the Cradle of Forestry willhold its annual Forest Festival Day for the public onOctober 4 at the Cradle of Forestry in Pisgah. Theyhave invited us once again to share skills and interestsby either demonstrating fly tying or casting, or justbeing there to answer questions. Joe Moore will becoordinating our participation.

will also be a part of the 2009 board, pending yourvote, of course. He is a long-time member, but had toput off participation for a few years. Mike did a greatpresentation on fishing New Zealand at the Septembermeeting. Articulate and funny, we are going to enjoyhaving him around. Also, the executive officers whoserve only one-year terms will be up for re-election.

Its time for N.C. Big Sweep again, and it’s a great timeto be a part of the North Carolina component of theInternational Coastal Cleanup—a global effort to rid ourenvironment of debris. On Saturday, October 4, theGreen River will be cleaned up downstream from theFishtop Access Parking Lot from 9 AM until 1 PM.

Continued on next page

This is a great opportunity to give something back andmake one of your fishing holes a cleaner place to be.


Chapter member Mark Byington ([email protected])is NC Big Sweep Polk County Coordinator.

For a long time now we have had a conglomeration ofmaterials we called a fishing library. Now, thanks to thegenerosity and organizational skills of new memberFrank Forrester, we have the real thing. Frank took allthe books, DVD’s and VCR tapes home and listed themin a spreadsheet which you will find on page 7. Materi-als, which are located in our chapter storage cabinet, maybe checked out at general meetings for one month andreturned at the following meeting. Although we have anice collection, we welcome donations of books, etc., thatyou no longer need or want.

On Saturday, October 18, the chapter will sponsor aworkshop we are calling Fly Fishing 102. The purpose isto give members an opportunity to work with and askquestions of some of the best, most successful fishermenin the chapter. Frequently we develop bad habits thatnegatively effect our success on the water, and this is thechance to make corrections, to make future trips moresatisfying. The workshop, which will be limited to 12chapter members, is an all-day event with lunch pro-vided. Contact me or Dale Klug [email protected])with questions.

The October meeting, which will be held on October 9 at7 PM, will feature a program about fishing Alaska onyour own by the Vermont brothers. Don’t miss this one.

See you on the water!Linda

Here are some of the photos from last month’s meeting. Mike Dennis’s trip to New Zealand earlier this year.

President’s Letter continued

Mike Dennis

The October chapter meeting speaker isJohn Vermont from Dalonega, Georgia

speaking on Do It Yourself Alaska fishingtrips and an update on the Pebble Mine

under consideration and the topic of a bigarticle in the Orvis News, and TU’s

‘TROUT’ most recent issue.

PCTU Board of Directors & Officers

Listed below are the nominees for the 2008-2009 term.Board of Directors2011 Mike Dennis2011 Jim Hoskinson


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Bernard Cohn IIIPam Fuhrer

Tory Peterson

MEETING NOTICE OCTOBER 9, 2008

You will see this when all the leaves drop on the ground and the underbrush gets crowded with leavesand limbs and copperhead snakes. Be careful where you walk in those fall leaves.

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FIND THE SNAKE! see page 6

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Notice to all members: Please report any changes(email, phone no., address etc) to Linda at

[email protected] go to tu.org and change it in your profile.

Chattooga River AnglingSnags & SnarlsOctober 2008John Kies

The North Fork of the ChattoogaRiver flows from North Carolina

near Cashiers, past Bull Pen Moun-tain, and eventually forms part of theborder between Georgia and SouthCarolina. The 57-mile ChattoogaRiver (including the 7-mile West Forkand 21-mile North Fork) were desig-

nated as “Wild& Scenic” byCongress onMay 10, 1974,one of a hand-ful of riverseast of theMississippi.Picture theDavidson Riverbut without thestream sidehigh-

way and bridge crossings onlyat the Davidson River Camp-ground and the Hatchery.That should give any readerof ‘Snags & Snarls’ a clearpicture of this river. The “asthe crow flies” mileage of thepublic Chattooga North Forkis about 15 miles with thebends and twists of the rivermaking the river distance is19 miles.

There are only three bridgecrossings on the ChattoogaNorth Fork; Bull Pen, Burrells Fordand Highway 28. The Highway 28bridge marks the lower limits of the“foot travel only” zone and the begin-ning of the recreational boatingsection. Above Burrells Ford is wildtrout water with a reproducing popu-lation of brown trout. Thebackcountry between Burrells Fordand Highway 28 is stocked annuallyeach fall by helicopter with sub-adult“put & grow” rainbow, brown andbrook trout, but of course some of thewild browns find their way down.

The North Fork below Burrell’s Fordwarms significantly in the summermaking trout fishing marginal. Butas the water cools in the fall, the 2½ mile Delayed Harvest manage-ment section above the Highway 28Bridge begins November 1st. Troutfishery management is shared be-tween Georgia and South Carolina.As the river forms the border, thestates have a cooperative agreementallowing the use of a license fromeither state for fishing the Chattoogamain stem. For the tributaries in therespective states, only those state’slicenses are valid. The DH waterruns from the confluence of ReedCreek to the Highway 28 bridge. DHin the Chattooga begins November 1and runs through May.14th. Accessthe DH is typically from the Highway

28 bridge area and you walk in fromthere. However, be careful withparking. There is a gravel parking loton the South Carolina side of thebridge in a grove of trees, but therehas been a recurring problem withauto break-ins and theft of gear. Onthe Georgia side is much smallerparking area, but it is out in theopen. If you fish from this area, usegood sense and don’t leave anyvaluables visible.

And some of those browns are verylarge fish! I have heard the brownsnosily slurping terrestrials at nightwhile camping along the river.

you access to the river below BurrellsFord for easy day trips. The hike in isworth it for the solitude of this beauti-ful river and a near wilderness experi-ence not so far from home. When Iwent back to the fly rod in the early1990s I took my wife, a non-angler,with me on a day trip to theChattooga one late spring day.

ed a lunch, a cooler and a CrazyCreek chair along with one of thebooks she had been reading. Ifound her a nice open spot withinview of the water and I fishedwhile she read. As we werewalking out she said to me, “NowI understand why you want tocome here”.

The river is a very popular desti-nation for hikers, backpackers,bird watchers, picnics and familyoutings. There are miles of trailsin the area and you will find the

parking lots busy on warm sunnyweekends. During the DH season,the parking lots on either side of theBurrells Ford bridge are not as busy.

The Rabun Chapter of Trout Unlim-ited in Clayton, Georgia is a caretakerof the Upper Chattooga much as weare with the Davidson. They haveregular work days with the ForestService, Georgia Department ofNatural Resources, and they finan-cially support the annual helicopter

If you are up to it, a great overnighttrip would be to combine some backcountry camping but doing a drop offat Highway 28 and a pick-up atBurrells Ford using the ChattoogaFoothills trail. This trail also givesyou access to the river below BurrellsFord for easy day trips. The hike in isworth it for the solitude of this beauti-ful river and a near wilderness experi-ence not so far from home. When Iwent back to the fly rod in the early1990s I took my wife, a non-angler,with me on a day trip to theChattooga one late spring day. I pack-


surveyor in the late 1790s and hemarked the common point whereGeorgia, North Carolina and SouthCarolina boundaries meet. Thecurrent USGS pin is only a few feetfrom Ellicott’s original marking whichis carved into the rock on the SouthCarolina side of the river, almost atthe water line. Most visitors missthat marker unless you know whereto look for it.

Flies for the Chattooga are the sameas those you would use on theDavidson or any of ourDH waters. For the DHsection, following astocking, the trout willchase Y2Ks, San Juanworms and similarpatterns. As the fishacclimate, they begin topick up on the morenatural insects and thenwe go to more naturalpatterns. More so thansome of our waters, the

stocking of the river below BurrellsFord. The helicopter stocking is theonly way to get fingerlings into theriver below Burrells Ford due to theWild & Scenic designation, whichclosed most of the old roads thatused to lead to the river. If you go tofish the Chattooga, contact DougAdams with Rabun TU [email protected]. He can giveyou the insiders take on what isworking at any given time, and ifDoug or some of his chapter friendsare going, they just might meet upwith you and show you the ropes. Ihave worked with Doug and many oftheir members for years and theyare a great bunch of folks. For ahatch chart, check page two of theRabun TU newsletter: http://www.rabuntu.com/aboutme.htm

Chattooga has some verydeep stretches and oftenthe biggest fish are found deeper inthose pools. A sinking tip is handy tohave, but a bead head and a coupleof split shot will do the job. It wouldbe very interesting to try some of theCzech nymphing techniques weheard about last summer.There is acurrent point of contention you shouldbe aware of, and if you want to try theChattooga North Fork, you may wantto do so soon. American Whitewater

(AW) has challenged the ForestService management and designa-tion of the river as no boating aboveHighway 28. They have precipitatedlaw suits demanding that the entireriver be opened to boating. The mostrecent recommendation by the ForestService this summer would allowlimited boating above Highway 28based on high water flows thought tomake the river unsuited to fishing.AW has also challenged this compro-mise and has even threatened todemand that as a Wild & ScenicRiver that “invasive non-native spe-cies” (rainbows and browns) not bestocked. This would effectively endDH section and trout fishing in thisvery unique back country experienceand with it, angler opposition toboating. The various surveys andcomments sought by the ForestService also included objections to


I already mentioned the access viaBurrells Ford and Highway 28, andthere is one more access point inNorth Carolina on Bull Pen Road.The Wild & Scenic Chattooga NorthFork in North Carolina is a mediumsize wild stream with 5 miles ofpublic water but with 1.7 miles ofprivate property just downstream ofWhitesides Cove Road. If you are onthe upper end of the river, a must seeis Ellicott’s Rock. Ellicott was a

boating by all the other stakeholder;campers, hikers, and birders. Formore info, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms/forest/projects/chatt.shtml

The boating ban was originally put inplace in 1976 because of numeroususer conflicts, especially betweenboater and anglers, and some of thatwas violent. A separation wasdeemed the best solution and hasworked well since 1976. Most of the Chattooga’s white water and rapidsto Class V are below the Highway 28bridge where the West Fork joins the

main stem and produces that legend-ary water for kayakers and rafters. The boaters have not been bannedfrom the river, but allocated to that36-mile section with the best waterfor boating. The 19 miles of NorthFork above the Highway 28 Bridgehas been zoned for foot travel only(no horses, no bicycles, no boats) toprotect and enhance the experiencesof solitude and remoteness.

I would encourage you to watch forupdates on this issue and to partici-pate in those surveys and comment

periods if you feel the Chattoogausage should remain allocated as it istoday. Of course, the best way todetermine if you feel boating puts thisnear wilderness experience at risk isto become a well informed stake-holder by going fishing there this fall!

To reach the Chattooga you can takeHighway 64 west toward Cashiersand then south on Highway 107 intoSouth Carolina to Burrells Ford. Youcan use SC Scenic 11 to Walhallaand then Highway 28 to the bridge,or go right on Highway 107 just westof Walhalla to Burrells Ford. There isa very nice South Carolina State Parkand there is a Forest Service Camp-ground on 107, either would be agood home base for a weekend. Trailmaps can be purchased at the ForestService District Office also located onHighway 107. Here it is!


Provided by Barsotti

Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited Title Author

Books A Fresh-Water Fisherman’s Bible Vlad Evanoff A River Never Sleeps Roderick Haig-Brown A Study: Identifying the Genetic Origin of Wild Brook Trout Copy 2 Lee Sherrill A Study: Identifying the Genetic Origin of Wild Brook Trout Copy 1 Lee Sherrill Advanced Fishing Techniques Lefty Kreh American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium Pt 1 Lefty Kreh American Masters Fly Fishing Symposium Pt 3 Lefty Kreh Aquatic Insects and Oligochaetes of North-South Carolina Allison R. Brigham Warren U. Brigham Argentine Trout Fishing Guide to Pataginia William C Leitch Becoming a Fly Fisher from Brookie Days John Randolph Bent Poles and Tight Lines Charles E. Salter Fiishing the Flats Mark Sosin and Lefty Kreh Fishing Alaskan Waters Marilyn Carter Fishing the HeadWaters of the Missouri Norman Strung Fishing Yellowstone Waters Hard Copy Charles E. Brooks Fishing Yellowstone Waters Soft Copy Charles E. Brooks Fishless Days and Angling Nights Sparse Grey Hackle Fly Fishing for Bass Lefty Kreh Fly Fishing Techniques and Tactics Lefty Kreh Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis Howell Raines Great Fishing Tackle Catalogs of the Golden Age Samuel Melner and Herman Kessler Lefty’s Favorite Fly-Fishing Waters Lefty Kreh Oregon River Tours John Garren Reef Deep in Montana’s Rivers John Holt Rivers of the Heart A Fly Fishing Memoir Copy 1 Steve Raymond Rivers of the Heart A Fly Fishing Memoir Copy 2 Steve Raymond Shupton’s Fancy- A Tale of Fly Fishing Obsession Paul Schullery Standing in a River and Waving a Stick John Gierach Terrestrial Fishing Ed Koch The Art and Science of Fly Fishing Lenox Dick The Beartooth Fishing Guide Pat Marcuson The Bright Country A fisherman’s Return to Trout Harry Middleton The Field and Stream Treasury of Trout Fishing Leonard Wright The Hook Book A Reference Guide For Fly Tyers Dick Stewart The Montanan’s Fishing Guide Vol II Dick Konizeski The River Why David James Duncan Trout Ray Bergman Trout at Ten Thousand Feet John Bailey Trout Fishing The Southern Appalachians J. Wayne Fears Uncommon Waters Women Write about Fishing Holly Morris Upland Streams Notes on the Fishing Passion W.D. Wetherell What the Trout Said Datus Proper Yellowstone Fishing Guidw Robert E. Charlton

Audio-Visual Media

Advanced Fly Casting with Doug Swisher Doug Swisher Better Trails Through Trail Runoff Control Copy1 TU Better Trails Through Trail Runoff Control Copy1 TU FlyFishing For Bass with Dave Witlock Dave Witlock Nymphing Gary Borger Survival Of the Wild Trout and Salmon Taking a Second Look - Communities and Dam Removal The Anatomy of a Great Banquet TU Wading Safety 2000 Simms


OUR VISIONPursue a future where healthy populations of native and wild coldwater fish thrive in the Western North

Carolina region for following generations to enjoy.

OUR MISSIONConserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in the Western North Carolina

region.

3. Turn the hook over, but keep the beadnear the back of the hook.

4. Attach thread at the eye. Loosely tiea CDC puff on top of hook with tips stick-ing out over eye. Pull the puff backuntil less than 1/8-inch of the featheris exposed. Tighten thread, whip finish,cut thread and trim back of CDC as closelyas possible. Apply a little head cementto let the bead slid. Move bead forwardover the thread and puff. Reattach threadbehind the bead.5. First attach rib on top of hook behindbead. Then tie Superfloss on top of rib.Hold both materials as thread is wrappedrearward. Try to keep tinsel on the bot-tom, and both materials on top of hook.Continue wrapping around the bend alittle. Wrap thread forward in closewraps.6. Stretch the Superfloss at start ofwrapping forward, ease tension as youmove forward and really ease up on ten-sion behind bead. Tie Superfloss tightly.

7. Spiral rib forward and secure tightlybehind bead. The Crystal flash can betwisted to prevent it from going flat.8. Attach a peacock herl behind bead,take three wraps of peacock herl, se-cure and trim excess.

9. Place two whip finishes between pea-cock herl collar and bead. Cut thread.

FLY OF THE MONTH

Jack Frisch


2. Put hook in vise point up. Pick upbead, and slide it onto hook with thelarger opening toward the eye.Bead Head Midge

MaterialsHook: R30 #12-14Bead: Brass, 3/32-inchThread: 8/0 RedGills: CDC puff, whiteRib: Tinsel, very fine silver or Crys-tal Flash, pearlescentBody: Superfloss, redCollar: Peacock herl

CDC, Cul de Canard, feathers come fromaround the preen gland on a duck. A duckuses oil from the gland to dress andwaterproof all of its feathers. Such wa-terproofing makes CDC a natural choicefor floating patterns. However, the fi-bers have a translucency and lifelikemovement in water that makes CDC a goodchoice for wet flies also. Incidentally,never use a floatant on CDC dry fliesjust dry them with a cloth. Not all flyshops carry the CDC puffs, so look aroundor have the shop folks order them foryou.

Tying Steps1. If you want to remove the barb, do itbefore you start tying the fly.


General MeetingLocation and Directions

LOCATION: Unitarian Univer-salist FellowshipHall at the intersection ofKanuga Road andPrice Road, Hendersonville.DIRECTIONS:

From downtownHendersonvilleFrom intersection of ChurchStreet and Kanuga Street pro-ceed on Kanuga past the light atthe intersection of Kanuga andErkwood Drive (on left) the Hallis on the right approximately 1mile from lightFrom Polk County - Exit I-26 atUpward Road. (Exit 55) Pro-ceed west on Upward Road.Cross highway US 176 to US25. Turn right at light, then 0.4turn left on Erkwood Drive.Turn left at intersection ofErkwood Drive and KanugaRoad. the Hall is approximately1 mile from light.From Transylvania County -Take US 64 East. Turn right onCrab Creek Road and followtoward Hendersonville Road thename changes to Kanuga atintersection with Little RiverRoad. The Hall is on the left lessthan 2 miles from intersection.

This month is your last chance to get in on thisrod raffle! The drawing for the rod is the Octobermeeting, Thursday the 9th. This is a G Scott 3wt,8’8" 3 piece rod, a collectable, as well as a greatfishing rod. The rod has a 5 digit serial numbermodel, SN 66825. It has been used a couple of

times, but shows absolutelyno sign of any use.

The Chapter is selling 100raffle tickets for $10 each.Tickets will be sold until all100 are gone, or the begin-ning of the fall DH season!Chris Ellis sells tickets at allchapter meetings, plus, forthis special rod, you canmail order raffle tickets!Send your $10 cash orcheck per ticket to Chris atP.O. Box 396, Horse Shoe,

NC 28742 and he will send you your ticket stub.Be sure your order has your name and phonenumber so we can call you with the good news ofyour win unless you are at the October chaptermeeting where the winning ticket will be drawn.

You are not limited to just one ticket, you maypurchase as many as you like. Good luck andthanks for your participation. As you know, thefunds raised go to Chapter projects like theDavidson River project, Trout in the Classroom,Rivercourse, Kids Fishing Days and all our otherprojects.

Thank you and good luck! Vinny the PisgahPooch!

The following schedule lists the upcoming programs and events thathave been approved and have been assigned dates. More details will be

provided for each event as it approaches.

C hapter members listed below areavailable to accompany one or two

members who would like to learn moreabout fly fishing in our streams. If youare just beginning to fly fish, here’s anopportunity to get help from some knowl-edgable anglers.

Bob Daubert 693-6262Steve Fromholtz 674-2450 *Dave Maxwell 894-0308Steve Herring 749-9352Dale Klug 243-6783

Legend: * weekends only

Calendar of Events

Pisgah Chapter Directory

Officers and BoardPresident Linda Campbell 828-817-2681 [email protected] President Kiki Matthews 828-696-1599 [email protected] Chris Ellis 864-458-6240 [email protected] Mark Coffin 828-891-4969 [email protected] President Dale Klug 828-243-6783 [email protected] (2008)Director (2008)Director (2009) David Pierce 828-891-8991 [email protected] (2009) Wai Syn 828-894-5524 [email protected] (2010) John Kies 828-698-5207 [email protected] (2010) Steve Herring 828-749-9352 [email protected] & SnarlsPublishing Jim Hoskinson 828-891-8440 [email protected]

Reference Phone NumbersNC Wildlife Violations 800-662-7137NC Wildlife Resource Comm. - Doug Bessler 828-659-8684Fish Biologist - Lorie Stroup 828-645-6000Silt Problems - Dennis Owenby 828-251-6208Fish Hatchery Kiosk - Jim Medford 828-699-8593Water discharges on the Green River 1-800-829-5253Water discharges on the Nantahala River 866-332-5253Water discharges on the Tuckasegee River 866-332-5253National Trout Unlimited www.tu.orgPisgah Chapter Trout Unlimited www.main.nc.us/PCTUCarolina trout fishing www.wnctrout.com

10-2-08 Davidson River Road Cleanup meet @ 9:00 am Coon Tree10-1-08 Board Meeting Kelsey’s 6:3010-9-08 General Meeting UUF 7:00Social 7:30 Meeting Drawing for G Series Scott Rod Stocking Schedules10-1-08 North Mills River10-1-08 Little River Stocking New Date10-3-08 East Fork of the French Broad River10-7-08 Green River11-3-08 North Mills River11-4-08 Little River11-6-08 East Fork of the French Broad River11-6-08 Green River

Snags and Snarls is published eleven times a year by the Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited, a non - profit organization for its members and supporters. Address comments to: Snags and Snarls PO. Box 841 Hendersonville NC 28793-0841.

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