SUMMER 2020 | VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3

FOCUS But as the last grasps of sunlight cling to the world, this giant fish passes from view, disappearing into the realm of lore and legend as so many have before. A final question remains: How many more times will this scene play itself out before taimen are lost forever?

FOCUS Trout have always been at the top of my species list, and I’ll spend more time and energy to catch a trout than anything else.

© Photo Teddy Cosco

Publishing Team Chris Bird Jennifer Bird

Illustrations AD Maddox admaddox.com

Founding Editor Derek Bird

Diane Michelin dianemichelin.com

Editor John Van Vleet Associate Editor Gary Bird Group Art Direction Terry Paulhus Circulation Consultant Scott Bullock Office Administrator Kim Carruthers Department Editors Derek Bird Brian Chan Dana Harrison Jim McLennan Derek Olthuis Jeff Wagner Contributors Teddy Cosco Danie Erasmus Faceless Fly Fishing Dave & Amelia Jensen Jessica Haydahl Richardson Land Tawney The Bug Parade Jaymes Veitch

Fly Fusion is published quarterly by Fly Fusion Ltd, a division of Bird Marketing Group Inc. PO Box 20029, RPO Tamarack Cranbrook, BC V1C 6J5; 1-888-435-9624 info@flyfusionmag.com flyfusionmag.com Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Fly Fusion, PO Box 20029 Cranbrook, BC V1C 6J5 Return undeliverable US addresses to: Fly Fusion, PO Box 227A, Eastport, Idaho 83826 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

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Canadian Mail Publication Agreement #41202551.

The current issue of Fly Fusion can be found across North America in specialty fly shops, sporting goods stores and retail outlets for $8.99. One-year subscription: $28.95.

Two-year subscription: $49.95. Three-year subscription: $69.95 CAD. Add $12.00 shipping and handling per year for international subscriptions. Editorial submissions are welcome and should be sent to the address above attention to the Editor. Email queries can also be emailed to editor@ flyfusionmag.com. Visit flyfusionmag.com for the full writer and photographer guidelines. Unsolicited submissions will be considered and must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Fly Fusion assumes no responsibility for the return or loss of solicited and unsolicited material.

All facts, opinions and statements appearing within this publication are those of the writers and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, or endorsements. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the publisher. Copyright 2020 Fly Fusion Ltd. Printed in Canada. © Photo Faceless Fly Fishing

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ON THE CONTRARY...

Jim McLennan Fly fishing a certain way just because it’s how things have always been done can stifle creativity and innovation—and prevent you from catching fish. However, when it comes to contrary thinking and innovation, a few unusual flies and methods have (pardon the expression) emerged recently. Along with these are some that are still gestating and in the pre-emergence stage.

HIKE-IN FLY FISHING AT ITS PEAK Teddy Cosco Springtime in Nova Scotia can be T-shirt time or a victory for the stubborn will of winter. The fishing season ends in October and doesn’t open again until April, so by the time spring arrives anglers throughout the province are champing at the bit to get out of the house regardless of the weather.

CAN FLY FISHING SAVE MONGOLIA’S TAIMEN? John Van Vleet Before the mid-1990s, very few anglers had even heard of a taimen, let alone traveled halfway around the world in pursuit of one. In the decades since the initial outfitting operations were put in place, taimen conservation efforts have resulted in varying degrees of success. Now, with the help of fly anglers around the world, the Taimen Fund stands at the forefront of Mongolia’s efforts to protect these monstrous, yet surprisingly fragile, fish. But will it be enough?

YELLOW SALLIES, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM Danie Erasmus Yellow sallies are one of the most well-known, and arguably the most abundant, stoneflies across North America. Fish feed on all the different life stages of this insect making it of great importance to fly anglers. From life cycles and distribution to nymphing and dry-fly fishing, this is the ultimate guide to everything you’ve ever wanted to know about this colorful little yellow stonefly.

INSIDE 12 42 46 50

Stream Lines Profiles Long Lines Wandering Currents

54 58 64 65

Stillwater Secrets On the Vise End of the Line Water Marks

© Photo Derek Olthuis | © On the Cover The Bug Parade

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STREAMLINES

Streamlines on Taglines

Derek Bird I’m always willing to share a few fly-fishing secrets. My favorite fly, for example, is the one the trout are taking. My favourite season is the one when trout are biting.

My favourite stream is the one where the trout are plentiful and the anglers are few. © Illustration A.D. Maddox admaddox.com @admaddox999

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T

hough we’re taught not to, most people do judge a book by its cover. I only know this because people often judge a magazine by its cover as well. I rarely write about the magazine, but I’m going to take a break from talking about fly fishing to discuss the magazine.

Although, it’s a magazine about fly fishing, so I suspect there will be an intersection between the two.

The tagline is the phrase just under the magazine’s name on the cover. It’s a phrase that the editorial team feels is essential to the core vision, enough that they allot space on every cover, which is one of the most coveted (and dissected) spaces in the magazine, for the very reason most people ignore the cliché.

If you viewed covers back to the magazine’s inception, you’d notice we’ve displayed three taglines over the years.

The first reflected a moment: “Where fly-fishing elements unite”. We designed it to complement the magazine’s name and if you read one of my first columns I actually defined Fly Fusion as “the perfect cast, the perfect drift, and the perfect take” all intercepting at a specific moment. Granted, fly fishing is made up of many imperfect moments, but we felt it prudent to reflect a trajectory toward perfection rather than focus on tangled leaders and rat-nested reels.

As an editorial team, one of our goals was to help facilitate Fly Fusion moments for our readers. We believed that if we could create a community around education and instruction, and complement that portion of the editorial with world-class photography and knowledgeable and relatable editors, that we’d always come close to enhancing our readership’s moments on the water. With each issue we designed and sent out, our goal was not so much to be like a guide, but more like a mentor who’s also a flyfishing partner, with the full knowledge that this type of relationship at its apex, sees the student grow to mentor others one day.

In the spirit of this core vision, I once wrote a failed TV commercial for the magazine. It failed because we never shot it, and I suspect the reason we never shot it was because the team did not share my enthusiasm for the idea. As disappointed as I was about never shooting it, I also understand. I’ve come up with other brilliant ideas that we carried out only to find they were not as brilliant as I believed them to be. Since I know it will never get shot, I’ll explain it to you.

A guy gets up early and drives over to his buddy’s house to pick him up to go to the river. He’s just bought a new truck and wants to take it on its inaugural fly-fishing trip. He gets to the house and has to wait in the driveway for half an hour before his buddy appears at the door all disheveled. When his buddy finally gets to the truck, he recklessly throws all his gear on top of the driver’s gear. To add to the driver’s frustration, his buddy spills his coffee on the seats and doesn’t wipe it up. Then as they drive away, his buddy leans into a nostril-assaulting fart, which completely desecrates the new-truck smell. Completely annoyed, the driver slams on the breaks, kicks his buddy out of the truck, throws his gear to the side of the road, and drives away.

Determined to not let anything detract from his inaugural trip, he carries on to the river. On the way, the driver sees a broken-down truck with a stranded traveler looking under the hood. He stops to help and finds it’s one of Fly Fusion’s editors, and they decide go to the river together. The editor grabs his or her gear and places it in the Good Samaritan’s truck. The tagline at the end of the commercial is “Fly Fusion…pick one up. We’ll be the flyfishing partner you always wanted.”

Now that I explain the commercial, I realize it’s probably better I went into this line of work rather than advertising. It gets the point across though. We wanted to be informative and relatable and we believed the tagline

on the front of the magazine enabled us to stay focused on our goal.

Then we grew. To say the growth was unexpected is not completely accurate. We expected it in the same way a guy expects a girl, who’s completely out of his league, to say yes to a date. The idealists on the team expected it to happen, and the realists on the team often explained all the reasons it couldn’t happen.

With growing pains came our second tagline replacing the first: “North America’s Fly Fishing Authority”.

The tagline was a stretch goal. We believed we were that (or at least could attain that); we just needed others to see that we were. Our team set the goal and then we watched the magazine’s trajectory trend from national to international as we shared our platform with editors, writers, and photographers from the Dean to the Deschutes (well beyond that actually, but I’m a sucker for alliteration).

Now fast-forward to the most current issues with the updated layout. The new format ushered in our latest tagline: “The Soul of Fly Fishing”. Without a doubt it’s my favorite of the three. I believe it’s the one that most succinctly captures each dimension of the magazine’s core.

It pays homage to our roots in that it relates to the desire to connect with the audience, and it acknowledges the fact that borders do not confine our readers. It’s cohesive and connecting in an era where we celebrate diversity.

In our tagline it’s soul as in “music has soul”. It’s soul as in “the soul of a fighter”. I feel like I should also define it by what it’s not. It’s not soul as in the political race to capture the votes of the American religious right or the emerging religious left. It’s soul as in that which connects us, not that which divides us. It’s not the Greek definition of soul, as

that which leaves the body for eternity after one passes. It is, strangely enough, more synonymous with the original Hebrew definition of the word, which more closely relates to throat. If I may take some liberty here, it is that which connects the head to the chest…that which connects knowledge with the place where we feel strong emotion.

The soul of fly fishing draws on all aspects of our pastime and provides a platform for learning, enjoyment, and discussion. The soul of fly fishing recognizes that if

our head always leads the way then the mystical becomes lost to us. We may understand the depths of entomology and the perimeters of the proper casting stroke, but we easily lose our way if we’re only focused on science and technology. And if, on the opposite end, we merely focus on the feelings we get from standing under towering peaks and listening to the euphony of the stream as it passes us, then we will likely miss the opportunity to catch the persnickety trout that’s feeding just inches from the logjam.

Maybe a person shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but as fly anglers we know learning to read the surface brings us at least a step closer to understanding what’s underneath.

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On the Contrary...

Jim McLennan

O Jim McLennan Jim McLennan has been fly fishing and writing about it since sometime in the last century. He continues to indulge his passions for fly fishing, bird hunting, writing, and music, but unfortunately this leaves very little time for the thankless task of keeping Derek under control during filming of Fly Fusion TV. © Photos Jessica Haydahl Richardson jessicahaydahlphotography.com @haydahlphoto

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ur sport’s deepest thinkers have made better thinkers of us all. Perhaps the best and deepest was the late Gary Lafontaine.

He was never satisfied with status quo or doing something a certain way just because that’s the way we’ve always done it. He asked if the way we’ve always done it makes sense, or if there might be a better way. An exploration of his books (“The Dry Fly: New Angles,” “Trout Flies: Proven Patterns,” “Caddisflies,” and others) will convince you of this. One of the things he questioned was our assumptions about how trout see and respond to their food. So of course he put on diving gear, lay quietly on the bottom of a trout stream and watched the bugs and the trout. Then he came up with better imitations and methods of fishing them. To him, contrary thinking and innovation were simply a logical way of doing business and we’re better and further ahead because of what he learned and shared with us.

When it comes to contrary thinking and innovation, a few unusual flies and methods have (pardon the expression) emerged recently. Along with these are some that I believe to be still gestating and in the pre-emergence stage.

The now-seemingly fundamental idea of dry-fly fishing was an innovation itself in its early days, but once established it was done almost entirely in an upstream direction in moving water. This was to achieve the allimportant drag-free drift, which is still required to adequately imitate the way most adult insects behave when they’re on the surface of the water. On some of the United Kingdom’s revered private chalk streams anglers are still required to fish dry flies upstream only.

Thanks to circumstances and that all-important maternal motivator, necessity, in the 1970s or so, some radical, revolutionary, and clever North Americans found that in certain situations a dry fly could be delivered (and also accepted) more successfully when presented with an across-and-downstream cast. Heresy? Not quite, but at the time unconventional for sure. Details are not warranted here but the gist is that when properly presented down and across, with the correct reach cast (or reach mend), the drift is drag-free, but with the added benefit that the fly arrives in the fish’s view before the leader does. This is not something that’s important everywhere, but it’s very

important and beneficial in some places, most specifically streams with slow, flat, clear water and Ph.D. trout.

While we’re talking about the direction we fish, let’s consider streamers. They’ve most often been fished with a relatively simple down-and-across swing to which rod-tip movement and a stripping retrieve is added. This lets the fly mimic both the motion and direction of the little fish a streamer is intended to imitate. And it works fine—except for when it doesn’t. The times it doesn’t are when the layout of the banks and streams won’t allow it, or when the trout are being trout and simply don’t respond to it. What’s needed are some additional ways to present streamers. In tiny, bush-lined streams, down-and-across is impossible so the only option is to cast upstream and retrieve the fly back toward you. The logical retrieve is just slightly faster than the current, which allows a weighted streamer to reach good depth easily and make its way down the current toward you with a tempting up-and-down jigging action.

Casting a streamer upstream is also an excellent way to fish near undercut banks, fallen trees, and other bank-side cover. A conventional down-and-across cast might place the streamer near the productive cover initially, but once the retrieve begins the fly immediately moves away from the cover into open water that a trout might be reluctant to enter. An up-and-across cast keeps the fly closer to the cover longer. And it works. If you read George Daniel’s piece, “Slow Grinding Streamers,” in the previous issue of Fusion, you’ll have learned about this method, along with other deliciously effective heresies, such as fishing streamers beneath indicators (what??), and “reversejigging” streamers with a sinking line. Outlandish? Maybe.

Creative? For sure.

My longtime friend and outdoor mentor, the late Bob Scammell, had an interesting way of fishing during caddisfly season. He used three flies on his leader: a weighted larva imitation on the bottom, a pupa in the middle, and a buoyant adult pattern at the top. He’d adjust things so the larva would reach the greatest depth, the pupa would be just beneath the surface, and the dry would be at the surface. You could fish this in either an upstream or downstream direction but I believe he fished it mainly downstream. A cast quartering down, followed by a couple of quick upstream mends would allow both the larva and

the pupa to sink, with the larva going deepest. On the swing the pupa would rise to the surface in a nice emerging motion. All the while the dry caddis would alternately drift and hop on the current with each mend or movement of the fly line, nicely mimicking an egg-laying adult. Is this clever? I think so.

What about flies and fly patterns? Terrestrial fishing is in vogue these days, primarily—in the West at least— because that’s the category into which grasshopper fishing falls. In eastern North America and elsewhere in the world, other land-borne bugs are considered as important as grasshoppers are in the West. Beetles, ants, cicadas, caterpillars, and other terrestrial bugs are regularly imitated in other places. My long-time fishing pals from Pennsylvania used to tell me (as long as no-one else was in earshot) about fishing inchworm patterns on the tree-lined stretches of the Yellow Breeches and other PA streams.

They were also fans of ant and beetle patterns. They fished all of these terrestrial bugs as dry flies, but they also fished

sunken versions of all of them. Turns out that land-based insects float, but not forever. A sunken beetle or ant (or inchworm) pattern can work very well. I’m trusting that I’m not in trouble for spilling the beans here, but in my defense I’ve kept this under my hat for at least 20 years.

Another dip into the Gary Lafontaine library reveals that he fished with—you guessed it—sunken hopper patterns.

What a surprise.

There are a couple of flies I’ve encountered a need for, but haven’t been clever enough to come up with on my own. So in true McLennan fashion I’m happy to explain the problems, but too lazy to find the solutions. And so I put these out here, in hopes of spurring action from fly tiers.

First, I need a true dry/streamer hybrid. This is a fly that floats on the surface and imitates a large, longish insect like a stonefly or hopper, but sinks slightly and “transforms” into a streamer with a slight pull on the line. It needs to be carefully constructed with materials that are buoyant, but not too buoyant. It might need some type of collar

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or “spoiler” to send it beneath the water when the line tugs on it (see the Dahlberg Diver pattern).

And it should have a soft “wing” (marabou, ram’s wool?) to give it the enticing, slithering motion of a streamer after the fly has sunk.

Why not just fish a dry and streamer separately, you say? You can, except in one situation. It’s nearly impossible to fish a streamer close enough to really gnarly cover like root balls, undercut banks, log jams, or any place with a lot of snaggy cover. But you can fish a dry fly quite nicely in these places because you can let the fly drift in, watching it all the way, and remove it just before it gets into trouble with the snags. And most of the time the

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current causes the dry fly to “bounce” off the snags without hanging up. But what if the trout won’t eat a dry? It would be nice to be able to show them a streamer, but in those places it’s very difficult. Because the fly sinks immediately and most of the time you can’t see it, it drifts, sinks, and snags if you let “Turns out that land-based it get too close. With the hybrid I’m craving, you could let the fly drift in very close to the insects float, but not snags, and whenever you want you could tug forever. A sunken beetle or on it so it drops beneath the surface and then you could retrieve it as a streamer. Think about ant (or inchworm) pattern it: Dead drift on the surface toward bushes, up can work very well.” against roots, or along a log jam and if nobody eats it on the surface, fish it out as a streamer.

Bob Scammell had some prototypes of this type of fly that he called Jekyll and Hyde, but I foolishly lost the samples he gave me, so I’m left with nothing but his good idea.

The other thing the fly-fishing world needs is a streamer that better imitates the movement of a small fish that’s hooked on a line and is fighting to get away. How many times have you had a big trout (think brown trout

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and bull trout especially) come charging out of nowhere to take a run at a 6-incher you’re dragging in to release?

When this happens to me I do what I’ve been told: cut back the leader, put on a streamer, throw it out there where the attempted mugging occurred, and make the fly behave like the struggling little fish. Sure, but it almost never works.

I’m convinced that’s because the movement imparted by stripping a conventional streamer doesn’t come close to replicating the panicky struggling behavior of a little fish that’s attached to a hook and line. For an imitation to behave suitably it might have to be tied so it comes in diagonally when it’s retrieved, such that the more you pull on the line, the more the fly tries to move perpendicular to your pull. In the spin-fishing world there are plenty of plugs that move like this, so surely it’s possible with a fly. Maybe if there was a way to attach the leader partway down the hook shank?

So here’s an appeal to all you tiers out there: Remember that things that are weird and wacky today might be routine tomorrow. So put away the foam for a few minutes, do us a favor and create some of these new flies. You can send the prototypes to me.

Teddy is a passionate outdoorsman, enthusiastic home cook, and sometimes-lucky fly fisherman from Vancouver.

If he’s not on the water, you can find him at Simon Fraser University, where he is a professor of mental health and aging.

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Hike-in Fly Fishing at its Peak TEDDY COSCO

Springtime in Nova Scotia can be T-shirt time or a victory for the stubborn will of winter. Our fishing season ends in October and doesn’t open again until April, so by the time spring arrives we’re champing at the bit to get out of the house regardless of the weather.

Trout have always been at the top of my species list, and I’ll spend more time and energy to catch a trout than anything else. I’ve always been fascinated by a brook trout’s amazing range of colours and tones, and how individual trout from the same system can look completely different from one another; from dull brown and muted pink to full-on, plugged-in glowing colours, or the chrome blue of a fresh sea-run specimen.

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This spring a friend and I set out to find some new fishing spots that were off the beaten path and less known, even if it meant some boot miles and bushwhacking.

We were eager to fish a hatch at the new spot and although our timing was right, a big storm the day before had flooded the river, pushing it into the woods. It was a struggle just wading through spots that were usually dry land.

Such high water can sometimes slow things down for trout fishing, but for other species it is essential.

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CONSERVATION

John Van Vleet After spending all of 2019 criss-crossing the United States with his wife in their van/home, Fly Fusion Editor John Van Vleet has settled back down in Bozeman, Montana, where he fully intends to pursue every brown trout within a 300-mile radius.

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Can Fly Fishing Save Mongolia’s Taimen?

D

usk radiates across the spartan Mongolian steppe, painting the expansive rolling hills in robust shades of orange and gold.

Overhead, a cloudless blue sky absorbs the colors below, transforming into a glowing gradient of warm, vibrant hues. Along the vast horizon, the giant sun slowly burns toward its daily end.

Through these endless grasslands winds the Onon River, a vital artery of life as ancient and expansive as the land itself. Legend holds that Chinggis Khan himself was born and grew up along its banks. Surging and swirling in a series of aquatic notes, its peaceful current provides a melody to the rhythmic swoosh of oars as a drift boat quietly floats toward camp. Three sun-beaten faces watch the last minutes of light fade away, transfixed by the colorful tranquility like prehistoric insects trapped in polished orbs of amber.

In a languid side slough ahead on their left, beneath a sloping rock outcropping, an explosion of water shatters the calm, disrupting the reverie with a singular violence and fury found only in places as wild and remote as this.

Weary, but not defeated, the anglers jump to attention and ready themselves for another opportunity, one last-gasp effort to tangle with the river wolf, with leviathan itself: the taimen.

Across the placid lagoon, the giant rise form turns the still water into a makeshift wave pool. Small fish leap toward the skies in desperate pleas for freedom; the aquatic hunter lurks beneath the surface waiting to stun, kill, and eat its prey, a savage and unflinching judge of life and death.

Within seconds, a grotesque purple-and-yellow popper splashes noisily into the maelstrom—a fly fit for trophy smallmouth bass, not anything related to the trout. But this salmonid is like no other; it is the apex predator, the alpha and the omega of this river system.

It eats whatever the hell it wants. As the oversized fly churns and gurgles its way through the retrieve, shooting forward small spouts of water in fluid arcs, a large wake draws closer and closer, ramping up in speed like Captain Nemo’s fearsome Nautilus chasing down an unsuspecting British vessel.

KERSPLOOOOOSH! A deep, engulfing plunge rings through the air as the fly disappears into a chaotic mess of white-tipped waves, taut tippet, and a crimson tail the size of a folded dinner napkin. Each anxious microsecond electrifies the situation, charging even the slightest thought with a thorough jolt of excitement. Eyes open wider. Blood pressure soars.

This setting. This opportunity. This moment. This is where dreams are supposed to break through from the ethereal plane to the tangible world.

With the next hopeful strip, the fly re-emerges from the depths, mostly unmolested and most assuredly not in the mouth of the titanic taimen that so brutally attacked it moments ago. The angler pulls the line tight, leaving the fly in suspended animation and himself somewhere between heartbreak and despondency.

But as the last grasps of sunlight cling to the world, this giant fish passes from view, disappearing into the realm of lore and legend as so many have before.

A final question remains: How many more times will this scene play itself out before taimen are lost forever?

Exploration and Conservation In the mid-1990s, just as Mongolia emerged from decades of socialist rule, whispers began in earnest throughout the fly-fishing industry about a giant trout species called taimen that readily attacked surface flies. By 1995, the Vermillion brothers (Dan, Jeff, and Pat) of Sweetwater

Travel had partnered with Mongolia’s own Hovsgol Travel to provide fly-fishing trips targeting taimen on the Eg/Uur watershed. Eventually, other westerners partnered with Mongolian outfitters to form operations on the Onon/Balj (Mongolia River Outfitters/Nomadic Journeys) and Delger Murun (Fish Mongolia/Nomadic Journeys) watersheds, and anglers from around the world trekked to Mongolia in attempts to land the largest fish of their lives.

Almost immediately, however, these outfitters recognized that taimen, despite reaching lengths of 6 feet and weighing in excess of 100 pounds, were amazingly sensitive fish, highly susceptible to poaching and fishing pressure from both international and domestic anglers, as well as expanding mining operations and habitat degradation. These observations, when coupled with Mongolia’s lack of conservation history and taimen-specific fishing regulations, resulted in an almost lawless chase for larger and larger fish.

By 2005, Mongolian tourism skyrocketed, angling pressure increased exponentially, and unscrupulous outfitters popped up, offering catch-and-kill taimen trips

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throughout the country. As a result, taimen numbers decreased dramatically, though this is purely anecdotal, as no concrete data exists. Eventually, conservationists and outfitters realized they had to focus on location-based education efforts that would hopefully lead to systemic changes in Mongolian culture.

One of the first major developments in taimen conservation was the establishment of the Tributary Fund, a Montana-based non-profit focused on the Eg/ Uur watershed. In 2004, environmentalist Betsy Gaines Quammen established the fund with help from angler and financier Jeffrey Liebert. As executive director, Quammen began a conservation-through-culture campaign aimed at empowering local religious leaders and communities to have their say in preservation efforts.

By 2006, the Tributary Fund was fully promoting the idea of taimen conservation throughout Mongolia and even rebuilt the Dayan Derkh Buddhist monastery, which had been destroyed in the 1930s by the Soviet Union, as a means of reaching these rural communities through religion.

These efforts resulted in the Mongolian government enacting strict catch-and-release laws for taimen in 2008.

However, many different threats to the taimen population continued unabated.

Sensitive Giants Something most people, and even most fly anglers, fail to realize is just how fragile these terrific beasts truly are when looked at through a conservationist lens. Taimen require pristine environments and many miles of clean water for healthy populations to thrive. What’s more, they don’t reach sexual maturity until they are between five and seven years old. Trophy taimen, those in excess of 50 inches, can actually live four decades or more. Unfortunately, existential threats to taimen take many forms, and their survival teeters on the brink due to a plethora of external factors such as lack of rule enforcement, illegal poaching, expanding mining operations, and habitat degradation, among others.

Many of these threats result from fundamental economic and societal changes that have taken place within Mongolia over the last 30 years. In 1990, a peaceful

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government revolution transitioned the country away from previous socialist regimes, setting in place its currentday democratic free-market system. In doing so, the government slashed budgets on environmental regulation, leaving its few wildlife officers relatively little resources to cover vast areas of land, a problem that still persists today.

“The most imminent threat to taimen is ensuring enforcement of fishing regulations that require catch-andrelease fishing,” says Dan Vermillion, a former guide and owner of Sweetwater Travel. “The regulations are sound but are hard to enforce out on the river, where the law enforcement is still working on jurisdictional challenges.”

In 2009, in an effort to aid the Mongolian government in monitoring and policing poachers, the Taimen Fund was created as the anti-poaching arm of the Tributary Fund.

With the explicit goal of combating illegal angling activity, the Taimen Fund set up its RiverKeeper program, which provided small sums of money to local herders in exchange for their eyes and ears on the ground.

“We sort of deputized them, for lack of a better word,” explains Charlie Conn, executive director of the Taimen Fund. “We paid for their cellphones and their fuel and a small salary to patrol and call in poachers.”

The RiverKeeper program was a huge success and, in 2013, the Taimen Fund inherited the Tributary Fund’s 501c3 status and became the natural evolution in taimen protection, building upon the Tributary Fund’s previous work. In partnership with Hovsgol Travel/Sweetwater Travel, the Taimen Fund has become the manager of the national campaign to save taimen.

For the Mongolian outfitters and their US-based travel partners, providing native Mongolians with jobs and income became perhaps the most important tool used to teach communities about how to protect and utilize their truly stunning, and sensitive, resource.

“Conservation is always more successful when you can demonstrate the economic benefit of the conservation effort,” says Vermillion. “So, in our case, ensuring that as much economic benefit from the taimen as possible flows to the local communities along the river is critical to our success.”

Over the course of the last 15 years, along with the Taimen Fund and its predecessor, these outfitters and

travel partners have played instrumental roles in the current state of taimen conservation in Mongolia. From coordinating and implementing scientific monitoring and tagging projects to providing educational fly-fishing seminars for local villagers, these operations have followed in both the Tributary and Taimen Fund’s path.

In fact, Mongolia River Outfitters helped put in place a taimen sanctuary, formed in 2008 on the Onon and Balj Rivers. Later, in 2009, outreach programs began in earnest across the country, teaching conservation and catch-and-release practices to villagers living along all the major taimen watersheds. These outreach efforts have resonated throughout the country, and many rural villagers now serve as river stewards, thanks to this and the RiverKeeper program.

“I used to kill fish a lot,” says Battulga Tumenjargal, a taimen fly-fishing guide for Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia. Tulga, as he’s known, is a spry, energetic 26-year-old from the small village of Binder, and is emblematic of the shift in Mongolian culture needed to protect these fish. “There was not any catch and release in my mind before, but I can say that it is possible to change people’s minds.”

A Perilous Precipice Despite these commendable efforts, the Siberian taimen, or Hucho taimen, currently sits on a perilous precipice in the world’s ecosystem.

Historically, these fish ranged from the Volga “But as the last grasps of drainage in western Europe all the way to the Amur drainage in Russia and China. Recent sunlight cling to the world, studies, however, show populations and this giant fish passes from distribution across this native range have view, disappearing into the fallen to concerning levels. By 2006, taimen were listed as Endangered by Mongolia in realm of lore and legend a Summary Conservation Action Plan, and as so many have before. A in a 2012 assessment co-authored by Zeb final question remains: How Hogan and Olaf Jensen, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) many more times will this listed Siberian taimen as Vulnerable range- scene play itself out before wide on its Red List, estimating that up to 50% of the total taimen population in taimen are lost forever?”

Mongolia has been lost.

Additionally, the explosion of the mining industry within Mongolia’s borders has provided a huge influx of wealth to a small portion of its population. According to many of the guides working throughout the country, a

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subset of wealthy residents from the capital of Ulaanbaatar blatantly disregard catch-and-release regulations on taimen and have been routinely spotted using treble hooks, live bait, and even explosives to poach trophy taimen from the river.

Mongolian culture, for better or for worse, values displays of masculinity, and providing a 50-inch taimen for the dinner table is one of the ultimate shows of manhood.

On the other side of the equation, since the government revolution, many of the rural villages scattered throughout the country live below the poverty line. These families struggle to provide food for themselves and a giant taimen can serve as a well-earned meal for several families at once.

“The first time I ate taimen, my uncle cooked with me,” explains Zolboo Bodonguud, a fly-fishing guide from the tiny village of Dadal. “It was delicious. After that, I thought taimen was the best, tastiest fish in the world. Our people were always hunting and killing fish for food. It was part of my life.”

Thoughtful and measured, Zolboo has become one of the leading voices in Mongolia for taimen protection and fly-fishing conservation. More than a decade ago, Zolboo went through one of the conservation programs around the country, and says he was changed forever by the experience.

“I was very happy to start releasing fish,” he explains.

Is Fly Fishing the Answer?

Perhaps no group of enthusiasts care more about resource protection than fly fishers. As a whole, anglers are passionate people that donate time and money to help protect the places and fish they love, and taimen anglers are certainly no exception. Over the past few years, the Taimen Fund has raised several hundred thousand dollars for research programs and anti-poaching measures from visiting taimen anglers all across the world.

For the outfitters involved, operating fly-fishing trips in Mongolia is not a money-making endeavor; they provide these experiences to fly fishers in the hopes that these anglers will donate to the Taimen Fund and help protect these fish from an uncertain future and untimely demise. “Nobody’s getting rich running fly-fishing trips in Mongolia,” says Dan Bailey, a Taimen Fund board member who has spent nearly every summer since 2007 either

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

guiding or researching throughout the country. “All of this is done for the benefit of the fish.”

While it’s ultimately up to Mongolia itself to enforce poaching laws and fully comprehend the consequences of its mining expansion, the current state of taimen protection wouldn’t be nearly what it is without the efforts of the Taimen Fund, the fly-fishing outfitters, and their clients. Through years of partnerships and relationship building, along with outreach and education programs, the national attitude towards taimen is beginning to shift toward protection rather than exploitation, all thanks to the outfitters and anglers that chase the world’s largest salmonid.

“The most important change I see is that Mongolians are now fishing, and many of them are fly fishing,” says Vermillion. “They are practicing catch and release. So, if you can create a group of anglers that treasure the resource and fish sustainably, then you should have your own builtin defenders of the watershed and its fishery.”

“On the two rivers where we work, we have seen increases in both quantity and size of taimen,” says Peter Fong, head guide at Mongolia River Outfitters. “This past season we also saw a surge in the numbers of juvenile fish, two-year-olds under 20 inches in length. That could only have come from reproductive success—from spawning through the fry and parr stages. That means our conservation initiatives have been effective in protecting the overall habitat and is good news for the future.”

As for what the future holds, Conn believes that an expansion of river monitoring is essential to keep Mongolia’s taimen intact.

“We are expanding the RiverKeeper program into areas with no outfitting,” he says. “We’re calling these areas ‘Recovery Zones,’ fisheries that have no eyes on them and no protection. We want to save them before they get nuked. They’re still under threat big-time.”

Fong perhaps said it best in a piece he wrote for Filson: “…the world’s finest fly-fishing destinations are holy places, shrines, temples in which humans have both rights and duties. The right to worship. And the duty to protect.”

Visit taimenfund.org to donate to the Taimen Fund or learn more about the efforts to save Mongolia’s taimen.

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Dave and Amelia Jensen jensenflyfishing.com @jensenflyfishing

Yellow Sallies, Top to Bottom Danie Erasmus

Y

Danie Erasmus Danie teaches biochemistry at the University of Northern British Columbia and takes a scientific approach to fishing. He also sees the art of fly tying and matching the hatch as an integral part of his pastime. Danie enjoys fly fishing as it scratches an ancient primordial itch, bridging the left and right sides of his brain.

ellow sallies are one of the most wellknown, and arguably the most abundant, stoneflies across North America. Fish feed on all the different life stages of this insect making it of great importance to fly anglers.

The yellow sally name was already in use by anglers as far back as the 19th century in England, but yellow sally is not the only name; it is also known as a stripetail for the nymphs and a yellow stone for the adults.

Life of a Yellow Sally

Yellow sallies have a one-year life cycle which starts when the nymphs hatch from the eggs after an incubation period of 30 to 40 days. These nymphs then go through several molts, becoming a slightly larger new instar each time.

Yellow sallies have around 14 instars until the last instar, the mature nymph, emerges from the river. The male and female nymphs are similar in size until the ninth instar, when the female begins to grow much larger—female nymphs can grow as large as 16-mm in length. When mature, both female and male nymphs start migrating to shore by crawling along the bottom, from the fastermoving water to the slower-moving water where they stage until they are ready to emerge.

The emergence is usually at night and takes about two weeks. After crawling onto structures protruding from the water such as rocks, bridge piers, or nearby vegetation, the nymphal shuck breaks open on the dorsal side allowing the adult to crawl out. The adults live anywhere from two-to-three weeks, during which time they mate.

CDC Sally The females then return to the river to Hook: Size 14 Tiemco 2312 or equivalent lay their eggs in the late afternoon.

Thread: 6/0 yellow Although most adults have fully Thorax: Superfine pale morning developed wings and are able to fly, dun dubbing some males of some species do not and, Hackle: Yellow dry-fly hackle therefore, cannot fly. These males crawl Wing: Two yellow CDC feathers along the shoreline and occasionally Abdomen: Superfine pale morning dun dubbing run across the surface of the water.

Red butt (optional): Superfine fire Depending on the species of orange dubbing yellow sally, the nymphs emerge as

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

early as May, but it can be as late as August. Timing of an emergence also depends on the elevation and latitude.

Populations further south and at lower elevation emerge earlier in the year as water temperature warms up faster.

When stream temperatures reach 10 degrees Celsius (around 50 degrees Fahrenheit) yellow sallies start to emerge, and this provides a window for fishing most rivers from late May well into July. Although water temperature is the major stimulus for emergence, photoperiod (length of daylight) may also influence when an emergence starts.

Distribution Yellow sallies are distributed from the East Coast to the West Coast in North America. In the East, yellow sallies inhabit rivers from Atlantic Canada in the north down to South Carolina. In the West, they are distributed from British Columbia down to California and New Mexico.

They are especially abundant in the Rocky Mountain states and provinces.

Although spread across the continent, yellow sallies belong to the single genus Isoperla in the Perlodidae family, but there are different species for the different geographical areas. In the East Isoperla frisoni and Isoperla bilineata are the major species and they hatch from April to June; in the upper Midwest Isoperla signata is the major species, and they hatch from April to May; and in the West, Isoperla fulva, Isoperla quinquepunctata, and Isoperla mormona are the most abundant and they hatch from April to August.

A number of species belonging to the Chloroperlidae family, known as sallflies, are also yellow. These sallflies are noticeably smaller than Isoperla yellow sallies and are imitated with flies tied onto size 18—and even size 20—hooks. Although Patrick McCafferty’s book “Aquatic Entomology: The Fishermen’s and Ecologists’ Illustrated Guide to Insects and Their Relatives” (1981) described yellow sallies as stoneflies belonging to both the Chloroperlidae family and the Isoperla genus, the yellow sally name has, in recent years, become more associated with Isoperla stoneflies. This is also reflected by the size of fly patterns in fly shops, where the majority are tied on size 14 and 16 hooks, and not the smaller size 18 and 20 hooks.

Dave and Amelia Jensen jensenflyfishing.com @jensenflyfishing

Not All Yellow Sallies Have Red Butts If you go into a fly shop and peruse the selection of fly patterns you will see that the vast majority of yellow sally dry flies have red butts, and if you google “Yellow Sally dry fly” you will see the same. This is a little misleading, as the majority of yellow sallies actually do not have red butts.

Only Isoperla quinquepunctata and Isoperla mormona have a red color associated with the end of the abdomen.

Isoperla quinquepunctata has a red to reddish-brown butt.

In areas such as northern California, this stonefly is the major yellow sally hatch and thus the red butt dominates fly patterns there. Over time, the notoriety of this yellow sally hatch with red butts has spread, leading to the general assumption that all yellow sallies have red butts.

Isoperla mormona, known as the Mormon girl stonefly, is another yellow sally that is imitated with a dry fly with a red butt. A few fly-fishing books have described the female Mormon girl stoneflies as yellow with a reddish colored egg sac, and many Mormon girl fly pattern recipes

include the same red egg sac. But according to “American Stoneflies: A photographic guide to Plecoptera” written by Stark, Szczytko, and Nelson, male Mormon girl stoneflies have a reddish abdominal venter (AKA a red butt). There is probably some confusion on what some might have seen on the river, but in the end, a red butt is associated with the Mormon girl. If it is a red egg sac, it is not common to all yellow sallies though, as females of Isoperla fulva, the most abundant yellow sally in the West, produce dark gray egg sacs.

The red butt on a dry fly is obviously there to imitate the natural, but the success of these red-

Easy Sighter Sally Hook: Size 14 Tiemco 2312 or equivalent Thread: 6/0 tan Thorax: Golden stonefly dubbing Hackle: Brown dry-fly hackle Wingcase and wing: Tan poly yarn Abdomen: Golden stonefly dubbing Red butt (optional): Superfine fire orange dubbing Antennae and Tails: Two strands of Krystal flash Sighter: Fluorescent orange Darlon fibers or equivalent

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butt patterns has also been established in streams where there are no Isoperla quinquepunctata or Isoperla mormona.

In these situations, the red butt can act as a hot spot, or the presence of the red butt might not matter to the fish.

The question remains: “Do you put a red butt on your fly or not?” The best approach is to have patterns with and without red butts. Regardless of which yellow sally species is the most prevalent in the river, sometimes the fish want a red butt, other times they do not, and sometimes it does not matter.

Jig Nymph Sally Hook: Size 14 Hanak 400 BL or equivalent Thread: 6/0 yellow Bead: 3.5mm coffee-colored slotted tungsten bead Thorax: Golden stonefly dubbing Abdomen: Brassie size yellow and brown wire Tail: Brown neck hackle fibres

Nymphing Yellow sally nymphs are slender in appearance and vary in color from tan to yellow on the ventral sides. The dorsal side has dark brown markings with two longitudinal lines along the abdomen. There are numerous fly

patterns available and a Google search of “Yellow Sally nymph pattern” will produce many good patterns, but Copper Johns tied in yellow sally colors are awesome!

Tie nymph patterns either on 2X long, size 14 hooks or size 12 scud hooks. With these smaller nymph imitations, it is harder to incorporate enough weight into the fly to fish fast-moving water effectively unless you fish them in combination with split shot or larger, heavier nymphs.

Like the other stoneflies, yellow sally nymphs hold in fast-moving water most of the year. They also do not take part in behavioral drifts to find new habitat, unlike a lot of mayfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae. Occasionally, a nymph may end up drifting downstream as a result of being swept off the bottom. This usually happens when the mature carnivorous nymphs are chasing prey, and in the process are accidentally washed off the bottom. The only time you really see yellow sally nymphs in the drift is with precipitous rises in water level due to high rainfall, sudden temperature changes, or discharges of pollutants.

The best time to fish yellow sally nymph patterns is when they migrate to shore and stage in shallower water before emerging on land. To time this effectively you need to have good, solid idea of when the adults appear. Look for yellow sally shucks on structures near the water and adults flying around. Once you have verified this, fish the nymphs in the week leading up to an emergence, and perhaps a week or so into the emergence. Yellow sallies do not emerge at the same time; they may take a couple of weeks for the all mature nymphs to emerge, creating a large window to fish your nymphs.

When fishing yellow sally nymphs, use the nymphing method that works best for you. It does not matter if you prefer Euro-nymphing, indicator nymphing, or high sticking, they all are effective as long as you have a good command of your presentation technique. Be sure to target the edges of riffles and runs closer to shore. These areas are where you can find the naturals often staging before their emergence. Apply the basic principles of nymphing: get the fly down as quickly as possible to the bottom where the

fish are; fish the nymphs drag free; keep the nymph in the zone by minimizing drag on the line; and lift the rod tip every time you thing you have a bite.

After all, hooksets are free.

Dry-Fly Fishing Adult yellow sallies live for twoto-three weeks and are abundant on most streams, making them an excellent target for matching the hatch. If they are present, the adults will be flying around on warm days, with many ending up in the water accidentally. They really like sections of river with foliage close to the water. If you do not see many flying around, turn over a few leaves and you have a good chance of seeing a few yellow sallies scamper away.

Yellow Sally Nymph Hook: Size 14 Tiemco 2312 or equivalent Thread: 6/0 yellow Bead: 7/64 gold tungsten bead Legs: Krystal flash Thorax: Golden stonefly dubbing Wingcase: Thin Skin, mottled mustard yellow Abdomen: Brassie wire in yellow and brown Tail: Two orange goose biots

To imitate yellow sally adults, use fly patterns that are tied on long shank hooks in sizes 14 and 16. There are numerous patterns available in fly shops and most of these will do a good job. If you do not like these, a quick search on the internet will inundate you with choices and ideas for more patterns.

I carry a few different styles of yellow sally dries with me. Some are bushy and some are slender and sparse. On one of my home waters, I match the hatch with size 14 yellow Stimulators or size 14 Elk Hair Caddis patterns with yellow bodies, cream hackle, and bleached elk hair. These bulky flies are good enough to fool the trout as this river sees very little angling pressure. On the rivers that see more angling pressure, the trout make no effort to inspect these flies, but readily eat a fly that is more slender in appearance that rides lower on the water surface. My favorite slender profile dry flies are my Easy Sighter Sally and CDC Sally.

To effectively imitate the adults with dry flies you need to be aware of their behavior. In the afternoons, when you see many flying around, they are not hatching or emerging. Instead, think of these as yellow sally flights. It

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

is during these flights you want to fish your dry flies. The flights happen primarily when the females return to the river to lay their eggs, which happens in the afternoon and continues into the early evening. During this time, they dip their abdomens in the water to release their egg sacs over riffles and runs. They are not the most agile flyers and fly slow and low over the water, often low enough for trout to launch themselves into the air and grab one of them.

To imitate the egg-laying females, include a dark gray or red spot on your fly as the egg sac, which can make the difference in fooling a few picky fish.

There is nothing tricky with the presentation. Make sure you have a long enough leader—such as a 9-foot 4X leader with 3 feet of 4X to 6X tippet—and that your dry fly drifts drag-free. Occasionally give it a little twitch to fool a few extra trout.

Fly fishing is one of those pastimes where you need to be aware of the details, but do not get trapped or lost in them. When absorbing the information from this article make sure you apply it appropriately, as I am sure it will only increase the fun factor when you’re out fishing.

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PROFILES

Land Tawney Land Tawney A native Montanan who grew up hunting and fishing throughout the Treasure State , Land Tawney serves as the President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a national conservation group based in his home state. © Photo Maggie Hamilton

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

John Van Vleet: For our readers who may not be familiar with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, can you give us an overview of the organization and its purpose?

Land Tawney: Everything good happens around a campfire. In 2004, there were seven individuals sitting around a campfire late at night and they were looking at the landscape and they lamented that nobody was really focused on public land and public waters. That was the impetus for the start of BHA—you want to make sure that you have access to public lands and waters.

The first thing is really access and opportunity. That can range from working on local access issues, whether that’s cleaning up trails or putting in new bridges, to deciding where a fishing access site will go. Right now we’re engaged in the Crazy Mountains and trying to open up access there that has been traditional access that has been closed down. It goes all the way out to Washington, D.C. where we’re working on things like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is the number one access tool in this country. It provides money to states to do local projects, as well as at a federal level.

Then you go into wildlife habitat. Again, we start with on-the-ground projects. That’s like clean ups or repairing fencing, or other mechanical boots-on-theground kind of activities, work projects I would call them. From there, it’s really working on policy.

The third bucket and final bucket is really fair chase.

And those principles can vary from person to person, but it’s really trying to make sure that we’re honoring the hunt and that we’re honoring that time on the water.

JVV: Is there a conflict between hunters and anglers when it comes to any of these policies or do most of the members align philosophically?

LT: People fundamentally believe in public lands and public waters and believe in this great estate that we

have. So whether you are hunting, fishing, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, these resources all mean something to us. And I think that as far as hunters and anglers, I’d have to really stretch to try to find a conflict there. I think where the conflicts starts to rise is sometimes with folks that are using the woods in a different way. And where that’s different user groups I just described or oil and gas, timber harvest, grazing potentially. I think that’s where some of these conflicts arise. But I would say that public lands are much more of a unifier than they are a divider.

JVV: That’s a good way to put it. You touched on the oil and gas industry just now. I would imagine that that’s probably the industry that you have to come up against on a regular basis.

LT: Totally. I think we look at any kind of resource extraction as definitely one of the uses that should happen on our public lands but there’s two things we look at. One is that if this development is going to happen in a place, how do you do that in a phased manner so it has the least amount of impacts to the fish and wildlife habitat and the natural resources that are contained there? Then the other piece is really staying out of some places. And so you think about oil and gas particular, I think about sage grouse here in the West, and how do we avoid core areas for sage grouse?

Then, I think when it comes to Pebble Mine and the Boundary Waters in particular, there’s these places that are too special to risk. And when you think about the largest salmon run in the world and the entire economy and the entire natural resources that are contained there up in Bristol Bay and then you think about the Boundary Waters as the most visited wilderness in the US. You want to put a mine—a copper sulfide mine—a quarter mile south of the boundary waters where all that water flows north? It just makes no sense. So let’s figure out

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these places where development can happen and have the least impact. And let’s think about these places that are just too darn special to really threaten.

JVV: There have been some statements from President Trump about not intending to sell public lands, but it seems like they’re getting encroached upon fairly regularly. What are your thoughts on the current administration?

LT: That’s a good question. First of all, we call it like we see it. And we applaud when somebody does good and then we hold them “People fundamentally accountable when they don’t. I would give believe in public lands and you an example of a very recent one with the Land and Water Conservation Fund, where public waters and believe the President comes out and declares that in this great estate that we they’re basically going to zero out the Land have. So whether you are and Water Conservation Fund, the number one access tool in this country. So we held him hunting, fishing, mountain accountable and pushed back against those biking, kayaking, climbing, efforts, knowing that it’s actually Congress that makes the budget. these resources all mean About a week later, a couple senators went something to us.” to the President and said, “Hey, we are in some tough senate races back home. We need to get full and dedicated funding passed for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.” So the President came out with a tweet and said “Get me a bill that fully funds and dedicates funds to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and I’ll sign it today.” And so we applauded him then. He went from zeroing out the program to one that’s not only 900 million dollars, but 900 million dollars in perpetuity.

JVV: So I’m going to take just a little bit of a step back here and just talk about you personally a little bit. I know that you’re a native Montanan. How important is it for you personally to be where you are today leading an organization like this?

LT: Yeah I think it’s a pretty big weight on the shoulders, I will tell you. And some days that weight feels heavier than others. And it was really great having the opportunity to grow up in Montana and have parents who took me out from an early age. I remember being on the Big Hole River during the salmonfly hatch when I was like five years old. And so I’ve been very lucky to

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

be a part of that. Then my parents were the first fulltime conservation lobbyists in the state legislature here in Montana. My dad was the first lawyer for the Elk Foundation until he passed away in ’95.

And then I’ve had mentors like Jim Posewitz, who is renowned here in Montana and beyond. Jim Range, who works for Howard Baker out in D.C. and helped write the Clean Air and Clean Water Act. I’ve had these mentors in my life that I feel very lucky to have had.

So it’s like this calling for me. Whether it’s at BHA or someplace else, I’m going to be working on conservation.

And to me, that is again daunting sometimes but it’s also very inspiring to think about we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

I don’t think this wheel of conservation and the threats to this outdoor heritage that we have, I don’t think that ever stops. And so I think my job in particular is just to do what I can right now and so I’m inspired everyday by the people I get to work with. And by the thought of passing it on to the next generation.

JVV: How ironic do you think it is that your name is Land? To me it’s like an oil lobbyist with the first name Crude, you know what I mean?

LT: Well I will tell you that when I took this job seven years ago, I really got full-in and I decided to change my name to Land.

JVV: Oh did you?!??

LT: I’m kidding, I’m kidding. No, I’m kidding. I will say again my parents were involved in conservation.

I’m actually named after one of Charles Lindbergh’s sons named Land Lindbergh, who lives in the Blackfoot Valley and is a rancher up there and has been heavily involved in conservation. I’m actually named after him, but it’s definitely apropos now. When I was in grade school, no matter what your name is they’re going to make fun of it but Land was pretty easy. And so I got in my first fist fight and I lost that fist fight but after that, people knew I might punch them in the nose if they made fun of my name. Now it’s apropos and I totally love it but I did want to change my name to Doug when I was back in fourth or fifth grade.

JVV: So you’ve been fighting for land and Land your whole life.

LT: Yeah, in one fashion or another that is absolutely true.

JVV: One thing that I noticed when I was researching is there’s a lot of conversation about you and a lot of criticism about you being what they call a “green decoy” on message boards and blog posts. How do you respond to criticism like that?

LT: That’s a good question. I will say, it depends on the day. I think for the most part, I try to ignore and just double down and do the good work that not only are we doing as an organization but that I feel like I’m doing as an individual. And really let actions speak louder than words. Look at our body of work and what we do. Look at what I’ve done throughout my career.

And so I think that’s the first piece. Is it frustrating? Is it distracting? Absolutely, yes. But again, we’ve built an organization of 40,000 members where 33% of those are Independent, 26% are Republican, and 23% are Democrat. And the rest are kind of either undecided or smaller parties like the Green Party or Libertarian.

And that to me is like America, right? And if BHA is

not for you, then there’s other organizations that are out there for you.

But if you care about public land and you care about public waters, then I think this is an organization for you. And so really we just stay focused on that prize and trying to make sure again that you have access to public lands and waters, and the fish and wildlife habitat when you get there.

I look at public lands and public waters as great unifiers and, in this time of very partisan politics, when you see Republicans and Democrats coming together and passing legislation around current reauthorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund that’s coming out of the Senate 92-8 and it’s coming out the House 363-62. Those are overwhelming majorities and they really don’t vote like that much anymore.

Time and time again, public lands, it doesn’t matter who you are, Republican, Democrat, Independent, these things are available to all of us and so they seem to be these things that we can all coalesce around and I think that is vitally important as we move forward.

LONG LINES

Tips for the Long Haul

Jeff Wagner When he’s not fishing or casting you’ll find Jeff hiking or biking the back country with his family.

They also volunteer their time to conservation efforts with groups such as Fly Fishers International.

Oh, and during business hours Jeff does business stuff.

I

t’s mid-afternoon and the sun is shining between the slowly drifting and seemingly cartoonish cumulus clouds. Thankful for the warmth of the sun on my vitamin-D depleted skin after a long winter, a stiff breeze pushes the waves against the boat that is slowly moving along the shoreline under the silent power of the trolling motor. The target, a rock outcropping along the otherwise featureless shore—within striking distance, no more than 50 feet—sure to hold a smallmouth eagerly waiting for its next meal.

I lift the size 4 chartreuse-and-white, lead-eye Clouser Minnow connected to a short, 4-foot leader and a type-6 full-sinking line from the water with a stout 8-weight.

A quick sweep of the rod and the fly and line become aerial, whirring through the air with increasing speed as the water sprays from the fly. A slight tug on the rod tip denotes the end of the back cast and after a short drifting pause followed by a forward casting motion, the fly abruptly changes direction and careens toward the rocks with speed as I add that little bit of extra testosteronedriven force that will surely counteract and subdue the wind. Then, in a moment of lightning-quick chaos, a gust

of wind is followed by a sharp blow to my hat-covered head, ending the trajectory of the fly as a crumpled mess lands just feet in front of me with a diminutive plop.

Retrieving the line, it is apparent that what felt like an instantaneous blow to my head was really an orchestrated, aerial gymnastics routine; the line, leader, and fly coordinated in a grotesque mess with its sole purpose to frustrate, demoralize, and deliver a slightly larger blow to my fragile ego.

Feeling the small bump on my head and holding the time-consuming mess of terminal tackle in my hands, I take note of the conditions and what went wrong in my cast. Not one to be beaten by such a small foe—especially one of my own doing—my mind quickly goes to steps for improvement.

1

Reach for the guides: From the first lift, hauling into the back cast to the final delivery, reach as far along the rod towards the first stripper guide as possible. This should, of course, be comfortable and not create other challenges.

A lengthening of the haul will maximize your force and make your cast more efficient. It is easier to apply a smooth application of power resulting in a smooth acceleration over a longer distance than a very short distance.

2

It’s not a race of the hands: The rod hand and line hand should mirror one another. The only prize for one winning is likely a tailing loop and more tangles. All things equal, the line hand should mirror what the rod hand does. When the rod hand begins to move the line hand should move. The speed, distance and stop of the rod hand should be mirrored by the line hand. Remember that the line hand is a

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

helper; it can have other impacts, but we will save that for a later piece.

3

Kenny G. smooth: Think smooth jazz, if that helps. The cast, the rod hand, and the line hand should smoothly accelerate. Smooth acceleration is what creates a straight-line path of the rod tip. Remember, a fly line follows the path of the rod tip, and smooth acceleration will result in a straight-line path of the fly line. An erratic movement of either will cause the rod tip to do the same and the fly line to follow. This is what creates tailing loops and wastes time on the water.

4

Longer is easier: As noted, early reaching for the guides lengthens the casting stroke, making it easier to accelerate and apply even power to gain smooth acceleration.

The same can be said for the hand movement away from the rod during the apart motion of the haul. This motion should result in the hauling hand being directly apart from the the

first stripper guide in a way that creates the longest distance.

One common error as you look for a longer haul is to have the line pulled along the body in the back cast as one hauls down, instead of away, from the stripper guide.

5

Stop like you mean it: I can argue that a stop may not be essential in all cases, especially where the line

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is dense with faster-sinking lines and weighted flies. In instances where wind-resistant flies and floating lines are being used, the stop adds to the transfer of energy and a tighter loop that will drive the cast towards its target.

6

Slacks for dry flies: When looking to drive more power and efficiency, slack is the enemy. In this case, slack is anything other than a straight line. From the line hand to the first guide, the line should be straight. From the tip of the rod to the beginning of the loop, and from the fly to the beginning of the loop, the line should be as straight as possible.

7

Tight loops: Tight loops are somewhat relative to what is being cast. But the smallest loop possible for the given situation is best. For small dry flies, it is possible to have very small loops. But for nymph rigs or sinking lines with heavily weighted flies, the loops may need to be larger.

Smooth acceleration, as straight a rod-tip path as possible, and a solid stop will reduce the loop size.

8

Let the line be your guide: It can be hard to get the timing for the double haul correct. However, the best method to achieve proper timing is letting the energy of the unrolling loop “pull” or “guide” your line hand to the stripper guide. You know this is happening if the line

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

from the line hand to the stripper guide remains taut. If this becomes an issue because of the wind or you are still honing your skills, overweight the rod by using a fly line one or even two weights above the designated rod weight. Also, be sure the fly line is clean!

9

Be a control freak: Controlling the line is key to an effective cast. It is easy to observe a cast deteriorating before your eyes. A cast usually starts short, which means in control. As the line lengthens outside of the capability of the caster, the ability to maintain a loop and reduce slack decreases. Only cast what you can control. Often this means carrying less line in the air and shooting more. And, there is nothing wrong with getting closer to the fish. A short cast is no less impressive, especially if it results in a solid take.

10

Stop, then shoot: Timing is critical—probably no more than in shooting line. Remember that as you are on your final delivery and getting ready to shoot line, the tip of the rod must remain under tension. If you release the line for the shoot prior to the stop of the rod the tension will release and the path of the rod tip will be impacted to create a dip and result in a tailing loop. Repeat “Stop, then shoot. Stop, then shoot”. It is critical to stop the rod and then release the line to shoot.

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WANDERING CURRENTS

Road Trippin’

Derek Olthuis Derek loves researching and exploring new places to fish–the more remote the better. He is obsessed with sight fishing; to him there is nothing more enjoyable than stalking a fish and watching it eat a fly.

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

T

here is a certain smell in the air as the weather warms and summer makes its presence felt.

That warming weather and smell of the pine trees tells me it’s time to pack up the car and hit the road in search of adventure. Poring over blue lines on maps all winter has me itching to leave the house and explore the West. Getting out and finding these new places to fish is an obsession that starts with the melting snow and doesn’t stop until white covers the ground again and ice grips the water. Fishing is as much an excuse to visit new areas as it is to catch fish. Half of the fun is traveling somewhere new, and my backyard set in the mountains is as good a place to start as any.

Cool air fills the cab as a breeze pours in through the half-rolled windows and conversation creates a renewed feeling of anticipation to arrive. Whatever your destination might be, new or revisited, it’s difficult to contain the feeling that grips everyone in the vehicle. Childlike questions of “how much longer?” or “when will we get there?” replay in everyone’s mind, yet remain unasked. With each curve of the road, the destination grows slowly closer. Despite the ever-present desire to arrive and begin fishing, there’s a freedom found on the open road. Perhaps this is a big part of why a summer road trip is so appealing, almost natural.

We all long for freedom—freedom from jobs, electronics, and responsibilities.

We yearn for simplicity, to turn our focus to something basic, something like catching a fish on a fly. The beauty of the summer road trip is found here, in the simplicity: friends, fish, and freedom from daily life. It’s what draws me back again and again and causes me to study maps, prepare endlessly, and wait on warmer days.

Pulling a pack from the back of my truck and setting off into woods to chase fish will never get old. The more time I spend in locations across the world, the more I have come to appreciate what is here in the West. That’s not to say other areas of the world are not spectacular, but there

is something unique about home. It’s hard not to fall in love with vast expanses of open space, vacant roads strewn across valleys, and jagged mountains, each valley holding some type of water just waiting to be discovered.

It is difficult to comprehend just how many choices we have along the way. Countless dirt roads snake their way into the mountains of the North American West.

Almost any turn along the way would lead to some kind of water, be it a small creek, a river, or even a lake. There is no one telling us where we can and cannot fish on the vast majority of watersheds out here. Unlike many other countries, where waters are restricted to club members or the elite, the West invites everyone alike to come and explore, yet these rugged and untamed landscapes leave visitors feeling small.

The choice is ours as to how, where, and when we enjoy this amazing area of the world. We can suit up by throwing on a pack filled with all the necessities for a week of backpacking, launch the Water Master into a rapid-filled canyon, or paddle a drift boat down a river searching for risers. No matter the choice, there is no wrong or right here, just the option that best fits our needs. Through the years, details of road trips have changed but the underlying necessities are the same. Species, location, method, size, and number of fish caught have all changed, but the need to explore has always been present. Deep down the question What’s around the next bend? has always pushed for one more step, one more cast, and one more fish.

Winter planning sessions are already starting to come to reality as summer unfolds. Everything from chasing musky from my raft to catching high-mountain cutthroat on a dry are on demand. Each passing day brings the next trip closer and closer. There are fish to catch and a summer season that won’t last long enough to fit it all in. Summer is when we fill the memory banks that fuel mid-winter planning sessions. One thing is certain, be it an hour here or there, summertime is for fishing.

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

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53

STILLWATER SECRETS

Brian Chan Often referred to as “Dr. Chironomid,” Brian has always viewed stillwater fly fishing through the lens of a biologist. Lakes and their inhabitants are always changing–no two days are ever the same–and that’s what Brian finds so fascinating about fly fishing in still water.

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

Fly Lines for SubSurface Presentations

I

, like many other fly fishers, would love to just be fishing with floating fly lines and dry flies. In many of the most productive river fisheries, one can fish a floating line almost exclusively—and even with floating patterns for much of the season. However, lakes are a different creature as the majority of trout feeding occurs well below the surface and dry-fly fishing is often limited to very short periods of intense emergences of mayflies and caddisflies or terrestrial falls of ants and termites. The floating line is still a great tool for presenting

sub-surface flies, as we can simply lengthen out our leaders to comfortably reach 20-to-25 feet in depth. In these situations, one can be fishing with or without indicators and still maintain our patterns in the proper feeding zones.

Fishing these long leaders requires above-average casting abilities and patience not only to ensure the fly or flies reach the intended depth but to also maintain a retrieve that imitates the movement of the real bug being imitated.

Sinking lines are our other option for presenting subsurface flies. Many anglers enjoy casting and retrieving

and covering more or new water with each cast. Sinking lines of various sink rates or densities ensure our flies can get down to the intended depth zone. They also allow the proper angle of retrieve and specific movement necessary to imitate the various insect emergences as well as provide the necessary action to attracter-style fly patterns. We can fish sinking lines in 3 feet or 60 feet of water just by using various line densities. Fly-line manufacturers are now making lines to cover any stillwater fly-fishing situation.

Such a wide choice can result in an overflowing gear bag and confusion as to which sinking line is best suited for specific fishing techniques. Understanding which lines work best for the depth of water being fished will form the basis for your selection criteria.

Let’s first have a look at fishing shallow water that is less than 10 feet in depth. This encompasses a lot of prime real estate, where all age classes of trout will spend significant time feeding when water temperatures and oxygen levels are appropriate. That equates primarily to the spring and fall seasons where the trout will forage on scuds, leeches, mayfly nymphs, dragonfly

and damselfly nymphs, caddis larvae and pupae, and chironomid larvae and pupae. Presentations will include retrieving scuds, dragonfly nymphs, and leeches along the bottom to retrieving mayflies, damselflies, and caddis pupae on shallow angles to the surface of the lake.

Chironomid larvae and pupae are generally more effectively fished with floating lines in this shallower depth zone. Full-sinking lines with sink rates from 0.5 to 3 inches/second (ips) cover this zone well. Hover, Clear Camo, Intermediate, and Camolux are names of the most popular slowest-sinking lines. Emerger or Midge Tip lines that have a short 5- to 10-foot clear intermediate sinking tip are also effective shallow-water lines. Consider the swimming action and speed of the invertebrate being imitated as well as the bottom structure being fished when choosing line type. For instance, if casting and retrieving scud patterns over weed beds, an intermediate-type line might be more effective than say a type-3 line. The slower sink rate will allow the fly to be retrieved at the right pace without getting caught up in the bottom vegetation.

The 10- to 20-foot depth zone is a continuation of the prime aquatic invertebrate and trout-feeding habitat.

In many lakes this deeper portion of the shoal zone stays cooler through the summer months making it a season-long feeding zone. The same aquatic insects and

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

invertebrates found in the shallower areas will be found here as photosynthesis still penetrates to the lake bottom to allow lush green plant life to flourish. As fly fishers we spend a lot of time in this zone. The deeper water allows us to use some faster-sinking lines, including type-4 (4 ips) to type-6 (6 ips), as well as the same slower-sinking lines used in shallower water. Attractor-style patterns including Boobies, Fabs, and Blobs can work well in combination with these faster-sinking lines.

Beyond 20 feet includes the drop-off of the lake and then out into the deep-water zone. The slope of the drop-off can vary from very gradual to almost a sheer cliff face. This transition zone is prime feeding and living habitat for trout, as it provides safety from predators while providing ideal water temperatures and oxygen levels. Fishing dragonfly nymphs, leeches, and scuds over the edge of a drop-off or along its sloping faces utilizes type-4 to type-7 sinking lines. The goal is to sweep our patterns as close to the bottom contour as possible, as this is a prime feeding zone for those bigger fish that are hesitant to feed in shallower water, and especially in clear water. The deep-water zone extends out to the maximum depth of the lake. This could be 30 feet or 100 feet, but most small trout lakes have maximum depths less than 60 feet. While there no longer is any green plant life living at these depths, there are opportunities to feed on deep-water chironomid emergences and congregations of zooplankton. Much of the deep-water feeding activity occurs during the warmer summer months. The fastestsinking lines get the call for delivering flies down to these greater depths. Types-6, -7 and -8 lines are ideal for suspending chironomid pupae and Blobs down deep, as well as for casting and retrieving leeches and dragonfly nymphs which are not normally found in such deep water—but definitely attract the interest of passing trout.

The abyss of deep water is also the perfect place to cast and retrieve Boobies, which at times can convince even the most dour fish to bite.

Think about the locations fished on your favorite lake and consider which sinking lines would fit specific fishing strategies that you employ. Choosing the right density sinking line is the first step in having a successful and productive day on the water.

ON THE VISE

Dana Harrison Dana feels that he is not just a fly fisher and tier, but a steward for the streams and lakes we enjoy. He is passionate for positive change in our industry, with a focus on preserving our environment for future generations.

Bull Trout: Which Flies Work Best?

M

orning comes early when waking up inside a tent in the middle of the wilderness. As the sun crests the mountain range you chose to call home for the weekend, you can already hear your reel screaming as you imagine an enormous bull trout obliterating your streamer, attacking from the depths below. This feeling is all you need to be up on your feet, getting that fire going and starting to brew that perfect cup of coffee.

The steam rises from your mug as you take the first sip in the cool morning air. The day is yours. The distractions of everyday life dissipate, and the mysteries of the Drunk and Disorderly river wait to be discovered.

Thread: GSP 100D Rods in hand and dog by your side, Rear Hook: Tiemco TMC 8089NP, size10 you part ways with your camp and into the Tail: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, bronze forest you go. The smells of the evergreen Main Body: Polar Chenille, copper olive forest soothe your soul like nothing else Front Body: Rabbit strip, can. As the treeline breaks, you can hear gold/brown variant Overwing: Mallard flank, olive the roar of the river as it calls to you and Front Hook: Ahrex tp650, 1/0 demands your undivided attention.

Tail: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, bronze The water is cold as you take your Rear Body: Rabbit strip, first few steps into the river’s glacier-fed gold/brown variant embrace, but you shrug it off; you know Main Body: Polar Chenille, copper olive it won’t last. You have arrived at your Side Wings: Mallard flank, olive Wing: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, bronze destination, the spot you pinned on Google Collar: Rabbit strip, gold/brown variant Earth over two years ago. It’s time for your Head: Nature’s Spirit spinning deer hair, first cast It’s finally here. The question is: rusty brown what fly do you tie on first?

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

Streamers: You can’t talk about bull-trout flies without talking about streamers. For the most part, people are going to associate bull-trout fishing with huge streamers that are almost impossible to cast. I am here to tell you those streamers do work, but there are streamers much easier to cast that also work and, in my opinion, possibly work better. I know articulation is all the craze these days, especially with Game Changers trending quite well on social media. I almost always call it a day on the vise with just one point of wiggle. Sometimes, I will get a little crazy and have two articulation points, but even that’s rare for me.

Up here in my neck of the woods, we use singlebarbless hooks only, so even with an articulated streamer it’s only one hook. I personally choose to always keep the front hook, as bull trout tend to eat their prey head-first so it goes down more easily. I know other people have their opinions on the matter, but my hookup rate tells me more than enough to stick with this decision.

I am going to break down three of my most successful patterns this past year and teach you how to tie one stepby-step.

Drunk and Disorderly One distinct pattern I’ve observed over the years is that bulls will almost always take a stab at an easy or wounded target. The amount of times my brother and/or myself have had a cutthroat on the line followed by a bull trying to destroy it is unbelievable. A streamer capable of replicating this type of action in the water was something I wanted to

SFF Jig Head Thread: UTC 100D, black Hook: Ahrex Tail: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, steel grey Body: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, steel grey and adventure green Jig Head: Spawn Fly Fish Twitch Shank, 40mm, 1/10 oz.

Tail: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, steel grey Body: Spawn Fly Fish Simi Seal, black/chartreuse Wing:Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, adventure green Collar: Senyo’s Laser Dub, black

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Stonefly, The Big One Thread: Danville 70D, golden brown Hook: Tiemco 200r, sizes 4-6 Bead: Gold tungsten, fit to size Tail: Montana Fly Company Sexi-Floss, copper/brown Back: Virtual Nymph Nymph Skin, natural Rib: UTC Wire, small, amber Body: Ice Dub, pheasant tail Collar: Partridge feather Legs: Montana Fly Company Sexi-Floss, copper/brown Antenna: Montana Fly Company Sexi-Floss, copper/brown

explore last year. Thus, I ended up deciding to try Tommy Lynch’s Drunk and Disorderly (Double D) streamer pattern. Tommy’s choice of materials, tying techniques, and the bent-shank hook make this fly look like an absolute mess in the water and that’s exactly what I wanted. The fly, when worked through the water, darts this way and that with no real rhyme or reason. I feel this is extremely close to what a trout does when hooked by a fly. I ended up tying this pattern in white, brown, and green this past summer, and experienced the most success with the white and brown.

SFF Jig Head When Spawn Fly Fish released the Spawn Twitch Shank, I knew there was serious potential for an amazing bull trout streamer.

Having the eye on the shank at a 90-degree angle helps induce the erratic motion of a

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hooked fish when stripped in the correct manner. This is the exact kind of motion one wants on a fly when targeting a picky fish. You are trying to induce that primal instinct that a bull trout just cannot resist, so it rushes out from wherever it may be to decimate your fly without notice.

These are the kind of hookups that keep you awake at night, craving more. Josh and the team at Spawn Fly Fish have been pumping out some cool products and I intend to keep a watchful eye on them in the future.

Nymphs: My buddy Jake probably won’t talk to me anymore after reading this, but the true secret to a great day of bull-trout fishing is nymphs. While I understand it is not the most exciting method of fishing, especially not for bulls, but it may be the most productive. I know most people think of bulls as aggressive predators, willing to attack just about anything that moves, when in reality they will not pass up an easy meal. A carefully placed nymph that looks like something worth eating will entice an empty-bellied bull nine times out of 10. Now, I would not tie on the same

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nymphs that I would use for rainbows or cutthroat, though I have caught bull trout on a simple Hare’s Ear. Honestly, there are better nymphs out there for this job.

Stonefly, The Big One One of the first nymphs I caught a bull on was a large stonefly pattern given to me by a woman named Susan. I wish I knew the name of the pattern, or that I had taken a photo of it, because I really liked the look of the fly.

Nonetheless, a large stonefly pattern is an excellent place to start when nymphing for bulls. It’s substantial enough that a bull might put in a little effort to eat it, but natural enough that it won’t look completely out of place floating down the river. One thing you do want to do is get it down there right in their face, so do not be scared to build up the weight on the hook before tying in the materials.

Balanced Leech The stillwater anglers couldn’t keep these to themselves forever. As we endlessly walked the rivers, we eventually gave them a try and were not disappointed. My good

friend Jake introduced me to using a Balanced Leech for bull-trout fishing a couple of years back. It has now become one of my go-to patterns when nymphing for bulls.

Truth be told, Jake may not talk to me after writing this, but we had a good run, I think. I am not going to Balanced Leech give away his special little pattern, but I Hook: Daiichi 4640 size 10 have used Phil Rowley’s original pattern Thread: Danville 70D, black with a favorable outcome, and it is super Tail: Senyo’s Fusion Dub, electric grape simple to change the colors as needed.

Body: Seal Fur, electric blue Bead: Plummeting tungsten, pink I encourage you to keep a wide range jawbreaker, 3.3mm of sizes and color variations in your fly box. Those bull trout can be weird fish, and not everything is going to make sense.

Next time you’re out on the water I hope you have at least one of these patterns with you and you give it a shot when targeting bull trout. I can also guarantee that you will not be disappointed with the results.

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Kootenay Invader Recipe Thread: GSP 100D Hook: Tiemco TMC 8089NP, size 8 Tail Flash: Kreinik Flash-In-A-Tube, clearwater transparent Tail/Over Body: Rabbit strip, olive-barred black Body: Palmer chenille, pearl Shank: 20mm Mini Tail: Rabbit strip, olive-barred black Collar: Guinea feather, orange Dubbing Head: Spawn Fly Fish Simi Seal, black/chartreuse and smolt belly Legs: Silli-Legs, olive black/white sparkle Head: Flymen Sculpin Helmet, small

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Tying Instructions 1.

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

Dress the hook with thread and secure Krenik Flash to the rear of the hook. Double flash and secure in place.

Measure 1.5x the shank of the hook on a rabbit strip and pierce the strip Slide the rabbit up to the flash.

Tie in the palmer chenille and wrap it forward to the front of the hook. Secure in place and cut off excess.

Pull the rabbit strip forward and tie in place behind the eye. Cut off the remainder, whip finish, and glue.

Place the 20mm shank into the rear hook and secure in vise. Start the thread and close the open gap. Tie in a piece of rabbit to cover hook-to-shank transition.

Tie in a guinea feather in front of the rabbit and wrap it a few times around the shank. Then secure it in

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place and cut off the excess.

Tie in the black/chartreuse Simi-Seal on the top of the shank and the smolt gray on the bottom; it should look like an “X.” Leave enough room for the Sculpin Helmet.

Tie in the legs by the center in the middle of the “X” you created. Wrap the other half of the legs to the other side and secure in place.

Create a small thread build-up in front of the dubbing and whip finish. Place the Sculpin Helmet on the shank and push it firm into the dubbing. Start your thread in front of the helmet and build up a dam.

Whip finish and secure with glue of choice.

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WATER MARKS

Grandparenting

Jim McLennan Jim McLennan has been fly fishing and writing about it since sometime in the last century. He continues to indulge his passions for fly fishing, bird hunting, writing, and music, but unfortunately this leaves very little time for the thankless task of keeping Derek under control during filming of Fly Fusion TV.

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I

n these most unusual of times it’s perhaps understandable that someone my age—or any age, I suppose—begins to think about what’s around the corner. The biggest corner: the future. So the coronavirus notwithstanding, I’m aware that with two grandsons soon to reach the age of maturity—which of course in these circles means the age when they’re able to cast fly lines—Lynda and I find ourselves pondering the degree to which these little guys will be drawn to this activity that’s been so central to our family’s life. We’re trying to temper our hope with enough wisdom to avoid pushing too hard toward this goal, because that could have the opposite effect.

Of course we think we’ve got this covered so far, as at ages six and four, they’ve already been introduced to fish, fishing, trout-bugs, and most of the other related stuff we obsess over. And while there seems to be some genuine interest there, we’re trying to remember how we approached this with the boys’ mother, because whatever we did clearly worked. The turning point for her seemed to come when she was about 12. On the drive home from an outing one day she said, “There’s always interesting stuff going on out here isn’t there?”

We were reminded of this last summer as we watched this young mother kneeling at the water’s edge with a trout she’d caught, two small blonde heads leaning over looking in, two sets of tiny hands reaching to touch tentatively. With luck and wise council from the boys’ elders it’s our hope that this fascination will continue and they’ll come to be at least as interested in the natural world as the digital world.

But I also wonder if we fly-fishing parents and grandparents are aiming high enough. Are we using fly fishing to teach our offspring something more important than fly fishing itself? I think we’re all pretty much aware of the fact that playing in the water the way we do can lead (should lead? must lead?) to caring for the things

that live in the water, and that caring for the things that live in the water must lead to caring for the water itself as well as the other things that depend on the water.

The sport itself will probably take care of some of this. History is full of examples of how participation in the “field sports” of hunting and fishing has led people into significant roles in conservation.

To paraphrase one of my fly-fishing mentors, “If you’re going to use a resource for recreation, you have an obligation to protect and preserve the resource that provides that recreation.”

Indeed, it’s difficult to find a major conservation leader who hasn’t come to that belief and commitment through the portal of hunting or fishing. Research the founders of organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, The Atlantic Salmon Federation, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, Steelhead Society, and other groups to confirm this.

So our boys’ parents and grandparents will keep talking, teaching, and taking the little guys fishing, hunting, bug-catching, and anything else that seems might interest them in the outdoors (except possibly ice fishing —but I digress). One day before long we’ll show up at their house with an indoor yarn-rod and watch them cast at each other, possibly knocking stuff off the bookshelves and breaking the odd thing, but while they’re at it hopefully also beginning to get the feel of casting. And in time we’ll ask (gently of course) if they want to try tying flies, which might mean we’ll have to turn part of their house or ours into a “tying room.”

with feigned annoyance as darkness approaches, “Come on you two! It’s late. We’ve got to stop now. No more ‘last casts.’” Those days will be significant marking points, but they’re not the end of the story, are they?

I’ve made the statement before that one of fly fishing’s greatest benefits to its practitioners is the simple fact that it isn’t nearly as important as many other things in life.

But that doesn’t let us off the hook. I think we must be intentional in directing new fly fishers of all ages toward the goal of conserving the water and the things that live in it and depend on it. I’m quite certain we all want to keep playing in the water.

Image Diane Michelin dimipaints.com

We’ll continue our low-key but important outings to the water, which we’ll call “fishing trips,” but which will be centered around having fun doing whatever the little guys find interesting, whether it involves trying to catch fish or not. Rock throwing, bug catching, and frog watching can all be important parts of a fishing trip. And if we’re true to our purpose and goal, while we’re enjoying these times we’ll also talk with them about water and the larger purposes it serves.

Of course Lynda and I look forward to the days when they cast to and catch the first fish of their own, and a little later to the time when we have to holler to them

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END OF THE LINE

Creature Feature The Creature Stone Jaymes Veitch Jaymes has been tying flies for almost 15 years and guiding for the last three.

He grew up in the heart of the Kootenay region and has guided from boat and helicopter for both salmon and steelhead. He started tying to create flies that he could not find at his local fly shop, pushing boundaries to the next level of anatomical creativity.

Thread: 6/0 or 140D, tan or brown Hook: Size 8-10 curved nymph hook Bead: 1/8” Black or gunmetal tungsten Tail: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust) Body: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust) Wing case: Wapsi Thin Skin Dubbing: Golden stone fine Antron Legs: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust) Antennae: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust)

Creature Stone (pre-cut body) Dry Fly Thread: 6/0 or 140D, tan or brown Hook: Size 8 curved dry-fly hook Tail: Brown speckled rubber legs Body: Pre-cut and colored foam bodies Accents: Pre-cut foam squares Wings: Polypropylene yarn (grey) Legs: Brown speckled rubber legs Antennae: Brown speckled rubber legs

Creature Winter Black Stonefly Thread: 6/0 or 140D, black Hook: Sizes 12-18 curved scud/nymph hook Bead: 5/32” black tungsten Tail/Antennae: Black rubber legs Body: Black sow scud back, 1/8” Dubbing: Natural peacock Ice Dubbing Wing Case: Wapsi Thin Skin, black

Extended Body Creature Stonefly Dry Thread: 6/0 or 140D, tan Hook: Size 8 curved dry-fly hook Legs: MFC Centipede Legs, speckled tan, medium Tail: Same as the legs Antennae: Same as the legs Body: Dark brown foam married to tan foam, pre cut to 1/4” Wing 1: Deer hair and baitfish emulator flash Wing 2: Deer hair and Wapsi Thin Skin Accents: Pre-cut small square foam

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The Soul of Fly Fishing

Creature Golden StoneFly Dry 2.0 Thread: 6/0 or 140D, tan Hook: Size 8 curved dry-fly hook Tail: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust) Body: Dark brown foam married to tan foam, pre cut to 1/4” Dubbing: Golden stone Antron, fine Rib: Vinyl D-Rib (amber/rust) Underwing: Wapsi Thin Skin Wing: Stacked deer hair Legs: MFC Centipede Legs, speckled tan, medium Head: Dark brown and tan foam Antennae: MFC Centipede Legs, speckled tan, medium

Creature Bugger (Bow River Bugger Variant) Thread: 6/0 or 140D, tan or brown Hook: Size 2 5XL 2XS streamer hook Tail: Brown marabou under dark brown schlappen Flash: Crystal Flash or pearl Baitfish Emulator Flash Body: Brown Ice Dubbing Hackle: Dark brown schlappen Rubber Legs: Purple-barred Stretch Floss Collar: Stacked spun deer hair Weight: Dumbbell eyes and lead wraps

Creature Prince Variant Thread: 6/0 or 140D, brown Hook: Size 10-14 scud nymph hook Bead: 5/32” gunmetal or black tungsten Tail: Brown goose biots Body: Natural peacock Ice Dubbing Rib: Amber or copper wire, small Wing Case: White goose biots Legs: Brown goose biots Collar: 6/0 or 140D red thread Optional Accent: Amber or tan CDC wrapped at the wing case

Delicate Domination.

Perfect, delicate drifts require slinging unconventional slack yielding casts, and drag inducing micro-currents, obstacles, and other naturally occurring variables can limit tactical opportunity. When success rests on a razor’s edge, take control with balanced fishing tools built to boost effectiveness in ultra-technical scenarios.

NRX+ LP is the ultimate tool for accurate and effective dry fly presentation. Tailored for supreme versatility over a wide range of casting techniques, actions are sweet, smooth, and stable, with plenty of “spank” when conditions call for an additional pinch of power.

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