January 2002 Volume 11 Issue 5 The Fly Paper …just another editor’s note… Take note. Actually, take lots of notes, or as I keep telling Erich (with no discernable effect up to this point), “take copious notes”. Just recently I was doing some housecleaning of my fly fishing stuff, a chore that I have to perform regularly or I will lose all track of what I have and where it is. Besides, I have been threatened that if I don’t clean it up, it’s going out and maybe me behind it. Well, whatever the reason it was that resulted in me doing this unnatural act (organizing and cleaning up, that is), while doing it I stumbled across some of my old fishing notebooks. It had been some since I last read them, so I took the path of least resistance. That is, I stopped the housecleaning operation dead in its tracks and promptly sat down and started reading. Within seconds, I was transported back in time to events that I thought I had completely forgotten. My oldest book dated back to 1975, and detailed my fly fishing successes and failures, along with observations of fly hatches, in the Nipigon area. One note revealed that I had use #22 herl flies to catch some brook trout that were rising to midges. Another entry reminded me of great fishing for rainbows in a spring creek at Dorion, and yet another recounted the big (4 to 5 pound) smallmouth bass caught on the Magog Smelt streamer. I have to admit that I didn’t keep a record of all my fishing trips, and that I didn’t record any trips in some years. I wish now that I had, because I still have a dim recollection (most of my recollections are dim) of many hikes along Catfish Creek near Wawa, experimenting with various dry fly and wet fly techniques in the riffles and rocky plunge-pools. I know that good notes of those events would be bringing back delightful memories of those days. I did find, luckily, one scrap of paper with some notes on finding nymphs and spinners of a small mayfly I keyed out as Epeorus vitrea, the Sulphur. For some reason, once I started fishing on the Magpie, I started keeping excellent, detailed notes on the fishing and the fly hatches. One long-forgotten entry reminded me of the big brook trout I caught and raised within sight of the Highway 17 bridge. One note (see this month’s tying pattern), with something less than grammatical perfection, reminded me to tie more March Brown Nymphs in various sizes: “they seem to work really good”. My notes have always included rough maps of the places I have fished, and accurately sized sketches of the insects and other fish food encountered. You don’t have to be an artist to do this: a generic sketch of a mayfly or caddis, with a few notes on the colour and other characteristics, followed by a scale bar, will do. Here’s a typical scale bar: _____ x1 ______________ x1 Sulphur big yellow Hex Anecdotes have become a more common feature in my more recent notes. On July 9, 1990, on my first ever trip to the Upper Garden (and successful too!), I waded wet because my new waders hadn’t yet arrived. The water was so cold that I had to get out at intervals to warm up in the sun. This kind of information suggests that if we ever get a cool and wet summer again, the brook trout fishing will likely improve. Other anecdotes recall fishing with other folks. Many of them recount a kind of general “Allan caught a mess of trout while I just tried hard” kind of event, but there are occasional narrations of greatness, i.e., days when I did better than he did. What techniques and flies worked, and what didn’t; what the fish were feeding on, and what they were ignoring; which parts of the lake or stream were productive; how often you got out during the year; funny events and serious events; which trips were great in spite of the weather and which ones were a washout; what techniques and flies you are going to use next time to turn failure into success; all these are ingredients for your notebook. Start one! …your editor HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BUSINESS MEETING OF 04 DECEMBER 2001 There were 15 regular and 3 executive members present at this meeting. The following items were discussed. ADMINISTRATION The minutes of the 06 November 2001 meeting were accepted as reported in the Fly Paper. The Treasurer’s report was accepted as read. Our finances continue to be in good shape. Bill paid for fly tying materials used since last February, for $170.69. Bill paid for vise repairs, cost $51.04. 44 paid-up members for the end of 2001. Correspondence received: A letter from the Chamber of Commerce, that the Great Outdoor Show (March 22-24) has been moved from the Armouries to the John Rhodes Centre. OLD BUSINESS Trout Concern in Lake Superior Park. Erich has written the Park Superintendent to relay the concerns about the apparent reduction in brook trout stocks in some of the lakes in the Park, and the possibility of some remedial stocking. Erich forwarded the entire Fly Paper, containing an article on this issue, to him. Fly Tying Kit Parts. These have been ordered, should arrive by late December. Public Library: Donor Appreciation Night. Erich was unable to attend, but he will be attending the library to speak their Admin staff to discuss SFA donations. Sault Ste. Marie web page. Bob Barnett has not contacted Joe Cain at City Hall about having SFA included on the page. NEW BUSINESS Meeting Cancelled December 18. The school is not available on that night. Hooks in the Library Carpet. A fly-tying hook was found in the carpet just after the workshop of November 20th. The principal reported it to Erich. This is the first “hook episode” in two years. Rules were set down about hooks: Each person will be responsible for one hook at a time, only. Getting hooks for others at your table is prohibited. Each hook will be kept singly in the square of white foam provided. Bringing hooks from home is prohibited. Keep track of your hook while tying, etc. ‘Hook Rules’ will be read out at each fly tying session as a reminder. John Wendling. One of our SFA founders is in the hospital with appendicitis. We all wish him a speedy recovery. Upstairs at Rome’s. Erich will take to the chef about a session there. Suggestion Box. This will be set up at the door at each meeting, so members can drop in suggestions for workshop suggestions. Fly Tying Contest. A short brain-storming session resulted in, tentatively, the following rules for February 12th: Fly #1 will be a Compulsory pattern. The hook and all materials will be supplied except for thread. 45 minute maximum time. The pattern will be detailed, with a full recipe, in the February newsletter. Fly #2 will be Free Style i.e. the pattern of your choice. Hooks of various styles and sizes will be available. Bring your own materials, and feel free to use materials from the SFA fly materials bin. 45 min. Judging and prizes (if any) will be determined before the contest. MONTHLY DRAW This month, Klaas Oswald won a $2 gift certificate at Fish Tales. (ed’s note: Finally!!) There was no special activity after the meeting on this occasion. Tentative Workshop Schedule Jan 08 Business meeting followed by: demonstration tying of the March Brown nymph (Klaas) Jan 15 Hare’s Ear Nymph & Hare’s Ear Wet Fly (Klaas) Jan 22 Equipment set up for streams (packing light and heavy) and for lakes (day fishing vs. camping) (Erich, Allan, Harold, Klaas) Jan 29 Montana Nymph Feb 05 Annual Meeting & Election of Officers. Activity: bring in your “mystery flies” for identification. Feb 12 Fly Tying Contest, details to be announced. Feb 19 Guest speaker: interesting fish habitat in some northern lakes Feb 26 How to tie wiggle nymphs and weed guards Mar 05 Business meeting Mar 12 No meeting: school closed for March Break (Remember, please leave your hooks at home for these tying sessions. All hooks will be supplied.) _______________________________________ January Fly Patterns The March Brown Nymph This version and most others are based on Preston Jennings’ March Brown pattern as detailed in his 1935 “A Book of Trout Flies.” I’ve had success with the following variation, and in the sizes listed it will imitate all of the closely related flat-bodied clinging mayfly nymphs, Stenacron, Stenonema, and Epeorus which emerge from spring to mid-summer. It will also work during the Brown Drake (Ephemera simulans) hatch. My personal preference is to add some amber-orange fur to the dubbing mix. The fish seem to like it. Any way you tie it, it works both as a specific imitation during hatches and as a general buggy-looking imitation of a host of underwater insects. Hook: #8 to 16, wet fly (Mustad 3906B) Thread: 6/0 orange or brown Rib: gold wire or tinsel, or yellow thread Tails: 3 wood duck flank fibers, well spread. (You can substitute speckled grouse, etc.) Body: dubbed fur of a tan or amber colour (I prefer to obtain the colour by mixing brown, tan, yellow, and orange furs, rather than using a single tint.) Wing cases: dark brown turkey or grouse tail Hackle: soft brown rooster or brown partridge Attach thread and wind to bend of hook, tying a single tail fibre so it projects about the length of the body. Dub an extremely small, round ball at the bend, and move the thread forward a little. One at a time, tie in a tail fibre on each side, and wind the thread back to the dubbing ball, forcing each side fibre to spread sideways. Attach ribbing, then dub a slender body about two-thirds up the shank. Rib this abdomen, tie off the rib. Attach a slip or two of wing case material so it lies flat over the abdomen, then dub a larger thorax forward. Leave room for hackle. Fold the wing case material forward over the thorax and tie off. Attach the hackle, make about two turns, and tie off. Make a small head and whip finish. Substitutions: you can use a 3x long hook to make a longer, slimmer fly, or a regular-length 3906 to make a shorter, stubbier fly. The original fly called for a mixed abdomen dubbing of tannish red fox and Hare’s Ear mixed in equal amounts, and a thorax of rabbit fur dubbing. In fact, there is little difference between the March Brown and Hare’s Ear nymph patterns. Hare’s Ear Nymph and Wet Fly When tied very simply, these are patterns that imitate almost everything that fish eat. The simple nymph imitates mayfly nymphs in streams and still water, and also imitates shrimps. The simple hare’s ear body with a turn or two of partridge hackle at the head imitates many of the emerging caddis pupae and mayfly nymphs, and the winged wet fly is a good imitation of emerging and drowned-spinner mayflies, and probably, drowned and egg-laying adult caddis. It was even popular (and very effective) fifty-odd years ago as a furry-bodied dry fly. With a couple of hare’s ears in your tying kit, you may not need any other dubbing material to tie effective flies. Ed.’s note: some of the patterns and quotations below came out of Collins Dictionary of Trout Flies by John Roberts, second edition, 1998. The original patterns (Hare’s Lug and Plover, Hare’s Ear Spider) date back at least 200 years in northern England, and the most enduring of the variations may be the Hare’s Ear wet fly. In recent years, there has been a plethora of nymph variations, of which I list a few here. Traditional Hare’s Ear Nymph Hook: #12-16, Mustad 3906 or 3906B wet fly Tail: (optional): 3 body hairs, or wood duck flank Rib: very narrow gold tinsel or gold wire Body: slender mottled brown Hare’s Ear dubbing, very thinly applied over yellow thread, but thicker at the thorax. Hackle: body material picked out or optionally: one turn of a grey-brown speckled feather from a Partridge’s or Grouse’s back would make it a Hare’s Ear Spider. Orange Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph, a modern English stillwater pattern Hook: #12-16, 3x Long wet fly Thread: orange 6/0 Tail: a short, thick tuft of fluorescent floss Rib: fine oval gold tinsel Body: dubbed roughly with a mixture of 2/3 hare’s ear or body and 1/3 orange Antron Hare’s Ear Wet Fly, after Schwiebert Hook: #8-20, Mustad 3906 Thread: grey or brown 6/0 Tail: Woodduck flank fibres Rib: thin gold tinsel Body: roughly dubbed Hare’s mask heavily mixed with guard hairs Wings: Dark blue-grey wing-quill sections Hackle: Hare’s mask fibres picked out I note that in the illustration, Schwiebert has added a short tinsel tag behind the tail Modified or American Hare’s Ear Nymph Hook: #12-16, Mustad 3906 or 3906B wet fly Thread: black or brown 6/0 Tail: Hare’s body hair Rib: oval gold tinsel Body: Hare’s body hair Thorax: Hare’s body hair with some strands picked out for legs Wingcase: Dyed black turkey-tail segment “only the Americans could tie this nymph pattern without actually using any hare’s ear fur. Nonetheless, as an imitation of stillwater mayfly nymphs it is one of the most deadly patterns.” if you substitute Pearlescent Crystal Flash as the wing case, you would have a Flashback Hare’s Ear Nymph Red Tag Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph Hook: #10-14, 3x Long wet fly Thread: brown 6/0 Tail: Cock pheasant fibres Tag: A few turns of red marabou Rib: gold wire Body: Hare’s Ear dubbing, with a few turns in front of the hackle Hackle: two turns of a hen or partridge brown speckled feather Head: 4-mm gold bead another modern European variation. “For upstream fishing, a trimmed Hare’s Ear wet-fly with only the stubs of the wings left on, is about as good a nymph as has come to [my] attention.” Preston Jennings: A Book of Trout Flies, 1935 FISHING TRIP INFORMATION WATER BODY NAME: DOTTIE LAKE FISH SPECIES: Brook trout NATIONAL TOPOGRAPHIC SERIES MAP: Agawa Bay sheet: 41 N/7 ROUTE / DISTANCES / TIMES FROM SAULT STE. MARIE: Drive north on Hwy. 17 for almost 125 km. from the Trading Post, to just north of Kenny Lake where there is a south-bound passing lane on the highway, with guardrails on both sides. This will take up to 1 ½ hours. If you reach Speckled Trout Creek, you’ve gone too far north: turn around and head back south. Park at the south end of the guardrails. The shoulder is narrow, so be careful in parking. Go through the fringe of trees under the pole line, keep to the right and go down through a small draw avoiding the small hillock in front of you, then follow along the sidehill contour easterly to just past the confluence of Devlin Creek and Dottie Creek. Avoid going through the low flat alongside the creek: it is full of blow-down. Cross Devlin and start to climb, keeping to the right side of Dottie all the way to the lake, and keep to the east shore of Dottie Lake as well, to the landing. It can take up to an hour to hike in, but as little as 35 minutes (on snowshoes) to come back out. The following are the UTMs along the way: Vehicle Parking UTM 0683636 X 5241028 Sidehill south of creek UTM 0683996 X 5241340 Sidehill south of creek UTM 0684059 X 5241352 Cross Devlin Creek UTM 0684258 X 5241356 Climb along east side Dottie Cr. UTM 0684286 X 5241497 North to Dottie Lake UTM 0684382 X 5241780 North to Dottie Lake UTM 0684486 X 5241845 North to Dottie Lake UTM 0684498 X 5241876 Launch site on SE Dottie Lake shore UTM 0684539 X 5241959 RECOMMENDED GEAR, TACKLE and TECHNIQUES: Rugged hiking shoes, framed backpack, float tube, neoprene waders, and your favourite fly rod, lines, and flies. RECOMMENDED LOCATIONS: The south portion of the lake is shallow, and so is much of the west shore. The best winter locations are along the east and north shores, open-water fishing should be similar. DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: Difficult: there is no trail. Portions of the route are quite steep, or brushy, or run through wet sections, or over boulders hidden by thick Ground Hemlock. You will need some familiarity with map and compass, and with a GPS Unit if you have one. Parts of the trail along Dottie Creek are marked with blazes and ribbons. COMMENTS/ANECDOTES: You will need to have a valid campground receipt or a day-use sticker displayed on the dash of your vehicle in order to access this lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park. This lake is small (only 500 yards long) yet produces well, with fish up to 15” long. It’s main pressure is in the winter, and even then not many anglers go there.