"Tight Lines" A Canandaigua Lake Chapter of Trout Unlimited Publication www

Also please feel free to bring a friend (always welcome). 50-50 raffle with new prizes. So remember to bring dollars or flies!

Helpful Fly Fishing Tips
A look at some quick fly fishing tips you can use to improve your next trip on the water.

Don’t overdo it. Long casts aren’t needed on most of the streams fly fishers frequent. Accuracy is more important than distance 99 percent of the time. Focus on fish that are within 20 feet, which can be easily reached with a 7- to 8-foot rod and a nice easy cast.

Easy on the backcast. One of the most common mistakes in fly fishing is overdoing the backcast. If you pull the rod too far back on the backcast, it can cause the line to hit the water behind you and spook the fish all around you in the process. It’s best to stop the rod by the 1 o’clock position so that you may straighten the line behind you and then make a precise forward cast.

Avoid the wind. Wind can be a fisherman’s worst enemy, unless of course they’re casting 50 or 60 yards with a little help from Mother Nature. In most other cases, wind seriously alters casting accuracy. To avoid the wind, fish early in the morning and in the evening when it’s less windy. That’s also when fish, and the bugs they chase, are more active. If you find yourself casting in the wind midday, try to fish with the wind at your back and make the most of tailwind.

Hang with the locals. There’s no better place to learn the ins and outs of a fishery than from local guides and fly shops. Use this resource as often as possible and be sure to spend a few bucks on locally made flies, all of which could lead to more guide-offered tips for your next trip. When I’m fishing a new water, I always stop in the local fly shop, buy a shirt or hat and stock up on a dozen of the local fly selections recommended by the resident guide.

Get away from the crowds. Fly fishing is a solitary hobby, and the fishing is always better when there’s less pressure. While the honey holes may have more fish (likely stocked), the upper stretches hold the wild and holdover fish that actually prefer flies over bait — unlike stocked fish that are raised on pellets in tanks far, far away.

Steelhead Wines
Our Steelhead wines come from the world-renowned Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, California and are a tribute to Quivira's restoration of the Steelhead habitat in Wine Creek - a tributary of the Dry Creek River - that runs through its estate. Steelhead are an important part of California's ecosystem and are a good indicator of water health because they require cool, clean water in order to thrive. Working with Trout Unlimited and state and university organizations, our extensive restoration of the spawning grounds within the creek bed have led to the return of the Steelhead each spring. Now neighboring landowners inspired by Quivira’s example are doing the same.

This project has led to a unique partnership between Trout Unlimited, Quivira Vineyards and Steelhead Wines. The result? Steelhead, the first wine brand dedicated to fisheries conservation. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle of Steelhead Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel and Steelhead Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc sold help fund TU's creek restoration projects. Enjoy these delicious wines and raise your glass to healthier creeks throughout North America!

Wine Creek, which bisects the Quivira estate on its way to Dry Creek, was once a thriving habitat for Steelhead and Coho Salmon. The creek had plenty of cool, oxygen-rich water and clean gravel that the fish required. Over the years, agricultural development, gravel mining and other factors have had a negative impact on the fish habitat, mainly by removing shade and silting up the gravel beds.

We have built a series of nine weirs or low fall dams along our portion of Wine Creek. As water rushes over the weirs, it creates a deep pool of calm water below the dam where fish can rest on their long journey upstream to spawn. Above the weirs, gravel collects, creating the perfect spawning conditions.

Living willow trees have been woven together and planted on the banks to reinforce the sides of the creek.

In partnership with Trout Unlimited and the California Department of Fish and Game, Steelhead has worked diligently to restore the creek. Here you can see large boulders that have been installed and stabilized with cables to reinforce the deteriorating creek banks and to shore up large trees whose roots have been exposed due to erosion.

This is where Wine Creek merges with Dry Creek on the Quivira property. Just as the water flows from the property to the rest of the Dry Creek region, so are the fish-friendly farming ideas spreading to other properties in the area. Quivira's Wine Creek Restoration Project has spurred similar projects along the creek, and has inspired Trout Unlimited to work with other land owners in the region on an entire Dry Creek Watershed Project.

Steelhead is now an official sponsor of Trout Unlimited, whose mission is to "to conserve, protect and restore North America's Trout and Salmon fisheries and their coldwater watersheds." Their logo is proudly displayed on the back of the Steelhead bottle, a wine we make with our partners that is distributed nationwide, and celebrates the Steelhead philosophy.

Notes from the October 2008 Meeting
Steve Coleman brought the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. Visitors were invited to introduce themselves; several stood up to say hello.

Anyone wanting to join the Chapter, get our free newsletter, and participate in our events should see Norm Brust or contact him at nbrust@rochester.rr.com. Further information on the Chapter can be found at www.canandaigualaketu.org .

Steve asked if there were any fishing “hot spots”. It was reported that fishing was very good on Oak Orchard and Cattaraugus Creeks…lots of fish in the Creeks.

Al Kraus indicated he was going to try to organize a clean-up project for the Cohocton River, to be conducted during the early part of August 2009. The main goal would be to remove the majority of the debris (old tires, chunks of metal, etc.) from the river, from the 2^nd bridge above Cohocton to the bridge at Jones Road (about 5 miles). Although we will also try to get volunteers from other sources, in order to be able to execute this project we will need the full support of Chapter Members. We will try to get a grant from the National Headquarters of Trout Unlimited to help to fund the project.

Al sent around a sign-up sheet for members willing to help to complete the project. This project will greatly benefit the Cohocton River, if you were not at the meeting and are will to help please send an e-mail to Al at krausengr@earthlink.net. When you respond please indicate if you are also willing to help organize the project and/or be a Team Leader for one of the Clean-up Crews.

Steve reported that the Chapter was exploring the possibility of making our annual Fly-Tying School a part of the Canandaigua Adult Education Program. This would give us a nice place to hold the classes, make it easier to publicize and recruit students for the class, and still provide a means of raising some funds for the Chapter. During the meeting it was discussed that maybe we should also do this for the Chapter’s Fly-Fishing School. This matter will be explored further and results will be reported at a future meeting.

Brian Pitre, from the Chapter Nominating Committee, indicated that we needed to elect new members for the Chapter’s Board of Directors. It was proposed that Jean Chaintreuil, David Morrow, and Mark Weider be replaced by Jean Chaintreuil, David Morrow, and Norm Brust. A motion was made to accept this proposal, the motion was second, and the proposal was approved by the majority of the members present.

Steve Coleman announced that the main speaker during the November 16^th meeting will be Wally Baker, president of Angler Sport Group. Angler Sport Group is a leading seller of quality fly fishing tackle. Their specialty is terminal tackle and accessories. Daiichi® fly hooks. Fly boxes and utility boxes, including the famous Richard Wheatley™ brand. Varivas® leaders and tippets, Dinsmores™ split-shot, Serious Angler™ strike indicators, and many other accessory items. And the Marryat® line of precision machined fly reels.

The regular raffle, which is held each meeting, was conducted. Several members won various prizes: cash, flies, and donated fly-fishing goodies.

Steve adjourned the business meeting and introduced Josi Etter from Sketch and Release. Josi talked about how she gets photographs of fish from ardent fly-fisherman and turns them into beautiful paintings. If you missed the meeting details can be found at info@sketchandrelease.com.
~~ Al Kraus

George Grant
George Grant, first known for his contribution of a distinct method of weaving hackles in the 1930s, passed away on November 2. Grant was much more than a fly tier. He was an ardent conservationist who contributed greatly to the protection of important rivers and helped ensure that stream access and protection laws were written into the books. He took up the causes of the Big Hole and Clark Fork rivers long before environmentalism was popular in Montana, and the facts that the Big Hole is the longest free-flowing river in Montana and that the Clark Fork was returned to life after years of mining pollution are largely due to his long commitment.

From Wikipedia: "Grant was one of the first anglers to realize that large trout fed primarily beneath the surface on nymphs, and that one needed to imitate and learn to fish this insect-stage if one wanted to consistently catch large trout. Grant's nymphs imitated primarily large stoneflies such as the giant salmonfly (Pteronarcys californicus), which grows up to two inches in length. In recognition for this work he received the Fly Fishing Federation's coveted Buszek Award in 1973."
~~ from John Dwyer

Prez Sez . . .

Steelhead fishing is under way. Hope that you are getting out and enjoying the season. Just another reminder that your NYS license should be current. Remember that the annual license period (for some strange reason) is from October 1 to September 30. Dick Steinheider and myself were in Kodiak Island, Alaska the first part of October. Just a wonderful place; simply beautiful. The fishing was a little on the slow side due to low and clear water on our arrival and then we had rain for 23 hours straight. That sure brought the fish in and on that day, with the water rising we did quiet well on some very fresh steelies. But as the water levels went up (+18") and the river got more "chocolate", the fishing got harder. Bottom line: it was still worth the trip. Yes, bears were all over the place!

Unfortunately, last month I was unable to get the printed copy of the Chapter's Newsletter out to those that get it by mail. This is just another reason to sign up for the email version. So please do so, it will save the Chapter money too. Mailing and printing costs are hard on our meager budget. Thanks for moving over to the digital world! On a further note, I understand that if you did miss the October meeting you missed a very informative meeting. Josie showed some excellent work. Just outstanding!

I don't know why this next item gets so few calls, (I will try one more time) but we will continue to help you sell fly fishing items that you would like to turn to cash. All you have to do is email me at jpc@travela.com with the details and it will go in Tight Lines without charge. It is as simple as a free want ad listing can be!

For Sale: ???
Email jpc@travela.com with the details and we will list your item(s) for sale.
How else can we say it?
It's a free Want Ad.