April 20th Meeting --
This month's meeting will feature guest Tom Wermeth, a stream side resident to Oatka Creek. Tom will be at the Canandaigua Lake Chapter TU meeting which starts at 730pm. Tom has agreed to share some of the history, stories and secrets of his backyard (and the rest of) Oatka Creek. Tom is an officer of the Bank of Castile, an avid fly fisher and traveller as well as a Mustad hook "Pro Staffer".
Also please feel free to bring a friend (always welcome). The 50-50 raffle will have some new prizes. So remember to bring dollars or flies!
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Film Tour Project
On Saturday March 21st we hosted the 3rd Annual Fly Fishing Film Tour as a fund raiser for our Chapter. Despite the beautiful spring like day the event attracted over 80 people from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and the Southern Tier. I believe all those who attended enjoyed the films that were of an extremely high quality and visually a treat.
First we’d like to thank our Local Sponsors including, Canandaigua National Bank, Leveraging Technology, Inc., Travel Adventures, Dr. Ben Gullo and Dr. Greg Gullo, DDS, Aberle Eye Care, James S. Sullivan Insurance, and JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. who generously contributed money to cover the cost of the films and the venue. Without their support the program would not have been possible.
Also, bucket raffle sponsors that contributed products included Gander Mountain, Panorama Outfitters, Parker Sterner, Carl Coleman and an anonymous donator included a case of wine. The bucket raffle was a great success.
We’d also like to thank the Rochester Shopping Bag for their generous advertising support. They have been a regular advertising supporter of all our fundraising events for years.
Since this was our first year hosting this event; I’m confident this experience will make next years Film Tour even a bigger event. I’d also like to thank our committee members for their hard work they included Norm Burst, Jim Cantin, Jean Chaintreuil, Dick Steinheider, Terry Norsen, David Morrow, Ben Gullo, and Steve Coleman aided by the support of numerous chapter members.
This fundraiser successfully raised over $1,500 dollars that helps us support the cost of our monthly meeting at Wegmans, annually sending two kids to the Fly Fishing Museum Youth Fishing School, Delaware River Stream Improvements, book donations to the Wood Library, and Cohocton River clean up. ~~ Brian Pitre, Event Chairman
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Oatka Creek
Oatka is a major tributary of the Genesee River; located in western New York, it enters the Genesee approximately one mile east of Scottsville.
Originally called Allan's Creek (an not related to the contemporary Allens Creek in Rochester, after the area's first settler, Ebenezer "Indian" Allan, Oatka Creek is 58 miles (92 km) long and has a watershed area of 215 square miles. It is part of the west side of the Genesee River watershed. Much of this area is used for agriculture.
"Oatka" - both the word and its pronunciation - comes from the original Seneca Indian name for the creek, O-at-ka.
Oatka Creek rises in the Town of Gainsville in Wyoming County and passes through the towns of Warsaw, Middlebury, and Covington before entering Genesee County. There, the creek passes through the towns of Pavilion, Stafford, and Le Roy before flowing into Monroe County in the Town of Wheatland.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration operates a stream level gauge on the Oatka in Garbutt. Monroe County's Oatka Creek Park is in Wheatland.
The creek formerly had rapids and waterfalls where it crossed the Onondaga Escarpment near Le Roy, which provided water power for early mills.
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Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species and Diseases
With the recent discovery of the fish disease Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) in New York, and an invasive species of algae, didymo, in the Delaware River system and the Batten Kill, anglers are reminded of the important role that they play in preventing the spread of these and other potentially damaging invasive species and fish diseases. Please thoroughly dry equipment, particularly waders and wading shoes, for 48 hours before moving from water to water. If drying is not possible, equipment must be disinfected. One of the easiest and safest ways to disinfect gear is by soaking it for 10 minutes in a cleanser/disinfectant containing the ingredient alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. This ingredient is found in most common household antiseptic cleansers such as Fantastic, Formula 409 and Spray Nine. Anglers are also encouraged not to use felt-soled waders as they are more apt to transport didymo and other invasives than other forms of wading soles. For more information on invasive species and disinfection procedures, request a copy of the new DEC brochure "Anglers and Boaters: Stop the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species and Fish Diseases in New York State" from your local DEC office.
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The Little J (in Pennsylvania)
Nestled in the heart of central Pennsylvania's limestone country is an incredible freestone stream that keeps getting better. For decades, the Little Juniata was little more than an open running sewer, but with cleaned-up water the hatches have returned en masse, and new catch-and-release regulations have resulted in more 20-inch brown trout in the river than ever.
The Little Juniata--or Little J as local anglers affectionately refer to it--suffered during the Industrial Revolution. The paper mill in Tyrone used Bald Eagle Creek to dispose of mill effluent. The sludge flowed into the Little J and coated the river bottom for decades.
Remarkably, the polluted river still had several significant insect hatches. The biggest beneficiary of the industrial waste was the crayfish population, or "crabs" as locals refer to them. The crayfish forage base produced heavy trout, but there were few of them. The Clean Water Act of 1972 forced industries to stop polluting the waterway and helped turn the Little J into an incredible fly-fishing destination. As the stream became cleaner, hatches began to reappear. Midges, mayflies, and caddisflies regained a foothold, and fly fishers soon had to imitate these prolific hatches to catch trout. ~~ Eric Stroup, photo by John Hanrahan
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Snapping 'em off!
After a long week of work, I looked forward to the weekend with expectations of fishing a new hole I found on the river. I woke up at 6a.m. Saturday gathered my gear and headed out. As I had anticipated, there was no one at my hole. So I rigged up and got in position. I watched the water for a while, wondering what fly to use. Since there were no trout rising, I decided to try a Brassy nymph.
To this day, many of my fly selections are just guesses, I am just starting to understand entomology and the way fish feed, but that's a whole subject in by it's self. I waded out into the river and started casting towards the far bank in hopes of finding a trout lurking there. I wanted to get the nymph right along the bank and was coming up about 15 feet short. So I stripped out some more line and tried to put a little more "umph" in my cast. My idea was to speed up my cast and put more strength into the forward cast. After a few attempts, I was able to reach the spot I wanted. I was feeling pretty good about myself, thinking I had just found a way to increase my casting distance.
After about 10 minutes of casting and slowly drifting my nymph along the bank, I decided it was time to change flies. When I got to the end of my leader, I was a little bewildered when I discovered that my fly was gone. I knew I hadn't snagged it on anything. I was too far in the river to have got hung up on my back cast and I hadn't got hung up on the bank, so I was not sure where my fly had gone. I examined the end of my leader to see if maybe my knot had come untied. But there was no sign of my knot coming undone; the leader was just straight, like someone had cut the fly off. After putting my deductive reasoning to use, I decided that somehow I must have snapped the fly off.
At the time, I thought that maybe I was using the wrong size of leader because I lost another fly the same way as the first. After a few more trips to the stream and a few more flies lost, I decided I had better seek some help with this problem. There was certainly something wrong with my casting but I could not solve the problem myself.
I first went to the flyshop and asked what they thought the problem might be. After getting their opinion, I made a few stops on the Internet and asked the same question. Several folks where kind enough to give their opinion on what was causing my problem and how to solve it. The general onsensus was that I was starting the forward motion of my cast to soon, before my backcast had fully straightened out.
By doing this I was causing a noticeable "snap" in my line, which in fact was snapping my flies off. I received several suggestions about how to cure this problem. All of them suggested that I needed to wait until my backcast had straightened and that the best way to do this was to position myself so I could watch my line through its' complete cycle of backcast and forward cast. This allowed me to watch my backcast and wait until it had straightened out before I began the forward part of my cast.
So the next time I was on the stream I stood with my shoulders at about a 45 degree angle, my casting arm being farthest back, which allowed me to see my back cast unfurl. As soon as it did, I began my forward cast and sure enough, my fly stayed on and soon I was able to increase my casting distance! By watching the cycle of my cast, I discovered that my casting rhythm had slowed down and the whole motion seemed smoother.
Though the tips I received have not cured all my problems, they have slowed down my casting and caused me to pay more attention to the whole motion of the cast. I have also learned that rhythm and applying power at the correct time is much more important than trying to muscle more distance out of your casts. And finally, I once again proved to myself that often times we can cure the vast majority of our problems by just asking someone with a little more experience for help. ~~ Don McPherson
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Notes from the March Meeting
Al Kraus brought the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. Visitors were invited to introduce themselves; quite a few stood up to say hello.
Al indicated that anyone wanting to join the Chapter and participate in our events should contact Norm Brust at nbrust@rochester.rr.com. Information about the Chapter can be found at www.canandaigualaketu.org.
Al Kraus reported that Headquarters TU had approved the request for funds to support the proposed clean-up/restoration project for the Cohocton River, to be conducted on the 1st and 2nd of August 2009. Al gave an overview of the project and indicated a committee had been formed to organize completion of the project. A sign-up sheet for volunteers was sent around the room. Anyone wanting to volunteer to help or get further information can contact Al at krausengr@earthlink.net.
Al also talked about float stocking the Cohocton River. The first of two, two day stocking sessions for 2009 will be on the 30th and 31st of March. Al indicated he had enough volunteers to cover the first stocking session and everyone would be notified when he got the dates for the second session…it should be some time during the latter part of April. Anyone wanting to be added to the stocking e-mail list should send a note to Al at krausengr@earthlink.net.
Al turned the meeting over to Brian Pitre who first asked if there were any fishing “hot spots”. One member indicated that Oatka Creek was quite fishable; another indicated that during the shocking at Naples Creek they saw a lot of Rainbows; and yet another reporting having a great trip to Argentina.
Brian also gave an overview of the 2009 “Fly Fishing Film Tour/ Film Festival”, which is being sponsored by the Chapter. This event will take place on 21 March, starting at 1 PM, at the Canandaigua Elementary School. More information and tickets for this great event can be obtained by going to Chapter’s web site.
Dave Morrow indicated that the Chapter would once again be supporting the Canandaigua Lake Trout Derby by helping to man the weigh station at the north end of the lake on 6 and 7 June. Monies earned by conducting the derby go to supporting the Camp Good Days Program and Mercy Flight; normally both of these non-profit organizations are given about $4000 each year. Dave will be sending around a sign-up sheet for helpers at a future meeting or you can contact him at dmorrow.drm_consult@bluetie.com.
Craig Dennison indicated he still had about six spaces for going on the Chapter’s trip to the West Branch of the Delaware River. The trip will take place from 10 to 14 June; however, participants can choose to either stay just two nights or all four nights. Everyone will be staying at the West Branch Anglers Resort, but how you chose to fish is totally up to you…you can either fish in groups or go off on your own for the day. This should be a great trip…if you are interested in going you need to RSVP and send a $70 non-refundable check to Craig by 1 April. If you have any questions about the trip you can contact Craig at craigdennison1@yahoo.com.
Brian announced that the main speaker during the April 20th meeting will be Tom Wermeth. Tom will talk about the secrets of fly-fishing Oatka Creek.
The regular raffle, which is held each meeting, was conducted. Several members won various prizes: cash, flies, and donated fly-fishing goodies.
Brian adjourned the business meeting and introduced Mike DeTomaso, manager of the Fly Fishing Department at the Bass Pro Store in Auburn. Mike talked about everything you need to know to be very successful during the “Hendrickson Hatch”. ~~ Al Kraus
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For Sale --
Albright Tempest 5/6, large arbor, cork drag reels and spools. Two reels and two extra spools available. Each reel with one extra spool @ $225.00 or 1/2 off the original price. Never fished, new in box. Contact nbrust@rochester.rr.com.
Precision Reels 8/10, machined 6061-T6 aluminum reels with cork drags comparable in fit and finish to Abels. Two reels and one extra spool available. $300.00/reel or $400.00 for a reel and extra spool. Never fished, new in box. Contact nbrust@rochester.rr.com.
9ft vintage split bamboo fly rod with 2 tips and case for sale. Excellent condition. $400.00. Call Dave at 585-742-2932 or e-mail at kingrd@frontiernet.net
Long sleeve fly fishing shirts. Large. Velcro flap front pockets. $20. Slightly used but in excellent condition. Contact Jean Chaintreuil. 585-360-1812 or jpc@travela.com
Maine Cottage with Striped Bass Fishery. June 20 to 27, June 27 to July 4, July 18 to July 25. Sleeps 5, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, views, 3 minutes from the beach. $Discounted$ rate of $900 per week. Contact Craig Dennison at 585-507-9655.
Orvis Zero Gravity 150 Anniversary 9' 4 pc. 5wt Limited production Rod #355. Brand new and never fished nor had a reel put on it. Asking $525 or b/o. Contact Kevin Casey at 585 309 1625 or kpcasey@rochester.rr.com.
New never fished Orvis Superfine Trout Bum 150th Anniversary Rod 7' 4pc 4wt
Rod #458 of this limited edition. Asking $425 or b/o that's $150 below the current Orvis price and it's not a 150th Anniversary rod. Contact Kevin Casey at 585 309 1625 or kpcasey@rochester.rr.com.
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.
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Prez Sez . . .
Great job with the Flim Tour. Special thanks to Brian Pitre's committee and each one of you guys that had a hand in making it a success. And the good news ... we made some money. A special thanks to the sponsors and the raffle contributors is also in order. Brian's report sums up the whole event.
Great also to see the turn out for Mike DeTomasso's discussion on the Hendrickson hatch. When the Board picked this topic it was sure to be a hit. This is the hatch that we all wait for and I would guess that most of us consider the start of the trout fishing season here in Western New York. The weather is finally beginning to cooperate and there is a good chance the the streams are not flooded. So ... keep an eye out towards the end of this month.
And while on some local things, this month's meeting should also be up to you expectations. On hands talk from Tom Wermeth on fishing Oatka. Tom now lives on the stream and not only fishes Oatka but many other places when ever he can get away for his day job at The Bank of Castile. I would think this is another "do not miss" meeting.
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Calendar of Upcoming Events:
April 20, Chapter Meeting. Tom Wermeth will help you discover Oatka Creek secrets.
May 18, Chapter Meeting. Casting clinic.
June 6 and 7, Canandaigua Chamber Trout Derby.
June 10-14, West Branch of the Delaware Trip.
June 15, Chapter Annual Picnic, Powder Mills Park, Powderhorn Lodge.
July, No Chpater Meeting.
August, No Chapter Meeting.