Question:

An associate and I are looking for information, books, history, plans, etc. on a wooden, flat bottom, skiff-like drift boat, used for fly fishing.  This craft is used extensively on the Manistee, and AuSable rivers of Michigan. It’s been called the AuSable riverboat.  Any leads would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance. Damian M. Taulbee On A Fly, L.L.C.

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An associate and I are looking for information, books, history, plans, etc. on a wooden, flat bottom, skiff-like drift boat, used for fly fishing. This craft is used extensively on the Manistee, and AuSable rivers of Michigan. It’s been called the AuSable riverboat.  Any leads would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

livery. He has a guide working for him named Roger who builds a beautiful AuSable boat also. Wayne Knight Geneva IL                            

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Question:

Can anyone direct me a website or any other literature that would provide some instruction on the classic Swing Method of fly fishing? Thanks! ….learning in Northern California…. – Scott

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Can anyone direct me a website or any other literature that would provide some instruction on the classic Swing Method of fly fishing?

1.  Ray Bergman, Trout (1938) 2.  Wet fly technique is also summarized in Leisenring/ Hidy, Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph (1971). — |  Donald Phillipson, 4180 Boundary Road, Carlsbad Springs,  | |        Ontario, Canada, K0A 1K0, tel. 613 822 0734         |

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Question:

Jack Ellis and I started a monthly newsletter last year called "Reflections on the Pond".  To my knowledge, it is the only publication dealing exclusively with warmwater fly fishing subjects.           I’ll be happy to send two free samples and subscription info to anybody in the U.S. E-mail your requests to me along with your postal (snail-mail address).  This is a print publication.  I can’t send samples via e-mail.                                                 Brian Shivers                                                 Publisher

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I’d be interested in seeing your newsletter. Robert McAnulty 1300 N. Astor St. #12A Chicago, IL 60610 Thanks. Jack Ellis and I started a monthly newsletter last year called "Reflections on the Pond".  To my knowledge, it is the only publication dealing exclusively with warmwater fly fishing subjects.           I’ll be happy to send two free samples and subscription info to anybody in the U.S. E-mail your requests to me along with your postal (snail-mail

address).  This is a – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – print publication.  I can’t send samples via e-mail.                                                 Brian Shivers                                                 Publisher

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Question:

Harrison River in British Columbia has lots of big (to 25lbs.), strong (I’ve broken at least one reel) salmon.  Chums are not great to eat, but for us catch & release people they can be fun.  Small pink marabou flies fished deep can be great.  Downstream from the bridge is a favorite spot. Help!  I’d really like more information on this fishery.  Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks!  :-) P.S. Please E-MAIL me your response (I am usually out fishing, so I don’t have time to MONITOR this bulletin board…but email gets to me no problem).  Thanks K Lawson

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I’ve fished the Harrison for a number of years. You want chums try flour red or orange glo-bug yarn with a tinsel body. Dead drift with a type 4 sink tip. For a change of pace try cutts part on the east shore. More my style. I find the big dogs  (and if you’ve been fishing in BC as long as me you’d call them dogs) kind of boring after getting over the initial novelty of big fish on the fly. But lots of people enjoy these hard pulling fish and if that’s you’re cup of tea – you know where they are. Should continue into Nov. Try the chehalis just up the Morris Valley road by the Sasquatch Inn for mondo dogs and lots of coho. Good cutts in Dec and steelhead show in late Dec- Jan. Gets very crwoded tho’ Best of luck!

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Question:

I am looking for someone who will provide first-time instruction to a fly fishing beginner in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico.  Please

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There is at least one shop in Santa Fe that offers a guide service. Look them up in the yellow pages at your local library. (Yep, paper still works to transmit information!) — Ken Clark Ft. Lupton, CO

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There is at least one shop in Santa Fe that offers a guide service. Look them up in the yellow pages at your local library.

Try: Santa Fe Flyfishing School & Guide Service (505) 986-3913 Bill Schudlich Santa Fe, NM

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Question:

Did anyone see the segment on the opening of "trout" season in Missouri on the Osgood show this AM?  Call me a snob if you wish, but I thought the show was somewhere between disgusting and hilarious. Why don’t they save everyone the trouble, and give all applicants vouchers for 5 free trout at the local fish market? I’d love to hear your comments. Some sport there.

I’m a Missouri fly fisherman. Those openings in the trout parks are a tradition in this state, and the way I see it, the trout stamps and the one-day tags those folks buy pay for  the care of some pretty good water elsewhere that those crowds prob’ly don’t even know exist… Bob –

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I’m from Missouri and fish often at the state trout parks. I didn’t see the show but can imagine what it looked like. 3000 people isn’t unusual for opening day. No, I don’t consider you a snob. I don’t go to opening day and haven’t for 20 years. It’s a circus. The trout parks serve a purpose for us in Missouri (where are you from?) in that most of our water is too warm to support trout. There are some streams in the Ozarks that have trout but they are few and far between. So, during the summer, rather than not go at all a lot of us frequent the trout parks. After the crowd dies down. But, the best time is during the winter. We have a winter season from Oct. to Feb. Catch and Release only. That keeps most people away. I’ve been there when there were only 30 – 40 people on the entire stream. In some areas of the country that still would be a lot but it’s the best we have. Anyhow, one trip last winter my son and I were all alone for as far as we could see. No fish are stocked during the winter but there are some left over from the season stocking. Good luck, and tight lines.

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The State of MO is providing a product that is obviously in great demand. The people were all there by choice, I’m assuming. The funds generated at the four MO "trout parks" provide a big dose of bucks to the conservation efforts in MO. Also, if you’ve ever taken an eight year-old fishing only to have them give up after 15 minutes, you can appreciate the trout parks even more. Almost guaranteed results can be a real boon to a child.  My nephew vividly remembers a trip we to one of these parks. He’s kept his enthusiasm, in part to his success at a park I hope, through many fishless days. No, you won’t catch me at opening day. Nor will you see me there unless I’m there with a kid. And that will be mid-week. John Nesselrode Shawnee, KS

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 if you’ve ever taken an eight year-old fishing only to have them give up after 15 minutes, you can appreciate the trout parks even more. Almost guaranteed results can be a real boon to a child.  My nephew vividly remembers a trip we to one of these parks. He’s kept his enthusiasm, in part to his success at a park I hope, through many fishless days. No, you won’t catch me at opening day. Nor will you see me there unless I’m there with a kid. And that will be mid-week.

John, I agree. My 12-year old has very vivid memories of a couple of trips we made to one of the parks.  It’s a marvelous way to introduce kids to fly fishing. Bob

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Question:

So if I am willing to to hire a guide and do the drift boat thing is the San Juan better,equal or what? I did a 3 day float trip  on the Green 4 years ago. My 12 yr. old son is ready to go this year. Should I chance the San Juan or go with the Green again? The thing that attracts me back to the Green is the chance to catch 10+ trout per day that are 16 to 20 inches. Alpharetta, Ga. USA 30201

should go a long way toward helping you make up your mind. The San Juan is a great wading river, probably easier if you don’t want to hire a guide.  But the jury’s still out on this flow fiasco.

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I like the San Juan  better. Bigger fish.Loupask

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I cant make up my mind rather to go to the Green River UT. or the San Juan NM this coming March . Can someone who has fished both please respond. –

Chris, The Green is difficult to wade where the San Juan is not.  Unless you’re equipped with at least a float tube, preferably a kick boat, I wouldn’t go to the Green.

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I cant make up my mind rather to go to the Green River UT. or the San Juan NM this coming March . Can someone who has fished both please respond. –

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I fish the Green quite often and almost exclusively wade it.  Some sections might do better with a boat or tube, but I can guarantee you I catch as many if not more fish than those that float it.  Besides, the San Juan’s flow has been cut way down last I heard.  That’s just my $.02 Curtis Fry              Fry’s Utah Fly Fishing Page                                    http://www.et.byu.edu/~fryc

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So if I am willing to to hire a guide and do the drift boat thing is the San Juan better,equal or what? I did a 3 day float trip  on the Green 4 years ago. My 12 yr. old son is ready to go this year. Should I chance the San Juan or go with the Green again? The thing that attracts me back to the Green is the chance to catch 10+ trout per day that are 16 to 20 inches. Alpharetta, Ga. USA 30201

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The San Juan is, like most rivers now-a-days, is dam fed.  LAst year a couple of buddies of mine went down there, but the river was "turning over."  The silt from the lake passed through the dam and muddied the river for several days.  Apparently this happens regularly, so watch out for it this march. —  -Jeff Stephens

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I fish the Green quite often and almost exclusively wade it.  Some sections might do better with a boat or tube, but I can guarantee you I catch as many if not more fish than those that float it.  Besides, the San Juan’s flow has been cut way down last I heard.  That’s just my $.02 Curtis Fry             Fry’s Utah Fly Fishing Page                                   http://www.et.byu.edu/~fryc

The flow is back up to 600 cfs which is about normal.    However, it will be raised sometime in March.   Hard to predict exactly when and exactly how high.   This varies by a couple of weeks in terms of timing and may go as high as 5000 cfs which makes most of the river unfishable but does offer some interesting back-channel exploring.   Del Duncan

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Question:

I live in Monmouth county N.J. and fish exclusively for striped bass on the fly rod.  If there is anyone out there with similar interest, respond!  I am always current on the latest info ( at least I think I am).  Anyone with tips, hot fishing, or just to BS about one of the best fishing quests one can undertake, respond.                   Tim Surgent —-

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I live in Monmouth county N.J. and fish exclusively for striped bass on the fly rod.  If there is anyone out there with similar interest, respond!  I am always current on the latest info ( at least I think I am).  Anyone with tips, hot fishing, or just to BS about one of the best fishing quests one can undertake, respond.                  Tim Surgent —-

Tim I have lots of stripers and wipers on the ol’d flyrod.  We have been catching huge (12-15) wipers on top for the last two weeks.  Live about 1/2 mile from the largest lake in Kansas and they are staging up for winter.  Been schooling shad up and just hammering them on top. An interesting fact I recently learned, from our local fish biologist, stripers, wipers, and white bass belong to the gill raker family of fish.  You now how sharp their secondary gill plate is I presume? Anyway what they do is herd baitfish up real tight and then a number of "scouts" will blow thru the school of bait with their gill plates extended, basically shearing anything in their way to shreds.  At that point the larger fish will move in and begin to feed.  The interesting about it is, that if you see the beginning of surface action, you might try waiting 30 seconds until the larger fish move in and and start to feed.  Awful hard to do when you can see ‘em though!! E-mail me back if you want to talk, cause we travel all over the western US after big fish.  Have many resources for trout, bass, stripers, pike.  Maybe you would like to join us sometime.  Kenny

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Question:

I took up fly fishing last summer, during a trip to Newfoundland, and now the family can’t imagine any other kind of fishing. I have a few questions. Lot’s of places we fish seem to have tons of mosquitos.  Why are there so few flies that look like mosquitos (or am I missing something). In Lappland this summer, I got something called a "musta polar tohtori" (black polar doctor), which looked a bit like a mosquito, but there don’t seem to be many.  Do fish not like mosquitoes?  My wife’s theory is to the effect that mosquitoes are so common that fish are bored with them, and would rather go for something more unusual and tasty. The second question:  We took our fly rods to Finnish Lappland this summer (around Kilpisjarvi), but had no luck in the lakes around there, nor around Yllas either.  We tried muddler minnows, dry flies, streamers, wet flies, and good good at casting, but didn’t pick up anything (though some of the lakes are stocked with char).  It was fun anyway, but I’m wondering if anybody has tips on fishing the Northern Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian lakes and streams. Finally, closer to home, I’m looking for good trout streams in Wisconsin or N. Illinois, within 3-4 hours of Chicago.  I’m not looking for anybody to give away their secret spots, but if there are some well know good spots I’d appreciate the advice.  I like to fish in places that are quiet and away from busy roads and noisy power boats (and far, far away from jet skis!). Thanks, Ray Pierrehumbert

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Lot’s of places we fish seem to have tons of mosquitos.  Why are there so few flies that look like mosquitos (or am I missing something).

If trout get a shot at mosquitoes, I’m sure they’d eat them.  However, the life cycle of a mosquito pretty well takes place in water which trout cannot survive.  Mosquitoes hatch in stagnant water that is usually warmer than trout prefer and has little if any dissolved oxygen.   Not nearly enough dissolved oxygen for trout to survive.  "Mosquito wrigglers" use a tube that  penetrates the surface film to respirate. The are actually air breathing in this immature form.  That is why they used oil on the stagnant water to eliminate the malaria problems in the first half of the century.  The mosquito tubes couldn’t penetrate the oil film and they died from lack of oxygen. They hatch from stagnant water into that blood-sucking beast we all know, and they lay eggs back into the same stagnant water they came from. The attractions for them around the water are the warm blooded animals that frequent the area.  Since all animals need water, that’s a good supply of blood.  But they are not readily available for ingestion by trout. By the way, that "mosquito pattern" that most fly shops sell is a great mayfly imitation and works well in trout waters.                                                     Hope this helps,                                                              Dan

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Question:

Before I begin this trip report I would like to thank the following folks who provided much useful information via e-mail that helped me to plan Jeff Bryson, Nic Lyons, Lyle Nichols, Kief Hillsbery, Tim Medley, Ed Zalta, Keith Price.  I would also like to thank the park rangers, but I can’t, because what little information they provided was either badly out of date or just plain wrong.   Day 1:  Arrival Loaded the VW in a cold drizzle in San Francisco.  Fortunately, this was the most weather we would see the entire trip.  Arrived at South Lake at 4:30 pm and stashed the bike.  Got to North Lake trailhead parking at 5:00. Had shocking realization that I had left all coffee apparattus at home.   Searched the car and came up with one cotton sock, slightly used.  It would have to do.  Hit trail and hiked for 1 hour to Lower Lamarck Lake.  Made camp in a luxurious site on the east shore.  From campsite we thought we could see Lamarck Col, our next day’s destination.  Fortunately, we were way wrong as we were looking up at the very steep snow field on the north face of Mt. Lamarck.  Went to sleep beneath billions and billions of stars.  (Who needs a tent in the Sierra?)  Everything went fine until the brightest goddamned moon I have ever seen came out and rioted around the lake.  Maybe a tent would have been a good idea after all. Finally fashioned eye shades and nodded off. to be continued… -Matt Spitzer

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Day 2 (Monday, September 6):  Darwin Canyon via Lamarck Col Awoke very early to get morning reflection shots of Mt. Lamarck on the lake. Then I made my first attempt to make coffee using my sock/drip maker.  It wasn’t very successful, as the sock tended to soak up all the boiling water and scald my fingers.  Off to a fine Alpine start (10:00 am) we headed up the trail to the upper Lamarck Lake and then  took the made, but unmarked trail up to the Col.  About 4 miles (I’m guessing) and 2,000 ft later we arrived at the foot of the Col, a little winded (yeah, right).  We hadn’t known what to expect, so we had brought along ice axes.  As it turned out, the snowfield on the Col was so rutted out by people’s foot tracks that there was a waist high wall on the downhill side to prevent us from falling.  At the top (12,900) we had great views of the Piute Crags and the lovely town of Bishop to the North and Glacier encrusted Darwin Peak and the gorgeous (literally) Darwin Canyon to the South and West.  After a brief break Minio shot head first down the slope into Darwin Canyon.  I followed behind, enjoying an occaisional plunge step in some loose stuff.  We arrived at the highest lake and then it was a simple walk, much of it over boulders ranging in size from a tv sets to VW buses, down to the lowest lake where we made camp, exhausted. Fishing in the lake was poor for golden trout to 8", but scenery was excellent. Scenery became even more intese at sunset when alpenglow lit the back wall of the canyon and everything glowed orange.  That night many billions of stars, some shooting, and several sattelites came out to play, until the friggin’ moon came out and drove them off. Day 3:  Darwin Canyon to Evolution Basin This morning I devised an improvement to the coffee maker.  I propped open the end of the sock with two crossed twigs and suspended the whole thing from a string tied to the twigs.  Using my new Hane’s drip maker I was (theoretically) able to make my morning cup of Guatemalan love juice without losing any layers of skin from the fingers.  However, the water goes through the sock much too quickly, resulting in an underextracted brew.  This was remedied by soaking sock in cup like a tea bag, but final squeeze scalds fingers again.  Packed up camp and countoured through Darwin Bench and around west slope of ridge extending from Darwin Peak.  From this slope we get excellent panoramic vista stretching from Evolution Valley to Evolution Basin including many snow packed peaks.  Minio and I reach consensus that Evolution Valley has been much over-hyped, as it is a rather unimpressive low stretch of bear country, lined by rather unimpressive walls. Evolution Basin, and the peaks to the south and east, by contrast, is glorious.  The slope we are traversing is itself a thing of beauty, covered with blooms of columbine, shooting star and numerous other flowers including some kind of onion-thing.  Eventually we work our way down toward Evolution Lake, but come to an impass where we have to do a little free climbing (50 ft of 5.4 at most) and then we are home free.  On our way to the lake we observe that if we had just gone up once more we could have waltzed down to our present position without any climbing at all.  By the shores of the stunningly beautiful Evolution Lake we join the John Muir trail and soon come across a trail crew, busily filling in the old trail and planting shrubs along its course. The new trail they have built for us is a work of art, a veritable super highway through the High Sierra. After a brief foot-soaking break by the lake’s edge we are off.  Leaving the lake we hike beside a small cascading stream up to Saphire Lake where we make camp.  In faithful observance of Labor Day Minio breaks out his copy of International Trotskyist and begins reading.  I head back down the stream that connects the two lakes and begin fishing at 4 pm.  By 6:30 I have fished my way back to our campsite in failing light, having caught and released 72 golden trout ranging from embarrasingly small to 10 inches on dry flies. A note about small goldens:  they are incredibly stupid.  About the only thing I could do to disuade them from hitting was to badly drag the fly against the current.  They never seemed to mind the fact that I fished right through a hatch of small brown mayflies with a #10 Cream Wulff.  That evening we slept out of the fairly stiff wind in a rock shelter that Minio built by the North shore of the Lake while I fished.  The whiskey bottle is already getting dangerously empty. to be continued… -Matt Spitzer

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