Long Casts

Table of Contents:

Please send editorial comments and material to LongCasts Editor, STEVE FRITZ, 435 East 63rd Terrace, Kansas City, Mo. 64110. EMAIL rstydunn@sprynet.com<

Changes of address should be mailed to the Southern Council's VP for Membership, LARRY NOTLEY, 7235 Syracuse Drive, Dallas, Tx. 75214.

Advertising inquiries and correspondence should be directed to the Southern Council's VP for Development, BILL STALL, PO Box 728, Gibsland, La. 71208.

Longcasts is printed and mailed by ED REED, Reed Printing and Supply Company, Inc., PO Box 605, 619 South Brindlee Mountain Parkway, Arab, Al. 35016.

The Southern Council Homepage is located at http://www.sky.net/~flyfish/ Send any home page related comments or questions to Bill Brant

by Duane Kelly, V.P. for Conservation

There are similarities in the way fly fishers and some politicians apply this principle. The fly fisher and the politician both count on this principle for their desired results. We fly fishers count on a real percentage of fish taking our presentations. All effective politicians understand that some folks' minds are made up firmly for and others equally firmly against. Therefore, political campaigns are for the hearts, souls, and votes of the undecided, the same way fly fishers try to get the uncommitted fish to commit, since most fish most days are not inclined to attack every fishhook in the water.

In similar fashion, most fish ignore our offerings on any given day, but some fish just can't resist. In Texas, a lunker release program marked trophy bass and awarded certificates to anglers releasing them. One bass of over ten pounds was caught and released three times in one weekend!

The politician tries to get more voters to vote for him, rather than the other politician, very much the way the one fly tournament fisher tries to get more fish to take his presentation, rather than hers, and vice versa.

Fish and people can both be ranked on a continuum from total gullibility to total skepticism, and fly fishers and politicians some times use similar methods, hoping for the take, for a bite.

Flies can be constructed with rattle chambers. Politicians cruise the streets broadcasting their message over loud speakers. Both use noise as an attractor.

We throw streamers, furstrips, marabou, flashabou, and similar materials at fish and streamers, pennants, flags, and banners at the undecided voter.

We use spinners as attractors, and politicians sometimes pass out pinwheels or whirlagigs. (Car dealers love streamers and spinners. They use them by the hundreds and thousands.)

We can spray scent on our offerings to the fish, and flowers are sometimes offered to voters, usually women.

Sometimes, in desperation, we fishers offer food. We call it bait. Politicians sometimes do the same and call it a fundraiser, at a hundred dollars and up a plate.

So we anglers use sound, sight, scent and taste and find politicians do the same. The fifth sense, touch, is the least likely to be used. Anglers generally frown on fondling fish (hand fishing, noodling, etc.,) and voters generally frown on politicians' fondling voters.

I suspect not too many fly fishers, hip deep in the creek, think about the political background of their fishing. If we had not fought our way loose from the British, all our wildlife would belong to the crown, as it still does in Britain. All our hunting and fishing would be at the will of Queen Elizabeth, or the landlords who owned the lands, streams, and lakes. Here, fish and game belong to the state, i.e. the people. A tremendous political change, one of many.

Today, in legislatures across the nation, there are those who would destroy the situation as it exists. They have supporters who openly state their goal as the destruction of the environmental movement. What they have attempted, if implemented, would be steps in the direction of destruction of the environment itself, especially if the population keeps going up, putting more pressure on the environment. Sport fishing as a recreational activity has zero value in their scheme.

It is critical for all those who are interested in the natural world for any reason whatever, including the exploiters mentioned in the previous paragraph, to follow the political campaigns as they unfold. If we allow ourselves to be suckered, the sharks will take advantage. We understand fooling and fakery on the stream. We must see through and past the same sorts of noise, smoke, mirrors, snake oil, code words, and emotional appeals. (Do we have more intelligence than a bass smashing a floating bug?) We turn predators into prey when we set the hook. Are we intelligent enough to avoid becoming prey ourselves, being suckered on single issue strategies and illogical tactics? We must consider the platforms carefully and vote. The great term limiter is the vote. I'll leave you with my graduate advisor's advice: Observe closely, think carefully, act accordingly.

P. S. - To catch suckers, drift a white fly, on the bottom, into them.

by Chuck Tryon, Roubidoux Fly Fishers

PETA's case is that fish are physically pained and psychologically distressed by being hooked, played and slain, and that the biblical admonition against killing applies to all life, not just humans. Anglers typically respond by admitting that fish don't enjoy our sport nearly as much as we do, by doubting that fish are covered by the sixth commandment, and by extolling the gustatory and emotional benefits of angling.

I submit that PETA's concern for our prey's pain and suffering has little or no foundation in biological reality, and that we often respond with the wrong arguments. Let me explain.

It's a biological reality largely underappreciated even by most anglers and hunters, and certainly by PETA and its sympathizers, that natural death in the animal world is an ugly business at best, a terrifyingly ghastly experience at its worst. How do animals die without human help? Consider just a few examples well understood and scientifically verified by dispassionate researchers with no axe to grind on either side.

Many years ago, I worked five days per week in the pineywoods of northern Michigan. The spring snowmelt always revealed a grisly spectacle - score upon score of rotting deer carcasses, deer which had sought winter warmth in the dense pine and cedar thickets and perished there, largely from starvation and pneumonia.

Is death by gunshot or fish hook more terrible than death by freezing cold and pneumonia? More terrible than floundering pitiably in waist-deep snow while your lungs inexorable fill with bodily fluids and bloody froth? There aren't any sedatives, antibiotics, respirators or ICUs in our forests, fields and streams. Gentle death happens only in hospitals, veterinarian's offices and, apparently, in PETA meetings.

How do smaller animals such as bunnies and birds die of natural causes? Starvation and freezing take many, pneumonia takes many more and, especially among ground nesters, many of the newborn drown during rainy weather. Humans always have imagined drowning to be an exceptionally unpleasant way to die. Perhaps it's a bloody, painful blessing when foxes, bobcats and other predators kill and eat these tiny hapless victims first.

Our beloved sportfish fare just as poorly when left to their own unassisted demise. Fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites take most, none of them dying quickly. Many more are eaten by their larger brethren, most dying by slow suffocation in their attacker's belly, all the while being dissolved alive in a pool of caustic digestive juices. Not my concept of a benign way to meet my maker, but a perfectly reasonable expectation for fish which survive the even greater perils of hatching from their eggs, only a few of which do. There's no need to recount the gory details of distress and death at the hands of herons, eagles, ospreys, bears, otters, sea lions and 'gators.

Philosophers and scientists alike long have pondered what qualities separate humans from "lesser" animals. One which always has impressed me is that, as far as we know, only humans understand the concept of a future. Lesser animals are aware only of the past and present. Much of our distaste for death is that a wished-for future is snuffed out too soon, both for the decedent and for those who valued his, her or its companionship. Deer, bunnies and trout, however, with no expectation of a future, have no terror of dying too soon from any cause, simply because the concept of "too soon" does not exist among non-humans. sorry but, for the victim, one time is as good or bad as any other for all but humans to die.

My point? In biological reality, PETA's campaigns against hunting and catch-and-keep fishing have nothing to do with preventing unnecessary discomfort of harassment and the subsequent agony of death to our sporting prey. PETA's triumph would make not one whit of difference to whether, or how agonizingly, our prey suffers and dies, only when and how.

PETA's case against catch-and-release fishing is a little less flimsy. For the vast majority of our fly-caught fish which survive, we undeniably cause them some measure of distress and pain in addition to what they otherwise experience with some regularity from non-human sources. The next time someone tries to convince you that all is sacred, however, ask them if they're willing to harbor tapeworms in their gut, or are willing to have them anteriorly extracted and released unharmed into an equally friendly environment somewhere else. No - we all draw the line somewhere, and our only disagreement is where on life's scale we choose to draw it.

I prefer to accept the natural system rather than to waft dreamily through a Disneylike fairytale Without knowing for sure, I judge that tapeworms experience distress and pain much like their close cousins, earthworms and nightcrawlers (also of the Family, Annelidae), which writhe vigorously when impaled on a hook, immersed in water, desiccated in the air or engulfed in a robin's beak. The ability to experience some sort of pain and distress extends pretty far down life's scale. At what point they become morally relevant to my conscience is pretty darn subjective, to say the least.

Looking around me, I see mankind beset by war, famine, disease, poverty, racial bigotry, pollution, political repression and dissolution of the nuclear family. Sorry, but equating catching a fish with beating my kids or kicking my pet cocker spaniel is just more than I'm willing to accept.

I submit that PETA's claims are merely a pretext for its true motivation, the emotional satisfaction of believing they're morally more righteous than the rest of us. It's a common human desire, but not always a very pretty one.

In a world where nature's laws are ultimately incontrovertible whether we like them or not, I prefer to accept the natural system rather than to waft dreamily through a Disneylike fairytale land for my allotted three score (I hope) years plus whatever. I'll give up fishing when PETA people give up automobiles to prevent roadkills, when they give up farms and factories to prevent fish kills, and when they refuse to accept all medical treatments proven safe and effective by animal testing. Benevolently harboring tapeworms in their gut would impress me, too.

Ignorant, immoral or unrighteous of me? I think not, thank you.

Editor's note: This article expresses the author's opinion only, not those of the Federation of Fly Fishers or its Southern Council.

However, as a citizen and fly fisherman, this editor encourages literate, articulate editorials such as the one above. Personally, I agree with the above opinion, and will support this stance against narrow interpretations of the issues addressed above.

Maxwell Leads Off..

G. A. Maxwell's spoof on flyfishing and how to spot the good fishing holes, was so popular last year, that it is being repeated this year. As the Conclave's lead-off program (new and updated this year), "Truth in Trouting, or What to Wear With a Naked Fish," will be presented at 9:a.m. on Friday morning. Last year's program actually featured a slide of the river with golf flags in the holes!! Make plans to see this one!! Everone will be talking about it, and if you don't see it, it will be like missing the best episode of the year of your favorite sitcom!! Be there!!

Conclave Info!!

1996 Conclave Hats -! This year's Conclave will feature hats that sport the FFF logo along with the year. They are really good looking, 100% cotton, authenic Austrailian oil-waxed - great for the outdoors. We will order the hats as your orders come in, so pre-register early to assure you get one. !NOW! is not too soon to pre-register!

Anyone taking the Fly Casting Class with Ed Jaworowski will need to bring their own fly rod, reel, and line.

Friday night, after the program and auction, be prepared to sing along with the "Busted Fin Mud Thumpers," band by the pool at the Ramada.

Mini-Program 'Knee-Deep'

Friday Night Pre-Program: Keys on 'Stream Team'

The Raymondville School, "Knee-Deep in Science" Stream Team monitors the waters of the Current River in the Missouri Ozarks. The 5th through 8th grade student team members become experts in conservation, water testing, and other environmental issues. Friday night's program, set to take place from 7:00 to 7:20 p.m., will introduce this group, whose studies include a look at the Current River, its watershed, karst topography, and the many factors which influence water quality.

Theus to Present Program

FFF VP for Education to Talk About Florida's West Coast Fishing

National VP for Education for the FFF, Tom Theus, will speak Friday, Oct. 5th, at 11:00a.m. on 'Fishing Florida's West Coast.' Theus, a Director for the Southeastern Council of the FFF, is a certified FFF caster, a lecturer, writer, salt water guide, and conservationist. Please honor him with your presence at his program. He now lives in South Carolina, where he fights the 'good fight' for the preservation of sea life.

'The Education of a Fly Fisher'

Professor Jaworowski to Speak Saturday Night

When Ed Jaworowski walks up to the podium Saturday night, he'll carry with him the respect and admiration of many famous fellow fly fishing personalities, like Lefty Kreh, who said of Ed - "He is a multi-talented fly fisherman. 'The best instructor of fly casting that I have ever worked with, he can turn poor casters into better ones, sometimes in a few minutes. He is a superb tier of both salt and freshwater patterns. He is equally skilled in trout and saltwater fishing and has a great passion for catching smallmouth bass. A professional photographer and an exciting speaker, he can present programs that all fly fishermen will enjoy."

Jaworowski, author of a fly casting book, 'The Cast', many magazine articles, a man with numerous photo credits, is an assistant professor at Villanova University, in Pennsylvania. He is: Affiliated with virtually every fly fishing organization; An instructor and lecturer of casting, fishing, etc.; Columnist and contributing editor to various publications; A Sage Advisory Team member.

Any program ED Jaworowski does is, very simply, a must see. Don't miss his Saturday night program, his casting sessions, or any tying demonstrations he gives during the Conclave. Lefty Kreh knows class when he sees it!! Please remember, Ed's fly casting classes are by registration only, and class size is limited, so sign up early. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the greats!!

(DR. PETTINE CANCELLED HIS CONCLAVE PROGRAM AFTER THE LONGCASTS WENT TO PRESS. HE WILL NOT BE AT THE CONCLAVE. THE FOLLOWING IS INCLUDED, AS IT APPEARS IN LONGCASTS)

Pettine to Speak Friday Night

Southern Wyoming, Northern Colorado to be Topic

Dr. Eric Pettine, a fly fisher since the age of five, a Dentist who says fly tying and fly fishing gives his life balance, will present 'Fly Fishing, Southern Wyoming and Northern Colorado' Friday night, at 7:20 p.m.

As member of the Chevy Truck Pro Team, Pettine has published a beginning fly fishing video which, having sold over 500,000 copies, is the largest selling video of its type in the industry. Considered a specialist on nymph fishing, he fishes all over the world; teaches, lectures, produces videos; ties and demonstrates tying, as well as developing patterns for Spirit River Flies; publishes articles in many major fly fishing magazines; is active in FFF and TU; and field tests for several companies, such as Partridge.

Make note that Eric offers two days of fly tying clinics for intermediate and advanced tiers. These classes are by registration only, and class size is limited, so register early for them.

Pettine, who grew up in the mountains of Northern New Mexico, has been tying flies for 38 years (he ties almost every day he is home). He averages 75 to 100 days a year on the stream, and surely will have much to tell us about his chosen topic. Don't miss this program! It promises to be informative and instructive.

Pre-Register Early

To Guarantee Your Spot in...

Fly Casting Class

Pre-Register Early

To Guarantee Your Spot in...

Fly Tying Class

by Tracie Maler, Mid-South Fly Fishers

The Youth Conclave will be held on Saturday, October 5th, 1996, from 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. and chaired by John Viser of the Mid-South Fly Fishers. This year the children will be taken to Dry Run Creek for a tour of the Trout Hatchery, Streamside Entomology Class, Hot Dog Cookout Lunch, and, most importantly, a few hours on the water fly fishing with an experienced adult. Parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

We hope your entire family will join us at this year's Conclave, where there is truly something for everyone! For travel information, and other events in the area, contact 1-800-544-MTNS.

by Hod McIntosh, VP for Communication

There are ten awards available, so check-out the nomination Guide Lines, and your club members, and submit your nominations to your club president.

Have you ever wondered who those folks were, at the banquet, and what they did, when they came up to pick up their award? Well, now's your chance to have your own team of award winners up there, folks you know, - folks with whose deeds you are familiar, and for whom you can applaud, with meaning Go the extra distance. Take a moment of your valuable time, and nominate one of your club members for an award.

Your club president has a copy of the Award Guide Lines and Qualifications for nominees for each award.

Catch and Release

by Ray Chappa, Alamo Fly Fishers

He left us on a Monday morning, but not before he was able to cast a floating line for one final time. The previous Friday he had joined Irving, Keith and myself for an outing to a tank one hour outside of San Antonio. It was a day just like today, full of blue sky and bright sun. A day where playing hooky from work made it even more worthwhile.

This tank was typical of those found in central Texas. The size was large, as were the bass and black crappie. The treeless bank made the entire area fly fishable. One of our party mentioned about keeping what we caught for a cookout he had coming up, and we kinda murmured with that "we'll play it by ear" reply. You know the one, the reply that is more politely noncommittal than an outright 'no'.

By noon, none of us had had a bite, much less a chance to ponder the thought of deep fry or release. As we looked down on the tank from the back of Irving's Jeep, Bud mentioned perhaps we should be fishing the far end. The wind had picked up when we had arrived, and by now, Bud explained, the baitfish and minnows should be stacked up way over there on the lee side.

For me the prospect of casting into the wind with a six weight and with a large beadhead fly did not seem too inviting. Keith finished his lunch and was the first to make his way around to the far side. While the rest of us finished our lunch, we saw Keith land 3 fish out of 4 casts. Bud finished his apple and mumbled, "We better git down there and give those fish better odds before Keith puts the Texas Lottery to shame."

The rest of the afternoon went pretty well. Irving and Keith racked them up as Bud and I looked on in delight as we only managed one a piece.

Bud is gone now. His body lies along the bank of one of his favorite hill country rivers over in the town of Camp Wood, Texas. His memory will endure several ways. His flies are featured in books sold across the country, his exploits are detailed in a chapter of a book written by a very well known Colorado trout bum, and the book Bud wrote lines many of our shelves. Many of us envy him now, as he fishes those waters that will never be too cold, never too deep, and never too far.

As I write this, it has been a week since Bud has left us. His soul has been released, but his spirit has caught us all.

by Eric Palmer, Heart of America Fly Fishers

One resolution I know many fly fishers make periodically is to do more fishing. There are very few fly fishers I have heard about who can fish enough to get their fill, particularly in areas like ours where the better fishing locations are not so near.

I resolved about three years ago to do more fishing and then undertook a little program, kind of 12 step program, that has helped me keep that resolution. It is the trout a month program and it was introduced to me by club member John Bell. Shortly after undertaking fly fishing I heard John talking about his goal to catch a trout every month of each year. I thought what a great idea. By making it a challenge, rather than just a wish or desire, it creates a situation where you almost have to go.

And it works. Since July 1993, I have been on a significant fly fishing expedition every month but one. Some months I have gone more than once for a total of 33 fishing trips in 31 months. By significant I generally mean a fly fishing trip for trout. Spending a couple hours throwing poppers to blue gills, which I enjoy doing, doesn't count for me. I will explain my personal exceptions later.

Now I realize that this program sounds pretty simple, but we all know how often we let three or four months slip by without the refreshing sensation of landing a trout. In a finite lifetime, that is a sin. The key to this program is to talk about it. Talk about it first with your wife or significant other, and children if you have them, because if they don't buy in, it is never going to work. While many fly fishermen moan about getting the warden's approval to go fishing, it has been my experience that many spouses may not understand a passion for fly fishing, but they recognize it and the respect it. They see how we return from a couple of days fly fishing with a much better attitude than before we left.

Next talk about it with your non-fishing friends. The idea here is to establish it as part of your monthly routine, something that everyone realizes you must accomplish. That way, if friends ask you to go to the football game some weekend, and you say you will be off fishing that weekend, they don't feel slighted because they understand this is something that you must do. I have friends who think my fly fishing is fascinating, know I go each month, and so often ask about my monthly trips.

Once it is established, then you find yourself looking ahead, planning each month's trip rather than waiting on serendipity or a club outing to get you on a stream. And once you have fished four or five months straight, you find that the idea of missing a month is unthinkable. Missing a month feels like a personal failure.

You of course can customize your program. For some, particularly those with young children who are on soccer teams or who have dance recitals, once a month might be an impossible goal. So make it one trip every other month. The idea is to go more often.

I have altered my program to include some fly fishing expeditions that are not for trout. I found myself traveling to Florida for business several times over the last few years so I included trips I took for redfish, peacock bass and snook. Last year, I read in a newsletter from the Springfield club about fly fishing for white bass on a river that feeds Stockton Lake. I thought that sounded like fun so one month I went fishing for white bass instead of trout.

Again, the idea here is to do more fly fishing and if you are trying different kinds of fly fishing, I think it still counts. It doesn't count for me when I know the fishing I am doing is really only a substitute for the fishing I want to be doing. The threshold of fly fishing satisfaction is different for everyone.

Not everyone in this club needs a 12-step fly fishing program to make sure they get enough fishing in. Some of you fly fish your fill anyway. Some of you go on annual outings to Montana or Colorado or other places. I envy you those trips. A week on a great fly fishing river is worth several months worth of trips I make in a year. But if you feel like you are not fishing enough, tell your wife or husband or girlfriend or boyfriend, that you are establishing a new goal. You can even tell them I suggested it. Believe me, if you start the program, you certainly won't regret it. I hope to see you this month somewhere on a trout stream.

by Chuck Easterling, V.P. for Education

Also, I would like to be sure that all clubs are aware of the Wayne E. Moore memorial funds that are available for youth days. I never met Mr. Moore, but I am told that he was an avid fly fisherman, a long-standing member of the Southern Council, and a person who was deeply interested in youngsters. When this gentleman died, he left a legacy to the Southern Council with the funds to be used to defray the costs of clubs conducting Youth Days or Youth Outings. To qualify for these funds, a club must designate the youth day or outing as a Wayne E. Moore Youth Day.

It would be appropriate to advertise the youth day in your club newsletter as a Wayne E. Moore Youth Day, and, at some point during the day or outing, briefly discuss who Wayne E. Moore was and that the funds were supplied as a result of his concern and generosity. These funds have traditionally been used to buy hot-dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks, etc., for the Youth Day. If your club is interested in conducting a Wayne E. Moore Youth Day, please supply me with a brief letter outlining what your plans are, and designate how much money you are requesting, and how it will be spent.

Artwork for this issue is provided by Heart of America Fly Fishers' Daniel McGillihan.

To view Long Casts on the internet, either use a search engine, and enter 'fly fishing southern council', or type: http://www.sky.net/~flyfish/

Reasons to Pre-Register Early

Limited space is available for Fly Tying Seminars

Limited space is available for Fly Casting Seminar with Ed Jaworowski

Only 340 seats available for Saturday evening dinner banquet

Your hat order will be made in plenty of time for you to receive it at Conclave.

"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water,

and one fourth is land. It is quite clear that the

good Lord intended us to spend triple the

amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn"

Send any home page related comments or questions to Bill Brant

This page updated May 29, 1996