Mar - Apr 2010 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

8/9/2019 Mar - Apr 2010 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN MIKE GENTRY

THE TROUT LINE VOLUME 10,ISSUE 2

MARCH/APRIL 2010

Meeting Schedule: Regular chapter meetings are held atthe LUCKY LABRADOR on the second Wednesday of eachmonth at 6:30 PM with a social get-together and the formalmeeting at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted in the newsletteor website. Lucky Labrador, Multnomah Village, 7675 SWCapitol Hwy. Portland, (503) 244-2537. Food and bever-ages available.

March 10: Andy Andrews and Mike Gentry bring picturesand information from their recent trip to Patagonia(Argentina and Chile) to educate and tempt us. April 14: Bill Myers will bring information on the CrookedRiver from his many years of guiding there. Included in hispresentation is a month-by-month hatch guide and informa-tion on river flows and best spots to fish and camp. Wehope to schedule a Crooked River Outing soon after thispresentation because Bill has offered that he would join uson the water!

Stewardship of our natural resources long has been an im-portant part of our national ethic. But recent decades haveseen a challenge to the rank and file of those who haveboth the knowledge and awareness of the needs of ahealthy and sustainable ecology, and the “hands-on” ex-perience and drive to do what is necessary to sustain thequality of those resources. The numbers of “old guard”, theSenior Class who have been the champions of that ethicfor so many years, are thinning. Fortunately, there seemsto be good numbers of Junior Class middle-agers (and I‟mstriving hard to continue to count myself in that class) whoare motivated to fill the ranks and get their hands dirty.

But I sometimes worry about the Sophomore Class andespecially the Freshman Class. As we have increasinglymoved away from a rural, agrarian society, fewer youngpeople have had the experience of growing up with a natu-ral exposure to, and affinity for, the outdoor experiencesthat we “weathered” gents and gals know are both enjoy-able and instructive to the conservation principles. Socialnetworking, texting, blogging, Facebooking and the likeseem to have become (in this sometimes pessimist‟s view)the all-encompassing world of an ever-increasing segmentof American youth, to the exclusion of more pastoral pas-times and wilderness experiences. And at a cost. Thenumbers of young adults buying fishing licenses, going oncampouts or hikes, or other direct-contact personal expo-

sures is declining in many states. And with it the sense of giving back is lost.

So I was delighted to show up at the last Neitzel Farm workparty and see a dozen teenagers hard at work plantingtrees. They were the members of the Habitat RestorationCrew assembled by Jeff Gottfried, one of our directors. Hisorganization, Educational Recreational Adventures, wasawarded a grant from the Oregon Youth ConservationCorps and he was able to recruit youths from Jefferson andRoosevelt High Schools in Portland. All of the students

come from low-income familiesand my guess is that their background and life experi-ences did not include this typeof exposure to and awarenessof the need to restore and re-plenish habitat. The enthusi-asm they showed muckingaround in the soggy groundand planting hundreds of na-tive vegetation was reassuringto this pessimist. Jeff tells methat they have cleared ivy andblackberries out of extensiveareas of Dabney Park andBridleveil Falls Park in the Columbia River Gorge, clearedtrails of debris and planted 350 trees in the Mt Hood Na-tional Forest, and at Neitzel Farm have planted approxi-mately 4000 Sitka spruce as well as bullrushes, willows,slough sedge and Pacific silver weed. Some of the workhas been done during hard rains and winds, and in icy con-ditions. Yet they still retained their enthusiasm and com-mitment.

This is but one example of what can be done to reconnectand motivate those younger Classes. The optimist in me(yes, I do have that side as well) likes to think that as these

boys and girls move on from Jeff‟s program into adulthood,they will retain some of the sense of appreciation for thelessons learned, and will find ways to keep doing their part.Hopefully there are many out there like Jeff to educate andmotivate the New Generation.

Published bimonthly

Inside this issuePresident‟s Column Page 1Welcome New Directors Page 2Neitzel Farm Work Party Page 2&3The Pleasures of Boating Page 4Fly Tyers Expo - Albany, OR Page 5Kids Camp - Clackamas Chapter Page 5Fly of the Month – Amorphous Midge Page 6Outing Schedule Page 7Board of Directors Listing Page 7Meeting Schedule , Budget Summary Page 8



Page 2

THE TROUT LINE

The Tualatin Valley chapter is now two directors stronger. We are happy to have Michael Ellis and Jeff Gottfried onboard.

Jeff has a history of natural resources education and advocacy. He is the founder of Fans of Fanno Creek and directedthe science/environmental education programs at New Mexico Museum of Natural History and OMSI. He currently leadsEducational Recreational Adventures (ERA), the mission statement of which is “to promote human development throughscience and environmental education, outdoor skills and training and outdoor adventure.” Youths with limited outdoor recreation exposure are taught fly fishing, wilderness skills and other activities together with the all-important accompa-nying outdoor ethics. Jeff also mobilizes high school students for various habitat restoration projects around the state.Kudos to Jeff.

Michael Ellis is taking on the role of Conservation Director for the chapter. Michael started participating in chapter activi-ties a year or so ago as a TU member after becoming energized by our AWARD-WINNING newsletter (take note, read-ers!). The connections with chapter members and activities and the chapter outings during the year have enabled him toincrease and utilize his fishing and fly-tying activities that had taken a back seat for a number of years to other priorities.A strong supporter of The Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Federation of Fly Fishers

and several other conservation and fly fishing organizations, Michael practices his belief that since we have the power toimpact our environment so radically, we also have a duty to make wise choices when it comes to human activities andtheir effect on the environment.

The chapter welcomes the energy and special skills these two new directors bring to the board. Come to a monthlymeeting and get to know them!

Welcome to Our New Directors

Neitzel Farm Work Party - January 31, 2010 by Michael Ellis

On Sunday, January 31, four Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimitedmembers met at Neitzel Farmsto do some planting of nativevegetation. New TVTU Board

member, Jeff Gottfried, wasalready there with a crew of his own. The weather was un-usually nice for the coast. Itonly sprinkled a few times andthe sun was present throughbroken clouds.

More Pictures - Next Page.



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MARCH/APRIL 2010

Neitzel Farm Work Party - January 31 continued

Pictured above are Doug Ray, Project Manager for therestoration (kneeling),Mike Gentry, John Burger, andAlan Moore. It is fascinating to listen to Doug speakabout the plans for this project. He is really thinking on

a geological time scale. A lot of the work that we aredoing will not mature for centuries

Above shows the channel that was dug, as well as thewoody debris that has been carefully placed to provide off

channel habitat for the Coho fry.

Left, Mike and John are planting the riparian area withTwinberry. We spent about 4 hours planting Salal,Twinberry, and Spruce. I guess that we planted severalhundred plants in that time. This was much easier workthan digging out blackberries, and, the holes, except for the Spruce trees, were all pre-dug! We got done about1:30 and Alan and I stayed to fish. Alan had had some

success earlier in the day, but the afternoon proved tobe catchless. On the other hand, I did learn a few newSteelhead runs!

Below our TVTU Crew hard at work planting Spruce trees. There will be a forest here! Eventually.

There are more work parties coming up.We will be replacing several culverts onCircle Creek at the Seaside Golf coursewith a bridge and I think there will be morework needed at the Thompson Creek andNeitzel Farms projects as well. Look for announcements on the blog site.



Page 4MARCH/APRIL 2010

The Pleasures of Boating By Andy Andrews

Many hours of enjoyment can be experienced in a boat onyour favorite waterway. However, when you combine man,water and a boat, strange things can happen to even themost organized, patient person. While growing up, my dadalways had a boat. For the last 40 or so years, I‟ve been aboat owner. I haven‟t seen it all, but I think I‟ve seen myshare of boating accidents that would make most peoplecarry a check list before stepping into their bath tub.

Most accidents occur when people get in a hurry to get on thewater, not taking time to double check their equipment andthink things through. One such event occurred when a boatowner launched his boat 30 feet from the water while backingdown the ramp. He had removed the safety chain that se-cures the boat to the trailer and had his winch unlocked.These procedures were done to save time in getting his boat,a new 28 footer, off the trailer and into the water.

The new vessel started down the ramp as I could hear therattle of a boat winch peeling off line. I was also backing

down the ramp to launch a boat and I feared that I hadscrewed up somewhere and I was losing my boat from itstrailer. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man walking nextto the larger boat try to grab it and prevent the 4 ton boatfrom leaving the trailer. At this point the person driving thetow vehicle decided that he had to get back to flat land in ahurry. He moved from reverse to drive and pushed the throt-tle to the floor, which launched the boat from the trailer imme-diately.

Unfortunately, after the boat was on the deck, he continued todrive forward damaging the cable attach point on the boatwhich prevented him from reloading his boat back onto thetrailer. The time saving procedures that had been used,

plugged the boat ramp for more than an hour before equip-ment could be found that could lift the boat back onto thetrailer.

Another hurry up accident occurred when a man tried tomove a boat away from the dock so others could launch or retrieve their boat. The young man, in order to clear the dockarea after launching his small boat, quickly jumped into hisboat, tripped and did the Texas Two Step across the boat,then performed a half gainer with a full twist as he exited outthe other side of his boat and into the lake. I had to give hima 9.5 for his exit and dive, but I only gave his a 1.75 for re-turning to the dock as swimming was not his forte. His vocali-zation was only average at 5.0.

Another reason for accidents is using equipment not de-signed for the task at hand. This was witnessed when a newboat owner attached a trailer hitch with a few bolts to thebumper of his car (instead of the car‟s frame) to haul a verylarge boat. All went well until they tried to retrieve the boat.

The trailer‟s wheels had slipped over the end of the rampwhere the gravel had been washed away by the tide leavingonly the frame of the trailer on the ramp. When the Buickcould not pull the boat and trailer back up on the ramp, thedriver felt all he needed was a running start. His running startpulled the rear bumper off his car and damaged the axle on

the trailer. The air in the trailer tires allowed the trailer and boat to start drifting off with the tide as the owner of the car, now without a back bumper, watched helplessly.The bumper acted as an anchor so the boat did not gofar, blocking the boat ramp. Finally a Good Sam at-tached cables to the trailer, moved it to a beach area anddragged the boat and trailer ashore with a four-wheeldrive vehicle. The damaged unit sat on the beach for several days before the owner could arrange to have itmoved.

This brings me to the last reason for boating accidentswhich I simply call “the lights were on, but no one washome“. I was at a remote lake in Canada on a fishing tripand I was staying at a secluded campground with a covethat had several docks for tying up boats. I was workingin my boat when two men arrived each hauling a 14 footopen boat and lots of lumber. They launched both boatsand filled one with lumber. When I say ‟filled‟ we are talk-ing lumber stacked 3 or 4 feet above the top of the boat.The two men were going to build a cabin on an island inthe lake and were using one boat as a barge and the sec-ond boat would act as the tug to pull the barge with thelumber.

There was a wind blowing on the lake and white capseverywhere. The windy conditions were discussed and itwas decided that one man would lay spread eagle acrossthe top of the lumber to hold it in place for the crossing.As I watched this operation, I fired up my boat and pre-pared for a rescue operation that was going to be neededvery quickly (no life jackets could be seen). Sureenough, just after the ‟barge‟ entered the lake, the wavesrocked the boat up on one beam and an avalanche of timber with man attached cascaded into the lake.

It took a bit of time before the driver of the tug realizedwhat had happened and when he started to back up tohelp the man in the water, the prop of his motor becametangled in the tow rope. The man in the water was tryingto tread water and climb up on floating 2 X 4‟s as I nosedmy boat towards him. I pulled him into my boat and thentowed the tug with the fouled propeller ashore. I returnedand pulled the swamped barge to shore and found thetwo men laughing and pointing at their lumber as it wasbeing blown toward the island. The comment made atthe time was that they should have thrown the lumber inthe lake and picked it up when it got to the island.

As a past member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, I simplycould not see the humor in all of this as I had seen thissort of thing before result in one man drowning and thesecond man die of a heart attack trying to assist the manin the water.

I‟m not perfect and I‟ve had my „oops‟ as well, but hope-fully I‟ve learned from them. The most important thingI‟ve learned is that when I think I have it all under controland I know what I‟m doing, I‟m always just one tiny ‟oops‟from a damaging / life taking disaster.



Page 5

MARCH/APRIL 2010

Welcome to the 2010NW Fly Tyers’ Expo

The Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and the Oregon Council try to do a number of things for Fly Fishers & Fish-ing. These include improving your knowledge and boosting your skills and fun in our sport.

To that end, on March 12 & 14 at the Linn County Fairgrounds and Expo Center in Albany Oregon, we are pre-senting over 170 tying demonstrators, over 90 classes in tying, casting and fishing methods, together with opportunities

to get some of the stuff we all find fascinating and helpful for more enjoyment of our sport - from 50-plus shops eager toplease. Some of this stuff you may find nowhere else!

In addition, all day, each day, there are free programs about where to go & what to do when you get there.Finally, we have raffles galore & continuous silent auctions for your enjoyment, culminating in a casting contest

open to all, capped off by a banquet with both oral & silent auctions for your pleasure on Saturday evening.If you are an FFF member, admission to all this is FREE! If not, become a member at the registration desk, then

get in free - or, simply pay $5 for the entire day! There‟s no parking charge, so bring the whole family & above all, havefun!

Web Site - http://nwflytyerexpo.com/2010 NW Fly Tying Expo Chair

Ron Reinebach

WHEN & WHERE: July 22, 23, 24, 25 – 2010, Clackamas River Watershed, USFS CampgroundWHO: Kids 10-14 years of age with a passion for fishing. (Maximum of 12 children).Scholarships are available to low income families, please inquire.

SUBJECTS:Equipment basics, rods, reels, fly line, leaders, set-up and applications, safety equipmentCasting, presentation skills, line control, distance and accuracyFly line and leader knots, applications, artificial flies, matching the hatch, fly selection

Introduction to fly tying, materials, styles and aquatic insect entomologyTrout habitat and water types, reading the water, trout instincts, life cycle, food sourcesRiver ecology & dynamics, watershed diversity, history and conservation

COST: $200.00 (per child) parent / guardian may attend for a $75 service fee

To register for our 2010 camp, please contact:Terry Turner 503-656-3580-OR - Visit our website for more information & registration formswww.clackamasrivertu.orgThis event made possible by our generous sponsors.

Join Trout Unlimited chaperones & students for a 4-day camping & fishing ad-venture presented by: The Clackamas River Chapter of Trout Unlimited



Page 6

THE TROUT LINE

11960 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, Oregon 97223Phone 503-639-6400 Fax 503-684-7025www.kman.com email [email protected]

“Everything for the fly fisher” Tackle, Classes, Guided Trips & Worldwide Travel

Fly of the Month – Amorphous Midge by Michael Gentry

This month‟s fly is a puzzle to me. I haven‟t seen it in thefly pattern books and don‟t recall finding it in the fly shopseither. I know that it made its way into my fly box when Iwas fooling around improvising at my vise one afternoonbefore a lake fishing trip and thought it looked fishy. I knowthat other tyers also have discovered it because I‟ve seenthem use it. If it has a name, I don‟t know it. I only knowthat it works. It is very easy to tie, and very versatile.

1. Slide the beadhead to the eye of the hook, mount thehook in the vise, and secure the beadhead with a number

of turns of thread.

2. Place a length of ribbing wire on top of the hook with thefront of the wire touching the thread wrapping behind thebeadhead, and wind a single layer of thread tightly (nogaps between thread wraps) backward, securing the wireon top of the hook, back to about halfway through the curveof the hook, and then wind tightly (again, no gaps in thewinds) back to just behind the beadhead.

3. Wind the ribbing forward to just behind the beadhead,tie off and trim.

4. Place two pieces of flashabou on top of the hook paral-lel to the hook shank (with an inch or so behind the hookeye and the same length forward of the eye), secure withtwo turns of thread, pull the forward portions back and tiedown with a number of turns of thread so that the coveringthread builds up evenly to the back of the beadhead. Fin-

ish with three tight half hitches and trim the thread close.

5. Trim the four flashabou strands off about half the lengthof the hook, and put a small drop of head cement on thethread behind the beadhead, being careful not to cementthe flashaboustrands to-gether.

This is a re-markably ver-satile fly. I‟veused it with

great successin the shallow“feedingtrough” edgesof lakes with aslow hand twistretrieve, and it has worked equally well dead-drifted onspring creeks and tailwaters from Montana to Argentina. Iuse a silver wire for ribbing on black and red bodied pat-terns, and copper wire for brown bodied ties. This patternis a must. Whenever I fish where there is a midge hatch(and that is virtually anywhere), I may forget my AmericanExpress card but I never leave home without my Amor-

phous Midge.

Materials

Hook: Tiemco 2457, sizes 14-18

Thread: Black, brown or red 8/0

Ribbing: Fine silver or copper wire

Beadhead: Small brown bead

Flashing: Pearl or crystal flashabou

http://www.kman.com/


mailto:[email protected]






Board of Directors:

Outings Andy Andrews (971) [email protected]

Raffles: Ron Reinebach (503) [email protected]

Conservation: Michael Ellis (503) [email protected]

Newsletter : Jerry Lorang (971) 404-5154 [email protected]

Jerry Heppell (503) [email protected]

Jeff Gottfried (503) 246-8916 [email protected]

Officers

President: Mike Gentry (503) [email protected]

Vice Pres.: George Wilson (503)[email protected]

Treasurer: Erle Norman (503) [email protected]

Secretary/ Bill Schoen (503) 638-7748Membership: [email protected]

Ex-Officio: Hank Hosfield (503) 228-6553(Past Pres.) [email protected]

TUALATIN VALLEY TU OFFI CERS AND BOARD

Page 7

MARCH/APRIL 2010

Scheduled Fly Fishing Outings for the Year.

April 10 - 11 Deschutes River

April 23 Day trip to Lost Lake near SpruceRun Park.

April 30 - May 2 South Twin Lake in Central Ore-gon

June 25 - 27 Timothy Lake on Mount Hood

July 11 Day trip to Goose Lake, Wash-ington

August 13 - 15 Miller Lake in Central Oregon

August 29 Lawrence Lake on Mount Hood

September 10 Day trip to Round Lake, Clacka-mas River area

September 23 - 28 Fall River near Sunriver Oregon

October (date TBD) Metrolius River in conjunction withthe State Project

All locations and dates are subject to change so check thelatest edition of the newsletter or call Andy to verify thedate and location of the next outing. Andy's cell number is(971)-409-6149

NEWS RELEASE

Let’s Go Fishing - 2010April 10 - 11: (Sat - Sun) Deschutes River OutingYou can make this a day trip or join us for the entire week-end. Cross the Deschutes River at Maupin and stay to theright on the road nearest the river. Drive approximately 6miles to the Harpham Flats Campground. We will have abarbecue on Saturday night where the meat will be pro-

vided. We would appreciate if you brought a salad, appe-tizer or bottle of wine, if you can. We will start out our dayby driving to the locked gate and walking up river from there.

April 23: (Friday) Day trip to Lost LakeThis is a 15 acre lake located near Spruce Run Park on theNehalem River. Drive west on highway 26 to the turn off tothe Spruce Run Park. Just prior to entering the park, a roadon the left heads up hill and will lead you to the parking lot atLost Lake. You will encounter fish 10 to 12 inches in length.In the early afternoon, good hatches have come off and fish-ing can become quite good. We will meet and carpool at theRiver City Fly Shop on Scholls Ferry Road. We will be leav-

ing the parking lot about 7:30 and driving a half mile to anarea where we can leave the cars for the day. I hope youcan join us for the day.

April 30 - May 2: (Friday - Sunday) South Twin LakeThis is a lake that holds some very large fish. It is an earlymorning and late evening fishery and fishing the edge of thelake in the stumps is the name of the game. The location of this lake also gives us easy access to a number of centralOregon lakes such as Wickiup and Crane Prairie, to name just two. You can approach South Twin Lake by either Bendor over Williamette Pass. South Twin lies just off Road 42,one half mile north of Wickiup. There will be a barbecue on

Saturday night where the meat will be provided. Contribu-tions of salads, appetizers, or desserts are always appreci-ated.







Conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds..

The Trout Line

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter

85 Tanglewood Drive

Lake Oswego, OR 97035-1415

Meeting Schedule: Regular chapter meetings are held at the LUCKY LABRADOR on the second Wednesday of eachmonth at 6:30 PM with a social get-together and the formal meeting at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted in the newsletter or website. Lucky Labrador, Multnomah Village, 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, (503) 244-2537. Food and bever-ages available.

March 10: Andy Andrews and Mike Gentry bring pictures and information from their recent trip to Patagonia(Argentina and Chile) to educate and tempt us. April 14: Bill Myers will bring information on the Crooked River from his many years of guiding there. Included in hispresentation is a month-by-month hatch guide and information on river flows and best spots to fish and camp. We hope

to schedule a Crooked River Outing soon after this presentation because Bill has offered that he would join us on thewater!

Inside this issue

President‟s Column Page 1Welcome New Directors Page 2Neitzel Farm Work Party Page 2&3The Pleasures of Boating Page 4Fly Tyers Expo - Albany, OR Page 5Kids Camp - Clackamas Chapter Page 5Fly of the Month – Amorphous Midge Page 6Outing Schedule Page 7Board of Directors Listing Page 7

Meeting Schedule , Budget Summary Page 8

During the quarter ending 12-31-09, significant expenditures in-cluded $250 for meeting speaker fees, $300 for meeting room rent,and $200 for a donation to ReelRecovery; and receipts included$1,995 in donations.Thanks to our generous donors.

Quarterly

Budget

Summary

Documents

Mar - Apr 2010 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited