penticton fly fishers journal july august 2010

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

JOURNAL

July / Aug 2010

— Presidents Report Page 4 & 5—Equipment Review— Trolling Motors Page 6 & 7– Clean Energy or Revenue Grab Page 8 & 9 - Implications of Catch and Release Page 10 & 11—Double Haul Cast Page 12— 2010 Fishout Schedule Page 13— Yellow Fin Tuna Page 14—Photo Gallery—2010 Annual Dinner & Awards Page 15— Calendar and Classifieds Page 16—Tying and Fishing Techniques

PAGE 2 PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

Vol. 07 Number 04, 2010

July / Aug 2010, Edition

Penticton Flyfishers

Box 354, 113-437 Martin St., Penticton, B.C., V2A 5L1

Editor

Bruce Turnbull

Home Ph:250-493-7386 Work Ph:250-487-2000

Fax 250-487-2049 Email: [email protected] (or)

[email protected]

President Phil Rogers

250-403-8832 [email protected]

Vice President

Peter Kruse [email protected]

Treasurer Ken Baker

[email protected]

Secretary Denis Currie

[email protected] 496-5499

Membership Director

Tom Knight [email protected]

The Penticton Flyfishers are members of

BC Federation of Fly Fishers (BCFFF)

BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF)

Federation of Fly Fishers

(International FFF)

Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA)

Contents

Cover—Salmon Lake Fishout —by Bruce Turnbull

Penticton Flyfishers New Website is

www.pentictonflyfishers.ca

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS Presidents Report by Phil Rogers

Well here it is the first week of summer, what happened to spring? What was a promising middle of May quickly dete-riorated into one of the wettest springs we have had for several years. What looked like a possible drought year with declining water levels in our local lake now looks more like a full pool year. Sawmill Lake is now back to one lake, which is great news. The down side to all this wet, windy and cold weather is that most of us have not been out on the lakes that much. I have been out to Yel-low Lake, Agur Lake and the fish-out at Link Lake. While I have caught fish at all three locations the only active day was the trip Tom Dellamater and I took to Agur Lake. We got into lots of fish but nothing of any great size. Other club members have reported similar tales of woe on their trips so far this year. Lots of lousy weather and a few fish caught, some decent sizes every now and then but nothing consistently good. The club has now concluded our 2010 Raffle. The winner of the pontoon boat was Jack Thomas from Princeton. The second place prize, Dragonfly rod and reel combo went to Wil Flack of Belize. Kelly Gartrell of Penticton won the third place prize of the Fly-box with 105 flies. I hereby offer to deliver the second place prize to Wil Flack in Belize (at the clubs expense of course). I must thank Tom Dellamater for looking after the lot-tery license and obtaining the tick-ets, George Graw for looking after the ticket sales and arranging for our booth in the Cherry Lane mall. George was also able to get the draw drum from the Eagles Club to mix the tickets. Another large thank you goes out to the club members who took the time to sell tickets in the mall and to the club members

who sold tickets on their own. Without them we could not have held this raffle. Thanks to eve-ryone who helped out. Our fish-out at Link Lake went very well. We had a good turnout despite the changeable weather. At times I thought we were at Salmon Lake in Septem-ber with the rain, wind, hail and snow. Some good sized fish were caught by several of our club members notably Bob Holley with a five pound rainbow and Tom D with a rainbow coming in at 21/2 to 3 pounds. Tom barbecued a turkey on Saturday night, which was enjoyed by all in at-tendance. Thanks Tom, another job well done. We held our fifth annual Family Fish day on June 19, 2010 at Salter’s Pond. Thanks to our raffle sales in Cherry Lane Mall we were able to pre-register over 50 kids for this event. The weather finally co-operated and we had a great event. Close to forty kids with their parents showed up to participate and almost everyone caught several

fish each. This year the Summerland Trout Hatchery had one-pound rainbows in the pond so the fishers had some terri-fic battles. We had a really good turnout of club members and spouses and it ap-peared that everyone had a good time enjoying the festivities. I saw several members having such a good time catch-ing fish that they were reluctant to give way to the youngsters. (I saw you George, taking your grandson’s prime location and rod). Thanks to all the club members who came out to help and thanks to the chef de jour,Tom D.. By the time this newsletter comes out we will have had our fish-out at Idleback

Lake. Here’s hoping for good weather and tight lines. As usual there are no general meet-ings during July and August. Our next meeting will be Thursday Sept 02, 2010. Hopefully I will see some of you on the lakes over the summer. If anyone hears of any hatches com-ing off or really active lakes please let me know. I won’t tell any one else, I promise. Phil Rogers

2010 Executive

Pres: Phil Rogers Vice Pres: Peter Kruse

Secretary: Denis Currie Treasurer: Ken Baker

Membership: Tom Knight Past Pres: Angus Cameron


Equipment Review-

Trolling Motors

Are you shopping for a trolling motor? The two big brand names are Mo-torGuide and Minn Kota trolling mo-tors, which are carried in most boating stores. Choosing the right fishing boat is not that easy but throw in all the differ-ences you find in trolling motors and it can be even more difficult. Many con-sumers just go along with the salesmen but later find that they are disappointed in their purchase. You can read dozens of reviews posted in bass fishing forums and reviewed plenty of owner comments about trolling motors on Cabelas.com and Amazon.com. The reason a trolling motor is so crucial to a successful fish-ing trip is because it allows you to move quietly and efficiently through the water giving you total control of the boat. Trolling motors, often referred to as electric positioning motors, use battery power, not gasoline, to manoeuvre and power the boat along. There are many variables like thrust, voltage of battery, bow mount or transom mount, shaft length, and foot or hand controls that go into buying a quality trolling motor. The amount of thrust that you need to power your boat depends on things like weight of boat, # of passengers, amount of fishing gear, length of boat, etc. Gen-erally, the more thrust the better, but there are times where too much can be a disadvantage in the water. Under normal fishing conditions, experts recommend that you go with about 36 pounds of thrust for a 15' boat and if you are on a 20 foot boat go with a 74 pounds of thrust trolling motor. If you are fishing an area with rough water or high winds then more thrust will probably be needed. When it comes to battery volt-age there are 3 power systems available - 12, 24, and 36 volts. A 12 volt trolling motor only requires a single 12 volt ma-

rine battery while the 24 volt models require 2 and the 36 volt trolling motors need 3. The higher the voltage the longer you can po-tentially stay out on the water and achieve more thrusting power. When talking with the sales guy at our local fishing store he said that a 12 volt battery with high thrust should suffice for a 16' boat or smaller. Otherwise go with the 24v or 36v bat-tery systems. The two types of trolling motors are transom mount or bow mount - both have their advantages and disadvantages. The bow mount trolling motors are positioned at the front of the boat and attached via a mounting bracket or plate. With a bow mount you get better manoeuvrability than a transom mount and superior control. The theory is that you can "pull" your boat through the water with a bow-mount easier than trying to "push" it with a transom mount which is installed on the back. Anglers generally agree that if your boat is larger than say 14' then go with a bow-mount trolling motor. The next factor to consider is foot or hand con-trol with your trolling motor. Most fisherman will agree that a hands free

experience is superior so that you can always be ready with your fishing rod and not having to switch your hands from the control of the trolling motor to the rod and reel. Foot controlled trolling motors may have a slower response than hand controlled variety and the pedal will leave more clutter on the boat deck. Hand control means you have to be up on the front of the boat (with bow mount) although you get real-time re-sponse. Talk with your fellow anglers and see what they prefer. When it comes to shaft length, we recommend checking

Minn Kota


out the article on Cabelas.com HERE. It depends on the mount type and distance to waterline. Other features to consider are things like digital displays, battery gauges that are built in, and self-directional motors. The only other manufacturer that rates as high as the Minn Toka are the Mo-torGuide trolling motors, which in many cases are more expensive but still very reliable. Their top models include the MotorGuide W55 48" Electric Steer Trolling Motor, MotorGuide FW71 FB 45" Gator Flex 360 Degree Trolling Mo-tor, and the MotorGuide SW109 HB Digital 24 RMT Trolling Motor. They are quiet, smooth to operate, and have many features which differentiate them from the Minn Kota brand. Be sure to check them out online or in your local boating retailer. Best Trolling Motor: RECOMMENDED - The Minn Kota Endura Freshwater 30 Transom Mount Trolling Motor which rates extremely high in customer satisfaction. The Minn Kota trolling motor features an ergonomic 6" telescoping handle, a composite shaft that is guaranteed for life, a level lock bracket, and a 3 year limited warranty. Anglers love the En-dura trolling motor for it's 30 lbs of thrust and the 30" shaft. Owners say the motor is dependable, performs flaw-lessly, and is quiet. Works great with inflatable boats, canoes, and rowboats. Whether fishing in ponds, small rivers, or lakes, this trolling motor will is the most popular of all the Minn Kota's. Features and Specifications:

Thrust: 30 pounds Shaft Length: 30 inches Telescoping Handle: An ergo-

nomic, six-inch telescoping handle offers comfortable, easy steering.

Lever Lock Bracket: Stronger than conventional brackets; special composite materials resist flexing, warping, and UV damage

Weedless Wedge 2 Prop: Push weeds away and take on the thick stuff without battery-draining chopping and hacking; swept-back, flared blades allow for unrelent-ing, reliable prop perform-ance

Indestructible Composite Shaft: Flexes on impact and won't break, kink, or corrode; guaranteed for life

Cool, Quiet Power: Large wind-ings and commutators dissi-pate heat, resulting in cooler operation, extended battery power, and a longer motor life; unique bearing system reduces friction to cut fish-spooking noise

Motorguide Trolling Motor

Digital Variable speed control mini-mizes amp draw and maximizes fish-ing time - fish up to 3x longer than a 5-speed motor. Large diameter 1.25" alu-minium shaft for greater strength and durability. Powerful 3.5" diameter VariMax Digital motors run cooler and last longer. Revolutionary intuitive push/pull, forward and reverse speed adjustments. BlueSpeed integrated speed and battery indicator. Taper-Lock Mount with 7-point adjustment eliminates slack. One-touch rapid slide-depth adjustment collar. Extending Tri-Lobe soft-touch handle for the perfect feel and control.

Prices for trolling motors vary as do the motors. Expect to pay around $130 to $230 depending on the model etc. The battery should be a deep cycle bat-tery.

Source: The Internet, Motorguide and Minn Kota web pages.

Trolling Motor Battery Box

Motorguide Trolling Motor


14 Jun 2010 The Vancouver Sun BY MARVIN SHAFFER. Marvin Shaffer is an economist at Simon Fraser University specializing in energy issues. While the HST has captured all the at-tention, the province’s passage of the Clean Energy Act in the recent legisla-tive session is a far more serious matter. Just a lot of wind? The Clean Energy Act is not really about clean energy, ar-gues Marvin Shaffer. It’s about expand-ing private power development through-out the province by forcing BC Hydro to buy power it does not need. The act will impose billions of dollars of unnecessary costs on British Columbi-ans. It is, simply put, bad legislation. The Clean Energy Act imposes a legal requirement for energy “ self-sufficiency” for BC Hydro. Self-sufficiency sounds positive. But in fact “ self-sufficiency,” as defined by the B. C. government, will simply force BC Hydro to buy a large amount of high cost power from private producers that is not needed to ensure a reliable supply of electricity. In a hydroelectric system like BC Hy-dro’s, the main reliability question is how to guard against the impact of drought, when low water conditions limit electricity production. With “ self-sufficiency,” BC Hydro will have to manage this low water risk by entering into long term contracts with private power producers for new supply

— supply that in most years will be surplus to BC Hydro’s requirements. The act does not put any limits on the price BC Hydro has to pay for electric-ity. Nor is there any room to consider the alternatives that BC Hydro could have pursued to ensure a reliable sup-ply. The legislation dictates that BC Hydro must ignore the backup capabil-ity of the Burrard Thermal plant, even in drought years. It must assume that the province will not let BC Hydro use any of the Columbia River treaty power it receives each year. It must pretend there is no “ spot market” ( one-off sales or purchases) for power, even though such markets exist in the U. S. and Alberta, and BC Hydro in fact regularly buys and sells electricity in those markets for trading purposes. BC Hydro itself has estimated that “ self-sufficiency” will add in excess of $ 1 billion to its costs. Environmental-ists are concerned that the generation and transmission line development will have significant adverse environmental effects. Despite all these concerns, the government has yet to release any analysis in support of this measure.

There is no evidence that it is in the broader public interest. In addition to “ self-sufficiency,” the Clean Energy Act accelerates a require-ment for “ insurance,” increasing the amount of surplus BC Hydro is being forced to buy. It is not at all clear what contingency this insurance is intended to address or what benefit it will offer. All that is clear is that it will add hundreds of millions of dollars more in costs that ratepayers will ultimately have to pay. BC Hydro’s own forecasts suggest that all of this surplus will be sold at a loss. Then there are the export provisions. In addition to buying privately produced power for dubious selfsufficiency and insurance reasons, BC Hydro will have to buy even more privately produced power, in this case explicitly for export. The act requires BC Hydro to pursue export opportunities that private power producers will not pursue on their own. There is nothing inherently wrong with the export of power — after all, we ex-port pretty well everything else. The is-sue here is forcing BC Hydro to be the export agent for private developers.

Clean Energy or

Revenue Grab


BC Hydro will be responsible for pro-viding all of the transmission, backup and other services needed to create a reliable, marketable product. However, it is not at all clear that BC Hydro will be able to earn an appropriate return on the services it provides and risks it assumes. Under the act, cabinet can order BC Hy-dro to buy power for export even if its management and board do not consider the market prices sufficient to justify the costs it must incur. There is the obvious potential for political interference and abuse, particularly with the legislation’s elimination of any independent oversight and transparency of the implications of these export ( and other BC Hydro) ac-tivities. The Clean Energy Act is not really about clean energy. Requiring an unnecessary amount of generation and transmission development, with all of the environ-mental impacts that causes, is not par-ticularly clean or green. Nor is it about developing BC’s hydroelectric resources in the general public interest. The act is designed, first and foremost, to expand private power development throughout the province by forcing BC Hydro to buy power it does not need for its own purposes, and to buy power for export regardless of the adequacy of the return. The power development the act is de-signed to encourage is hugely expensive in economic and environmental terms. The act does not in any way recognize these costs, and the government has not provided any analysis or made any effort to demonstrate that the benefits justify the costs. Worst in many ways, the act does not provide for any judgment by the BC Hy-dro management and board of the trade-offs these measures entail, nor is there to be any independent oversight by the BC Utilities Commission or anyone else. The Clean Energy Act is bad legislation. It’s far worse than the HST.


British Columbia is blessed with a diversity and abundance of freshwater recreational fishing opportunities, many of which are considered world-class resources. Within the province one can find 200,000 lakes and over 750,000-kilometres of streams which support 24 species of freshwater game fish. Recreational freshwater fishing is popular with over 270,000 anglers participating in the sport in 2005. These anglers spent over four million days plying the lakes and rivers of the province. Every corner of the province offers fishing opportunities and they range from wilderness northern salmon and steel-head rivers, to urban lakes in greater Van-couver. The majority of our freshwater fish-eries are based on stocks originating from wild fish resources, predominantly rainbow trout, cutthroat, steelhead, char and kokanee. There are fisheries for beginners to expert and everything in between. The 2005 survey of recreational fishing in Canada reported that anglers in BC caught over eight million fish, of which 74 per cent were released. This survey, done every five years continues to show the importance of both wild fisheries and the value of stocked lakes as a significant contributor to the over-all angler effort generated each year. Each year the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC) releases approximately seven mil-lion fish into about 800 lakes located throughout the province. Annually, these 800 lakes support just over 50 per cent of the total freshwater angling effort. The Ministry of Environment manages and maintains our freshwater fisheries resources for a diversity of sustainable fishing experiences that in-clude consumptive and non-consumptive uses. A suite of fishing regulations is an im-portant component of developing and imple-menting fishery plans throughout the prov-ince. Today, reduced catch limits, catch and release regulations and voluntary catch and

release practices all play a role in the man-agement of recreational fisheries. Ongoing research is being conducted in BC and in other jurisdictions concerning the impacts of catching and releasing fish in small lakes, similar to those that form the backbone of our interior trout fishery. Catch and release fishing is undoubtedly a great conservation tool that allows for in-creased effort on lakes over traditional bag limits, however, just because fish are in the lake does not mean that they are available to the anglers. There are three main issues which anglers have to consider: the first, investigated by Sean Cox and Carl Wal-ters, is that only a certain percentage of the fish stocked into the lake are considered ‘vulnerable’ to angling due to their behav-ior or location within the lake. The degree to which fish are unavailable depends on factors such as a lake’s topography or un-derwater structure. Brett van Poorten and John Post found changes in temperature and food availability affect feeding behav-iour, which can also alter the susceptibility of fish to anglers. A second issue is that, as fish are captured and released, they be-come less susceptible to being caught a second time, Paul Askey suggested this could be because they learn how to avoid being recaptured. This means that al-though the number of fish remains high in the lake catch rates can actually decrease as more and more fish ‘learn’ to avoid the hook. The first few anglers to fish a popula-tion will generally experience exceptional catch rates, but angling quality for succes-sive anglers declines rapidly even though the density of fish in the lake remains rela-tively constant. The rate at which fish learn is quite variable, as is the length of time required for the fish to ‘forget’ about the hook and come back to the fishery.

Learned hook avoidance is a common be-haviour amongst sport fish but the degree of learning appears to be species dependent and lake dependent. Variation in fishing method may decrease learning ability of fish. A third issue that affects the angler is mortality of fish after they are released back into the lake. Although catch and release angling results in lower intentional mortality than bagging all fish captured, not all those re-leased survive. The practice of catch and release is most common on lakes and rivers that are man-aged for quality fishing experiences but there are a growing number of anglers that have no desire to harvest a fish even in waters where it is legal. With catch and release fishing becoming more and more popular, the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC) has initiated a research project to better understand the implications of post-release mortality. The three main goals of the study were to: (1) identify the major fac-tors contributing to catch and release mortal-ity; (2) identify the impacts to the fishery due to mortality rates related to catch and release; and (3) increase anglers understand-ing of the impacts of their activities. FFSBC researchers have been estimating catch and release mortality of Blackwater, Pennask, and Tzenzaicut rainbow trout strains, comparing angling gear, seasons and handling times. This work has been done in several lakes in BC over the last few years, in an attempt to replicate real angling condi-tions. Our results have shown that although captured rainbow trout appear to look healthy when released, many of these fish were not alive several days later. Most of the mortality associated with the catch and re-lease experiment occurred within the first 24 hours after release. The degree of mortality ranged from a minimum of 10 per cent when conditions were favourable to a maximum of

Implications of Catch and Release: Preserving BC’s Freshwater Recreational Fisheries

By Brian Chan and Sara Northrup, Research Biologist, FFSBC


38 per cent (average 20 per cent). Mortality rates were most greatly influ-enced by water temperature, gear type, and the amount of time the fish was exposed to air. Aaron Bartholomew and James Bolsak found comparable results when reviewing several catch and release mortality studies on rainbow trout that found, an average mortal-ity rate of 19 per cent (range 0-87 per cent) depending on the variables tested. We found that the mortality rates for rainbow trout tend to be higher in lakes in late spring (25 per cent) and throughout the summer (37 per cent). On the other hand, mortality rates are reported to be much lower in rivers, perhaps due to colder water temperatures or higher dissolved oxygen. For example, D.J. Schill found mortality to be four per cent, in Badger Creek, Idaho. Ideally, the management of catch and release fishing in BC’s stocked lakes re-quires either a strain of rainbow trout which has a high catchability factor, low learning and low hooking mortality or fisheries man-agers and anglers need to address the issue of managing effort on some of our very high use water bodies. Better handling of fish that are intended for release can dramatically increase the survival and subsequent recap-ture rate of these fish. There are many fac-tors that contribute to whether a released fish will survive. As mentioned some of the most important factors include water temperature, duration of fight, gear type, actual handling of fish and hooking location. The length of time a fish is played and the temperature of the ambient water are major factors in the survival of a released fish. Water temperature is generally more of an issue in lakes, particularly productive lakes in the interior regions of the province, which attract significant angler effort. Dur-ing late spring and the warm summer months the water above established thermoclines (the top 5- to 7-meters) can get quite warm with surface temperatures easily reaching 20°C (68°F) while oxygen levels drop. The combination of lower oxygen levels and warm water temperatures has a significant impact when a fish is played for an extended period of time. Regardless of water tempera-ture, fish should be played as quickly as pos-sible. Once at the surface the fish can be

netted or gently handled in the water while

the hook is removed. A landing net makes the task of any fish handling much easier. Consider using a net that is big enough to hold the size of fish you could expect to catch. The netting should be made of a soft, non-abrasive, knotless material with mesh openings of less than 20-millimetres. Some net manufacturers utilize a soft rub-ber mesh for the net basket, which is also fish friendly. Prior to landing the fish wet the entire net bag to reduce loss of slime and scales. Keep the fish and net in the water during the hook removal process. Hooks located deep in the throat or in the gill arches should be left in place and the leader cut off as close to the hook as possible. The majority of hooks will fall out within a couple of weeks. Large fish can be kept calm by turning them upside down while in the net. Once the hook is out gently cradle the fish in the water until it swims away on its own. Support the fish by placing one hand under the pectoral fins (first set of fins behind the head) and forming a U shape for the body to sit in. With your other hand, gently grasp just ahead of the tail of the fish (the wrist) and with both hands in place keep the fish suspended below the surface of the water. Use the three-second rule for taking a picture of your catch. Have the camera ready, picture framed up and then quickly bring the fish out of the water for the shot. The fish should be fully supported in the horizontal position with one hand holding by the wrist and the other cradling behind the pectoral fins. The fish should not be out of the wa-ter for more than 3 seconds. Better yet, take a shot of the fish while being held in the water by the wrist or fully supported with both hands. A fish destined for live released should never be held in the verti-

cal position by the gills or upside down by the tail. Both positions leave the body unsup-ported and can cause serious damage to in-ternal organs. Handling of any fish should be done with wet hands or consider using a wet fish handling glove made of a soft, fine woven material that is smooth to the touch. Some handy tools to have on board or in your fishing vest are hemostats (surgical pliers) or a pair of needle nosed pliers that can be used to remove hooks as well as bend down the barb. Remember that all streams and rivers in BC and many lake fisheries have a single barbless hook restriction. There is a lot of truth to the often-quoted saying that 10 per cent of the fishermen catch 90 per cent of the fish. Good anglers can catch a lot of fish and if the majority of these fish are released it can have an impact on general angler success on that particular waterbody throughout the remainder of the fishing season. Some of our best interior trout lakes see a lot of angler pressure and when the “bite” is on there can be very high catch rates and release rates. The learned response of fish is something we as anglers have to consider. In other words, if you are having a great day catching and releasing fish, we need to perhaps ask ourselves how many fish are enough and should we move on and leave some catchable fish for other anglers. Our actions do have an impact on how vibrant a fishery remains throughout the entire angling season.

Editors Note: A very respectable way to remember that beautiful fish you just caught is to take its picture and then release the fish. The picture can be used to brag to your bud-dies about but you can also get a mount made from the picture. You should try to get the length and girth of the fish before releas-ing it as this will make the manufacture of the mount that much easier. While keeping a fish or two for dinner is acceptable depend-ing on the regs for the water you are on, one must be aware of the impact taking a fish or two may have on the water you are fishing. There are a lot of “PUT and TAKE” fisher-ies available for the angler who wants one for the table.

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS PAGE 10 PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

A VARIATION of the overhead cast, known as the double haul, is the final step in increasing line speed and thus add-ing length to your casts. The faster a fly line moves, the more momentum it has. Greater momentum allows you shoot longer lengths of line. The double haul is used for long casts, over 60 feet, and/or when there's a lot of wind because greater line speed will overcome either obstacle. The double haul can be done efficiently only with weight-forward or shooting-head lines. Both of the lines utilize about 30 feet of head or thicker line; the remainder of the line is thin-diameter running line. It's easy to see this junc-tion in a shooting-taper line, because the head and fly line are different types of materials, and sometimes different col-ors. With weight-forward lines, this junction is not immedi-ately apparent, because the head and running line are con-tinuous, the demarcation being where the head tapers down quickly, about 30 feet from the tip of the line. It's important to find this point with either type of line. You'll use the head to load the rod, while the running line will be pulled through the guides by the forward momentum of the head. The double haul, like any other cast, begins with the rod held low. Make sure there is no slack in the line and the stripping hand is close to your rod hand. I'd also recommend that you practice this cast with an 8- or 9-weight line. The extra line mass helps you feel the timing of the hauls — and besides, most times you use this cast, you'll be using a bigger rod anyway. Start the double haul with about 35 feet of line on the water in front of you. Lower your rod tip to about 2 feet above the water and eliminate any slack by stripping in some line, or else by making a single forward cast. Begin the forward cast as if you were going to pick up a lot of line, bringing your arm up as you cast, letting your elbow come up above shoul-der level. Your line hand should be holding the line tightly, quite close to the stripping guide.

As you make your power stroke, haul your line hand down toward your waist. Watch the fly line; as soon as all the line leaves the water, haul on the fly line by bringing your line hand down and to the side forcefully. A 1-foot haul is about right to start. As soon as you complete the haul, toward your waist, let your line hand drift back alongside your ear to the stripping guide. The line that you hauled will

The double haul, like any other cast, begins with the rod held low. Make sure there is no slack in the line and the stripping hand is close to your rod hand.

After you haul, let your line hand drift back so that your hands are almost together.

As you begin your forward power stroke, again haul down force-fully with your line hand.

The Double Haul by Tom Rosenbauer


become part of the backcast. Let the rod tip drift back to 2:30 (almost horizontal) as the line straightens behind you. Use a normal forward cast to complete the entire process. This is a single haul. It can come in handy all by itself if you have the wind at your back and you're having trouble straight-ening the backcast. As you begin your forward power stroke, again haul down forcefully with your line hand. Once you feel comfortable with the single haul, try a double haul by making a backcast and haul, but make the same hauling motion on the forward cast, at the same time you complete your power stroke. Now you'll haul by bringing your line hand back toward your waist. When the line hand reaches your waist, the rod tip should be at about 10:30. Your casting arm and the rod tip should be one straight line pointing above the horizon. Now, release the line with your line hand. Because you didn't have any slack in reserve, the line will snap against the rod with quite a bit of power and fall to the water. Now practice the double haul with 20 feet of slack line held below your stripping hand, piled neatly on the ground. The powerful line speed you've developed hauling, combined with the high trajectory of the rod tip, will allow you to shoot great lengths of line. The high rod tip is essential because, unlike any other type of forward cast, you are actually throwing or propelling line through the air. If the rod tip ends up too low, everything will pile up into the water.

As the casting loop begins to unroll in front of you, release the line.

The line will then shoot through the guides with ease, much easier than if you did not use the double haul.

With a shooting-head line, it's possible to shoot 60 to 80 feet of running line on a single cast. Running line has less friction and air resistance than the back end of a weight forward line, so it travels farther. When using a shooting head, make sure that the last cou-ple of inches of fly line are just inside the guides. Otherwise, you'll form a hinge at the junction of the fly line and the running line and lose a lot of casting power. Fly fishers using shooting-head lines often hold the coils of running line in their teeth or coiled in a stripping basket attached to the chest. In a boat, shooting line can be held in a plastic bucket at your feet. For optimum performance, you should get the kinks out of shooting-head running line. Point your rod tip at your fishing partner and have him or her pull on the end of the running line as he walks away from you. If no one is around to help, you can hook your front loop over a branch or nail and accomplish the same thing. The double haul and shooting-head lines are both designed for one purpose — distance. Neither will straighten a delicate 12-foot leader. They should be used primarily when it's necessary to cast consistently over 60 feet — most often in big steelhead and salmon rivers, lakes, and in saltwater fishing. Sometimes in trout fishing, though, the extra line speed from a single or double haul will help. I've found it useful when throwing a big strike indicator with lots of lead on the leader, or when trying to cast into a very stiff wind. Tom Rosenbauer has been a fly fisher for over 35 years and was a commercial fly tier by age 14. For 30 years he has been with the Orvis Company, where he is now marketing director for Orvis Rod and Tackle. He has ten fly fishing books in print, including The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Reading Trout Streams, Casting Illusions, Fly-Fishing in America, Approach and Presentation, Trout Foods and Their Imitations, Nymphing Techniques, Leaders, Knots, and Tippets, The Orvis Guide to Dry-Fly Techniques, and The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide, which won a 2001 National Outdoor Book Award. He has also been published in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Catalog Age, Fly Fisherman, Sporting Classics, Fly Rod & Reel, Audubon, and other magazines. This article is ex-cerpted from Tom's popular book The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide (The Lyons Press, January 2007, 288 pages), which has been completely updated, with all new photographs and text, and new illustrations by Bob White.

2010 FISHOUTS

? Kettle River July every weekend

PAGE 12 PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

Link Lake May 28, 29& 30

Darke Lake May 15

Idelback Lake June 26 & 27

Columbia River in August

Leighton Lake and

Tunkwa Lake Sept 10-12

? Members we need fishout ideas and dates for 2010

Fish Out Ideas are Required

for 2010


Yellow Fin Tuna The Yellow Fin Tuna (Thunnus alba-cares) is a species of tuna found in pe-lagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

Yellow fin is often marketed as ahi, from its Hawaiian name ʻahi although the name ʻahi in Hawaiian also refers to the closely related bigeye tuna.[1] Al-though the species name albacares might suggest otherwise, the fish usually known as albacore is a different species of tuna, Thunnus alalunga. The yellow fin tuna is sometimes referred to as alba-cora by French and Portuguese fisher-men.

The yellow fin tuna is one of the largest tuna species, reaching weights of over 300 pounds (136 kg), but is significantly smaller than the Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tunas that can reach over 1,000 pounds (454 kg) and slightly smaller than the bigeye tuna and the southern bluefin tuna. Reported sizes in the literature have ranged as high as 239 centimeters (94.1 in) in length and 200 kilograms (441 lb) in weight. The International Game Fish Asso-ciation (IGFA) record for this species stands at 388 pounds (176 kg). Angler Kurt Wiesen-hutter boated this fish in 1977 near San Benedicto Island in the Pacific waters of Mexico. Two larger fish weighing 395 lb and 399.6 lb were boated in 1992 and 1993 respectively. These remarkable fish stand as the largest rod and reel yellow fin tuna captures thus far.

The second dorsal fin and the anal fin, as well as the finlets

between those fins and the tail, are bright yellow, giving this fish its com-mon name. The second dorsal and anal fins can be very long in mature speci-mens, reaching almost as far back as the tail and giving the appearance of sickles or scimitars. The pectoral fins are also longer than the related bluefin tuna, but not as long as those of the albacore. The main body is very dark metallic blue, changing to silver on the belly, which has about 20 vertical lines.

Yellowfin tuna are epipelagic fish that inhabit the mixed surface layer of the ocean above the thermocline. Sonic tracking has found that although yel-low fin tuna, unlike the related bigeye tuna, mostly range in the top 100 meters (328 ft) of the water col-umn and penetrate the thermocline relatively infrequently, they are capa-ble of diving to considerable depths. An individual tagged in the Indian Ocean with an archival tag spent 85% of its time in depths shallower than 75 meters (246 ft) but was recorded as having made three dives to 578 m, 982

m and an incredible 1,160 meters (3,806 ft).

Yellow fin tuna are a popular sport fish in many parts of their range and are prized for their speed and strength when fought on rod and reel. Many anglers believe that large yellow fin are, pound for pound, the fastest and strongest of all big game tunas: renowned American author S. Kip Farrington, who fished the classic giant blue fin tuna fisheries of Bimini and Cat Cay in the Bahamas as well as Wedgeport in Nova Scotia, Can-ada, in their heyday, rated the yellow fin tuna of Hawaii as equal to a blue fin 'twice his weight'. Sport fishermen also prize the yellow fin tuna for its culinary qualities.

Yellow fin tuna probably first came to the attention of sports fishermen when they appeared on the tuna grounds of Catalina Island, California, only a few years after pioneering fishermen in-vented the sport, targeting the Pacific blue fin tuna. These tuna were of the same species caught by commercial fish-

ermen in Japan and the west-ern Pacific, but the reason for their appearance was not known at the time. Later it was discovered that warmer water species such as yellow fin tuna, dorado and striped marlin enter southern Califor-nia waters in seasons having favorable ocean conditions, particularly during the El Niño phenomenon, which brings warmer water up North America's western coast.

Source: Internet, Wikipedia


Picture Gallery Family Fish Day


CLASSIFIEDS CALENDAR of EVENTS

For Sale—15 ft Sage graphite Spey rod, line weight 10, 8 3/4 oz, 4 piece, used only ten times. Call Ken Cochrane 250-860-9128 or email at [email protected] For Sale—Sharps "SCOTTIE", a 4" Perfect style Salmon reel. Has almost all of original lead finish, Bronze line guard, slightly filed foot $400.00 3 1/2" Hardy Perfect, no line guard, long alloy foot, Ivorine han-dle, with a Hardy drawstring bag. An early model which, unfor-tunately, has been refinished. 2 small cracks, one on a pillar the other close by on the frame. They should not affect the reel for fishing. $550.00 Hardy Marquis Salmon #1 Saltwater with twin handles, slight paint loss around rim only, Hardy case $400.00 Hardy Salmon #1 spare spool (Not a saltwater spool) $100.00 Hardy St. John Some paint loss around rim. $250.00 Hardy Marquis 8/9 spare spool all grey model $65.00 Hardy "Wathne Collection" #8 Numbered edition #248 & spare spool Basically same reel as a Golden Prince except for finish, Grey frame, Silver spool. Cases for both. Reel and spool are in as new" condition. I do not think they have ever been fished. $330.00 Hardy Perfect 3 7/8" leaded finish straight line writing no line guard. $330.00 Call Ken Baker 250-493-2926 or email to [email protected] FOR SALE -10’ fiberglass boat, with trailer and electric 28 lb thrust motor for $600.00 obo. If interested please call Tom at (250) 493-8183.

July 20—Executive meeting. Location to be determined but could be at a nearby lake. Aug 17—Executive meeting. Location to be determined. Sept 02—General Meeting. This is the first general meet-ing since operat6ions were shut down back in June for the summer season. Time is 7 pm. Location is the Old CPR Station on Hastings St. Sept 15—Executive Meeting at Phil Rogers house. Time 7 pm. Oct 07—General meeting. Time 7 pm at the Old CPR Sta-tion on Hastings St.

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www.bcfff.bc.ca

www.pentictonflyfishers.ca

www.troutwaters.ca

Tying and Fishing Techniques

The Penticton Flyfishers meet the first Thursday of every month except July and August when we meet at nearby fish-outs. Club meetings begin at 7 pm at the “OLD CPR” Train Station on Hastings St., and everyone is welcome. Membership costs $40 per year (Junior membership is free) and includes membership in the B.C. Federation of Fly Fishers, the B.C. Wild-life Federation, The Federation of Fly Fishers (International), and the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA). The club is registered as a society and its function is to promote the sport of fly fishing, to educate, and to conserve and protect the environment. The club is actively involved in conservation projects throughout the Okanagan and surrounding areas. If you would like more information about the club, its membership, projects and programs, please call any member of the Executive (see inside front cover).

Bruce Turnbull Bruce Turnbull

The common or slang term ‘sedge’ origi-nates from the fact that adult Caddis flies can often be found clinging to sedge grass near the waters. Sedge/Caddis flies have four wings. The forward pair are normally a little longer than those at the rear. At rest their wings lie close along the body in an inverted V shape. Caddis flies do not have tails but many have long antenna. The Latin name for this group of flies is ‘Trichoptera’. They pass through four stages in their develop-ment; egg, larva, pupa and adult. The eggs are laid by the adult female in large jelly mass, which often floats on the wa-ter surface and drift until they stick to some river side vegetation. Some species lay their eggs directly on vegetation. The eggs hatch into larva in about 10-12 days. The Larvae produce a sticky sub-stance and attach what ever material in on the river bed to their body. This of-fers protection and camouflage. The pupa stage lasts for several days. The fully formed pupa has middle body legs that it uses to swim to the surface to

hatch. Some species choose the shore or vegetation to emerge rather than open water where they are easy prey for the trout.

Adult caddis flies vary in size. Their bodies are rather drab in colour from gray, brown to green. The wings are mottled, patterned or pale and vary in colour from black, brown to gray. If the fish are not taking fly patterns of natural colours try a brightly coloured attractor pattern of the correct shape. Most hatch early or late evening. Some hatch in the afternoon and some at night. The fish have two chances of catching these flies; when they emerge and when they return to lay eggs. Some species have a problem drying their wings and remain on the surface for a considerable time, causing a distur-bance. Others that move to shore to hatch fully also cause a disturbance. Try letting the fly sit stationary on the water surface and just give it a little

tweak. If that fails skating the fly across the surface very fast by pulling the line with the left hand and at the same time raising the rod. Make sure you do not raise it more than 60-70 degrees from the horizontal or you will be in danger of having no room left to strike. After each retrieve lower the rod about 10 degrees and recover the line. Be prepared for strikes when the fly is moving not just when it stops.

Sedge Patterns

penticton fly fishers journal july august 2010

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