penticton flyfishers journal july august 2011

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

JOURNAL

July / August 2011

— Presidents Report Page 4 & 5—Equipment Review— Breathable Waders Page 6 & 7— Link Lake by Tom Dellamater Page 8 & 9—Kamchatka Pennisula Page 10— King of Darke Lake by Tom Dellamater Page 11— Dave’s Hopper Page 12— Fishout Dates and Places Page 13— Photo Gallery Page 14— Classifeids and Calendar Page 15— Tying and Fishing Techniques

PAGE 2 PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

Vol. 08 Number 04, 2010

July / August 2011, 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

Ryan Winstanley 488-8757

[email protected]

Treasurer Ken Baker 493-2926

[email protected]

Secretary Peter Kruse

494-0071 [email protected]

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 Photo Kettle River Evening—© by Bruce Turnbull

Penticton Flyfishers New Website is

www.pentictonflyfishers.ca

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS Presidents Report by Phil Rogers

Well, believe it or not, summer has finally arrived. You would never know it judging by the weather we’ve been having. I have it on good authority that Sawmill Lake is now at “Full Pool” and there is still water flowing in. The water is very clear and lots of fish have been caught. Most of the larger fish are around the 3lb size. They are being caught on chironomids as small as size 22. You can also give scuds a try. The latest club Fishout was this past weekend at Idleback Lake. George G. reports that the weather conditions were cold and windy. He went up on Thurs-day but couldn’t get on the water until Saturday. There was approx 14 club members, spouses and friends that at-tended. The forestry campsite was full with George getting the last open site. It appears that fishing was spotty over the weekend with George having several hits on his customized 52 Buick and Tom D. getting a couple on a Vampire Vippy. Tyler A. caught 8 fish, 4 on chironomids and 4 on a clipped Elk Hair Caddis. Be pre-pared for the fish to do a quick leap out of the water as soon as it is hooked. This is where most of the fish are getting away or breaking off. If you survive that initial hookup, you can expect a good fight as the fish are very active and aren’t giving up too readily. The next club activity is the Ket-tle River Float, which usually takes place the first weekend in July. We are waiting on Bruce T. to report on the river’s flow, as it has been very high this year. If

the flow does not come down soon, we may have to postpone the float for a week or two. Please check your emails for the date of the Float, as there may be very short notice. In addition to the Float, several of our members are getting ready to take part in FLNRO’s (MOE) Kettle River Tagging Project. This project is sched-uled to start on 14 July and continue thru to 19 July with a possibility of a second session in September. If there is a second session, I will get Jim D. to email the particulars so all members have a chance to participate. We have started a Weekly Fishing Re-port for club members. The fourth re-port will be sent out this Thursday. Contributions to the report have been slow so far. I don’t know if this is due to members not getting out fishing or a lack of interest. I will keep the report

going for a couple of more weeks but if contributions do not improve, it will be dropped. Remember, you do not have to share all your secrets but whatever you can share will be appreciated by others. You do not have to report on successful trips only, as a poor result can be very useful. Tara White from FLNRO has just sent out an email advising us on an opportu-nity to vote for our choice of five pro-jects that will be funded by the $25,000 awarded to the Okanagan Chapter of Trout Unlimited by the RBC Bluewater Fund. Two of these choices are more

surveys while three choices are actual programs that will help the riparian areas of Mill Creek, Mis-sion Creek or Kettle River. Jim D. has forwarded the info on how to vote to all our members. Please take the time to register your vote. It is very easy to do and should take less than two minutes. I hope all of our members have a great and safe summer. I hope everyone gets lots of opportunities to get out fishing, but please leave some fish for me. See you in September

2011 Executive

Pres: Phil Rogers Vice Pres: Ryan Winstanley

Secretary: Peter Kruse Treasurer: Ken Baker

Membership: Tom Knight

Past Pres: Angus Cameron

Phil


Equipment Review- By Bruce Turnbull

Breathable Waders

A while ago I decided to retire my old breathable (leaking) waders. I used them for nearly 5 years, all bad. On the one hand, they were durable. On the other hand, there was probably more aquaseal than gortex on the waders in their last couple of seasons on the water. As good to me as they were, I decided I'd had enough of damp, cold legs and feet. Now, normally I would bite the bullet and throw down for another pair of the same waders, but I'd been hearing and reading about some folks being pretty happy with the Dan Bailey waders. At a decent price, I figured it was worth a test of my own. The good folks at Trout Wa-ters got me into a pair of the EZ-Zip Guide Waders a cou-ple years back and I have been thrilled ever since. So this is a kind of outdated but relevant piece of info and I needed an article to fit this slot. I was thinking about a fly fishing piece of gear I could write about and the idea of my waders came to mind. I took a look through the internet in particular Dan Baily’s Fly Shop, and here is what Dan Bai-ley said about their waders: To construct these waders Dan Bailey's uses their proven 909 micro fiber polyester fabric integrated with a laminate and coating membrane and lined with nylon tricot. They feature a double seat, double layer protection all around the lower legs , no inside leg seams in the critical areas and Velcro closure gravel cuffs. • RIRI waterproof zipper • Double seat, two-tone colours and an articulated knee. • A heavy duty built in belt • Clamp on suspenders are easy to remove for easy waist hi conversion. • A boot lace clip keeps the gravel cuffs from riding up. • The numerous front pocket design has multiple uses. • On the outside in the olive mesh are three smaller zippered pockets to hold tippet, floatant or other small items. • Also there are two zippered pockets to hold medium fly boxes so flies are handy at all times. • Behind the front pocket is a full pocket opened from the top. • Plus behind all these pockets is a fleece lined hand warmer pocket. • They also have a zippered pocket inside the wader which will hold C&F boxes. • This top of the wader has a draw string to pull the top of the wader tight. • The right and left contoured feet are made with high density neoprene. • A mesh stuff sack is included for storage and travel. I have had my waders for three seasons now and love them. They are comfortable and the most important fact is they do not leak, have not leaked, and that is the longest time gone by without a leak I have ever had with waders before. Touch wood or something like that.


Breathable Waders are picked as a favourite by many consumers for obvious reasons. The key to this product is the scientifically proven fabric that lines the inside of the waders allowing heat and the moisture from sweat to exit via the pores of the fabric. Wearing cotton can defeat the purpose of this breathing fabric. Those who go fishing on a regular basis, or if they just go occasionally, will agree that waders with breathing technology are the top items of all to have. They will ensure comfort for the user and allow for a longer fishing trip. The secret of this product is the specifically designed fabric that covers the entire inside of the waders. This fabric is solely respon-sible for the breathing abilities and is what sets other waders apart from it as well. The fabric lets hot air and sweat moisture to readily escape through the millions of pores within the fabric. A common thought would be that if you are standing waste deep in water that you would be cold. The assumption is half right be-cause you do need to wear layers of clothing under your waders. Because of the layers you begin to sweat and your body will re-tain and hold in the heat. Traditional waders will leave you sweaty and clammy feeling because the heat and moisture is trapped within. Wearing those layers of clothing is very important but you must remember that cotton fabrics will hold onto your sweat and retain the majority of your body heat. This will surely make any person quite uncomfortable and will be the cause of a trip get-ting shortened. Breathable waders are designed for comfort in all factors. Wearing them for fishing and other activities is a better choice than that of a more traditional non-breathing waders.


The first trip of the season for the Penticton Flyfishers started at Link Lake once again with very unkind weather. On my way to the lake on Thursday it was just after I left the asphalt above Faulder when the snow started. By the time I reached the lake the snow was blowing sideways and the early birds were inside their units waiting for the storm to pass. Snow was on the ground, and on the hills above the lake the accumulation was building. The snow let up enough to be able to set up the camper and get ready for the weekend. The water in Trout Creek was running full bore and the muddy road put a lot of mud on my truck and trailer. It took about 25 pails of water from the lake to remove most of the mud from my truck so I could see out of the windows. On Friday the weather broke enough so we could get out fishing. Irene Graw led the way with two very nice fish on her specially tied burgundy woolly buggers by George Graw. Some of us had fish on but did not get any to the boat. Bob Holley, Rick Wickett, Phil Rogers and Bob Davies worked hard and they were rewarded with some very nice fish. The Link Lake specialist who always out fishes all of us was having a class on chironomid fishing and he was having spotty success. The weather was on and off through out the weekend so no fire Friday night but the turkey dinner went off well. We had rain dur-ing the cooking and the cook fought through it to get the dinner out.

George and Bob took pictures of this he-roic effort to put this dinner on and as you can see we had to move the barbecue out-side of the shelter to keep the cameramen warm and dry. Everyone brought some great food and the meal was excellent. To all of those who brought in items, thank you. The weather broke just as it was time to take the turkeys off the grill and many were able to sit outside and eat.

Link Lake Fish Out

By Tom Dellamater


It was a good time by all who had electric heaters and heavy coats. We are not dis-couraged as most of us enjoy Link Lake. It has been a wet and cold spring and hopefully our trip to Idleback Lake will be better.

Tom Dellamater

Later that night we had a camp fire and George took the opportunity to remind us all of Irene’s success and he was the gilley/flytyer


Only since the disintegration of the Soviet Union have we begun to understand that what lies behind its jagged North Pacific coastline - the most abundant and biologi-cally diverse population of wild rainbow trout, salmon, and char that has ever existed on Earth. During Russia's Tsarist period, Kamchatka existed in the minds of Europeans as nothing more than a blank spot on the map and rumors of a land abounding with natural re-sources. In 1724, curiosity, a sense of adventure and the booming European fur trade persuaded Peter the Great to commission an eastward exploratory expedition. The leader of that expedition, Vitus Bering and his crew were to become the Lewis and Clarks of the eastern hemisphere. The results of their expedition are famous, having led to the founding of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatksy and ultimately the discovery of Alaska by Europeans. Centuries went by and not much changed on the penin-sula. Then in 1991 the cold hard borders of the Soviet Un-ion melted away. At that moment, serious flyfishers every-where spun their heads in unison toward a distant penin-sula on the North Pacific shore. Kamchatka had been a closed military zone for the previous century (it’s where the Soviets kept their nuclear subs), making it a de facto 160,000 square-mile wilderness preserve with no roads or development of any kind, and very few people. Looking westward, across the shallow Bering Sea from Alaska, anglers had long wondered if Kamchatka, at the same latitude and with the same climate, might harbor similar populations of trout and salmon. Sure enough, the early rumors filter-ing in from the first intrepid explorers hinted of rivers and volcanoes of intense grandeur; landscapes rife with fish and wildlife. Those in the know started making plans. There is only one reason in my mind to go to Kamchatka and that is: fly fishing for very large rainbow trout that eat dry flies all season long! The salmon fishing is also great but the jewels of the fishery are the rainbow trout, throw in trophy char and a new species - Khundza, and you realize a week long fly fishing trip to Kamchatka is way too short. There are many fly fishing trips to the following rivers in Russia (and more by request): Zhupanova, Pymta, Voyam-polka, Opala, Kolpakova, Oblukinovina, Icha, Tikhaya, Sedanka ,Kolpakova, Tigil, Kalaguch, Echa, Osediaya, Kar-tuska, Kapushka, and Medved. Kamchatka is loaded with great fly fishing rivers but only a few outfitters are offering reliable trips. Get to know all the reliable fly fishing outfitters (both Russian and Western) that run fly fishing expedi-tions to Kamchatka and they can help you choose the right trip. The basics start with the decision as to what kind of trip you want: A full service fly fishing lodge that utilizes jet boats to ferry you to the best fishing, A more rustic tent camp

The Kamchatka Penninsula Has Long Been Shrouded in Mystery


(Almost a lodge) some serviced by jet boats others use these camps to stage float trips from camp to camp or a standard float trip with mobile camps where tents that are set up each night. The next choice is a bit harder - want lots of solid 18-22" fish on dries with a few fish each day over 25" and a few each week at 28" or do you want less dry fly action but more streamer action, bigger fish ( 30" plus) but less of them. No one river has everything so in general the bigger the average of fish is in a river the fewer fish there are. The key to a dependable trip is the combination of oversight with a well connected partner from Russia. There are a few Russian only companies that offer fly fishing float trips that are not quite ready for prime time. Some offer 10 day trips, some only offer 7 day trips. Kamchatka has a lot to offer to the fly fishing enthusiast - fly fishing the way it was in Alaska over 25 years ago is the best way to describe it. Russia is the last frontier for freshwater fly fishing for wild, native rainbow trout, steelhead and salmon. Fly Fishing Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in Search of Fly Fishing Heaven. Source: Internet

PENTICTON FLYFISHERS PAGE 10 PENTICTON FLYFISHERS

ALL HAIL THE KING OF DARKE LAKE. George and I went to Darke Lake Saturday on June 3, 2011 to get some eastern brook trout. After spending the weekend before at Link Lake in the snow, rain, sun and cold weather, the day was perfect. We started planning our strategy at the Flyfishers meeting. We have listened to Jim Duncan and his fa-vourite stories of the lake, telling of the many fish he has caught there on the different flies. I called Harry Shaw as Jim had told me he was there a couple of weeks before. Harry had got small fish on top and larger fish on the bottom with eastern brook trout on the bottom. George put on the chartreuse woolly bugger (Jim’s fly) and his medium sink line while I put on a red carry pattern on a type 6 line to reach the bottom. We started from the launch and went down the “Jim Duncan Slot” (I do not think Jim has ever gone down this slot without at least one fish). Before we went 200 yards George had a fish. Yes, he caught the first fish in less than ten minutes on the lake. We straightened out our lines and carried on but George had a prob-lem, before he was set, he caught another fish. Now that is two fish for George and Tom none. We ended the Jim Duncan Slot and proceeded to the cabin run. George got another one and I had a couple of hits but no fish to the boat. I was worried how that was going to look with George 3 and Tom 0. We got to Bob Davies Bay, for those of you who were there will remember when Bob and his dog Pal anchored there for most of the afternoon. We then had the pleasure of listening to Pal bark most of the afternoon when Bob caught one fish and another and another. Sometimes that is most annoying when Bob is on the fish and all of the other fishermen are not. George and I picked up some fish there and started to get the eastern brook trout we were looking for. We crossed over the other side and went down the rock slot which contained some more fish. The water is up and running over the spillway so the rocks were buried and we did not get any hook ups. The weeds have started rise to the top and we soon learned how much we needed to bring in our lines so we would miss the weeds. George brought to the boat 11 fish and I had 7 fish and brought two eastern brook trout home for our supper. This is a picture of “The King of Darke Lake – George Graw” sitting in the back of his boat surveying all that he commands. To answer your question, he is not a gracious winner as he lost count of my fish except when it was George 10 and Tom 5 and the two to one count pleased him greatly.

By Tom Dellamater

King of Darke Lake

www.bcwf.bc.ca

www.pentictonflyfishers.ca


Hook: TMC 5262 #4-12 Thread: GSP 50, Brown Tail: Red Deer Belly Hair.................. Hackle: Brown Rooster neck.................... Body: Yellow Poly Yarn.......................... Wing: Mottled turkey quill, vinyl coated..................... Legs: Knotted Ringneck Pheasant Tail fibers.................... Head and Collar: Natural Deer Body Hair, spun and trimmed to shape................. Pattern Description The Dave's Hopper comes from the vise of uber fly designer Dave Whitlock. Mr. Whitlock may be the most prolific designer in the world at the moment with several what have become standard designs to his credit. Dave's Hopper is one of the most popular flies in the bins, but one of the harder patterns to tie correctly. The spun deer hair head and collar give many tyers fits, and the knotted legs aren't all that easy or quick to do either. Nonetheless, the Dave's Hopper is a great pattern to add to your fly box and tying repertoire. Tie a few up and throw something old school like this the next time you're out! The time to fish this pattern should be obvious. When grass Hoppers are flying around. Fish love them and in particular if the fly is twitched a bit through a quiet drift. In fast water just hang on. While Hopper Fishing is relegated to rivers and streams, there have been occasions were trout in stillwaters will cruise through the shoreline brush for large insects that fall in. As to river fishing, this pattern is a must pattern. You will use it a lot when the Hoppers are along the shore-line and you will need several as the trouts teeth tend to rip the fly apart after a few fish. Adaptations are many for this pattern. There are foam bodied ones now that are just as affective as the original and tend to last longer. They are a little tougher to cast in a stiff wind. One must learn to cast this pattern towards the shore so you need to be on the opposite bank or wading. A technique to try is to hit the bank with the fly and have the pattern fall into the water right at the edge.

DAVE’S HOPPER

by Bruce Turnbull and the help of the internet.

2011 FISHOUTS

Salmon Lake

Sept 23,24, & 25

Kettle River July every weekend


Link Lake May 27 to

29

Idelback Lake June 24 to 26

Harmon Lake Sept 9 to 11

Planned Fish Out’s

for 2011


Picture Gallery Fish Outs


CLASSIFIEDS CALENDAR of EVENTS

September 1—First General meeting of the fall semester. Come out and see what is planned for the fall and coming winter months. Sept 19—Executive Meeting. As usual at Phil’s house. Time 7 pm. Oct 4—General Meeting. Time 7 pm at the Old CPR Sta-tion on Hastings St. Bring a friend, bring the wife. Should be some entertainment or speaker to enjoy. Oct 11—Should be the first fly tying night of the year. Maybe George or maybe Mike Daviduk, last years Most Improved Fly Tyer winner, will put on a demonstration. Oct 17—Executive Meeting. Phil Rogers home at 7 pm unless otherwise notified. Nov 01—General meeting. Its getting cold outside and you are likely thinking of going some where warm. Why its real warm at the meeting as there is always something cooking. Time 7 pm OLD CPR Station on Hastings St.

www.bcfff.bc.ca

www.troutwaters.ca

-HUNTING -FISHING -BOWS -SUPPLIES

Will Carnell

Ph 250-492-4963 2012 Main St.,

Penticton, BC, V2A 5H4

SPACE AVAILABLE FOR YOUR

CLASSIFIED AD

NO

CHARGE

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

Well its summer time and that for me means dry fly fishing whether its lakes but in particular rivers. I love river fish-ing. Over the years I have come to know a particular river and spend a great deal of time there each year. I have seen the river flooding and I have seen it where your ankles wouldn’t get wet crossing it. What I enjoy the most is dry fly fishing. Hot summer days and the trout are look-ing for something big. Big juicy dry flies will do the trick. I start the early season high flow with Stimulators, Elk Hair Caddis and on a rare occasion Humpys. They take a beat-ing in the quicker flows and you do need to dry them off more often, but the smaller sizes usually work. Change the pattern often in the same hole. As summer heats up and the river drops I work the target areas with bigger Stimu-lators mostly in yellow and a light green. Toss them in tight against the bank let-ting the fly drift real close the bank, overhanging shrubs, sweepers...just about anything that gives shade, cover, structure, or ripple. It also helps if it’s a food lane for the trout.

As summer gets into August out come the Hoppers and the fun heats up. Hop-pers are all over the place but I rarely see any floating by on the current. I wonder why, you ask? Its because as soon as they hit the water they are eaten. The Hoppers will work more so on quicker water and into light rapids, especially right on the edge of the fast water. If the drift doesn’t work let the fly run on through till it is below you. This way you waste a lot of time while I move in and get the fish. Just kidding. Trout will follow the bigger patterns some times surprising you just as you are about to lift the line off the water for your next cast. You can also try twitching the Hopper while drifting with the rivers flow. Again tight into the deep water banks, undercut banks, overhanging shrubs, sweepers, boul-ders, and along the steep rock walls dropping into the river. Cool shaded areas in the hot summer through early fall. Watch how the day light reacts during the morning, mid day and late afternoon. Shade can come from shad-ows and those shadows will move through out the day. Pass the full sun

runs for those in par-tial shade. You can pick up the past over spots coming back later in the day. The fles you see above pretty much represent all that you need for your dry fly fishing trip to an area river. Close to home is the river channel at various spots down to Osoyoos Lake. The Ashnola near Kere-meos. The Similkameen in the Bromly Rock area, The Kettle and West Kettle, various areas. The Granby near Grand Forks. And many small streams that hold fish such as Ellis Creek. Dry fly fishing is a lot of fun.

penticton flyfishers journal july august 2011

Documents

calendar page

places page

tom dellamater page

presidents report page

photo gallery page

fishing techniques page

daves hopper page

kamchatka pennisula