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FOOTHILLS Volume 3 Issue 3 | ||||
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Next Meeting:
Our next meeting will take place Monday, April 25th at 7:00 pm at Tarheel Angler Outfitters on Hwy 74 Bypass in Shelby, NC. Be sure not to forget your fishing stories and a fly for the end of meeting fly drawing.
Boy Scouts Fishing Trip April 17th and April 24th are the two dates that are set aside for the Boy Scout Fishing Trip. This fishing trip is to help the Boy Scouts complete their Fly Fishing Merit Badge requirements. We will plan to meet at Tarheel Angler Outfitters at 2:00 on both dates. Once we have assembled we will go to a local farm pond to let the boys fling some flies. I'm sure you can imagine what an event this is for our Scouts! Any and all of our Chapter 197 members that can help with this project are welcome. If you see that you will be able to share some time for this event please let Robin (rbowman28@carolina.rr.com) or Eric (ericw51@bellsouth.net) know.
Casting Pool
The casting pool is still open for action. The pool seems to have developed a small leak but has not been a problem with all of our rain during the past month. Feel free to stop in and get your casting arm warmed up for the spring fishing season. |
Spring Is Upon Us! Have you been fishing yet? During a recent trip to the North Fork of the Mills River it was apparent that Spring was here. More fishermen testing their skills, more people out enjoying nature, and more fish in the water. The plantings of trout by the NCDWR in Delayed Harvest waters is complete for our opening month. Plenty of fish eager to attack fresh offerings. This may be one of the most overlooked aspects of DH fishing. During the first days or maybe as long as a week the fish will "test" just about anything. Later it may be more difficult to get the fish to fall for the standard offerings. At this point it becomes essential that you have some replica of what the fish are feeding on naturally in the stream; or something original and very tasty looking that they haven't seen before. I hope you spent your winter months tying plenty of original design flies. The first Saturday in April will bring opening day for the Hatchery Supported waters. Hopefully this will help to spread the fishermen over a wider assortment of waters. Don't forget these HS waters for fly-fishing. These larger waters packed with fish can provide some wide open casting spaces and really challenge your ability to read water and find fish. As for general rules fly selections will start out small and dark. I have seen plenty of #16 March Browns flying around. I was fishing over a pod of about 12 - 14 fish with a perfect hiding place behind a rock. I was able to bring a few to hand with Hares Ears and Wooly Buggers then the action stopped. I noticed the March Browns flying around. I only had one fly box with me but luckily had a close match. I tied this on, gently laid the dry fly above the pod, and bingo! the first drift produced a fish. A few more cast landed another, and another. Good timing, attention to my surroundings, and a little bit of luck had produced a great afternoon of fishing. I hope you find some great afternoons over the coming weeks. |
Other News Stream Side Lunch Everyone that participated in hot dogs from the grill left with smiling faces and full stomachs. The discussion of delightful fishing was another topic all together. Chapter Shirts and Hats We are currently working on a new, updated logo for Chapter 197. In the past we have used what was available from the shirt producers. This year we had the opportunity to acquire some volunteer art work. We are also planning on switching to a screen print rather than the stitch we have used in the past. Shirts will be screen printed with a large logo on the back and a matching small logo on the front left chest. We are currently not planning to order hats on the initial run. As we have the proofs we will send out email request order forms so we do not waste club money on shirts that are not purchased.
Special Thanks To: Tarheel Angler Outfitter 704-487-5189 Offering a 5% discount to all TU members. | ||