THE STEAMBOAT WHISTLE

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Volume 47, Issue II Summer 2009

By Joe Ferguson

Please write to the Commission and express your views on harvesting wild winter steelhead only on the North Umpqua River (the Smith, main stem Umpqua, and South Umpqua will remain closed to harvest of wild fish). We will have more information available on the website and via email when ODFW finalizes its new model.

By Peter Tronquet

In the last edition of The Whistle we wrote about the New Zealand mudsnail and how the tiny aquatic invasives can easily be transported on anglers’ boots and waders. We gave the example of an angler who fished the Deschutes, where the mudsnail has been established, and followed that up with a trip to the North Umpqua. Had our angler not washed, scrubbed and thoroughly dried his boots and waders, he ran the risk of introducing the mudsnail to the North Umpqua.

The environmental damage caused by invasives and cost of control has been well documented. Most of us know, for example, the $5 million cost to remove the tui chub from Diamond Lake and re-establish the trout fishery there. Motivated, perhaps, by that hefty price tag and encouraged by any number of conservation groups, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 571, which makes the introduction of nonnative invasive fish a Class C felony if done intentionally, and a Class A misdemeanor if done recklessly or with criminal negligence. If convicted, the offender will lose his fishing license for 5 years and be subject to restitution costs. This bill awaits the Governor’s signature.

That’s the good news. Two more important invasives’ bills are languishing in the Joint Ways and Means Committee. House Bill 2220, the border station bill, would authorize highway checkpoints for out-of-state boats coming into Oregon. These checkpoints would inspect for aquatic invasive plants and mussels (quagga and zebra) and require cleaning.

House Bill 2020 would set up an emergency response fund to fight invasives immediately upon discovery. The problem with these important bills, of course, is funding. 2220 would rely on a $2.50/year increase for boats with motors and a $5/year fee for non-motorized boats over 10 feet. Up or down votes are expected this month.

The concerns that led the Board to join in the appeal regard impacts to water quality and fisheries, especially increased siltation and warmer water temperatures in spawning and rearing tributaries. BLM failed to analyze these impacts or even to acknowledge their possibility; to assess impacts in light of the current condition of watersheds; to use the best available science in their analyses; and to consult with the Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries regarding impacts to listed species. The plan also raised the possibility of logging in the North Umpqua River W&S corridor, although Roseburg BLM staff said the current restrictions could not be amended by this Plan Revision.

WOPR resulted from a settlement agreement between the Bush administration and the American Forest Resources Council with the intent of increasing timber harvest above the levels that have occurred under the Northwest Forest Plan. Much of the increased harvest will come from riparian areas where up to 50% of the forest canopy within 60’ of fish-bearing streams will be logged. Many of the River’s tributaries already fail to meet temperature standards for salmonids and are listed on the 303d list of water quality impaired streams; this plan will result in higher stream temperatures and more than double BLM’s forest road system.

President's Message

It’s a busy time of the year! We’re investigating the ODFW proposal to open the North Umpqua to harvest of wild winter steelhead again. BLM wants to put in a turnaround and parking area at Susan Creek. There’s a Forest Service public information session on estimating weather patterns and conditions based on freshwater mollusks. The Steamboat Falls fish ladder is blocking fish passage again, an annual occurrence.

Davis Lake is fishing well, the Williamson is fishing good, Knott Creek opens in a couple of weeks, and summer steelhead are trickling in. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to do next. So Ann & I are headed to Davis to try and kill the bass.

You’ll also notice in this Whistle the range of issues we’re dealing with, and how they affect the River for years to come. We can use your help! It doesn’t take expertise, it takes time. Instead of relying on others to take care of the River for you, please volunteer a little of your time. If you don’t have time to be a board member, volunteer to work with a board member on a specific issue that interests you. Give me a call or send me an email, I’d love to hear from you.

Joe

The Black Gordon was originally tied by Clarence Gordon, owner of the old North Umpqua Lodge. According to Frank Moore, Clarence wanted to get away from the white wing on the Skunk Fly. He designed it as a dark version of the Skunk. To the best of his memory, Frank remembers watching Clarence tie it as an all-black fly. It had a black tail, black yarn body, wide silver tinsel, and a sparse black hackle. The black wing was tied sparsely and partially fanned, using hair from the center of a Blacktail deer tail. Somehow, within a few years of its development, a red butt was added and the tinsel was changed to fine oval gold. The newer red butt version of the Black Gordon has become standard; that’s the way Joe Howell ties it and that is how the pattern is described in Trey Comb’s “Steelhead Fly Fishing”.

While the Black Gordon was never as popular of a fly as the Skunk, it was an old stand-by pattern in the 1950’s and ‘60’s, and could be found in nearly all fly boxes on the North Umpqua. There weren’t many steelheaders who would call it their “favorite fly”, but it ranked highly and accounted for good numbers of steelhead.

Hook – Your favorite wet fly hook, with the most common sizes being 4 or 6. My favorite is still the old Eagle Claw 1197, but it’s getting hard to find.

Thread – Black.

Butt – 1/3 body length of red yarn, tapered.

Body – Black yarn, tapered. Black chenille was commonly substituted.

Tinsel – Fine oval gold, sometimes wrapped over the butt and body, sometimes just over the body.

Hackle – Black.

Wing – Black or a very dark brown. Hair from the center of a Blacktail deer tail works well.

Steamboaters Winter Social Recap

Our winter get-together at the China Palace was attended by 42 members and guests. The pre-dinner social hour was noisy and fun. Debra Barner, the Heritage Program Manger and Tribal Liaison for Umpqua National Forest, gave us a powerpoint presentation on cultural history in the Umpqua Basin. Almost every suitable spont along the rivers and creeks was used by Native Americans. There will be a dig this summer in advance of the new bridge construction at Williams Creek and preliminary work has uncovered some artifacts already.

The annual raffle prize of a 9’ fully equipped pontoon boat was won by Tony Knickerbocker of Calistoga, CA. Our thanks to the Caddis Fly Shop in Eugene for their generosity.

Club News & Notes:

Litter Patrol/Picnic/Annual Meeting

This will also be our annual meeting. Notices and proxy ballots for next year’s Board election will be mailed out in late July.

New Members

UNF’s Travel Management Plan

The plan proposes that 3,535 miles out of 4,202 existing miles of roads would remain open for highway legal vehicles only (360 miles) or legal vehicles and ORV (3,175 miles). Also 721 miles of trails and minimally maintained roads open to ORVs only, down from 1,373 miles.

BLM Susan Creek Trail/Bridge and Parking Lot Project

However plans will include the loss of the current pullout right at the abutments, and now include a 15,000 square foot paved loop and parking area for rafting vehicle/trailers off the east end of the existing parking lot, raising the total cost of the project to three-million dollars. We are requesting BLM to address the parking issue they are creating at the new trailhead, and are opposed to this parking loop as an unnecessary impact in the riparian zone. Please visit www.steamboaters.org to read the letter we sent regarding this issue.

North Umpqua Chronciles - June 2006

Unrealistic Expectations

By Pat McRae

Finally the spring run-off has abated and summer is just around the corner. The dark days of winter and soggy unpredictable weather are evaporating like steam off a cedar shake roof in the warm sunshine. Now it is reasonable to look forward to blue-sky days. But, for all its promise, June is a transitional month and often disappoints us. River levels linger higher than remembered and sunny mornings fade into blustery overcast afternoons. A bright weather forecast dissolves into a dank overcast day and days of fishing produce nothing because only a few of the summer run fish have arrived this early.

Nevertheless, this is the beginning of my fishing year. June is a slow month, but that does not mean it is a waste of time, there is always the chance of something interesting happening, like the time a few years ago when I was at the “Famous”, fishing from the lower stand on a pleasant spring day. After no more than half dozen casts there, a huge fish, at least 20 pounds, came porpoising through the pool like a whale. With majestic head and tail rises it passed no more than 15 yards out from me…an absolutely gorgeous bright fish with a faint pink stripe along its broad flank. It set me off on a period of what was perhaps the most frantically insane fishing episode of my life. I was Captain Ahab wildly pursuing Moby Dick! For days I relentlessly fished everything upstream, madly racing between the pools, clambering up and down the banks, flogging the water, hoping to intercept it somewhere. I never saw it again, but I can see that fish clearly in my mind’s eye even yet. I am sure a few of these huge fish enter the river every year, but we seldom have the chance to see them. Nevertheless, I know they are there.

Slow fishing is not June’s fault, we expect too much of it, too early, and I have to remind myself to be patient; the summer solstice of June 20 is the real turning point. After that I can reliably expect sunny summer weather and can count on the vanguard of the summer steelhead to begin entering the fly water and filling the pools.

Knowing all this I still jump the gun and start early in June, because it has been too long and I simply need to fish. Of course there is always the chance that a few fish may have come early and I might find one up in the Camp Water…old hands say there is always a there fish somewhere, no matter what the time of the year.

This story is an excerpt from a soon to be released book written by Pat McRae, titled “The North Umpqua Chronicles.”

A new season is upon us. A time for renewed hope and optimism. If not for past seasons the reasons for coming back each summer to fish the river would not be as sweet. Wondering what that first fish of the summer will be like and in which pool you will find it. Or, perish the thought, will this be the summer you will not hook a bloody fish? A scary thought indeed.

There have been many awe-inspiring happenings over the 37 years I have fished the North Umpqua River that vividly stand out in my memory. I recall many summers and good memories of the river. Most of the good memories pertain to fishing. This particular one happened one August at a pool that I fell in love with the first time I stumbled and slid down the trail long ago. A pool it took maybe 15 years fishing it several times a year from late June through November to hook my first fish there, so it wasn't for lack of effort. Some pools come and go and this one took a long time to come. The secret to successful steelheading is curiosity and stubborn persistence. If you don't have these two requirements, try something easier, like robbing banks. The first steelhead I eventually did take at this pool did not come without a lot of hard work and hundreds of casts. I knew it would happen, it looked too good not to and I was definitely ready for some positive feedback when I finally saw the bulge and water break behind my fly. After chasing that first one down river for a couple hundred yards and a tough battle it was my privilege to gently release him after a gentle resuscitation and admiration. I'm not saying I'm into kissing fish, but if this one hadn't been a male, then one of us would have ended up with cold slimy lips of satisfaction.

The second fish I hooked at this pool came about two years later and was a bit more dramatic. I had camped at Horseshoe Bend the night before with Dave Hall my old piscatorial-appreciator friend who lives down river. We had commiserated around the campfire that night about the lack of fish and if they really were here, their total lack of appetite for fur and feathers. We hit the sack with the knowledge that the only choice we had was to fish twice as hard in the morning, and we might find a dumb one. We got up before light as usual, had a quick cup of joe, and headed out. Dave down river and I headed up. After a couple of quick looks at pools early I arrived at "the pool" about 7:00 am. It looked beautiful as usual, untouched, virginal even, with a little mist lying along the surface. It is my idea of “Holy Water”.

I was still using my 10' 7 weight rod with a dry shooting head at that time with mono running line. On the far side of the pool about 50 feet below me runs a wide ledge that drops straight off to about 8 feet deep and gradually shallows up. There are a few rocks in there but no big holding rocks. So fish can be lying just about anywhere. Along the ledge is the sweet spot and the upper end of the ledge is the first place you unconsciously stop breathing as your fly swings through. Instead of the usual two to three foot strip off the reel at this point I pull out about six to eight inches of line at a time, work my way down the ledge and try not to think of anything but a good mend and solid take. It was about 7:15 when the rod went down with a big yank. The take was solid all right, but then, POW! My running line popped a couple of feet above the head, and remorse was expressed at this point in fairly graphic terms. Everything went limp. My rod straightened out suddenly with no line on it. My running line was no longer running but sliding down river. I looked down at my reel, incredulously. I'm standing there with about a quart of adrenaline running around inside me with nowhere to go. All of a sudden about 12 pounds of steelhead exploded below me into the air and landed with a big splash. My mouth dropped, because (believe it or not) this fish continued to jump completely out of the water seven straight times heading down river and by the first jump had already spit the fly. Once I had recovered enough from this display to breathe, I started backing out of the river slowly thinking all kinds of crazy stuff and decided the only way to re-establish my sanity posthaste was to get my ass back up the trail and grab my five weight, which was already strung up as I had been using it on the Williamson. Not the first choice of tackle for North Umpqua steelhead, but it was the only other floating line I had with me. I managed to do all that at warp speed and came flying and sliding back down the trail. Using up about half a quart of that adrenaline. I tied on the old reliable Alex Orange, a pattern named after Dave's daughter, and started casting down the ledge. Of course thinking the impossible, could it be there was another fish lying below the first one? Within ten minutes another swirling take and another good sized fish ripped off downstream just like before, jumping and throwing water into the morning mist. This time the line was intact and the fly attached. I finally landed and released that fish of ten pounds at the bottom of the pool. By then it was just eight o'clock. I felt like I'd done a helluva days work in one early morning hour.

The hike back up the trail seemed like a dream. I know my boots were not touching the ground and I could not wipe that grin off my face for hours. I knew Hall would never believe this. I still wasn't real sure about it myself. Since that day I have hooked several more fish at this pool, but no morning will ever match that one. River magic happens on occasion, we can get lucky, but it usually boils down to good old fashioned stubborn persistence.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2008-2009

WHISTLE WILLIE UNRATH

MEMBERSHIP DICK BAUER

WEBSITE MANAGER PAT McRAE

FFF REPRENSENTATIVE DICK BAUER

MITIGATION FUNDING PAT McRAE

HISTORIAN DALE GREENLEY

USFS / BLM CHARLIE SPOONER

Charter Member Club – Federation of Fly Fishers

Member—Oregon Trout & Pacific Rivers Council

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