Feb - Mar 2007 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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THE TROUT LINETualat in Valley Chapter News

Febru ary / March 2007 Editor : David Il lig

Chapter Meetings are held at the LUCKYLABRADOR on the second Wednesday ofeach mont h and STA RTING MARCH at 6:30 PM with asocial get-together and t he formal meeting at 7:00 PMunl ess otherwise noted in t he newsletter or websit e. LuckyLabrador, Multnom ah Village, 7675 SW Capitol Hw y .Portland , (503) 244-2537. Food and Beverages available.

Board of Directors Meetings held on the fourth Wednesdayof t he month at a Directors home at 7pm.

Wednesday Febr uary 14 Catch in g

the Diff icult Tr out w ith Ed EngleMany of you who are famili ar wit h Ed Engle from his booksand numerous fly fishing and fly tyin g art icles know of h isspecial affin ity f or small fly t actics and t echniques. In his30 plus years of angling th roughout the continental UnitedStates and abroad, he's had ample oppor tun it y to t est hi stheories against many dif ficult trout . Now he makes hispresentation to us, in a program th at is full of new ideas forcatching those trout that leave most fly fishers scratchingtheir heads. These could be the ul tr a-selective, highly-educated fish found in heavily-fished public waters or theycould be the trout i n your favorit e str eam that j ust happento h ave an attitu de on a particular afternoon. Thisprogram explains the import ance of your approach and

casting positi on, slack l ine casts, the use of small fl ies,using spent spinn ers as att ractors, terrestri als as att ractors,how to m atch the riseform and the hatch, and fishing th ezones where trout are feeding. In addition, the programcovers crucial equipment checks that will help you l anddif ficult-to-catch tr out once you do hook them.

Ed appears cour tesy of a joint sponsorship eff ort betweenStonefly Maidens (women's fl y fishin g club) and TualatinValley TU. For t his special Valenti ne's Day program, bothclubs will meet togeth er. This program is fr ee and open tothe publ ic. For more inf orm ation about Stonefly Maidens,go to stoneflym aidens.org. For mor e inf orm ation about EdEngle, go t o www.anglerscovey.com/ engle.ht m.

7PM SOCIAL & MEETIN G AT 7:30.

Wednesday, March 14 The Inv asionContinues. Phil Hager presents the growingth reat to our watershed posed by invasive non-nativespecies.Tui chubs, whi rl ing di sease, rock snot; these are but ahandful of the new bad things man is both int enti onallyand inadvert entl y intr oducing into our native waters. PhilHager serves as the Federati on o f Fly Fishers OregonCouncil VP of conservation and communication, with

special int erest i n th e biological and entom ological stu dieof i nvasive species. Hes dedicated hi s eff ort s to raising oawareness of th ese growin g t hreats. His pr esentationfocuses on th e invasive species that are in Oregon waters,provides photographic examples of what to look f or in thewaters we fish and explores the imp act t hese invasivespecies have on our fi shing and wh at we can do to helpslow their spread.

SOCIAL @ 6:30 and MEETING @ 7:00

Presid ent s Colu mnHank Hosfi eld Two months

ago I made an appeal to our

membership t o donate money toour chapter to fu nd our annualoperat ing costs. Im very pl easedto r eport that your r esponse hasbeen everyt hin g we hoped for. Donations conti nue to comin and we are already wit hin reach of our fund raising goalIts very gratifyin g to receive this kind of support. It speawell for our mi ssion and our membership. Truly, thanks teveryone. Your generous contr ibut ions allow us to focusmore of our attention and energy on conservation effort sand less on fundraising.

And already you are receiving the benefit s. For i nstance,for our upcomi ng February m eeti ng we have been able to

bri ng in Ed Engle to speak. Ed is one of the more highlysought-after f ly fi shing experts. Coming all t he way fr omColorado, special cir cumstances made it possible for u s toget him . A big part of t hat equati on is the co-sponsorshipof t he Stonefly Maidens fl y fishin g club. They came to uswith the idea to join tly host t his meetin g and invite EdEngle, who was already going to be in Port land f or the newFly Fishin g Show at t he convent ion center. (More on t hatlater.) The Stonefly Maidens are a womens fly f ishing clubthat usually m eets at the Iron Horse the same night of themont h that our chapter meets. Some of their members aralso members of our chapter, so holding a joint meetingactually offers some members their f irst oppor tuni ty topart icipate in both clubs. Their club is coming over to ourside of t own f or our February 14 th meetin g. Were well

aware th at t his i s Valenti nes Day, and people may haveother engagements, but were sti ll expecting a goodtu rnout . Weve even reserved a bart ender for the barupstair s. We even considered off erin g an all -you-can-eatpiz za and salad buf fet, which t he Lucky Lab makesavailable for about ten doll ars a head f or groups of 25 ormor e. Thats someth ing we may consider doin g in thefut ure. Also at this meeti ng we will have a special raffl e foCasting for Recovery. Of cour se, we also have Ed Englepresenti ng his program on tactics for diffi cult tr out. This

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To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North Americas Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

the only t ime hell be doing thi s program, as he wont bedoing it at any sportsmens shows. And t his is probably theonly t ime our club wi ll ever be able to invi te Ed t o TVTU, forwithout sharing t he cost wi th another club we couldntafford him .

You hopeful ly not iced on th is page that we have made anadjustment in our meeting schedules starting MARCH. Weare moving things a half hour earlier in response topeoples desire to get home at a more reasonable hour. Westart with our social t ime at 6:30 and our meeting beginsprompt ly at 7pm.

Also coming in Febru ary is the new Fly Fishing Show Imenti oned above. Its being put on by the same outfi t th atdoes the big show in Seatt le, and you can get all of the infoabout it at www.flyfishingshow.com . This two-day event tobe held on February 17-18 at th e Conventi on Cent erfeatures a host of semin ars and noted experts, as well as alot of f ree swag, including some incredible daily door priz esli ke tr ips to Belize, Patagonia, Mont ana, etc. Then nextmonth youll want t o attend the North west Fly Ty er & FlyFishing Exp o being held March 9 -10 at the Linn CountyExpo Cent er in A lbany. This new two-day event is an

expanded f orm at of t he very popular NW Fly Tyer Expo t hathas been held in Eugene. It i s sti ll sponsored by the OregonCouncil of the Federati on of Fly Fishers and wil l stil l havethe big auction on Satu rd ay night, and some 160-plusexpert fl y tyers demonstrating their craft. New to t his yearsshow are the commercial exhibitors and the added flyfi shing semin ars. We are very fort unate to li ve in an areawhere there are so many really sensati onal fl y tyers. This isan amazing event especially in t hat it off ers such a fron trow seat t o meet and l earn fr om t hese masters. Even if youdont ti e flies yet, its wort h it ju st to talk wit h th embecause theyre also such accomplished anglers.

As if all t his werent enough, those eager to learn mor eabout fl y fishin g also have a new in ternet r adio broadcastthey can t une in t o hear at www.askaboutflyfishing.com.Hosted by Don Bishop and D. Roger Maves, they feature awide variety of guest speakers and t opics on all kin ds of f lyfi shing. Trout Unl imi ted is also one of their sponsors, andpeople who catch th e live broadcasts can wi n someexcellent fly fi shing merchandise. If you mi ss the live show,you can fi nd it later in their archives. Ive caught a coupleshows so far since I fir st heard about th eir launch a fewmont hs ago and r eally enjoyed th em. Theyre all aboutpromot ing fl y fishing and conservation. They even put ourclub inf ormation on their Web site.

I know, thi s colum n has been very f ly fi shing heavy, butone of the fir st thin gs that people come to our club f or is to

learn m ore about fi shing. Angler education is part of ourmission. It is most often through fishing that peoplebecome more involved in prot ecti ng the resource.

Tight lin es, Hank

TU Volun teers needed f or theSpor tmenss Show Feb 7-11. 4 hourshi f ts. Free entr y . Several f or th e FlyFishi ng Show 17/ 18 as w ell . Cont actTom Wolf, Chair Oregon Council T rout Unlimi ted503-640-2123 tm ilow [email protected]

Fly of the Month: Mik es Big BangMichael Gentr y

In r ecent years I've taken up lake fi shing. There's somethi nquit e peaceful about fl oating i n still water in a tu be orpontoon boat. And when the tranquil ity is broken by aviolent h it fr om a big fi sh, the excit ement begins. Forsubsurf ace action , the best patt ern I've developed t o enticthose big boys is a Chironomid I call Mike's Big Bang. Thedistinguishing feature is a body made from an overlookedpor tion of a pheasant tail feath er. We're all fami liar wit hthe standard Pheasant Tail and ot her nymp h patt erns thatuse the common, dark brown barred fibers on a rooster ta

However, on a number of l arger t ail feathers one side of thfeather i s made up of the usual dark brown fibers, but t heother side of t he tail feather shaft sports lighter, grayish ogray-tanni sh mot tled strands. Those are the secretingr edient of th e Big Bang. The fl y is simpl e in design andeasy to ti e.

Thread: ...Black u ni -th read 8/ 0Hook:...Tiemco 100BL #14Tail and fr ont gill:.. Betts Z-lon, standard #9 - whit eBody: ..Str ands of mot tl ed pheasant t ail

fiberRibbin g:Fine copper w ir e

1. At tach the thr ead about 1/ 16" back fr om th e eye andwind about halfway back toward t he bend of the hook.2. Take a strand of Z-lon about 1 1/ 2" long and with abobbin divide the strands int o two r oughly equal bunches(this is a thin fl y and t he tail and fr ont gill shouldn 't be tofat).3. Affix one of the Z-lon bunches on top of the hook shankat t he midpoint of t he Z-lon, so that plenty of Z-lon extendback past th e bend i n th e hook and also forward beyondthe hook eye - that gives somethi ng to grasp and cut thetail and gill t o length after the fly is fin ished.4. Bind the Z-lon t o the hook shank wit h t hread wr aps fromthe start of the hook bend t o several thr ead wid ths short oth e eye.5. Bind the copper wir e ribbing at t he back of t he thr ead

wrap, at t he start of t he hook bend.6. Wit h your fi ngers, fan and smooth the mottl ed pheasantail fi bers perpendicular t o the feather shaft - th is will alloyou t o locate and use batches of fi bers that are long andsturdy.7. Pinch your fi ngers on both sides of a good patch of

fibers, with your f ingers about 1/ 2" from t he feather shaftThat allows you t o take a small scissors and clip , at t hefeather shaft , about a 1/ 4" wide patch of f ibers (probablyabout 6-7; the size of th e tail feather and t he length of theindivi dual fibers will vary but after a few t ries you'll get asense of h ow many fibers you need t o wind the body of t hfly.

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8. Holding t he fibers near their fat end, tie down the ti pends at t he bend of t he fly, and wind clockwise (samedir ection as the thr ead winding) to about 1/ 16" from t heeye.-- the idea is to wr ap one layer of str ands, not tooverw rap t he strands on t hemselves - gives a sleek bodyand unif orm (not bulgy) shape. And if you've misjudgedand didn't get enough strands (or they weren't longenough) to wrap that bunch t o the fini sh point, all is notlost - just lash off where you are with t wo tur ns of thr ead,cut another bunch, tie in the tips and continue windin g.9. Wind the ri bbing counterclockwise around the body

(holds the body fi bers that way) to t he thr ead-poin t nearthe eye, and t ie off . Cli p of f any excess fibers.10. Fini sh wit h a black thr ead head about as thick as thebody. To tie off, I find i t easier and bett er t o lift up th efr ont gill t ag with m y fingers and thr ow thr ee half-hitchesat t he eye---under the gill tag.11. I finish t he head with a tiny d rop of head cement.12. Holdin g the tail and gill by their tag ends, clip each toabout 1/ 8"

I started fooling around with chironomid patterns several

years ago aft er fishin g the lakes for th ree or f our years. Iwas looking f or a material that h ad a more subtle look t hansome of t he standard patterns, and decided to t ry out themot tl ed pheasant fibers. I was not pr epared for t heincr ease in f ishy int erest th e new pattern generated. I'dhad good success on some of t he Ant one lakes wit h m orestandard pat terns, but th e takes were gentler and mor esubtle. So aft er br eaking off t he first t hree fish on t he take(they did the taking with violent h its), I took a deep breath,lit my pip e, re-rigged fr om 5X to 3X, and took six or seven'bows in the 5-6# range as well as some smaller cousins.It's been m y consistent go-to patt ern ever since, part icularl yin t he late afternoon and earl y evening when there isn't anysurface activit y. I found t he fly effective from just below

the sur face to 5 or so feet down (I haven't r eally t ri ed towork it d eeper since it r arely made it th at deep). On anumber of occasions the take is just after the fly hi ts. Igenerally work it i n fairl y slow short r etr ieves of four f iveinches. Try it - - but hold on! [email protected]

Check ou t BREAKING NEWS at ourw eb sit eWWW.TVTROUTUNLIMITED.com

Steelheadin g as an Act of Fai thMarcus Hahnemann

The annu al famil y steelhead pil grim age appr oached wit hless anticipati on t his year. Fishing had been t ough 12months earlier. High water finally retreated to a fishablecondition only hour s befor e that tr ip, but t he unseasonabbalmy conditions prompted hordes of anglers to descendon our precious little river. Their f ishing fever had begun t

boil fr om being denied t heir own various outi ngs for weekresulting in fierce competition for the steel resource.

We had actually heard two-way radi os blaring betweenbudd ies who were annou ncing t o each other, and t he restof us, that th ey had found t his run or that hole open,urging the other to hurry up and squeeze in, becauseheaven forbi d anyone else should have th e oppor tun it y.Fishing was exceptionall y dif fi cult, as well, part ially due tothe amoun t of pressure to be sure, but f ew fish were beinghooked, per capita or oth erwise. There j ust di dnt seem tobe as many fi sh. We speculated t hat t he run h ad been earland a massive migr ation r ode the high water all t he wayupstream t o th e refuge of t he rivers wintering ground s. It

helped to im agine overheari ng one of the radi os squawksgo silent i n a gurgling swirl due to a fatal wading err or, orperhaps, some oth er mishap.

Collectively, we tr avel a few thousand mi les to make thi sgathering come off . Weather pattern s this t ime of year canbreak a fi shing tr ip, and the next season-ending cold f ron tseems to always be lurk ing in the shadows and haunt ingour night s as each t ri p nears. Yet, invariably, we pull t hetr igger and, mont hs in advance, book the fl ight s, reservethe cabin, and t ie the fl ies. Its an act of f aith.

Steelhead fi shing is, by natur e, an act o f f aith. Unli ke whenchasing trout, when you know there are fish in the givenrif fle or r un, and wit h few exceptions it s simply a matter oteasing out a strik e with pr oper presentation and fly,steelhead fi shing r equires a beli ef that th ere is, in fact, atleast one fish wi thi n castin g distance. This belief is thatmuch harder t o hold when l ow water condit ions seem toexpose the r iver and it s bed of secrets. (Surely some fishwould be visible if there were any.)

The nearest steelhead m ight be more than a ri ver mil eaway, but w it hout that conf idence, th ere may as well not ba fish in t he ent ir e watershed even when a pod is hold ing the pool at your feet. Only rarely does an angler j ust getlucky while steelhead fishing. They might not be thesmartest fi sh to ever swim and spawn, but steelheaddefinitely seem to be particular to a proper presentation.

And a pr oper p resentation r equir es work. And wor krequir es focus. And focus requir es the belief that t his casteach cast - will be the one.

Some steelhead anglers just believe they are able to focufor countl ess hours or days, wit h each dr ag-free dr ift aneffective eff ort that might be rewarded. Each pause of thestrike indicator is worth a hook-set because this time itprobably really is a fish and not just another gear-gobblingbould er or snag. These confi dent anglers are t he mostsuccessful , and t he success becomes its own reinf orcemenOn the other end of the confidence

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spectrum , it has, at t imes, been necessary f or my str ikeindicator to actually begin moving upstream before Ill setthe hook f or wh at seems lik e the ten-thousandth tim e.Some can sense a distur bance in th e Force. At t imes lik ethese, I need Obi-Wan to tell me when Nature calls.

This year, admi tt edly, I was losing f aith. The cold weather(below-fr eezi ng temperatu res unti l nearly noon ), coupledwit h r ecord low water. Memor ies of l ast years ordeal.Unpromising reports. The novelty had worn off. What wasleft? Besides uncert ainty, I, for one, wasnt sure.

There was much less tr affi c on the river t his year due to theharsher condi ti ons. Fishing was slow, thou gh we heardsome posit ive reports, includi ng one angler mi d-week who,whi le pull ing on hi s waders, casually menti oned that h e hadhooked seven fi sh th e day befor e. This is sometimes good,sometimes bad, news. I had not yet hooked a fi sh. I rarelygreet t his ki nd of news with enth usiasm when I am eating abig zero bagel f or t he trip.

We crossed paths wit h t his part icular gent leman severaltim es that d ay. He was positively f orth coming wit h hi sviews on fly patt erns, water t o fish, techniques. My brother

thought him a blowhard, but I had l earned one thin g thatmy brot her had not. This blowhard was the originator ofthe most popular fly pattern used f or steelhead i n t heregion. I sensed t hat he knew what he was talk ing about ,and tr ied to l isten to h is sage advice.

As daylight waned, my confidence continued arcing towardits own p aling sunset. I had j ust arri ved at t he outside of abroad, deep and slow-fl owing bend. Bould ers arm ored t heouter bank against the current, their layered hard backsdisappeari ng in to the t ea-color ed depths. There was roomfor two, and m y brother had already begun f ishing fr om th einside of t he bend.

A voice emerged from t he gatherin g dusk, seemin gly fr omthe river i tself. The steelhead guru was passing by silentlyon t he river p ath behind me one last tim e. He suggestedthat I cast again to t he water n ear t he bank , which I had

just flogged with the nymphing equivalent of a false cast.

I doubt ed him. The river channel clearl y for med a classic v-shaped t rough th rough t he full l ength of the bend. Any fishin t his stretch would be sitt ing in t he dark depths of thatV. There defi nit ely would not be any fi sh in t he boulders of

the shallow ou ter bank water, where the curr ent was mostswift. I would see them if they were there.

No, he said, closer. I actually became a little annoyed andexplained the classic v-shaped t rough th eory. Heacknowledged the vali dit y of t he classic v-shaped t roughtheory, but then, in tur n, patiently explained t hat thesteelhead also sit and r est i n t hose boulders in t he eveningafter they come up thr ough th at fast water. He pointeddownstream.

The bend flowed through a tailout that spilled over a breawith a short chut e followed by a broadening r iff le. Closer,he said. The fir st cast that actuall y foll owed his dir ectivelanded less than five feet from the bank. My strike indicatslowed as the soft -hackle caddis emerger d ropped amongthe boulders, dr agging against t he slower cur rent below. Iswear th at I heard him say, There before the stri keindicator paused. I dutif ully, but dou btful ly, set the hook,and felt that strong, slightly yielding resistance of a livingfish.

Is there any ru sh so simu lt aneously subtl e and subli me?

Call him a sage, call him a guru, call him a jedi, pri est,monk or r abbi. This guide helped me find my faith.

He did not, however, help me land t hat f ish. He made tworather clumsy attempt s upon whi ch the steelhead decidedto clear out for greener, more distant pastures. A thirdattempt by my br other mor e than 50 yards downstreambrought the beautiful, hard-charging steelhead to the bank

The next day we explor ed some new water, identif ied twolik ely river bends, and fi shing th em hard, I was rewardedwith three more strong steelhead.

The confi dence, and my fait h, was back. Marcus

Book Rev iew: A Passion f orSteelhead , by Dec HoganReview ed by Chet Zim m erLike all people who are stubborn enough to pursuesteelhead on a fl y, I consume any materi al on t he subjectthat I can get my hands on. Im a self-admi tt ed junk ie. Soit was a great sur pr ise to receive thi s book as an earlyholiday present fr om my girl fri end. More impor tant thanany tactic, technique, or t ip pr esented (and t here arecountl ess, valuable gems), the prevail ing m essage Dec

Hogan relates superbly, is the value of the experience, andthe reasons we enj oy being out th ere, even on days whenwe never t ouch a fish. Alth ough the book arr ived too lateto help with my summer run endeavors - and I generallyview wint er steelhead fishin g on the fl y to be an (almost)hopeless pursui t - I am feelin g inspir ed to chase olmetalhead thi s winter with a newfound confidence.

Read t his book. It captur es th e tr ue essence of Trou tUnlimit ed and our dual goals of pr omoting stewardship

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whi le doing what we love. You will fi nd specifi c insights tohelp you catch mor e fish, and you will f ind equal food f orthought on how lu cky we are to be outside on our favoriteNort hwest rivers, pur suing fish. The book is literally anencyclopedia for steelhead fl y fisherman. But i ts also athought ful and entert aining read; one I wouldntrecommend befor e bedt ime unl ess you can sleep wi thsteelhead fishing on the brain.

What makes th is book diff erent? It is detailed, andtechnical, but also easy t o un derstand if youve spent evena few days on the water stalk ing steelies. You want toknow how he positions the rod duri ng every second of theswing? Its in here. Always wondered what that smallpluck was as your fl y meandered across the hold ing water?Hogan has watched t housands of steelhead chase down afly fr om high up on the bank overlooking his clients runs.He goes int o great d etail on t his subject, with d iagramsabout di ff erent t akes, how t hey feel t o th e angler, and whathes seen fr om a vantage point above th e water . He alsoexplains how to get those uncooperative fish back to yourfl y. Certain t ypes of near-hookups are destined to be justthat, a tease fr om a fish t hat wil l never r eturn again,insight t hat is a result of countless days of watching fi sh

behavior . Does he still re-cast, or change flies for t hesefish, definit ely. It is part of the fun, and f rustr ation thatcomes wit h being a steelhead fl y fi sher.

As one of the for emost experts on spey fishing f orsteelhead, Hogan m akes it clear that th e two-handedapproach results in coveri ng mor e water, more effectively,with m ore fish to your f ly. The nitt y gritty details on speycasting, mendi ng, and hooki ng fish are all h ere. But t hebook i s not an overwhelmin g experience to read these areacti onable, simple ti ps, and I r eall y feel li ke it is going tohelp me the next t ime Im on the water. For t hose whoprefer t o fish single-handed rods, and I sometim es do, theinf ormation stil l t ranslates into advice you wi ll u se.

There are chapters on fly selection, fishing with floatinglines and sinking lines, winter fish, and chasing the springruns on our coast. I guess I should backt rack a bit and saythat he also opens up t he book wit h a great l ook at whereour native steelhead are born, how th ey survive the fir stfew years, and what t hey eat in the ocean. Its a goodmeandering story, and one that points out the impor tanceof habitat, the threats facing our native fish, and howincr edibly lucky we are to have steelhead in ou r state.

I love catching steelhead on the fl y - thats what thi s book isabout. Savoring the pursui t of these fi sh, realizi ng thefr iendships youve made fr om days on the water, feelinghum bled when you catch one of t hese magnif icent

creatur es, these are the simpl e remind ers that Dec Hoganhas captured and communicated in a magnificent book.Chet

TU Fishin g Outings

Deschut es Riv er Maupi n March 24 or 25Contact An dy Glen.Andr [email protected] 969 2246

Fishing Class: On the very same weekend as ourouting, Rick Hafele and John Sm eraglio are offering aspecial workshop on the Deschutes River, March 24 & 25,2007enti tl ed: Fly Fishing t he Deschut es and ot her WesternRivers. In Maupi n, Satur day, March 24, 2007 f rom 5pm to9pm Sund ay, March 25, 2007 fr om 9am to 4pm Classincludes dinner Saturday night followed by slide show anddiscussion on the keys to f ishing western ri vers. Sund aybegins wit h a detailed present ation about western hatches

and tr out f oods (how t o recogniz e them, and how t o selecthe flies that match them). Aft er lun ch you will spend t heafternoon on the Deschutes River and learn first hand howto select the right f li es and how to present them. Rick andJohn are two of t he most respected and experi enced f ly-fi shing instru ctor s in th e West, and th is is a great chance tpick their br ains!Cost: $130/ person (inclu des din ner Satur day and l unch

Sunday)Registration: Contact Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop (toll free1-866-647-4721) or [email protected] size limi ted. Pre-registr ation required by March 1st,2007. Combine th is with TU out ing for a great weekend.

Remember t o Sign up New Mem bers toTrout Unl imit ed . Its a great bargain f or what t heyget. Especially at t he half-off intr oductory membership at$17.50 Lots of people arent members who would enjoy i tWe stil l get somethin g for new member signups. Newmembers can sign up at www.tu.org/ intro and enterin gcode 633 for Tualatin Valley chapter. If they prefer a papemembership appli cati on, cont act Erl e to send i t t o them.

Why Wil d? Web Sit ePlease take a few mom ents when you get an oppor tun it y t

visit and click t hr ough TUs new Pacif ic salm on and

steelhead website, www.whywi ld.org. Increasingly, ware tr ying to lin k t ogether our habitat, hydropower,hatcheries and harvest wor k t o strengthen our effectivenefor Pacific salmon and steelhead, wherever t hey swim.Further, and perhaps even more importantly, were trying link our staff work w ith our membership, and to j oin ourstrengths t o fur ther our mission more effectively. As youlsee, we are ju st gett ing t hin gs rolli ng on t his site, and t hatis where you can help.

If you visit the TU People section, f or exampl e, you cansee text and ph otos fr om t he Tualatin Valley Chaptersproject on Pegleg Falls on the Collawash River here in

western Oregon. Wed like to spotlight other chapt ersprojects too, so let me kn ow when you h ave a nice bri efwrite-up and good photos like these and I will get themposted. The TU People secti on i s YOUR secti on, so it can blargely up to you and you r chapt er how it takes shape.

Lastl y, take a look at the TUPOV, TU Poin t-of -View secti onaccessible thr ough t he home page link . This wi ll be yourmont hly chance to see what TU staff is work ing on, whywere doing it, and whats ahead. Cur rent ly, youll not icethis up date is limit ed t o Portl and offi ce staff. We

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To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North Americas Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

will be addi ng staff updates gradually f rom our otherPacif ic salmon and steelhead off ices, unt il weve got t hemall or I d ied tr ying. That means staff in Califor nia, Al aska,Idaho, and wherever else TU pops up in between.

Well leave it there. This site is new, experimental, andsubject to change depending on how t he winds of opin ion,reaction, effectiveness and feedback bl ow. So l et us k nowyour t houghts. Thanks. Alan Moore / Trout Unlim ited503.827.5700 x. 10

TVTU Members Can Help MenFighting Cancer By Bob Bernard

Last August I had the honor and sati sfaction of being eventcoordinator and fi shing buddy for men fighti ng cancer. Idid so at t he fir st ever Reel Recovery Oregon Retr eat heldat the Big K Guest Ranch near Elkt on, Oregon. This was thefou rt h t ime I part icipated at a Reel Recovery r etreat, havinghelped pr eviously whil e living in Colorado. Reel Recov ery

is a 4-year old national non-profit organization thatconducted 12 r etr eats in 10 states in 2006 and wi ll beexpandi ng to 15 in 2007. Reel Recovery retreats can be alif e-changing experience for m en battl ing cancer. Theprogram is designed to be both inspirational and reflective,to develop group camaraderie as well as indi vidual ski lls.

Fishing can heal the mind. Talking and sharin g can easethe pain: A participant

An i mpor tant f acet to parti cipants is the emphasis onrelaxed and open int eracti ons. They part icipate inCourageous Conversations facilit ated by a counselingprofessional, to foster communi cation and sharing li fe-

stori es. For many of th e men, thi s is th e onl y envir onmentthey have felt it OK to share their feeli ngs, be open, expresstheir successes and concerns. As a volunt eer staff member,I experienced heart felt emot ions of seeing men come int o aretr eat being wit hdr awn and scared and t hen see thembecome open, laughing, talk ing, learning, energized andfeel better about themselves and those important to them.These retreats buil d a bond and networ k leading tofr iendships and suppor t. Furt her, they teach fl y-fishingtechniqu es, skil ls the men can use for th e remaind er oftheir lives.

At every Reel Recovery retr eat, experienced fl y-fishers fr omthe local community are invited to be volunteer FishingBudd ies, to gi ve one-on-one assistance to the parti cipants

dur ing the fishing portions of the retreat. More than aguide, the Budd ys role is to be a companion wit h whom acancer survi vor share th eir stor y, as well as experi ence thevalues of f ly-fishin g, i.e., learn a new skil l, form a healingconnection wit h natur e and participate in a sport they cancontinue throughout their recovery and lif etim e. Durin gthat time on the stream, Reel Recovery helps men have anemotion al getaway from t heir d isease.

The greatest gif t is what you can give of your self. Stewar tBrown a t th e fir st ever Reel Recovery Retreat in Loveland.

Thank you for including me in Reel Recovery. It was one ofthe most r ewar ding and emotional experiences of my life. Aparticipant

The Big K Guest Ranch w ill again be the location f or theOregon Reel Recovery Retr eat in 2007. Dates are Au gust22-24, 2007. I encourage everyone to learn more about ReRecovery by goin g t o www.reelrecovery.org, talking t o me an upcoming meeting or phoning me at phone number or mail address shown below

We are accepting applications for cancer survi vorparti cipants and volunt eer Fishin g Budd ies. Suchapplications are available at www.reelrecovery.org or I amhappy to get those to you.

Reel Recovery i s a 501(c) (3) non -pro fi t. Our Oregon Retrecosts $8,500 or $700 per part icipant . The Retreat iscompletely f ree to t he part icipant s Reel Recovery coversall lodging, meals and fishi ng equi pment . Fund ing comesfrom i ndividu al donations and organization grants. Onbehalf of the men f ight ing cancer, I ask our membersdon ate to Reel Recovery.

We can u se not only f inancial contr ibuti ons, but hundr edsof f li es as well. To assist part icipants at all retr eats we areaccepting donations. We need 14 Wading Staffs-collapsible14 Rain Jackets-various sizes, 8 Walkie Talkies, WaterprooDigit al Camera, New Laptop Computer, Frequent Flyer Miland Auction Items.

Please contact me for m ore inf orm ation. Robert L.Bernard (ph) 503.239.8507 or E-mailbearb ernard @y ahoo.com

Best Wishes and Fish On!

8/9/2019 Feb - Mar 2007 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North Americas Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds

Breaking the Code

We stand on high while

below coho circle frenzied,

toward an ancient code

d i s r u p t e d

Now up against a wall,

they pummel in resistance

disbelieving its existence

could wipe out all they know

in

r

iv

e

r

b

e

d

s

whose rapids they once met

with chinook

Instead

they greet an angry turbine

impassive as it knows

the code within their souls

before Bonneville

informed these salmon spirits

reengineered their fateto come to this unnatural end

more final than before.

- Karla Powell -

UPCOMING Newslett er Mater ialWe need material f or u pcoming issues Or j ust send somenice pictu res you have. We need you r input , please. Thankto the new contribut ors

Di ll [email protected] 296 9050

Off icers and BoardPresident : Hank Hosf ield228-6553 hank h@im agina.com

Vi ce President Commu nicati ons Paige Wall ace503-803-9466 fl yf ishgirl@hotm ail.com

Tr easurer Erl e Norm an 293-6006 caddis2000@hotm ail.com

Membership ChairBoard of Di rectors:Eri c Thom pson 297-0718

anglingeri [email protected] Rohrbaugh

rb augh@lclar k .edu 636-3877David Il l i g Newsletter editor296 9050 di ll [email protected] ex Bark um e - 642-7024

alexbark um [email protected] Andrews Outings

Glen.And rew s@v alero.com 969 2246Jerry Heppell

gheppell5@v eriz on.net 639-9408Robert L. Bern ard 503-239-8507

[email protected]

8/9/2019 Feb - Mar 2007 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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Tualat in Valley Tr out Unlim itedFebruary / March 2007