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he long, cold rainy winter has
drawn to a close and the pro-
spects of good spring trout fish-
ing are upon us. In fact, I can
think of a nice local stream I
would prefer to be on right now instead
plunking away on my PC in an effort to
wrap up this edition of our newsletter.
As you will note, we are starting the sev-
enth year of STREAMSIDE and for
better or worse, I have been at the helm
of it since its inception. Needless to say,
I am at the point of wanting someone
else to step in and take over some of my
administrative responsibilities with this
and other duties. Actually, if someone
has some reasonably good PC skills, and
software that includes MS Publisher,
Word and/or Excel, boy do I have a job
for you. A few hours a month would be
a big help and take some of the load off
of yours truly so he can devote some
time to other pursuits. If you are interest-
ed, call me or email me at your conven-
ience.
Speaking of other pursuits, I have been
nominated to be the next President of the
Mid-Atlantic Council of the Federa-
tion of Fly Fishers. The Council has
done a lot for our club and I have certain-
ly enjoyed the fellowship of a dedicated
group fly fishers who are working hard to
make a difference from a conservation as
well as a youth education standpoint.
This summer I will be travling to Living-
ston, Montana to attend the FFF’s Na-
tional Conclave and will represent
MAC. Joe King has decided to come
along with me and we are hoping to hook
up with club member Bud Bovard wants
to show us some streams in Yellowstone
Park that few fisherman visit. Bud works
in the Park selling flies at a local shop
during the summer and has fished the
Park extensively over the course of his
tenure. We are also hoping to get up to
Rock Creek the week before
Volume 7 Issue 1 Quarterly Newsletter of the Dame Juliana League Spring 2001
here is nothing quite as fas-
cinating to watch as a fly
fisher presenting a small
fluff of a fishing fly deli-
cately onto a stream’s sur-
face. The only sound you
hear is the whispering made by the fly
line moving through the air. There is no
violent impact that you would normally
see with bait smacking into the water.
Just a few tiny rings forming on the wa-
ter where that tiny fluff has gently set-
tled. This is one reason that fly-fishing
is considered a silent sport.
Fly-fishing has always generated its
own mystery due to the fly casting
presentation. It has been interpreted
by some as a difficult skill akin to
practicing precise ballet movements.
This perception of a fly fisher’s skill
over the years has added to the belief
that fly-fishing is difficult to master.
People believe that only years of in-
struction and dedicated practice can
prepare someone to successfully mas-
ter this presentation technique. Add
to this mystic that the practitioners of
this silent sport have also been la-
beled by their mannerisms.
One such mannerism regards
their choice of sporting apparel. You
can automatically look at a group of
fishers heading towards the water and
instantly pick out who are the fly fishers.
Looking at their costumes and the tools
they are carrying easily does this. A fly
fisher’s costume consists of a variety of
boots and chest high waders, vests with
multiple pockets, instruments; such as,
hemostats, line clippers and other small
gadgets can be seen dangling from their
clothes. You will notice that they usual-
ly have a laminated wood landing net
hanging down their backsides, clipped to
a ring on the back of their vest. If you
could see inside their vest’s bulging
pockets, you would find a number of
small hinged boxes. Each box is filled
with hand-tied hair and feathered hooks
of all sizes, colors and shapes. The ma-
jority of the fly fishers tie their own
flies. And this practice creates another
large and unusual variety of tools and
materials in order to accomplish this ac-
tivity.
Their hand carried tools consist of a
fly rod and reel. Simple quickly turns
to complex when you learn of the vari-
ous combinations of fly lines loaded on
their reel. These lines are labeled as,
sinking, sinking tip, floating, and weight
forward, double taper, shooting heads,
etc. Their fly reels vary from being very
simple fly line holding devices to so-
phisticated instruments computer ma-
chined out of exotic aerospace alloys.
These state-of-the-art reels possess effi-
cient adjustable drags and carry large
amounts of braided backing lines. Their
fly rods are classified by weight, length,
flex ratios and handle designs and they
may be made of traditional bamboo, fi-
berglass, or exotic combinations of
graphite and boron composite materials.
It’s no small wonder that most men
and women, who pursue fishing using
the hook, line, sinker, and worm norm,
do not understand fly fishers. The fly
fisher investment in their apparel, tool-
(Good is continued on page 3)
Notes From The
Tying Bench by Bob Molzahn
T
Change Is Good by Chuck Hodgson
T
FFF and the League Recognized on French Creek
STREAMSIDE Page 2
n the days when trout fishermen
wore fedoras, cast silk lines with
split-bamboo rods, and thoughtfully
smoked their pipes between mayfly
hatches, the Letort Spring Run in
the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania
stood as the crown jewel of American dry
fly fishing.
Made famous by the writings of Charles
Fox and Vincent Marinaro, anglers
nationwide would descend on this gentle
limestone creek for the privilege to cast to
its exceptionally large and selective brown
trout. An entire subculture of angling
evolved along its banks, when Fox and
Marinaro realized that many of the Letort's
more prodigious browns spent their days
picking crickets and beetles from the
surface film, rather than aquatic insects.
The rich vein of fly patterns that
followed the Letort Hopper, Letort
Cricket, Jassid, and others have
become standards in fly boxes
worldwide.
Today, the Letort may still be one
of the most-visited trout streams in
the Northeast, though for many it has
become more shrine than fishing
destination. When I first came to the
creek several years ago, the first
angler I saw asked me to take his
picture as he stood thigh-deep in the
river. He came from Ohio and always
wanted to see the famous Letort, he told
me. When he drove off, I realized he never
made a cast. Come to think of it, I did not
either.
For the regulars who do challenge its
skittish trout, a fish or two per day is
considered a very good outing. In essence,
the Letort has become almost a sanctuary;
where a wild trout can wax fat on bugs and
minnows and perhaps even die of old age.
But now the Letort's big browns face more
than just the ogling of a visiting angler or a
well-placed Letort Cricket drifting over a
favorite lair. The Atlanta-based retail giant
Home Depot wants to build one of its
megastores virtually on the Letort's banks.
The proposal, which has been approved by
the Borough of Carlisle, calls for clearing
19 acres, much of it on a wooded tract
where a defunct radio station once stood.
The development would come within 300
feet of the river.
Yet a Home Depot spokesman, John
Simley, said that there is still plenty of
room between wild trout and shoppers.
"Three hundred feet gives you an awful lot
to work with," Simley said, pointing out
that the store would be landscaped to
create a visual buffer.
He said that Home Depot plans to
construct a complex water treatment
system to trap the grease, silt, oil and litter
that would inevitably gush from the store's
parking lot when it rains. The water from
the treatment system will be of "drinking
water" quality, Simley said.
The Letort's regulars remain
unconvinced. "Quite frankly, I feel that
this isn't the best use of the land because of
the inherent danger to the stream," said Ed
Shenk during a recent walk along the river.
"Everybody who's ever really fished here
is deeply concerned. "Shenk, widely
considered to be the Letort's best angler,
has fished the creek for more than six
decades. A spry man in his 70's, he has
witnessed many changes to the river, from
a steady decline in water flow caused by
drilling of nearby wells, to siltation of
much of the streambed. In the early 1980's,
a pesticide spill nearly wiped out the
creek's population of wild browns. But the
Letort's trout and aquatic insects have
persisted, thanks in large part to the
limestone springs that still replenish the
creek with mineral-rich 52-degree water.
"The Letort's in amazingly good shape
for such an urbanized setting," said Fred
Bohls, vice president and conservation
chair of the Cumberland Valley Chapter of
Trout Unlimited/FFF. Bohls said Trout
Unlimited has not yet opposed the Home
Depot development, but has instead given
the retailer a long list of conditions that
would have to be met to win the
conservation group's approval. Besides
stormwater issues, these include
controlling light pollution that could draw
mayflies away from the river, and
protecting a small tract of existing
wetlands on the property. Carlisle has said
it would withdraw its approval of the
project if
Trout Unlimited's criteria were not met.
One of Trout Unlimited's primary
questions is why Home Depot has not
chosen to build at a massive strip mall that
sits less than a mile away. Two of the
stores, Montgomery Ward and Ames are
closing, which would free acres of space.
"The Home Depot proposal is far from a
done deal," Bohls said. "There are still lots
of unanswered questions, which is why
we're asking anglers to go to our Web
site," "then write or e-mail Home Depot
and voice their concerns about
this project." Their website
is:www.homestead.com/cvtu.
Eventually, Shenk came to
Vince's Meadow, where Marinaro
himself developed his famous
Jassid pattern. Just upstream,
where the river flows past a
twisted ramble of submerged
branches, Shenk caught Old
George, a 27-and-a-quarter inch
hook-jawed male that took three
years of stalking before Shenk
finally fooled it into taking a streamer.
Directly across from Vince's Meadow is
where Home Depot wants to build.
"It's remarkable that the Letort has lasted
as long as it has," Shenk said, stopping at
plaques commemorating Marinaro and
Fox. Inscribed below a stern-looking
likeness of Marinaro is an excerpt from his
seminal book, "A Modern Dry Fly Code."
It reads: "The Letort is a hard taskmaster
and does not treat lightly any violation of
dry fly technique."
How Home Depot will treat this quiet
river, so rich with angling history, remains
unresolved. But Shenk and many other
anglers, who have seen the Letort's ups
and downs through the years, admit it is
something they do not care to imagine.
Editors Note- This article was taken
from a local Harrisburg newspaper.
Sadly, I think it tells the Letort story very
well.
A Shrine For Trout May Change Forever by Stephen Sautner
I
STREAMSIDE Page 3
Good continued from page 1
ing and materials may be thought of as an
enormous expense. Expenses which the
typical bait and spin casting fishers believe
are unreasonable. However, if they ever
compared the fly fisher expenditures
against the new breed of the so-called semi
-pro or pro-tournament Bass fishers, these
expenses become less unreasonable.
Another mannerism that categorizes fly-
fishing is that it has been around for hun-
dreds of years. The well known knowl-
edgeable voices (the writers, photogra-
phers, fly shop owners, guides, instructors,
and fly tiers) and practitioners of fly-
fishing is typically dominated by a limited
group of ladies and gentlemen. These “old
sage prophets” are the recognized subject
matter experts and they are very opinionat-
ed in what they believe is the specific con-
duct to be practiced by the fly fisher. The-
se are the sources who have always perpet-
uated the traditional knowledge of fly fish-
er costuming and tooling.
Mannerisms may also be attributed to
some of the attention that today’s fly fisher
is receiving from the news media. This
generally focuses on the practice of “catch
and release” of gamefish. This is not a
new practice as it has been around for
years as a personal choice of the fly fisher.
Fly fishers and the associations they be-
long to, have always supported the state-
ment “a good gamefish is too valuable to
only be caught once.” Lee Wulff, a New
England fly fisher prophet and an early
founder of the Federation of Fly Fishers
(FFF), who now makes presentations in
heavenly waters, is credited with making
this statement back in the 1960’s.
Some government authorities and conser-
vationist groups treat “catch and release”
as a necessary measure in order to elimi-
nate the over harvesting or what they be-
lieve is the extinction of gamefish. It is
questionable whether or not this is an ef-
fective restraint due to the unintentional
damage, which can be caused by the im-
proper handling and release of gamefish.
The lack of controlled harvesting can also
nurture large qualities of small gamefish.
Fly-fishing proves to be the most suc-
cessful in the safe release practice. This is
due primarily in the method by which a
fish is hooked by a fly versus bait. The fly
hooks in the fishes’ lip areas versus the
deep throat hooking resulting from bait.
Another plus for the fly fisher is the usage
of barbless hooks and their knowledge of
the correct handling and release process.
Both the FFF and Trout Unlimited (TU)
organizations have published documented
guidelines to address the proper handling
and release procedures. The additional
usage of “slot regulations” to establish size
restrictions on “catch and release” pro-
motes the development of a larger sized
fish population.
The majority of fly fishers treat “catch
and release” policies as a manner of per-
sonal choice as they believe that conserva-
tion is better served by the protection of
the gamefish’s habitat. As habitat conser-
vationists, fly fishers are the outspoken and
strong defenders of environmental issues
related to gamefish. They are key financial
supporters and volunteer workers for or-
ganizations such as the FFF and the TU.
The support of environmental issues is a
natural for fly fishers as their success in
resolving these issues ensures that their
adversary, the gamefish, will continue to
prosper and perhaps even have an oppor-
tunity to extend its range.
There have been a number of significant
things that have a direct impact on fly-
fishing and its future. These events have
promoted fly-fishing into what could be
considered a growth industry.
A significant growth of new people, both
men and women, are adopting the sport of
fly-fishing. This specific demographic age
group can be referred to as “baby bloom-
ers”. They are now approaching their early
WE WELCOME OUR
NEW MEMBERS!
—————— Michael Cappuccio Michael Cola
Shawn Silcox & Bob Corr
James Cunningham
Paul Davis Donald Eichler
Kate Ermilio Mike Ferraro
Rick Hahn Paul Hameleers
Ed Hill Ray Lees
Frank & Marina Ketterman
Jeff Leary Robert Lecher
Kirby, Mary Ann & Josh Lewis
Lou, Nancy & Nick Libbi
Jeff Lucash Jim Shaugnessy
Ralph Schlichthernlein
STREAMSIDE Page 4
Notes is continued from page 1
to check out the feisty rainbows that live
there. We are keeping our fingers crossed
that the fires will not strike again as they
did last year. Apparently, the Bitterroot
was hit particularly hard and was closed
for almost two months to fisherman.
Closer to home, the float stocking effort
on French Creek on March 10 was hugely
successful mostly because of the great
turnout we had from our club members.
We were even able to float stock the open
water stretch from Hoffecker Road Bridge
almost all the way to the Kennedy Bridge.
This is the first time this section has been
floated by the club in over 12 years. By
the way, this section can be accessed from
the Hoffecker Road Bridge by walking
downstream on the south side of the creek.
The property is owned by Camp Hill and is
open to fishermen. My thanks to all who
participated and to Bob Bonney our
Waterways Conservation Officer for a
great job in organizing this annual event.
A few weeks ago we also received a load
of browns and some big rainbows from our
friends with the Chester Valley
Sportsmen’s Association. Member Jim
Younker worked with hatchery manager
Ray Andrews to set it up. Fishing in the
French should definitely be good this year.
Our Learn to Fly Fish Course on April
28 is filled and overflowing with a long
waiting list. This is the ninth year for the
course and is shaping up to be the best one
ever. This event is a major fundraiser for
us and allows us to pay for top notch
speakers like Barry and Cathy Beck.
We also have 14 club members going
north to the Ausable River in northern New
York State and the Hungry Trout on May
18. We will be mixing it up with an equal
number of Long Island Flyrodders. I
grew up on Long Island and I have come to
consider them a sister club, mostly because
their members have always shown our club
members a lot of interest, respect and
friendship whenever we have been with
them A few of us, including myself and
my brother, Dean Molzahn, are members
of both clubs. We are looking forward to a
good time, as always.
You may also have noticed we have a
few new sponsors thanks to the efforts of
Joe King. Eyler’s Fly’n Tackle in Bryn
Mawr, TCO Flyshop in Reading and the
Sporting Gentleman in Media and
Wilmington have joined us. We also
added Virtual Farm Creative in our last
issue. Sponsors are those organizations
that provide us with raffle prizes. Raffles
generate income and we continue to thrive
as a result. We urge our members to
support all our sponsors with their
business.
In the words of John Dwyer, “May your
leaders sink, your felts hold, and your flies
float high !” Tight lines!
GRAY’S OUTFITTERS
FULL SERVICE FLY SHOP
FRESH & SALTWATER FANTASTIC SELECTION IN STOCK
RODS BY
•THOMAS & THOMAS•GREEN RIVER• •DIAMONDBACK•ST.CROIX•
•G. LOOMIS FLY & SPINNING•
REELS BY •J. RYALL•STH-ROSS•ISLANDER• •BAUER•HALLEN•SCI-ANGLER•
•PRECISION•HARDY•
(610) 630-0988
5 Minutes from Valley Forge Park
2458-C West Ridge Pike
Jeffersonville, PA 19403
What's New In Fly Tying by Jack Mickievicz
I was monitoring the Flytying bulletin board and noticed several favorable
comments about a relatively new tying
thread, at least new to me. People were
repeatedly looking for a supplier of
Giorgio Benechi's 12/0 thread for tying
midges. Apparently, it is only available
from Chris Helm’s Fly Shop in Toledo
Ohio at the present time. He sells it for
the discounted price of $2.35 per 100
meter spool.
Exclusives like this don't last long in
the day and age of the internet, besides; I
just LOVE upsetting apple carts. I'll
have samples to look at and try at the
next couple meetings if I don't have a
brain fart and forget to come that is.
Here's a rundown.
Incredibly strong for it's size, gel spun
polypropylene. Colors available: Black,
Brown, Sandy Dun, Lt. Dun, Dk. Dun,
green, Dk. Green, Orange, Yellow, Red,
Olive, Lt. Brown, White, and Grey. 100
meter spool with color coded end clip.
Available NOW.
The Mighty Serendipity Next to the Green Weenie this could be the best fly ever invented. Try it as a
dropper and your catch rate will increase Hook: TMC 2487 #20-#24
Thread: Brown
Rib: Fine Copper Wire-Palmered
Body: Brown -Thread or Antron Floss
Head: Spun Deer Hair Clipped Flat
HELP NEEDED!!!
If you have PC skills and software pro-grams such as MS Publisher, Word and
Excel and would like to donate a few
hours each month to the Dame Juliana
League we can use you. Call me at 610-
524-0901 if you want to know more.
Editor STREAMSIDE (MS Pub-
lisher, some writing required)
Membership Chairman (MS Word,
maintain member list, send back
confirming letter, type nametags)
Program Chairman (Schedule pro-
grams for monthly meetings with
Board input)
Monthly meeting announcements
(MS Word, using templates develop
monthly announcement, both back
and front, buy stamps, deliver to Joe
Vasile to send out)
Thanks! -Bob Molzahn
STREAMSIDE Page 5
Good continued from page 3
tion and are willing to pursue the
instructional training they need along with
the expert knowledge of a hired guide.
Their interest in pursuing the role of a fly
fisher can be measured by their large
numbers attending regional fly fishing
shows. A noticeable indication of their
interest and influence is the increased
usage of the fly fisher theme in commercial
advertising on TV and within other news
media? “Baby bloomers” are the
advertising and major product sector
executives today and they understand their
targeted audience.
They are definitely providing increased
visibility and awareness for fly-fishing.
This influx of new enthusiasts has an
impact on the availability of fly fishing
consumer products. This is nourishing the
motivation and the growth of the fly
fishing product industry. Suppliers are
now making tremendous advances with the
variety, quality and functionality of their
equipment. When you combine this
increased numbers of consumers along
with the recent challenge of saltwater fly-
fishing, the amount of product choices now
available can be overwhelming. Not only
has the available market increased but also
so have the number of competing
suppliers, in both saltwater and freshwater,
and their increased variety of new
products.
Yesterday’s suppliers provided the basic
fly fisher with what may be referred to as
the traditional products. These products
had made little if any technological
advancement throughout the years. They
were considered tried and true by their
users and were relied upon due to their
extensive heritage.
Today’s suppliers have embarked upon
some great product improvements using
technology advances in materials and
manufacturing processes that they could
not have considered years ago. However,
product advances of this nature require
costly investments in order to take
advantage of technology gains.
Development, testing, advertising,
endorsements and the initial release of a
new product is a costly undertaking and the
consumer absorbs these costs. This may
help to explain why new fly fishing gear
continues to be expensive with no price
reductions. Even the traditional equipment
is holding its values. I suspect this is a
result of limited new production on the
traditional items. The suppliers are aware
that the traditional equipment will phase
out of favor as the consumer is attracted to
the latest technology advances.
Change Is Bad by
Chuck Hodgson
ast January, I was eating lunch
at the Fly-Fishing Show in
Somerset, New Jersey. I was
sharing a table in the crowed
lunchroom with a fly fisher,
unknown to me, who was at least 10 years
my senior. This gentleman, without even
requiring an introduction, just started
presenting a personal opinion dissertation
regarding the large number of people in
attendance at this show. Why they were at
the show and their impact on equipment
prices. Not to mention what he thought
about the parking conditions outside the
building. I did agree with him that this
year’s attendance seemed quite a bit larger.
But, I also suspected that there were more
exhibitors added this year. I discounted
the parking, he should have seen last year’s
parking as a result of a snowstorm. While
I quickly tried to finish lunch, he continued
his out-spoken theory on why there was a
large crowd. His belief centered on his
theory that the sport of fly-fishing had
become way too easy. Everybody sees it
on TV and it is now in all of the movies.
Everybody is doing it and there’s no
technical skill or challenges required
anymore. The new and expensive
equipment that is available today just
makes everything way too easy. That’s
why all these young people are here at the
Show. They’re the ones with all of the
good jobs, making lots of money and their
buying habits are pushing equipment prices
way too high. He continued his
dissertation by stating that he wished that
fly-fishing were as difficult as it used to be.
“Why, when I started, it was . . .” I quickly
excused myself from the table.
You know, I had just listened to a theory
which proclaimed “Out with the new – go
back to the old” or “Change is bad”
without offering any comment. Just think,
I have been attempting to fly fish and tie
fly’s for over 38 years and sure I haven’t
been doing it on a consistent day-to-day
basis, but when did it become too easy? I
had seen the movie “A River runs through
it” a couple of times, read the book and I
have the video of how Jason Borger did the
shadow fly casting scenes. But I don’t
recall my casting improving from
watching. Did I not watch it enough
times? Didn’t I pay attention? When can I
expect my casting or my fly tying to not
require practice or skill development?
What did I miss? Do I have to start paying
more attention to the TV commercials and
the sea of new products? Should I start
investing in all new equipment so it would
be easier like it was theorized? Maybe, but
I don’t think so.
ORVIS® DOWNINGTOWN BRANDYWINE SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER 70 QUARRY ROAD, UNIT K (Just Off Rt. 30)
DOWNINGTOWN, PA 19335 Over 10,000 Flies
Extensive Selection Of Fly Rods, Reels, And Lines
Fly Tying Materials And Supplies
Casting Lessons And Trips Available
Tel/610-873-8400
Fax/610-873-3830 A Sporting Tradition Since 1856
L
MORE HELP NEEDED!!
The next edition of STREAMSIDE is due out in June 2001. If you would like
to write an article, story or poem please
do so and send it to me, Bob Molzahn at
P. O. Box 178, Kimberton, PA 19442
by February 28. All articles received
will be published.
STREAMSIDE Page 6
STREAMSIDE
Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers P. O. Box 178
Kimberton, PA 19442
www.djlflyfishers.org
Inside this issue..
Change Is Good..Change Is Bad
Letort Woes
Fly Tying Materials Update
Notes From The Tying Bench
Dame Juliana League Fly Fishers
-Our 30th Anniversary-
President- Bob Molzahn
Vice President- Larry Heimes
Secretary- Rick Stevens Treasurer- Joe Flather
Sponsor Relations- Joe King
Fly Fishing Course- Sheldon Toombs/Ed Nugent
Stream Improvement- Larry Heimes
Outreach- Mel Walters
Board Members- Bob Moser Jr.,
Jeff Nissle, Dick Allebach, Todd Palmer
Member dues per calendar year are
$15-Individual, $20-Family.
For new members please add $5.
Articles, news, and fly tying tips are gratefully
accepted. Please send them to
Bob Molzahn
P. O. Box 178, Kimberton, PA 19442
610-524-0555 (FAX)
Editor and Publisher—-Bob Molzahn
Dame Juliana League
is an affiliated member club of the
Mid-Atlantic Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers
Visit our website at
www.djlflyfishers.org
FIRST CLASS MAIL TO:
Our 30th
Anniversary
Year