The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fishing

Fly Fish Virginia – St. Mary’s

By

So far we have looked at Ramsey’s Draft, in part 1 and Skidmore Fork, in part 2. The third and last river in the George Washington National Forest is the St. Mary’s River.

The St. Mary’s River.

Pools
Pools

The St. Mary’s River is located in the George Washington National Forest’s St Mary’s Wilderness area. It flows through a beautiful canyon like area in the mountains and is one of the more scenic fishing spots in the Old Dominion.

The St. Mary’s is near the town of Vesuvius. One way to get there is from I81/64 to exit 205. Take Route 606/Raphine Road to Route 56/Tye River Turnpike to 608/South Bottom Road-Cold Springs Road to St. Mary’s Road. There is a parking area at the end of the St. Mary’s Road.

Like Ramsey’s Draft you can start fishing very near the parking area. I prefer to hike in for a bit and start my serious fishing above Sugartree Branch.

St. Mary's Falls
St. Mary’s Falls

This section from Sugartree Branch to the falls is really a beautiful area and you will find yourself looking around as much as looking at the water. Like the previous rivers in this series it is a typical riffle-pool-run system. The area plenty of open area’s making casting very easy and enough tight spots to make it challenging.

Depending on the water conditions Sugartree Branch is worth looking into to. It is a reasonably steep gradient with a trail running along side. You can take this trail up and around a section of the river and come out at the falls. You will cross a couple of branch that lead down to the river but the going can be steep and tangled. Think first before you blindly head down. This section is deep in the wilderness area so plan accordingly.

As with the other streams, a dry or dry-dropper rig works well; either Adams or BWO parachutes. For nymphs try a Pheasant Tail, Gold Ribbed Hare’s ear or Copper John. A few Quill Gordons, March Browns and Sulfurs for mayfly imitations; little black stoneflies, yellow sallies and some tan and olive caddis round out the assortment. Of course if you want to go the full tenkara route then try an Oki or Ishigaki. Check with Mossy Creek Fly Fishing to get the latest on what’s working.

Above the falls
Above the falls

Fishing St. Mary’s is a commitment and will eat up a day very easily. The numbers and size of fish in the St. Mary’s are fewer and smaller than the other rivers; the scenic nature of the canyon however more than makes up for it. It is great hike and fish river, but you need to be sure you are up for it. Take some emergency gear, food and water with you. You may want to look at topo map to see what you are getting into.

If you go let me know what you think.

Fly Fish Virginia – Skidmore Fork

By

In part 1, I wrote that I would be sharing some notes on five of my favorite tenkara streams. All are public water, three in the George Washington National Forest, and two in the Shenandoah National Park. This is the second stream in the series, Skidmore Fork

Skidmore Fork

Pool and run
Pool-riffle-pool

Skidmore Fork is a tributary of Dry River that flows into and out of Switzer Lake. The section below the lake is the easiest to get to and fish so that is what I will focus on.

Skidmore Fork is easy to reach. From Harrisonburg, Va. take 33 west. About 6 miles from Riven Rock Park is a moderate sized parking area on your left. If you start-up the hill you went to far.

Brian Trow in stealth mode
Brian Trow in stealth mode

Skidmore is a soft gradient stream with the typical pools, riffles and runs. You can fish up from this first ford all the way to the base of Switzer Lake or down to where Skidmore meets Dry River. If you fish up, a logging road runs along the stream and makes access and egress very easy. The logging road crosses the stream four times before it gets to Switzer Lake.

Skidmore does not offer the wide open casting that you will find on Ramsey’s Draft or the Dry River. I fish a shorter rod like the Patagonia Soft Hackle or Tenkara USA Rhodo.

A long run
A long run

Here, like Ramsey’s draft, a dry or dry-dropper rig works well; either Adams or BWO parachutes. For nymphs try a Pheasant Tail, Gold Ribbed Hare’s ear or Copper John. A few Quill Gordons, March Browns and Sulfurs for mayfly imitations; little black stoneflies, yellow sallies and some tan and olive caddis round out the assortment. Of course if you want to go the full tenkara route then try an Oki or Ishigaki. Check with Mossy Creek Fly Fishing to get the latest on what’s working.

Daniel lands a brookie on an Ito
Daniel gets his tamo wet!

Skidmore can easily occupy a full day of fishing, offering plenty of variety to keep you entertained the entire time. By the way, on your way to Skidmore you will be driving along the Dry River, which is also an excellent brook trout stream. No one would blame you if you yielded to temptation and stopped at the many pull-offs along the way to give the Dry a try.

If you go let me know what you think.

Our Public Lands (Part 3.1) – Sportsmen in Virginia.

By

Beth at the 2nd ford

In Our Public Lands (Part 3) I wrote about how important our public lands are for the local economy, specifically in Virginia. Thanks to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation we can see what hunters and anglers in Virginia mean to the economy.

According to the CSF, in 2011 in Virginia, hunters and anglers accounted for:

  • $2.38 billion in direct consumer spending,
  • $1.17 billion in salaries and wages,
  • $242 million in state and local taxes and
  • 39, 164 jobs.

Hunting and fishing are deep-seated traditions in the Commonwealth. Our elected officials love to talk about how they support those traditions and want to see them continue. But what are they doing to protect our public lands, the very venues that allow hunting and fishing to take place? If they don’t have a good answer then it is time to remind them that hunting and fishing are more than traditions, they are economic drivers in the state and to jeopardize those public land venues is to put that economic activity and the jobs at risk.

You can see what outdoor recreation means to your state’s economy and download the report on the CSF Reports page.

I said it before; the outdoor recreation economy is an economic powerhouse, now it needs to be a political powerhouse!

Tenkara Summit Info

By

2013Summitposter
The 2013 Tenkara Summit will be in Harrisonburg, Va. on May 11 and 12, hosted by Tenkara USA and Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.
The plans are coming together and the details are starting to shape up.
Here is some early information you can use for your planning.

Registration

Open online at: http://www.tenkarausa.com/product_info.php/products_id/157
Follow the directions carefully to be sure your registration is complete and accurate.


DAY 1 – May 11, 2013

$25 for event and lunch
Location: Holiday Inn Harrisonburg – 1400 East Market Street, Harrisonburg.
Schedule:
 9AM – 5PM: Main event – presentations, casting, tying demos and more.
6PM – 10PM: Tenkara Social with band at the hotel.

DAY 2 – May 12, 2013

$75 for lunch and guided afternoon clinics.
Location: Riven Rock Park, 6 Last Left Lane, Hinton, VA.
Schedule: 10AM – 12PM: more demos outside at the park (no charge, included in Day 1 fee)
12 PM on: Lunch and guided clinics.
Riven Rock Park information

Accommodations

There is a block of rooms available at the Holiday Inn. You will want to stay there if you are from out of town so you can enjoy the tenkara party that evening.
Room rates have been negotiated for $89.
To book a room please call 540-433-2521 and tell operator you’d like to book rooms under “Tenkara Summit 2013” room block.
Or visit the Holiday Inn website, enter dates, and group code TSB.
Please note the last day for reservations under the room block is Friday, April 26th, 2013.
Camping options will be posted on the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing website soon.

I will post updates as they become available, so please check back.
Hope to see you at the summit!

Time to Join the OWAA

By

If you are an outdoor blogger you should join the Outdoor Writers of America Association.

My friend Chris Hunt’s recent post for the Outdoor Bloggers Network: “Outdoor Writers Association of America: Outdoor Bloggers Welcome” rekindled the notion of rejoining the OWAA and I submitted my application for membership shortly thereafter.

Since I am writing this post for my blog I am thrilled OWAA has opened the membership to qualified bloggers. More importantly I am delighted that my fellow outdoor bloggers can know take advantage of the myriad resources OWAA has to offer.

During my tenure at the Izaak Walton League of America I had been a member of OWAA, a venerated organization that dedicates itself to helping outdoor communicators improve their craft and the profession. When I left the League I let my membership lapse because I was not engaged as outdoor communicator enough to meet the requirements of membership. Having returned to the journalistic fold a few years ago I began to think I should rejoin but never seemed to get around to it. When I gave up my outdoor column at the News Virginian (Waynesboro), I dropped the idea.

I won’t repeat the many reasons Chris gave for joining, they are compelling in and of themselves. I will happily add my voice to his and say that as outdoor bloggers this is an important opportunity to improve your work and enhance the view of our corner of the blogging community.

Why should outdoor bloggers join?

Do you care about your craft as a blogger or do you just bang away at the keyboard and call it good?

Look at the OWAA’s mission “…to improve the professional skills of our members, set the highest ethical and communications standards, encourage public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources, and be mentors for the next generation of professional outdoor communicators.”

If you are passionate about the outdoors and see your blog fitting somewhere in that mission statement than join OWAA. You will join others who care about professional skills, ethics, conservation and mentoring others. You will benefit from shared experiences, going back 85 years, from the best outdoor communicators in the game.

Was that too highfalutin a reason for you? Do you want to make a little money as well?

For example, OWAA was an invaluable resource for me to find writers for the League’s magazine, Outdoor America. It was the best place to find writers on a wide range of topics. They were part of an organization with professional standards. As a blogger, if you want to be on that list of potential resources, join OWAA. You will be on the same list of the storied veterans of the genre.

Need help with your craft?

As Chris points out, “The friendships I’ve made through OWAA are lasting relationships that are more special to me than any paycheck I might garner from writing about the outdoors.” If you want to build those relationships, join OWAA.

At the League I looked to OWAA members to get some different perspectives on policy issues or to keep a finger on the pulse of the views of outdoor community. After I left, and even today those OWAA members I met or communicated with still are important resources for getting a wider-angle view on issues. If you are looking for background information, help with understanding the complexities of a subject or need to see who has written what about it before, your fellow OWAA members are wonderful, credible resources.

Would you like to visit some trade shows?

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association and the American Sportfishing Association have combined trade shows this year. At a recent board meeting the issue of media credentials for bloggers came up. If you are a member of OWAA you will not have a problem getting media credentials for ICAST or IFTD. I can’t speak for other trade shows but I am sure you will have an easier time proving your bona fides for credentials if you are an OWAA member.

You will make OWAA better!

The outdoor blogger genre is still young but it is growing. You are the early adopters and first followers. As part of OWAA you will become the storied veterans who paved the way and mentored others. You will help sort out the conundrums that will surely face us. You can help OWAA continue its important mission and make outdoor blogging better by your efforts.

 

Our Public Lands (Part 2.1)

By

In Our Public Lands (Part 2) I wrote “In coming posts I will write about what the agenda might include…”

Well between guiding, holidays and year end business commitments I haven’t had a chance to give it the attention I wanted. But I have been seeing some lists pop up that offers some great suggestions.

Land Tawney of Hellsgate Hunters and Anglers did outstanding job of getting the ball rolling in Sportsmen’s Priorities for 2013 on their Montana Bully Pulpit blog. Tawney writes in the intro:

“This past year hunters and anglers enjoyed the spotlight in congress; something we rarely realize.  The Sportsmen Act of 2012 became a political football and didn’t come to fruition.  While I enjoy the fact that our issues were front and center, ultimately we didn’t get it done.  It’s time to capitalize on the attention and double down on our efforts.  Together, we can protect our heritage for our children’s future.  Just think if we could get it all done….”

Here is Tawney’s list, be sure to read his post to learn more about the issues and why they are important to sportsmen.

  • Passage of the Sportsmen Act
  • Restoration of the Gulf of Mexico
  • Full Funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
  • National Sodsaver and Conservation Compliance
  • Passage of an Omnibus Public Lands Bill
  • National Flood Insurance Reform
  • Restoration of Free Roaming Bison
  • Protect Bristol Bay
  • Expand Conservation Funding Revenue
  • Climate Change

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership released their 2013 Conservation Policy Agenda recently. This is a comprehensive look at policy challenges. You should read the entire document as it provides a well-written justification for action. Download the 2013 Conservation Policy Agenda. In the press release they called out some priorities:

  • developing new incentives to safeguard precious natural resources and fish and wildlife habitat – and to sustain and expand public access for hunting and fishing – through strongly funded conservation programs in the federal budget;
  • defending disproportionate cuts to the funding of – and the elimination of existing funding to – key federal conservation;
  • facilitating passage of a full, five-year farm bill as swiftly as possible;
  • advancing the BLM’s work to administratively conserve high-value backcountry fish and wildlife habitat through land-use planning processes in consideration of input from Western sportsmen and other stakeholders;
  • securing the passage of climate change legislation that provides secure, long-term funding for state fish and wildlife agencies to address the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife by protecting and improving habitats and maintaining healthy, connected and genetically diverse populations;
  • influencing development of policy guiding renewable energy development, particularly solar and wind energy, on public lands.

There is a lot more in the report so be sure to give it a read. Here are the topics and items they cover:

  • Access
  • Climate
    • Climate Change
  • Conservation Funding
    • America’s Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation
  • Energy
    • Responsible Development Issues
  • Watersheds
    • Bristol Bay, Alaska
    • Chesapeake Bay
  • Marine Fisheries
    • Recreational Marine Fisheries Conservation
  • Private Lands 
    • Agriculture
    • Tax Incentives for Conservation Easements
    • Wetlands and Clean Water Protections
  • Public Lands
    • Backcountry Lands Conservation
    • Forest Service Planning Regulations
  • Water (new policy area for 2013)

Clearly there are some important issues in these two lists and there are other issues that should be included as well.I will be on the look out for more lists and post them when I come across them.

What do you think is missing from these lists?

Let me know what they are and why it is important. I wille on the look out for more lists and post them when I come across them.

Of course we are early in the policy process and the issues on the field and the ability to make progress with policy will no doubt change, so stay tuned.