The Middle River Group, LLC

fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fishing

AFFTA Board election draws a crowd

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This is really impressive. Twenty-eight people have thrown their fishing hats into the proverbial ring for the nine seats available on the American Fly Fishing Trade Associations board.

As a board member this is a really exciting time. After some of the kicking around that AFFTA has gotten, deserved or not, the fact that so many people wanted to be part of the solution is wonderful. With so many folks stepping up to not just be a member but be a part of the leadership of AFFTA shows that folks care about having a strong trade association.

If you are not a member of AFFTA you can’t vote so now might be a good time to join. AFFTA is changing and you should be a part of it.

You can find Membership benefits info here.

Join today!

The candidates are listed below with links to the information they sent in to AFFTA.

Eric Anderson, Owner – Bighorn River Fly Fisher

Larry Barrett, Director Operations and Technology – Farbank

Crispin Battles, Editor/Art Director – Fly Fish America

Andrew Bennett, President – Deneki Outdoors

John Bleh, Owner – Strategic Outdoor Marketing

Dustin Carlson, Owner – Fishwest

Bruce Chard, Owner & CEO – Captain Bruce Chard Fishing Charters

Riley Cotter, International Sales Manager – Umpqua Feather Merchants

Jerry Darkes, Owner – Angling Consulting Services, Inc

Charles Dohs, President & Co-Founder – Fishhound.com

Jon Fisher, Managing Member – Urban Angler

Katheryn Fox, National Program Director – Casting for Recovery

Mike Gawtry, Product Line Manager Fishing/Hunting – LL Bean

Ali Gentry, Owner & CEO – El Pescador Lodge

Scott Harkins, Owner – San Miguel Mnt. & River Products

Chris Hart, Owner – Sundown River Products, Inc.

David S. Heller, President & Co-Owner – Ross Reels USA/Ross Worldwide Outdoors

Jim Murphy, President – Hardy North America

Al Noraker, Designer, Senior Merchandise Manager – Wright McGill

David Olson, Managing Partner – The Fly Shop of Miami

Clint Packo, Owner – Freestone Aquatics

Pat Pendergast, Director of International Travel – The Fly Shop Inc.

John Pinto, Owner – B&C  Manufacturing & Import

Curt Schlesinger, President – Trout & Grouse

Kevin Sousa, CEO – March Brown Limited

Guy Tillotson, Owner – Grand Slam Group

Jeff Wieringa, Business Development Manager – Scientific Anglers

Dusty Wissmath, Director – Dusty Wissmath’s Fly Fish School/Guide Service

Rick Bach, Tenkara and the EBTJV

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When I got a note from Rick Bach asking about trout fishing in Maryland I wrote back saying I was not much on Maryland but would be happy to take him to the mountains in Virginia to fish for brook trout with a tenkara rod. Rick being an adventurous young man, after all he is fishing his way across the country and blogging about it for OutdoorLife.com this summer, took me up on it. We had a ball, Rick picked up tenkara style fishing right away. He moved through the casting and fishing options with ease going to a two fly rig and sling shot cast and landing a nice fat brookie in a tricky spot at the end of the day.

You can see his gallery and commentary from his adventures in DC, the Chesapeake Bay and the Rapidan. I really appreciate Rick giving a shout out to the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture!

Photos from our trip on the Rapidan start at number 15

ASA releases Comprehensive Angler Access Study

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The simple fact is that if anglers can’t access the water they will be driven from the sport.

There are a lot factors that drive a person’s decision to go fishing. The study for ASA by Responsive Management looked at those decisions with an eye toward helping guide programs to improve angler access.

Durable decisions on access must be based on facts, not conjecture. This study is an important step toward understanding the attitudes of anglers, landowners and land management professionals.

For Immediate Release

Mary Jane Williamson, Communications Director, mjwilliamson@asafishing.org

703-519-9691, x227, www.asafishing.org

Comprehensive Angler Access Study Has Surprising Results

Industry leaders will address a wide-range of sportfishing issues

Alexandria, VA – July 7, 2010 – Results of a recent comprehensive angler access study by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and Responsive Management – 2010 Angler Access in the U.S. Report – reveal some surprising views by anglers, private landowners and professional fish and wildlife managers who make decisions regarding angler access. Interviews were completed with more than 4,000 landowners and more than 4,100 recreational anglers. This is the first study of its kind to include landowners that have water on, adjacent to or running through their property to document their assessment of angler access. The most important finding is that two-thirds of anglers access most of their fishing from public lands with about half of those anglers primarily fishing from private boats, this includes both fresh and saltwater.

The five major findings in the study are:

•    Public lands are important to anglers as a means to access places to fish.

•    Angler access is tied to boating access.

•    Fish and wildlife professionals are concerned about angler access.

•    While liability is an important issue for landowners, a landowners’ privacy is the most important reason why they don’t open their land to more people.

•    Landowners are generally unaware of the many programs that agencies and organizations have to help them create access on their property.

“The most important finding in this study is the predominant role that public lands and access to public lands plays in anglers being able to enjoy their sport,” said ASA Vice President Gordon Robertson. “That is crucial information for our state and federal fish and wildlife and land managers and must be taken into account for budgeting and planning purposes.”

Robertson further said, “Access is consistently identified as the top issue of concern among anglers and the study reveals that if anglers can’t access areas to recreationally fish, they may desert the sport.”

Mark Duda, executive director of Responsive Management, emphasized, “This is a thorough and definitive study of angler access in the United States. Agencies and organizations interested in angler access will find this and invaluable resource.”

Other highlights of the study include:

•    92 percent of landowners approved of legal recreational fishing and believe it is important for the public to have the opportunity to do so.

•    About one-half of landowners fish on their own property and two-thirds allow access to those people they know.

•    Approximately one-tenth of landowners allow completely open access to their lands.

•    Approximately 1 percent of private landowners charge an access fee to anglers.

•    64 percent of recreational anglers access their primary fishing areas from public lands while 16 percent use private lands.

•    54 percent of recreational anglers seek areas with boating access.

•    54 percent of anglers surveyed cited that as their primary source of information about where to fish is word of mouth.

•    The survey found that 89 percent of landowners say they have not experienced problems with recreational anglers in the last five years.

“Anglers have long been viewed as conservationists and generally as good citizens,” said Robertson. “It is encouraging to understand from the survey that almost 90 percent of landowners have not experienced problems with recreational anglers over the past five years.”

The study was conducted under a multi-state conservation grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and administered by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

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The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also represents the interests of America’s 60 million anglers who generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for over one million people.

Responsive Management is an internationally recognized public opinion and attitude survey research firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues and has been conducting research on anglers and fishing-related issues for 20 years. Its mission is to help natural resource agencies and organizations better understand and work with their constituents, customers, and the public. Utilizing its in-house, full-service mail and telephone survey center with 50 professional interviewers, Responsive Management has conducted more than 500 telephone surveys, mail surveys and focus groups. It has extensive experience in conducting scientific surveys on fishing participation, fishing motivations, anglers’ preferences, and opinions on fishing regulations and other fisheries management issues. For all studies, Responsive Management follows the highest standards in conducting mail surveys, telephone surveys, focus groups, and personal interviews to ensure accurate, unbiased results.

Tenkara 411

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Because I get questions about fishing tenkara style, I pulled together some information. I also posted it on the Gone Fishing page so it is easy find to refer to.

For those unfamiliar with tenkara, it is a traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing. It reduces fly-fishing to three basic elements, a rod, a line and a fly. It has been used for centuries in Japan’s high mountain streams. Tenkara is all about simplicity. You focus on the fishing rather than the gear.

For brook trout fishing in the mountains I use the Tenkara USA Iwana in the 11′ length and 6:4 action. I use a 10′ 6″ traditional tenkara line attached to the tip  of the rod with a simple girth hitch. I tie about 9″ of 4x tippet to the end of the line, then about 12-18″ of 5x or 6x tippet to that depending on the conditions.

Because it flexes so much in the upper section especially at the tip, it readily protect a light tippet. While the rod appears delicate, it has held up exceptionally well under the rigors of fishing, traveling, bush whacking and teaching.

As you will quickly discover, tenkara style fishing gives you incredible drag free drifts. Often three and four times as long as you might get with a conventional outfit. And those drag-free drifts are one of the most important elements for fishing success.

It is a great teaching tool. It makes teaching the basics very easy, getting the student on the water and fishing sooner. It allows the teacher and student to focus more on fishing technique and not have to work so much on line management and casting skills.

Tenkara doesn’t replace conventional fly fishing, however. There are fishing situations where long casts and heavier lines are required.

Here are some links with more information about tenkara.

Tenkara USA’s website, has a wealth of information. There you can find information on the origins and history of tenkara, video’s and diagrams of casting techniques.

In the spirit of full disclosure because I am a professional guide and instructor I get a professional discount from Tenkara USA. They did not compensate me for writing or posting this.

Smith Creek watershed honored

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On a recent, beautiful June afternoon local farmers, federal, state and local officials, conservation organizations and area residents gathered for an announcement by the United States Department of Agriculture naming the 67,000-acre Smith Creek watershed as Virginia’s Chesapeake Showcase Watershed.

The announcement was made on Gary and Ellen Lohr’s Valley Pike Farm overlooking the Valley in Broadway as part of the implementation of the Obama administration’s “Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” released last May.

Ann Mills, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, made the announcement.

“Making these announcements from a local farm is more than a symbolic gesture,” Mills said. “Nearly 75 percent of the land in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is in private farms and forests. The showcase watersheds strengthen USDA’s commitment to funding priority conservation practices in places that will do the most good for water quality in the Bay and its tributaries.”

In May 2009, President Obama signed The Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order declaring the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and requiring a coordinated strategy for restoration and protection.

The executive order directed federal agencies to “define environmental goals for the Chesapeake Bay and describe milestones for making progress toward attainment of these goals.” The strategy focuses on achieving four essential priorities for a healthy Chesapeake ecosystem — restore clean water, recover habitat, sustain fish and wildlife and conserve land and increase public access.

One of the goals in the strategy that caught my attention and led to my attending the announcement on the Lohr’s farm was to, “Sustain healthy populations of fish and wildlife, which contribute to a resilient ecosystem and vibrant economy”.

One of the outcomes for that goal was “restoring naturally reproducing brook trout populations in headwater streams … by 2025.” Because of my involvement with the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture I was thrilled to see brook trout recovery efforts as a key outcome for Cheasapeake Bay Watershed efforts.

Eighteen months ago I wrote about the efforts of the EBTJV and the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, noted the work at Smith Creek and what it means to the Valley. At the time I wrote “Working cooperatively with ten diverse partners, the project is helping restore riparian habitat at the headwaters of Smith Creek. This project connects to Mountain Run in the George Washington National Forest as well, providing additional spawning habitat for those Brook Trout.”

Smith Creek also gained national attention in 2007 as one the first of the NFHAP “10 Waters to Watch”.

Now Smith Creek will be getting additional attention and funding and can serve as a model for other efforts across the state and country. Of course having Smith Creek as a Showcase Watershed adds additional incentive for implementing the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

The NFHAP can build upon the successes of Smith Creek and the two other Showcase Watersheds, the 23,000-acre Upper Chester River Watershed in Maryland and the 34,000-acre Conewago Creek Watershed in Pennsylvania and leverage those models into additional aquatic habitat conservation across the country.

Now is the time for Federal agencies with responsibility managing aquatic habitat to increase their efforts to implement the National Fish Habitat Action Plan. Coordination among those agencies will promote stewardship and improve the health of our Nation’s aquatic habitat.

Perhaps it is time for an Executive Order to implement the NFHAP.

If the administration leads the way then maybe Congress will get the message and pass the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act.

It should come as no surprise and serve as a point of pride that conservation efforts here in the Valley get national recognition. There is a long and treasured tradition of stewardship and respect for the land and the natural resource bounty it provides.

That tradition and the connection to the land were never more evident than on the Lohr’s farm last week.

You can read more of my columns at the News Virginian.com.

The Big Fish interview

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One of the more entertaining parts of my trip to Australia was being interviewed by Scott Levi, host of The BigFish program on ABC (Australia) at the Fishers for Fish Habitat Forum. Scott MC’d the panel discussion I participated in. Scott is a really enjoyable guy and we had a few laughs during the panel discussion and the interview. We chatted about fishing, fish habitat and tenkara style fly-fishing after the panel discussion that evening.
You can give a listen to the interview here if you are interested. My conversation with Scott starts about 3 1/2 minutes into the program.