Kent Cowgill recently sent me a flyer about his new book Sunlit Riffles and Shadowed Runs.
From what I am reading it looks like it should be a good one.
I am excited to read it and will post a review when I’m finished.
Stay tuned!
fly fishing, conservation and politics.
By Tom Sadler
By Tom Sadler
When I started Five Great Virginia Streams for Tenkara on March 5th I had hoped to get all five covered in a couple of weeks. Now here we are on May 4th and I am just getting to number 4, the Rapidan River. Sorry about that, but life and new job keep me away from this chronicle.
The Rapidan is probably my favorite brook trout water. I have spent more time and logged more miles on the water then any place else on earth. It truly is my home water.
The Rapidan, located in the Shenandoah National Park, is a high gradient mountain stream with a variety of riffles, pools, runs, and falls. You can drive right to the water but you will be on a dirt road of varying quality much of the way. It doesn’t require a 4×4, but a sports car is not recommended.
To reach the Rapidan take state route 29 to Madison. Head west on route 231 toward Banco. Bear left onto route 670 toward Criglersville and Syria. Go about 2 miles and turn left onto 649/Quaker Run Rd. Follow Quarker Run Rd. until it becomes a dirt road. Stay on the dirt road and you go up on over the ridge, crossing a fire road and head down into the Shenandoah National Park. You will bottom out at the Rapidan with a 4-5 car parking area on your left.
You can start fishing up or down from here and there are miles of water either way. If there are more than two cars, I would continue on the road until you find a pull off that suits you and start fishing.
If you continue on the road you will cross the first of two wooden bridges. There are 4-5 car parking areas near each bridge. When you cross the first bridge you will be entering the state’s Wildlife Management Area. You can camp in this area if you want.
Continue past the second bridge you will pass an in-holding (not open to the public) and further along you will come to a locked gate. If you hike up the trail you will reach Rapidan Camp, President Hoover’s summer getaway. This is where the Mill Prong and the Laurel Prong form the headwaters of the Rapidan. The U.S. Park Service maintains an interpretive operation at Rapidan Camp. It is an easy ½ hour hike and worth the trip if only for the historic value of seeing a rustic presidential retreat.
If you have read the other posts then you already know what flies work in these mountain brook trout streams; a dry or dry-dropper rig 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.
Because the Rapidan has more gradient it offers more complexity to the water. You can spend a lifetime fishing the Rapidan and will always find interesting water to fish. I have fished it in every month of the year and covered most of the water and still look forward to fishing it again.
Give the Rapidan a try and let me know what you think.
By Tom Sadler
Two articles, each very different in their approach, recently tackled the subject of public lands. They caught my attention not only for the subject matter, but because of the important messages they contained.
Hal Herring wrote a terrific piece in Field & Stream, How Public Land Has Shaped and Defined My Entire Life. He paints a written landscape of his lifelong experience hunting, fishing and wandering this nation’s unique and varied public lands. Well worth the read and perhaps, if the opportunity presents itself, you can assist Herring in his challenge to those folks running for public office to join us on and fighting for our public lands.
“Join us, and see what free people do on the lands that visionaries set aside for us all, long ago, so that we would never lose the basic frontiersman’s edge that made this country different from all the others, so that our children would grow up strong under heaven’s blue eye and learn the ways of wildlife and wild places, and learn what it is that we fight for, when we have to fight.
Join us. We’ll show you something that you’ll want to fight for, too.”
The second article offers a look at the strengths and weaknesses of public land supporters, defenders and exploiters. Check out Public Lands Cage Fight on Truchacabra.
This is a no-holds-barred critique that will boil the blood of some folks. Of course there will be a bunch of bitching and moaning and trying to defend one group or another. That will just prove the author’s point. The critiques are spot on and those of us who fit in to the categories are well-advised to learn from these observations.
When all is said and done, if you enjoy the outdoors then you damn well need to set a good example or as the author notes in response to a comment, “It seems ideology is more important than anything these days. Anything can spin off the right track, and there are vultures waiting whenever it happens.”
So next time you feel like the other guy doesn’t care as much as you do, think again, then share the bounty, trail or river. If not, the vultures will waste no time in taking it away from us.
By Tom Sadler
I put my AFFTA hat on last Friday to participate in the White House Conference on Conservation. The conference was excellent and while I often grouse about having to “go to DC” this was time well spent.
The theme for the conference was “Growing America’s Outdoor Heritage and Economy.” A theme that is near and dear to our heart here at Dispatches. The drum beat of “habitat equals opportunity equals economic activity” is getting louder and I couldn’t be happier. It is to the great credit that the Administration, especially the Department of Interior, is championing the economic value of the conservation and outdoor recreation.
The conference was part of the on-going America’s Great Outdoors initiative. The “on-going” is important to note. Since the Obama Administration rolled AGO out under the capable guidance of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his team, they have kept stakeholders and the public informed and engaged. This conference was the latest example.
The purpose of the conference was to “engage directly with conservation leaders from all 50 states to strengthen partnerships and identify next steps in advancing community-driven conservation and outdoor recreation initiatives that are building strong local economies and healthy lands, waters and wildlife across America.
Joining Salazar at the conference were Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Each participated in panel discussions to help frame the discussions in breakout sessions later in the day.
The three panels during the conference were (the links take you to videos of the panels):
Each panel was moderated by an administration official with remarks from folks who have experience or involvement in the subject areas. Of special note was Dave Perkins Vice-Chairman of the Orvis Company. Perkins was part of the Restoring Rivers panel and did a great job in connecting the dots to the economic contributions of river recreation and restoration. Having a major player from the fly-fishing industry was important recognition of both the economic and conservation contributions the industry makes.
The capstone to the day came with remarks from President Obama. Having the President come to Interior underscores the importance the administration puts on conservation and the impact of the recreational economy.
In order for folks to talk about specific interests there were 11 breakout sessions:
These breakout sessions were used to learn from stakeholders what was working in the AGO initiative and more importantly what needed to be done.
I attended the Rivers Restoration and Recreation session moderated by Rock Salt from the Dept. of the Army (Civil Works) and Rebecca Wodder from Interior.
Wodder framed the discussion by asking, when it came to rivers, what works and what needs work.
Earlier in the week, Salazar had signed a Secretarial Order establishing a National Water Trails system under the National Trails System Act.
“The order sets the framework for Secretarial designation of water trails that will help facilitate outdoor recreation on waterways in and around urban areas, and provide national recognition and resources to existing, local water trails.”
Many in the room pointed to the new National Water Trails as an important step forward and one that has great potential to provide stakeholders a way to promote water-based outdoor recreation, encourage community stewardship of local waterways, and promote tourism that fuels local economies across America.
From AFFTA’s perspective, this is a great opportunity. It really is very simple, rivers are our business, they are the principal venues for our customers and clients. There is an indisputable nexus between the health of a river and its viability as a recreational resource.
I used the case of the Colorado River and its tributaries as an example. It was one the Secretary was familiar: “It’s a mecca of economic development in outdoor recreation, and that needs to be recognized in how we manage the Colorado River System.” I encouraged them to remind Secretary Salazar and Asst Secretary Darcy to keep those economic impacts in mind when making decisions that affect water supply and quality.
I know that my AFFTA colleagues will welcome the chance to work on making the new National Water Trails system a recreational and economic success.
Salazar also announced that is working with the Secretary Vilsack and Commerce Secretary John Bryson on a Memorandum of Agreement to ensure that Federal resources are effectively focused in support of the collaborative conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Partnership.
The National Fish Habitat Partnerships provide local, public-private conservation partnerships that are the foundation of the three part equation, “Habitat = Recreational Opportunity = Economic Activity, which so important to AFFTA. Healthy habitat and clean water create the venues for AFFTA member’s customers and clients.
The National Fish Habitat Action Plan and the National Fish Habitat Partnership are strongly supported by AFFTA and this announcement that an agreement is in the works is excellent news. This is an important step to having our federal partners work together to insure the success of the partnerships and the important work they do.
As a member of the steering committee of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, one of the 18 National Fish Habitat Partnerships, I know that a well coordinated effort with the various federal agencies can only help the EBTJV continue its successful efforts to ensure healthy, fishable brook trout populations throughout its historic range.
As someone who is often cynical about the value of these types of get togethers, this one was a winner. Sure there is more to be done but the America’s Great Outdoors initiative has been a lot more than rhetoric. The President has shown his support, traveling to the Department of Interior twice and hosting a gathering at the White House. There are AGO projects in 50 states.
Now with this engagement on rivers and fish habitat there is a new opportunity for anglers and the sport fishing industry. That can only be a good thing.
By Tom Sadler
A couple of years ago I had the chance to fish the Green River with the Rivers of Recovery crew. At the time the notion of taking billions of gallons of water from the river and the Flaming Gorge Resevoir was a side conversation to the fishing and companionship of my colleagues, the guides and the combat vets we were fishing with.
The Green River, Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the surrounding public lands offer some of the best fishing and hunting in the West. There is an $118 million recreation-based economy in the region. Unfortunately the absurd idea of taking water from the Green and sending it via pipeline to Colorado has not gone away. A Colorado developer, Aaron Million, wants to take 81 billion gallons a year out of the Green River and Flaming Gorge, and pump it 560 miles to the Front Range of Colorado.
As Trout Unlimited’s Walt Gasson said, “You know, Million pipeline is a proposal that is elegant in both its simplicity and its insanity.”
Take a moment to watch the video on the Sportsmen For The Green website. It is a compelling look at the Green River, Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the people who live, work and play there.
When you come right down to it the sheer madness of this proposal should be enough to doom it. But these days it seems bat shit crazy is a virtue so we can’t just hope this one goes away. If you want to lend a hand then click on this Join the Fight link.
Initial construction costs for this project will exceed $7 billion, with annual operating costs totaling over $123 million. Yet that’s not the worst part. The Million Pipeline is a potential economic and environmental boondoggle that could unleash a host of destructive impacts on local communities, fish and game habitats, and taxpayers in three states. A pipeline project of this magnitude has the
potential to:
- Ruin world class kokanee salmon and lake trout populations by
increasing water temperatures and raising salinity levels.- Destroy the Blue-ribbon fishery for trophy rainbow and brown
trout in the Green River.- Harm critical mule deer and pronghorn habitat and hunting
opportunity.- De-water wetlands in the basin and impede waterfowl hunting.
- Impact Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Browns Park
- National Wildlife Refuge, Dinosaur National Monument, as
well as Ouray National Wildlife Refuge.- Lower water levels significantly, making it virtually impossible
to access the reservoir for recreation.- Further the spread of cheat grass, tamarisk and quagga mussels,
which will harm hunting and fishing in the area.- Force the government to spend millions of dollars in taxpayer
money to reconstruct boat launches, campgrounds, marinas,
fishing piers and other access points.- Destroy a $118 million recreation-based economy the
communities in the region depend on for their survival.- Slow the recovery of endangered native fish like the razorback
sucker, Colorado pikeminnow, and bonytail chub. Until
these fish are recovered and removed from listing under the
Endangered Species Act, the area’s recreation-based
economy will continue to operate with restrictions required
under federal law.
By Tom Sadler
There has been a fair amount of discussion of late about whether tenkara is a fad. Labels are funny things, the minute you apply one someone wants to fight with you about the appropriateness of the label. Posts started flying on the blogs, questions popped up on Facebook and Twitter and a new tenkara controversy was born. Of course it has raised the profile of tenkara and in my book that is a good thing.
The fans of tenkara offered up some great commentary. Some of my favorites include: Field and Stream’s Fly Talk: Is Tenkara Fly Fishing a Fad?, Eat More Brook Trout: The Fad that’s Built to Last… Tenkara Bum: Is Tenkara a Fad?, Troutrageous! Enough ‘Tenkara Is A Fad’ Already… Unaccomplished Angler: Lefty Kreh declares “Tenkara is cool!”
When asked about tenkara my answer has been, “It is a fly-fishing technique that is very effective. It has pro’s and con’s like all techniques. Give it a try and see what you think.”
By the end of last weekend I was hoarse from repeating that response to curious anglers at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset NJ. I spent time explaining tenkara in the Tenkara USA booth and selling rods at the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing booth.
Explanation was more important than labels. Folks wiggled the rod, saw you could cast with it, visualized the way it would drift a dry or nymph or twitch a streamer and often enough decided to buy one.
Is tenkara a fad? Who really cares? I am going to continue to fish and guide with my tenkara rods and enjoy my time on the water.
If you want to know more about tenkara check out the Fish Tenkara section.
If you have questions or want to fish tenkara, drop me a comment.