Gunnison Gorge Anglers Newsletter March 2016

Gunnison Gorge Anglers Newsletter
March 2016
Monthly Meeting
The next GGA member meeting is at DMEA in Montrose 7pm. March 17th. Coffee and snacks
provided. Joel Evans will be presenting Insert topic…Waiting on Joel!
From the President
The weather has gotten better and the days longer, so no reason not to be on the water and
catching some fish. This is something I plan to do soon.
About the newsletter, I think it looks great! I would like to invite you to contact Trent or Dennis if you
have anything you would like to see in the newsletter. Their contact information is at the end of the
newsletter.
We had a great group at last month’s meeting. Eric Gardunio from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife
did a great job and gave us a lot of information. Our guest for March will be Joel Evans, he will be
doing one of his many programs. Joel has been many places and he always gives a great program.
We will be doing a mini show again this year with the Outdoor Show. We will need some help in set
up and tear down and bucket sales. The date has changed; it will be Thursday April 14th setup, Friday
15th, Saturday 16th and part of Sunday 17th then tear down.
Colorado Trout Unlimited is holding a raffle and the winner will be drawn at the Rendezvous in April.
The prize is a two day overnight trip down the Black Canon of the Gunnison, plus lodging and dinner
for two the night prior to your launch at Gunnison River Farms (Black Canon Anglers). The tickets are
$10 each or 3 for $25. I have tickets and if you call me I will make sure you get them. We will also
have them at the March meeting.
Tight Lines, Ed
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Chapter News
February Meeting Summary
For those that missed our meeting in February, Eric Gardunio of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, gave
a presentation on reclaiming Colorado’s lost Cutthroat populations. The availability of new
technology has rendered the identification of six different “lineages” of cutthroat that once inhabited
Colorado’s river drainages. As of now, two are thought to be extinct, but we never know what might
be found in some small overlooked high mountain stream!
Eric is currently working on a brood stock fishery for one lineage of Cutthroat. The source of these
Cutts is a highly guarded secret but would you believe they are found in our backyard! These fish are
used for milt and roe and the fertilized eggs reared at a hatchery for high yield hatch rates. Then
these fingerlings are transported to the “new” brood stock fishery to become the ancestry of
generations.
The lake that is being used as the new brood stock fishery has been “reclaimed” using rotenone to
remove the existing fish, especially the brook trout, in hopes to create a future stable population that
can be used for breeding. This will remove our “secret” population from having to be used as a
source of genetic material and also increase the number of eggs that can be collected, reared, and
relocated to historical ranges. A win-win scenario for us fish fanatics.
Applying rotenone to a creek affecting
the brood stock lake
Applying rotenone into the brood stock lake
Future Cutthroat brood lake
There may be a project in the future for us GGA members to get
out and help secure this brood stock fishery with a solid upstream
barricade. Those high fecundity Brooks are just waiting for the
chance to get back into this lake. Remember, don’t be a “bucket
biologist” and release those ripped lips back into the water from
whence they came; you never know what fishery you just might be
protecting!
Some of you know this brood stock lake, but shhhhh. Let’s just
keep it off the radar for a while and let those fish do their thing so we
can have a future doing our thing.
Pictures courtesy of Eric Gardunio, Colorado Parks and Wildlife; Ed Kehoe, GGA
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Eric Gardunio
CPW Biologist
2016 Chapter Events Schedule
Here are the upcoming volunteer events for 2016. As dates become available they will be updated
in the next newsletter. When you volunteer, we have signup sheets for you to give the miles you
drive and the hours you volunteered. Your miles you drive from home and back are tax deductible
($0.14 per mile in 2015). The club needs this information to send TU National at the end of the year.
We may have more events come up during the year that I have not been contacted about yet. Thank
you all in advance for your help with these events.
Contact Ed Kehoe, 970-835-3679 to sign up for any event.
APRIL
 Outdoor Show- Thursday April 14th (setup only), Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and part of Sunday 17th
then tear down.
 Healing Waters-GGA Vets Fishing –Date be announced
Meet in Ridgway State Park at Paco-Chu-Puk 8:30am (This event needs just a few members, we
will get the numbers before the event happens.)
MAY
 Crawford- Montessori School – this is a four day event. Date to be announced
Kids Fly Tying – two days
Kids Fishing - Two days – Sunshine Springs, Hotchkiss
JUNE
 Delta Days – Two Booth’s – One for youth casting and contest and one for fly tying and displays.
Saturday JUNE 4th set up at 8:30am
 Ridgway River Fest – Booth – Saturday June 26th
JULY
 GGA Members Picnic - Saturday July 23rd - 11am till…….all the beer is gone.
AUGUST
 River Clean Up – __We need your input!___River – Saturday August 13th
SEPTEMBER
 Highway 50 and Cimarron River Clean Up – September 10th
 BLM “Take it Outside” - This is 4 Days in September at Cottonwood Campground on the Gunnison
River. Mon. Tues. Thurs. Fri. (dates to be set) Setup 8am Monday. This is a fly tying event for youth.
We will need six tiers for each day. All supplies will be furnished, but you may bring your own.
 Healing Waters-GGA Vets Fishing – Saturday September 17th, Meet in Ridgway State Park at Paco-Chu-Puk 8:30am (This event needs just a few members.)
DECEMBER
 GGA Holiday Party - December 1st
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Area Events
Film Tour
Once again Costa is presenting 2016 FLY FISHING FILM TOUR (F3T) Tickets are available at
Western Anglers for $15, $17 on-line, or $20 at the door IF any are left-over. All proceeds go to
Grand Valley Anglers TU. Saturday, March 19th Avalon Theatre - Grand Junction; Doors at
6:00pm, Showtime at 7:00pm.
Saturday Tying Demos at Western Anglers
It’s not summer yet! Better to get in a last few instructions and tips on how to tie up those bugs
before summer does get here. Who wants to spend those long summer days behind a vise watching
videos on tying up the food instead of fishing the food? Western Anglers in Grand Junction is still
hosting tying demos every Saturday into March.
February 27th Pete Ashman, 10:00am – 12:00pm
March 5th Joel Evans, 10:00am-12:00pm (Let’s get up there and support one of our own!)
March 12th Jim Patton, 10am-12pm ALSO Iron Fly from 5pm-10pm. Trent Hannafious will be
attending Iron Fly, so if anyone wants to car pool give him a shout. His contact
information is at end of newsletter
th
March 19 Bill Fenstermaker, 10am-12pm ALSO there is a pre-COSTA FLY FISHING FILM TOUR
get together. Call or check Western Anglers website for details.
Thistledown Small Tract Land Exchange
As some of you may be aware there is a land swap taking place between USFS and Rockbiter Corp.
south of Ouray. There has been some concern over the loss of public access as a result of this
exchange. As this issue was brought to GGA by a member, we have placed it in this month’s
newsletter. The window for public input has since closed but here are a couple of links to check out
what has been taking place.
http://www.telluridenews.com/the_watch/article_4079f1c8-cb56-11e5-95e8-9b4d601c74fb.html
Link below for a detailed parcel map by USFS:
http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/1
02530_FSPLT3_2626708.pdf
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Updates
Trout Unlimited:
Ranchers and Their Water
Life slowly teaches us valuable lessons. One lesson that is hard learned is that working with people
is much easier than working against them. TU and some ranchers have taken this lesson to heart.
By forming a partnership, a valuable resource is now being used more efficiently and in many cases
generates “surplus” water and income for ranchers. Check out how TU and ranchers are making a
difference in many cold water fisheries, agriculture, and municipalities across Wyoming and Colorado.
http://www.tu.org/blog-posts/ranchers-volunteer-to-save-water-trout
Aspinall Operations Meeting
January 21, 2016
Our apologies for not getting this in last month’s newsletter but the information hit our emails too
late. For what it’s worth, here are some projected flows as of January 2016 snow pack levels. Keep
in mind that these are projections and nothing is written in stone. As we all saw last year, we had a
double peak on the Gunnison as late wet weather forced high and in a few cases record releases.
As of
January
2016
So as of Jan 2016, projections call for 10 days 8,070 cfs flow in Whitewater.
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If projected forecasts hold and the area sees no extreme change in weather patterns, increase
shoulder flows should begin around that first week of May and then start stepping down the last week
of May. Should make for some outstanding Stonefly dry fly fishing.
Blue Mesa is expected
to fill according to
information last
received. Don’t get
distressed over some of
the low reservoirs.
They should fill fast
with spring snow melt.
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Project Healing Waters
Project healing waters has just had its 4th session. The last session focused on creating a Wooly
Bugger. Again, a big thanks to the volunteers for their time. More to come next month!!!!
It takes four right handers to
figure out how to do something
left handed.
Healing Waters Fly Tying
Coordinator, Jeff Dean,
demonstrating the Wooly Bugger
Project Healing Waters Program
Leader, Dawn Gwin
Project Healing Waters Calendar
March 2016
03/09 Beginning Fly Tying, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Group 1 Warrior Resource Center
03/14 PHW Monthly Meeting 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Bray Education Center
03/23 Beginning Fly Tying, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Group 1 Warrior Resource Center
April 2016
Date to be Announced - Healing Waters/GGA Vets Fishing, 8:30am, Open Air
Pavilion, Pa-Co-Chu-Puk, Ridgway State Park
Rod Building Coordinator: Lynn Fenton, Montrose
Beginning Fly Tying Coordinator: Jeff Dean, Montrose
Volunteer Coordinator: (Need a Volunteer), Montrose
Co-Lead: Ed Kehoe, Montrose, GGA President (TU) 970-835-3679, [email protected]
Program Lead: Dawn Gwin, 970-314-4400, [email protected]
Trivia Question of the Month
Question: What section of a flowing river is typically the safest and easiest to wade?
1. At a meander bend because the velocity is only high on the outside bank.
2. At the narrowest place you can find, it’s less distance to wade.
3. In a pool because the velocity is minimal.
4. On a relatively straight and wide section of the river where a pool transitions to a riffle.
5. Why bother with wading rivers when you can stay home and watch the Broncos.
Answer to the Trivia Question is at the end of the newsletter above the informational websites!
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Fish Tales
As a young transplant, having moved from New Jersey to Utah in 1974, I attended Utah State
University and majored in forestry and watershed science. After spending much time in Logan
Canyon, not far from campus, I began to wonder how some of the recreation areas got their name,
such as; The Sinks, The Dugway, Spring Hollow and Bridger Campground. One area of the Canyon
especially intrigued me, having the name Brown’s Roll Off. I must have passed this place 100 or more
times until one day I was making the trip with an old Forestry Professor, whom I was working for,
“Doc” Daniels. He proceeded to tell me that Brown’s Roll Off got its name from log transporting
practices from times gone past. Back in the good old days loggers would cut trees during the fall and
winter and store them atop Brown’s Roll Off, which was a high, steep rock face adjacent to the Logan
River. When river flow increased during the spring snowmelt, off the cliff the logs would go into the
river. The logs would then float down river to the mill. This process was used extensively throughout
Europe and North America and was called “log driving”. Log Drivers were men hired to float with the
log mass and make sure they didn’t jam up, but they were not always successful. In fact, many log
drivers lost their lives trying to guide these floating masses.
The Logan River today is an excellent trout fishery along with many other rivers around the country
that used to have “log drives”. I can’t help but wonder what Trout Unlimited and the myriad fly fishers
would say if log driving were still practiced today? How would you even attempt to make that perfect
presentation with a #14 yellow humpy on a 6x tippet?
The photos below show jammed log drives in unknown rivers. Notice the line of log drivers dwarfed
by the log jam (large photo); tough guys!
(Contributing editor: Dennis Murphy)
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Field Fly Fishing
It’s been warm. Midges have been thick at Paco, Gunnison, and even the Taylor. A buddy and I
spent the afternoon on the Uncompahgre in town but saw relatively few bugs, but it was the day after
that normal coldness; and it’s still waiting in ambush to squash our spring dreams. A red midge has
been a producer and a few fell for by buddy’s egg pattern. Just a couple of water degrees and we can
start looking forward to some larger bug action. I know my eyes could use the break from all the tiny
leaders and flies.
February colors on a couple of Montrose city fish!
Fish are active above Pleasure Park but still predominately holding in their winter habitat. For the
stealthy, the flats are holding some good fish where there is some cover or adjacent deep banks.
The Gunny is flowing at 1,150 making crossing very spot specific above Pleasure Park. Watch the
banks and wear drab clothing. We haven’t seen these winter flows in a long time and what were
lifeless still waters the last few years is good holding water this year. I spotted a couple of +20” fish
right off the banks with a deep water escape. Stealth! One mistake and all you’ll see is a fish giving
you the middle fin. Choose a pattern but trail it with a small midge or Baetis and reap the rewards.
March is the month for things to really start heating up as fish transition from their lethargic winter
habits to more active feeding machines. BWO patterns will become deadly along with crane fly
larvae and the staple of the trout’s diet, midges. Match hatch sizes but for midges you might size up
to #22 or even #20. Fish will slowly begin to migrate into faster water so don’t overlook those heavier
runs, especially at the top of pools. I would recommend giving them a few well-placed drifts but if no
one is home, move on. A good pattern is the olive Juju Baetis in #20 as it can resemble both a midge
and Baetis.
Ryan G. poses with a nice
midge caught rainbow while
new GGA member, Lawrence
Cieslewicz (in background),
whips the Social Security Hole
into submission.
New Board Member, Steve
Stoltz, holds a February brown
that was probably warmer in
the water.
Pattern: Juju Bee
Paco is Paco. Sight fishing is the name of the game for the Cutts. Small midges and Baetis
patterns are the ticket but you might get some interest on small, but heavy, dark streamers if you
need a change. Bounce them and let them free fall to rest; with ever a slight twitch when sitting on
bottom. Focus on the plunge pools with the streamers and watch the slow water tail-outs and
channels when nymphing. Water is super clear so be mindful of wearing bright colors, walk slowly,
and spot your target. There has been some large fish caught there this year.
(Contributing Editor Trent Hannafious)
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Answer to Trivia Question
If you selected # 5, you should probably quit GGA and get into a Fantasy Football League! The
correct answer is # 4. The safest combination of water depth and velocity for wading is found on wide
sections of a river, and where a pool transitions into a riffle (see photo below). At narrow river
sections, water velocity is accelerated making these dangerous areas to wade. Pools on the other
hand have low velocity but can be too deep, unless you have a mask and snorkel. Meanders or
bends in the river can exhibit both excessive depth and high velocity on the outside bank. If you
approach a river on the inside bank of meander it can be deceivingly shallow and slow moving. Upon
approaching the outside bank you may start questioning why you choose that route!
To round out our trivia questions regarding wading, next month we’ll explore proper techniques to use
when wading a river.
(Contributing Editor Dennis Murphy)
NOTICES
This newsletter is YOUR newsletter. If there is ANYTHING you would like to add, whether it be an
article, pictures, a story, news or whatever let us know. Editors contact information is listed below.
In addition, GGA editors have been approached by several members about people not receiving our
newsletter. You do not need to be a member of TU or IFFF to belong to GGA, but through TU and
IFFF our core email list is derived. If you know someone that wants the newsletter and is not a TU
member, contact one of the editors with the email address and it will be added to our data base.
We are a bit behind the curve to say the least. Thanks to Joel Evans and TU we again have a
running website. This will once again become an integral source of information. Check it out.
Changes will come faster as GGA learns how to administrate it.
http://gunnisongorgeanglers.tu.org/
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Informational Websites
Here are some handy websites full of information for the “savvy” fisherman.
Gunnison Gorge Anglers
gunnisongorgeanglers.tu.org
Trout Unlimited
http://www.tu.org
International Federation of Fly Fishers
http://www.fedflyfishers.org
Colorado Trout Unlimited
http://www.coloradotu.org
Colorado Parks & Wildlife Map Atlas:
http://www.ndis.nrel.colostate.edu/huntingatlas/
BLM Gunnison Gorge Information:
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Programs/recreation/recreation_areas0/uncompahgre_field/gunnison_gorge
_national0.html
USGS Gunnison Gorge River Flow:
http://www.waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=09128000
USGS Gunnison River Flow at Delta HWY 50
http://www.waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv?site_no=09144250
National Weather Service Forecast Information:
http://www.forecast.weather.gov
Gunnison Gorge Anglers Board of Directors
Name
Email
Phone
President
Ed Kehoe
[email protected]
970-835-3679
Co Vice President
Molly & Chuck Shaver
Treasurer
Brad Oberto
Secretary/Newsletter Editor/
Web Editor
Trent Hannafious
[email protected]
970-712-2666
Newsletter Editor
Dennis Murphy
[email protected]
970-901-0735
David Torkelson
Len Johnson
Voting Members
Richard Arnold
Steve Stortz
George Osborn
Jack Ditlove
Gunnison Gorge Anglers
PO Box 3114
Montrose, CO 81402
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