THE TROUT LINE
Tualatin Valley Chapter News
November/December 2004
NEW Chapter Meetings are held at the
LUCKY LABRADOR on the second
Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm with a social
get-together and the formal meeting at 7:30 unless
otherwise noted in the newsletter or website. Lucky
Labrador, Multnomah Village, 7675 SW Capitol Hwy.
Portland, (503) 244-2537
Board of Directors Meetings held just prior to our
monthly Chapter meeting at 5:30pm at the Lucky Lab.
Wednesday, November 10
New Zealand Trout Fishing on a
Budget with Sue Morrison. Sue recently
moved from Seattle to Wenatchee to be closer to the
rivers and lakes she likes to fish most. Luckily the move
also worked out well with her new job with an outdoor
sporting goods company. But it's not the first time she's
moved somewhere to fish. She spent several months in
New Zealand and the program she's going to present to us
will focus on planning a self-guided trip to some of New
Zealand's best trout fishing destinations for bargain rates.
Wednesday December 8
Holiday Party-Member Slide
Show/Fly Share/Swap. 6pm Start!
Details are being finalized and will be announced at the
next meeting and on the Web site. But members should
start looking now for several photos/slides of recent
fishing adventures they'd like to share with the chapter.
Also, bring several of your favorite flies to swap or share
with other members. (for those afraid of cooking there is
no pot luck this time. Check for details on the WEB or
from a Board member.)
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
Editor: David Illig
President’s Column Kevin Connolly
Summer is gone and the rain is here. It’s a good time to
look back and see what we have done over the past few
months. First, we have changed meeting locations from
the church to the Lucky Labrador in Multnomah Village.
The feedback I’m getting is very positive, much of this is
due to the availability of pizza and beer. Second is the
introduction of our web page, www.tvtroutunlimited.com.
If you have not taken a minute to check it out, please do,
you’ll find chapter information, fishing reports, contact
information and many useful links to improve you fishing
experience. I’d like to thank Josh (TU member) for doing
all the work – it looks great. Third, we had some excellent
outings at South Twin Lake, Gold Lake, Fall River, East
Lake, Fall River and the Crooked River. These outings
could not happen without the dedication and extra effort
Andy Andrews puts in. Forth, is the continual information
flow from David Illig, the newsletter editor and Seth
Isenberg, our email guru. Fifth, Hank Hosfield has put
together some very interesting programs for us every
month enabling us to gain insight into locations, tactics,
equipment and deepen our knowledge of local fishing
opportunities.
What I’m saying is it’s the efforts of people in our chapter
who love fishing, the outdoors and are not afraid to step-
up and put forth some extra effort for the benefit of all.
That being said, we need some help – our chapter, in
partnership with the Clackamas chapter will be having a
banquet in March, 2005 to raise funds to support our
conservation and education efforts. We are not asking for
your first-born, just some time to help us get this off the
ground and have a successful, enjoyable event. Contact
me at 503-246-0665 to see how you can participate.
I have a confession to make – earlier in the year I wrote
that the Williamson River is one of my fishing
destinations. Well, I ran out of time and did not make it.
Call me a “Slacker”, but it will have to wait until next year.
I hope everyone took some time to get out and enjoy the
many wonderful places we have to fish. Kevin
Editor’s Election Recommendations
This is one of the most important elections of our times.
Although you may have many issues that you care about I
thought I would share my suggestions for trout, salmon,
steelhead, environmental issues. These suggestions and
recommendations are solely those of the Editor and
should not be seen as those of our Board, Officers, Trout
Unlimited or anybody else although they may agree with
me some of the time. And a majority of the fish agree with
me…… David Illig

Bush/ Kerry. The environmental issues, fishing
concerns, salmon issues, forest, and stream protection
issues, pollution control. etc., really leave you with few
options. Kerry in the White House will do more to protect
these places and things you value among these categories
than will the Bush team. He will do more to make sure you
have the protections and values of these resources as do
your children and their children. Not just if you are a
millionaire. The Bush Presidency does not have a good
environmental record. It is a terrible record. They support
neither clean streams, healthy fish runs nor a healthy
environment. They do not have a mind set of being
stewards of the land and rivers. Rivers and lands are only
to be used for economic gain until they are gone. An
example is their so-called Salmon Plan. They do not seem
to believe in sustainability. This shouldn’t be a Republican
position but it is a Bush republic position. Kerry is the
clear choice to help and protect our fisheries and stream
environments. Many of our environmental issues are
going to be in critical phases during the next four years.
Many decisions will have permanent, forever, impacts.
Extinct is extinct. That’s true whether you are fishing here
or even in Iraq. VOTE YES FOR KERRY.
Although both major parties are too beholding to major
corporations, the Democrats seem to have a more
balanced position on both jobs and the environment at
this time.
Senator Wyden is the best choice for the Senate here even
though I’m still angry with him for supporting a bad
Medicare bill. David Wu, Darlene Hooley, and Earl
Blumenauer are needed in the House to either counter the
Bush White House or to support Kerry’s White House in
protecting the environment and the salmon runs. YES FOR
WYDEN, WU, HOOLEY, AND BLUMENAUER
And I’m hoping Nick Fish ultimately turns into the caliber
of a Presidential candidate so I’m recommending a vote
for him. YES ON FISH.
YES on 34. Measure 34 balances timber production on
our state forests with protections for clean drinking water,
fish and wildlife, and recreation. Here are some key
points of the measure: 34 Restores a native old-growth
forest on half of the Tillamook and Clatsop State Forests,
guided by the recommendations of an independent
science team 34 Ensures revenue to local counties by
managing the remaining 50% of the forest for sustainable
timber production. Creates new family wage jobs and an
apprenticeship program in restoration forestry
Holds local schools harmless to any potential loss of
revenue. Measure 34 restores balance to our state forests
by protecting remaining rainforest and clean water while
safeguarding school funding and jobs. Join Tualatin
Riverkeepers in voting YES ON 34.
VERY NO ON 37. Measure 37, the so-called “Taking
Measure,” is a way to destroy land use planning and
environmental protections. It is very damaging to our
state if passed. It says that governmental actions that
impact your property have to be paid for by the
government agency. If you aren’t allowed to build a hotel
on your property then the government has to cover your
loss you suffered by not building that hotel, even on the
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
2
river in that sensitive wet land. Guess what, government
won’t be telling many people not to build a hotel, will
they? The government won’t be protecting farm land so
it’s not covered with houses. It is a measure that basically
says I should be able to do anything I want with my land
no matter the impact. Take a look at Texas cities and you
will see much of this in action. There is little or no land
use planning. Free enterprise does not protect our
environment or our fish or our rivers. Yes, we need wise
and balanced land use planning. This ain’t it. This is a
very dangerous measure because it sounds so good on the
surface but is actually very destructive and far reaching.
There is NO money to cover its cost if passed. Cities,
counties, etc would either go bankrupt or have to almost
totally give up protection of our living space. Again there
are better balancing measures between economics and the
environment. Good analysis and wise problem solving is a
better solution than such a heavy handed, blunt and
foolish measure. Most agricultural interests are against
this measure because it puts farm land at risk. VOTE
VERY NO, AND MORE NO ON 37 IF YOU VALUE THE
ENVIRONMENT AND PROTECTION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL
STATE. There are better solutions that protect jobs and
housing needs.
Measure 35, caps on pain and suffering in medical
malpractice suits. This may seem to only be on medical
malpractice but I would suggest voting against it because
of its improper focus and misdirection. If passed it would
also tend to lead toward caps on other corporate areas of
negligence and recklessness that are improper. In my
career I work my buns off defending doctors, nurses and
hospitals, and protecting the clients of med mal insurance
companies in lawsuits. However, when some doctor has
been found to be negligent or reckless by a jury, I do not
believe it is our position to limit what can be awarded for
pain and suffering without knowing the details of the
case. Remember, this measure applies only to where
negligence or recklessness has already been found by a
jury. Who are we, compared to those who heard the case,
to say that somebody damaged can only receive $500,00
in pain and suffering? What is the pain and suffering?
Imagine if you or your child were made quadriplegic by a
negligent medical act. Would $500,000 seem enough to
represent the pain and suffering over the next 20-40
years? If somebody you loved were burned in a negligently
or recklessly caused fire over 90 per cent of their body
and terribly disfigured would $500k for pain and suffering
be enough? The measure as written has nothing to do
with reducing frivolous lawsuits which I would love to see
reduced. If they are worried about huge excessive awards
why not make the cap a significant number but just stop
the huge awards? Then we would be talking about
something like $5 or 10 million caps to limit those few
large verdicts. There are solutions that will reduce
frivolous lawsuits. This doesn’t. There are solutions that
will protect good doctors and allow practice of difficult
specialties. There are solutions which will reduce
insurance premiums for doctors. This type of measure
isn’t it. Remember, it says that the jury already believes
there was negligence. There are solutions which allow
injured people to be taken care of. Often times children or
the poor have little or no economic damages to recover.
Who says pain and suffering isn’t real, significant, and
worthy of monetary balancing by those who were
 3
negligent or reckless? Is your pain and suffering without region. He further attributes it to Dick Prankard of Mt.
value? I doubt it. There are much better solutions. The Vernon Washington who named the pattern after a dentist
legislature, governor, and representatives from both the named Donald A. Spratley who popularized the fly in the
docs and the attorneys should work out better solutions. Interior Lakes region before his passing in 1968. The
The same is true for reform of suing in other industries. steelhead version I have described below, however, comes
NO ON 35. from the bench of Art Lindsey who uses this pattern to
great effectiveness on the Thompson River (BC). I came to
Measure 36. I’m saying NO to this one, the gay marriage know it from a close friend, Mike Garoutte, who has been
thing. I suggest you do the same. If a gay fisherperson using it to great success on the summer steelhead waters
wants to marry a gay person then why shouldn’t they be of Oregon.
allowed to try the same difficult, and as-often-as-not-
failed attempt to balance a marriage and the duty to fish Mike uses the pattern in sizes 8 through 2, with 4's and
and fish often? If they don’t realize that many marriages
are a challenge to fishing then I guess they deserve the
same opportunity to try as the rest of us. It would seem
that their struggle to balance fishing and having a good
marriage would have little impact on your marriage. Most
gays or straights have no choice in their sexual
orientation. Neither do fish. It’s greatly biological. I think
they ought to have the same choices we have. The same
options to reduce fishing time. On the other hand, if they
are married it may leave more fish for you and me. This
measure has nothing to do with the welfare of children.
Unless your child happens to be gay. Religions can have
whatever rules they decide to have. Marriage can be
whatever they decide for their members. The Oregon
Constitution is another matter. Vote NO ON 36.
REMEMBER TO VOTE.
VOTE FOR ALL THE FISH AND THE RIVERS

Remember to Sign up New Members to

Trout Unlimited. It’s a great bargain for what they
get. Especially at the half-off introductory membership at
$17.50 Lots of people aren’t members who would enjoy it.
We still get something for new member signups. New
members can sign up at www.tu.org/intro and entering
code 633 for Tualatin Valley chapter. If they prefer a 6's being the most used. It is a great dark pattern that
paper membership application, contact Erle to send it to won't put fish off when they are a little skittish. I like the
them. tie that Art came up with as it has the classical (Spey)
look.
Hook: Alec Jackson Spey - no. 7 through 3
during summer, up to 1/0 in winter.

Fly of the Month - The Doc Spratley
Alex Barkume
This month's fly is a bit of an enigma. I first saw it
presented as a steelhead pattern in a color plate in Trey
Combs' book "Steelhead Fly Fishing and Flies" which came
out in 1976. Trey, who is usually quite meticulous, failed
to list it in the text section, so there was no historical
perspective presented to me at that time. The pattern as
shown there was quite unremarkable and to a young
steelheader more interested in the bright and colorful, it
did not catch my eye at that time. Apparently it didn't
catch Trey's either since he failed later to even mention it
in his definitive work "Steelhead Fly Fishing" (1991) which
many consider to be the bible of steelhead fly fishing.
However, it turns out that the Doc Spratley is a fly of
notoriety in western Canada where it is used heavily.
Steve Raymond in his book "Kamloops" (1st edition,
1971) claims that next to the Carey Special the Doctor
Spratley is the best-known pattern in the Kamloops
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
Thread……….. 6/0 Black Uni-thread
Tag:…………….Fine Larguntan silver oval tinsel.
Butt:……………Black, red or fluorescent green floss.
Tail:…………….Few Guinea Hen feather fibers.
Trim:……...……1 to 2 wraps of black ostrich herl.
Rib:……………..Fine Larguntan silver oval tinsel
Body:……………1/3 black floss, front 2/3 black seal (or
substitute) dubbing.
Hackle: ………..Black saddle starting at approx. the
second turn of tinsel.
Collar:…………Guinea Hen hackle - 1 to 1½ turns.
Wing:………….Small clump of ringneck pheasant tail
fibers extending to end of body.
Head: Several turns of Peacock herl.
1.. Tie in a piece of fine French oval silver tinsel.
Starting at a point just above the point of the hook wrap
tinsel forward about ¼ of the way up the body and secure
with a couple of thread wraps.. Over wrap with floss -
color of your choice. Secure with thread.

2.. Pick several fibers from a Guinea hen hackle and
tie in as the tail.
3.. Throw down a wrap or two of black ostrich herl.
Secure.
4.. Tie in the oval tinsel, the and the black floss.
5.. Lay down floss wraps about 1/3 of the way up the
body.
6.. Tie in a black saddle hackle with one side of the
hackle stripped (keeps hackle light).
7.. Dub the front 2/3 of the body with black seal and
wind the black hackle forward. Secure.
Important - leave enough room at the head of the
fly for peacock and thread head!
8.. Wrap oval tinsel up to end of seal and tie off.
Tinsel should be wrapped so that it sits right next
to the black hackle. (some tiers wrap the tinsel
first, then the hackle. Find what works for you).
9.. Pick out trapped hack fibers.
10.. Tie in a Guinea hen feather that has been stripped
on one side. and wrap one to one and a half times
as collar. Tie off.
11.. Measure and tie in the pheasant tail fiber wing.
Secure with thread.
12.. Tie in peacock herl and make 3 or 4 wraps and
secure with thread.
13.. Tie off a small neat head, whip finish and lacquer.
I am currently using Sally's "Nails so Hard" on my
steelhead patterns. 2 or 3 coats makes for a nice
glossy head and it doesn't seem to absorb
moisture like some lacquers (causes clouding). Or
for a more durable head, try a small dab of epoxy.
The DP is a stealth pattern with a hint of color (hot-butt).
The dark body and wing are unobtrusive yet the materials
wiggle and wave in the current. This pattern has been
very good for me over the last few years. I have enjoyed
fishing it recently on a small lightweight Spey rod. Give it
a 'swing" or two, I'm pretty sure it will soon find a niche
in your steelhead fly box. Alex
Fly Tyer’s Corner Dick Rohrbaugh
Over the years tyers have accumulated a lot of creative
ideas. In tying, like everything else, experience is always
the best teacher. Here are a new set of tips to try the next
time you tie.
Materials
This time of year the big hatch is the baetis. Emergences
are by far the best on cloudy, rainy (or snowy) days and
usually occur in the middle of the day. Here on the
Madison (from where I am writing this) the hatches are
truly astounding. There are days when the river is literally
carpeted with hatching insects.
Because the fall baetis are the second brood of the season
(the first brood hatches in the spring) they are much
smaller than their earlier cousins. Most are size 20 or 22.
If you are among those whose eyesight makes tying on
flies tied on size 22 hooks a bit of a challenge, consider
tying your baetis patterns on the “big eye” hooks sold by
Orvis. In small sizes Orvis puts (for example) a size 16
eye on a size 20 hook. It makes no difference in the way
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
4
your flies will fish, but it sure makes tying a new one on
– probably with cold fingers – a whole lot easier.
Techniques
As winter comes on many people drift San Juan worms
along the edges of the Deschutes. It can be a very
effective technique. While few patterns are easier to tie
than the San Juan worm, not all tyers realize how to
achieve the nicely tapered ends on the chenille used for
this pattern. Nothing could be simpler. Get a cigarette
lighter and simply singe each end of the chenille after you
have tied it in. The result will be a nice taper just like the
ones you see in the pictures.
Tools and Equipment
Do you use hackle pliers for wrapping hackle? On larger
feathers they actually get in the way, but on the small
stuff they can be a real help. There are many types of
hackle pliers sold in the fly shops and many of them work
reasonably well. Some still swear by the old English style
pliers though in my view they never worked worth a darn
and often ended up just breaking the hackle stem. A
simple and inexpensive solution is to go to Radio Shack
and buy test clips for a couple of bucks. Some fly shops
also carry them. They hold at least as well as the old
English pliers and do not break the stems nearly as easily.
You can go one better if you drape a small piece of rubber
band over the plastic end of the test clip and cinch it
down with a few wraps of tying thread and a little head
cement. That way it provides a soft seat for the small
wire clip to land on and makes the hold on the feather
that much better.
TU Fishing Outings
Check with Officers and Board members for any outings
in November and December
Not Every Big Fish Tale Is a Lie.
By Hank Hosfield
Over the years I had heard the fly shop folks up at
Welches talk about big brook trout at Clear Lake. That
kind of talk excites me. That kind of talk even got me to
stalk the marshy drainage of Clear Creek (flowing east out
of Clear Lake) one late fall day some years ago in hopes of
finding something like confirmation of these rumored
fish. All I can confirm is that the marsh there is very
marshy, and that I’m not very good at sneaking up on
anything--especially not something as wily as a brook
trout that has lived long enough to get as big as these
brook trout were rumored to be. Since then in several
trips to the lake I have hooked few brook trout, and
nothing bigger than 15 inches. That's nothing to write
home about. What would constitute a big brook trout?
Let’s start at 20 inches. That's the kind of fish you see
but much less often catch at Hosmer Lake. BrookTrout
this size are also found in places like Crane Prairie and
Wickiup. There’s probably a few other Cascade lakes that
have some big brook trout, but not in any abundance.
Most brook trout lakes have lots of 9-12” specimens, with
a few fish available up to 16”. I’ve caught lots of brook

trout between 12-17 inches, and I'm a big fan of these
fish. Timothy Lake has lots of these critters, and I’ve
actually seen a 20" brook trout taken there once, and last
year a net sample in Timothy turned up a 9-pounder! But
Timothy is a big, deep lake with more water than a fly
angler could ever hope to cover and very little opportunity
to hook something like that.
Nearby Clear Lake is different. At full pool it's not more
than 20 feet deep in most places. It’s rarely at full pool,
and with the recent dry winters, it's been lower than usual.
It nearly dries up. No, that's not right. It doesn’t dry up;
it becomes a mudflat. But in that muddy bottom is a huge
population of nymphs, mostly mayflies and midges,
making Clear Lake one of the better fly fishing lakes in the
area, with some of the better fed trout on the west side of
the Cascades. It also has a bunch of crayfish, and it is
suspected that these big brook trout make their living
scarfing down these lake lobsters. But I’ve had no success
yet fishing crawdad patterns here outside of a couple hard
pulls.
Then again, I’ve never really fished for brook trout at
Clear Lake under optimum conditions, like during the fall,
when the water is low and the brook trout are extra
hungry and staging for heading down the creek to spawn.
Why not? Because the fall is full of so many other great
fishing opportunities that it’s hard to make a case for a
reservoir that’s drawn down to its ugliest mud stage to
battle the constant heavy winds that will quickly blow you
and your float tube a mile down the lake in whichever
direction is always least convenient in an effort to catch
fish that probably aren’t even there. And my fishing
friends usually have even less enthusiasm for the place, or
the lure of mythical brook trout.
Eric Thompson and I recently had no plans to fish Clear
Lake, but ended up there at my insistence after the bite
crapped out earlier than the usual 3pmsiesta at Timothy
Lake. I don’t know why anyone bothers to fish there at
night or early in the morning. If you're on the water at
Timothy between 10am and 2pm, you've got the best of
that place. Sometimes you’re rewarded for staying later,
but not often enough. Luckily Eric had fished Timothy
enough this summer to come around to my way of
thinking and not protest when I suggested we bug out for
Clear Lake. We had already had a good few hours hooking
mostly wild rainbows at Timothy, including a fish I lost
near my rod tip that I’m certain would have been the
biggest fish I’ve ever landed at Timothy by a couple
inches. In fact, I had enjoyed a stellar day and would have
been happy to head home early if Eric hadn’t been up for
following my mad brook trout quest to Clear Lake. Eric’s
only reservation was some posting about Clear Lake on
WestFly that reported the fishing was good but the fish
were smaller.
We should have been more concerned about the water
level. When we got there we found not much lake left in
the lake. The boat launch was high and dry 50 yards from
the nearest water. We had a muddy hike down to the lake
with our tubes, and when we got in the lake we couldn't
find any water deeper than 16 inches. I kicked west
toward what I hoped would be deeper water, looking for a
river channel or anything resembling holding water. It
was a long kick. Surprisingly, wind was not much of a
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
5
factor. Eric had gone in another direction and found
nothing different. He finally decided he’d try a few casts.
On his second he got a 19’ rainbow. His spirits rose. I
kept kicking for deeper water. I finally found some closer
to 24 inches deep and also got into some nice rainbows.
By the time I’d landed four 15-16” rainbows Eric had
found nothing else at his end of the lake and given into
my urging that he join me up the lake, where a few fish
were beginning to rise.
Don’t ask me why we both had started with intermediate
lines. Who would have thought the whole lake was less
than 30 inches deep? You could walk across it if you can
keep from sinking away into the quick mud. Actually,
most of the lake bottom is uniformly flat and carpeted
with weeds. Eric was constantly clearing grass off his
sealbugger. For some reason (I’m attributing the long seal
fur dubbing that acted like a weed guard over my hook
point) I wasn’t getting snagged up as often as he was, but
we both came to our senses and changed to floating lines.
Still, there was virtually no hatch to speak of. Who knows
what those few rising fish were taking. There was an
assortment of wasps and terrestrials strewn about that
they might be taking, so I figured any big dry fly would
get their attention. I was wrong. They were feeding on
midges. I watched a couple big fish gobble midges within
a foot of my elk hair caddis. So I gave in and tied on a
#18 Griffith’s gnat and tossed it 50 feet to the spot where
the last big fish rose.
I don’t know how long it sat there. It was probably less
than two seconds, but my sense of time was so distorted
by frozen moments of anticipation, I can’t be sure. I
barely had time to remove slack line before the big fish
took me under. At least I thought it was the big fish.
Only just a moment after I hooked up a very big fish rose
again within a foot of where I had cast, making me
wonder what I had hooked. But a couple heavy
headshakes quickly confirmed that I had something big
and it was burrowing into the weeds. And while I was
battling my fish, Eric yelled that he had something good
on. I could see from the tail angrily breaking the surface
that I had a big brook trout that would test my 5X tippet.
But it didn’t turn out to be an epic fight. Within five
minutes I had eased it into my net. It filled my net.
I excitedly kicked over to Eric where he was taking a
picture of the 17" brook trout he has just landed in hopes
of getting a picture of my 20-inch brookie. Finally, I’d
have eyewitness and photographic proof of truly big brook
trout in Clear Lake. The folks at the Fly Fishing Shop
weren't telling tall tales. All of a sudden I believed like
only someone who has seen a UFO (Unbelievable Fish
Observation) can believe. And so did Eric. While it wasn’t
nearly as big as the 24” brook trout that Patti Barnes
reported that one of her customers landed at Clear Lake
this summer, or pushing seven pounds like lake legend
catches, it did measure out at 20 inches on my float tube
apron and felt like it was four pounds going on five, which
qualifies it in any biologist’s book as a big brook trout.
But I must confess that I’m a little disappointed that in
the best photo that came out it doesn’t look quite as big
as it felt in my big paws.

So, after finally releasing this lunker I'm happy to confirm
there are osmer-sized brook trout in Clear Lake. But are
there more? Or is this just a fluke?
Remember the big fish that rose when I hooked my 20-
incher? When I resumed fishing I went back to where it
rose and put my next cast on the same spot and quickly
hooked a fish that felt even bigger. I had it on for about
three seconds before the hook lost its purchase on
whatever part of bony jaw my hook’s tiny gape made it
hard to penetrate. There were still a few fish rising when
darkness urged us to kick for home and I landed a couple
more 14-16 inch brook trout before I got off the lake. I
think there are more big brook trout there, too. I'm sure
of it. And how cool is it when you can catch big brook
trout on size 18 dry flies? That’s just a little outside the
box. And now that I know where to find these brutes, I
like my chances of hooking something even bigger there
next year. Maybe you can, too. Then again, I’m sort of
selfishly hoping you and everyone else thinks I’m lying.
Hank
Preview of Jan 12 meeting. Sea-Run brown
trout. Welcome the Summer of Patagonia while we sit in
the middle of winter. Jim Teeny presents fly fishing for
sea-run brown trout in Patagonia. Imagine aggressive,
salmon-sized brown trout teeming in pristine waters
where they seldom see a fish hook. Where it is not
unusual to hook numerous fish over 20 pounds in a single
day. Jim Teeny knows as well as any expert how to bring
big fish to a fly, and he annually guides a group of anglers
on this South American fishing adventure unlike anything
you'll find in the northern hemisphere.
Crane Bows
And Lesser Forms of Life
By Andy Andrews
The fat seventeen – inch fish slide gently into the net,
ending his struggle for freedom. Of course he would be
returned to the river but only after a photo was taken. A
passer-by volunteered to take the photo, feeling it was the
least he could do after his golden lab had joined me in the
river in an attempt to help me land the fish. I struggled
two or tree feet up the steep bank with the netted fish and
prepared for the photo. It was at this point that the lab
felt I needed ‘congratulation kisses’ for my
accomplishment. After clearing the dog from photo area,
there was to be a one, two, three count at which time the
shutter would be released. At the two count, I lost my
grip on the bank and slide back down into the river, still
holding the fish. The volunteer photographer informed
me that we had one more chance because he had left his
fly rod laying on top of his car in the parking lot. I
crawled up the bank, the photo was taken and I returned
the fish to the river. With all of this, less that a minute
had passed from the time the fish had hit the net before it
was back in the river. I cradled the fish for some time in
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
6
the 46 - degree water to be sure he had some chance at
survival. When I released the fish, he disappeared in a
heartbeat, with a few quick flashes of his tail. In all my
years of fishing the Fall, I have seen only one dead fish
and that fish had fallen pry to one of the mink living in
the area.
The specie of fish I had released is often referred to as a
Crane Bow. For many years, the Fall River Hatchery has
supplied the areas lakes and rivers with a California
specie of Rainbow Trout. The southern rainbow was a
fragile specie that was highly susceptible to disease and
generally did not survive well in the area (unlike the
Californian homo sapiens transplanted to Bend. Now
Andy…be nice!). An attempt to start a Grayling
population in the Fall River also failed do to disease and
other complications. Therefore a new plan was introduced
where migrating rainbows traveling up the Deschutes
from Crane Prairie were trapped and contributions from
the male and female fish were mixed and the fertilized
eggs were sent to Klamath Falls for incubation. After the
juveniles are proven to be healthy, they are returned to the
Fall River Hatchery to be raised and later released back
into their native waters as Crane Bows. Through research,
Crane Bows have proven to be healthy fish with a long life
expectancy and they are now reproducing naturally.
Having encountered this species in the Fall River, I can
testify that they are the most acrobatic, strongest fighting
rainbows I have encountered in a long time.
I am often asked if the fish in the Fall are native or
hatchery. I have to reply hatchery because the fish above
the falls are planted, though native to the area. Below the
falls, well, the river is a tributary of the Deschutes, so
whatever populates the Deschutes also populates the
lower Fall River.
However there is a downside to the Fall River Crane Bows,
which we have often encountered on our September visits:
finding them. This year during the first days of our trip,
references were made about the river such as, ‘sterile
river’, ‘dry of fish’, ‘no one is home’, etc. Upon our arrival,
the weather was unseasonable cool. For several days the
weather remained cool, overcast and windy. Later in the
 7
trip, the weather god’s smiled on us, the sun burned
through the clouds, the bug hatches came off and fish
were feeding everywhere. The problem then became how
to get the fish to notice your fly with many naturals on
the water. At one point, there were three hatches
i

In the future (2005), we hope to give more notice to TU

members of this event and would appreciate having a list
of volunteers interested in this project in advance. 2005
will see projects on the Metolius and the Crooked River
in the air at once. The Lesser Green Drake, the Western area and please lets us know if you have interest in
Lead Wing and some other mayfly I couldn’t identify, all joining us for these projects. Andy Andrews
filled the air at one time. Stretches of the river that
seemed ‘dry’ moments before now had four to six fish
feeding on the surface at one time, and they were large
fish. It’s a familiar story with the Fall River: hot, than
cold, than hot again.

All I need is the occasional feisty Crane Bow from the Fall
to keep me coming back to a river that I bonded with
many years ago. Andy

Home Waters Project

Admittedly, the Home Waters project fell on us very
quickly. This was a renovation of land and streams in the
Metolius River System owned by Deschutes Land Trust.
Due to a time frame established by the land trust and the
TU state council, the program was slammed together very Andy and his helpers fed over 30 volunteers steak,
quickly. We still managed to have representation from chicken, corn on the cob, appetizers, and dessert. There
every active TU chapter in the state of Oregon participate was also an array of adult beverages for those interested.
in the program. The overall project involves improving Volunteers were from The Tualatin Valley, Clackamas,
migration of sockeye salmon from the ocean to Suttle Bend (new chapter), Grants Pass and Eugene chapters. In
Lake, their natural migration route. other words, all active chapters in Oregon had members
present
Starting on Friday, there was an environmental
improvement in the clearing of Lake Creek. Saturday was
forest management around Lake Creek. I'd say that
photos are missing from the stream improvement because
I did not arrive until Friday night at 11:00 P.M. due to
work! O.K. enough of that! Saturday evening I fed the 30
- participants with the help of some of the wives who had
returned for a tour of the town of Sisters. I would say the
dinner (provided by TU) was very successful and the
evening around the campfire was appreciated by all in
attendance.

“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”

Tools of the Trade. –Eric Thompson
It was a Saturday in the early 1990’s and we were in a poor
mood. My computer cable foreman and I were sitting in
an auditorium filled with construction contractors, all not
very eagerly spending all day at the state-required
Continuing Ed class. We were tired from the previous
week. Running a business can do that to a person. There
were approximately 140 middle-aged men and precisely
two women present, most all of whom were grumbling
about ‘keeping government out of our businesses.’ We
were there because the State of Oregon at that time was in
the swing of licensing virtually every trade that had
anything to do with construction. There were fence
makers, nurserymen, cat-skinners, electricians, solar
heating experts, home improvement people, and just
about every other ilk that could be rounded up. At least
this class fulfilled an elective portion for our license, and
we had made the choice to be in it instead of at a worse
class. This particular subject was titled ‘Accounting
Procedures in the Construction Business.’ It dealt with
profit and loss, construction liens, contract labor vs.
employee, safety issues, and anything to do with making
money.
The reason I am mentioning all this is because the
‘teacher’ (a construction guy who was bigger and ornerier
and had been around longer than everybody else) raised a
very memorable question that, yes, does have to do with
fishing. He asked the class: “O.K., What is the ONE most
important tool of your trade?” There were about 20
different answers. One guy said his ‘D-9’ (A monster-
sized bulldozer). Another said his backhoe. Others said
things like saws, laser levels, jackhammers, pile drivers,
tunnel-borers, nail guns, fiber optic splicers, air
compressors, and just about every other contraption
invented since humanoids got opposable thumbs. “Nope;
all wrong,” we were told; “It’s your cell phone.” (Cell
phones were fairly uncommon at that time. Why on earth
would anybody want to be called when they are working?)
He then commenced to tell us about communications with
your three most important clients, your vendors, and
employees. It was a good point, actually a lesson on
returning calls and being available to those who are going
to be paying you lots of dough..
What’s does all this tool-talk have to do with fishing?
Well, the question is, what is our ONE most important
“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
8
tool? Lots of people might say items like their rod, reel,
boat, line, fishing-license, or phone. Internet-types might
even say their computer or GPS. I would submit that it is
your Jeep (‘Jeep’ is a registered trademark of Chrysler
Corporation. Management makes no claims that Jeeps are
any better or worse than any other truck, but just calls
everything a ‘Jeep.’). Anyway, living here in the city,
without a decent vehicle, you would stand no chance of
even getting your line in the water. All that fancy fishing
gear would just sit around in your garage until you
decided to donate it for the Upcoming Trout Unlimited
fundraising auction on the twelfth of March.
I greatly despise the trend in our country to just throw
every imperfect item into the landfill. I believe in the
long-life theory, that you can make an item last
indefinitely just by putting some maintenance into it. I
once had an employee who was a member of an auto
racing team. He treated his own personal vehicle like it
was a member of the family. At lunch break you could
find him out polishing his pickup truck, or ordering some
special license plate holder that looked like a chain. He
told me that “Unless the engine itself starts to fail, you
should maintain a car forever. Everything except the
engine can be economically replaced.”
With that theory in mind, I want to conclude by giving you
a few examples of past problems that I have had to solve
with detective-like dedication. Since these were so hard to
diagnose, they are titled in ‘Mystery’ format:
‘The Litigation-Prone Lousy Liftgate. This is where the
liftgate opens very slowly and not all the way. This causes
people to always bump their head on it, get injured, and
be in a bad mood. Solution: This problem took some
basic common sense and foresight, which I couldn’t find
in my tool chest. First I tried a stick to hold the gate up,
which didn’t work. Then replaced the shock absorber
struts like I should have in the first place. Problem Solved
‘The Snow Tires that were Scared of Snow.’ These were
just regular snow tires with lots of tread, but no studs. I
was always having to get out and put chains on. Solution:
Replace them with the new ‘Blizzak’ (Management
purports that there are other brands available that are
good, too) sticky-rubber type tires. These are excellent in
ice, snow, and rain, and don’t tear up the roads. No more
skidding.
‘The Hot Item of the Non-heating Heater.’ This is where
the actual heater works, but the fan doesn’t blow any hot
air. It’s sort of like having a fishing rod but no line.
Solution: Replace the three-position switch that turns on
the fan. Cold fishermen now warm.
‘The Absolutely Blood-Curling Case of the Cranky
Cranker.’ Oh, this has been the greatest of all mysteries,
taking more than two years to solve. It went like this:
About once a week, the engine wouldn’t start, usually
when lots of people were watching. This is not a healthy
problem for a fisherperson who goes into remote country.
The battery had plenty of power and the engine would
crank over fine. It just wouldn’t start. I would do a ‘roll-
start’ and get it to the mechanic, who would say, “Starts
fine for me. Just bring it back when it won’t start. That’ll
be $25 for looking.” Ummm, O.K. Finally, I took it to the
local Beaverton Jeep dealer (Yes, yes there are other Jeep
dealers besides them) and said: “Keep it here until it won’t
 9
start and then fix it.” After two weeks it was still a auction all in the fireside warmth of the Library Room at
mystery, so they tightened every electrical wire and Portland's acclaimed Governor Hotel. Hors d'oeuvres and
harness they could find. They also replaced a thing called wine are complimentary with your admission, which is
the Crank-Position Sensor. When I got it back it fired $20 if you pre-register or $25 at the door. Your ticket
right up every time. Every time, that is, until one year price is tax deductible, and all proceeds benefit the Native
later when it started doing it again. This time, like a Fish Society's conservation and restoration efforts for
Steelhead fisherman who lost a big fish because of a bad salmon and steelhead in the Northwest.
knot, I had learned my lesson. I went right to the Crank-
Position Sensor. It had gotten wet with antifreeze. I Seating is
cleaned it in alcohol and have not had a problem since. limited! Register
Case closed. NOW to reserve
your space!
Using my Drive-It-Till-It-Drops theory, I’ve managed to Call Native Fish
keep the Jeep out of the landfill. Hey, I’ve only put about Society at (503)
2000 hours into solving all these mechanical conundrums. 977-3133 to
Eric. purchase your
tickets.

What Will Happen to Northwest Salmon

After the Election? An Evening with David Alaska
Montgomery Salmon Researcher, Advocate Fishing
and Author. Sunday November 7, 6-8pm Stan Smith
Governor Hotel Library Room I have a friend
who has a fish
What will happen to our endangered Pacific Salmon after camp on the Naknek river near Bristol Bay. It is Raiinbow
the votes are counted this November? No one knows for Bend Lodge & he is Tom Baumgardner. My brother-in-law
sure, but David Montgomery has a pretty good idea. David Culver & I went up for Coho season & Tom invited
Montgomery, a Professor of Geomorphology at the us back to help him close the camp for the winter. In the
University of Washington, knows more about the salmon meantime the Naknek filled up with Humpies. The 1st
than most of us know about our own families. He has couple of days we were there Tom still had guests so we
extensively studied the history of these fish, their role in couldn't close the camp but we did fish & all we caught
human civilization, and what lies ahead for their future. was Humpies. After the 2nd day it got to be a drag so
Montgomery understands why the salmon are Tom hooked us up with a friend of his who has a float
disappearing. Most of all, he has a well-thought-out, plane. The following day he flew us into a remote area
viable plan to bring back these majestic fish from the called Ugasik. We
brink of extinction. flew over the
area we were
As a Native Fish Society member, you have the rare going to fish & I
opportunity to hear Montgomery discuss the future of could not believe
Pacific Salmon at the Governor Hotel on Sunday, my eyes, there
November 7. That's just five days after Election Day, the were so many
outcome of which holds potential to dramatically impact fish in the river!
our native fish. Montgomery's presentation promises to From where we
be timely, insightful and far more valuable than any post- landed we had to
election media coverage about these fish if there is any wade the river &
coverage at all. It's an issue you care about, and this is walk to the area
your opportunity to hear about it in depth, from a true where the fish
salmon expert. were. It took
about an hour &
Montgomery's knowledge of the salmon is expressed in a half. All I can
his book, "King of Fish: The Thousand Year Run of tell you is that it
Salmon." In it, he looks closely at how human greed, was the most
disdain for nature and lack of environmental policy have remarkable day
decimated the once abundant salmon. He also offers his of my 'fishing'
unique recommendations on how to bring back these life. I'm guessing about a 60 fish day! If the club is
majestic fish. Anyone with an interest in preserving interested I can bore them for a long time with the story.
salmon for future generations will find Montgomery's plan See you at the next meeting. Keeping tight lines.
fascinating. Stan Smith
The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a
UPCOMING Newsletter Material
question-and-answer period. Afterward, Montgomery will
be selling and signing his book. Before and after his talk
Send to David Illig. . Dillig1@aol.com 296 9050
you will have time to enjoy classic Northwest hospitality:
hors d'oeuvres from Jake's Grill, Northwest wines, a silent

“To Conserve, Protect, And Restore North America’s Cold Water Fisheries And Their Watersheds”
 10

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

November/December
2004
Oficers
President: Kevin Connolly 860 6355
Kevinconnolly1@aol.com Alex Barkume - 642-7024
alexbarkume@comcast.net

Treasurer: Rod Lundberg Andy Andrews

291-5308 rplundberg@hotmail.com Raddicio@aol.com 646-2375

Board of Directors:

Hank Hosfield Erle Norman 293-6006

228-6553 hankh@imagina.com caddis2000@hotmail.com
Membership Chair
Eric Thompson 297-0718
anglingeric@msn.com Jerry Heppell
jheppell@teleport.com
Dick Rohrbaugh 639-9408
rbaugh@3rivers.net 636-3877

Seth Isenberg 293-3290

sbisenberg@comcast.net