BEGINNERS AND BEYOND

One on one stream side fly fishing instruction is available to PPTU members. Participants must show commitment by having waders or hippers, a rod and reel outfit, and leader. Discussions will include equipment, knots, casting, flies, dry fly and nymphing techniques, entomology, reading water, conservation, etc. at nearby streams. Instruction will be tailored to individual needs. Members who have not made an Annual Supporting Contribution will be asked to contribute $20.

Contact Ken Bowyer at 301-627-7154 or e-mail kenbowyer@verizon.net.

2007 Mentor Program Report

In 2007, 12 members listed in the table below were tutored at Morgan Run, Big Hunting Creek, Beaver Creek, the Casselman, the Little Patuxent, or the Gunpowder. First timers received a current issue of the Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide (or a copy of the Maryland section) and a 4 page summary on entomology. This introductory material provided the newcomer with an idea of what flies to use at any given time and general information on identifying insect types. Knot tying was discussed showing two basic knots; the surgeons knot (and surgeons loop) for tying or connecting tippet to leader and leader to line and the improved clinch knot for tying flies to tippet. Different types of leader (the standard 7.5’ 3x nylon tapered leader, the Orvis braided leader, and the Airflo PolyLeader) were discussed to show them alternative setups. For those with their leader connected to the fly line with a nail knot or to a nylon butt section with a loop, the Cortland braided loop was shown as an alternative for line to leader loop to loop connections. A brief time was spent on the stream turning over rocks to show some insect life in its early stages. For those with no casting experience, basic casting techniques were shown. On the stream, casting variations including the sidearm cast and the roll cast were demonstrated to avoid overhanging trees and brush behind you. Basic short line nymphing techniques with a strike indicator and dry fly fishing techniques were demonstrated. Line mending was demonstrated to insure drag free fly presentation. A combination rig was also demonstrated and/or discussed using a dry fly such as an elk hair caddis or royal wulff along with a bead head nymph. The bead head nymph is attached as a dropper fly on about a 18” to 24” piece of tippet tied to the bend of the dry fly hook using the improved clinch knot. With this setup, the dry fly acts as a strike indicator to detect when a fish takes the bead head nymph. Two nymphs and a streamer with a dropper nymph combination were also mentioned along with the advantages and disadvantages of these combination rigs.

Member	Dates	Streams	Fish Landed	Fish On	Insects Observed
Lawrence Camp	03/12/07	Beaver Creek		2	Cress bugs, BWOs, and midges
Jack Benoit	03/14/07	Gunpowder			Few midges & black stoneflies. Many nymphs, midge, and caddis larva underneath.
Mike Doyle	3/23/07	Morgan Run	1	3	Some midge larva, a couple of little black stoneflies
Charlie Moseley	4/6/07	Morgan Run	3	Several	Midges
Craig Falk	4/13/07	Morgan Run	1	1	Midges, a few stoneflies, 1 large organ stonefly, 1 size 14 BWO
Steve Shauer	5/3/07	Morgan Run	2	4	Black caddis, midges, caddis larva, 1 large stonefly nymph
Steve Graves	5/25/07	Casselman			Caddis larva, a few caddis, a few sulphurs
Steve Fletcher	6/1/07	Gunpowder			A few caddis, sulphurs, craneflies, caddis & midge larva
Jane Carrol	6/6/07	Gunpowder			A few caddis, sulphurs, caddis larva, & midge larva
Steve Graves	6/29/07	Big Hunting Creek			Few midges, inch worms, centipedes, beetle. Steve missed several strikes.
Steve Fletcher	7/2/07	Big Hunting Creek	1	1	More midges, ants, centipedes, beetles.
Julia Falk	10/19/07	Little Patuxent		3	A few bugs, some crayfish and minnows
Gerald Elgert	10/22/07	Big Hunting Creek & Morgan Run	1	1	A few bugs, some minnows
Cathy Nutter	10/24/07	Little Patuxent			A few bugs, some crayfish and minnows

Mentor Program Photo Album

The following photos were taken over the past few years during some of the mentoring sessions.

Gerald Elgert at Morgan Run	Steve Graves at the PhD Pool on the Savage River
Steve Fletcher at Big Hunting Creek	Steve Shauer at Morgan Run
Mike Doyle at Morgan Run	Charlie Moseley at Morgan Run
Sandy Serafin at Morgan Run	Todd Carver at Morgan Run
Patrick Masler at the Casselman	Jewel Barlow at the Gunpowder
Nick Weber at the Gunpowder	Jerry Gessner at the Gunpowder