Pineywoods Fly Fishers

                Founded 1988

    Chapter of the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers

          Web Site http://home.sprynet.com/~waltermc

President: Jimmy Lee             Secretary/Treasurer: Ken Baker 

 Programs

Dave Hayward, Orvis District or Regional Manager over several states, lives in Houston will speak on Fly Fishing the Texas Coast. Dave is an old friend of PWFF and used to join us on outings. His expertise will be an asset in this meeting so be ready to quiz him on any subject.  

Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Arkansas

By Walter McLendon

Jimmy Lee and I attended the Southern Council President’s meeting in Mountain Home, Arkansas and we decided to spend several days exploring rivers and streams for smallmouth bass. We first camped at Dynamite Hill on the Little Missouri River where #3 generator is still not on line so all the water generation has been warm water, pretty well eliminating all the trout. The catch & release requirement was dropped while we were there. We dropped by Jeff Guerin’s apartment to find out what been happening and Jeff confirmed that some smallmouth could be caught down river there. Earlier that morning, we headed for the Caddo River in Glenwood and fished under the bridge there, then down by the cemetery under the train trestle and lastly, up stream at Caddo Gap Access. We drove up to the Ouachita River to find accesses. Next day, we pulled up camp and drove to the Swinging Bridge on the Little Red and had lunch and watched the locals fishing. We decided it was too hot and too early in the day so we headed north and stopped by Sylamore Creeks (2 each) just north of Mountain View to see the camping facilities there which looked pretty good. At Bull Shoals State Park, we both limited out on trout in a short period and I discovered that one of the trout was tagged when I got home so I called the University of Arkansas to report it. We had a very productive meeting that evening. Jimmy will have things to report at our meeting. 

Sunday morning, we started our trek to Crooked Creek where I had fished years before, and then we fished some accesses on the Kings River and finally settled the night down on the Mulberry River in Ridding Park. Monday we spent the day driving to each access on the upper part of the river and moved our campsite to Byrd’s Park. We fished the river in the park that evening and the next morning then we pulled camp and explored the lower half of the river and headed for the Ouachita River once more to find three US National Parks near the headwaters of Ouachita Lake. Then we drove down to where the Caddo River enters Lake DeGray but found those accesses actually on the lake with deep waters. We did find a nice access at Amity Access upstream. We finished the day visiting Lake Millwood and Erling Lake where there are no smallmouth but promises of good bass and bluegill fishing. Erling is like our Texas Caddo Lake, full of cypress trees and it has black water, which I had never seen before. 

Overall, we experienced lackluster fishing but the waters are very low in Arkansas and most rivers are not navigatable now. We found beautiful rivers with many promising accesses and campsites. I personally like the Caddo River the best because of its close proximity to us but Jimmy liked the Mulberry best, I think. One thing is for sure, next time we are squeezed out by generations on the White or Norfork, we have alternatives with smallmouth fly fishing which will be best in the winter time anyway. By the way, I loved catching Rock Bass, they were pretty plentiful and the healthiest, fattest fish you have ever seen. They have personality!! 

A Three Tick Trip to the Smallmouth Rendezvous

by Bill Heugel 

Seems on all of these trips I have made to Oklahoma I seem to pick up some local hitchhikers.  This trip was one of the best only three.   Last time it was closer to 15.  I guess it’s just me.  Walter doesn’t seem to attract them. 

The Smallmouth is held in the northeast corner of Oklahoma in Tahlequah.  We did our first stop at Beavers Bend.  The first night we visited our standard places to fish and saw a few but could not attract any.  The next morning we watched them stock at one of the bridges.  I was amazed at the size of some of the fish they put in.  I counted about 50 good size trout on one side of the bridge.  On the other side they drained a tank and put in slightly smaller fish.  They put in a total of about 1400 lbs of fish.  I think there were about 10 stocking sights.  

After watching the stocking we went back to our camp and finally headed out to fish about 10.  We went to the first bridge, which is one of our favorite spots.  The signs of fish were there and we started working the area.  After some time I finally managed to catch one on a partridge and orange soft hackle.  Many more attempts got me nothing.  Walter was also getting nowhere.  It was now time to try my new spinner fly.  I had a white woolybugger tied with a small trailing Colorado spinner.  After a few casts I hung another fish.  Then a short time later I rolled another.  Not bad since Walter had no luck to this point.  Since we had to travel on I suggested we leave.  We had enough fish for a supper.  At this point Walter challenged me to catch the fish he had been working on with no success for at least half an hour.  I eased my way over there and after about three casts of the spinner was fast to a nice fish which turned out to be about 3 lbs.  

I learned a bunch from that episode.  The spinner flies can be deadly!!  I had been working on them in a casual manner, but after this event have really dug into the spinner business.We got up to the Diamond Head Resort and campground on the Illinois River.  When we pulled in there were about 10 vehicles there from friends around the country who were going to participate in the event and who were there for the potluck supper.  We ate plenty and exchanged tales and tested rods that evening. 

The next morning we went to the community center and set up for our demonstrations.  The overall event was disappointing in that not many folks came.  In fact almost 30 tiers who were scheduled to demonstrate failed to show up.  However this did give us time to work with those folks that did come, both tiers and visitors.  We had a great session with one of the owners of Conrach Hackle and learned a bunch about how the chicken business is run.  Also learned about the hackle itself.  I picked up several fly patterns including one with a PROPELLER on the front.  Watch out fish!!! 

Walter took some time off to go to the local Cherokee Museum and found it fun and informative.  The top event at the Smallmouth was a blind Woolybugger tying contest.  Walter entered the event and we all enjoyed watching him.  He actually had a pretty nice fly tied but thought he had not put in the hackle.  Finally he destroyed the look by attaching a piece of marabou to the front of the fly.  Needless to say he did not win with that ugly monster. 

We did some fishing on Saturday evening but did not pick anything up.  I even tried the spinner fly with no success.  Several of the folks there managed to catch a few smallmouth.  Sunday morning we said our goodbyes and broke camp.  As we got into the truck it started raining.  How’s that for timing?  The rain was so bad we decided to go right on home instead of hitting Beavers Bend again.  

Cimarron River, Eagle Nest, New Mexico
May 16,17,18

By Bruce Sublett

Mid-May probably isn't the ideal time to head to New Mexico to fish for trout but I needed to make a trip West for other reasons anyway. I originally planned to fish the San Juan to try to break the 20" barrier but at the end of April, they started running 4,000-5,000 cfm through Navajo Dam to comply with a new "historic flows" directive aimed at restoring native species to the lower San Juan.  The river will be at that level until the end of June.

Everything else across the northern part of the state was too high and muddy to fish due to a large snowmelt, the first good winter snowpack in several years.  The only river not unfishable was the Cimarron below Eagle Nest, a stream I have fished many times before.  Eagle Nest Lake is still way below its normal pool, so the big runoff wasn't making it down into the river.  Even without water through the dam, though, the river was running pretty dingy from all the side creeks dumping snowmelt into it.  The cleanest water was in the first three miles or so below the first bridge.

Despite being off color and cold as, well, melted snow, the river actually fished well.  The Cimarron has never been a big fish stream, but it has always produced large numbers of both browns and rainbows in the 9- to 12-inch range.  Mark Stewart, at Dos Amigos fly shop in Eagle Nest, said the drought years had pretty well wiped out most of the bigger fish just from a lack of water to hide them. 

I caught one brown about 14 inches out of the upper quality water section, and saw a much bigger one rise in a beaver pond, but the rest of the fish I took were in that 9- to 12-inch range.

I was determined to break my habit of fishing Wooly Buggers down and across, so I spent the whole time I was there fishing upstream with beadheads and San Juan worms under an indicator.  I'd say on average I caught 20 fish per day, and probably moved or hooked that many more.  I fished all of two days and until noon on the third, concentrating mostly on the special rules section of the river.  However, I think I caught more bigger browns down in the "anything goes" section of the river.  The best rainbows all came from a beaver pond in the upper section, probably all from a recent stocking.  All in all, I'd call it a successful trip.   What follows is a collection of scattered information about the river and the area:

THE RIVER

The Cimarron runs out of Eagle Nest Lake through eight miles of public access water, then continues next to highway 64 all the way down to the town of Cimarron.  While some of the river below the state park area is accessible, much of it is high-gradient pocket water that's barely fishable in the best of times.  The upper eight miles is divided into two sections:  the two miles from the Tolby campground down to the first bridge crossing is designated as "special trout water," requiring the use of artificial flies or hard lures with no more than one barbless hook.  Fishermen are allowed to keep one fish over 16", but must stop fishing the water after taking that fish.  I doubt if many fish are actually kept out of it, but back in my barbarian days when I fished the river with Panther Martin spinners, I kept an 18" brown.  The first 1/2 mile or so of the special water is pretty open, running through a flat valley with several beaver ponds to slow! the flow.  After that, it plunges down in a series of high-gradient runs mixed with flatter sections.  All of it is narrow and brushy.  After the quality water ends, the river is under the standard regulations, which are pretty much fish any way you want to and keep 5 fish of any size.  Even though the Power Bait crowd works this part of the river pretty hard in the summer, I've always been able to find quality fish in it--just get as far from the road as you can get and work the toughest water you can find.

Expect to share the river with local wildlife.  I ran across one
bear-kill deer and didn't stay to fish there very long.

GEAR

Despite its designation as a river, the Cimarron is really just a creek, and a shallow one at that.  With the exception of a few cutbanks and some beaver ponds, the whole thing is wadeable in hip boots.  Of course, with hippers, you always get your fly hung in water that's just a little deeper than the tops.  I wore lightweight chest waders rolled down to waist length and got along fine.  The bottom is rocky but not slick like the Little Mo.  Felt soles are fine, but felt with studs gives you that little added grip.

Because the river's small and shallow, with lots of overhanging willows and such, a short, lightweight rod is ideal.  I fished a 7'9" 3-weight exclusively, and sometimes would have liked a 7-footer.  The only casts over 20 feet are in the beaver ponds.  Most of the rest is flip and roll.  Because the water was off-color, I shortened up my leader and tippet to about 6 feet, and fished 3X tippet most of the time without a problem.  That helped recover flies from the treetops, a pretty common occurrence.  The first day I fished, the wind blew 25 - 30 mph straight down river, so lots of backcasts went astray.  Also expect to catch treetops when the indicator goes under and there's no fish at the end when you strike.

A five-day non-resident license costs $17, and in some areas (not the Cimarron) you also have to have a Habitat Improvement stamp ($5).

FLIES

I never saw any hatch activity while I was there, but the Cimarron is loaded with cased caddis.  My fly of choice for the first couple of days was a fairly dark beadhead Hare's Ear soft hackle ribbed with olive crystal flash.  I also took fish on what fly shop proprietor Mark Stewart sells as a "Cimarron Special," basically a beadhead red brassie with a heavily dubbed light grey thorax, with a little pearl angel hair mixed in.  I tied a few variants of my own, with a pearl crystal flash tail to catch more light in the off-color water.  The last morning, I wasn't doing well with the Hare's Ear pattern so I switched over to a red San Juan worm, unweighted, about 6 inches below a #1 split shot.  I caught fish consistently on that until I quit for the day.  I also caught some rainbows out of the beaver ponds on olive and black Wooly Buggers.

Cimarron flies include various beadhead soft hackles in 14s
and 16s, and San Juan worms (12s) in various shades of red.
Everything was fished dead drift under a yarn indicator.

LOGISTICS

No matter how you go, the Cimarron is a long way from East Texas.  I drove out there via a southern route, through Waco, Brownwood, and Abilene to Lubbock the first day.  That was a fairly short day by my traveling standards-- about 9 1/2 hours-- but I have friends in Lubbock to stay with.  The second day's run was through Clovis, Fort Sumner, Santa Rosa and Las Vegas, then across the mountains to Taos.  What I had figured at about 6 hours turned into 7 1/2, because the last 100 miles or so is through mountain passes and settled valleys with a 40-mph speed limit.  On the way back, I took the northern route, from Eagle Nest across to Springer, then to Clayton down to Amarillo.  At Amarillo, I picked up 287 all the way to I-20 at Fort Worth, then through the metroplex to Tyler and finally to Lufkin.  Either way, figure at least 16 hours of driving time.  Next time, since I won't have a pickup load of furniture to deliver, I'll probably! fly in to Albuquerque or Denver and rent a car.  Driving time from either airport to Eagle Nest is 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

In Eagle Nest, I've always stayed at the Moore Rest Inn, just on the edge of town coming up 64 out of the Cimarron Canyon.  It's always been clean and comfortable and reasonably priced for a resort town.  I paid under $50 a night with my AARP discount.  Rumor has it that it's going to be converted to a Super 8, so who knows? There are a couple of other places to stay there, but I've never tried either one.

The view from anywhere in Eagle Nest in dominated by
Wheeler Peak, at over 13,000 feet.  The town itself is a little
over 8,200 feet.

Food has always been a problem in Eagle Nest, as it seems like everything there either opens late or closes early, which makes it tough for fishermen.  Now, however, the Cowboy Cafe opens at 6 for breakfast.  Breaking the trend of the area, they have great food, good coffee and fairly reasonable prices.  I paid about $6 for breakfast, including coffee, and enough to eat to last me two or three days.

For dinner, there's a choice between Texas Red's Steakhouse and the Lucky Shoe Bar and Grill.  Texas Red's strikes me a pretty overpriced, particularly for their steaks, but the Lucky Shoe turned out to be a real surprise.  I ate probably the best Caesar salad there I've ever had, and they have Newcastle Ale on tap.  Definitely recommended.  There are a couple of other eateries in town, but neither was open at the hours I needed them.  Angel Fire resort is about 15 minutes down the road, and it also has several places to eat.

Two final notes:  come into the area with as much gas on board as you can.  While gas in the flatlands was down in the $1.98 range, in Taos and Eagle Nest it was $2.35 and up.  Likewise, buy any groceries you need in the flatlands as well.  Eagle Nest doesn't have a grocery store, just a Diamond Shamrock convenience store with prices that reflect the remoteness of the area.  

Fishing Florida

By Hugh Bell

After a few month of not fishing, winds seemed bad every time I was home; a new fishing partner (Jim) and I decided to hire a guide for a later afternoon and night fishing around the docks - 5 - 11 pm.  When we met the guide, the tide was running nicely (going out as the high was about 3 pm).  We hit some grass flats, but the wind had blown floating grass in which made keeping the flies clean a problem, so we headed back to some protected water.  We came to a place where two big concrete pipes flushed fresh water into the canal and there was bait close at hand, plus a big drop in depth.  

My friend threw a plastic at it and a big Snook came crashing on it, for a second or two before it flipped the lure. We hit it a few more times to no avail.  We then hit some other flats again, he picking up a keeper Redfish on spin and me a 19" speck. We caught some other specks, but were just undersized. When night came, we began dock fishing in earnest about 9 pm.  It wasn’t long and Jim hooked a nice speck and then a nice Snook. On the next dock, I threw the fly a couple of times and finally up the current to drift to the dock - and wham - and nice Snook (small one in the picture).  As we moved docks, we continued to get some keeper trout, and the larger Snook.   The big Snook I caught was, again, and incredible fight.   Just getting the fish away from the dock to keep them from wrapping around the barnacle-laden pilings is a task as the guide moved us via trolling motor away from the dock. We have a few more boils at the fly, but no hook ups. All in all, it was a great night.  These fish were caught on flies using number 2 hooks (not 2/0), 30 lb fluorocarbon leader, 8 wt, sink tip on one and WFF on the other.  Good fishing to you all. 

Monthly club meeting are held in the Lufkin Room, Lufkin Mall at 7 PM, the program for the first hour and then door prizes and fishing discussions until 9 PM.

Club Calendar

2005:

Jun 2-5    Southeastern Conclave  Calloway Gardens, GA

Jun 10-12 Dallas FF outing to Purtis Creek State Park

Jun 12- Jul 2  Summer Camp at Camp Urland, Woodville, TX – teach merit badges

Jun 24-26 Bill Johnson’s Saltwater School at Mud Island

Jul 15-17 Grand Isle Outing, LA

Aug 8-12 National Fly Fishing Week -  ??

Aug 8-13 FFF Conclave  Livingston, MT

Oct 6-8    Conclave  Mountain Home, AR

Oct 21-23 Oktober Fest in Fredericksburg 

Nov 4-6   Rendezvous  North Toledo Bend State Park, LA

Dec 3       PWFF Christmas Party

Newsletter

Send your articles, photos and other material to mailto:[email protected] or mail to Walter McLendon 139 Lancewood Circle, Lufkin, TX 75904. I can scan your photos and return them at the next meeting. If you know of any future events or activities of interest, please send them to me. Monthly article deadlines are set on the 25^th of the month so the newsletter can be completed by the Thursday preceding our Tuesday meeting.