Conservationist - PPTU

TheConservationistPotomac-Patuxent Chapter Trout UnlimitedOct 2018 Published monthly except June, July, August and December“Winter Fishing on Beaver Creek”James Harris, Beaver Creek Fly ShopOct 17th, 2018Our October speaker is James Harris, one of the owners of Beaver Creek Fly Shop, located just east ofHagerstown, MD. James will be speaking on late fall and winter fishing on Beaver Creek. If you're not familiarwith it, Beaver Creek is one of the few true spring creeks in MD, and offers year-round trout fishing.James' topics will include: what to expect with local stream conditions; seasonal fish behavior; suggestedfishing strategies; and winter flies.Bring your questions about Beaver Creek or western Maryland in general: In addition to running the shop,James guides on Beaver Creek and other area streams.See you at the meeting!– Karan SinghMonthly Chapter MeetingsTime and Day: 7:00 PM, Third Wednesday except June, July, August and DecemberPlace: Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, 1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, MD 20901DIRECTIONS TO THE SENIOR CENTERFrom Capitol Beltway: North on Georgia Avenue (Rte. 97). First Right on Forest Glen Road,then go past Holy Cross Hospital and across Sligo Creek Parkway. The Center is on the right.Visit our website: www.pptu.org

OFFICERS and DIRECTORS2018 – 2019Presidents’ Column- Alan BurrowsPresident: Alan Burrows: president@pptu.orgPast-President: Bob O’DonnellVice-President: Randy DwyerTreasurer: Bob KaiserSecretary: Patrick MaslerDirectors: Lee CanbyGeorge OpryszkoKaran SinghMotti TadmorChuq YangRain, rain, go away Please! It has really beenone wet year. This was the wettest July on record.Wet beginning to September, and here come thehurricanes stacked up along the Atlantic. At least thetrout seem to have survived OK. What is a troutfisherman to do you ask? Well let me make a fewsuggestions.Committee Chairs:Fundraising:Forum Moderator:Librarian:Mentor Program:Membership Secretary:Conservationist Editor:Outings:Speakers Program:Conservation Advocacy:Project Healing Waters:Publicity:Raffles:Trout in the Classroom:Water Quality:Webmaster:Youth Program:All this rain means lots of run off from the roadsand bridges. That means lots of trash in and aroundthe rivers. Take a half a day, go to your favoritestretch of river or stream and fill up a trash bag withgarbage, then send us a picture or post it on our newforum site: https://groups.io/g/ppctu. The more themerrier. Or on October 27th you can join theWildlife Achievement Chapter of the Isaac WaltonLeague and help clean up the drainages to the upperPatuxent. That starts at 9:30 and lasts ‘til noon, witha rain date of the 28th. IWL supports us financially,and we should have a strong turnout to protect thestream we all love. See the events calendar on ourweb site for details.Rachel DagovitzChuq YangLou ReichelKen BowyerJay SheppardBob O’DonnellLou Reichel: outings@pptu.orgKaran SinghJim KeilLarry VawterCarl SmolkaBob O'DonnellBob KaiserAlan Burrows:Chuck DinkelCarl SmolkaKen BowyerSteve FletcherChuq YangGet a fly tying vise and give it a go. While weare not offering a beginner class this year, you canget a vise and tools and join us on “Beer Tie” night,the second Monday night of each month at Old LineWines and Spirits (11011 Baltimore Ave., Greenbelt,MD). You can get some expert instruction, learn totie some flies, and have a good time as well, even ifit is raining. If you are interested but maybe notready to jump all the way into the pool, there areseveral of us and we now have a vise and some toolsyou can borrow one of these Monday nights to see ifyou like tying. We always have a spare set of toolsand plenty of materials to share.Stream Committees:Paint Branch:Northwest Branch:Middle Patuxent:Patuxent:Joe RobinsonJoe RobinsonBryan SirotkinJay SheppardMid Atlantic Council Delegates:October means that it’s time for Trout in theClassroom training for teachers and volunteers. Thatwill also take place onOctober 27th at theRobinson Nature Centerin Howard County.While I admit to beingbiased, it’s a greatopportunity to help kidsget involved with trout.Alan BurrowsBob DietzJim GreeneMarc HutzellLou ReichelCarl SmolkaNick Weber: SecretaryContact Us:mail@pptu.org2

PPTU Mentor ProgramBeginners & BeyondIf you are interested, please contact me or ChuckDinkel at Troutintheclassroomcd@gmail.com. InDecember we will deliver eggs to the schools, andstart the process that culminates in fish releases inApril and May.Ken Bowyer provides one-on-one streamside flyfishing instruction to PPTU members. Participantsmust show commitment by having waders or hipboots, a rod and reeloutfit, and leader.Discussionswillinclude equipment,knots, casting, flies,dry fly and nymphingtechniques,entomology, readingwater, conservation,etc. at nearby streams. Instruction will be tailored toindividual needs. Members who have not made anAnnual Supporting Contribution (ASC) will beasked to contribute 20.While on the subject of youth education, Irecently received a letter from Franklin Tate, theDirector of TU’s Headwaters (Youth) program. It isvitally important for us “grey beards” to recruit theyouth of today to carry the torch of clean, cold,fishable water into the future. To help local chaptersaccomplish this crucial work, the Headwaters YouthProgram has been built around the premise that TUhas something to offer any and all young people.Known as the Stream of Engagement, this modelmoves kids from entry level programs like TIC andkids fishing days into week long fly fishing camps.The most passionate teens can then attend theNational Teen Leadership Summit, and hopefullyorganize a 5 Rivers Club when they get to college.Although the Headwaters Youth Program has bothsome private and corporate funding, meeting theprograms financial goals is always a challenge.PPTU has supported the Frostburg State University5 Rivers Program with donations of gear andequipment.Contact Ken at 301-627-7154 or by E-mail:kenbowyer@verizon.netTackle and Tactics 101 –Tippet- Bob O’DonnellIn 2017, members of TU’s largest chapter(Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited) made acommitment to establish a Tomorrow Fund to seedfund raising for the Headwaters programs. Thatcommitment is 10,000.00 annually. Franklin andTU have asked that all of the chapters consider a giftto that fund. TU is offering 5 free youth membershipto chapters that donate to this fund.So what is tippet? The “tippet” is the very end ofyour leader, the part that we attach to our fly. On atapered leader, the tippet is always the thinnestsection, usually about the last 2 feet.“Tippet material” is the stuff that comes onspools and it’s what we use to add to our leader toadjust its size. Normally the tippet we add is 2 to 4feet in length and should match, or be smaller than,the diameter of the leader's tip. Tippet material ismeasured in Xs, as in 3X, 4X, 5X, etc. Most storebought leaders also comewith X designations. Fortapered leaders, the X tellsyou the diameter of thenarrowest part of the leader,the higher the X number thefiner the material.I would encourage all of the members to thinkabout making a donation to this fund during themonth of October through the chapter. I am going tosend Bob Kaiser (our Treasurer) a check earmarkedfor the Tomorrow Fund and I hope all of you whocan, will also make a contribution. Send it to PPTU,P.O. Box 2865, Wheaton, MD 20915)Let’s all hope that we can get in some great fallfishing. After all, we will have plenty of water.The biggest advantageto using tippet is that itextends the life of the leader. Leaders can beexpensive and if you change flies often, little by littleUntil next month, tight lines!Alan BurrowsPresident, PPTU3

(or the knot of your choice), tie the material you justcut off back on to the tippet ring, tie on a fly andyou’re ready to go fishing.the taper of the leader is cut away. By tying on tippet,you can maintain the taper of your leaderWhat size tippet shouldyou use for a particular sizefly? Flies come in all differentshapes and sizes that rangefrom very small #28 to large#2. The size of the fly you areusing helps dictate the size ofleader/tippet you use. To helpdetermine the proper sizeleader and tippet to use with aparticular size fly, many leader manufacturers inserta small chart inside their packaging. The chart belowis a good rule of thumb for fly to leader ratio:Tippet .008.009.010.011No need to worry about tippet rings workingproperly. Tippet rings turn over flies just as well as aleader with a direct line-to-line connection and anydrag worries you may have can be resolved byFly 126-8-104-6-82-4-6placing a dab of floatant on the tippet ring to keep itriding high in the water. About the only thing youmight want to do is occasionally check the knot andsnip it off and retie it if it gets scuffed up.I tied a tippet ring to a leader at the beginning of2018 and used that same leader for most of this year’strout fishing. I would still be using it if it hadn’tsuffered a terrible casting accident.Final tip – Tippet Rings! If you're not familiarwith them, tippet rings are tiny metal rings (typicallymade of nickel alloy) that can extend the life of yourleader. Instead of attaching tippet material directly tothe end of your leader, tie a tippet ring on. The tippetring serves as the junction between your tippetmaterial and your leader. Because of their tiny size(2mm and 3mm diameter are most common) andnickel alloy construction, tippet rings float, makingthem viable for fishing both nymphs and dries.Concerns about strength should be set aside, as tippetrings are very strong, rated at 25-30 lbs.If you spot poaching please place a call to theCatch a Poacher HotlineAt1-800-635-6124Add this number to your cell phone contact list!You can modify your store-bought leader with atippet ring and make it last you a year or more.Typically, you'll want to cut off around 24 inchesfrom the end of your tapered leader. Attach a tippetring to the end using a simple improved clinch knot4