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The monthly newsletter is produced by the Northshore Chapter of Trout Unlimited. It is distributed to the current membership, sponsors, and many others who have contributed to our chapter.Return to Newsletter Page Return to Northshore Page Table of Contents
President's CornerBy Steve Winder, current Northshore Chapter PresidentI wish it would quit raining! I have been casting a fly into the large puddle that established itself in my back yard early this year and I am sure that I have gotten a couple of takes. It's great to live on the water. Maybe if I put my house on the market right now I could sell it as lake front? After the many previous drought years I have come to regard low water as the norm. I should bear in mind that all of the rain we have received this year is a boon to the environment. Except for the three major flood events we had this winter, the rainfall has been beneficial. Higher flows during summer low water months create more summer habitat. That can contribute to higher fingerling survival which means more fish will return as adults. Oh boy! This past winter I did not have as many opportunities to fish as I prefer. I am looking forward to making up the difference this summer. Summer is a wonderful time to fish. Steelhead fishing is considered by many to be a winter activity, and there is a stong association between it and foul weather. As a fly fisher I tend to concentrate on summer run steelhead because they are far more responsive to the fly than their winter counterparts. Wading wet in shorts and a tee shirt is just one of the many perks that summer fishing affords. Long daylight hours allow extra time for for important streamside activities such as napping. Low flows and crystal clear waters enhance fish spotting. Children, if you have them, are able to come along and fish with you or play along the banks. My summer river of choice is the North Fork of the Stilliguamish. Fishing can be quite good, and when it is slow the other activities I mentioned are reliable fillers. Crowds are generally small, certainly by winter standards, and fishers often have the run to themselves. Those that enjoy the walk can count on privacy. Reports from the Stilly are good right now with fish being taken. I can't wait to get up there! Maybe I will see you there. Northshore Chapter 1995 Awards BanquetThe May general meeting was the 1995 Awards Banquet. It was held at the American Legion Hall in Bothell as we can't have food at our regular meeting location, the Seattle Times building in Bothell. The banquet was pot luck -- thanks to everyone for the great food.The following awards were presented at the banquet:
Conservationist of the Year: Steve Winder - $25.00 gift certificate to John's Sporting Goods in Everett
Service Awards: (Tee Shirts with the TU logo.) Service awards were given for the following projects: Barr Creek ReportThey're out of the gates! As of Saturday, May 11th, our fish have been free. Not necessarily gone, but free to leave at will. And leave they will, but on their own schedule. Northshore Chapter members, with help from the Sky Valley Chapter of Monroe, met at Barr Creek for a day of socialization and a little work. TU members removed the screens from the spillways at our imprinting ponds and re-spooled monofilament line as part of the season finale. Sky Valley members turned out in droves, participated, and then treated Northshore members to a hot dog and baked bean tailgate lunch. The high point of the day was viewing Barrt, a seven pound steelhead. Barrt patrolled the pond and was readily seen as he approached the automatic feeder at regular intervals in search of yummy fish pellets. He had been spotted by several members during the past month. Barrt had clearly been dipping into the feed bag as was demonstrated by his repeated visits to the feeder Saturday. What a fitting ending to the season. Barrt's presence is evidence that some fish have imprinted on Barr Creek. He had to have entered the pond before we set it up in late March. Unfortunately, having been trapped in the pond, Barrt probably missed his chance to mate this season. If he is lucky he will get another chance to do so next year. We will all be rooting for him! Northshore Chapter Goes Digital Part ISeveral months ago the Northshore Chapter became the first Chapter in Washington to maintain a site on the World-Wide-Web. It joins more than twenty other TU sites globally and is one of many hundreds (thousands?) of fishing related sites. To date more than three hundred visitors have viewed the site. The Northshore Home Page is located at http://www.northshoretu.org and consists of a brief chapter introduction, event calendar, project descriptions, links to other TU and Northwest fishing sites, fish and trip photos, and contacts for membership and Chapter information. An electronic Chapter newsletter should soon be joining this list. The most important information available for members new to the Web will be the link's pages. These will give you a starting point for exploring the wealth of fishing information that is available on-line. The links include the Home pages of other TU Chapters, local weather, river levels, fishing reports, Fish and Game Department information, conservation reports, and even on-line gear catalogs. If anyone runs across an interesting link in their explorations that merits inclusion in this list, please e-mail Andy T at webmastr@northshoretu.org. Another area of potential interest to members is the Fish Tails area. This page is designed as bait to entice potential new members by displaying pictures of trophy fish caught by Northshore members. Do not worry, the locations of those catches will remain undisclosed: that is the "hook" in the lure. At this time the area is desperately lacking large fish, so please bring your photos to either Chris Tompkins or Andy T. This Web site is still in its nascent stages, so if anyone has any ideas for improvements or new inclusions please contact Andy T. ( e-mail to webmastr@northshoretu.org. Expanding the Site is surprisingly easy, so even if you are not a computer genius you can contribute. Northshore Chapter Goes Digital Part IIIn this new age of electronic communication another valuable new fishing and conservation tool has arisen: e-mail. Electronic communication provides a valuable and easy way to pass along information of interest to Northshore Chapter members. By typing a few short sentences and then "broadcasting" the message to a list of e-mail addresses one can reach many members with little effort. The information could be fishing reports, important conservation issues, changes in scheduled Chapter events, etc. The National TU organization is currently experimenting with this idea in their "Grassroots Activist Network." So that this is not exclusionary, it is hoped that members with e-mail access would also pass along the information to other Chapter members who do not have access and that general information and issues can then also be summarized for meetings and inclusion in the Newsletter. If you think this sounds like a good idea (or at least an interesting proposition) please e-mail Andy T at to webmastr@northshoretu.org and a list of Northshore members e-mail addresses will be compiled. Children's Fish-InThe Northshore Chapter's annual Kids Fish-In will be held at Tracy Owen Station in Kenmore on Saturday, June 8. Fishing will begin bright (we hope) and early at 7:00 A.M. This is one of our most popular events and turnout is always very good. Thanks to the efforts of Larry Holly and many others, this project has become one of our best. Club members set up a net pen around the floating dock on Lake Washington. The Department of Fish and Wildlife delivers hundreds of Rainbow Trout and we cart them down the dock in a barrel and dump them into the pen. It's sort of like stacking the deck, but it insures good fishing for the many children that attend and fish. Volunteers are needed to help set up the nets on Thursday the 6th and to stock the pen on Friday the 7th. Please call Larry Holly (743-4510) for more information and to volunteer. Members are welcome to come out and help with the fishing on Saturday, and don't forget to bring some kids. We will need helpers and extra rods because not all of the kids that come bring their own. The killer set up has always been a float attached a foot or two above a baited hook. Worms, Power bait, eggs, and any other known trout bait seem to be effective. We will have some Power bait available, but we encourage anyone wishing to fish with someone else to bring their own. It's a wonderful feeling to help a youngster catch a fish, many for the first time! But even those that have caught fish before have a great time. It's hard to say who really has the most fun, the kids or the adults that help. At about noon hot dogs, drinks, and ice cream are served. Lunch is followed by the distribution of prizes for every boy and girl. It will be a great time, so plan on attending. Tracy Owen Station (the old Log Boom Park) is located at the west end of Kenmore on Lake Washington near the pre-mix plant and the sea-plane base. New Washington Director of Fish and Wildlife ChosenBernard Shanks, who has worked in the natural resources field for government agencies in Oregon, California and Arizona, has been chosen to be the new director of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Shanks, who has a doctorate in natural resources and is a biologist, was selected Saturday by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission from a group of four finalists. He is currently director of Regional Environmental Management of the Metro Regional Government in Portland, Oregon. Shanks will assume his new job July 1 at a salary of $93,659. Recipe of the MonthNorm's Salmon FilletsPlace salmon fillets on aluminum foil, turning up the edges of the foil to prevent flare-up. Sprinkle with Johnny's Seafood Seasoning and Barbecue Seasoning. Cover fillet with bacon strips, green pepper slices, and onion rings. Sprinkle with Hunt's Barbecue Sauce. Cook over hot coals approximately 20 minutes or until fish flakes readily. Around the Next BendMonthly fishing report by Steve SedlacekThe beginning of summer has always been an extremely fun time to go out and wet a line, but so is every day and every time of year. The largest difference in June is the lush green foliage and a new look and brightness on the rivers that makes me think I am fishing a different river than I was a month or two ago. I've always enjoyed fishing a new body of water and it really does look like a different place in the summer. It also acts and fishes like a different place compared to how it fishes in the winter or spring. June seems to be the month when the larger hatchery summer run steelhead return to the rivers. I don't know why, but the old lunker is waiting there for you in June. I have caught hatchery steelhead to 19 pounds the first week of June and seen larger hatchery fish in rivers. I have also caught many steelhead in the 5 to 7 pound range in June. There is something quite different about the summer run steelhead than the winter run. The water temperature is still cold in June, but warms up very fast as the snow melt and run off disappear. The velocity and flow of the river is usually higher on average in June, too, which creates stronger fish than those which return in August. Summer run steelhead enter the river systems beginning in April and May and continue through August and September. They do not spawn for months, and live in the fresh water eating very little but living off the reserves they gained from their ocean travels. What all this adds up to is summer run steelhead are tremendous fighting fish. I believe some of them have stopped at Boeing field and have taken flying lessons because they like to jump so much and spend so much time out of the water. When I say out of the water I mean they act like they just won the lottery, or maybe a sharp 1/0 gamakatsu was just embedded in the upper jaw with such velocity that it felt like the dentist drilling without Novocaine. Summer runs really are great fighting fish. They are so bright you should probably wear sunglasses to look at them after you catch them. They are also very aggressive which makes it a bit easier on us fishermen. In June the water level is still high so I look to fish in runs and pools instead of the fast, frothy water that I will fish later in the summer. These fish will rest behind a rock or by a log, too, but pools are where they spend most of the time. Because of the velocity of the water in June try to find current breaks and slower water after some fast water. Also look for just the opposite such as above a tail out of a hole, directly before the spot where the water begins picking up speed. I will also cast every time I see a rock or log, and if there is a rock garden area I will spend considerable time casting and losing lots of gear. I don't like to lose gear, but sometimes you have to put your bait in places where nobody else has and where the fish might be hiding. Best baits will be the corky and sand shrimp. I like the peach color the best later in the summer and a brighter orange early in the summer. Casting spoons has also been very rewarding and hammered brass spinners too. Try the Skykomish and the Snoqualmie is really a sleeper for summer fish. Good luck and wear those sunglasses. |