Spring Creeks TU Rendezvous -- Lots of Fun While Fundraising

Rowyn and one of her first flies tied!

The Spring Creeks TU Rendezvous was held Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Monticello, IA. I was told that over 50 people attended, and attendance has been growing each year! 
This year's speaker was Dan Kirby, a Fisheries Biologist from the DNR. During the TU board meeting held at the start of the Rendezvous, as part of the Diversity Initiative, members agreed to donate up to $1000 toward the women's fly fishing groups currently getting started in Iowa. 
Live and silent auctions were held, along with options for members to try their luck at bucket raffles and rod raffles. Among some of the more desired items including Dave Whitlock prints -- one of a brook trout and the other of a smallmouth bass. 
Most attendees tied flies throughout much of the day or visited and learned from other tiers. I met a wonderful young man, Henry, who (with his fiance too) I hope to take out fishing with friend Kate and I. Henry and Heather are new to fly fishing. 
The 3 regional TU branches and HFFA (Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association) are also in the planning stages of forming a coldwater group that will provide strength in numbers to help maintain, protect, and improve our coldwater fisheries. Some discussion was held about this.

Jeff Moore consistently donates his skillfully tied flies to TU and HFFA events. I won these flies at the live auction. Xxxxxxxxxx, left, caddis, and Blue-Winged Olives. Size 20. (complete names coming)

Soft Hackle Wet Fly that I finally got right!
Thanks Damian Wilmot for sharing this on your website.

Spring Creeks TU board meeting is in full swing.

A Meet & Greet for Lady Fly Anglers. March 22, 2017, N. Liberty, IA

43rd Annual HFFA Fly Fishing Show, Iowa City, IA, Feb 17-19, 2017!!

Please attend the Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association's 43rd Annual Fly Fishing Show! Lots of fun, learning, and networking with other friendly fly anglers. Proceeds benefit restoration and education projects. Great bucket raffles, silent auctions, live auction, guest fly tiers, and more! Excellent speakers with multiple programs and Iowa DNR's Mike Siepker will also present a program.

Wait 2 Beers and Catch a Musky With a 20-Foot Cane Pole

A wintry trout fly fishing trip and a defective windshield washer hose led me to a tale of how to catch musky by throwing your home-made fishing pole in the water and then drinking two beers.  Please note that no beer was drunk during the telling of the tale, and I have a picture to prove it wasn’t one of those “fish that got away” stories!

Late fall through spring is my time to make fly fishing road trips in search of trout, especially since Iowa DNR rules have blessed anglers with the opportunity to cast for trout 365 days a year. The Iowa Driftless region is where I find peace, so when free time coincided with decent December weather, I headed to Northeast Iowa.

On the gravel roads, I learned that I had poor windshield washer fluid pressure. With ice and snow predicted in the recently-updated forecast and a special tool needed to fix my SUV’s problem, I drove up the road to Postville, IA, and over to Reggie's Body Shop. Ten miles earlier, Reggie had seen me at a convenience store poking around under my hood, and he’d offered to lend a hand. The fly fishing road trip for trout in the Driftless would have to wait, but in exchange I heard about a very unusual way to catch musky...and you technically don’t even need a hook!

Outside his shop, with our heads under the hood and Reggie’s two dogs running around, we talked about friends who make custom knives. Then, I mentioned I was heading toward Decorah to fish. That’s when Reggie led me into his shop. In the dimly-lit building he showed me a couple knives and an old photo. I held the picture in dusty window light and saw Reggie's father-in-law posing with a musky in one hand and another beat-up fish in the other hand, while a friend gripped a very long pole.  The picture was taken on the dock of a Wisconsin lake. "What's that?" I asked about the pole.

Beneath the hood of the SUV while he spliced together a broken hose, Reggie began his story. Then, after a successful windshield washer test, we ultimately headed back inside the warm brick building to finish the storytelling.

While telling his tale to this catch and release fly angler, Reggie emphasized what used to be allowed but what is now required of him (to be legal) when he fishes in this manner. I caught on to his “to be legal” emphasis right away, and I still get a little kick out of it. Was he me how he fished legally or what he should be doing to fish legally??! For many reasons, I can't recommend this method of musky fishing. BUT... it is a creative way to fish and makes for a good story.

The fishing is done in a boat that is drifting (Reggie said that trolling is illegal). You need some suckers, and I was told they can be alive, but Reggie has used dead suckers, stinky ones even, and the musky don't seem to mind. The bite guard is run through the sucker's mouth and around the gills. Reggie said that for some reason it is now illegal not to use a hook, but in the past they just used to tie off the bite guard, sans hook. So, you've got an unlucky sucker, a bite guard (and a hook so you are legal!), fishing line with a rubber ball tied in somewhere as a bobber, and the line is connected to your 20-foot cane pole. While drifting (nope, not trolling-- it is illegal!), the cane pole butt section is set in a rod holder. Have fun and watch the rubber ball.

Now, when your ball starts moving oddly, this is when you take the cane pole out of its holder and just chuck that pole in the water in front of you! Next, to ensure success, just relax, drift in sight of the floating pole, and drink two beers. If luck is with you and if you drank slowly enough, your musky is now "hooked" even if you aren't using a hook (but that is illegal!), so you position your boat near the cane pole and pick the pole up. Then, after you get hold of some of the attached fishing line, throw the pole back in the water behind you. Start hand-stripping in the line (Reggie didn't say it, but they gotta have gloves on), net your musky, and bring it into the boat!  If you do it all just right, that musky won't regurgitate the sucker until the musky is in the net... otherwise, bye-bye musky.

Just remember the important part. This method of fishing requires that you bring beer. If you don't drink two beers after the musky takes the sucker, the musky will not have had enough time to adequately turn the sucker around in its mouth and swallow it sufficiently to be "hooked."

So, I drove away from Reggie and the brick body shop. While I fished and caught trout the following day with my 9-foot, graphite fly rod, I thought of his story and the 20-foot cane pole but knew that I would stick with fly fishing and using my own big flies, casting and casting, flaring up my tendonitis, and at some point, hooking and strip-setting for the chance to net a musky... and to safely release it. I agree that drinking two beers is still a good idea, but only two because we always musky fish with hooks. Big, sharp hooks.

So, in warmwater season, when the sun has sunk low after the last cast has been made and the rods and boat are stowed for the night, to my tired, forearm-sore musky fly fishing friends at the campfire I'll tell the tale of how others have caught musky with a 20-foot cane pole, a rubber ball, no hook, and 2 beers. 

Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association Fly Fishing Show: Feb 19-21, 2016, near Des Moines, IA

I'm looking forward to attending our annual fly fishing show, and I hope to see lots of anglers there and enjoying themselves!!!!   It's a friendly group of people and the members who organized this year's show have really put a lot of hard work into it. 

Striking the Balance Between Fly Fishing and Casting

  Last fall a friend of mine laid it on the line about my day's less-than-stellar fly casting while we hunted for musky.  The up-side to that brutal but needed conversation was the man would not have said the things he'd said if he didn't feel I should have been & was capable of becoming a better caster.

   My goal since that day was to finally step up my game, throw out the bad habits, & start casting some serious line.  But the same problem continued to stonewall me.
  

   Hello. My name is Lisa.  Some know me as "Twitch", & I am 
addicted to fly fishing...

   Following the fall musky frenzy, it was time to go trouting.  Next, I learned I could actually fish for the musky cousins, Mr. & Ms. Pike, intermittently during the winter & early spring!  Oh my!  Then, as those early spring days this year grew longer and warmer, I simply could not get smallmouth bass out of my mind.  I even fished a local creek for smallies well before my rational mind knew they would have moved there from the Mississippi River.  Every cast equals hope, right?  Of course, now it's time to fish for musky again. 

   My problem is that I'm fishing and I'm fishing as much as a person who has to work full-time can fish.  My house is a mess, I substitute take-out for the grocery store & cooking, & I should be visiting family more often.  Yet, I choose to chase fin, again and again.  

   One might think fishing is the perfect opportunity to improve the casting game.  However, if the bulk of the waters one fishes are skinny waters,  it's easy to roll cast, get away with lobbing, & hone all sorts of bad habits that make for a poor caster of a 10 wt rod being loaded by 10 wt sinking line and a large, wet musky fly.

   Today, I and other Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association (HFFA) members had the opportunity to share our skills with others at the annual K&K Casting Clinic, sponsored by K&K Hardware, Bettendorf, IA.  Dan Johnston, a St Croix Rod rep from Cedar Rapids, IA, was the primary instructor & he also enticed another instructor, Jen Ripple, editor and founder of Dun Magazine, to the clinic.  Dan's casting skill and teaching ability are well-known & respected in the region.  Dan reported we had a record turnout for the event held at Bettendorf's Middle Park Lagoon.  At the start of the clinic I counted 43 attendees and believe we met or beat the 50 people attendance mark. 

   As is the case when teaching others anything, the instructor can learn a lot.  In my case, I learned I was a better & more confident instructor than last year.  I also learned that there are a few skills that I can get away with performing but am not yet skillful enough to teach.  At those times, I asked other HFFA members or Dan for assistance with the particular caster & then I, too, paid close attention to the instruction.

   At the end of the day, Dan kindly gave me a bit of one-on-one time.  I learned to initiate my haul just as the fly line left the water and I also polished-up my roll casting technique.  Dan then gave me a couple of casting exercises to practice.

   I neglected to share with you that this lagoon (pond) is located right next to a small creek inhabited by smalllies.  My intention was to fish the creek after the casting clinic had ended.  I'd loaded my car with rod, reel, and fanny pack of everything I needed to fish for smallies early this morning.

   But, I didn't fish.  I stayed at the lagoon and practice-casted.  I honed my newly-refined roll casting technique.  I also practiced one of Dan's casting exercises & realized how many levels that exercise could improve my casting abilities!

   Feeling the tiredness that likely comes from being dehydrated & exposure to a day of sun,  I gave another longing glance at the small creek and its finned inhabitants, but headed for home.  

   Almost 2 hours later, I pause to look out the living room window while finishing this blog post.  My ginger ale is nearly gone and I see that it's now cloudy outside.  In so many ways, I reflect that now is a perfect time to go fishing.  With a clear conscience, I go.  ~May 9, 2015  

 

HFFA 2015 FLY FISHING SHOW ~ Dubuque, IA, Feb 20-22

Please copy and paste the link below to learn about this year's Hawkeye Fly Fishing Association show that is a celebration of the heart of the Driftless!

file:///C:/Users/Davis/Downloads/HFFA%202015%20Show%20handout%204%20pdf%20(2).pdf

When Your Fly Fishing Gear Stinks, Life is Good

   If I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I wouldn't be upset if my house was a mess.  I am not neat. I'm only going to live once and my priorities are in order!  That being said, I still remember opening up a buddy's wader tote years ago & getting a whiff of the nasty, bacterial chemical cocktail that was brewing,  I was pretty grossed out.

   It's amazing how things (the same things you'd think would likely remain repulsive) change.

   Work, weather, timing... all sorts of things created a logjam to this year's warm water fishing opportunities.  Feeling that warm water time was swiftly winding down, I simply decided it was time to do some small river fishing, come low or high water.

   As it turned out I did have both water situations.  The Upper Iowa River was running a bit high to easily find the holding areas of smallmouth bass.  The Volga River was running too low to float any kind of watercraft.  A cold front had also come through.

 
   On Saturday, I floated the first 2/3 of the Upper Iowa River solo.  Much of this stretch flows right through Decorah, IA.  Other than one little smallie striking a topwater pattern at the first bend of the river, there were no fishy tugs on my line and the water remained undisturbed by fish.  After working through color, pattern, size, & retrieve changes, I switched to a couple "desperation flies" but continued fishless.  Around 4 pm I hooked up with a few friends, "T" and her son Ben, & T's DNR co-worker Chris.  The rest of the float included DNR smallie sampling to check for mercury so I'm happy to write we found a few smallies willing to make tissue donations!  I ended up with 2 in the net and lost 2 more.  Chris landed another 2-3 fish.  We also spotted a mink swimming in the water.  It was a beautiful day, we had fun, and I knew that during a particular stretch of my solo float, had the water been lower, I likely would have had to drag my pontoon a long way.  It was dusk when we left the river.

   I camped that night along a creek & on Sunday, I slept in.  Then, with a wet tent drying in the back of my CR-V,  I headed to the Volga River, near Fayette, IA.  I had debated visiting a trout stream, but I heard the tick, tick, ticking away of the warm water fishing season. After carefully bumping down a woodsy dirt road, I fished an unfamiliar stretch of the Volga and ended up with 6-7 smallies and likely lost the same amount.   Generally, I waded  from one hole to another, enjoying the weather, the scenery, wet wading, feisty fish, and simply being alive!  I still love the juxtaposition of feeling like I'm on a trout stream yet lifting smallmouth bass from my net.  While fishing, I was also treated to the sight of another beautiful mink meandering around the rocky bluffs tracing the river's edge.

   My longest fish of the day measured about 13 inches.  While tearing down my rod, the 3 guys who had been spin fishing for about an hour returned with 3 smallies that ran from 16-18" long.  Whoa!  I have my ideas on how they accomplished this, and am looking forward to returning to this stretch of river.

   After the nearly 3 hour drive home, I began unloading the CR-V of its contents.  While I got a stray whiff of something during the drive, it wasn't until I got the suv into the garage that I truly smelled the nasty, bacterial chemical cocktail brewing inside my vehicle!   I might have squinched up my nose, but I was smiling, too.  Heck, I'm smiling now!  That swampy odor was simply the left-over remains of a great weekend of fly fishing!

   While I promptly removed the smelly culprits, my net and fishing sandals, from the vehicle, I thought of my buddy's wader tote.  I hope his tote smells just as badly today as it did years ago.  After all, it's important to keep the priorities straight!

   

Tie One On at Java Java, March 22, 2014 - Cancelled

   A group of us will be tying flies again this Saturday, March 22, 2014, at Java Java Cafe, located at 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  

   Tying will start at 9:00 am and last until noon.  Musicians are also being invited but their plans are currently unknown.  All are welcome!!!! 


(3/17/14: Note that there have been some conflicts with this March 22 date.  I will post by Wednesday night if we are tying or if we are going to reschedule.)
(3/19/14: Due to a large number of tiers having other commitments, this tying date has been cancelled. This is the first cancellation we have ever had & I hope it continues to be a rare thing... unless we decide to go fishing!)

The Gift of a Day to Fly Fish in Winter, 2014

   Finally, finally only a couple inches of snowfall NOT accompanied by bitter cold or heavy winds!  No fishing in January was frustrating.  No February fishing was simply unacceptable!  Luckily, I found one off-road spot (not plowed in by snow) to park and car camp. I saw lots of turkeys and deer & a few eagles and hawks during my wintry NE Iowa driving in the Decorah region.

   It snowed fairly heavily on Saturday but Sunday was beautiful.  I fished a favorite stream - one I knew would offer the best open-water conditions.  Other than being careful around ice shelves, the conditions were great!  No mosquitoes, no brush to snag & no competition from other anglers -LOL!  Four trout landed on a ~sz 20 dry fly.  The trout started rising to bugs in the surface film after I'd given up fishing with a sz 18 dry, a wet fly, and then my go-to nymph pattern.  If I was an angler with quicker reflexes (not yet but better!), I would have had 8-9 trout for the day.  It was great to be wading again.  Landed fish included browns, a bow and a brookie... my first trifecta on this stream!  The fish looked like they had been eating well.  The stream bed displayed green plant growth - showcasing a promising recovery from last year's flooding.  ~Twitch (2/16/14)

The Only Flies Welcome at Java Java - Tie One On: Jan 18, 2014

   Unless the forecast for this Saturday, January 18, 2014, changes to NOT blustery and NO snow greater than 1/2 inch (more specifically around Decorah, IA) one will find this gal tying flies -in lieu of fishing in the Driftless- from 9-noon, at Java Java Cafe, 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  The coffee shop closes at noon.
   It should be understood by most fly anglers that it is perfectly acceptable to cancel tying due to fishing..
   I will check the forecast by tomorrow evening.  If the weather changes for the better I will update this post with a 'gone fishing' notice by 730PM. (1/17: See you at Java Java tomorrow!) However, I am rather confident that tying will ensue and I am so certain that I have contacted my favorite local folk musicians Joe and Howard to see if they'd like to join us.
   So, please come on out to a friendly little coffee shop and chat, learn about fly fishing and tying, and hopefully enjoy some great music!  

  Thanks! 

~Twitch

Tying at Java Java Saturday, Dec 14, 2013

   Last-minute tying today at Java Java, 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA. We'll tie from around 830-noon.  I called Friday to ensure they'd be open on Saturday. Daron, the owner, reported they planned to be open.  Happily, the snow and wind have not been too bad.  Looking forward to a good day with friends, talking about fly fishing while drinking warm froo-froo coffee drinks!

First Fly Tying Sunday at Bruegger's Bagels, Davenport, IA

    As long as the weather doesn't tank (& I hear it might), on this Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013, we're planning an experimental fly tying session from 2:30 until closing time at 6 pm or until folks decide to leave.  Java Java is not open on Sunday and not open past noon on Saturday, so I was hoping to find another tying spot in addition to our favorite coffee shop.

   All are welcome to come to Bruegger's Bagel Bakery, located at 1503 Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA.  It is located across Locust St from Schnuck's grocery store, at the intersection of Locust St and Kimberly Rd.  You don't have to tie flies to join us.  If you are simply curious or have questions about fly fishing, come on out!

   The store manager gave permission for us to tie flies but I don't know if she really knew what I meant by this!  Of course, we are expected to buy some form of food or drink while there, so bring your thirst &/or an appetite.  The soup is quite good.

   If snow is blowing and drifting moderately or heavily, we will likely cancel & by 1 pm, I would plan to update this post to indicate that. Of course, one must assume I will have an internet connection to do so!
(*12/8/13: It's snowing but not blowing. Unless this dramatically changes, I think there will be at least 5-8 of us at Bruegger's)

Tie One On at Davenport's Java Java on a Blustery Saturday

   We will be tying flies again this Saturday, November 23, 2013, at Java Java, located at 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  Tying will start at 9:00 am and last until noon.  Musicians are also being invited but their plans are currently unknown.  All are welcome!!!! 

Tying One On at Java Java: Coffee, Friends & Folk Music! March 30, 2013

   Flies will once again be tied this Saturday, March 30, 2013, at Java Java Cafe, 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  Tying will start around 9:00 and last until noon. The coffee shop closes at noon.  

   I will contact local musician Joe Nobiling to see if he and friends would like to come out.  If so, it's a great time to enjoy folk music, learn about fly fishing & tying,  or just get out for some great java!!

  Thanks!  Come on out and tie some flies!

~Twitch

A Perfect Iowa Blend of Trout, Rain, and Snow

   It was yet another great day to be out on the water.  Faced with not feeling well the previous day, I was grateful to wake up on Saturday, March 9, without a pounding head and with the knowledge that my friend, Jackfish Kate, was willing to fish at a moment's notice.  Thinking our planned weekend of fly fishing had been lost, we were still happy to hit the water by mid-afternoon.

   I'd received a couple of outdoor/fly fishing products in the mail recently and had been hoping for a rainy weekend to test out & review a wet/dry backpack.  Kate's and my curves land on opposite areas of the body and if we could be merged together, one might come up with the measurements of a Playboy Bunny!  So, I really wanted her opinion on the fit and comfort of the backpack - an item often designed with the average male in mind.  She was game & the review is forthcoming.

   We elected to fish Trout River, located southeast of Decorah, IA.  The next day we planned to fish N. Bear but those plans were thwarted by the potential of snow, ice, and wind.  Instead, we explored and fished Twin Springs, Decorah's urban trout fishery.  By Sunday, that stream was the color of milk chocolate, flowing high and fast.

   All fish were landed on Saturday and Trout River's water level was still low but certainly higher than last summer.  It was clear but not 'gin clear', as it had been during those warmer days.  As the day progressed, the water's cloudiness progressed as well.  Once again, I'm reminded that it was a perfect day to be out on the water!  We hiked in 10-12" of snow while rain lightly fell.  The fish were hungry and I had a decent amount of strikes on first casts.  The stream had not likely seen many recent fly angling visitors.
 

   Unluckily, I did not convert on many strikes that day and had a few 3 second fights which ended with finned winners.  I know Kate landed fish and I enjoyed watching her land her day's first rainbow at the same wide, slow hole where I had previously seen her land a trout on her first-ever day on this stream back in May.  I landed 6 fish total.  Unluckily & strangely enough, 3 were foul hooked on my sz 18 dropper.  I did not photograph the beautiful brown I landed in that manner.  Two rainbows, and my largest brookie to date all measured about 11-12 inches.  One bow was beautifully marked and the brookie, well, looked great like brookies always do.
 

   Conditions must have been prime, because these fish fought harder than I've ever felt them fight on this stream!  The bows hit my big nymph and the brookie went for the sz 18 scud.  All 3 fish had to be unwrapped from the dropper's tippet and one feisty fish managed to tie a couple of overhand knots in the tippet.  Later that night at a Mexican restaurant, Jackfish tongue-tied an overhand knot into a Maraschino cherry stem.  However, I think a twice-fin-tied overhand knot trumped her feat…

   On Sunday, after visiting Decorah’s Twin Springs and seeing the Upper IA River that it feeds into all in the same park, I’m already envisioning a multi-multi-species weekend this year:  pike, walleye, smallies, and trout!

Tying Flies at Java Java in Davenport

  Update: Thanks to fellow fly-tier, Bill O, and musicians Joe Nobiling (joenobiling.blogspot.com) and John Kinser, for coming out to a cool place on a hot day!  It was great to have musicians present again! Spoke a little to others about musky and bass flies and the Java owners' son picked out a cool-looking chartreuse and black Guinea Bugger Deluxe to take home.  Maybe he'll tie a fly the next time. 
  Tying at Java Java is often last-minute during this time of year as actual fishing takes precedence and then there are those dang work weekends.  So, I typically post only a few days ahead of time if we'll be tying at the shop.  If you ever want to attend but think you'll miss a blog post, send me your email address and I'll drop you a line for the next date and time. ~Twitch

  I'll be tying flies this Saturday, July 7, 2012, at Java Java, located at 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  Tying will start at 9:15-ish and last until at least 11 or noon. As many know, part of the road is closed.  A detour is posted and the city has placed signs directing customers to the coffee shop.  The detour route I take probably adds only 3 minutes to my usual drive.  Directions are posted below as well.  Don't forget that the Farmer's Market is also going on, so it's a great morning to head to Davenport.
  Thanks!  Come on out and tie some flies!
~Twitch

My DETOUR DIRECTIONS:  Heading from Bettendorf on East River drive, right on Bridge Ave, continue uphill & follow detour sign, left on East 10th St.  Then, I go left on Oneida down the hill and take tight right on Charlotte St, left on Kary, and then, again, right on Charlotte (brick), left on Tremont. Go down the hill and just past the light blue house is Java Java.  2 min 55 sec.

Tying at Java Java Coffee Shop ~6/23/12

   Planning on tying flies this Saturday, June 23, 2012, at Java Java, located at 836 E. River Drive, Davenport, IA.  Tying will start at 9:15-ish and last until at least 11 or noon. As many know, part of the road is closed.  A detour is posted and the city has placed signs directing customers to the coffee shop.  The detour route I take probably adds only 3 minutes to my usual drive.  If I get the chance, I will post directions here as well.  Lunch/small breakfast items are also offered at the shop.  Don't forget that the Farmer's Market is also going on, so it's a great morning to head to Davenport.
  Thanks!  Come on out and tie some flies!
~Twitch

My DETOUR DIRECTIONS:  Heading from Bettendorf on East River drive, right on Bridge Ave, continue uphill & follow detour sign, left on East 10th St.  Then, I go left on Oneida down the hill and take tight right on Charlotte St, left on Kary, and then, again, right on Charlotte (brick), left on Tremont. Go down the hill and just past the light blue house is Java Java.  2 min 55 sec.

PS: Thanks Bill and Dave for the tying and the bs at the java shop. Small group but fun & coffee delicious as usual!