Category: Education

Pat Dorsey is the Feb 26th meeting speaker

Pat’s subject for our meeting is “Fly Fishing Colorado’s Best Tailwaters. This will be a different subject than his presentation at Troutfest this weekend. So, you get two great presentations!

I don’t think you want to miss our next speaker.

Pat Dorsey is a native of Colorado, Pat Dorsey has been guiding for nearly 30 years. Pat Dorsey spends well over two hundred days a year on the water, a combination of guiding customers, hosting destination travel-trips, and personal days on the water.

Pat Dorsey is the head guide and co-owner of the Blue Quill Angler fly shop in Evergreen, Colorado. He oversees and trains more than 25 guides, setting the standard for integrity and professionalism in the Blue Quill Angler guide operation. Dorsey also, maintains an online stream report that monitors stream flows and conditions for the Blue, Colorado, South Platte (Cheesman, Deckers, Spinney Mountain Ranch, and Elevenmile Canyon), North Fork of the South Platte, and Williams Fork Rivers.

Pat Dorsey is a Simms Ambassador, a member of the Sage Elite Pro Team, Fishpond Ambassador, Orvis Pro Team Member, Yeti Pro staff, and Scientific Anglers pro staff. Pat Dorsey is the Southwest Field Editor for Fly Fisherman Magazine.

In 2005, Pat authored the book, A Fly Fishing Guide to the South Platte River, a complete how-to fly fishing manual for the entire South Platte River drainage. It encompasses a thorough look at each section of the river detailing the hatches and recommended fly patterns for each of the four seasons of the year.

In 2009 Pat Dorsey authored Fly Fishing Tailwaters, a comprehensive book on how to fish tailwater fisheries. In 2010 a companion book to Fly Fishing Tailwaters hit the shelves, Tying and Fishing Tailwater Flies, which is jam-packed with how to tie Pat Dorsey’s favorite “guide flies”. This book includes 500 step-by-step tutorials, as well as, helpful tips and illustrations on how to rig and fish them. His latest book is Colorado Guide Flies, which was released in 2015.  It features tips from the state’s best guides and includes approximately 600 proven guide flies with recipes.

Pat Dorsey is an accomplished fly tier and has originated a number of very effective patterns such as the Mercury series, UV scud, Limeade, Cherry-Limeade, Paper Tiger, Top Secret Midge, Medallion Midge and the famed Black Beauty. Although Pat Dorsey no longer has the time to tie flies commercially, he once produced over 28,000 flies in a year. Dorsey is a fly designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants. His signature flies are available at the Blue Quill Angler and other specialty fly shop throughout the United States. Pat Dorsey is also a Pro Team Member for Whiting Farms. Many of his flies incorporate Whiting Farm products.

Pat Dorsey is a nationally known speaker. He travels the United States sharing his passion for fly fishing at trade shows and private fishing clubs. He is a Celebrity Speaker for the International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Denver and is very active in Trout Unlimited and the conservation of cold-water fisheries.

Pat Dorsey is the proud father of three wonderful boys, Forrest, Zach, and Hunter. He is also blessed with  two step children, Nicole and Michael Richardson. They, like their dad, enjoy fly fishing. His wife, Kim, is an avid angler and often appears with Pat at trade shows and other speaking engagements. Kim and Pat Dorsey, also, host a yearly trip to Alaska Sportman’s Lodge each September and Rio Manso Lodge each December (Patagonia) with a group of his clients.

 

Chris Johnson at Nov 16th Chapter meeting

GRTU Nov 16th Chapter Meeting @ Lazy L&L – full information @ http://www.grtu.org/chapter-meeting/

Chris Johnson, the owner of Living Waters Fly Fishing in Round Rock will be holding a “Learn to Tenkara” class from 9:30-10:45 prior to the meeting. If you are interested in learning more about this technique and the equipment involved, please join us he shares his knowledge and passion for Tenkara. We’ll have coffee and donuts available for this early group.

Wet Flies and Nymphs

In this unique episode from the Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing Tom Rosenbauer covers the basics of using wet flies and nymphs to catch trout. From fly selection to presentation options, Tom details all the essentials you need to get started.

Wet Flies & Nymphs

Don’t tread on the redd

Two trout on a redd _ Steve Dally image

THE AGFC is urging anglers to keep a conservation mindset to minimise damage to spawning brown trout this fall.

MOUNTAIN HOME — Native to Europe, the German brown trout found in the tailwaters of Beaver, Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferry dams, typically start their spawning run during fall and winter, offering die-hard anglers a chance at some fantastic fishing. But biologists ask anglers to keep a conservation mindset when chasing these gems of the tailwater so everyone will be able to enjoy them for years to come.

Chief among fishing faux pas with the wading community is the destruction of trout nests, called redds, which serve to keep the population going.

Christy Graham, trout program coordinator, says anglers should be aware of spawning activities and the damage caused when redds or spawning trout are disturbed.

“The AGFC Trout Management Program recommends anglers be mindful of spawning activity during this time of the year and to be careful when wade fishing to avoid trampling over redds,” Graham said. “Anglers should also be aware that there are some seasonal regulations in effect that coincide with the brown trout spawning season on both the White and Little Red Rivers.”

Trout are nest guarders, and they can be nest robbers. Removing a large brown trout from the redd it is guarding not only can cause harm to an already stressed fish, but enables predators, including other trout, to destroy the redd. Simply walking through a trout redd can have disastrous results, which is why the Bull Shoals Catch-and-Release Area along Bull Shoals White River State Park is closed to angling from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 each year. An additional area becomes catch-and-release angling only during this time, to ensure spawning trout are not removed from the tailwater during the spawn.

According to Graham, trout redds can be identified fairly easily. They appear as clean, oval patches of small to medium-sized gravel and are typically 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The gravel in them is typically lighter-colored than surrounding gravel. There may be a small depression or mound, where gravel has been excavated and deposited over the eggs.

Fishing the trout spawn can produce some exciting action because extremely large brown trout tend to show themselves a bit more and become more aggressive during this time. But many dyed-in-the-wool trout anglers will avoid fishing for spawning fish entirely. Rainbow trout and cutthroats often produce some exceptional fishing on egg patterns and corn during this time because of their tendency to capitalize on brown trout eggs that become dislodged from nests and float downstream.

“If you do end up fishing around spawning areas for browns, there are a few things you can do to lessen the damage caused by angling during this time,” Graham said. “We always want anglers to use the best possible catch-and-release practices, but it’s even more critical during the spawn.”

Graham says aside from avoiding the spawning fish entirely, anglers can help provide next year’s fish by following a few simple steps. Avoid snagging fish, no matter how tempting it can be to “set the hook a little early.” Use barbless hooks to minimize damage to the fish’s mouth and land the fish as quickly as possible. Wet your hands to land the fish and minimize the amount of time it stays out of the water, so that it may return to its redd as soon as possible.

Visit www.agfc.com/trout for more information about trout fishing in Arkansas.

ARKANSAS WILDLIFE NEWSLETTER