The Trout Line Newsletter - Jan. 15, 2018

Amorphous Midge edit.jpg

THE TROUT LINE

Jan 15, 2018

Welcome to The Trout Line Newsletter! This is our Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter newsletter that will be coming out twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.

Thank You!

Thank you for everybody who came out to support us! We were able to collect 442 Christmas trees which will be going into the Clackamas River on Feb. 3rd.

Call for Volunteers. The Tualatin Valley and Clackamas Trout Unlimited Chapters will assist ODFW and the Clackamas River Basin Council on February 3 in placing Christmas trees in an off-channel and alcove area at Chrysalis Farms, 21410 SE Highway 224, from 9 a.m. to noon. Around 300 trees are now on site for this work day, and volunteers are needed to help place and secure the trees. If you are interested in helping, please email Mike Gentry at michaelgentry04@comcast.net or call at (503) 636-0061. We’re hoping to recruit two dozen volunteers from the two TU chapters AND others seeing this email, as a result of this call for volunteers. Those willing to help should provide contact information, and Mike will get back to you on the status of recruitment and the plans for the work day. Thanks for helping on this project.

Fly of the Month - Amorphous Midge

Amorphous Midge edit.jpg

Written by Mike Gentry.
This month's fly is a puzzle to me. I haven't seen it in the fly pattern books and don't recall finding it in the fly shops either. I know that it made its way into my fly box when I was fooling around improvising at my vise one afternoon before a lake fishing trip and thought it looked fishy. I know that other tyers also have discovered it because I've seen them use it. If it has a name, I don't know it. I only know that it works. It is very easy to tie, and very versatile.

Hook: Tiemco 2457, sizes 14-18
Thread: Black, brown or red 8/0
Ribbing: Fine silver or brown wire
Beadhead: Small brown bead
Flashing: Pearl or crystal flashabou

1. Slide the beadhead to the eye of the hook, mount the hook in the vise, and secure the beadhead with a number of turns of thread.

2. Place a length of ribbing wire on top of the hook with the front of the wire touching the thread wrapping behind the beadhead, and wind a single layer of thread tightly (no gaps between thread wraps) backward, securing the wire on top of the hook, back to about halfway through the curve of the hook, and then wind tightly (again, no gaps in the winds) back to just behind the beadhead.

3. Wind the ribbing forward to just behind the beadhead, tie off and trim.

4. Place two pieces of flashabou on top of the hook parallel to the hook shank (with an inch or so behind the hook eye and the same length forward of the eye), secure with two turns of thread, pull the forward portions back and tie down with a number of turns of thread so that the covering thread builds up evenly to the back of the beadhead. Finish with three tight half hitches and trim the thread close.

5. Trim the four flashabou strands off about half the length of the hook, and put a small drop of head cement on the thread behind the beadhead, being careful not to cement the flashabou strands together.

This is a remarkably versatile fly. I've used it with great success in the shallow "feeding trough" edges of lakes with a slow hand twist retrieve, and it has worked equally well dead-drifted on spring creeks and tail waters from Montana to Argentina. I use a silver wire for ribbing on black and red bodied patterns, and copper wire for brown bodied ties. This pattern is a must. Whenever I fish where there is a midge hatch (and that is virtually anywhere), I may forget my American Express card but I never leave home without my Amorphous Midge.

Meetings Location and Dates

Regular chapter meetings are held at the Lucky Labrador Public House 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219 (503) 244-2537. Food and beverage available. Social get together starts at 6:30 pm and formal meeting starts at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted in the newsletter or website.

February 14, 2018

Speaker: Chris Santella

Topic: The Tug is the Drug

Chris combines some readings from his latest book, The Tug is the Drug, and some of his original fly fishing songs. His peripatetic lifestyle and eye for entertaining details--even those that have little to do with the act of throwing flies at fish--will make you look at fishing in a whole different way. He is the author of 19 books, including Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before You Die.