Monthly Meeting
Jeff Curtis gave a presentation of fishing small wild streams. He discussed gear, flies, conditions and some small stream locations.

"I personally have become interested in small wild streams due to my conversations with Jeff. I can even be found fishing a royal coachman on occasion " - Brad Sprinkle

Members voted not to take over the lease of Camp Hope.

Stocking News
A very special thank you for all those who helped with second North Mills stocking. Click here for more details.

Also a thank you to Jeff Curtis and his team of volunteers who assisted with the stocking of the Laurel River.

The next stocking of the North Mills will be May 6, 2005. Please contact Don Bellm if you can help.

**Recall of Children’s Fishing Poles**

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2005
Release #05-155

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (800) 444-5581 Ext. 6217
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

CPSC, Zebco Announce Recall of Children’s Fishing Poles

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Children’s Fishing Poles

Units: About 1.5 million fishing poles

Distributor: W.C. Bradley/Zebco Holdings Inc. doing business as Zebco, of Tulsa, Okla.

Hazard: The paint on the rods of these fishing poles contains lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been no reports of injuries or illness associated with these poles. This voluntary recall is being conducted to prevent any possibility of injury.

Description: The recalled fishing poles are brightly colored and feature pictures of the following cartoon characters on the reels: from Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants® are SpongeBob, Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks; Nick Jr.’s Dora the Explorer®; Disney’s Tigger; and the cast of Nickelodeon’s Rocket Power®. “ZEBCO®” and “Floating Catch ‘Em Kit™” are written on the handles of these poles with the exception of the Rocket Power poles. The Rocket Power poles have a two-piece rod, were sold with sunglasses and “Rocket Power” is written on the rod. Newer fishing poles with a date code on the rod (near the handle) are not included in the recall. Sold at: Discount department, sporting good and toy stores nationwide from August 2001 through March 2005 for between $9 and $13.

Sold at: Discount department, sporting good and toy stores nationwide from August 2001 through March 2005 for between $9 and $13.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled fishing poles and contact Zebco for information on receiving a free replacement fishing pole.

Consumer Contact: For more information, call Zebco at (800) 444-5581 Ext. 6217 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.zebco.com/recall

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Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

North Shore Road Update
For current information see: http://www.northshoreroad.info/

Caddis flies are probably one of the most abundant insects we have in our streams and rivers excluding the midges. They are a very important part of our aquatic insect population and also a very important part of the trout’s diet. This will be a series of articles covering all of the different types of caddis that populate Western North Carolina and East Tennessee streams and rivers.

The American Grannom is the common name for the Brachycentridae family of caddisfly. Our Western North Carolina Streams and East Tennesse Teilwaters have a good diversity of the family with five genera and ten or more species known; all are stream dwellers. The major genera differ slightly in their habitat preferences:

Amiocentrus (Little Weedy-Water Caddis) - Widespread in small creeks and large rivers. They tend to inhabit slower currents than most other brachycentrids and is often very abundant in weed beds in slow to moderate currents.

Brachycentrus (Grannom) - This is the most common genus found in our streams and rivers. Typically found in moderate to fast riffle areas attached to rocks and cobbles. They are very abundant in small streams to large rivers as you have probably found if you have done much nymph fishing on the bottom and hooked the cased insects.

Larvae
The larvae, though cased, often become available to trout due to their common occurrence in stream drift and an unusual rappelling behavior. Several studies have found that Amiocentrus larvae were extremely abundant in grass beds or mossy covered rocks and they tend to drift in large numbers during the day. This activity makes them readily available to feeding trout.

Gary LaFontaine in his book Caddisflies (1981) refers to the rappelling activity of grannom larvae: the larvae moved downstream by attaching an anchor line of silk to a rock. Letting go of the rock, the silk line held them in the current. By lengthening the line they moved downstream to another rock. LaFontaine further refers to fishing with great success when using a weighted cased larva pattern on a white colored leader to imitate this behavior.

Pupae
When mature, the larvae often congregate in dense colonies in moderate currents. This results in concentrated areas of pupal emergence.

By opening a case with tweezers, the pupa can be removed and the color and size accurately determined. The maturity of the pupa can be assessed from the color of the wingpads: a mature pupa's will be dark brown (almost black). When mature pupae are found you can expect to have good fishing with pupal patterns.

Most brachycentrid pupae do not emerge as quickly as many other caddis pupae. After cutting out of the larval case, they drift along the bottom for several feet, then start swimming towards the surface. It can take up to thirty minutes for the adult to emerge once the pupa reaches the surface film. This obviously presents an excellent opportunity for trout to feed on pupae drifting near the surface.

Adults
Once free of the pupal shuck, the adults fly quickly to streamside vegetation where mating occurs after several days. Gravid females then return to the water in the afternoon or evening to lay their eggs. This presents the next excellent opportunity for fish and fishermen.

Most females flop on the surface to release their eggs. Some dive underwater. In both cases they drift quietly compared to the active fluttering flights of other adult caddis. During heavy egg-laying flights, numerous spent females will be drifting in or just under the surface film, and they present the perfect opportunity for a dead-drifted low-riding pattern.

Hatches of brachycentrids can occur anytime from late March to Early October.

Unlike many other caddis species, net-spinning caddis don't build a case in which to live. Instead, they build a rough shelter of gravel and plant debris that they attach to the sides of rocks.

The term "net-spinner" derives from the spider-like web these caddis larvae weave at the front of their shelters. These silken nets strain the larvae's food from the currents. The need for current to bring them food means that nearly all net-spinners live in flowing waters (a few species occur along wave-washed shores of lakes).

Among the net-spinning caddis, four genera from the family Hydropsychidae are most important in the West: Arctopsyche (Great Gray Spotted Sedge); Parapsyche (no common name); Hydropsycbe (Spotted Sedge); and Cheumatopsycbe (Little Sister Sedge).

Habitat and Life Cycle
Parapsycbe and Arctopsyche inhabit waters from small headwater streams to moderate-sized rivers with fast currents and large rocky bottoms.

The genera Hydropsycbe and Cheumatopsyche, on the other hand, prefer moderate- to large-sized streams with warmer temperatures, somewhat slower currents, and smaller substrate than the other two genera.

Like all caddis, net-spinners pass through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Most species require one year to develop from egg to adult. A few species pass through two generations in a single year.

The exact emergence periods are difficult to predict because of the variety of species and habitats. In general, hatches are sparse in early spring. Often, the first large emergences occur during the last weeks of May through June. The heaviest activity often occurs in July and August, but several species continue emerging into September and October.

Larval Stage
The larvae of net-spinning caddis periodically crawl out of their shelters, let go, and drift downstream 40, 50, or even 100 feet. This activity occurs on a daily cycle, and peaks near sunrise and sunset. Entomologists call this "behavioral drift" and speculate that it functions to disperse insect populations, thereby relieving competition and allowing the colonization of underutilized areas.

For the fishermen, it means increased food for trout, making nymph fishing during periods of peak drift very effective.
Some hydropsychid larvae throw a twist into normal drift behavior. Instead of simply letting go of the substrate, they attach a silk thread to the bottom and lower themselves downstream on a "life line." In his book Caddisflies, Gary LaFontaine discusses his increased success fishing with net-spinning caddis larva patterns when he colored the last 18 inches of his leader white to suggest this silk anchor line of the natural.

Pupal Stage
Once the larvae are mature, they seal themselves inside their shelter and transform into pupae. The pupae remain sealed inside until ready to emerge into adults. The complete development of the pupae typically requires four to six weeks.

When ready to emerge, the pupae swim to the surface, which is perhaps the most vulnerable period of the insect's life cycle. Trout feed selectively on the rising pupae, and imitating them is one of the most effective methods to use during a caddis hatch.

Peak emergence activity occurs in the late morning or early afternoon during the spring and fall. In mid-summer heavy hatches occur in the late afternoon and evening.

Adult Stage
Adult hydropsychids spend most of their time hiding on streamside vegetation. Mating occurs on the foliage, and unless a wind blows them over the water they are unavailable to fish.

Once egg laying begins, however, their vulnerability increases dramatically. Large swarms of gravid females congregate over the water from afternoon to late evening. To lay their eggs, they dive into the water and swim to the bottom, where they deposit strings of eggs on the substrate. Once egg laying is complete, they swim feebly back to the surface.

Such behavior makes them easy targets for feeding trout and an important stage for fly fishers to imitate. On streams like the Watauga or South Holston in Tennessee , some of the fastest and most consistent fishing of the season occurs during the last hour of light when the hydropsychids lay their eggs.

Scott Marsh advises the following dates for stocking on the North Mills: May 2nd - Monday, October 6th - Thursday, November 3rd - Thursday. Usual time, usual place.

This is a camp for boys and girls 13 to 16 years old focusing on fly fishing and coldwater conversation. It is sponsored by North Carolina Trout Unlimited. It will be Sunday - Friday, June 12 - 17, 2005 at the Lake Logan Center in Canton, NC. There is a limit of 18 campers. Applicants must have been born between June 17, 1989 and June 12, 1992. Applications must be received by April 15, 2005. The tuition for the camp is $325.00 for the entire week and is not due until the applicant is notified that he/she has been selected. Financial assistance is available if needed. For additional information, contact: Craig Larson, Administration Director, lraymond35@mchsi.com or Betsy Craig, Program Director, ercraig@citcom.net

Tournament runs from April 1 - May 31, 2005. Proceeds will benefit NCTU Rivercourse Camp. For more information and directions to Curtis Wright Outfitters click here.

fish, this certificate, measuring device (tape measurer, rod, etc.), fly or lure used, rod used

4. Fish must be caught in the Western District as defined by NCWRC and in designated trout waters and the French Broad River .

We are adding pictures to this page. We want the pictures to be of flies tied by LOS TU members. Please submit your ties. If it is a pattern we do not have listed yet submit a recipe also. Thanks Brad S.

Curtis Wright Outfitters has several items from the fundraiser closet to sell. Stop by and check it out.

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NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC, Zebco Announce Recall of Children’s Fishing Poles