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IAFFVFALL 2012, EMAIL EDITION

FLY LINESOfficial NewsletterInternational Association of Fly fishing Veterinarians6420 E. Placita ZacatecasTucson, Arizona  85750

MISSION STATEMENT:“To provide high quality veterinary continuing education, while enjoying pristine fly fishing destinations.”

Dr. Don Sawyer, PresidentDr. Doug Andrews, Vice President, FLY LINES

EditorDr. Jack Quick, Secretary/Treasurer/

MembershipDr. Herb Brown, Member at Large

Dr. Richard Forfa, Member at LargeDr. Richard Burrows, Web Site Manager

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From the President

Being a life member of the International Federation of Fly Fishers and a regular that had its start on the fabled Au Sable River of northern Michigan, I get magazines from both organizations. I was reading the fall issue of Trout, the official magazine of Trout Unlimited and in it was a Q & A session with William Clay (Bill) Ford, Jr, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company. His parents were William Clay Ford, Sr and Martha Firestone, and he is the great-grandson of Henry Ford. The first question the author (Chris Santella) asked Bill was how he got started in fly-fishing of which he is a big advocate. Although his parents were not that much interested in fishing, they were members of a fishing club on the Pigeon River in northern Michigan. His mother would take him there when he was a young boy and one of the caretaker/managers for the club took an interest in him. He would often take Bill for walks in the

woods and on one occasion took him to the river to introduce him to fly-fishing. He was four years old at the time, but really took a liking to the whole experience. He recalled the caretaker telling him that there were four phases of fishing.

PHASE ONE – When you want to catch a fish

PHASE TWO – When you want to catch a lot of fish

PHASE THREE – When you want to catch a big fish

PHASE FOUR – When you just want to be able to fish

This did not originate with the Pigeon River caretaker and has been around for a long time. When I go on the IAFFV trips, there are occasions when we catch not only a lot of fish but big fish as well. And I am always interested in how many fish a fly angler really has to catch to satisfy the appetite. The answer I often get is just one more---please! These four phases really sum up many of the experiences associated with

Date Trip Status Year Jan. 26 - Feb. 2 El Pescador Lodge, Belize Open 2013

The sign up dead line for the Belize program is November 21st!Aug. 15 - Aug. 22 Moraine Creek and King Salmon, Alaska Open 2013

Sept. 15 - Sept. 21 Florida Keys, Islamorada Open 2013

April 19 - April 24 Bighorn River Spring Meeting, Ft. Smith, Montana Open 2014

UPCOMING PROGRAMS:

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Great place to fish!

The first of many landed

Catching a big fish, the last one of the day

And the release...

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the programs and trips offered by the IAFFV. Just on the Moraine Creek trip this past August, we had two veterinarians who had not fly fished for trout that much: Shawn Wilson and Mark Winning. Also, Joe Gloyd and his 18 yr. old son were on the trip, which was very special. I witnessed all four of these phases in just the first day so the time separations can be a matter of hours, days, weeks, months or even years. I fished for Great Lakes Steelhead these past few days and the pictures tell the story.

As part of this legacy that Bill Ford, Jr talked about, anyone who might have been interested in the Au Sable program last month, (which we had to cancel), could have experienced the same rivers as those of the Fords, Firestones, Olds, Duisenberg’s and many others who had homes on the trout streams of northern Michigan. On the South Branch of the Au Sable, those homes and airstrips have long since been removed, and we have established the Mason Track, which is 10 miles of protected river with no development. Just the fisherman’s chapel remains, where one can stop and say thanks to be able to fish, the last of the four phases.

So as we near the end of this year, my best wishes to all of you for the holiday season approaching and may you have a prosperous and rewarding New Year. We will have our 15th anniversary for the IAFFV in 2013 and hopefully better fishing is on your horizon.

Best regards and thank you for your support,

Don

EDITOR RAMBLINGS

I have just completed my third year working on the IAFFV newsletter, and I must admit, I am still learning. Believe it or not, this job requires a commodity that we all hold precious-- time.

The process begins with first reviewing all trip reports and program announcements that have been sent to me by the organizers. I than set the correct font and letter size, copy and paste the reports in my Apple Pages Desktop publishing program, and then pray that I do not erase text or pictures. The pictures inserted are another challenge. I must receive all pictures in JPEG format and then shrink the pictures to a reasonable pixel size in order NOT to end up with a final documents that is 10 megabytes in size. My final draft is sent to board members for review prior to email delivery to our members. Once a year, usually in November or December, I will send out a hard copy of this Fall Newsletter to all members, just to insure everyone is receiving the email internet copy. Sending out via snail mail requires close work with Jack Quick, who manages all of the mailing data and membership lists.

The Executive Board works many combined hours to make this organization relevant to all members. The friendships that have evolved with this organization will last a lifetime, and make the effort and time

placed with the IAFFV very worthwhile. Those as Rich Burrows, Don Sawyer, Herb and Tina Brown, Scott Mays, Rich Forfa, Stu Sherburne, Tony Evangilista, the brother’s Riggs, Mike Willard, Doug Chilcoat,Walt Weirich, Paul Drewry, Eric Herggesell, Larry Mitchell, Mike Mulvany, Les Martin, and of course, E. Gerald Ford, plus many others all bring a smile to my face when I remember the trips we have shared. Just yesterday, Herb Brown left me a voice mail message wondering if my name was on the list for customers for the infamous Zumba teacher that use to run her “ladies of the night” studio in Kennebunkport, Maine. I was laughing for 5 minutes. My point is that no matter how many growing pains and permutations that the IAFFV had gone through over 15 years, we will never lose the friendships created.

I ask all to extend some time to become involved with the IAFFV at another level, we need more organizers, more member input regarding how the members want the IAFFV to grow and mature in the next 15 years, and we need some to step up for future board involvement, as the present board was not created to stay with these positions for life.

I look forward to meeting more of you in the future both on and off the river. I also thank Don Sawyer and Jack Quick for their time spent with creating this recent Newsletter.

Doug Andrews

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IAFFV WINTER PROGRAMIN THE SALT

El Pescador Lodge, BelizeJanuary 26 – February 2, 20137 nights lodging, 6 days fishing

20 hrs CEPresented by

Dr. Robert Kennis ACVDModern Concepts in

Veterinary Dermatology$5475 Angler

$2850 non-angler

The El Pescador Lodge has a long history on Ambergris Caye, Belize,

which began in 1972 and was developed into an outstanding fly fishing destination. In 1997, the El Pescador has

changed hands and many improvements have been made over the past 15 years. IAFFV last visited there in 2010 and we are excited about returning there again. The starting point for this adventure is

arrival from various US departures to Belize City. Following a twenty minute scenic flight on Tropic Air to the village of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, we will rendezvous with a representative from El Pescador. A taxi will transport us from the tiny airport 3 blocks through town to a small pier. We will be taken by boat for a 20 minute boat ride up the coast to the lodge, where there will be a welcome committee and drink waiting.

The lodge is right on the beach and we will be staying in 2 villas each with guest rooms, double occupancy. All rooms face the sea to the east and

the villas are surrounded by tropical flowering plants and palms. All villa guest rooms have private baths, with AC, overhead fans, and are very close to the large dock where guides will meet us each morning. There is also a large pool next to the villas.

These waters are protected by the world’s second longest barrier reef and the waves softly crashing against the reef will lull you to sleep each night. The Spanish name for El Pescador is “the fisherman”. Primary targets are bonefish, tarpon and permit, and all of their guides are specialized in teaching the art and skill of salt water fly fishing. It is not unusual to fish for barracuda when the conditions are right.

Each day will start with breakfast at sun rise and a boat ride to various fishing

destinations in the area (2 anglers per boat). After a great day on the water, we will return by 3:00 for a 3 hour outstanding CE session by Bob Kennis

each day. All CE sessions will be held in one of the villa living rooms.

Most of the time, we will be fishing from 24 ft boats as the guide poles through the flats with one angler on deck at a time.

On occasion, flats wading will be necessary to stalk tailing bones. Nine ft, 8 wt, 3 or 4 piece graphite or boron rods will cover most of your needs for

Beautiful bone fishing flat off of one of many Ambergris Cayes

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

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bonefish and permit, but 10 or 11 wt rods will be required when fishing Tarpon.

You will be provided a gear list, but if you have specific questions regarding fly fishing gear, please contact me.

Arrival will be on a Saturday January 26 and departure the following Saturday. We will fish 6 days and lodge 7 nights in one of the most enjoyable salt water fly fishing destinations anywhere. If you wish to stay an extra day or two, please contact the El Pescador Lodge, www.elpescador.com. There is a fully complemented bar at the lodge and they will maintain a tab during your stay. The registration fee is based upon a total of 10 anglers, including the speaker and organizer.

REGISTRATION DEPOSIT IS DUE NOVEMBER 21

Registration Form (www.iaffv.org)

$2000 deposit at time of registration*

Payment may be made by check made out to IAFFV. We also

accept Visa or MC For further information, contact

Dr. Don Sawyer (sawyerdon30@gmail.com),

517/349-0454 (Michigan). After 10/23, (520)/572-6790

*If cancellation occurs before IAFFV makes the first payment to El Pescador, a full refund of

the deposit will occur. Cancellation after the first

payment to El Pescador is based upon someone filling the

vacated slot after the quota of 10 anglers is reached. Trip

insurance is highly recommended

Packages includes: 7 nights lodging, double occupancy, round trip air, land and sea

transfers between Belize City and El Pescador, 20 hrs RACE approved CE, 3 meals per day, hors d’oeuvres, local Belizean beverages consumed at the lodge bar (incl soda, beer, and rum), complimentary use of all amenities, 9% hotel tax and 12.5% GST tax, gratuities and a welcome drink.

Package does not include: fishing license, park fees or equipment rental

IAFFV SUMMER MEETING

Moraine Creek and King Salmon, Alaska

August 15 - 22, 20131 night lodging King

Salmon, 6 nights camping, 6 days fishing14 hours CE

$6350Modern Cardiology in Small

Animal PracticeDr. Bari Oliver ACVIM

Michigan State University

Moraine Creek is located in the Katmai National Preserve about an hour by float plane from King Salmon. The trip the first week of August 2012 was phenomenal. Because of the great experience, we are returning two weeks later and the major difference being bigger rainbows, not longer, just bigger with 32” trout in the range of 12 to 15lbs on a fly rod. Smaller trout in the 26” range will be near 8 to 10lbs. Much of this will sight fishing with salmon egg imitations. Big Arctic Grayling are also a target with the possibility on dries as well. Hosts for

this trip are John, Levi and Jake Hohl of the Alaska Fly Anglers.

The plan is to have everyone arrive King Salmon through Anchorage Thursday, August 15th, lodge overnight at the King Ko Inn, and enjoy a day of great CE by Dr. Bari Oliver, Cardiovascular Internist, Michigan State University. The balance of the CE will be each afternoon in camp before dinner. We will finish the CE session Friday afternoon and depart King Salmon about 4:00pm. We will have transferred camping supplies and gear to waterproof duffels, placed travel

bags in storage and then fly in DeHavilland Beavers with floats to Crosswinds Lake. This lake is located within walking distance across tundra to the headwaters of the Moraine. We will camp on an island the first 3 nights and

have 2 full days wade fishing for big bows. This is prime trophy trout water in the midst of thousands of spawning Sockeye Salmon and an abundance of Brown bears.

Monday morning we will float and fish roughly 6 miles through the

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shallow Moraine gorge where we'll encounter trophy Rainbow Trout with the possible opportunity for 20”+ Arctic Grayling. Jake will precede our departure with all the cargo that morning and will have camp ready upon our afternoon arrival at the high banks. We will camp there 2 nights with a full day of wade fishing in-between. We will move downriver shortly after lunch on Wednesday stopping to fish in many places along the way. On the 5th day, we'll float and fish lower Moraine and camp that night up-river from what is called the lake water. This part of the Creek in early

August often holds some really big trout coming out of Lake Kukaklek. On the last day of the trip, we'll continue downstream fishing for trout and grayling. The shuttles back to King Salmon will arrive shortly after lunch in time for connection to the PenAir

flight to Anchorage. One might choose to either fly the red eye to the lower 48 that night or lodge over for a morning flight.

Each angler should set up with 2 rods: a 4 or 5wt WWF for grayling and a 6 or 7wt WFF for going after those big bows. If you are in need for fly rods, let me know. You are responsible for sticky soled boots (felts are not allowed in Alaska), breathable waders, rain gear and various layers to keep warm as weather conditions can be variable. Normal temperature range is 40 – 60F. Life vests are supplied by the outfitter along with everything for camping including tents, cots, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, water bottle and great food by Cook John assisted by Levi and Jake. Liquid refreshments are on a BYO basis.

Go to www.iaffv.org for the trip report and pictures from the 2012 trip. Also check the Alaska Fly Anglers web site:www.alaskaflyanglers.com.

Total number is limited to 6. $1000 is due with registration, preferably by check made out

to IAFFV and mailed to organizer.

Fee includes meals, 1 night lodging, 6 days guided fishing, 6 nights camping, gratuities, 14 hours of CE approved by RACE AAVSB. Not included:

Alaska fishing license, airfare to King Salmon and personal

libations. Contact Dr. Don Sawyer

Sawyerdon30@gmail.com; Until late October,

517/349-0454 (Michigan) Thereafter until end April,

520/572-6790 (Arizona) Trip insurance is highly

recommended.

Florida Keys, IslamoradaSept. 15 – Sept. 21

6 nights lodging (dbl occ) 4 days fishing

14 hours CE TBA$3200 estimated

The IAFFV will be returning to the Key’s for the third time, with the previous success of the 2006 and 2009 meetings. I am in the early planning stages, and I have set the dates for the meeting from Sunday, September 15th as arrival and departure date as Saturday the 21st. We should all plan to use Ft. Lauderdale as the airport to meet. From there we will travel (car pooling) to Islamorada and stay at a small inn directly on the bayside, adjacent to Lorelei dock. Greg Poland, our guide from 3 years ago, will once again host our group and will assume the leadership as head guide. Check out his Website: www.gregpoland.com or www.gregpolandphotography.com.

The primary fish to target will

be tarpon, permit, and bonefish. This time of year in the Keys and Florida Everglades is breathtaking. In addition, some guides will have the option to cruise oceanside, conditions permitting, for those who wish to fish for other species, such as black-fin tuna, kingfish, and others.

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Total number will be limited to 12. $500 refundable dibs is due with registration, preferably by check, made out to IAFFV and

mailed to organizer.

Fee includes meals, 6 nights lodging, 4 days guided fishing,

14 hours of CE approved by RACE AAVSB. Not included:

Florida fishing license, transportation to Islamorada,

personal libations. Contact Dr. Douglas Andrews

dandrew2@maine.rr.com207/632-9300

11 Heron Point Road Falmouth, Maine 04105

Trip insurance is highly recommended.

Big Horn River Spring Meeting

April 19th-April 24th, 2014Kingfisher Lodge, Fort

Smith, Montana5 NIGHTS LODGING, 4

DAYS FISHING14 hours CE, Speaker(s)

TBAEstimated $2950

I have secured dates for the Bighorn for 2014, one week later than the Spring 2012 meeting, to maximize the opportunity for prime dry fly fishing.

The schedule and venue for lodging will remain the same as in 2012. Please read the two write ups on this meeting as described below in this newsletter to acquire a general idea of the location, conditions and fishing.

The IAFFV is early in the speaker planning for this meeting, and more detailed information will follow in future newsletters.

To secure a spot for this meeting, please send your refundable dibs of $500 to the address below. A check is preferred, made out to the IAFFV. This meeting generally fills up quickly, so I would not wait too long before signing up.

Total number limited to 14, including speaker(s) and

organizer. $500 refundable deposit due with registration.

Fee includes 5 nights lodging, 4 days of guided fishing, meals, 14 hours of RACE approved CE. Not

included: transportation from Billing’s airport, fishing license,

adult beverages.

Contact Dr. Douglas C. Andrews Dandrew2@maine.rr.com

207/632-930011 Heron Point Road, Falmouth,

Maine 04105Trip Insurance recommended

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IAFFVBIGHORN RIVER SPRING

MEETING April 14 – 19, 2012

KINGFISHER LODGEFort Smith, Montana

Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal

Disorders in Dogs and Cats: The Art of Thoracic and

Abdominal Radiology Presented by

Dr. Eric Herggesell, DVM, DACVR

AndDr. Mike Willard, DVM,

MS, DACVIM

After two years of planning, the 2012 IAFFV Bighorn trip is history, with some very pleasant (and some unpleasant) memories. Trip participants included yours truly, Dr. Michael Lemelin, Massachusetts, Dr. Rich Burrows, Arizona, Dr. Stuart Sherburne, Maine, Dr. Rex Riggs and his older brother Dr. Gary Riggs, both from Ohio and graduates of THE Ohio State University, Dr. E. Gerald Ford, Texas, Dr. Joe Seng, Illinois, Dr. Larry Mitchell, Indiana, Dr. Tony Evangilista, Ohio, Dr. Mike Mulvany, California, Mark Green, North Carolina, and our guest speakers, Dr. Eric Hergesell, California and Dr Mike Willard, Texas.

Mike Willard and I joined up the night before in Billings, in order to avoid any potential delays with airline travel. The next day we shopped for provisions for the group and met our first 7 arrivals at 1:00 PM to transport to Fort Smith, Montana. Unfortunately, Joe Seng missed his flight and had to rent his own vehicle late that day to travel the 90 miles from Billings to the Kingfisher Lodge.

By the evening dinner hour, all attendees had arrived except Stu Sherburne from Maine. He could not secure a very good connection, and hence, opted to stay in Billings late Saturday, with the plan to join us early Sunday morning. The evening social started off with an impromptu lecture and discussion on the revolution of digital x rays in veterinary medicine. This intense interaction and energy with both speakers and our group continued all week, and we were experiencing a preview on Saturday night.

I do not have to talk about the fishing experience, as Dr. Mark Green has already covered this portion of the trip with his detailed and expressive letter he sent to me following his the Bighorn 2012 experience. I know that the primary reason for attending these trip seems to be always first the fishing experience,

and second, continuing education, and third, camaraderie among veterinarians at always a unique location. This meeting held true to these three principles, with a bold underline of continuing education.

Dr. Willard began his lecture series at 6:30 AM Sunday morning describing his experiences with portal-systemic shunts. Through the rest of his 7 hours of lecture series, he also covered diseases of the esophagus, liver and pancreas. Dr. Herggesell organized his lecture series with case presentations, requiring various members in our group to define, interpret and present the data to the rest of the group. As the week progressed, Dr. Willard and Dr. Herrgesell conspired to dovetail their lecture series with bullet point

presentation cases they affectionately referred to as “flash cards”. Either Dr. Herrgesell or Dr. Willard would outline a case with a radiograph and case history, and the group would then have 2 minutes or less to diagnose and interpret. If we were incorrect, the beatings continued. Once each flash card case was completed, if the group did not answer all questions, the guest non-presenting flash card presenter would analyze the case, often with amazing results.

Upon returning to the Kingfisher at 6:30 PM, we gathered once again at 6:45 for informal case discussion and review until the dinner hour of 7:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Dinner time depended on when the food was ready and the intensity of the case discussions and

TRIP REPORTS

Dr. Eric Herrgesell beginning his radiology lecture series

Dr. Rich Burrows foreground and Dr. Mike Willard with supreme concentration

Dr. Mark Green inspecting his catch

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radiology review. We repeated this regimented schedule for 4 straight days.

For those who have not listened to either Dr. Willard or Dr. Herrgesell, I recommend you seek out their lectures at any national meeting. Both are very popular speakers at the North America Veterinary Conference held every

January in Florida.

The weather in true Montana varied from a bone chilling 37 degrees with wind to sunny and mid fifties. I personally used a nymphing rod for 1 hour in the entire week, with the rest of my time devoted to my four-weight rod with a 4X leader, 5X tippet and many tiny dry flies. The majority of my fish landed were brown trout with about 1 Rainbow per 10 browns caught. The water temperatures were a chilly low forties, but with warm socks and quality waders, my feet survived in fine shape.

When the final lecture wrapped up on Wednesday evening, 1/2 of the group continued an informal planning session outside on the the lodge porch

that lasted until past 11 PM. Since I had to set my alarm clock for 2:45 AM to catch a 6:00 AM flight out of Billings along with 3 other meeting participants, I excused myself from this meeting. Plans are in progress for another Bighorn meeting for Spring of 2014, and we will keep you posted as to Bighorn dates in future IAFFV newsletters.

Dr. Mark Green’s Observations

Bighorn River, MontanaSpring, 2012

  “Can you hear me now?” Not at the Kingfisher Lodge in Ft. Smith Montana. If you need cell phone service,

hop in a drift boat and float down to Section Three. Somewhere around mile 4 of that section, your pocket will vibrate. By this time, your fly rod will be vibrating as well. There are a lot of trout on the Big Horn River.

The April 2012 IFFVA trip to the Big Horn was my second trip with the group. A dozen of us joined speakers Eric Herggesell DVM, DACVR and Mike Willard, DVM, MS, DACVIM for 4 days of fishing and interactive

continuing education. We started our mornings with 6:30 AM CE sessions. The sessions were case based with each speaker offering their respective perspectives. Get a radiologist and an internal medicine doc in the same room and you get a lot on CE. Following morning CE sessions, we joined out guides for a short ride to the river…less than 10 minutes. It was time to catch a trout.

The biggest challenge of the morning was trying to decide on how to layer your clothes. We experienced all four seasons….usually in the same day. On two mornings, we enjoyed CE and

chef- prepared breakfast while watching big snowflakes fall. By the afternoon, we were fishing in shirt sleeves and waders. I don’t see weather like this very often in North Carolina. The fish don’t seem to care. Their environment hovers in the high 40’s regardless! I fished with 4 different guides. I started with Clint, a second generation guide who tells stories of Dick Cheney, Ted and Jane, and a few other fisherman of note. San Diego Michael and I enjoyed a blue bird day of dry fly fishing. Clint fishes pocket water often big enough for only one fisherman at a time. Not a problem. Our system was for one of us to cast a size 18 Black Gnat pattern or a Smoke Jumper to one of about 20 rising fish. Clint kept reminding us to pick one target and cast 2 feet to his North. The game was hook up, move downstream to fight your fish while the second angler stepped in and repeated the process. By the time we got our fish released, Clint was retorting and I quote. “Quit lollygagging and get in here. It’s your turn.” This went on all day.

The next three days were repeats of the first. For most of the trip, you could find rising fish and cast dry patterns to them. My guides all used a size 18 or 20 black pattern dry usually fished in tandem or as the lead fly to either a black zebra nymph or a small blue wing olive. When the rising fish took breaks, we found quick action drifting nymphs under a larger dry fly or a balloon float. I actually caught three fish on a size 12 Elk Hair Caddis ! For nymphing, my guides rigged up a 9 foot 3x leader with about 3 feet of 5X tippet. For dries, a 3x or 4x leader with 5X tippet. I used my 9 foot 5 weight for dries and a 9 foot 6 weight for nymphing and did fine. As to the size of fish, most were in the 15 to 18 inch range and I usually caught 5 browns to 1 rainbow. When you did catch a rainbow, it was usually in the 18 to 20 inch range and fought like a prize fighter. As to

Dr. Gary Riggs, another happy customer

A good weather day

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numbers, it was common to catch 10 to 15 fish at each stop. Daily fish totals were over 50 per boat. My personal total for 5 days fishing (Michael from San Diego, Larry from Indy and I added a day to the beginning of the trip) was somewhere between 125 and 150.

The last day of fishing for me was my favorite. On the last day, my fishing partner was stricken by a bug. My wife has a quote. “It is an ill wind that does not blow someone good fortune.” Bad wind for my fishing partner…good wind for me. I landed in a boat by myself with fishing guide Bryan. We had fished together earlier in the week and he had been telling me about fishing the lower sections. The

others in the group were reluctant to leave the productive middle sections and declined to join me for adventure on new waters. I wanted to see new territory. Bryan and I set out to target large rainbows. Our first stop was the left of three passages between islands in the river. Two hours later, we decided we had better keep going down river or we would miss dinner time. This was one of those spots you read about in the magazines. Looking up river, snow covered mountains provided the backdrop for a section of fast ripples spilling into a chute that ran along a long gravel bar. Bryan pulled the boat to the bank and we started wading. We fished a pinkish orange soft hackle pattern along the drop offs and caught nice rainbows and browns all morning. I had requested guide Bryan to fish with me so I could

see how “it should look”. You can learn a lot watching the professionals and it turned the float into more of a “two guys fishing” versus a “guide and customer” trip. That was fun. After two hours, we left feeding fish and moved on down river. We nymphed deeper holes looking for the big rainbows and caught several 18-19 inchers and I believe on two occasions , that 20 plus incher got me down stream in swift water and said “ Not today big guy.” As we got further downstream and needed to make up some time, I pulled out my 8 weight with a sink tip and a dark purple streamer and started casting deep runs and pockets behind fallen trees. It is amazing how many fish like to hide behind trees. Bryan would say cast there….I would….strip twice and “Wham”. I love a streamer strike. About 2 miles to go and the seasons changed again. What we would call in North Carolina a “North Easter” blew straight up river and it rained. Now I was glad I was the client as Bryan rowed the last 2 miles into the wind. Welcome to Montana.

As to Kingfisher Lodge, it was great. All of our meals were prepared by a professionally trained chef. Boat lunches included hot soup and sandwiches with homemade baked goods for desserts. Breakfast were hot and customized….I don’t eat eggs. Evening meals included prime rib and a

crusted Walleye dish. Housing was very comfortable. I was one of three in the Farm House, a two bedroom cottage with a den and kitchen. The rest of the group was in a more traditional 2 bed motel set up. Meeting space was comfortable and our speakers kept us awake in spite of the soft couch. As to future trips, put the Big Horn on your bucket list. As to what to bring, layers, Gortex, fishing gloves, an ATT calling card, and I did enjoy my neoprene waders

when the winter season hit…..usually just before lunch. By 2:00 PM, the spring thaw. Go figure….Welcome to Montana.

Mark Green DVM

Charlotte, North Carolina

Dr. Mike Mulvany with a brown

An early morning sunrise at 6:15

Another difficult day in the office

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TRIP REPORTMoraine Creek King Salmon

and Katmai National Preserve, Alaska

Small Animal Anesthesia in Clinical Practice

August 2 – 9, 2012

This was one of those trips that hopefully might never end. But reality set in on the last day when the river current was at lake level and the guides were rowing the rafts hard to get the take out for the float planes back to King Salmon. Five nights camping, 6 days on the water with 3 great guides, 6 fly anglers having the time of their life, and really great weather for the Alaskan Bush, that’s tough to beat.

We started this trip with everyone arriving King Salmon from Anchorage on Thursday for a 2 night stay at the King Ko Inn. Comprising the group were Dr. Joe Gloyd and son Todd from Delaware, Dr. Scott Mays small animal practitioner from Texas, Dr. Mark Winning who has a mixed practice in northern California, Dr. Shawn Wilson a good friend of Mark and human dentist, and I doubled as organizer and speaker. We spent the day on Friday talking about various topics on modern approaches to small animal anesthesia and at the end of

the day, prepared for the fly out to the Creek Saturday morning.

The air service was ready with a Beaver and 206 on floats, but Cross Winds Lake at the headwaters of Moraine Creek was socked in by weather. So we finally got out about 11:00am and flew under the clouds to get there by noon. With all gear unloaded, we walked the tundra for about a quarter

mile to the Creek and island were we would spend the next 2 days. We had lots of side line entertainment with Brown Bears enjoying the Sockeye Salmon fishing, but unlike ours with catch and release, theirs was catch and eat. These bears have to gain about 150 lbs. in a month, so their focus is on just that in order to survive the winter. Big bows from Lake Kukaklek make their way up the Creek to do the same thing by feeding on eggs rolling behind spawning fish.

Most of the time, we were casting plastic beads dead drift painted to simulate salmon eggs. One single egg was put on a 3X fluocarbon tippet with a

size 8 hook 2” below it, rolling down the river bottom to awaiting trout ranging 26 to 32 inches. Each inch of length made a big difference in girth, and these fish were tough to get to the net. Rainbows are illegal to kill in Alaska and one can appreciate releasing these trophy fish to

continue their life. A 32” rainbow will likely be 15 years old, and they are a handful, more like both hands for sure.

There were a lot of features that made this trip special. Having 18 yr. old Todd

along for his second trip to the Alaskan Bush in 3 years for big trout was a treat to watch. He had a blast. We waited a life time almost for fishing bows like this and his has barely started. Shawn had never fly fished before and it did not take him

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long to get the drift. He also shared some very interesting experiences in his dental practice. Mark Winning was the first to catch a bow over 30” and it happened only 30 minutes of our arrival to the Moraine. He just could not catch enough fish every day. And

the Texan did pretty well as he had never experienced trout fishing like this before.

We had a CE session every evening before dinner with some interesting problem cases to discuss. After 5 nights in 3 different camp sites, lots of up close bears especially in the first 2 days, 6 days of some exceptional fishing, and great meals by cook John, we probably averaged 50 trout with all of us landing at least one of those elusive 10W30’s --- 10 lbs, 30”. We also caught Arctic Grayling over 20 inches and Todd had the only Lake Trout.

Alaska is all about the weather and this summer had been unusually cold and wet. It was raining when we arrived Saturday, and by Monday, we were seeing some blue skies. The weather was unusually good the rest of the week, so we were very lucky. Mark was the only one willing to take a river bath but it was cold!

Our shuttles arrived right on schedule a little after noon Thursday, and we all made connections on PenAir back to Anchorage and the

lower 48. John Hohl and his brothers Levi and Jake did a spectacular job taking care of all of us to keep us sharp the whole trip. John is owner of Alaska Fly Anglers, and it just could not be any better. We are on the schedule for 2013 and fish will just be bigger after 2-3 weeks of feeding on eggs and salmon flesh.

Don SawyerOrganizer

Nice Lake Trout!

13

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