Richard Formato

Richard Formato is an avid catch-and-release fly-fisherman from Wytheville, Va. When not on the water, he operates a small business there. Formato loves to fly-fish in his native Southwest Virginia because of the great water and wonderful people. He also loves to fish the flats and shallows of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic whenever work and weather permit. He is on the Department of Conservation and Recreation's board of directors and is a trustee of the Shenandoah National Forest and Skyline Drive.

Recent columns

• What about Bob?
• Notes from the Charlotte Fly Show
• A chance meeting
• A wish for Jack

• Column archive
• Talk fly-fishing

When an old friend, Ed Williams, called me last week and said he would be coming through Wytheville, and asked me if we could go fly-fishing, I was happily surprised.

I have known Ed since junior high school, and because he lives near Fredericksburg, I was really looking forward to his visit.

We have fished the Conway, Hughes, Rappahannock, Rose, Robinson, and world famous Rapidan rivers.

Wanting to show Ed a good time, I chose Stewarts Creek in Carroll County to see is if our Southwest Virginia brook trout can compare to the refined fishing of Rappahannock and Madison counties.

Parking at the Wildlife Management parking area off of Exit 1 at the bottom of Interstate 77 right at the North Carolina line, we rigged up our 3 weights and set off “up the creek".

Stewarts is a tight, brush-addled stream with plunge pools and tail-outs with wild roses and thorns everywhere.

As we started hiking, I nicked my waders right at the knee. Wading in, I felt the cold sinking feeling that can only mean one thing. A leak.

Still close to the truck, I asked Ed to walk back with me to get some “goop” for a quick wader repair.

Opening my dry bag, I remembered I left my tube in my big black bag on the back porch.

With a full day of rock hopping and brush-dodging ahead, we needed to do something fast. Ed reminded me of the article he had recently read in the Fly Fishing Journal, advising toothpaste as an emergency fix for a small wader puncture.

In the article, it also said that toothpaste would act as an organic lubricant, providing a semi-permeable layer resistant to rose and thorn knicks. The fluoride in the toothpaste is an organic hydracarbon that can bond with the carbon molecules contained in most waders because carbon black is the main coloring ingredient of natural rubber -- it's what makes your tires black, as rubber is a pale color when first processed. We remembered these nuggets from our 9th grade chemistry class; we evidently learned more than our grades would suggest.

I had a fresh tube of toothpaste in my overnight bag in the back of the truck, including a change of clothes standing by for those sudden dunkings that occur when you least expect them.

We started gingerly at first, dabbing the toothpaste plaster over the knick in the waders, watching it consume the small hole before hardening into a surprisingly flexible seal.

Seeing the success of this test, we then smeared toothpaste all over our waders from the boot cuffs upward to about our knees.

At first it looked very weird, with pale blue toothpaste caked on the lower section of our waders, but we wanted to see its effectiveness in the brush. We hoped that the sparkling effervescent crystals wouldn't spook the fish in the bright afternoon sun.

As we headed back into the brush, we cruised through the thickets like hot knives through butter. The rose thorns and mountain laurel branches slid off without a single snag, and we didn't need to stay on the narrow trails that meandered along the streambed. Even an old barbed wire fence strung across the creek was no match for the armored waders.

(On the toothpaste company’s Web site, it says it can be used for repair only in emergencies and should not be considered a permanent fix. They do not recommend using this for the repair of vehicle tires, life rafts, or other inflatable pressurized devices.)

The only potentially bad thing we noticed was the light foam in the water from the dissolving toothpaste.

We noticed that the brook trout started rising to the bubbles in the water. We thought they were mistaking the fine bubbles for emerging mayflies. However, the trout seemed to be thrashing around the surface as if they were brushing their teeth!

After hooking and landing a smallish brook trout, we noticed how clean its mouth was, and how refreshingly bug-free its scent was. The fly was amazingly bright and buoyant as we extracted the barbless hook from its tartar-free jaw.

Normally, brook trout have a neutral odor because of their insectivorous nature, but we really felt that the paste had a wonderfully hygienic effect on them, and improved their aesthetic appeal. Maybe this is one trick that all those fish-kissing bass pros have not shared with the rank and file amateurs, but we are onto their tricks now. The first and last time I tried to kiss a bass like they do on television, I nearly lost the tip of my tongue and everything tasted like minnows for a week.

Their mouths were noticeable whiter and brighter. Because wild brook trout are noted for their white-tipped fins, and it was obvious that this new technique would prevent that ugly yellowing effect. Not to mention the obvious effect on their self-esteem and confidence in social settings.

It seems that we had finally discovered a way that every fisherman with a toothbrush can help keep his rivers clean. As we forged our way back to the truck after catching and releasing multiple objects -- some of them trout -- we were astounded to realize that there was also emanated from Stewart Creek's bubbling waters a lovely fragrance of minty freshness that could only mean one thing …

April Fools!