Page 2 OFFICERS Melody Weinhandl, President Vacant, President-elect Andrew Sauter, Vice President Casey Leary, Secretary Matt Stanton, Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terms expire in 2011 Bob Fischer Scott Novotny Alex Rose Bill Wichers Terms expire in 2012 Casey Leary Neil Ruebush Andrew Sauter Matt Stanton Terms expire in 2013 Greg Groves Joe Meyer Will Waterbury Herb Waterman The Backcast is the monthly newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters, an affiliate club of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy and the Federation of Fly Fishers. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the views of the officers, board or members of the Wyoming Fly Casters. Annual dues are $20 for an individual, $30 for a family, or $250 for a lifetime individual membership or $450 for a lifetime family membership. Visit the club website at www.wyflycasters.org. The deadline for submission of information for each issue is the next to last day of the month. Make contributions to the next issue by e-mailing material to the Backcast editor at ChevPU57@aol.com, or call (307) 436-8774. The Backcast is available either in electronic format or through USPS snail mail. To receive each newsletter through a monthly e-mail, you must be able to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, a software format available free of charge) documents. Generally, each issue is roughly 1 MB in size, some are larger. Your e-mail provider may have limits on the size of attachments. In order to be added to the e-mail list, send a request to ChevPU57@aol.com. In addition to receiving each issue of the newsletter earlier than your hard copy peers, e-mail subscribers are able to print each copy in vibrant color -an added plus if the issue is rich in color photographs. By subscribing electronically, you also save the club roughly $17.40 a year in printing and postage expenses.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Drag-free Drif ts by Melody Weinhandl, President, WFC powdertrout@gmail.com
I
t has been a fascinating year serving the Wyoming Fly Casters in the role of president-elect. I have enjoyed the responsibilities largely because of the enthusiasm shown by those willing to participate in our organization. One of the duties of the presidentelect is to line out the presentations for the general meetings. As such, we heard such interesting speakers as Al Condor and Dr. Wayne Hubert from UW. We learned about bonefishing and heard about an amazing backcounty angling trip on the east coast. Trout taxonomy taught us much about the lineage of trout and the various species that abound around the world and a few that are now extinct. And although it was not a presentation in this sense of the word, there was an awesome "presentation" and array of food arranged by Don Jelinek in September that made the Club BBQ a resounding success. During one meeting we were shown how to mount flies for display by resident expert Joe Meyer. A terrific video presentation highlighting the events of 2009 was compiled by Randy Stalker for our Christmas banquet and we brought in the new year learning about how New Zealanders use mice as bait for browns. Bill Wichers presented the Moffitt Angling System of fishing, which promises a whole new angle on catch and release as it keeps trauma to a minimum when setting the hook. More exposure to our group has come about because of our website and Scott Novotny did a fabulous job setting up a Facebook page to keep our club members even more in the know. These were some of the highlights of the past several months and we look forward to more interesting topics in the year to come. Helping to coordinate outings was another great experience and my hat goes off to all who volunteered their experience and time as streamkeepers. These fine men and women stepped up to organize and lead each outing and I appreciate each of you whose willingness to do so added so much to each event. Now it's all well and good to arrange
such events but the real heroes are the ones who make such information public. Our appreciation goes to Randy Stalker who puts together the fine publication, the Backcast. Since I have a degree in journalism, I can especially appreciate what a fine example of copy and layout this quality publication displays. It is very well done. Also, a special thanks to Marty Robinson for so capably providing news releases to the Casper Star-Tribune and Casper Journal over the years. We also appreciate her successor, Diana Holcomb, and welcome both her and her family the Wyoming Fly Casters as new members this year. I would also like to send a thank you to a very special lady who over the years has made our Fly Casters feel special when they were ill or who helped a love one in their grief when a WFC member passed away. Donna Diesburg, wife of Dick Diesburg, has selflessly and thoughtfully let our members know they are appreciated and missed when such circumstances arise and on behalf of the board and fellow members, I would like to thank Donna for her time and dedication over the years. Thanks also to Joe DeGraw for leading the WFC as our president until his move to Laramie in the summer. Thanks also to Alex Rose for picking up the ball as he moved from the vice president position and capably carried us into 2010. It will be a hard act to follow as I officially take over this position in April but with the excitement and enthusiasm of another year of fishing opportunities and being around those who enjoy them, this position will be a delight to hold. Get ready for another GREAT year of living in the GREAT state of Wyoming. I find it amazing that fishing enthusiasts from across the globe spend untold thousands of dollars just for the privilege of fishing the very streams and rivers that you and I can enjoy any given day of the week. Take time from your busy schedules and don't forget to smell the . . . trout! Happy angling!
Melody
Cover shot: Hmm . . . decisions, decisions. Which bamboo rod should I use today?
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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Cabin Fever Clinic draws a large crowd by Alex Rose I was going to take a rest from submitting articles to the Backcast for awhile, due to a bad case of writer's block. However, the large turnout for the Cabin Fever Clinic held on Mar. 6 inspired me to pound on the keyboard once again. The Casper Recreation Center was filled with folks learning how to cast fly rods and tie flies. We taught men, women and children, of all ages, how to cast. An 86-year-old man drove all the way from Wheatland to learn how to cast, and he joined the club, on the spot. Approximately 60 to 70 people attended the program, and an additional 12 Fly Casters helped with instruction. Four attendees joined the club that day. One of the club members that attended was Bill Mixer, who brought along his casting analyzer. He analyzed my cast, and found that my casting symmetry was 82 percent -- a solid B average -- while the experts cast in the 90 percent range. He said my forward cast was a bit
overbearing, compared to my backcast. But I'm not so sure about the accuracy of his "casting analyzer." I explained to Mixer how the electronic equipment simulates casting a tiny dry fly, when this time of year, I often nymph with three size-10 hooks, four ounces of split shot, and a large strike indicator, which would result in my forward cast being recorded as a bit overbearing, because the force used in the test would normally allow my heavy rig to fully extend with my cast. But of course, if Mixer's casting analyzer had found that I was an expert caster, I would claim that his analyzer was a brilliant piece of technology and leave it at that. The folks that attended the event all arrived for different reasons. At the end of a long afternoon, Casey Leary patiently taught an older woman how to tie a wooly bugger. The woman, it turned out, was a long-time widow, and her husband was a
fly fisherman. However, he didn't tie his own flies. And the lady was always curious how flies were created. She will most likely never hold a fly rod and cast her wooly bugger, but the event provided her a small connection to the memory of her beloved husband. The club paid for an inexpensive fly rod and reel combo set, and gave it away, as a door prize, to a very happy child. The event was a success for two reasons: First, the media gave the clinic excellent publicity, so a significant number of people were aware of the event. But more importantly, several Fly Casters volunteered their time. The volunteers were: Joe Meyer, Andrew Sauter, Dennis Bienvenu, Dick DePaemelere, Casey Leary, Rex Eggleston, Neal Ruebush, Matt Stanton, Scott Novotny, Bill Mixer and Herb Waterman. I volunteered as well, and if I left anyone out, I apologize. Thank you all for making this event a success.
Guv signs bills to combat AIS On Mar. 10, Gov. Dave Freudenthal signed into law two bills that will significantly increase the resources and tools with which Wyoming combats aquatic invasive species and illegal fish stocking. The first of these bills, House Bill 18 (AIS), provides a number of previously unenforceable measures related to AIS. Not only does it specifically spell out that we don’t want AIS in Wyoming, it prohibits the possession, importation, exportation, shipment, transportation, or introduction of AIS; provides the Game and Fish Commission and Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources the authority to make rules for and administer check stations; and provides peace officers the legal authority to stop, check, decontaminate, and impound or quarantine almost any conveyance (i.e., anything that has the potential to carry an AIS). It also authorizes Game and Fish and State Parks to create and administer a “boat sticker” program to help fund the AIS Prevention Program (yes, this means boat owners will soon have to pay a fee for an AIS sticker), and establishes criminal and civil penalties (don’t knowingly introduce an AIS or you could be barred from purchasing a fishing or hunting license for life and be responsible for remediation costs that could easily be in the millions or tens of millions of dollars!). And perhaps most importantly, appropriated $1.5 million to pay for it all. Although one would hope that many of these things would
be common sense, and they are to many of us in TU, most of these items did not exist in WY prior to Mar. 10. Even if a warden saw a boat covered in quagga mussels, they were powerless to stop it. I know it’s hard to believe, but it was true. Now, this is no longer the case. The second of these bills, Senate File 78 (Illegal Fish Stocking), strengthens the punishments associated with what we might generally call “bucket biology.” Previously, illegally stocking fish was only a low misdemeanor. In other words, it was a slap on the wrist with an insignificant fine and short loss of fishing privileges. Now, it is a high misdemeanor wherein a conviction could cost you lifetime loss of fishing privileges and you’ll have to pay to clean up the mess (again, this could easily get to be over million and possibly in the tens of millions of dollars!). So unless you can legally keep a fish to eat it or mount it, leave it where you found it. One of the most amazing things about these bills is that that they were passed in a budget session during a down economy. Gov. Freudenthal mandated a no net budget increase or even budget reductions. These bills moved remarkably swiftly through both the House and the Senate with very few changes and were eagerly signed by the governor. The only downside to all this good news is that the $1.5 million appropriation is, by many estimates, not even half of what is really needed.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
FLY
Tailing Loops
of the month
by Randy Stalker, Backcast editor chevPU57@aol.com If you're being run out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade. irst, some late breaking news. On the afternoon of the Sunday deadline, Alex Rose phoned from halfway between Riverton and Jackson, enroute to Driggs, ID, asking to “stop the presses” and announce the slated general membership program for May 12. No problem. This column is the last regular feature to be written for the newsletter. Some ideas are scribbled to fill any remaining vacant space. It’s what we used to call in the newspaper business, a “slow news week.” The May program, Rose said, is to feature “Fly fishing for trophy trout,” presented by former Colorado fisherman and current Cowboy Drifters guide Todd Anderson. The presentation is expecteds to be a PowerPoint program with narration. If anyone doubts Anderson’s skills, take a gander at the wall of fame in the fishing department of Sportsman’s Warehouse, where he works. Anderson once held the distinction of having caught the Colorado state record for a species of cutthroat. But he
F CHUCK’S CADDIS VARIANT Hook: Stout dry fly hook Thread: 8/0 rusty brown Body: Antron dubbing, rust Wing: Fine natural deer hair Overwing: White calf body hair Hackle: Grizzly dyed golden ginger oversized to two gap widths If you’re heading to the North Tongue in August, be sure to have some of these in your fly box. The profile presented by this fly is almost an exact match for a real caddis. The natural has the same type of short, stubby body, its wings are, generally, tightly folded over the back of the body and the gangly legs are in constant motion. The triggers this pattern provides make it a sure thing on many waters. I think we have all been snow balled by popular patterns like the Elk Hair Caddis. Not that the Elk Hair isnt an outstanding pattern, but there are times, especially these days on more pressured water, where a slightly more realistic pattern really makes a difference. The most common angler perception of a caddis is that of a wide, moth-like critter that bounces up and down on the water. In reality, a caddis fly, when viewed from the bottom (the fishes view), has a much shorter body than wing and a dramatically thinner wing silhouette than is commonly perceived. The oversized variant hackle of the CV sets the front of the pattern up on the surface forcing the deer hair wing tips down to create a streaking impression on the surface of the water as the pattern is twitched and skated. I use this pattern as an example of a fresh look at an old perception. Keep this in mind as you design and tie some of your own stuff.
Jim Dean thought he needed to restore his reputation and show that he has, indeed, caught large bonefish in the Bahamas. He was embarassed by the guppy used for the Backcast’s March issue.
now calls the Cowboy State home. Additional details on the May program are to be outlined in the next newsletter. And perhaps even a photo of Anderson with one of his trophy fish. The April program is to feature Al Conder, G&F fisheries boss, explaining the recent electroshocking process and its results on the river. • Here it is April, already. The ice is thawing from the lakes, blades of grass are shedding their gray coats and doning shades of green, and school children are getting the first symptoms of spring fever. Traditionally, April is one of our wettest months, and the precipitation in snow and rain received in these 30 days accounts for most of the accumulation in our reservoirs. Let’s hope the April of 2010 is a moist one, and the runoff will be slow and gradual. The fish will express a welcome sigh of relief. Several years ago (perhaps it was in the 1990s) the club hosted a mid-April outing at Treasure Island on the North Platte River south of Saratoga. The weekend, with frigid and nasty weather, nevertheless forged many happy memories. Perhaps a dozen members of the club attended, and most everyone caught fish on small midge pupa patterns. But it was the after-hours social set-
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter ting which carved some of the most delightful memories. Herb Waterman brought a canvas outfitter tent, complete with a wood-burning stove. So, naturally, in order to escape the single digit temperatures and double digit wind velocity, we crowded into the tent to discuss the days events. A blind fly-tying contest was held, and Marty Robinson tied a nearly perfect Wooly Bugger while blindfolded. The public fishing access does not offer any amenities other than some picnic tables, a vault outhouse and ample tent or RV sites. There is a long stretch of public fishing water available. I remember Greg Mueller put his trusty dog, Max, on the back of his pontoon and the two floated to Saratoga. Clarke Turner caught some “football” shaped and sized rainbows downstream from the island bridge. And yours truly managed to entice a beautiful brown on a greenbodied size 22 disco midge just below the parking area. The outing was timed to coincide with the narrow window between ice-out and runoff on the upper river. Although I haven’t visited this water in years, it may be worth a day trip this month, capped by a steak dinner and Irish whiskey toast at Saratoga’s Wolf Hotel on the way home. • A ball cap was left on a table in the Isaac Walton League clubhouse following the March meeting. Marty Robinson picked it up and is holding it for the owner. Call her at 235-1730, describe the hat, and then you can make arrangements for a reunion. • A 41 lb., 7 oz. brown trout caught in Michigan’s Manistee, may have eclipsed the world record which has been on the books for 17 years. The fish, if it passes the certification process of the IGFA, would surpass the all-tackle world record of 40 lbs., 4 oz caught in Arkansas’ Little Red River in 1992. The former Michigan record was 36 lbs., 13 oz., set in 2007. And now for the bad news. It was not caught on a dry fly. Not even a wet fly. Alas, the fish was hooked on a No. 8, silver colored Rapala Shad Rap, retrieved from shoreline structure. Tight lines,
Scoop
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Cabin Fever Clinic Held in early March at the Casper Rec Center, the clinic was well-received by the public and veteran WFC members, alike. Casting, fly tying and other demonstrations were available, as those photos snapped by Matt Stanton document.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
BRAG BOARD
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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Reminiscing about opening day By Ed Bang, from the FFF clubwire Just last week I read of another trout fisherman’s way of getting ready for the upcoming trout season. Catalogs had been dutifully pored over with pages turned down to mark new fly selections and leader materials. This was the time to decide on new lightweight boots or choose to get one more season out of the old ones. Absorbing the descriptions of page upon page of the newest two to five weight space-age fiber reinforced fly rods followed and conjured up in the angler’s mind, visions of days yet to be spent in knee deep riffles, surrounded by only the sounds and sights and smells of his beloved trout stream. A lengthy period of weighing the merits of one rod against another and reaching a decision as to whether a half dozen of each of the selected size 16 dries was enough, would then trigger an order. OK, we’re all set for another trout season. Now, allow me to wind the clock backward, let’s say 50 or 55 years for the benefit of dedicated fly fishermen too young to have experienced much of what follows. The end of deer season, the celebration of Christmas and a week later, the hoopla surrounding the end of yet another year signaled the true beginning of trout season in our home. To those who have read some of my earlier works, “The Birth of a Trout Fisherman,” and “The Birth of a Fly Fisherman,” it’s old news that I did not become a fly fisherman till well after mid life when a heart attack took me out of the workforce and started my fly tying and fly fishing life. But, before that, I’d owned fly rods, usually fishing for my small stream brook trout with worms and tiny spinners. Casting was out of the question, as the stream-sheltering canopy of alders and hemlocks allowed nothing more than short little flips to root-laced under cut banks that these stream bred brookies seemed to love. The rod of choice was an inexpensive, nine foot, three section split bamboo medium action fly rod purchased years earlier when I’d first become a trout fisher. On its butt end was mounted a Pflueger Progress single action reel which did nothing more than store the Ashaway level six weight fly line. It was a very basic outfit and one guaranteed to give lots of years of service while needing minimal care. But while the reel and line needed little off season care the rod, subject to all kinds of incidental dings and finish-marring scratches during the season, was yet another matter. Added to this was the fact that these split bamboo rods had a habit of taking a “set” over the course of many trips and to avoid fishing with a badly bent rod, some corrective measures had to be taken. Each of the three, six sided sections of the rod had to be stripped of their guides and multiple coats of varnish, taking care to preserve the flat sides of each rod section. Then came the time consuming but never tedious task of scraping (with a piece of broken window glass), each rod part ‘till the original cane lay bared and ready for rewinding (on the opposite side of the piece) the line guides. Navy blue or purple were the colors on most of my wraps. When deemed ready for revarnishing, the rod was reassembled to verify that the ‘set’
had been removed by the reversal of the guides. Each person had their own method for applying varnish smoothly, but my own preference was to use the tip of one finger, dipped not too deeply into the varnish can. The sensitive fingertip could detect the tiniest rough spot on the cane as the finish was applied, and when each section was completed, it was hung by the line guide to dry. It often took eight to ten hours in a dust free room for the first coat to dry completely, and this procedure had to be repeated three or four times till the rod glistened as if it were new. When thoroughly satisfied that we’d done all humanly possible to return the rod to factory newness, it would be placed in its cotton sack, not to handled till maybe the week before the actual beginning of the season. This, then, concluded the most arduous part of the preparations. Our attention now turned to the terminal end of the tackle. Leaders and hooks, tiny Colorado spinners and a couple of wooden barrels of lead split shot completed this task. But wait! What’s this about a barrel full of split shot? Here we go with another history lesson. We’re stepping back in history to a time before plastic containers of any kind. See through cellophane wrappers were not durable enough to handle the rigors of constant openings and closings, so the least expensive of alternate packaging came into play. Both hooks and split shot were distributed in small cardboard boxes, and in readily available, small wooden, two part tubes, called “barrels.” They were durable, allowing hundreds of openings before failing. Left to be addressed was the link between fly line and hook, the “catgut” leader which was not from a cat nor was it gut. Whole books have been written on its origin, but the simplest version is that the best of leader materials started out as silk of some kind, and were treated, thinned till quite transparent, and packed in short lengths of different diameters. The worst part of using this material was its tendency to coil like the kid’s toy named “The Slinky’, requiring a period of soaking between the felt pads of the aluminum leader box before it allowed itself to be knotted. That’s just a little different from the redi-made seven to twelve foot tapered leaders we use today. Fly lines of the thirties, forties and fifties, differed greatly from the well engineered lines of today, and they also had to be cared for before they were fishable in the new season. Most of them were level lines with a thin fabric core surrounded by some type of oiled finish. You could encourage them to float only by liberally coating them with something called Muccillex and the line might need another coating before the morning’s fishing was done. In the off season, all this line dressing had to be removed; the line was then checked for nicks and hung in an airy spot to await the beginning of the next season. For those of my fishing friends and readers old enough to have enjoyed or experienced most of the above, I hope this brings a smile to your face. For all others, I’d wish that it serves as a short history lesson about the sport we treasure so highly.
A catgut leader, it was not from a cat nor was it gut.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Drift boat fishing 101 Chapter 13: Strategies (Part 3)
The best way to fish a backwater is to position the boat in the middle and let the fly fishermen cast into cover and the shearing plane along the downstream side. Once the downstream side has been fished, spin the boat around, and let the fishermen cast to the shallow or upstream side, provided adequate cover for fishes is available.
ackwater A backwater is synonymous with deep-water fishing, requiring patience, strength, and endurance. That means a sink-tip or full sinking line and use of a large, heavily weighted streamer. A backwater is about the only habitat that offers year-round opportunities for catching trophy-sized fish. It always has an L-shaped vertical shearing plane at the entrance and sunken trees, brush piles, and tangles of debris strewn throughout. The segment of the shearing plane lying parallel to the main current of the stream is a great place to find big fish during the warmer months. Food drifting in the main stream close to the vertical shearing plane is swept into the backwater by the countercurrent. Large fish congregate near the bottom, along the shearing plane, there awaiting any edible morsel flushed near, in, and through by passing currents. Small to middle-sized fish tend to congregate along the steep bank where the current is flowing into the backwater. During colder parts of the year, the segment of the shearing plane at right
B
angles to the main current and extending into the backwater is the best place to catch a trophy. Predatory and prey species of fish retreat to the backwater, where they can feed, hunt, and hide without expending excessive energy battling strong currents. Because the water is cold, most of the fishes live close to or on the bottom. The only thing the fly fisherman must do to catch fish in a backwater regardless of the season is tie a big fly on a short piece of 6- or 8-pound-test leader, cast to the edge of the shearing plane or any vestige of submerged debris, let the fly sink to or near the bottom, strip the fly about two feet, let the fly sink again, strip two feet again, and let the fly sink. The angle of attack from the fly fisherman to the bottom is so steep that each time the line is stripped, the fly darts strongly upward then flutters downward. The best length of cast is about 35 feet, which is just long enough to effect four or five strips without pulling the sink-tip portion of the line into the tiptop. This is the place where I like to fish Streamliner with a loop of lead-core line inserted in the leader for additional weight.
The following article is an excerpt from the electronic book, Hunt - Don’t Pray - for Fish, Techniques and Strategies for Fly Fishing from a Drift Boat, written by Harley W. Reno, Ph.D., a friend of the Wyoming Fly Casters and occasional program presentor. The entire content is copyrighted by the author, and is used here with his permission. The CD is available for purchase through the Federation of Fly Fishers, and 80 percent of the $25 cost of each CD is being donated by the author back to the federation for its conservation and education funds. In the coming months, other chapters of Dr. Reno’s book are to be featured in the Backcast.
Pool Fishes are not evenly distributed throughout a pool. Instead they usually are found at the upstream end, feeding on what is washed into the pool, and at the downstream end, feeding on what is dredged up from the bottom of the pool or was missed by fish further upstream. Remember, smaller fish congregate in those places where some food drifts by, namely, in the fastest water at the head of the pool and the shallowest water at the foot of the pool. Larger fish are found where food and smaller fish always drift or swim by, namely deeper waters at the head and foot of the pool, especially where the bottom suddenly slopes downward or begins rising upwards to the surface. The deep middle of a pool is used as a retreat when danger threatens exposed fish at either end of the pool. To the fly fisherman, the middle portion of a pool is a biological desert punctuated by occasional cruising rogues or nomads. A pool is an easy habitat to fish from a drift boat. The oarsman and fly fishermen have time to relax. As a general rule of thumb, the fly fisherman in the front should make short casts, and the fisherman in the rear make longer casts. That practice gives each fly fisherman the same opportunity to hook fish. Both fly fishermen should let the current swing their lines downstream without drag on
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter the fly. At the head of a pool, the most productive techniques for fishing are either drifting a floating fly into the pool, or diving something big and heavy down to the darkness of the pool. For the dry-fly fisherman, something big and appetizing like a parachute grasshopper, stimulator, or light brown elk hair caddisfly (all in size 8 or 10) is best at the head of the pool, unless small mayflies or caddisflies are emerging in the riffle upstream (see the Chapter 9 on Wind for further information). For the nymph fisherman, any bead-head in a pheasant-tail or hare's-ear pattern works for small to middle-sized fish. For the trophy hunter, a weighted muddler minnow, Clouser minnow, Doctor's Remedy, or Streamliner is ideal. At the downstream end of the pool, the most productive techniques are either drifting a nymph along the face of the upslope, stripping something big and heavy out of the darkness, or drifting a floating fly over the shallows. For the dry-fly fisherman, nymph fisherman, or trophy hunter, those flies used at the head of the pool also work well at the downstream end of the pool; however, the nymph and streamer fishermen have the advantage. They have the advantage because they are the only ones who can fish the upslope and deeper water thoroughly. The nymph fishermen should cast slightly upstream of normal to the side of the drift boat-assuming the drift boat is being held stationary-and let leader and/or sink-tip line sink the fly near or on the bottom. He or she simply lets the nymph dead-drift in an arc downstream, watching the strike indicator or line where it enters the water for the slightest unusual movement or hesitation. Bottom currents always lift the nymph upward as the fly approaches the shallows. That is when feeding fish most often take the fly. The streamer fisherman makes the same type of cast, letting the weighted sink-tip line and fly dive the fly to the bottom. Once the fly nears the bottom, the fisherman should strip in line to keep the fly moving and darting. Each strip is usually about two feet in length as discussed in the techniques section of Chapter 9. If the fly sinks to the bottom, the current and stripping action bring the fly up from the darkness right over the up-sloping bottom. If a fish is there, it usually takes the fly. I suggest to my clients that as soon as the fly starts upward, they should pause and let the current work the fly in dead-
drift, or lower the tip of the rod and make the fly fall back towards the bottom, as if it is something sick or injured. That pause makes the fly irresistible to a large, feeding fish. Oh, by the way, a lead-core loop inserted in the leader helps sink the fly to the bottom faster without impeding darting action and upward movement of the fly along the up-slope. Many times on a cloudy or partly cloudy day, the waters at the shallow end of a pool boil with feeding fish, mostly 10 to 15 inches each. On those occasions, the drift boat should be anchored and both fly fishermen ready with dry fly equipment. The surprising thing is that both fishermen can cast to feeding fish anywhere around the boat. If and when the fish get spooked, stop casting, wait a few minutes until the fish begin feeding, and start casting again. Eventually, though, the fish abandon the shallows, especially if several are caught. That is all right. Just move the boat a few lengths upstream. The fish usually reappear in a little deeper water upstream. No doubt you are wondering why nothing was said about fishing the middle portion of a pool. As noted in Chapter 11, the middle portion of a pool most often lacks concentrations of fishes unless it is provided with some form of cover, which attracts fishes. The best strategy is to float right through that biological desert. However, bypassing a stretch of water is easier said than done. The water always looks too inviting to resist making a few casts as the boat drifts along. Hooking a rogue every once in a while is hardly worth the effort, because time wasted fishing for a rogue means less time to fish more profitable habitats downstream. If you must, here is a way to catch that pelagic rogue cruising in the baron portions of a pool. Tie on a large Clouser Minnow in a color pattern that matches the common baitfish in the stream. That most often translates to a Clouser minnow that is dark brown on top, brownish or tan on the flanks, and silver-colored or yellowish-green on the bottom. Oh, a few strips of silver Krystal Flash along the flanks and a splash of red bucktail beneath the throat always increase the visibility of the fly. Cast the fly across the pool, letting it sink to near the bottom. Strip hard across the left hip, a distance of about two feet. Pause and let the fly flutter to the bottom and rest momentarily. Repeat the process a second time. If nothing happens, "twitch" the fly by snapping the tip of the
Page 9 fly rod upwards about four to six inches. That throws a loop of line upwards into the air about six to eight inches above the tip of the rod. The result is the fly pulsates, darts upward feebly, and settles back to the bottom as though it is in the last throes of life. All too often, the rogue picks the fly off the bottom without being detected. The next twitch, indeed, is a surprise! Deep Bank Deep banks are the easiest habitat to fish, provided the water is not torrential. If the water is torrential, look for other places to fish. Deep banks can be separated into (1) those with dense, overhanging brush; (2) those protected by surface and underwater logs, brush, and debris; or (3) those with deep undercuts at or just under the surface. Most deep banks are a combination of those three types. Anticipation and examination of an upcoming deep bank should influence your selection of fly and tackle. For small and middle-sized fish positioned near the surface, but protected by overhanging vegetation, the fly fisherman should be ready with a dry fly. The fly should be fished as close to the brush as possible or under the brush. If the bank is sparsely protected from above, but it has lots of submerged brush and vegetation, the better choice of flies is one fished on an 8- or 9-foot leader that drifts a few inches under the surface. A girdle bug, unweighted woolly bugger, super renegade, or conehead MWB is a good choice. Those kinds of flies are easy to use in and around each limb or pile of brush because they are fished visually. Do not be afraid of tangling the fly in brush or letting the fly sink into dense cover. Most of the time, the fly can be retrieved without difficulty, provided the guide is willing to oar upstream, and the tip of the rod is used as the fly retriever. But, when the fly is lost, score that as payment to Neptune. If you feel really adventurous, try drifting a large, heavy fly alongside each pile of brush, or stripping one through limbs and tangles after being cast into a small pocket along the bank. That type of cover is ideal for fishing a Streamliner, Streamliner II, zonker, Matuka sculpin, or heavy conehead MWB. Of course, the brush has a tendency to eat those kinds of flies. But, big fish thriving in that type of cover also eat those flies. Big fish can be caught and landed, provided the fly fisherman is equipped with heavier tackle.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
APRIL MONDAY
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
1 April Fool’s Day
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5
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7
SATURDAY 2
3 Annual club banquet
Good Friday
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9
10
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E Bighorn River LL outing CE
Easter Sunday
CA
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15
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22
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24
Regular Meeting, 7 p.m.
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21 WFC Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
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26
27
29
28 Full Moon
Deadline for Backcast info
30 Arbor Day
MAY MONDAY
SUNDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY 1
2
3
4
9
10
11
5
12
6
7
8
13
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15
Regular meeting, 7 p.m.
Mother’s Day
16
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21
Firehole opening day
WFC Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
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31 30
Full moon Memorial Day
22
28 Deadline for Backcast info
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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WYOMING FLY CASTERS BOARD MEETING MINUTES -- DRAFT Mar. 17, 2010 Called to order 7:04 p.m. All members were present and also incoming board member Herb Waterman. Alex Rose reported as acting treasurer he has written some checks and had no report. President Rose reported the Cabin Fever Clinic was a success. He said over 60 people attended, of all ages from small children to an 80 year old man. One person drove up specifically from Wheatland for the program. One young teenager won the fly rod outfit and learned how to tie a fly earlier in the day. The conservation committee reported no changes. The banquet committee reported the banquet will have many raffles this year and is progressing on time. The deadline for purchasing tickets is nearing. The elections were discussed and we have interest in a possible volunteer for president-elect. Discussion of a new annual award was tabled until next month. The requirement of the addition of names to the
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The y fell many of m deal to me as I go m o fr d e iv e at rec mean a gre of my recovery from to s e u n ti con ges ch e rehab sta to have su through th ries. It is wonderful s, the it e recent surg I appreciate the vis es – and of n s. d zi good frien the cards and maga the fishing d s, o phone call minders of how go cs, it’ll be o re course the ! According to the d 30 rehab n a w o is right n months and more th it can’t ; y + fl another 2 I’m able to fling a t I’ll proba a re visits befo on! They tell me th at this seao come too so ble to row my drift b a crack at a e e k bly not b nybody wants to ta mething a son, but if sure we can work so m the oars, I’ best! lks are the fo out. u o y ; in a Thanks ag
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memorial access was discussed. The committee reported if one was a member of the club at the time of his or her death, their name can be included on the memorial stone at the WFC access. Andrew will get a list of all members who can be added to the memorial stone. A local Trout Unlimited chapter is trying to form in Casper. The Orvis Rendezvous will be held in Casper and the WFC will volunteer to assist. In return Orvis will donate items to WFC. Herb Waterman volunteered to find out the cost of a hands-on entomology clinic presented by Rick Hafele and report to the board. It was reported the president or his or her designee will be asked to report to the MacTavish group to provide input into possible recipients in the future. The board approved to spend up to $125 to renew our website. The board thanked Alex for his services stepping in as president. The meeting was adjourned at 8:14 p.m.
CLASSIFIEDS GOOD STUFF FOR SALE (CHEAP!) 2005 red and white Clackacraft LP with trailer upgrade, cover, anchor and carbon fiber oars in very good condition. $6200 firm • 2007 Yamaha 2wd 350cc grizzly ATV, street ready, very low hours, chains and pickup ladder. $3000. Steve Burgfechtel 712-490-6390 (cell) or 856-4533 (home)
Fleece fingerless fishing gloves. Coleman two-burner stove, like new. Don Jelinek 267-7477 • Patagonia SST jacket, XL, Brand new. $175 (list $315). Scott Novotny 266-3072
Wyoming Fly Casters P.O. Box 2881 Casper, WY 82602
www.wyflycasters.org
The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of fly fishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.