www.wyflycasters.org
Vol 42 No 2
The Monthly Newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters
February 2015
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February 2015
What’s inside Bob Homer, President Derrick Dietz, Vice President Cheryl Wilson, Secretary Lee Tschetter, Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terms expire in 2015: George Axlund, Joe Meyer
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6-7 yellow sally adult 10
the spring banquet healing waters
11 CLASSIFIEDS CALENDAR
Terms expire in 2016: Lee Wilson, Kelly Kukes Terms expire in 2017: Bob Fischer, John Yost, Spencer Amend The Backcast is the monthly newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters 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 life- time family membership. Visit the club website at www. wyflycasters.org. To pay dues or contact the club, write to P.O. Box 2881, Casper, WY 82602. The deadline for submission of information for each issue is a week before the end of the month. Make contributions to the next issue by e-mailing material to the Backcast editor at secretary@wyflycasters.org or call (307) 2671903. 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 program available free of charge) documents. Usually, 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 secretary@wyflycasters.org. 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 sub-scribing electronically, you also save the club roughly $17.40 a year in printing and postage expenses.
Front Cover : Photo by Kelly Kukes, 2014 ; Back Cover : Photo by Lee Wilson, 2014
NEW MEMBERS!
If you haven’t already, call Joe Meyer at 307-235-1316. He’ll give you pointers and advice to make sure you catch The big one! Mission Statement: 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.
Description:
The Wyoming Fly Casters club was formed in 1974. The membership currently consists of approximately 160 members. The WFC was organized by a group of dedicated fly fishermen and since the club’s inception the Wyoming Fly Casters have strived to further the sport of fly fishing through conservation and education. Conservation of our water resources is one of our primary goals and in cooperation with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department we have and will continue to carry out worthwhile projects for the benefit of Wyoming fisheries. In addition to conserving Wyoming’s water resources we encourage conserving the fish themselves. A fish safely released today will live to give sport to others. For easy access to digital version of newsletter go to: www.wyomingflycasters.org
Wyoming Fly Casters
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President’s letter Dear Fellow Fishermen, Here we are in the month of February and looking forward to warmer weather. February can be a good month for fishing, if you pick the right days! Some of you are aware of Scout Brad Cleverly and his picnic shelter project near the Walker-Jenkins Reservoir on Shirley Basin. His project is now complete and there will be an open house later in the year when the weather is a little more enjoyable. We, Wyoming Flycasters, donated some money to help him with the project. His efforts will help him attain Eagle Scout rank and it meets our mission of enhancing fishing. We commend him on his efforts and ideas and wish him the best of luck. Attached is a photo. It was snowing and raining and I was on my way home from Laramie so it isn't the best of pictures. Enlarged, you can see a picnic table in a shelter ready to host that avid fisherman! Our featured speakers at our next general meeting will be Ms. Christine Peterson and Mr. Steven Brutger. Ms. Peterson is a staff writer for the Casper Star Tribune. We see her columns often in the outdoor section of the newspaper. Mr. Brutger is the Wyoming Energy Coordinator for Trout Unlimited. They will talk about some of their outdoor adventures. I would like to remind you that January is the month to renew your memberships. The dues are $20 per individuals and $30 for families. If you can't bring your dues to the February general meeting, just put a check in the mail. Mail dues to: Wyoming Fly Casters c/o Membership P.O. Box 2881 Casper, WY 82602 We will discontinue sending the monthly Backcast Newsletter to non-members later this year. So, if you don't receive a Backcast, you will know the reason why. Last, but not least, I am off and running on my Fish-Of-The-Month quest. Annie and I ventured out on a bitter, cold and windy day to the Platte River and caught some rainbows. Once we caught our fish, our adventure was over! I know there are better fishing days ahead. We did laugh about it later and wondered why we chose such a lousy day. Next month we will do better planning! That's about all the news I have for this month. I'll be in touch next month. In the meantime, keep a taut line! Bob
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February 2015
Spring Banquet The committee for the 2015 Spring Banquet has started meeting and planning this years event. We have a great group of volunteers that will make this years’ banquet a success. There are a few things that every member can do to help. Every year Joe Meyer very graciously makes the fly plates for the banquet. He needs flies for the club fly plate. Please contact him if you are interested. If you give him a fly that you have tied, you’re fly will be included in the fly plate, along with your name. It can be a standard fly (see list on the next page), a fly that you have seen in this newsletter, or you can invent a new fly. Just make sure you get this to him by March 11th! We usually have several fly boxes donated to us to use at the banquet, and we try to put a few flies in each one. We are looking for donated flies for the boxes. They can be flies you have tied, or flies you have purchased. Please get these to a member of the banquet committee before the banquet. If anyone has an idea for something they would like to see at the banquet this year, please send me an e-mail, or give me a call. Cheryl - cheryl_ea06@hotmail.com, 307-267-1903. We are looking for donor ideas, any donated items. This year a portion of the proceeds from the banquet will go to support Healing Waters.
Wyoming Fly Casters
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Attention Fly Tyers! We are working on getting new members ready to hit the water, and we need your help! We are currently asking for the following flies so that Joe can add these to the new member packets. Each member will receive a few flies to welcome them to the club and get them started in the right direction. Here are a few of the flies we are looking for:
Pine Squirrel Leech Halfbacks Stimulator (See next page) Elk Hair Caddis Midges
Renegades San Juan Worms (various colors) Rock Worms Eggs Pheasant Tail Nymph
Please submit all donated flies for the spring banquet to Joe no later than March 11th.
Flashbacks (pg 9) Bead-headed flashbacks
Do you want to learn how to tie flies but don’t know where to start? Join us for Lyin’ and Tyin’! We meet the second Saturday of the month throughout the cold winter months. There will be spare vices and supplies needed to learn how to tie like a pro in no time! Call Joe Meyer at 235-1316 for more information!
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February 2015
Yellow Sally Adult
Credit for this pattern, and images below go to Charlie’s Fly Box. Go check him out on Facebook, and on his website - http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/ Pattern Description I originally tied this pattern way back in the day when I was doing a lot of guiding up in Cheesman Canyon. During the summer months you see a lot of small yellow craneflies skittering around up there, and my intent was to match these bugs with this fly. It was later, on the Colorado River, that I discovered how effective this pattern could be for Yellow Sallies. The addition of the tag makes this fly match the colors of the real Sally. I tied this pattern with a fore and aft hackle to allow for skittering, as the naturals are adept at running across the water with the trout in hot pursuit. Exact imitation is not necessary in this pattern as the fly is typically skittered with short pauses and the fish never really get a good look at it. Yellow Sallies are a small stonefly, most commonly matched by hook sizes 14-18. They have a red/orange butt and are a pronounced yellow color. Sometimes you’ll see the Lime Sallies, which are more green/chartreuse in color and this pattern can easily be adapted to match them too. I know this pattern doesn’t seem too interesting off the bat, but like most simple flies, it can be all you’ll ever need.
Materials Needed: Hook: TMC 100 #14-18 Thread: 8/0 Yellow or chartreuse Tag: Hot Orange Float-Viz Hackle: Pale Yellow Saddle Hackle Body: Sulphur Orange Superfine dubbing or Hot Yellow Antron
Attach the thread one eye length back from the hook Tie a small clump of Orange Float-Viz in at the rear edge eye and wrap a thread base back to the bend. Return the of the index point with a couple tight turns of thread. thread to the index point once again.
Continued on page 7
Wyoming Fly Casters
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Select, size and prep (prep means to strip some fibers from the bottom end of the feather, exposing the stem) a yellow saddle hackle feather (Whiting 100 Packs work great here). Tie the feather in by its butt end at the bend of the hook with the outside of the feather facing you.
Wrap the hackle feather forward in three or four tight concentric turns. Make these wraps close together and compacted.
Tie the hackle feather off with a Dub a relatively level body from the couple tight turns of thread and clip front edge of the hackle up to about the excess. two eye lengths back from the hook eye. Keep the body sort of on the thick side. These little stones aren't as slender as you'd think.
If you used a saddle hackle feather, grab the remaining length from the first time you tied it in and re-prepare it as before. Tie this new length of hackle in at the front edge of the dubbed body and bring the thread right up to the back edge of the hook eye. If you have a tendency to crowd the eye, and you know that you do, leave yourself a bit of space between the thread and the hook eye here. You still need to tie off the hackle and build a small thread head in the front.
Hold the Float-Viz up above the hook as you wrap back over it to the bend with the tying thread. Anchor the Float-Viz with a couple tight turns at the bend of the hook. Leave the long end of the tag hanging for the time being.
Wrap the front hackle forward with three or four more tight concentric turns. Tie this hackle off just behind the hook eye.
Clip the excess hackle tip and build a smooth thread head to cover the butt end. Whip finish and clip the thread. Clip the Float-Viz at the bend into a short brush about half a hook gap width long. That’s it. You did it. Now, do it again about a dozen times and you’ll be set!
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February 2015
WFC Treasurer’s Report January 21, 2015 Members in attendance: Bob Homer, John Yost, George Axlund, Joe Meyer, Spencer Amend, Lee Tschetter, Lee Wilson, Derrick Deitz, Cheryl Wilson Call to order: 7:00 p.m. We discussed the Blue Downey project that was mentioned at the January general meeting. The project, as it was originally presented, is no longer going to happen. The scope of the project has changed. We are going to ask Al Condor and Willow to come back to the next board meeting and re-present the project as it currently stands. George made a motion as follows: We will wait until we hear from the Game and Fish to decide what we want to do. Spencer seconded the motion. All in favor. Spencer would like to add that we jumped into the commitment too quickly without hearing enough information first. Others commented that we did hear a very thorough presentation from Colin as a G&F employee. Shirley Basin/ Eagle Scout project: The project is complete. We are still waiting to ensure that there are no more loose ends with the project, financially. Commissioners tag- Bob Homer sent in a request for a tag, and will continue to apply for one every year until we get one. Bob motioned to send in another letter in April/May for a 2016 tag. Spencer seconded. All in favor. Derrick- presenting for Healing Waters. He will be offering a rod building class. There are 13 people currently signed up to use the Healing Waters purchased rod kits. The class will be held at Izaak Walton. This year Healing Waters will be doing Thankful Thursdays on March 5th. There will be more co-outings between Healing Waters and the Flycasters this year. He is applying for national grants, but also needs to raise money with the local club. John Yost suggested that the flycasters purchase an item to donate for the fund-raiser in March. Cheryl made a motion that Healing Waters be our “beneficiary” for this years Spring Banquet. It would help raise money for the club as well as for Healing Waters. Spencer seconded. All in favor. Spencer discussed his article for the Casper Journal, which will be a brief history of the club, our current activities, our partnership with Healing Waters, community projects, as well as our goals and a mission statement. We will edit it down to be two pages (one page front and back), and will add pictures. This will be used as marketing for the club. Cabin Fever will be held on March 14th. Cheryl will coordinate the reservation with the Rec Center. Bob Homer- asked the club to allow for reimbursement to Christine Peterson to come be our speaker for the general meeting in March. Lee motioned to allow the reimbursement. All in favor. Treasurer’s report was discussed (no copy available at this time). The Boy Scout was paid, our rent for the clubhouse was paid, and AMBI was paid (newsletter). We need dues to be paid from members. Any members who have not paid their dues by the March general meeting will no longer receive the newsletter. Meeting was adjourned at 8:41 p.m.
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Letter from the Editor Flycasters,
This year is off to a good start. We are starting to work on the Spring Banquet, which will be coming up quickly! If you want more information on how you can help, talk to anyone on the committee or a board member. Please consider helping us out with the committee, or set up the day of the banquet. Two of the members on the banquet committee will be close to our due dates and won’t be able to lift anything heavy, so the more help we can get the better. We really need everyone to turn in membership dues as soon as possible. Anyone who has not paid their dues by the March meeting will no longer receive the Backcast. Please talk to Lee Tschetter as soon as possible to get these turned in. Cabin Fever will be March 14th. We are looking for volunteers to teach casting lessons as well as fly tying lessons. Please contact me for more information. Free Fishing/Kid’s fishing day will be on June 6th. I know that’s a little ways out, but please consider helping us out with that as well. That’s about all I have this month. Thanks for reading!
Cheryl
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February 2015
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Calendar
February 2015
BANQUET COMMITTEE MEETING
5:30 P.M. Ugly Bug
GENERAL MEETING 7:00 P.M.
BANQUET COMMITTEE MEETING
5:30 P.M. Ugly Bug
LYIN’ AND TYIN’ 8:00 A.M.
BOARD MEETING 7:00 P.M.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Cabin Fever: March 14th Spring Banquet: April 11th Kid’s Fishing Day: June 6th
Wyoming Fly Casters P.O. Box 2881 Casper, WY 82602
February 2015