Page 2 OFFICERS John Robitaille, President Joe DeGraw, President-elect Alex Rose, Vice President Tom Grogan, Secretary Ed Rate, Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terms expire in 2009 Spencer Amend Bob Fischer Scott Novotny Richard Soffe Terms expire in 2010 John Fanto Jamie Gibson Joe Meyer Gene Theriault Terms expire in 2011 Darin O’Dell Kim Levine Jim Sparks Bill Wichers 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 last Wednesday 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 message to ChevPU57@aol.com. In addition to receiving each issue of the newsletter earlier than your hard copy peers, email 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 John Robitaille, President, WFC t is cold. It is windy. The roads are closed. I’m in Cheyenne at the legislature. Work beckons. I am lucky though; at least there is a blue ribbon trout steam right through town where I can fish whenever I want to. Oh, that’s not true. At least the weather will allow me to be able to drive for a few minutes to get to that blue ribbon trout stream. Not true either. Perhaps I can go over to Laramie and fish in the Snowy Range to get my fix. Too far, roads are closed, waters in the Snowies are frozen. So, what’s a guy to do? Lucky for me I am working sixteen to seventeen hours a day and don’t have time to even begin to think about fishing. Although, Mother Nature was cruel last week when she gave us 50 degree weather and I was stuck in the capital building working all day. Even if I could have gone somewhere, I have nowhere to go. I did anticipate this problem and got my January fish early on, although I missed the chili. I hope at least some of you got an opportunity to get out and enjoy the nice weather while we had it. For those who did, know that I am jealous, very jealous.
I
On another note, it’s time to start thinking about elections. As we approach the March meeting we will be holding elections. We are looking for several new board members, and officers. It does not take as much time as one might think, and it is rewarding to know that you are giving back to the club. I encourage all of you to think long and hard about running for the board, and perhaps even an officer position. Those who are currently officers, I encourage you to look to the next highest available position and continue in your leadership role. In March a new president of the club will come in, and I will fade away, more so than I already have. A big thanks goes out to Joe DeGraw who will take over as your new president and who has picked up my slack while I am here in Cheyenne. I guess it may be too early to start to get all gooey about my leaving, so I’ll wait for the next go round for that. As always, I hope to see you seeing me with a rod in our hands soon,
Tailing Loops by Randy Stalker, Backcast editor his is the quiet time, that transitionary period between football and baseball and between dry fly fishing seasons, so we resort to other avenues of escape and diversion. We hit the fly tying vice to replenish the patterns which were destroyed by fish in 2008, drool over new equipment featured in catalogs, visit sport shows, clean neglected fly lines, and otherwise restore a sense of order to our passionate pursuit and yearn for the return of shirtsleeve weather and light line rods. The blast of snow and gale force winds handicapped many of us during the first part of the last week of January. In Glenrock, one could drive the main
T
street in town, with towering wind rows of packed powder separating the two traffic lanes. So I took the opportunity to inventory some equipment, performing preventive maintenance on some overlooked reels, putting a coat of oil on the cork disc drags, replacing leaders, and reorganizing the contents of several fly boxes. The boxes are now identified for specific fishing water; hence, a Bighorn box, a Platte River box, several small stream dry fly boxes, and some transparent plastic ones with nymph patterns for all-water use. Now if the weather would just cooperate. At least I’m ready for the Bighorn River outing, still two months away.
Cover shot: Spencer Amend with a North Tongue River cutthroat trout.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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FISHING REPORTS From the membership The following reports were gleaned from information presented at the last meeting, as well as from published sources, and filtered from gossip, boasting and other exaggerated claims from reliable but biased second-hand sources.
Fishing was not the only attraction drawing the attention of fly tossers during the Denver Fly Fishing Show in early January. Daren Bulow was among the hordes of attendees who had the opportunity to be surrounded by a bevy of babes for a photo shoot.
Yellowstone reminiscing is on tap for February meeting Herb Waterman is to share some memories of fishing Yellowstone and the surrounding countyside for cutthroat trout during the February general membership meeting of the club. The March meeting program is to feature one of two prospective candidates. One may be a presentation by Scott Haywood of Angling Destinations, based in Sheridan. The program could address bonefishing. The other tentative program is a PowerPoint photographic presentation by Randy Stalker on fishing his favorite stream, Boxelder Creek. • There are no outings scheduled for the immediate future (at least during the coldest part of winter). Plans are now being made for the annual trip to the Big Horn River outside of Ft. Smith, MT, set for April 1012, during the Easter weekend. Lloyd
Ferguson and Ed Rate are again the streamkeepers, and Don “Chef Ptomaine” Jelinek has accepted a request that he again share some cooking duties. The cost for the trip, including meals (two breakfasts and two dinners) and lodging for two nights, has been targeted at $85 per angler and must be paid by the March general meeting. This does not include lunches, transporation, shuttles, licenses and other costs. The price for a two-day non-resident fishing license in Montana is $15. The club has reserved “the condo” at Cottonwood Camp again for the weekend. Be sure to put your name on the list to reserve your space. The best way to fish the Big Horn is from a drift boat, but some opportunities exist for the wading fisherman. Any questions? Contact Lloyd Ferguson at 234-2234.
The weather has been fluctuationg between abnormally warm (50 degrees) to seasonal (snow, cold and gale force winds), but fishermen continue to hook fish. Fish are cooperating on the river, from Miracle Mile to Cardwell to Grey Reef, and scuds, leeches, midges, egg patterns and rock worms are the favored flies. Below government bridge, the river remains choked with ice. Ice fishing is gearing up, as a result of the snap of sub-zero temperatures which battered the area the last week of January. Most reservoirs should be safe for those seeking to chip through the ice. A trip through Thermopolis in mid-January, and a few minutes to watch fly tossers on the Bighorn River below Wedding of the Waters, demonstrated that wading fishermen were indeed catching trout.
Tom Grogan and a husky rainbow caught on the North Platte in midJanuary.
To include your fishing report, send information to the Backcast editor, c/o ChevPU57@aol.com.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
FLY
of the month
ZEBRA MIDGE Hook: TMC 2457, sizes 14-22 Thread: Black Uni-thread 8/0 Head: Tungsten bead Rib: Fine silver wire Body: Black Uni-thread 8/0, or floss Chironomids are one of the most important food sources in stillwaters. They can represent 25-50 percent of the food source for trout, depending upon season. There are three stages to consider, the larvae, pupa, and emerger. Colors range from black, brown, red, tan, green, and cream. Many of the larvae will have a reddish appearance as they retain hemoglobin within the oxygen-poor depths. Start by crimping the barb of the hook in the vise jaws, or with a pair of flat pliars. Select a bead of appropriate size to place on the hook. Tie on your thread just beind the bead. Take a piece of silver wire, and tie it onto the hook shank, just behind the bead. Bind the wire to the bottom of the bend of the hook. This will keep the body of the fly even. Tie in a piece of black or dark coloured stretch floss near the tail, and wind the thread to the bead. Add a half hitch to secure the fly. Wrap the floss forward to the bead. Use tight wraps, while pulling the stretch floss away from the hook. Tie off the floss once you have the taper you want, and trim off any excess floss. Wrap the wire forward using even wraps. Tie the wire off just behind the bead, trim the excess wire and add a whip finish to the fly. Add a small amount of head cement for durability. To convert it to a pupa, add a turn or two of peacock herl at the head.
In January, 11 club members enjoyed tying flies at the Lyin' and Tyin' clinic. The next clinic will be held on Feb. 14, at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commision, at 9:00 a.m. Now, just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean you should avoid Lyin' and Tyin'. Gentlemen, this is your opportunity to test just how good of a smooth talker you really are.
Fly tying clinic set for Feb. 14 A beginner-intermediate course will be held in conjunction with Lyin' and Tyin' The Wyoming Fly Casters will hold a fly tying clinic in conjunction with Lyin' and Tyin' on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 9:00 a.m. at the oil and gas commission building. The clinic will last approximately two hours. Mark Boname, of the Platte River Fly Shop, an experienced tier and instructor, will teach the clinic to beginner and
intermediate tiers. He will explain, stepby-step, how to tie a variety of fly patterns that work well in local waters. The class is free to members, and will cost $20 for non-members. For more information and to sign up, contact Alex Rose on his cell phone, 828-467-3789, or e-mail him at alexmrose@hotmail.com.
Digital reminders are available for WFC programs, activities Do you have trouble remembering when there are WFC functions? Have you ever forgotten a function and then remembered about it when it was over? Scott Novotny is undertaking a reminder program for club activities, etc. He requests that members send him an e-
mail so that he can have your e-mail address and then he will send out a timely reminder by e-mail of any activities. He promised that your e-mail address would only be used for the purpose of sending the reminder. Send your e-mail to Scott Novotny at gscottn@gmail.com.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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Contributions needed for two fly plates Joe Meyer is in the process of organizing the fly plates for the April WFC fund-raising banquet, and he accordingly needs club members to contribute patterns. Members are asked to tie a single fly, while MacTavish honorees are requested to contribute two patterns. At the banquet, two fly plates are to be auctioned to the highest bidder. One is the club plate, and the other is the MacTavish. During past banquets, these plates have attracted princely sums. Meyer asks that the fly patterns be brought to the Feb. 11 general membership meeting, or be dropped off at the Ugly Bug or Platte River fly shops. The plates feature fly patterns window boxed, complete with each tyer’s name, in an attractive, organized frame.
Banquet planning is underway The WFC banquet committee has been meeting and developing plans and ideas for the upcoming banquet in April. (April 4, for those that don't already know). The committee’s next meeting is on Feb. 11 at 6:00 p.m. (preceding the February general membership meeting. The cost for the banquet is $30 per person.
Election nears In March, the Wyoming Fly Casters will be electing a new slate of officers, and four new board members. If you are interested in pursuing any of those posts, contact a present board member or officer. The only post already decided is president; Joe DeGraw was elected president-elect a year ago and is on track to assume the reins of the club for the 2009 fiscal year.
M Y F LY B OX This month, Alex Rose provides a glimpse of his river box, which includes nymphs, rockworms, eggs, San Juan worms, and a variety of leeches and streamers, including his patented “propeller” version of a pine squirrel leech.
A few years ago, Herb Waterman caught this trout on Buffalo Creek in Colorado. When he opened the fish with his knife, he discovered a partially digested 2-1/2 in. mouse in the 11 in. brown’s belly.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Bighorn in winter An egg-chucking blitzkrieg by Alex Rose Vice President, WFC “Fly fishing is the most fun you can have standing up.” – Arnold Gingrich
Y
ears from now, when I'm an old man, I will look back and reflect on the best fishing trips of my life, those epic outings that are seared into my memory like a red, hot iron. And when that time comes, I will surely recollect my recent trip to the Bighorn River during the last weekend of December 2008. This is a trip that almost never happened. Tom Grogan, my good friend Bob Buhr, and myself cancelled our midDecember outing due to frigid, potentially deadly temperatures. The weather forecast had predicted the temperature to reach negative five, and this was the high temperature for the day. Slip on a rock and get drenched in those temperatures, and you're "done." So we postponed the trip until the final weekend of the year. We were unsure about finding accommodations in Fort Smith, so we packed camping gear. Randy Stalker was kind enough to allow Grogan and I to borrow his drift boat. After spending the night in Buffalo, we drove early to Fort Smith, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise over the snowy plains. The morning was beautiful, until a strong, steady wind began blowing snow over the road, which is never a pretty site. At Fort Smith, we found no lodging, and Grogan got his truck in the snow, with all four tires helplessly spinning and whining in place. While getting Grogan's truck unstuck, we were pistol whipped without mercy by the wind. It was as if the elements were conspiring against us
Rose and Brownzilla, a 24-inch beast, caught with a size-10 golden foam egg pattern.
on this trip. But what else are you to expect when fishing during the winter in Montana? I was surprised when Buhr, the unofficial fishing guide, didn't cancel our float trip all together. None of us had ever fished in such heinous winds. Rational people don't launch drift boats under such conditions. Perhaps that is why we saw so few boats on the water. Fortunately, the wind was blowing downstream. Buhr manned the oars, but he did nothing more than steer as the wind pushed us with the current. Fishing from the boat -- even streamers -- was pointless at such speeds. We had all fished in nasty conditions before, but we were all equally surprised by the hurricane-style gusts. Buhr pulled over at a shallow riffle
and we began chunking egg patterns. In spite of the wind, we began catching and releasing browns fairly regularly. It took great effort to cast my egg into the wind, but if the egg turned over and I achieved a decent drift, my chances of hooking a fish were pretty good. Then, I stuck brownzilla. This fish was a lean, long, snaky brown. Buhr netted the beast, which measured 24 inches, the largest fish I've pulled out of the Bighorn. That evening, we made camp in the snow and mud. We enjoyed our dinner by a roaring fire, and the Cuervo and Crown flowed. The next day, the weather had improved greatly. The wind was steady, but reasonable. We floated a different stretch of water, and we anchored the
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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BRAGGIN’ BOARD From the membership This month this space features Mark Boname, John Dolan and Abe Knapp’s redfish trip to Laguna Madre in Texas. The fish were caught on Clousers and shrimp patterns.
Buhr unhinged the jaws of the large brown shortly before Grogan took the picture.
boat near a long, shallow riffle. None of us had ever seen so many fish stacked in one stretch of water. The "egg hatch" was on: We chunked eggs and hooked large browns along with a few rainbows. The fish voraciously attacked our eggs. As fast as we could release a fish and cast our eggs back in the water, we hooked fish. We achieved countless doubles, and several triples. Most of the time, two of us had our rods doubled over, while the third angler was releasing a fish or preparing to cast. Although we all have been fly fishing for several years, none of us had witnessed such an egg-eating, fly fishing frenzy. We landed, at a minimum, 150 fish in two hours -- in one hole -- and this is a conservative estimate. Then we put our rods down and said "enough." We popped open beers and enjoyed our ride down the river. We were stunned and exhausted by our egg-chunking blitzkrieg.
I asked Buhr how he would describe the fishing. "Unbelievable," he said, and he has logged countless hours fishing the Bighorn. "You can't catch more fish in the time we were out there." I know that some anglers would certainly condemn our method of fishing. Some would say we were "unsporting." Fair enough. I can handle that. It doesn't require much skill to chunk an egg, compared to delicately presenting a size-20 dry fly to a single, wily trout. But you aren't going to cast size-20 dry flies in December. In closing, I submit the following analogy. During a college football game on Oct. 7, 1916, the Georgia Tech Engineers crushed the Cumberland Bulldogs with a score of 222 - 0, the most lop-sided game in the history of college football. The Georgia Tech Engineers weren't exactly sporting, either. But I'm sure they had a hell of a good time.
Exchange trip mulled with USRFF Joe DeGraw, the president-elect of the Wyoming Fly Casters, has entered into a discussion with Jason Hurley from the Upper Snake River Fly Fishers regarding an exchange trip. He had suggested it might be of interest to the members of the Upper Snake River Fly Fishers and the WFC to do two joint club outings. One will be on the Henry's Fork or the Snake River and the other on our own North Platte River. Details are yet to be determined. Anyone willing to partake or act as streamkeeper is encouraged to DeGraw at 258-0177.
To include your photos, send information to the Backcast editor, c/o ChevPU57@aol.com.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
A course in drift boat fishing Chapter 7: Five Fundamentals (Part 1) his chapter discusses five fundamentals of fly fishing from a drift boat that fly fishermen know, but sparingly appreciate or practice. First, always point the tip of the rod at the fly, following movement of the fly on or under the water. Second, strip the line in to minimize slack, whether fishing a floating fly, streamer, or jig, and, in the case of the jig, make the fly hop, dart, and swim. Third, raise the rod upwards to set the hook at the instant a fish strikes. Fourth, control the fish with the line looped over and behind the trigger finger of the hand holding the rod. And fifth, be observant and adaptable, always being ready to abandon one tactic and employ another whenever environmental circumstances change. If each fly fisherman masters these fundamentals, the number of fish hooked and landed will increase, and tales of woe will decrease after each outing.
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Fundamentals Point, Follow, and Lift the Tip- Fly fishermen fishing from a drift boat know the target is slightly downstream of normal to the side of the drift boat. Any cast to the target lets the fly float and drift naturally or drift and sink in an arch without drag. What many fly fishermen
do not do is follow the fly with the tip of the rod. Instead, the average fly fisherman keeps the rod pointed in the same direction of the cast, while the fly, leader, and line move with the current downstream and ahead of the boat. Soon the rod and line, leader, and fly are nearly at right angles to each other. At that point, the fly is dragged under or the streamer or jig kited unnaturally towards the surface. In either case, the fisherman must pick up and recast, often having to make several false casts to get the line headed in the desired direction. That wastes time and lets habitat pass unfished. If the fly fisherman gets a strike when the fly is going in one direction and rod is pointed in another, he or she generally misses the fish because when the rod is raised to set the hook-assuming that is the reaction-only line is moved, not the steel of the hook. To set the hook when the line is going one direction and the rod is pointed in another, the fly fisherman must twist the shoulders and body, and pull with the right arm in a direction opposite the direction of the line. That is an unnatural motion, one hard to master even with practice. Strip to Minimize Slack-Regardless of what fly one fishes, as soon as the fly hits the water, slack begins to develop in
Preparing for a float trip on the Snake River south of Jackson.
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.
the line. The more slack that builds in the line, the greater the chance that the fly will drag. The only way to control slack is by stripping. Stripping is an art in itself. The way to strip line-for a righthanded person-is to first hold the rod near, but out from, the left hip. The right hand, reel, handle of the rod, fly rod, and line are aligned and free of encumbrances. Grasp the free line behind the trigger finger with the left hand and draw
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter the line smartly backwards to or across the left hip. That distance just about equals the amount of slack that builds in the line between each strip, and it is long enough to both control slack and make a streamer or jig swim, dart, hop, or flutter approximately six inches. When fishing dry flies and nymphs, strip the line once to the hip and stop, letting the current momentarily move the dry fly or nymph naturally. Recast and repeat the process (see the Action section of Chapter 3 for additional information). When fishing other flies, draw the line past the hip four times, pausing momentarily between strips. Four strips are required for fishing a streamer or weighted fly (additional detail and rationale are presented in Chapter 9). Raise the Tip to Set the Hook-When a fish strikes, setting the hook is the easiest thing to do, provided the tip of the rod is pointed at the fly and all slack has been collected by stripping. Setting the hook is exactly the same motion-or reflex-as picking the line off the water at the beginning of another cast. When the fish strikes, come up with forearm and hand holding the rod. That action moves the tip of the rod upward with speed and accelerates the line back towards the fly fisherman. If the hook is sharp, the fish is hooked. Sounds easy-but it must be hard. Read on! Control the Fish with the Trigger Finger-When a fish is hooked, it can and should be controlled with the trigger finger, provided, of course, the line was looped over the trigger finger at the end of the forward cast. If the fish is small, the line and fish can be brought to the boat by pulling line with the free hand behind the trigger finger. Should the fish have a little more muscle than anticipated, a slight relaxation of pressure against the line pinched between the trigger finger and handle lets the fish take line as needed. If the fish takes all the free line behind the trigger finger, or if the free line can be reclaimed on the reel, the fish should be managed with the reel. The less line left free dangling behind the trigger finger, the less likely it is to tangle around anything in the boat. If the angler is fortunate enough to hook a large fish, chances are the fish instantly will take all the loose line behind the trigger finger and start making the reel sing. That is the only time and circumstance when one has no choice in the matter. The only way to control the fish is by the drag system of the reel and skills of the oarsman. All
the rest of the time, the trigger finger controls the line and makes the whole casting system work for you. Please remember that. Abandon Your Dogmas: Be Observant and Adaptable-A successful fly fisherman must be observant and adaptable, always ready to abandon one tactic and employ another whenever environmental circumstances change. A good fly fisherman's tactical repertoire is broad and flexible, permitting him or her to integrate environmental observations and information instantly, change fishing strategies or casting techniques, and capitalize on recognized opportunities. Putting the Fundamentals into Action When entertaining guests or clients, I spend a few minutes discussing each fundamental and demonstrating how each works in concert with the other, emphasizing repeatedly that the sum of those fundamentals is what makes the casting system work and enables the fly fisherman to catch fish. Each client hears what is said, sees what is happening, understands the intent, and knows what the end result must be. Somewhere after the discussion and demonstration, but before the first cast, many beginning fly fishermen forget everything said or simply go brain dead! I suspect that deep down inside, most inexperienced fly fishermen do not believe that a fish will grab a fly floating on the surface, hit a streamer swimming somewhere below the surface, or swallow a jig hopping up and down somewhere in the water column. No matter how many stories clients hear or how many catches they actually witness, they are always surprised, perhaps even scared-certainly startled!-the moment a fish takes the fly. At least all semblance of normal behavior vanishes. Most inexperienced fly fishermen just stare in amazement at what happened. Even when told to jerk, the fly fisherman stares, exhibiting every symptom of being comatose. Some fly fishermen have even wet their pants. That is embarrassing to everyone! And it is visible to all who float past. Please let me summarize a few situations. Some are humorous. Cast Downstream-Some fly fishermen-experienced or otherwise-do not recognize the direction water flows. That is true! Yes, water flows downhill-but on one side of a river the water flows left to right, and on the other it flows right to left. In a pool, water on the deep side
Page 9 flows downstream, but on the shallow side it flows upstream as a counter-current. Why fly fishermen do not see that cannot be explained. They constantly must be reminded "cast downstream," "cast downstream," "cast downstream." And, "Fish where we are, not where we have been." Fly fishermen are so intent on casting the fly in likely looking spots, and letting the fly stay in each spot as long as possible, that they forget where the boat is with respect to bank, target, and direction of travel. Soon each client is fishing behind the boat. That is a waste of time and fishing opportunities, because the fly drags as soon as it hits the water. What fly fishermen apparently do not realize is that each time they get to fishing behind the boat, they are being forced to react to the passage of likely looking spots, instead of looking downstream a little further and seeing upcoming places to cast. It takes a fly fisherman about a day of constant reminding to learn to cast slightly downstream, look for upcoming places to cast, and anticipate what might and should happen. The Trigger Finger Is the Key to Success-Most novice fly fishermen just cannot remember to hook the line over the trigger finger at the end of the cast. That is understandable. Fly fishing has too many "things" happening at once. It is second only to golf in complexity! Each "thing" or aspect of fly fishing must be mastered in sequence, one step at a time. If steps are not learned sequentially, fly fishing seems impossible-just like golf! Hooking the line over the trigger finger ranks second in importance only to learning which way water flows. Those individuals who do not hook the line over the trigger finger are soon taught to do so by the fish. Please let me explain. Sometime during a float, the fly fisherman gets lazy, especially when he or she is fishing a dry fly. The fisherman starts holding the line in the free hand rather than with the trigger finger. When that happens, a large fish splashes the fly and is hooked. The client, of course, gets excited and starts pulling on the line with the free hand. However, the amount of line that can be pulled is no greater than the distance the fisherman can reach behind his or her back while extending the rod to the maximum in the opposite direction. At the point of maximum extension, the fly fisherman is in trouble…and the fish has the advantage.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
FEBRUARY 2009 SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
11
12
13
19
20
21
26
27
28
1
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY 7
G;roundhog Day
8
Regular meeting, 7 p.m.
Full Moon
15
16
17
President’s Day
22
18
Lincoln’s Birthday
14
Lyin’ and Tyin’ clinic; Valentine’s Day
WFC Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
23
24
Washinton’s Birthday
25
Deadline for Backcast info
WYOMING FLY CASTERS BOARD MEETING January 21, 2008 The meeting was called to order by the president. MSC was called to accept the minutes from last meeting. MSC was called to accept expense report from last meeting. The banquet committee presented a couple of options for a banquet dinner meal and ticket cost. MSC for a buffet style meal with roast beef, turkey, and salmon. A general discussion of the conservation committee's meeting from Jan. 14 was presented. President Elect Report: February's general meeting presenter will be Herb Waterman. There is no February outing scheduled. Old Business: April's outing from the 10-12 to Ft. Smith MT. was discussed. A decision was made that the $85 cost of the trip must be paid by members who have signed up no later
than the March general meeting. This was decided to determine if an additional cabin will need to be reserved. New Business: A general discussion of the broken park bench located along the parkway was held. Further information will be given as the solution is resolved. MSC: The club will only be accepting donated items with no monetary renumeration in return. A discussion about a Trout Unlimited chapter in the Casper area was held. Kim Levine will be contacting Trout Unlimited to setup an exploratory meeting. The club had a commissioner license graciously donated. Andrew Sauter will be in charge of the selling of this item. The 2009 budget proposal was distributed by Joe DeGraw. It was determined that more discussion about the budget will be made at the February board meeting. These minutes have been submitted by T. Grogan.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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Treasurer’s Report for December 2008 Income Date
Description
Amount
12/11/2008 11/21/2008
Deposit - dues - 110.00, Cash Return Ck#3924, Xmas Party 504.00 Deposit - dues - 100.00, Website - 106.41
714.00 206.41
Total Income
920.41
Expenses Check #
Description
Amount
#3932 #3933 #3934 #3935 #3936
Don Jelinek - Expo Raffle Items Izaak Walton - Rent - December Herbadashery - Xmas Party FedEx Kinkos - November Backcast Alex Rose, Lie & Tie
(300.00) (75.00) (1,176.00) (73.24) (29.00)
Dec Bank Charges
(3.00)
Total Expenses
If ya done it, it ain’t braggin.’ -- Yogi Berra
(1,656.24)
CLASSIFIEDS -- GOOD STUFF FOR SALE (CHEAP!) FOR SALE
Bring your camera along on your next fishing trip, and use it to document your catch and release fish. Then send the digital image to the WFC newsletter editor for consideration of inclusion in the next issue. Contributions are always welcome. Who knows ... maybe your photo will be the next month’s cover.
Special prices for WFC club members! Fly lines, fly reels and fly rods. Call Don Jelinek 267-7477 • Patagonia SST jacket, XL. Brand new. $240 (list $315). Call Scott Novotny 266-3072 • USED RODS TFO 7' 6", 6 wt. Lefty Kreh TICR $50 Good boat streamer rod TFO 9', 6 wt. Jim Teeny rod $50 Call Art Van Rensselaer 262-7655
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.