Spokane Fly Fishers October, 2018

Transcription

1 Spokane Fly Fishers October, 2018 OCTOBER 10TH SFF MEETING 7:00 PM Hi! My name is Tyler Balich and I am grateful to be able to speak with you on the Clark Fork River in Montana. This is where I spent 11 years guiding along with other local rivers. I moved to North Idaho in 1994 from Anchorage Alaska where I was raised. I worked for a local North Idaho fly shop and guided from I spent an average of 200+ days a year between guiding on the Clark Fork, St. Joe, Coeur d'alene, Clearwater, Grande Ronde, Snake river and others. I also ran and managed a bone-fishing lodge in the South Pacific at Christmas island. I have a fond place in my heart for the Clark Fork River though. It is an incredible freestone river that is right in our backdoor and I'd like to give you some insight on how I like to fish it. From fly selection, time of year, access, services and the like. I'll cover drift boating the Clark Fork. I'll cover access with boats, shuttles, spring nymphing techniques, core daily hatches through our main season, wade access and how to approach the Clark Fork as a bank angler. How to pick your days on the Clark Fork and understand why at times it is difficult fishing and where to concentrate your efforts in difficult conditions. I look forward to meeting you and sharing about this awesome river. Tyler Balich is the fly shop manager at North 40 in Coeur d'alene, Idaho. He was born and raised in Anchorage Alaska where naturally you are destined to hunt, fish and be in the out of doors. His passion for fly fishing started in High School where his biology teacher started helping him with fly fishing. He would spend summers in South East Alaska deck-handing on a fishing boat and fly fishing the local rivers for salmon, trout and dolly varden. He moved to Coeur d'alene, Idaho, in 1994 and guided and ran a local fly shop for 11 years. He got married and took a job selling granite counter tops for a friend for roughly ten years and decided to get back into the job he truly loves. Tyler is raising a family and enjoys hunting, camping and being outside as much as possible. OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS President Doug Keene Vice President Paul Olsen Treasurer Brian Soth Secretary Carey Smith Board Position 1 Randy Ishihara Board Position 2 Devon Greyerbiehl Board Position 3 David Marshall Past President Claude Kistler Sgt. At Arms Rick Newman Contact us at: P. O. Box 4141 Spokane, WA Or sffishers@comcast.net COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Programs: Barbless Flyer: Conservation: Outings: Education: Membership: Fly Fishing School: Paul Olsen Linda Howe Claude Kistler John Hudson Jon Bowne Claude Kistler Rick Newman Librarian: Larry Ray PHW Contact: George Foster FFI Liaison: Rick Newman Beg. Fly Tying: Mary Kovatch Int. Fly Tying: Rick Newman Casting for Recovery: Mary Kovatch A/V Coordinator: David Marshall AROUND THE BEND Oct 10: SFF General Meeting 7:00 PM Oct 13-14: Chopaka Lake Outing Oct. 23: SFF Board Meeting 6:39 PM Nov.14: SFF General Meeting FLY AUCTION Preview 6:00 PM Auction: 7:00 PM

2 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 2 THE PREZ SEZ By: Doug Keene I am looking forward to participating with all of our past and new members for another great year of doing everything related to fly fishing here among one of the best groups of friendly and helpful fly fishers in the Northwest. We have a great list of invited experts in our field providing education and encouragement as speakers at our meetings. Add that to the fly tying classes and fly school, the fly auction and the annual raffle and all the many outings that will be planned. This should be an incredible year for all of us. I want to mention that this year we have quite a few new members, many who graduated from last year's SFF Fly School. Actually we have had the best retention rate from that school in many years. You folks deserve some credit because you have been very helpful in welcoming these new folks and making them feel like they belong here. Many of these folks attended our Summer outings, and I'm told that they used what they learned and went right at the fishing like they were pros. Really says something about the training they got from Claude Kistler and Rich Newman and all the volunteer teachers who gave their time for the students. As you have obviously noticed, this issue of the Barbless has been delivered to you by , if you have a computer. Our goal was to use this delivery method to save the cost of mailing 250 newsletters, but more importantly to free up the publishing process to allow more pages, more content, and full color photos, Some of those improvements are still to come after this first issue gets out, as we learn to use this new format and as we get more folks contributing content. We are encouraging the members to write some articles about their fishing experiences, not just at outings, but about your own personal fishing trips, or subjects related to fly fishing, hopefully with a photo or two. We would like to start publishing a new fly tying recipe every month. We can have someone who wants a byline fly tying slot in the newsletter each month or we can work with individual submissions as they become available. Come on folks, step up and contribute and become famous as an SFF Barbless author. Speaking of flies, the annual Fly Auction is coming up at the November 14 meeting. This has always been a well attended and generously contributed event for the club. We need all of you to donate some flies to the Auction. They can be tied by you, or bought locally and donated. White Elephant has some very nice flies at a very low price, and the local fly shops have the high grade and more unusual flies. I always contribute some hand made flies, usually the ones that were good enough to not hide or throw away, and I am truly a beginner. My flies have always sold at a good price, and yours will too, which is really good for your ego and good for the club, And don't forget the fun we have with the always humorous professional auctioneer who helps us each year. Lets all participate, make new friends, have fun, and have tight lines this year!

3 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 3 CONSERVATION CORNER By: Claude Kistler, Chairman FLY CASTING INSTRUCTION Five club volunteers (Claude, Doug Keene, Rick Newman, John Gilbert and Chet Allison) participated in the two day Northwest Natural Resources Institute Water Festival at Liberty Lake County Park on Sept. 12 and 13, Our volunteers provided fly casting instruction to over 560 Fifth Grade students over the two days. My absence (back spasms) on the final day put extreme pressure on Doug, John and Rick and in order to participate in the future, we will need additional volunteers to make this a fun event for all. SPOKANE RIVER CLEAN-UP Members of the Spokane Fly Fishers had the opportunity to participate in the annual Spokane River Clean-up on Saturday, September 15 th. The weather was great and a final report from clean-up officials indicated that over 1 ton of trash was removed from the river. Thanks to all who participated and what a great effort to help maintain this incredible resource. FIN CLIPPING Miguel Ferrera, Gale Allen, Connor Thorne, Bill and Steve Wagstaff, Jack and Linda Mayfield, Craig Adams and Dennis Johnson volunteered to participate in two days of fin clipping at the WDFW Fish Hatchery on Sept. 25th and 26th. Joining with the Inland Empire Club, volunteers clipped the adipose fin of over 50,000 fish fry that will be released in area waters and monitored in efforts to improve fishing in our surrounding waters. Thanks to all who volunteered for this important activity. BROWNS LAKE There are no new activities to report on Browns Lake at this time. Hopefully many of you have had the opportunity to fish Browns and report your success on the creel surveys that are being collected on site. This information is important to record so that game officials can receive relevant information on the fish population and determine steps needed to help Browns Lake return to a native cutthroat fishery. DRY FALLS/LAKE LENORE OUTING OCTOBER 6TH Unfortunately, this outing has been cancelled due to lack of a host. CLARK FORK OUTING OCTOBER 20TH The Clark Fork Outing, regrettably, has also been cancelled due to lack of a host.

4 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 4 CHOPAKA LAKE OUTING OCTOBER 13TH AND 14TH Host: Paul Olsen Finally, the smoke has cleared so we can feel like there is a chance to get to the promised land of Chopaka Lake. I would encourage you to come to it if you have never been there before. It is a wonderful place to fly fish. Located above Loomis, Washington, it is a place to enjoy the fishing and the scenery. The lake is known for good sized fish and site fishing for them. Mayflies hatches are a hallmark of this lake. In the Inland Empire Club fly pattern book there is a fly called the Chopaka May Fly. Of course, this fly was named after a fly designed to match the hatch of this lake. Bring your floatation device whether it is a float tube, pontoon boat, or small boat. This is not a good lake to fish from shore. The only obstacle to this trip is possible road construction due to some road damage that was done during this year s flooding in the Okanagan valley last spring. The road that leads to the lake is a big loop, so either way will get you to Chopaka. I have been in contact with the fellow from DNR who is responsible for the road repair and he tells me that the contract has been let and that they are waiting for the bids to come back in to get a company contracted to do this repair work. The last time I spoke to him he was unaware of the specific time that this repair would begin. He said he felt it would take 3-4 days total to get this repair done. I am waiting for him to call me to tell me when this construction will occur. Until it is done I would not take anything heavier than a pop-up trailer up to the lake. I am planning on tent camping up there unless I hear something has happened with the road repairs. At the point where the road becomes a loop most of us have traditionally taken the turn to the right rather than going to the left. The right turn took you up a narrow road through a small cattle pasture area. Evidently the cattleman has now put up a sign asking people not to use that road anymore. DNR has an easement but the public doesn t have one yet. They are talking to the cattleman about this but it is a slow conversation with him. I would encourage you to take the slower road to the left and plan for a few more minutes of driving to get to Chopaka. The sign pointing to the lake is on the left side of the road and it is frankly a pretty poor sign so watch carefully for it. You will feel you have gone about ¾ of the loop before you get to it. Once you get to Omak, I would stop at the North 40 fly shop on the outskirts of Omak for far better directions and to obtain up-to-date fly suggestions for the lake. You also can look at google maps and the North 40 fly website for up to date information on directions and the best flies for you to use. There will be an early potluck dinner on Friday night. Brats are the dinner fare. Be sure and bring items that go well with them for the potluck. Questions? Please call me at (509) If the road construction conflicts with the Outing, I will have to cancel the trip. Not signed up for it already? Don t worry just call me and tell me you re going to attend the outing.

5 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 5 WE NEED YOU! By Doug Keene You've seen the comments in other articles this month and you are going to keep hearing these words throughout the year Volunteers are Needed! This club has no paid employees, everyone is a volunteer, from the President all the way to the folks who help setup for the meetings and clean up after. All the events the club puts on cannot be presented without volunteers to lead, to co-lead, to help plan, to help at outings, to plan the outings, to assist with the Fly Tying Classes or the Fly School, participate in committees, or even on the Board, to help prepare the coffee and cookies at meetings, or to assist with our outreach programs to expose young people to fly fishing and casting, or to assist with fin clipping at the fish hatchery, and lots more. Each of us, when we joined the club, became a part of the body of people who make the club work. The volunteers make it all happen. There are a lot of you out there who have never stepped up to offer your hand to assist, and there are others who didn't know this was a part of our membership duties. We understand that, and want to ask that its time for you to do your part and make yourself available at least one time this year to help when you hear about opportunities presented at meetings or in the Barbless. You read in the conservation article about how a task the club was committed to ended up short handed, which required 3 people to do the work of 8. Some volunteers would have helped. This is more common than not. You don't have to be an expert at anything for most opportunities. There are plenty of folks to help you. We just need you. We do have a few slots that we need help on that could use the help of some folks who have leadership skills, or who have a strong desire to participate in improving some of the operations of the club to keep us the best in the Northwest. Many of those tasks give the volunteer leader a lot of room to be creative, and as always there will always be folks to help. As a leader, you recruit others to assist you in these projects so you aren't alone. We are currently looking for someone to lead our Education Program. (special educational events above and beyond normal meetings and classes, could include special outings that include educational content) We are currently looking for someone to lead our Special Events Programs going for ward, such as future Fly Auction, the Raffle, and the Christmas program. We are currently looking for someone to lead our Outreach Children's Programs in simple fly casting and fly fishing. (only 2 or 3 events a year and you need to like kids) We have need of committee members for Outings, Fly School, Membership, and Conservation Committees. (Just attend and join in planning and activities.) Lastly, I want you to know that the most fun in the club is when you get involved and volunteer. You will meet more nice people, people will know who you are, which can even offer opportunities to join up and fish. Looking forward to hearing from you.

6 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 6 ST. JOE RIVER OUTING REPORT - JULY 20TH TO JULY 22ND By: Rick Newman The weather prior to the 2018 St. Joe outing was hot, in the high ninety degree range for days and days. Water temperatures were rising in St. Joe and elsewhere. I fished the St. Joe a week prior to our outing and the water was 60 degrees. The fish we caught were only six or seven inches long. The signs were not auspicious for a good fishing weekend. When my son, Alex and I arrived at Fly Flats at 10:30 PM on Thursday night the campground and all the campsites were full all the way to Spruce Tree. We found an empty site at the horse packers camp and felt fortunate. In the morning we travelled to Fly Flats and found the big campsite open and then watched several people leave. We had a smaller group this year as several of the folks had been injured. Anyway campsites opened up and we had enough room for 12 participants. Daytime temperatures were more pleasant in the high 80 s and at night it cooled down to 38 degrees!!! That was nice unless your heater quit. With some judicious rattling of wires Miguel Ferrera got the heater working again. Campfires were both allowed and welcomed. The skies were sunny all day and the weather remained clear all weekend. The fishing for five to seven inch trout was oftentimes busy. The consensus was the trout had moved somewhere. Miguel, Dave and Jim Marshall trekked to Jim Gooley s favorite location down in the hole. After beating the water to a froth (figuratively, not literally) the report was the same. Maybe all the fish missed Jim as much as we all do! As the reports trickled in the results were the same. Alex, Shiraz Vera and I went to the hole below Red Ives on Saturday night at just about 0 dark thirty. I stuck around the longest and tried a small, size 16 PMD. Finally, I had a real 14 cutthroat trout on my line. By that time however, it was hard to see my rod let alone my fly on the water. I really didn t hear about any fish of any size from anyone else. Friday night Bring Your Own Meat was a disappointment as no one showed up. Saturday afternoon s meal turned out better. Shiraz and my son Alex helped me shuck the corn and prepare everything so we were ready to go. Folks brought a good selection of food and deserts for all to share. You should have been there. We all enjoyed the meal, cleaned up and then complained about too-full stomachs. Overall I think that the event went well other than the non-cooperative fish. The weather was nice, much cooler than Spokane. Wet wading was comfortable, with the water temperature about 60 degrees during the day. Folks were friendly and helpful, making it a great outing. My son and I thought we would try the upper stretch of the St. Joe and traveled 11 bumpy miles to Heller Creek Campground and tried out the fishing. We had less luck up there than we did on the lower section of the St. Joe. It is a nice drive and you get to see some more of Idaho s backcountry. I would travel there and camp when the weather is cooler. I also fished just about dark further down on the St. Joe where the first big flat section is. I tried the same size 16 PMD and brought three fish to the shore. Timing was everything!

7 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 7 KELLY CREEK OUTING REPORT AUGUST 3RD TO AUGUST 5TH By: John Hudson We had a good turnout for the Kelly Creek outing, thirteen. This was later than our normal dates and the water was pretty low. The weather turned cooler the day before we arrived so that was a blessing. We had three groups of first timers from the class and they all did pretty well. The regulars had a little more difficulty. It was pretty slow for my group and a couple of others but some nice fish finally started showing themselves on the last day. I was at the same location the end of June. I had the place to myself and caught some very nice fat cutts. Maybe we ll try to move the trip up next year. Note from Gordon McCammond: We fished the North Fork Clearwater upstream of Kelly Forks Campground. I caught 15 plus all cutthroat. After a Spokane Fly Fishers group potluck Saturday evening, my fishing partner, Scott Redman, and I were fishing a new location on the North Fork Clearwater, something slammed my grasshopper and ant dropper combination. Fly line dives to bottom of river, suddenly everything stops except my knees shaking. Visions of a line wrapped boulder invades my frontal lobe. Suddenly my line rips across swift current to the opposite side. After what seems like hours, I lead my quarry into calm water. Whoa! It doesn t fit in my net. It s a hog at 19 inches, I used a tape measure and I have a witness. I marvel at this creature which took the ant pattern. Keeping it in water, I pet it a couple times and let it flip away leaving a wonderful memory and shaky knees.

8 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 8 LIBRARY NEWS BY: Larry Ray Some Housekeeping. First, I neglected to include, in my September review, two of the videos purchased for the Library s collection. Wet Fly Ways by Davy Wotton (Hosted by Gary Taylor) and RIO s Modern Spey Casting were purchased in addition to the four videos shown in my last report. I again want to thank those who came forward with recommendations for books and videos to purchase. Rick Diffley and Connie Tedrow took the time and effort to make extensive recommendations, most of which are reflected in the materials purchased. Rick Newman also assisted with some recommendations as we were doing the ordering. The Library will endeavor to obtain any titles recommended by members whenever we are in buying mode. Library Staff. Speaking of Connie Tedrow, I am most thrilled to announce that she has agreed to serve the Spokane Fly Fishers as Co-Librarian. I certainly look forward to serving with her. When you see her, please join me in thanking her for her willingness to serve. I apologize for my absence from the September meeting. I was made an offer I couldn t refuse, to spend two weeks fishing flies on a small, western Alaskan stream, the Anchor River, staying in a cabin right on the river! I caught the tail-end of the silver salmon season, along with the start of the steelhead run, and was able to beach beautiful, fresh-run steelhead on flies I tied myself (Sparkle Bead-head Leach and a Princes Nymph). The water level was the lowest in memory of the locals, which necessitated small flies. The Princes Nymph was a size 14! So, I was able to discharge an item on my bucket list! As a bonus, I caught numerous, beautiful sea-run Dolly Varden! More on Bamboo Fly Rods. In the Barbless summer edition, I reviewed Rod Crafting by Jeffrey Hatton, which dealt with collecting antique fly rods. In keeping with the topic of vintage rods, I want to describe John Gierach s Fishing Bamboo. This book was written out of Gierach s particular fondness for fishing with cane, and discusses the collection and actual use of such rods today. Note that our Library contains many of Gierach s titles (see the February 2012 edition of the Barbless for a review of most of these). Those of you Gierach fans who read Fishing Bamboo will recognize and appreciate his typical straight-forward, simple style, which is especially welcomed with a topic than could easily become technical. It also contains enough of Gierach s usual dry, sometimes self-effacing humor to add some entertainment. Ample attention is given to both fishing older, collectable rods and to fishing cane rods made by modern rod-makers. The author provides practical guidance in the search for usable vintage and modern bamboo rods. He describes what to look for in the mass-produced rods of the past by such as Montague ( real clubs ), Horrocks-Ibotson, Shakespeare, and South Bend, as well as some of those like J.C. Higgins and Montgomery Ward that could be obtained from mail order catalogues. He also addresses the upper-end rods produced by such as Granger and Leonard and the very high-end rods produced by such as Garrison and Gillum. From his descriptions of them I think he has a particular fondness for production rods by Heddon. His description of the market fluctuations in bamboo rods is particularly fascinating and, it turns out, it is not what you may assume it would be. I won t spoil it for you with further discussion but you should read it if you have any interest in collectable bamboo rods. Gierach provides some very practical, necessary advice that is not so easy to locate elsewhere. There is a very-needed discussion on the topic of fitting modern lines to collectable rods, something that has perplexed most of us who have tried to fish older bamboo. The chapter on new rods and rod makers is very informative and is the only comprehensive discussion of this topic I have seen. News to me, there are many more modern rod makers out there than one might assume, some of whom are trying to preserve the tapers of the old masters and others who are doing more pioneering work. Anyone seriously in the market for a new bamboo rod simply must read this section. Appendices include listings of rod dealers and rod makers with complete contact information for each. Anyone interested in any facet of bamboo rod collecting and fishing simply must read this volume, a very welcome addition to our library from an esteemed author and authority.

9 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 9 MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOVEMBER MEETING NOVEMBER 14th, :00 PM ANNUAL FLY AUCTION It s time to start tying flies NOW that you wish to donate for our November 2018 fly auction. As you know, this function is a major fundraiser for SFF with proceeds financing much of our functions, printing, postage and speakers for the year. Our club heavily depends on your generosity and donations. Even if you don't wish to tie flies for the auction, consider purchasing flies for your donation. This is always a fun meeting and a chance to pick up incredible flies tied by some of the club s and Inland Northwest s best fly tiers. Please call this year s chairman, Carey Smith, with questions or to arrange for a drop-off. You may also bring your tied flies to our October 10th meeting. If you plan on bringing them the night of the auction, check in time will be from 5:45 to 6:45 PM. Please call Carey at (509) if you d like to be on the Fly Auction Committee and help with this event. REMAINING 2018 OUTINGS SCHEDULE DATE LOCATION HOST RATING/EXPLANATION Oct 6 Dry Falls Lake/Lake Lenore Cancelled (No host) 1 - Float Oct Chopaka Lake Paul Olsen 1 - Float Oct 20 Clark Fork Cancelled (No host) 2 - Float: Abutments/ small rapids NOTE: Due to weather, run-off and conditions, we will keep the dates flexible as attendees see fit. To read Outing Ratings Explanation, please see the January 2018 Barbless. Contact our Outings Committee Chairman, John Hudson at jhcutbow@comcast.net or call him at (509) if you have any questions or would be willing to host an outing.

10 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 10 SPOKANE FLY FISHERS NEXT MEETING TYLER BALICH FISHING THE CLARK FORK OCTOBER 10, :00 PM ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL, 1104 W. HEROY PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR NAME TAGS TO THE MEETING THE MISSION OF THE SPOKANE FLY FISHERS IS TO PROVIDE A FAMILY FRIENDLY ORGANIZATION FOR PROMOTING THE SPORT OF FLY FISHING THROUGH EDUCATION, APPLICATION AND CONSERVATION