Next meeting 7 Sep PM to 0900 PM Guest Speaker: Capt Dave Dant How To Find Fish

Transcription

1 TBFFC Next meeting 7 Sep PM to 0900 PM Guest Speaker: Capt Dave Dant How To Find Fish Biography: Captain Dave has been pursuing fish in the Tampa Bay area his whole life. His career has covered the entire spectrum of saltwater fishing from offshore pelagics to the most shallow water tailing fish. His intimate knowledge of Tampa Bay and the surrounding waters has helped him become one of the area s premier fly fishing guides. His desire to understand the concepts of water movement along with current flow and how they affect fish have contributed to his success in the area. Captain Dave has a friendly, laid-back, easy-going demeanor, which conceals his relentless, intense desire to catch fish for his clients. He knows the difference between just finding fish and finding the right fish in the right conditions to help his clients succeed. Dave fishes from a Maverick Master Angler skiff and his website is

2 Directions to Our Meetings (0600pm): From I-75---Take Bruce B. Downs exit from I-75; go west 2 miles to traffic light, turn left on to Tampa Palms Blvd., then left on Compton Drive, and right at Compton Park. From I Take Bearss East to Bruce. B. Downs; then Bruce B. Downs east/north to Tampa Palms Blvd. Rt. on Tampa Palms, then left on Compton Drive and right at Compton Park. PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Welcome to September and the prospects for a little cooler weather. I hope you enjoyed out talk last month on wade fishing and will get to use those tips this winter in our cool, clear waters. Thanks to Smitty for tying his Sabalo Yucatan Tarpon fly. We are fortunate to have several regular tyers who often show up to tie whether asked or not. Try to remember to check out and update our Facebook page. Anyone can view the page without signing up for Facebook. Just go to Facebook.com and search for TBFFC. Rick O Hara flyguy47@verizon.net and he will add your photos for you if you can t figure it out. We welcome input on speakers and outings. We have Gina Russo from the hatchery to talk about Catch and Release Techniques: Fishing for Conservation in November. We are seeking an October speaker. In December we will host our holiday party. Please note my new walt.durkin@aol.com // Walt EVENTS Englewood Outing, 1-2 October Chattooga River trout trip, Nov Casting Clinic, Picnic Island, 3 Dec Big Gun, Picnic Island, 20 Nov Hooky at the Hatchery, 9 Dec OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS President: Walt Durkin walt.durkin@aol.com Vice President: Ted Hagaman Treasurer: Rick Valeri Secretary: Dick Miekka Directors Patty Anderson Denise Bruner Bryon Chamberlin Pat Damico Robert Fischer Bruce Anderson Rick O Hara

3 2016 TBFFC MEETING DATES This month s meeting is 7 September from 6 to 9 PM. TBFFC NEWS & NOTES Club Flag Project: Patty Anderson has completed our club flag project and we have six flags ready to travel the world on your fly fishing adventures. We took one to British Columbia at the end of August and will bring one to Brazil in October. You can check out a flag at any meeting for your travels. Just promise to take a picture showing your location and a great catch on the fly if possible. IFFF Florida Expo, 4-5 November, Plantation in Crystal River. This is a great event that supports our national organization. Watch this space for more details or check online. FFF Fair: The Federation is having its Annual Fly Fishing Fair in Livingston, MT August 2-6. They are requesting donations in the form of fly fishing equipment, trips, etc. for the auction. Please send any donations to Jessica Atherton (jessica@fedflyfishers.org). Costa de Cocas Mexico Trip 29 Oct -5 Nov. Our annual trip to Mexico still has a couple of openings. This super trip is $2250, a great value for 7 nights and 6 days of tropical fishing for bonefish, tarpon and permit. Diving on the reef is also available. Great accommodations, guides; food and drinks all included. I go every year and would not miss it. Contact Frank Rhodes captfranksnookon@tampabay.rr.com to reserve your spot.

4 TBFFC NEWS & NOTES, CONT. Chattooga River Trip. We have changed the dates of this trip to November. We are staying in the log cabins at the Oconee State Park in S Carolina. We have reserved cabins 18, 19 and 20. Please see me or Ted Hagaman at the next meeting if you would like to go. The Chattooga, a Wild and Scenic River, is fairly easy to wade and really beautiful. We will fish the delayed harvest season (catch and release) for rainbows, browns and brook trout. Casting Clinic on Picnic Island 3 Dec. Please join us for this casting clinic hosted by Capt. Pat Damico. Pat and club members to include Dayle Mazzarella, Steve Parker and others will provide expert instruction. This event supports the Federation of Fly Fishers and is free to all who are FFF members; so, please join. Come along and fine tune your casting and we will provide lunch and drinks. Please note 3 Dec is a new date moved from November. Two Memorial Outings: I added two more outings to our list at the end of the newsletter. On 23 October we will have our annual Carl Hanson Outing on the Hillsborough River with the Suncoast Club. This is a great morning of fishing followed by lunch. We also have a friendly competition with the Suncoast for the most or biggest fish. Additionally, the Suncoast will host the Don Coleman Classic on the 18 December at Ft Desoto. More details to come on this outing at which we remember the life of Don Coleman. Don and Carl were both icons of local fly fishing and fondly remembered by many anglers. Englewood Outing. We will fish out of Buchan s Landing Resort the weekend of 1-2 October. Make your own reservations for this informal outing. Members will bring boats and fish the Englewood area for trout, snook and redfish. The resort is inexpensive, comfortable, and includes dock slips. Address: 599 W Dearborn St, Englewood, FL Phone:(941) Pat Damico sent this link for Lefty s leader knot:

5 Tips for TBFFC Random Thoughts from the Tying Bench By C.W. Don Coleman THE SNAKE FLY This wonderful fly is Lou Tabory s work horse fly. He uses it from New England to the Tropics. I have used it successfully for both Brown Trout and Bass as well as for inshore saltwater fish in Florida. Fish will hit this noisy fly when they will not hit any other pattern. Tie it all-white, all-black, or white with a red head. Use a standard length saltwater hook in sizes #4 to #1/0. I find #4 and #2 most useful during the winter months in Florida and for northern trout and bass. Tie in a tail of saddle hackles at the bend. Do not splay the hackles. The length of the fly should not be less than 3 times the length of the hook. Add Mylar Flash to the tail. Tie in two marabou plumes at the mid-point of the shank allowing them to lie back to halfway along the tail being sure to allow space for the spun deer hair head. Spin deer belly hair between the marabou and the hook eye. Trim the head flat on the bottom and round the sides and top of the head to the shape of a cone. Leave a few strands of hair long for a collar. The head should not be packed tight like a bass bug. The action of this fly depends on the size of the head. Too bulky a head will cause the fly to float. Good technique and practice will lead to improved fly casting. Fly casting is easy to learn and fun once you master the basics. Like any sport you must understand and learn good technique so that when you do fly fish or practice you are building on sound fundamentals. Lucky for you, both are available at the TBFFC. Our membership comprises many certified and expert casters. Additionally, we offer several classes a year to teach and fine tune your fly casting. We also bring a couple of club rods to each meeting and encourage you to step outside with another member and get in a little guided practice. You are also welcome to bring your own outfit. Additionally, our newsletter lists the phone numbers of members willing to meet and give you one-on-one instruction. I encourage you to take these opportunities to improve your basic casting skills. Fly casting is simple, yet complex enough that we can always find ways to improve. Your reward will be more confidence and the ability to make that great cast to a tailing redfish or cruising snook on the flats. As much as I fish, I still struggle once in a while and I should follow this advice!

6 Fly of the Month Smitty s Sabalo Yucatan Tarpon Fly You can tie this pattern using a different color head and facing hackle such as white, chartreuse, hot orange, etc. You may substitute a grizzly hackle for the white collar hackles for a more natural appearance. Fish the fly with short to medium staccato pulls and twitches. Materials Hook Gamakatsu SL 12 Thread Danville flat waxed, colored to match Tail Barred rabbit zonker and pearl flashabou Body Large webby saddle hackles (Two grizzly and one solid color suggested) Head Cactus chenille or estaz (color to complement the fly) Tying Instructions Wrap a base of thread to the bend of the hook and tie on a zonker 2 2 1/2 inches long. Tie in a short loop of 20lb mono on top of the tail to keep it from wrapping. Draw the tail up through the loop and tie a couple of strips of flashabou on either side of the tail and cut it just a bit shorter than the tail. Tie the two grizzly hackles forward of the tail and palmer them forward separately. Tie the solid hackle forward of the palmered grizzlies and palmer it forward. Tie in the chenille or estaz and wrap it forward almost to the eye of the hook. Tie off and complete the head with thread wraps, using your choice of head cement to complete the fly.

7 This is the oldest multi-species, fly fishing only tournament in the State of Florida.

8 FFF Seeking Fly Tyers for the Expo The Florida Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers will host our 2016 Fly Fishing Expo this year at the Plantation on Crystal River on November 4-5, You may have attended when we hosted the Expo at this same location in The purpose of this mailing is to extend a special invitation for you to tie as a demonstration fly tier during our Expo. The Plantation is located at 9301 W. Fort Island Trail in Crystal River, FL 34429, where rooms have been reserved at a rate of $109/night plus tax. I suggest that you make your reservations soon by calling and mention Florida Council Federation Fly Fishers Also watch for pre-registration to be posted very soon on the Florida Council website. Demonstration fly tying will be scheduled for Friday and Saturday with sessions in the afternoon on the 4th and morning and afternoon sessions on the 5th. The Friday afternoon session will be 1:00 pm 5:00 pm, the Saturday morning session will be 9:00 am 12:00 am and the afternoon sessions will be 1:00 pm 4:00 pm. Tiers should arrive 30 minutes before their scheduled session begins and have their tying stations clean within 30 minutes after the session ends. Space will be limited; so, it will be very important that all demonstration tiers only bring the materials and equipment necessary to demonstrate and display the patterns you will be tying. Do not bring extra materials and displays that will crowd other tiers table space or block floors where tiers will need to walk. Tiers also must be a member in good standing with the International Federation of Fly Fishers. Drop cords should be provided, but please bring extension cords as back up for your lights. Tiers, also please plan on bringing a small collection (perhaps 6) of the flies you will be demonstrating as a donation to our auctions. Your contributions to our auctions are very important to our fundraising during the Expo and very much appreciated. You also may send your raffle flies directly to me at: Tom H. Logan, Expo Co-chairman 1167 Green Hill Trace Tallahassee, FL

9 Pictures from our trip to Fernie, BC with Ted and Kathy. We fished the Elk River for beautiful West Slope cutthroats on dry flies

10 Jack Hexter sends this report on his travels around the country for the last couple of months: Well I m working my way home from my western trip this summer. This striper was caught out of Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs AR. Way to go Jack!

11 Club members Kelly and Wes Sobczak had a good time fishing the Goodnews River in Alaska.

12 Club member Andrew Constantinou sent this picture of a carp caught fishing at Manor Farm, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Note: Our Florida lakes can hold good numbers of carp, which you can sight fish with a fly rod. I encourage club members to let us know if they have found potential lakes for carp fishing. Might make a fun summer outing. //Walt Andy used Smitty s Dog Biscuit Fly pictured above.

13 Captain Bryon Chamberlin reports little tunny and Spanish mackerel are in the shipping channel blitzing bait schools. Look for diving birds to find the action.

14 Captain Rick Grassette took a group to Crane Meadow Lodge in Twin Bridges, MT last month.

15 TBFFC Cookbook Project TBFF Cookbook Update We are getting excited! Our Club is proving its culinary skills as recipes are being submitted for the cookbook. We have some excellent submissions - some of them are noted to be historically authentic. We also have obtained a few family secret preparations that we had to threaten to break a rod to acquire! However, we need many more before we take this to publication. Do not miss out in having your recipes included! Encourage your fishing buddy to submit the recipe for that great dish you loved at the Christmas party or the Shad Outing. them to andersonmailbox@gmail.com or bring them to the next meeting. We will include your name on the recipe so make sure you provide it. If hand written, please write legibly so we will not make mistakes in deciphering the ingredients, leading to a kitchen disaster! Also be sure to include exact directions, including cooking times, oven temps and specific amounts of the ingredients. Recipes may be for appetizers, outdoor/camp grilling, salads, soups, main courses, deserts, or even drinks! Depending on the response, we may not be able to include every recipe submitted, and we may not have time to test each of the recipes, so be sure all information to create the special dish is included. If you have any great pictures of fish or club outings using your recipes, or a favorite fly fishing quote feel free to pass them along as well, to embellish the book. We would like these sent within the next month, so we can get this project underway, so don't delay and forget or we will be missing out on your culinary finesse! Send recipes to: andersonmailbox@gmail.com mail: Patty Anderson Lipsey Road Tampa, FL 33618

16 Fishing Report and Forecast What a great time to go fishing! Capt Pat Damico provides this report from his Captain s Corner. I am always surprised by the number of fly-fishers who have their equipment from a former location and never touch it while living in Florida. Many are retired with plenty of free time on their hands. How close are you to a pond? It's hard to find a body of freshwater, large or small, that isn't teaming with fish that attack a fly, which looks like available food. Bass, pan-fish and occasionally snook and baby tarpon are as close as the pond in your development. If your fishing history includes freshwater trout, you have everything needed to relive your youth and enjoy the excitement of catching large numbers of fish with your long rod. This is a great opportunity to introduce kids to the outdoors. Some ponds are on private property where permission is needed, but many are public and easily accessible. The best fishing is in mornings and evenings, with more comfortable temperatures for both you and the fish. An afternoon shower will not only cool the water a little but will wash food into the pond. Duplicating forage with small ant, beetle, crickets and hoppers, especially with floating patterns, will trigger explosive strikes. When using surface offerings, after the cast, wait until the surface rings have disappeared before imparting a little twitch to the fly. Looking like a stunned insect that is recovering will entice a strike. Most fish will be around structure, trees, docks, floating plants or a dam breast. Probe all structure with careful casts. Cast close to shore. A 4- or 5-weight fly rod with a floating weight forward line, using a 7-foot leader tapered to 6-pound test, will handle most fish easily. Use flies that imitate small baitfish or use a white or yellow popper in sizes 6 to 10 and cover water quickly. If you find fish that are too small for your equipment or too large, adjust gear to be better prepared on your return visit. Be careful where you step. This is Florida. Kayak guide Neil Taylor reports way tougher than last month, but, the fishing is still very good if you adhere to certain principles. "Go early" is the first one. The best action is before 8AM. "Be where the food is." If there are no baitfish schools where you are, you might not do very well. The bait is thick. The fish know it and they are on it. If early morning doesn't work for you, the evening is a secondary choice as well. The fish are here. The fish will eat but until October gets here, you better have a great plan on both when and where to go or your results will suffer.

17 Capt Rick Grassette reports: September is one of my favorite months. Reds should be schooling on shallow grass flats of Sarasota Bay and you also might find big trout there at first light. Plentiful baitfish along beaches will attract Spanish mackerel, false albacore (little tunny), sharks, tarpon and more. You should find snook in the surf and around docks and bridges in the ICW. Tarpon will still be a good option this month. There may still be a few singles and doubles in the coastal gulf and if you ve got the patience to wait them out it can be good. Many have moved to inside waters this month, so you ll find them around bridges, over deep grass flats or deeper areas. When tarpon move into these areas, they are in a feeding mode. After a long migration and with their spawning duties completed, they need to rest and eat to restore themselves. Ladyfish will feed in glass minnow schools and tarpon will gorge themselves on ladyfish. I have also seen tarpon, ball glass minnows into tight schools, and eat them by the bucket full! Fly anglers should score with wide profile patterns, such as Lefty s Deceiver or EP flies. Small flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, tied on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook, are a good choice for tarpon that are feeding on glass minnows. Snook season will reopen on Sept. 1st on the west coast of Florida. Bag limit is 1 fish per person, per day between Full regulations can be found at Personally, I will continue to ask that snook be released on my boat. They are a magnificent game fish that hits hard, runs strong and fights smart. If continuing to release them now means more and bigger snook later, I m all for that. You should find snook in the surf this month or around docks and bridges close to passes. They will also start making their move towards shallow flats where you might find them staging along sand bars or in potholes. Fly poppers or Gurglers may draw some big strikes in shallow water at night or early in the day! You ll also find tripletail along with cobia, false albacore (little tunny), king and Spanish mackerel in the coastal gulf this month. Look for surface activity to find the mackerel and albies and cast small white flies to them. I don t usually target kings but will occasionally catch one around the edges of a feeding frenzy. Look for feeding frenzies that begin with ladyfish feeding in glass minnow schools and may end with everything else, including sharks or tarpon, joining the fray. Remember to match the hatch to be successful. You ll need to add wire to your tippet when toothy fish are around.

18 Trout fishing should be good this month. You may find a big trout in skinny water at first light. Focus on mullet or bait schools to find them. Fly poppers or Gurglers should be very effective at that time of day. I always release big trout over 20, since they are usually females that may be full of roe. One of the largest trout that I have seen caught and released on a fly was a 7 ½-pound fish that blew up on a Gurgler, fished in glass minnow schools! I like the same areas for big trout that I like for reds. After it gets bright and starts to warm up, drop out to deeper grass flats (4 to 8 ) for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more. I like to drift and cast ahead of my drift with an Ultra Hair Clouser fly fished on a sink tip fly line. I make a series of drifts to locate fish and then shorten the drift or anchor depending on conditions. Ladyfish may feed in glass minnow schools and if they stay up long enough, it will attract trout, blues, mackerel, tarpon or sharks. Wide profile flies, such as Enrico Puglisi style flies, fished slowly around the edges of breaking fish will help keep ladyfish off your lure or fly and give you a chance to catch a tarpon. When blues, Spanish mackerel or sharks are in the mix add 6 of wire or heavy fluorocarbon. Also look for tripletail around crab trap floats, buoys or channel markers in inshore waters this month. My Grassett Flats Minnow fly with a weed guard should work well for tripletail. A weed guard is important since it may help you avoid hooking the crab trap float or line. You might find false albacore (little tunny) or Spanish mackerel starting to show up in the coastal gulf this month. Look for baitfish to find them. The Tampa Bay ship channel from the Skyway Bridge to Egmont Key is often one of the first areas that they will show up early in the season. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, poppers or Crease flies should all work well. You ll need to add wire or heavy fluorocarbon when toothy fish are in the mix. Even though it is one of the hottest months of the year, there are lots of options this month. I usually tarpon fish as long as I can either in the coastal gulf or in inside waters. An early start for snook or tarpon around lighted docks or bridges and then on to the flats for reds, trout and more is a good option. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don t kill your limit!

19 2016 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Jan 8-10 Annual Shad Outing, St Johns river Jan 13 FWC Snook Symposium Feb 8-14 Christmas Island one week trip Mar 5 Casting Clinic at Maximo Park Mar 6 Annual Banquet Apr TBFFC Everglades Weekend Trip Jun 18 Lake Calm Outing Oct 1-8 Amazon River Trip Oct 8-9 Florida Sportsman Show Oct 23 Carl Hanson Outing on the Hillsborough Oct 1-2 Englewood Outing at Buchan s Landing Resort Oct 29-Nov 5 Xcalac Mexico One-Week Trip Nov 4-5 IFFF Expo Plantation in Crystal River Nov Chattooga River Trip in Georgia Dec 3 Casting Clinic on Picnic Island Nov 20 Big Gun Shootout, Picnic Island Dec 9 Play Hooky at the Hatchery Dec 18 Don Coleman Classic at Ft Desoto

20 Member Benefits TBFFC is famous for its value and focus on the sharing of information, experience, and craftsmanship with its members. As a TBFFC member you will enjoy many benefits free or at nominal cost. Monthly Meetings with informative speakers Fishing Trips Sponsored by Members and the Club Group Clinics and Workshops Fly Tying Lessons One-On-One Fly Casting Lessons Shirts and Hats with club logo 80-page Beginner s Basic Skills Instruction Manual Annual Banquet Fly Casting Coaches Dade City Jeff Janecek South Tampa Steve Parker North Tampa Robert Fischer Leigh West St. Petersburg Capt. Pat Damico Polk County Capt. Frank Rhodes Fly Fishing Guides Capt. Nick Angelo (813) Capt. Pat Damico (727) Capt. Bryon Chamberlin (813) Capt. Rick Grassett (941) Capt. John Hand (239) Capt. Frank Rhodes (863) Capt. Greg Peterson (423) Capt. Russ Shirley (727) Capt. Keiland Smith (863)

21 Corporate Sponsors These companies sponsored the Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club. Some are members of the club. We urge you to patronize them. 3-WAY CONSTRUCTION, Robert Fischer PO Box , Tampa, 33694, (813) ALLIGATOR BOB S Gourmet Alligator Meat Snacks, (813) , AWESOME FISHING ADVENTURES, Capt. Keiland Smith, (863) BARBED STEEL CHARTERS, Capt. Bryon Chamberlin, (813) , captbryon@yahoo.com.. REDFISH LANDING GUIDE SERVICE, Capt. John Hand (239) CAPT. RUSS SHIRLEY, (727) FLINT CREEK OUTFITTERS, 1502 N. West Shore Blvd., Tampa, 33607, (855) , THE FLY GUY, Capt. Pat Damico, (727) pat4jaws@hotmail.com SNOOK FIN-ADDICT GUIDE SERVICE, Capt. Rick Grassett, (941) , SWANN S FLY FISHING SHOP, Jim Swann, South 98 Bypass, Dade City, 33525, (352) Fishn Floyd, fishingfloyd@fishingfloyd.com

22 Tel Hppt://captpat.com Specializing in fly and light tackle shallow water sight fishing fishingfloyd.com

23 2014 Member Application Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club Name: Date: Mailing address: City: State: Zip: Hm.Phone: Wk. Phone: address: Type of Membership: Please Check: One Year Five Year Please list names you wish to include in family membership Annual Dues: $25.00 Individual Membership $35.00 Family Membership $95.00Corporate Single Membership (includes one membership and Ad Space) $ Corporate Double Membership (includes two memberships or family membership and Ad Space in Newsletter) Five-year dues: $ Individual Membership $ Family Membership Please make check payable to: Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club C/o Rick Valeri, 1404 Oxfordshire Ct. Brandon, 33510