September Meeting Speaker Mitch Simpson

Transcription

1 SEPTEMBER 2015 September Meeting Speaker Mitch Simpson Mitch will be talking about the changes and likely changes in the Penobscot river fisheries since the removal of the Veazie Dam. As he is responsible for the Atlantic Salmon trapping and I am sure that a discussion on the status of the Atlantic Salmon will be part of the discussion. Mitch Simpson is a Fisheries Biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat (BSRFH). Mitch graduated from Unity College in Maine, in 1990 with a B.S. degree in Environmental Sciences. And if Mitch is not enough to whet your appetite come see, hear and listen about your fellow PFF buddies summer fishing outings and activities

2 From the President's Fly Box Hope that everyone had a great summer of fishing! The recent warm and muggy days make it hard to believe that September is almost here, but it is. Thanks to Wayne Ashley and the Events Committee for doing another outstanding job of putting together a nice mix of outings, plus making sure that the weather for most of the events was great! A good time was had by all. Plus it was nice to see some who were new to fly fishing at the outings. If you discovered a new fishing spot and would like to share its "secret" location, please let Wayne know so that we can get it on next summer's events calendar and share in the action. Fall also marks the start of our monthly meetings and speaker program. We are off to a great start with Mitch Simpson, a Fisheries Biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat (BSRFH), headlining our September meeting. It should be a very interesting presentation as Mitch will be talking about current and likely future changes in the Penobscot river fisheries since the removal of the Veazie Dam. (Unfortunately I'll miss his presentation, as I will be on an annual fishing trip in Canada ). We are still rounding out the rest of the speaker calendar. If you have any suggestions regarding who or what you would like to see on the calendar, please contact Ernie MacDonald. In the last few weeks, you have received several s asking for your help in putting on our widely acclaimed Fly Fishing 101 seminar for local military veterans who attend Maine Maritime Academy or the University of Maine at Orono. Mike Hegarty, through his interaction with veterans in those institutions, discovered that many were unfamiliar with both the beauty of the Maine outdoors in our regional area and the joy of fly fishing. He contacted Veteran Coordinators at the schools to see if there would be interest in a one-day Fly Fishing 101 seminar, followed by a day on the water. This idea received a warm reception from the Coordinators. He brought the proposal to the Board for approval, which he received. The class will be offered on September 19th at PCCA, with a fishing outing planned for the following weekend. Many of you have expressed interest in helping to introduce veterans to fly fishing, so here is your chance! Please contact Mike at navyduckman@gmail.com or if you are able to help out and/or would like more information. Note that this is event is a PFF initiative and is not part of the Healing Waters program. Now it's time to finish packing for Canada! Enjoy, ED

3 West Branch

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5 Father's Day - Penobscot

6 St George River

7 Salmon Pond

8 Thoughts from the Professor Vol. 4 Chapter 1 As we open our fall meetings I am reviewing one item from the library. If you are a fan of Jack Dennis then you will find this review of interest. The review is The Ultimate Fly Tying Collection which is a Cabela s release of Jack Dennis Videos. This is a five set DVD collection and covers with Run time of 10 hours. Obviously you would need to set aside a fair amount of time. The DVD titles are Understanding Fly Tying Basics, Tying Jack s Newest Flies, Tying and Fishing Attractors with Gary LaFontaine, Tying and Fishing Caddis Flies with Gary LaFontaine and finally Tying Flies with Jack Dennis and Friends. Let me note that if you have seen some of Jack Dennis DVD s before then some of this will be similar especially the section which pays tribute and is a remembrance of Gary LaFontaine. I would also note that the fishing sections are really lite with the focus on Jack and Gary commenting of the fish and the water rather than a learning experience. And finally each of the video s start with ad s for fishing and tying products. Having said all that these Video s have a lot of value. The Fly Tying Basics video is ripe with a tremendous amount of information on techniques, tools and especially materials. There are a number of flies tied with various materials and techniques. Now granted some techniques have changed over the years but for a beginner or someone that has limited tying background these are very good videos. The second video is Jack s newest flies which by now are some of his older flies but they include such flies as Parawolf, crystal flash caddis, Blue wing Parawolf and a number of other newer style flies. This reveals some very good flies and techniques. The next Video deals with attractor flies and I found it most informative and offered a different perspective on fly fishing. I do need to note that the end of this video spends a considerable amount of time on Gary LaFontaine s last days and Jacks tribute to him and his contributions to the sport. For those unaware Gary had ALS and this part is an emotional farewell to his friend. The 4th DVD is Jack tying and fishing Caddis flies with Gary and I found it most informative because he looked at caddis in all stages and tied flies in all stages and since caddis are a good part of stream fisheries I think it is good to look at a number of different flies. The last DVD is simply tying with Jack and his friends tying one or two flies. Now granted some of his friends include people like Guy Turk of Turks Tarantula fame and Lawson, LaFontaine, Sanchez, Kaufman, Buchner and others with lots of flies and techniques. So my recommendation is, when you have a lot of time definitely take out this collection and watch and take from it the pieces that work for you as a beginner, intermediate or advance tyer and fisherman. Don t hesitate to fast forward through the ads and the pieces that you may not find important to you. But be careful because you might miss something which you actually might have wished you had seen. There are a number of flies I would like to go back and revisit including the crosscut dubbing and the wrapping of close celled foam to create bodies. So until next (hopefully on the water) (and before the fall season passes us by) time. Tight Line From the Professor

9 Hank notes for us On June 30 PFF club members facilitated the introduction to fly fishing and fly tying at the Pickerel Pond day camp of the Maine Youth Fish & Game Association. Dick Jagels was very helpful in getting the equipment and materials set up prior to the 30 th. The following club members applied their talents as class assistants: Kip Bristol, Al Gray, Paul Markson and John Weinmann. Hank Metcalf used our video equipment to lead the youth in the steps of tying the famous Maple Syrup. We had 24 students in each of two classes. This was an ideal arrangement for our 24 vises. The students progressed so well, that many had extra time to tie a Wooly Worm