by Dugan Sabins, Vice President

Transcription

1 August 2009

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3 by Dugan Sabins, Vice President For our August program, Randy Lanctot, Executive Director of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF), will present a special program on the Establishment of a "State Seashore" for Louisiana. His presentation will highlight the LWF's effort to designate the approximately 15 miles of Gulf of Mexico beach between Caminada and Belle Passes in lower Jefferson and Lafourche Parishes as the Caminada Headlands State Seashore. The idea for a state seashore was the logical outgrowth of the LWF's 7-year campaign to restore public access to Elmer's Island, now partially attained with the recent opening of the road to the Elmer's Island beach on weekends by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The LWF envisions the designated seashore would be managed as a public use recreation area and wildlife preserve. Of importance to RSFF in addition to a large public use beach open for surf fishing, the seashore proposal also includes incorporating as much adjacent marsh and waterways as can be acquired between the beaches and Highway 1 and Bayou Thunder. All of this area has been used over the years by large numbers of fly fishers and others and is known for its excellent fishing and outdoor experiences. Come hear Randy go over the LWF state seashore proposal and give him support as he and the LWF prepare their proposal for presentation to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority for funding and support. The entire LWF proposal for the Caminada Headlands State Seashore can be found on the LWF website at :

4 By Dirk Burton, Warmwater Chair Tired of the heat? While the worst heat of the year is upon us, it won t be long before the shorter days bring more pleasant temperatures and the bream at Lake Concordia begin to get more active. We are just about two months away from our scheduled autumn pilgrimage to our favorite bluegill water. The dates for our trip are October 9th through the 11th. The club has reserved the great room at Lakeview Lodge once again, and we also have private rooms available. I have had a few s about reservations, but expect a flood of them to come in this month, so don t wait until the last minute and miss out on another great get together at Lake Concordia. It is sure to be another epic fishing trip that we ll all enjoy. You can sign up for the trip by ing me at kayakflyfisher@yahoo.com, or writing your name on the sign up sheet at the next club meeting. Please include a food item that you are willing to contribute to the cause. As some of you already know this will be the last outing to Lake Concordia with me serving as Warmwater Chairman. I will be stepping down from the position at the end of the year. I have other commitments to meet with my 8 year old son, and the conflicts with his Cub Scout campouts and our club trips have become a problem. I have enjoyed my time as chairman and I m sure my replacement will do a great job in handling future trips. Next month I ll talk about what methods to use to catch the elusive Mr. Stumpknocker and his piscatorial minions, and give directions to the lodge for anyone who has not attended our Lake Concordia outings before.

5 July 22, 2009 Saltwater recreational fishing continued to provide important economic benefits to America s coastal communities in 2008, bringing fishermen to the shore to reel in fish, book spots on charter and party boats, buy bait and tackle, stay in local inns and eat at local restaurants, according to a report issued this week by NOAA s Fisheries Service. Saltwater recreational anglers took an estimated 85 million fishing trips in 2008, down slightly from the 93 million trips estimated in Saltwater anglers caught an estimated 464 million fish in 2008, down slightly from the 475 million caught in That the decreases were moderate reflects stability in saltwater angling. Saltwater recreational fishing is one of the most popular outdoor sports in America, and those who take part in it bring economic vitality to coastal towns and cities, said NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who remembers her first experiences saltwater fishing for salmon with her father aboard a charter boat off the Oregon coast. Saltwater angling generates an estimated $82 billion in sales and supports more than 500,000 jobs annually, according to the most recent figures available to NOAA. Last year we had gas prices around $4 a gallon and people did not go fishing as they had in 2007, said Captain Scott Lindsey, a recreational fisherman and outdoor writer based in Panama City, Fla. All in all, I believe the quality of the fish this year is better and the size of the fish we re catching is larger than we have seen in many a year. Is it cyclical or management? We ll have to wait and see. Frank Blount, owner of the Frances Fleet of party boats in Point Judith, R.I. and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, also saw a decline in fishing business in 2008 that he estimates around 20 percent. Surprisingly enough, we ve had a very good early spring this year. I m especially seeing a lot of our regular customers from the Northeast states. I think it s due to good availability of many fish we pursue. Saltwater anglers have their eyes on the water and a vested interest in sustaining fishing opportunities for their children and grandchildren, Lubchenco added. They are natural champions for ocean stewardship. Saltwater anglers demonstrated their conservation ethic by catching and releasing back into the water some 58 percent of the 2008 catch, slightly up from the 57 percent in 2007, today s report said.

6 NOAA s report also tallied the top catches by region. Spotted seatrout was the most popular catch among marine recreational anglers in The species is caught in the Gulf of Mexico and the south Atlantic regions, which have the highest combined concentration of saltwater anglers in the nation. The top catches in other regions were grouper (Caribbean), striped bass (North Atlantic), summer flounder (Mid-Atlantic), chub mackerel (Pacific), black rockfish (Pacific Northwest), skipjack tuna (Western Pacific). The reported catch and effort statistics are compiled by NOAA s Fisheries Service from face-to-face and telephone interviews with recreational fishermen. Currently, NOAA is working with the coastal states and those in the saltwater angling community to redesign the agency s surveys to provide a more complete picture of saltwater anglers catch and effort and improve the conservation of our shared ocean resources. The data released today on recreational fishing is part of Fisheries of the United States, a detailed annual report on the nation s commercial and recreational fishing, landings, export, per capita fish consumption and consumer expenditures for fish products. The report will be available online. NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

7 By Dugna Sabins, Vice President Once again flyfishers from far and wide, from Texas and Mississippi to Lafayette to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, converged on Louisiana s little island on the Gulf we affectionately call Grand Isle for some summer fishing fun with the fishes and fishers that be. This year s trip followed the impact of Hurricane Gustav which covered the island with hurricane winds, Gulf water and sand last Labor Day and dealt another blow to our favorite inns, motels, restaurants, fishing camps, marinas, lounges and other facilities on the island. The Blue Dolphin Inn and our host Marlene survived mostly ok but had to redo the fish cleaning and cooking area which was torn apart by the Gustav tidal surge and winds. The surge and wind also blew out the sea oat covered sand dunes that protected the Blue Dolphin from the Gulf and the Corps is now in the process of replacing them with sand filled boudin/burrito bags which can be covered again with more sand and sea oats. They are rushing to finish before the heart of the hurricane season begins in September. We are all wishing Marlene and the Blue Dolphin better luck this season. Meanwhile the fishing participants this year covered the Grand Isle fishing areas as usual in their boats, kayaks, canoes and their feet to bring back the fish bounty. A variety of habitats as usual were fished including the Gulf surf, shallow bays and Gulf, the deep marshes, shallow sand flats and the bridges, piers and jetties. You name it the flyfishers covered it. From Murray Neams leader board the flyfishers also proved once again this year that no fish that swims can escape the temptation of a hand crafted fly deftly presented. In fact so diverse were the fishes caught that some grumbled we should be embarrassed to list some of them. But Murray is accommodating if the fisher can be trusted to say they caught them on a fly. So among the leader board submittals were the usual specks, reds, drum, sheepshead, and flounder. Among the others were gafftop, hardhead, garfish, mullet, and ladyfish. And I know also that you could add small jackfish and bluefish to fishes caught on a fly this year and there were probably others caught that are not listed here. Among the notable fishing leaders were Mike Hess and Murray Neams for their 20 and 15 inch specks, Joe Kahler and Steve Lee for their 24 and 23 inch reds, Gary Parish for his 14 inch flounder, and Albert Wood for his 18 inch sheepshead and big fish of the trip honors for his 33 inch drum. The flies used to catch these top fish were poppers and clousers for the trout, black and pink charlies for the reds, flounder and sheepshead and a spoon fly for the drum. No doubt several other flies were productive this trip including a special array that Catch Cormier swears by when fishing the Grand Isle fishing bridges at night. And those that followed Catch and others to for some bridge fishing know that that

8 means late night since the bigger trout don t typically come out until after midnight. And so the catch was typical this year of a Grand Isle trip with the luck of the draw prevailing as to whom, when and where fish were caught but some of the typical places produced as always (the beaches, marshes, bridges) and an impressive amount of fishes were caught and consumed. Speaking of consumed the Friday night shrimp boil and Saturday night fish fry were spectacular as always and well attended with over 50 participants at each. We noticed an especially large crowd at the Friday shrimp boil and the count and $3 a pound jumbo white shrimp this year again did not disappoint. And also as typical with both events a lot of hard working boilers, fryers, food preparers and other helpers made it happen. Saltwater chair Randy Leonpacher had arranged all the needed supplies and got all the volunteers together to produce another year of successful events. We should always keep in mind that these special things don t happen without a lot of volunteer time and preparation so our thanks to all of the volunteers. And this year s boil and fry events were characterized as always by the valuable time spent together with all generations and diversity of fly fishers that also make these events meaningful. This year I noticed at least two father and son teams of Jack Dial and Kyle Moppert both of whose sons participate in the various club events. And the club is blessed with other father and son and father and daughter teams and friend and friend teams who participate in club flyfishing events especially the annual Grand Isle trip. And also I heard a typical dizzying array of fish stories and other adventures associated with fish stories during both the boil and fry that if accurately told and really did happen would fill several hundred pages of fascinating text. Maybe I should bring a voice recorder next year and well I will have to think about that! This years Grand Isle event closed with a beautiful and calm Sunday morning and while several participants had already left or were preparing to leave a few flyfishers myself, Randy and Emmett Simmons included found one last school of specks rolling through the surf in front of the Blue Dolphin complete with their associated jumping shrimp and diving birds. We were able to add a few more fish to the supply to take home and savor at a future time and place. And so to all of you who came to Grand Isle this year and shared your presence and experience with other flyfishers thank you and whether you did or did not make this year s trip plan on next year since it has already been booked and will offer another truly unique flyfishing experience.

9 by Catch Cormier, Events Chair The following is a list of activities and events outside of our regular program and fly tying meetings (2nd and 4th Monday of each month). Some are non-club. Asterisk (*) denotes our club s event or an event which we volunteer. Unless noted as open to the public, all RSFF activities are for members only. * August 8 (Sat) - RSFF Popper Clinic, LDWF Waddill Education Center, 4142 N. Flannery. 9:00am - 1:00pm. Limited to 10 active participants, registration required. No cost. See newsletter article for details. Sept 12 (Sat) - Camp Fly Fishing School, Sept 12 session: Instructor Preparation. 8:00am - 5:00pm. Designed to improve your teaching skills; highly recommended for those seeking to become FFF-CCI certified. Classes held at "The Camp" facility in Breaux Bridge, featuring a stocked pond and an air-conditioned classroom. Price of $135 includes full day of instruction, lunch, refreshments, and handouts. Instructors are all FFF Certified Casting Instructors. For details, visit the laflyfish.com forums "Camp Fly Fishing School". Sept 19 (Sat) - 1st ever Rio Grande Fly Fishing Rodeo. Urban angling for Rio Grande perch and other species. Sponsored by New Orleans Fly Fishers. Location: City Park in New Orleans. No entry fee required. Drinks and lunch provided. Members of Louisiana fly fishing clubs only, registration is through your club. For more details, visit the laflyfish.com forums or contact Larry Offner, NOFF President, at (225) * Sept 26 (Sat) - LA National Hunting and Fishing Day. LDWF Waddill Education Center. 8:30am - 2:30pm. Statewide celebration of hunting, fishing and other outdoors activities. Free admission. RSFF will continue it's very long tradition of having an exhibit booth, sharing our sport, demoing fly tying, and doing basic casting instruction. Club volunteers are needed, please contact the Events Chair, Glen Cormier, at (225) October 1-3 (Thu-Sat) - FFF Southern Council Conclave. Baxter County Fairgrounds, Mountain Home, AR. Show dates Fri and Sat. Programs, workshops, fly tying demos and instruction, casting instruction and games, vendor exhibits, youth activities, raffles and auctions, much more. Fundraiser helps conservation and fly fishing education causes. For more details, go to

10 * October 9-11 (Fri-Sun) - RSFF Lake Concordia Fall Weekend. Lakeview Lodge. Fly fishing for bass, bream, crappie, other species. Culminates with Saturday evening fish fry. Check upcoming newsletter article or rsff.org website for more details. October 17 (Sat) - 6th annual Fall-N-Tide Kayak Tournament. Empire, LA. Sponsored by Hobie Kayaks and Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club. Check for entry forms, rules, and tournament details. November 6-8 (Fri-Sun) - Toledo Bend Rendezvous. North Toledo Bend State Park. Fri thru Sun. An annual gathering of members of fly fishing clubs from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missississippi and beyond. No planned activities but plenty of fly tying, food, fly casting, fishing. Fee includes lodging and meals. More info to come. * November 14 (weekend) - RSFF Fall Catch-and-Eat. Highway 1 corridor. Annual fall marsh fishing trip, culminates with Saturday evening fish fry. Must be member of RSFF or other FFF club to participate. Check upcoming newsletter article or rsff.org website for more details. Recurring 4th Sat of each month - Fly tying clinic, Bass Pro Shops, 10:00am to noon. Introductory to novice tyers welcome Events (so far) February 6 - Texas Fly Tying Festival. Texas Fly Fishers club conclave. Houston, TX. February Little Mo Fly Fishing Fest. Community Center. Murfreesboro, AR. February 27 - Acadiana Fly Rodders Conclave. Lafayette, LA. * March 6 - RSFF Red Stick Day. Our annual club conclave. LDWF Waddill Education Center. April th annual FFF Gulf Coast Conclave. New Braunfels Civic Center, New Braunfels, TX. Headliners include Chico Fernandez, Terry and Roxanne Wilson, more to come. See for details.

11 Joe Kahler Frank Genusa Dugan Sabins Ron Braud Greg Brignac Jody Titone Glen Cormier Mike LaFleur Jack Dial Randy Leonpacher Bill Brown Roger del Rio Dan Weber Dirk Burton President Past President Vice President Treasurer Editor Secretary Events Coldwater Fly Tying Saltwater Membership Conservation Education Warmwater home work address A Bayou Runs Thru It - PO Box 1062, Broussard, LA 70518, , Jerome & Dena Hebert, Custom Flies & Wildlife & Game Fish Art Backpacker Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA, , Camping, canoes, kayaks, outdoor clothing Fish With Rich Guide Service - Capt. Rich Waldner, New Orleans, La, , Fly fishing for reds and specks in the Southeast La. Marsh Fly Fishing in Saltwaters Magazine , Leading publication on fly fishing saltwater Louisiana Fly Fishing Louisiana online fly fishing resource since 1996 Louisiana Sportsman Magazine - PO Box 1199, Boutte, LA, , Louisiana's premier outdoors magazine and online source Mayer Clothiers Orvis, Winston Rods S. Sherwood Forest; Baton Rouge, , Jim Mayer, Proprietor, Orvis - rods & fly-tying material, Winston rods, fine clothes for men and ladies Redchaser Guide Service , redchaser@redchaser.com, redchaser.com online fly fishing community, Capt. Ron Begnaud, Fly fishing in the Calcasieu estuary, programs, instruction Rio Products, Inc. - Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402, , Makers of premium fly lines, leaders, accessories Temple Fork Outfitters - Makers of affordable quality fly fishing products Tibor Reels - Old World craftsmanship Made in the USA Uptown Angler Julia St., New Orleans, (504) , Alec Griffin, ManagerRedchaser Guide Service