Pre-spawn carp n can produce a few nice fish. This 13 pounder was hooked just ten feet from shore.

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1 Volume 1 Issue 5 e-newsletter May 2008 In this Issue Conservation Corner, p. 2 Member profile, p. 3 Bug/Fly column, p. 4 OK Kids Day, p. 5 Fish photos, p. 6 Iwamasa photos, p. 7 Wiped Out!, p. 8 White River, p. 9 Looking ahead, p. 10 Pre-spawn carp n can produce a few nice fish. This 13 pounder was hooked just ten feet from shore. The El Prez Diaries, May 2008 Fishing season has finally arrived in NE Kansas with a bang after one of the longest winters in recent memory. The only problem is what to do with so many choices and time that is constrained with the normal spring activities of yard chores, graduations, cookouts and bocce tournaments. We are blessed in Kansas with a variety of waters and species of fish to pursue. From the big lakes to the county and state lakes to the little farm ponds, fish are waking up and the action is on. I believe I have seen every species in Clinton caught on a fly rod in the last 3 weeks. Wiper, white bass, black bass, crappie, bluegill, carp, drum, catfish, sauger and even a walleye have been caught by club members in recent days. Lone Star has been terrific as have the farm ponds. Reports have come in from numerous other area spots that the fishing is good. While most clubs tend to shut down for the summer, Free State Fly Fishers actually have more to do in the best fishing months. May 24 th will be our spring stream sampling on Deer Creek. Details can be found on the message board under Conservation. If you ever wanted to get a good look at what lives in our waters, this is the chance. This is also a terrific opportunity to bring out the kids and let them get some hands on exposure to some fun stuff. June 14 th will bring our 3 rd annual Spring Picnic. This is our only big fundraising effort of the year. This year we are setting a goal to raise enough to purchase rods, reels and lines for teaching classes.

2 Unlike your typically banquet, we are out for a fun time. We will have casting games, bocce challenge, some other fun stuff and of course the raffles and silent auctions. The raffles and auctions totally consist of items that are donated. We get a few things from industry sources, but a lot of the most popular stuff comes from our members and has nothing to do with fishing. Sports tickets, jewelry, wine, oil changes, boat rides and the always popular garden center gift certificate have done well in raising money. Here s where you come in. The list of what you need to do is simple. First, show up. This is our main function of the year and your opportunity to participate in the health of the club. Besides, it s a lot of fun. Secondly, now that we ve got you off the bench and in the game, bring something to eat. Side dishes are cool. If you smoke BBQ, that s great too. I know several folks that are freezing crappie so we can have some fish fry as well. If you really don t do food, let the picnic gurus know and bring some plates, napkins or forks. This is a lot more like a family reunion than a Ducks Unlimited dinner. Thirdly, we need raffle/auction items. This is where I challenge you to be creative. Pretty much anything is OK if it s in reasonably good taste and will get a bid. Have fun with it. More details will be shared on the web site message board and calendar. Your picnic gurus for 2008 are Mike Zimmerman and Mike Hough. Please contact them with your thoughts and questions. As always, you can contact me with anything as well. Additionally summer plans include a beginner class, a kid s clinic, a class for Women in the Outdoors and talks are underway for a camping trip or two. Of course, there are the Wednesday night fish and grill outings and, of course, the ever present possibility of the Flyatollah declaring a One Fly tournament. Get out and do some fishing. Go after a species you don t normally fish for. Call a fellow member that you ve never fished with and invite them along. Take a kid fishing. Above all, have a fun time. Here s hoping your next fish is your favorite. El Prez Conservation Corner Join us Saturday, May 24 th at 9:00 am at Deer Creek, just south of Stull, Kansas, for our spring stream team sampling effort. If we get a massive thunderstorm the Thursday or Friday before, it may be postponed. Check in with the message board for further details and driving directions. Mike Grose FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 2

3 Member Profile Name: Eric King Handle on message board: Sarge Clinton Lake conditions Date: 20 May 2008 Lake Elevation: Outflow to Wakarusa: 500 CFS Surface temperature: a wiper friendly, 62 degrees F Wind: N at 3 mph, peak: 27 mph Get daily updates here Pomona Lake conditions Date: 20 May 2008 Lake Elevation: Outflow: 200 CFS Surface temperature: 64 degrees F Wind: NW at 7 mph, peak: 26 mph Get daily updates here Favorite fish: The last one caught. Favorite fly: Sarge s Crappie Fly Other interests: Collecting fur and feathers (hunting). Family members: Wife, Barb; son Zak/daughter-in-law Kerri; daughter Jenny/sonin-law Matt; and grandsons Logan, Chase, Caden and Jackson Most memorable fishing trip(s): Biennial trips to the Blackfeet Nation of Montana. Hidden talent: Does belching the alphabet count? FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 3

4 Macroinvertebrate column Mayfly (Order: Ephemeroptera) Fly of the Month Gold Ribbed Hares Ear By R. Steve Dick Pollution sensitive species Identifying characteristics: Feathery or platelike gills on abdomen, legs end in one hook, usually three tails Interesting fact: Anglers copy mayfly colors and sizes when tying flies for fly-fishing. Habitat: Larvae (nymphs) generally spend their time under rocks. Water quality rating: Pollution sensitive, found in good-quality water. Food source: Primarily scrapers and collectors, feeding on small plants or algae. As adults, mayflies do not have functioning mouthparts and therefore do not eat during their adult stage. Materials List Hook: TMC 3769, 2x long or equivalent, size #10-#18. Head: brass or tungsten bead Thread: grey 8/0 Tail: guard hair from hares mask Abdomen: mix of hares ear dubbing Rib: small gold flat tinsel or wire Wing case: turkey tail Thorax: thicker dubbing from hares ear Directions: Tie in tail. Tie in ribbing, then dub a slim abdomen. Wrap ribbing forward and tie down. Attach wingcase, the dub a thicker thorax. Bring forward the wingcase and tie down. Whip finish and trim. Pick out the thorax to imitate legs. Credit: used by permission, Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 4

5 OK Kids Day Saturday, May 3 rd two FSFFers participated in a program from Shawnee County Parks and Recreation called OK Kids Day on the trail. This was an outdoors appreciation morning (9 am to noon) with various stations set up around the aquatics center in northeastern Topeka. Stations included making casts of animal prints and flying kites among others. I met Kurt down by the creek to seine up a few aquatic insects to show the kids. The kid s favorite was the crayfish, or lobster as a few kids called it! This was a great opportunity to talk briefly about the biology of the stream animals. The parents were also interested and asked some great questions. We collected a stonefly nymph, swimming mayfly nymphs, clinger mayfly nymphs, crane fly larva, damselfly larva, and the crawfish. Kurt was holding court with casting instruction. All told, we probably visited with 50 kids or so. It was a great opportunity to promote flyfishing in NE Kansas, Yager s Flies, and our club. by Mike Grose FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 5

6 Fish Outing photos Niki Christopher submitted this photo of a nice sunset over Melvern Reservior. Beatrix Brown, Dick Wedel s 20 month old granddaughter, catches a bluegill with a size 16 bead head nymph. She is pictured here perfecting her kiss and release technique. Carp and release, coming to a reservoir near you, summer 2008 Just goes to show, you can t start them fishing too young. Flyfishing for carp over mud flats is very challenging, but the payoff is worth it. FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 6

7 Ken Iwamasa Photos Photographs by R. Steve Dick FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 7

8 Wiped Out! I ve had a great time heading out to the lake to take in this year s wiper season. I tend to fish as much as possible during the run, in part to shake off the winter blues, but also to use a few of those flies tied up over the winter tying season. Another great thing about getting outside is the chance to observe nature in action. One Saturday morning, I dropped down on the north side of the intake tower and met up with Gaylord. It was overcast and slightly cool morning. Fishing was slow at first. When the fishing is slow, my mind starts to wander. In any case, this is a great chance to look around and see what is happening around the lake. Swallows were nesting in full force under the intake walkway. They occasionally were making aerial dives right in front of us, picking off something from the surface of the lake. On closer inspection, we noticed a steady hatch of large brown mayflies emerging. It has to be tough being a mayfly. They spend the vast majority of their lives as nymphs, clinging to the undersides of the fist size rocks right off the dam. Each time they molt to grow bigger, they change to a lighter color that makes them more prone to predation from hungry crayfish. Then, when the instinct calls, they are forced to run the gauntlet and swim to the surface for emergence. Here they are extremely vulnerable to finned predators. Splashy rises usually means a hungry crappie or green sunfish has just made a meal out of an emerging mayfly. If they are lucky enough to make it this far, they then face a new set of predators from above. The newly emerged mayflies are forced to spread out their new wings and dry them for a few moments to make them flight ready. At this stage they are sitting ducks for swallows, and when the water is flat, they swoop in to make an easy meal of them right off the surface of the water. The lucky few that make it to the air have a good chance of being picked off by the aerial predators as well. It s amazing to think that the very few that make it past all the predators are responsible for the next generation of mayflies. It was fascinating watching this drama unfold right before our eyes. Then as is usually the case with wiper fishing, the fish showed up and entertained us for a few hours. There were a few quality fish landed. I was lucky to tie into a nice fish that ran me into my backing. Once it was brought to hand, it tapped out at 20 inches. Later that morning, Tom Hay dropped down and did pretty well on-you guessed it-the legendary chili pepper. FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 8

9 I have a new working theory on why the wipers show up along the dam in the spring. Maybe its not so much as they are chasing the shad close to the rocks, but instead they are taking advantage of the prolific mayfly hatch that comes off the water this time of year. I m pretty sure that my three inch, size 6 pink and white clouser can t possibly resemble those mayfly nymphs though. But whatever the reason, it s a blast having your backing stretched this time of the year By Mike Grose, photos by Gaylord Richardson "Meanwhile, wear safety glasses and hang contact paper on the walls to catch the hooks and keep on tying because "wipers wait for no one."---kurt Moomau White River Update: Report for April April 30th, 2008 by JimmyT Unusual would be a good word to describe fishing on the White River in Arkansas. Unusual in that twice this month flood gates were opened at Bull Shoals Dam. The first time on April 10 with a full 8 units on along with an extra 5,670 cfs which brought the water up to the equivalent of 10 units and then again last thursday the 24th with an extra 13,270 cfs which was the equivalent of a little over 14 total units. What this did however was to cover some grassy banks and other areas that normally do not see any water which flushed out the cane worm. The fish we caught were full of them and had them puking up worms. These fish were so fat they looked as though they had swallowed footballs. These fish will grow rabidly. As of yesterday the 29th April at 2:30 pm the flood gates were shut off. Fishing this extra water was not hard to figure out (SJ Worms) and was quite fun as we were fishing areas that were normally never under the water. It will be nice though to get back to some normal water (8 units) would be fine with me but I m sure we ll be seeing some lower water at times to help with the flooding 100 plus miles down stream. May will bring some warmer temps (no rain we hope) and perhaps later in the month a sulpher hatch with some surface and dry action. The Norfork is also fishing well with the usual flies Scuds, sowbugs and san juan worms on it s normal 1 to two units. All is well with our rivers at this time so book your trip for the months of may and june now. Weekends fill up fast (mine are all gone for may) and during the weeks is a little slower with fewer boats on the rivers. Jim Traylor PO Box 751 Bull Shoals, Ar FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 9

10 Looking Ahead May 21 st, Wednesday, 6 pm social Monthly meeting 7 pm, Conroy s May 24 th, Saturday, 9-11 am Stream sampling, Deer Creek, KS June 14 st, Saturday, Spring Picnic Overlook Park, Clinton Lake June 18 nd, Wednesday, 6 pm social Monthly meeting 7 pm, Conroy s Always keep those experimental flies. This unlikely creation landed several nice carp for me, but didn t see the light of day for several years. Key features of all good carp flies include eyes of some sort, in this case bead-chain, rubber legs, and rabbit body fur for the tail. Tied and photographed by Mike Grose.

11 Club Officers Flyatolah Greg McDonald President Jeff Frye Treasurer Craig Rogers Scribe Eric King VP Conservation Mike Grose VP Education Kurt Moomau VP Membership Rick Laughlin VP Entertainment Mike Hough Mike Zimmerman Free State Fly Fishers is a Lawrence, KS based club dedicated to promoting the sport of fly fishing in Northeast Kansas through education, conservation, and community service. Formed in August 2005, Free State Fly Fishers is an affiliate club of Federation of Fly Fishers operating as a 501c-3 corporation under FFF's charter club program. Our FFF club number is K99784 Internet Tyrant Eric Shumaker Rafflemeister Leo Beier Newsletter Contributing editors R. Steve Dick Kurt Moomau Mike Grose FSFF IS A CHARTER CLUB OF THE SOUTHERN COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLYFISHERS 11