Tight Lines March, 2014

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1 Tight Lines March, San Luis Obispo, CA Greg & Mary Lugo, Editors PRESIDENT S LETTER John Gierach: I've worked in a fly shop and have cringed to see myself as a beginner, in some of the rosy cheeked types who come in and asked things like "What size fly do I need to catch a 20 inch brown?" or "How do I tie this little bitty fly to this big fat fly line?" "Well you need a leader." A what?" by Lew Leichter 2014 DUES RENEWAL: To date almost half of you have not paid your 2014 dues. March 15th is the cutoff. PLEASE STOP PROCRASTINATING AND TAKE A MOMENT AND PAY YOUR $35 DUES. We will not require a renewal application unless your info has changed. Mail your payment to SLFF P O BOX 166 SLO CA NEW MEMBERS: Let's all welcome our newest member Bill Morrow. Bill was introduced to the club by Madeline & George Protsman. We look forward to getting to know you and spending time on the water together. ANNUAL BANQUET MARCH 22ND MADONNA INN: I hope to see everyone at the banquet. It's SLFF's 37th anniversary (1977) so let's celebrate with a good buffet luncheon, socialize with fellow club members and spouses, tell stories, say thanks to the volunteers, board members and club officers, support the banquet raffle and silent auction with your $. This is the primary fund raising event for us and keeps the club running, allows us to have good programs at our monthly meetings and support our conservation partners. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND PLEASE AT LEAST SUPPORT YOUR CLUB WITH THE PURCHASE OF THE RAFFLE TICKETS THAT WERE SENT TO YOU WITH YOUR INVITATION. CLUB SHIRTS: We will be taking orders again for our club shirts. We are only able to place one order per year, which we will do after the banquet. The shirt is the Redington Gasparilla. Color and size info can be found at The shirts retail for $60 and your price is $50 including embroidering the club logo and your name is $50. Get your orders, including color, size and money to Sheri & Ron Bryant. REMEMBER: NO REGULAR MEETING IN MARCH, See you at the banquet! (1 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

2 SAVE THE DATES: Mar 1st, 8th,15th & 29th: Casting clinics at Laguna Lake (see pages 3-4) Mar 6th: Fly tying (see page 5) Mar 8th: David Holme's knot tying class (see page 5) Mar 22nd: ANNUAL CLUB BANQUET LUNCHEON AT MADONNA INN WITH GUY JEANS AS OUR GUEST SPEAKER. Mar23rd: Bass fishing at Fort Hunter Ligget - postponed until April date TBA Mar 28th-30th: Pyramid Lake Outing (see page 6) Guy was originally from Ventura where he enjoyed surfing, fishing and music. He made a living composing, writing and performing music for over 15 years as a pianist/singer in a popular 10 piece Ska/Reggae/Rock band. He still performs today with his band, doing benefit concerts for the American Cancer Society and raising money for breast cancer research. As he traveled with his band, he discovered many rivers and streams that enhanced his passion for fly fishing. He fell in love with the Kern River and the many other waters of the southern Sierra. He pioneered a guide service there and opened Kern River Fly Shop. Guy has been fishing the Southern Sierra for over 25 years. He guides and teaches over 200 days a year all over the southern Sierra, Sequoia National Forest and the Golden Trout Wilderness. He hosts and guides trips in North Western Montana and in the California Surf as well. He is a Certified Fly Casting Instructor with the Federation of Fly Fishers and in 2012 received the Lee Wulff Award by the International Federation of Fly Fishers. He is also host of the critically acclaimed show and DVD Sierra Fly Fishing Volume 1 The Lower Kern River and Volume 2 The Kern River in the Golden Trout Wilderness. He writes fly fishing articles for magazines and newspapers in the Southwest including Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine and he does 25+ speaking engagements a year on the fly fishing opportunities of the Southern Sierra. He is a contract fly designer for Solitude Fly Company and his Kern Emerger series is sold and fished internationally. Guy has guided anglers from all over the world wanting to catch the three native trout only found in the southern Sierra. These trout are: The Golden Trout (California state fish); Kern River Rainbow Trout; and Little Kern Golden Trout. (2 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

3 "The goal is to make you a more complete caster" Presented by Eric Sherar and Bernard Pieters This spring your club will present four casting sessions: Saturday March 1 st Saturday March 8 th Saturday March 22 nd Saturday March 29 th Sign In 8:30 to 8:55 Casting 9:00 to 11:00 Please be on time! WHERE: Laguna Lake Park, SLO (by the first restrooms) WHAT TO BRING: 5 to 7 wt rod /floating-line (no sinking lines or shooting head lines!) Protective eyewear and sunscreen. We are giving the casting program to each specific group, from beginner to the advanced+ caster. All casting sessions are given and supervised by our FFF certified casting instructors. The program is for club members only, at no charge. NOTE: It would be very helpful to me if you let me know you are coming! Call or Bernard Pieters (bpieters@aol.com). For those of you who have participated in the casting-clinics, your efforts have paid off, as more and more members rotate to the next higher instruction level. The instructors have observed a substantial amount of progress by our casters over the last three to five years. As a result, each year a few of you are reaching your goal of becoming a more complete fly caster. (3 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014 March 1: FIRST SESSION--CASTING SPRING TUNE UP This session is a major stepping stone to the three future sessions, and will help to bring your casting performance back to (or better than) the level it was prior to the inactive winter months. We will focus on practice and fine tune a variety of casting mechanics. At the same time we take on bad casting habits which are prevalent in the majority of fly fishers. These habits prevent us from casting to our full potential. The good thing is: bad habits can be cured, and we will help you with them!

4 2014 SLFF Club Casting Schedule (cont) MARCH 8: SECOND SESSION, CASTING STATIONS Like last year we intend to work again with 3 to 4 different casting stations. Every station has a different instructor who will work with you on 1 or 2 different casts. The casters are divided into groups, and rotated from station to station. This approach allows everyone the opportunity to cast with 3 or 4 different instructors and cover a wide variety of casts and techniques. MARCH 15: THIRD SESSION, IMPROVE YOUR DISTANCE CASTING Would you like to know how to cast further than forty feet into a gale force wind? We will cover the single and double haul casts, and the different techniques used to improve your distance casting in a safe way. This session is also designed to help prevent common shoulder injuries that come from improper casting mechanics. At the same time, with some of you, we will work on making a smoother transition from the classic trout style casting to the more demanding ocean water style casting. MARCH 29: FOURTH SESSION, PRESENTATION AND PRECISION CASTS Rather than work on perfecting our own abilities we tend to look for the magic fly pattern, or invisible tippet material, or the perfect expensive fly rod to catch a fish for us. Unfortunately, that approach doesn't work! The best fly pattern in the world won't catch a fish if it is not well presented. Presentation is the ability of fishermen and woman to get the fly into the fish's strike zone without spooking it. Ultimately learning to play the different currents of a river is the key to a natural accurate presentation to the fish, and will make or break any fly fishing outing! This is what this casting session is all about. If you have questions call or Bernard Pieters, , bpieters@aol.com (4 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

5 Knots, Leaders, Tippet and Lines Class to Be Held March 8 by David Holmes All of the fly fishing skill in the world, and the best equipment, will be of little use if your tackle system fails the next time you have a big fish on. So it s a good idea to focus on the skills needed to minimize the chances of that happening, especially when you ve invested so much time and money in the rest of your gear and skills. On March 8 th (a Saturday), at 1:00 pm at his home (63 Benton Way, SLO), Dave Holmes will be leading a class where we ll discuss and demonstrate a few of the old and new knots which are most practical and useful for fly fishing. In addition, we ll talk about line, leader and tippet selections, knot choices, the factors that go into knot selection and proper tying techniques, and the choice of fluorocarbon v. mono. We ll give you the techniques for you to select and test the knots you use, including a discussion of why the number of knots actually needed is surprisingly small. Our goal is to put you in a position where you can, on your own, evaluate and decide on proper knots (and related gear) to use in the future. We ll also discuss web and other resources re knot tying and related topics, and will have some handouts for you to take home. Class size is limited to 10 students, so you should contact David (davidholmes@macservices.net ) to reserve a place and for further information. Please bring a spool of 2x (or 4x, if you have good eyes!), and a pair of nippers or small scissors. SLFF Garage Sale/Swap Meet Rescheduled to April 26 th 9:00 am This year the SLFF Annual "Garage Sale" will again be at David Holmes' house (63 Benton Way SLO, ) on April 26th, beginning at 9:00AM and ending at noon. On offer will be a selection of gently used and still serviceable fly fishing gear and related items, all at far lower prices than you might pay at retail. Often, even those members selling gear find items for sale by other members, which they can't live without! Buyers should: Bring small bills, if at all possible, or checkbooks - credit cards will not be used. Sellers should: Identify the gear clearly with a tag or label showing the name of the seller and the asking price. If you have more than a few things, bringing a card table or similar to display them will be helpful. Bring change and/or be prepared to accept checks. Sellers should remain present as long as they have items for sale. Call David if you have any questions. SLFF Tying Group To Tackle Hal Janssen s Hex Nymph by Art Chapman The next SLFF Fly Tying Session will be held on March 6th at 6:30 pm at the SLO Odd Fellow's Hall. We will be tying Hal Janssen s version of the Hexegenia Mayfly Nymph as seen in his book Stillwater Flyfishing Secrets. The group will be lead by Art Chapman. Fishing the Hex hatch is a bucket list item for any serious fly fisher. The Hex, or Hexagenia Limbata for you entomologists, is the largest species of mayfly in the U.S. It s big, nearly 2inches long. It is principally found in lakes and slow moving rivers (like the Fall River in Northern California). The club holds an annual outing to Lake Almanor in late June or early July when the Hex hatch is on. Club members have caught big brown and rainbow trout, both smallmouth and largemouth bass and even catfish on nymphs and dry versions of these flies in Lake Almanor and nearby Butt Valley Reservior. The Hex hatch at Lake Almanor attracts really big fish and fly fisherman from around the world. Be prepared. Don't miss this tying session! (5 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

6 Upcoming Outings Pyramid Lake Outing March 28 th 30 th Outing Leader: Rich Chubon Our annual trip to Pyramid Lake, NV is scheduled for March 28 th, 29 th, & 30 th. While it is still too early to say what fishing conditions will be like in late March, so far this year, Pyramid has been producing some very large Lahontan cutthroat trout. In the recent President s Day tourney the top fish weighed in at lbs. The next 18 fish weighed in were all over 10 lbs. These larger fish reflect the maturation of the Pilot Creek fish which were planted in the lake several years ago. These fish have fast growth rates and will likely produce a new lake record at some time in the future. If you are planning on joining this club outing you will need 6 to 9 wt. rods, floating and sinking tip lines, sinking shooting heads and 9 ft leaders tapered to 1X or 2X. You will also need waders/boots, warm clothing, polarized sunglasses, a 6-8 foot ladder and net. We fish Pyramid using a ladder as a casting platform. In the early morning and late evening, we cast an intermediate sink running line with a sinking shooting head, rigged with two flies (usually a Pyramid Beetle and Woolley Bugger) then strip retrieve. Fish follow and often take the fly at your feet. When the wind picks up, we will often switch to a floating line with an indicator, fishing Chironomids, Copper Johns, or Mahalos patterns just off the bottom. All of these fly patterns are available at the Crosby s Lodge on the lake or at sporting goods stores in Reno. You will also need to purchase fishing permits at a cost of $9 per day. They are available online or at the lake. We usually buy permits for 3 days. Try Rob Anderson s website at more information on fishing techniques. I have reservations for a single wide trailer at Crosby s which will accommodate up to 6, which I will need to confirm. So if you plan on going and/or need lodging let me know soon. Contact me at richorjudy@sbcglobal.net or 805/ We will also try to arrange carpools for the trip. This You Tube link gives you a picture of what fishing Pyramid Lake is like. Finally, if the stream conditions are good some of us may fish the Little Truckee River on the back end of the trip. This is a pretty little stream which offers some quality catch and release fishing for rainbow and brown trout. (6 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

7 PAST OUTING REPORTS SLFF DAYS AT LAGO FIG by Lew Leichter SLFF members enjoyed two very different days at Lago Fig in Los Olivos in mid-february. On Saturday Judy & Rich Chubon, Andy Harrison, Steve Lefler, Ron Bryant, Jim Snodgrass and I enjoyed a day with an overcast and virtually no wind. A lot of fish were caught primarily fishing wooly buggers on an I-line or sink tip. Cinnamon, green and black were the go-to colors. Lew fights a whopper! On Sunday Charlotte Kelly, John Ljung, Art Chapman, Steve Soenke, Don McGeorge, Peter Van Hest & I had bright clear skies and considerably more wind. Fishing was slower than Saturday except for Peter whose soft hackle fly was clearly the go to fly. Unfortunately he had none to share but promised there would be some at the banquet. Thanks to Rick Paaske for hosting us. Lago Fig is open daily and you don't need a club outing to go. This is definitely the closest and a very good stillwater venue. Fishing fee is $75 for the day. If interested contact Rick at (805) Charlotte Kelly landed this beautiful fish on Sunday. Andy with a nice trout. SAN DIEGO FISHING TRIP by Ray Belknap Larry Sedeberg and Ray Belknap recently took a vacation/fishing trip to San Diego. The original idea was to fish the piers around the Coronado Bridge. They then found there was a marina and launching ramp right next to their RV camping site at Chula Vista. With only a 5 minute row they found themselves in San Diego Bay - and away from a lot of boat traffic. They had the bay to themselves. Ray started out with the rig he uses in Avila for halibut with a medium sinking tip on a floating line and a two olive Clouser rig with the weighted one on the bottom. The first day was productive with several fish and a double hook-up. We think the fish was what they call a Bay Bass or Calico Bass (Paralabrax clathratus). Then Larry found (with his depth sounder) that the water was only 4 to 6' deep. The next day they rigged with floating line and long leader to get the fish that were hanging near the bottom. The fishing tapered off the second and third day. (7 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

8 Come wet a line with us! SLFF MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION An individual regular membership is $35.00 per year for 12 months (January through December). Enrollment after 1 July is $20.00 for the remainder of the year. To join, please download the Membership Form from our Website: Send completed form with a check for dues to: Santa Lucia Fly Fishers c/o Secretary P.O. Box 166 San Luis Obispo, CA Thank you for supporting those who help support our chapter! (8 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014

9 2014 Officers, Directors, & Committees Officers Directors President Lew Leichter Ron Bryant,Rich Chubon Vice President Art Chapman Jim Crescenzi, Tom Nickelson Secretary Sheri Bryant Bernard Pieters, Mark Shelton Treasurer Judy Chubon Committees Conservation Ron Bryant, Doug Daniels (TiC) Education David Holmes Membership Mark Shelton Rod Building Mike Powers, Rich Chubon Newsletter Greg & Mary Lugo Casting Bernard Pieters, Eric Sherar Website Ted Pope, KC Lim Fly Tying Jim Crescenzi Programs Rich Chubon, Mark Shelton Banquet & BBQ Sheri & Ron Bryant Outings, Salt Water Andy Malovos, Lew Leichter Library Steve Soenke Outings, Fresh Water Art Chapman, Rich Chubon Fundraising David Holmes, Lew Leichter SWCFFF Coordinator Lew Leichter Rich Chubon, Trish Curtis. P.O. Box 166 San Luis Obispo, CA (9 SLFF NEWSLETTER March 2014