Spokane Fly Fishers March, 2012 MARCH MEETING MARCH 14, 2012 RAFFLE

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1 Spokane Fly Fishers March, 2012 MARCH MEETING MARCH 14, 2012 RAFFLE Don t miss this meeting! Always an enjoyable evening, the raffle provides the funding for the club s conservation and educational efforts. The local fly shops and the generous members have donated a great number of items to make our Conservation Raffle a success. The items will include a pontoon boat, flies, fly rods, guided fishing trips, chances to fish with a club mentor, and numerous other items, including a lot of fly tying equipment and materials. You can check in your donated items beginning at 5:30 PM. Please bring your friends, neighbors and families. Don t forget your checkbooks and/or cash. We will also be able to take Visa or MasterCard credit cards. Carla s Kitchen will be serving Chicken Enchiladas with rice, beans, cole slaw and lemonade for $5.00, starting at 5:15. Ticket sales and viewing will begin at 6 PM and the RAFFLE will begin at 7 PM. The prices for the tickets are: $1 1 ticket $5 7 tickets $10 15 tickets Once you have purchased your tickets, you put your assigned number on the back and then place a ticket in the bag placed in front of each item you wish to win. If you like, you could put a lot of tickets in one item that you REALLY want. After depositing your tickets, just sit back, listen for your number, enjoy the drawings and get ready to pick up the item or items you win.. THIS IS A REALLY FUN, WORTHWHILE EVENT. OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS President Mike Berube Vice President Kurt Tempel Treasurer Gale Allen Secretary Sherrie Patano Board Position 1 Brad Thompson Board Position 2 Dan Wight Board Position 3 Klaus Rissman Past President Fred Howe Sgt. At Arms Carla Ferguson Contact us at: P. O. Box 4141 Spokane, WA Or sffishers@comcast.net COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Programs: Kurt Tempel Barbless Flyer Editor: Linda Howe Conservation: Mike Keegan Outings Don Tietz Membership Mary Kovatch Fly Fishing School: Mike Berube Dan Ferguson Librarian: Robert Stock/Larry Ray Project Healing Waters: Tim Reed FFF Liaison: Dan Ferguson Beg. Fly Tying: Betty Smith-Lambert Int. Fly Tying: Dan Ferguson Club Chef: Carla Ferguson Volunteer Coordinator: Judy Kaufman AROUND THE BEND March 10: Clarkfork Outing March 14: SFF Meeting 7 PM : RAFFLE 6 PM: PREVIEW AND TICKET PURCHASE March 17: Coffee Pot Outing March 21: Sff Board Meeting 6:30 PM

2 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 2 PREZ SEZ By: Mike Berube Hi everyone. It was great to see so many of you at the February meeting. Dave Hughes put on a great Match the Hatch Simplified program. His afternoon seminar Elements of Fly Fishing was equally interesting. Unfortunately Dave was our last speaker of the year. We ve really had some awesome speakers this season. I think our speakers this year, Walt Balek, Brian O Keefe, Dave Bloom, and Dave Hughes were right on target. I ve heard some rumors about next year s speakers, if the committee can nail them down, you won t be disappointed. Thanks Tim, Judy, and Kurt! The SFF Board Members recently voted to increase annual dues effective for the season. It was voted on at the February general meeting and approved by club members. There will be a $10.00 increase in dues. Single membership will be $30.00 and a family membership will be $ The board has debated several times over the last several years to increase the dues, this year it seemed it was time to do it. Hopefully you will understand and agree with this decision, it was not an easy one for us. We pledge to continue to bring in top notch speakers and provide fishing and tying educational opportunities for all. A renewal form is included in this flyer. Can you believe that our opening outing is only a week away! March 10th is The Clark Fork and Coffee Pot is a week later. Hopefully the weather will hold out on the warmish side for both.not holding my breath though. Please check out the outings sign-up sheets at the meeting and sign up for a couple. If you re interested in hosting an outing but are a bit hesitant because you don t know what it entails contact Don Teitz or any board member, we ll fill you in. March will be a busy month for the club. Not only do we have 4 outings, on March 14th, we ll be holding our Conservation & Education raffle. This promises to be a fun event and a good time to pick up some fishing gear. You ll also find out who your club officer and board member nominees for next year will be at the raffle. Our fly fishing school starts on March 8th, so yeah, we ll be busy. Give one of the board members a call if you want to get involved in any of the action. I look forward to seeing many of you at our next few meetings and at our rapidly approaching outings. NEW MEMBERSHIP CHAIR NEEDED By: Mary Kovatch, Current Membership Chair As of June 1, I will no longer be the membership chairperson. There is still a need for someone to come forward to take over this position. Some knowledge of Excel is needed, but I will be glad to help anyone learn what is needed to run the program.

3 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 3 SOMETHING NEW By: Judy Kaufman The Spokane Fly Fishers is offering you a great value and the opportunity to become a better angler! We always want to offer activities that help continue your education concerning fly fishing knowledge, skills, and techniques. At the January general meeting a very informal interest survey concerning the areas underlined was taken. The survey subjects in order of most interest expressed were: Casting, Nymph fishing techniques, Finding fish, Dry fly & emerger fishing techniques, Entomology & other fish food, Fish behavior, Streamer fishing techniques, Fishing destinations, Knot tying, Fly tying materials and Joining an entomology study group. There were 46 responses to the survey. These subjects will be taught, discussed, demonstrated, practiced, engaged in, etc., starting with Fishing Destinations prior to the March Conservation/Education Raffle. In early May (date to be determined) Tim Reed will present Nymph Fishing Techniques. In late April or May we will offer Casting instruction by a professional instructor at a time when working members can participate. We will have classes that teach both single hand and spey casting techniques. Early June will be the time to learn or brush up on Streamer Fishing Techniques presented by Brad Thompson and Wayne Jordan. In the fall, an Entomology field trip to learn methods of insect collection will be taught by Bob Newman. Brad Thompson will be presenting Dry Fly and Emerger Fishing Techniques in September or October. Bob Newman will discuss fish Behavior and Finding Fish in the fall. In the spring of 2013 Bob Newman will present Entomology and other fish food. After this class, an entomology study group will be formed. Knot tying and Fly Tying Materials will be addressed at a date to be determined. You will have the opportunity to sign up for these events beginning at the March meeting. If you are interested in Fishing Destinations come to the Raffle by 6:00 and look for Tim Reed and Judy Kaufman in the only quiet place in the room. Some events may have a small fee. Spokane Fly Fisher members only The Education Planning Group is Wayne Jordan, Judy Kaufman, Bob Newman, Tim Reed, Kurt Tempel, Brad Thompson. If you have any suggestions or comments contact us. SFF 2012 FLY FISHING SCHOOL By: Dan Ferguson There is still space in the Fishing School for Remember, the classes begin on March 8 and continue for seven Thursday evenings, with three casting classes and two pontoon (on the water) safety classes. This is a wonderful opportunity to improve your skill. You will learn about equipment, how to tie knots to assemble your line and attach flies, where and how to fish in still or moving waters, entomology (bugs lives and how to fish them), and a new addition to the class, pontoon safety. This is indeed the best buy in town. As an SFF member (prior to January, 2012) your charge is only $75. The non-member fee is $125 and includes a 15 month membership in the club. Also note that you ll be able to pay with a credit card at the February meeting! Please give Dan Ferguson a call at or nwflyguy@comcast.net to register for the class or if you have any questions.

4 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 4 CLARK FORK OUTING SATURDAY MARCH 10th Host: Don Tietz Are you ready to fish?? Let s get together for an early outing on the Clark Fork River at St Regis, MT. I like to call it the Polar Bear outing. If you re up for the challenge throw your pontoon boat in the back of the pickup and drive to the OK Restaurant in St Regis for breakfast at 8 AM Montana time. After a relaxing breakfast or coffee we ll mosey over to Joe Cantrell s Fly Shop for flies and advice. Fishing will be mostly with nymph rigs. Pheasant Tails, Rubber Legs, Copper Johns, Zebra Midge and my favorite the San Juan Worm! There may be some midge dry fly action but don t bank on it! Dress in layers, be ready for some cold. But I ve got to tell you, this is a fun time to fish! To get there go east on I90 two hours to Montana exit 33. Turn left at the end of the off ramp. At the four way stop, go straight for about ½ mile to the OK Restaurant on the left side. If you have any questions contact Don Tietz at COFFEE POT LAKE OUTING SATURDAY, MARCH 17th Host: Mike Klungland You never know about Coffee Pot. We will assume it will be ice-free on Saturday, March 17th. This lake is a great place to begin our 2012 local outings, as it usually produces big fat rainbows. The fish have an appetite for almost anything but find woolly buggers and leeches in dark colors (brown, olive, black, Halloween) to be the hardest to resist. You might also want to bring along a blood worm and a chironomid or two. String your rod with a full sink line for the leeches and buggers and bring along a floating line if you want to try the chironomids. Whatever the line, use 3x tippet at least. These fish are strong. I will do my best to be at the lake by 8:00 AM. Boats, (with motors), pontoon boats, float tubes will work, sorry no appreciable walk, wade opportunity. The wind will blow and it will probably be at the very least chilly, dress accordingly and make sure you can get back to the launch if the wind comes up. There are a few campsites if you are so inclined. Parking is adequate and the outdoor restroom is decent. Here are the directions to the lake. Travel West on US-2 to Davenport; turn Right on Route 28 to Harrington. At Harrington, turn Right on Coffee Pot Lake Road. Go approximately 15 miles. Turn Left at the Public Fishing Access Sign, (it isn t a real big sign). Please sign up for this outing so if the lake is frozen we can give you a call and save you a trip.

5 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 5 AMBER LAKE OUTING MARCH 24TH Host: Mike Melmoth II Just about everyone knows how to get to this lake, but for you new folks here are the directions. From Spokane take I-90 west to Cheney exit. South through town to Mullinix Road (opposite the funeral home), East on Mullinix 10 miles to Pine Springs Road turn right. Stay on Pine Springs until you see Amber Lake sign (small) on left side, turn left and follow to parking lot. Drive to bottom unload and park back up top. I ll check folks in between 8 and 9, and then I m going fishing. I ll watch to see everyone gets back in safely and then leave for the day. Nothing special except the fishing. The fish can be big and break offs are not uncommon, so bring a good supply of chironomids and still water nymphs. Wooly buggers trolled across the ramp and across the lake from the ramp usually are productive. Chironomids and balance flies back in the weeds at the end of the lake to the right of the ramp. The left end of lake is a bit of a kick, but also produces nice fish. LAKE LENORE OUTING - MARCH 28TH Host: Shiraz Vira Meet at 9 am at the central access area (mid lake), about 4 miles north of Soap Lake, on Highway 17. The lake is 1670 acres and over four miles long. It is located between Soap Lake and Coulee City along Highway 17, part of the Sun Lakes chain. Highway 17 can easily be accessed at Moses Lake from I-90 or Highway 2 near Coulee City for anglers traveling from the Seattle or Spokane areas. Only electric motors are allowed. Flies to use: Bloodworms, San Juan, Chironomids, or your favorite Woolly Bugger. The lake could be very windy & cold. Dress in layers. Lake Lenore has very good shore access for anglers who may want to fish from shore. Darc Knobel of Desert Anglers Fly shop (Phone Basin ST, SW. Ephrata), carries many local patterns, specially his popular Jim Bean fly If you have questions, contact Shiraz Vira Cell (svira@homenetnw.net) APRIL MEETING - APRIL 11TH MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OUR APRIL MEETING, OUR EXTRAVAGANZA, CHAIRED BY GALE ALLEN.

6 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page NORTHWEST YOUTH CONSERVATION & FLY FISHING ACADEMY Our club is sponsoring one young person (ages 12 16) to attend this camp! All costs associated with attending this camp are covered with the exception of transportation to and from Lacy, Washington. SFF would like to send a young person from our club. So, if you are interested in applying and sending your child, complete the application ASAP and return it to a board member by April 1st, Please don t delay as the deadline to submit applications to the Youth Conservation and Fishing Academy is April 15th, Please review the application closely as there is a requirement for the youth to submit a written essay and a letter of recommendation from the youth s science teacher or counselor. Specific information and the application can be located at the following link: The camp will take place at Gwinwood Conference Center on Hicks Lake in Lacey, Washington from June 24th 30th, The Academy is designed to educate youth about the importance of conservation and resource stewardship and is modeled after the nationally acclaimed award winning Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp held annually in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. PROJECT HEALING WATERS By: Tim Reed Al Barrett and some of his coworkers at the Federal Probation Office delivered a great donation again to PHW. Over the winter Al built the three fly rods, which he presented, to Mike Berube and Chris Carver at the Probation Office. Chris, who is a disabled Iraq war veteran, is a previous recipient of one of Al s custom built rods. Chris expressed his thanks to Al and the staff for their efforts. If you know of any disabled veterans interested in learning to fly fish, please call Tim Reed at

7 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 7 MEMBERSHIP: Mary Kovatch, Chair Four new people just joined the club last month. They are: Mike Adams, Lane Guin, Dave Law and Rob Stewart. Please give them a warm welcome and we hope to see them at the March Conservation Raffle meeting. BEGINNING TYING REPORT By: Betty Smith-Lambert Congratulations to the members who just completed this class. They are: Nedra Bayne, Gary Nicolai, Bob Waldron, Ron Bradstreet, Gordon McCammond, Karl Boldt and Larry Lambeth. The Fly Auction Chairman for next year should record these names as they will be excellent prospects as donors for the auction. They all progressed very well. INTERMEDIATE FLY TYING REPORT By: Fred Howe This year s Intermediate Fly Tying Class was exceptional. Dan Ferguson deserves a lot of thanks for the job he did securing our excellent teachers for each week and the wide selection of flies we tied. Thanks are also due for the many hours Dan spent shopping for the ingredients and prepackaging the recipe requirements in individual packets. I, and the other members of the class, wish to thank the instructors who all did a wonderful job: Brad Thomson (foam patterns), Stan Miller (Traditional Duck Quill Wing BWO), Dan Wight (Dan s Bart Simpson and his Fosters Lager Damsel), Bob Newman (Purple Angel Spey and Green Butt Spey), Mike Berube (CDC Caddis and a soft hackle), and Wayne Jordan (Olive Gonga and Sculpin Steve). The class concluded on February 16th, which was one week longer than normal due to our snow day. We re all sorry that Dan Wight (the instructor for the day) missed the notification and drove through the blinding snow from Newport for the class that wasn t. Thanks Dan for rescheduling to the 16th. Again, thanks to all and I am looking forward to attending the classes next year.

8 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 8 BOOK OF THE MONTH By: Larry Ray The Fly Tying Works of Roy Patrick. By the middle of the last century the legendary figures of northwest fly fishing, such as Enos Bradner, Al Knudsen, and Ken McLeod, had polished their trade and a tradition of northwest fly fishing had developed. These pioneers needed a source of tying materials and, often as not, that meant gathering to shop and talk fly fishing at Patrick s Fly Shop on Lake Union, in Seattle. Owner Roy Patrick authored two fly tying guides describing the patterns discussed and utilized in that day. The first, TIE YOUR OWN FLIES, copyrighted by Roy in 1956, is a very complete, easy to follow fly tying manual providing easy to follow sketches of materials and their use. The second, PACIFIC NORTHWEST FLY PATTERNS, copyrighted in 1970, contains 145 indexed pages of the simplest tying instructions for northwest patterns. Fly tying manuals have, over time, adopted a fairly predictable formula: photo plates, the newer being in color, with simple tail-to-head recipes and perhaps a few photos and anecdotes about the authors favorite patterns. These are helpful and fascinating; with modern photography causing one to drool at the patterns shown (even while sewing doubt as to whether the tyer can ever attain the perfection shown in the photos). However, to me, the charm of the two manuals by Patrick is that they don t follow the modern formula. Both are illustrated with simple pen and ink drawings of the patterns described. The sketches in PA- CIFIC NORTHWEST FLY PATTERNS are basic silhouettes. These and the rest of Alan Pratt s meticulous, easy to follow drawings are alone worth the read. The illustrated steps in TIE YOUR OWN FLIES to tying a whip finish without the tool are, to this day, the best I ve ever seen! And therein lays their beauty. Just as early radio shows allowed each individual to envision the scenes described, these two guides allow the tyer to envision the pattern described and to develop it as he or she goes, with just the most basic guidance. The tyer can also drift into nostalgia when tying the mostly simple patterns commonly in use during dad s and grandpa s day. Patterns that are as effective now as they were then. Just the right tonic for the headache after watching a pro tie the latest complex can t miss pattern with the newest synthetic materials, or after being away from the vice for a time with the resulting need to restore confidence and finger dexterity. So, treat yourself to some easy, fun reading and tying time by checking out these manuals and returning to the vice to tie some Black Gnats, Blue Uprights, Carey Specials, Carot Nymphs, Knudsen Spiders, Doc Spratleys, or Wooley Worms, using these manuals as easy, confidence restoring guides. Both these manuals are available from your SFF club library. (And, by the way, Patrick s Fly Shop, established in 1946 and now the oldest continuing fly shop on the west coast, is still going strong at 2237 Eastlake Avenue East in Seattle, over fifty years after the publishing of the first of these manuals!)

9 THE BARBLESS FLYER Page 9 SPOKANE FLY FISHERS 2012 OUTINGS DATE OUTING HOST RATING/EXPLANATION March 10 Clark Fork Don Tietz 2-Flost: Bridge abutments, small rapids, obstacles. Could be cold/windy. March 17 Coffeepot Lake Mike Klugland 1-Could be cold/windy. March 24 Amber Lake Mike Melmoth II 1 March 28 Lake Lenore Shiraz Vira 1 Could be cold/windy (Wednesday) March 31 Pontoon Safety Still Water Class at Medical Lake: 1 April 7 Pontoon Safety River Class (place to be determined): 1 April 14/15 Bitterroot River NEED HOST 3-Float: obstacles, sweepers 2-Wade: footing April 21/22 McGinnis Lake NEED HOST 1 May 5 Kids Fishing Day May 9 Williams Lake Bill Lundin 1 May 12 Clear Lake Mike Berube 1-This is the day of the Awards Picnic. The outing will be for the morning only. May 19 One Fly Contest (Badger Lake ) NEED HOST June 2/3 Chopaka Lake NEED HOST 1-Access by Large Motorhomes and Trailers may be limited. Check access road. June 9 Coffeepot Lake Mike Melmoth II 1-Could be windy. June 16/17 North Fork CDA Mike M. II & Aunt Sue 2-Wading June 23/24 Blackfoot River Brad Thompson 3-Float: Obstacles, sweepers July 20/22 Georgetown Lake Gale Allen 1 July 27/29 Kelly Creek NEED HOST 3-Wade: Access, slick August 1 Spokane River Mike Berube 3-Wade, slick (Wade only-wednesday evening) August 3/5 St. Joe River Carla Ferguson 1-3-Wade: Depending on where. August 18/19 Middle Fork Flathead NEED HOST Sept. 8/9 North Fork CDA NEED HOST 2-Wading 3-Float: Rapids, obstacles, sweepers. Sept. 15/16 Clark Fork River NEED HOST 2-Float:Bridge abutments, small rapids, obstacles Sept.28/Oct.1 Missouri River-Craig, Mt. Carolyn Sells 2-Float: Bridge abutments, obstacles Oct. 7 Spokane River NEED HOST 3-Float: Rapids, obstacles, sweepers 3-Wade: Slick (Sunday Float) Oct. 15/16 Sprague Lake NEED HOST 1:Could be cold/windy. As you can see, hosts are needed for many of the outings. If you wish to volunteer or have any questions contact Don Tietz. don@troutfisher.org or phone his cell: The responsibility of a host includes coordinating times and meeting locations, securing mentors if needed, purchasing and preparing food (paid for by SFF) for the main course (if served, during an outing), writing an early article for the newsletter and following up with a recap article for the Barbless after the event. SEE PAGE 8 OF THE FEBRUARY BARBLESS FOR RATING DESCRIPTIONS

10 THE BARBLESS FLYER Spokane Fly Fishers P. O. Box 4141 Spokane, WA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR NAME TAGS TO THE MEETING NEXT MEETING MARCH 14, 2012 CONSERVATION/EDUCATION RAFFLE OPEN 6 PM - RAFFLE 7 PM ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL 1104 W. HEROY THE MISSION OF THE SPOKANE FLY FISHERS IS TO PROVIDE A FAMILY FRIENDLY ORGANIZATION FOR PROMOTING THE SPORT OF FLY FISHING THROUGH EDUCATION, APPLICATION, AND CONSERVATION.