Southeast Idaho Fly Fishers, 257 North Main, Pocatello, Idaho 83204, Google SEIFF. President s Message

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1 Club Chronicle Since 1972, promoting the sport of fly fishing March 2016 Southeast Idaho Fly Fishers, 257 North Main, Pocatello, Idaho 83204, Google SEIFF President s Message I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E President s Message Club Program Event Calendar Flies of the Month Casting About Early Season Lake Fishing for Trout TU and SEIFF February Board Minutes Joining Trout Unlimited A Caring Community It was great for SEIFF to be part of the ninth annual Sportsmen Against Hunger campaign Dear Members, Friends and All Interested Parties, Before I go on with anything else, I have to give you my Daylight Report. I left Idaho Falls last night at 6:15PM and it was still light not a lot of light, but at least enough light to make the drive back to Tyhee a bit easier and a little more pleasurable. I pulled in to my driveway at just about 7:00PM and looking off to the west (very far west I might add) I could still see a hint of orange from the sun that had set almost 45 minutes earlier. For me, this does nothing but brighten my spirits and anticipation for longer days and warmer weather. We are through the worst of it now. I do realize that this winter here in Southeast Idaho has been consistent with a more normal one, but still things should be getting better as we move through the Ides of February and finally into the blustery days of March. I am an optimist.let s hope it just gets better and better as we progress through the spring. It was great for SEIFF to be part of the ninth annual Sportsmen Against Hunger campaign. This year s fundraiser was once again held at the Cal Ranch store in the Pine Ridge Mall on Saturday January 30 th. Many thanks go out to all members that manned our booth and those club members that came and visited and donated to the cause. Please check out Darrell Brown s article that gives all the pertinent information concerning the total amount donated and how the Idaho Foodbank will leverage that amount into an incredible number of healthy meals to help members of our community in need. Thanks to SEIFF and all community members that have made this endeavor such a success. In closing, my hat goes off to Mr. Larry Larson, the new owner/operator of the Snake River Fly fly shop. With Larry s assistance, the SEIFF February 18 th club meeting was a resounding success. Mr. Kelly Galloup (AKA Mr. Streamer) from Galloup s Slide Inn in Cameron Montana, gave an awesome presentation on trout behavior, eating habits and streamer techniques that can help ALL of us catch more and larger fish. His program was filled with both insight and humor, which made for all 75 attendees having an enjoyable evening! Thanks to everyone for their attendance and support. Please stay tuned for more information concerning the March 10 th program with Mr. Boots Allen from Jackson, Wyoming. Check out my programs article in this issue to get the skinny on next month s exciting program. Very Sincerely, Tom Banyas, President-SEIFF Clicking on this icon will connect you to the SEIFF website for more information about SEIFF.

2 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 2 Upcoming Club Program By Tom Banyas, Program Chair The SEIFF March Program, Mongolia on the Fly will be presented by Boots Allen. It will be at Snake River Fly at 257 North Main, at 7 PM. He discusses his aweinspiring travel experiences through Eurasia. Boots has traveled throughout Mongolia, Russia, and several other countries in search of these huge river monsters since the late 1990s. In this informative program, Boots shares his knowledge from almost two decades of hardcore expeditions throughout the lands where Taimen fish rule the water. Tales of these giant, Central Asian salmonids have captured the imagination of fly fishers the world over. He discusses his awe-inspiring travel experiences through Eurasia, current conservation efforts to protect the region s game fish, and the thrilling opportunities available to those willing to stay for a few weeks (or months) and immerse themselves amongst the diverse cultures of Central Asia. Not only will you learn more about this incredible fish, you will also learn more about this incredible part of the world. This informative and interesting program is open to everyone at no charge. Sincerely, Tom Banyas, President and programs Chair for the SEIFF. Boots Allen Upcoming Events :00 PM, General Membership Meeting. Boots Allen will present the program on fishing in Mongolia and Khazakstan, details in this month s Newsletter :00 PM, Board of Directors Meeting, Snake River Flies :00 PM, General Membership Meeting. Idaho Fish and Game will present the annual program about the State of the Local Waters, details will be in April s Newsletter :00 PM, Last Board of Director s Meeting until August 18, South East Idaho Fly Fishing Expo, Shilo Inn, Idaho Falls. Fly Tying Demonstrations: The following fly tying demonstrations will be held on the Saturdays and at Snake River Flies in Pocatello or at Jimmy s in Idaho Falls from 10:00 AM- 1 PM at each location. These demonstrations are free to the general public. SNAKE RIVER FLY: 2.27 Kelly Spencer 3.5 Shawn Bostic 3.12 Moon Light Leaders JIMMY S: 2.27 Randy Randolph 3.5 Mike Glissmeyer 3.12 Christie Carlson

3 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 3 Fly of the Month John s Blue Caddis Emerger John Taylor, Contributor RECIPE: Hook: #W14-16 Daiichi 1530 Thread: Olive 6/0 UNI-thread Body: Blue Ice Dub Thorax: Yellow Fine and Dry Dubbing Wing: Hungarian partridge hackle Head: Peacock herl This fly can also be tied with a gold bead. Fishing suggestions: dead drifted below an indicator. Fly of the Month Tom s The Mohair Dragon Tom Banyas, Contributor This is another fly by a local SEIF tier and our club President, Tom Banyas. It is also featured in Bruce Staple s book Flies for the Greater Yellowstone Area, p 62. Another great pattern from one of our local members. RECIPE: Hook: #10-14 TMC 285 Thread: Olive 6/0 Danville Flymaster Eyes: Black plastic dumbbell Body: Olive blood mohair Rib: Gold Ice Dub Form the mohair body, then rib it with a broad band of Ice Dub. Add the eyes, then carefully pick out the mohair body with either a ceramic rake, a bodkin, or the looped side of the Velcro, so that the mohair fibers come out radially and trial the fly which gives it a lifelike motion during a retrieve. Fly of the Month Kelly s The Warbird Kelly Galloup, Contributor This is a fly designed and tied by the presenter at our last Club Program and also was here to demonstrate and tie flies for Snake River Fly grand opening on February 20 (See: Casting About for more info re Kelly). This fly is a stone fly imitation used on the Madison, Box Canyon and the South Fork among many. This fly is fished early in the year. I tie it in many other colors i.e. brown, olive, variegated chenille. RECIPE: Hook: #4-10 Daiichi 1720 Thread: Black 6/0 Danville Tail: Black marabou fibers Hackle: Black saddle Body: Black chenille Legs: Black round rubber legs Antennae: Black round rubber legs Blue Caddis Emerger The Mohair Dragon The Warbird

4 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 4 Casting About Tom Dial, Newsletter Editor SEIFF had a great program on 2.18 with Kelly Galloup. Kelly is the owner of Galloup s Slide Inn, located on the edge of the Madison River below Quake Lake. He was here for Snake River Flies opening. He is nationally known for his streamer patterns, streamer fishing techniques and the author of Modern streamers for Trophy Trout and several DVDs on streamer fishing. I met Kelly at the Fly Tying Expo in Idaho Falls several years ago. I purchased a book he had written titled Cripples and Spinners. Yup! Not a book about streamer fishing, but cripples and spinners. There was a companion DVD titled Tying Cripples and Spinners. At the time he purchased it, the old Slide Inn had a main building that was a log structure about the size of a small RV. He had some flies and tying materials located in the end of it. It had a lot of character like the old fly shops. Gail and I stopped there often. I have read Cripples and Spinners several times. It is informative and found his manipulating fly patterns most interesting. Jack Dennis writes this about the first time he met Kelly in the forward to the book: I was not quite prepared for this fly fishing dynamo. Kelly was a rugged character with wavy blonde hair and a grin from ear to ear. A man full of energy and charisma and who looked just like the old time fishing guides, with a swagger of a character from Hemingway s Two Hearted River. Kelly looked like he could row upstream on any river anywhere. Jack certainly had it right. He is a dynamic presenter and really put on an informative and spirited program. Kelly s little shop has grown. It is a nice place to browse through the fly bins to see some of the most innovative fly patterns and interesting tweaking he has done to some of the favorite patterns of that area. He has physically done most of the improvements himself. There are photos at his website, which is also interesting. If you are going to fish the Madison it would be worth your time to stop. It was a great evening. I have one of his flies in the Fly of the Month section of the Newsletter. Casting About - Continued It is nice to have great places to shop and talk to folks about our favorite sport, whether it is John Taylor at Ace or the folks at Sportsman s Warehouse Portnuef River Outfitters will be missed, but it is fun to see Roger moving about in Snake River Flies. Chuck Collins was there the retired owner of Pocatello s All Season Anglers. It is a family business, like Portneuf. His children are a fun and is wife is a real pleasure. If you have not been to Snake River Fly drop in you will like what you see. He will also be doing fly tying demonstrations on the next three Saturdays, the schedule for them can be found in the Dates and Events section of the Newsletter. Judge Peter McDermott loaned me several copies of Northwest Flyfishing. I read an interesting article about fishing the Portneuf River by Bryan Anglerson In the Jan/Feb 2016 issue, pp For those interested in reading the article, I think the magazine can still be found in magazine racks. Darrell Brown has a piece in this Newsletter about Sportsman Against Hunger and SEIFF s participation in it every year. Darrel heads that project up. He does a great job with it and it gives us a chance to help those who need it the most. Darrell is a great guy. He works the Newsletter over after I write it and makes what it is. He also manages our SEIFF Website, which is very informative. He was a past President of SEIFF and continues to donate his time behind the scenes. He is a talented fellow and the club is lucky to have had him supporting our efforts. I want to acknowledge him for his commitment and good work. If you see Darrell, give him a Thank You for his long service and commitment. It was nice to see lots of old friends at Snake River Flies grand opening. When I left to get into my car to drive home, I was thinking of how fortunate I was to have this friendship with folks I only know through the sport of fly fishing. The late spurt of sunny weather does a lot to improve one s attitude. I hope this month s Newsletter finds all of you well and prospering. Snake River Fly had its grand opening on February 20. Nice crowd, tiers, treats, in addition to Kelly doing demonstrations and fly tying. Larry and his wife have done a nice job with it. It is a good addition to the fly tying and fly fishing commerce we have in Pocatello.

5 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 5 Early Season Lake Fishing For Trout By Buck Goodrich, Newsletter Contributor While I am waiting for the rivers to drop, in the spring, I enjoy fishing lakes and reservoirs. In my mind it is more difficult to fish lakes then rivers. A river is a map in font of you that basically tells you where the fish most likely will be. A Lake doesn t give you this luxury. Depth finders etc. may help but most of the time I stay away from the hi-tech fishing equipment. So anyway lets talk about fishing lakes early in the year. The principle foods for trout, in the spring, are: midges, scuds, dragon flies, snails, angle worms and sometimes leeches. Lakes with major rivers coming into them will also have loads of salmon fly nymphs during the run off. The exact order of importance has been debated around campfires for centuries so I will give you my 2 cents worth. Without a doubt, in my mind, the midge is the most important. On the lakes I fish they come in various sizes from tiny to medium to large. Large midges are ½ to ¾ inches long and really turn the fish on. The medium and tiny guys (I mean tiny) don t seem to turn the trout on a feeding frenzy. Primary reasons for the importance of the midge is that they hatch everyday come rain, snow or shine and they are easy for the trout to catch. Fish are lazy, just like us, and they like their food to move slow. Next in importance is the scud. Scuds typically don t seem to move around much until a couple of weeks after ice out but when they do the trout love them. On one lake that I fish, the dragon flies become active before the scuds and they are the second primary food source but most lakes I don t see this transition. Snails, leeches and angle worms are very important if they are available. The problem with them is that they are not available for any long time period. Ok, what flies do I use to imitate the above food sources? This question is relatively straight forward to answer. Wooly Buggers, Prince nymphs, midges and Zug bugs are my favorites. Pheasant tail nymphs and the old Hares ear also are affective. Size is fairly important. Prince nymphs size run from 12 to 16, midges 18, Zug bugs, pheasant tails and Hares ears The old woolly bugger can be from 6 14 with the smaller ones used to imitate the scuds, and the larger ones dragon, salmon flies and leeches. I believe the Prince nymph makes a fairly good imitation for snails and midges in the smaller sizes. Most of the time I tied my flies as bead heads. If you are brave and don t mind a few tangles fish 2 flies. Next comes the $64 dollar question how do you fish them. Presentation is at least 90% of the problem. The various methods I use are: trolling, stripping, dry and a dropper and strike indicator. Fishing these methods requires two different lines a floating line and a sink tip. I am lazy so I carry two rods, one of each. Fishing For Trout - Continued Personally I prefer a 24 ft. sink tip over a sinking line and a 24 ft. sink tip over a 10 ft. I choose the method I use based on whether midges are hatching. The first method is self explanatory and I use it primarily to change locations or to try and locate fish. Adjusting the depth and trolling speed are the variables that one must adjust. Stripping allows changing more variables such as the type of retrieve. The old hand twist retrieve and stripping various lengths are some of the old tried and true methods that I use. One year I was experimenting with dragon fly designs on my favorite beaver pond when I made a poor cast. (hard to believe). So I stripped the fly in as fast as I could. You guessed right I caught a fish. I caught three more fish using this technique. So if you are having trouble catching fish try stripping as fast as you can. Later in the year a guide friend told me that this method works quite often for him. When you use this method you must count while your line is sinking so you can be consistent once you find the correct level. I learned about the strike indicator method while fishing Clark Canyon. My friends and I call this the worlds most stupid fishing methods but it sure works. It is a way, along with the dry and a dropper method, to present a fly that is not moving. It mat not be the most stupid but it is the most boring. This method seems to work best when the wind is not howling. The depth to use is one that is close to the bottom. If you have tons of fish rising around you and you can t catch them with the above techniques then it is time to go to the dry and a dropper method. Use a fly that you can see for the dry and place the dropper down 6 inches from the dry. The dropper should be small. Fish like you were dry fly fishing i.e. look for a feeding fish and try and get the fly in front of it. Sometimes they will take the dry but most of the time you will just see the dry disappear. I hope this article will help you catch more trout in lakes and also give you ideas. I sure would appreciate hearing from you folks about your experiences. ****************************************************************** And Read Joining Trout Unlimited on Page 6

6 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 6 February Board Meeting Minutes Board Members Attending: Tom Banyas, Peter Griffin, Denny Jones, Larry Larsen, and Bud Smalley 1. January Minutes: The January Board Meeting were read and approved as read and printed in the February Newsletter 2. SEIFF Finances: Clyde Lowther reported via phone. $ 13, Programs: Tom Banyas stated that Mr. Boots Allen from Jackson Wyoming will be the presenter for the March 10 th program. All reservations have been set. 4. Gibson Jack Culvert Project Update: Bud Smalley has been collaborating with Dave Teuscher, fisheries manager at Region 5 IDFG. All of the engineering has been completed and construction could start in the summer/fall and hopefully be completed by the fall of Previously, SEIFF has pledged $5, for the project. At this point, it is not known how much (if any) of the appropriated SEIFF funds might be used. IDFG was hopeful that existing funds and funding from other sources could be enough alone to complete the project. 5. BLM: has requested SEIFF support for the Morgan s Bridge Land Acquisition. The Morgan Bridge parcel is the largest parcel of private land within the Special Recreation Management Area. The boundary is along the Blackfoot river. Ownership would secure public access to the developed Morgan Bridge Campground (currently there is no legal access to the campground as well as secure access to 1.5 miles of shoreline along the Blackfoot River. BLM is only asking for support in the way of a support letter. There are NO monies involved. Tom Banyas will sign and send the letter of support for this project to BLM. 6. Expo Volunteers and Fly Box Donations: Tom Banyas is arranging volunteers to help at the expo. Volunteer numbers look good and will be finalized by the end of next week. Larry Larsen has stated the fly box donations are going smoothly and is very hopeful that all 20 boxes will be filled and ready for raffling off at the expo. 7. Position Vacancies Update: Mr. Tim Haskett, the proprietor/owner of Bannock Creek Outfitters was in attendance at the Board Meeting and expressed real interest in being a board member in a viable capacity. Also, in speaking with Mr. Rob Lion, Mr. Lion stated that he also wants to be a board member. Both are potentially excellent candidates to fill possible vacancies. Both possible candidates are further looking into what capacity would work for them. Minutes - Continued 8. Newsletter/Flier Printing Costs and Facebook: This topic was discussed and shelved. Current practices will continue thru the April newsletter to the end of the programs season. TU Membership was again discussed, as was electronic mailing of the newsletter. Monthly printing costs are continuing to mount. All present agreed electronic mailing was the best way to proceed in the future. Larry Larsen has volunteered to create a face book page solely for SEIFF. This will further enhance our outreach and provide access for many folks that use face book to stay in touch and beon top of their endeavors. Larry Larsen will begin work on the face book page with the understanding that nothing regarding current newsletter/flier practices will at this time be changed. 9. Casting for Warriors Update: Peter Griffin stated that Grace Lutheran Church will have a meeting in March to determine if their Casting For Warriors program will again be a possibility to aid veterans and their families. This could happen sometime in the summer of Pete will keep us informed and the board once again stated that SEIFF is more than willing to help support the program. The meeting was adjourned at 8:04. Joining Trout Unlimited As most of you know, South East Idaho Fly Fishers is a subsidiary organization of Trout Unlimited. To be a member of SEIFF, you need to be a member of TU. Your TU membership automatically qualifies you to receive the SEIFF Newsletter. We update our SEIFF membership rolls periodically and use the TU information for our club Newsletter mailing list. We just completed and updated a current mailing list for the Newsletter. If you are not a TU member, then you will not be receiving the Newsletter. To give those members whose TU membership may have expired, we will send you this month s Newsletter, but you will need to renew your TU membership to continue to receive the Newsletter in the future. Your membership can easily be renewed on the TU website. If any of you have any questions about it, please contact our President Tom Banyas, (208) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO ATTEND THE PROGRAMS.

7 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 7 A Caring Community By Darrell Brown, Newsletter Contributor For the past 9 years our local sports clubs and organizations have come together to help raise money for the Idaho Food Bank (IFB). This latest fundraising effort was again a great success. Clubs representing the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Idaho Fish & Game, Backcountry Horsemen, Mule Deer Foundation, Pocatello Field Archers, National Wild Turkey Federation and others gathered at our local Cal Ranch Store on the last Saturday in January. The event features a poker run for the fundraising effort while the clubs become the stations that people visit to learn about the clubs and get their poker card stamped for validation. The organizations participating are asked if they could donate an item that is used for the winning poker hands. This year Cal Ranch donated a spectacular Liberty 24 gun safe, Ducks Unlimited donated a very nice carved duck and other gift items. Traditionally SEIFF donates a very fine St. Croix rod/reel combination. The club would like to thank Snake River Fly and its owner Larry Larson for discounting the purchase price helping the club make this donation possible. This year $1,010 was raised and the National Wild Turkey Federation donated $500 to bring the total to $1,510. What does this mean to the IFB? Well, according to the IFB they can get 4 meals for every dollar donated. Doing the math the $1,510 dollars will allow IFB to purchase 6,040 meals. That s a feel good number that our community can be proud of. Next year marks the 10 th anniversary of this event and the organizer, Becky Hancock, wants to make this an extra special event and fundraising effort by contacting local businesses in the community for their support. In the past Great Western Equipment matched dollar for dollar the money raised from the poker run. This means that $2,000 raised from the run doubles to $4,000. If we can get this approach applied to several businesses the amount that can be raised could be absolutely awesome. Visit the club s website by clicking on the SEIFF logo below. At the website you will find an article summarizing past fundraising events along with numerous photos.

8 SEIFF Club Chronicle March 2016 Page 8 South East Idaho Fly Fishers (SEIFF) 257 North Main Pocatello, ID A PUBLICATION OF Google SEIFF or go to: SEIFF Board Officers Tom Banyas, President Pete Griffin, Vice President Clyde Lowther, Treasurer Tom Dial, Newsletter Editor Darrell Brown, Webmaster/Newsletter Layout SEIFF Board Meetings Club members are welcome to attend the meetings on the third Thursday in February, at 7:00 pm in the Snake River Flies at 257 North Main in downtown Pocatello. Website: Google SEIFF or html