VOLUME 50 MAY 2015 NUMBER 5 MAY MEETING. Thursday, MAY 21, Farm House. Dinner/General Meeting:

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1 VOLUME 50 MAY 2015 NUMBER 5 MAY MEETING Thursday, MAY 21, Farm House Wet Fly: Dinner/General Meeting: 6:00PM 7:00PM Greetings from the President: By: Bruce Freet, President Just a reminder to you and me that fish size doesn t always matter, but the camaraderie and catching does. It can be great fun to take a kid fishing! May is our last meeting before summer! Our meeting theme is equipment to help us prepare for the many fishing opportunities that summer brings. There will be a Swap Meet during our Wet Fly session from 6 to 7:00 pm, so bring your used, unwanted equipment to sell or trade. Then, our program speakers, Scott Willison of The Confluence Fly Shop and Erik Johnson the representative for Sage, Redington, and Rio, will share their new equipment. To make things especially interesting, several gift certificates will be raffled. When fishing WA and BC lakes, remember that our exceptionally low snowpack will lower lake levels, improve water clarity, and increase water temperature. This could bring earlier aquatic insect hatches and make trout more wary and difficult to catch. The salmon smolts should still be along the Puget Sound beaches in May with sea-run cutthroat trout and bull trout in hot pursuit. For rivers, the Mother s Day caddis hatch is rapidly approaching. We have a couple of outings this month: Russ Asbury is coordinating the last beach fishing on May 2 nd ; Dan Ballard is doing the same for Big Twin Lake between May 11 th and 18 th ; and there was the Washington Fly Fishing Fair in Ellensburg on May 1 st and 2 nd. (See our website bulletin board Outings for details).

2 In the words of my one-time favorite TV stars, Happy Trails, until we meet again; Happy Trails, keep smilin until then. Bruce Freet, President 2015 May Presentation: By: Scott Willison The May program will feature Scott Willison, owner of the Confluence Fly Shop in Bellingham, WA. Scott will present a brief slide presentation on what s new exciting in the fly fishing industry and provide an opportunity for the club to get a hands on experience with a variety of fly fishing and tying equipment. Scott will showcase some cutting edge fly tying products during the program s Wet Fly, and will have a particular focus on some of the new fly fishing gear that offers exceptional value and quality on a budget along with some contemporary products that members may have not yet had an opportunity to check out up close and personal. As with his presentation last year, products will be themed around some of Scott s favorite local fisheries so there will certainly be some fish pictures and plenty of discussion around the equipment s practical applications. Erik Johnson of Angler s Rendezvous (Sage/Redington/Rio) will be on site with a wide selection of new rods and lines to play with. This year s presentation promises to be interactive and give members an opportunity to test rods, lines and have some fun. We ll be setting up a casting obstacle course of sorts to give members a chance to see how some of the latest rods perform in a series of common fly fishing scenarios and will happily offer advice, assistance and thoughtful answers to those questions you ve been dying to ask, except for disclosing that special place where all the trout are 5 lbs. or better and only eat dry flies all day long. Bio: Scott Willison owns and operates the Confluence Fly Shop in Bellingham, WA, now into its third year. He grew up in Renton, WA and has been fly fishing and tying flies since the age of 12. Much of his early fishing focused on trout, from the Cedar River cutting through the valley just a few short miles from his home to the fertile high desert lakes east of the Cascades to the blue ribbon streams of Montana and Colorado. Aside from trout exploits across the West, Scott s fished in the Bahamas, Mexico, Costa Rica and France. Since discovering steelhead on the swung fly in his early twenties, Scott s morphed into a steelhead fanatic and spends much of the year fishing a spey rod from the NF Stilly to the Olympic rainforests and lower mainland BC. He seems to spend more and more time frequently the beaches of Puget Sound these days and has an immense love pursuing sea run cutthroat and coho salmon from the quiet beaches of Puget Sound. It is the puzzle of all puzzles in fly fishing but deeply rewarding. Scott also enjoys fly fishing large and smallmouth bass throughout Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Scott is a self-described fly tying nerd and tied commercially for several years through his company, Willy Dog Flies. He has also worked as a fly fishing guide on the Skagit, Stillaguamish and Olympic Peninsula rivers. Beyond fishing, Scott is a Native Fish Society River Steward for the Stillaguamish River and former educator for the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association. He has written several articles for Northwest Fly Fishing along with chapters in some upcoming books from Stonefly Press. Scott is also an active member of the Fourth Corner Fly Club and involved with the club s outings committee.

3 Fly of the Month By: Scott Willison Helter Smelter Hook: Gamakatsu SC-15 Thread: White 140 Denier Ultra Thread Wing: White or Polar Bear Super Hair, UV Minnow Belly, Gray Olive Craft Fur, Electric Purple Angel Hair, Dark Olive Craft Fur Lateral Flash: Opalescent Lateral Scale Belly: White or Polar Bear Super Hair, Red Angel Hair or SLF (if a gill slash is desired) Head: Fish Skull (weighted) or Fish Mask (unweighted) About the fly: While I initially tinkered with this pattern to come up with what has proven to be a highly productive surf smelt imitation for fly fishing off the beaches of North Puget Sound, it serves as a very effective prototype for matching any number of prey fish species. The Helter Smelter tied in a gray over white or olive over white makes an excellent small whitefish, trout or salmon parr imitation for bull and rainbow trout in the Skagit. Yellow over white or chartreuse over yellow is deadly on Whatcom smallmouth and it can also be adapted to match the redside shiners that Ross Lake rainbow trout and char forage upon. The weighted version has an irresistible jigging action similar to a Clouser Minnow but maintains a far more realistic profile. Craft Fur is soft and lends nice movement to the fly, but I ll often substitute Slinky Fiber, which is crimped if I want a broader or more translucent profile to the fly, such as for imitating a herring. May Outing is here! May 11 th thru 18 th - Big Twin Lake, WA. If you can make it contact Dan Ballard if you would like to attend. Washington State Council IFFF: By: Danny Beatty Washington State Council IFFF Fly Fishing Fair The Fly Fishing Fair, held in Ellensburg, again was a success for the ninth consecutive year. More classes, more booths and more casting situations along with the established fly tying created much interest for those attending. The Council receives no financial support from IFFF membership or from the council s affiliated clubs. The Fly Fishing Fair is the main fund raiser. With past funds raised by the Council, projects such as fish for Chopaka Lake, aerator for Little Twin, Fly rods for students and support for the Northwest Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy were available. The largest donation of $1500 went to support the one handed fly fishing device. Healing Waters had a booth at the Fair and displayed these newer fly fishing and fly tying devices. A former member of our club has volunteered for Healing Waters. The Overlake Fly Fishing Club in Bellevue took over the fly casting games which for years were done by members of the Fidalgo club. Two members of the club, Russ Osenbach and Danny Beatty represented the Fidalgo club at the tying table.

4 Ellensburg is an easy three hour drive from Anacortes. Ellensburg motels always have a nice discount for Fair attendees. As a fly fisher, you owe it to yourself to make plans now for the first weekend in May 2016 to attend this important event. Pass Lake Angler Fish Census and WDFW Gill Netting By: Bruce Freet For several years now the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) stocks Pass Lake with rainbow (10,000 to 12,000; 200 per lb.) and brown trout (4,000 to 5,000; 50 per lb.) as well as 162 triploid rainbows (1.5 lb. each). Prior to this, WDFW was stocking larger and fewer fish with 75% rainbow and 25% brown trout. The brown trout were planted for the fly fishing challenge of larger fish and to keep the unwanted green sunfish population low. After a few years of catching smaller trout and suspecting that Pass Lake was over-stocked, the Fidalgo Fly Fishers along with members from three other area clubs began a spring and fall fish census last year in cooperation with Justin Spinelli, WDFW fisheries biologist. Here are our findings after a second spring of fly fishers catching, measuring, and releasing rainbow and brown trout at Pass Lake. By sampling the lake annually in the spring (and possibly fall) for several years we can compare the results from angler fish census with gill netting and improve our tracking of changes in fish density (catch rate), the ratio of rainbows to browns, and fish condition (plumpness, disease, etc.). This monitoring is particularly important if WDFW changes its fish stocking strategies in the future to determine if we are achieving our desired objectives. Our 2015 angler fish census was from March 14 th to April 4 th. During this period, 13 anglers fished 230 hours and caught 292 trout (85% rainbows and 15% browns). For rainbows the largest fish was 17.5 inches long, but the average size was 14 inches and slightly more than a pound. On average, they weighed a little bit more than last year, which may be the result of being able to feed on a large Daphnia population during most of the warmer than normal winter. Thirty-four percent of the rainbows were over 16 inches and averaged 1.5 pounds. The browns were noticeably larger with the largest being 20 inches and the average length of 17 inches and weighing 1.75 pounds. Seventy-three percent were over 16 inches. Rainbow Trout Size Class Comparison 70% 60% 50% % 30% 20% 10% 0% Under over 18 A 16-hour period of gill netting caught 36 rainbows, 28 browns, and 3 green sunfish. Of these fish, 14 browns (50%) and 24 rainbows (65%) died as a result of being netted. The rainbows ranged in length from 11.7 to 18 inches and weighed 0.6 to 1.8 pounds. The brown trout ranged in length from 6.7 to 20.1 inches and weighed 0.1 to

5 2.8 pounds. The gill netting mortality of 38 fish was so small that it had a negligible effect on the overall populations. The angling catch data can be strongly influenced by the inherent variability in individual fishing methods such as dry flies versus chironomids versus woolly worms versus leeches. For example, the angling catch of brown trout was 15% of the total fish caught, while the gill net catch was 42%. Part of the reason for the higher brown trout count with the gill nets is that our angler fish census did not catch a brown trout less than 13.5 inches, whereas the gill net caught them as small as 6.7 inches. We need to determine how many brown trout were too small to be caught by anglers because we rarely caught fish under 11 inches. However, our angling methods appear to be targeting rainbows. Gill netting does tend to be less variable than angling, and thus more rtepresentative of the actual populations. This quick look at our catches shows a strong declining trend with size and values are below what is considered a healthy population in North America. These results further support our previous suspicions that the trout populations are too large for the available food resources; however, further data analysis as time permits later this year is required and WDFW may do some electro-fishing as well. The bottom line is that everyone wishes to improve the fishery. Bruce Freet, Jake Jacobson of the Evergreen Fly Fishing Club, and Justin Spinelli, WDFW Fisheries Biologis Special Event at this Month s Meeting: By: Scott Willison At the conclusion of this month s meeting there will be a raffle for four very special prizes. One of the prizes will be a Gift Certificate for $100 from the Confluence Fly Shop in Bellingham. The other three prizes will be for $50 Gift Certificates from the Confluence Fly Shop in Bellingham. The rules are simple: One ticket per person attending the meeting The raffle will be held at the end of the meeting MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN. The tickets will be given to each attendee when they purchase their meal. If you are not planning to purchase a meal, stop by the table to pick up your ticket. Up Coming Events: 2015 International Fly Fishing Fair Bend The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center, Aug th. September 8th, 2015 several Fidalgo Fly Fishers will depart Western Washington for the St Joe River. Contact Russ Asbury Note: Please check the Outings and Event page on the web site, things get added from time to time.

6 Two Section of the Yakima River Open: By: Carl Hendricks Two sections of the Yakima River to open for spring chinook fishing Action: Open two sections of the Yakima River to fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon. Species affected: Hatchery Chinook salmon. Locations & Dates: Area 1: Open daily from the Hwy. 240 bridge in Richland (river mile 2.1) to the Grant Avenue bridge in Prosser (river mile 47.0) approximately 1,000 feet downstream of Prosser Dam. Area 2: Open daily from the Interstate 82 bridge at Union Gap (river mile 107.1) to the BNSF railroad bridge approximately 600 feet downstream of Roza Dam (river mile 127.8). Reason for action: Yakama Nation (YN) and WDFW fishery managers are forecasting a harvestable return of 3,900 adult hatchery spring chinook to the Yakima River in Opening the two sections of the Yakima River for spring chinook will provide additional fishing opportunity. Other information (both areas): Daily limit of two (2) hatchery chinook. Minimum size - 12 inches. Hatchery salmon are identified by a missing adipose fin and a healed scar in the location of the missing fin. Wild salmon (adipose fin intact) must be immediately released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water prior to release. The use of two (2) fishing poles is permitted during the salmon fishery provided the participating angler has purchased a Two-Pole Endorsement (in addition to the freshwater fishing license and Columbia River salmon/steelhead endorsement). Fishing for steelhead remains closed. All steelhead (rainbow trout greater than 20 in total length) must be immediately released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water prior to release. A Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead Endorsement is required to participate in this fishery except for Free Fishing Weekend, (recording salmon catch on a free Catch Record Card is required on Free Fishing Weekend). Special Rules for Area 1: Terminal gear is restricted to two, single-point, barbless hooks with a hook gap from point to shank of 3/4 inch or less when fishing for salmon. Use of bait is allowed. For the duration of this salmon fishery, the Yakima River adjacent to the USBR Chandler Powerhouse/Pumping Station is closed to all fishing from the WDFW white markers 200 downstream of the spillway chute to the power line crossing immediately upstream of the powerhouse. Special Rules for Area 2: For the duration of this salmon fishery, the upper closed water boundary line is moved upstream to the railroad bridge downstream of Roza Dam to provide additional opportunity to harvest hatchery chinook. Terminal gear is restricted to two, single-point, barbless hooks with a hook gap from point to shank of 3/4 inch or less. During the salmon fishery, the Selective Gear Rules prohibiting use of bait and knotted nets is temporarily suspended, but only in the river section open to salmon fishing. Night closure in effect.

7 Other information (Area 2): Fishing from boats equipped with an internal combustion motor (ICM) is allowed only from the I-82 bridge at Union Gap to the east-bound (upstream) I-82 bridge at Selah Gap. Boats with an ICM may be used for transportation only upstream of the Selah Gap Bridge. Closed to fishing for all species 400 feet upstream from the upstream side of the Yakima Ave./Terrace Heights Rd. bridge in Yakima, including the area adjacent and downstream of the Roza Wasteway No. 2 fish barrier rack next to Morton & Sons Inc. Retention of trout and other game fish is prohibited until the statewide river season opener on Saturday, June 6. May Swap Meet: By: Jim Paget May is the month when we hold our Swap Meet. Members are urged to bring anything fly fishing related to our Meeting on May 21 st. All transactions will be strictly between the two individuals involved. There will be no charge or fee by the club. If you think that you will need some room to display your items, please call me, Jim Paget, at by Monday, May 18 th so that I can make sure that we have enough tables available. So if you have rods or reels or lines or even flies or other equipment that you would like to turn into cash, bring them to the meeting on May 21 st. Dinner Survey: By: Bruce Freet To all Fidalgo Fly Fishers: After a couple of months varied meeting attendance, your help with our website survey enabled our estimate to be very close to the actual attendance in April. Thank you, and let s do it again! Please tell us if you are coming, what you wish for dinner (or no dinner), and if you are bring a guest and what they wish for dinner. It will only take you a couple of minutes to complete this information. Also, we need to have you complete the survey even if you are not planning on attending. The survey will end by 4:00 pm on Monday May 18 th, so we can give the Farmhouse plenty of notice. For our May 21 st meeting, the Farmhouse will be serving a buffet dinner of Teriyaki Chicken ($15) or a separate Chicken Oriental Salad ($13). Thank you, Bruce Freet The survey can be found on our club website at Just click on this link and the survey form will display, enter the information and click Review then Submit.

8 Big Twin 2015: By: Dan Farmer Advance Party Report May 10 Big Twin Lake RV Camp is up and running for the season. Last weekend had most RV sites filled and about half the tent sites occupied. A full house for this early in the season. By Sunday night all but a handful of guests have gone home. Fishing has been very good just before dark using nymph patterns up close to shore in size 12 to 16. Weekend reservations are promising to be busy, especially as we get closer to Memorial Day but weekdays are wide open. The past few days the daytime temps have been in upper 70 s, nighttime temps going down into the 40s. Come on over and join in the fun, May This is the last Meeting until September! Fidalgo Fly Fishers want to wish the membership a great summer and to have many happy days of fishing and enjoying this beautiful place we all live.

9 Photo of the Month: Photo By: Trenton Hendricks (son of Carl) Fly Shops: The Confluence Fly Shop 2620 N. Harbor Loop Drive #9 Bellingham, WA (360)