Charlie Craven. Next Meeting February 7, :00 P.M.

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1 February 2013 Volume 18 Issue 2 Wichita, Kansas INSIDE THIS ISSUE Fishing Montana 2012 Page 2, 3 & 4 Dry Run Creek Page 5 & 6 March Meeting Page 6 One Fly Youth Clinic Presidential Thoughts Page 7 Books and DVD/s Membership Renewal Club Information Page 8 February Meeting Bring your fly tying vise and material and join us in an evening of fly tying. Questions and Answer If you have questions regarding any aspect of Fly Fishing please submit them to: dwan@mpmllc.net Visit our website www. flatlandflyfishers.org/ Charlie Craven has been a commercial fly tier for more than thirty years, tying flies for almost every species of gamefish, freshwater and saltwater, though he specializes in trout flies for the Rockies. He is a signature tier for Umpqua Feather Merchants, which produces fifteen of his patterns. Craven is co-owner of Charlie's Fly Box in Olde Town Arvada, Colorado, which was the winner of the 2009 Fly Fishing Retailer of the Year Award. will be the Flatland Fly Fishers Club 2013 Winter Program guest speaker. The Winter Program is scheduled for Saturday, February 9, Charlie will be presenting a slide show on Fishing Western Waters and tying flies from his books and videos. What: Flatland Fly Fishers Club Winter Program When: Saturday, February 9, 2013 Where: Great Plains Nature Center 6232 E. 29th St. N. Wichita, KS Who: Time: Charlie Craven Charlie Craven Registration 8:30 am 9:00 am 12:00 12:00 1:00 lunch break (not provided) 1:00 5:00 Cost: $25.00 $15.00 (15 and under) For directions to Great Plains Nature Center and Charlie Craven books and DVD s available at the program see page 8 Next Meeting February 7, :00 P.M.

2 2 Fishing Montana October 2012 Roger Gilger For the last few years I have fished for trout in Colorado during September either around Pagosa Springs or Steamboat Springs. This year my cousin invited me to spend a few days fishing with him in Montana. He had rented a house near Livingston for a week starting Oct. 17th. He had his daughter, son-in-law and another couple that was supposed to be with them for the first 3 days so my wife and I started making plans to be there on the 20th. I promised my wife we could combine some fishing and touring Yellowstone at the same time. When planning the route to Jackson Hole, WY and then on to Livingston I quickly discovered that it was almost the same distance if we went by Steamboat Springs on the way, so Bruce Garren and I planned our annual trip to Steamboat to begin on Oct. 6. (see Bruce s article in the Dec. newsletter). After a very good 5 days of fishing Bruce headed home on Thursday afternoon and I planned to stay there and fish the Yampa for 3 more days, but I went into the hospital Friday evening and was there for 2 days. I was released on Sunday afternoon and we debated whether to go on to Montana or home. We stayed 2 extra days in Steamboat to insure that I was well and could travel. I went down to the Yampa on Monday afternoon and tried to catch some more of the big browns, however they were not there, either it was only a morning place to fish or they had moved on up the river to their spawning areas. We left for Jackson Hole, WY on October 17, 2 days later than we had planned so we would tour the park and would do no fishing until at least October 20. The next day we drove up through the park, stopped to watch Old Faithful and a lot of the other geysers and drove along the Fire Hole, Gibbon and Madison rivers, all which I hope to fish some day. The next day we toured the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake and drove out the north entrance. At Gardiner, Mt I had a chance to stop into Parks fly shop, a place I had read a lot about, and visit with the guy whose flies I tie a lot of from You Tube. The shop was old and small, but impressive and it sets almost on the Yellowstone. We went back down through Mammoth Hot Springs, WY and exited the park through the west entrance and spent the night in West Yellowstone, MT. October 20 was supposed to be a day that I might have a chance to do some fishing, while driving from West Yellowstone to Livingston, however it was raining and snowing that day, so I decided to spend most of the time researching the rivers on the way. We decided to go from West Yellowstone over by Henry s Lake Idaho and then up to the Madison river and stop at Slide Inn, a fly shop owned by Kelly Galloup, who is famous for his streamers and methods for fishing. I really didn t expect to actually see him, but he was in the shop and there were not very many other customers, so I got to talk streamer fishing and buy a few from him. I told Bill Miller it was almost like it would be if you walked into a golf shop and talked to Jack Nickalus. Kelly was leaving the next week for a speaking engagement in Ashville, NC and was going to stop in Cotter, AR and fish the White with Davy Wotton. We drove up the Madison from there and then drove along the Gallatin river to Bozeman, had dinner with my cousin, and then went on to Livingston. Fire Hole River Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Old Faithful October 21st My cousin Jeff and I were going to go fishing either in Yellowstone Park in Lamar Valley or the Yellowstone River around Livingston. When my car wouldn t start that morning it had to be the Yellowstone. I called AAA and they said they would be there in an hour to start it but couldn t test the battery, I would need to go to O Reilly s in Livingston for that. They tested it and said it was good, so we went fishing in Livingston where 9th street crosses the river. It looked pretty good and we could see some fish rising when we got there, so we hurried to get our waders on and start fishing. We spent about an hour there and each caught 2 fish. I caught a nice brown and rainbow on a Hares Ear soft hackle and Jeff caught 2 cutthroat on midges. We spent the rest of (continued on page 3)

3 3 (continued from page 2) the afternoon looking for other places to access the river and wade, we tried a few places but had no success (the Yellowstone is a huge river that is usually fished from a drift boat). October 22nd We had a guide booked for Monday and were not sure if we were going to float the Yellowstone or fish DePuy s Creek. We met out guide Jim Lioi (jlioi14@gmail.com ) at 8:30, he had the drift boat behind his truck, but after discussing our options we decided to fish the creek. We knew that the high temperature for the day was going to be around 40 degrees and in the boat once we started the drift we were committed for the full day and would not be able to get out of the wind and warm up. At the creek we would never be very far from our car and would be out of the wind most of the time and could take a lunch break in one of the huts along the creek. During the normal season the rod fee for DePuy s Spring Creek was $100 and they allow16 people on the 3 miles of the creek and there are usually that many people fishing it then. The fee for fishing in the winter is $40 and the day we fished there were 3 people fishing and we only saw the other person about noon, when he was leaving. The creek turned out to be a very wise choice, because the high for the day was 37 degrees and it snowed most of the afternoon. Paradise Valley Spring Creeks There are 3 famous spring creeks in the valley south of Livingston. On the west side of the Yellowstone, Armstrong s Spring Creek (on the O Hair Ranch) is the origin of the spring creek to the west of the Yellowstone. The property line changes and the creek becomes DePuy s for 3 miles until it connects with the Yellowstone River. On the east side of the Yellowstone another spring creates Nelson s Spring Creek. Rod fees are the same on all 3 creeks $40 $100 depending on the season. Nelson s and Armstrong s are each about 1 mile long. I have read many articles and books about fishing these creeks and was glad to have the chance to fish one of them. They are all small crystal clear meadow streams loaded with wild fish. Their water flows at a constant degrees, produce dependable hatches, all season long and are usually very technical. DePuy s Spring Creek When you arrive at DePuy s you go to a very large old house where you check in with a very old lady (probably 90+) and pay your fees. The creek has been in her family for many years. Then you drive down to the section that you plan to fish and suit up and rig your rods. I asked Jim if he furnished flies or if he needed to use ours. He said he furnished his but he would like to check out my small fly selection, sometimes it is good to show the fish something they haven t seen before. He liked the Pat Dorsey patterns that I had tied and selected a size 20 Top Secret as one of the flies to start with along with an egg pattern. We walked downstream about 1/2 mile to where the creek runs thru a large culvert before entering the Yellowstone. My cousin had fished the creek many times before and decided to try a place where he had fished before about 200 yards upstream from where we started. Jim had me fishing about 50 feet above where the creek entered the culvert and every fish I hooked tried to go into it. I hooked about 20 browns in the range and they pulled harder than most trout of that size I have hooked before, my 5 wt was almost bent double and I couldn t keep them out of it. (continued on page 4)

4 4 (continued from page 3) When they got into the culvert they would usually break off on the sides of it. After breaking off about 6 or 7 times Jim asked if I had a 4X leader in my bag and I did. He rigged it with 4X all the way to the flies and it didn t seem to slow down the bite any and the fish to the net ratio improved a lot (normally they have to use 6X or smaller in the creek). Jeff saw how much fun we were having and came to try it, I gave him my rod and he tried it for a while and caught 1, he was having trouble getting the hang of it because it was a very difficult cast and then a roll cast mend to get the right drift to get the flies down to the fish. We used over a dozen of my Top Secrets and were able to recover one when I caught a fish that had broken off earlier and still had my fly and the egg pattern that was above it in his jaw. After about 3 hours of this it was getting really cold, so we decided to walk back upstream to one of the small huts they have along the creek to eat lunch and warm up some. When we got there the only other angler on the creek was leaving, he decided it was to cold for him. After lunch we drove up about 1 mile where the road crossed the creek, above the crossing we could see a major mayfly hatch going and lots of nice fish rising to them. Jim said the area below the road should be good with the nymph rig and he would take Jeff up to work on the rising fish. I tried the rig I had on for awhile, changed flies added weight. I never did get the right drift for those fish and didn t want to take the time to change leaders, tippet and flies...so I just spent the last 45 minutes of the afternoon watching Jeff try to get a good drag free drift with the dries while trying to target the largest of the risers. He was probably successful about on 10% of the casts and caught some very nice fish around 17 or better on dry flies and I really enjoyed standing in the snow and watching. October 23rd Lynn and I left for home the next morning and Jeff and Robin were packing to leave the next day and fly to Chicago for a conference and back to Texas in a few days. We went by the Bighorn Battle Field and planned to see Mount Rushmore the next day, but when we got there and drove up to the parking lot the ranger said we could go ahead and park and go to the gift shop and restaurant if we wanted. But we couldn t see the monument because it was snowing too bad. We drove on to Sidney, NE and checked into our motel before going to eat and to the Cabela s store. When we left the restaurant it was snowing such big flakes that they were like snow balls coming at you at about 40 mph, but we went to Cabela s anyway. The next morning everything was covered with about 4 of snow, but by the time we were ready to leave most of it was off the road and we had an easy drive home from there. House where we stayed close to Livingston, had great views. Your Year round Fishing Store Bass Pro Orders Accepted Fly Fishing/Tying Hard to Find Items Lure Making Supplies 737 S. Washington Wichita, KS (316) (316) Fax Like us on Facebook info@zeiners.com

5 5 Dry Run Creek My sixteenth birthday was coming up and my parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday. After thinking about it, knowing that I could no longer fish this unbelievable fishery once I turned sixteen, I decided that one last trip to Dry Run Creek would be the ultimate gift. I came to this conclusion because of the unbelievable fishing action I had from the first trip to Dry Run. Dry Run Creek is a small catch-and-release stream in northern Arkansas that is restricted to youth under the age of sixteen, or disabled. This stream offers the four main trout species that all grow BIG: Rainbow, Brown, Cutthroat, and Brook. The widest part of the creek is about twelve feet. The narrowest part is around six feet and is about half a mile long. This creek is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is covered with tall trees that shade the entire creek, and is very comfortable and cool in the summer heat. The stream is fed by the trout hatchery next to it that supplies the area with fish. Big pipes release the water from the hatchery. This tributary to the Norfork runs crystal clear and ice cold all year. We left on Friday at 6:00 p.m. on the 21st of September. We drove about four hours and got a motel for the night. The next morning (Saturday) I got up and went out to the car to get my tooth brush, and noticed that the car was a little shorter than the night before. I thought that I must have grown a foot over night, which is not so unusual for me. I looked down and noticed the tire was flat; this was a big disappointment for me because fixing it would take time out of my fishing. Dad and I changed the tire, then we all got around, ate breakfast and left. On the way we stopped to get the tire fixed which didn t take that long at all maybe ten minutes or so then we were on our way again to our fishing spot. When we arrived, they (mom, dad, and my younger brother) dropped me off at Dry Run Creek, where I suited up. I tied on a prince nymph size 14 and attached a strike indicator 2 ½ ft. up the line and pinched a couple small split shot six inches from the fly. I walked down to the stream, where I made my first cast right above a rock. I watched the strike indicator as it floated down stream for an indication of a bite. When it drifted by the rock, the indicator jolted under and I was in for a good fight with a nice size Rainbow that was about fourteen inches long. It took me (I m guessing) three minutes to land this beauty. I caught fish after fish in the next few hours (I m guessing 40) and ended the day with a BIG brown. This was a very good start to the trip. Steven Reeves The next morning (Sunday) I decided to go with my family to float the White River with a boat that my dad had rented to do a little SPIN fishing, yes, I know, it s cheating but there were 4 of us and I didn t think a 9 ft. rod flying all over the place would be very conducive. We all caught some fish and had a lot of fun. Around noon we headed back to the cabin for lunch. After lunch, I was trying to make a big decision between fishing the Norfork or to fish Dry Run again. We had the boat for that afternoon so I couldn t resist choosing the Norfork. I love fishing on big rivers and even though Dry Run offers numbers of sizable fish the Norfork is more of a challenge, and I would have most of the day on Monday to fish Dry Run Creek again. Dad and I rigged up our fly rods and jumped in the boat that was right next to our cabin and headed up the White River to the Norfork. We went most of the way up, but they were not letting much water out of Norfork Lake so it was very shallow in places. I had to stand up and spot for dad to make sure we didn t high center the boat in shallow places. Once we got up most of the way we stopped at a promising piece of water where I tied on a red San Juan worm and then put a strike indicator about 3 ft. up the line and pinched on some split shot. We caught a few fish and then anchored off a few other places, but decided that anchoring off all the time was too much trouble so we started drift-fishing. Just dad and I were on this adventure, so someone had to man the boat and of course I didn t have the experience needed. Since you can t fish and steer a boat at the same time, dad ended up steering and watching me fish. I might have caught eight or so fish but it s not about the numbers in my opinion, it s about how much fun you have, so even though I am too old now to fish Dry Run Creek, I will definitely come back to this area to fish the Norfork and the White rivers. On Monday I went back to Dry Run for one last day of unforgettable fishing, so I suited up and my dad drove me the short distance to the creek. I started at the lower part and worked my way up the stream, catching fish after fish until I was about half way up stream, and then I got to a small pool of water that had a lot of (continued on page 6)

6 6 March Meeting (continued from page 5) fish, and then it happened. The indicator stopped and I knew that a fish had my fly. I set the hook into a big Brown trout. It did not fight hard at first but just swam around the small pool of water; then he got tired of it and started taking out line. He swam way up stream and went under a fallen branch and then went over the branch and back down stream. I jumped for a rock that the branch was in front of, but lost balance and my left boot plunged into the icy cold water which came over the top and filled up. I pulled the branch up and managed to untangle the line. By this point, the fish was back in the same small pool he came from. Now, he decided to go down stream and under a large rock that was held up by two other rocks, making a small bridge, at this point I thought that I would never land this fish because the current was pretty heavy, but I got down and stuck my fly rod through the opening under the rock, and grabbed it on the other side. I had to chase the fish for a little while, but I finally landed the fish, dumped the water out of my boot and the cool thing is, mom got it all on video. This was the biggest fish of the trip. After that fish I only had about twenty minutes left to fish, so I decided to try a size 8 stone fly simply tied with rubber legs and chenille. I caught a nice Rainbow and then it was time to leave. The flies I had the most success with used on Dry Run consisted of: San Juan worm size 12, Zebra Midge size 18, Serendipity size 18, Pheasant Tail size 12, and a Prince nymph size 14. Mike Kaul is from Pinedale, Wyoming a small town nestled at the foot of the Wind River Mountains, which serves as a gateway to the Bridger Wilderness. Mike has taken every opportunity in the past 50 years to chase these wily trout with a fly rod. He also takes pleasure in. helping others enjoy the sport and is a FFF Certified Flycasting Instructor. Mike will provide commentary and a visual experience on the lightly traveled Bridger Wilderness and focus on the trout streams flowing from the Wind River Mountains and the Wyoming Mountain Range. In addition to fishing, Mike will also discuss other recreational activities featured in the area, talk about the rich history of the region and provide information on accommodations and services. WESTERN WYOMING FISHING ADVENTURES (A Power Point Presentation) The Bridger Wilderness located in western Wyoming encompasses nearly 400,000 acres of pristine forest, lakes, streams, and mountains, including the Wind River Mountain Range. This vast area of unparalleled beauty, sometimes referred to as the "forgotten wilderness" because of its lack of notoriety, contains 1300 lakes, several hundred miles of connecting streams, 15 of 16 highest peaks in Wyoming, 27 active glaciers, and over 600 miles of trails. The Wind River Mountains, the largest continuous mountain chain in the lower 48 states, produces the headwaters of a multitude of outstanding fishing streams which include great trout producing rivers such as the Green and New Fork. These venues offer anglers the chance to get away from crowds and pursue a wide variety of fresh water fish to include rainbow, brown, brook cutthroat, golden, lake (mackinaw) trout and the feisty grayling. I would recommend Dry Run Creek to anyone under the age of 16 for a guaranteed day of catching fish. I am too old to fish Dry Run Creek now, but I will never forget the time I had at this one-of-a-kind fishery. However, I do plan to go back to fish the Norfork and White. KAUL'S FLY FISHING SCHOOL P.O. BOX 415 PINEDALE, WYOMING Also view our web site www. 2rivers.net

7 7 The one tradition that the Flatland Fly Fishers Club holds dear to its heart is the One Fly activity on January 1st. This activity is a great way to the beginning of a new year. January 1, 2013 was a chilly and snowy day but those in attendance had a hearty breakfast prepared by Neal and Sabra. With breakfast over the anticipation for the beginning of the One Fly was overwhelming (NOT). Instead of getting out their waders most opened their fly tying equipment and started tying. Those who did head to the water: Die Hard Adam Youth Clinic One Fly The 2013 One Fly winner was Bill Ethridge. I am woman hear me roar Sabra Fly: Silver Bullitt Hook: #16 Scud Head: Silver Bead Thread: Gray, white or silver Body: Flat Silver Tinsel Thorax: Charcoal Dubbing Shuck: Fluff from base of partridge feather Flatland Fly Fishers Club is getting things ready for its second Youth Clinic. More information will follow in the newsletter and on the web site. For more information contact Adam Urban. Presidential Thoughts It s February, and as I write this page we have had very little rain. What rain we have had has put some water in the Slough, but not enough. We need to come to terms with one fact; we may not have much water in any of our river systems this coming year. Water conservation and water restrictions will become buzz words very soon. Low water conditions may make some ponds and streams fish better because there is not a lot of water for the fish to hide in. So we will have to handle fish with kid gloves, use a net, be sure that your barbs are bent down. The fish will be stressed. Do not fight a fish anymore than you have too. On the up side, now is a good time to check out your fishing hole and take some pictures of the shore line with no water on it. A chance to see why you catch fish in one place along a shore line and not in others places. It is also a good time to add some structure to your fishing place, so that when we do get some rain the fish will have a new place to call home. I would like to thank Neal and Ken for their work on the Slough Creek Project. If you have not gone over to the Slough Creek you should go and see all of the work that was done. It looks great. With some more rain the Slough will be a better place to fish. Our Winter Program is on February 9 th, so make sure you have saved the date to come out and see Charlie Craven. Bring all of your fly fishing buddy s with you to the Great Plains Nature Center. We are putting together a club trip to Mountain Home, Arkansas and the White River system on October 3 rd to 5 th to fish and attend the Fly Fishing Federation fly fishing show for the SCC. Our club banner needs to hang alongside the other club banners at the dinner on Thursday night. I hope to have a number of us in attendance at the conclave in Mountain Home. At this point in time we need to start making plans as where to stay, in town or on the river. If you would like to go let me know soon so that when we start contacting places we have some idea as to how many rooms we need to get. Don t put this off to long as I would think that a lot of places may already be booked by other clubs. More information at the next meeting. See You There. Flatland Fly Fishers Club is in need of a Program Chairperson. If interested talk with any 2013 board member.

8 5709 N. Sullivan Wichita, KS Flatland Flyfishers meet monthly at the Great Plains Nature Center, located at 6232 E. 29th St. N, Wichita, KS Books and DVD s Available Charlie Craven s Basic Fly Tying $40.00 Charlie Fly Box: Signature Flies for Fresh and Salt Water $40.00 Fly Fisherman Foundation Fly Patterns: 101-Beginning Patterns DVD $25.00 Fly Fisherman Foundation Fly Patterns: 201-Basic Patterns DVD $25.00 Fly Fisherman Foundation Fly Patterns: 301 Intermediate Patterns DVD $25.00 Fly Fisherman Foundations Fly Patterns; 401 Advanced Patterns DVD $25.00 Club Membership Renewal Time Ark River Anglers Fly Tying Class Introduction to Fly Tying February 13 & 20 Wednesday 6 pm Come join us Saturday s at 10 am for fly tying seminars Please Call for additional dates and information The 2013 membership dues are $25 for individual, $35 for family and $10 for 15 years and younger. Newsletter will only be sent via to 2013 members Renewals can be done at club meetings, club activities or download membership form from website and mail form and dues to: Flatland Fly Fishers or Dwan Welty 5709 N. Sullivan 1111 N. Washington Wichita, KS Wichita, KS Flatland Fly Fishing Club Upcoming Activities February 9, 2013 Winter Program October 19, 2013 Fall Picnic/Banquet Pending Activities: Youth Clinic, Blue Gill Fest, Casting Day, Tying Day, Federation Weekend