Headwaters. President s Message By Jim Bowen. February 2016 General Meeting. August 2016

Transcription

1 August 2016 Headwaters Newsletter of the Stanislaus Fly Fishers President s Message By Jim Bowen A CHARTER CLUB OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FLY FISHERS MEMBER OF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE FEDERATION OF FLY FISHERS February 2016 General Meeting August 9, :00 PM Mill Creek Church, 147 Auto Center Court Modesto, CA Click here for a map Wow! We came home from our place in the Sierras just in time to enjoy the 8 day heat wave. We got out early for a little exercise then spent the afternoons catching up on movies we wanted to see. A nice air conditioned theater is not a bad place to hang out in the afternoon when the temps top 100 degrees. Of course the crest of the Sierras is still cool during the day. At least mornings and evenings. The dog days of summer is a fine time to bust out the 3 and 4 weights, 2 s if you have one and investigate the small streams and creeks of the high mountains. Small water and small fish are a blast on dry flies. They aren t sophisticated in the least but they remind us of younger days and why we came to love our sport. I mentioned water temps in the last newsletter so please carry a thermometer and keep an eye on the water temperature. We want to do right by our catch and release ethic and ensure our released fish survive. When the water temps hit the mid- 60 s or higher, even a long resuscitation may not be enough to guarantee fish survival. Our trout are too precious to kill. If you are fishing a put and take fishery in this weather and heat, then maybe it s time to release them into a nice hot cast iron skillet and enjoy a fresh trout dinner. The planted fish are there for that purpose. Also, I hear the bass fishing in the delta is turning on and I d bet the evening top-water bite is worth investigation. On a totally different note its time to talk about our club and its future. As many of you noticed I posted the location, date and time of our last board of directors meeting on Facebook in the hopes some of you would show up and not only offer input into club matters but see how little effort and time is required to serve an officers position or volunteer for a chair position. We have reached burnout level with the existing club leadership. Mike Hewitt, who is the backbone of our club, has served in every officer position and is serving as secretary again. Arvis Haskins is serving his second term as treasurer. Pat Roe, who was president last year and has served as a board member Continued on Page 4

2 Stanislaus Fly Fishers Membership Information Membership dues are $36 per year for members. Club News August Program: Barbara Byrne Fish Biologist Water Operations & Delta Consultation Branch NOAA Fisheries New Melones Members must also join the International Federation of Fly Fishers. Dues vary, but do not exceed $35 for a single, one-year membership. SPONSORS sierraanglers.com Trident Fly Fishing 765 Roosevelt Trail Suite 8 Windham, ME tridentflyfishing.com (888) ups/stanislausflyfishers/ We re on the Web! Visit us at: stanislausflyfishers.org Formed from the completion of the New Melones Dam in 1979, Melones Resrvoir is the 5 th largest reservoir in California, with a capacity of 2.4 million acre-feet of water, 12,500 surface-acres and 100 miles of shoreline. It s many recreational opportunities are in addition to its purpose of providing flood control, irrigation, domestic water supplies and hydroelectricity, as well as enhance fish and wildlife communities. It is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and is part of the San Joaquin portion of the Central Valley Project. Area highlights include the Table Mountain lava flow, the Stanislaus River Canyon and the streamfilled caverns of Natural Bridges. Contact Information: On the Web: Phone: (916) Central Valley Office Facebook: NOAA Fisheries:

3 Stanislaus Fly Fishers 2016 Board of Directors President Jim Bowen Vice-President Secretary Michael Hewitt Treasurer Arvis Haskins Outings Membership Conservation At-Large Dave Moreno At-Large Mark Pieczarka At-Large Thomas Goodwin At-Large Bob Nakagawa Board Meetings are held on Thursdays two weeks before a General Meeting. Wish to attend a Board Meeting? Contact any board member for time and location. Membership Dinner Dinner will be available at the club meeting for the first 25 members. Suggested $7.00 donation! Raffle News Club News (Cont.) When held, the small item raffle is $5 per ticket or 3/$10 and only for members in attendance the night of the meeting. The items will be on display and the raffle tickets sold prior to the meeting. The raffle will be held at the end of the meeting time. DOOR PRIZE The monthly door prize is for members only. When you arrive and sign in at the meeting, you will receive a ticket for the door prize raffle of a half-dozen flies tied by one of our members. Members who donate flies for the door-prize drawing, will receive two regular raffle tickets. LARGE RAFFLE There is no large raffle at this time. Thank you all for supporting the previous large raffles. Membership Dues ($36) for 2016 are due. For your convenience, we can now accept a credit card for your dues, but there will be an additional fee of $1.00 to cover the cost of the transaction. All memberships are Family Membership status. Spouses, significant others and children are now all included in every membership. Reminder: These are the club dues and DO NOT include IFFF dues. IFFF dues are paid directly to the IFFF and must be maintained regularly since the SFF is an IFFF Charter Club. If you are not an IFFF Life Member, or do not pay for three years at a time, you must renew your membership yearly! Also, remember to list the Stanislaus Fly Fishers as your Affiliated Club. This is important due to our Charter Club status. The online application for IFFF membership is linked below. IFFF Membership Application:

4 Upcoming Outings No outings scheduled Officer Elections As per the bylaws, which are taken from IFFF s recommendations, we need four elected officers. Our club elects a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. And, as usual, volunteers and nominees did not pour out of the woodwork. So far, the current elected offices are: President Jim Bowen (last year s VP) Vice-President Open Secretary Mike Hewitt Treasurer Arvis Haskins The other board positions needed and that are always open to volunteers: Membership Open Programs Open Outings Open Conservation Open Raffles Open At-Large Pat Roe (Positions are open) Hospitality Open President s Message (continued from Page 1) since the club formed, is serving as an at-large chairperson to help out where he can. I was your vice president last year and am your president this year. I also attended board meetings in the past as an at large chairperson to help as I could. Unfortunately we have all decided we have served our last year and will step back from club leadership after this year. We have many upcoming issues and events that need attention. Foremost to me is our commitment to Rivers of Recovery. As you know this is our club s primary cause/charity. We need to begin our fund raising efforts immediately and also let Jim Mayol know if we will be there to help with the annual Modesto fund raiser. Two of our most popular outings need to be addressed. The Yuba River outing requires contact with UC Davis and an application for a club date submitted and that is coming up in the next month or so. We discussed the Pyramid Lake outing and the fact that we should begin coordinating that outing with regard to the lodging and guides. Salmon Fest is coming up and Trout fest will happen in April of 17. These are just some of the issues of importance on the club agenda. However if no one cares to step up into the leadership roles then we will be forced to cancel these issues as well as closing down the club entirely. Once again let me repeat, we will be forced to close the door on the Stanislaus Fly Fishers club. Please give this serious thought. It doesn t take much time or effort to keep the club rolling along and no one position is responsible for everything. We always operate on a consensus mode and there are many experienced albeit exhausted leaders who will be happy to advise, coach and assist a new crop of leaders in dealing with club matters.the future of the Stanislaus Fly Fishers is in your hands. Now is the time to express your interest and let us know what the future of the club looks like. OK, I have just stepped down from my soapbox and have one last item to discuss. We will have our annual club Christmas dinner party at the Clarion Hotel on Sisk Road in Modesto this year. The date will be December 13th. Please check your calendar and let us know if you or you and a guest will attend. We will have a signup at the next meeting. See, this was a board issue that was handled at the last board meeting and just left me and a volunteer (Mike Hewitt) a little legwork. Easy Peasy! Oops, started stepping up on that soapbox again. Well, excuse this long winded president s message. We hope to see you at the next meeting, August 9th for a presentation by Barbara Byrne a fishery biologist discussing the fishery and fishing at New Melones Lake. Until then, tight lines!

5 Conservation Notes Anglers urged to fight Calif. proposal Thursday, August 04, 2016 A new proposal to liberalize limits on largemouth bass and striped bass in the California Delta is a misguided attempt to conceal real threats to salmon fisheries, said B.A.S.S. conservation director Gene Gilliland. Gilliland, a career fisheries biologist and black bass expert, was responding to a notification from the Keep America Fishing organization urging anglers to oppose the California proposals. This is another shot by the antibass groups in California to eradicate non-native predators from the California Delta, Gilliland said. Federal legislation has already been proposed to remove black bass and striped bass, both of which have co-existed with salmon in the Delta for more than 100 years. Now these groups are setting their sights on state regulations. Bass and stripers, both very popular sportfish, are being blamed for the demise of the salmon stocks. But bass are the scapegoat. Water management is the issue and liberalizing the limits on stripers and black bass will have little to no effect on the recovery of the endangered species. Fishery experts agree that this is a foolish idea and further drives that wedge between angler groups when the real issue is water. The California Delta is home to a world-class black bass fishery, has hosted numerous Bassmaster tournaments and is the home water for many touring pro anglers. Water managers who care little about the fishery, its economic impact or value for the quality of life it brings to the region want to eradicate all non-native species as a show of good faith towards the salmon anglers, he said. He urged B.A.S.S. members and other anglers to sign the Keep America Fishing petition and implore the California Fish & Wildlife Commission to reject the proposed length and bag limit changes on stripers and black bass. The Commission meets soon to deliberate the rule change proposal. The petition must be delivered before Aug. 11, he noted. To access the petition: Reprinted from:

6 Orvis News Pro Tips: Doc s Top 5 Terrestrial Flies Written by: Doc Thompson The proverbial dog days of summer are upon us often a time when people think fishing is slow, with not many obvious insects for trout to eat. On the contrary, the dog days of summer aren t dog days; they are terrestrial days! Now is the time to start stocking your fly boxes with terrestrial dry flies for August and early September fishing. Here are 5 troutapproved terrestrial patterns that every angler should have in his or her fly boxes. You probably already have some hoppers, so perhaps this late summer and early fall is time to experiment with the lesser known terrestrial heroes: beetles and ants. 1. Foam Park Hopper A foam-body pattern that is a pretty good imitation without a stereotypical foam-fly look. The Foam Park is a proven pattern on many Rocky Mountain trout waters. It will float all day when you re pounding grassy bank lines and foam eddies, or if you re casting a classic hopper-droppers setup. 2. Psycho Billy Beetle A low-riding pattern that s easy to see. The Psycho Billy presents an appetizing beetle footprint in the water when drifting along the bank, and in fast riffles with potholes and drop-offs. A proven terrestrial from New Mexico to Montana, it also works great with an ant dropper. 3. Rosenbauer Parachute Beetle Another beetle that rides low in the water. (I hope you re seeing a common them with terrestrials here.) This is an effective beetle pattern for small mountain streams on August afternoons. It works well fished alone, even better with an ant dropper.

7 4. Hard Body Ant This ant pattern rides in or just below the surface film, and it s best fished as a dropper tied off a hopper or easy to see beetle pattern. Fish it along calmer edges or in eddies with overhanging grass or willows. Equally effective as a drowned ant when fished along fast bank lines and in riffles. 5. Splitsville Flying Ant Anglers often overlook flying ants, bit it is common to see swarms of flying ants in August and early September in the high country of the Southwest, especially on alpine lakes. This pattern has a great silhouette on the water, riding low with a whitish opaque wing. Doc Thompson is an Orvis-Endorsed Guide in northern New Mexico, as well as an Orvis contract fly tier. Reprinted from: Tundra Comics

8 Photos August Meeting Door Prize Attend our August meeting for a chance to win these beautiful flies tied by our own Pat Roe!