Table of Contents. Page 2...President s Message Membership Notice. Page 3...Speakers and Education/Events

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1 Table of Contents Page 2...President s Message Membership Notice Page 3...Speakers and Education/Events Page 4... Club Officers and Directors Club Trips Page 5 Conservation Page 6... Speaker continued Page 7 &8...Conservation article continued Pages Steelhead Trip March Newsletter deadline for articles will be, March 13th If you would like to submit an article in the newsletter please send it by that date. Gary Bulla Flyfishing the Edge Baja California Gary Bulla s presentation will take anglers through the fishing season in Baja Mexico. The diversity of fish in Baja waters means anglers can revisit Baja at other times of the year and have very different quarry. Panga fishing from large outboard skiffs close to deepwater can produce rod bending, spool burning skipjack and yellowfin tuna that test your knot tying. It can also mean sight casting to rooster fish or dorado on the surface, a sport sure to provide a large dose of adrenalin when a fish takes a fly. Evenings are spent at a comfortable hotel tying flies, sampling tequila, tying leaders and comparing stories of big fish caught and Continued on Page 6

2 drive around the block to fish Stillwater much less to Orange County to fish STILLWATER.,.well.I NEVER FISH STILWATER APPLEBEE hooked 14 and netted 10 for the Stillwater Championship.And these were big fish.it took some skill to bring them to the net.. President s Message This year s steelhead trip was not as productive as last year due to the river and weather conditions. The week before we arrived, there was a huge storm that raised the water levels at the Indian Creek Lodge twice of more than the normal flow. The lakes above the dams were very low this past summer and the water was warm enough to create a significant green algae bloom. The blowout storm stirred up the algae and the water from the Indian Creek Lodge up to Lewiston was green with about a foot of visibility. I went on three guided trips and never saw a fish in the water until after the hookup. There were no six fish days like last year. The water began to clear up right at the Douglas City Bridge where the Weaver Creek enters the river. As we continued on, more tributaries entered the river and the water became fishable. Algae just sucks the oxygen out of the water and I noticed that the fish caught lower in the clear water fought harder and were more active. Enough water was entering the river that the guides did not want to fish below Junction City due to high water. This limited the fishable river..but that is fishing..it proves that biology is not an exact science and that it is a complicated bundle of variable factors. Last year I had an extra invitation to fish a lake in Orange County that was going to be private for the day and was stocked with large trout shipped all the way from Nebraska. I called Gary Applebee and asked him if he wanted to go as the event was put on by Sage, Outcast, etc. His reply was he would not 2 Membership We are stating the New Year with our Membership Drive. It runs from January until March. We would like to publish our Membership Directory prior to the end of March Our club dues remain the same. Parking Permits Required for Our Meeting Night Be sure to ask for a 2016 blue Parking Permit when attending the monthly meetings. Per the City ordinance, all vehicles parked in the parking lots at Faiemount Park from dusk until dawn, without a permit will be ticketed. There is limited parking available in front of our clubhouse. Overflow Parking is available directly across the street at the Fairmount Park Golf Course. Fly Tying Before the Meetings Clark Stevens will be tying flies before our meetings. Clark will be there at 4:00pm for those early arrivals, but will be tying until the meetings starts. Clark will be able to answer any questions you want ask about fly tying before the meetings. This can be a beginning question or any other technique that stumping you in your fly tying.

3 Speakers for 2016 February 24th: Gary Bulla Baja Fishing Adventures March 23rd: Spencer Higa Head Guide Falcon s Ledge April 27th: Rick Mazaira Yosemite Outfitters May 25th: White Elephant Sale June 22nd: Alex Ramirez Sales Rep. Sage, Rio, and Outcast Meeting starts at 5:30pm-9:00pm July 27th: Hutch Hutchison Sales Rep. Orvis Meeting starts at 5:30pm-9:00pm August 24th: Ken Lindsay (The Fisherman s Spot) Fly Fishing in Chile September 28th: TBA October 26th: TBA November 16th: Members Night December 7th: Holiday Banquet Fundraiser Meet the Speaker for Dinner All members are invited to meet and have dinner with this month s speaker. Meet us at Art s Bar and Grill, dinner will be at 4:30 pm. The food is great and the prices are very reasonable - each member pays for their own meal and any drinks. Art s Bar & Grill 3357 University Avenue, Riverside (91 University Ave.) DCFF Classes and Events January 30th-SWCIFFF Fly Buy Long Beach Casting Club February 4th-10th-Steelhead Trip 13th-14th-Hot Dog Sales Bass Pro 20th-21th-Hot Dog Sales Bass Pro 27th-Beginning Fly Tying Part 1 (9-1pm) 27th-Intro to Fly Fishing (9am-3pm) March 5th-Intro to Fly Casting (9am-noon) 12th- Advanced Casting Class 19th-Beginning Fly Tying Part 1 (9-1pm) 19th&20th- Lower Owens Trip April 2nd-Rod Building (1st session) 9th-Rod Building (2nd session) 9th-Float Tube Class 16th-Small Stream Class 23rd-Knots & Shots 30th-Beginning Fly Tying Part 2 (9-1pm) May 5th-12th-Eastern Sierra Opener 26th-30th-San Juan Trip DCFF Calendar is on the Internet The calendar lists all the activities that are going on in the club, such as training events, outings, meetings, conservation events and many more. To view the calendar: 1) Go to: 2) Click on the Calendar Tab at the top of the page 3) Then select: This Week, This Month, This Year, or ICAL To subscribe to the calendar: Select ICAL, then Download the Public Events Calendar It will appear in your computer deflaut Calendar Program. As long as you have access to the Internet, it will update automatically or you can refresh to update the current calendar page. Any questions, or if you wish to have an event put on the calendar, contact Website Director, Greg Lapolla at 3 website@deepcreekflyfishers.org

4 Club Officers and Directors President: Ken Rhodes Vice President: Art Santori Secretary: Michael Brown Treasurer: George Plescher Membership: Bob Yanta Conservation: Gary Applebee Education: Carl Wuebben Web Master: Greg Lapolla Trout In the Classroom: Doug Spieske Opportunity Drawing: Rick Proulx Outings: Mike Telles Club Store: Sean Robbins Newsletter: SWCIFFF Reps.: Robin Johnson Gary Applebee Past President: Rob Wilcox Past Past President: Robin Johnson Lower Owens River Trip Join the annual club outing to the Lower Owens River March 18 to 20. Once again we will have a hands on fly fishing class presented by Pat Jaeger on Saturday the 19th. Preference will be given to those who take the Deep Creek introduction to fly fishing class on February 27 at the Isaak Walton clubhouse. There will be 10 spots open for this class and attendees will need to provide their own gear, the cost of the course is $30. This class covers the basics of dry fly and nymph fishing in very simple terms. Pat is a gifted instructor that will help you catch fish on your own. In addition, Pat will also be offering an introduction to Tenkara class on the river on Sunday the 20th. This class will be limited to 7 spots but Pat will supply the Tenkara rods. Cost for this course will be $40 each. This is a great opportunity to try out Tenkara without having to spring for the gear. The outing will be based in Bishop, California but other fishing opportunities are available in the area. Like the Lower Owens, the Upper Owens and Hot Creek are open to year round fishing as well. Sign up for the outing on the club s website calendar or at the February meeting. Contact Kurt Marcks for further information. His cell: or his kurtmarcks@mac.com 2016 SAN JUAN River Trip It s that time of year again where we get a chance to fish some of the best tailwater in the nation. Of course, I am referring to the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico. Once again this year we will be staying at FISHEADS San Juan River Lodge. All the information you will need about our location is at: The date of the trip is May 26 thru Arrival is on the 26th and dinner will be served that night at around 7pm. The guided drift boat fishing will be on the 27th, 28th and 29th. We ll depart on the 30th after breakfast that morning. All meals (including shore lunches), fishing equipment, flies and lodging in the price of $1160 for the whole trip. The only additional cost you will be your transportation there and back 4

5 (most of us drive, but you can fly into Durango or Farmington and rent a car and plus tips for the guides. We have the same arrangement with Fisheads as last year in that for every 11 people we sign-up we get one free trip fee (that s equal to $11600). We will have a drawing again this year and everyone that goes who is a club member is eligible to WIN!!! This year, when you sign-up, please make sure that you have a partner. Unfortunately single sign-ups cause a three person group to have to walk/wade for the day, and this is not the best way to fish this great water. Initial deposit of $600 is due not later than March 23rd and final payment of $560 is due 20 April Please make checks payable to Deep Creek Fly Fishers and either mail or give them to me at a meeting. No Re-Funds/cancellations after your last payment is made, because that number of attendees is given to Fisheads and they contract with guides on a nonrefundable basis. I look forward to having another great time this year and hope to see many of you on the trip. If you have any questions regarding the trip, please contact me. Bob Yanta: Trip Coordinator 4361 Arnett Court Riverside, CA Conservation Blog on Our Website On the Deep Creek website we put articles up that are too long for the newsletter. They will all start out with a photo and a couple of paragraphs with a link to the article and the author s website. You will be taken to their website to read the rest of the article. Go to the Deep Creek Fly Fishers website and read the full articles. I ll try to put more up once a month or more often. Conservation Here is an article I seen the day of the January meeting. I talked about it at the meeting but wanted to share with the rest of the club members. I have heard about this from my NRA friends for a while. I know its a conspiracy theory thing. I had heard about this from Richard Alden Bean too. both the NRA and Richard said there is a movement to get fishers and hunters replace with Tree Huggers and Peta to do away with fishing and hunting. You be the judge on what is happening here. Upheaval at Fish and Game The sudden resignation of the most adamant defender of hunting and fishing on the California Fish and Game Commission could put the finishing touches on a sweeping philosophical shift in the way the state views wildlife, sets rules for fishing and controls predators like mountain lions and wolves. CHAOS AT FISH & GAME Wolf conservation plan drawn up for California. Sour talk as lawmakers, crabbers meet over Dungeness shutdown. Wildlife advocates expand target after bobcat ban Commissioner Jim Kellogg retired in late December in frustration over what he termed a lack of consideration for the sportsmen and women he represents. The resignation combined with the unrelated recent departures of commission President Jack Baylis and Sonke Mastrup, the commission s executive director sets the stage for Gov. Jerry Brown to appoint conservationists to the increasingly pivotal state board. Such a move may, observers say, complete the transformation of the commission from an organization that advocates for fishing and hunting to one that safeguards endangered species, preserves habitat and protects California s top predators from slaughter. But it won t happen without a fight. While environmentalists say they are finally getting a fair shake in the high-stakes political game of wildlife management, advocates for outdoor sports fear that they have 5

6 wildlife like whales, dolphins, and turtles seen. But fishing the edge in Baja can also mean paddling kayaks or wading in a river estuary among the mangroves casting lighter tackle for broomtail grouper, corvina, mangrove snapper, jack crevalle, spotted bay bass and African pompano. On this trip, nights are spent on a remote island with fine food and drink supplied at the base camp by experienced staff. No extra charge for swimming, snorkeling or relaxing on the sand and watching the stars. evenings patrolling the beaches, trying to develop presentations and flies that could bring to hand the corbina on a more consistent basis. He began guiding others and holding seminars on surf fishing. Through his website and a small community of hard core surf fishers the information on fly fishing the surf exploded, and so did the number of flyfishers walking the beaches. He also began cruising the kelp beds in his kayak, and developing flies that would attract the many varieties of fish found on the So. Calif. Coast. Gary will share his discoveries with the club, including tackle and techniques for the dazzling variety of fish south of the border. Before he discovered Baja, Gary Bulla grew up on the beaches and waters of the Southern California coast. He found salt-water fly fishing combined his long-time love for the ocean and his passion for fly fishing with the convenience of having big fish right at his back door. He quickly realized that there was not a great deal of information out there about catching salt-water species on the fly and began to use his knowledge of tides and tidal life to not only chase down surf perch, but also corbina, halibut, and sea bass. It seemed that there was a fishery right along the shores of Southern California that would provide a great recreation, with some awesome challenges for the flyfishers of the area who were having to commit to a long weekend in the Eastern Sierras or elsewhere to cast a line. California corbina were the biggest and most interesting challenge. They were visible in the surf line-and a difficult challenge to the flyfisher. Perfect! Over the next few years, he spent his early mornings and late In 1989, he began accompanying his wife Theresa, a teacher, on trips with her middle school children to camp at Baja s Magdalena Island to experience the gray whales and their young. He brought a fly rod and he was astounded at the incredible variety of fish that were available in the waters of Baja. Thus began a second quest and more years of experimentation that have led to his being one of the most active fly fishing guides for Baja waters and one of the more knowledgeable salt-water fly-fishers from Point Conception to the Sea of Cortez. He has landed over 140 species of fish in the salt on the fly. And he holds IGFA World Record for Flyrod with 16 pound tippet on California Yellowtail. He spends several months a year hosting fly fishing trips, blue water panga trips at Punta Arena/Cerralvo Island (in the Sea of Cortez) and other saltwater destinations. He also guides kayak fly fishing trips to Magdalena Island, Espiritu Santo Island and San Jose Island. Back at home he presents programs, teaches surf fishing clinics, writes articles and guides in the surf in southern California waters. His photos have appeared in The Drake, Fly Rod and Reel, Patagonia Catalog, Southwest Flyfishing, Flyfishing in Saltwaters, BBC Wild World and more. The January/ February 2016 edition of Southwest Flyfishing Magazine featured his article and photos on Surf Fishing the Beaches of Santa Barbara. 6

7 lost their voice and that the role they have played in the protection of species is being forgotten. Facing divisive issues The five-member commission, whose job is to recommend policies to the California Department of Fish Continued on page 7 and Wildlife, has been wading through divisive issues that could profoundly impact the future of the state, including what to do about diminishing salmon populations, sick sea lions and disappearing sea otters. How California responds to growing numbers of wolves, coyotes and mountain lions is a central battle. The question is whether the predators should be tolerated or encouraged or driven away by guard dogs or gunned down when they get too close to people or livestock. Historically, the commission has been made up almost entirely of hunters and fishermen, but that focus has changed in the past several years. Fish and Game s transition ratcheted up over the past few years with the departures of two commissioners: Michael Sutton, an avid hunter and fisherman who nevertheless disapproved of trophy hunting and supported marine protections, and Daniel Richards, who was famously photographed with a dead mountain lion he had killed in Idaho. Richard Rogers, who was not considered a friend of the outdoor sporting community, also left the commission last year. The replacements for Sutton and Rogers Anthony Williams, a 47-year-old lawyer and Democratic consultant from Huntington Beach who is the first African American in the commission s 145-year history, and Eric Sklar, 52, of St. Helena are viewed as more on the conservation side of the ledger. But it was the resignation of Kellogg, who often teamed up with Sutton and Richards, that was viewed by many as the end of the line for the hunting and fishing coalition on the commission. I m leaving pretty much out of frustration, Kellogg said in an interview. He had been on the board for 14 years when he retired Dec. 31, the longest-serving member of the commission. It has been going through a transition from a predominantly hunting and fishing commission to more of an environmental commission, said Bill Gaines, a hunting advocate and lobbyist for the outdoor sports community. They are responsible for a lot of things that would never have been on their agenda several decades ago. Brown, who is responsible for appointments on the commission, did not say when he would fill the vacancies. We aim to fill all of our vacancies with the most qualified, capable and committed candidates from a broad and diverse pool of applicants, said the governor s spokesman, Evan Westrup, in a written statement. That ultimately dictates the timing of our appointments. Shift of power I m just tired of being the only one fighting the fight for the hunters and fishers, he said. The first 12 years I won most of the battles, and the last couple of years I lost almost every battle. The changes on the commission are an illustration of a statewide phenomenon. Californians, more than ever, regard wildlife, including apex predators, as a valuable part of the ecosystem instead of as food or vermin. Chuck Bonham, the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, says he is committed to embracing science-based wildlife and ecosystem management while preserving the history and traditions associated with hunting and fishing. Telling name change Clearly, though, there has been a movement away from those traditions. The transformation became vivid in 2012 when then-assemblyman Jared Huffman of San Rafael, who has since been elected to Congress, introduced a bill to change the name of the department that has managed fishing and hunting in California since 1872 from Fish and Game to Fish 7

8 and Wildlife. The bill passed in 2013 despite opposition from hunters, who saw it as a signal that game animals would soon be made off-limits. The commission itself, however, maintained the Fish and Game moniker despite lobbying by environmental groups to change the names of both the commission and the department it serves. The name change was part of a slew of legislation requiring, among other things, that the department take into account ecosystem balance and sound science when managing wildlife. To conservationists, it represented a rejection of an archaic view that wildlife is meant to be shot or speared and mounted on a wall. It has become a more open-minded forum where Californians of all viewpoints can be heard and, on any given day, anyone can win, said Jennifer Fearing, a lobbyist for the Humane Society of the United States and other animal protection organizations. I think it was stacked against conservationists for so long that any shift seems like a victory for conservation. Many farmers, ranchers and rural residents, however, believe the state is turning away from them as they struggle to hold on to their heritage. I come from the days when most people grew up with a fishing pole and kids spent most of their life outdoors. Today kids just sit on the couch with their cell phone, Kellogg said. The whole world is changing. What people don t understand, though, is that when there isn t any hunting in California, there won t be any native wildlife, because it is the hunters and fishermen who spend the money on wildlife management. In fact, Gaines has argued, hunting and fishing tags and license fees contribute $80 million to $100 million a year to the Department of Fish and Wildlife roughly a quarter of the annual budget. He said 60 percent of the interior wetlands of California are privately owned, preserved and managed for duck hunting, and that the national wildlife refuge system is overwhelmingly funded by hunters. Fewer hunt, fish At the same time, noted Gaines, recent studies have shown that only 10 percent of Californians actively support hunting. The number of state residents who hunt and fish has been declining for decades, according to researchers. Hunting groups believe animal rights advocates want to outlaw the pastime entirely. They point to recent laws banning bobcat trapping, the use of lead bullets, coyote killing contests and the hounding of bears and bobcats. The establishment of vast marine protected areas along the coast and the recent release of a draft management plan for carefully handling wolves, which are expected to multiply in California after a long absence, served as further proof to some ranchers and sportsmen that they are playing second fiddle to what they see as treehugging, save-the-whales city slickers. Far from wanting to ban hunting and fishing, Fearing said she just wants state policymakers to listen to all sides. Until recently, she said, anyone who introduced science that contradicted rural ranching and pro-hunting doctrine was dismissed. If you want the rest of the state to chip in and advocate for more resources to make sure we have robust protection of our wildlife, you have to convince the public that you are an agency that shares their values, Fearing said. I think they are doing that now. It s incumbent on them to grow that trust. Geoff Shester, the California program director for the marine advocacy group Oceana, said he hopes the Fish and Game Commission will be guided by a responsibility to protect rather than destroy in the future. What s happening is not an antifishing or antihunting perspective, said Shester, who has fought for the protection of ecosystems, including the San Francisco Bay herring fishery. It s more about how to do these activities responsibly. Dealing with issues like overfishing is good for both fishing communities and for the conservation community. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. pfimrite@sfchronicle.com 8

9 Steelhead Trip 2016 has been getting rain since early November. I talked to a guide and he said they maybe got eight or ten days of NO rain or snow from November until we came up. We left on Feb. 4th to go to Douglas City to steelhead fish. We stay at the Indian Creek Lodge. They have a room with a full kitchen, so we cook our own meals. I have hooked a steelhead every year right behind the Lodge. This year I caught a 20 inch steelhead. But with no netter it is photographed in the net. Lance s 31 steelhead You ve all read Ken s account of the steelhead trip. Now let me tell you mine side of the story. I picked the weekend we were going in August and booked with Andrew Harris from Confluence Outfitters in October. Imagine the crap I took for booking the trip on Super Bowl weekend. We have a class on how to fish for steelhead from the shore or wading. Andrew talks in a classroom in the morning. We have lunch and Andrew takes us out to the river at the Steel Bridge access. He shows us how to spey cast. Then like all our on the water classes, everyone spreads out to fish. Andrew goes around to help everyone in the class. I had talked to Skip Davis in 2015 at the Holiday Banquet. He was showing me some photos he took of some steelhead he caught. I hired the same guide this year. Lonnie, the guide lives right on the Trinity and knows it very well. He would tell us, Bring in your rigs a couple of feet we have a log coming up. Then he d say, Ok, get them back out a couple of feet we just past the log. The log was submerged and I could only see a limb. Bob Williams was fishing with me and caught two that day with Lonnie. I d been watching the weather up in the northern part of the state since November. That area of Claifornia 9

10 Bob Yanta hired Randy, a guide from Confluence Outfitters. Bob caught a couple of steelhead fishing with guides for a couple of days. That is Randy holding Bob s steelhead. I think everyone either hooked a steelhead or got one to the net. Here are some of the other photos. Now for my side of the Eagle Canyon Lakes story. Seven of us went to Eagle Canyon Lakes a private couple of private lakes that Confluence Outfitters own. These lakes have four to fifteen pound fish in them. The smaller lake is less than a half an acre with 100 fish in it. The upper lake is probably twice the size with 200 fish in it. Mark Hopkins hooked one in the class and lost him because no one had a net! Note to self, bring a net!! Mark claims it was 36 inches. But it started out as a twenty some inch fish. Of course, after dinner and a few Jameson s it got to be thirty-six inches. I m not saying any fish grew if you know what I mean. We are fishermen you know. Kurt Marcks brought his wife Patrice with him. Patrice went birding while we fished. She said she saw two life birds. Kurt caught a 27 inch steelhead. The guide said it was a buck not a female. You can see everyone had to fish next to each other. I wonder if that is why they only caught a couple of fish? Mark Hopkins had hooked into a big fish that took him up the lake while Mark just held on. The fish did whatever it wanted nd Mark could do anything about it. Finally it took Mark over to a rock and broke him off. I asked Mark what he caught him on and he said a Prince nymph. So since I put a Prince nymph on and caught a couple of fish like Mark did. I had talked to Andrew, remember him he owns the lakes? Anyway, I talked to Andrew at the class and we talked about 10

11 the lakes. Andrew said if you fish a nymph retrieve it slowly. Everyone was stripping in two inches at a time. I don t want you to think I m a stillwater fisherman. After you catch one like that you gotta throw out your flies again. after about five or ten minutes I d say, I m getting hungry. I think I ll got get my sandwich. Bam! Another fish would hit my flies. I caught this guy by doing a slow retrieve. Now I m NOT in anyway a stillwater fisherman. It bores the heck out of me. I wouldn t drive around the block to fish stillwater!! But, when I m fishing a private lake I ll ask a lot of questions. Like, What did you catch that on? What s the best way to fish these lakes? Do I fish streamers or nymphs or dry flies? Like this one! So of course you gotta throw out your flies again. After about ten minutes of no fish I d say, well you get the idea. So, I m thinking the key was those fish didn t want me to go eat lunch. No technic. I didn t know there was a championship title at stake here. I was just happy to catch something. I think the real key was at about 12:30 I said, I m getting hungry. I think I ll go get some lunch. Then I d get a fish on. I m not the only one to catch a fish Bob Yanta caught one too. The sad thing is he was the only one that sent me a photo of the fish he caught. Like this one. But really it was a lot of fun. We will probably be doing it next year too. So now you ve heard Ken s story and mine side of the story. Next year we ll be going up February 8th so mark your calendars. 11