PAY YOUR DUES - WIN A FLY ROD? MAYBE - PRIZE DRAWING AT THIS MEETING

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1 MARCH NEWSLETTER MARCH 2018 Volume XXIII: No. 3 NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 LOCATION: Lake Waco Wetlands PAY YOUR DUES - WIN A FLY ROD? MAYBE - PRIZE DRAWING AT THIS MEETING MARCH PROGRAM - CHRIS JOHNSON - FISHING THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS The bottom line is that the Texas fly fishing scene would not be the same without Chris Johnson and Living Waters Fly Fishing. In addition to his guide service and his classy new fly shop in Round Rock, Chris goes everywhere to promote fly fishing in Texas. For example, Chris is the reason that we were able to start our year off with Pat Dorsey's program. And, Chris is going to present his new program, Fly Fishing the Republic of Texas, at our March Meeting.

2 Chris has spoken at our club before and always presents entertaining programs packed with useful information. This new program was debuted at Troutfest to rave reviews. The presentation will focus on honing your small stream techniques in Texas warmwater creeks so that you can apply those skills in the high country of New Mexico and Colorado for Rio Grande Cutthroats. You know, those high country places that were once part of Texas. Why did we let that part of the Republic go? Chris says his program will be photo rich and information laden. Bring your Atlases, Chris is going to show us exactly where to go. Please note that we will return to the Lake Waco Wetlands for this meeting. We'll get started with fly tying and tall tales about 6:00 pm. Fly Fishing the Republic of Texas will start about 7:00 pm. FEBRUARY PROGRAM - PAT DORSEY Our first program of 2018 drew a large crowd, bigger than any of the club old-timers could remember. And Pat Dorsey did not disappoint. Pat's topic was tailwater Trout fisheries with the focus on his home state of Colorado. Tailwaters are streams that flow out of a dam. The water coming out of a dammed reservoir is usually consistent temperature wise, clear and nutrient rich when compared to undammed waters known as freestone streams. Nutrient rich means plenty of food for Trout. Pat gave us a primer on the insects that are important Trout food on tailwaters and suggested various patterns to imitate the bugs. If interested, you can check one of Pat's books for the details. One general tip Pat left us with is to go to the fly shop nearest the tailrace and look for the fly bins that are almost empty. There just might be a reason that pattern is locally popular. Pat reviewed the Colorado tailwaters with us with some spectacular photography. Those Colorado Trout are as colorful as they get. If you are thinking about a Colorado fishing trip, Pat made the point that he is only an away. Pat believes that knowledge is the key to successful Trout fishing. Even so, there is always room for improvement because you never fully master the sport. That's one reason why we keep at it. By the way, Pat Vanek (Bosque Valley Fly Fishing) guided Pat Dorsey and Chris Johnson (Living Waters Fly Fishing) on the Brazos on the cold morning of the presentation. Dorsey

3 proved he can catch Bass as well as Trout. The cold weather must have made Dorsey feel right at home. The rumor is that this is Pat Dorsey's best Largemouth ever. FLY TYING NIGHT - THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 If the White Bass run has started, stop by Uncle Dan's after fishing for some tying and BBQ. If the run hasn't started, stop by earlier. Fly tying night will be Thursday, March 22, 2018 at Uncle Dan's BBQ. We'll get started about 5:30 pm. Remember, guests are welcome to join us at Dan's. WACO FLY FISHING SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 It is time to teach fly fishing again. At Waco Fly Fishing 102 we do a little talking, then a little showing and then a lot of fishing. I believe the best way to get somebody involved in fly fishing is to go fly fishing. Having the chance to actually catch a fish or two beats casting to grass burrs. I know I get bored very quickly when fly casting on a lawn. Last year more than a dozen attendees at our classes learned enough about fly fishing to catch their first fish on the fly and usually a few after that. The class is intended for people with little or no experience with fly fishing and will be limited to roughly twelve students. There is a $10.00 fee to cover location costs (a private lake). If you know anybody who might be interested have them contact me as soon as possible. Registration is "first come, first served." We start about 9:00 am and tear ourselves off the water around lunchtime. If there is enough interest we will schedule another class.

4 APRIL - WEEKEND OUTING - SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018 Retriever Scout and I would like to invite club members to an outing at our duck lease on Saturday morning, April 28, All that is required is club membership and heavy tippet, at least ten pound test. In addition there will be a blood oath to maintain the secrecy of the location. Details in the April newsletter. For now, mark your calendar. MAY PROGRAM - LET'S GO FISHING - TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2018 Latham Springs is just a short drive up the road making it perfect for a weekday outing. And the lake at Latham Springs is full of big Perch with a few Bass to keep things interesting. Details of the outing will be published in future newsletters, but we usually start fishing about 4:00 pm. At this point, save the date. DUES ARE DUE - INCENTIVES TO PAY AND RECRUIT Be sure and get your dues paid at or before the March meeting so you can participate in the incentive drawing. All paid members as of the March meeting will have one chance in the prize drawing. You will automatically be in the drawing if your dues are received at or before the March meeting. If you recruit new members, you will receive another chance in the raffle for each recruit who is paid up by the time of the drawing. A new member is anyone who was not a paid member in It is the responsibility of the recruiter to confirm his or her new members with our Treasurer. The lead prize is a TFO five weight fly fishing combo that includes rod, reel, line and case. We'll have several other prizes like a Cabela's fly rod, club logo caps, flies, a fly wallet, tying materials, etc. The way the drawing will work is that the first name drawn will have his/her pick of the available prizes. Second name will have a pick from what is left, and so on until all prizes are gone. You need not be present at the meeting to win a prize in the drawing. If the first draw is not present that person wins the TFO kit. After that, a club officer will pick a prize for anybody drawn but not present. Also, when you pay your dues you can pick up one of our club logo stickers free of charge. We have large and small sizes so you should be able to put our logo on whatever item you choose, from pick-up windows to fly boxes. We don't mail stickers so if you have already paid your 2018 dues you can pick up your sticker at one of our club events.

5 SOME HAVE "LAID ASIDE BUSINESS AND GONE A'FISHING" GUADALUPE RIVER & TROUTFEST Troutfest was great, as usual, but the fishing was a bit of a challenge. On Friday, I fished a long half day before catching one. This was an important fish. It was the first outing for my new Orvis Access five weight, a warranty replacement for the one I broke on a Rainbow last fall at the San Juan. I really didn't wantless fish much less break in my new rod on a skunk. As the weekend wore on, I learned that everybody, at least everybody I talked with, was struggling to catch fish. Clear water and low flows were blamed as were the low numbers of fish stocked by GRTU this year. Hatchery issues had led to fewer fish available for stocking. Those fish were well above average in size, which led to another problem. Social media hero shots got around and many anglers descended upon the river to catch a big fish which was sometimes taken from the river as proof of angler prowess and/or for the frying pan. I did catch one more good Trout, but that was it for Trout. I also caught one of those spotted tail baitfish hooking it fairly in the mouth. I am hesitant to discuss it due to modesty. I'm certain that fish would have been the state record for the smallest fish ever caught on a fly. I was tempted to document the catch, but decided to just release the little guy instead. After all, I do not fish for glory. The fishing was so difficult that even Pat Vanek struggled some. Of course, Pat hung in there and discovered feeding Brown Trout before his last morning of demonstration tying at Troutfest. He caught a far share but it took a few fly changes to discover the best combination of flies.

6 As to Troutfest, it just keeps getting better. For me the highlight was Flip Pallot. Flip is the guy that headlined The Walker's Cay Chronicles a few years ago. He has made other TV appearances over the years and is a spokesman for a number of outdoor products like those really expensive coolers and even TFO. Flip's talk was like an oral Gierach story, highly entertaining, related to fly fishing but only tangentially. It involved airline torture, an onboard arrest, the threat of intentional food poisoning and teaching New Zealand guides how to actually catch Trout instead of just throwing golf ball size flies at them on twenty foot leaders. You should have been there. ADDENDUM For the last few years my wife Barbara and I have attended the Toast & Roast sponsored by the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas and Texas Monthly magazine. This is one of those wine tasting competitions. It is important to note that Red Caboose Winery's 2013 Tempranillo won the people's choice award. Red Caboose is located in Clifton and Meridian. It is also important to note that the event is held in Driftwood, Texas which is less than an hour from the Guad. Needless to say I took the opportunity to go fishing. Pat Vanek had tipped me off to the location of the frog water where he had caught those Brown Trout the weekend of Troutfest. I have never caught a Brown Trout at the Guad so I decided to follow Pat's lead. Fishing was still slow and I only caught one fish, but what a fish it was, a monster Brown on a dry fly. The fly was a stimulator tied with a lot of yellow to match the big Hexagenias that live in the Guad. Hex's do not produce a blanket hatch at the Guad, but the bugs are so big that the fish seem to remember them, sort of like your last ribeye steak. I was using the stimulator as the indicator fly of a dry dropper rig. After losing one rig to a bad knot or damaged tippet I took a little more time re-rigging and actually checked my new knots. I made a few drifts and then made a cast to some fresh water. The take was immediate and my hook set pure instinct. I didn't think the fish was very big at first. It swam right at me and my focus was on reeling to keep tension on the line. The fish then turned and took me almost to backing. I had about as much control as you have on a fresh slot Red, which is just hanging on. The fight actually reminded me of catching a Redfish. After a lot of give and take I was able to get the fish into shallow water on the ledge where I was standing. Browns don't jump like Rainbows, they stay deep and that was the first time I saw the fish. By now I had figured out it was big, but I couldn't believe how big. I had trouble netting it because it really didn't fit the net. On the first attempt I didn't get enough of the fish in the net and it slipped out. Fortunately that big stimulator hook and my 5X tippet held. I wasn't able to get the best pictures because the fish was obviously tired and I wanted to handle it very carefully. During resuscitation I was able to lay my net along the fish and saw that the fish was about an inch shorter than my net. Of course, I didn't have a tape measure with me, but

7 later measured my net and subtracted that inch. The Brown was all of 23 inches. I talked to a young guide later in the day and showed him pictures of that Brown. He thought it must be a holdover from the 2016/2017 season. He has a point. Thinking back on it, this was the only fish that I know took the stimulator. The earlier break off could have been a take on the nymph. The guide hasn't seen any Hex's hatch yet this year so my fish might have remembered one of those ribeye bugs from last year. A big thank you to Pat Vanek for tipping me off to the lair of Brown Trout on the Guad. Bob Hanley WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE One of the reasons that Living Waters Fly fishing in Round Rock, Texas is so successful is the number of activities they host. There is something going on every week ranging from Wednesday night fly tying to weekend classes. For more information - livingwatersflyfishing.com. OFFICERS FOR 2018 President & Newsletter Bob Hanley , nevilleandhanley@yahoo.com Vice President Pat Vanek FFI Liaison John Maddux Webmasters Loren Decker, Dale Connally Social Media Kris Kahler Facebook Kenley Crowe At Large Billy Whitehead, Robert Cervenka

8 Dues: Individual $ Family $ Student $ Date: Waco Fly Fishing Club 2018 Membership Application Name(s): Address (Street or P.O. Box and City/Zip Code): Telephone: Home Cell Work address: How do you prefer your club newsletter to be delivered? Mail Mail and THE WACO FLY FISHING CLUB HAS MY PERMISSION TO SHARE MY CONTACT INFORMATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FLY FISHERS. Signature Payments and this form can be turned in at regular club meetings or by mail to: Bob Hanley P.O. Box 8030 Waco, Texas 76714