New England Fly Tyers N E W S L E T T E R January 2016 President s Message Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, and with a new year upon us we have a busy 2016 year agenda ahead of us. The Marlboro Fly Fishing Show dates are January 22-24 and show tickets can be purchased with a five dollar savings through Scott Mentzer by the January 4 Monday night meeting, the money for these tickets need to be paid for by this date. We are still looking for members to tie flies and help sell raffle tickets at the show, please see tom Foley or myself at our Monday night meetings or email me (president@newengland flythers.org) the time and dates you can work the show. We have two Open House dates this year. The first Open House will be on Monday January 25, 2016 and the second will be on February 8, the focus of these open houses is to show and explain the tools and equipment that will be needed for the adult fly tying course and the rod building course. January 4, 2016 we will have a NEFT banquet meeting just to get the process started. We will discuss what is needed to get accomplished prior to this event. If you would like to participate on this committee please show up at 6:30 pm for this meeting. Our board of directors meeting will take place on January 11 with the meeting starting at 6:30 pm sharp. Also dues will be due on the first of February of this year and if you want to pay ahead of time, Vice President of Membership Paul Breau will be happy to accept your membership dues during the meeting on Monday night or you can mail your check to our P.O. Box mailing address below: NEFT P.O. BOX 164 WORCESTER, MA 01613 Another note on January 8, Mark Blazis of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Outdoor editor will be giving the New England Fly Tyers a write up of its 2016 club programs we are offering to the public and members. Joe Simone NEFT Calendar January 4 7:00pm Open Tying Banquet meeting January 11 7:00pm Open Tying Board of Director s Meeting January 18 7:00 Favorite Fly Adams Parachute Dry Fly January 22, 23, 24 Marlboro Show January 25 7:00 Open House Open Tying Events to plan for: Jan 22, 23, 24, Marlboro Fly Fishing Show Feb 8 th Open House Feb 15 th Fly Tying Lessons begin. March 7 th Rod Building Class Begins March 12 th Youth Outreach Begins March 28 th NEFT Banquet Meeting April 22 ond Banquet May 2 ond Board of Director s Meeting May 14 th Trout Brook Outing May 23 rd Business Meeting (Last Meeting of the Year)
New England Fly Tyers Book Review by Tom Foley The next book in our series of book reviews is Flies for Trout by Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen, Published by The Lyons Press. Flies for Trout is a detailed guide to flies being used throughout North America and is a compilation of information provided by experienced guides and fly fishermen from all parts of the United States. The book consists of 120 pages with over 670 fishing flies in full color for lakes and streams. Additionally included are the history and comments about the origins and use of each fly. For seasoned anglers and fly tyers, this is a highly sought after book and should be a part of any serious fly tyers library. Dick Stewart was originally from Pennsylvania and fished throughout New England and Eastern Canada and is the author and co-author of several popular fly tying books. Farrow Allen moved from New York City to Vermont and for 12 years owned a fly shop in the Burlington area. He also has authored or co-authored a number of great fly tying books. Pasta Dinner Each year, the first meeting in December is dedicated to our Pasta (Spaghetti) Dinner. This has become a great opportunity for members and guests to come together in a social atmosphere, share in a tasty meal and just relax and enjoy each other s company without distractions. As years go by this event seems to grow in both numbers of attendees and pure enjoyment, not to mention the Italian cuisine. This year s dinner also included a great raffle including many books and a significant amount of fly tying materials. As everyone finished their dining experience, gadabout club member Dan Spedding presented a slide show describing his experiences fishing the Wild West, more specifically Montana and Wyoming. His enthusiastic descriptions and great photographic offerings had more than a few members walking away considering a similar trip. Favorite Fly Adams Parachute Favorite Fly night is the 18 th of January with Dan Spedding instructing the membership how to tie a Parachute Adam dry fly. The Parachute Adam is a legendary fish catcher that no serious fly angler should be without. There are a great many attributes to the Parachute Adams due to its unique ability to imitate the numerous members of the mayfly and caddis families. If no hatch is present on the water the parachute Adam can be equally successful as a searching pattern. The Parachute Adams can be productive wherever you decide to drift it slow or slack water presentation is one of the Adams specialties. For the faster runs or riffles the horizontal hackle will allow the fly to not only ride lower but have better floatability keeping it high and dry longer than most other standard dry flies. So come and learn how to tie this needed dry fly that should be in your fly box at all times. Page 2
Armand s Corner WINTER FISHING then and now By Armand J. Courchaine Usually by Thanksgiving, the bass and bluefish left our waters of Southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It didn t mean the end of fishing. It was the beginning of Pollack season. This was the time period from 1950 to 1975. I would fish with Rhody Fly Rodders. The regulars would be Ray Smith, Herb Chase, Howard Laws and myself. Our prime location was the cove near Castle Hill, near the Coast Guard Station. The place was ideal because the location was between two high hills. Ray had two world records for Pollack on the Fly. I believe one record still stands. The scene was the same. Fly rodders and spin fishermen would arrive just before dark in the days of November, January, February. We would stand by and watch the setting sun around 3 4 pm. It was important that you dressed for cold weather. As soon as we saw fish breaking, we yelled to alert other fishermen it was time to start fishing. Using the light reflected off the water surface from the Coast Guard station. We would target big fish breaking. My best fish was around eight pounds. Mr. Chase took a fifteen pound. What attracted the fish was silversides in the cove. Besides hard fighting, love to eat our flies, they were good eating. December 20, 1972 I was retrieving my fly with two inch strip. I had a mighty strike. In the floodlight I watched this crazy fish with all kinds of surface splashing, cartwheels, fighting like a tarpon. At my feet to my surprise was an eight pound Bluefish. The water was real cold. This bluefish was lost or liked the cold water temperature. The best fly was the Magog Smelt Bucktail Hook: size 1 or 1/0 Daiichi 2546 Thread: Black 7/0 Uni-cord Tail: Teal body feathers Body: Medium flat silver tinsel Wing: Small bunch white bucktail, over small bunch yellow bucktail, over small Bunch violet bucktail. Throat: Few fibers of red hackle. Topping: Four or six strands of peacock herl. Shoulders: Teal Body feather, one third the length of wing. Head: black with yellow eye with black pupil My favorite rod was Orvis Golden Eagle 8 ½ ft glass for 9 wgt line. Magog Smelt Bucktail, also a good fly for smallmouth bass, brook trout and landlocked salmon. Through the years the fishing scene has changed. The only place I caught Pollack in recent years was near Kittery, Maine and the fish are much smaller 3 4 pounds is a big fish. Page 3
Armand s Corner continued: 2006-2008 Josephine Pond, Wayside Inn, Sudbury, MA Two years ago I did fish until 2 nd week of January. From the first week in December to ice conditions. In the low setting sun. I would see cruising brown trout, looking for one inch long red fin pickerel. The explosion of feeding trout was breath taking. Here is my fly pattern: Armand s Red Fin Matuka Hook: Daiichi 3440 size 8 Thread: Uni-cord 12/0 black Tail and Top back Mutuka style: Two Olive green saddle hackles. Body: Yellow or tan seal fur dubbing or substitute. Ribbing: Fine oval gold tinsel. Throat: Red hackle. Head: Clipped deer body hair. Eyes: Optional gold with black pupil prism stick on eyes coated with softtex My favorite rod was Farlow Lee Wulff Midge 6 ft bamboo Armand Presidential Legends From Left to Right: Armand Courchaine, Past President Dick Conroy, President Joe Simone, Dana Debloise, President Tom Foley, John Kouvaros
To Promote Fly Fishing and Tying NEFT Our mailing address is: PO Box 164 Worcester, MA 01613 The NEFT meets every Monday evening at 7 PM from the Monday after Labor Day to the Monday before Memorial day. We meet at the Singletary Rod & Gun, 300 Sutton Ave., Oxford Ma. NEFT is a non-profit organization of fly fishers and fly tyers. The purpose of the organization is to foster the art of fly tying, to promote the challenge of fly fishing, to encourage conservation and sportsmanship. NEFT began in Worcester, MA in 1972. Our current membership comes from over 50 cities and towns in Worcester County. We believe that the NEFT is one of the most active clubs of its kind. We meet every Monday night from the Monday after Labor Day to the Monday before Memorial day, a total of 36 meetings in 9 months. We re on the Web www.newenglandflytyers.org