Florida s Finest Fly fishing Club February 2008 Panhandle Flyfishers President: Don Chattin Vice President: Bill Streitz Secretary: Dennis Curley Treasurer: Debbie Mast Librarian: Mike Enos Historian: Cody Wells Meetings: 1 st and 3 rd Thursdays of each month at the Destin Community Center at 7:00 unless Special Guest Speakers, tyers or Bad Weather. Message From The President From the Presidents corner, Wow our last meeting was packed and we had a lot of excitement with the new members and guests that were present. The year will be another exciting year as we start out busy with our programs and classes. One of the most exciting events will be our rod building class hosted by Lee Stelter. This is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling project that I had done when I started flyfishing. This year Jason Siler, guide and Co Orvis Store Manager has been able to get the club some Fine flyrod blanks from Orvis for the club to use and I know they will look magnificent after they are done. The Florida Council FFF has asked for volunteers to help the Florida Council President, Capt Peter Greenan with their Florida Sportsman Display and any member is welcome to do so if they wish. Contact me and I can give you Pete s email address to contact him for more details. Wanted to thank all the members who showed up at the Golden Corral to come up with a 5-6 month club agenda. After a fine breakfast the meeting went quickly and we had some good ideas so I know the club members wil be excited to get the year going. Any members with any ideas on speakers, tyers, projects, etc..please let us know cause your ideas are always welcome. One final item we want to introduce a knot at each months meeting so that when all members leave that night they should be able to tie that knot. We believe its easier to remember one knot at a time than doing a number of knots and trying to remember them all. This will be good for new members and refresher for us old folks. I wanted to thank Bill Streitz and club member Jack Cason for donating ttems to the club From the Fort Watton Beach Club closure. I know these items will be well used and are really appreciated. See ya at Thursdays meeting... http://panhandlefly.blogspot.com For access to our calendar go to www.google.com and select on calendars and then proceed to the Panhandle Fly fishers. For those members needing help with computer lingo or website navigation, let Lee or myself know so we can guide you. Don
J January 2008 meeting minutes Club News: Panhandle Flyfishers Meeting Notes 01/03/2007 The first meeting of the Panhandle Fly-fishing Club for 2008 was held on 3 January. The meeting was brought To order by our newly elected Presdent Don Chattin. 23 eager members were in attendance ready to kick off Another fishing year. The first order of business was a presentation to the club, by our outgoing President Tom Wall, of a gavel that held many fond memories for Tom which he shared with the club. Don Chattin then Presented Tom a gift certificate from the members in appreciation for years of great leadership. The Club continued working on procuring a new projector with hopes of getting a special discount on a good Unit. A meeting is scheduled for Saturday morning the 5 th for all club officers and interested members to firm Up a 6 month look-a head schedule of activites. Discussions on holding an Introduction to Fly Fishing Seminar at the Destin Community Center in February received unanimous support. Club meetings remain the first and third Thursday of each month with the first for club business and the third for Flytying and guest speakers. A call went out to identify potential speakers and volunteers for flytying demos. A Motion was made to keep all the plaques awarded during the year displayed in the meeting room. Further action Was required to ensure the building manager was in agreement. Jason Siler, An Orvis sanctioned guide and club member announced an upcoming fly fishing trip to Belize 8-13 March that he will be the trip coordinator on. Limited openings are still a available and interested parties need to contact Jason directly. Bill Streitz made a motion to contact the Daily Newspaper to have a full feature story with pictures on the club. There was unanimous agreement but further work is required. Don Chattin recommended the spring tournament be backed up one month till April-June. There was significant discussion on our club supporting the annual Florida Sportsman Show at the fairgrounds on 23 & 24 Feb. Tom Barnes gave a presentation of what would be required from his past experience with the show and recent discussions with the shows management. It was noted that the show would be a significant drain on club resources, would not provide us the visibility needed and therefore was deemed to not be a
good return on our investment and we would not support. Tom will notify the show management that we decline. A motion was made to work directly with the local Orvis store and support their seminars and this received unanimous support from the members. Debbie Mast, our treasurer, is collecting yearly dues of $30 per member or $35 per couple. For near-term activities Don Chattin suggested a club trip to West Bay and a casting practice at Destin school no firm dates were set. Lee Stelter presented potential rod builders a copy of requirements and supplies to become familiar with before our next meeting. Lee will lead us in building our own unique fly rods. Approximately 8 members showed interest in signing up. Dennis Curley, Club Secrectary PFF Meeting 17 Jan. 08 Treasure: balance is 1655.67 Our President, Don Chattin, was under the weather, so the VP Bill Streitz called the meeting to order and commenced with his demonstration of how to tie the Chernobyl Crab. About 20 members were present and most joined in tying the fly and Bill did a great job. Lee Stelter had a special presentation for all the members that plan on being in his fly-rod building class which will be on 12, 13, and 14 Feb. and his knowledge of the subject put all of us at ease that we really could build 1 st class flyrods with Lee s help. Jason Siler from the Sandestin Orvis shop made the members aware of a special package offering for the pole kit and blanks that was well received by all. To insure delivery in time he recommended all orders be in by 25 Jan. Next mtg. is 7 Feb. at 1900. PFF Secretary Dennis Curley Knot Tuesday...As I mentioned before each months meeting we will be tying one knot which will only take a few minutes of the meeting but is intended for the newmembers to learn one knot at a time...this months knot will be the perfection Loop... There are a variety of ways of tying this knot and one can search the google website for instructions or go to www.youtube.com and watch the video of the knot and other knots being tied. This knot is used as a loop to loop connection...easy to use and quick to tie.
Fly Tying- The past months fly was tied by Bill Streitz and he tied the Chernobyl Crab as tied by Tim Borski. We also have this flied tied by Tim Borski on his flytying DVDs that we have in the library. See the Librarian for the DVD if you wish to check it out. Borski ties many patterns and he will be at the Gulf Coast Conclave in May...Should be exciting. This month we will be busy...jason Slier will be doing a fly that he is calling Jason s bonefish Fly. Some members who missed the flytying session have asked if Bill Streitz could show them the fly he tied last month, the Chernobyl Crab; So in one corner Bill will be tying tying the crab and Jason will be tying the bonefish pattern as well as questions/answers on Rod building in the other corner...it will be fun... FFF Gulf Coast Expo - Fri-Sat, May 16-17 Lakefront Civic Center, Lake Charles, Louisiana. The 2nd annual conclave for the Gulf Coast Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) will be their first as a full council in the FFF. Folks are still buzzing about last year s great event. This year the headliners are Bruce Richards, Nick Curcione, and Tim Borski. Nearly a hundred fly tiers, exhibitors, programs, and workshops. And then for lagniappe the Friday night crawfish boil and schooling reds at night off the seawall! For more details, including schedules, bios, and registration forms, check out the GCC website at www.gulfcoastfff.org. Boy Scout Book Boy Scout Flyfishing Badge The BoyScouts of America will be having a jamboree in April At the Okaloosa County Fairgrounds. We will need some volunteers to participate In this for the club and for the boyscouts. Pictured on the right is the flyfishing badge and on the left is the book that they get to study for the badge. The requirements are listed below and I believe if we can help them with any of the subjects we should strive to do so and give them all our support whether its hands on or by donating our time or resources. Ask Jim Waters for more details and more to come on this subject.
The Boy Scout Jamboree is on April 12th at the Okaloosa County Fairgrounds. 1. Explain to your counselor the injuries that could occur while fly-fishing and the proper treatment, including cuts, scratches, puncture wounds, insect bites, hypothermia, dehydration, and heat reactions. Explain how to remove a hook that has lodged in your arm. Name and explain five safety practices you should always follow while fly-fishing. 2. Discuss how to match a fly rod, line, and leader to get a balanced system. Discuss several types of fly lines, and explain how and when each would be used. Review with your counselor how to care for this equipment. 3. Demonstrate how to tie proper knots to prepare a fly rod for fishing: a. Tie a backing to a fly reel spool using the arbor backing knot. b. Attach backing to fly line using the nail knot. c. Attach a leader to fly line using the needle knot, nail knot, or a loop-to-loop connection. d. Add tippet to a leader using a double surgeon's loop or blood knot. e. Tie a fly onto the terminal end of the leader using the improved clinch knot. 4. Explain how each of the following types of flies are used: dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers, bass bugs, and poppers. What does each imitate? Tie at least two types of the flies mentioned in this requirement. 5. Demonstrate the ability to cast a fly consistently and accurately using overhead and roll cast techniques. 6. Go to a suitable fishing location and make observations on the types of insects fish may be eating. Look for flying insects and some that may be on or beneath the water's surface. Look under rocks. Explain the importance of matching the hatch. 7. Explain the importance of practicing Leave No Trace and how it positively affects fly-fishing resources. 8. Obtain a copy of the regulations affecting game fishing where you live. Explain why they were adopted and what you accomplish by following them. 9. Explain what good outdoor sportsmanlike behavior is and how it relates to fishermen. Tell how the Outdoor Code of the Boy Scouts of America relates to a fishing enthusiast, including the aspects of littering, trespassing, courteous behavior, and obeying fishing regulations. 10. Using the fly-fishing techniques you have learned, catch two different kinds of fish and identify them. Release at least one of them unharmed. Clean and cook another fish. The club will be having our yearly introduction to Flyfishing seminar on March 2. The club will be hosting this on a Sunday and we will cover topics as Intro, history, leaders, knots, rods, reels, flytying, knots, flycasting, etc... We will need full club support and volunteers for this one day event. This program pays our rent basically and we will do our best to put on a great program. Flyfishing Reports: I spoke to a guy who fishes a lot with spinners, etc and behind his house he has a pond in which he had caught some BIG BASS in it. He tells me he watches the big bass feed on... big dragonflies that land on the pond. SO one of our flytying sessions we ll have to do a dragon fly pattern for those pond and Lake fisherman. The colors of the dragon fly that I see is usually blue like the one pictured below. I will volunteer myself to tie this pattern at a session as I have seen it tied by a famous tyer. That will give me some time to get some wing material. Speaking of flyting material I hear that Orvis just got a bunch more of flytying stuff, so stop by there and see for yourself
Dragonflies on left Below is the program for the South East Conclave being held in June...Lot of Freshwater stuff. There is a lot of information which I usually wait til April or May do put in the newsletter but guys like to preplan ahead. Guest speakers include Lefty Kreh, Jason Stacy of Old Florida Outfitters, and Tom Travis. There are over 20 guests so to view them and their bios go to the SE Council website. Jason was a guest speaker at one of our meetings this time last year.
Rodbuilding- By the 2 nd meeting most of you should have your rods wrapped and nearly finished for the epoxy finish. You have several options including doing it yourself or having a flyshop do it for you. In the past some of us have had the half hitch do the epoxy work in which I have had some nice rods turn out good. I have asked Jason to see if the Orvis Rod building shop could do it for us and charge us a fee per rod. I am sure if they can do it it would be a top notch finish. This part is the most important cause you have to cover all your threads and wraps. If you do a poor job with the finish you will see imperfections in the rod. I know guys who have done a meticulous job in their guide wrapping and construction of their rod blanks and then mess it up with a poor epoxy finish. The epoxy you put on a rod is different than what you put onto a fly. The epoxy is much thinner and sets overnight and requires a rod turning device to rotate the rod for the epoxy to finish. 1. Selecting your Rod- what weight? Pieces? Reelseat?etc 2. Finding the Spine and obtain you rod measurements. 3.Plan or Mark off your rod components with masking tape and check alignment. 4. Place Reel seat and grip-considered the most difficult step by some. 5. Ferrule/ Guide Wraps/hook keeper,etc.. 6. Tip Top 7. Inscribe, Special feather Inlays, etc... 8. Finishing Your rod with Epoxy Note: freshwater components differ from Saltwater etc... and double foot. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The guides also come in single foot
Above is an example of the guide spacing. Many manufacturers can send you these specific measurements when they send you your blank. Some also will mark the spine of the rod blanks. One thing that I learned when I took a class, is that the more pieces a rod has (like a 4 piece) it is actually stronger than a 2 piece rod. Below is the Zero Gravity Fly rod that Jason has been able to get for the club. We ll see if you can match its beauty and expert workmanship. Sandestin Orvis Store Above is the zero gravity cap that you can purchase to go with your zero gravity rod... You also can see the beautiful Rod tube above that you can purchase from orvis to store your fly rod in. For a video on the zero gravity rod go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0brnt98v9dk Many rodbuilding websites are available by searching google...here are some Rodbuilding websites are: http://www.rodbuilding.org/ http://www.mudhole.com/ http://www.shofftackle.com/
http://www.anglersworkshop.com/ http://www.flyrodcrafters.com/servlet/storefront You can also google Specific parts of the flyrod to purchase each individual part if you want. Even cabelas, Bass Pro Shop have rod building catalogs for fly rods. http://www.flyfisherman.com/rodbuilding/ is an excellent site to view on rodbuilding. The above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to rod building. They have written volumes on the subject and only so much can be mentioned in a few paragraphs but as you build your first rod a lot of questions will come up that you will be able to answer yourself or research it. One advantage of buying your flyrod from a reputable company is the lifetime warranty. If you build one, they will give you a lifetime warranty on the blank but not all the components or the rod itself. Club News: Items to be discussed at the February meeting and I wanted to remind the club members about are as follows: 1. The Boy Scout Jamboree in April 6. Monthly Knot tying Session 2. The Florida Sportsman Show- FFF Florida Council 7. Google Calendar and access 3. Rod Building- Lee Stelter will be the POC 8. Orvis Store Open House Project 4. Club Auction in February moved to March or April 9. New Items... 5. Destin Community Center Program in March Thanks to Trudy Bowling and Jason Siler for their support. Corporate Sponsor - Orvis Store in Sandestin. Actually I would like to say thanks to all the orvis staff members who have joined the club and are taking an active part in the club. Trudy Capt Jason
February Google Calendar