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Casting Practice

by Castmaster Mark Traugott

The shelter-in-place directives and changes in DFW regulations have caused many of us to postpone or cancel our plans to fish this spring. If you feel the need to re-connect with your favorite sport, consider this possibility:

Find a suitable place to cast and devote fifteen minutes to one hour of practice time a day to maintaining your skills or learning something new. At home or nearby is best, as you will be more likely to pick up that rod spontaneously and will put in more time; but, if necessary, any public space with an open, grassy area will do fine. In a pinch, your driveway or the street may suffice (though you will want to dedicate an old and disused line for the purpose, as asphalt and concrete are hard on high-tech coatings.) Once you start whipping that rod around and throwing a line, you will likely find that other people stay at least the recommended six feet away. A few simple props (hula hoops for accuracy, soccer cones for distance or for specialty techniques like curve casts) are helpful but not really necessary. The important thing is to work on upgrading your skills. If you need suggestions for what to focus on, you may want to look at the Fly Fishing International skills challenges. They offer three levels – bronze, silver, and gold – each of which involves a series of tasks that casters of increasing levels of competence should master. (The skills challenges can be downloaded here: https://flyfishersinternational.org/Education/Learning-Center/Casting/Casting-Skills-Challenge.) In my experience, even well-seasoned casters seldom succeed at every one of the tasks on the bronze challenge on the first try, but you’ll be amazed at what a little practice can do.

If you want to up your game and are someone who learns best from books, try consulting the classics by Mel Krieger (The Essence of Fly Casting), Joan Wulff (Fly Casting Techniques), and Bill Gammel (The Essentials of Fly-Casting). However, many people find that a more visual approach is helpful. Our club’s library of DVDs includes some relevant titles, but in this time of social distancing, a more readily available alternative is the Internet. A quick search on youtube.com will connect you to an overwhelming variety of instructional videos on almost any casting technique you wish to explore and at any skill level from beginner to advanced. Here are a few that I have found especially easy to understand, insightful, or entertaining:

Peter Kutzer is Orvis’s resident casting instructor. You may have met him at the Pleasanton show in February (which must now seem a long time ago because it happened just as we were all becoming aware of Covid-19.) He offers an entire series of professionally produced videos on a wide variety of subjects, several of which are indexed here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peter+kutzer+fly+casting

Australian Casting Champion Peter Hayes has an appealing series of videos (the production values of which are, unfortunately, highly variable), all delivered with good humor and in an engaging Aussie accent: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=peter+hayes+fly+casting

And for those who want a more in-depth treatment of both the theory and practice of fly casting, you may want to work your way through the many subjects covered in Paul Arden’s Fly Casting Manual on sexyloops.com (http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/index.shtml). His explanations can be a little harder to follow, but he has thought through the physics of casting in depth.

One instructor whose explanations I find particularly clear is Carl McNeil. He has a complete instructional DVD for sale on the Echo Fly Fishing site, but a few of his videos are available free on youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=carl+mcneil+fly+casting

If you have a favorite site or instructor of your own, let me know so they can be shared in a future issue of the newsletter. Until we are able to gather again on our favorite lakes and streams, a little coronavirus-casting in the back yard is a great way to stay limber and sharp, ready to return to the water when the all-clear sounds.

Posted on May 20th, 2020

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Kelsey Lake ( near Snelling Ca. ) May 7th and 8th

by Elaine and John Cook

First heard about this large bass lake from Jim Black, thanks Jim. Being a private lake we thought it might be a place where we could effectively accomplish social distancing and indeed that was the case. Booking is easy over phone and on line while Al Smatsky provided us with lots of great information. $100/day/fisherman, camping $25/night. It took us 3 hours to get there but we are slow behind the wheel. Now to the nitty gritty. Although we didn’t land many fish the quality was remarkable. Fat 17-22 inches beauties that fought like heck. Too bad it was a full moon and there had been a bass tournament 4 days prior. We did land ALL on poppers and that was the only method we used. Believe it or not, John caught the big ones. The bass habitat with lily pads was impressive and then there was a rock wall. We were also impressed with the camping area that was all grassed in under large trees making it easy to tolerate the heat. We are anxious to return, and will.

Posted on May 27th, 2020

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Shelter in place at Goodwin Lake

by Elaine Cook for Roy Gunter

Roy has sponsored several club fishouts at his lovely 2 bedroom home at Goodwin Lake which is full of large rainbows. If you would like to escape from COVID for the next year, he will be leasing it out for $1,450 per month plus utilities. It includes a boat with motor the get around this beautiful private  lake. You can reach him at rgunteriii@yahoo.com for more details.

Posted on April 17th, 2020

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‘Conservation Slim’ Report

by 'Conservation Slim'

“Slim blog” #1

I am not getting any local reports during our ‘mystery-demic #19’.

I just drove/delivered a new Honda truck with AWD from Phoenix area back home and it was like the 60’s as far as number of vehicles on the road. I-40 as far as I could see was only semi truck travelers. The very pleasant trip back was spoiled by my passing the foul and totally disgusting smell from the Harris Ranch feed lot alongside I-5 in Coalinga. The smell permeated this brand new vehicle and lingered for miles beyond, the acres of moving cattle and dairy cow heads as far as I could see and for maybe a mile along the highway.

I could not help but think of this lot as a holocaust for cows standing in the filth. This is not an ad to become a vegan, however, my re thinking of supporting Harris Ranch products is the only way to get their attention. I located the property:  Harris Feeding Company 29475 Fresno Coalinga Rd. Coalinga  CA 93210 or call 559-884-2435.    An idea just occurred is to post a sign after you pass the compound with the phone # so drivers can bombard them with complaints.  If a virus could attach to the smell, all the thousands of vehicles driving by are smelling the same stench and being infected. (just a notion as virus’s do not move on their own).  I bet drivers would pull out their phone and call the # immediately.  The cows were standing in black goo.  Time for us to rethink the hamburger and one fast food franchise already has.

The FDA office in Fresno 559-261-1082  I will find out what they say about the problem, the run off from this area when it rains has to flow downstream into a watershed and well water.

Other issues of concern is the high levels of aluminum in the air soil and water, analysis from the jet aerosols you see turning the blue sky into a hazy white that grows throughout the day. Official NASA reports its for reflecting sun rays to avoid the planet from warming, Cloud seeding is another use, the military uses it for ionizing the atmosphere to aid 5G and weaponized lasers for defense, other studies show the alumina is inside all of us, the 1 or 2 micron sized particles. Barium and strontium also measured from soil samples. This haze is also suspected in the reduction of many insects and hence birds and other prey animals including fish. The Mt Shasta area and the Redding Board of Supervisor meeting of scientists and experts attesting to the problem up to 5% soil sample includes aluminum which does not occur naturally anywhere.

I’m curious as to who reads our newsletters so please say something pro or con as I would love to provide links to help support ‘Conservation Slim’s’ position.   (photos of feed lots not allowed for some reason, I pulled off the web).

Till we meet again……CS.

Posted on April 26th, 2020

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Surf Fishing time again – Saturday May 9 – 5:50 am

by Sam Bishop, Surf "Fishmaster"

Let’s hope the beaches remain open so we can once again enjoy teasing the Surf Perch and Stripers (Strippers?) on Rio Del Mar Beach.
We will be fishing an ebb tide, with a 06:50 am low at -1.4’. Sunrise is just after 6 am.

Take Rio Del Mar Blvd all the way until it drops down onto the flats, take a left 180, circling left around the roundabout and drive down Beach Drive about half a mile to the State Park area and park outside. Do NOT stop near the round-a bout! You will see us.

I will have spare stripping baskets and flies. If you haven’t been out in a long time, please click here to review the article I wrote on surf fishing on this website.

We don’t serve coffee and I don’t bring doughnuts, we just fish. Sometimes we end up at the Pixie Deli for post-fishing breakfast burritos, but since everything is closed, that probably won’t happen this time.

Posted on April 26th, 2020

Date:  April 17-19 and May 1-3, 2020

Place:  Near Henry Coe Park

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Roostercomb Ranch Fishouts

Fishmaster: Cecilia Stipes flyfishgal@aol.com

This is our club’s 21th annual fishout to the Roostercomb Ranch, owned and operated by Scott Wilkinson. This private ranch is located adjacent to Henry Coe State Park, 22 miles off Hwy 152 from the entrance which is 5 miles from Casa de Fruta Restaurant in Hollister. It is a 3-day fun-filled weekend with fishing 9 bass ponds, hiking, birding and photography on nearly 6,000 acres. The ponds are primarily fished from float tubes or from the bank using woolly buggers and poppers. You can also bring conventional spin rods and gear. Accommodations are the 1928 ranch house and a cowboy bunk house, or if you prefer, your own tent or vehicle. Breakfasts and dinner meals/barbecues are organized by teams. Lunches, snacks and beverages are individuals’responsibilities. For more details, please feel free to call me.

The terrain is rough, rocky and sometimes steep; therefore all vehicles MUST be 4-WD or AWD with good clearance to drive in and around the ranch! If you do not have a 4-WD vehicle, I can make arrangements for you to carpool with other members or with Scott. Non-fishers are always welcome. Each fishout is limited to 15 fishers and 4 non-fishers. NOTE: You are only able to call in for yourself and your partner, and children.

COST: $250 /person (no charge for children 12 yrs and under). The earliest sign-up for either or both fishouts, is by phone call: Thursday, March 19, 7:00 pm. Your confirmation is not complete until I receive your check, please contact me for address to mail check.

Posted on April 25th, 2020

Date:  TBA April through May

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Bourdet Ranch

Fishmaster: Cecilia Stipes flyfishgal@aol.com

For anyone who would like to bass fish, I am offering day trips to the Bourdet Ranch in Hollister across from Casa de Fruta Restaurant on Hwy 152. Dates to be announced as we approach bass spawning season (April through May, sometimes into June). This is a really good opportunity for new fly fishers to learn skills quickly on ponds where blue gill and bass are eager to Bourdet RanchCecilia Stipes – 831-335-5727 – flyfishgal3@aol.comtake your flies. Each trip will be limited to six fishers, non-fishers are welcome. Cost $75/per son. 4-WD vehicle is required, you will fish from float tubes and need fins. (I have extra tubes to lend). I am creating a list with names from which to call once I pin down dates. If you are interested, please email or call me with your name and phone number.

Posted on March 25th, 2020

Date:  May 31, 2020

Time:  Canceled

Place:  Quail Hollow Ranch

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Fly Fishing 101: Public Education Day – CANCELED

Unfortunately, this class has been canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic. This is an annual Fly Club tradition, so check back next sprint.

The event is hosted in conjunction with the Santa Cruz County Parks, Education and Conservation Program. Our club and the sport of fly fishing is recognized for taking care of our environment and passing on a conser-vation legacy. Quail Hollow Ranch is a beautiful mountain park acquired by the county in the mid 80s. It features a 300-acre preserve that was once the home to Ohlone Indians, Spanish ranchers, even the headquarters for Sunset Magazine. Now it is home to a few horses, a natural history center and a spring-fed “untouchable” bass and bluegill pond. Don’t forget the binocu-lars, as this is a major stop on the bird watchers circuit. The Ranch is located above Felton, about a mile up Zayante Rd., a left turn just past the old Trout Farm Inn.

The day is geared toward introducing and educating the public as to why the members of our club are so hooked on fly fishing. Fly Fishing 101 will be taught by a member expert in the morning, followed by casting lessons in the morning and in the afternoon. There will also be fly tying demonstrations

Kids and grandkids are especially welcome, so bring them along. They are the future of both fly fishing and conservation, so it’s important to expose them to the sport. This event is all going to happen rain or shine. Everything is provided for fly casting, rods and reels, and hookless yarn flies. There will be fly tying demonstrations as well. This will be a great club event, with a special invitation to all mem-bers to come out and represent what we’re all about. Members who attend should be sporting some club attire, like one of our baseball caps, a T-shirt, or a casting shirt with our logo on it, and your name tag, so guests can tell who we are. There’ll be a BBQ lunch for everyone. Tell a friend and bring a friend to Fly Fishing 101 at Quail Hol-low Ranch, Sunday, May 31st, 2020.

Posted on April 25th, 2020

Date:  July 11-17 (Saturday through following Friday)

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The Green River, Utah – CANCELED

This fishout has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 restrictions, which may or may not still be in force in July 2020.  The principle attendees have all expressed their disinclination to travel out of state to Utah because of the residual risk of unfamiliar contact.  John and Pat Steele will not be leading the fishout, they are not going.  If other persons wish to go to the Green River, to Dutch John, which is the town where the lodging is located, at Trout Creek Flies, they should call and make their own reservations for both lodging and for river guides.  The number to call at Trout Creek is 435-885-3355.  There are other lodging options in the area, Flaming Gorge Lodge, at 435-889-3773, and Red Canyon Lodge, at 435-889-3773.

We will miss this fishout very much, it has been a trip that John has been taking every year for over 25 years.  Hopefully, this pandemic is over by this time next year.  Stay safe, shelter in place until otherwise notified, and please take care of yourselves and each other.  We will get through this!

Posted on April 25th, 2020

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ZOOMED DOOR PRIZE

I was all set to raffle off T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers that screamed

“SHELTERED SUCKS”

however I haven’t quite figured out to do an online raffle but I am still working on it. What I am going to do for the May zoomer  meeting is to do virtual door prize. Everybody gets a free ticket, must attend the meeting to win.

First the prize! We have a really trick Phixton XM-L2 tactical & military WT-04 rechargeable flashlight torch. Included are both ac and USB charging accessories or can function on three AAA batteries. All of this is packaged in mil-spec snap closure case. Perfect for the car, boat, float tube,  or airplane.

“How to I get a door prize ticket?”

As everbody  logs into the meeting I will write names on tickets that will go into a hat for the drawing. The lucky winner will receive their prize by USPS. What could be simpler?

Posted on April 26th, 2020

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Heed The Call of the Surf

by Lamar Underwood - author of "250 Amazing Fishing Tips

If the call of the surf–the breaking waves, the flowing tides, the on shore and offshore birds with their flights and cries , the great vastness of the sky and the salt-sented air — means anything at all to you, I’d like to give you a shove, not a nudge, toward getting into surf fishing. Most people who are really crazy about surf fishing have found they don’t have to catch a lot of fish to have a good day at the beach. Of course, catching fish is what makes surf fishing exciting.

Posted on April 26th, 2020

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Bead Chain Bugger

by Fly Tying Master. Elaine Cook

This bugger pattern is very effective when twitched or stripped using a sinking line in stillwater. It can be varied in size and color. You will find this easy to tie.   Hooks: 4-12.   Body Colors: solid black, mottled black/olive, mottled black/brown, mottled black/tan, mottled brown/tan.  Tail, Hackle and Thread: color to match one of body colors. My favorite is as follows.

  • Hook: TMC 5263 size 8
  • Thread: 8/0 olive
  • Eyes: sm. or med. bead chain
  • Tail: fluffy olive marabou
  • Hackle: saddle, dun color, barbs equal to 1 and 1/2 hook gap
  • Body: mottled black/olive ,med. size
  • Glue: Super Glue , Zap-A-Gap or similar

1. Crimp barb.

2. Attach thread behind hook eye. Touching wraps to 1/3 back then forward to one hook eye length behind eye.

3. Attach bead chain eyes on top of shank with multiple  crisis-cross wraps then wraps around under side of balls but on top of shank. Repeat several times. Apply glue. Position thread mid shank.

4. Position marabou on top of shank, tips extending hook length to rear of shank. Tie in place up to bead chain then back to rear  of shank. Cut butts behind bead chain.

5. Holding tip of hackle, stroke bars so they stand out at right angles to stem. Tie in tip.

6. Pull fibers off 1/4 inch of end of chenille. Tie in exposed strings.

7. Position thread behind eyes. Wrap chenille forward in touching wraps. Tie off, cut excess. Palmer hackle forward in 6 wraps. Tie off, cut excess.

8. Wrap thread head in front of eyes. Whip finish. Cut thread. Apply glue.

Posted on April 26th, 2020

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To the Rescue!

by Cecilia Stipes

We owe a debt of gratitude to club member, Jeff Slaboden, who generously provided 100 bottles of hand sanitizer produced by his company in an effort to protect our community from the coronavirus.   At the onset of the crisis and due to the apparent shortage of product, Jeff directed his company to immediately convert production from its usual products, to producing and supplying hand sanitizer to community first-responder agencies, organizations and some local stores.   Being the generous person he is, he offered a supply to our club members for free, or to use as a fund raiser.   All club members who requested some, gladly paid five dollars, and it raised $500 for the club’s scholarship program, where Jeff asked the funds be directed to students entering the medical or science studies.   A huge thank you to Jeff for his humanitarian effort helping so many families during this serious pandemic.

Thank you Jeff. 

P.S. – Thank you Cecilia and Richard for stepping up, helping to get these 100 bottles of hand sanitizer to our club members who were rapidly moving to the shelter in place requirements.   Jeff informed me that over the last 30 days, his company has produced and distributed over 100,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, “Thousands of which have been donated to a variety of good causes and people in need.

If you have a special story you’d like to share around this crisis and fly-fishing – drop me a line. −Tom Hogye

Posted on April 20th, 2020

Date:  April 1, 2020

Time:  Any time you want

Place:  YouTube!

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“Van Life” – Epic Montana Fly Fishing Adventure “Journey On”

by Aimee and Chase Bartee

Hello my fellow big stick fly line, fly tying, fly flippin enthusiasts.  For what is probably the first time in the 43 year history of the SCFF, we have had to cancel our April meeting due to the Coronavirus pandemic forcing us to shelter-in place and wait out the storm.

I found this beautiful adventure of two people heading across the country to spend a summer fly-fishing in Montana.  The photos and video are spectacular and include fish, fur and feather.   No this is not the typical adventure that John and Elaine Cook do every summer, but it could very well be, or be you – or me – next!!  I invite you to turn on your TV, grab some popcorn and a refreshment – say “youtube” and settle into your most comfortable place and enjoy this nearly 1 hour escape.

You can also visit www.tightloopsfly.com

Wishing all of you good health and looking forward to gathering again soon.

Posted on March 23rd, 2020

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Popper Class -Cancelled

by Fly Tying Master. Elaine Cook

Unfortunately , due to Covid-19, our class is canceled. I’ll bet the bass are real happy!  As for other future fly tying classes, we will have to play it by ear, one month at a time. With your spare time, whip out a few of the “Fly of the Month” patterns. Good time to clean reels and lines. Add a new leader and tippet. And follow the dictate of Steve Rudzinski and sharpen those clouser hooks. Stay safe and well
—Elaine

Posted on March 25th, 2020

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Social Distance Casting!

by Your President - Tom Hogye

In 1992 I was at the Ed Rice Fly Fishing Show with Mona.   We were still practically newly-weds and had recently seen A River Runs Through It, in the movie theatre.   As new comers to fly-fishing I was on overdrive soaking in everything as a guy who by today’s standards had virtually nothing in my collection of all things fly-fishing.   We were taking in everything from fly-tying, gear, waders, flys, vests, hats, how I came to get my Filson cap, and guys and gals casting fly rods, like I’d just seen Brad Pitt do in the movie.

Mona and I befriended a guy at the Sage booth.   At that time, I didn’t know Sage from Orvis, from R.L. Winston, Thomas & Thomas,…   They were all just really expensive and really beautiful.   This guy was super nice.   He grabbed a couple of rods and we went outside to do some casting.    It was evening, but the casting pool was lit up.   Fly lines shimmering and floating in the night sky against the bright lights.   We were having a blast and learning a lot, watching the line, practicing and practicing.    When we asked his name, he said it was Randy Swisher.   I commented, ‘Swisher?! You mean like, Doug Swisher?’

Yeah, That’s my dad.

Wow – I was hooked.   When we went back inside, I asked him about the rod I was casting.   It was a beautiful deep bluegreen graphite Sage SP.  Mona said I did have a birthday coming up soon, and Randy offered up his employee discount and threw in the rod tube.

I’ve loved that rod and at the price you pay for a rod like that, even 28 years ago – you take care of it.

Well I broke it last summer and was crushed.   I was worried that part of the rod wasn’t even available anymore.   But the long and the short of it, is they did.  Sage treated me like it was one of my kids.   They repaired the rod and had it back to me in a few weeks.

“Social Distance”.  Two words none of us have ever though of putting together before.   In an unprecedented health crisis, none of us saw any of this coming.   Although I did hear a 2015 TED talk with Bill Gates who warned us of just such a disaster.   Wow.   Anyhow, I am, like all of us, at home, working to be responsible so as to mitigate this health crisis.    We are certainly going to be a different world in the future, and preparing our “kit bags” for many different things we never really thought of before, will become the new norm.   Teachers will now have to prepare for their classes each year, with an online curriculum, just in case.   Hospitals, government, manufacturing, finance, business in general will have to have a disaster plan that now may include some sort of crisis unforeseen.  Probably all good ideas, but hard to manage now -unless you’re Walmart, Clorox, Charmin or Amazon.

It was really hard canceling the April meeting and equally hard having to cancel the board meeting.

As we are at home, I do recall one of the instructions is to “get outside”!   I’ve seen more people walking their dogs, or just walking together than I’ve ever seen before.   I painted the laundry room and have been fixing some fences.  Went for a bike ride.   I took inventory of all my fly-fishing gear.   I cleaned my fly lines and rigged up some two fly leaders for surf perch/Striper fishing in the near future.   I organized my fly-tying and spun up a couple of bugs for the summer I’m very much looking forward to.   My rod came back!   Get Outside!   Okay – that’s where you can practice Social Distance Casting!  The grass is green at the parks, and it’s legal/okay to go to the park.  You had time to clean your line and maybe even clean up your favorite stick.   A good time to get out and practice your line control, with a little dab of yarn, and do something different.   If you’re in the park waving a nine foot long stick with a long colorful string on the end of it, chances are, people are gonna stay way clear of you.   Much more than six feet.

Stay well my friends.   Hang in there and all of us at SCFF are wishing everyone good health so we get through this together and get back to having fun together.   We are going to appreciate that more than ever before.

Cast away – everything!    Tom

Posted on March 22nd, 2020

Date:  Sat. and Sun., March 7th and 8th

Time:  10am - 3pm

Place:  Elaine Cook’s home

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Bass Poppers

Bass Popper

Instructor: Elaine Cook

Spring is right around the corner. Time to get an arsenal of flies into your box for bass and bluegill. The class requires two days for the epoxy drying, and will be held over the week-end, not the usual second Wednesday of the month.

Signups are MANDATORY! Either sign up at the club meeting or call Elaine ((831) 688-1561). There is limited space. Beginners need to know how to use a vise and bob-bin. There is no charge for members, and all materials will be provided. Directions and what to bring will be provided when you sign up. The class will also include an hour of bass fishing instruction.

* As we go to print the class is full. A cancellation list is being maintained

Posted on March 10th, 2020

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150 active dues members for 2020

by Thank you

Over 150 members have submitted over $5,000 in dues and additional $1,300 in donations for scholarships and conservation. New 2020 rosters will go to the printers and be available at the April meeting. Please email/txt me and I will mail you a roster. Thank you Scott Kitayama for helping with Google Groups .

Posted on March 10th, 2020

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‘Conservation Slim’

by 'Conservation Slim'

My first attempt to navigate the new system and thanking Vicki for patience and giving me an idea for a new name for my title and position with the organization.

I wanted to share the letter I got from the volunteers and friends who are working hard to save the last wild river system all the way to the headwaters where the largest open pit copper and gold mine is slated, approved and rejected and near approval again and up to Washington at this stage. Our members approved a donation to saving Bristol Bay and also honoring the name and legend of a fallen friend, guide and fisherman who lost his life in Alaska rafting a wild American Creek, he was not found and we donated his speakers fee to the charity in his name, This is for you John Squires and your wife Vicki and children and giant dog who miss him very much.

Other news is that although listed as being in our county off Laurel Glen Rd, the new 5 G tower was rejected by residents in the area I learned but calling the glass studio next door to where the tower was said to be located the owner said its not going up now.  Santa Cruz County is so far opposed to the spread of 5G at this time. Nearest tower is across from SJ City Hall or Hollister. Fresno seems to have the most activity in CA at this time.

As Scoop once said at the end of all his years of alternative radio news, “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own”.  Peace and stay well,  ‘Conservation Slim’

Posted on March 24th, 2020

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Good things come to all that wait

by Prize guy, Jeff Goyert

Just a little tease for the next club raffle. The big prize will be a 10 ft. 3wt Echo Carbon XL Euro Nymph rod with a Rio Euro Nymph sighted leader with tippet ring. Along with these will be the DVD by Devine Olsen on how the whole Euro Nymph thing works. If you ever thought about trying this, now is your chance.

Since lock down here in the bunker I have been ordering a lot of cool stuff, stay tuned.

Posted on March 23rd, 2020

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Shad Dart

by Fly Tying Master - Elaine Cook

This, easy to tie, fly pattern has many material and color variations. Try using it for shad in rivers or perch in the surf. Shad fishing is right around the corner. And of course perch can be targeted usually in spring, summer and fall. Our surf fishouts will begin soon and may be an acceptable CDC outing due to the ability to practice social distancing of 6 feet or more.

  • Hook: Mustad 34007 or Eagle Claw 253SS , sizes 4-10
  • Thread: 6/0 , color to match head
  • Eyes: med size bead chain
  • Tail: marabou or calf tail, red, orange or white
  • Flash and Body: crystal  flash, red, orange or pearl
  • Head: sm. chenille or crystal chenille, red or orange
  • Coating: Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails nail polish
  • Glue: Supper Glue, Zap-A-Gap or similar
  1. Crimp barb.
  2.  Attach thread behind hook eye. Touching wraps to mid shank then forward to 2 eye lengths behind eye.
  3. Tie in bead chain eyes on top of shank with many crisis-cross wraps and circular wraps below balls but above shank. Apply glue. Position thread at rear of shank.
  4. Use sm. amt. tail material. If calf tail,clean out underfur. Position material on top of shank. Tips, shank length to rear. Tie in place up to bead chain. Cut excess.
  5. Using 3 strands of crystal  flash, bend in half forming a loop. Tie to top of shank withloopextendingto tipof tail. Position thread behind bead chain. Wet strands. With touching wraps, wrap forward to bead chain, then back to tail, then forward again. Tie off, cut excess. Cut loop. Apply glue to body.
  6. Remove some fibers from end of chenille. Tie in strings behind bead chain. Position thread in front of bead chain.wrap chenille around both beads forming a round head.tie off, cut excess. Multiple thread wraps behind hook eye. Tie off, cut thread. Apply glue.
  7. Coat body and tie off thread wraps with Sally Hansen’s.

Posted on March 17th, 2020

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Bahamas

by by Pat Steele

Bahamas – March 5-18:Pat and John Steele

This trip was a weird one, from beginning to end.  The first glitch came when I got the notice to check in.  I did so, and obtained my boarding pass.  I tried to get John’s pass as well, but he was not listed as a passenger on the same locator number, which was odd.  No matter what search criteria I used, I could not find John.  John finally resorted to calling the airline, and to his dismay, he was not ticketed, so after spending all afternoon on the phone, he finally managed to get a last-minute ticket.

We got the same flight, although not seated together, and arrived in Atlanta, spent the night as planned, and flew out to Georgetown Exuma the following morning.

We picked up a small car at the airport.  We noted several scratches on the right front door of the vehicle.  We stopped by a deli to get some lunch provisions, and when we came back out to the car, we noticed a big dent on the same side of the car as the scratches.  John was afraid we would be held accountable for the dent, but it was rusty and had obviously happened before we rented the car.  A lady saw us walking around the car, fretting, and came out.  She offered to call the car rental place to tell them about the dent, as she was related to the owner of the rental agency.  She squared things up with them, and we went on our way.

Tom Pelikan and Noelle Nichols had gotten to Exuma several days before us, and they reported they had had a good day’s fishing, so we anticipated something similar.  That was not to be.  The weather was so windy our guide, Drex Rolle, called us to cancel our first day’s fishing.  We spent the first three days hunkered down, waiting for conditions to improve.  We finally got to go out, John went up to bat first.   Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to work line out or get any distance on his casts.  Drex coached him, and finally took the rod to demonstrate, much to John’s chagrin.  Drex caught a mangrove on his back cast, wiggled the line to get it loose, only to have the tip section come off the end of the rod.  He carefully retrieved the rod tip, and discovered it had fractured right above the ferrule.  Fortunately, we had my Orvis Helios II, which John used for the rest of the day.  I only got up briefly all day.  I think John got two fish, tagged a few more but did not land them.  It was a pretty scanty day.

The next time we went out a couple of days later, I caught a good-sized bone fish on my second cast.  We thought, hoo, boy, it’s going to be a great day if this keeps up!  It didn’t.  John didn’t score until after lunch.  There were the few schoolies after that, but nothing to write home about.

We had a third day out, but again, the fishing was not that productive.  Tom and Noelle had to leave before we were to depart, so John offered to take them to the airport.  After dropping them off, he went over to the car rental agency to thank them for being so nice about the dent.  No good deed goes unpunished.  He backed into a post behind the car and put a sizable dent in the bumper!

We spent the rest of our time resting, reading, and watching the COVID-19 crisis unfold.  We were worried we wouldn’t be able get back into the USA.  It came time for us to try to fly home.  We got back out to the airport, checked the car in and John settled the bumper issue with the rental agency.  We got in line to check in.  John suddenly discovered he did not have his passport!  He ran back across the street to the car rental agency to look for it.  I got out of line and piled our bags in the corner.  I waited, almost in tears, not knowing what he was doing.  He was gone for almost an hour, and his phone was left in my bag, so I had no idea what was going on.  He finally came running back in, having found the passport back at our bungalow, on the bathroom floor.  We checked in, and got aboard, and flew in to Atlanta.  We were supposed to fly out to LAX and then on to SJC after clearing customs.  We got aboard a nice, cushy 777, but they couldn’t start the starboard engine.  They fiddled with it for over an hour before pushing us back to the gate and making us get off.  The time for our connections had long since lapsed, so we had to rebook with the gate agents.  They couldn’t get us home that same night, so they gave us hotel vouchers, and booked us on a morning flight straight through to SJC.

We stayed in the airport Westin in Atlanta.  We left instructions for a wakeup call for 6 AM.  Not only did they not call, the room clock had not been reset for EDT, so when we did arise, we only had 30 minutes to jump on the shuttle and get ourselves over to the airport, go through TSA, and get on the westbound flight.  It was eerie.  We were on a 737, and counting us, there were only 20 passengers on the flight.

This isn’t so much an article about fishing as it is a caveat for anyone planning any trips in the near future.  We can’t fault the good people of Exuma, they took very good care of us, fed us well, and did their level best to make our vacation enjoyable.  Nobody has control on fishing, nature or a pandemic.  All we can do is cope, use good sense, wash our hands, stay home and pray this latest crisis resolves itself.  For now, we are just happy to be home, safe and well!

Posted on March 23rd, 2020

Date:  Wednesday, March 4

Time:  Open - 6:45 pm; Meeting 7:00pm

Place:  Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Dr., Aptos

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Five Best Reasons to Fly Fish Montana
with Guest Speaker Ed Lawrence

by Jim Black, Programs Director

Our speaker this month will be Montana outfitter, Ed Lawrence. If you have ever thought you would like to plan a fishing trip into Montana, Ed Lawrence, should be your go-to planner. He will help you with your choice of rivers if you wish.

A number of SCFF members have planned fishing trips with Ed. I and a long-time friend of mine traveled to Montana last year with a goal of fishing four or five rivers in five or six days. We wanted to fish the Yellowstone, The Madison, the Jefferson and the Missouri before discussing our choices with Ed. Our final plan with Ed’s suggestions, was to fish the Missouri twice in different places, including a third day fishing The Land of Giants, and along with the Madison and the Yellowstone.

It was a great organized, efficient trip. We met our guides in the morning, fished all day, drove to the next river that night, had dinners on our own after fishing, then spent our nights in Holiday Express Hotels, all arranged by Ed. We then met our guides the next morning at our front lobby door and went fish-ing. So, after that, we flew into Bozeman on Sunday, started fishing Monday on the Madison and were able to fish five days in a row. We returned back to Bozeman in the evening of the last day and flew home the next day, actually seven days all together, making it a very enjoyable trip, which I plan to do this year and next and next and next.

I would be happy to discuss our Montana with anyone who is interested, and Ed’s program will entice you even more to find out what the five best reasons are to fly fish Montana!

Posted on March 10th, 2020

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First Light

Yawn! It’s 3:15 a.m. and I’m up getting ready to head to the airport. I like getting up early. Especially if I’m getting on a plane or into my truck to head out on an adventure. There’s just something about that special excitement that comes from discon-necting from the normal work flow of life, planning to get into the great outdoors and fish.

My favorite time to be driving is so early that even in the Bay Area, no one is on the road. Your only concern the potential of a deer, coyote, mountain lion, raccoon, or pos-sum crossing the road. Coffee! Always on the road long enough for that break from black to navy, to dark blue as the sun is long from the horizon, but letting us know that it will soon be first light.

When my brother and I first drove across the country more than 37 years ago, I still distinctly remember when that first light started to occur and where. The most stunning is when we were driving through Cheyenne, Wyoming. That one I’ll never forget. In Albu-querque when my dad and I drove across again and it had snowed on our way into Flagstaff, Arizona.I can’t really explain it, but maybe it’s this weird sense of being ahead of everyone else, being the first to see what no one else was seeing, and to see it all pure, quiet, no traffic, no one else. It’s kind of like those winter days in Ohio when it snowed a foot, was still snowing heavily, and the bunch of us ventured out to the Metro Parks in the hills, and how almost unnaturally, crazy quiet it was. Or the time Mona and I were at eleven thousand feet on the Bear Tooth Mountain pass in Mon-tana hiking a couple miles back into the wilderness to fish for Brookies. We stopped and just looked at each other, marveling at how we could hear nothing. Nothing at all but for a bird, a bug, or the sound of the breeze.

Last year, I was up early and passing through the foothills in Roseville, on my way to my first Pyramid fishout, when that first light occurred again. Could not have been a bet-ter morning, capped off by seeing my good friends of SCFF by First LightBy President Tom Hogye10:30 a.m., then landing my first Lahontan Cutthroat by 12:30. This would be where they do that “mic drop” thing – boom. One and done, baby!

Or there was that morning, freezing cold, ice on the guides, can’t really see the river you’re entering. How light makes you rub your early morning eyes as if they need help adjusting, then that grab hours later and you’re off and running with a steelhead on the other end.Even though this morning means sitting in the airport on a Sunday morning heading for a conference in Florida, where it’s all about “how much more can you bring in the door, Hogye”, I am looking forward to those other mornings, those mornings I might not have a chance to do if it weren’t for my work, family, friends and SCFF. Makes everything worth it.

Over the next couple of months, watch for the new SCFF website! Thanks to PatSteele, Bob Peterson, and your board, we willbe fast moving into the 21st century with some really exciting, intuitive and vibrant changesto the Santa Cruz Fly Fishing website. We’re really excited. And if you’d like to lend yourexpertise and be on the cutting edge of this work, helping us withour monthly newsletter, content, email lists, and other resources we are working on, please reach out and we’d love to have your help.

If you need a good book to read, look for “Feather Thief”. It’s a very interesting look at what happened to the fly-tying industry and one particular person. I’ve listened to the podcast twice and then met Bill Keogh from Keogh Hackles at this year’s Fly-Fishing Expo in Pleasanton, where so many of us met for what you could rightly call our second “Christmas.” It’s such an awesome place to meet so many people who love the out-doors, fly fishing, and all that it encompasses. Was another really great year.

At this moment, sitting on the plane for yet another work trip, I’m looking forward to trips with SCFF, my family and friends. See you soon!

Posted on March 22nd, 2020

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Google Groups Help

Help with Google Groups before the March 4th meeting @ 6:40 pm

In less than two weeks, over half of the club membership has accepted the invitation to join santacruzflyfishermen Google Group and are getting email updates. To help get everyone on board, Scott Kitayama will be assisting and answering questions before the March meeting. Subjects to be covered:

  • What is Google Groups? What does it look like?
  • Did you get an email invitation from santacruzflyfisher-men around February 11th?
  • Are you receiving the emails from the group?
  • Do you have a Google Groups account?Come on by and let’s get everyone included in the group.

Come on by and let’s get everyone included in the group.

Publisher’s Note: This is important information to know, and will serve as a way for members to stay in touch, stay current, and pair up on last-minute local fishing trips in the interim between the old website going offline and the new one being launched. Please take advantage of Scott’s expertise!

Posted on March 22nd, 2020

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38th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference

We are pleased to announce that the final conference agenda packet is posted for the 38th Annual Salmonid Restora-tion Conference taking place in Santa Cruz, CA from March 31 – April 3, 2020. The theme of the upcoming conference is 2020 Vision for California’s Salmonscape. Please see the SRF website for information on workshops,field tours, and concurrent sessions. Information regarding the Plenary Session and other special events is now posted as well.

Conference Registration

You may register for the 2020 Salmonid Restoration Con-ference via any of the following methods:

  • Register online and make a secure payment with PayPal.
  • Fill out the registration form and fax it with your payment infor-mation to (707) 923-3135
  • Mail your registration form and payment to the SRF office: 425 Snug Alley, Unit D, Eureka, CA 95501; make checks payable to SRF
  • E-mail your registration form and payment information to info@calsalmon.org

SRF Membership Soiree

SRF’s annual membership dinner will be a strolling soiree at NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center. Tis event will coincide with the launch of the Sanctuary’s interactive California Salmonscape exhibit and will feature a short presentation by the legendary artist Ray Troll, whose art is highlighted in the exhibit, and Sarah Mesnick who leads the science, art, and seafood campaign at NOAA Fisheries.

2020 SRF Conference Poster Session

The Poster Session will be 7-10 pm on Thursday, April 2 at the Cocoanut Grove. This annual event is open to all confer-ence attendees and is a great venue to network with your peers. There is no additional cost to attend or present a poster. We encourage posters, pamphlet distribution, software exhibits, and multimedia (video) presentations.Please visit the conference FAQ page for more informa-tion about the conference venues, hotel options, and more. Thank you and please contact us with any questions, Dana StolzmanExecutive Director – Salmonid Restoration Federation

Posted on March 22nd, 2020

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by Conservation Director Steve Rudzinski

I was nervous tonight (2/5/2020), it was serious for me, I didn’t look up enough and Adam Schiff would shake his head a little but I did get applause which I never expected at all. I was sure it would be pretty silent and you know what? I don’t care, I have the floor. I explained to everyone that it was a historic week/day and all our hard work since my childhood, I saw the “Clean Water Act” signed as law and my home Hudson River slowly cleaned up to attract striped bass again and the “Love Canal” toxic site was exposed and the residents helped.

Rolling back laws on the books just because you can and it upsets conservationists is even more reason to sell out our precious Interior lands to mineral extraction and fracking for natural gas. Putting a label on what political party is better for the environment is a lopsided one and this current administration only caters to the corporate giants, Coal ash not okay to dump into waterways once forbidden under previous laws has been lifted and the die off of fish was as expected, fatal for aquatic life. This is not on any normal TV news show. There’s a lot of truth out there that most of us are unaware or don’t care.

As the Conservation chairman, I perhaps broke a rule, written or assumed, but I don’t care, I have the seat, impeach me. I have the votes, I heard the applause, If I want to present a show on the REAL cause of “global warming”, showing that CO2 is actually a very positive thing for the planet and all plants and trees. CO2 is GOOD but what the sky shows us daily is a haze when there should be the bluebird blue sky of our youth. The aerial aerosols cloud the sky as the jets lay down even patterns and grids, turning on and off the spraying, it’s quite a show, many think of it as normal and not at all questioning what we see is not normal at all.

My message was a hope that we will not let dirty corporations supported by a dirty government spoil our heritage and our children and grandchildren to avoid this new world order plan, Agenda 21 Agenda 2030. Not the rantings of a novice seeker, I have studied as much as I can stand but none of it is very positive for our future. No “Pollyanna” pie in the sky fixes, the UN Agenda is well under way to completely ionize our upper stratosphere with metallic dust that will remain there and aid the 5G coming to a telephone pole near you.

Please Impeach me, let me go.

This is the last Newsletter from our beloved Pat, my friend and co-conspirator and a sister to whom I always can speak my truth. It’s important to be able to find that person who does not judge but listens and learns and comments and shares their ideas on the subject. What I learned as jumping from Facilities board member to the President for three years and now Conservation is that having to report on only local issues that affect us here at home may not be what I am not most good at providing. There is so much more out there to study, I feel the club would be overwhelmed.

Since I heard applause, please send me your thoughts, I know members want the truth and it is important, the links I used for my reports I check out and will send to you if you ask. If my report was offensive to my more conservative friends I am not sorry at all, my job is to report on what I feel most passionate about and will affect the most of us no matter what political opinion exists.

This being the last chance to blog on the SCFF Newsletter I wanted to speak out and say thanks to those who supported my very nervous presentation which I wish I had practiced it first. I welcome any emails or calls and remain your Conservation Chair. Thank you, Pat, for all your hard work, and it was a pleasure working with you when I was president for three years. You rock, and have been a real sister to me. Much loud applause.

Peace, Steve/Stosh Rudzinski 2/6/2020

Posted on March 22nd, 2020