When I came across this startling list of Federal agencies either left unfunded or so seriously broken it cannot serve the people who set these laws and regulations in place to protect the land, sea and air. Sacred places like the headwaters of Bristol Bay salmon runs where the Pebble Mine Co. nears the long awaited access to dig the largest open pit gold and copper mine in the world. Agencies like the EPA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act are all quietly going away, no big news shows on TV announcing this outrage and we wonder why that some of the best conservation efforts are at best treading water and not making any headway against such heavy odds this current administration is creating daily.
It may only be a matter of time when local funding for NOAA and marine sanctuaries are a thing of the past. I think we can all agree that due to the overwhelming news on every station directs us where they wish, Every news show reads from the same script, we all have to inform ourselves and look to other sources thanks to the WWW which is still relatively free unless you are distracted by fly line ads and a better float tube fin bootie. Slim suggests writing a letter or an email to one of the congressmen or women working for us, or volunteer to do something you have a passion to learn or to teach others.
I’m getting packed to hit the O’Neill ForeBay tomorrow and then off to the Hex hatch at Lake Almanor on the 20th, my fathers day present to myself. Also a proud grandfather who saw his grandson graduate online from Stanford University on June 14th in a live feed.
Please drive safely this summer and don’t do anything stupid, see you all at the BBQ at the hall in August.
NOTE THAT BOTH THE DATE AND THE VENUE FOR THE JULY FISHOUT HAVE CHANGED!!!!
The July Surf Fishout will take place at Palm State Beach in Watsonville, on Saturday, July 11th. The sun will rise at 6:00 a.m., and the only low tide of the day will occur at 9:59 A.M. We will meet at 6:00 A.M. sharp near the entrance to the State Park at 2660 Beach Road. (See the detailed directions below.) For information regarding equipment and technique, see the excellent instructions on surf fishing that Sam Bishop has published on our club website. The basic equipment is a five- to 7-weight rod with an intermediate to full-sinking line or sinking tip. Any type of Clouser pattern or anchovy fly will work for stripers, and small bonefish patterns (for example, Gotchas) will catch perch, especially if they have red or orange highlights. The only surf-specific piece of essential equipment is a stripping basket (which Sam makes and sells for $20 to benefit the club.) Face masks are optional while actually fishing, but, as of this writing, we expect that social distancing measures will still be in force, so all participants should plan to stay 6’ apart while gearing up and for the walk in over the dunes.
Directions: From Santa Cruz, head south on Highway 1 past the first Watsonville exits and take the Riverside Drive (Highway 129) exit. Turn right at the end of the exit ramp, then right again onto Lee Road. At the traffic light, turn left onto West Beach Road. Drive 3 miles to where West Beach Road ends just past the entrance to the State Beach and just across from the entrance to Pajaro Dunes. Park on the right along the row of eucalyptus trees.
Unfortunatly, covid-19 will keep us from from having our annual Baja fishing excursion. At this point it is unknown as to when the hotel will even open. Stay tuned for next year. Please contact me if you have any questions: rlh@redshift.com
It’s been a while since we could have one of our good old fashion buy a raffle ticket, win a new fly rod events at on of our monthly meeting. This isn’t for a lack of goodies to raffle off. My back storage room is loaded great fly fishing gear, quite the opposite of the toilet paper aisle at Safeway.
So, what I am going to try to do is do an online/meeting raffle. Figure for the September Meeting I will lay out the loot with instructions as to how to purchase tickets. Somehow online with a credit card though our newsletter/website? I don’t know but we will try to figure it out.
In the mean time, enjoy your 4th of July, see you at the August BBQ.
While the rest of the world slept (or sheltered in place), nine members of the Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen hit the beach (Manresa Beach, to be exact) at 05:30 am on Saturday, June 6, to chase the elusive sea creatures. We were so spread out, I couldn’t check with everyone before I left, but at least 15 perch had briefly come to hand before they were released. What a beautiful day it was too. So y’all come on out with us in July! (See Gearing Up for details.)
Pictured left to right, the early arrivals: Joe Clark, Peter Putt, Tom Hogye, Mark Traugott, Scott Kitayama, Judy Johnson.
Not pictured, Ralph Berman, Robert Eberle, Sam Bishop
Early June: the Forbay is open for day use and two trips to the Madeiros entrance and under the power lines afforded us fishermen some great fishing. For some, too many fish to count. And it’s noteworthy, John Cook caught his first fish ever striping and on top of it, a Stripper! Will there be 2 moons in the sky. To finish one of the days, John and I finished with a couple nice large mouths by the tules using poppers.
Posted on June 26th, 2020
Date: June 3, 2020
Time: 6:30
Place: Zoom Presentation (Link to Invite in the Newsletter email)
Interested in chasing fishing the local waterways in our local bays and surf? George Revel will give a high-level overview of fishing our coastlines for stripers and surf perch.
Topic: Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen Club Meeting – June 3
Time: Jun 3, 2020 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Really – I mean, respecting all concerns, requirements, regulations. But there are lots of opportunities for all of us to get out and go fishing. Immediately, the surf is in our back yard and is abundant with Surf Perch, Striper, Halibut and other species- like Great White Shark!! Wouldn’t that be a hoot! Yes, it’s best to have a sinking line, running line and stripping basket, but you’ll get the hang of it fast and you can often get in 3 hours of fun before the rest of the world gets up in the morning. A lot in your newsletter – thank you Sam Bishop and the rest for bringing us along.
You can get out to a number of bass lakes within a few hours and some trout fishing not too much farther. Many, if not most, of our local California guides are working and are very reasonable for a day or two of wade fishing our northern CA waters, or the Eastern side of the Sierra locations. I’m immediately thinking of a number of our guest speakers- Jon Baiocchi, Joe Contaldi, Chris King and many others who would happily help you navigate a successful, safe and fun trip. Look them up. Go fishing.
Club Meetings!
If you missed the May meeting via Zoom – it was a HUGE SUCCESS. We had 38 people attend and stay the entire meeting. Jeff Goyert pulled of an excellent door prize raffle as it was easy to capture everyone’s names via Zoom. AND – I didn’t have to ask anyone to be quiet – ever. I just put you on Mute!! ? It was so fun to see everyone’s faces and everyone had some input or another. It really was fun. Jim Cox, from Western Rivers Conservancy, was incredible. A beautiful presentation and a commanding expertise in his field, kept everyone interested. This month, June 3rd, we are doing to do it again! This time we’ll have George Revel from Lost Coast Outfitters. Join the meeting by 6:30! Don’t miss this fun way to meet. You’ll love it.
Fly-Tying Class – Zoom?
Elaine is even thinking of doing a Zoom Fly-tying class where you can sign up, pickup the fly-tying materials at a predetermined location and then do the class via Zoom!! How ‘bout that!? Stay tuned.
High-School Scholarships – Aptos, Harbor, Soquel, Santa Cruz, San Lorenzo, Pajaro Valley
This year, the SCFF members contributed directly to enable us to give twelve, one hundred dollar scholarships to students finishing high-school, heading into college studies that involve Science and/or Environmental Sciences/studies. Each of the twelve students will also receive a on year membership to the club. Thank you all for your generous donations to SCFF, enabling us to continue our mission “To Promote, Educate, and Enjoy, the Sport of Fly Fishing” and to call upon the youth of the world.
The Future! – Well, at least July, and August
I understand these days have been challenging for many, and downright disastrous in other ways. But there have also been many blessings. The wildlife and the planet are benefitting in ways we’d never have been successful at even with all the “world leaders” we have. Tragically, it took a deadly virus to clean up the air, water and noise pollution in one month, now two. For how much longer? And will we try to keep it that way?
We’ve come together in ways we’d never do normally. We’ve given, or stayed put, reached out in encouragement, volunteered, donated and changed to meet a need and do our best to enjoy what we can -even if it’s just being together or taking the dog for a walk every day.
There is traditionally no July Club meeting. So I will wish you a truly homespun good ole-fashioned 4th of July with those you can be close to or with. Of course, you can still – Go Fishing!!
We are going ahead with our plans to meet at the Grange in Aptos, for our August meeting. It will be outdoors, mostly, and is our annual club Barbeque and Swap Meet. Yes -we will be taking every required precaution, and some maybe a bit more personal, to be as responsible as we should be. IF, something was to happen where we couldn’t have the BBQ, we’ll have a plan B. But I am hoping those of you who will be excited and able to come together, in August. We’ll have an All-American BBQ and swap meet.
Thanks to your board, all those who have reached out to help in so many ways. And thanks to some new members, Scott, Camille, Michael, who have offered and helped in a number of ways. That is what we are about.
Set Zoom up on your iPad, computer, and prepare for the June meeting. I look forward to seeing you. Until then? – Go -what? Go Fishing!
Unfortunately due to Covid-19, Cecilia is canceling the class which was going to be ” Vinci’s Depth Charge”. She plans to do it sometime in the future when conditions are different. Perhaps we will be able to do fly tying classes via Zoom sometime in the future if I can figure out the logistics. Stay tuned.
Even during this unusual time the membership has maintained at 150, including 4 new online members who we able to join on the new website online direct payment with Visa/square to our account.
Nametags have been ordered for these new members and will be mailed. Should you need a name tag, please email me @robert6367@aol.com and I will mail one.
Local news: Fish and Wildlife tanker truck was in town on May 13 and under the cover of darkness, dropped its load of 160,000 Chinook salmon smolts off the Santa Cruz wharf and a drop of about 30 feet did not bother these fish at all, in fact the mortalities were low, the gulls and cormorants already roosting for the night, the same with the sea lions and harbor seals said the crew who were there to watch. Because the stocking was so easy, there was no need for volunteers like in the past where we would transport large heavy sea pens to the harbor and assemble in place, the yearly event lasted 2 weeks, fish were fed in the sea pens and released after about 5 days on the outgoing tide. Problems arose when the fish returned to the harbor and caused an influx of sea lions and fishermen along the banks trying for a 30 lb. fish, some of the kids landed the fish of a lifetime while the boat owners worried about damage to boats and lines wrapped around props and docks.
The fish were delivered to Santa Cruz first and on May 20th the same amount was released in Monterey, the mission is to enhance the fishery more than to expect these fish will spawn locally and the biologists tell us that Santa Cruz is too far south in the range for successful spawning of this species, Coho salmon are this far south but success for their returning in numbers again seems doubtful as the weather and river water gets warmer and the flows diminish in drought years.
Opening salmon season I noticed the boats returning to G-3 Dock had an equal number of wild and hatchery fish missing that little Adopal fin clipped at the hatchery. Some fish may have a tiny wire in the head that can be scanned and reveal data for the biologists. Volunteers at the launch ramp would ask to remove heads from hatchery fish. (not the wardens).
The changes to the salmon release has removed the need for volunteers from the Fly club to meet with Salmon and Trout volunteers. This was a good way to combine energies for the greater good and health of the bay and salmon fishing in particular. also we had fun and lots of laughter. The public came to the sea pens and we would let the kids toss fish pellets to the school inside the pen. The education factor is lost but the savings of running that operation was a lot and now 2 people can put a pipe over a railing and turn the fish loose.
I included photos from previous years salmon delivery to the harbor pen and the dark drop off the wharf photo is thanks to Sam Bishop, former Club president and now treasurer for MBSTP (salmon and trout project).
Slim says: If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own. (smiley face) I sure hope the world opens up soon and we can resume our lives to some normalcy. Be good to yourselves and the earth. Slim
Some information regarding our fishouts that are being impacted by covid-19. Be sure to also refer to the Fishout schedule and article about each individual Fishout.
1. The Green River has been canceled.
2. For surf fishouts it is easy to maintain social distancing and wear a mask. ALSO: details about surf fishing can be found by going to the navy blue bar at the top, tap EDUCATION, then tap SURF FISHING INFORMATION.
3. The Loreto trip is still scheduled but, Rich will be making a decision around June 1st about the ability to continue with plans or cancel. Check with Rich Hewett (831)757-5709.
4. For Mammoth fishouts sign ups can still be made until accommodations are filled up until Sept. 1st. If it’s necessary to cancle, money will be refunded.
5. The Forbay fishouts should be another outing where social distancing and masks could be adhered to.
For more information about the various fishouts, see specific Gearing Up articles below or call the fishmaster for that outing. If you are interested in organizing a Fishout, call John Cook @ 831-688-1561 for information, guidance, and suggestions. Outings can be structured in many ways( simple to involved ).
June 6 we will have an early start, because the sun rises so early. Let’s be ready to hit the beach at 0535, ready to fish. So put your waders on at home and have your rod ready. You can rig it up completely then just break it down into two pieces for transportation. Manresa parking is right outside the beach entrance and sometimes fills quickly with surfers and other anglers, so if there is no place to park, keep driving another ¼ mile and turn right on Ocean View, then another right into a larger parking area. There are stairs down to the beach. We will fish to the NORTH side of the stairs, all the way up to the railroad bridge.
There is a minus 1.5 low tide at 0550, so we will be fishing a very low slack to flood tide. This is a great opportunity to observe the structures of the beach with the water so low. Only caution is to be careful not to get way out and realize ½ an hour later that the tide came in so far it will be tricky getting back in. This beach has a tendency to have a much more active surf and is popular for Striper fishing. Jim Hall got a great one here before the tardy club fishermen even got to the beach.
As always, I will have spare fishing baskets and extra flies, so if you don’t know what to bring, take (and keep) mine. Questions? sambishop@totlcom.com, or 831-274-4024 or 831-476-6451 (home).
Take San Andreas Road all the way to just past the railroad trestle. If the parking area is full, continue to Oceanview Drive and follow it to the wide parking area, gate to the stairs is on the right side. Walk up the beach 100 yards and find us. Red circles = parking.
Our May 6 presentation will be from Jim Cox of Western Rivers Conservancy. Jim has more than 25 years experience working professionally in the nonprofit sector. Jim is a past steering committee co-chair of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, and is an active member of the Northwest Planned Giving Roundtable. In his free time, you can find him fly fishing and hiking along the outstanding rivers of the West. Western River’s commitment to protecting our great western streams is guided by a lifelong passion for rivers and the great outdoors. They have purchased and protected more than 100,000 acres along dozens of rivers throughout the West, including among others, the Klamath, John Day, Gunnison, Madison, Skagit and Salmon.
Watch the video for more info about the Western Rivers Conservancy.:
Shifting gears can be super difficult if your clutch is bad and your synchros aren’t working properly, crunching through the gears, with a shift lever that won’t move, a car that won’t go and a clutch pedal that won’t give up. Well, I’m happy to say that your Fly-Fishing synchro’s – the group you might refer to as “The Board” – of SCFF are synced and seem to be expert at navigating gear changes quite good. Afterall, who else will drive 5 hours or fly twenty-four hours to a destination with a plan, only to find it changing in an instant. Weather, flies, water condition/volume, hole in yer waders, hook in the neck, broken rod, dropped your best fly box in the water… COVID-19 got nothing on this bunch of seasoned veterans – with all due respect.
Not to take lightly the situation at all, but your board came together battling things we often resist or just leave alone as we mature for the benefit of you. Yeah – you!
For the first time in the forty-three years the Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen has been in existence, we held our board meeting via “Zoom”- an internet based teleconferencing application that made it easy for anyone with a computer, tablet or smartphone to access. Even when some of us had never done such a thing, it was not only fun, but very productive. Elaine Cook, your Master Fly-Tying instructor, even launched her meeting from the passenger seat in Big Red, as she and John were obviously returning from a top secret, never to be disclosed, socially distant day of fly-fishing.
All of us wore our favorite fishing hats, donned a libation, sat in our favorite spots and launched further into the 21st Century than any of us would have ventured, ever. I dare say that if I ever told the board, let’s do something like this for “fun”, it would have passed like the worst constipation you’ve ever had in your life – I know, bad picture. But look; we simply would not have done it. You throw a deadly virus at us and tell us we can’t meet for the benefit of our membership, our mission, fly-fishing, scholarships, a beer together, and what we can do to help? Get out of the way.
As many of you know, if I miss a board meeting or a club meeting, it’s because of work. Oh – and I’m still working – twice has hard to do half as much with thirty percent less. But I am grateful. Anyhow, I miss everyone when we can’t get together. Having the board meeting via the internet came terrific and it was really good to see everyone, hear their voices, laugh together and do our job.
So, while we physically still can’t “get together” for the May meeting – we’re gonna get together. We are going to have our May Meeting on Zoom. You will all get an invite in your email – so make sure it’s up to date. Wear your best fishing hat, and we’ll get through the business portion quickly. AND – we’re going to test out a raffle by having a super nice door prize for anyone attending. Jeff Goyert said his wife will do the draw – so we know it wasn’t fixed!! Then we’ll have a Zoom presentation with Western Rivers Conservancy. Yes – a presentation – on line, with questions afterward.
The new website is up -www.santacruzflyfishing.org, AND in less than a month, we had our first member who signed up on line. I can’t wait till we have our first member join from a different country!! How cool is that! Over the next month or so, the website is going to get even better and there will be opportunities for lots of fun stuff.
Look, I know it’s really a mess out there and I realize that without my phone and with out the internet, I likely wouldn’t have the job I have, and the club wouldn’t be doing much at all. So while all the technology and traffic often gets on my nerves, I am so grateful for these opportunities to do so much good, in a time when we need to focus more on that.
Stay tuned, I’m working on Mark to do some YouTube or Zoom casting instruction / Q&A, and I’m trying to convince Elaine how awesome it would be to do some Zoom based fly-tying. And Sam Bishop is organizing some Social Distance Surf Casting for Perch and Stripers. So watch the newsletter and schedule. The surf is open and this is an excellent time of year to get out on the surf.
Things will continue to change as we adjust to all of this conundrum we’re in, so keep close to your newsletter and the website. Write, call, talk to each other, get out there and practice yer casting. We will be back on the water. Think how terrific all of this is for the environment, for the fish, for those places you like to fish. Know they aren’t getting hammered, but they are being left to recover.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea if maybe every couple years, we just shut down everything to let the earth heal from all that we do to it?
I think so. Thank you all for our support, we are wishing you well and a safe return to a new normal.
So sorry, covid 19 is causing us to cancel our monthly class again. It was to have been a Green Drake pattern. I have rescheduled it for next year. Don’t hesitate to try tying the Fly Of The Month however. It’s a Bead Chain Bugger, easy to tie and good for beginners. Be sure to attach the bead chain eyes well and apply glue to hold them in place and not spin. Check next month’s newsletter for the status of the June class. Stay safe, 6ft. apart, and wear a mask.
Note: The Loreto trip is still scheduled but, Rich will be making a decision around June 1st about the ability to continue with plans or cancel. Check with Rich Hewett (831)757-5709.rlh@redshift.com
Sign Up Now! Experience a new HIGH! Fish for Dorado, and many other salt-water fish, including Bonito, Roosters, Yellowtail and Sailfish on a fly! Join the group going to Loreto in Baja from Sunday, July 12th through Thursday, July 16th. This trip includes:
Four nights at the beautiful Hotel La Mision, on the water-front next to Loreto Harbor.
Three days of fishing on 24-foot Super Pangas, with fly fish-ing guides.
Ground transfers and fishing licenses.
It does not include meals, because there are some nice restaurants (A lot of fresh seafood!) in town or if you prefer, eat at the hotel, where they will cook your catch.
The fishing day starts around 6:00 a.m. and we usually get back to the harbor between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. Spend the rest of the afternoon fishing from the beach, having a cool drink in the pool, exploring Loreto, or just sitting around telling some tall fish stories. And, you will have many exciting moments on the Sea of Cortez to talk about.
The approximate cost for everything but meals and airfare is: $900.00 per person (double occupancy). Interested? Please contact Rich Hughett, 831-757-5709, for all the details. You will need to book airline flights* as soon as possible. No advance payment needed.
*Southwest Airlines from San Jose and Alaska Airlines from Los Angeles to Loreto. Rich will help with your airline reservations
I still haven’t figured out how to do an actual zoom meeting raffle collecting money and selling tickets, I can barely boot up my computer much less write binary quantum digital stuff. Having said that, during last month’s zoom meeting we were able to pull off a pretty good door prize give away. So we will do it again!
What we have this month is a really handy gizmo called a Stanley Fat Max jump starter and compressor. Most of us in lock down have not been using our vehicles very often resulting in dead batteries and low tire pressure. To the rescue comes this jumper for you battery and an electric pump for your tires. This also includes USB ports to charge your phone and attached trouble light. Perfect for the garage or stashed away in the truck on your next fishing adventure.
Remember, every body gets a free ticket. Winner must be present at the June Fly club zoom meeting.
