Riffles, Runs & Lies

  www.kellycreekflycasters.com    P.O. Box 2131 Lewiston, Idaho 83501

President’s Message………………….    

As I sit here pondering the weekend activities that lie ahead it never ceases to amaze me how fortunate we are to live in the pacific northwest.  I’m struggling to decide whether or not I want to go bird hunting up the river or hang out and pound the Clearwater, hoping for a pull from that big steely that I know is just one more cast away.  Now that I think about it, I should really try and do both, maybe a trip up the Snake with the spey rod and the 12 gauge is the best option.  Isn’t is wonderful to be living in place where we are burdened with such options!

While the steelhead season is beginning to wind down for many of us, the floating line fishermen at least, the Kelly Creek Flycasters 2006 activities are just about to begin.  I imagine we’ll have winter fly tying at Progressive Engineering as we have in years past, and our calendar of 2006 club activities will be up to date by our January meeting.  It looks like it will be another fun year, we have a Lie-N-Tie, spring banquet, summer picnic and several fish-outs to look forward to.  The board is also considering a few new ideas, such as expanding our Lie-N-Tie and the possibility of a fall Steelhead banquet.  We have a lot of new ideas to consider so remember to stay in touch with one of our board members and let us know what sounds good to you. 

As for the board, I’d like to take a minute and give special thanks to Bob Clark for all that he has done for the Kelly Creek Flycasters.  Bob stepped down from the board this fall after being a member for more than 12 consecutive years.  Thanks Bob and good luck with LOID.  2005 saw the largest turnover of board members that I’ve ever seen in the club.  We have four new members: Ginny Foote, Jeanie Centenari, Terry Nab and John Claasen.  They should all bring some fresh ideas to the club and it’s great to have so many new faces involved.  Everyone should take a moment at the next meeting and thank those that just served and those that just joined for their participation.

Don’t forget to look at the event calendar near the back of this newsletter.  As I mentioned during our last club meeting, I will be calling for a club member to volunteer as activity leader for each of our proposed fish-outs.  This does not mean a lot of extra work, but it is a commitment to show up to that activity and will probably involve some planning and organizing with other club members.  There are also a few perks, including getting to pick locations and dates for the event.  This is an easy way for you to help make any particular fish-out happen and be a success.  If there’s a fish-out proposed that sounds fun to you, consider being the leader that weekend.  This will help ensure that we actually go through with holding the fish-out and that we get good participation from the general membership.  Any of the proposed activities that fail to have a club member take a lead role will fall off of the calendar for lack of club member interest. 

Last but not least, don’t forget that our December meeting is our traditional X-mass meeting.  There will be small gifts for everyone and a drawing for one lucky club member to take home something very special.  You must be present to win so bring your spouse or significant other and some holiday cheer.  I look forward to seeing everyone at our December 8^th meeting.

Catch you on the fly….

Didymo

Attention all anglers!  Be on the lookout for Didymosphenia geminata, a mouthful that most people shorten to Didymo.  Historically it existed in pristine lakes in streams in northern latitudes, and if anything was an indicator of clean water.  Recently, however, that microscopic guy with a big name has been running amok over much of the west - coating streams with blankets of “stuff” that look and feel much like dirty, wet toilet paper.

Researchers are trying to determine what has caused this previously rare and beautiful species of diatom to suddenly spread like wildfire across the US and around the world.  Its recent discovery in New Zealand has sparked a panic, with the government considering closing streams and bleaching or draining them to contain the intruder.

Didymo’s other name, “Rock Snot”, gives a fair indication of its appearance.  “Many of the people who see didymo actually think someone has dumped raw sewage in the river,” says biologist Sarah Spalding of the U.S. Geological Survey, “and that’s never the case, as didymo usually occurs in what we think of as clean waters.”

Didymo tends to form excessive mats in streams and rivers with stable flow, moderate to high current, sunny areas, and in water from three inches to six feet in depth.  Didymo is a prime suspect in the decline of brown trout in South Dakota, where biologists think the organism has grown so thick that it’s choking out the flies the fish feed upon.

If you suspect mats of Didymosphenia, please collect a small sample (put a bit of the material in a vial or in a folded business card).  Label samples with date, latitude/longitude (or a good description of the location).  Send reports and samples to:

Sarah Spaulding

US Geological Survey

EPA Region 8

999 18^th Street, Suite 300

Denver, CO  80202

(303) 312-6212

Spaulding.sarah@epa.gov

REGULAR MONTHLY CLUB MEETING

Thursday, December 8^th, 2005

6:00pm Dinner / 7:00pm Meeting and Program

Clarkston Quality Inn

This Month’s presenter will be club member Zach Funkhouser.

Zach will be showing a few slides including fly fishing ideas for those club members looking to do some fishing prior to our local opener on Memorial Day.  Included in this presentation will be pictures of the Wood River, the Owyhee, the Bitterroot, the Yellowstone and the Missouri Rivers and a few club activities from the 2004/2005 fishing season.

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KELLY CREEK FLYCASTERS TREASURER’S REPORT

Account Balances through November, 2005

Checking Account Balance:                          $  548.17

Savings Account Balance:                             $  5,107.03

Kelly Creek Flycaster’s Board of Directors

Kelly Creek Flycasters – 2006 Calendar of Evcnts

LIE~N~TIE                                                               FEBRUARY 25th

SPRING FISH-OUT (location to be announced)                MARCH/APRIL

SPRING BANQUET                                                  APRIL 22^nd

1^st LOCHSA FISH-OUT                                           JULY 8^th

KELLY CREEK FISH-OUT                                     AUGUST 19^TH & 20^TH

ROCK CREEK FISH-OUT                                      SEPTEMBER 23^rd & 24^th

2^nd LOCHSA FISH-OUT                                          OCTOBER 7^th & 8^th

STEELHEAD FISH-OUT                                        OCTOBER 14^th & 15^th

Please post this schedule and mark your personal calendar to remind you of club activities.  When and if changes occur you will be notified in the newsletter.  If you have an addition or change you would like to make, please notify a director or the club president and the board will certainly consider it.

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New club member Laura Hildebrandt holding a nice Kelly Creek Cut, September 2005.

“I fished a little while ago with a man, not in his first youth, who had wasted the flower of his life on business and golf and gardening and motoring and marriage, and had in this way postponed his initiation for too long.”

         Arthur Ransom

        "On giving advise to beginners”

        Rod and Line (1929)