Kelly Creek Flycasters

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE    

Saker Medevarapu - Kelly Creek Flycasters President

Greeting folks!

      What a busy month February was!  As part of the Fly Fair Committee, we certainly had our hands full, but the Fair went off better than we could have hoped.  There was the odd technical glitch here and there, but overall we had a HUGE attendance and things went fairly smoothly.  One hundred and forty people registered for the days’ events!  We ended up selling all of our banquet tickets and actually had to turn a few folks away!  A HUGE thanks to all of the Committee members, and all the club members that donated something to the event, and to everyone that attended!  Look for next year’s Fair to be bigger and better yet!  But we will need way more help than we had this year.  There will be several committees that are organized for specific objectives next year so be prepared to volunteer!  The more people we have that help will mean less work for everyone involved.

      Well it is officially time to finish up the fly tying and prep the boats, tubes and reels for this years’ action.  Although the Washington Lake opener has passed, you probably had to pack an ice auger with you if you wanted to fish the opener!  I have finally started to tie up some spring flies, and man, am I getting anxious for some spring time fishing.  Plus this warm weather trend in the valley is not helping my cabin fever at all!  I think spring fishing is my favorite time of the year to fish.  Sure it is a little cooler, and the weather a little less predictable, but the crowds are less, the fish are willing and the hatches can be pretty good!  The last report, from my friend in Hamilton, is that the Bitterroot is still frozen.  But fear not, I’m sure my opportunity to wet a fly is not far away!

      At the next meeting I will be calling for a few volunteers for a couple of projects.   One of these projects is a two session fly tying and fly casting course for the Teens Summer Program offered through the Lewiston City Library.  The club will need someone to chair this brief program and co-ordinate with the Library.  More information will be given at the meeting. 

      Remember March is the month that we give away an incentive item to a paid membership.  So if you have not paid your dues yet, make sure that you do before the end of the March meeting!

Saker Medavarapu

Kelly Creek Flycasters MARCH Program

Thursday, March 13^th at 7:00PM

China Inn, Lewiston ID

Program:   The Instantaneous "Yes-No” Strategy  by Harley Reno

Harley W. Reno of Idaho Falls, enjoyed a 50-year professional guiding career in fly fishing. He began hunting for Steelhead and various estuarine fishes in California at the age of 13. Later he moved to Oklahoma and Texas where he chased Large-mouthed Black Bass, with the hunt eventually extending into Mexico.

The scent of pine trees and clean air attracted him to Idaho, where he has searched for trophy trout for the past 28 years. His guiding career still continues, though he considers himself an advanced amateur, providing the service without monetary compensation.

His speaking and tying skills routinely are featured at regional and national fly-fishing events throughout the Northwest. In 2006, several of his flies won first, second, and third place honors (People’s Choice) in the International Fly Tying Competition sponsored by the Federation of Fly Fishers.  His recently published book, offered as compact disk by the Federation of Fly Fishers Hunt—Don’t Pray—for Fish: Techniques and Strategies for Fly Fishing from a Drift Boat is a culmination of almost 60 years of guiding and fly-fishing experience gained from fishing all over the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.

One Morning in January

Or

Football, A Warm Fire and Blacked Eyed Pea Soup

      I like to start the new year off with a “fly fishing for steelhead morning” and an afternoon of football.  This is the story of just such a morning.

It was cold this morning as I made my way out of bed on this first day of the new year.  I love to start the new year out on the river.  It was dark outside, my wife was still sleeping and the best football games would not be starting until sometime in the afternoon.  So, what is left to do but go to the river early and in the cold to hook up with a steelhead.  Now that is the way to start a new year.

      I made my way up the Clearwater River toward Orofino.  There was no one on the road and I certainly hoped there would be no last ditch drunks trying to get home from their New Years celebration the night before. I checked the temperature before I left the house and it was reading 23 degrees in Lewiston.  This was going to be a cold ordeal.  Arriving at the parking area near one of my favorite runs, I finished dressing the warmest way possible.  A mean breeze of about 15 miles per hour, five inches of snow on the ground and air temperature of 18 degrees would make the 36 degree river feel pretty good.

      There was no one in “my” run this morning but I could tell (through my superior tracking instincts) that one of my fishing buddies had been their the day before.  Wow!  I had the run to myself.  Only crazies would come to the river in these conditions anyway.  I approached the river by negotiating a slippery trail.  Half way down to the water my feet slipped out from under me and I was headed for the river—on my butt.  “Nice start”, I said to myself as I crash landed at the upper end of the run.  I brushed my self off and looked around to make sure no one had seen me nearly take a Polar Bear dip in the river. After all, one’s reputation could take a beating if he “bathed” in the Clearwater River on New Years day, especially while wearing waders. Putting the slip slide aside, I selected a fly and headed into the river.  I could see that some chunk ice was floating by and the wind had picked up to 20 miles per hour.

      I stripped some line off my Hardy St. Aden reel and made a short cast allowing the fly to make the traditional swing.  Thank goodness I did not have a tug because as I reached to pull more line off the reel I found everything frozen solid.  I broke the reel ice by turning the handle and not by dipping.  While doing that my line froze up in the guides.  “This is gonna be fun”, I thought to myself.

      I lengthened each cast until I covered the potential steelhead water and then began the traditional cast, two step, cast - routine.  I soon found my rhythm and began to anticipate the wind as I presented my fly with my 10.5’ single handed fly rod with a #6 sinking tip, 3.5’ leader attached to a #4 King Author with a Duncan Loop. I had observed a fairly nice fish rolling below me as I dipped my rod into the river after each swing of the fly in order to break loose the guide ice.  A few more casts produced nothing and I decided to rig a new leader and change to a #4 Queen Elizabeth with a bead.  On the second cast a steelhead tugged at my QE.  I did not set up.  The fish was gone but my blood was moving.  After a few more casts and a few steps down stream another steelhead tugged at my fly.  I missed this one too.  Near the bottom of the run and after about 25 minutes since my last tug a steelhead really smashed into the QE.  I was hooked up for about three, maybe four minutes, and then the hook pulled out.  “Great!” I thought to myself -- fish 3, Will 0 and I was into the morning about 90 minutes or so.

      I had not made one cast without my line freezing up in my guides.  It was a dang cold day but I was warm inside and my fingers were in good shape, what with my fingerless Columbia woolies.  I left the river and made my way along the bank up to the top of the run in order to make a second pass.  This time I would cast, swing the fly and take three steps, moving along a little faster.  I was beginning to feel the need for football , a warm fire in the fireplace, and my wife’s Black Eyed Pea soup.  Half way through the run a steelhead took a pass at the QE and I was hooked up.  About 15 minutes later (I guessed) I landed a beautiful 34 inch wild buck.  What a beauty.  Removing the fly, I released the steelhead to fight another day. 

      The QE was working well but I decided that the King Author deserved another chance.  Considering the cold water my choice was to move up to a #2 KA.  I broke my reel free of ice and stripped off 40 maybe 45 feet of line and made the presentation.  The wind caught the line blowing it up stream more than I wanted.  I mended as best I could but the line had frozen in the guides at the mid point of the rod.  I just let the fly swing through on an erratic pass.  Dipping my rod into the river I broke the line loose from its ice moorings and made a better cast that needed only a slight mend.  The fly began to “hunt” as we sometimes say.  Near the bottom of the drift and just as I was thinking about another cast, a very nice steelhead took the fly.  Thank goodness the hook dove into the left side mandible of the fish’s mouth because when she hit and ran she felt the frozen reel.  Anything less than a 15 lb. test tippet would have broken off at the pull against the reel.  She nearly pulled the rod and reel out of my hand.  I quickly dropped my reel into the river hoping for an instant thaw.  It worked as the big fish headed for “Portland”.  I finally go some control as I kept working the reel to keep it from freezing up.  Well, a few very long minutes later I beached a wonderful 36 inch hen, the fly securely imbedded in the left side mandible.  This was a heavy hatchery female.  I removed the KA and worked with her for several minutes before she was able to easily just swim away.  I saw her tail disappear and I headed for a warm fire, some football and a bowl of my wife’s Black Eyed Pea soup.  What a great morning and what a great way to start the year.  I was happy and yes, I was warm inside.

                                                                   (Taken from the Fly Fishing Journal of Will Godfrey   January 1, 2008)

Will Godfrey

Board Member

KELLY CREEK FLYCASTERS TREASURER’S REPORT

Account Balances through FEBRUARY, 2008

                          Savings CD:                                     $   5,089.10

                          Checking Account Balance:              $ 17,835.16

                                                                                  ---------------

                          Total Funds:                                    $ 22,924.26

Kelly Creek Flycasters

2008  EVENT  SCHEDULE

Kelly Creek Flycasters Board of Directors

TYING CORNER – Henry’s Fork Callibaetis

Article by Bob Bates, FFF Clubwire

New fly patterns come about for several reasons. I won’t list them all so we can get right to the reason behind this pattern, a need for fishing. On many fishing waters one insect hatch will decline and another overlapping hatch will start. For a time period you don’t know what the fish are taking, the old pattern or the new one. Some of the Oregon lakes present this problem to their anglers. The fish are real picky when a Callibaetis mayfly comes off. But when a caddis comes off, a Tom Thumb often works. Norm Domagala of Monroe, Oregon faced this often.

At the FFF 2007 Fly Fishing Show & Conclave he showed us how to tie one solution to the problem. It also has two materials that I had not seen before and one old time item that could be used more. Like most, if not all, patterns this one can be considered a marriage of two other patterns: a mayfly and the Tied Down Caddis, with a little Tom Thumb thrown in.

It is fished using a floating line and nothing on the fly to make it float better. When the fly gets too wet Norm uses drying crystals, or you can simply use a chamois. The fly floats low in the water so it is hard to see if the surface is rough. In the morning if the surface is glassy twitch it a little. If it is a windy day cast somewhat crosswind and let it ride the rough water. Mostly fish take it because it is the right size. Keep a close eye on your line. Try to cast the line so it is straight. Recast or straighten the line when it gets crooked. 

Materials & Equipment:

      Hook: Gamaktsu S10 sizes 14 and 16
 

      Thread: Ultra thread, 70 diner, tan
 

      Tail:  Horse hair paint brush dyed with brown Rit
 

      Back:  Coastal deer hair, Dun
 

      Body: Wonder Wrap from Montana Fly Products, flat rubber, gray
 

      Hackle: Henry’s Fork Hackle (CDC) from Montana Fly Products, grey

Henry’s Fork Callibaetis

Step 1: Start thread at back of hook and wind a thread base ending at mid shank.

Step 2:  Tail is from a horse or boar’s hair paint brush. It has to be a high quality paint brush which is expensive, but sometimes they can be found at garage sales. Big brushes can be cut with a hacksaw.  Has to be a light color to take the brown Rit dye. You can dye it several times to get the right color. Darker hair is not good quality. Cut a few fibers, stack them and tie them on to make a shank length tail.  Cut off  the butts at a slight angle

Step 3: Cut a bunch of deer hair. Clean out under fur.  Trim tips, hold trimmed hair about mid shank and tie deer hair securely. Tie on with butts facing back. If deer hair flares excessively use less thread tension toward the bend. Make deer hair bunch about twice as long as the tail, so it easier to separate it from the tail. This is dun colored hair, also use nearly white for light colored caddis and very dark for the nearly black caddis like the ones on Hosmer Lake and other waters.

Step 4: Tie on the Wonder Wrap material at back of body. It is the gray strip that Norm is holding up.

Step 5:  Pull on the material when wrapping to thin it a little. Wrap forward to about 1/3rd shank length back from the eye.  Overlap wraps to get a little segmentation. Stop wrapping at front of deer hair tie down.  Tie down securely because it is under tension and will snap out. Leave about a sixteenth of an inch of the body material beyond tie down point for extra security. Put a little glue on it to keep fish from tearing it up.  Use a clear lacquer like Sally Hanson which dries quickly.

 
Step 6:  Pull deer hair forward and tie down. Put a little glue like Sally Hanson’s on threads.

Step 7:  Use Henry’s Fork CDC (Cul de Canard or butt of the duck) like hackle. The CDC is on a thread which makes handling it much easier. Capture about 1/16th of an inch of the strand on top body. If you try to grab the tip it will break off.

Step 8: Pull fibers back as you wrap. Make two or three turns around hook to makes a little thorax. Tie off and leave about a 1/8th inch post on top to make a little more body. Pull all the fibers back and wrap in front of post.  (If spinners start can make two wings out of CDC.)

Step 9: Pull up the deer hair and wrap in front of deer hair to make a small head.  Put a little glue on thread and wind it in.

Step 10: Last step cut deer hair at an angle. Trim thread and put glue on threads with a small bodkin so none of the glue gets on the CDC.

Closing comments:  This is a proven pattern for the mixed insect hatches in the Oregon lakes. Try these ideas where you live and one of your problems might be solved. The name might be a confusing when all we talk about is lakes, but it is simply the name of the CDC material. Besides I bet that fish in some streams would hit it.

Riffles, Runs & Lies is edited by Diane Lillibridge on behalf of the Kelly Creek Flycasters.

All club members are welcome to submit articles for inclusion into the club newsletter by

contacting Diane at KCFNewsletter@cableone.net or by phone at (208) 743-8970.