Kelly Creek Flycasters

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE    

Saker Medevarapu - Kelly Creek Flycasters President

Greetings Club Members!

I have been talking to a lot of folks at work that are very excited about how good the fishing has been locally.  Several of the area ponds received plantings of large, what I assume, are triploids or brood stock, and the kids (and a few adults) have been having some good family time.  I have also heard rumors of a salmon being caught in the Clearwater, but with the current numbers of fish over Lower Granite, I think I will play the lotto instead.  “They are coming, they are late, it will be a big run, it will not be as large as anticipated”.  Maybe Richard Scully can give us a heads up on salmon fishing at the next meeting.  I hear if anyone can catch a salmon it’s Richard!

The Eastern Washington lakes have been heating up as well.  I have heard good reports on Rock Lake, Dry Falls, Lenore and fair reports regarding Amber and West Medical.  If you have not given much thought to lake fishing, this spring may be a great time to sample it.  The Clearwater club is going to have their Amber Lake fish-out May 16, and as we did not have a host for our club fish-out, it may be a good weekend to go and mooch some burgers off our friends from Pullman!

Please look at the calendar of events starting this month.  The casting group will be meeting with the Vitales, May 16, for their third session.  We also have fish-outs scheduled starting in June and we need people to volunteer as hosts.  The only duty the host has is to co-ordinate one meal, unless you are hosting the Lochsa Fish-out.  In that case you will also have to organize the trash pickup.  If we do not get volunteers for these fish-outs, it will change to a non-hosted event without dinner being provided on your own. 

On a different thread, we are renewing our membership with the FFF.   The Federation of Fly Fishers is holding their Five Rivers Lodge Sweepstakes, with the drawing scheduled for June 20, 2009, at the Conclave in Loveland, Colorado. The Sweepstakes is for the benefit of local FFF clubs, FFF councils and the National Office. The grand prize is a trip for two to Cinco Rios Lodge in Chile. The first place prizes include 4 days guided fishing, 5 nights lodging for 2 people at Five Rivers Lodge in Dillon, MT, including travel (an estimated value of $6300). Two additional trips will be drawn during the conclave. There are also second place prizes including hats, shirts, rods, reels, and other gear. Our club has been allocated 30 tickets that are being sold at the rate of $20 for one and $100 for six. Tickets will be available at the May club meeting and for an additional 3-4 weeks.

Saker

Kelly Creek Flycasters MAY Program

Thursday, May 14^h at 7:00 PM

China Inn, Lewiston ID

Program:  Fishing the Amazon  by  Rick Welle

Have you ever dreamed of fishing for monster fish?  Well maybe you have dreamed of giant trout in some remote paradise, or huge silver tarpon off the Florida Keys.  But have you ever given much thought of casting to the voracious kings of the Amazon river basin.  You are thinking giant creepy crawlers and maybe super ferocious bugs the kind of thing that taxonomists have nightmares about but world class fisheries?  Well the popularity of the aggressive peacock bass, which is really not a bass, even has US fish authorities stocking them in various states, and these populations are zealously guarded by regulatory agents as well as by the fisherman.   The IFGA is 27.0 pounds, but I have a friend, who is a missionary in South America, (Judd Wickwire, some of you steelheaders may have heard of him or his dad) believes that it may be possible for him to catch a 70# on a fly rod!

Our own Rick Welle has left the trout rivers behind (okay not completely) to fish some of these Rivers for Peacock bass as well as another often maligned “monster” of the Amazon; the Pirhana!  Rick will give us the rundown on fishing for these fish as well as some of the other species of fish the Amazon River basin has to offer!  Rick has been guiding the rivers of the Yellowstone area, and for the past two seasons has been working with an Outfitter/Lodge in South America, so if anyone has a desire to try it first-hand Rick should be able to start you in the right direction!

KELLY CREEK FLYCASTERS TREASURER’S REPORT

Account Balances through APRIL 2009

Kelly Creek Flycasters

2009     EVENT  SCHEDULE

Kelly Creek Flycasters Board of Directors

TYING CORNER – Emergent Sparkle Caddis

Article by Bob Bates, FFF Clubwire

Spring is the time when we all look for the great hatches of mayflies, stoneflies, midges and most important for many of us caddis flies.  Gary LaFontaine and his team studied caddis flies, and his book Caddis flies is the standard on the subject.  He describes many fly patterns to imitate caddis species.  Two of those are Deep Pupa and Emergent Pupa.  If you have an opportunity to read Caddis flies do it.  There is much there to help you be a better fly angler.  You will also see there are many more great patterns and many variations of the Deep Pupa and Emergent Pupa patterns.

Ellen Clark from Fort Washakie, WY tied several LaFontaine patterns at the 2009 East Idaho Fly Tying Expo, Idaho Falls, Idaho, April 16-17, 2009.  While there are many variations available, this is one she likes to tie and fish.

Zelon or Antron have a trilobal (three sided) fiber structure which has many advantages.  Does it make good flies?  You become a believer when you read pages 32-39 in Caddisflies.  Statements like: “…in clear water the Sparkle Caddis Pupa drew the attention of trout three and a half feet away, while in the same situation a standard pupa drew the attention of fish no farther than a foot away.” and “The Emergent Pupa…on the stream was roughly three times better than a fly lacking the imitation of an air sack,…”  It doesn’t clump or matt like other materials.  It makes the fly carry air bubbles, and “The Emergent, hanging half I and half out of the water, kicks off a constant stream of bubbles.” This was part of the patterns unexpected effectiveness.   At times the Emergent Pupa even broke selective feeding cycles.  What more do you want?

Fish feeding on emergers are often mistakenly thought to be feeding on adults.  Several years ago on the Missouri River I watched a couple of fly anglers fishing over a bunch of rising fish.  Since they were fishing the water I desired I watched them from a high spot.  Through binoculars I could see the actively rising fish, and their floating flies drifting along untouched.  However, most important I could see adult caddis floating unscathed for several hundred feet before they took flight.  After the frustrated anglers left, they caught no fish, my friend and I went down and proceeded to hook and release many fish on pupa and nymph imitations.

How do you fish the Emergent Sparkle Caddis?  Read pages 99 – 114 in Caddis flies for a complete discussion, but I’ll try to condense it a little.  First is the dead drift approach.  The fly is kept awash in the surface film where a trout can porpoise and eat it.  For the caddis that does not ride quietly on the surface Gary recommends “the stutter and drift method,” which is more active.  Put a slack line curve cast up and across with the fly landing downstream of the line.  Then make a quick mend before the fly starts to drag.  The mend should do no more than make the fly stutter sideways a little.  Release a little line to extend the drift.  Some species of caddis Gary calls runners or paddlers; Canadians call them traveling sedges.  These caddis move across the surface more or less in a straight line and either take off or are recycled into trout with an explosive rise.  Grease the fly, and retrieve it with long pulls to move it across the water surface.  I have also watched caddis swim around in circles before taking off, but I have never figured a way to move the fly like that.

Enough talk, let’s tie it.

Emergent Sparkle Caddis

Materials & Equipment:

Hook: Dry Fly hook

Thread:  6/0 brown

Bubble or over body:  Micro Zelon, a new product, was used to tie the pictured fly, but Zelon or Antron yarn are normally used, tan or caddis gold

Underbody:  Mole hair and Quick Fingers Touch Dubbing

Head:  Dubbed mole or peacock

Step 1: Start thread about mid shank, and wind rearward to the bend which on most regular dry fly hooks is a point right over the barb.

Step 2: Attach two clumps of Zelon or Antron at the bend of the hook.  Place one bundle of Zelon or Antron on each side of the hook.  As you tie, try to spread the fibers around the hook.  Antron yarn might need to be combed out to fluff it enough to make a good over body.
 
Step 3: Ellen uses a variety of colors for the underbody, but on this fly she used mixed mole and Quick Fingers Touch Dubbing.  Most tiers put a tacky dubbing wax on the thread and just touch the thread with a dubbing ball.  She said that the touch technique was developed by Gary LaFontaine.  Don’t roll it down like making a tight noodle.  Note, about one quarter shank length is uncovered.

Step 4: Bring the bunches of Anton forward along the sides of the hook.  Put a couple of not too tight thread winds just a front of underbody.  Use a bodkin to pull out and bulk up the over body.  Try to keep the over body evenly distributed around the hook.

Step 5: At this point you can put wing pads on the sides of the over body.  Tie in dark soft hackles parallel to hook shank no more than three quarters shank length long.  Sometimes a small bunch of lighter colored deer hair is added for a wing.  Wrap mole fur dubbing or peacock herls for a head.
 

Closing Comments: Every fly angler needs this and other Gary LaFontaine patterns in their fly box.   They are easy to tie and from the reports they are almost magic for catching trout.  Then go out and fish them.

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@gmail.com or by phone at (208) 743-8970.