Kelly Creek Flycasters

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

President’s Message………………….    

Thanks to Eric Schubert for his presentation on fishing around the Panhandle region at last month’s meeting.  Having grown up on the Coeur d’Alene drainage, I was particularly interested in his insights on fly patterns and fishing styles for the varied fishing opportunities available for those of us heading north.   I certainly intend to apply some to my next visit to the old stomping grounds.

May 21 was our annual Burling Pond cleanup.  This is always an important club function; as it gets the pond ready for Free Fishing day and the Kid’s Flycasting College.  A good dozen club members came out to rake weeds and eat Bob Clark’s excellent breakfast.  Several more club members and their families stopped by to visit and watch the fun.  We also discussed a service project with the city to put bridges on both ends of the upper pond to increase access and safety.

The Board has been discussing the possibility of publishing a Kelly Creek Fly Casters Fly Book, much akin to the ones made by other nearby clubs.  We would be asking each member to submit one or more flies, along with tying instructions and perhaps some filler material for the book.  This project would be intended as a continuing fund-raiser for the club, and we will be discussing it more in future Board and general meetings.

Speaking of general meetings, don’t forget that we won’t be having general meetings in June, July, and August.  Have no fear, however, there are still many opportunities to see other club members.  Coming up June 18 is our picnic at Boyer Park (Below Lower Granite Dam), we’ll be doing our first fish out and highway pickup on the Lochsa the weekend of July 9, and then heading over to Montana the weekend of July 22 for fishing on Rock Creek (please RSVP Zach for the Rock Creek trip).  If you’ll be going to the Boyer Park picnic, please remember all people over 16 that want to cross the dam must have a photo ID.

Hope to see you all soon – keep your stick on the ice, and your line on the water.

Bill Lillibridge – President

KCF PICNIC

The dam tour/ picnic is on for June 18!! This is a potluck so bring your favorite dish and enjoy the fun!!  We are to meet in the Lower Granite Dam parking lot around 9:30 a.m.  The tour of the dam and fish ladders begins promptly at 10:a.m. and will last until about 12:30 p.m. Then we will cross the dam and proceed to Boyer Park for the picnic. We will be at the Gazebo nearest the road, (the same place we met in 2001). 

NOTICE- IMPORTANT!!! Everyone older than 16 years of age MUST HAVE Photo I.D. to cross the dam. There are no exceptions to this!

Directions to Lower Granite Dam from Clarkston:  Take Highway 12 West toward Pomeroy and just past the Alpowa Summit, (there is a rest stop here), take the road to the right.  There is a

small sign that says Lower Granite Dam. This road is about 1/4 mile from Alpowa Summit.  Just follow the road and the signs to Lower Granite Dam.  Please allow 1 1/2 hours to make the trip. See ya there.  I will need a head count at the next meeting.

Dave Clark.

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SUMMER FISH-OUTS – PLAN TO BE THERE!

Don’t forget we have three fish-outs planned for the summer before our next regular monthly club meeting in September.  The descriptions for those events are below.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend.  Remember to contact one of your board members to RSVP so we can plan appropriately.

July 9 & 10:  Lochsa Fish-Out.  We’ll camp and in Loop B at Wendover campground at MP 158 on U.S. 12.  Fish for the weekend, have a dutch oven feed provided by the club Saturday evening and perform our adapt-a-highway clean-up on Sunday morning.  The clean-up usually takes less than 1 hour so there is plenty of time to fish.  This trip always gets a good turnout and is great fun!  RSVP with Bill Lillibridge, Zach Funkhouser or Bob Clark.

July 22^nd, 23^rd & 24^th: Montana Fish-Out.  This is our first attempt at a club trip to Montana and our first planned 3 day fish-out.  We’ll meet at Bitterroot Flat campground on Friday, July 22^nd for 3 days of fishing.  Travel about 30 minutes east from Missoula on I-90 and take the Rock Creek exit.  Be sure to visit the Rock Creek Mercantile (a great little fly shop right at the exit and the last place to get a Montana license), travel approximately 23km up Rock Creek Road to Bitterroot Flat campground.  If you haven’t seen Rock Creek you’ve got to make this trip.  You’ll see lots of wildlife and fish for brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout.  RSVP with Zach so he can plan the trip.

August 20 & 21:  Kelly Creek Fish-Out.  This is the annual Kelly Creek Fish-Out.  Club members will meet at the Kelly Forks campground for a weekend of fishing and fun up on our home waters.  RSVP with Stan Masel or Bob Clark so they can plan the trip!

OPENING DAY

As a kid, opening day of fishing season was a Very Big Deal.  I remember checking my tackle the night before – first with a closed-face spin reel, bobbers, and worms; later an open-face reel with a Rapala spinner or a bobber/fly setup; and eventually with my own fly rod and hand-tied flies.  Through the years the tackle changed, but the destination remained the same – the Beaver Pond.  This feature near Pinehurst, Idaho was famous throughout the known lands as a Mecca for kid fishing.  People would drive from as far away as Wallace and Coeur d’Alene to take the wily brookies to task in the hallowed waters. 

Fortunately, I was a local, and would ride my bike with my buddies down before the crack of dawn, thus ensuring we would get the best fishing spots for the day.  The Beaver Pond (its official name, even on some maps) sprawled over a good hundred acres, with the KOA campground as its headwaters and a culvert under the freeway carrying its outflow to Pine Creek.  Looking back, I realize that the Beaver Pond/KOA complex was my very first spring creek, and offered some of the best casting challenges around.  In my younger days we would go down and cast near the dam, but as our skills increased we worked our way along the shores, finding areas to wade back into the backwaters and cast along side channels of the submerged stream.  Sticker-brush and grass was always a hazard, and retrieval of tackle was usually impossible.  Other hazards included hungry ducks (caught three), oblivious beaver (hooked two, they got away), and several intrepid bats at dusk.

Our day typically started with some casting at dawn to catch the larger, more cautious fish.  We would go to the areas that would be overrun with those poor fishermen that had to drive first, then work our way to the back waters as the rush of humanity hit the pond.  After the morning chill wore off (and our shivering decreased), we’d light a small fire against a rock cliff (to ensure no wildfires and because it looked cool to see the smoke filter up through fissures in the rock).  We would catch us each a brookie, pack them in grass and mud, and start them cooking in the coals of the fire.  Typically we’d go back fishing and forget about our meals until we’d smell burning fish.  After chipping away the outer mud-and-fish husk, we’d have a great mid-morning snack, and then move upstream to the KOA.

Now officially, fishing in the KOA was restricted to paying customers only.  We figured since we brought our own corn to feed the ducks we were exempt to that rule, though the proprietor tended to disagree.  This was my introduction into stealthy fishing, which had less to do with not spooking the fish (though this was an added benefit) than avoiding being chased off the premises.  Good fishing spots included below the foot bridges, under the road bridge (great side-casting practice there), and under the pump house.  The local duck population was highly possessive of their granted land rights, and we had to appease them with a handful of corn as we sprinted past them from pool to pool.

As the years passed our wanderings took us further afield, under the freeway to Pine Creek, downstream to the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene, and beyond.  Each opening day, however, I still think back to the Beaver Pond, and wonder how the brookies are doing.

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TICKS ANYONE?

Dress appropriately and check for ticks . . .

Ticks do not jump, fly or drop from trees, but grasp passing hosts from the leaf litter, tips of grass, etc. Most ticks are probably picked up on the lower legs and then crawl up the body seeking a place to feed. Wear light‑colored clothing with the pants tucked into socks. Repellents can substantially increase the level of protection. On returning home, remove and wash the clothing. Carefully inspect the body and quickly remove any attached ticks. Tick bites are usually painless and, consequently, many people may be unaware that they have been bitten. Also, carefully inspect children and pets. Ticks may attach anywhere on the body. Pets can bring ticks into the home, resulting in a tick bite without the person being outdoors. Many tick bites are thought to occur around the home. Ticks may not be infected, and studies have indicated that it may require 36‑48 hours or more for transmission to occur from an attached nymph. Therefore, a tick bite does not necessarily mean a person will develop Lyme disease.

Remove ticks promptly...

Prompt removal of an attached tick will reduce the chance of Lyme disease infection. Use thin‑tipped tweezers or forceps to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible. Pull the tick straight upward with steady even pressure. This should remove the tick with the mouthparts intact. If the mouthparts break off, it will not affect the chance of getting Lyme disease. Disinfect the area; a topical antibiotic may also be applied. A dead tick can be saved in alcohol. If a tick is to be tested for spirochetes, place it in a small vial or jar with a blade of grass to keep it alive. Note the site and date of the bite. Other methods of tick removal (e.g. petroleum jelly to suffocate the tick) are not effective. Use of heat from matches to make the tick back out or gasoline or other chemicals are unacceptable. Watch for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.

Repellents...

DEET: The primary active ingredient in most insect/tick repellents today is DEET (N,N‑diethyl‑3‑methylbenzamide or N,N‑diethyl‑m‑toluamide). DEET is the most effective, broad‑spectrum repellent ever discovered. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that over one‑third of the U.S. population will use a DEET‑based product. There are approximately 230 products containing DEET registered with the EPA (e.g. Cutter, Off, Repel, Muskol, Ben's Sawyer, and others). Products range in concentration from 4% to 100% DEET and are available as an aerosol can, pump spray bottle, stick, lotion, cream, or towelette for application to skin or clothing. DEET is only effective for one to several hours and must be reapplied periodically. The effectiveness of DEET on the skin is influenced by the concentration of DEET, absorption through the skin, evaporation, sweating, air temperature, wind, and abrasion of the treated surface by rubbing or washing. Higher concentrations generally provide longer protection, but increasing the concentration does not provide a proportional increase in protection time. Recently, several controlled‑release DEET formulations have been developed which decrease skin absorption and increase protection time. Extended duration products include HourGuard, Skedaddle, and Sawyer's Controlled Release. All active ingredients and their concentrations are listed on the product label.

Permethrin: Several products contain 0.5% permethrin (e.g. Duranon Tick Repellent, Repel Permanone, Cutter Outdoorsman Gear‑Guard, Permethrin Tick Repellent), which is for use only on clothing or other fabrics ‑such as mosquito netting or tents. A synthetic pyrethroid insecticide rather than a true repellent, permethrin works primarily by killing ticks on contact with the clothes and can provide high levels of protection against tick bites (and mosquitoes). Permethrin is available as a 0.5% aerosol spray, mainly in lawn and garden centers or sports stores. Permethrin has low mammalian toxicity, is poorly absorbed through the skin and is rapidly inactivated by' the body. Skin reactions have been uncommon.

"Natural" or Herbal" Repellents and other products: Several products containing citronella oil (0. 1 to 15%) are marketed for protection against mosquitoes but are probably less effective against ticks. Avon markets a citronefla‑based (0.05%‑ product with sunscreen under the Skin‑So‑Soft label for protection against mosquitoes and ticks. Applications of plant-derived repellents that might reduce tick attachment are less likely to deter a tick from walking across the skin to an untreated area. Avon's bath oil, Skin‑So‑Soft has been widely used as mosquito repellent and will protect against mosquito bites for up to 30 minutes, but it is unlikely to be effective against ticks.

Safe Use of DEET. The EPA has recently completed a review of DEET as part of evaluating pesticides for reregistration. The EPA believes that normal use of DEET does not present a health concern to the general population and has detailed that decision in a Reregistration Decision document (available from the EPA). All uses and formulations of DEET (except those combining DEET and sunscreen) can be reregistered if the products meet EPA's new labeling requirements for directions, precautions, and claims. For example, child safe claims for low concentration DEET products will no longer be allowed. The EPA is requiring changes to the label to ensure the safe use of DEET, particularly on children.

DEET has been used by millions of Americans for 40 years and the incidence of adverse reactions is low. However, a few allergic, toxic and neurological reactions to DEET have been reported in the medical literature. DEET is readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, it is prudent to minimize the use of high concentrations on the skin. Apply sparingly to exposed skin, and spray on clothing when possible. Follow the precautions given on the repellent label. Consumer Reports suggest 40% DEET or less for adults; 20% or less for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 10% or less DEET in repellents used on children. DEET will harm some synthetic fabrics, plastics, car and furniture finishes, etc. lf you suspect a reaction to DEET (or any other repellent), stop using the product, wash the treated skin, and call your doctor.

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KELLY CREEK FLYCASTERS TREASURER’S REPORT

Account Balances through February 28, 2005

Checking Account Balance:                      $544.22

Savings Account Balance:                         $6,345.16

Total Disbursements for February:          $211.35

Kelly Creek Flycaster’s Board of Directors

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KELLY CREEK FLYCASTERS - 2005 CALENDAR SPECIAL EVENTS

BOYER PARK PICNIC                                                                    6/18/05

LOCHSA FISH-OUT(adopt-a-highway)                                         7/09/05

MONTANA FISH-OUT (Rock Creek, includes a Friday)              7/22-7/24

KELLY CREEK FISH-OUT            (at Kelly Forks C.G)               8/20/05

WOMEN’S FLY~FISHING CLASS (KCF assist)                          9/10/05

LOCHSA FISH-OUT (adopt-a-highway)                                        9/17/05

STEELHEAD FISH-Out (Salmon R. or Grand Ronde)                 10/15/05