2008 FFF Southern Council Nomination

Club of the Year

Lone Star Fly Fishers

This is a 5-year old club. Until last year they primarily just showed up for meetings once a month, never had outings or any other activities and as a result our membership had dropped to around 25 people with only 10 or 12 attending monthly meetings. Realizing we were at a critical point of losing our club we decided to make some drastic changes in an effort to revitalize it. In looking over the last year and seeing where we are today I think you’ll agree those changes are definitely paying off.

As of June of this year their membership has increased to 61 people and the exciting thing is they are receiving 2 - 4 new members monthly. They had 2 new people to show up and join at our last outing. A call was received last week from a man whose 12 year old son has been asking him to join so he can start coming to our meetings. The group email list has grown to 77 all of which attend meetings at various times. They are now having 25 – 35 people regularly attending our monthly meetings and the enthusiasm within the club is at an all time high.

Below are some of the changes they made that are responsible for the turnaround they have experienced.

CONSERVATION:

  1. On an individual basis they initiated a trash cleaning challenge where the members take a trash can bag with them wherever they fish & spend some time cleaning the public ramps & areas they fish.
  2. On a club level they have adopted the Lower Mountain Fork River as our home water. They help sponsor projects for that river with the club donations through the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation & the Lower Mountain Fork River Foundation. The efforts of these organizations have changed this river dramatically over the last 15 years. Some of the programs they help sponsor are:
  3. The Cold Water Project – designed to lower the stream temperature well downstream of the lake
  4. Evening Hole & Lost Creek – Literally created 2 new Trout Streams. {They are now having to make repairs to these because of recent flooding conditions}
  5. Stream Watch – Volunteers to walk the river & explain fishing regulations to people who may not be in compliance
  6. Re regulation Dam clean out project
  7. Funding 25% of the cost of Trout Rearing Stations that put 20,000 Trout per year into the catch & release areas of the river

EDUCATION:

  1. Many educational presentations at the monthly meetings
  2. A large library of books, DVD’s & video’s with a well organized club member librarian
  3. Fly tiers roundtable before many of the meetings
  4. Fly casting clinics before the summer meetings
  5. Fly fishing & fly tying classes initiated & taught through Tyler Junior College by their past president

MEMBERSHIP PROJECTS:

  1. Dinner at Rudy’s Bar-B-Que before each monthly meeting. This was initiated to promote camaraderie between our members & as a way to get to know each other. Even after many years of attending meetings many of their members didn’t know each other’s names. We now have 15 – 25 attend this & it has become a festive atmosphere. They now know each other’s names & has led to more one on one fishing trips with each other.
  2. The annual December “Show and Tell” meeting. This was initiated primarily as a means of maintaining a meeting during the month of December when so many did not attend because of Christmas. Now, not only do they have a December meeting, they have a well – attended meeting. Pictures are collected throughout the year & create a power point presentation on the trips they took, fish they caught & outings they had for the previous year. It’s a fun meeting & gives everyone a chance to do a little bragging.
  3. Creation of “The Fly Hookers”. Sitting around the campfire at outings talking & listening to other members many discovered that some of the people didn’t attend because either their spouses didn’t like being left alone for the weekend or there was nothing for them to do since they didn’t like to fish. This is basically a women’s auxiliary group. As we are planning outings they also look into surrounding areas where they will be fishing & look for points of interest that may be appealing to the non-fishers. This has increased attendance at outings because now as the men are out hunting & gathering for our little women in Arkansas, they are out on the town in Hot Springs or Eureka Springs shopping, getting massages or whatever else they do. After an enjoyable day with the girls, they can join the men back at the camp for our evening meal & awards ceremony.
  4. Awards Ceremony at Outings. Usually turns into a roast – this is an award (useless gag trophy) given to the individual for catching the biggest fish at the outing. It puts enough on the line for people to shoot at & has become a fun & anticipated finale to our outings.
  5. Communications Network – At one point they established a forum on the website but over the years found that no one used it. They lost their website (but are currently in the final stages of building another one) & started communicating throughout the club via email. They currently have 77 people on that list & have found that the group communicates & responds well with this arrangement. Also they have initiated a club cell phone book available to only our members. The purpose for this is so they can communicate with each other while on outings. This has proven to be a useful tool.

ACTIVITIES:

  1. General Meetings: They have a monthly meeting that starts at 5:00 at Rudy’s. That sets the tone for the rest of the evening. Often they have a fly tiers or casting session before the meeting, then finish with a drawing for door prizes. Door prizes are generously donated by several of our members & have become our primary means of generating income. Most of our meetings are of an educational manner although occasionally we like to throw in an entertaining meeting “just for fun”. They have had a diversified group of presenters through the years but usually are fly fishing guides, entomologists, biologists, casting instructors, authors, equipment manufacturers & reps, state or national organizations reps & even a television fishing show host.
  2. Board Meetings: They have a monthly board meeting to monitor progress & keep our finger on the pulse of the club. They make this open to our members & encourage them to attend.
  3. Fish Fries: Being blessed with many good fishers & cooks in the club. They have had 2 & are planning a third fish fry later this fall. Attendance is 25 – 35 & yet another great opportunity for camaraderie.
  4. Club Outings: Although they have been in existence for 5 years they had never taken a club outing until last year. After making the commitment to change the direction of the club, the new theme became this: “let’s stop concentrating on the formality of operating a club & go fishing”. They finally realized the problem was that they were doing everything but the one thing we all got in this for in the beginning – to go fly fishing. Over the course of a year they went from having no outings to having more than one per month. In addition to our monthly outings they will throw in a fishing day at Texas Freshwater Fisheries or at a local lake. Many of the outings have been the major source of the increased enthusiasm. They are in the first year of a 3 year plan for outings. In general the plan is this: they will introduce our members to warm water as well as cold water fishing in an area that is less than a day’s drive from Tyler. Since they have some of the world’s greatest fishing lakes in our back door we will learn to fish these as a group. Attendance so far for these local outings is very high. They fish these outings either by wading or a number of watercraft, i.e. canoe, kayak, bass boat, etc. The bass boats are often used as “taxis” for non motorized craft on larger lakes. The cell phones are used when those people want to move or if a storm blows in. Our 3 year plan will take them throughout Arkansas, Eastern Oklahoma, and the Texas Hill Country, the Texas & Louisiana Gulf Coast as well as many area lakes & State Parks. With this itinerary & the implementation of programs for family involvement, it’s easy to see why they are so excited about the future of their little club that nearly went under.

OUTSTANDING PROJECTS:

  1. They are annual sponsors & presenters at “Fly Fish Texas” at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens
  2. They hold annual “Fun & Educational Days” at Camp Tyler & the Texas Parks & Wildlife activities building & pond to promote the sport of fly fishing to both adults & kids. They have members that demonstrate fly tying, casting & knot tying as well as helping the kids with their fishing.

This is not your normal “start up club” and far exceeds the growth and inter-workings of a “small” club! I firmly believe this is the true concept of what a CLUB OF THE YEAR is meant to BE!!!

Nomination by Howard Malpass, VP of Development

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