LONGCASTS
published quarterly by the Southern Council, Federation of Flyfishers
HOLIDAY ISSUE, December, 1999
| The Prez Sez | by Brian Camp, President |
| About Long Casts | |
| 1999 Annual Awards | by Hod McIntosh |
| Council Club News | by Hod McIntosh, VP-Communication |
| '99 Conclave T-Shirts | |
| Happy New (fiscal)Year! | by Paul "Sodie" Sodamann , VP-Conservation |
| SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED | by Chuck Easterling, VP of Education |
| Lost at the Conclave | Editor |
| Conclave '99 | by Dennis Slane, VP-Development |
| Southern Council Scholarship | by Chuck Easterling, VP-Education |
| Yarn Strike Indicators | by Larry Notley, Dallas Fly Fishers |
| The Fly Corner | by Terry Tanner, Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers |
| THE PREZ SEZ |
To be an effective president of a major organization like this, you're supposed to be, for the most part, faultless. But, like everyone else I know, I have more than my share of faults. Perhaps the biggest is I'm a chronic daydreamer. If I had a bit more ego I might call myself a visionary. However, the sad fact is that I'm simply a daydreamer.
For instance, US Highway 287 runs right in front of my office. As far as views go, it leaves a whole lot to be desired. It should be easy to ignore the overpass that dominates my horizon, yet, every time I gaze into the ceaseless traffic, my mind quickly wanders into the daydream of jumping into the truck and joining the mass of vehicles headed towards downtown.
Don't worry, I'm not some sort of traffic masochist. My problem is I know that on the other side of downtown old, ugly US 287 heads due north and eventually winds up smack dab in the middle of Yellowstone National Park, my favorite place in the whole world. One of these days...
Not too many years ago, I was tying flies in the noisy, crowded confines of the Mountain Home Ramada Inn, and I began to daydream about the "perfect conclave". In this dream there was all kinds of room with lots of activities going on all around. People were socializing, fly rods were waving about, and kids were running and laughing. It was great.
This year, thanks to the incredible hard work of a few very talented individuals, this daydream became reality. The move to the fairgrounds resulted in: The largest, most diverse group of fly tyers we've ever see; More exhibitors than we've ever seen; The biggest casting pool we've ever seen; A program room that held everyone, in addition to outreach rooms for presentations we've never been able to have.
The Dutch oven program was awesome! The unlimited parking wasn't a bad touch, either. Of course, all was not perfect, and I want to thank all who brought to our attention the few things that can be improved upon. Your suggestions have been taken to heart and will result in next year's show being even better. I also had a very nice chat with the Mayor of Mountain Home, and he told us that plans are underway for construction of a first class convention facility, so we may get to move the show again sometime in the next five years.
Another one of my frequent daydreams involves the FFF. I often think of all of the wonderful things that we could accomplish if we just had more members. The last count I saw showed that 58 fly fishers joined us during the Conclave. I want to thank each and every one of these new members for showing your support of building better fisheries, by joining us. You won't be disappointed. And, if you haven't joined yet, your club should have received a membership package that will make it very easy for you. Contact your club President or Membership VP for details.
Right now, I'm beginning to drift into a daydream that involves a big 'ol largemouth slurping down my bass bug. A gaping hole opens up in the mirror smooth surface of the lake, and the bug goes down like it was flushed down a toilet. So I'd better go before I forget to set the hook on this fish of my dreams, - but, before I go, I want to send a very special thanks to all of you that helped to put on the Conclave and all of you that attended the Conclave. I'm already looking forward to seeing you again next year. Ya'll are great! Good Fly Fishing!
Brian Camp
| About Long Casts |
Long Casts is published four times per year by the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers.
The Southern Council's President is Brian Camp, 313 Paint Pony Trail N., Fort Worth, TX 76108
Please send all editorial comments and material to editor Steve Fritz, 2100 S. Grant Ave., Springfield, MO 65807
Changes of address should be mailed to the Southern Council's Managing Director, Pat Smith, 2603 Buford Spur Rd., Mountain Home, AR 72653
Advertising inquiries and correspondence should be directed to the Southern Council's Treasurer, Shawn Taylor, HC1, Box1775, Tecumseh, MO 65109
Long Casts is printed and mailed by Ed Reed,
Reed Printing and Supply Company, Inc. PO Box 605, 619 S. Brindlee Mountain
Parkway, Arab, Al. 35016
| 1999 Annual Awards,
Southern Council - FFF |
by Hod McIntosh
Man of the Year... Steve Fritz - Southwest Missouri FF
Woman of the Year... Judy Boston - Mid South FF
Federator of the Year... R.H. McIntosh - Heart of America FF
Clubs of the Year... Tie: North Arkansas FF, and Ozark FF
Fly Tyer of the Year... Dennis Reed - North East Ark FF
Teacher of the Year... Jerry Clark - Ozark FF
Conservation Award... Bill Pickens - Mid South FF
Friends of the S. Council... Lew and Sharon Goodson - HOAFF
Tall Tale Teller... Dr. Jerry Pfannenstiel - Flint Hills FF
| Council Club News |
By Hod McIntosh, VP-Communication
Our clubs are involved in many teaching programs and projects to improve the environment which would merit coverage in the Long Casts. Please consider sharing news of your club's projects.
We would like all the members of the Southern Council to be aware
of the activities of all our clubs and we invite you to submit articles
with pictures of your club's good works, to carry out the education and
conservation objectives of the Federation of Fly Fishers. Send articles
to Steve Fritz, at: 2100 South Grant Ave., Springfield, MO 65807; email:
rustydunn@aol.com
| '99 Conclave T-Shirts |
All sizes of our wonderful Conclave '99 T-Shirt are still available,
at $13.00 each, from Council Managing Director Pat Smith. Order today!
Shipping is included in this price.
| Happy New (fiscal)Year! |
by Paul "Sodie" Sodamann, VP-Conservation
Another conclave has come and gone, and with it, another board meeting and development of a new budget for the next fiscal year.
What has happened over the past year with respects to conservation issues? A lot! The State of Missouri requested help with the purchase of a tract of land adjacent to Capps Creek. This purchase will allow the development of public access to a beautiful creek which up until this purchase was only accessible through private land holdings. The Southern Council has committed $3000 a year over a five year period to this project.
Raymondville School, of the town by the same name, requested $500 to assist with its "Knee-Deep" Stream Team. This group of youngsters (and their teacher) have been involved in some very worth while conservation projects while enhancing their overall education. They have been providing monitoring of the Current River at Cedar Grove in Missouri. They are sharing their information with a few schools in Japan via snail mail and through their website.
Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation requested funding for two projects. The first was a $1000 request for the "Thermal Assessment of the Mountain Fork River Trout Fishery" project. This was a joint project which received funding from several other sources along with the Southern Council. This project was to determine releases needed to maintain suitable stream temperatures while meeting reservoir and hydropower objectives. The project is not yet complete, however, preliminary results indicate a problem in the ability to release deep cold water during hydro generation. Broken Bow Lake thermally stratifies in the summer which usually places the cold water below the intake structures. This problem is under continued study, however, no decisions have been made as to how best to address the problem.
The second request was for $800 to help with the tuition to send the ODWC stream coordinator to the Wildlands Hydrology Inc. course two entitled "River Assessment and Monitoring". Completion of this and the two following courses is recommended prior to implementing channel design concepts. This information can then be put into practice to benefit Oklahoma's streams and fish populations.
Piney Woods Fly Fishers of Lufkin, Texas requested $1000 to go toward stream monitoring equipment. The purchase of this equipment and the training which several members of PWFF received, allowed this club to become a very active part of the Texas Watch program. During the year, two major fish kills were detected on one of the streams they monitor. The first was not traced to its source due to a heavy rain which flushed the stream before the source could be detected. The second kill was traced to two sources and the proper authorities were called in and the offenders had to clean up their problems. Two members of PWFF, Walter McLendon and Bill Hugel, are finishing their training so that they may become trainers for the Texas Watch program.
Fort Worth Fly Fishers requested $600 to go towards water monitoring equipment so that they, too, could become members of the Texas Watch program. This request was made just prior to the Conclave, so no reports have come in yet as to how they are proceeding.
Missouri Dept. of Conservation requested $1500 per year for a five year period to be used for water quality training for their Stream Team program. This year the money was used to produce a set of color photos of macro invertebrates for volunteers to use in identifying the different species. There monitoring technique divides the invertebrates into three categories based on their sensitivity to pollution. By using these photos to identify species, a volunteer can do a quick analysis of a long term water quality rating. In 1999-2000, the plans are to introduce a higher level of invertebrate training; from species to family. Some families of mayflies are more tolerant to pollution than others. By being able to determine the different families of mayflies a more accurate assessment of water quality can be made.
So what is on tap for the upcoming year? Capps Creek project will again receive $3000 for the second year installment. Missouri Stream Team will receive $1500 for their second year installment. The students at Raymondville School are continuing their stream monitoring and are also producing some video presentations which they hope to share with us at the 2000 Conclave. Raymondville School has request an additional $500 for the upcoming year to help with their monitoring and expenses which FFF Southern Council gladly approved for these youngsters. Mid-South Fly Fishers have requested $1500 to fund the installation of a stocking chute at Rim Shoals on the White River. At present, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is unable to stock at the Rim Shoals location due to conditions and elevation of the public access ramp. The trout are presently being stocked at Brainerd's Bend, which is too far up stream to be of maximum benefit in the Rim Shoals area. This funding request was approved and Mid-South Fly Fishers will coordinate this effort with AG&FS.
That is a total of $6500 for conservation projects for the new fiscal year, and we are just underway.
Cornhusker Fly Fishers have made an initial contact with concerns of a possible major problem in their area. It appears that a cattle feed lot is being reopened and the sewage containment/treatment facility is not adequate to prevent contaminates from reaching the water of one, of only two, trout streams in Eastern Nebraska. At the time of this writing, no funding request has been submitted. However, a funding request is expected and possible involvement of FFF National Conservation Committee may follow.
The State of Texas is experiencing difficulties with Bass tournaments and slot limits. One of the success stories for Texas is big bass (everything in Texas is Big). These big fish have developed for several reasons: one is slot limits which require that all bass between sixteen and twenty-three inches be immediately returned to the water. Unfortunately a group of business men and elected officials in the Lake Fork area have laid the ground work for a state law waving the size limit solely for bass tournaments on all lakes in Texas. Studies have shown that fish held in live wells and which undergo the rigors of weighing and handling prior to release have a high mortality rate. This law, if allowed to pass, would only benefit the bass tournament anglers (and associated businesses) and negatively affect the anglers who do not fish tournaments.
At the FFF National Conservation Committee level, work is starting on development of a "Warm Water Conservation Policy". I have been asked to chair this committee and I will gladly do so, however, I need your help. Our committee needs input from clubs, fisheries biologists, state departments of fish and game and concerned fishers who have ideas on what needs to be considered in a national warm water conservation policy. If you have ideas, please contact me. My e-mail address: (pauls@manhattan.k12.ks.us) is available through the Southern Council website if you forget it.
The Federation of Fly Fishers is dedicated to education and conservation.
The Southern Council is in strong support of these efforts. I hope
that the year does not end with only these projects receiving our help.
If
your club has a project with which you would like to have help, please
contact me. Lets all have a happy new year!
| SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED |
by Chuck Easterling, VP-Education
The Bill Lambing Southern Council Scholarship recipients for 1999 are Carrie Lynn Wiese and Jessica A. Brock. Both of these young ladies were sponsored by Agnes Adams of Cornhuskers Fly Fishers.
Carrie Lynn Wiese is in her junior year at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and is majoring in Water Science and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.943.
Jessica Brock is attending the University of Nebraska has a cumulative grade point average of 3.791 and is majoring in Environmental studies.
The Bill Lambing Southern Council Scholarship is a $1,000.00 scholarship awarded annually to a college student who is in his or her second or later year of college study, resides within the geographic boundaries of the Southern Council, pursuing a degree consistent with the goals of the Federation of Fly Fishers, and who is either a member or sponsored by a member of FFF.
A special recognition should go to Agnes Adams for sponsoring
both of these two ladies. This is the second year Agnes has sponsored the
recipient of this scholarship and she is to commended for diligent efforts
in locating and sponsoring such worthy candidates. If you know of some
worthy candidate please contact me for an application or more details.
Supporting candidates such as these young ladies can only help in protecting
and preserving our country's water resources.
| Lost at the Conclave |
by the Editor
Conclave Attendee Verl Borg left his video camera charger and
attached battery plugged in on the south side of the "Tying Hall" on Conclave
Saturday, when everyone was clearing out for the day. He walked off and
forgot it until the next morning. When he went back out to the Fair Grounds
Sunday morning, they were gone. He asked around but no one had seen them.
They might have become mixed in with some of the Conclave electrical stuff.
If anyone knows of their whereabouts, please get in touch with Verl Borg,
at 402-466-0508 or or 7040 Dudley St., Lincoln, NE 68505-1923.
| Conclave '99 |
by Dennis Slane, VP-Development
We hope you made it Mountain Home for Conclave '99. Most of us feel that the move to the fairgrounds was a success. Yes, there were a few opportunities - however, next year most, if not all, of our challenges will be addressed and corrected.
I would like to hear from anyone who had a problem, especially if you have a suggestion as to how it might be corrected.
Next year's conclave is well underway. One main speaker is under contract and several others are being considered. Who would you like to see?? I would like to see someone step up and take the conclave chairman spot for conclave 2001. Now is the time, as you can shadow this years crew to get a head start for do's and don'ts. Contact me if you have an interest in taking on this important position. Don't wait; as you are missing very important meetings on how to plan these conclaves.
Do you have a contact that might be willing to donate a very large dollar item that could be a major fund raiser??? Please put me in contact with this person!!! We need to come up with some big money if we are going to take our conclaves to the next level. I believe we can go there... - Please help us get there!
A special thanks to all who attended conclave '99. Your purchase
of raffle tickets, silent and live auction items are the only source of
revenue for the Southern Council. Our conclaves are among the best
of all of them. If you haven't made it to the conclave - you should plan
now to attend. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!! My address and
phone# is printed in this issue.
| Southern Council
Scholarship |
By Chuck Easterling, VP-Education
The Southern Council annually awards a scholarship of $1,000 to a deserving student who is in his or her second or later year of college study. The recipient of this scholarship is announced, each year, at the Southern Council Conclave. The application deadline is each August 31st., for that year's Conclave.
The requirements for the scholarship are: The applicant must reside within the geographical boundaries of the Southern Council; be in his or her second or later year of college study; be pursuing a degree in a field consistent with the goals of the Federation of Fly Fishers; and either be a member or be sponsored by a member of the Federation.
If you know of a potential applicant, please contact me at the address below, for an application.
Charles R. Easterling
VP-Education, SCFFF
P.O. Box 1502
Jonesboro,AR 72403
870-932-4355 or 870-578-5334
| Yarn Strike Indicators
|
By Larry Notley, Dallas Fly Fishers
The strike indicator has become a major part of the nymph fisherman's arsenal. As fly fishers, we have become dependent on indicators to identify the strike of our unseen pray. The fine art of "feeling the natural drift" of the nymph, is going by the wayside. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is different. I have become extremely dependent on these small, floating devices and I'm having great fun in the process.
I have made it a habit to carry a piece of bright yellow and orange egg yarn in my fly vest and tackle bag for those emergency cases when I forget to restock my supply of Sierra Pacific indicators. When an indicator is necessary, I either use the SP indicators, or I attach a piece of this yarn to the leader with one of the three knots illustrated herewith, and save the moment. Trim the yarn indicator to the size and shape to meet the fishing conditions at hand, and to the type of drift needed. The egg yarn indicator is excellent when fishing a big river or rough water conditions, because of the unique property of the yarn to float high and dry. They have proven to be very effective, reliable, and durable.
Select one of the three knots, and become proficient at tying that knot. Practice trimming the yarn to various sizes and shapes, so that when you are on the water, it has become second nature to you.
The Slip Knot works well for me, since it is easy for me to take the indicator off at the first sign of a chance for fishing my beloved dry flies (I love dry fly fishing!). I simply open the knot, remove the indicator, straighten the leader with a leader straightener, attach a dry fly, and I'm in business.
Good luck and happy fishing,
Larry Notley
Galactic Warlord and Mad Dog Fly Fisherman
Owner of Pockit Sports Co., a manufacturer of fly tying equipment,
Larry Notley is the author of Fly Leaders & Knots, Guide to Fly
Fishing Knots, and Knots - Just a Reminder.
| The Fly Corner |
By Terry Tanner, Southwest Missouri Fly Fishers
Terry's Koozie Popper
Ever since I was a young boy, I've loved to fish for panfish with a flyrod and popping bugs.
I've enjoyed tying the bugs as well, except for the painting of the bodies. I've never liked to paint anything, including the shed, house trim, windows, etc. I remember I painted the town red one night in my younger days, and the next morning I realized I really didn't like that, either.
I was setting at my tying desk one day, cleaning up the desk top, and I came across a foam can holder, which we call a "Koozie", at Bass Pro Shop, where I work. It would already be painted, I realized, if I could find a quick way to make popper bodies out of it. I found a paper punch in the debris on top of the desk. This could be a way to make bodies quickly, I thought.
Sure enough, I forced that paper punch over the wall of the cup holder, and punched out a perfect floating, already colored, fly body. At the store we sell these holders for under a dollar. You can get a bunch of bodies out of one holder and they are available in several colors. My favorite is yellow.
The paper punch makes a perfect size#10 body. I like to use a Tiemco dry fly hook like a #100 or #101. Thread the body on the hook toward the bottom side of the cylinder. Next, slide the body back toward the bend of the hook (figure #1) and add a drop or two of Zap-a-Gap to the hook shank, then quickly slide the body up toward the eye of the hook.
Tie off the body by catching the back of the body with thread (figure #2), then put down a short base of thread for the tail feather and hackle. Tie two saddle or neck feathers toward the back for the tail, making sure they curve out away from each other. Wind another feather in between the body and tail feathers, as a hackle. Apply some cement and the fly is finished, unless you wish to add eyes with a permanent marking pen. If so, dot in the eyes as in figure #3.
This pattern is not quite as durable as a hard foam popper with several coats of paint on it, but I have caught quite a few large bluegill before the body tears up. Best of all, you don't have to wait for the paint to dry.
You may also push rubber legs through the body with a sewing needle, but I prefer to fish the popper without the additional legs, and I think it is just as effective without them.
Materials List
1. Hook: #100TMC size#10
2. Chinese neck hackle (vary color to match or contrast with body)
3. Koozie bug body (various colors)
4. Permanent marking pen
5. 6/0 or 8/0 thread (match color to hackle feather)
6. Zap-a- Gap
Southern Council Federation of Flyfisher
This page updated December 30, 1999