SWAP MEET

The September 5^th Meeting

Is Our Annual Swap Meeting!

Bring your unused, unneeded, what you thought you needed and bought, tying materials. Bring that fly rod or fly reel that you have standing in the corner not being used, or that fly line that you never got on your reel and don't intend to use now. Bring anything you don't need but you feel sure someone else will be willing to trade for to improve their fishing ability.

If you don't feel you have anything to part with, and you are a fly tyer, tie up some of your favorite flies and come to trade.

We will have a short business meeting, and then we will begin the trading.

Don't miss this meeting!! There were lots of good stuff that was traded last year!!!

Don't miss out this year!

###############################

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

ZOO BREAKFAST AT ELLEN TROUT PARK

September the 16^th our club has

Pavilion # 2 reserved for the annual breakfast for the whole family!

We will begin cooking and feeding at 8:00 AM that Saturday morning. Bring your appetite and any fishing tackle you would like to try or to show off. This is a food, fun, and fellowship time. Bring The Family. Stay as long as you want and leave when you are full of food and/or fishing tales. The Zoo is a great place to visit on Saturday mornings before it really gets hot.

If you want to bring anything, make it light sweets, cokes, or other drinks.

The club is furnishing the biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy, coffee, orange juice, eating utensils, etc., etc., etc.

Come one, come all!! It will be worth the trip!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

We had a very interesting program at the August meeting. Sonny Mahan presented a very good and informative program on Salt Water Fly Fishing. Read about it in Bill Heugel's article later in this letter. Sonny also brought a guest with him, Pat Dewane. It was good to have both of them.

As stated in the last newsletter, nominations were opened for next year's officers. After a long silence and a short discussion, a motion was made, seconded, and passed that the present officers be reelected for another year. As no office was contested, the present officers will serve again.

I think we had a very good Garage Sale. We cleared close to $500. Please read Walter's article concerning it in this letter. I just want to say that I do appreciate everyone who participated in the selling and those that donated items for the sale. Also, I believe our fishing tackle table did good, as we sold almost every item we had. This included quite a few lures, lots of plastic worms, rods, reels, boat seats, a fishing seine, depth finders, and other assorted items.

We have been talking about setting us some tying classes. Some very definite plans will be presented for discussion at the next meeting. We will be very interested in your ideas. Remember, this is your club, and we need to know what you would like.

Remember the club breakfast September 16^th headlined on the front page. I hope you and your family will try to be there.

Last meeting Ronny Julian had a real good Success Story. Ronny made his son Chris a 5 wt fly rod for a college graduation gift. Chris took it to Alaska and caught several big fish with it. These fish included a 30 # King Salmon, and another one that weighed around 50 #. Ronny, like any proud father, has pictures. Congratulations Chris!!

Another item on the agenda next meeting will be the Texas Forest Festival. It will be September 20 - 24. We will find out the details and schedule. I hope you can take part.

The other headline on the front page is the September Swap Meet. Read about it and mark it on your calender. Not only is this a good time to trade "stuff", but bring your fishing pictures and let's show them around too.

The Southern Counsel Conclave will be held in Mountain Home, Ark. October 6^th and 7^th . Several of us are planning on going. I am hoping we can work up a program on the conclave similar to the one Jay did last year.

Our Club dues are due in October. Dues remain $20 for regular members, $10 for associate members (to receive the newsletter only), and $30 for new members. So get your dues paid.

I know the heat has played havoc with fishing. Some have gone out real early and some have gone out real late in the day and had fair results. I hope some of you have been able to go and will have some fishing reports { tales } for us.

I hope to see you at the Swap Meet and remember: "A Bad Day Fishing Is Better Than A Good Day Working."

An editorial thought from the V-Prez:

Our fishing trip give-away has been good as far as it has gone, but I am seeing the same people getting to go again and again. The original idea, as I understood it, was to involve more members. Maybe we need to modify our rules some to include members that do not get to come to the meetings on Tuesday nights. There are several possibilities on how to do this, but I want to see some ideas from other members, particularly from some of the members that can't attend the monthly meetings. If you are on e-mail, please let me hear from you at [email protected]

For anyone who wants to do so, call me at 936-875-3465. Or write me a letter and mail it to the PO Box on the front of this newsletter.

Now don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed fishing with the people I have gone with, and I will gladly go again with them. But I would also like to get to fish with other members that I have not had the pleasure of fishing with. And I am well aware that jobs play a big part in the availability of time in all our lives, but I hope we can all get to fish together at some time or the other.

Contact me with your ideas on how we can get the fishing trips spread around throughout the club members.

September Meeting

by L. McLendon

PWFF SWAP MEET........Dig out your excess tying materials and fly fishing gear. SWAP, BARGAIN, BARTER, BEG or

bring cash. Dubbing, thread, hooks, fly line, reels, clothing, videos, books or anything you have you want to trade away. We have a lot of new members we can supply with initial fly tying materials.

Special Request. Gene Sullivan, please bring peacock herl.

August Program Report

B. Heugel

Thanks to our Program Chairperson Linda McLendon, we had a great program at the last meeting: Sonny Mahan on salt water fly fishing. Sonny is an experienced salt water fisherman and has fished with some of the best known names in the business (Lefty, Flip, and Chico). He is also a professional consultant for several manufacturers including Sage. In his opinion fly casting is an art and fly fishing is the ultimate challenge.

Rockport south to nine mile hole is an excellent area to wade fish. He pointed out that a change in the water depth of 3 inches was a big enough change to hold fish. Edge fishing is an important part of salt water fishing, the edge of grass or some cuts. From July 4^th through November 9^th mile hole is great.

For fishing the flats, the tides control everything. However the water temperature is also influential. The fish go to the white sand flats to get cooler in the summer and the dark grass to get warmer in the winter.

Fishing the flats was more like hunting than fishing. It requires one to be quiet, have a low profile, and also to wear clothes which will not be seen readily by the fish. He prefers white clothing. A good pair of sun glasses are another requirement. They protect your eyes and also the Polaroid lenses let you see into the water and find the fish. Casting in the path of the fish is critical. The line slap caused when the line leaves or enters the water can scatter the fish. Lift the rod and line to get it moving before beginning the back cast.

Whip Ray boats manufactured in Florida are great for flats fishing. They are quiet and work well in shallow water. The boat also greatly reduces the slap caused by the water against the hull.

Sonny uses the side arm cast to reduce the exposure to the fish. It also helps when there is a lot of wind. He stressed the need to make a quick response when you spot fish because salt water fish are always moving. He uses 6,7, & 8 wt rods. He said that an 8 wt rod was the best all around rod for the flats. As with bass fishing you need to keep the rod tip pointed down the line and use the strip strike on the fish.

He did not feel that line color was an issue. However the line material was important. Some lines become sticky in the summer heat and others become too stiff and have memory in the winter.

The best fly is the Clouser tied in chartreuse and white, tan and white, or pink and white. For the grassy areas, Dahlberg Divers are good. Crab patterns are also good as all of these fish eat crabs. However they must be fished by casting into the proper place and left for the fish to find. Eyes are also very important, and the larger the better.

Coy Hood won the door prize and Linda McLendon won the flies.

Randy McBride won the fishing trip with Jay Renken and Feaster won the trip with Ken Baker.

For Sale

from Chris Barclay

559-1773 in Nacogdoches

Do you know anyone interested in buying a roof rack? It is made by Thule and is made for cars with rain gutters. I am asking $50 for it ( it has three bike mounts too ).

Fishing Report

B. Heugel

I had so much fun fishing the Angelina the other day that I talked Hugh Bell into going. We met at the Hwy. 63 bridge at 6:30. We ran up the river about half way to the dam and saw some fish rising. Hugh immediately stopped the boat and began casting. I don't think he had more than one or two casts and he was into a fish. I was trying but not succeeding. Soon he had two fish and I had none. Then he pointed one out to me and let me hang into it. The fish were Kentucky or spotted bass. They are smaller than black bass but with brighter coloring. Most of the fish we caught were in the 8 to 12 inch range. Hugh continued to have hookups and I would occasionally get one. I finally asked the big question. What are you using? It was a fly he had tied to emulate one I had given him for salt water application. It looks like a piggy perch. The rest of the day I kept trying to tell him it was a salt water fly. He never took the hint.

I did manage to tie into one fish that finally broke off. Not a good feeling but satisfying to have had the chance. It broke off while Hugh was searching for the net. Is that a netting problem? We never did see the fish.

That river is so pleasant to fish because of the peaceful environment. We saw one boat during the entire trip. The only sounds were of the birds and the breeze. It's also perfect for fly fishing with its close banks and glass like conditions and lots of blow-downs. The generation does not normally start until 2 PM. Another advantage is that the tall trees keep it cool most of the morning.

On the way back Hugh's fly box flew out of the boat and dumped all of the flies into the water. We went back and picked them up. I had visions of some big fish coming up and slamming on of them but it didn't happen. I think we got most of them back.

We didn't keep a count of the number of fish we caught but it was enough to make it a pleasant and satisfying trip.

Another Garage Sale Done!

W. McLendon

Hot, hot, hot but we still did it! Jay Renken, Ronny Julian, Royce Feaster, Ken Baker, Bill Heugel, Jimmy Lee, Linda McLendon and I spent about 20 hours each manning our two booths at the annual Expo Garage Sale. Thanks to the above plus Jared Satterwhite, Hugh Bell, Coy Hood, Randy McBride and Mark Picou, we had items to sell and more help manning the booths. Even our past members Chris Barclay and Jack Holder contributed items to sell.

I don't personally know the final result but the annual event has proven again to be the real sure bet to fund raising. I hope the club members who did not participate or contribute realize how much sacrifice so few do for so many.

With so much time on our hands, there were several discussions and questions about why we can't get some club members involved. Some positive ideas did emerge, like again surveying the membership to find out just what each member wants from our club and appointing a Fly Tying Chairman to make sure we continuously have either tying classes available or at least informal tying sessions. Many Texas clubs tie flies once a week at a member's house, as attested by monthly announcements in their newsletters and websites. We could utilize some of our more advanced tying members to plan and organize an annual tying program so that we teach and tie appropriate flies for each of the upcoming fishing seasons. We would like to maintain all levels of tying skill training as we progress. { See article below. Ed. }

I would like to point out that a chairperson appointed the responsibility of any event or function, is the best way to make it happen. This does not mean the chairperson does not need help, for everyone does. He/She needs some warm bodies to help with any project anywhere possible.

If you would like to see more activities within our club, please bring up the subject to Ken and our membership at monthly meetings and volunteer to chair the activity or at least suggest someone who can. I think it is time to consider more outings each year. We need a way to get more new members on the lake fishing with us but first we have to get them to meetings. We need a membership chairman to solve this. As you look at the names above, you will find what I call our "club core group" all of whom have responsibilities either as a club officer or a chairperson. You will always find them at our meetings, outings and functions. Without their money and time, this club would not exist. We do not expect every member to be as dedicated to fly fishing but common sense will tell you that if everyone came forward to take a more active role in our club it would be the perfect club. There will always be those who join our club, then attend a meeting or two and then never return. We meet many avid fly fishers who refuse to join our club. You owe it to yourself to find some time to give to the club to make it better and to relieve some burden carried by some core members. You know, you only get out of any effort what you put into it.

As our garage sale chairman, I want to thank everyone who contributed items and gave up their weekend. I missed the Shallow Water Expo to do this event. If you guys ever decide to attend the Expo you will find out what I mean. Thanks anyway! I hope we begin making some midstream corrections in our club to make it the perfect club I mentioned. It should not take much!

Fly Tying Classes

by K. Baker

After much discussion with several club members on the subject of Fly Tying Classes, I have asked Ronny Julian to be the club Fly Tying Coordinator, assisted by Jay Renken. We hope to have several different tying sessions covering several different flies. Sone of the classes will be geared toward beginners. We also hope the club will allocate some funds to cover the cost of some tying equipment that will be available for members who don't have tools to use during the sessions.

For now we will tie at Ronny's house on the 2^nd Thursday night of each month, and at Jay's house on the 4^th Thursday night of each month. The first two sessions will be September 14^th at Ronny's, and September 28^th at Jay's.

We will discuss it more at the next meeting. Come prepared to share your ideas.

Jeff Guerin Webpage

by W. McLendon

Our old friend and now Little MO fly fishing guide just opened his new webpage www.litttlemissouriflyfishing.com Jeff sold his fly shop in Shreveport several years back and moved to Murfreesboro, Arkansas where he guides on that river as well as surrounding smallmouth waters. Bill Heugel and I have fished with Jeff many times and it is always fun. Visit his website for information about himself, his favorite flies with pictures, the river and the surrounding area. The diamond mine (volcano crater) is there in a state park. Linda still wants to go digging for that diamond. People find about 600 a year there. For you that don't know, Murfreesboro is just over a 4 hour drive from Lufkin. They have cabins to rent on the river or you can camp in the park on the mountain right there at the dam. Either way you are in the middle of outstanding trout fishing (some 70,000 stocked each year).

Fly Fish 2001

by W. McLendon

We just completed our second planning meeting for our Fly Fish 2001 Show on March 3rd, 2001 in Athens. We will be featuring Chico Fernandez and ESPN's the Reel Guys. This is a full-blown show like no other in Texas.

PWFF was selected to conduct the Fishing Pond activities. Jimmy Lee had volunteered to supervise the function. Since Jimmy is an Assistant Fire Chief, he was the perfect choice for a qualified person to oversee the safety and conduct of children and grownups fly fishing in a 300 x 300 foot hatchery pond stocked with 5,000 trout plus large brooders. We plan other species also to be determined later.

Jimmy will need club volunteers to help him help each show visitor as they try their luck at catch and release fishing. A smart volunteer will need to demonstrate casting; retrieval and hook setting techniques to the many first time fly casters. Does this give you an idea of the hard work involved in this job? Do you have any idea what 5,000 trout that have not been fed in two days will be doing in a small pond? Just ask any volunteer from last year.

Invitations were sent out for fly tying volunteers and this time they are only asked to tie for a half day so if you volunteered to tie flies, you can now volunteer with Jimmy to fish (err, I mean help fish) the other half of the day!

We will be sending out club invitations soon to set up a booth in the 106-acre yard and present a program. I suggest that we have a Rod Evaluation Booth where visitors bring their fly rod that does not seem to cast very well. Maybe their Uncle Joe gave them a fly rod that has miss-sized fly line, or the line was put on backward. It will be our job to evaluate and suggest solutions. This is just my idea, what do you suggest that we can do? We will be able to display our club banner, hand out literature and solicit new members. There were many people from the Lufkin/Nacogdoches that attended last year.

You will be given a show pass and will definitely have the time of your life. We just ask that you concentrate on helping the show visitor to do the same! We want to not only introduce him and her to fly fishing but get them hooked on it!

More details will follow. Visit our show website at http://freepages.arts.rootsweb.com/~wem1/index.html which is still under construction but will be updated as time passes. Please contact Jimmy Lee at [email protected] or 409-564-5546 to volunteer. It would be fantastic for the whole club to get involved. We had 13 attend last year, not too shabby! Just ask any of them what they thought about the show.

Remember!

Mark your calender for our club meetings, Every First Tuesday of each Month,

7:00 P M in the Lufkin Room in the Lufkin Mall.

###################################

Calender

Outings and Events

*********

September 5^th PWFF Meeting in the Lufkin Room in the Lufkin Mall. 7:00 PM sharp.

*********

September 16^th Zoo Breakfast 8:00 AM till ????

*********

September 20^th thru 24^th Texas Forest Festival

Expo Center

*********

September 30 & October 1^st. Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo

*********

October 3^rd PWFF Meeting in the Lufkin Room in the Lufkin Mall 7:00 PM sharp

*********

October 5^th thru 7^th Fly Fishing Conclave,

Mt. Home, Ark.

*********

November 3^th thru 5^th North Toledo Bend Rendevous, North Toledo Bend State Park

*********

November 7^th PWFF Meeting in the Lufkin Room in the Lufkin Mall. 7:00 PM sharp

*********

December 2^nd Christmas Meeting

*********

More Club Calendar to follow as dates confirmed

(Check your calender, There have been several dates that have been changed)

*************************

Outings: Jimmy Lee

Library: Jay Renken

Conservation: Gene Sullivan

Programs: Linda McLendon

Editor: Royce Feaster

*************************

Art work used by permission of Dave and Emily Whitlock

WET A LINE.... SOON!