Pineywoods Fly Fishers

                Founded 1988

    Chapter of the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers

          Web Site http://home.sprynet.com/~waltermc

President: Jimmy Lee             Secretary/Treasurer: Ken Baker 

 From the Secretary

Ken Baker

I think we had a very good meeting this month.  Several brought items to sell or trade.  It is a very good way to pass items we don't use in fishing to those who need them. I'm sure we will have more meetings like this in the future, but if you have such an item, you might just bring them to any meeting and make a trade or sale. 

Also we had a very good time at Fly Fish Texas at Athens.  Once again many PWFF members were volunteers and for once we had good weather.  I know everyone enjoyed it and already look forward to next year. 

We signed a new member at the last meeting.  He is Rich Lobrovich.  He is from Buna, Texas and is an accomplished fly tyer.  Also we signed a new member at Fly Fish Texas, Jerry Brumley who lives between Crockett and Centerville. We welcome these two men to our club.  Also Slim Mitchell of the Dallas club repaid his dues.  Slim has been our friend for many years and has contributed many flies to us for our use. 

I am sorry that we made the decision to cancel the Camp Tonkawa outing.  Walter and I listened to many weather reports right up to the last minute and the outlook was not good at all. Rain, wind and lightning were forecast as the expression goes, "You win some and you lose some". 

I look forward to the Workshop on April 9.  I know it will be a great time as much work and planning has gone into it.  I look forward to seeing you there.  There will definitely be something for all. 

The weather is getting great and fishing should be good.   But even if it isn't, remember" A BAD DAY FISHING BEATS A GOOD DAY WORKING'. 

Programs

Linda McLendon

Our speaker will be Ken Richards, a trout/smallmouth fishing guide from Arkansas. Ken has more than 30 years of fly fishing experience and owns Just Fishin’ Guides.  http://www.justfishinguides.com Prepare for a good program and have your questions ready for Ken.

From the Editor

Walter McLendon

Workshop

Be sure to attend our annual Workshop on Saturday April 9^th at the staff house at Kurth Lake. Bill Heugel’s team has been planning a fun day for all of us. Talk to anyone who has attended in the years we have done this event and you will see why we continue to have it. Bring your tying gear to learn some new stuff and your fly rods to join in the casting fun. Jay will conduct the casting games. We will have a fun fly tying contest. There will be door prizes, silent auctions and plenty to do all day long. Ken and Jay will cook our lunch and supper will be a covered dish affair for the entire family, the club furnishes the meat. So tie up some flies to raffle off and bring any items you can for the raffles.  

RedStick Conclave

Bill Heugel and I tied flies in Baton Rouge at the RedStick Fly Fishers Conclave. We both enjoyed those guys; they know how to put on an event and how to feed their people. 

Sowbug or Bust

By Bill Heugel

Don McMurry, Walter McLendon and I met at Don’s house to start the trip to Mountain Home Arkansas and the Sowbug Roundup event.  As in the past our first challenge was to see if we could fit our gear into the truck.  After filtering through things and packing and repacking we managed to get what we thought we needed in and we finally got underway about 10:30 AM.  Things looked great but then we ran into the rain.  The great minds I was traveling with decided it would be better to pass up Murfreesboro and head right to Heber Springs.  The weather indications were that the rain would not get up to Heber Springs.  THEY WERE RIGHT!!!!   

We set up our tents and headed for the Little Red River inside JFK Park below the dam.  Since it was a bit late in the day we decided not to wade but fish from the shore.  Don managed to catch a nice undersize brown and Walter caught the only keeper rainbow.  I went hitless.  I knew things would be better in the morning.  Wrong!!!  They started generating early and we decided to head on the Mountain Home.  This required the repacking scenario again.  The nights were quite cool, our coffee froze in our cups and we hit the sack early to stay warm. 

At Mountain Home we set up our tents at Bull Shoals State Park on the White River and headed to Sowbug for registration and meeting with many of our friends.  The next day we set up for tying in the AM and browsing in the afternoon.  One of the outstanding things that happened to me was the arrival of Royce Dam one of the truly outstanding fly tiers.  Royce spent loads of time with us including times he was to be demonstrating.  He is one of my idols, a truly talented man.  We bought 5 of his DVDs on tying nymphs to Salmon flies.  They are all outstanding in my opinion.  Friday afternoon, Don and I attended a session on playing and landing fish.  Would you believe the instructor recommended giving the fish slack line!!  We tried it later and it works.  We have much to tell as a result of that session.  Don went to several casting activities and I attended a session on fishing the White River.  An interesting statistic is that the river rises downstream about 2 hours per mile and falls at 4 hours per mile.  That’s a key bit of information if they begin generation and you choose to move downstream ahead of the crest.  The next day we continued demonstrating in the morning and then headed for the stream in the afternoon. Sowbug had pretty good attendance; Walter and I had not been there for at least four years, I think. With about 100 tyers, you could sure see about any fly being tied that you wanted. Sowbug has outgrown the facilities they have been able to use but they do not make enough money to afford the fair grounds that Conclave enjoys.  

This is the tough part.  We found the river down and wading was great in the park.  There were fish all around.  The only guy catching them was DON!!!  Walter managed a few but Don was getting fish on about every other cast.  It was so bad some of the folks fishing around him came over to check on him.  Of course he let us all know of his success.  However he didn’t call me over until the action had stopped.  He did call Walter I think because it was the fly Walter gave him that was creating all the action.  His now famous Royal Red Tail fly.  The next morning the generators started and we made the decision to head to Heber Springs again.  Before going we did check out the new fly shop in Cotter.  That’s where Walter bought his new Temple Fork Rod.  I picked up a book on Fly Fishing Arkansas; we had been intrigued by the Swinging Bridge on the little red and wanted some maps and information on fishing other parts of the river.  The book is outstanding and has given us many new places to try.  More on that in the future. 

At Heber Springs we again had the evening to fish.  Guess who was hitting them again.  Yep it was Don.  Walter did his share and I finally managed to catch one of the dumb trout.  Generation started the next morning, Dolores told Don on the phone that we were in for tornados that night and we soon heard this from neighboring campers so we broke camp and struck out for home. We left just in time to miss the rain, which we drove through for hours until somewhere north of Nacogdoches. We made a good decision.   

It was another outstanding trip and I learned a bunch about fishing I had never been exposed to and based on our looks and the book on the Little Red has much to offer.  They actually have added rocks to make pools for the fish below the Swinging Bridge area. We watched one fellow in a boat there catching trout on most every cast using bait of some sort so we know there are plenty of fish there. I can’t wait to fish it on our next trip.  We also learned where the spawning area for the big browns was. 

Florida Report

By Hugh Bell

I was driving the other day and saw some kayak’s – and thought of you.   I have discovered at least 5 incredible kayak places in our area, all within about 30 to 40 minutes.  Lots of mangroves, back water and oyster beds.  Telling you this to wet your appetite.   

I haven’t been fishing in over a month because the times I have been home the weather has been bad.  When your home only two times a month, it limits the opportunities.   Things should begin to turn on as March approaches, but will only have one opportunity.   That is frustrating.   There is not that much on the east coast where I work.  Most of it is Atlantic fishing in the gulf stream.   I have a fellow who will take me sail fishing sometime this spring and will look forward to that.  Most of the shallow water fishing is a few hours north or south of Palm Beach.   

I did catch my first Snook (2) last week, undersized and on spinning tackle because the wind was 20mph.  We stayed in the Intercoastal so the waves weren’t to bad, just the wind. 

Fishing Reports

From Rusty Bryley

Lake Nacogdoches - new LMBass lake record 14.77lbs., fishing fair to 5.5 lbs., 18" of water or less. Most water is still very muddy. Lizzards, crawworms and the like, White, Black, or other dark colors, average temp 61*. Many fish still staging. 

Pinkston - Water Temp avg 62.7*. Water clear in most places except the little side where the water is like Chocolate milk with orange juice mixed in. Crappie fair to 2 lbs. in 11' or less. Trying to move up to spawn if weather would stabilize, very vulnerable at this time of year. Don't bother to go on the weekend though or you'll be joining 50+ other boats. Bass on the beds! Bigger fish near deep holes on bank. Bite has been slow this week due to cold rain and north winds but they will hit nonetheless, if you aggravate them enough and be patient. 

Timpson - Bass fair to 5.5 lbs, Water temp 63* stained as usual. Bass on beds but as usual you can't see them. But just as they are everywhere else they are in the usual places they have always been this time of year. 

Lake Center - Let you know this afternoon or this evening. It will be my first trip there ever. Suppose to have some big fish there and receive very little pressure.  

Tonkawa Outing

By Howard Hinton

Boy I'm glad I didn't read my email yesterday, just got back from a great day fishing at Camp Tonkawa.  Just a small group but the fishing was fair and the food was good. Even Howard caught a fish.  Cody Cox caught his first ever fish, a Rainbow that was over 14 inches long.  Way to go Cody! James' granddaughter caught enough fish for a fish fry at James house. I was there from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm and it never rained a drop.  I think every one that was there had a great time.  There were still folks fishing when I loaded up and left. 

The Reds are Coming!

By Don Griefe

 My son Steve and I just got back from a fishing trip and he caught 6 reds just like the one below. We drove down to Titusville, Florida this past week and fished in the lagoon near the space center. We fished on Saturday AM and Sunday AM, not far from the Haulover canal northeast of Titusville. On Saturday morning, the water was almost dead calm and the school of big reds were fairly easy to find in the 14" of water. Steve caught three reds on live shrimp that
morning and I took the pictures. On Sunday morning the wind was up a little more than was needed and the school was considerably harder to locate. However Steve managed another three big ones. The afternoons of both Saturday and Sunday were spent with 9wt in hand, in other areas north and south in search of still water and smaller reds. That part just didn't work out as well as anticipated. We drove the 1200 miles back on Sunday evening and Monday. All in all, it was a great trip and six reds that size, on any bait, makes a great trip. 

RIVER SAFETY

By Rich Lobrovich

BOOT / SOLE TYPE

RUBBER

FELT

NEW STICKY RUBBER

STUDS

CHAINS

NO TENNIS SHOES

HIP BOOTS

Pull socks tight so they fit well. Loosen your bootlaces, slip on boots. Then adjust the boots and tighten the laces. This will help with your ankle support. 

WADERS

BREATHABLE - may require warmer layers.

NEOPRENE - more buoyant.

Also use wading belt to prevent water entry and is good back support. 

FLOATATION DEVICE

CO2 – Inflation suspenders

Vest type. 

MOVING WATER

NO FLOAT TUBES

WATER ENTRY

Use wading staff, wooden metal, ski pole, and expandable (noise). Keep one foot firmly in place, slowly pick up a foot and move it a short distance. Do Not walk in water like you walk in air. Cross-river perpendicular to the flow. Always have a fishing partner. When helping a friend cross a river lock arms at the elbows. Larger/ Stronger person should be up stream. Depending on your size and weight neoprene might not be a good choice. Smaller people than I may be lifted in a swift current wearing neoprene. 

“SHADOWS OF THE WIND”

...Under the Wolf Creek Bridge.

By Rich Lobrovich

Part One begins… 

This road trip started like most others. You always seem to forget something like your

Down pillow… it was worth going back to get the pillow as it provided many hours of good road time trippin! Kathy and I left Fremont at noon on Saturday and our first stop was to be The Fly Shop in Redding. However, along the way an idea popped into my mind. I know that is hard to believe since I have more space than brain cells. Olives would be our next stop. On a previous trip to Mt. Lassen we stopped at The Olive Pit in Corning to pick up some Green Olives stuffed with Garlic and to check out another craving… stuffed Anchovies. They had both in stock and were a big hit at the MPFA Summer Solstice fishout at Manzanita Lake. On this trip the olives would have to wait until Montana before the opening ceremony. We stopped in The Fly Shop to pick up a few supplies to tie “Cripples” a Bidwell favorite. Next stop was the ranch and Pond #2 where we arrived just in time to set up camp and hit the water. We fished until we could no longer see the tippet to tie on the fly. The next morning we were greeted by a warm morning sunrise, birds singing and Black Berries ripening on the vines. Life has many simple pleasures; to watch Kathy pick wild Black Berries for our first morning breakfast. Who says Grape nuts taste like “#&@*” try them with wild berries. Sunday was a good day fishing, many hook ups, many landed including a few we have photos of. One Lost Creek Rainbow was 20 inches … a beautiful fish.

Monday morning we packed up and before we left Bidwell Ranch we stopped at the Famous Pond #4. It required a short walk across a pasture and sometimes in front of a few cattle who look at you like “What the hell are you doing invading our space?”. Today was no different, except the cattle were six Bulls. If you have ever had to stare down a Bull you know the feeling we had as we walked to and from the pond. As we arrived we saw very few fish rising and we went to our bag of tricks to find the perfect fly. A quote from Andy Burke always comes to mind ”When in the High Desert in the Late Summer try a Grasshopper” so Kathy found a Hopper that was given to her by Matt Wilhelm of the FFF last summer in Montana. I pointed out a location where no fish were rising… weeds in the middle and weeds along the shore with about 40 feet of open water in between. Kathy cast the hopper to the far edge of the weeds and let the fly sit for awhile (not unlike Bass fishing). A small twitch and Whamo “FISH ON”. I think that was a TV series! She played the fish for about five minutes and had it in the top of the weeds. I was dressed for the retrieve and she said fetch. I went into the water up to my waist and tried to grab the fish by the tail with my hand net. Just then the tippet popped… and the fish swam away for another day. I did not get a good look at the whole fish however; the tail was at least 5 inches across. I told Kathy that this was a 20-inch Rainbow however, after giving it much thought this fish was at least 24 inches and the biggest fish of our trip. We continued to fish the seem of the weeds and had 8 more strikes with no hook ups. We left Bidwell Ranch with many fond RCM’s (rocking chair memories).

Area Chiefs Meeting

By Walter McLendon

I just returned from Parrie Haynes Ranch near Killeen, Texas where we held our annual Texas Parks & Wildlife Angler Education Area Chief’s meeting. This ranch is gigantic to the point that Fort Hood borders it on two sides. Area Chief’s train and certify Angler Education Instructors to teach fishing and fly fishing, so we shared stories and ideas to make the program better. I am hoping to get us about 35 more instructors for Fly Fish Texas next year. We had 23 chiefs in attendance and there are about 10 more who could not attend.  

I finally learned not to take my favorite flyrod on any more trips where people have the opportunity to touch it. I taught a class on how to teach casting the flyrod and one of the chiefs had never casted a flyrod so I used him to teach with. After I got with other chiefs to answer questions and show techniques, one other chief tried to help the new chief further and eventually shouted over to me that my flyrod was not very good. I shrugged that off but soon could see that something was wrong. He came over and showed me my broken rod. He eventually told me that he was explaining how the rod tip can bend and in doing so snapped mine, about 12 inches from the tiptop. That reminded me of a recent incident where someone broke a new rod I just bought, so that’s it no more fondling my flyrods! 

Monthly club meeting are held in the Lufkin Room, Lufkin Mall at 7 PM, the program for the first hour and then door prizes and fishing discussions until 9 PM.

Club Calendar

2005:

Apr 9        Workshop, Kurth Lake Staff House

Apr 15      Spring Rendezvous  Lake D’Arbonne State Park, LA

Apr 22-23 Big Splash ???

Apr 25-29 Forest Awareness Week behind Hudson ISD

May 6-7   Smallmouth Rendezvous  Tahlequah, OK

May 21    SOC President’s Meeting Mt. Home. AR

Jun 2-5    Southeastern Conclave  Calloway Gardens, GA

Jun 10-12 Dallas FF outing to Purtis Creek State Park

Jul 15-17 Grand Isle Outing  LA

Aug 8-12 National Fly Fishing Week -  ??

Aug 8-13 FFF Conclave  Livingston, MT

Oct 6-8    Conclave  Mountain Home, AR

Oct 21-23 Oktober Fest in Fredericksburg 

Nov 4-6   Rendezvous  North Toledo Bend State Park, LA

Dec 3       PWFF Christmas Party