Pineywoods
Fly Fishers
Founded 1988
Chapter of the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers http://freepages.outdoors.rootsweb.com/~wem1
President: Kenneth Baker V-President: Royce R Feaster Sec/Tres: Bill Heugel June 2002
Scattershots
By Ken Baker
Another good program, Barkley Souders who is a representative for
Quarrow Rods demonstrated several rods and explained about the weight, flex,
length and actions of rods, as well as, talked about other equipment such as
reels, leaders, fly line and flies used in fly fishing. It was a very
interesting program. I tied one of the flies he showed and have caught several
bream on it since the meeting.
We signed up two new members Lynn Chalfant 1317 Shady Lane, Lufkin and
Derald Douglas, Jr. 1121 S. Raguet, Lufkin. Derald has visited with us several
times and he is the father of club member Doug Douglas. We are glad to welcome
both men.
Our next function is the annual tag team tournament, which will be June
1st at Whippoorwill Cove on Sam Rayburn. You should have received
directions by e-mail as it will be the Saturday before our next meeting.
Trophies and the Paddle will be awarded the two winners, as well as a T-shirt.
After the tournament, which will start at 8 AM and end around noon, we will go
to Coy Hood’s lake house for lunch. I hope we have a good attendance, as this
has always been a fun day for the club.
The annual Garage Sale will be at the Expo Center on August 10-11. We
will be at the same booths that we always had. We need everyone to participate
either by donating items or working at the sale and preferably both. Several of
us will work most of both days and if you can, come by anytime, you will be
welcome. We would like for you to bring any fishing items you will either part
with or can get donated as they always sell good. More will be mentioned in the
July newsletter but please mark your calendar now.
I know many of you cannot participate in many of our functions. Some may
not want to, but I encourage you to come whenever you can. Much has been said
about “The Core”, which of course are the eight or nine members who are
almost always there. Several participate in our tying classes and
rod building classes and much of the expense comes from the funds raised from
the garage sale, raffle and auction at the Workshop, as well as, the annual
dues. We also need your ideas so we can make the club fit all members and
not just a few.
The winner of the fishing trip raffled off at the workshop was Hugh Bell
and he invited Bill Heugel to go as his guest. They made the trip on May 21 and
I know they had a good day. I know we will get a good report. I do know that
Brian Gambill gave them a good day.
I hope many of you have been able to fish lately. Jay Renken and I have
been to Lake Nacogdoches several times and to Kurth Lake and I think we did
quite well considering the wind was blowing most days.
I know we had fun. Hope you did too.
I hope to see you at the tournament June 1st and if not then
at the June 4th meeting. And
on a windy day “a bad day of fishing beats a good day working.”
June 1st Outing
We changed our location from Five Fingers so we can fish near Coy
Hood’s cabin since that’s where we will meet for lunch. 5 Fingers is about 9
miles away but there are two coves you can fish and quickly access Coy’s
shoreline by boat or drive over from the Whippoorwill Cove boat ramp. Coy’s
Cadell Cove is small but looks very fishy but has no boat ramp so if you are
canoeing or kayaking, you might easily put in behind Coy’s cabin and then park
down to the right on the dead end turn. To launch your motorboat, you must go to
Whippoorwill Cove or Lucas Creek Cove just east of Cadell Cove. Lucas is much
bigger and also looks very fishy too. Coy
is planning a good feast so I know we will all enjoy the day.
Walter and Willie in the woods
By Bill Heugel
Walter and I were invited to demonstrate our tying skills at the Small Mouth Rendezvous in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. We were both excited about the event since it was the first of its kind and was in a new area. I was also looking forward to my first Small Mouth Bass.
Walter had been in email contact with most of the folks there and managed an offer by one of the members of the club to camp on his property adjacent to Barren Fork Creek. The event was on Friday and Saturday. We left Wednesday and drove directly there. David Moss, the property owner where we were to camp and Steve Ford, president of the Northeastern Oklahoma Fly Fishers, met us and lead us out to David’s wilderness site. It was seven miles on dirt road before we entered his property and then about another mile or two through creek bottoms and woods before we ended up at the campsite. It was beautiful. Deep in the woods with the creek full of small mouth and bream just about 100 ft away and down a steep bank.
We set up camp and headed for the stream. I caught my first small mouth on a Guadalupe Green. It measured about 6 inches. The water was clear and the pools were green with depth.
The next morning we hit the creek again. I managed 11 small mouth and loads of bream. Nothing greater than 8 inches. Walter had gone upstream and got one 11 1/2 inches long. The afternoon was spent traveling around the area and hitting the showers at the local campground. As night came, we headed for our tents. Big problem. I had been attacked by ticks. They were all over and proved to love me. Walter had none. Even when I got home I kept finding them and Walter still had none.
That night we had a major storm. The weather turned so cold Walter left his tent to sleep in the truck. Seems he had no sleeping bag, just two sheets. Fortunately Linda had made him take a light jacket. When will you listen Walter??
The rain continued through the night and the next morning we decided to head to town to get breakfast and go to the event. HO HO. We didn’t get more than about ten feet when the truck bogged down. Fortunately we had my cell phone. However David had his shut off. I figured it would be hours before they discovered we did not show up. Finally I tried information and found Dave’s home phone. Got the answering machine!! However as I was dictating our status his wife picked up and she made arrangements for him to call. Dave’s first words were “has the creek washed out?”. It took some time to explain we had no idea and were still at the camp. His comment was Oh no!!
Dave showed up and after much effort and the strength of some trees we managed to get the truck back on solid ground. The next issue was could we cross the creeks? With his agile driving Walter chauffeured us out and to the event.
It was a great show. Small but all the folks were nice. Of course we made a grand entrance and all knew we had been stuck. That evening they fed us all hamburgers with all the trimmings. The second day was less eventful. We did some casting and demonstrations of fly tying. These guys were a great bunch and were very helpful. I also got some exotic feathers from one of their members. These will be applicable to Salmon Flies. Walter got shown some very old dry flies and English fly books loaded with flies from pre-hook eye days (1850’s). Many were in mint condition even though bugs ate completely through the leather cover and paper pages.
The next day we headed for Beavers Bend. That night I could do no wrong and managed about 10 small trout. We spent some of that night and the next morning talking with the campers next to us. They were beginner fly fishermen and we worked on their casting and where to catch fish. That afternoon we headed home.
It was a great trip and one I will never forget.
Temporary Editor’s note: Bill did not mention that he broke his new rod and that he only carried one pair of shoes on this trip. Can you imagine a true fly fisherman wearing leather casual loafers, then complaining that his feet were wet and cold all the time? No wonder the ticks too over!
Fly Tying Competition.
In one of our many discussions at the Small Mouth Rendezvous they told us about their fly tying competition. Categories of skill level were established (Beginner, Intermediate and Expert). At each meeting the participants would submit flies for judging in the category of their choice. The winner of each of the categories had his or her name placed in a drawing to be held some time later. In their case, it was 9 months. Each month they put three names in the pot at the end of the nine months a drawing was held for three prizes. The prizes were pretty fine, vises, books, etc. This sounded like a pretty good plan and after some discussion Walter and I decided to propose it to the club members. We could start with two skill categories, beginner and intermediate. Each participant would select their skill level and enter flies. The judging could be by the group or by individuals.
At a function like our workshop we could have the drawing. Think about it and lets talk it over at the next meeting.
Hugh Bell won the fishing trip to Lake Fork with Brian Gambill. He graciously invited me to participate. What a trip. I have never had so many big bass attack my flies in such a short time. We took on about 10 fish. Hugh landed the big one of the day at about 4.5 lbs. He also had several in the 3 lb. plus region. I had several opportunities but only landed one fish that went about 1.5 lbs. I was perfecting my new long line release!! Due to the wind the fishing was a little on the tough side, but Brian worked to find us protection We started about 7AM and finished about 8:30PM taking only a 45 minute break for lunch...Brian was still ready to keep on fishing but we had a long drive home after a tiring day. I can highly recommend this trip. Thanks Hugh, and of course thanks to the club for the opportunity.
Our presenter at the last meeting was Barkley Souders. He reps rods for Quarrow a rod manufacturer. He has been in the business of selling rods for some time and with many manufacturers. He brought about 20 or 30 different rods. Barkley had also been on the fishing tournament trail for some time before joining a rep group and then forming his own rep organization.
Using a standard weight at the end of the rod, he demonstrated how to compare rods and their actions. Using rods from $500 to about $100, he explained how the action was developed and showed that there often was very little difference between the expensive rods and the cheaper models.
He felt that a 5 wt and 8 wt were the best selections for an individual. He also explained how rods were manufactured and the effect of the modulus of elasticity. As the modules gets higher, the wall of the rod gets thinner and it is more likely to break if hit by a weighted fly. Now who has ever done that!!!
He also explained the differences between components such as the reel seat handle and guide. Friction is the biggest element that reduces fly casting distance. Guides of different materials have a slicker surface and therefore reduced friction. Of course they also cost more. He recommended a larger than normal stripping guide to reduce the friction. He also suggested that it be placed within easy reach for getting the line after a cast.
He pointed out that when purchasing a higher cost rod you were really getting a set of rods. Those that would be used to replace the one you have if it was broken. An unnecessary expense in his opinion. Cheaper rods are OK and so are cheaper reels. The reel needs to be better if the fish you are after will be running. Buy good fly lines and take care of them. That’s the place where more money can make a difference.
Barkley was a treat to have at the meeting, he gave us lots of information and was entertaining to boot. Thanks again Linda for an outstanding program.
Joe Rameriz won the flies and Steve Watson won the door prize.
By Walter McLendon
I was invited by my friend Jim Marsh of the Brazos Valley Fly Fishers in Bryan/College Station to attend a monthly club meeting at Jim’s cabin on a private lake in Caldwell. I drove down on a Thursday morning to Jim’s cabin, where he and his fishing buddy Clayton Meyers were preparing for the big catfish cookout that night. I was assigned the biggest bed and quickly launched my kayak in the beautiful little lake. Jim promised big bluegill but all I could get were the tiny ones. I was called in for lunch and to meet Jim’s lovely wife. That evening, the club members showed up in force and we fished the lower lake below the dam. Then we consumed many pounds of excellent catfish fillets, hushpuppies, fried potatoes, salad and desert. Since I already know most of their club members, I was just one of the crowd.
Next morning early, Jim took me to breakfast and out to his secret lake to fish. We launched his buddy bass boat right next to some large trees overhanging the lake. He told me this is where the big’uns hang out. My second cast yielded about 3 lbs. Then another one on the opposite side of the trees but from then own it was down hill fast. I managed a few little 1 ½ or 2 lbs and a few bluegills. Jim trolled me around the entire lake (about 15-20 acres) shoreline. I lost a few big ones but could not find fish where he expected. At about 10 AM, Jim decided we should try letting the gale force winds push us across the lake near the dam and cast out to see what we could get. I casted out one of Heugel’s frog patterns and somehow got a wind knot (that is not caused by wind, they say). While sorting out my line, a big’un took my lifeless fly floating on the surface. It turned out to be about 3 ½ lbs. On my next cast, I stripped in my fly like Jim was doing but nothing! Next cast, my fly line got caught in my shoelace and wham, the bass hit while I was busy untangling.
I got the bright idea to quit striping my line; I just let it sit there until King Kong wanted it. I told Jim to do the same and he immediately landed one 4-½ lbs. We continued catching 3 to 4 lbs one after the other until suddenly the fish decided to go on strike. We then had to work hard to catch anything. The following day, we decided to try it again. We trolled around the lake for a while without much luck and then did our wind/float thing again. We caught a few but it was over. I did manage a 4-½ lbs before we left. Jim had stuff to do and my great trip was over. Jim could not get over how we caught fish without retrieving the fly and most of all he fell in love with the Heugel fly I gave him. If Bill was very smart, he would scheme a way to trade his frog patterns for a guided trip to Jim’s secret lake.
Linda and I tried to catch the coppernose bluegill that Shannon experienced the day of our Willow Oak Outing. We arrived about 5 PM, launched our kayaks in the windy lake just in time to see dark gray clouds rolling in. We fished about 30 minutes and decided to vacate the water with lightning beginning to show. We never got one bite. I believe Shannon took them all home, much like a couple of our friends did to a great bluegill bed in Kurth Lake that has never come back.
Fred Dupre from the Dallas Fly Fishers asked me to take him fishing on one of our lakes when he brought his son back to SFA so we tried Lake Nac. Since Fred fishes from a Kevlar canoe, I took him to the highway 21 access so we could fish some close inlets. The water was the clearest I have ever seen with beautiful grass beneath. A nice breeze helped us down the shoreline early, as we tried to fish the lily pads but eventually the wind took over. Fred managed 3 bass very quickly right in the tight fitting lily pad carpet. I wrestled with many different flies on my 7 weight during the morning but managed 2 bass and several tiny bluegill. We found one small bluegill bed with about 30 fish competing for Fred’s flies. He invited me to take over but after about 5 fish, the bed was too disturbed to continue. Fred was very pleased with the fishing and the lake, while I was disappointed with our catches. Even other people commented on how the fish were scarce.
Jay Renken and I decided to try Lake Nac even after a night of storms and rain. We put in at the dam and started with the first cove to the left and began catching bluegill of medium sizes. Jay quickly hooked and landed a 19 inch bass with the mouth of a 4 pounder. Soon, he landed a 14 incher. Then we settled down to catching bluegill and Jay began catching pumpkinseed bream. He decided then that we needed to get a grand slam for the day with crappie and catfish to boot. I finally caught a small crappie but we never got the catfish we wanted. Jay estimated that we had a 100 fish day about noon, I guess. We got several large platter sized bluegill which helped us through the day. We finally noticed some dark rain clouds approaching rapidly so we cut our fine day of fishing short. Thanks, Jay for a nice day.
By Steve Watson
Jared Satterwhite and Steve Watson put on another lake Nacogdoches line throwing spectral Memorial Day. No one was injured. The lake was clear with a mild breeze when we started around 6:30 am. Several Crappie and bream were snagged, with the highlight being a small bream being grabbed by a quite aggressive largemouth. The fight continued for a while, with the bass on one end and Jared on the other and Mr. Bream as the bone. Jared prevailed, and the bream minus half its scales was released. The bass that got away is now up to about 8 lbs. We never did catch a bass but had a good day.
Lake Jacksonville had some good numbers of bass caught off the concession stand, and below the hydrilla layer. Lake Fairfield has some large hybrid bream that were being caught in about 17 feet of water off of the dam. Lake Tyler bream beds should start taking off this week with the warmer weather predicted.
By Tom Rees
Fishing on Lake Palestine on Memorial Day, results were fair. Any day on the lake is so much better than a day at work. Caught bait in my cast net before daybreak at the long 155 bridge. Lots of shad and some small perch, just right size for hybrid bait. I was able to mark many schools of baitfish at different depths, but not enough big boomerang images under them to show any hybrid activity. I went to several points on the southwest side of the lake and finally found a "shelf" in 15-18ft near 2 creeks and the river. Caught about 20 big sandies, 3 pound plus size and 1 or 2 small hybrids the same size. Wind at 10-15mph made flyfishing for me out of reach. Scattered sandies and crappie "between the dots" on the 155 bridge, but too windy to stay.
Looking forward to the Mad Island clinic in a couple of weeks. Working on some redfish flies to use there.
Welcome New Members
Ken introduced our two new members above. Lynn Chalfant 639-2520 joined after Royce Feaster helped him find our club. Lynn is retired but works part time at Abney & Sons hardware. He is an intermediate fly fisher but has not tied flies yet. His big bass boat and 2 kayaks are good reasons for all of us to be able to fish with Lynn. His hobbies are fishing and painting.
Derald Douglas 634-2580 most of us already know. Sometimes it takes time to decide to get both feet wet by joining. We are glad he did! The way Derald filled out his club application, tells me that we have a job on our hands to get him interested our club activities other than fishing. He works in Property Management at Pearson Financial Corporation.
Now that we have both Lynn’s and Derald’s phone numbers, it is time to invite them on a personal fishing trip to your favorite waters. Welcome to both you guys. Feel free to contact any of us with questions, suggestions or a fishing trip.
By Jay Renken
We have updated our library list of videos and books available on our website http://freepages.outdoors.rootsweb.com/~wem1 . Due to limited space in our library dolly, I have pulled the least used books to make room. We placed an asterisk next to these books so you can either call or email to request a book be brought to the next meeting for you to check out. Thanks for using and supporting our fine library.
From Steve Watson (without his approval)
Tip for backing exercise: shorten fly line.....considerably
(“backing exercise” is a new term that Steve and Jared termed, meaning casting into the backing)
By Jared Satterwhite
Guys, thought I would pass along what I think is a great deal. Saturday while I was at the Bass Pro Shop Fly Fishing Dept. in Katy Mills a salesperson named Jim wanted to show me this combo saltwater outfit that he said has become very popular. It’s the Scientific Angler “Bass, Salmon, Steelhead Concept” package. It includes a 9 ft. rod (8/9 wt. with fighting butt), and seems like a well-made, attractive large arbor reel (designed for saltwater), a 9 wt. fly line, backing and leader. Jim took the rod off the rack and flexed it against the floor – it was clearly a tip flex (fast) rod. Jim even put the backing, fly line and leader on the reel showing me a couple of new knots. Total price $79.99.
Sunday morning Steve Watson and I headed for Lake Nac and both of us were amazed at the performance of the rod & reel. After a few tries it would cast the line into the backing -- not bad for a 79 dollar rig. By the way, Bass Pro sells the reel alone for $60. One other little deal is that the rod is guaranteed against defects and breakage for life.
I’m not trying to sell anything here but for those of us on a limited fishing budget this combo is a really good deal. It does come in a box much like the Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck kids rods. But, once you get past that it looks like any other fly rod and reel. It’s also available in a 6 wt. outfit (regular reel). I’ll try to remember and bring it to the Tuesday night meeting.
Temporary Editor’s note: This is too good to be true, we had better head out for Houston before they sell out!