RCFF Board
President Tippets, Tapers & Tales Mark Johnson [email protected]
Secretary Bob Bawden
Treasurer President’s Message - June 2021 Mike Grinwis I hope everyone has been able to get out and do some fishing Dave Hovis this spring. I have been out a few times and even caught a few Member at Large fish too! As we head into our last meeting of the year before
Newsletter Editor our summer break I would like to thank again all the board Terry Greiner members and club members that helped make this year a suc- [email protected] cess. Despite the ongoing Pandemic, I feel we had a good year with our many Zoom presentations and a very successful online auction this past March. I am hopeful with the way things are Inside this issue: going lately with COVID that we will be able to meet in person again in the fall.
At the last board meeting, the board voted to postpone the board elections until the fall. We did not see anything in the By-Laws that would indicate we cannot do this and felt that hopefully we will be back in person then and can vote then at a fall meeting. It also gives us President’s message 1 more time to find additional board members. If interested in joining our board of directors Monthly program 2 contact myself or another board member.
Chief Dowagiac 3 We are going to try and organize a few summer fishing outings in the local area. For the most part these will be during the week in the evening for a few hours at a local pond, lake Baseball, hot dogs, 4 or river. We are planning on the first one a couple weeks after our June meeting so watch apple pie & Chevy your email, the RCFF website and Facebook page for the information.
Chevrolet cont’d 5 We are working on a speaker for the June meeting and hope you will join us for this last Chevrolet cont’d 6 Zoom meeting before summer. We will have more details on the first weeknight fishing outing of the summer and would like your input on other possible places to try this sum- mer. Chevrolet cont’d 7 See you on the 8 th ! Glen’s streamer 8 More fish artwork 9 Mark
A collector 10
Tools of the trade 11
X marks the tippet 12 A few chuckles 13 FFF History 14 History cont’d 15 History cont’d 16 History cont’d 17 Fishin’ pics 18 1981 McKenzie Cup Winners F-fishing under ‘isms’ 19 The Red Cedar Fly Fishers is a Charter Club of Fly Fishers International. It’s purpose is to promote fly-fishing through Education, Restoration and Conservation Field notes & Fridge 21 Reminders
Monthly Program Jay Wisnosky | Lead Instructor & Guide of Schultz Outfitters will do a program on Summer smallmouth strate- gies in SE Michigan. He’ll also cover gear, techniques, flies, etc. I'd also be able to discuss what brands Schultz Outfitters carries to support that conversation as well an overview of the additional offerings the shop provides.
Congratulations: To both Mark Johnston and Mark Johnson on receiving the John Wylie award for their outstanding ef- forts this year in setting up the Zoom meetings, navigating the successful club online auction, running the meetings, and al- ways helping out where and when needed.
Stress Management - How to Handle
Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. Drive carefully…..it’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker… If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. Never buy a car you can’t push. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late. The second mouse gets the cheese. When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have the longer you live. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. And Most Importantly ~ Save the earth….it’s the only planet with chocolate and wine! 3 The Man Who Was Heddon’s “Chief Dowagiac”
The real name of Heddon’s “Chief Dowagiac” was William “Bill” Lester Coller, and he was hired by Heddon in the late 1920s to put on trick bait casting ex- hibitions at fairs, and sportsman’s show to help promote Heddon’s lines, which he used when he demonstrated his incredible casting skills.
From an early age, Bill Coller took an avid interest in fishing and continuously honed his casting skills both on area lakes, and in local tourna- ment casting events from which he earned several medals for accuracy in cast- ing.
A young William L. Coller pictured laying beneath the string of fish - circa 1910
From the late 1920s until the early 1930s, Coller worked for Heddon using the stage name “Chief Dowagiac” while displaying his superb casting skills at public events where he promoted Heddon’s lines and fishing tackle. Coller, with his entertaining trick casting abilities and his Indian attire quickly became a popular attraction at sporting related events and drew large crowds from afar who would come to see him perform his incredible tricks and feats of casting. To demonstrate his accuracy at casting, it was not uncommon for Coller to select some fellow from the audience, give him a cigar, light it and then proceed to knock the ash off the cigar from 60 yards away with a casting plug, without ever disturbing or removing the cigar from the fellows Mouth.
Coller would always follow up his trick casting demonstrations with autograph signings, while he offered the members of his audience his W.L. Coller standing in front of expert casting advice and explained the his family’s sporting goods store special wrist techniques he used to help his Circa 1912 many fans improve their own casting abilities. All of these demonstrations were, of course, designed to promote the sales of Heddon’s products, but they also eventually helped to promote W. L. Coller’s own fame and celebrity as the World’s Champion Trick Caster.
One of the Heddon fishing lines used and promoted by W. L. Coller when he performed his casting tricks as Side note: The editor has an 8 1/2’, two tip, three Chief Dowagiac piece split Bamboo fly rod from Heddon made in Do- wagiac, MI from at least in the 50’s or 60’s that came in a cardboard tube.
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Glen’s Deadly Streamer & the Au Sable River ( Glen Jueckstock) 8
My Dad (Glen’s son talking) used a state-of-the-art fiberglass rod with a Shakespeare spinning reel. Tom used the same kind of setup, and Bob, being a semi ‘purist,’ had a bamboo fly rod, but he always took his spinning gear just in case.
There was one thing they never went without ~ “Glen’s deadly streamers.” They were fishing on “fly only” water as designated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and this weighted fly with spinning gear was a deadly combination in the river’s huge brown and rainbow trout. I believe the fly imitates a small minnow but Tom said it imi- tated a bug on the bottom of the river.
Glen had a sporting goods and taxidermy store in downtown Fenton. He developed this extremely effective fly in the early 50’s, and it did not go into the river without some controversy. Streamer flies have always been part of the fly an- glers’ arsenal, but Glen’s fly could be fished with conventional spinning gear and that angered traditional fly fishermen. The deadly streamer met all the criteria in the definition of a fly, according to the rulebook, but it was outlawed for a couple of years in the mid-50’s.
This fly made it possible for a trout fisherman to access parts of a stream where a traditional fly rod couldn’t reach. It rides in the river with the hook in the ‘up’ position, and is therefore highly snag free when dragging it over logs and un- der banks. …..from the Tri-County Times ~ Fenton 2009
More Chevrolet Info:
9 Won Park is a master of Origami. He’s also called “the money folder,” a practitioner of origami who’s canvas is the United States one dollar bill: Won also has bats, dragons, crabs, spiders, scorpions, and more.
Carp or sucker Dolphin
Shark Hammerhead shark
Does this sound like any of our male members:
A man feared his wife was not hearing as well as she used to, and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem.
The doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss. “Here’s what you do,” said the doctor. “Stand about 40 feet away from her and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.”
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away. Let’s see what happens.” In a normal tone he asks, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” No response. So the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife, and repeats, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Still no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he’s about 20 feet from his wife and asks, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Again, no response.
So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for dinner?” “Earl, for the 5th time, CHICKEN!”
Be Careful When You’re In Your Kayak, Drift Boat, Canoe, Float Tube, Jet Boat, Raft, Surfboard, etc.
MIAMI, Fl. (CW69 News at 10) – United States Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow sentenced Henry J. Danzig, 57, of Tav- ernier, Florida for illegally harvesting commercial quantities of demersal finfish from the vicinity of Cay Sal Bank, in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and transporting the fish into the United States in violation of the Lacey Act, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The judge sentenced Danzig to: 1. One year of probation, 2. $25 special assessment 3. Forfeiture a newly constructed and outfitted 30’ Contender Tournament boat worth more than $200,000.
Demersal finfish are those that live and feed on ocean bottoms. 10
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Still feel the need to get away and social distance? A few hiking/backpacking trips to consider in 2021:
Pacific Crest Trail: California, Oregon and Washington, 2,663 miles
John Muir Trail, California, 210 miles
Continental Divide Trail: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, 3,100 miles
Appalachian Trail: 14 states from Georgia to Maine, 2,185 miles
The Long Trail: Vermont, 272 miles
The Hayduke Trail: Arizona and Utah, 812 miles
The Grand Enchantment Trail: Arizona and New Mexico, 770 miles
The Ozark Highlands Trail: Arkansas, 218 miles
The Ice Age Trail: Wisconsin, 1,200 miles
The Superior Hiking Trail: Minnesota, 296 miles
Don’t forget the tent, sleeping bag, bug spray, fly rods, reels, waders, boots, net, vest, flies, cooking equip, uten- sils, food, clothes, flashlight(s), licenses, walking shoes, bear spray, camera, gps, etc. Send pics of your trip to the editor as well. 12
The Office of the Great Lakes works to protect and restore our state’s waters. The team works with partners to support sustain- able communities, restore degraded wa- ters, manage water quality and quantity, and prevent aquatic invasive species.
Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy ~ Great Lakes and Fresh Water - read the report at: https://www.michigan.gov/ogl
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Thought for the day: Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular!
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18 Gian with a couple pics of a Grand River bass from several weeks ago:
Greg Kozak on Peavy Pond in Iron County & smallies Mark Johnson’s just under 20” brown on a rattlesnake streamer
Greg with a Mayan Cichlids. Caught on a 6 wt. using a schminnow fly.
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Snook man Greg Carr with another one behind his house. 19 Flyfishing under Various –isms, -ocracies, and suchlike By Bob Kren, RCFFer and Mr. Flyfisherpersonguy
Hey, there, all you fans of argument, it’s time to re-enter the realm of speculation, which is about all that’s going on nowadays. Imagine that we are flyfishers living in a country that isn’t a mixture of political, economic, and social systems, but is defined by just one, and only one, of a variety. Ah, systems: the art and craft of making the rules, and getting your way. And, subsequently, working mightily to keep it like that. Each of the following is defined by a loose set of rules, already in place, even it neither understood, nor accepted. Let’s see how they apply to flyfishing, so we can understand them better.
Socialism Everybody gets treated equally, nobody gets too rich or too poor; the government provides all services whether anybody needs them or wants them. Fish are planted so everybody catches something, catch-and-release is “cruelty,” everybody’s a vegan so nobody eats fish. But we still buy a bunch of stuff! Fly: The Bernie Sanders
Communism Everything is owned by everybody, communes distribute goods to the needy, and confiscate in order to do it. “Soviets” -- literally “advisory boards“ -- rule on everything and make every decision, no matter how trivial. What is caught is shared, even if it means that all you get is seven atoms of trout from your fish. But we still buy a bunch of stuff! Fly: The Mao Tse-Dong
Capitalism Everybody can do whatever he or she wants, in order to rise to the top 1%, and stay there. It’s about individualism and hard work, but really it’s about making money: it totally helps if you start out by inheriting a bunch of moola, as a foot up. These are the people who make all that stuff we gotta have! Fly: The Ayn Rand
Democrazy Everybody gets to participate, and vote!: that’s “direct democracy” – majority rules. In a “representative democracy,” we vote for people who will make decisions for us. Then we argue about who won, and how, and we don’t stop until the next election, when we start over again. Meanwhile, we go fishing and try to forget about the brouhaha. Fly: The Patriot
Dictatorship There’s one person, usually a “strongman,” (because “strongperson” is awkward) in charge, even though if my wife any indication, there’re plenty! of women who are capable of dictating what we’re all going to do, and pronto! All flyshops are owned by the dictator, and all stuff bears his, or possibly her, name. Fishing in the same stream, or even the same drainage, as the dictator leads to prison, and death. Fly: The Saddam Hussein, possibly the Madame Hussein
Military Rule The “Colonel Bogey March” is the national anthem. The armed forces have all the weapons, and we’re helpless to re- sist. Unless, that is, we can get up our own navy, and air power, to match theirs. Everyone marches off to flyfish in formation, identical rods at the ready. Casting is done in unison, under the gaze of a stern, yet lovable, sergeant. Fly: The ICBM
Monarchy This is dictatorship with a line of inbred dictators. The only good thing is that there’s just one person who speaks and acts for the whole nation, but never takes any blame. The Crown owns all streams, lakes, and seashore (if any), and fishing is by royal de- cree and proclamation, only: poaching is a capital offense. The impoverished peasantry can’t afford stuff, so they fish vicariously, cheer- ing on the aristocrats, by making loud farting noises, which have been known to induce hatches. Fly: The Louis XXXVII
Anarchy This means, literally, “without archy” which makes sense, if you don’t think about it. No social structure beyond your own cave – or cavern, if you’ve got the most goats on the block. When a trout ignores your fly, it’s because they want no part of any or- ganization that has rules about what’s acceptable. Fly: The Playground Bully
Plutocracy: No, it’s not rule by dogs, it’s rule by the richest. Not richest in knowledge, or sympathy, or empathy, or usefulness, just richest in moola. They can’t buy flyfishing skill, so they try to learn by osmosis – hiring the finest guides and instructors, and just stand- ing next to them – soaking up expertise by throwing money at it. Fly: The Texas
Ochlocracy Used to be called “mobocracy,” until it actually happened and we had to have a fanc y name for it. Think “height of the Hex hatch on the South Branch, at 9 p.m.” Fly: The Mess
Kakastocracy My fave: government by the very worst! From the greek “kaka,” which means, well, you know. Some flyfishers just have to brag about their stuff, famous people they’ve almost met, famous places they’ve blundered through and ruined for everybody else. Fly: The BobKat
There’s lots more, like Theocracy and Libertarianism and Kleptocracy and Oligarchy , but let’s stop, for now.
Just remember that no matter how noble the deed or the idea or the intention, somebody will take advantage of it and turn it into something it was never intended to be And keep it that way. Bob K 20
Taylor Brady’s a student at Texas A&M who purchased the club’s euro rod from our recent sale. He passed along a few pics from somewhere in Colo- rado of he and Emma with some recent catches. Wide smiles all around. Their dentist is happy as well.
Closer shot of Mark Johnson’s nice brown from the Manistee
Field Notes: 21
Sign outside the Michigan DNR field office in Crystal Latest transportation vehicle for to get to your destinations. Falls. Check it out the next time you’re in the UP. Names so far: ‘The Hopper Dropper’, ‘Hopalong Cassidy’, ‘Hopper Chopper’, “On the Fly’
Sighted - a “fishing” vehicle in Florida? Looking for something to do while waiting for the hex hatch? Bring a bucket to the river and catch a few for a late dinner.
Refrigerator Reminders
June 4th - Cedar tree work project on the Au Sable. Contact Howard Johnson to volunteer at 989-280-0381 Articles, trip reports, pictures, etc. are needed for the upcoming issues of the club newsletter. Bring a camera June 8th - RCFF club meeting via Zoom. See page 2 for info. or cell phone with you on your next trip and take sev- eral, and not just of fish, to then send to the editor. Do a write-up for the newsletter and let the other members know of your outings.
I've managed to convince my wife that somewhere in the Bible it says, July 1 - National Postal Worker Day so thank him/her for deliv- 'Man cannot have too many shotguns and fishing poles.' ering your new rod, reel, line, boots, waders, tying material, vise, Norman Schwarzkopf hooks, rain jacket, hat, gloves, book, catalog, nipper, sunglasses, tippet, floatant, and credit card for your significant other!