Flatland Fly Fishers January 2011 President’s Line Volume 16 Issue 1 Wichita, Kansas Here we are at the close of twenty months; I hope we start the year out www.flatlandflyfishers.org five years for the Flatland Fly Fishers, with a bang and have a great turn out preparing to embark on the next score for our January meeting. and five. There have been many suc- New Year Resolutions have never INSIDE THIS ISSUE cesses achieved by this membership been my thing; they usually amount to over the last quarter century, but none another source of disappointment and 2010 in Review overshadow the success of friendships perceived failure. But the New Year Page 2 & 3 forged and fellowship shared in appre- does bring about an opportunity for ______ciation of a common bond – fly . what feels like a fresh start, so let‟s January Meeting My life has been enriched by friend- make a New Year‟s Resolution that we ships formed through the club and it is February Meeting my hope that each of you have also “The Tying Bench” gained from your experiences. Like Page 3 many aspects of life, when participating ______in club events, the more you give, the Interview with more you receive. All of us posses a Barry Reynolds unique perspective and singular skill- Page 4, 5, 6 sets; please, don‟t stay on the bank, ______wade in, speak-out and let your voice Single Fly be heard. By doing so you help deter- Page 6 mine the direction your club takes and ______you may inspire others to do the same. Fishing in You will also make your own experi- Page 7 ence more enjoyable – receiving as all can strive for. I propose a resolution ______much or more than you give. for this club to get back to the basics, We will be starting the New Year back to more of the original premise of 2011 Club Renewal off on the right foot with the Single Fly the club. In other words – more fly ty- 2011 Club Officers on the 1st, followed by Blair Stueven‟s ing, more rigging and fishing tech- Up Coming Events presentation at the meeting on the 6th. niques; more to make each of us better Page 8 Water is scarce as of this writing in and more rounded fly fisherman. As far Slough Creek, so the single fly partici- as resolutions go, is this one we can all pants may have to rely on some alterna- live with? Visit our website tives like Vic‟s Lake to get their name The Holiday‟s are about family and www. flatlandflyfishers.org/ on a plaque. You all know that it‟s friends, a time to reflect and give worth showing up for this event for thanks for our blessings. This Holiday E-mail address change Neal‟s cooking alone. Blair‟s presenta- Season, I am particularly thankful that Anyone who would like to share pic- tion on the Golden Trout Wilderness a bedrock member of our club, a men- tures or articles for the Newsletter and Hot Creek is something I have tor and resource to each and every one should contact the editors at: been looking forward to for a couple of (continued on page 3)

[email protected] Next Meeting January 6, 2011 7:00 P.M. 2 Flatland Fly Fishers 2010 in Review

Rory, Joe, Jay, Bill, Rick, Gary, Neal, Steve, The highlights of May Dwan, Ken and Songbin to some on this list we say were Rory getting his thank you for your time for being a 2010 Flatland Fly truck stuck at the “Blue Fishers Club board member and to the others we say Gill Quest”, the work day thank you for being on the 2011 Flatland Fly Fishers at Kanopolis Seap Stream, Club board. The first club activity of 2010 was the annual “One Fly” tournament which was on January 1. That day was a tad frosty but Che Vaughters managed to catch the longest trout, Eric Schmidt had the longest partnering with PHWFF stringer and for the and becoming a sponsor three who had the of “The Tying Bench”. smallest trout…it is June the club helped better to catch the with “Walk With Wild- smallest trout than no life” at Great Plains Na- trout right? ture Center and the The February Winter Program featured Ed Engle monthly program featured who entertained the club with his presentations and fly birds of prey from “Eagle tying abilities. Valley Raptors”.

The July meeting fea- tured Capt. Paul Sodamann and August fly tying was featured.

When March came the Kansas weather put a major hurt on the planned “Pike Fest” at We started September Kingman State Lake. with a Slough Creek clean up day and to the few who were there thank you and the meeting featured photographer Bob Gress.

April arrived and it was time to start plan- ning for the Salida trip and those that went had limited success.

Flatland Fly Fishers 3

October arrived and the clubs big activity the Fall (President Line continued) Picnic took place celebrating the club‟s 25th year. of us, is on the mend and doing well. Ken McCloskey is one of those friendships formed by way of the Flatland Fly Fishers that I cherish; and I‟m sure I speak for eve- ryone in wishing him a speedy recovery and offering hopes of seeing him soon. A very happy and prosperous New Year to all; I am looking forward to sharing the 2011 year in with each of you. If you have any suggestions, ques- tions or comments about your club feel free to share them with me or any other board- member. Tight lines, Gary

January Meeting Look back at your October and November newslet- ters and find the articles Blair Stueven and Mike Carr submitted on the Golden Trout Wilderness and Hot In November the 2011 Board elections were held Creek. For best results, go to the club website - take and the club encouraged members to bring the family another look at the photos Mike and Blair provided. As and a favorite food dish to the December meeting and you will see, not only were these articles well written, they were accompanied by some stunning photographs. enjoy watching films and waiting for the first club ac- th tivity of 2011. For our January 6 meeting, we are very fortunate to Hopefully the club provided you with educational have Blair Stueven presenting a slide show of his and and conservation opportunities and enjoyable experi- Mike‟s photos of this trip along with Blair‟s narration ences. The club encourages you to renew your mem- of their adventure. Both of these gentlemen are excel- bership for 2011 and invite an acquaintance to also join. lent photographers and together they chronicled some of our country‟s most extraordinarily beautiful waters and trout. This will be an evening to remember; please 2011 Club Membership Renewals join us as we vicariously journey to the left coast with 2010 and the club‟s 25th year has come and gone. It is time to renew your club‟s membership. Individual is $25 and Family is $35. February Meeting See Dwan Welty or Steve Webb to renew. Bring your vise (fly tying) or use a club vise and tie a fly led by club members. Fly recipe will be in next months newsletter. if you want to bring your own mate- rial.

Flatland Fly Fishers “Bonehead” shirts Flatland Fly Fishers Club is encouraging mem- and patches are now on sale. See Dwan bers to watch Mark VanPatten host “The Tying Bench” Welty for ordering. which is shown Saturdays at 12:30 on Channel 8. For more information regarding this program visit their website at www.thetyingbench.com Flatland Fly Fishers 4 Talkflyfishing.com Interview with Barry Reynolds February 7, 2008

and for the their strike/take. All fish have something differ- ent and unique about them whether they jump a lot, whether they are elusive and difficult to catch, or they make line siz- zling knuckle busting runs. With pike it is definitely the take! Carp on the other hand might represent one of the great- est and most challenging fish to take on a consistent basis in freshwater. Carp are highly intelligent, extremely wary, and will challenge and even frustrate the most competent angler. I recently had the opportunity to do a short interview with What‟s not to love? What other fish in freshwater can re- Barry Reynolds about fly fishing for and quire pin point presentations and will just absolutely smoke Carp. I had been fly fishing for about a year when I first your tackle and take you over a hundred yards into your heard of Barry Reynolds. I wanted to get serious about fly backing. And best of all you can sight fish them in skinny fishing for Northern Pike and a friend water! I think most people who make fun of carp have either recommended his book, “Mastering never fished them before, or have tried and failed miserably Pike on the Fly”. It blew me away! I‟d in their attempts. Both of these fish are worthy of any fly never read anything, about any fish, anglers time and they both bring something different and that was so complete. Since, I‟ve rec- unique to the table. ommended it to not only people who fly fish for Pike, but anyone who fly fishes period- and even to several peo- What other species do you enjoy fishing for? ple who don‟t fly fish. It‟s dog eared I love fly fishing for all types of fish both traditional spe- pages put it up there as the most refer- cies and non-traditional species. I fly fish because I love fly enced book on my shelf. fishing, not because I am trying to impress someone! I am Barry has co authored several just as happy chasing carp on a local pond as I am chasing other books: “Pike on the Fly”, “Carp Peacock in the Amazon Jungle. For me personally, I do on the Fly”, and „Beyond Trout”. He also recently released a love the travel part of chasing fish on the fly. So if it is a trip DVD, “In Pursuit of the Water Wolf” which has been de- that requires travel, and it can be difficult to get to, chances scribed by many as some of the most exciting pike fishing are I will be going. My most favorite recent trip took me to ever caught on film. Over the course of 20 years he has trav- Guatemala chasing Sailfish on the fly. I enjoyed it for two eled the world in pursuit of numerous fish species. reasons, I had never taken a sailfish on the fly and I had never been to Guatemala- both good enough reasons to get me to go.

Your book, “Mastering Pike on the Fly”, was labeled by many to be the final word on the subject. Was there any- thing you left out, or wish you would have included? Mastering Pike on the Fly was at the time my most com- What do you say to those who consider Northern Pike or plete take on fly fishing for one Mastering Pike on the Fly of Carp trash fish? my favorite fishes! At the time I tried to include every possi- My first response is to ask if they have actually ever ble thought and angle I had seen, experienced, or heard fished for pike or carp or if this is just an opinion based off about to date. I still go out each and every day expecting to of a purist basis. learn or see something new or different. I am sure I came up In regards to pike I like to explain it this way, I have with new ideas the first time I went pike fishing after the fished all over the world and caught many of the worlds elite book was completed. I am sure one day I will have enough fishes on flies yet I still find pike to be one of the great fishes new experiences to either rewrite the book or do another new to pursue and take on fly tackle. Not because they put up a one, but that will be many years down the road. great fight but instead because of the way they hit a fly, es- pecially top water flies. For me the pinnacle of fly fishing for pike comes in the pursuit of really big pike, those over 50”, 5 Flatland Fly Fishers

There are rumors going around that you‟ve got a new In regards to your question we will focus on the really big book in the works, are there any truth them? ones, the ones I like to refer to as the holy grail. These big I am currently working on a new book scheduled to re- pike are a beast of a different nature and tend to be more lon- lease Fall of 2008! The book is a different approach. I cover ers than other pike. They will hang nearby other groups of a wide variety of species from peacock bass to pike, carp, pike but usually will not mix in with them. If I am on a spot sheefish, and lake trout just to name a few. Instead of going and it‟s only producing small to mid-size pike its time to the scientific how to route, I am trying to share useful infor- move on to another spot. The big pike are cold water ori- mation through personal experiences and make it a fun read. ented and I tend to find them most active in water tempera- Personally I think there is some pretty fun shit in their be- ture in the low to mid fifty degree range, where smaller pike cause I do some stupid things on occasions and while the may often tolerate water temps into the seventies! For me end result turns out ok, getting there can be pretty humorous. Fall is big pike time!

Do you find fly line color to be a factor when fishing for What angling personalities have inspired you, and how? Carp? Instead of dropping names, and perhaps forgetting a few, I have had a few guys email and say that they are spook- I will answer your question this way. I am most inspired by ing carp when they are casting over them and that they felt the young and up and coming talent more so than I am of the the line color was to blame. My first response was quit cast- old guard. Some of today‟s young guns have so much to of- ing “over” the fish! Seriously though, I prefer to use green or fer, fresh ideas and thoughts and don‟t come with precon- sand/tan colored line. Depending on the water depth and ceived notions. And best of all, they like fishing for every- clarity the fish can be extremely spooky, and skittish, so I thing- carp, pike, whatever. I would much rather sit and lis- will take any advantage I can get in those conditions! ten to them, than someone telling me there is only one way to do things and one fish to catch! Everybody needs to look What is your thought process when sitting down to tie outside the box and preconceived notions about what fly the first draft of a „new‟ fly? (Do you have an application fishing is or isn‟t! in mind, color scheme in mind, action in mind, imitation in mind, combination, etc.?) Which of those factors do Concerning Carp, to get a delicate presentation do you you believe is the most important? shy away from the bass bug tapers in favor of double ta- per or traditional weight forward, or doesn‟t it matter? When I am tying flies or working on a new creation my thoughts on a new fly design revolve around the basic ele- I would prefer to use the weight forward lines but I think ments of overall size, shape/silhouette, color, and of course overall leader size and length should be more of a concern action. I like to incorporate materials like marabou and rab- than line taper. I have used all three quite effectively while bit as these materials breath in the water on their own with- pursuing carp and if I find I need a more delicate presenta- out much movement from us. Another thing I really take into tion, I feel I can accomplish this by going to a longer leader consideration is how many different things can I mimic with and backing off my casting stroke a bit. In ultra skinny water one fly? Bob Clouser‟s Swimming Nymph has always been that is gin clear I have gone as long as twelve feet to super my number one carp producing fly and I believe this to be skittish carp. But to be honest, day in and day out I usually the case because while the fly was designed to imitate the fish a weight forward line and 9ft 8.8lb bonefish leader for giant hex flies, it also doubles nicely for a damsel fly nymph, my fishing, and have very little difficulty approaching and a small crayfish, and so on. Flies that can imitate more than presenting the fly to 99% of the carp I see. one thing are always better producers day in and day out. So (continued on page 6) when I design a fly I do so with these things in mind.

You recently released a DVD, “In Pursuit of the Water Wolf”. In it you caught your new personal best Pike, a 54″ monster. Are there any “personality” differences between a pike of that size and average sized Pike that an angler can use to his/her advantage to catch bigger pike? I like to break pike down into three categories: small, aka hammer handles; medium, aka teenagers; and large, aka the holy grail! They all have different personalities and tenden- cies. 6 Flatland Fly Fishers

Single Fly Event (Interview with Barry Reynolds from page 5) When: Saturday, January 1, 2011 What are your experiences regarding carp hunting min- nows or busting “bait balls” in open water? This is some- Where: Horseshoe Shelter Sedgwick County Park thing Joe Cornwall of Fly Fish Ohio Magazine has often seen in late summer on Midwestern impoundments with large shad populations - the carp act very much like strip- Time: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm ers and feed on surface, schooling juvenile shad, sometimes in 20 to 50 feet of water! Rules The first time I saw carp feeding on minnows/baitfish was back in the seventies while I was fishing for with a Only one fly can be used. Lose your fly and the tourna- stand-up float and live minnows! While fishing for crappie ment for you is over. around some old stickups the occasional school of carp would push through and every single time I would have one come trout only. over and eat the live minnow. Since then I have seen the same scenario Joe refers to numerous times. I have seen it on Flam- ing Gorge on the South Platte River on many of the local Measurement is on the honor system. Measure all trout ponds around town. I have even been caught in the middle of for their length may be used for tie breaking. these surface attacks on baitfish and been able to throw all white woolly buggers at them and been quite successful! Only Trout count

Part of the misconception surrounding carp is that they are bot- Current member only tom feeders and feed primarily on crud. Carp are actually highly selective and when found in a normal environment (not In case of ties a tie breaking system will be used to deter- a city park where the ducks are feed bread and the carp help mine the winner themselves) they feed on normal things, a variety of nymphs, leeches, crayfish, baitfish, and the occasional vegetation, all make up a big part of the carps diet! Each participant will receive a score card and must turn it in to the tournament director before 2:00 pm.

Kansas fishing regulations are in effect. A 2011 Kansas fishing license and trout stamp are required. Winter Program: February 5, 2011 Guest Speaker: Barry Reynolds Competition will start at 10:00 am and end at 2:00 pm. Where: Great Plains Nature Center Three Competition Categories

Longest stringer (Total combined length of trout) 8:00 to 9:00 Registration 9:00 to 9:50 Pike on the Fly Longest trout 10:00 to 10:50 Fly Fishing the World 11:00 to 11:50 Tying the Gen-X Bunny Smallest trout 12:00 to 1:00 Lunch 1:00 to 1:50 Carp on the Fly Trophies will be awarded and displayed by the club. 2:00 to 2:50 Fly Fishing the South Platte in Metro Winner of each category must give the winning fly to the Denver club and provide a recipe and fishing technique used. 3:00 to 3:50 Carp Flies 4:00 to 5:00 Question/Book Signing Breakfast will be served this year starting at 8:00 and will be provided by the club. Come out early and fill up with Morning and Afternoon Door Prizes sour dough pancakes and then hit the water at 10:00 am. Barry Reynolds Pike Flies Hope to see you there. Flatland Fly Fishers 7

Fishing in Brazil (June-December 2010 ) Bea and Jim Roberson

Last June my boss showed up in my office and asked what I Proof of Attempted Fly Fishing In Brazil was doing for the next six months. I responded that I was unaware As Bea lowered her fly of any huge commitments, but I suspect that he had a plan, and into the depths of the lake, that is how my wife and I wound up in Bello Horizonte, Brazil. she was surprised be a Bea, my wife, loves to fish, nurtured by her father who worked strike, but missed. After hard and occasionally took her fishing on Sunday mornings, play- hours of attempted fly rod ing hooky from formal church. I‟m blessed to have a wife willing fishing I resorted to stan- to join me fly fishing and other adventures. dard equipment and actu- Ya gotta love the opportunity to fish for Peacock Bass in Brazil. ally caught a fish. During our visa process we spent a night in Denver where, with high hopes, we purchased multi piece travel fly rods. Brazilian co- workers talk about good fishing and a local travel agent was enthu- Trophy Brazilian Fish siastic about getting us to a good fishing location – Tres Marias. My sister and brother in law We booked two guided fishing trips, joining us for a “Tour Brazil” the San Francisco River and the res- vacation. I requested that they ervoir. Locals looked at our fly fish- bring Bea a Zebco 33 fishing ing gear and laughed so we purchased reel, her favorite. standard gear for backup. Bea and I arrive in Rio de River Guide Janeiro the evening before our guests and walked down to the sea shore where Brazilian boys are fishing with monofilament line wrapped around a plastic Monster Trolling Lure soda bottle, using street pebbles for weights and shrimp for bait. It turned out that river fishing was troll- They were having a ball! ing monster lures with heavy steel leaders. Salt water fish are rising and other fish are trying to escape preda- The line was so strong that when we got tor fish. Ocean fishing had not occurred to me, our rods are stored at snagged, our guide would simply wrap the the Bello Hotel. No problem, Sister Sue has that Zebco 33 reel in her line around a boat cleat and use the boat suitcase and they sell fishing gear at our next stop, the coastal town motor to pull the lure loose. of the Paraty. Upon our arrival at Paraty, I checked with the hotel about guided ocean fishing. The cost would be R$600 local currency ($400 US) San Francisco River Rapid for eight hours. Plan „B‟ is to stop at the hardware store and pur- chase a fishing rod, then go to the tourist docks hoping to find a will- It was a beautiful boat trip. It ing boat captain with no business for the day. appeared that our guide‟s main con- Probably the highlight of the whole Brazilian fishing experience cern was not catching anything so is the discovery of small Styrofoam strike indicators, costing about a that he would not need to unhook it. penny apiece, vs. the dollar price in the states. During a home visit, The only thing that bit was thousands they have proven to work great at the Wichita Slough and Kanopo- of little bugs and flies. Tomorrow‟s lis . Another medium weight rod and assorted hooks, weights and lake fishing will be better! I had steel leaders for those aggressive sharp tooth sea monsters learned that communication was difficult at best. The deal is struck, R$200 ($150 US). One cylinder engine that Prior to heading out on the lake, I deliberately showed our guide is started with a hand crank, in a wooden tour boat built in 1976. the fishing equipment and supplies that we had with us. When we With my Model A and T Ford background, I took great delight in arrived at the first fishing spot, using gestures, he asked for some starting the engine for my Captain/guide. of our nonexistent bait so that he could fish. I‟m smarter this time: Bait. Using hand gestures, I ask what bait is needed and sent to the fish market to get some shrimp. The shop Unenthused Lake Fishing Guide owner begins filling a large garbage bag with several kilograms (2.2 lb per Kilogram) of shrimp. I am only one fisherman and cannot Fortunately in our fly fishing possibly use 20+ pounds of shrimp – Stop! gear we had the large flies that a Wrong – At our first stop, my boat captain/guide throws half of Flatlander Fly Fishing Club mem- the bait into the water as chum. My boat captain/guide reaches into his boat storage and retrieves his plastic soda bottle with monofila- ber made available last spring. ment line wrapped around it. He is more than glad to accept my of- Those flies were the only suitable fer of hooks and weights. At least two hours of my 6 hour fishing “bait” that we had. Our guide indicated that any fish would be adventure are spent put- put- putting to various fishing holes. near the bottom. I added as much leader to my fly line as I could Together we do manage to catch a total of about 12 small fish of possibly cast and gave it a try. many different species. Ark River Anglers Fly Tying Class Schedule

Intermediate A - January 12, 19 (Wed) 6 – 9 PM Intermediate B - February 9, 16 (Wed) 6 – 9PM Intro. to Fly Tying—March 9, 16 (Wed) 6—9PM Please Call 316-682-8006 to reserve your spot.

Flatland Fly Fishers

P.O. Box 49164 Wichita, KS 67201

Flatland Flyfishers meet monthly at the Great Plains Nature Center, located at 6232 E. 29th St. N, Wichita, KS

Flatland Fly Fishers Up-Coming Dates January 1, 2011 One Fly Tournament February 5, 2011 Winter Program

Flatland Fly Fishers Club 2011 Officers President Gary Tatro Vice President Ken McCloskey Secretary Rory Wiske Treasurer Bill Ethridge Education Conservation Neal Hall Program/Activities Jay Sommerfeld Marketing Editor and Membership Dwan Welty Steve Webb Web Master Songbin Chon