June 2012 CLUB CASTING ACTIVITY Walk With Wildlife Volume 17 Issue 6 Saturday, June 2nd Wichita, Kansas www.flatlandflyfishers.org 8:00 AM TO 12:00 PM GARVEY PARK AT THE RIVER Volunteers are needed to help with the “Walk With Wildlife” outreach INSIDE THIS ISSUE (Intersection of Washington St and Galena where they both dead end) program that Flatland Fly Fishers help The Program is being headed up by Doug sponsor. “Walk With Wildlife” will Youth Fly Clinic Meyer, FFF certified instructor. take place in Great Plains Nature Cen- Page 2 & 3 ter & Chisholm Creek Park on Satur- PROGRAM OUTLINE ——————————————— day, June 9, 2012 from 9:00 AM till 8:00 TO 10:00 (ON THE GRASS) Wichita 2 Wichita 3:00 PM. A Kids Fishing Clinic, spon- Basic Casting (with one on one training) sored by Kansas Department of Wild- June Meeting Specific Techniques of Interest: (Examples: shooting line; Single life and Parks, Flatland Fly Fishers, 2013 Winter Program and The Wichita Eagle will be offered Page 4 hauling; double hauling; casting into the wind; etc. for kids 12 and under. ______10:00 TO 10:30 BREAK (Light Snack and cold East Meets West drinks) Page 5 10:30 TO 12:00 (CASTING ONTO THE WATER) ______Roll Casting Mending Techniques Blue Gill Fest Photo’s Dry Fly Presentation Page 6 ______Nymphing Other Enjoyment of Fishing Keep Reel Working Come to work on basic casting Page 7 Come to learn and/or practice special cast- ______ing techniques Presidential Thoughts Come to learn/practice fishing techniques in Club Information moving water KDWP needs volunteers to help Page 8 Come to exchange ideas and enjoy the ca- run the Kids Fishing Clinic. You may maraderie volunteer for the morning (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM) or the afternoon (12:00 PM Bring equipment and flies Bring waders or boots for casting on the - 4:00 PM) group. Each fishing session Visit our website water will have 50 kids and last 30 minutes. www. flatlandflyfishers.org/ Bring lawn chair (there are some tables) Please bring pliers, clippers, hat, sun- Billed cap or hat with brim and glasses re- glasses, and water. quired for safety Volunteers' responsibilities include; Next Meeting Directions: From Kellogg and 135 inter- June 7, 2012 change go South on 135 to the Hydraulic Baiting hooks and releasing fish exit. Turn right onto Hydraulic, go a block Taking photos of each kid with their 7:00 P.M. north to Fortuna St and turn left. Go one fish block to Victoria and turn left. Go one block Having fun with kids and helping to to Galena St & turn right. Follow Galena four blocks to Garvey Park on the left. catch their first fish 2 Flatland Fly Fishers

Youth Fly Fishing Clinic On May 12, 2012 Flatland Fly Fishers Club had its first Youth Fly Fishing Clinic. The clinic had six youth in atten- dance.

Jason

Alyssa Carson

Brett

Hayley Alex

The Saturday was cloudy with a chance of rain but with- out a backup plan we started. Stuart Weniger opened with a fly tying demonstration then with, instruction from Doug Meyer, the youth unpacked the rods, put them together and strung the line.

When they had the rods together the group was divided into two groups. Group A went with Stuart for fly tying and Group B with Doug for casting then about 35 minutes the groups switched.

Flatland Fly Fishers 3

The fishing lasted for about an hour when it was time to head back to the Nature Center. Back at the center the youth unstrung their rods and put them back in the case.

Upon completion of the casting and fly tying instructions it was time to prepare the rods for fishing With the assis- tance of club members Adam, Jerry, Stuart, Doug, Roger, Rick with friend Sabra, Dan and Robert the youth were in- structed on how to attach the fly and off to the water they went.

The final part of the day was lunch which was prepared by Neal.

The day was normal (tad windy) but the youth had a great time. They were instructed on setting up the rod, tying flies, casting and on the water experience.

In talking with them after the clinic they were excited and looking forward to the 2013 Youth Fly Fishing Clinic.

Photo’s by: Rick Brown, Dan Stark and Sabra Cazel

The fly boxes that each youth received was a great hit. Thank you to all who donated flies. Flatland Fly Fishers 4 June Meeting Wichita 2 Wichita Steve Webb Braids Of The San Juan You don’t have to go west to fly fish in the mountains. In The program for the June meeting will be “The braids of mid-April Gary Tatro and I spent a long weekend dodging the San Juan” presented by Roger Gilger. Roger and Bruce the tornado apocalypse while riding our “adventure motorcy- Garren had the opportunity to fish this newly “remodeled” area cles” southwest towards the of the San Juan in late April. Roger wants to share their ex- Wichita Mountains National perience with us and give us some great information about Wildlife Preserve near how he found out about this, and the ins and outs of fishing it. th Lawton, Oklahoma. These Join us Thurday June 7 at 7pm to hear about yet another great granite outcroppings, rising fishing opportunity. from the surrounding prairie, are a unique geologic occur- rence created by uplift and then subsequent erosion of the softer sedimentary layers that covered them. The preserve is home to free ranging herds of Bison, Elk, and Longhorn cattle and the landscape is dotted with small reservoirs built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. 2013 Winter Program Several creek systems cut I'm Charlie Craven and your club has invited me to be your 2013 Winter Program guest through bedrock and create speaker. The Winter Program the water source for these is scheduled for Saturday, February 9, 2013. small lakes. One of these creek/reservoir combinations I got started in this business was the focus of our fly fish- as a commercial tyer when I ing efforts. With no real was twelve years old. I have knowledge of the water, we basically just picked an access tied flies for most of the shops point and then hiked in and in my area during that time. I started fishing. Although we guided on the South Platte and found flowing water it was other area waters for about twelve years or so, then evident from the small size moved on to help open and run a fly shop in Boulder and even- of the various species of sun- tually opened my own shop. I love this business and can't fish we caught that the ex- imagine not being a part of it. I am truly lucky to have realized treme drought this area suf- my lifetime dream, and I thank my lucky stars everyday. I fered through last year had have had the opportunity to meet and get to know people from taken a toll on the fish popu- all walks of life, with the common thread being fly fishing and tying. These are my kind of people! I have always loved trout lation. However, we were able to test our new “motofish” fishing and go out every chance I get. My favorite rivers vary friendly six piece travel rods plus Gary’s new Tenkara stick. from season to season, but include the South Platte, the Colo- This area is certainly a worthy rado and the Eagle among others. My partner, Ross, and I have fly fishing destination and a done a fair amount of saltwater fishing and I find it truly chal- little post trip Goggle map lenging and addictive. We've been to Belize, Mexico and the scrutiny has revealed a couple Florida Keys several times and plan on continuing this tradi- of spots that look to be worth tion as time allows. I have three great kids, Charlie (17), Julie (14), and Jack (11). They spend a fair amount of time with me exploring on the next trip, here in the shop, so they're no strangers to the fly shop life! hopefully on two wheels. We live right here in Arvada and are all native Coloradoans. Flatland Fly Fishers 5

East Meets West Gary Tatro Lefty considers it a fad, a passing craze that will Two motorcycle trips Steve soon fade away; Yvon thinks it may very well be the salva- Webb and I recently completed high- tion of modern fly fishing. Somewhere between the wildly lighted the effectiveness and convenience differing opinions of these two fly fishing celebrities - of Tenkara equipment. The first Trip to Tenkara fly fishing will find its path here in the Western the Wichita Mountains in southern Okla- world. homa gave an opportunity to fish for Tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of fly warm-water fish in moving water and it fishing that has been practiced in Japan for hundreds of was very enlightening. The chance to use years. Tenkara translates to “from heaven”, referring to the new equipment is fun; to have your eyes Tenkara rod’s ability to delicately place a fly on the water. opened as to how effective this stark, The rods were originally bamboo but are now graphite; they straightforward gear can be is especially gratifying. This sim- are telescoping in design, usually in nine or ten sections. ple method of fishing made catching the familiar Green Sun- Tenkara rods are longer than typical western fly rods; a thir- fish and Bluegill seem just a little exotic and new. Most of the teen foot rod would be about average. This added length aids fish on this particular trip fell to a Partridge and Orange swung in reach and line control; this greater line control is where along the foam lines in the current. Tenkara may have a slight edge over western fly rods. The The second trip was to a couple of the ponds on the line control offered by the long rod allows the fisherman to Tallgrass Prairie in the Kansas Flinthills. The Tenkara rod was minimize drag, manipulate his fly and carefully pick his a nice complement to the understated beauty of the Tallgrass presentations, particularly when fishing streams. Tenkara Prairie; and Tenkara was more than up to the task of fooling was born on streams in Japan, developed by fishermen the big Sunfish in the clear Flinthills ponds. The aforemen- whose livelihoods depended upon success on the water. tioned Briminator was the fly of choice in the Flinthills. At There is no reel on a Tenkara rod; there is a length first I was a little apprehensive about the delicate appearance of braided line attached to the tip of the rod called a Lillian. of the Tenkara rod; they had, after all, said not to use anything The line, which is traditionally a furled line, is attached to over 5x tippet in order to protect the supposedly delicate rod. the Lillian using a girth hitch. The length of the line varies, My fear was soon put aside after using the Tenkara rod to haul but for someone just starting out, it may be best for your line fish after fish up out of the matted vegetation of the first pond to approximate the length of your rod. A tippet, usually we hiked to. The rod showed backbone well beyond what I around four feet in length is attached to the line. It is recom- expected; it is extremely doubtful a Tenkara rod will break mended that the tippet be no greater than 5X in order to under normal fishing circumstances. Car doors, trunk lids, size minimize strain on your rod. Because there is no reel with 12 wading boots and Labrador Retrievers do not come under backing and fly line, a Tenkara rod is pleasantly light in the the heading of normal fishing conditions. hand and feels remarkably well balanced; my own twelve Tenkara has been fun and rewarding, if you are inter- foot rod weighs in at a comfortable three ounces. ested, I certainly encourage you to give it a try. For me, Collapsed, that same twelve foot rod measures Tenkara is not a replacement for western style fishing equip- twenty one inches long; at three ounces and less than two ment; but rather a nice complement to it. feet long, a Tenkara rod is a very portable package. All you If you want to learn more, two sources for information need is a small box of flies, a spool of tippet and a small and equipment are TenkaraUSA.com and Tenkarafly- spool (about the same size as the tippet spool) for your line. fish.webs.com. With this you have a have a very compact, minimalist, mo- bile fly fishing ensemble; either a backpackers dream or the perfect rod for a guy on a motorcycle with fishing destina- tions circled on his roadmap. A Tenkara rod is not for chucking Salmon fly nymphs weighted to approximate the heft of a roll of dimes; they will, however, delight you in their ability to throw dry flies and swing wet flies. Lightly weighted flies, like a Briminator for exam- ple, when cast to Sunfish using a Tenkara rod are an absolute blast! 6 Flatland Fly Fishers

Blue Gill Fest Photo’s by Sanbra Cazel and Rick Brown Flatland Fly Fishers 7

Enjoyment of Fishing Dwan Welty A true trout bum I am not. I enjoy warm meals, clean I have fished Lake Taneycomo in some nasty weather but undies, a warm bed, regular to normal friends and a happy this Friday the wind was an adverse adversary. We launched marriage. However, I will do what it takes to go trout fish- the float boat and before the boat trailer left Jim had thoughts ing whenever I have the opportunity. of cancelling be we didn’t. With some effort we moved, an- chored and started fishing using a 10ft sinking line with a My wife, Linda, suggested we take weighted olive bugger. Casting a weighted line perpendicular friends, Al and Mary, a “Boeingite” who with the wind was a struggle but to “cry uncle” was not an will be relocating in Oklahoma City, to option. Branson. Me, being one who likes to have a happy marriage, takes the hint, Picture yourself when you first attempted to cast your first and on April 25th we head to Branson sinking line with a heavy fly in a very windy setting. That for shopping, a show and hopefully would be a picture of Al on this day. But I must give Al a fishing. bunch of credit because as the wind did not give up neither did Al. Al stayed the casting storm, had many strikes and did Once on the road I saw Mary had turned her “Garmin” on start catching trout. and thought since she had never been to Branson she was just curious about the way. I soon learned that Mary and my wife had pre-programmed quilt shops that they wanted to stop at along the way. For me looking at multiple quilt shops is like my wife looking at multiple Fly Shops but it is not how you get there but that you get there.

I originally thought that while in Branson Al and I could go wade fishing. In talking with Al he had not fly fished since Tho the day was not fish friendly or picture perfect the 1994 and did not have any equip- enjoyment of fishing was. ment. With this information I arranged a half day guide trip thru Keeping Reel Functioning Properly River Run Outfitters and our guide was Jim Lund (on right). Try to avoid submersing your reel in saltwater or muddy water. The trip was scheduled for Friday, April 27th. When we Take precautions to never drop or set your reel in sand. looked at Lake Taneycomo on Thursday and found the lake Sand grains can damage drag mechanisms and small preci- way down I thought a float trip was going to be a waste of sion bearings. funds. We arrived at River Run Outfitters Friday morning Reels should not be soaked in water for long periods of and found that they were running 2 generators and probably time. Fresh water will not dissolve salt or mud from tightly increase that to 4 which meant a float trip was the only way wound backing. Line and backing should be completely fishing was going to happen. Al purchased his license and stripped from the reel and soaked and cleaned separately. we headed to the water. Also, prolonged soaking can distort the cork material and re- sult in an uneven drag. Be sure to loosen the drag completely when the reel is not in use and especially before long-term storage. If the drag is left tight, the cork may loose its com- pressibility and become hardened. Make absolutely sure your reel is dry before storing. Do not seal it in a plastic bag or other watertight container be- cause leftover moisture or condensation can lead to corrosion. This is especially true if residual salt or mud is present. Cleaning and Lubricating your Fly Reel: In addition to routine flushing, your reel will benefit from a thorough cleaning and lubrication especially following a saltwater trip. It is also a good idea to clean and lubricate prior to long-term storage of the reel. 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

From the President

June is upon us, and the heart of the warm water fishing season is here. I’m sure that all of us are getting very busy Ark River Anglers Fly Tying Class with summer vacation plans, graduations, kids sports, and all the other responsibilities that we have, but it’s also important to set aside some “therapy” time for ourselves and get a line wet. By the time this hits the mailbox Bluegill fest will be a memory (a fun one I hope), and we will be getting excited for nd the club casting day on June the 2 . I would like to take the opportunity to thank those who put in a lot of hours and work to put these events together. You can show your appreciation by attending these events and having a great time, that’s what Introduction to Fly Tying June 13 & 20 Wednesday 7 pm they are there for. I hope to see all of you at the casting and Intermediate Fly Tying July 11 & 18 Wednesday 7 pm then at the meeting a few days later to hear about Roger’s trip Please Call 316-682-8006 for additional information. to the San Juan, it sounds like it was a blast. Plans are coming together for the fall banquet and the winter program. Also we Flatland Fly Fishing Club Monthly Programs are in the beginning stages of planning a fly fishing play day, where anything June 2 Casting Activity goes. More in- June 9 Walk With Wildlife formation will October 13 Fall Picnic be coming your February 9, 2013 Winter Program way in the news- letters and on Facebook to July Club Meeting keep you up to The Flatland board has decided to have the July meet- speed on the de- ing on the second Thursday, July 12th. Be sure to mark tails. Enjoy your your calendar of this change. time on the wa- ter, see you out there.