Fly Fishing Lodge Setting
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This Month's Meeting - Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - Manuel's Tavern This Month's Presentation Rus Schwausch of EPIC Angling & Adventure will tell us about his two fishing destinations-of-a-lifetime located on the Alaska Peninsula - Alaska Wilderness SAFARI and Alaska Wilderness OUTPOST. Each experience will take you far away from paved roads and the typical structured Alaska fly fishing lodge setting... there are no fine paintings and no fancy carpet at these fishing camps. Rus has been fishing, adventuring and guiding in Alaska since 1995. Little did he know that his first trip to Alaska back then, on a 100 mile unguided float trip with his buddies, would send his life in a completely new direction. He describes himself as "a former engineer, turned fishing guide, turned outfitter." Plus, he's a Wilderness First Responder and U.S. Coast Guard licensed. Upcoming Programs February - Capt. Matt Miles http://mattmilesflyfishing.com/ March - Steve Galletta http://bighornangler.com/ April - TBA May - Landon Mayer http://landonmayer.com/ June - Jeff Currier https://www.jeffcurrier.com/ Great Raffle Prizes SPECIAL RAFFLE Enter to win our special raffle. Is it a guided trip...a new fly rod...the only way to find out is to come to this month's meeting! Last month's presenter, Martin Carranza donated 2 free guided days on Miami's Biscayne Bay, a $1,200 value, for the special raffle. Congratulations to Mark Stevens, the lucky winner! REGULAR RAFFLE There will be 11 winners in our regular raffle who can choose an item from the table filled with fly- fishing gear. A 12th winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to a local fly shop. FLY RAFFLE Remember to bring some flies for the fly raffle. Tie your own or pull some from your fly box. You get one ticket per fly and a chance to take home a pitcher full of flies. Silent Auction The silent auction for the photographic nature prints donated by Doug Brady will be open for the months of December and January. Bids will be accepted until the end of the January meeting at which time the highest bidder will be awarded the print. The wildlife prints are of National Geographic quality with all proceeds going to AFFC charities. If you are interested, please view the magnificent image of the eagle in flight print during the December and January meetings and submit your bid. Note from the President Looking Forward to 2018 2018 is going to be a good year for the Atlanta Fly Fishing Club! Last fall, Mike Greene asked the AFFC's Board to think about why members join the club and what value the club should provide. He followed up the Board discussion with a membership survey. The results are clear-our club wants to: go fly fishing, meet other fly fisherman and improve our fly fishing skills. Well maybe not in those exact words, but fellowship, trip opportunities and skill development all seem to be core to the AFFC's reason for existence. The AFFC Board is an enthusiastic group of fly fishermen who are using the momentum started in 2017 to create success in 2018 with club sponsored trips, meetings with engaging speakers, time to socialize at meetings, opportunities for skill development and many more items. What is needed to make 2018 a GREAT year? Our club members - coming to meetings & mingling, going fishing & sharing the reason for your fishing success and participating in the club events & clinics. So, go fish, mingle and participate in making 2018 a great year for the AFFC. See ya' on the water. Greg Upcoming Trips AFFC Club Trip - Glacier Breaker By: JD Forrester When - February 15-18 (Depending on weather conditions) Where - Cherokee, NC Cherokee KOA, info-828-497-9711 reserve-800-562-7784 You must make your own reservation. This AFFC trip is limited to 20 members Where to fish - The Raven Fork is right outside the campground and fishes really well in the Winter. It is not too far to the Tuckasgee and the 2 delayed harvest sections. This is a good area for Winter fishing. NOTE-This info is for planning only. I have not made reservations nor will I until I have a weather forecast for those dates. I will sent an email to the club when my reservations are made. AFFC Club Trip to "Ole Florida" By: Doug Brady Greetings AFFC anglers. We've got an exciting new Saltwater adventure you won't want to miss! This April, we're introducing "Ole Florida". Captains Scotty MacCalla and Nick Sassic of our Louisiana Redfish adventure, have designed this immersive new fishing experience in the central, east coastal area of Florida. In three days we'll fish three different waters, all while getting a taste of the old Florida beauty and charm. Enjoy waters teeming with life, magnificent scenery, and opportunities to sight fish in comfortable spring weather. Visualize Spanish moss on live oaks overhanging the tannic waters of the St Johns River as we hunt for bass. Witness sunrise over the world famous Indian River lagoon as we prowl for reds and speckled sea trout. See herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills, brown and white pelicans, royal Poinciana's and palm trees on full display as we explore ocean shore line or inlets. If you've ever wanted to fish some of Florida's most productive and scenic waters with good friends and excellent guides, this is your trip. The spaces will go fast, so contact Doug Brady with your questions and get on the list. [email protected] 909-400-5060 The cost should be roughly the same as our Louisiana adventures (approximately $1,1 00) and cover three days guided fishing, lodging and food. An added bonus is that participants will be able to extend their adventure if they wish since the region offers many wade, kayak and boating waters ripe for discovery. Four anglers per 3 day session, and we've got at least two sessions reserved for club members. Come fish "Ole Fla" with the AFFC and get your salt on. Fishing Reports AFFC Club Trip to NOLA By: Doug Brady Session 1: For 3 days the wind howled, and the rain fell constantly, but at least it was freezing cold. While "snowpocalypse 2017" raged through Atlanta, the bayous suffered a similar and very rare fate but without the nobility of snow. Gordon Middleton, Dave Peacock, Bret Nelson, and myself were landlocked. Our only consolation, happy hours would come early. As many of us have experienced, such are the vagaries of weather and long distance fishing adventures. Actually, beyond the adult beverages, which did flow, the first session was an outstanding culinary experience. Bret proved to be quite the chef whipping up a magnificent shrimp creole pasta one night, while Captains Nick and Scotty grilled rib-eyes another night and delicious redfish on the half shell still another. Dave kept the wine and stories flowing and I vaguely recall homemade chocolate chip cookies and blueberry pie making appearances. So even if we didn't catch a lot of fish that first session, at least we all gained weight. To be sure there were several nice reds caught the first day before the weather soured, (one of which we feasted upon) along with a huge black drum caught by Big G, but our time on the water was too brief and then Mother Nature frowned. Session one would be about food, and fellowship, both of which were excellent. Session 2: What a difference a day or three makes. As Jeff Smith and Andrew Cox replaced Bret and Dave at Camp Drum, the clouds were gone and a high pressure system with bluebird skies ruled. The temperatures were still brutally cold, but we knew the fish would wake up in the afternoon, likely be visible, and hopefully eager to feed. We were stoked, desperate to break out of our camp confines, and to our delight not disappointed. Good sized fish were popping shrimp and rising in the water column presenting glowing orange targets. Cruisers roamed the shorelines seeking crabs, occasionally flashing tails and backs. Knees nocked, casts that would normally be spot on went wild. Line management was an issue, and trout sets removed too many bugs from hungry flaring fish. In our haste to make up for lost fishing or in the excitement of the moment, too often we rushed our presentations. We all needed to calm down, and channel casting directors Ed Chamberlain and Bill Kessler. In spite of our mistakes, these marvelous fish bailed us out. Even after violently yanking a bug from their mouth they would eat again if we would just cast back to them. Unlike a stuck trout, these reds don't pout and swim off to sulk in a soft eddy when they taste steel. Heck, these guys eat spikey things for a living, and when something pokes them in the mouth, they get aggressive and swim around looking to get even. Their cooperation greatly increased our catch rates and settled us down. As the days progressed so did our feel for the game at hand as well as our skills. Food, fellowship and cocktails continued to be a terrific part of the adventure, but now we knew each coming day would be crystal clear, slightly warmer and provide us hungrier fish to target. The final day had me paired with Gordon and Captain Scotty. We immediately headed to a location where he had discovered Big fish the previous afternoon. On the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, parallel to a barrier island, Captain Scotty poled towards the shoreline.