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Home , Furled leader, Silver Creek (Arizona)

JANUARY 2019

FORWARD CASTS

OFFICIAL DESERT FLY CASTERS NEWSLETTER

President's Drift Frank Schettino • January 2019 GREETINGS FELLOW DFCers.... I hope Santa left you a lot of goodies under your tree. Its 2019, a new year and I hope it’s one with tight lines and big fish landing in our nets. A big congratulations to Joe Miller. Joe has been awarded the AZGFD Conserva- tionist of the Year for 2018. Check out this newsletter for more information. If you’ve fished Becker Lake you no doubt have met Scott Howard the lake host. Scott received the Volunteer Value Award from AZGFD for his outstanding work at Becker Lake. This months presentation is another great one. We have a great friend, Chris Taylor from Fishheads sharing his experiences and knowledge on the San Juan River. Remember the fish caught at this years outing to the San Juan. See you all at the meeting, Tight lines, Frank Schettino JANUARY Wednesday, January 9, 2019 DFC Club Meeting January 9, 2019 Chit-Chat & Dinner: 6:00 Meeting/Guest Speaker: 7:00 Elks Lodge 1775 West Chandler Blvd. Chandler, 85224 CHRIS TAYLOR, FISHEADS Come along with Chris Taylor, as he shares some of his experiences on the San Jaun River.

Come meet-up with us Trout Bums...6:00 Dinner... 7:00 Club Meeting, followed by your monthly program along with fun and raffle prizes!

In this issue...

FLY FISHERS Page 2...... Joe A. Miller INTERNATIONAL Page 3...... Silver Creek Outing • Good Catch Desert Fly Casters Supports BARBLESS HOOKS Page 4...... Corner CATCH & RELEASE Page 5...... DFC Outings Page 6...... Silver Creek/Kids Page 7...... Annual Banquet Page 8...... Furled Leaders Page 9...... AZGFD Conservation Award Page 10...... Conservation Report Page 11...... Stuff ....and much, much more!

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Desert Fly Casters Editor's Notes an' Ramblings... As we start out 2019 year with the DFC Trout Bums, I wanted to take time and thank all of you who contributed articles, outing events, stories, and much more to the newsletter. This is your way of staying in touch with all of us…Good job! AND…within this newsletter please take time and give our own , Joe Miller a shout-out for his AZGFD Conservationist of the Year Award. Joe's dedication to our sport and the many meetings he attends just to make it all possible for us to get a handle on the Arizona Out- of-Doors, is well appreciated. Below is Joe's bio- I wanted to share this with the rest of our Trout Bums. Thanx, Joe! • Also... I’ve always been captivated with hand-tied furled leaders. I was lucky at one of our club meetings sitting next to one of our Trout Bums, Mark Edmiston, who at the time I didn’t realize he DFC MISSION STATEMENT was into doing just that- Furled Leaders. As the meeting went on I asked Mark if he’d please provide us with an To advance the sport of fly article on his craft so we all might gain knowledge and perhaps then include some his furled leaders in our fish- fishing in Arizona through ing vest for 2019. education, conservation So...kick back with a cup of hot chocolate (...no, maybe a brandy...) and enjoy your January 2019 newsletter. and community outreach efforts by: R. McKeon • Providing Education DFC Editor, Certified Lawn Tosser of any old Fly Rods, classes and clinics on fly Graphic Guru and Head Wrangler of Stuff fishing, , fly tying, rod building and other associated skills Joe A. Miller • Committing to conserve, Joe Miller resides in Payson in the mountains of Arizona with his restore, and enhance local wife Kathleen, and is involved in several fly fishing, fisheries res- and regional fisheries toration and conservation initiatives. He has been a fly fisherman • Making fishing for over 60 years, and currently fishes the streams and lakes of the approachable, enjoyable Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains with occasional trips to and safe in family friendly the San Juan River, Lees Ferry, and streams in Utah, Wyoming, Mon- environment tana, Colorado, Arkansas, and Idaho. He is a life member and on the board of the Desert Fly Casters, in Chandler, AZ, and has been the • Promoting responsible DFC Conservation Chair. He is a member of the Payson Fly Casters practices and the White Mountain Lakes Foundation. He is currently president of the Gila Trout Chapter of TU in Payson and is the Central Arizona vice president of the AZ-TU State Council, and has been the Arizona state represen- tative on TU’s National Leadership Council which sets their National Conservation Agenda. He also represents CATCH US HERE: TU on the 4 Forest Restoration Initiative Stake Holders Group, focusing on stream and watershed restoration, and on the Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO) Natural Resources Working Group. He has also long Desert Fly Casters been a Life Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited through a committee he helped found and chaired in Illinois, and is a Web Site dedicated waterfowl hunter. www.desertflycasters.com In Arizona, he has served on the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Plan Technical Work Group rep- President resenting , and has provided voluntary technical consulting advice on the Lees Ferry Rain- Frank Schettino bow Trout Fishery at the request of the AZGFD fisheries programs. He was a member of the advisory group working with AZGFD developing a Lees Ferry Fishery Management and Research Recommendations Plan. Joe Vice President has also served on the Dept of Agriculture’s USFS Eastern Arizona Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). Joe Staller In the public service area in Illinois, Joe helped found a successful Downtown Revitalization Partnership, Secretary (501c3) and served as its President, served on a municipal/state highway bypass commission, and chaired a Marie McClearn state mandated TIF Joint Review Board to coordinate efforts among several taxing bodies. Joe is (mostly) retired from a career in Biomedical Engineering and technical and management consulting. Treasurer He was involved in the healthcare industry since 1965, and has designed and developed a variety of medical Valerie Staller products, holds a number of U.S. patents, and has consulted on, developed and managed systems for new Programs product introduction. Joe has degrees in Physics and Bioengineering. Mike Faulkinbury Outings Joe Staller McQueen Park Activity Center BEGINNING DATES: January 22, 24, 29 and 31, 2019 Membership 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Brian Foss FLY TYING Website If you want to learn how to tie a fly, Mike is the guy Bill Batchelor CLASSES to teach you and get you started to tying your own News Letter Editor and fill your house with feathers…. You can sign up Robert McKeon with at the January meeting for more information. Mike Faulkinbury Questions?...Catch Mike at: [email protected]

McQueen Park Activity Center DATE: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 INTERMEDATE 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm FLY TYING The DFC Gang will have a guest tier. Additional informa- tion will be be discussed at January club meeting. Questions? Catch Frank, The President Guy at: CLASS [email protected] • 917-414-5428 Desert Fly Casters

This was my first GOOD Apache trout. CATCH I caught it on a size Silver Creek Outing 20 Griffith gnat under a chartreuse Saturday, January 12, 2019 mudda pudda. Catch me and other Trout Bums at Silver Creek Silver Creek is Soooo, if your fishing buddy said to you: “You wanna catch some really BIG always fun.... stout without too much effort?”…you would probably be thinking of Alaska, Lake Chopaka in Washington state or maybe even somewhere in Colorado. Catch me, Frank And, then your buddy says he will even give you some patterns that have The President Guy worked do you think you would go? at: sketno1026@ Well there is just such a place right here in Showlow, Arizona just a three hour hotmail.com drive from the east side of the Valley. I fished Silver Creek recently and caught several BIG trout using chamois leeches, a Griffith’s Gnat, a small black wholly worm, a small red midge pattern, a Christmas tree midge, a bright green stream- er, and some other patterns. The leech seems to be the most consistent pro- ducer. This years club event will be on Saturday, January 12, 2019. We will meet in the parking lot at Silver Creek at 9:00 AM where I will be giving out some leechs to get you started (look for my old Jeep). If you want to meet at Persnikkity’s in Showlow for breakfast on Saturday morning I should be there around 7:00 AM. I usually stay at the KC Motel in town as their process are reasonable, the place is clean, and they have always provided great service. Silver Creek can be reached by traveling East on Highway 260 past the Mav- erick station on the east of town for 5 miles to Bourbon Ranch Road. Turn left (north) and travel another 5 miles to Hatchery Road on your right. Follow Hatchery Road for another 300 yards to the parking area (see map). If you have any questions you can reach me at: 480-203-9634 or catch me at: Grandson, Owen and I joined the DFC [email protected] OR…See me at the January 9th club meeting. outing at the Research Park Lake Sat- Look forward to seeing you on the water. urday. I was interested in tips to catch carp. Although I didn't get a carp, I land- Dick Brooks, Host/Leader • Trout and other species BUM ed my first catfish on a fly! Owen had a couple fish on too, but he was practic- ing long distance release so we never got to see them. Jim Strogen • [email protected] TOO! HEY! GOOD CATCH

1st Annual AZGFD Volunteer Appreciation & Award Luncheon Saturday, December 15, 2018

Scott Howard, Host at Becker Lake was a recipient of the Volunteer Value Award

Trophy trout fishery on-site host, Scott Howard, assisting anglers, new participant angling instruction, customer service, fisher and fishery monitoring, specialized pat- tern fly tying, rectifying conflicting use customers, and area maintenance with 1,150 hours in 2017 and 1,138 hours through August 2018. Desert Fly Casters Hey fellow DFC’ers - we could use your help... Our Annual Banquet will be held Wednesday, February 13, 2019 Knights of Columbus Hall • 644 E. Chandler Blvd. • Chandler, AZ As you are probably aware, the annual banquet is our opportunity to raise money to support the ongoing operations of the Desert Fly Casters. The money brought in by the raffle allows us to: 1)- Support Arizona Game and Fish to enhance Blue Ribbon streams (Lower in the Tonto National Forest and Silver Creek near Show Low) by providing funding and manpower. 2)- Provide funding to the White Mountains Lake Foundation—an organization focused on conservation and improving the fishing in Arizona’s White Mountains. 3)- Support Casting for Recovery (a Women’s Breast Cancer survivor group) by providing “pond buddies” and funding. 4)- Support Project Healing Waters by providing disable veterans by funding outings, purchasing equipment and providing support volunteers. 5)- Conduct free classes for fly casting, fly tying and rod building. 6)- Provide free training and support for Boy Scouts Fly Fishing Merit badge. 7)- Yearly support at fishing expos and stores for education of fly fishing with emphasis on bringing new people into the sport. 8)- Yearly classes for fly casting, fly tying and rod building 9)- Monthly meetings with guest speakers 10)- ….and outings for our club members! While there are still some very generous donations made by members of the fly fishing business community, in all honesty many companies that used to donate have either stopped altogether or have reduced their contributions by a significant amount. I’m hoping that you can help us close the gap. If you own a business, please consider donating some services or products. If you are good friends with a business owner, please ask them to donate a service or a product. As an individual, perhaps you would consider donating a craft item, a wine basket, a box of hand tied flies, that extra fishing vest you have never used etc. etc. Please catch me, Frank Schettino, DFC Pres. at: [email protected] for more information on how to donate or for our charitable contribution letter (we are a 501. C3 corporation, so donations are tax deductible)

DFC Fly Tying Corner Intermediate Session on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 • 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM • McQueen Park Recreation Field • (Located on the east side of McQueen Road, between Elliott and Guadalupe) Dan Briley will be the guest tyer. We will tie the Stone Fly and Case Caddis pictured below. Material will be provided. January Flies of the Month

Stone Fly Case Caddis

For more information or to sign up, send email to: Bob Harrison [email protected] or call/ text to 480 735 9743 There will be a sign up sheet at the January meeting Desert Fly Casters

2019 DFC OUTINGS SCHEDULE

Joe Staller The Go-To Outings Chairman Guy [email protected] Desert Fly Casters

Silver Creek with Kids Jim Strogen

Ayden fishing a productive bend on Silver Creek.

Owen working an Apache trout on Silver Creek. The boys helped each other net fish. Owen fishing- note...avoiding his shadow on the water

Silver Creek, outside of Show Low is known for big trout, but it is also a There are special regulations for Silver great place to take kids to help them learn to fly fish in a stream setting. Creek, which is on AZGFD property. The catch The water is very slow moving and all fishing is done from the bank so you can and release season is from October 1st through stand next to your youngster to provide coaching and not have to worry about March 31st. During that time, no bait is allowed tricky currents that will impact the fly’s drift. and all anglers must use single point, barbless This was my first trip of the season to Silver Creek, and I wanted my older flies or lures. All fish must be quickly returned grandsons Owen-11 and Ayden-8 to have an opportunity to fish for some big rain- to the water unharmed. bows in a new fishing destination for them. The boys have fished Green Valley The boys know that trout are a bit delicate Lakes (GVL) with me quite a bit, and I think they both consider as after being caught, so are very careful to quick- their home water in terms of a trout stream. Fishing Silver Creek is a bit like ly unhook their fish and get them back into the combining GVL with Tonto Creek. water. They also know that simply throwing Silver Creek is a spring-fed creek that maintains a cool, consistent water tem- them back in the water isn’t good enough. Both perature or trout. It is about the width of Tonto Creek, but much deeper and very boys were excellent trout revivers on this trip. slow moving. The fishing is done entirely from the bank, that is often three to five They took special care to gently hold our catch- feet above the water. There are reeds along both edges of the creek that provide es upright and revive them by allowing water shade and cover for the trout, but also are great at catching flies that miss their to pass through their gills. In steep bank situa- mark. The creek can be murky whenever there is a recent run-off; which was the tions, they reached down and kept the fish up- case during this trip. On days that the creek is running clear, it is not uncommon right in the net, while moving water over their to see forty large trout within easy casting distance. When it is running cloudy, gills until they showed that they could swim you often still can see the outline of many fish and know that they continue to away in good shape. feed under all conditions. Just know that by this time in the season, the trout Most years I have caught rainbow trout have seen a wide variety of flies that if not drifted just like the naturals, they from 18-24 inches in the creek. This year, al- consistently ignore. though we saw a couple of big rainbows, we only Silver Creek provided me a great opportunity to quickly attend to both boys caught Apache trout in the 10-16 inch range. as I could move easily back and forth on the bank as questions or problems arose. Apache trout are one of two native trout to Ari- I stayed closest to Ayden and monitored his casts while I tried my luck a little zona. They were historically caught in the White further downstream. The technique is pretty basic on Silver Creek. The flies are Mountains, so this was a great chance to add a drifted about one to three feet below the indicator that floats slowly downstream special trout species for the boys to experience. with the current. If a fish grabs a fly, the indicator will go under water, jiggle, or Driving back to Payson, the boys told me pause briefly. That could also mean you caught the bottom or a weed, but the boys that they were interested in fishing Silver know that any weird movement of the indicator means that they should assume Creek again. At lunch the next day, we talked a fish grabbed a fly and to set the hook quickly. with a fishing buddy who told us about his latest Owen easily out-fish Ayden and me, but Ayden ended up catching the two big- trip to Silver Creek and a rainbow trout caught gest fish of the day! A young angler can be pretty independent in making casts much further upstream. The tail extended well along the stream. The key is remaining focused on the indicator for any sign that past the 28 inch mark at the end of the net! Af- a fish grabbed the fly. Owen is at the point that he could fish all day, while Ayden ter hearing that, the boys and I made plans to needs a bit more action to keep him engaged. He did enjoy manning the long- take a hike up to the upper end of Silver Creek handled net when Owen caught a fish, as well as the couple times that I did too! on our next trip to see if we can catch that When Ayden caught fish, Owen was quick to put down his fly rod and grab the net giant. to help his brother. Both boys knew to only fish where they could safely net and releases any fish that they caught unharmed. Jim Strogen, Writer Life on the Fly- Payson Roundup Newspaper Catch Jim at: [email protected]

Desert Fly Casters

Introduction or for some a re-introduction to Furled Leaders By: I want to start with a quick introduction of myself and MDE Designs LLC. I am a retired engineer and have been fly fishing off and on most of my life. Mark The furled leader side of the MDE Designs LLC business started out more as “How can I build a bet- Edmiston ter set of furling tools than the homemade furling jigs I found on the web”? The intent was to sell the furling tools. It then turned into a quest to make leaders that I would be proud to share with DFC Trout Bum others. We worked with fly fisherman and guides from Maine to Alaska to help develop products that were what we believe are the best on the market.

Introduction to Furled leaders: Furled leaders are a knotless tapered fly fishing leader made with halves are combined together and allowed to untwist under tension several strands of material that are spun together (think tapered of the weight on the “tippet end”. As the two halves untwist, they furl rope). They are known for their high performance, delicate presenta- together to create the final leader. The ends of the leader are then tions, ability to turn over heavy flies and durability. Furled leaders finished with Shorb loops or Shorb loop and tippet ring. work as a shock absorber that will help keep your fish from breaking Selecting a Furled leader: off. We pride ourselves in building leaders that will last a year or more Most Furled leaders are sold by 2 main parameters, leader length even with the heaviest of use. Unlike single strand tapered leaders, and weight of the line you are matching it with and that is how we there is virtually zero memory. Furled leaders are typically made of market ours. When talking with people about them, I also will let unithread, monofilament or fluorocarbon. Personally, I don’t like to them know that the weight is a guideline. I personally will use a 0-3wt build leaders or fish with unithread, I feel that these leaders fray and leader with my 5wt rod when fishing small dry’s to help cut down on are difficult to keep floating. the drag and I use a 7-9wt leader on my 5wt. when casting big “hop- You will have to add your own tippet to the leaders. This will allow per/dropper” setups. The stiffer butt section will aid in turning over a you to pick the correct size for the setup you are using. Up to 5 feet multiple fly setup. One other type of furled leader we offer is a Fluoro of leader can be added without affecting the way the fly turns over. streamer/nymphing leader that was developed for swinging stream-

ers or heavily weighted nymph rigs. It is stiffer than any of our other How furled leaders are made: offerings and does not taper down as much as a standard leader. It is The leader is created in two halves. Each half is twisted individu- also equipped with a micro swivel that helps eliminate the twists and ally with the “tippet end” being weighted to help control the stiff- tangles sometimes encountered with fishing streamers. ness of the leader. Both halves are twisted in the same direction. The

Our Furled leaders are made on a precision furling system that allows us to control all of the parameters that go into making a furled leader. We have spent years developing our formulas and perfecting our furling machine, to get the best performing Monofilament and Fluorocarbon leaders on the market. We build our leaders with more segments than most other furled leader manufacturers. More segments creates a smoother taper. Pros: Cons: As a believer in furled leaders, this list may be lopsided. • Of course there are times and situations where a furled leader • Durability, is not a good fit for the type of fishing you are doing. • One of our customers is claiming over 1,000 carp, all weighing • We are always working with guides to make our leaders work over 25 pounds, on one of our 4-6wt Fluoro leaders. in every situation. I will not let them change out my leader un- • Resistant to wind/casting knots. til we talk about ways to make them work, even if it means not • If you do manage to get a wind knot, they are easy to remove catching fish while we work out the kinks. and will not leave a kink in your leader. • You will hear some people talking about the spray that you get • Low memory and resists coiling like other leaders. from a furled leader; • No need to carry a line straightener for these leaders! Just a • We don’t see that with our Mono or Fluoro leaders. I always good stretch and what little memory there is coming out of the recommend using a good floatant (like Mucilin) on your floating package is gone. leaders at the beginning of the day. • Tippet change is easy with the Shorb loop or tippet ring. • There is no need to cut the leader to change out the tippet. Questions? • Fluoro leaders are invisible even in gin clear water. Catch me, Mark Edmiston at: [email protected] Desert Fly Casters

Congratulatiuons are in order for our own DFC Trout Bum, Board Member, Joe Miller. Joe is being awarded the AZGFD Conservationist of the Year Saturday, January 12, 2019. Thank you, Joe, for your dedication, your friendship and the honor to work with you. 2018/19 DFC Board of Directors Desert Fly Casters Desert Fly Casters Conservation Corner: DFC Project Fund Matching for AZGFD East Restoration by Joe Miller, DFC Board Member- Conservation Chairman The DFC Board budgets funds for conservation projects in areas the Club fishes every year. In past years those funds have been well dedicated to stream and lakes projects like Becker Lake, stream temperature monitoring, signage, and support for the White Moun- tain Lakes Foundation Aeration Projects. This year the Board has voted unanimously to provide a $1000.00 matching donation for member donations for Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Stream and Fish Habitat Restoration Project on the just North of Payson. This Project is only the latest of several Stream Restoration and Fish Habitat Projects AZGFD has done on the Tonto National Forest over the last few years. Those Projects were presented to the Club at the November meeting by Curt Gill, Aquatic Wildlife Program Manager for the Mogollon Rim Area. Curt received a warm welcome for his description of the techniques and methods used to achieve significant improvements in these Coldwater Fisheries, especially Canyon Creek, and showed videos of some of the great results achieved - Big Fish! • Tonto Creek (Rainbows & some Browns) • (Browns) • Canyon Creek (Browns in Quality Water section, Rainbows above) • (Browns) • Lower (Browns & Rainbows).

• The East Verde River Project will cost $80 to $90 Thousand dollars. AZGFD is funding the work with Dingell-Johnson grants, and the Tonto NF is also contributing grant funding, but more is needed. Fly Fishing groups in the Payson area are also contributing. • The work will be performed by Natural Channel Design, of Flagstaff. They have done the restorations on the streams above, with great results. • The USFS NEPA Decision Documents to allow work to proceed Have Been Signed! • Work is expected to begin in January, 2019! The East Verde is regularly stocked in the summer with Rainbows. It has a Section for Wild self sustaining Rainbows above Washington Park, and It’s also expected that in addition, Gila Trout for immediate recreational fishing will also be stocked. And due to the Blue Ridge / CC Cragin Reservoir Water Project, the Coldwater flows in the East Verde from April through October below Washington Park are expected to be about 40 cubic feet per second. That’s a lot of water!

The DFC Board will have a display on the East Verde River Project at the regular January meet- ing on January 9th, and will be happy to accept and match individual member donations up to a total of $1000.00. Those funds will go to AZGFD to help improve our fishing. Don’t Miss It !!!

Questions and/or Comments: Catch Joe at: [email protected] Desert Fly Casters

Don't miss this....Always a Club favorite!

Annual Danish Casting Games along with a Lunch! Saturday, February 8, 2019 • 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Gilbert's McQueen Park Located on... McQueen Road between Guadalupe and Elliot. Look for us on the west side of the pond that's directly behind the community center. Use the McQueen Road entrance and parking lot. Cost: Free • Eligibility: DFC & Project Healing Waters Information: Frank Schettino at: [email protected] • 917-414-5428 The Danish Casting Games is a longtime club favorite featuring a series of fly casting obstacle that are set up similar to a miniature golf course. Each game promises to challenge veteran fly casters, but is also a great teaching tool for new fly anglers. IFFF Certified Casting instructors will be available to help casters complete each game and explain how they relate to real-life fishing situations. Members are welcome to participate competitively or non-competitively-it's all about having a good time. Event Highlights: Items to bring: • Beginning, intermediate and advanced fly casters welcome • Sunglasses/eyeglasses • Hat • Sunscreen • Drinking water • Meet members from other fly fishing organizations • Fly rod/reel/line/leader (loaner equipment available upon request) • Free lunch provided. Please bring a side dish to share if you are so inclined.

DFC CASTING MEET-UP Saturday • January 5, 2019 10:00 am - 2:00 pm • McQueen Park It is the DFC casting meetup. Come and learn how to cast, improve your cast, work on get- ting rid of a bad habit. Our good friends, The Rio Salado Casting Club will be on hand with certified casting instructors. PLEASE NOTE: E-mail: Larry Allen at: [email protected] so he can compile a list of who’s attending, your needs and gather his instructors.

Thursday • January 10, 2019 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm ESSENTIALS McQueen Park Activity Center OF Jim is a FFI Certified Casting Instructor. Jim will break down the cast to its simplest form FLY CASTING and teach you very basics so you can fly cast like a pro. This class is great for beginners. with You can sign up at the January meeting or email Jim Sommercorn at: Jim Sommercorn [email protected] for more information. 2019 DESERT FLY CASTERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS DATES TO KEEP IN MIND...2019/20

Frank Schettino- President January 2019 • DFC Outing Joe Staller-Vice President Saturday, January 12, 2019 Valerie Staller- Treasurer Silver Creek Marie McClearn- Secretary Dick Brooks, Host/Leader • [email protected] • 480-203-9634 Outings- Joe Staller Programs- Mike Faulkinbury Retail/Books/Logo -Jerry King Membership- Brian Foss Education- Jack Dengel Conservation- Joe Miller/Dick Brooks TU/FFF Liaison- Bob Harrison Raffles- Mike Monroe Newsletter Editor/Graphics Guru Robert McKeon Website Administrator Bill Batchelor

Member at Large Dick Brooks, David Huang, Charlie Rosser, J.C. Roberson David Weaver Web Address Site http://www.desertflycasters.com

Dave Weaver is building another great fly DFC rod for the Annual Membership Drive! MEMBERSHIP It will be raffled off at the April 2019 meeting. Additional information will be available at our January club DRIVE meeting.

Gilbert Saturday, February 23, 2019. You can just put a keep the date in mind kinda thing. Outdoor We will need volunteers to help man the booth. Expo More info at January club meeting

Nice Apache Trout and my favorite rod set-up. Frank Schettino • [email protected]

Editor's Ramblings... I love this photo and the net...Great catch and a photo moment then returned to the creek waters. (...see page 3 for story) So maybe one of you DFC Trout Bums can send me a favorite catch for a future issue.

...Good Catch, Frank R.McKeon, Editor [email protected]