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Newsletter May 2001
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Note: Access Y2K
newsletters through Jan 2001 newsletter |
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Montana Guide Is May Speaker
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Tim Plaska, a Missouri River guide, will be in town for a program on rainbow fishing on that river on May 24. Tim has been used and recommended by several Ozark Fly Fishers who visit Montana and consider him a top notch angler. He has plenty to tell us this month. Meet with us at The Museum of the Dog on Mason Rd, meeting to start at 7:30 PM. Need a little casting guidance? Casting instructors will be on hand 6:30-7:30 to lend assistance. |
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Ozark Calender
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19 May 2001: Kids's Fishing Fair 9 am - 2 pm (combines Kids Fishing Day and Family Fishing Fair) Bush Conservation Area Lakes 1, 2, & 15 Volunteers needed to demonstrate fly tying and casting, to provide fishing assistance
20 May 2001: Informal Club Bluegill Outing at Busch Conservation Area Lakes 31 and 32. See (For more information please contact Brian Flinchpaugh or Joe Aimmonette)
24 May 2001: Monthly meeting. Visitors are welcome! Montana fly fishing guide Tim Plaska is scheduled to do a program on "Trout Fishing the Missouri River in Montana" at the Queeny Park Dog Museum, 1721 S. Mason Rd, St. Louis, MO 63131, starting at 7:30 p.m. Casting instructors will be available to offer their assistance prior to the meeting starting at 6:30 PM.
2-3 June 2001: Big River Festival, Washington State Park. Ozark Fly Fishers will have fly tying demonstrators and fly casting instructors on hand (volunteers are still needed, contact Larry Carli)
4-10 June 2001: NoArk VI at Bull Shoals State Park. See Larry Carli's article in the April newsletter. For more information contact Larry Carli
23 June 2001: Becoming an Outdoor Women program at Busch Conservation Area Casting Instructors are needed. (More information to follow)
28 June 2001: Club Meeting. Swap Meeting at the Quenny Park Dog Museum (1721 S. Mason Rd, St. Louis, MO 63131) starting at 7:30 PM. Casting instructors will be available to offer their assistance prior to the meeting starting at 6:30 PM.
7-11 August 2001: Federation of Fly Fishers International Conclave in Livingston Montana.
5-6 October 2001: Southern Council Federation of Fly Fishers Regional Conclave in Mountain Home Arkansas (more information to follow).
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The Ancient Ones
By Jack McLaughlin
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A group of ancient Ozark Fly Fishers are getting together May 18, 19, and 20 at Gaston's on the White River, Arkansas for a river outing. Any of the current members who would like to attend will be most welcome to join us. It should be fun. I hope to hear from the current members. My phone number is 417-934-6856, evenings. Bill Karduck will be Master of Ceremonies.
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On April 7th, Ducks Unlimited sponsored a program entitled Wetlands for Kids at Busch Wildlife Area and invited us to come out and tie some flies. Little did we know!! Jerry Jarosik, Joe Aimonette, Jerry Clark, Jerry Kniepman and I tied from 10 am until 3 pm. We all talked about how much fun we had even though they kept us busy. At times we had kids and their parents three or four deep at the tying demonstration tables. The kids were great and everyone got at least one fly courtesy of Ozark. |
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The spring outing at Sunburst Ranch on the North Fork of the White, ended up being a fantastic time. The North Fork fished tough for the majority of us and proved to show us the humility that many of us deserve. Some of us fished the North Fork one or maybe two days and then headed to Arkansas to hit the Norfork or White. The White was fishing good and John Walker, Steve Adams and I had a great day on the river in a short period of time.
The caddis were coming off like crazy for some time. Ten's to fourteens, we saw white caddis, mottled brown and some black caddis. The number's of caddis coming off were quite high, but not nearly as high as the emerging caddis that we couldn't see. Merely adding a little weight to an emerger pattern, paid some large dividends.
I hope this gives you and ideal of how good the fishing was in Arkansas. The tailwaters in this area are absolutely awesome! One thing to remember is that it's not all about the fishing. Sitting around a campfire, sipping a dram of single malt and telling stories, watching the stoneflies dance and the fireflies go skyward is quite impressive.
Relatively new members of the club met several seasoned brothers of the angle. Techniques were discussed, beverages were consumed and camaraderie engulfed us all. These outings refresh the soul, help the new and old fly fishers who hold this sport dear. Trying to put the feelings that I have into perspective when I write these short articles is very difficult. No words can truly describe the wonderful gathering of a few anglers who want to do nothing but tell stories, enjoy campfire talk and drink and then fish the days away.
Once one of our club members mentioned to me that one certain outing that we were on might be one for the history books. This really did not hit me until several weeks after our outing. Well Drew, I must say that your choice of words at the time could not have been more concise and true.* These days are special and we shouldn't take any of them for granted.
I hope that this article will stir some interest for those of you who haven't been on an outing for some time and make you take the step towards good times, lifelong friends and long lasting memories. Tight lines!
Michael V. Webb
*ed. note: I believe I said "a trip of epic proportion." And it was
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Eleven members of the Ozark Fly Fishers traveled to O'Fallon, MO on April 17th to teach basic fly tying to Cub Scout Pack 576. The Pack contacted us after seeing us tie at Busch for National Hunting and Fishing Day last year. We taught 23 Cub Scouts and some siblings how to tie a Woolly Worm and Woolly Bugger. The scouts were very polite and appreciative. Ozark members who volunteered their time were Joe Aimonette, Doug Christian, Jerry Kniepman, Tom Ziegler, Maureen Allen, Marty King, Jerry Clark, George Roberts, Rich Pelletier, Brian Flinchpaugh and myself. I can't thank everyone enough. Without so many Ozark members who volunteer freely, we couldn't have and Education program as extensive as we do.
Ozark will be at the Family Fishin' Fair on May 19th, the Big River Festival on June 2nd and 3rd, and at Outdoor Women on June 23rd. I will have sign-up sheets at the next general meeting on April 26th. If you think you can give us some help, please sign up.
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We had three people show up for the stream team work day on the upper Current. We took out eight plus bags of trash, one tire, one dumpster lid and one large compressor tank. From the park to Baptist the river is spotless for now. I heard many good reports so it looks like the Current and the Meramec will be the rivers this year. |
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New Members
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- Chris Cecchettini
- High Adventure Ranch
- Gary Bernhardt
- Robert M. Lee
- Bob Patton
- Cheri Charleville
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This month, we will have flies made by Doug Christian as a $1 card game. You have to check out these crayfish. One of the best patterns I've ever seen! Doug had given me a mess of them back before the banquet and I failed to write about them. Bob Temper had used a few in displays and I had planned to do some card games and shadow boxes with the rest. So thank Doug by bringing a buck or two for this game. As always, ALL donations are greatly appreciated!
Also this month, guest speaker Tim Plaska had donated a full day guide on the Missouri River for our past banquet. So PLEASE tell him how much you appreciate his donation. Articles by Mike Webb and myself can be seen in your September and October 2000 newsletters on our Montana excursion. Quite the experience! Hope to see you there!
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On Friday, May 4th, Ozark Fly Fishers participated in the Coolidge Middle School High Interest Day. Coolidge is located in Granite City, IL. This marks the fourth year we have demonstrated and taught fly tying for the school. Tyers who spent the day teaching the Woolly Worm and the Woolly Bugger were Joe Aimonette, Larry Carli, Jerry Jarosik, Doug Christian, Jerry Clark and Russ Hill. One of the students we taught last year has since gone on to take lessons at Feather-Craft and Hargrove's. He is interested in becoming a member of our club. We hope to see more young people become involved with the Ozark Fly Fishers. Thanks to all who participated. |
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The Ozark Fly Fishers logo that is presently being used on our hats can be sewn on practically anything BUT a hat by Nita Baughn, a lady I work with at Schnucks. She can also put your name on the back of a hat (unless it's something like Joseph Aimonette, she would run out of thread!) for an additional charge to be discussed yet (figure $2 or $3). The logo is $10.00. Ozark will receive $2.00 for each item. She must run each color separately, so I felt this was a fair deal. Bring it to a meeting and I will take care of it.
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When fourteen Ozark Fly Fishers get together for a week on one of the top trout streams in the country, do you know what happens? 1) 6 AM Fly Tying. 2) 10 PM Fly Tying, 3) Gourmet cooking, 4) Hot tub lounging, 5) Hiking and jogging, 6) Four Corners/Mesa Verde/Chaco Canyon touring, 7) $6 cigars and $50 scotch, 8)Drift boating, 9) Guide hiring, 10) Snoring, 11) Fly shop loitering, 12) Enormous fish catching, 12) Beer, 13) Green Chile Cheeseburgers. I'm sure there was more, but space limits the recount.
Our group included two past presidents of OFF, six former (and present) board members, and two newsletter editors. I would say it's a pretty elite crowd, but it wasn't. It was more of an impulsive, "lets get a bunch of guys together and hit the 'Juan' kind of thing." With additional non Ozark attendees, we numbered 17 and pretty much were a "presence" in the little ersatz town of Navajo Dam New Mexico. When that kind of crowd shows up at one of the two restaurants, waitresses quail and bartenders salivate. Let me tell you, there was a lot of quailing and salivating going on. And the fishing? It took a few of the guys a while to figure out the unique type of flyfishing the San Juan offers, but by the third day, all had removed the skunk and several were showing real aptitude at fishing #24 midge pupa to 20" fish. A White Zonker tried by one of us who didn't know any better was a great fly.
For me, it's not the fishing I will remember, though. It was being with good friends, and meeting some new ones. It was a trip to remember (epic), and one of the best. In attendance; Leo Lehr, Jack Birkner, Trace Laux, Bill Armon, Tom Widmar, Tom Hargrove, Charlie Davis, Steve Adams, Mike Webb, George Roberts, Dick Smith. Thanks guys. Thanks, Ozark.
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It was so good, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me if I did. And if you believed me, you couldn't handle it. Fly to Atlanta and drive an hour and a half and you are there in less time than it takes to drive to the White River in Arkansas. "Bring a six weight." I was told. It wasn't enough rod. "Bring 3X tippet." I'm glad I did. "Bring money." Lots of it. More next month. |
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From the editor....
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Heraclitus said you cannot step into the same river twice - each instant, it becomes a different river. I don't know if Heraclitus was a fly fisher. I doubt it, as Graphite hadn't been invented, and a fishing liscence in Greece cost a fortune in those days, but his observation has much meaning for me and my angling. In the context of fly fishing, we know that fish behavior changes constantly.
One hatch will succeeed another, the shadows and water levels are constantly in flux. As are the dozens of other varriables which make up a fly fishers day. Heraclitus also observed that we also, each instant ,are becomming a different person. A little older, wiser, with more aches and pains, but never the same. Good things to muse over next time you are on the stream taking a break.
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To the editor....
An open letter to John Walker...
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Dear John, I, and I am certain many others appreciate your covering the mundane "nuts and bolts" aspect of fly fishing in this great newsletter.
It is essential to good fly fishing that an angler employ a balanced outfit suitable to his task. You have covered this topic well. Needless to say many of us "old duffers" could use a healthy reminder occasionally.
Please keep up the good work.
Sincerely, Jack Sadler.
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Coporate Members
of
Ozark Fly Fishers
(please click on business cards to visit their web sites!)
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