Also about this time, another, perhaps, less momentous, event occurred--the Ozark Fly Fishers came into existence. If nothing else, our longevity is a comment on our viability as an organization. It's also a testament that, sometimes, good things can grow and last is a very transitory world.

Obviously a lot has changed in those three decades. Not as many people were fly fishing in those early days. St. Louis--surprise--isn't one of the great fishing destinations on earth. Locally, "special regulations" allowed you to keep five trout on most fishing days. Wild trout and catch and release fishing were notions that emanated from distant and slightly subversive places on the other side of the planet, like Montana. This was stuff you dreamed about while reading books by Charles Brooks or Ernie Schweibert or watching Lee Wulff or Joe Brooks on the American Sportsman. You often bought tackle from mail order catalogs--people still believed what they read in Herter's.

Even when I joined in 1984, you still had a sense of stumbling out of the wilderness and coming upon a little fraternity onto itself -- but one that welcomed true believers. Running into a fly fisherman, even on trout streams such as the White or Current, was a rare occurrence in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most anglers, then largely armed with ultra-light spinning rods, viewed you as a curiosity, some with contempt, some even with interest (a lot of them swelled the ranks of fly fishermen in subsequent years). It was nice to run into fellow cultists.

Nothing stands still, even in fly fishing. It found a mass audience. The equipment, the ability to travel, and sometimes even the fisheries have changed and maybe even gotten better. And prices have gotten higher. A major player in drawing more people to the sport has been better communications -- books, magazines, videos, ESPN, TNN, Outdoors Channel, advertising, "The Movie," and the internet. Our horizons expanded. Many of us discovered steelhead or fishing in saltwater or rediscovered the joy of casting a popping bug to bluegill or learned about bamboo rods. Now, we've even got anglers devoted to the pursuit of the wily carp, and we're not talking dough balls here.

It hasn't been all for the better. Valid arguments can be made that more enthusiasts and the quest for bigger and better toys and places to play has made us more proficient but less satisfied anglers. Some tangibles and intangibles have been lost in the shuffle. But the one constant over the years for many of us has been the people who are the Ozark Fly Fishers.

Over the years, we've done some neat things and as an organization we've had an influence on developing more fishing opportunities in our own backyard. In Missouri, we now have viable wild rainbow fisheries, brown trout, and growing support for stricter regulations on smallmouth bass--all of which we played no small part in making a reality. But now I'm finding I remember less about a celebrity fisherman who spoke at a seminar or about what's hitting on the Meramec or about the latest hot fly pattern. I do remember more the conversations and laughter over a meal or in the car on the way to a trout stream, or at Tommy's or at Ed's or at Outdoors or at Kelly's or at Frontenac or at Paul's Bait Shop or at McKenzie Creek or at Bass Pro or at Worldclass Outfitters. I remember the departed voices of John Buckley, Nelson Renick, Vic Frank, Tom Widmar and others, and the new and familiar faces I see at our meetings.

The Ozark Fly Fishers have been mentors, ambassadors, conservationists, cultivators, teachers and, most of all, friends. The association has made us better fisherman because it has made us better people. That's why it's important to remember and go for another thirty years.

• Will Carter
• Mike Gabrion
• Rodger A. Stewart
• Stanley Grand

Annual Banquet on Saturday, January 26 at Joe Hanon's Restaurant. We've got information in the newsletter and don't hesitate to get your reservations in. Mail that check today.

Membership Renewal -- It's that time of year again. Do it ASAP so we can have your name in the roster.

St. Louis County 'Gone Fishin' Classes underway. Every year, the Ozark Fly Fishers presents a number of fly fishing classes and seminars in cooperation with the St. Louis County Parks Department. The classes begin January 15 and run through May. Contact the parks department for more information.

Saturday fly-tying, pot-luck, casting, hanging out meeting. Older members remember the all-day meetings we had occasionally at Marlan Graham's club house. People brought snacks and lunch stuff, we provided the soda, and people sat around and tied flies, looked at videos, cast outside or just talked and got acquainted. We're going to try to do something like this again, probably in February. Details and a date are still being worked out.

Jason Borger to present all-day fishing program. Borger, an accomplished fly tyer, caster, instructor and author, will present a program from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the Queeny Park Recreation Center. It's free for Ozark members and $10 for non-members (may be applied to an annual membership).

Sowbug on March 15-16. The clans gather in Mountain Home to tie flies, review slides, swap lies and have fun.

That's just the obvious stuff. We'll have more news about programs and activities as the year goes on. Avoid the shack-nasties and get involved. This seems to be shaping up as a good 2002.

As usual, there will be something for everyone. The Super Raffle and the Silent Auction once again will offer many new items of value and interest. Some commercial and some home grown (works of art by your own O.F.F. members). While you are enjoying your favorite libation during our cocktail hour from 6:30 to 8:00 you can browse the items and make your bids.

This years menu will feature Sautéed Boneless Breast of Chicken or Choice Strip Steak...with all the usual trimmings. This will be followed with your choice of Chocolate Raspberry Tart or good ol American Apple Pie. If you wonder if this was good, ask someone who attended last year.

The cost for this gala event will be $40 for couples and $25 for singles.

Remember, this is by reservation only. No dinner tickets will be sold at the door. All reservations must be received by mail. If your reservation is received after January 19th, we cannot guarantee you a seat at dinner. Your prepaid dinner ticket will be waiting for you at the door just like last year.

Don't miss this once a year gathering. Good food, good fellowship, lots of great prizes and lot's to talk about. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Sent in your check and reservations using the form enclosed with this letter.

Gary LaFontaine published more than 100 articles on fly fishing in more than a dozen different national and regional publications. He authored five books and coauthored many more including the just-released books Fly Fishing the Yellowstone (with Bob Jacklin) and Fly Fishing the Madison (with Craig Mathews). Before he died he was working on a book on Blue-winged Olives.

Gary was a founding partner of Greycliff Publishing company, which was recently sold to Lyons Press, and the founder and director of the Book Mailer--a direct mail catalog LaFontaine filled with his personal book recommendations along with what he called weird stories and bad jokes.

A freind to numerous Ozark members, Gary's loss affects us all.

RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL

Also on the renewal form will be an option to check if you would prefer to receive the Monthly Newsletter by e-mail instead of in a regular mailing. It was felt that this was a way the Club could save some money on our postage expenses.

Anyone having any question regarding any of this please contact me either by phone (618) 281-6461 or by e-mail at gotafish2@yahoo.com

Greg Vieth
Membership Chairman

The Fly Tying Chair would be responsible for:

1. Fly tying demonstration before each General Meeting
2. Fly of the Month
   a) on the website, and
   b) in the newsletter
3. Annual Fly Tying Meeting: an all-day fly-tying meeting
4. Fly tying volunteers for Ozark FF class

The Fly Casting Chair would be responsible for:

1. Casting instruction/help volunteers before General Meeting
2. Occasional articles in newsletter and on website regarding casting and techniques for improvement
3. Casting instruction volunteers for Ozark FF classes

The Outings Chair would be responsible for:

• A monthly outing; these outings shall include but not be limited to the following: the Annual Banquet and the Annual Catch & Release Outing.

Ozark members have agreed to fill these positions as follows:

• Fly Tying Chair: Joseph Aimonette
• Fly Casting Chair: Brian Ellis
• Outings Chair: Tom Ziegler

My sincere thanks to these members for their unselfish contributions to the Ozark Fly Fishers. Please give them all the help you can.

And I knew you could never have too many flies. Heck, I even like tying flies. I like the idea. I like saving two bucks each. I like putting the egg in the "egg sucking leech" on the wrong end. I like remembering guys who taught me a technique I am using. "Bill Heckle taught me that!" I would muse. Or remembering the fish that ate the Sufur emerger I had tied the night before on a Wisconsin trip.

I like giving away flies I have tied. Meet some interesting people that way. I wouldn't recommend it as a good way to meet chicks, but other than that, it's one of the things fly fishers do. So I needed to crank up the vise, clear the table and get to work.

It isn't as easy as it used to be. Now I gotta find the 3X glasses, find the head cement thinner, and take a couple of Ibuprofen. But it still works and I look forward to a couple of hours at the vice.

Most logical, organized tyers keep all their stuff in one organized location. How I admire their efforts! I have tying gear in at least three rooms and the garage. I was looking for one particular saddle which I eventually found in a briefcase I had converted for travel. Looking bedraggled, I inspected it and quickly diagnosed a case of hungry bugs! Man, I hate that! This was one of them expensive saddles, too. and it was in bad shape. Curiously, none of the other feathers in that box were damaged. Go figure. But where did the little bugs come from and more importantly, where are they now? This required a complete inspection of everything, all three rooms and the garage, and an attempt at reorganization. I use the term "reorganization" loosely, like it was ever organized.

I started with a card table and started laying out necks and saddles, chenille and yarn, dubbing and fur and so on. Soon there was a second card table, a chair seat and the top of a stool. Wow! How did I ever end up with so much stuff? I apparently buy without regard for what I already have as there was much duplication. This was taking hours, and while there was no indication of further bugs, I had no idea of how I was ever going to get this accumulation under control.

This, of course was confusing and I was tiring of the exercise. After I woke from my rest, I had a real mess on my hands. Our cat, God love her, had discovered primal instincts neither she nor I knew she had. She apparently mistook saddle hackle for dead birds and was trying to kill a couple of them in the hall. Imagine the thrill of seeing your pet trying to escape with a #2 Hoffmann, you in hot pursuit. It's a game, isn't it? Well she thought so anyway.

Reacting to her joy, I quickly got things in order. Most things anyway. Several days later, a bundle of peacock herl surfaced, the cat rolling in it as if it were catnip. You can imagine my joy when a handful of salmon hooks showed up on the bathroom floor. No bag, just the hooks. The bag was three rooms away, full of little cat tooth holes.

The cat and I have called a truce. I agreed to change her litter twice a week and berate the dog in her presence. She agreed to stay out of the pheasant tails and fur blender. And now the feathers and fur are completely organized. Doubtless I won't be able to find anything for a year or two.