See our website for parking arrangements. The Raddisson does have a parking garage located on the South side of the hotel.

The Annual Banquet on Saturday, January 25th, the Radison Hotel will be held in lieu of the January meeting. Captain Rob Fordyce will be our featured guest at an all day meeting on Saturday, March 1, 2003 at the Museum of the Dog in Queeny Park. Captain Rob is making a return appearance to Ozark Fly Fishers.

You can watch Rob fish with Flip Pallot on The Walker's Cay Chronicles this February: Flip and his old friend, Rob Fordyce, reminisce about there past adventures with a triple digit tarpon while fishing a reef south of Walker's Cay. They meet an array of table fish, including yellowtail, snapper and several kinds of grouper. Great action and good talks.Tuesday, February 11th at 11:30 AM EST & Saturday, February 15th at 10:00 AM EST

The good news (besides my pending retirement to PTO meetings, kids homework, and more house painting--those thumbprints on my ear lobes are courtesy of my lovely bride) is that this club is in extremely capable hands. Larry Carli will be an exceptional president and he's got a bunch of great board members--new and old--who are ready to help. And please help out if you can. The chapter is always looking for new and old club members who want to get involved.

It's going to be a good year. And we're starting off with the annual banquet on Jan. 25. As I write this, we've had to do some scrambling because Jo Hanon's, the site of our banquet, apparently closed its doors on Jan. 3, without telling us. There may be more news of an alternative site later on in this newsletter. Get your reservations and get your membership dues in so we can include you in our telephone roster. We've also got some good programs coming up.

Don't give up on fishing right now. Even though it might be hard to lure a bass to a popping bug through the ice on the local pond, trout fishing during the catch and release season has been good at Montauk, Meramec Springs and Bennett Springs. If arctic angling lacks appeal, there's time to tie flies, leaf through the tackle catalogs and travel brochures piling up in the mailbox and share the fantasy or loiter around the local fly shops and annoy the management. If you want to learn more about fly fishing, consider a fly tying or instructional class offered through the St. Louis County Park's Department's 'Gone Fishin' program. Ozark is providing the instruction for many of these classes and seminars.

Anyway, it's time to say goodbye, you won't have Brian Flinchpaugh to kick around anymore, and here's to looking after the kids. I'll be around. Hasta luega, baby.

You have probably guessed by now that I am retiring from the Conservation Director position. I will remain active in the club not only as a member but also as a casting instructor. I also enjoy the many outings that our club puts together and will enjoy working with the outings chairman to help out.

In closing, I must say that the most important lesson that I have learned during my time as the Conservation Chairman is that "Conservation" is one of the most important tools that the fisheries biologist has too work with.

Too many people get caught up with Preservation and the "right wing" politics of the fishing society. To conserve is to use the resource wisely while to preserve is to hoard to a point of absolution. In certain fisheries preservation will work, however in most circumstances conservationis the best policy to utilize.

Our fisheries are important and do not ever forget it! Henry Reifess Jr, one of our best and most active club members in recent past, had once told me to fight for what you believe in. Henry passed on last year and I will always remember him as one of our best members. I can only hope that I performed in my capacity as well as Henry did and that the next Conservation Chairperson will work diligently and intelligently in trying to pervay the clubs position on conservation issues in the future to support our fisheries. Thanks and I'll see you at the next meeting.

If you have anything that might be a good item that you would be willing to donate to the club, let us know. We can use some of these items at our annual banquet or later in the year. It doesn't have to be something that is fly fishing related--at the banquet, many of those in attendance aren't fly fishers--they often are there because they put up with a significant other who is afflicted with the fly fishing disease.

The final 3 memberships were sold at the end of the December meeting and the drawing was made from the 12 new members that had joined in the latest membership drive. While Skip selected a new Ross Gunnison Reel, he was one of the 12 winners as new members of the Federation. 2002 saw 36 new first time mem-bers of the FFF from our club. It was a good year. I would hope toeventually see 100% of Ozark members as national FFF members. After all it is not just about our local club or our local fishing waters. The promotion of our sport and protection of the resources is a national if not a global undertaking.

The FFF national conclave is set for August 4-9, 2003 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. FFF members will be seeing more information about the event in the near future. If you are not already a member and are thinking about a trip to western states, think about including the conclave as a stop on your trip. Like our club the national organization counts on money from raffles and auctions for a portion of its operating budget. If you have any items that
you would like to donate or want information on the conclave, please contact Bob Temper (314-894-0319) or Brian Flinchpaugh.

1. This streamer pattern is tied with a tail of yellow hackle fibers, a body of black floss with silver tinsel rib, white wing, cheeks of jungle cock, collar of yellow hackle, and black thread head.
   
   
2. This dry fly pattern is made of a tail of black moose mane, dubbed gray body, two grizzly hackle tip wings, and mixed brown and grizzly hackles.
   
   
3. The Au Sable river is in this state?
   
   
4. The Ausable River is in this state?
   
   
5. Author of "Spring Creek"
   
   
6. Author of the short story "Straight up at Dinty's"
   
   
7. Rangley Style Streamer flies are usually associated with this famous female fly tier:
   
   
8. Where Lee Wulff went to fish for Brook Trout.
   
   
9. Ed Zern wrote his column for this magazine.
   
   
10. Name of the person who held the former Arkansas State Record Brown Trout and the name of the place where he caught it. (not that its worth remembering)
    

The money has been provided by Northern Arts for Valerie Laws to create a new form of "random" literature.

Each of the animals has a word written on their backs and as they wander about the words take a new poetic form each time they come to rest.

I think I have been editor of our newsletter for about fifteen years. There was a one year interlude, but that is a long time for any membership to be subject to my occasional ranting and raving about perceived wrongs, injustices, and ironies that exist. And thousands of typos and malapropisms (not to mention incomplete sentences). Not that I haven't enjoyed it. On the contrary, it's been a blast.

As I recall, my original intention was to inform, educate and entertain. I hope I have had some measure of success. I would like to thank the many contributors to the newsletter over the years without which, most issues would have been damn short. I would like to thank the seven past Ozark administrations for putting up with me, and giving me the oppor-tunity to serve the club.

My successor, Wallis Warren (wwarren@amfam.com) will bring our newsletter to new heights, hoping to further the use of photographs and better page management. I am sure with the help of our many newsletter contributors she will succeed.

I would like to compliment Brian Flinchpaugh on the job he has done. First rate!

Thats all for now. See you on the stream. I have to go complete my sheep pen. Drew