Spokane Fly Fishers www.spokaneflyfishers.com February, 2009

FEBRUARY SPEAKER RICK HAFELE

"Understanding Emergers”.

Emerging insects provide some of the most exciting and productive fly- fishing opportunities. But you have to have the right fly and present it the right way. This pro-gram explores the ins and outs of choosing the right fly for the right emerger and how to fish them. At the February meeting, the members voted on Rick’s topic and the emerger program beat out the "Five Fly Fishing Mis-takes You Don't Need to Make" by just a few votes. Rick began fly fishing at the age of 12, while living in Illinois. In 1969, having moved to Washington, his interest in fly fish-ing and entomology fully developed. Since then, he has trav-eled throughout the west fishing for trout and studying the in-sects on which they feed. Rick has written articles for scien-tific journals and co-authored many books on fly fishing. We’re sure you will enjoy and learn from Rick’s presentation. Be sure you read the article on page 4, regarding the work-shop Rick will be giving in the afternoon just prior to the meet-ing.

BOOK DONATION FROM DON CHINN Our long time member, Don Chinn, has generously donated assorted fly tying materials and a lot of books to the club. We wish to thank Don for thinking of us. The fly tying items will be used to teach fly tying and some offered at the Conserva-tion Raffle. The board has decided that the books should be given to members at our February meeting. Come early to pick your book selection and enjoy the hot dogs or German sausages prepared by Klaus Rissman.

SFF Officers and Board Members

President Fred Howe Vice President Mike Melmoth Treasurer Ray Baker Secretary Gail Bailey Board Position 1 Bob Hudson Board Position 2 Craig Pearsall Board Position 3 Tim Reed Past President Dan Ferguson Sgt. At Arms Bob Kowal

Contact us at: P. O. Box 4141

Spokane, WA 99220 Or

sffishers@comcast.net

AROUND THE BEND February 11th, SFF Meeting 7 PM Rick Hafele February 18th, SFF Board Meeting 7 PM March 6th, 7th, 8th Great West Fly Fishing Show March 11th, SFF Meeting 7 PM Conservation Raffle March 14th, Coffee Pot Outing March 18th, SFF Board Meeting 7 PM March 28th & 29th, Clark Fork Outing April 8th, SFF Meeting 7PM April 11th, Amber Lake Outing

PREZ SEZ By Fred Howe

I am getting very tired of the white stuff all around here. Since I am no longer an avid ice fisherman, I’m looking forward to the day that this stuff melts and I can cast into open water. I am anxious for our first outing on March 14th. Let’s all hope the ice is gone by then. The out-ing committee has done a great job in selecting the locations for the 2009 outings. Hosts are needed for these events. Call Geno Baril at 468-0589 if you can help or sign up at the next general meeting. The sign up sheets for the outings will be at all of the meetings. Through the Federation of Fly Fishers we have received five free rods and reels, provided by the Sierra Club and Temple Fork Fly Rods, for use with our education of children. We wish to thank them for the won-derful donation. The Speakers Committee would like some input on the speakers for the meetings in 2009-2010. If you have any suggestions, please contact Mike Melmoth at 891-6103. The SFF Board has decided to check into safety and first aid classes for our members. More information will be provided in a future Barbless. We’re also working on the menu and location for our May Awards Banquet. I was extremely pleased at the attendance at our January meeting, where Neale Streeks gave a fly tying demonstration before the meeting and then spoke on fishing the Missouri. A re-cord 120 attended. We were surprised at the great turnout and even ran out of coffee. Hope-fully as many will attend our February meeting. We will make a larger pot of coffee. I better close, for now, so I can go shopping to buy my donation for the Conservation Raffle. I want to make sure I get it in early so I can be entered into the drawing for the fly rod. I also plan to purchase tickets for the raffle at the February meeting. Not only will I be able to avoid the long lines in March but, the Conservation Committee will put my number on the tickets for me. Great, huh? See you at the meeting on February 11th.

CONSERVATION RAFFLE March 11, 2009

The clubs annual Conservation Raffle will be held at our March 11th meeting. Roger Bertsch, our Conservation chairman, has agreed to chair this event For this won-derful program, we contact local fly fishing and sporting goods store and ask for donations. We also ask you, our members, to also donate new or gently used items and/or services which can be raffled off for this good cause. Last years raffle included many fishing trips, books, flies, and a lot of fishing items. We even had a pontoon boat . If you have items to donate, please call the people below to arrange to drop your item off:

Northside: Dan Ferguson 325-8885 Southside: Mike Keegan 455-4433 Cheney/SW Spokane Roger Bertsch 327-8231 Valley: Judy Kaufman 924-9462 We will also be accepting items at the February meeting. Those who get their donations in early, by March 6th, will be entered into a spe-cial drawing with a chance of winning a new fly rod. The actual raffle begins by members purchasing tickets and then dropping them into bags representing each item. You can put your tickets in separate bags for a chance at winning many items or, if you wish, load up one bucket to increase your chances of winning something that you REALLY want. This is a marvelous money maker for the club. It provides the funds for our conservation projects and it is a wonderfully fun meeting. See you on Wednesday, March 11th.

ADVANCE CONSERVATION RAFFLE TICKETS AVAILABLE

Advance Conservation Raffle Tickets will be sold at the February Meeting (to avoid the long lines at the March meeting) . Make your donation, be eligible for a special drawing, and save time at the Conservation Raffle. The advance purchase will record your raffle number and will al-low you to pickup your pre-paid raffle tickets at the raffle at the March meeting. You will then be ready to place your raffle tickets for the raffle drawings of your choice." You may call the chairperson, Roger Bertsch, at 327-8231, with any questions.

SFF WORKSHOPS

RICK HAFELE WORKSHOP FEBRUARY 11, 2009 ( BEFORE MEETING)

By Judy Kaufman Rick Hafele (our February speaker) will be conducting a work-shop on “Understanding Western Hatches”. Rick has a Mas-ters degree in aquatic entomology and a minor in fisheries bi-ology. He has worked as a professional aquatic biologist for over 30 years. Few fly fisher-men have Rick’s knowledge about the world in which trout live. For many years he has been sharing that knowledge with fly fishermen through books, articles, slide shows and seminars. This is a three hour slide/lecture program that explains the “why” of fishing success. Discusses: How to recognize the insect hatches important to the Western Angler. How insect behavior affects fish feeding behavior. How to select and fish the proper patterns. THE WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 FROM 1 – 4 PM AT THE ST FRANCIS SCHOOL, 1104 W. HEROY (SAME PLACE WE HOLD OUR MONTHLY MEETINGS). THE COST WILL BE $25, TO BE PAID AT THE DOOR. IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND, PLEASE CALL JUDY KAUFMAN 924-9462

LOCAL LAKES WORKSHOP

By Judy Kaufman

There will be a first annual Local Lakes Workshop. The workshops will be held the last two Thursdays in February (February 19th and 26th) at the St. Francis School 1104 W. Heroy (same place as our monthly meetings). We will be meeting in a classroom up the stairs from our usual meeting area. The fee will be nominal ($1 or $2). We will start at 7 PM and end no later than 9PM. Ray Baker and Judy Kaufman will try to lead this adventure. We an-

ticipate discussing what the lakes are like, hatches, fly patterns, seasons etc….. We want those attending to share their knowledge as well (‘cause the two of us certainly don’t know enough to fill 2 hours). The first Thursday, Feb 19, we’ll discuss Amber, Badger and Wil-liams. On the 26th, we will cover Medical, West Medical, Coffee Pot and Sprague Lakes. The workshop will be just in time for ice out (hopefully) and the opening of Amber and Coffee Pot. IF INTERESTED, SIGN UP AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING (THE 11TH) OR CALL JUDY 924-9462

NORTH IDAHO FLY FISHING FAIR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST

Date: Saturday February 21st, 2009 Where: Quality Inn, Clarkston WA Expo Classes: 9 am - 4pm, registration starts at 8:30am Banquet, Auction, and Special Presentation: 5:30 - 9:30 pm Cost: Expo = $10. Banquet ticket purchase includes a Expo ticket, see web site for individual/couple/family pricing Our presenter Dave Whitlock will be giving a presentation at the end of the Banquet / Auction evening. He and his wife Emily will have several classes during the Expo. For more details and a class schedule can be found on our web site http://www.kellycreekflycasters.org/

FLY FISHING SCHOOL

Our 26th Annual Fly Fishing School is scheduled to start in March. Now is the time to sign up before the class is full. It will be advertised at the Great West Sport Fishing Show. The cost for the school this year is $100 or $60 for youth (12 to 16). If you sign up at the Game Fish Show, or are now a member of SFF, you’ll get a 10% discount. Tell all your friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, etc. about this great opportunity to get involved in fly-fishing.

Remember, you get a one-year membership in the club with the class. To sign up, or for more information, contact the SFF web site at www.spokaneflyfishers.com or contact Dan Ferguson at 325-8885.

FIN CLIPPING AT THE COLVILLE FISH HATCHERY

We wish to apologize to all the members who were looking for-ward to the January Fin Clipping adventure. Judy Kaufman an-nounced at the January meeting that our participation was not needed this year. The hatchery was going to have a school chil-dren clip fins this year as part of their education.

TIPS FROM MEMBERS 1. If someone mentions that a certain fly is catching a lot of fish, don't rush out to buy that fly as there are many variations of the same name. Unless you see that particular fly, you wouldn't know for sure what materials were used, etc. 2. If you have been changing flies and have been unsuccessful at catching fish, you might consider going home and mowing the lawn so that you can go fishing the next day and hope-fully have better luck! 3. When you are not having as much action as other people in the area consider asking to see the "hot" fly. In one case, I was supposedly using the same Chironomid as another fish-erman, but his had a tail approximately 1/2 inch long. In another situation the hot nymph had been tied as a wooly bugger. I now tie this wooly bugger and it has been an excellent pattern. 4. If you tie flies, experiment with different materials. More “Tips” are needed. Please share your expertise with the rest of us. Email your tips to frednlindah@comcast.net.

WSCFFF ELLENSBERG FLY FISHING FAIR

By Dan Ferguson

May 1 & 2 will find a few of the club members helping out with this new Fly Fishing Show. In addition to Carolyn Sells, Dan Ferguson & Jan Sadlo tying, the club hopes to have a booth. Our plan is to answer questions about fishing our area lakes and N. Idaho streams. We'd love to see 10 or 12 club members make it over for the weekend. Some of the things that will be going on at the fair will include casting classes for both men and women, spey classes, Danish Games, auctions, raffles, tying demonstrations and semi-nars. Carla will also be hosting a BBQ Friday evening for volunteers. We'll also be helping with kids from the local schools tying on Friday morning. You can check the fair out at this link: http://www.washingtoncouncilfff.org/2009FlyFairFrameset.htm This is year three for the show and it's turning into a great event for the fly fishing commu-nity. Give Dan a call at 325-8885 or email: sffishers@comcast.net if you have any questions.

SFF 2009 OUTINGS

Our Outings Committee chaired by Geno Baril has planned 23 outings for the club this com-ing fishing season. These outings are as follows:

Coffee Pot March 14 Clark Fork March 28-29 Amber Lake April 11 McGinnis April 18-19 West Medical May 6 One Fly May 9 Jump off Joe May 22 @ 5:00 McDowell May 30-31 Eloika Lake June 3 @ 5:30 Conservation Trip June 13 North Fork CD’A River June 20-21 Grand Ronde June 27-28 Big Hole July 11-12 Host: Brad Thompson Kelly Creek July 25-26 St Joe August 8-9 Locksa August 22-23 Host: Don Tietz Amber Lake August 26 Spokane River August 29 Missouri River September 11-12 Yellowstone September 14-20 Hosts: Judy Kaufman & Karen Reed Clark Fork October 10-11 Hosts: Jim & Jo Gooley Amber Lake October 17 North Fork CD’A River October 24 As you can see, hosts are needed for the majority of the outings. If you wish to volunteer, contact Geno at 468-0589. The responsibility of a host includes coordinating times and meeting locations, securing mentors if needed, purchasing and preparing food (paid for by SFF) for the main course (if served, during an outing), writing an early article for the newsletter (Editors note: AS SOON AS POSSIBLE) and following up with a recap article for the Barbless after the event has oc-curred. Pictures are also appreciated. Twenty of the outings have to be described in the next five issues of the Barbless…...so, time is of the essence (GET THOSE ARTICLES IN). This is a great chance to meet fellow members and share your love of fishing and camping.

THE BARBLESS FLYER Spokane Fly Fishers P. O. Box 4141 Spokane, WA 99220

NEXT MEETING

FEBRUARY 11, 2009

RICK HAFELE UNDERSTANDING EMERGERS

ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL 1104 W. HEROY

“THE MISSION OF THE SPOKANE FLY FISHERS IS TO PROVIDE A FAMILY FRIENDLY

ORGANIZATION FOR PROMOTING THE SPORT OF FLY FISHING THROUGH EDUCATION, APPLICATION, AND CONSERVATION.”

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR NAME TAGS TO THE MEETING