October 28th meeting - Robert & Carlton's Excellent Adventure

Kisatchie Fly Fishers monthly meeting
Monday, October 28, 2019
5:30pm - casting on back lawn
6:30pm - meeting
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

** Please note that we're now doing casting prior to each meeting.  **

This month, our Coldwater Committee members and most excellent trout fishermen Robert Hughes and Carlton Townsend will share a powerpoint presentation on their three week western fishing adventure in Fall of 2017.  They fished across six states on a variety of waters catching many trout in a variety of methods.  Included in the presentation will be fishing in southern Colorado where we have a club trip planned for 2020.

Also on the agenda:
- update on the club's Casting Skills Challenge
- upcoming events, including Toledo Bend Rendezvous and Kirk Dietrich seminar
- recap of the KFF Marsh PAC Attack trip, other fishing reports
- upcoming club fishing outings to Calcasieu, local freshwater, and Little Mo
- Mixed Bag Contest update
- Cenla Festival update

As always, our meetings are open to the public. See you Monday!

October 21st fly tying - Clouser Minnow, LaFleurs Charlie

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, October 21, 2019
6:00pm - casting outside
6:30pm - fly tying begins
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

Cooler weather is here and that means great marsh fishing is here also! Whether you're fishing Calcasieu (2 hours), south of Houma (3.5 hours), or other locales, there are two sure-fire patterns that work for reds, specks and flounder - and sometimes sheepshead and drum. They are the Clouser Minnow and the LaFleurs Charlie.

Here's an excellent video from Orvis on tying the Clouser Minnow.
video-how-to-tie-the-clouser-minnow

The LaFleurs Charlie was created by Mike LaFleur of Baton Rouge. His fly is a variation of the original Crazy Charlie that uses estaz for the body, lead dumbbell eyes, and a high modacrylic craft fur for the wing. Its been featured in a couple of books and several magazine articles.

As always, beginners are welcome!  Bring your tools, if none, the club has sets for use during these sessions. Materials are provided.

Make plans for Toledo Bend Rendezvous

Toledo Bend Rendezvous
November 1-3, 2019
North Toledo Bend State Park
Zwolle, LA

What is Rendezvous?  Thirty years ago, members of the Pineywoods Fly Fishers (TX) and North Louisiana Fly Fishers gathered for a weekend of camping, fly tying and fishing. The following year, the clubs rented the group facility at North Toledo Bend State Park, where the event is held to this day.   Rendezvous has expanded greatly since, with tiers from various clubs and states including Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and elsewhere.

There's no planned activities, but plenty of fly tying, food, fly casting and fishing, with only a minimal fee to cover lodging and meals. The activities take place at the park's group facility, which features a commercial kitchen and dining hall, and lodging available for up to 150 people in 5 heated log bunkhouses (30 beds each). There's also a heated central shower and restroom building with nice night lighting on all the sidewalks and a large main log building with A/C, picnic tables and a large barbeque trailer.

Attendees can come for a weekend (lodging and meals included) or just for the day (Saturday). The event is open to the public.

In recent years, regional clubs and the FFI Gulf Coast Council and FFI Texas Council have contributed a small amount each to Rendezvous to offset the escalating rental costs for the group facility.   As to make it very affordable for families.  For 2019, Kisatchie Fly Fishers is proud to be a contributing sponsor for Rendezvous.

For complete details, go to the Toledo Bend Rendezvous home page.

Mixed Bag Contest update - October 6th

Click on image above for enlargement

This September was the hottest month on record in Louisiana! Not a single night below 65 degrees. The fish didn't like the heat either. It was a tough month for KFF members trying to add entries into the Mixed Bag Contest. Still, Phil Havener and Jim Guillory had a great month, and several others added to their totals.

Good news is that cooler weather starts tomorrow... for good!

We have two months left in our Mixed Bag Contest, a CPRO (catch-photo-release optional) contest where size doesn't matter but diversity does. The goal is to catch as many species as possible on fly rod, and register that catch online.

October and November are also the best time for inshore saltwater fly fishing. But there are many freshwater species still available to members. For example, the image on right shows 11 common sunfish alone. Nine are found in Louisiana waters, the other two in Arkansas (included in the MBC region). Click on the image for an enlargement.

Here are the latest standings (number is different species registered):
Bill Morrison - 15
Carlton Townsend - 15
Robert Hughes - 12
Phil Havener - 10
Jim Johnson - 9
Glen Cormier - 8
Jim Guillory - 7
Joel Dinnat - 6

Others: Gene Taylor -5, Rich Hudson -4, Greg Babin -3, Robert Clark -3, Mike Carlin -2, Ronnie Richmond -2, Jonathon Bennett -2, Barbara Carlin -1, Tom Zabasky -1, Lindsey Torbett -1.