Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Here's wishing our members and friends, and all of their families, a most blessed holiday season. Hope everyone finds something under the Christmas tree they can use for their piscatorial pursuits in the coming year.

While Christmas is a season of festivity, let's not forget the reason for the season: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….” John 1:14. Please be giving to those in need, and pray for those who are less fortunate, for those in suffering, and for those away from their families this season.

We also wish everyone a prosperous and healthy New Year.  Stay tuned for details on the 2026 Mixed Bag Challenge which kicks off January 1st.

Festival time just weeks away!

Cenla Fly Fishing Festival
Saturday, January 24, 2026
8:30am to 3:30pm 
Kees Park, Pineville, LA
FREE admission!!

In even-numbered years we hold our biennial Festival, a celebration of the fly fishing experience.  This event is  unique in that it's all about education, instruction, and community.

We encourage attendees to come learn about the sport, new places to fish, or how to fish them. Watch some of the top tiers from across the region tie flies, or jig makers.  Cast a fly rod and/or get casting instruction from top FFI Certified Instructors.  Learn why kayaks are an economical and very effective way to fish.  

And please take part in our giant raffle and fundraiser to raise money for our friends at The Food Bank of Central Louisiana - and help feed some hungry families! 

For complete details, including schedule, list of fly tiers and jig makers, exhibitors, speakers, and much more, click on the "2026 Cenla Fest" menu above. 

Club honorees, Mixed Bag winners recognized at banquet

At our annual Christmas banquet on December 8th, the club honored those members who have had an outstanding year, either in service to the club or with individual achievement. Each honoree received a 15-ounce custom artwork designed coffee mug with their name and award.

New Member of the Year - Anthony Falgout
Given to a club member who joined over the last 18 months, and who has been very active in our club, shown a strong dedication to our sport, and a willingness to learn.

Fly Tier of the Year - Joe Vandersypen
Awarded to that club member who has shown exceptional dedication to the art of fly tying, either through commitment, or significant development in their tying skills, or in enhancing the education of others, or some combination of.

Presidents Award - Jim Johnson
This award is chosen by the president, and recognizes someone who has given outstanding service to the club, and benefitting the membership.

Member of the Year - Ed Jones
Awarded to that member with some combination of: active participation, personal accomplishment, promotion of the club, aid in development of others, furthering the mission of the club, assisting in club events.

Mixed Bag Contest

Our annual Mixed Bag Contest is a months-long CPRE (catch-photo-release encouraged) tournament where size doesn't matter, but diversity does. Five places were awarded gift cards of varying amounts. In addition, every member who made at least one entry, but wasn't a winner, had their name placed in a consolation drawing for a wide range of prizes including a TFO fly rod.

Here are the 2025 MBC winners:

Bill Morrison - 49 species
Eron Borne - 36 species
Ed Jones - 31 species
Jim Johnson - 26 species
Jerry Patton - 26 species

This year, we set new records for number of entries (295) and came up one short on most participants with 24 entrants. The most entered species was bluegill followed by longear, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, and green sunfish. Top flies were the: Rio Bandito, Clouser, Shrimp pattern, Hares Ear, Soft Hackle. 

Winner of the annual "Carlton Townsend Hogsucker Award" for rarest species on fly was Ed Jones who caught a Black Redhorse. Jim Johnson was also recognized for "outstanding fish" for catching a 52-inch longnose gar. 

Our 9th annual Mixed Bag Contest kicks off January 1st, 2026. Look for updates on the Mixed Bag page sometime after Christmas. 

Happy Thanksgiving! And a Christmas Party reminder

This Thursday means many things to many different people. For most, it's a day of feasting with friends and family. Here in Louisiana, the dinner table will be adorned with turkey, roast, venison, duck or other hearty meat slowly cooked, along with Cajun favorites like sweet potatoes and corn machcoux. I'm getting hungry just typing this, lol!

While we do enjoy our feasting and football, we still recognize Thanksgiving as a day to give thanks for all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us. We're thankful for all the woods, waters and wildlife we have here to enjoy. And for the wonderful friends we've made through our love of outdoors.

And speaking of friends, our annual club Christmas Gathering is set for Monday, December 8th. Good food, great comradery, live music by Sam and Jane, Club awards, Mixed Bag awards and drawings, fantastic door prizes, silent auction, an exciting presentation by Tom Zabasky ("30 Days in Alaska") and more!  If you've not received the email invite with the registration link, please check your spam folder.  Or email Catch Cormier at catch(at)laflyfish(dot)com as soon as possible!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

November 24th meeting - Christy Graham, AGFC

KFF general meeting
Monday, November 24, 2025

6:30 pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom & YouTube

Join us this month as Christy Graham joins up via Zoom. Christy is Trout Program Coordinator for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and oversees their trout stocking program. 

Bad luck has hit the AGFC trout hatcheries this year. In Spring, floods caused damage to the Hinkle Spring River Hatchery that supplies most of the fish to the Little Missouri River. Then in October, there were problems at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery that resulted in loss of 80 percent of the fish used to stock Beaver, Norfork and Bull Shoals. As a result, emergency regulations were placed on most stocked waters to limit the amount of harvest. 

However, with winter comes peak stocking time and some rivers like the Little Mo are likely to receive much fewer trout than normal - perhaps very little at all. Christy will discuss what the current problems are, and what plans they have to restore what is the best trout fishing in the South.

As always, the public is welcome! Remote members can participate using the Zoom meeting number and password sent by email. The livestream is also available on our YouTube Channel. Click this link and go to Live videos -
http://bit.ly/3oBk106

November 10th fly tying - Scrambler

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, November 10th
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month Chris Williams will lead us in tying the Scrambler, another streamer pattern from Space Coast Flies. Created by Sam Sumlin, this is one of those patterns, that while it is designed for saltwater, works really well for bass (Catch Cormier used it for smallmouth this past summer with good success). 

As always, the session is open to the public. All materials are provided, and we have sets of tools for beginners to use during the session. For beginners, we can also pair you with someone who can help.

Remote members can participate using the Zoom meeting number and password sent by email. The video is also available on our YouTube Channel. Click this link and go to Live videos -
http://bit.ly/3oBk106

Mixed Bag standings - November 1st

We're now into the final month of our annual Mixed Bag Contest - it ends 11:59pm on November 30th. The MBC is our members-only, online tournament where size doesn't matter, but diversity does. The objective is to catch as many different species on fly rod and flies over the course of 11 months, over a limited geographical area. Click on "Mixed Bag" menu above for complete details.

Proof that you can catch just about anything on flies - check out this photo of a Lowland Cichlid taken by Eron Borne in a New Orleans canal.  While closely resembling the Rio Grande Cichlid, the Lowland Cichild is a new species here in Louisiana.

So far, 24 members have logged more than 270 entries. While  the top contestants may be way ahead in numbers, don't let that deter you from submitting entries.  Remember that under the new format we started a couple of years ago, there are many more consolation drawings - and some really nice prizes too!  Every entry gets one ticket in the drawing. For example, enter 4 species in the Mixed Bag and you get 4 tickets in the drawing. More entries = greater chances to win!
 
Mixed Bag Standings as of 11/1/2025:

Bill Morrison - 42
Eron Borne - 35
Ed Jones - 31
Jim Johnson - 25
Jerry Patton - 21
Chris Williams - 19

Warmouth taken by Joel Dinnat on Rio Bandito

Others: Orlando Madrid -15, Jeff Albrecht -11, Noah Hoyt -11, Tyler Hoyt -8, Glen Cormier -7, Joel Dinnat -6, Mike Carlin -6, Robert Hughes -5, Chris Perkins -4, Frank Coe -4, Phillip Cole -4, Tom Zabasky -4, Barbara Carlin -3, Carlton Townsend -3, Rich Hudson -3, James Guillory -2, Isaac Hoof -1, Ronnie Richmond -1.

Remember - the Mixed Bag is as much an educational tool as it is a contest. The spreadsheet database, which is available online to anyone, can tell you:
- how many different species can be caught on fly
- the best places to catch a certain fish at a certain time
- what flies work best on certain fish

So get busy and get some entries in! 

October / early November activities

KFF monthly fly tying session
* Tuesday, October 14th
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube
Featured pattern: LaFleur's Charlie

* Please note: this month's tying is on Tuesday due to library closure on Monday for the holiday *

This month Catch Cormier will lead us in tying the LaFleurs Charlie. Created by Mike LaFleur of Baton Rouge, this easy-to-tie variation of the popular Crazy Charlie is great for beginners. It's one of several similar patterns that uses a flashy chenille for the body.  

Mike's version is unique in that it uses a high modacrylic fiber for the wing.  This European-produced synthetic has been resold by one fly shop for over three decades as "craft fur",  but in recent years has been sold by brands under the name "polar fiber".  It differs from craft fur in that it has amazing shimmer.  The LaFleur Charlie been featured in a couple of books and several magazine articles, and is a great pattern for all inshore species as well as crappie and white bass.

As always, the session is open to the public. All materials are provided, and we have sets of tools for beginners to use during the session. For beginners, we can also pair you with someone who can help.

Remote members can participate using the Zoom meeting number and password sent by email. The video is also available on our YouTube Channel. Click this link and go to Live videos -
http://bit.ly/3oBk106

KFF general meeting
Monday, October 27th
6:30 pm 
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube
Topic: Smallmouth Bass in the Ouachitas

This month KFF members Robert Hughes and Bill Morrison will give us a presentation on the club's smallmouth fishing trip in the Ouachita Mountains last May. They'll share the key points they learned and what flies and techniques worked best for this hard-fighting species.

Casting practice starts at 5:30 pm. With Daylight Savings Time ending early next month, this will be our last casting prior to meetings for 2025. So if you need to tune up your casting, show up before 6:30pm and get a few lessons in.

 

As always our meeting is open to the public. Remote members can join in via Zoom, while all others can watch via the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube Channel at http://bit.ly/3oBk106  

 

North Toledo Bend Rendezvous
Friday-Sunday, Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2025
North Toledo Bend State Park, Zwolle, LA

Entering it's 36th year, Rendezvous is a casual gathering for fly tiers and other fly fishing enthusiasts from across several states – along with their families – for a weekend of fly tying and fishing with only a minimal fee to cover lodging and meals. Some are members of clubs, some are not. Rendezvous is open to all!

There are no organized activities. Everyone is welcome to come fish, tie flies, watch some of the region's top tiers, or tie themselves. You can come for the day or the entire weekend. If you come as a family, the rate for the entire weekend for the whole family or individual is just $40 which includes lodging. For one night lodging, the fee is $20 and for day only the fee is $10.

The excellent facilities at North Toledo Bend State Park are ideal for a Fall weekend fly tying retreat. 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.

For complete details,  CLICK HERE . 

Sugar Day Festival
Saturday, November 8th
9:00am - 5:00pm
Kent Plantation House
3601 Bayou Rapides Rd, Alexandria, LA

The 32nd Annual Kent House Sugar Day features live music, house tours, demonstrations of blacksmithing, corn grinding, woodcrafting, and FLY TYING.  As well as vendors selling handmade arts & crafts items, and plenty of children’s activities! 

KFF members wishing to demo tie should fill out the form below so we can tell them how many tables to set up for us.  You’re welcome to tie any pattern you wish.  FORM:  https://forms.gle/wgmcELdBbhXYiVUS8