March 27th meeting - Potpourri

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, March 27, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

* fly casting prior to meeting starting at 5:30pm

This month in lieu of one prime presentation, we'll have a trio of brief presentations, each about 15 minutes long:

• Recap of this past weekend's club trip to the Little Missouri
• Zoom address from A.J. Rosenbohm, president of the FFI Gulf Coast Council 
• Presentation by Bill Morrison and Jim Johnson on identifying species for the Mixed Bag

Also, details about our annual Cenla Fly Fishing 101, the club's Spring Picnic in April, and fishing reports.

As always, the public is welcome. For Zoom connection, email Mike or Bill for meeting number and password. For the KFF YouTube Channel, use this link and go to Live videos - http://bit.ly/3oBk106

Spring Picnic postponed

Our annual Spring Picnic has been postponed due to weather (cold, rainy, windy)!  The new picnic date will be April 24th, the regular meeting date for that month.  One thing is certain - it will be warmer.  If not, climate change is here and we're all in trouble!

If you have already registered for the picnic, and can make the new date, your registration will be retained.  If not, please email catch@laflyfish.com and your entry will be removed.  

We will now have a March general meeting on our regular date. That's March 27th (4th Monday). Location at Westside Library.  Time 6:30pm.  Program details to be posted in a few days.

March 13th fly tying - March Brown Flymph

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, March 13, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

From Tying Chair Bill Morrison:

For our March tying, I will lead us in tying the March Brown Flymph in #14 (see attached picture). It is a leggy soft hackle that is unweighted and rides just below the surface or a little deeper with a slow retrieve.   It’s simple to tie and uses only two materials other than hook and thread.  The pattern is from Morgan Lyle’s current book, Simple Flies (a great book if you don’t have it). However, it was created, along with other flymph patterns, by Pete Hidy in the early 1950’s, and the term flymph is a combination of “fly” and “nymph.”  Flymphs are basically emergers before they were called emergers.

The March Brown color comes at just the right time for those who are headed to the Little Missouri the end of this month for the annual club March Brown trip.  This brown dubbing is similar to Jeff Guerin’s March Brown color that he developed specifically for the Lil Mo.   But, the great thing about these buggy soft hackles is that they are so versatile. They work equally as well for bluegill and panfish in our warm water fisheries as they do for trout.  Add a little lead wire or a bead and they can be fished in deeper water.  All around, a very versatile, basic soft hackle pattern.

As always, all materials other than thread will be provided, and we will have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.   And if you have never tied, we can pair you with someone who can help.  The fly uses red 70 denier or 8/0 thread.  If you don’t have red, we will have several spools, but almost any color or size will work.

Materials:

• #14 standard nymph hook
• 70 denier or 8/0 red thread
• Brown dubbing or color of your choice
• Brown India Hen Back hackle or any hen hackle

Important News!

As always, we broadcast the sessions via Zoom for those who cannot attend, and record the session on YouTube for future reference. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the Zoom numbers, please email Bill Morrison.  The YouTube livestream and recording will be posted to the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel.

The club has invested in new audio/video equipment for our meeting and tying sessions.  Based on our testing, the quality of our Zoom - and especially YouTube - will be greatly improved!  Also, our post processed tying videos (usually 30 minutes) have been getting about 10 times as many views as the full length sessions (usually 45 to 90 minutes).  So we may be post processing all of our tying videos from now on.  Many thanks to Tim Flagler of Tightline Videos for his help and recommendations! 

Feb. 27 meeting - Trout Management on the Little Missouri

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, February 27, 2023

6:30pm

Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month, Ryan Gary of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AFGC) will present to us via Live Zoom. Ryan is a biologist with the AFGC Trout Management Program, and he will present on the status of trout on the Little Missouri River.  Among the topics he will discuss:

• AFGC Trout Management Programs
• Brief background on the Little Missouri River tailwater and Albert Pike
• Stocking program in the tailwaters
• Fall stocking questions
• Ongoing creel survey in the tailwater
• Any questions we may have for him

We thank Carlton Townsend for organized this meeting!  Carlton will accept any questions in advance of the meeting to pass on to Gary. Please email your questions to ctown9544@gmail.com.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about the fish and habitat on our closest year-round trout water, the Little Mo.

As always, the public is welcome. For Zoom connection, email Mike or Bill for meeting number and password. For the KFF YouTube Channel, use this link and go to Live videos - http://bit.ly/3oBk106

Make plans for Red Stick Day on March 4th

28th annual Red Stick Day fly fishing festival
Saturday, March 4, 2023
8:30am to 3:00pm
LDWF Waddill Outdoor Education Center
4141 North Flannery Rd, Baton Rouge, LA

Hosted by the Red Stick Fly Fishers of Baton Rouge, Red Stick Day is one of the longest-running fly fishing festivals in the South. There's seminars, fly tying demonstrations, casting instruction, loads of raffle items, and more.  And best of all, admission is free!

The event will again be held at the LDWF Waddill Outdoors Education Center off North Flannery Road.  The ponds on the premises are full of big bass and bluegill.  In addition, Masseys Outfitters will be on hand with a variety of kayaks from Hobie, Native and other brands for folks to test paddle/pedal.

This year, thanks to the FFI Gulf Coast Council, the headliners will include three of the nation's top casting instructors: Dave Barron of Wisconsin, Jeff Ferguson from Lafayette, and Jonathon Walter of Colorado. All three are also members of the FFI Casting Board of Governors.  If you've ever wanted to learn more about any type of casting, or improve your casting skills, this is a grand opportunity to learn from the best!  Also on the agenda are programs by Brian Roberts and Dave Barron.

Over a dozen of the region's top fly tiers will also be on hand to demonstrate their various flies, along with their favorite legacy patterns. There's also a giant raffle and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items, all to benefit the club's educational projects.

Details about the event, including speaker and tier bios, schedule of activities, and more can be found by going to www.rsff.org and clicking on "Red Stick Day" in the menu.

February 13th fly tying - the Mad Dog

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, February 13, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

We hope you can join us for a special fly tying treat for February. KFF member Rick Maddox created this month's pattern, the Mad Dog. It's proven to be one of our most effective trout patterns, as witnessed by Rich Hudson who caught 50 rainbows recently on the Little Missouri River - on the same fly!  See the before and after photos below.

Rick will lead us in tying the Mad Dog. According to Rick, he was fishing the Little Mo and only catching a few fish, while an angler next to him was tearing them up on a Trout Magnet. Rick was just learning to tie flies, so he went home and tried to tie that fly, but didn't come out the same. Regardless, the next week on the Little Mo it caught lots of fish. Robert Hughes named it the “Maddog” after Rick's nickname.

We will tie the fly in black and chartreuse, so either black or chartreuse thread will work.  6/0 or 140 denier will probably be best, but 8/0 or 70 denier will work as well.

Materials:

• size 14 60-degree jig hook
• 7/64” gold tungsten slotted bead
• thread - 140 denier black or chartreuse
• black wooly bugger marabou
• krystal flash – mixed colors
• chartreuse strung saddle hackle

We will continue to broadcast the sessions via Zoom and YouTube Live for those who cannot attend, and we will record the session for future reference. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the Zoom numbers, please email Bill Morrison.  The YouTube livestream and recording will be posted to the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel.

January 23rd meeting - Mixed Bag Photos, Late Winter Crappie

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, January 23, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

Come join us for our first meeting of the year. We're all looking forward to reconnecting after the holidays and talk some club business and more importantly, talk some fishing.  Yes, good fishing is almost here.  On the agenda:

• Short admin meeting to catch members up on club-related items
• Presentation by Jim Johnson on photography guidelines and best practices for our Mixed Bag Contest.
• Presentation by Catch Cormier on late winter crappie tactics, what to look for as crappie move to spawning areas over the next month.

As always, the public is welcome. For Zoom connection, email Mike or Bill for meeting number and password. For the KFF YouTube Channel, use this link and go to Live videos - http://bit.ly/3oBk106

NOFF Expo this Saturday!

2023 New Orleans Fly Fishing Expo
Saturday, January 21st
8:00am to 3:30pm
St. Christopher the Martyr School Gymnasium
3900 Derbigny St, Metairie, LA
Free admission!

For a full size Expo Flyer, CLICK HERE

Hosted by the New Orleans Fly Fishers Club, this biennial event (every odd year) is a celebration of fly fishing, featuring all aspects of our sport. Whether you’re wanting to get into fly fishing, or a seasoned veteran, there’s a program or activity certainly to be of interest.

Activities will include fly casting seminars and demonstrations, fly tying instruction and demos, seminars and destination seminars, Sports Writers Roundtable, Iron Fly Tyer competition, auctions and raffles of top end products and flies, artists and vendors, and Kids Fly Fishing Casting and programs. Proceeds go to benefit the club’s educational and philantrophic initiatives.

NOFFC is the second oldest club in Louisiana, having formed in 1984 by Ted Cabali and Tom Jindra. For nearly four decades, the club has been a major contributor to the growth of saltwater fly fishing and fly tying in Louisiana, with several members well recognized in the regional and national fly tying community.

In preparation for the biennial expo, NOFFC has unveiled a new website. The domain remains the same, but there’s new content. Webmaster Wayne Schnell is still putting the final pieces together, but in addition to the latest club news and a more detailed “Calendar of Events”, the site will also include articles of interest to all fly anglers. Check it out at www.neworleansflyfishers.com.