Sunday, August 25, 2019

August 26th general meeting - Casting Skill presentation, Casting video

Kisatchie Fly Fishers general meeting
Monday, August 26, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

On the agenda for our August meeting:
- tackle tips for September redears
- a brief presentation on the FFI and KFF Casting Skills Challenge

- a portion of a new video by Gary Borger, demonstrating the 3-finger grip

Also, upcoming Fall trips and events

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

Friday, August 23, 2019

KFF member's piece featured in national magazine

We have a celebrity in our club!  Gene Taylor, our Fly Tying Co-Chair and resident bibliophage, was published in the Summer issue of The Drake magazine. 

In his article, entitled "Whippersnapper: The Joys of Being a Designated Youngin", Gene recants his experiences as a young member in a club with many seasoned anglers, most of which are of senior status.  He points out examples of their fanatical devotion to the sport, and their uncanny ability to catch fish. And how, being the young protege, he has learned much.

Most of the story involves a club trip to Pointe-aux-Chenes, and Gene's first encounter with the poisson rouge on fly from kayak. It's so funny, and yet so true! Save a long explanation, but my wife Lisa read the article to me out loud. She and I laughed at several passages in the article - she couldn't believe a fly fishing article was so enjoyable.

And that's what makes The Drake different from any other fly fishing periodical. In an age of declining magazine sales, its circulation continues to grow.  Its readers are mostly young and/or highly passionate about our sport.

The Drake magazine offers little "how to" about fly fishing. And none of those absurd glory shots of fish with the anglers exchanging high-fives. The essay style and creative photography of this magazine are for anglers who enjoy the right-brained side of fly fishing.

It's not a cheap magazine, but you get great content and lots of it. You can get a copy of The Drake by going to their website, or picking up a copy at the Books-A-Million bookstore in Alexandria.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

August 19th fly tying - March Brown Spider

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, August 19, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

This month, we'll be tying the March Brown Spider. Originated by his friend Sylvester Nemes, Dave Hughes mentioned it several times during his recent presentation at the NLFF Masters Series as one of his most productive wet flies. It imitates an emerging March Brown mayfly.

Materials we will use include:
- hook: standard wet fly, sizes 12 or 14
- thread: orange 6/0 or 8/0
- hackle: brown partridge
- rib: oval gold tinsel
- body: hares ear fur and sparkle yarn mix

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

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Mixed Bag Contest update - August 11

Joel Dinnat's white bass taken on Red River oxbow
August is the last full month of SweatFest 2019 - the festival no one likes to celebrate.  Typically a tough time for fishing. But the rivers were so high for so long, and now that they're low and clear, fishing is off the charts good at places like Red River, Saline Lake, Larto Lake, Deer Park and several others.  And salinities are up all over the coast.

Our members have taken advantage of this late summer jubilee with several recent entries to the Mixed Bag Contest.  The MBC is our months-long 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.

Here are the latest standings (number is different species registered):

Bill Morrison - 15
Carlton Townsend - 15
Robert Hughes - 12
Phil Havener - 8
Jim Johnson - 8
Glen Cormier - 8
Joel Dinnat - 6

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

Making the biggest jump since our last update were Robert Hughes and Bill Morrison, each with 5 entries.

A few of the species taken in the last month include: two white bass on the Red River (both on Clouser Minnow), Spanish Mackeral at Dauphin Island (Coma Spoon), Channel Catfish at Toledo Bend (Rosborough Hares Ear), Blue Runner in northwest Florida (Bead chain fly), Common Carp (Mop Fly) and an Ozark Bass (Creek Crawler) taken at Crooked Creek.

A reminder that there are 67 possible listings! So this contest is far, far from over. We'll be awarding 6 (six) places. In addition, all non-place entrants will have a shot in the Consolation Drawing.  Remember, you only need one (1) entry to be in that drawing.