May "meeting" dates revised

Mondays will be "Social Distance Casting" with Roger Breedlove. Location TBA. 5:00pm. Join Roger for casting instruction and/or Casting Skills Challenge. Remember to wear a mask and keep a 6 foot distance. Limited participation, so pre-registration required.

Tuesdays will now be a continuation of our online fly tying sessions via the Zoom online video meeting website / application. To join in on "Tying Tuesdays" remember to go to www.zoom.us and enter the meeting ID and password. As we've done previously, each session will begin with the instructor tying the fly without pause, so it can be recorded for posting to YouTube. After the demo, the group will tie the pattern together.

Tuesday, May 5 - Tying Techniques, Q&A
Tuesday, May 12 - Wooly Bugger - Gene Taylor
Tuesday, May 19 - Tying Techniques, Q&A
Tuesday, May 26 - Matt Bennett's Lunch Money streamer - Jim Johnson

Tying the Bully Bluegill Spider

Monday we held our weekly online fly tying session using the Zoom video conferencing application. Bill Morrison led the group in tying the Bully Bluegill Spider, a simple but effective pattern created by Terry Wilson. Terry and his wife Roxanne have co-authored several books on fly fishing warmwater species.  Here is a video of Bill's walkthrough of tying the BBS.

April 27th tying session - Bully Bluegill Spider

KFF online fly tying session
Monday, April 27, 2020
6:00pm
Zoom meeting at http://zoom.us

Remember to enter the Zoom meeting id and meeting password before joining session.  Instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting, and how to test for sound, are in the April 6th post.  If you do not have the Zoom access information, please email Bill at this email address and he will resend.

For each tying session, there will be two parts. The first part we will demo the fly without pause and record the demo for posting to the KFF website.  The second part, we will start over and all tie the pattern together. During the 2nd part, questions can be asked.

On Monday, we'll tie the Bully Bluegill Spider. This is a very easy fly to tie, yet one that should be in every bream angler's fly box.  The BBS is weighted towards the rear for a vertical descent.

Materials:
- nymph hook #10 or #12 (Sub: dry fly or almost any hook in this size range)
- black thread 70 denier (Sub: heavier thread or different color)
- lead wire size .015 (Sub: .020 or .025.  Omit, but fly won't sink as well)
- ultra chenille standard, chartruese or any color you want. (Sub: regular chenille, small)
- black rubber legs, small  (Sub: any rubber leg or spinner‐bait skirt material)

If time allows, we'll also tie a Foam Spider. Like the BBS, the rubber legs allow for lifelike action that bluegill can't resist.

Materials:
- Fly Foam 2mm, chartreuse (Sub: 3mm foam or craft foam [super glue two layers together if too
thin]. Foam spider kits with pre‐cut bodies, legs, and hooks are availble from several suppliers)
- Legs and thread ‐ Same as for the Slow Sinking Spider

April 21st tying session - Basics, Problems, and Q&A

KFF online fly tying session
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
6:00pm
Zoom meeting at http://zoom.us

Remember to enter the Zoom meeting id and meeting password before joining session.  Instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting, and how to test for sound, are in the April 6th post.  If you do not have the Zoom access information, please email Bill and he will resend.

We won’t be tying a particular fly but will go over a few basic tying skills or techniques and answer any questions you may have about fly tying.  Our tentative plans are to look at the following techniques:

•     Multiple methods for tying in rubber legs
•     Applying dubbing:  forming a dubbing noodle and dubbing loop.
•     Any requests you may have (such as Mike’s suggestion about tying on eyes)

Attendees can use the Zoom "raise a hand" feature to ask questions during the session.

Please email Bill Morrison with any other techniques you would like to see or any tying questions you may have.

Tying the Slow Sinking Spider

This past Monday we conducted our first-ever online fly tying session using the Zoom video conferencing application. Featured pattern was Stephen Robert's Slow Sinking Spider.  The first half of the session, Bill Morrison did a walk-through demonstration using Zoom's recording feature.  Bill has since posted that part of the session to YouTube.

April 13th fly tying online - Slow Sinking Spider

KFF online fly tying session
Monday, April 13, 2020
6:00pm
Zoom meeting at http://zoom.us

Remember to enter meeting id and meeting password before joining session.  The id and password were sent to all members in an email. If you're a KFF member and did not receive this email, please make sure to contact Rich Hudson or Bill Morrison.

Instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting, and how to test for sound, are in the post below.

Monday kicks off the first of several weekly tying sessions during the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.  These sessions will alternate between tying patterns and covering tying basic skills.

On Monday, Bill will lead us in tying the Slow Sinking Spider, created by our friend Stephen Robert of Houma.  The SSS is a great pattern for bedding bream and for fishing around docks and under trees.

KFF kicks off virtual fly tying sessions

With social distancing guidelines in place for the foreseeable future, the Fly Tying Committee has been experimenting with using Zoom - an online meeting tool - to continue our fly tying sessions during this time.  Zoom meetings can be attended on a computer (PC or Mac), smartphone, tablet, or other device with internet access.  From a participant standpoint, Zoom is free, and fairly simple to use.

Last week, FTC member Bill Morrison sent all active members an email with details. These included:

• Youtube videos created by Bill on how to use Zoom on computer or smartphone
• Other links for instruction on Zoom
• Dates for upcoming sessions and what fly will be tied at each session  (see below)

The biggest challenge for members will be to acquire the materials. Bill has listed each fly that will be tied, and sent out a materials list in case some need to be ordered. The list also includes substitutions so members can use materials they might have on hand.

Each tying session will begin with the instructor demo tying the fly without pause, so it can be recorded for posting to the KFF website (via Youtube) later. After the demo, the group will start over and everyone will tie the pattern together. During the 2nd half of the session, participants can "raise a hand" to ask questions.

In order to join each tying session, members will need to enter the meeting ID and password for that session. It will be emailed to members in advance. Since there is a limit on participants, members are asked -NOT- to share this info. In addition, the host (instructor) will review the guests list to insure there are no "crashers". 

Meeting Schedule

Tuesday, April 7 - Zoom practice session. Use this session to test your equipment and practice using Zoom.

Monday, April 13 - Fly Tying - Slow Sinking Spider - Bill Morrison

Tuesday, April 21, 2020:  Fly Tying Basics, Problems, and Q&A

Monday, April 27 - Fly Tying - Bully Bluegill Spider, Foam Spider (time permitting) - Bill Morrison

Monday, May 4 - Fly Tying Basics, Problems, and Q&A

Monday, May 11 - Fly Tying - Wooly Bugger - Gene Taylor

Monday, May 18 - Fly Tying Basics, Problems, and Q&A

Monday, May 25 - Matt Bennett's Lunch Money streamer - Jim Johnson

KFF Specific Zoom Videos (How to join our meetings and use basic features of Zoom)

Short YouTube of Zoom’s basic features on a computer:
https://youtu.be/0oUVKETpejM

See Bill's email for videos on how to join meetings.

To join by phone or tablet:

Download the app from the Apple App Store or the Google Store.

Start the Zoom app -> tap Join -> enter meeting ID ->enter your name as you want it to appear in the meeting -> tap the join button ->enter password.

To test computer equipment:

Join a test meeting to check camera, mic, and speakers at:  https://zoom.us/test

Tutorials on how to use Zoom:

A tutorial document specific to joining meetings from various platforms (Windows, Mac, iPhone, & Android) 
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting

Details on how to use Zoom on various browsers: 
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362593-Launching-Zoom-from-a-web-browser

There are lots of other tutorials on the Zoom page at
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697