March 28th - annual "On The Water Picnic"

KFF annual Spring Picnic
Monday, March 28, 2022
Cotile Lake Recreation Area
(weather permitting)

** If inclement weather, we'll reschedule the picnic to a later date.

In lieu of our March meeting, we'll hold our annual Spring Picnic at Cotile Lake.  Kisatchie members, family members and member guests are welcome to attend!  Come anytime that afternoon and fish from the bank.  Or bring your boat, kayak, pirogue, and launch at the Rec Area.  Or take in some casting lessons and/or participate in our Casting Skills Program.

Then at 6:30pm, we'll start gathering at Pavilion #2 (the open pavilion overlooking the lake) and share fishing stories while nourishing on burgers and hot dogs fresh off the grill.  Participants are welcome to bring side dishes and desserts.  Please respond to the PICNIC email regarding side items.

Please note the following:
1. There is NO entrance fee for our group. Tell the staff at the entrance that you are with "Kisatchie Fly Fishers" and they'll let you in free.
2.  Bring your favorite beverages. We'll have bottled water.
3.  Bring a chair.
4.  Bring your fly rod and flies.
5.  Bring a camera (or smartphone) to submit entries for the Mixed Bag Contest.

If you plan to attend, please fill out this short form:
CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP.

Please signup if you plan to attend so we'll know how much food to bring.

March 14th fly tying - A&W emerger

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, March 14, 2022
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month, Bill Morrison will lead us in tying a version of Jeff Guerin's A&W Emerger pattern. Jeff developed this buggy pattern specifically for the March Brown hatch on the Little Missouri River in south Arkansas. While we'll tie in March Brown colors in size #14, different colors and sizes also work well at time.  Fish the A&W by stripping it slowly just under the surface and watch out - the eats can be very aggressive!  This fly in black and chartreuse version could also be used for bluegill.

All materials will be provided, and we will have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.  Cream thread is used for this fly, but brown also works as well.  Size 70 or 140 denier is good.

Masks are optional when indoors at the library. For Zoom participants, enter the meeting number and password sent by email. For YouTube participants, search for "Kisatchie Fly Fishers" on YT.

KFF February 28 meeting - Knots

KFF monthly meeting
Monday, February 28, 2022
6:30 pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom

This month's agenda will begin with a short session on club business items.  Afterwards, Robert Hughes and Chris Perkins will conduct a hands-on fly fishing knots tying clinic. This session will be very informative and useful for both new and veteran flyfishers.

Upcoming events:

• Mar 11-12 - Gulf Coast Council Sweetwater Classic, McComb, MS
• Mar 13 - Daylight Savings Time begins
• Mar 14 - KFF Fly Tying, A&W Emerger
• Mar 28 - KFF annual Spring Picnic at Cotile Lake Rec Area
• Mar 31 - Apr 3 - March Brown trip to the Little Mo, Arkansas
• Apr 11 - Fly Tying (TBA)
• Apr 23 - Fly Fishing 101, Booker-Fowler Hatchery

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

February 17th fly tying - Bream Killer

KFF monthly fly tying session
* Thursday, February 17, 2022
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

* please note the date change due to Valentines Day *

From Bill Morrison, Tying Committee Chair: 
This month, Jim Johnson will lead us in tying the Bream Killer, an effective bluegill/panfish pattern that is similar to a slow-sinking spider with the addition of a hair wing.  This will be a fun and relatively easy tie (especially compared to the Parachute Adams last month!), and we hope to have time to tie two copies.

All materials will be provided, and we will have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.  Olive thread is used for this fly, but black also works as well.  Either 70 or 140 denier will work.  For your reference, I have included a material list below. I hope to see you on the 17th for this fun tie!  Thanks and tight lines!"

Material list for Bream Killer in Olive – these are the materials we will use, but almost anything will work.

• #14 curved nymph hook such as the Daiichi 1260 or similar
• .020 lead wire
• Olive or black thread: 70 or 140 denier
• Olive Wooly Bugger medium chenille
• Squirrel tail
• Round rubber legs – we will use medium size in white, but almost any color will work.

* please note: as this time, masks are optional at the library *

Festival time is here!

Cenla Fly Fishing & Light Tackle Festival
Saturday, January 29, 2022
8:30am to 3:30pm 
Kees Park, Pineville, LA
FREE admission!!

Every even-numbered year we hold our biennial Festival, a celebration of the light tackle lifestyle.  This event is a unique experience, vastly different from most outdoors shows.  With the Festival, it's all about education, instruction, and community.

We encourage attendees to come learn about new places to fish, how to fish them. Watch some of the top tiers from across the region tie flies, or make jigs.  Cast a fly rod or a spinning rod, or learn how a local rod company builds rods. Get casting instruction from top FFI certified instructors.  Learn why kayaks are an economical and very effective way to fish to fish the marsh.  

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! Speaking of food, we'll have a pastalaya cooked by our own Greg Babin for just five bucks - including drink.

For complete details, including schedule, list of fly tiers and jig makers, exhibitors, speakers, and much more, click on the "2022 Fest" menu above.

KFF January meeting - Cenla Fest, ICAST report

KFF monthly meeting
Monday, January 24, 2022
6:00pm     * note change in meeting time *
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom 

This month, our meeting will kickoff at 6:00 pm instead of 6:30.  The earlier start is to facilitate final preparations for our biennial Cenla Fly Fishing and Light Tackle Festival which takes place later in the week - Saturday, January 29th at Kees Park in Pineville.  

We'll start the meeting with details on the Fest and proceed to where members can help.  

Areas include:

• setting up electrical cords for fly tiers
• greeting tiers and vendors and assisting them carry equipment into building
• volunteering at registration, membership, donation tables to allow breaks
• other actions to help make the event run smoothly for attendees
• donations for our club raffle, gamblers draw and silent auction
  

So that the meeting isn't just serious business, we'll follow up with a 30-minute two-part presentation by Glen 'Catch' Cormier from ICAST 2021 back in July.

•  Ten best and worst new fly fishing products / accessories 
•  State of the Sport - Fly Fishing statistics 2020
  

We need a strong turnout at this meeting to help get our festival organized.  Please make every effort to attend. As always, our meetings are open to the public!

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

January 10th fly tying - Parachute Adams

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, January 10, 2022
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

From Bill Morrison: we will tie the #14 Parachute Adams in a March Brown color as shown in the photo. This color should be especially good for those early morning or just-before-dark risers on the Little Missouri during our club March Brown trip (March 31-April 3). It is identical to the “regular” grey Parachute Adams, so the skills learned in tying this version will directly apply to the regular Parachute Adams.

 

The Parachute Adams is sort of the “gumbo” of fly tying. It seems that everyone has their own recipe and methods - though tiers may not be as passionate about their recipes as gumbo cooks! To many, the most challenging piece of the fly is tying the parachute post and there seems to be an almost infinite number of methods posted on the Internet. I struggled with this for a long time as well until I discovered an easy method to hold the post and wrap the thread.

 

As always, beginners and guests are welcome!  All materials will be provided, and we will have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.  For more information, email me at kffcpr@gmail.com.

On-site attendees should bring a mask as the library requires masks when indoors. For Zoom participants, enter the meeting number and password sent by email.

2022 Mixed Bag Contest goes Live!

Our Mixed Bag Contest is back for a sixth year! The MBC kicks off tomorrow Saturday, January 1st at 12:01am.

Mixed Bag is a members-only, months-long tournament where the goal is to catch as many different species on fly rod. It's CPRE which means catch-photo-release encouraged. And best of all, there is no entry fee!

Are you ready?  Here's what you need to compete:

• Be a 2022 member of KFF
• Go to the Mixed Bag Contest page and review the rules
• Have your camera or smartphone available when fishing
• Take photos of your catch and include either the fly rod or fly, or both
• Log them in using the links on the Mixed Bag page.
• Bring your enthusiasm!  Remember, while the members who catch the most different species win prizes, all other participants are eligible for several consolation prizes.  Each entry gets you one ticket into the consolation drawing.  

Check out our website and Facebook page during the year for frequent updates.