Merry Christmas!

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

And 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 keep in our prayers those in suffering, in distress, and away from their homes and families this holiday season including our service members.

Shortly after Christmas, we'll have a post about the upcoming 2024 Mixed Bag Contest.  In the meantime, love and peace to everyone from Kisatchie Fly Fishers!

Festival time just weeks away!

Cenla Fly Fishing Festival
Saturday, January 20, 2024
8:30am to 3:30pm 
Kees Park, Pineville, LA
FREE admission!!

Every even-numbered year we hold our biennial Festival, a celebration of the fly fishing and 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 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 "2024 Fest" menu above.

Club honorees recognized at banquet

At our annual Christmas banquet, the club honored those members who have had an outstanding year, either in service to the club, in their accomplishment and/or contribution as fly tiers, or with individual achievement. Each recipient will receive a custom-designed coffee mug with their recognition, featuring artwork by famed fly fishing artist James Lady.  

Member of the Year - Jeff Albrecht
Awarded to that member who, either made important contributions to our club, or assisted in helping others, or achieved milestones in their own skills. Jeff was a fixture at most of our activities, and had several personal accomplishments as an angler. Several of his "new" species were entered in this year's Mixed Bag.  

Fly Tier of the Year - Richard Dewees
Awarded to that member who, either through active participation, or educating and sharing skills, or significant improvement in their own skills, advanced the art within our club. Richard participated in nearly all our tying sessions, volunteered as a demo tier at external events, and assisted newer tiers.

Presidents Award - Sam Poole, Jane Oxenhandler
This award is selected by the president in recognition of service to the club, or for any actions or deeds that they find worthy of recognition.  Club members Sam and Jane have provided the musical entertainment at all of our Christmas banquets. They also perform at all the local hospitals for patients, including the Cabrini Cancer Center.

Please join us in congratulating all of our 2023 award winners!

2023 Mixed Bag Contest results

Our 6th annual Mixed Bag Contest finished up on November 30th, and once again set records. The MBC is a months-long CPRE (catch-photo-release encouraged) tournament where size doesn't matter, but diversity does. The purpose of the contest is to produce a database of all species that can be caught on fly, where they can be caught, and what flies worked. This database has helped our members become more successful anglers.

At our recent Christmas Party, tournament committee chair Bill Morrison announced the results.  The top five (5) places were awarded Orvis gift cards. In addition, every participant had one ticket for each species they entered placed in the Consolation Drawing for over a dozen prizes.   For the final grand prize drawing, all tickets - including those of winners - were placed back in the bucket for a Redington Rise fly reel valued around $200.  Congratulations to Rich Hudson who was the lucky winner of the reel!

For 2023, we had 20 participants, slightly down from 22 the year before. We also had the second highest number of entries (170) ever, and the most entries ever from one participant (36).  

Among the most common species registered were bluegill (18), rainbow trout (12), longear sunfish (12), largemouth bass (9) and green sunfish (9).  Altogether 55 species were entered, including 10 new species never previously entered in the Mixed Bag.  Some of the more interesting species included: Black Spotted Topminnow, Cahaba Bass, Lowland Cichlid, Orangespotted Sunfish, and Creek Chub.  But the winner of "Most Interesting Species" was Carlton Townsend for a Snake River Cutthroat caught on the Norfork River.

By state, Louisiana had the most entries (108) followed by Arkansas (40), Alabama (8), northwest Florida (7), Mississippi (4) and Oklahoma (3). The most common waters for entries were the Little Missouri River in southwest Arkansas (25), Indian Creek (16), Little River (10), LSUA Ponds (8), and Capitol Lake in Baton Rouge (7).  Altogether there were entries from 52 bodies of water, up from 48 last year.

The most common fly patterns were the Soft Hackle Beadhead Hares Ear (25), Woolybugger (10), Popper (10), Mad Dog (9), Rio Bandito (8), Clouser Minnow (8), and the Bully Bluegill - Rosenbohm Edition.

Here's the final standings for the 2023 Mixed Bag:
1st - Bill Morrison (36 entries)
2nd - Chris Williams (26)
3rd - Jim Johnson (21)
4th - Noah Hoyt (11)
5th - Joel Dinnat (10)

Many thanks to Bill Morrison for his efforts in administrating the Mixed Bag entries and compiling these statistics.

The 2024 Mixed Bag will kickoff on January 1st. The form will go active shortly after midnight. 

November 27th meeting - Mussel Mania

KFF general meeting
Monday, November 27, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

Our final club meeting of the year will feature guest speaker Lindsey Adams, biologist with the National Fish Hatchery in Natchitoches.  Lindsey has worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife since 2015, with a specialty in freshwater mussels. 

Lindsey will give a brief overview of the current operations at the Hatchery, then discuss the Louisiana Pearlshell Mussels. Mussels and clams are of great importance to our fisheries, and Lindsey will explain reasons why and projects NFH-N are undertaking for the recovery of a native species to Rapides and Grant parishes.

Also on the agenda:  Keith Breazeale will give details on the December 4th Christmas Party, and Catch Cormier will update us on the Cenla Fly Fishing Festival on Jan. 20th.

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  

November 6th fly tying - Glades Minnow

KFF monthly fly tying session
* Monday, November 6, 2023
6:30 pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

* Please note that this month's tying session is on the 1st Monday instead of 2nd Monday, due to the Veterans Day holiday

For our last tying session of 2023, Chris Williams will be on hand to lead us in tying the Glades Minnow. This fly was created by Mike Connor, former south Florida guide and Conservation Editor of Florida Sportsman magazine. According to Chris, this pattern  imitates the abundant Mosquito Fish & Mollies that call the tanic waters of the Everglades home. These minute craft fur streamers are a quick and effective tie for targeting largemouth, snook, peacock bass, redfish and many other Florida (and Louisiana) species.

Chris will be making the 3 hour trip to join us in person.  He is an excellent tier and instructor and always a wealth of tying knowledge.  Please join us to welcome Chris!

Newcomers are welcome to participate or watch. As always, all materials other than thread will be provided, and we have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.

As always, we broadcast the sessions live via Zoom for those who cannot attend. The livestream will be posted to the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the link, please email Bill Morrison.   

October 23rd meeting - Fall speckled trout

KFF general meeting
Monday, October 23, 2023
6:00pm - casting outside (weather permitting)
6:30pm - meeting & program
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

Fall is the best time for marsh fishing for speckled trout. This month, Catch Cormier will share the basics for marsh trout success including tackle, flies, techniques, what to look for and where to go.  For example, how to make and use the Vertically Oriented Strike Indicator (VOSI).  He will also discuss the new regulation proposals for specks and why they're necessary.   

Come early around 6:00pm for some demonstration on the lawn back of the library. Bring your rod, or use a club rod, and get some casting coaching from our members.

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  

October 16th fly tying - Redfish Crack

KFF monthly fly tying session
* Monday, October 16, 2023

6:30 pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Casting prior to meeting beginning at 5:30pm

* Please note that our October tying session is on the 3rd Monday instead of 2nd Monday, since the latter is a holiday

This month's fly is the Redfish Crack, created by Andy Packmore of Houston, and then popularized by Port O' Connor fishing guide, Capt. Scott Null.  It's gone through several iterations, and there are numerous variations, so it's more of a style than an exact pattern.  Regardless, the Redfish Crack uses a variety of synthetic materials to create a impressionitic form of shrimp or other crustacean that rides hook up.

Newcomers are welcome to participate or watch. As always, all materials other than thread will be provided, and we have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.

As always, we broadcast the sessions live via Zoom for those who cannot attend. The livestream will be posted to the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the link, please email Bill Morrison.