Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The News Letter of the Michigan Fly Fishing Club Summer Edition 2014
UPCOMINGEVENTS
September 6, 2014MFFC PicnicHeld at Multi Lakes Conservation Association
September 10, 2014Speaker MeetingClarenceville Middle SchoolLivonia, 7:30 PM
September 24, 2014Activities MeetingClarenceville Middle SchoolLivonia, 7:30 PM
October 8, 2014Speaker MeetingClarenceville Middle SchoolLivonia, 7:30 PM
October 29, 2014Activities MeetingClarenceville Middle SchoolLivonia, 7:30 PM
Upgrading The Evening Hatch
As you probably know, we hadsome challenges with the publishingof The Evening Hatch. For this weapologize. The process of contactingpotential contributors to submit ma-terial, writing up summaries of clubevents, proof reading, gatheringphotographs, preparing the draftcopies of each article, merging allthese things with the new publishingsoftware and then publishing, print-ing hard copies, and preparing thehardcopies to be mailed is a heavyburden for one person. To improveour efficiency we added another per-son, Harry Briggs, to handle thepublishing of The Evening Hatch.We have also decided to include
some enhancements to The EveningHatch which we hope will make thenewsletter more interesting and im-prove the club membership experi-ence. Features included are listed be-low, however continued inclusion ofprinted content will largely dependon the membership submitting sto-ries, photographs, fly tying articles,fly tying patterns, and any other ma-terials of interest to the club mem-bership. To help us with this newrollout, please submit all photo-graphs and written material to SybilHunter, editor, [email protected] put “Hatch Submission” inthe subject line.
New features include:• Terry Drinkwine’s “Two Cents Worth” (a monthly column)• Meet Michigan Fly Fishing Club Members (photos and bios)• Where Was This Photo Taken? (no prizes - just fun guesses)• Fly Fishing Web Links (Please read the disclaimer at the bottom.)
Returning features include:• Photo Gallery of the Month• Fly of the Month
Hatchwww.mffc.org
Written by Dan Finsad
“You do it in the Dark.” Thatwas the title of the opening slidefor Phil Croff, owner of Croff CraftEnterprises said at the July MFFCSummer speaker’s presentation.Phil, also owner of CC GuideService, a custom drift boatdesigner and builder, is an avid flyfisherman and seasoned guide. Philgrew up in northern Michigan,fishing the small rivers, streams,and lakes in this pristinelybeautiful area. As a young adult,he began mastering the art of finecarpentry. Working as a craftsmanfor many years, he perfected hiscraft, with the help of manymentors along the way. Fly fishingwas always his favorite pass time,and tying flies became anobsession in the form of fieldresearch.
Feeling frustrated at limitationsof wading the local rivers, he setout to build a small drift boat thatcould successfully navigate thesmall rivers of northern Michigan.The first drifter was a twelve foot,two seater, and is now representedby Orvis. Guiding was a naturalchoice for Phil. He began takingclients in his hand crafted boats,and instructing them in the art offly fishing, with great success.
Phil has a particular affinity forhunting trophy brown trout atnight, which requires tenaciousability, and a sensitivity to theirculinary tastes. Big fish need to eatbig and often. Phil’s presentationexplained the intricacies ofthrowing big “splat” makingstreamers, for big brown trout, inpitch black nighttime conditions.A good headlamp, and powerfulbug spray are essential equipmentelements when searching for thesemonster browns. Phil hasoptimized the rod, reel and linecombinations to give his clients thebest chance at hooking a trophyparticularly in tight castingconditions.
While Phil’s talk centeredaround the pursuit of brown trout,Phil is a three season Michiganguide that offers trip in pursuit of:brook, rainbow trout, steel head,and salmon. His fourth season isspent building the beautiful handcrafted custom drift boats that bearhis name. He has also begunoffering small mouth guide trips inthe northern reaches of our state. Ifyou are interested in fly fishing offthe beaten path in northernMichigan, on lesser knownwaterways, Phil Croff will be yourguide.
Click here for Phil’s Slides
“You do it in the Dark”. That was the opening slidefor our July MFFC Summer speaker’s presentation.
Michigan Fly Fishing ClubP.O. Box 530861
Livonia, MI 48153
2014 - 2015•CLUB OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
Scott [email protected]
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
Spencer [email protected]
RECORDING SECRETARY
Mike [email protected]
TREASURER
MEMBERSHHIP
Dave [email protected]
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Christopher [email protected]
AT LARGE DIRECTORS
[email protected] DrinkwineSteve BocksKen Thelan
HATCH EDITOR / PUBLISHER
Sybil Hunter/Harry [email protected]
WEBMASTER
Harry [email protected]
Great Fishing Is Right Down The Road
“There is trout in an urban watershed!”Jason Davis, board member of theClinton Valley Chapter of TroutUnlimited said of Paint Creek, which runsfrom Lake Orion through the City OfRochester. “It is close to home. You canfish sulphers, BWOs and caddis flies.” Itis a good place to take local friends andthe kids. It is newly restored, and hasgreat terrestrial fishing. “I don’t ever goout there without an ant pattern,” Daviscontinued, “The best sulfur hatch I’veever seen was in Paint Creek. It was sothick you don’t want to open yourmouth!”
Starting out, Davis, the author of AnAngler’s Guide to Paint Creek said, “Igrew up up north fishing. That’s where Ilearned to trout fish,” said Davis.“Working with the water council with theDNR, I’ve seen 25 inch trout in PaintCreek. Above Tienken, we did a 266 fishsampling survey. Last year they weregreater than 18 inches.” He fished thatspot, and in his excitement posted apicture on FaceBook. “What kills a hotfishing spot more than FaceBook?”Asked Davis, NOTHING.”
In his guide book, he includes anangler access map created through thecooperative work of MFFC, TU, ClintonWatershed Council, and the OaklandCounty Planning & Development
Council. It addresses habitat, history,geology, population, the Paint CreekTrail, flies, and catch & releaseguidelines.
Geologically, a glacier build PaintCreek, it dredged out a corridor fromRochester to Lake Orion. “In the 15 milesof river, there were dams everywhere,”said Davis. They have come out overtime. Historically, the first dam came outdue to the storm of 1946. A huge stormhit the Rudd’s Mill area, flowed intoChapman’s Pond and the dams blew.”The most recent dam to come out was the
north dam in 2010.
Paint Creek is a stocked river.Different strains of trout were stocked,the Gillcrest Creek strain seemed to dothe best. “We stock in three locations,”said Davis. “The dam is gone, so the trouttravel.” There are even steelheadaccording to Davis! “There are onlynaturally reproducing steelhead in PaintCreek. I’m shocked to see them comeover Yates dam and look for the coldwater!”
Within Paint Creek there are sculpin,dace, bluegill, and bass too. “If you fishnorth of Tienken, there is one really biggoldfish. I can’t catch it. I landed anorthern pike, 30 inches, with four trout
in his belly. He was enjoying PaintCreek!”
Along the corridor that is Paint CreekTrail, there is private property, howeverthere is also added angler access withparking. MFFC funded and rehabilitatedone of the access points.
“The substrait doesn’t change, butPaint Creek changes every 48 hours,”said Davis. “The first ever accurate hatchschedule for Paint Creek was completed.There is a five week window.” Davispoints out, “The hatches last longer thanup north.”
His guide book lists 21 of PaintCreek’s most successful flies, andpromotes catch and release skills. “Wehave natural reproduction, andsupplemental stocking in a watershedwithin 1.4M people!”
Much restoration has been done onPaint Creek. In 2004, a $3M-$4M grantwas used to pull a four foot dam. “Thefish could head down, but not up,” saidDavis. “15 miles of stream were newlyconnected. Three days after the machineswere gone, two 18 inch fish were foundin that stretch. They adapted well.”
One stretch of the creek had concretewalls. When they redid the Rochesterbridge, the funding was used to redomost of the concrete. Due to the walls,“There was a tall column of fast waterwhen the water rises, now it goes outwide and slows down,” explained Davis.“We now have trout hotels up and downthe creek. The City of Rochester did aphenomenal job with this project. Thereare step pools going down, all three havetrout in them. Rainbow are in there. TheCity of Rochester has another grant to gobehind the library…to continue theproject to the mouth of the ClintonRiver.”
Davis advised that gear regulationsare, “artificial only. You are allowed twofish a day with a 14 inch size limit.” Healso reminded people, “Paint Creek is nota navigable river by law, but we can walkall the way down the creek. The Village
June Speaker - Jeff Davis
Continued next page
of Lake Orion public ordinance states youcannot wade within the limits of thevillage. Rochester Park has a great non-wading access point.” Take your nineyear old and an ant pattern said Davis.
During the first two weeks of fishingseason, Paint Creek tends to be busy.After May 15th there are very few fishers.In late summer, the water temps change
- hot in the day, cool at night. “There wasa thermal regime study on the creek,ending in 2009. We collected one and ahalf years of data of temps,” Davis said.“At 8 a.m. there was a cold spot, thenabout two to three in the afternoon, a hotspot. It’s all based on OU’s research.”(Oakland University) “The USGS flowgauge shows Paint Creek is a “flashy,
flashy watershed. Fish are good up to 100cfs.”
“Early season and late season I’llalways fish streamers,” said Davis inclosing. The spawn is late October, earlyNovember. “Late June sulphers hatchbest in the municipal park. You can usemidges 18 to 20. A Griffith’s Gnat. Goout to Paint Creek and skate it, the fish
Continued from previous page
Bamboo Is The BestWritten by Sybil Hunter
“If you’re a serious angler, you really
should have at least one bamboo rod,”said Ron Barch of Alder CreekEnterprises, Inc., speaker at the Augustsummer MFFC meeting at the CosticCenter. “Nobody needs a vintageheirloom cane rod, but it just isn’t asmuch fun without one!”
“It really doesn’t matter if you takean heirloom, fiberglass, split bamboorod, as long as it serves your purpose.”Barch says a successful fishermanchooses a rod based on the type offishing, the type of fish targeted, theaction of the rod, the distance, if fishingfrom a boat, and many other pertinentcriteria.
In the history of fishing, “They didn’thave to worry about casting a fly rod,”Barch said. “They would use whippyrods. There were so many fish, it didn’tmatter! Then things changed whenpeople started to understand dry flies.”
“Bamboo rods are made out of sixtapered strips,” Change is the key. “Themore it (the slope of the rod) changes,the quicker it changes, the faster the rod.As the slope of the graph increases,
that’s a faster rod. As the slope remainsthe same, that’s a slower the rod.” Barchcredits major adhesive, varnishes andequipment changes of the 1970’s as thebase of today’s rod technology.
Now, “Bamboo allows you to catchand hook better, and I can prove thatwith math and science,” said Barch. “Itflexes and it comes back to itself. Itholds it’s shape. Catch large fish onsmaller tippets. Bamboo is aphenomenal material to land a fish.”
“A rod must do two things, dampenand track,” said Barch. Dampening istested by wiggling the rod. It shouldonly wiggle one or two times. Trackingis “When you throw a line, it has to gostraight. Wiggle it and it must wigglestraight.”
Barch talked about different rodsfrom his arsenal - which he brought withhim. Paul Young rods, New Englandrods, and Dickersons. “Paul Young rodshave parabolic action. Like a snakeswallowing a toad. The slope actiondrops fairly quick, but the center is fatand slow sloped. It has a skinny butt and
a skinny tip.” After briefly showing aNew England rod, he moved to aprogressive Dickerson. “You either likeDickerson rods or you don’t,” saidBarch. Progressive rods have a constantrate of change as the rod butt tapersdown to the tip.
“The other reason I like bamboo flyrods, is they are a lot easier on my elbow
and shoulder. The bamboo is goodbecause it flexes more naturally,” saidBarch. “And some of the best rodmakers come from Michigan.”
“If you catch a trout in Michigan,then you can catch a trout in any placein our country,” affirmed Barch.Michigan is a challenge because it hasclean water, multiple insect hatches, anda variety of habitats. “This is the gradschool of angling, right here inMichigan!”
“Prior to 1970, it (rod building) wasall secret,” Barch said. Then peoplefound out, “When you apply heat tobamboo, it cures and makes it steely.”The natural occurring lignan, becomeslike plastic in the bamboo when heatedto 350 to 400 degrees. So if you have anold bent rod found in a barn at a garagesale, “Heat the rod and gently straightenit and it’s good for another day.”
Next Barch talked about the oldwives tales of bamboo rod fishing:
Bamboo Rods Are Too Slow. Barchsaid now bamboo rods can be designedto be slow, moderate, fast or extra fast.
“A seven foot oneGerman poker with 5-6wt. line is not fun but itcatches fish, big andfast. Fish in the northand east need slow rods.They need a rod whereit goes downdelicately.” Differentmaterials and adhesives,like two part epoxy,make all the difference.Projecting forwardBarch said, “In the next
20 years, we are going to start todetermine rod action by the adhesivesused.”
Fielding a question about epoxy,Barch indicated it is all in how theingredients are mixed, “or take a monthto dry if you mix it wrong.” Hesuggested one part powder to four parts
August Speaker - Ron Barch
Continued on next page
resin, but “…if it’s below 70 degrees, it’snever gonna set.”
Bamboo Rods Are Too Soft. “Nowthat we understand setting, we can makethem as hard as you want,” said Barch.“This thing will do anything a graphitewill do,” he said waving a cane rod. “Ifyou want to land a big fish - use a smallerrod.” All the components weight thesame,” Barch said of bamboo andgraphite, then cited the old adage, “Ifyour rod is too heavy, put your watch onyour other hand.” He continued, “Alonger rod is best when wading deep,fishing a canoe, or if you have to holdthe line over a lot…not good to catch bigfish. The shorter the lever, the larger thepurchase you have - the bigger the fish.”
Paul Young rods move fish in tightquarters. “It’s parabolic, so it will dowhatever I want,” said Barch. The tip isthe tipitt, the midsection is the transitionof power flow, and “The butt is power,it is what kicks the line out there. If Iwant to throw 60 or 70 feet of line, I justflex this son of a gun and the butt goeslike this. BAM!”
All Bamboo Rods Are The Same. Hementioned the Garrison Design, andMedocki which comes from Japan. “TheJapanese make absolute heirloom qualityfishing rods,” said Barch. He told thehistory of how westerners taught how tomake them after the war, and they tookit to an art form.
All that has to be done, is to changethe material to get a lighter rod. “In anoak tree, the center of the trunk is thestrongest,” said Barch, “but the center ofa bamboo is worthless. The strength ison the outside. Bamboo is made in 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10 sides rods.” At one point intime these rods were impregnated withBakeLite.
Bamboo Rods Are Too Fragile. “Fishdon’t break fly rods. Dummies like mebreak fly rods,” said Barch. “You canrepair bamboo fly rods. Wack a graphiteon a boat and it’ll break later whencatching a fish. Nick a bamboo and it has
a nick. Fill it with varnish and now oneknows!”
Bamboo Rods Are Too Expensive.Barch says, “Buy a graphite and it willlose half it’s value walking out the door.Bamboo cost $80 in the ’50’s and nowyou can sell it (the vintage rod) for $5000today.” Match the cane to the kind ofaction you seek, and that effects theprice. So can sealant, “It doesn’t matterwhat you seal the rod with…as long asit isn't too thick, too stiff and it keeps thebamboo waterproof.” Other things effecthe price as well, “You can buy a blankcane rod for $400 to $500, and pay a rodmaker $30 plus an hour. The Italians areconsummate fly fisherman. Their rodsare wrapped in silk with fine tippit.Pretty costs money!”
However, “You can get really goodfly rods for less than the cost ofgraphite,” said Barch. “If the roddampens, tracts ,and you like the action- then it’s a good rod.”
In parting, Barch said the goal is toenjoy fly fishing. Fish spring, summerand fall. Restore your rods over thewinter. Locally, he suggested LeonHanson, living in Plymouth, Michigan,who makes phenomenal rods. Anotherway? “I do rod making classes out of myhome,” said Barch. Students learn theskills, take the rod home to finish, thencome back to learn the next skill. Or,“One way is to take a workingvacation….there are stocked trout pondsand you learn to make a rod.” There arewell known classes in theCleveland/Castilia, Ohio and Catskillsareas. “Does anyone really need anheirloom split bamboo fly rod? No. Butit sure makes life a lotnicer.”
Ron’s Web Site:http://www.aldercreekrods.com/
Continued from previous page
Week 1Submitted by Jim WeaklandWe arrived on Saturday to a nice day at the Slash E. Therewere guys who arrived before we did who were fishing on theRuby, and did quite well. Spence and Dave Begley fished theBig Horn and never caught so many fish. As for us, the rainstarted on Sunday and continued almost all day every day wewere there, although we all did manage to catch some fish. Itried some Czech nymphing and caught a brown trout thatway. We went to a little river I like in a pretty, little valley andcaught some grayling and cutthroat.The last day there, wewent down to the Madison between Hebdon Lake and QuakeLake and caught the rainbow trout pictured with me. We evenhad some snow! Fishing on the whole was pretty good. Wedid some fly tying at night, teaching some people how toweave. Everyone had a lot of fun. I am already lookingforward to next summer!
Week 2Submitted by Chris HunterFortunately, the week one people took the weather with them.Only in Montana would warm, sunny weather be considered a“horrible day.” Despite the weather the fishing was still good,although we concede not as good as week one. However, the foodand camaraderie more than made up for the lack of fish. There isno comparison to the homemade Mexican Fiesta complete withPiñata. The Ruby was warm and the fish were reluctant, but rising.The Madison fished well - especially for Cory Tehran. By mycount, the best fishing of the trip was actually in the Park whereKevin Lipp took home the gold with an accidental fly selection.Who knew “PMD” sounded so much like “BWO?” I would saysomeone (Kevin) should have his hearing checked, but this mis-hearing resulted in some of the best fishing of the trip. If you needsome secret spots, a few beers will get you good tips from Phil andMark who seemed to have it together this week. If you need goodeating, Joyce and Al take home the trophy for restaurant selection.If you want to avoid being hooked in the arm (but oh, what a hookset) stay away from the Immediate Past President. (Sorry dad, Istill feel horrible…)
A Report From theMontana Fly Fishing Trip
How do flies get their names? Mostly the tyer at the visewill dub his new creation Jack’s Arapaho Streaker, TheKitchen Sink, Long Island Lucy, or the Purple MattressThrasher for various personal reasons. The names coincidewith times in the tyer’s life, events that left profound memo-ries, or to honor another person or place. Sometimes flies arenamed after sons or daughters, such as Wendy’s WonderBug. I have a pal who once spent money on a bonefish trip,rather than his wife’s continuing musical career, and named
a fly Lisa’s Piano…and theysay men aren’t sensitive! One evening, at a gathering
at the beach bar at the CoralSands Hotel on Harbour Is-land, Bahamas, I was talkingbonefishing with Alan, myNew York pal who visits Har-
bour Island each year for the same week as I do. It was astar-filled night, the drinks were flowing, the music driftingout across the beach, and there was a good crowd ofpeople. Then SHE appeared. A newly-arrived couple came down to the beach bar, sat
down at the table next to ours and ordered some rumpunch. They were from Texas. He was somewhat older thanher, and by their looks his lady friend was either a new wife,or new girlfriend. Regardless, she was wearing a clingy,yellow, terry-cloth dress that showed off every curve. Shehad curves in places where most women don’t have places.Every man at the bar took notice. She was suddenly thesexiest woman in the world! Then she got up to dance to thesweet beats of some Soca music and I waited for a riot tobreak out. She danced for several songs, every man within ahalf-mile radius was hypnotized. I believe that night in thesoft Bahamian breeze, I could actually hear lust. EvenAlan, who cannot stop thinking about bonefishing for morethan three minutes, took notice. Alan and I were fairly new to bonefishing back then and
we had fly boxes full of the hot patterns of that time - the oldstuff - including every imaginable Crazy Charlie pattern inthree sizes and twelve colors. One popular pattern of the daywas called the Horror, which was probably the simplest
pattern to tie. It consisted of a yellowchenille body, fox squirrel tail wingand brown thread. Simple, yet effec-tive, and I always carried a few of themin varying sizes. I was scheduled to fish with Bone-fish Joe the next morning, to whichAlan was whining because if I was
fishing with Joe, that meant that he wasn’t. His only optionwas to go to Girl’s Bank which is the “wading” flat adjacentto Harbour Island, near the power plant, and down the hillfrom Gusty’s Bar. When there are other fishermen on Har-
bour Island, and Joe is booked, those not fishing with Joeend up at Girl’s Bank. If there are several fishermen, Girl’sBank becomes overcrowded real quick. It is probably themost pounded flat in the Bahamas, the bonefish are veryspooky and very difficult to hook. This is where one addstwo-feet of 8-lb tippet and rummages through the fly boxlooking for a sparsely-dressed #8 fly with no eyes. The kindof fly one seldom uses. To save my good friend Alan from having to join the
crowd at Girl’s Bank – and not listen to him whine anymore- I invited him to fish with us. We met Joe at the PLP dockat the arranged time and headed over to Nurse CreekFlat. Joe started polling and I was first up. I tied on a #4Horror, the tide was ebbing as the water was gettingskinny. After casting to a few large singles, a school of fishbegan working across the flat. The tails were up, Joe quietlyput the boat in position for a cast. I led the school as they moved left to right, let the fly lay
for a few seconds, then slowly began to strip. The fourleading fish charged the fly and I hooked up. After a shortbattle with a spirited three-pounder I released the fish and letAlan have the bow. As he was stripping out line he turned to me and asked,“What’d you catch that fish on?”Without missing a beat I answered, “A Texas Yellow!” Alanjust smiled.
Coral Sands Beach Bar
How Flies Get Their NamesWritten by John Pinto
Additional stories and writings by Terry can be found on his web site:
http://www.terrydrinkwineoutdoors.com/
“She Who Must Be Obeyed” got hold of a recipe thatcalled for frozen rhubarb and buttermilk, amongst otherthings. She bought the buttermilk but couldn’t find frozenrhubarb so she abandoned the recipe and said I coulddrink the buttermilk. I haven’t had buttermilk in yearsand after the first sip, I remembered how much I used tolike it.
Things happen like that: In this age of instantcommunication, direct access to other people’s ideas anda direct channel to our pocketbooks, it’s easy to forgetwhat we liked yesterday and get caught up in the “new.”The upside is we discover new ways of doing new thingsin new ways with new “stuff.” The downside is we forgethow well something worked and how much fun we hadmaking or using it.
Take flies; remember when a dry fly consisted of dullsparse hackle and dubbing - usually from rabbit, muskrator beaver? A wet fly was made from a hare’s mask withguard hairs plucked out for legs and a duck quill segmentfor a wing. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder, thesecreations were beautiful, especially if you tied themyourself and enticed a trout to take one. And if you didn’thunt, road kill was a common method of obtainingmaterial.
If you check todays fly shops, you can still find thetraditional dry patterns, but the wet patterns aren’t asreadily available. Instead there are big, multi-coloredcreations with man-made material named after their tiers(usually guides) who produce pictures of big trout theyclaim succumbed to their inventions. So we buy in andbuy them.
Of course, some of those claims are true; after all, ifyou use one fly enough times you’re going to catch a fish.But just like remembering how good buttermilk tastes,when standing in a river, inching my way toward a riffleor sweeper, floating a traditional wet fly downstream andhooking a fish in its element, well…buttermilk!
TD
This page will introduce you to New club members and after we have introduced thenew members, we will re-introduce Current members that you may see at the meetings
and cannot connect a name to the face.
Ryan Youmans is 17 years old and a junior inhigh school, a varsity swimmer, and a boy scout.What hooked him on fly fishing was the fly fishingmerit badge taught at Cole Canoe Base by one ofthe members of our club. Since then, he upgradedhis equipment and joined the MFFC, which he en-joys. Now he works at the camp were he wastaught fly fishing, and teaches kids and adults howto fly fish.
Chuck Youmans is 56 years old, married and has twosons - both of whom love to fish. His family loves bassfishing both up north in Michigan and in Tennessee. Heworked for General Motors for 36 1/2 years at RomulusEngine. He is pretty new to fly fishing and enjoys it. Healso enjoys the MFFC meetings with the different speakersand topics.
Photo Gallery of the Month
Those were somebusy beavers!
Chris Hunter, Ray Geitka & AlHaxton share a drink withOpening Day attendees at GatesAu Sable Lodge.
Reel women fish.
Randy Parks & Bill
Bubba & Skeeter(Knock it off guys!)
Scotty & Alan enjoyingthe morning camaraderie.
Terry Drinkwine & Crew
The Pattees
Skeeter (aka Jim Holly)
Joyce & Al Haxtonenjoying the day.
Jim & Randy
Peter Albertson
Joe, John, Randy & Charliecelebrating Opening Day Weekendimbibing in the decadent cuisine of theday - Cheez-it's and Guiness
Bill & Mark
Bubba (akaCharlie Gray)
Riverview Lodge
Where was this photo taken?Answer in the Hatch Next Month
MFFC club members: Please submit photos for the “Where was this Photo Taken” page tobriggsha@gmail.
The photos you submit should be of places that you know several other club members have fished .
Fly Fishing Web Links
Organization Information/Goals Web address
Trout Unlimited
To conserve, protect,and restore NorthAmerica's cold waterfisheies and theirwatersheds
http://www.tu.org/
Federation of FlyFishers
An international non-profit organizationdedicated to thebetterment of thesport of fly fishing.
http://www.fedflyfishers.org/
Clinton RiverWatershed Council
…to protect,enhance, andcelebrate the ClintonRiver, its watershed,and Lake St. Clair.
http://www.crwc.org/
MichiganDepartment ofNatural Resources
Michigan DNR siteand Fishing Licenseinformation
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364---,00.html
AuSable RiverAssociation
….to preserve thewild, scenic, andrecreationalresources of theAuSable Watershed.
http://www.ausableriver.org/
Fly Anglers On Line 1000's flies to tie http://www.flyanglersonline.com/
Stream Flow Data United States http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt
Stream Flow Data Michigan Streams http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mi/nwis/rt
AuSable River South Branch Flow http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mi/nwis/uv?site_no=04135700
AuSable River Mio Flow Data http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mi/nwis/uv?site_no=04136500
AuSable River Near McKinley Flow http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mi/nwis/uv?site_no=04136900
The links on this page have been selected to provide a place where you can quickly find information,as opposed to fly fishing equipment, that may be important to you in your fishing adventures. Any
suggestions for additional links should be submitted to the Board for approval.
With summer time coming to an end soon, thefamed Ephron time is upon us in our Great State ofMichigan. One thing you don’t want to do, is get thesemayflies confused with the tiny white mayflies whichalso hatch this time of year. It is easy to tell thedifference between the two. The Ephrons are usually insizes 10, 12, and very rarely 14, where as the tinywhite mayfly is in sizes 26 and up. So you shouldn’thave an issue telling these white aerial dancers apart. You are now probably asking yourself, “What timewill the hatch take place?” Ephron flies hatch anywherefrom early evening (7-8pm), to late night (10:30pm-12midnight). Therefore, be ready to fish them from pre-dark into the darkness of the night. However,remember the weather and the water flow are majorfactors in determining hatch time. Below is one of my flies used for fishing thesenightly dancers. This fly is one of my creations called
“Wang Dang Doodle Ephron.” It is named after a bluessong made famous by the late great Koko Taylor andHowlin Wolf. It was written by Willie Dixon. The trick to tying this fly, is either to trim the bottomin a “V” pattern so it rides high on the water, or to trimoff all the hackle so it rides in the surface film. For theindicator, only use Cerise or Pink. If you use any othercolor it bleaches out in certain types of water. Whenyou wrap the hackle, it is done like a Bi-Visible. Put agood coating of dubbing on the hook shank so thehackle doesn’t slide or move. You could say it is sort ofa mash up fly - part Caddis and part Ephron. I knowfrom experience that it works great this time of year onthe Huron River. If you don’t want to tie this fly, Bailiwicks in Dexterkeeps them in stock. Tight lines andsnazzy flies, Todd.
Hook: Dry Fly Hook sizes 10 and 12Thread: White 70 Denier or 8/0 threadTail: 3 strands of Moose ManeDubbing: White Ice DubHackle (1st 1/3rd): White Dry Fly HackleHackle (2/3rd Thorax): Golden or Silver BadgerWing: Deer Hair (size of a pencil)Indicator: McFly Foam – Cerise or Pink
Summer Fly of the MonthBy Todd A.Schotts
MICHIGAN FLY FISHING CLUB MINUTES
APRIL 2014
Call To Order 7:30 pm by VP Finstad
Roll Call: Hunter; Bocks; Thelen; Scott; Finstad; Freeburg ; Schotts; Vanderhoof
Approval Of Minutes Minutes approved - Motion Thelen - Second Freeburg
Approval of Agenda Agenda approved - Motion Scott - Second Schotts
Officer Reports President - HunterElection Results Reviewed - Consensus Vote of Membership
Vice president - FinstadExpo Feedback Positive and Meet budget
Treasurer - FreeburgAnticipated Revenue Discussed With Monies ReallocatedTo Fill Increases & Decreases in Expenses of Particular ProgramsMotion to Present Budget to Membership - Finstad Second
Vanderhoof Corresponding Secretary - VanderhoofNo Speaker for May and July Still Open With the June MeetingRich Merlino with Be the Speaker. The Hatch Website UpdatesLooks Great and Expo Website Has Been Rebuilt
Membership - BulszewiczReport Filed With The Current Membership Of 410.
Reviewed the Report Further Which Expressed theInterest of New Members And Possible Changes Club Might Make
Events & OutingsTrout Tune-up & Public School Went Well with No Hitches14 People Attended The Pubic School.Trout Opener Was Well Attended With the River RunningThrough It and Over It.Small Mouth Outing Has 54 People Signed Up. Shirts Also HaveBeen Ordered And Are In.Youth School Will Be Held On May 3rd.Banquet Going Well Will Possible Need to Raise the PriceNext Year
New Business Joe Sattler Gave Presentation for MUCC Wanting Contribution FromFrom Club. Motion Hunter Second Finstad - Motion PassedKathi Gross Memorial: Y2K Fly Pattern Will Be Tied By Al HaxtonFor Contributions.Conservation Committee Report Given As To This Year's DonationsMotion To Approve Finstad - second Hunter. Motion Passed
Old Business Peter Albertson Gave Update on New Brochure & Business Cards
Visitor Comments John Pinto Has Offered To Raffle A Fly For Club Fundraiser.Moved To May Meeting.
Adjournment Motion Scott- Second Freeburg Motion Passed 9:50pm
MICHIGAN FLY FISHING CLUBP.O. Box 530861Livonia, MI 48153
Fold line
