WFC 10/09

www.wyflycasters.org

and diplomacy. Asmuch as I love andadore my wife, fishingwill always be -- mymistress.

•On Sept. 10 - 12, the Fly Casters

participated in the Wyoming Huntingand Fishing Expo at the Events Center.I stopped by our booth, periodically, tosay hello to the volunteers. It was greatseeing the children crowded around ourtable, learning about fish and aquaticinsects.

I want to thank Marty Robinsonfor helping to coordinate and staff ourbooth, and Art Van Rensselaer,Richard Soffe, John Fanto, HerbWaterman, Matt Stanton and Ed Ratefor ensuring that we were well repre-sented at the Expo. Outside, our flycasting instructors were Joe Meyer,Spencer Amend, Jim Herrin, Art VanRensselaer, Russ Newton, TomMcGeorge, Bob Stewart, Kim Levineand Andrew Sauter. Thanks to all thevolunteers for helping out at the Expo,and promoting the sport of fly fishingto the next generation.

•On Sept. 26, Joe Meyer planned an

innovative, new outing for the FlyCasters simply called, "Fishing withJoe." The outing specifically targetednew members learning how to fish. Atthe time of this writing, the outing isstill in the planning stages. But I lookforward to hearing how it went.

On Oct. 24, I am the streamkeeperfor a night fishing outing at Gray Reef.I'm hoping the weather holds out.During last year's outing, I caught fourlarge rainbows at night, including a 22-inch fish. This is a great opportunity tocatch a real pig, so if you are interested,contact me by my cell phone, 828/467-3789, or by e-mail, [email protected].

I better draw this letter to a close,because I must pack for a vacation toYellowstone and the Tetons. Erin and Iare going to do something real novel forthis trip. We are going to camp. Andfish.

Alex

"I fish all the time when I'm at home,so when I get a chance to go on vacation, Imake sure to get in plenty of fishing."

-- Thomas McGuane,The Longest Silence

bout a year and a half ago, Itook my 11-year-old nephew,Christian, on a camping and

fishing trip to Gray Reef. It wasn't acoincidence that we camped at theReef during the spring flush.

During a crisp, spring morning,Christian walked down to the handi-cap access ramp and began casting hisgold spinner into the churning river.Within 20 minutes, he hooked an 18-inch rainbow.

Later that day, while standingaround the glowing coals of a campfire,a wise man who had camped next to usgave Christian some good, soundadvice. No, he didn't tell him to "justsay no" to drugs. He didn't advise himto study hard in school, or to mind hisparents.

He said, "Fish every chance youget."

This is good advise for anyone, ofany age, and this has been my mantraover the last 10 years, ever since mygrandfather introduced me to trout fish-ing and gave me his fiberglass fly rodthat had the action of a wet spaghettinoodle.

Fishing is an adventure, a passion.It's a way to connect with the outdoorsand nature.

This last summer, I camped, back-packed, and fished every weekend, for12 glorious weeks in a row, from theWind River Mountains, to the BigHorn Mountains, to the Black Hills.My guest bedroom turned into basecamp. As soon as I returned from oneadventure, I was planning my nextouting.

At times, my wife would notaccompany me of these trips -- in par-ticular, the adventures that requiredbackcountry travel in areas withoutestablished trails. Arranging these trips,sans wife, required delicate negotiations

Page 2 Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter

The Backcast is the monthlynewsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters,an affiliate club of the WyomingCouncil of Trout Unlimited, theNature Conservancy and theFederation of Fly Fishers. Editorial con-tent does not necessarily reflect theviews of the officers, board or membersof the Wyoming Fly Casters.

Annual dues are $20 for an indi-vidual, $30 for a family, or $250 for alifetime individual membership or$450 for a lifetime family membership.

Visit the club website atwww.wyflycasters.org.

The deadline for submission ofinformation for each issue is the lastWednesday of the month. Make con-tributions to the next issue by e-mail-ing material to the Backcast editor [email protected], or call (307)436-8774.

OFFICERSAlex Rose, President

Melody Weinhandl, President-electVacant, Vice President

Spencer Amend, SecretaryEd Rate, Treasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORSTerms expire in 2010

Jamie GibsonJoe Meyer

Gene TheriaultBrent “Smokey” Weinhandl

Terms expire in 2011Bob Fischer

Scott NovotnyBill Wichers

VacantTerms expire in 2012

Casey LearyNeil Ruebush

Andrew SauterMatt Stanton

The Backcast is available either inelectronic format or through USPSsnail mail. To receive each newsletterthrough a monthly e-mail, you must beable to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, asoftware format available free ofcharge) documents. Generally, eachissue is roughly 1 MB in size, some arelarger. Your e-mail provider may havelimits on the size of attachments. Inorder to be added to the e-mail list,send a request message [email protected]. In addition toreceiving each issue of the newsletterearlier than your hard copy peers, e-mail subscribers are able to print eachcopy in vibrant color -- an added plus ifthe issue is rich in color photographs.By subscribing electronically, you alsosave the club roughly $17.40 a year inprinting and postage expenses.

Cover shot: Spencer Amend smiles about a fish caught at the Cardwell access.

Drag-free DrifDrag-free Driftsts

by Alex Rose, President, WFC

A

To include your fishing report,send information to the Backcasteditor, c/o [email protected].

Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter Page 3

BBRRAAGG BBOOAARRDDFrom the membership

Two outings set for OctoberThe program for the October meeting

is to feature Joe Meyer’s presentation onhow he mounts flies for fly plates, for auc-tion during the April banquets. No otherinformation was provided.

In November, Wayne Hubert, PhDin zoology at the University of Wyoming,is to present a program on “UsefulInvertebrates for Trout Fishermen in theNorth Platte River.”

And in December is the annualChristmas party. The dinner fare, as inprevious years, will be catered and theslated holiday programs includeChristmas fly contest, white elephantexchange, the fly walk and a photogra-phy show reviewing the year.

•On Oct. 17, Casey Leary will resur-

rect the Rod Robinder outing on MiracleMile. This outing has not been held forseveral years. But in the past it has been apopular and well-attended outing.

Casey provided the following promofor the outing:

“The section of North Platte Riverfrom Kortes Dam to Pathfinder Reservoiris known as the Miracle Mile. It has beencharacterized by areas of deep swift waterinterspersed with numerous islands andassociated gravel bars and side channels.Nymph patterns such as pheasant tailssizes 12-18, rusty scuds sizes 12-18, bead-head hare’s ear sizes 12-18 and San Juanworms have proven effective in the past.On occasion, fish will take the dry fly so

some Adams and Griffiths gnats in sizes14-20 can catch a few fish. Waders arerecommended as the water will be cold.A staff can also be helpful as the wadingcan be difficult. To get there, take 220West from Casper to Alcova, then turnleft (south) on County Road 407, turnright on County Road 351 which crossesthe North Platte River. Bring a sacklunch. I will try to park on the west sideof the river, a half mile or so south of thebridge. Rod Robinder was a long timemember who volunteered many hours forthe club and was a MacTavish award win-ner. Following his death we had an annu-al outing at the Miracle Mile in his honorfor many years.”

And the following weekend, Oct. 24,Alex Rose is to host the second annualnight fishing outing at Grey Reef.

For this outing, you may choose tostay for the night, or fish for awhile andthen return home. Several members areplanning to set up housekeeping in theGrey Reef campground, and a communityfire is to be burning all night. (Be sure topay your camping fee, or the park policewill collect it in the morning.) It isunknown at this point if a meal is to beserved, or if everyone is on their own.

During last year’s outing, large, gaudystreamers proved to be the most effectivepatterns.

If you plan to attend one or both ofthese outings, be sure to sign up during theclub meeting on Oct. 14.

Joe Meyer caught this fish, which hecontends tipped the scale at 4-1/2pounds, at his “secret place” onSept. 25 with an elk hair caddis.

Here is a 17-inch rainbow caught onan orange stimulator -- Alex Rose’s"go to" dry fly this summer -- in theMiddle Fork of the Powder River.

A large cutthroat, caught by AlexRose in the backcountry of the WindRiver Range, on a house fly pattern.The fish hammered this fly.

Mary Jo Hibschweiler wades and makes a cast in Miracle Mile. The club is to host an out-ing on the Mile on Oct. 17 -- the first to be held there in the last several years.


FLFLYYof the month

SOFT HACKLERAY CHARLES SOWBUG

Hook: Dai Riki 075, Tiemco 3769,sizes 12-18Thread: Uni-thread 8/0 fire orangeBody: Light tan, gray or pink ostrichherlBack: Pearlescent Mylar (small ormedium depending on size)Rib (optional for increased durability):Medium gold wire

If you’re planning a trip to theBighorn River in Montana, don’t evenconsider launching your boat withouta few of these staples. They are easyto tie and regularly fool the feisty rain-bows and browns below Ft. Smith.The Ray Charles is one of the topproducers. It represents a sowbug, acrustacean found in abundance inthe Bighorn. This pattern is effectiveyear round, and is often the "up" fly inthe guides’ double-fly system. Size16 is the most commonly used size.

It acquired its name becauseeven a fool, or a blind man, couldcatch fish with this pattern on the endof the tippet.

Tying instructions: Tie strip ofpearlescent mylar to the hook andwrap back to the rear of the shank.Tie in one or two strands of grayostrich herl. Palmer herl forward andtie off near eye of the hook. Wrap thegold wire forward providing a seg-mented effect. Bring mylar forward,tie off.

Tie in a partridge hackle andwrap it around the shank once ortwice. Whip finish, with the red ororange thread producing a pro-nounced head. For some reason, thefish have demonstrated a preferenceto flies tied with red or orange thread.

reminder that none of ushave a guarantee oftomorrow. All the morereason to embark on moreof the pursuits we enjoy before the grimreaper, in due time, calls us home, too.

Bill, as the memorial rock placed atthe Fly Casters access at the Speashatchery says, “now fishes with theangels.” His name will join other recent-ly departed members etched on thememorial stone.

•Here’s an update on the Lusby law-

suit, as provided by Bill Wichers, who,with a few other WFC members, attend-ed a district court hearing on Sept. 21:

“Judge Park had both parties ver-bally state their cases. The plaintiffswent first and essentially told the judgethey believe the easement is clear andunambiguous and asked him to enforceit as written and ignore the sales con-tract and history of use and originalintent of the easement. The Game andFish made the opposite arguments. Thejudge did not make a decision onMonday, but did state that he wouldhave a ruling out in the next threeweeks or so.” Stay tuned ...

•Other than a few photos and some

short messages, few contributions havebeen made for this issue of the Backcast,so you must wade through threecolumns of feckless meandering by youreditor and a page of float trip photos inorder to fill large and conspicuous holesof white space in the 12 pages of thisissue. As always, photos and prose arealways welcomed for inclusion in thenewsletter. It’s your Backcast, so helpmake it reflective of the club in general.

•Perhaps many other Fly Casters

keep a journal of their fishing trips like Iregularly do. Before venturing on a fish-ing trip to a given piece of water, I con-sult this diary to glean information onthe weather, the successful patterns andother information from the same dateon previous years.

An Aug. 30 trip to the NorthTongue River was one of the more mem-orable fishing excersions I made thissummer. It did not involve camping, asfive us climbed into a crew cab pickupand ventured up for the day, returningin the darkness. We left and returned at

e are now approaching, inyour humble scribe’s opin-ion, the best time of the

year. The cold snap of the air, the yel-lows and golds of autumn’s foliage, andthe thinning crowds on some of myfavorite waters. On Saturday, Sept. 26,for example ... a float trip on theGlenrock stretch of the river wasdevoid of anyone other than our twopontoons and one drift boat and theonly company we enjoyed were theoccasional bald eagle, osprey, wildturkey, mule deer, antelope or variousducks and killdeer (see page 6).

October is usually a terrific monthfor fishing. Most of the competition hasdonned blaze orange and is scouting thehills for game, leaving the rivers andcreeks to the diehards. One drawback,though, is I’m avoiding BoxelderCanyon for the next few weeks becausea fly rod is no match for a rifle.

So get out, and between footballgames, enjoy the flavor of the fall. TheWFC is offering two opportunities thismonth to join with others on two differ-ent stretches of the river. Oct. 17 is thefirst time the WFC has frequented theMiracle Mile in years. This outing isnamed in honor of the late RodRobinder, who had a special fondnessfor “the Mile.”

And a week later, the second annu-al night fishing outing at Grey Reef isbeing offered. A large campfire is prom-ised to be stoked all night to warm thosewho risk a dunking by stumbling in thedarkness, and their pride could beassuaged by a sip of Bailey’s. Althoughsome will choose to camp below thedam, others will fish and return home inthe wee hours. Last year, the night grewchilly, perhaps sinking into the 20s, butstill some members slept in a tent or thebed of their pickups. Others seized onthe opportunity to stretch out in ChefPtomaine’s warm Dodge camper.

•The club was saddened by the loss

of Bill Ryan, a WFC member and pasttrustee, on Sept. 22. He died while elkhunting outside Saratoga. He was just56 years old.

We raise a glass to his memory.Bill’s death should serve as a

TTailing Loopsailing Loops

W

by Randy Stalker,Backcast editor


It was Terry Young's lucky day. The66-year-old Douglas resident and a friendwere fishing off a boat at GlendoReservoir on Aug. 31 when his friendasked to switch sides. So Young cast intothe same spot his buddy had just vacatedand pulled in a new state record whitecrappie.

"I tossed the minnow out there and-- wham -- he hit it. It must have beenmy lucky day." The 2.45 pound fish was16.25 inches long with a 13.5-inch girth.It beats the old state record of 2.31pounds and 15-inches long, set by JosephWhitfield of Cheyenne in 2000.Whitfield's fish also came from Glendo.

Young caught his fish on a minnowand a bobber in eight feet of water atabout 9 a.m. on a clear, late-summer day.

He wouldn't reveal the exact loca-

tion he caught the fish. "That's a secret,"he says.

Being retired, Young spends a lot oftime fishing. "But, I don't usually catchfish like this one. It was so big that at firstI thought it was a carp, and then Ithought it was a largemouth bass." Whenhe realized the fish was a crappie, heknew it was a big one and wondered if itmight be a record.

He later took the fish to DouglasGrocery and had it weighed and immedi-ately called the G&F to inquire on thecurrent state record. He drove to Casperthe next day to complete the requiredpaperwork and have his picture takenwith the fish. Young plans to have thefish mounted for future display. "I wasamazed; I'm still amazed. That there is ahuge crappie."

Douglas bait fisherman nets a new state record crappie

MMMMYYYY FFFFLLYYLLYY BBBBOOXXOOXX

Here is Jory Delinger’s arsenal of river ammunition captured during theBighorn River outing, featuring midges, rock worms, scuds, nymphs, and a largeselection of streamers.

9 o’clock.“The Tongue was in prime condi-

tion,” the entry begins. “The water waslower, but the fish eagerly cooperated.”

This was in contrast to the clubouting held on North Tongue during theweekend of July 10-12. “The fishing onall three days was slow. A few fish werecaught on dries, but the majority of thecutthroat preferred the nymph,” the Julyentry records.

But a month and a half later theriver was in full bloom. The Yellowstoneand Snake River cutthroats in the no-kill stretch rose to dry flies, but also hitnymphs suspended on droppers.Depending on the time of day, the fishwere keying on caddis, mayflies ormidges, although hoppers were effectiveall the time.

“Oh, how I love the sweet sound ofa fish stripping line off the HardyFeatherweight reel, accompanied by thebend on a four weight medium actionrod,” the diary entry continues.

“A grasshopper or stimulator, trailedby a beadheaded flashback pheasant tailnymph was my first rig, later replacingthe nymph with a soft hackle hare’s ear.Over three-quarters of the fish took thenymph, particularly in the riffles. As theday wore on, the fish demonstrated theypreferred smaller imitations, so I switchedto a size 18 elk hair caddis, and ultimate-ly was forced to tie on a size 24 vis-a-dunto fool the now finicky fish. In some rif-fles, the fish were leaping from the water,inhaling some emerging insect.”

Mark, Cory, Gary, Glenn and Ivowed to return to the Tongue later inthis fall, but we have yet to realize thatpledge. The Tongue, according to locals,is a fishery which remains kind to flytossers even when the snow flies anduntil the weather forces road closures.

So, I suppose, there is still time toschedule a club outing on the Tongue.But be sure to bring your fleece jacket!

Scoop


AA llaazzyy ffllooaatt(and some fish, too)

The third annual Glenrock float was “officially” cancelled due to theinavailability of drift boats; however, the outing was modified andresurrected to include fly tossers who could fish the river from pon-toons. Three members showed up on Sept. 26, and a few fish werecaught under ideal weather conditions, mainly on jumbo vanillabuggers. In future years, all forms of watercraft are to be welcomedto participate in the fall float outing, and attendance may improve.


F

Do you have trouble rememberingwhen there are WFC functions?

Have you ever forgotten a functionand then remembered about it when itwas over?

Scott Novotny is undertaking areminder program for club activities, etc.He requests that members send him an e-mail so that he can have your e-mailaddress and then he will send out a time-ly reminder by e-mail of any activities.He promised that your e-mail addresswould only be used for the purpose ofsending the reminder.

Send your e-mail to Scott Novotnyat [email protected].

Digital reminders are available

New to the club?Need advice?

Most people join our club to learnwhere to fish and to improve their fishingtechnique. If we are to keep membersactive, experienced members of the clubneed to be available to give lessons ontechnique or fishing location information.To that end, Joe Meyer and Daren Bulowwould like you to know that they areavailable to help and they are encouragingother members to add their names to thislist so that new members can call someonefor help, offer ideas on fishing spots, ormaybe even take them fishing. Call Joe at235-1316 or Daren at 247-2578.

Matt Stanton and Marty Robinson run the club booth during the Wyoming Game and Fish Expo in early September in the Casper EventsCenter. And on the right, Russ Newton and Art Van Rensselaer provide some casting lessons to some rookies at the G&F Expo.

A hearty group of veterans and newcomers alike accompanied Joe Meyer on a trip to theponds on 33 Mile on Saturday, Sept. 26.

On Sept. 19, boat owners Andrew Sauter, Spencer Amend and John Dolan gener-ously donated their time and expertise behind the oars for the third annual Platte RiverRevival cleanup. I was fortunate enough to spend the day manning the "muscle" spot inSpencer's boat as we floated the Morad to Wotco section of the river. Our group, whichincluded Andrew's boat, a raft, two canoes and two kayaks removed two truck bedsworth of garbage from the river including 16 tires. Though the volume of garbageremoved from the river is disturbing (over 1 million pounds to date), it's good to knowthere are conservation minded individuals throughout the community.

•After taking a month off to enjoy the remainder of the "warm" weather, the WFC

conservation committee will meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The meeting will be helddowntown at the Wonder Bar at 7 p.m. The committee will be discussing the issues andsuggestions collected during the August guides' forum. Anyone interested in the con-servation committee is welcome to attend and offer input. If you would like to join thecommittee and can't make the meeting just give me a call at 258-9915.

CONSERVATION CORNERby Matt Stanton, chairman


The following article is anexcerpt from the electronic book,Hunt - Don’t Pray - for Fish,Techniques and Strategies for FlyFishing from a Drift Boat, written byHarley W. Reno, Ph.D., a friend ofthe Wyoming Fly Casters and occa-sional program presentor. The entirecontent is copyrighted by the author,and is used here with his permis-sion. The CD is available for pur-chase through the Federation of FlyFishers, and 80 percent of the $25cost of each CD is being donated bythe author back to the federation forits conservation and educationfunds.

In the coming months, otherchapters of Dr. Reno’s book are tobe featured in the Backcast.

Drift boat fishing 101Chapter 10: Wind, the Fly Fisherman’s Best Friend (Part 3)

end of the riffle and elbow their wayamongst other fly fishermen! Thosebehaviors are reserved for wade fisher-men of the Merced and Feather rivers ofCalifornia, Colorado River of Texas, andSalmon and Irondequoit rivers of NewYork. Wade fishermen of rivers in Idaho,Montana, and Wyoming are far too sub-tle and conscientious.

Without staring at those catching fishin deeper water at the end of the riffle,wade fishermen in the riffle slowly take asmall step downstream, first with thedownstream foot, followed by the upstream

iffle-dwelling Mayflies-Fewfly fishermen ever correlatethe summertime passage ofshadows across a riffle with

the emergence of riffle-dwelling mayfliesand concomitant feeding orgies of troutin riffles. At best, a few fly fishermen seeand perhaps participate in a portion ofthe phenomenon, albeit the end of theorgy only. In other words, the fishermanarrives just as the sunshine returns,mayflies quit emerging, and trout are inthe process of retreating to deeper, qui-eter waters. Nevertheless, the fly fisher-man wades into the riffle and begins cast-ing and drifting a pale morning dun orparachute Adams without success. Soonthe fisherman gets discouraged, lament-ing that the trout are not hungry after allthe commotion of a few minutes ago. Heor she wades ashore, without ever notic-ing encroachment of another shadow onthe riffle.

When the fly fisherman is some dis-tance away, he or she turns around forone last look and sees the riffle againchurning with feeding trout. He or sheimmediately rushes back to the riffle andbegins casting frantically, perhaps hook-ing one or two fish before the orgy againsubsides. When no more fish are caughtor seen, and the sun is again shiningbrightly, the fly fisherman rationalizesthat he or she spooked or carelessly "putthe fish down" in the excitement of cap-italizing on activity in the riffle. And the

cycle is repeated, repeated, and repeatedall afternoon, until exhaustion sets in orclouds begin dissipating. Has that everhappened to you?

Understanding the afternoon forma-tion of cumulus clouds, biological rela-tionships of shadows and riffle-dwellingmayflies, and corresponding trout behav-ior begets memories for a lifetime.However, one also must recognize and beprepared for the "wade fishing two-step"practiced by friendly competitors on ornear the riffle.

Whenever fly fishermen fishing withme want to mix fly fishing from a boatwith some wading and casting small dryflies in riffles, I plan on reaching selectedriffles by early afternoon, when clouds areforming but not yet dense enough to castshadows across the water. By the timeclients and I arrive, the riffles have experi-enced a bigger hatch of drift boats thanmayflies. Fishermen from those boats, ofcourse, are wading each riffle, beating sur-faces to froth, having little if any luck, andcomplaining that the fish are not biting.

I advise my clients to start castingbead-head nymphs in the deeper watersbelow the riffle, because wade fishermenprobably have not disturbed that watermuch during the morning. Those that doas suggested usually catch a few fish - atleast enough to attract the attention offishermen wading the riffle.

Wade fishermen never turn andovertly walk straight downstream to the

R


foot, all the while casting across the rifflein front of them. Soon, those once fishingthe riffle are standing at the edge of thedeep water and casting bead-head nymphs.That is when I suggest to my clients that itis time to try fishing the riffle.Coincidentally, it is about time for cloudsto start casting shadows everywhere.

Each client snips off the bead-headnymph, ties on a "dog gnat," walksupstream, and wades into the riffle. Bythen, riffle-dwelling mayflies have startedhatching, and the riffle begins showingsigns of trout feeding on drifting mayflies- first right where the riffle makes conflu-ence with the deeper water and a fewminutes later, in the riffle around andamongst the legs of practitioners of thewade fishing two-step, and then myclients. Soon the clients start hookingfish and become vocal about their suc-

cesses. Meanwhile wade fishermen cast-ing into deeper water see what is happen-ing in the riffle and start doing the "wadefishing two-step" upstream.

By the time wade fishermen reachand surround the clients, the cloud haspassed, mayflies have stopped emerging,and feeding has subsided. That is the sig-nal to clients that they should changetactics and fish deeper water down-stream. They do - and soon are catchingfish from deeper water. Seeing the actiondownstream, the wade fishermen beginthe wade fishing two-step, this timedownstream. Sadly, wade fishermennever catch on to what is happening.

Out of absolute frustration, eventu-ally a few ask the clients what is thesecret to their success. Always the ques-tioners are surprised by the simplicity andlogic of the bio-meteorological explana-tion. Guides, however, never ask and areembarrassed when the explanationcomes from their clients.

Grasshoppers-The strategy for fish-

ing a grasshopper is simple. Whengrasshoppers begin singing about mid-morning, cast any kind of grasshoppertowards the bank, landing it about a footshort of the edge. That is about as closeas trout are to the bank unless, of course,the bank is vertical and water is deep.When the bank is vertical and water isdeep, fish are right against the edge. Inboth situations, let the grasshopper floatand spin a few moments. Many times thefly drifts or spins out from the banktowards deeper water, forming a loop inthe leader that bends back towards thebank. When the loop forms, twitch-donot lift-the tip of the rod upward aboutone or two inches. That is just enough tomove the leader, making the grasshopperchug or teeter up and down as if it werealive and being driven towards the bankby the jumping legs.

The best grasshopperimitations are any made fromspun hair in the fashion ofDave's Hopper. That imita-tion is square-faced-hence it"chugs" when twitched, and itis strong enough to surviverepeated mastication by trout.Another good imitation is aparachute hopper, albeit itjust floats.

I tie a grasshopper fash-ioned with a preformed foambody and wings made of redsquirrel tail (I am allergic todeer hair and becoming moreand more sensitive to elk

hair). The fish are not particular fromwhence the wings and bodies ofgrasshoppers come. And they are notconcerned that my grasshopper is ahybridization of a fly designed for sun-fishes and an imitation of a salmonfly andtiger stone. The fly is called Dopey'sHopper.

The next time you fish streams orrivers of the mountain West, the wind isblowing upstream with the force of agale, and your fly line is thrown back intoyour face, wrapping it around you andeverything else nearby, please do not getmad and curse. Instead, politely, quietly,and with some humility thank Mariah forthe opportunity of enjoying yourself,because, without Mariah, there would beno trout fishing to enjoy. If you are fish-ing a stream with populations of othergame fishes and the same thing happens,please be humble enough to express sim-ilar gratitude, because fishes in thosestreams also are dependent on insectswhose biology is tied to upstream winds.

Dopey’s Hopper

Hemingway Trout

SSTTRREEAAMMSSIIDDEE CCHHEEFF

No StaticElectricResidential and

Commercial Wiring

Neal Hibschweiler307-251-4872

Ernest Hemingway describedthis recipe as “can’t be bettered.”

Ingredients3 green onions, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon pepper 6 trout (each about 8 oz.) Seasoning salt 6 slices bacon 1/2 cup Bisquick 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal Lemon wedge

PreparationCombine green onions, pars-

ley, lemon juice, and pepper.Sprinkle trout cavities with salt,then spread each with onion mix-ture.

In a wide frying pan over medi-um heat, cook bacon until crisp.Remove bacon from pan and drain.Combine baking mix and cornmealon a piece of waxed paper. Coattrout on both sides with mixture.Arrange half the trout in pan.Cook, turning once, until fish islightly browned and flakes readilywhen prodded in thickest portionwith a fork. For a 1-inch thick fish(measured in thickest portion),allow 5 minutes per side.

Cook remaining fish inreserved drippings. Slip a baconstrip into cavity of each fish.Garnish with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!


CLASSIFIEDS --GOOD STUFF FOR

SALE (CHEAP!)

WYOMING FLY CASTERS BOARD MEETING MINUTES -- DRAFTSept. 17, 2009

The meeting was called to order by President Alex Roseat 7:07 p.m. All members were present except for SecretarySpencer Amend (excused absence), Andrew Sauter (excusedabsence) and Bob Fischer (unexcused absence). The boardapproved the secretary’s and treasurer’s reports as printed inthe Backcast. Treasurer Ed Rate reported he reviewed theclub’s financial records, reported they are in proper order andall accounts in good standing. He also explained that for thespring Bighorn outing, the club did not subsidize any boatrental or parking permit. The board discussed the credit cardsthe club had purchased a few years ago. Due in part to a lackof activity and annual fees being imposed, the board decidedto close the account.

The conservation committee reported they are dis-cussing ideas brought forth from the guides at last month’smeeting. The committee is developing and prioritizing anagenda for further discussion. Matt Stanton said the PlatteRiver Revival cleanup is Saturday, Sept. 19 and three clubmembers have volunteered their boats for this activity.

Board members reported many members of the club vol-unteered to assist at the Wyoming Game and Fish Expo.Over 7,000 youths attended the Expo this year. The club dis-played aquatic insects and had fish stamps at the booth, bothwhich were well received. Other members demonstratedcasting skills. The board wanted to thank all who volun-teered their time. The board approved to give a WFC hat toall members to volunteered at the Expo and to Don Jelnickfor overseeing the WFC picnic.

The board had a lengthy discussion about streamkeepersand meals provided at outings. A motion was passed wherethe Wyoming Fly Casters will not contribute monetarily to

outings which participants do not contribute to the outings.The board also approved a motion that all proposed outingexpenses need to be approved by the board before any out-ing and if excessive expenses occur, they must be broughtbefore the board for review.

Bill Wichers reported a hearing will be held at theDistrict Court in Casper on Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m. to rule ona summary judgment motion on the Lusby lawsuit.Essentially, the judge has been asked to rule right now onthe case and he has three options: he can deny the sum-mary judgment motion, he can make a ruling Monday orhe can decide to rule on it at a future date. This hearing isopen to the public and you are encouraged to attend andshow support for continuing the historical public access onthis property.

The board approved the Christmas party be catered asdone in the past. Casey Leary will research costs atHerbadashery, Gegi’s and Bullwhip Catering and report backto the board. The board approved the board meetings returnto the third Wednesday of each month as President Rose’snew work schedule permits. President-elect MelodyWeinhandl reported October’s general meeting program willbe Joe Meyer presenting mounting flies, November will beWayne Hubert, a zoologist from the University of Wyoming,and December will be the annual Christmas Party. JoeMeyer will take new members fishing to 33 Mile Pondsagain on Sept. 26 and all members are invited. Casey Learywill be the streamkeeper for the Robinder Outing October17 and Alex Rose will again have a night outing on theNorth Platte River on Oct. 24. The meeting was adjournedaround 8:45 pm.

Protect our environment

Inspect - Clean - Dry

Take the Clean Angling Pledge

www.cleanangling.org

Fleece fingerless fishing gloves.Coleman two-burner stove,

like new.Call Don Jelinek

267-7477

•

Patagonia SST jacket, XL, Brand new.

$175 (list $315).Call Scott Novotny

266-3072

Bring your camera along onyour next fishing trip, and use it todocument your catch and releasefish. Then send the digital image tothe WFC newsletter editor for con-sideration of inclusion in the nextissue. Contributions are always wel-come. Who knows ... maybe yourphoto will be the next month’scover.


MiracleMile outing

Night outing at Grey Reef

TREASURER'S REPORT PERIOD ENDING 8/31/09INCOMEDate Vendor/Item AmountAug -3 Deposit-Credit Card income - Banquet $2,513.25Aug- 3 Deposit - Monthly Gen Mtg Raffle- June/July 183.00Aug -5 Deposit - Monthly Gen Mtg Raffle

April/May $195.00, dues $60.00 255.00Aug 13 Deposit Monthly Raffle 8/12 88.00,

Sale Merchandise $2.00, Dues $100.00 190.00Aug 31 Void cks #3848, #3854 Ugly Bug Donation 390.29

TOTAL $3,531.54

EXPENSES Aug 2 #3991 Izaak Walton-Rent July/Aug. $150.00Aug 3 #3992 PHYFF (Wounded Warrior Program) donation 300.00Aug 3 #3993 (Void)Aug 5 #3994 Platte river Fly Shop - Award Pins, Banquet 157.50Aug 12 #3995 Joe Meyer - Banquet 5.00, Casting Clinic 32.00 37.00Aug 12 #3996 Tony Martin Aug Backcast 91.14, Postage 166.00 257.14Aug 12 #3997 Kinkos Backcast-Apr,May,Jun,Jul 417.01, Int.50.00 467.01Aug 20 #3998 Spencer-Amend Postage-re notice river cleanup 44.00Aug 21 #3999 Pat Lafountain - Propane Cleanup BBQ 6.40Aug 21 #4000 Wy Sect State - Annual Corp Report 25.00Aug 28 - Transfer to Money Market Acct. $10,000.00Aug 31 - Bank Service Charge 3.00

TOTAL $11,447.05

MONDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2 3

4 5 86 7 9 10

11 12 1513 14 16 17

18 19 2220 21 23 24

25 26 27 28

Regular meeting, 7 p.m.

WFC BoardMeeting, 7 p.m.

OCTOBERTUESDAY

29 30

Full moon

SUNDAY

Halloween

Columbus Day

Deadline forBackcast info

31

Wyoming Fly CastersP.O. Box 2881Casper, WY 82602

www.wyflycasters.org

The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of flyfishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.

Documents

WFC 10/09