SOFF News - Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Fly Fishing ...€¦ · South Umpqua River. We will be...

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION

Rich Hosley: MembershipJohn Storfold: Fly Tying ChairKevin Daniels: Fly Tying InstructorRay McClenathan: ProgramsSonja Nisson: Auction ChairDavid Haight: Outings ChairSue Keeling: SOFF WearRich Steed: HistorianEd Michalski: RafflesJohn Storfold Project Healing Waters Chair

Dinner Reservations: E-mail - [email protected] or call the Club at (541) 955-4718

Vol.23 No.1 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. January, 2016

SOFF NEWS A publication of

Southern Oregon Fly Fishers P.O. Box 1144 Grants Pass, Oregon 97528 Web Site: www.soff.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dave Grosjacques President/Habitat Chair Jerry Keeling Vice President/SOFF Wear

Rich Steed Treasurer Jan Knapik Secretary

Board Members Bruce Cochran Ron Cremo Joe Knapik Mentor Chair Brady Keister Casting Chair Duane Chebul Newsletter Editor/Web Master E-Mail. [email protected]

SOFF’ers sometimes feel the need to get away from it all and explore new and different areas. So it was with the group that went to Christmas Island.

Kevin O’Malley was one of a group that had an itch to see and do some-thing different and so they decided on a trip to Christmas Island. Kevin was rewarded for his efforts with this fine specimen of a giant trevally. It’s just one more thing that he can now cross off from his ‘bucket list’.

SOFF NEWS January, 2016

FROM THE BOARD

ATTENTION! Board Meeting

The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant The next meeting is scheduled: January 6th 6:00pm or usually the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Dave Grosjacques

SouthUmpquaRiver.Wewillbefish-ing for large South Umpqua stock win-ter steelhead. The section of Cow Creek wewillfishisabankfishingshow,withsomegoodwaterandnotmuchfishingpressure. On March 19th our outing will also be for steelhead, this time on the Applegate. The last steelhead outing for the winter and spring will be to the fa-mous North Umpqua River on April 2nd and 3rd.

Ourfirsttroutoutingfortheseasonwill be to Pronghorn Lake, southeast of Klamath Falls. This is a paid outing organized by Russ Leavitt. We get the

group rate, which is half price. Many members stay at least one night, fish-ing the small lake with pontoon boats for large rainbow trout. The next spring outing is to Copeland’s pond on May 14th. We get more club members at this outing than at any of them. The pond contains some large bass and crappie, as well as bluegill. A potluck lunch on the deck next to the pond tops off a great day of fishing.We appreciate the factthat the Copeland family allows us ac-cess to their pond each spring.

Next we will go to Lemolo Reser-voir, near Diamond Lake, on June 3rd, 4th and 5th. Some members will be there all week, with many staying at Poole Creek campground. Lemolo contains rainbow and brown trout, and is best

Continued on Pg. 3

fishedfromaboat.Clubmemberswillrent a cabin for the last three days to be used as a meeting place each after-noon. The Lava Lake outing is next on June 24-26. This popular outing gives clubmembersachancetofishseverallakes and streams in the Century Drive Drive area south of Bend. A potluck dinner will happen on Saturday, the 25th at the RV Park next to the lake. These two summer outings will be fol-lowed by an outing on July 9th and 10th to the Williamson River north of Kla-math Falls, and another one on August 20th to Howard Prairie Reservoir for

bass and trout.Our fall outings will start

with a trip for fall run steel-head on the North Umpqua on September 10th. The next one will be on the Middle Rogue for steelhead on October 22nd. The North Umpqua trip will beabankfishingshow,andtheRogue outing will involve both bank fishing and drift boats.The November outing will be to the south coast for Chinook salmon.

Details on all of these out-ings will be in the SOFF news-letter. Check the dates and ask for particulars at the general meetings. David Haight, our

outings chair, put together this slate of outings. Make plans to go on as many of these outings as you can! Fishing

Happy New Year to all Southern Oregon Fly Fish-ers! Some people

make resolutions for the New Year, hoping to improve their lives in some way. In past years I have heard members talk about resolutionsthatinvolvefishing.Some people want to improve their casting ability, their flytying techniques or try a new fishingspot.Othersmakereso-lutions to introduce fly fishingor fly tying to a friend.All ofthesearegreatideasforfishingadventures in the New Year.

Several years ago I made a resolution to spend some time fishingwith asmanymembersof our club as I could. I think I got up to 15 or 20 before I stopped counting. I will do the same again this year, using the club outings and some “side trips” to improve my total count. That brings up the subject of this presi-dent’s message, which is the club out-ings schedule for 2016.

OurfirstoutingisonJanuary1st at the“HolyWater”attheoutflowofLostCreek Reservoir near Shady Cove. This outing is an event with the Rogue Fly Fishers, with pots of excellent chili and other delicious side dishes to enjoy. Someofthepeoplefishbuttheempha-sis is on enjoying the company of other flyfishersandlisteningtofishingsto-riesaroundawarmfireintheshelter.

The next outing is February 19th and 20th to Cow Creek, a tributary of the

President Dave passing out Silver Salmon to be placed in Taylor Creek as nourishment for salmon fry.


PROGRAMS Future Programs Feb 18 John AndersonMar 17 Andrew HarrisApr 21 Fly Tyers NightMay 19 Jeff PerinJune 16 TBAJuly 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBA

WHEN: TIMES: WHERE:Taprock Event Center955 S.E. 7th St. G.P.

5:30 PM Social Hour and Fly Tying Demo. 6:30 PM Meeting 7:00 PMDinner and Program

Jason Atkinson - “A River Between Us”

Jan. 21st 2016

President’s Message Cont. From Pg. 2

with friends, especially if it involves camping for a few days, is a lot of fun and a great way to get to know people in the club. Make your New Year’s res-olutions now, and make our Southern Oregon Fly Fisher’s outings a part of them!

As your membership chairman, I live with two fantasies both unful-filledtothisdate.ThefirstisthatIwillbe able to present to the membership a directory that is free of any errors. The second is that the membership will pay their dues in a timely man-ner.Timelyisdefinedinourbylawsas“prior to January 1 of each year”.

So ask for your assistance this year in helping me live out these fan-tasies by sending your dues check, $35.00 for an individual and $45.00 for a family to our club mailbox (P. O. Box 1144, grants pass Oregon, 97528) or paying me directly at the January meeting. Make sure you include any changes in your address, telephone number or email address.

Thank you Rich Hosley, Membership Chair

2016 Dues

JasonAtkinsonisafilmmaker,anauthor,andapublicservant.After14 years in the Oregon Legislature he took a sabbatical to make the film“ARiverBetweenUs.”HeisaRodelFellowwiththeAspen

Institute, a commentator and speaker on a wide range of issues, and consults in the corporate sector as well as serves on various boards. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Men’s Journal, Field and Stream to name a few.


CASTING ABOUT

Continued on Pg. 5

Christmas Island - A Bucket List Item Fulfilled By Sonja Nisson

Christmas Island is considered one of the most remote places on earth and hometoworldclassbonefishing.

In N o v e m -ber, right after the auc t ion , D a v e H a i g h t , K e v i n O’Malley, R o g e r S m i t h , and Sonja N i s s o n j o i n e d L u c k y Levitt and hu sba nd Russ for a week’sfishingbasedatCrystalBeach.Lucky did a great job of setting up the trip for all of us. The two days to get there w e r e worth it- the fish-ing was i n c r e d -ible! Al-together, we caught at least 17 different s p e c i e s of fish--many of them were species that none of us had caught before. We spent most of our timefishingtheflats,butwealsowentout to the bluewater a few days. Due to road and ocean conditions, we were not abletofishtheoutsidereefs.

Whileontheflats,wecaughthun-

dreds of bonefish, several small gianttrevally, bluefin trevally, barred (blue)trevally,triggerfish,andafewotherspe-

cies. The b o n e s r a n g e d from a pound or so to sever-al pounds a n d s h o w e d a m a z i n g st reng th! T r y i n g to sight, stalk, and casttofishontheflatswas a lot of fun. One

morningwefishedoffofalittlehumpina deeper part of the lagoon. We caught

several large b o n e f i s h , and Kevin O ’ M a l l e y and David Haight each caught gi-ant trevally that weighed about 40 pounds. Af-ter that, we went out to the mouth of the lagoon where we all caught as many

big milkfish, weighing upwards of 15pounds,aswewantedtofight.

Between all the members of our group,we spent three daysfishing thebluewater. We caught over 20 yellow-fintuna,severalwahoo,abigbarracu-da, and a few smaller species of tuna.

While not as technically challenging as theflatsfishing,holdingontoaflyrodwhile a tuna tears backing off the reel was pretty exciting!

Sonja Nisson with one of the many bonefish that she caught at Christmas Island.

Dave Haight with a giant trevally taken at Christmas Island.

Lucky Leavitt holds a nice bonefish one of many that she caught while at Christ-mas Island.

Besides the fishing, we enjoyedwatching a variety of seabirds, manta rays, and spinner dolphins.

The island was interesting, and the people were friendly. The guides were very knowledgeable, were good in-structors, and were a pleasure to spend eachdayfishingwith.Thelodgestaffwere great as well, and we enjoyed the fresh seafood we were served for din-ner each night.

Lucky and Russ Leavitt show it’s a to-getherness thing as each battle a bone fish on the flats.

Fishing is about all there is to do on Christmas Island. The quality and diversity of angling opportunities, the quietandsolitude,andthethevastflats


OUTINGS AND WORKSHOPS

Feb 19 - 20 Cow Creek with Dave GrosjacquesMar 19 Applegate Steelhead with David HaightApr 2-3 North Umpqua Steel head with David Haight.Apr 30 May2 Pronghorn Lake with Russ Leavitt.

Photo Potpourri

Fly Fishing & Fly Tying Swap Meet

2016 Outings

Red Ant Continued From Pg. 6

There will be a Super Duper Fantastic Fly Fishing & Ty-ing Materials Swap and Sell

Meet on Saturday, January 23, 2016, from 9 am until 4 PM at the First Bap-tist Church of Medford, Oregon.

This will be like a garage sale, where items are sold, but you can also trade and barter. Rods, reels, lines, leaders, float tubes, pontoon boats,oars, anchors, waders, clothing, feath-ers,fur,hair,vises,tools,flies,flybox-es, books, knives, anything related to flyfishingorflytying.

Setup will begin at 7 am, and take down must be completed by 5 pm, but you may take down sooner if you de-sire.

Admission and selling is no charge.

Please,noexplosives,firearms,orammunition.

This will be sponsored by Rogue Fly Fishers, Southern Oregon Fly Fish-ers, Southern Oregon Fly Tyers, and any other clubs or organizations that want to participate.

The location will be the First Bap-tist Church which is located at 649 Cra-ter Lake Ave., Medford, OR, 97504.

Tables will be provided at no cost and are available beginning at 7 am on January23,firstcome,firstserved.

A maximum of 2 tables may be used, until 9 am, at which time all un-used tables will become available. Ta-bles measure 8’ by 30”. A few smaller tables may be available.

You may bring and use your own tables and/or displays.

Lots of chairs are available. Bring your own electrical cords. Coffee and water will be available,

but bring your own food and snacks.You may call Dale Heath at 541-

973-3490 or email [email protected] for additional informa-tion.

Lucky Leavitt was fishing for trout on the Applegate using an egg pattern under an indicator. She made a nice cast into a slot, the indicator paused, she set the hook and was on with her first adult steelhead. It was indeed a special day for her.

Walton era and a similar pattern by the same name. This steelhead version has proven to be indispensable on the Rogue as well as many other rivers late in the summer season. It is purposely-tied sleek, low-water style. The Red Ant could be described as somewhat drab and discreet, making this type of pattern effective in all types of water at any time of the year. Tied in smaller sizes, the Red Ant is a winner for half-pounders on the lower Rogue.

TyingTips

When you cut the tippet barbs away from the stem you allow each barb to separate when tied on as the tail. Be-cause Peacock herl is very fragile, when you twist it around the thread before winding it you increase its dura-bility dramatically. Keep the Red Ant flysleek (low-water style)by limitingthe amount of hackle and wing materi-als that are tied in. The Red Ant looks great and is fairly easy to tie. So give it a try, tie some up for the coming sea-son,givethematestflightandletmeknow how you do.

Tie One On, Dan Kellogg

and blue waters of Christmas Island make this destination a “bucket list” trip for avid anglers. For some of us, it could make the list twice.

Christmas Island Cont. From Pg. 4

Russ Leavitt and Roger Smith with a couple of yellowfin tunas taken in the blue waters off of Christmas Island.

Ray McClenathan with a nice steelhead he caught on the Klamath River just be-low Irongate Dam. He caught the fish in early December.


FLY TYING CORNER

Name(s):Address:City: State: Zip:Phone: Home ( ) Work: ( )Email: Personal interests: Renewal:_____New:______

Please make checks payable to: SOFF and mail to: PO Box 1144, Grants Pass, Oregon 97528

Regular..........................................$35.00 Family............................................$45.00 Youth..............................................$10.00 Contributing..................................$50.00 Lifetime (Individual)...................$350.00 Lifetime (Couple).........................$450.00

Membership Form

John Storfold Fly Tying Chair 541-660-6584 [email protected]

Tying Instructions:

Red Neck Ant Hook: Daiichi 2441 or equivalent, Salmon/Steelhead, Size 2-8Thread: 6/0 Black.Tag: Medium-Size Silver Flat Tinsel. Tail Golden Pheasant Tippets.Butt: Peacock Herl.Body: Red Floss.Collar: Brown HackleWing: Brown Bucktail.Head: Black Thread.

Continued on Page 5

1) Start the thread one eye-width back from the eye. Lay down a smooth thread base, stopping just above the hook point.

2) Tie in the tinsel, wrap it back 1/8 inch, then forward to the tinsel tie-in point. Tie-off and trim.3) Select about 20 barbs from a Golden Pheasant tippet, cut them off the stem, measure so they reach the end of the hook

bend, and tie them in at the base of the tag. Trim off the butts.4) Tie-in 3-4 Peacock herls and wind them over the top of the hook shank, then wind the Peacock herls around the tying

thread four times in counterclockwise direction. Wind the Peacock herls forward 1/3 the shank length. Tie-off and trim.5)Tie-intheredflossjustbehindtheeye,thenwinditrearwardtothebaseoftheherl,thenwinditforwardintouching

wraps to the tie-in point. Tie-off and trim.6) Select a brown hackle feather with barbs long enough to reach the herl butt. Tie-in the feather by its tip and wind it

three turns to form the collar. Tie back on the barbs to angle them at 45 degrees. Trim excess material.7) Select a small bunch of brown bucktail and even their tips by stacking. Measure them to reach the end of the tail; trim

to length and tie in the bucktail on top of the hook shank at a 45-degree angle.8)Formaneathead,whip-finishandapplycement.TheRedAntwascreatedbyMikeKennedyandintroducedinthe1940s.AsatroutflyitsorigindatesbacktotheIsaac


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS1-1 Chili Feed on the Holy Water.1-5 Board Meeting1-6 Start of the Club Fly Tying Class.1-12 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.1-21 Club Meeting with Jason Atkinson.2-2 Board Meeting2-9 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.2-18 Club Meeting with John Anderson2-19-20 Club Outing - Cow Creek

Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8least one new friend or more in 2016.

Thirdly, in order to accomplish thefirsttworesolutions,Ineedtotakecare of myself. To that end, I resolve to lose a considerable amount of weight and exercise more in 2016.

This year my resolutions are rather simple and straightforward. Let’s see if at this time next year I accomplished any of them.

Looking in the crystal ball for 2016 as regards the club, I see a host of things happening. Dave Haight has lined up a year of outings that should appeal to all club members. Ray Mc-Clenathan has lined up an outstand-ing array of speakers that are not to be missed. Pres. Dave Grosjacques, as habitat chair has scheduled several ‘rock rolling’ projects including tree plantings and the ever popular fishtoss. Kevin Daniels will be presenting theclub’sannual10weekbasicflyty-ing class and the list goes on.

2016 portends to be an outstand-ing year. So all we need now is for the club members to come forward and participate in all the activities that the club has to offer and if they do, it truly will make 2016 one of the best ever.

The 129 page self published book is professionally done and contains many colored plates and tables. It may be ordered from the author at his home address: 61040 Minaret Circle, Bend, OR 97702.

The cost is $21.95 plus $5.00 ship-ping and handling, or you can wait till Feb. and buy it direct from John when he comes over for our program. That will save you the $5.

John and volunteers, mostly from the Central Oregon Fly Fishing Club, collected macro invertebrate species and counted their numbers in three different mediums over 15 months at two different locations below Bowman Dam on the Crooked River. The extent of the collecting and counting is just amazing. Volunteers held 4 collecting nets in the middle of the river to sample the natural drift. They sampled for 30 minutes, 3X a day,(morning, afternoon and after dark) once a month for 15 months. They also counted the bugs on the bottom at the sampling sites for a to-tal of 130 collecting events. AND they opened the stomachsof 620fishoverthe 15 months at the two sights. All the bugs were put in alcohol solutions and latter counted and reported, by season andlocationandinthecaseofthefishwhether they came from White Fish or Rainbows. Want to know what those fishwereeatingeachseason?Wanttoknow HOW MANY of what bug they ateatwhatsite?Theresultsareallre-ported! If this was not enough of a contribution to the fly anglingworld,the professor took the study and re-port two steps further. He reported the flies,with colorplates, that aremosteffective each season for mimicking the bugs and he has a section on how to fish them! This is a text book fortheCrookedRiverthathassignificantapplication to other western rivers with the same hatches.

In his professional life John Ander-son was an aquatic entomology profes-sor at U.C. Berkeley for many years. HeretiredtoBendin1993,tookupflyfishing and joined the Central OregonFly Fishers. The blend of his profes-sional work and the enthusiasm for the newsportofflyfishingproducedamusthave book for all of us:

Fly Fishing Oregon’s Crooked River,

Insect Drift and Seasonal Fish Diets as a Guide to Successful Fly Fishing

SCIENTIST LEARNS TO FLY FISH THE CROOKED

RIVER: SHARES ALLor

Early publicity on the February Program and a review of a “must

have” Oregon fly fishing bookBy John MacDiarmid

Fly Tying OpportunityAreyoutiredofbuyingfliesfor$2.00

andhigher?Can’tfindtheperfectflyforwhere you are fishing? Think there ismoretoflyfishingthanjustfishingthenyou’re in luck.

Beginning January 6th, the club will be presenting its annual “Beginning Fly Tying Program”. This is a 10 week class, meeting every Wednesday at 6:00 pm at the Grant Pass High School. The class this year will be instructed by Kevin Daniels assisted by several other club members gauranteeing an almost one on one learn-ingexperience.Ifyoucan’ttiesomefishgettingfliesaftertheclass,Iguessyou’llbedoomedtobuyingthemfor$2.00aflythereafter.

For those of you that are into togeth-erness,gettingthelittlewomanorsignifi-cant other or for that matter a youngster in the family to take the class can reap some considerablebenefits.

For more information as to equipment needed, cost, how to register or anything else about class call Kevin Daniels at 541-474-0481.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO. 420 Medford, OR

P.O. Box 1144Grants Pass, Oregon 97528E-Mail: www.soff.org

Continued on Pg. 7

because I just did that.At this point, I generally like to

make my New Year’s resolutions. I’ve got to do better this year than I did the

last one, considering that the last one was such a dud.

I’ve probably bored you in the past with all my resolutions that dealt with

someaspectofflyfishingallofwhichprobably never came to fruition. So I’ll spare you a little of this and only give you three of which maybe this

year I can accomplish.First, as I get older I

have a tendency to become more acutely aware of my own mortality and that of my friends and acquaintances. Age, the ultimate transgres-sor, too often hastens the time we will be allowed to spend with our friends. So in order to live in the present as opposed to remembrances of the past, I resolve to make ev-ery effort to keep my friends in my thoughts and deeds and honor them while I can.

Secondly, knowing that many men are loners either by choice or circumstance, I resolve to make at

Wow! I can’t believe that another year has raced by. Where has

all the time gone? As usual, at theclose of one year and begin-ning of another, I like to take thetimetoreflectonthepastyear. What I have done to make the past year outstand-ing and memorable. Did I go to some far away location and catchsomelargeexoticfish?Nope didn’t do that. Did I tie dozens of flies, nope. Did Imake dozens of new friends or at least a few - no. In fact, did I do anything that would be considered outstanding or extraordinary or even note-worthy and again the an-swer would be no. How can 365 days elapse without any meaningful con-tributions to my world or society in general? Obviously, it’s pretty easy

This year instead of a photo of me fighting a steelhead, I resolve to bring the fish to hand!

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.2 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. February, 2016




Rich Steed Treasurer/Publicity Jan Knapik Secretary


At the end of each year, the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers recognizes vari-ous club members for outstanding service to the club.

Sonja Nisson receives the ‘Member of the Year” award from President Dave Grosjacques for outstanding service to the club. This year among other things, she chaired the annual club auction and was the driving force behind making this year’s auction the success that it was.

SOFF NEWS February, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant The next meeting is scheduled: February 2nd 6:00pm or usually the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


nual picnic, go on a club outing or help with a project.

With this in mind I want to ask all the members of our great organization to get more involved. For those who live far away, that means keeping up with club business and events, and support-inguswhen it comes to raffle time inNovember. It might be as simple as call-ing or emailing an old SOFF friend and telling some fishing stories!We valuethose members who continue to support us even after they have moved away from Grants Pass.

For the members of our club who do

live in this area, we have some that sup-port us, but rarely attend meetings, out-ings or other events. I want to thank these loyal members for their support and in-vite them to come to a meeting to catch up on what is happening in the club. You willsurelyhearsomegoodfishstories,catch up on things with some old friends and meet some of our new members. An outing is also a great way to catch up on things and have some fun. We would liketoseeyoumoreoften!

The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers has a number of members who are local and come to meetings often. I urge those members to get even more involved in the club this year. Make it a New Year’s resolution! Attend an outing that is anew one for you. Donate something new forourmonthlyraffleorourauctionin

Continued on Pg. 3

November. And think about volunteer-ing to help with an outing, an educa-tional event or another club event.

The last group I want to mention is the core group of club members who are the most active. This does not mean that they are special or privileged in any way, they just have the time and energy to take on responsibilities re-lated to SOFF. Some of us (I admit I amoneof them)werehesitantatfirstto take on a chair position or join the board of directors. In my case all it took was some club members who told me that I could do it and thought I could do

a decent job. This encourage-ment was what got me started. I want to thank Bob Roberts, Teresa Kasza, Redge Heth and Tony Brauner for that encour-agement. I want to do the same for other members – encour-age you to get more involved in the club at whatever level that mightbe!

I mentioned something to the members who were at the January meeting last week that I want to repeat here: I am club president for 2016 but I will not be club president next year. The same could be said

for next year and for the future for all of the other board positions and chairs. The person who is doing that job now will not do it forever. We will need new people at some time in the future to

I want to begin my monthly col-umn this time with a big thank you to the board for vot-

ing me in as president of the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers for 2016. I was out of the coun-try and could not attend the January board meeting when that election took place. I found out that I was elected when I was on my way back from the trip.ThiswillbethefifthyearIhave served as SOFF president, firstfrom2009until2011,thenagain in 2015 and this year. I al-ways tell people I meet that our club has a lot to offer in the way of fishing, tying and casting afly,butthebestthingaboutitisthe people. I have met and learned from someofthebestlocalflyfishermenandfly tiers.Flyfishermenareveryoftenwillingandabletoofferfishingandty-ing tips and information. I for one have taken full advantage of that education. Iamabetterflyfishermanandflytierbecause of the people I have met in this club.

The membership of our club is made up of people who live in the Grants Pass area and places as close as Cave Junction, Selma, Rogue River, Central Point and Medford. We also have members from places farther away in Oregon and even some from other states. If I urge people to get in-volved in our club I have to keep in mind the distances they would have to travel to go to a meeting, attend the an-

President Dave stops raking silver salmon destined to be tossed into Taylor Creek to take a breath.


PROGRAMS Future Programs Mar 17 Andrew HarrisApr 21 Fly Tyers NightMay 19 Jeff PerinJune 16 TBAJuly 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 TBA



Jay Nichols - Flyfishing Oregon’s Pacific Coast

Feb. 18 2016


take on those responsibilities. I want to encourage all members who have the time and live in this area to con-sider doing one of these jobs for the club sometime in the future. You can doitandyouwilldoagoodjobatit!Formean addedbenefit is that I getto work with some great people while doing club business.

So one last time, to all members my message is to get involved and make a difference! Get involved atwhatever level you can to help our club continue to be the great organization it is. A club is only as good as the people who make it up. We certainly have a lot of good people in the Southern Oregon FlyFishers,soIamconfidentthattheclub will continue to be strong, active and relevant into the future.

For those of you who have yet to pay your membership dues, they are past due.

January1istheduedatespecifiedin the club’s By-Laws. I know most of you are well-intentioned, but inten-tions don’t get your check written or mailed. Please renew your dues right away and spare me the necessity of contacting each of you individually. Thank you.

Rich Hosley, Membership Chairman

2016 Dues

Heisafishbiologistflytyer;angler;writer;photographer;artist;teach-er;storyteller;mentor;andlife-student.Hisheartpoundseveryinstanthe’s on the water with something pulling back on the end of his line.

Hisprofessional careerwasas afishbiologistwith theOregonDepartmentofFishandWildlifespannedfourdecades,andfitquitenaturallywithhisfishinginterests. He retired from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2007 to workastheseniorSalmonScientistattheWildSalmonCenter;retiringfinallyby2014.

Professional recognition received includes induction to the Wild Salmon Hall ofFame;OregonTrout’sFisheryScientistoftheYear;OregonSteelheadersAn-nualFisheryScientist;AmericanFisheriesSocietyFisheryWorkerof theYear;Governor’s Leadership Award, and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Researcher of the Year;notnecessarilyinthatorder.

Hehasfishedforsixdecades;tiedfliesformorethanfivedecades;producedhundredsofYouTubeflytyingvideos;andcurrentlyprovideencouragementandmentoringtopromoteflyfishing,flytying,andsalmonconservation.

Hisdaysarefulltothebrim–fishingsomewhereonthecoast,tyingflies,cre-ating instructional videos, writing, sketching, and mentoring people with similar passionforflyfishingandconservation.You’llfindhisreportsontheOregonFlyFishingBlog,andishonoredtocontribute toseveralflyfishingmagazineshereand in Japan.

Asfarasflytyinggoes,he’sheavyintoPacificSalmonflies(especiallythosefishedforChinookinestuaries),andwintersteelheadflies.Hisrootsarebroad,withdecades experience tying andfishingdryflies,wetflies, nymphs, and thelike—for resident trout, sea-run cutthroat, and summer steelhead. The last several yearsprovidedanopportunitytodelveintotheworldofsaltwaterfliesfishedforbass, lingcod, salmon, and albacore.


CASTING ABOUT



Mar 19 Applegate Steelhead with David HaightApr 2-3 North Umpqua Steel head with David Haight.Apr 30 May2 Pronghorn Lake with Russ Leavitt.May 14 Copeland’s PondMay 31 Jun 4 Lemolo Lake

Cow Creek Outing - February 19-20

2016 Outings

The club outing for February will be to Cow Creek be-tween Riddle and Glendale.

The outing will be two days, Friday and Saturday, February 19th and 20th. We will meet both days at the football bleachers behind Glendale High School at 8:30 for a briefing by outing hostDave Grosj-acques. Wewill car pool from there to the upper deadline for steelhead on Cow Creek, which is about a 20 minute drive. Participants should bring a lunch and plan to fishuntil mid-afternoon.

Thefishingwillbeforwildwintersteelhead.Thesefishcanbegoodsized,with an average fish in Cow Creekweighing 8 pounds or more. A seven or eight-weight rod, either single handed orspey,willbeneeded.Manyflyfish-ermenuseanindicatoranddoubleflycombination, with a sink tip or even a floatinglineforthebestpresentations.The stream is a bit small and rocky for driftboats,sobankfishingwillbethetacticinthesectionwewillbefishing.Participants need to have good waders

with studded boots, and a life jacket and wading staff.

Dave has a signup list from the SOFF general meeting on January 21st, with email addresses. If we get a big and long rain event the creek will be blown out and we will postpone the outing. Make sure you are on Dave’s list if you

plan on at-t e n d i n g . If you are not on the list send Dave an email at: d a sa [email protected]. Make sure you desig-nate which day or days you plan on going. We

do have a general meeting on February 18th and the signup list will be there as well.

Dave G with a nice steelhead taken from Cow Creek on a recent outing.

2016 looks to be a better water year for our Pronghorn outing. I have spoken with Mike Tyrholm and he expects the lake to be clearer than it was last year. He has taken several steps to reduce the silt problem that reduced visibility last year, and the lake is expected to be at full pool.

He has agreed to continue the cost at the very reasonable level of last year as a special favor to our club.

$100perfly-fisherperday. $5/per person/day for the cabins.“Oregon” cabin sleeps four (if some-

one brings a cot) and there is a kitchen. “Oregon State” cabin sleeps three -

one bed and two in a loft and it also has a kitchen. It has an additional attached

Pronghorn Outing By Russ Leavitt

room that sleeps two in bunk beds.$35/day boat rental - one available.$10/day for an R/V hook-up.There is a BBQ on site. Water and

a shower are available. Each cabin has a microwave, gas grill, coffee pot, TV, and fridge.

Paul Renaud with a nice Pronghorn rainbow.

Your meals are your own responsi-bility, but there will be a pot-luck din-ner on Saturday night. Bring your own main course and a side dish or desert to share.

Set the dates aside: The afternoon of April 30 through the morning of May 2nd.

Contact Russ Leavitt for additional information and to set aside the cab-ins on a first come first serve basis.Russ Leavitt

2306 Haviland Dr.Grants Pass 97527541 441 [email protected]

There is also bass in Pronghorn.


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Kitimat Special Bunny Leach

Hook (2): FrontHook-Size4-1anyStyle;RearHook- Short Shank, Size 4-2/0.Connector: Loop of Braid.Thread: 3/0 - 6/0 Black or any color you choose.Weight: .020 Lead or Lead Substitute.Body: Rabbit Strip any Color You ChooseCollar: Crosscut Rabbit Strip, Color to Contrast Body.Head: Thread or Cone Head or Fish Skull (Optional).

Continued on Page 7

Take a hook with a stout shank for the front hook and dress the hook with thread back to just in front of the bend (between the point and the barb of the hook.)

Then I tie in a loop of braid. (there are many products out there that you can use). You will tie this in on top of the hook with enough left behind the bend of the front hook to run the loop through the eye of the trailing hook and over the hook to securethehook.Oncetheflyisdoneyouwillbeaddingtherearhookandcutoffthethefronthookatthebend.

Thenaddleadorleadsubstitutesize20(bunnystripstendtobebuoyant,soIaddweighttohelpmyflygetdowntothefishearlyintheswing.

Now tie in about three to four inches of rabbit strip (color of your choice) and lash it down leaving about 2/3 of the hook shank left to wrap in a piece of cross cut rabbit (I used purple). I tie in the cross cut and wrap it forward (about three wraps) leavingenoughroomtomakeadecentheadonthefly.

Wrapenoughtomakeaniceconeheadandwhipfinish.Useheadcement(optional).Take a pair of cutters and cut off the front hook at the end of the straight part of the shank. (Behind all you material and

thread wraps). De- barb your rear hook and slip the braid loop through the eye of the rear hook and over the hook and pull it back to

secure the trailer. This application allows you to change the hook if it gets dinged up on the rock or you want to change the


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS2-9 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.2-18 Club Meeting with Jay Nichols.2-19-20 Club Outing - Cow Creek withDaveGrosjacques.3-1 Board Meeting3-8 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.3-11-12 Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany.3-17 Club Meeting with Andrew Harris.3-19 Club Outing Applegate Steelhead.

Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

size of the hook and still us the same fly.Theshortshankdoesnotaffordthefishasmuch leverage toget thehookout of their mouth.

This pattern can be tied in a vari-etyof colors and sizes tofit differentfishingscenarios.Ilikethispatternforsteelhead, but there is no reason this could not be used for bass or trout tied in different colors. I like the movement oftherabbitfurandtiingitwithfloat-ing tail gives it a ton of movement.

I was originally shown the basic patternasanarticulatingflybyaguideontheKitimatRiverinBC.Imodifiedit slightly by not tying the material to the rear hook. I have seen many other flies very similar tied with marabouandfeathers.Ifindthebunnystripma-terial less work. Hope you like it.

Good luck and tight lines.Fly Tied By: John Storfold

d o n a t e d boxes of out s t a nd-ing flies toboth the m o n t h l y raffles andto the annu-al auction. This year his auction d o n a t i o n was a box of several h u n d r e d flies thatdrew a big response at the auction.

This year Kevin also took over as head instructor and coordinator of the club’sannualbeginningflytyingclass.

Add to this a few s p e c i a l fly tyingseminars and Kev-in truly makes a s ig n i f i -cant dif-f e r e n c e to the club.

S u e Kelling

S u e r e ce ive d

the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award for the many years that she ‘manned’ the SOFF Wear table at all club meetings. In addtion she has been the co-chair at several of the club barbecues as well as co-chair at several of the Cascade Lakes outings.

Richard SteedRichard (Rich) Steed won the ‘The

Club President’s Special Award’ for du-ties that the President considered ex-emplary. In particular the years that he

s e r v e d on the b o a r d of direc-tors as e i t h e r the sec-retary or now for the last c o u p l e of years, t h e c l u b ’ s treasur-er.

H e can be

counted on to prepare the club’s an-nual budget and meticlously maintain thefinancialrecordsoftheclub.

In addition, Rich for the last sev-eralyearshasbeentheofficialgreeterand cashier at all of the club meetings and special events where a cashier was needed.

Sue Keeling receives the ‘Volunteer of the Year’ Award from President Dave.

Directors and the general member-ship goes a long way to let the volun-teer know that he or she is ap-preciated for the job they do.

E a c h year the Board of Directors s e l e c t s four club me mb e r s that have c o n t r i b -uted to the betterment of the club during the past year and honor them for their service. This year the four are: Sonja Nisson, Kevin Dan-iels, Richard Steed and Sue Keeling.

Sonja Nisson, the ‘Member of the Year’was already profiled on the thefront page of the newsletter receiv-ingherplaque,nowwehavetheotherthree.

Kevin DanielsKevin received the ‘Fly Tyer of the

Year’ award for the many years he he

Rich Steed receives the President’s Award from Presi-dent Dave.

Bunny Leech Cont. From Pg, 6


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

annual fundraising auction, or taking part in our various rock rolling proj-

ectssuchastreeplantings,fishtossesoranyprojectrequiringmanpowertocomplete, to administrative functions, our volunteers are there.

Without assistance from others in

the club, in many cases the volunteer becomes burned out and no longer is

an asset to the organization. The club through its Board of Directors needs to constant-ly recruit new volunteers to ensure that the burden of running the organization is not handled by the few, but spread out among the many.

Not only does the club need to recruit new volun-teers, but it needs to care for those that we already have. We all know that there is no monetary or intrinsic gain tobeavolunteer;ratheritisthe satisfaction of seeing the organization thrive from the personal efforts that are ac-

complished by them. Still a little recognition for a job

well done, by the club, the Board of

This month I’d like to piggy-back on President Dave’s topic and that is

volunteerism. Every club re-gardless of what it is, is only as good as the volunteers that either run the organization or in some part assist in the op-eration of the club. We here in theSouthernOregonFlyfish-ers are no different. Without the active participation of the volunteer club members, this club or for that matter any oth-er club or organization would falter and die on the vine.

We are fortunate that our club has a rock solid group of volunteers who time and time again come forth and rise to the occasion to see that the goals of the organization are met. Whether those goals are seeing that the club is fis-cally sound, such as organizing our

Kevin Daniels receives the ‘Fly Tyer of the Year Award’ from President Dave.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.3 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. March, 2016






The long wait is over and SOFF mem-bers are taking advantage of the rain and the time of the year to score some large winter steelhead.

Kevin O’Malley proudly displays a fine hatchery run winter steelhead that he took with an egg pattern while fishing the Coquille river in Janu-ary. Although there may be rain in the forecast, if you don’t let it chase you off, you too can be rewarded with a fine steelhead.

SOFF NEWS March, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: March 1st at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


standard bobbin. Both of these compa-nies sell vises from under $200 to over $500, depending on features and the color of metal used.

Hooks – Fly tiers have their favorite hooks for certain uses. They might be overheard talking about the TMC 2457 or 2487, or the Daiichi Kinkhammers or Alec Jacksons they are using. Big hooks with heavy wire are used for steelhead, of course, and smaller hooks with light wireareusedfordryflies.Companieslike Tiemco, Daiichi, Gamakatsu and Mustad produce high-quality hooks for just about any type of fishing. Somehooks are made for a particular type of fly,likescudhooks,whichhaveacurvedshank to make the finished fly lookmorelikealivinginsect.Somefliesarecalled Intruders, which are large steel-head flies tiedwith a long shankwithloops on each end, with a hook attached to the rear loop with small wire or heavy fishingline.Therearedifferenttypesofhook eyes and hook bends. There are very long hooks for streamers and very short hooks for small midge patterns. Good tiers try to make sure they use a hook that will help make that particular flyperformthewaytheywantittowhenit gets in the water.

Tying Thread – Fly tiers again have their favorites. My problem with tying thread is that I break it! When I started tyingfliesIthoughtalltyingthreadwasthe same. I was wrong! Many tiers to-day choose to tie with the thread they started tying with and are used to work-ing with. The companies one hears about are UTC, Uni-Thread, Danville and Veevus. All of them sell good ty-ing thread for general use and more specificuses.VeevusthreadismadeinDenmark and is a relative newcomer to the market in the United States. Many tiers, me included, have started using it and like it. The company advertises that it’s tying thread is stronger for a given diameter than regular thread. For small fliesatierwouldusemaybe14/0thread(very small diameter), and for larger steelheadorsaltwaterflieshemightuse

Continued on Pg. 3

3/0 (larger diameter and stronger).Tying Materials – Here the sky is

the limit. Iknowfly tierswhousesomany types of odd materials that are found in sewing or craft stores that the tierisonafirst-namebasiswiththela-dies who work there! When I started ty-ingfliesIhadsomedeerhairandafewfeathers. Back then I would probably not have recognized some of the things flytiersusetoday.Anenormousnum-ber of synthetic materials have come on the market, with characteristics that enhancethelooksoftheflyandmakeit easier to tie. Back then, there were noflieswithbeadheads.Nowwe tieand use beads on everything from very small, size 20 midges up to size 2/0 saltwaterfliesused for tarpon. Ihaveheard of tiers using plastic sandwich wrap material, wedding dress material, ankle wrap material and heavy twine from burlap sacks to tie flies. Thecheaper and more abundant and more unexpected a material is, the more fun tiers have telling others about how they started using it to tie a great pattern!

Soifyouarenotaflytier,maybethis will help translate some of what youhearyourflytyingfriendstalkingabout.Ifyoudon’ttieflies,giveitatry!If you don’t want to tie, make sure to try to be friends with SOFF club mem-bers who do tie. They will be glad to giveyousomeflies,alongwithstorieson how to use them and how they have caughtalotoffishoncertainpatterns.

IsitMarchalready?Timefliesevenifyouarenotfishing!Formany of us in the SOFF, the

month of March sees the last of the steelheadfishingandthebeginningof“The Great Search” for all of our trout gear.Ofcourse,theproperfliesforthestreamorlakeweareplanningtofishthis spring are a necessity. Many of the membersofourclubtietheirownflies.I have spent some recent Sunday after-noons tying with some of them and the languageofflytyingisused.

Whatdoflytiers talkaboutwhenthey get together, besides the old stan-dardfishing stories? Iwill attempt totranslate some of the jargon, which will sound very familiar to the tiers and will also be instructional for beginning tiers. (I hope!)

Tying Vises – We tell each other how we started on an old, Model “A” Thompson vise. We might start talking about our new Nor-Vise, or Renzetti, Regal, or Dyna-King, or how we got a great deal at a yard sale on a vise that was worth a lot more than they sold it for. A Thompson vise consists of a one-piece base with a simple hook clamp at the top. In the old days it sold for less than $50 and worked reasonably well without any rotation of the hook pos-sible. The Nor-Vise is a newer design, with a full rotary action and a retract-able bobbin. The Regal is an older model that still works great, with a pli-ers-like grip lever to clamp and release the hook. The Dyna-King and Renzetti vises are full rotary models that use a


PROGRAMS Future Programs Apr 21 Fly Tyers NightMay 19 Jeff PerinJune 16 TBAJuly 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 TBANov 12 Annual Auction



Andrew Harris - The Lower Sacramento River

Mar. 17, 2016


Oneofthethingsthatmakesflyfish-ing so much fun is the search for the perfectflyfortheoccasion.Ifyouarelucky, maybe that has happened to you. You thought maybe a certain fa-vorite pattern would work, you tried it, and you had instant success with it on your favorite lake or stream. A great dayoffishing iswhat followed. Isn’tthatabigpartofwhatflyfishingisallabout?

For those of you who have still not paid your 2016 membership dues, they are now 60 days past due. This is the stage of the renewal process where I need to track you down with emails, phone calls, home andofficevisits, etc. I tend to run out of time and energy and have been known to get cranky. Won’t you please help me out by mailing your check to the club postofficeboxtoday?

Southern Oregon Fly FishersPO Box 1144Grants Pass, OR 97528

The 2016 edition of the club membership directory will be going to print on Monday, March 21. If you are planning on being included with your current contact information, I need to hear from you before then.

Thank you.Rich Hosley, Membership Chairman

2016 Dues

Andrew Harris has been guiding in northern California since 1997. He lives in Red Bluff, California with his wife Katie and daughters Mackenzie and Madison.

In2007AndrewcreatedConfluenceOutfitterswithhelpfrompartnersGino BerneroandJonHazlett.Andrewputsthe“Outfitter”inConfluenceOutfitters,ashe is the one who answers the phones and emails.

Andrew is a USCG-licensed Captain which means he can operate a motorized boat in the inland waters of California. He puts this license to good use on the lower reachesoftheSacramentoRiverwhereheuseshisjetboattofishforstripedbass,trout, and steelhead. Andrew has been a pioneer of using lightweight spey rods for trout on the Lower Sac. Andrew’s jet-boat Trout-Spey trips are very popular.

Since 2010, Andrew and his wife Katie have been the exclusive booking agent for Eagle Canyon, a private trophy-trout destination near Red Bluff. Eagle Canyon isopenfromJanuarythroughmid-Aprilandisagreatplacetofishforrainbowtrout from 3 to 15 pounds.

Andrew is a regular on the northernCalifornia fly fishing club circuit andtypically does 5-10 presentations a year. He also writes regularly for California Fly Fisher magazine and is the author of the Plumas National Forest Fishing Guide, a flyfishingguidebooktotheFeatherRiverCountry.


CASTING ABOUT



Mar 19 Applegate Steelhead with David HaightApr 2-3 North Umpqua Steel head with David Haight.Apr 30-May2 Pronghorn Lake with Russ Leavitt.May 7 Copeland’s PondJun 1-Jun 5 Lemolo Lake

Winter Steelhead Outings

2016 Outings

Our next two outings high-light the diverse options we have in Southwest Or-

egon to fish for winter steelhead.WewillfishtheApplegateRiveronMarch19 and the North Umpqua River on April 2 & 3. The Applegate is a small river with water that iseasytoreadandfish.Itiswellsuited to nymphing tactics, and whenconditionsare right,fish-ing can be outstanding. The North Umpqua is a much larger river. It has a strong tradition for swinging thefly, and is agreatplace to use a Spey rod. It is among the most beautiful rivers in our area, but with its clear wa-ter, deep pools, and heavy runs; it can be a challenging place to catch a steelhead.

Applegate OutingWe will start the Applegate Outing

by meeting for breakfast at 8:00 AM on March 19 at the Shari’s Restaurant on the corner of Agness Avenue and the Grants Pass Parkway. If you don’t want to eat, be there by 9:00 AM. We will caravan to the river from there.

Bring your fishing gear, waders,rain jacket, polarized glasses, lunch, and water. Single-handed, switch, and smaller Spey rods in the 7 to 8-weight range are suitable for the Applegate. Pack your floating and sink-tip lines,and bring a variety of nymphs and standard steelhead patterns. As I said

above, the Applegate River is very well suited to nymphing techniques. An ef-fective setup is to use a large, heavy nymph, such as a salmonfly nymph,with a size 10 A. P. nymph, hare’s ear,

pheasant tail, or similarflyonadrop-per.For those thatwant toswingflies,there are certainly places you can do that. Traditional steelhead patterns, egg sucking leeches, and smaller intruder-stylefliesworkwellforswinging.Manypeople feel having a little chartreuse on theflyhelpswhenfishingtheApplegateno matter which technique you choose.

Because it is so productive, I will spend some time during the outing dis-cussing proper nymphing techniques, as well as going over when, where, and howtofishtheApplegateRiver.

North Umpqua OutingFor the outing to the North Umpqua,

we will meet at Swiftwater Park (just a little below Rock Creek and the lower boundaryof theflywater)at9:00AMon Saturday April 2. After a brief dis-cussionabouttheriverandhowtofishit,wewilltouraccesspointsandfishingholesinthelowerhalfoftheflywater.We will then spread out along the river to fish.Atthattime,Iwillbehappytohelpanyone looking for additional instruc-tionaboutfishingtheNorthUmpquaoraboutsteelheadfishingingeneral.

During the winter season, Spey rods can be an asset on the North Um-pqua, but single-handed rods of about 8-weight will also work. Sink-tip lines or shooting heads will help you get

yourfliesdown to thefish.Awidevarietyofflieswillwork--from the traditional steelhead patterns to large intruder-style flies. TheNorthUmpqua canbe difficult towade, so bringyour waders, wading boots with good traction, wading belt, and wading staff. If you have one, an inflatable PFDwill add an extra level of safe-ty. Be sure to pack your rain jacket, polarized glasses, sun screen, food, water, and the

rest of your normal fishing ac-cessories.

Most of the Forest Service and BLM campgrounds will still be closed for the season; however, Boulder Flat and Horseshoe Bend campgrounds usually stay open for the winter. The Dogwood Motel (dogwoodmotel.com, 541-496-3403), located near the lower endoftheflywater,isadecentplacetostay at a reasonable price. The Steam-boat Inn (thesteamboatinn.com, 800-840-8825) is a great place to stay, if it fitsyourbudget,anditoverlookssomeof the best water on the river. There are also numerous lodging and dining op-tions in Roseburg.

David Haight, Outings Chair　

Note: Due to a schedule conflict,the Copeland Pond outing has been changed to May 7.

Here’s what it is all about - a fine winter steelhead at hand.


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Rusty RatHook: Salmon/Steelhead.Thread: Red 140 or 6/0.Tag: Small Gold Oval Tinsel.Tail: 5-8 Peacock Sword Fibers, Depending on the Size of the Hook.Abdomen: Rusty Orange Floss.Vail: Rusty Orange Floss.Thorax: 6-8 Peacock Herls Depending on Size of Hook.Wing: Gray Squirrel Tail Fibers.Hackle: Grizzly Hen.

IcaughtmyfirststeelheadonadoublehookRustyRat,whichtheguidegaveme.WhenItieditonthetippet,Ithoughtitwasbeautifulandmanyyearslateritisoneofmyfavoritefliestolookatandtotie.ThestyleIhavedevelopeddiffersslightlyfromthemoretraditionalsalmonfly.Mystyleusesshortertail,norib,shorterveilendingoverendoftag,andwingof squirrel tail instead of silver fox.

Tie on thread slightly ahead of midway on shank and tie in tinsel under shank from that point to just over point of hook. Bring thread forward. Make 7-10 wraps of tinsel for tag. Tie off tinsel, covering with thread, and trim where other end started. Tie in sword barbs at this point, holding ends about or slightly longer than bend. Hold barbs up as you wrap back to tag. Move threadbacktowhereabdomenwillend.Tieinflossatthatpoint,wrapbacktotagthenforwardtostart,tieoff.Ifneeded,atthis point, burnish with burnishing tool or similar. Tie in peacock herls and form rope, wrapping thorax, leaving room to tie inwingandformhead.Tiewinginplace(justshortoftipoftail),placedropofthinglueonendsoffibers(thishairishard)andfinishtiein.Preparehackleandtieinbytipoverwingtieinandwrapforward.Tieoffandformhead,whipfinishandcement.

FlyTyed By: Ed Morphis


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS3-4-5 Club Outing - Cow Creek3-8 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.3-11-12 Northwest Fly Tyers Expo in Albany.3-17 Club Meeting with Andrew Harris.3-19 Club Outing Applegate Steelhead.4-2-3 Club Outing - North Umpqua.4-5 Board Meeting.4-12 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.4-21 Club Meeting.


Sam Dodenhoff, biologists with the ODFW ar-rived with a n o t h e r truck load of fish thatu n f o r t u -nately were in the same condition. This had the mak-ings of a long day.

W e car pooled to the lo-cation that Dave had chosen for the toss and began prepara-tions that included putting on waders or some type of garment that could be easily washed. The guys from ODFW provided rubber gloves as well as cot-ton gloves to go over the rubber gloves. Without them, we would never have beenable topickupthefish letalongthrow them for any distance.

As part of full disclosure, let me say that in the past Iwas satisfied tothrowtwoor threefishandspendthe

rest of my time taking photos of the rest of the participants throwing fish;consequently, with so few participants Iwould have to throw a lotmore fishthan usual. I don’t care about that, but had I known I would have dressed for theoccasionratherthanattendinaflan-nel shirt and blue jeans which ultimately became drenched with offal.

Now to the fish – and a putrid lotthey were. Bloody, slimy and gross would be a few adjectives that would describe them. It was so bad that one of the ladies, regardless how hard she tried, would retch as she approached the truck,letalongpickuponeofthefish.

AlthoughIwastheretothrowfish,I was also there to document the event with photos. From the get go, I knew that I was in trouble as the gloves prevented me from depressing the button that ac-

tivated the camera. I took the g l o v e s off of one hand, took the p h o t o s and put the gloves b a c k on. As I struggled to put the gloves on again, I couldn’t help but be re-

minded of that line from the OJ Simp-son trial– “If theglovesdon’tfit, yougot to acquit”. It’s amazing how the mind wanders at times. At any rate, back to thefish toss–Ifinallyfiguredoutthebestwaytothrowthefish.Grabthem thru the gills and by the jaw bone andfling them.Thiswas thebestwayofholdingthefishandthebestwayoflimiting the gore that sprayed all over as thefishwasthrown.

When throwing thefishsomefifty

feetfromthestream,notallfishmadeit to the water; rather, some landed on the bank and ended up as salmon snacks for the bears, raccoons and oth-er denizens that patrol the banks of the stream.

In a little over an hour, the 1000 or more salmon had been tossed and wewerefinishedwiththeexceptionofhelping President Dave clean out the back of his truck. Dave has this little spot where he backs down to the creek and with buckets of water he washes the tarp that covered the fish and thebed of the truck.

With the completion of that task,

Bloody, slimey and gross would some of the adjectives that would discribe the fish to be tossed.

Rich Steed demonstrates perfect form and follow through as he pitches a fish into the stream.wereturnedtoourcarssatisfiedintheknowledge that we made a difference in the welfare of the new generation of silver salmon that were spawned in that creek. Hopefully, the nourishment that they received from thefishwe tossedwould aid them to their ultimate des-tiny.

A few days later I had occasion to talk to President Dave and he advised that he had put in a complaint to ODFW aboutthesmellyfish.Hetoldthemhewantedthefishinbagsandhalffrozennext year.

He also said that he had washed his truck twice, and then took it through a car wash. It still smells a bit, but it’s getting better.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

resentatives of the Rogue River Water-

shed Council, Sarah Souter and Donna Chickering also arrived.

President Dave next took this time to lay out the day’s plan of attack. He indicated that he had been there a cou-ple of days before and surveyed the bestlocationsforthefishtossaswellas

the general condition of the road. He indicated that we would car pool to Taylor Creek road and travel some five or sixmilesup it to a side road where we would begin our toss. He did save the best for last and that was that the silver salmon that were obtained from the hatch-ery for the toss are usually frozen, but in this case they had been left out prior to his arrival at the hatchery and are rapidly ‘ripening’. To accent the point, he pointed to his truck which was parked some 50 yards away. Being some-

what none believers we all walked up to his truck to look. He was right! From some 10 feet away, one became overwhelmed by the fish’s pungentaroma.

During this time, Jay Doino and

How many of you have participated in the club’s ‘fish

toss’ program? I have been in-volved in several of them, the last being the one of January 27th. At the January meeting President Dave Grosjacques made an announcement that we would be meeting at the Galice town hall at 9:00 am and that he would like to see all club members who could make it to come out and par-ticipate in the annual event.

On January 27th, your humble correspondent ar-rived at the meeting location and met up with President Dave and the other three club members who came out for the event. Besides myself and Presi-dent Dave there was Bruce Cochran, Rich Steed and Bob Stafford.

Shortly after my arrival, two rep-

President Dave presents his action plan for the day.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.4 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. April, 2016






If you didn’t attend the Oregon’s Council of the FFF Fly Fair not to worry as the SOFF’ers will be host-ing their version at the next meeting.

Joe Knapik one of the club’s premier tyers displays his skill at the recently concluded ‘Fly Fair’ in Albany. If you missed seeing him up there not to worry as he and some twenty other tyers will be on display at the club’s April Fly Tyer Meeting.

Ric

h St

eed

Phot

o

SOFF NEWS April, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: April 5th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


ing materials and tying techniques they demonstrate.

The second big part of the Expo is the schedule of classes that are given both days. To take a class one must sign up and pay ahead of time. This ensures a smooth schedule, with the number of participants matched to the available space and the instructor’s method of teaching. One can sign up for a class ontyingflies,readingwater,fishingtheWilliamson or learning the double haul casting method. Many of the classes fill up quickly,with a limit set on thenumber of participants. The classes are advertised online a month or two before

the event, and you can sign up online as well. I have not taken a class at Albany, but I have heard from SOFF members who have taken them. They have told me that the classes were very informa-tive and well worth the time and fee.

The third part of the Expo is the vendor booths. There are 40 of them, with vendors selling rods, reels, flyline, tying materials, art work, books, boats,fishing tripsandmore.Manyofus in the SOFF take full advantage of thesevendorstofindthingsthatwouldbehardtofindelsewhere.Thereisnotanother place in Oregon where you can seethismuchflyfishingvarietyinthesame place at the same time. If you do not attend the Expo but need a certain type of tying material, send an order

Continued on Pg. 3

withafellowmember!Theywillfindit and buy it for you. The vendors must pay a fee for the space, so they are very willing to sell things at a good price to maketheirboothprofitable.Ifyouareon a budget, it is still a lot of fun to just browse and see what is new, and to talk to the vendors about what they have for sale.

The Albany experience is based on the tiers, classes and vendors I have de-scribed. But there is another aspect of the event that is starting to make more of an impression on me after attend-ing and volunteering for several years. It is the people and the networking

and sharing that goes on that is starting to make the Expo a big highlight on my calendar. I got some information from possible presenters for future club meet-ings. I got to meet several of the people who are on the Oregon Council and got to see how they work to make the event a suc-cess. Duane Chebul and I came up with the idea several years ago to have a SOFF reception on Friday night at our motel in Albany. This year’s party was great, with 15 to 20 SOFF mem-bers and 8 to 10 other people coming together to have a good

time and celebrate all things fly fish-ing. Last year we had the national FFF chair come to our event, and this year we had new Oregon Council President

The Albany Expo Experience

I just returned from two days at the Oregon Council of the International Feder-

ation of Fly Fishers Albany Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo. The Oregon Council is made up of many dedicated people who have a passion for fly fishingand fly tying, and the AlbanyExpo is their big event of the year. They are all volunteers, of course, and work hard to make the Expo a positive experience for all who attend. I would like to use my column this month to explain what takes place at the Expo each year.

The main focus of the Expo is the fly tiers. The two daysare split into three sessions of two and one-halfhourseach,withupto60flytiers tying. You can watch them tie bass flies,troutflies,steelheadfliesandAt-lantic salmon flies and listen to themexplain their methods. The people who are tying are eager to talk about the flies theyare tyingandhow they liketo use their materials and tools to come upwith thefinishedfly.TheSOFF iswell represented, with 8 to 10 mem-bers tying at Albany each year. I got to meet and watch past Oregon Council Fly Tiers of the year Vic Hadley, Jerry Criss, Dave Roberts and our own Dave and Kathy Hamilton. It is interesting to see the different types of vises and tools they use and the assortment of ty-

President Dave shows his stuff at the vise in Albany.


PROGRAMS Future Programs May 19 Jeff PerinJune 16 David WilliamsJuly 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBA


Fly Tyers Meeting

Apr. 21, 2016

President’s Message Cont. From Pg. 2Charle Schillinsky in attendance. A big thank you goes out to Duane and Karyn Chebul for going all out to make this year’s get-together a big success!

Tomakenewfriendsinflyfishingis part of the Albany experience. Each year I see old friends gather and give each other a bad time, all in fun. I see youngerflyfisherswide-eyedattheva-riety of things to see and do when they walk into theExpobuilding. Iseeflyfishers who are advanced in age stillmaking an effort to get to the Expo to seetheirflyfishingfriends.Andmaybemost important of all, I see a younger generation of fly fishers and fly tierscatching the fever of our sport. In fu-ture years they are the ones who will be celebrating the art and the science and the joyofflyfishing.Maybe thatis what the Albany Expo experience is really all about.

TheAprilmeetingiswhenthepremierflytyersarefeaturedatanentire meeting. This April is no exception as Fly Tying Chair, John Storfold, has brought together some of the best tyers of the

club and guests who will be demonstrating their talents at the meeting.

Those tyers that are scheduled to attend are: Bruce Bochman, Chuck Huntington, David Grosjacques, Dale Heath, Dan Kellogg, Dave Roberts, Morris Fruitman, Ed Morphis, Jay Daley, Jeff Fox, Joe Holzen, John Graves, JoeKnapik,JoshWhite,MarkSwanburg,MarkTeeters,PaulWolflick,Da-vid Haight, evin Daniels, Dave McKant and Charles Schillinsky.

As the format for the evening is the tyers, the meeting will revolve around them. So for this meeting the following timeline will be used:

4:00 PM Doors open (to allow tyers to set up)5:00 PM Tying Demonstrations begin6:30 PM Club Businesses7:00 PM Dinner 7:30 PM or there about Tyers return to their tables and tying9:00PMTyersaredoneandraffleoccurs

Some of the tyers and spectators at last year’s event.

See below for the schedule of the fly tyers meeting.


CASTING ABOUT

Continued on Pg. 7

Northwest Fly Tyer Expo Reprised By Duane ‘The Editor’ Chebul

I can’t believe that the big event (Fly Fair) at Albany has come and gone already. I look for-

ward to attending each year, that before I leave the hotel at the events conclu-sion, I have already made reservations for the following year.

In addition to every-thing else, I enjoy volunteer-ing for the Oregon Council annual ‘Fly Tying and Fair’ because first and foremostI believe in what the Coun-cil does, not only that but I have the opportunity of see-ingupto200ofthebestflytiers that Oregon, Washing-ton and even California has to offer. As I have regaled you with in the past, I am a fly tying junkie! Besidesfishing, tying or watchingothers tie flies has to rankright up there with my many life pursuits. Although it seemed that there weren’t as many tiers as past Fly Fairs, there were enough to keep me satis-fiedasIbuzzedfromstationtostationwatching, listening and learning new

ly,thetimespentattheflytierscreden-tial table, wandering around checking out all the vendors and perusing all the tyers pretty well accounted for all my time.

Well that not exactly true as a lot of

time was given up at the show to set up the big party my wife and I host every yearattheconclusionofthefirstday’s

Fly Fair moved from a one day affair held at the fairgrounds in Eugene to its present venue at the Linn County fairgrounds inAlbany.Thatveryfirstyear, my wife and I were joined by club members Jay Prouty and Ron Cremo

and we enjoyed a couple bottles of wine together. The following year Jay and Ron once again joined us for wine, but this time some snacks were added. Each succeeding year the wine and snacks increased, not to mention attendance at the event to where some three years ago it was nec-essary to enlarge our room to a suite. Commensurate with the larger room, new items were added to the menu. No longer just chips and dip, but now there was the addition of hot hors

d’oeuvres, cheese plate, various and different dips and other snack foods. The

spread that we put out could easily be done at home, but when you’re on the road, logistics become important. Extra

Some of the club members and guests that attended the after event ‘party and social’ Friday night.

Becky and Bruce Bockman and Sharon Renaud are ready to enjoy the party.patterns, new techniques and the use of new materials.

I also had the opportunity of avail-ing myself of numerous classes on spe-cialized tying, various casting styles and a host of other things; unfortunate-

President Dave, Joe and Jan Knapik and the ‘Editor’ working the ‘Fly Tyers Cre-dential Table’.events.

A little perspective on how the par-ty started is needed to see how it has ex-panded over the years.

Some seven or eight years ago, the

Club members, Bruce and Linda Co-chran taking notes as they watch one of the tyers at the fair.tables, several slow cookers, ice chests, boxes of wine and two big party totes is what it takes to host the affair.

This year we probably had some 35



Apr 2-3 North Umpqua Steel head with David Haight.Apr 30-May2 Pronghorn Lake with Russ Leavitt.May 7 Copeland’s PondJun 1-5 Lemolo LakeJun 24-26 Cascades LakesJul 9-10 Williamson River

North Umpqua Outings

2016 Outings

For the outing to the North Umpqua, we will meet at Swiftwater Park (just a lit-

tle below Rock Creek and the lower boundaryoftheflywater)at9:00AMon Saturday April 2. After a brief dis-cussionabouttheriverandhowtofishit,wewilltouraccesspointsandfish-ing holes in the lower half of the flywater. We will then spread out along therivertofish.Atthattime,Iwillbehappy to help anyone looking for ad-ditional instruction about fishing theNorthUmpquaoraboutsteelheadfish-ing in general.

During the winter season, Spey rods can be an asset on the North Um-pqua, but single-handed rods of about 8-weight will also work. Sink-tip lines or shooting heads will help you get your fliesdown to thefish.Awidevarietyofflieswillwork--fromthetraditionalsteelhead patterns to large intruder-styleflies.TheNorthUmpquacanbedifficult towade, so bring yourwad-ers, wading boots with good traction, wading belt, and wading staff. If you have one, an inflatable PFDwill addan extra level of safety. Be sure to pack your rain jacket, polarized glasses, sun screen, food, water, and the rest of your normalfishingaccessories.

Most of the Forest Service and BLM campgrounds will still be closed for the season; however, Boulder Flat and Horseshoe Bend campgrounds usually stay open for the winter. The Dogwood Motel (dogwoodmotel.com,

541-496-3403), located near the lower endoftheflywater,isadecentplacetostay at a reasonable price. The Steam-boat Inn (thesteamboatinn.com, 800-840-8825) is a great place to stay, if it fitsyourbudget,anditoverlookssomeof the best water on the river. There are also numerous lodging and dining op-tions in Roseburg.

David Haight, Outings Chair　

2016 looks to be a better water year for our Pronghorn outing. I have spoken with Mike Tyrholm and he expects the lake to be clearer than it was last year. He has taken several steps to reduce the silt problem that reduced visibility last year, and the lake is expected to be at full pool.

He has agreed to continue the cost at the very reasonable level of last year as a special favor to our club.

$100 per fly-fisher per day. $5/per person/day.

“Oregon” cabin sleeps four (if some-one bring a cot) and there is a kitchen.

“Oregon State” cabin sleeps three - one bed and two in a loft and it also has a kitchen. It has an additional attached room that sleeps two in bunk beds.

$35/day boat rental - one available. $10/day for an R/V hook-up.

There is a BBQ on site. Water and a shower are available. Each cabin has a microwave, gas grill, coffee pot, TV, and fridge.

Your meals are your own responsi-bility, but there will be a pot-luck din-ner on Saturday night. Bring your own

Pronghorn Lake Out-ing

main course and a side dish or desert to share.

Set the dates aside: The afternoon of April 30 through the morning of May 2nd.

Russ Leavitt proudly displays a fine rainbow taken at Pronghorn Lake.

Contact Russ Leavitt for additional information and to set aside the cabins onafirstcomefirstservebasis. Russ Leavitt

2306 Haviland Dr. Grants Pass 97527 541 441 [email protected]

Ray McClenathan with a large rainbow taken at a recent outing at Pronghorn Lake.


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Rogue Flashback (Al Brunell)Hook: Tiemco 3769 #6.Thread: Black 6/0.Bead: 5/32 Gold, Optional Black.Lead Wraps: Optional.Tail: Pheasant Tail Fibers, Approx. 6.Ribbing: Red Wire, Medium.Shell Back: Iridescent Green Braid.Body: Peacock Fibers, Approx. 6.Hackle: Three or Four Turns of Badger or Natural Brown.

Mash the barb and put the bead on the hook along with any method of lead wraps you need. Use lead substitute and se-cure with thread and glue as necessary. You might want to do these ahead and allow them to dry.

Secure a good thread base back to the barb. Tie on the tail using the pinch method and wrap forward.

Tie in the ribbing on the near side.

Tie in the shellback keeping it along the top.

Tie in the peacock starting up at the bead and tie back to the barb. Then simply twist the peacock around the thread and wrap forward with touching turns up to the bead.

Pull the shellback up over the top being careful to keep it on top and secure.

Counter wrap the wire rib and secure.Continued on Pg. 7


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS4-2-3 Club Outing - North Umpqua.4-5 Board Meeting.4-12 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.4-21 Club Meeting - Fly Tyers Night.4-30-5-2 Club Outing - Pronghorn Lake.5-3 Board Meeting.5-7 Club Outing - Copeland Pond.5-10 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.5-19 Club Meeting.


the‘newflies’thatcometomarketaremerely an older existing pattern that has been tied using new age materials or some unique twist in the construc-tionofthefly,butstillforallpracticalpurposesitisanewfly.

As I have mentioned repeatedly, I ama self admittedfly tying junkie. Ihaveseveraldifferenttitledflyfishingmagazines that I subscribe to and have saved since the early 1980s not for the storiesabouthowtoflyfish,differentlocationstoflyfish,butratherthatflypatterns that they contained. Add to that the numerous U-tube videos that I have and the pattern sheets that I have picked up over the years and it equates to one heck of a lot of patterns that I have stored away.

If there is a dark side to this nirva-naofflytyingblissisthatmoreisnotbetter. Thousands of patterns, but how doyoufind them?Without somewayto categorize them, for the most part, they are lost forever. A momentary read, then stored away into totes prob-ably never to see the light of day again. Those patterns that really appealed to meatfirst readhavebeen tiedmaybeonly once or twice. The only problem doing this is that generally I don’t have

the materials needed to tie the pattern whichequatesatriptothelocalflyshoportoaflyshopcatalogtopurchasethenecessary materials to tie the fly andonce tied; those materials go into their own tote most likely never to be used again.

At any rate, I digress from my orig-inal topic of the club’s fly tyer night.Needless to say that with over twenty ‘primo’ tyers scheduled for the club’s annual event, if you have even the slight-est inkling to tieyourownflies,afewminutes watching these tyers in action could be enough to spark a lifetime of interest in tying and crafting your own imitations or improving the patterns that you already tie.

In the same vein, Dale Heath sends word that the Southern Oregon Fly Ty-ers (SOFT) at their next meeting on April 12th, will be holding a ‘blow out’ saleofsurplusflytyingmaterials.Thematerials will be from the collections of RFF members Dick Bonamarte and JoelTobiasandwillconsistofflytyingmaterials, tools and hooks. If you’re in-terested in saving a ‘boatload’ of bucks on this sort of items you might stop by for some super deals!

have already made our reservations for 2017 which for those without a calen-dar it will be March 10th and 11th, 2017.

Select a hackle feather that will be about the hook gap when it is tied on and wrap about 3 to 4 turns. When you secure it with the thread, wind it back and forth through the hackle fibers tomake it very secure.

Waxyour thread, thenwhipfinishand cement.

Notes

For wrapping the peacock I prefer to make a rope using the method in the Phil Rowley YouTube video.

To move the hackle out of the way for thewhipfinishandcementsteps,Iusea

Rogue Flashback Cont. From Pg. 6

short piece of plastic straw. The straw is about 1 inch long and cut lengthwise. Then another cut to slightly taper the opening on one end. This can easily be slid around the thread and over the bead to hold back the hackle.

WhenIsawAlBrunelltiethisflyI was hooked. Easy to tie plus it works and I haven’t been disappointed. My favorite version is to use a black bead and a furnace hackle.

Fly Tied By: Tom Collett

Albany Cont. From Pg. 4

2016 Fly Tyer Expo Logo.

The good Lord willing and the Creeks don’t rise we’ll be back again next year. I hear the chef is already researching new hors d’oeuvres items for next year. Maybe as the event grows, I should just book a regular room and one of the ho-tels conference rooms – now that might just be the ticket!


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

of thatpattern.Tome,partof theflyfishingexperienceistoreplicatesome-thingthefishseesinnatureandtocraft

animitationtohookthatfish.InfactIknow some people that purposely cut off the hook at the bend and are satis-fiedwiththerisetotheflywithouttheneedof hooking thefish.Fortunately

for me, I haven’t yet reached that pointinmyflyfishinglifewheretheethereal of purpose outweighs the re-

ality of life.Then again there are the

numbers of flies that are inexistence. When you’re in your favorite fly shop you’llnotethattherearebinsoffliesfor sale. Those bins barely scratch the surface when it comes to the number of pat-terns that are around. There arethousandsofdifferentflypatterns with new ones being invented every day. Some of the best tyers in the sport are contract tyers for large com-panies who develop a pattern

and then turn it over to the company who in turn job out the fly to thirdworld sources who tie it for the com-mercial market. Granted that a lot of

The April meeting is al-ways anticipated by a lot of the club members. This

is when some of the premier flytyersandguestscometo-gether to demonstrate their abilities at the vise.

This year, Fly Tying Chair, John Storfold, has put together a great list of tyers who will be showing us new techniques, new patterns, old patterns with a new twist and the use of new materials.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to purchase flies. I realize that there aretimes when it is necessary topurchasesomefliesespe-ciallywhenyouarefishingnewwa-tersandtheselectionof therightflyis critical to success. Yet, I have been known to deconstruct the purchased flyandattempttotiemyownversion

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.5 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. May, 2016






Bob Roberts, one of the original founders of the SOFF passed away in March. To many in the club he was not only an instructor, but a friend.

Bob Roberts is seen here at one of the Oregon Council Fly Tying Events. He could always be counted on to demontrate some of the patterns that he originated at these affairs.

SOFF NEWS May, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: May 3rd at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


beled, zip lock bags. I do not know the shelflifeofflyleader,butthecostofaspool of Flourocarbon leader makes me hope that it will last for years. The steel-headfliesIwillnotuseforthenextsixmonths are stored in large, plastic flyboxes. I put them into categories, with Intruderfliesand largenymphs inonebox and smaller nymphs and egg pat-terns in another. One look at these boxes in September or October lets me know whichfliesIhaveenoughofandwhichones I need to start tying.

The heavywaders, thermal under-wear, wool socks and gloves one usesfor January or February steelheading need to be stored in a place that is easy to access. The reason for this is the weather some of us experience when we trytobeoneofthefirsttofishourfavor-ite mountain lake. On a typical spring day on a lake in Southern Oregon one can experience warm sunshine, wind, rain, hail and snow! Most club mem-bers know this and are ready for ANY typeofweatherwhenfishinghigherel-evationlakes.Whenthewarmweatherreally sets in, it is time to start looking for the light shirts, good sunglasses, wide brimmed hats and sun block lo-tion. A lighter pair of waders is also a great thing to have, with some peoplejust skipping the waders altogether and wading wet on a warm day.

The leader and flies one typicallyuses for trout need to be found and or-ganized.Formethatrequiresaninven-toryofwhatlightleaderIhaveleftoverfrom last summer. For spring and sum-mer trout fishing, I buy several three-packs of tapered leader and a couple of spoolsofgoodtippet.With theflies, itis a bit more of a project for me because Ihavesomanyofthem!Irememberafishing trip several years ago to LostCreekReservoirwithclubmembersJoeHolzen and Morris Fruitman. We had a goodtimeandcaughtsomefishbutwhatI remember most about that trip was that we started talking about how many flieseachofushadwithus.With4 to6boxesofassortedtroutflieseach,we

Continued on Pg. 3

musthavehadsevenoreighthundredfliesintheboatthatday!Mystrategywhenorganizingmytroutfliesforthisseason is to separate them into specif-ic boxes by type, something I should havedone longago! I then labeleachbox.WhenIgofishingIwilltaketheseboxes and choose 20 or 30 patterns that I know will work and pick out enough ofthemtofilloneortwoflyboxes.Therest stay home! This makes choosing a flytotieonabiteasierwhenyouarestanding in a stream or boat because there are not as many to choose from. On a longer trip some of those extra flieswillgoalong just incasemyfa-voritefliesdon’tdothejob.

Thelakefishermenintheclubneedto start looking for the parts to the pon-toonboat,floattubeorlargerboat.Lifejackets and wader belts are a must. I use a life jacket with pockets, and wear it at all times when I am in my pontoon boatorfloattube.Ialsomakesurethatmy wader belt is always with my wad-ersandthatitisproperlyfittedforthewaders I am wearing that day. Oars for the pontoon boat or larger boat need to be found and the right kind of net lo-cated. I use a rod leash for my pontoon boat andfloat tube.The rod leash at-tacheswithVelcrotothebuttofmyflyrod, with the other end tied to the boat. For only a few dollars, I see it as an in-surancepolicyformyflyrods!Ittakessome getting used to because the leash can affect your casting. I run the leash

Spring Transition

It is spring and for those of us who fish for winter steelheadthat means it is transition time.

I recently spent the better part of a day searching for the parts and assorted equipment for my pontoon boat. The firsttroutfishingexpeditionofthesea-son for me was at hand, and it had been seven months since I had used thatpontoon boat. Another few hours was spent looking for the rods, reels, lines, leaderandfliesIwouldneed.IfIwasan organized person, this transition would be easy!

Thefirstthingoneshoulddowhenchanging over from winter steelheadtotroutistostorethesevenandeight-weight or Spey rods, larger reels and lines and all those beautiful steelhead flies.Iputmylargerrodsintotheirrodcases, and labeled them.Thefly reelscame next, with an effort to write down the types of fly line on each. I haveenoughfly reels that keeping trackofwhat type of line is on each one is a challenge. I know some club members who put a small label on the spool it-self to identify the type and weight of flylineitcontains.Aseparatelistofflylines is a good idea as well, with the type of fly line listed along with thereel and/ or extra spool that line is on.

The next thing in this process is to dealwiththeheavierleaderandsteel-headfliesthatwillnotbeneededuntilnext fall. Those spools of 0X and 1X leader can be stored together in la-


PROGRAMS Future Programs June 16 David WilliamsJuly 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBAJan 19 TBA



Jeff Perin - Fishing the Cascade Lakes

May 19, 2016

President’s Message Cont. From Pg. 2backovermycastingelbowanddownto the boat, which keeps it somewhat out of the way.

JeffPerinbeganworkingintheflyfishingindustryin1986whilegoingtoBendHighSchool,startingasa“shopkid”,eventuallymovinguptoguidingtheLakesandtheFallRiverbytimehewasafreshmanincol-

legeandforthepast25yearsJeffhasbeentheowneroftheFlyFisher’sPlaceinSisters, OR.

Jeff is the owner of 1 of the 7 permits issued by the Deschutes National Forest whichallowshimtoguidetheCascadeLakes.GuidingthelakesisJeff’shappyplace in the summer.

JeffisalifelongOregonianandstartedfishingEastLakewhenhewas4yearsoldwithhisgrandparents.Thatbeganalifelongloveoffishinglakesandrivers,here and around the world.

Jeff has fished in Argentina, Chile, Russia, New Zealand,Mexico, Belize,Christmas Island and Alaska and much of the American West and Florida Keys.Whenheisn’tguiding,heenjoyshistimewithhiswifeand3dogs,hikingthe forest trails near his home in Sisters.

If you’re following President Dave’s ad-vice, success such as this in the spring makes all the effort worthwhile.Sogoforthandfish!Hopefullyaf-teracoupleoftroutfishingtripsthisspring all your gear will be located and ready to go. Also, the care you took in stowing your steelhead gear will ensure that the search for it next September or October will be ashortone.Lookoutfish,herewecome!

Former SOFF Presi-dent’s Wife Passes

Jay Prouty’s wife Marye Jaynepassed away peacefully at her home on April 16th after a four and a half yearbattlewithMyastheniaGravis.

The club and the membership sends its deepest condolences to Jay on her passing.


CASTING ABOUT

Continued on Pg. 7

Bob Roberts Remembered

When I heard about the passing of Bob Roberts, I sent out an email to the membership asking if anyone wished to contribute to a club obituary, since there was not going to be a formal service or memorial for Bob. I was pleased by the response and have included them as a fitting tribute to one of the original founders of the club.

The Editor

From Doug Calamar

ImetBobRobertssomewherearound1999whenIfirstjoinedtheclub.WhatImostrememberaboutBobistherod-buildingclasshetaught.Ibuilta5-weighttroutrod,andBobhelpedmethrougheverystepoftheprocess.Thejobentailedseveraltripstohishouseandsomeworkinhisgarage.EventhoughBobdidn’tknowmefromAdam,hewasverykindandhelpful all the way. I was just a new guy in SOFF, but he treated me like a friend. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing aboutflytying,soitwasprettyamazingwhenBobshowedmehistyingroomwhichwaspackedwitheveryfly-tyingmate-rialimaginable.Ihadnevertiedasinglefly,soyoucanimaginewhatthatwasliketoseeallthedifferentmaterialsneatlyorganizedineverynookandcrannyoftheroom.Bobwaspartofmyintroductiontotheworldofflyfishing.Ilearnedalotfromhim,andendedupwithanicerodthatbearsthedate2000.EverytimeItakeitoutofitscase,IrememberBobandthatclass he taught so willingly to anyone who wanted to learn.

From Dave Grosjacques

BobwasthereasonIjoinedtheSOFF.IsawhimtiefliesattheOregonCouncilExpo,whichwasheldinEugeneatthattime.HetoldmethattherewasaflyfishingclubinGrantsPassthatIshouldjoin!Bobencouragedmetogetinvolvedintheclub,andtotakehisflytyingclass,whichIdidtwice.AtthattimeBobhadaflyshopinGP,firstnearthefairgroundsandlateroutoffofRedwoodAvenue.Bobalsoencouragedmetojointheboard,whichIdidin2006or2007.

Bob Roberts was a charter member and helped form the SOFF into the great club it is today. He was president of the club in 1995-96. When I joined the club Bob would meet people out at the casting pond to help with casting on Thursday after-noons.AsImentioned,healsowastheflytyingclassinstructorforseveralyears.Unfortunately,Bobopposedsomeofthethingstheclubwasdoingin2008and2009(myfirstyearasclubpresident).Hewrotemeanemailspecifyingwhathedidnotlike.Iansweredallofhisquestionsaboutthoseactivitiesbyemail,thenIwentovertovisithimandwetalkedmore.Iwashoping that he would see that what we were doing was OK, but he did not. We remained friends, but Bob stopped coming to meetingsandclubevents,whichIregret.ItwasourlossbecauseBobhadagreatperspectiveonwhatwasimportantinflyfishingandflytyingandIvaluedhisopinionalways.HewastrulyoneofthepioneersoftheSouthernOregonFlyFishers.Wewillmisshim.Ihavesomeofhisflyplatesandpresentationflies,whicharebeautiful.IwilltreasurethemasalegacytoBob and all he did for me and for the club.

AfterIlearnedofBob’spassingIhadoccasiontotalktohiswifeJuneandamongthemanystoriesthatshesharedaboutBob one sort of stood out. June said way back Bob worked with a couple of guys at a mill loading dock or something. They wouldgoouttotheGPgolfcourseatdaylightinthesummerandplay9holes.Loserboughttheothers’breakfasts.Bobdidn’tloseveryoften.Onetimetheydidn’thavetimeforbreakfastandBob’sfriendlostagainandwroteBobacheckforsomethinglike $2.45. June said they thought it was so funny they kept that check for years, just to bug the guy!

From Ed Morphis

IwasneverinBob’styingclass,buthegavemeindividualinstructioninhisworkshop.WhenIhadquestionsabouttyinghisflies,heinsistedIcometohishomewherehetaughtmehowtotieaVernilleCaddisflythatisakiller(IthinkhecalledittheExtendedBodyCaddis),andhispatentedRoberts’RogueHopper(whichismarketedbyUmpquaFeatherMerchants).Hewasverygenerouswithhistime,knowledgeandenergies.Iwasfortunatetotakehisrodwrappingclassandhelpwithitthenextyear(whichmeansIgottoexperiencetheclassagainwithoutpayingforit).IamenrichedbecauseIknewhim.Hewasamorevaluablepersonthanherealized.



May 7 Copeland’s PondMay 31-6-4 Lemolo Lake Jun 24-26 Cascades Lakes with Jerry & Sue KeelingJul 9-10 Williamson RiverAug 20 Howard Prairie Bass and TroutSep 10 North Umpqua Steelhead

May Outing To Copeland’s Pond

2016 Outings

The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers will return to Copeland’s Pond on May

7 to enjoy incredible fishing, a picniclunch, and spending time with fellow club members. SOFF life member Bob Copelandmanagesthepondtoprovideoutstanding fishing for largemouthbass, bluegill, crappie, and carp. Bob requiresallfishcaughttobereleased;thus,allowing thefish togrow to im-pressivesizes.Lastyear,clubmemberslandedhundredsoffishincludingsev-erallargemouthbassover20inchesinlength.

Youcan catchplentyoffish rightfrom the bank; however, a float tube,pontoon boat, driftboat, or other small watercraftwill giveyoubetter accesstothefish.Ifyouplantotargetpanfish,3 to 5-weight rods work well, but if you hook into one of the big bass or carp you maywishyouhadsomethingheavier.For bass or carp, a 6 to 8-weight rod would be a good choice. Slow sinking lines will likely be the most useful, but bringyourfloatinglinesaswell.Yourflyboxshouldcontainbassbugs,rab-bit-stripflies,woollybuggers,leeches,streamers,andnymphs.Oliveorwhitewoolly buggers have worked well forboth crappie and bass in past years. Large,oliverabbit-stripfliesorleechesareeffectiveforthebiggerbass.

To get to Copeland’s Pond, takeRedwood Highway west from town. Turn north off the highway onto Ap-plegateAvenue then look for the club

signs where Applegate Avenue turnsrightandbecomesLeonardRoad.Youcan join us there anytime after 8:30.

Bob and Valerie are again gracious-ly allowing us to use their picnic facili-ties for our noon barbeque. The club will provide hamburgers, chips anddrinks.Those attending are requested to bring a salad, side dish, or dessert to share. If you plan to go, sign up at the April meeting or call or email me by May 5, so I know how much food to purchase.

The outing to Copeland’s Pond isagreatwaytostartoffthespringfish-ingseason.Thefantasticfishingandtheopportunity to enjoy a picnic and time on the water with fellow club members make it one of our most popular outings each year.

David Haight, Outings Chair 541-855-9043, tmdrhaight@ infostructure.net

amember of theOSUFish andWild-life Club and has participated in the OSURunningClub.Jacobgainedvalu-ableexperienceoverthepastfouryearsthrough work with the Oregon De-partment of Fish and Wildlife and the Greater Yamhill Watershed Council. While working with ODFW’s Salmonand Trout Enhancement Program in Coos Bay, he helped maintain hatchery and educational facilities, worked on habitatrestorationprojects,stockedfish,and participated in educational events.ElsewherewithODFW,he inventoriedwarmwaterfishpopulations.Whilewiththe Watershed Council, Jacob conduct-edspawninggroundsurveysforwintersteelhead.OnceheearnshisBachelor’sDegree,JacobmayenteraMaster’spro-gram. He ultimately would like to ob-tain a position as a Fisheries or STEP Biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife or a similar position with another agency.

Tyler Johnson is currently a sophomore and expects to graduate in the summer of 2018. His cumulativeGPA is 3.25, and he earned a 4.0 during hismostrecenttermatOSU.Tylerhasalmost eight years of work experience in the field of fishery sciences, work-ingfirstwith the IdahoDepartmentofFish and Game, and currently with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Com-mission. Much of this experience has been in a lab setting where he has aged fish from otoliths (ear bones), scales,andfinrays.HehasalsoworkedfortheBureauofLandManagementwhereheinventoriedhighdesertplantcommuni-ties. Once Tyler graduates, he plans to pursueacareerinfisheriesresearchandmonitoring directed toward protecting fresh and saltwater ecosystems.

We invited Jacob and Tyler to beour guests at a club meeting. If they canfititintotheirschedules,wewillallhavetheopportunitytomeetthesefinestudents.

David Haight, Scholarship Chair

Each year the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers award two $1500 scholarships to outstanding

students in the Fisheries Sciences pro-gram at Oregon State University. Wehave done this since the early days ofourclubtohelppromotethoseindividu-als that we feel will go into careers that will help insure the future health of the fisheriesresourcesthataresoimportantto us. The recipients are selected based on their scholastic achievements,workand volunteer experience in the field,involvementoncampusandinthecom-munity,careergoals,andfinancialneed.For the 2016 - 2017 academic year, the club selected Jacob Peterson and Tyler Johnson.

Jacob Peterson is a senior from Amity, OR, and expects to graduate at the end of spring term in 2017. He has maintained a 3.49GPA atOSU.He is

SOFF Selects Annual Scholarship Recipients


FLY TYING CORNER

Name(s):Address:City:State:Zip:Phone:Home()Work:()Email: Personal interests: Renewal:_____New:______



Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

March Brown Spider Hook: Size 12-16Thread: Black6/0or8/0(IusedVevus10/0);however, youcanusewhatevercoloryouwant.Ifyougo onlineandlookatsomevideos you’llfindmanydifferentversionswith different thread.Body: GraySquirrelDubbingBlendedwithUV EnhancerFromSpiritRiverRibbing: Small Gold Mylar.Shell Back: Iridescent Green Braid.Hackle: Partridge.

De-barb the hook, and dress the hook with thread. Possession your thread half way up the hook and tie in your mylar and wrapbacktothebendofthehook.(note:withthegold/silvermylar,tieitinontheundersideandtiethegoldsidetowardthehook.Whenyougetreadytowrapforwardoverthedubbingthemylarwillturnoverandgoldsidewillbeoutwhereyouwantit.)Createadubbingloopanddubthebodyuptojustbehindyourheadspace.(note:youwanttheboddytobefairlysparse but spikey. When you get to where the thorax would be dub a small ball just behind where we are going to tie in the hackle.Thiswillkeepthehacklesupported)Counterwrapyourmylarwith4-5wrapstothefrontofthehookjustbehindthe head space and secure. This is my little twist from the traditional. Choose a partridge hackle that will be half a shank longer than the hook and tie in by the tip. Wrap the hackle with about 2 ½ to 3 wraps and tie off. Form a fairly small head andwhipfinish.HeadcementisoptionalbutItendtousesome.

ThisflyhasworkedwellformeontheWilliamsonriverandyoucantiethisonascudhookalso(suchasTiemco2457).Onmovingwateryoucanletitswingandaddsomemotionwithaslowretrieve.Iusethiswithaintermediateline.Youcanalsousethisinstillwaterwithastrip.EachbodyofwaterwillrequireadifferentfishingtechniquebutIfeelconfidenttyingthisflyoninbothstreamsandlakes.TheothertwistIusedonthisparticularflyistheintroductionofaUV2dubbing.Ipersonallyamaproponentofattractiontogetthefishesattention.GoodluckandTightlines.

Fly Tied By:John Storfold


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS5-3 Board Meeting.5-7 Club Outing - Copeland Pond.5-10 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.5-19 Club Meeting - Jeff Perin.5-31-6-4 ClubOuting-LemoloLake withDaveGrosjacques.6-7 Board Meeting.6-14 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.6-16 ClubMeeting-David Williams.6-24-26 Club Outing- Cascade Lakes.

goal of earning the McKenzie Cup for the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers. He wasanexcellentflytierandrodbuilder,and freely shared his talents with the membersoftheclub.Ibuiltmyfirstrodunder Bob’s instruction. He was veryfriendlyandservedasamentortomanyoftheyoungflyfishersintheclub.Idonot think the Southern Oregon Fly Fish-ers would be the club it is today without Bob’sleadershipintheearlyyearsoftheclub.

From John Shewey

A lot of people who knew Bob might immediately remember his mis-chievous and humorous side, but hon-estly the moments I enjoyed most with him—whether at a club meeting in the olddays,oroverathishouse,oratanFFF event—waswhenhe and Iwoulddiscuss steelhead flies. We would notonly talk about tying techniques and patterns, but more importantly we would talk about the history of those patterns and the people behind them. Bob truly appreciatedthataspectofhisflytying,and of course he tied the old “bucktail” steelhead patterns better than just about anyone—he was truly a craftsman, and hiscraftboreadeeperlayer,areflectionof and appreciation for the history of the flieshedressed.Itrulyappreciatedthathe understood how much the history and culture and traditions of the sport mean tome,and in thatveinhewasaterrific example for newer generationsofflytiers.

From Gary Miller

HewasoneofGod’sNoblemenandis now in a better place.When I firstcame to SOFF, more than 20 years ago, Bob reached out and made me feel wel-come.Hegaveme the training tohelpmy Cascade Christian High students with their rod building and he was a fre-quentvisitortosharethesecretsofsomeofhisfavoriteflies.Itwasablessingto

Bob Roberts Continued From Pg 4

From Becky and Bruce Bockman

Bob was an amazing club mem-ber and president. The club was his “baby”. Bruce and I were also charter members and VERY involved withthecluband itsmanyactivities. Bobmade us really want to participate and volunteerforanythingwherehelpwasneeded.YouhavenoideahowshockedI was at the recognition dinner when he announced that I was the recipient of thefirst“President’sAward”.ThatwasarecognitionInever,everexpected.Iwas just having fun helping out. Hewas an amazing friend and I will miss him.

From David Haight

Bob was, as you know, a found-ing member of the club and its second President.IservedontheBoardwhileBob was President. He was an excel-lent President and ran the meetings and club well. I think that he, more than anyone else, shaped the direction of the club. He had a strong vision forthe club, set many of our priorities, and established many of our programs andpractices.Hesetandachievedthe

haveknownBob.

And Finally From the Editor

IfirstmetBobshortlyafterIjoinedthe club in 2001. At that time I knew exactly one other member of the club. I can remember Bob approaching me andintroducinghimselfandthengaveme a little history of the club. From thereafter,Bobmadeitapointatev-ery meeting to seek me out and talk to me.

At his urging, I joined one of his rod building classes and partially crafted a fine 8 wt rod. Because therod was only partially built, I took the class again the followingyear andfi-nally completed it.

I never took a formal fly tyingclass from Bob, but he did show me a steelhead pattern that I still use today – it was the hourglass egg pattern with awhiteveil.Severalsteelheadovertheyearshavefallenvictimtothatfly.

One of things that I remember about Bob was how proud he was that the club won the International Federa-tion of Fly Fishers McKenzie Cup. In facthedrovetoMontanaandattendedtheFederation’sannualfairwherehe,astheSOFF’srepresentative,waspre-sented the cup.

Over the years he won severalawards from the club. Among some of thoseawardshereceivedwasahonor-arylifemembershipandwasthefirstrecipient of the annual “Al Brunell” Fly Tyer of the Year Award.

Bobmayhavehadhisidiosyncra-sies, but no one can doubt the affec-tion that he held and displayed for the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers.

I will end by saying – ‘May you alwayshaveawarmsunonyourface,a cool breeze at your back and the right flyforalltheheavenlystreams–tightlines old friend.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



thing to do with the excellent lunch theclubprovides.Theclubprovideshamburgerswithallthefixings,chipsand drinks and the attendees bring a host of pot luck items to augment the burgers. Iwill say that I haveneverheard of anyone going away hungry.

SothatDaveHaightknowshowmany people to plan for, make sure that you either call or email him and tellhimyou’recoming.Notonlywilltheregreatfood,butthefishingisn’ttoo bad either!

Speaking of lakes, I had occasion to run into John Hyde of Yamsi Ranch attheflyfairinAlbanyandaskedhimabout Hyde Lake.We used to haveoutings there, but haven’t had onethere in the last three or four years. He indicated that the lake should al-most be full this year and that he has purchaseda‘ton’offishtostockit.Ifthe water stays up, maybe we could haveanoutingthereagainnextyear.

Well the wait is over as we re-turned to the Event Center for theApril Fly Tyers Meeting. We were out for one month while remodeling took place at the Center. I was pleasantly surprised at the work that was done. Not only was the place spruced up with a coat of paint, but new carpeting was added throughout the building, but that was small potatoes. If you re-member, before entering the meeting rooms it was necessary to walk down a hallway that ran the length of the building and then enter one of three doors into the meeting rooms. No lon-ger, the hallway is gone and instead there is one doorway that opens into the meeting room proper from the lobby area. Just this one change has expanded the meeting rooms consid-erably.

At our annual auctions it was nec-essaryforeveryonetoexitthemeet-ing room and squeeze into the hall-

waywheretheservingtablesweresetup. By eliminating the hallway, easier accesswasgiventotheservingtables,which incidentally was the way it was set up at the last meeting. By enlarging the room it did away with the constric-tivefeelithadbefore.

TheEventCenteralsoaddedanewsound system which will be welcome news to anyone sitting in the back of the room when the sound went out ne-cessitating the speaker to shout to be heard.

I’m really impressed as to whatwasdonetotheEventCenterandI’msure you’ll also be the next timeyouattend a meeting there.

On May 7th we’ll be meeting atCopeland’s Pond for probably thelargest outing of each year. To accu-rately gauge the number attending just check out all the boats, pontoons and belly boats pulled up on shore during the lunch break. Maybe it has some-

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.6 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. June, 2016






The Copeland’s Pond outing proved to be yet another outstanding success with 60 or more anglers taking part in the annual event.

Robert James proudly display a fine big mouth bass that he landed at the recent Copeland’s Pond outing. The bass measured 20 1/2 inches.

SOFF NEWS June, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: June 7th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


in 2007. I was skeptical, thinking that an urban stream, with houses along it’s entire length, was too far gone to try to save. I was wrong. Watershed Council Coordinator Dan Delaney continued to lookat JonesCreek, andfinallygotfundingforafishpassageproject.Thecreek goes under the railroad tracks and Spaulding Avenue through two large, concrete culverts. Both culverts had a large drop at the downstream end, mak-ingitdifficultforsalmonandsteelheadto get upstream. Since nothing could be done to lower the culverts, Dan decided to raise the streambed. Heavy equip-ment was used to put large boulders and smaller rock into the channel, raising it up the three or more feet needed to eliminate the large drop.

A n -o t h e r p r o b l e m for Jones C r e e k was a dam about a mile up-s t r e a m f r o m where it goes un-der the f r eeway. The dam was built years ago to allow the Tokay

Canal to cross the creek and continue along toward the northern part of town. Thedamwasabarriertofishpassage,especially when the stop boards were put in during the summer months when the canal was full of water. During that time,any juvenilefishupstreamof thedam were trapped and unable to get down to the river for their migration to the ocean. About eight years ago, vol-unteers working with the Oregon De-partment of Fish and Wildlife set up twosmallfishtrapsintheforksofJonesCreek to capture the out-migrating ju-

Continued on Pg. 3

venilefish.Thefishwerethenputintobuckets and taken down near the mouth for release back into the stream.

The removal of the dam was the next project on Jones Creek. The wa-tershed council got funding to solve the dam problem. The dam was removed and two large pipes were buried under the streambed to carry the canal water past the creek. Boulders and rock were put into the stream to make the rapid dropagradualoneforfishpassage.Thevolunteers, many of whom are mem-bers of the Middle Rogue Steelhead-ers,continuetorunthefishtrapsonthetwo forks of the creek above where the dam was located. But instead of truck-ingthefishdownstream,theyarejustidentifiedandputback into thewaterto continue swimming downstream to the Rogue River.

I have been one of the volunteers who have helped check the trap over the years. The traps are usually installed in late April, and taken out in mid-June. I have had help from several SOFF members, most recently Greg Carratt and Bob Stafford. This year we have re-corded several days where we captured 40 or more two to three-inch juvenile steelhead in one trap and more than 90 in the other. The traps are checked ev-eryday.Thesefishprovethatifyoufixthe stream, they will come!

Before the dam removal and cul-vert work, steelhead could not make it very far up Jones Creek. Now they

Jones Creek Recovery

This month my column will be about the efforts to al-low passage for salmon and

steelhead on Jones Creek. Jones Creek is a small s t r e a m that runs into the R o g u e just down-s t r e a m from Tom P e a r c e P a r k . Traveling upstream, J o n e s Creek runs north, in-t e r s e c t -ing the r a i l r o a d t r a c k s , Spaulding Avenue and Interstate 5. It splits into the West Fork and East Fork a mile north (upstream) from where it runs under the freeway. There are houses and parcels of private property along the creek for most of it’s length. Jones Creek Road comes off of Foot-hill Boulevard and follows the creek up to where it splits, and continues up both forks.

The Middle Rogue Watershed Council started talking about Jones Creek and possible recovery projects when I first became a boardmember

President Dave standing next to a fish trap like the one used on Jones Creek.


PROGRAMS Future Programs July 21 No MeetingAug 18 No MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBAJan 19 TBAFeb 16 TBA



David Williams - Fishing For Smallmouth Bass

June 16, 2016

President’s Message Cont. From Pg. 2can, and are using the upper reaches of Jones Creek for spawning and rear-ing. The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers support restoration to help steelhead. If we can help improve fish passageandstreamhabitat,thefishwillbenefitfrom our efforts. So we as an organiza-tion will continue to provide volunteers and funding for projects like the ones I have described on Jones Creek. Our legacy is that we did what we could to helpthesemagnificentfishsurviveandflourishinacrowdedworld.

David Paul Williams blends his real estate expertise and love of writing as The Write Realtor. Yep, he’s a writing, lawyering Realtor. A Double Dawg, Williams earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Washing-ton. His Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Ac-countingallowshimfluency in“businessspeak.”His lawdegreeallowshimtopractice (because practice makes perfect) in all Washington State Courts and the Western District of Washington Federal Court.

In addition to being The Write Realtor, David Paul Williams is a writing in-structor,mediapresenter,flyfishermanandsoccerreferee.Hehaspublishedhun-dreds of feature articles in national and regional magazines. He wrote on real estate lawandflyfishingfortheseattlepi.com,formerlyWashington’soldestnewspaper.He started fishing before he started kindergarten and spends time tossing fliesanywheretherearefish.WilliamshascaughtmackinawinaSeptemberWyomingmountainsnowstorm,trickedFireholeRiverbrowntrout,hookedallfivePacificsalmonspeciesonafly,donebattlewith“Mississippisteelhead,”(that’scarptothose in the know) and worn out his wrist on Yakima River smallmouth. His book Fly Fishing for Western Smallmouth (Stackpole Books) hit the market July, 2014.

He is Secretary and newsletter editor of the Washington State Council Federa-tion of Fly Fishers, a member of the Northwest Fly Anglers, WDFW Inland Fish Policy Advisory Group and Manufacturers and Retailers Advisory Group. He’s a past Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition board member and a Washing-ton Teeming With Wildlife Steering Committee member.

I have an Mercury Outboard, short shaft motor for sale.

It is a 7.5 hp engine and the sweet part is that it is an electric start. Very clean

Asking $800.00 for it with tank and new fuel line.

Teresa [email protected]

For Sale


CASTING ABOUT

Copeland’s Pond Outing - 2016 By Duane Chebul

The Copeland’s pond outing continues to be one of the most popular outing that

the club provides. This year was no exception as some 65 to 70 individu-als signed up for the outing. So it was no surprise, that when I arrived at the pond I observed several boats and pontoon boats al-ready launched and on the water.

In talking to the other outing par-ticipants as I rowed by them, they all indicated that they had caught several fisheach.Thefishincludedbass,crap-pie and bluegill. Each year, there are

ing, there were several young children brought by parents or grandparents who had a ball latching on to the willing blue-

gills. What an oppor-tunity to attract a new gener-ationofflyfishers tothe sport.

At the noon hour, e ve r yo n e rowed or k i c k e d back to the launch ramp and went up to the pavil-

ion for lunch. Once again, Dave Haight, outing chair assisted by Russ Leavitt, was hard at work at the grill turning

There was so much food there that anyone would have been hard-pressed to leave hungry. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Tonya Haight who every year oversees the salads and des-serts making sure that they were avail-able for serving.

Dave Haight and Russ Leavitt manning the grills and turning out some great hamburgers.

Mark Swanburg proudly displays a large carp he caught at a previous outing. You never know when one of these ‘big boys’ will take your fly. one or two carp caught; unfortunately, there were none caught this year. There wasalsoonereportofananglerfishingfrom Copeland’s dock and hooked into one giant sized bass. Unfortunately, there was no photograph to verify size ofthefish.Inadditiontotheadultsfish-

When Dave can get away from the grill, he shows that he is no stranger to a fly rod as evidenced by this nice bass taken at Copeland’s.out some super hamburgers. Added to the hamburgers were several salads and many desserts. One dessert that caught my attention was an apple pie; however, before I could get back to it, it was gone.

The ‘fleet is in’ as so to speak as lunch is being served.

Here are Gary and Peggy Shontz’s grandkids - Ben & Annabelle Turek and Adeline Reeser. The all caught fish on the outing and are ready to come back.

Although the day started out calm andflat,bythetimelunchwasoverthewind had come up and proved to be a challenge if one wanted to go to the other side of the lake. I watched sev-eral boats, particularly pontoon boats get buffeted around by the wind. They kicked or rowed across the lake only to be blown back to their starting point faster than it took them to go across the lake.

AsIdidn’twanttofightthewind,and since I had caught somefish andthe ”skunk”was offme, I called it aday and once again look forward to at-tending the event next year.



Jun 24-26 Cascades Lakes with Jerry & Sue KeelingJul 9-10 Williamson RiverAug 20 Howard Prairie Bass and TroutSep 10 North Umpqua Steelhead Oct 22 Middle Rogue Steelhead

Cascade Lakes/ Lava Lake Annual Outing

2016 Outings

We have one of the longest running and more popular club outings coming in June – the Cascade Lakes/Lava Lake outing.Findthejoyoffishingthecen-tral Oregon area – Deschutes River, Big and Little Lava Lakes, Hosmer Lake, Cultas Lake, Fall River, and many oth-er bodies of fine fishingwaters. The dates are Fri-day June 24 through Sun-day June 26. Several club m e m b e r s will be in the area any-where from Tuesday June 21 through S u n d a y June 26.

We will meet at site #22 at the Lava Lake RV Resort/Camp-

ground (Sonja Nisson’s site) on Friday and Saturday morning at 8:00am to presentinformationonlocalfishing.OnSaturday night we will once again meet at site #22 for dinner. The club has tra-ditionally provided the main dish for a Saturday evening group dinner and this

year is no e x c e p -tion. This year the club will p r o v i d e an Ital-ian din-ner with l a s a g n a and each p e r s o n a t t e n d -ing will bring a side dish and their

Sue and Jerry Keeling is seen serving dinner at last year’s event. Sue and Jerry are once again hosting this year event and will presiding over a Lasagna dinner.

Some of the people at last year’s outing enjoying dinner with the group

own beverage. Join us to enjoy some good food, good friends and some good fishingstories.

Outing participants relaxing by the fire-side and regaling the group with stories of the big ones that didn’t get away.

Make sure you sign up by June 16 to attend the dinner as we need an accurate count in

order to have enough food.

Lava Lake has some big fish swimming in it as evidenced by this fine 21” rain-bow taken by Sonja Nisson at a recent Lava Lake outing.

If you are interested in attending please email Jerry and Sue Keeling (outing hosts) at [email protected] or call 541-218-7264. There are many options for camping in the area as well as cabins at various lakes in the area.

Jan Knapik sampled Craine Prairie Lake at last year’s outing and was re-warded with this fine rainbow.

You don’t want to miss out on a wonderful time.

Jerry and Sue Keeling


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Red White & Blue Memorial Day Popsicle

Hook: Any Size You Would LikeThread: Red 6/0.Bead: Red Glass Tail: White and Red Marabou.Body: Alternating White and Red Marabou (One Clump Each) and One Wrap pf White Marabou (Three Turns).Collar: Blue (UV) Guinea.

De-barb hook and put bead on the hook and mount in the vice. Dress the hook with the thread back to the bend in the hook.Tieinoneclumpofredandoneofwhitemarabou.Tieinsomepearlflashabou.Makeacouplewrapsjustinfrontofthebendandtieinaclumpofredmarabou.Wrapacouplewrapsofflashabou,thentieinastemofwhitemarabouandwrapitaroundonewrapinfrontoftheother(aboutthreewraps),thenanothercouplewrapsofflashabou.TieinsomeblueGuineabythetipsandfoldthebarbsbackasyouwrapforwardaboutthreewrapsandtieoff.Tieinsomesilverflashabouandwhipfinish.

IwasinspiredtodothisflyasMemorialDaywasuponus.IamnotthefistonetodoapatrioticflybutIjusthadnotseena one done in a popsicle style. Have I tested it, no. Will I, yes. Just felt patriotic this month. Hope you enjoy.

Fly Tied By: John Storfold


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS6-7 Board Meeting.6-14 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.6-16 Club Meeting - David Williams.6-24-26 Club Outing- Cascade Lakes.7-5 Board Meeting7-9-10 Club Outing - Williamson River.7-21 No Club Meeting7-23 Wine Dinner at Plaisance Ranch.8-2 Board Meeting8-18 No Meeting8-20 Club Outing Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

get another hit. I would later talk to some of the other participants who told me that they had knocked them dead, particularly the bluegill and crappie that also reside in the lake along with a few super sized bass. I guess my Clouser wastoobigforthosesmallerfish.

As noon approached, I beached my boat and headed up to the pavilion where outing chair Dave Haight was manning the grill producing some great hamburg-ers. These hamburgers were topped off with a plethora of potluck items includ-ing salads and desserts. If you didn’t get yourfill,thenyoureallydidn’ttry.

After lunch I wandered down to my parked boat in preparation for going out again. As I did, I noticed some sort of commotion in the water. What I could see was a head bobbing out of the water near an empty pontoon boat. Fortunate-ly, Ray McClenathan in his driftboat was already on scene and had made fast tothenowfloatingangler.Severalmin-utes later, the ‘not to be named angler’ was safely on the beach, none the worse for wear other than being soaked and embarrassed before his peers.

After the angler was safe, a post mortem as to speak was conducted among those aiding and watching the rescue. It turns out that angler had just purchased a new Dave Scadden pontoon boat and that this was his first outingwithit.Oneofthefirstthingsthatwasnoted was that the foot pegs were too far away for his legs. In order to reach the pegs, it required that the angler to sit on the very edge of his seat. Secondly, his inflatable seatwasnotfilled to therequiredfirmness,rathertheveryfrontof the seatwas underinflated allowingfor him to easily slide off of it. Combine these two things and you have a man in the water.

If nothing else, this incident shows that if you get a new pontoon boat, be-fore taking it out on the water, you make darnsurethattheboatfitsyouandthatitisproperlyinflatedandthatyouknowall the ins and outs of the boat.

An ancillary problem that could have

Minnow to the corner of an island at thatlocation.Ilettheflysinkacoupleof seconds and was rewarded with a sharp takeofagoodfish. Itwasgiveand take for a few moments before the fishmade it to abunchofweeds andproceeded to wrap itself around some. A couple of minutes of fruitless effort andthefishwasgone.AtleastIrecov-eredmyflysoitwasn’tatotalloss.

Several more casts were made to the same location before I was able to getanotherfish tobite.This time thefishdidn’tgetintotheweedsandafteracoupleminutesofbattle,Iwasfinallyabletolandthefishwhichturnedouttobe maybe 15 inches in length and two to three pounds. Since no one was near enough to me to take a photo of my prize and I don’t like to take a photo of afishinanetwithoutreferenceto itssize, I revived and released it.

Boy, two nice fish already and Istill had a couple of hours before kick-ing in for lunch. I would like to say that Icouldn’tkeepthemoffmyfly,butthatwould be wishful thinking. The truth be told, I caught twomore fish – thefirstbeingalittlesmallerthatmyorigi-nal bass and the second was a dink. I kicked all over that part of the lake I wasfishing,butunfortunatelyIdidn’t

proven even more deadly than just fall-ing out of the boat was the fact that the angler’s self inflating life vest didn’tinflate when it came in contact withthe water. The vest that should have inflatedautomaticallywhenittouchedthe water didn’t do so and provided nodeterrent tohiswadersfillinganddragging him down. Fortunately, there was a boat nearby that saved the day and gave the angler something to hold onto as well as someone holding onto him until he reached safety. There is an added irony to this part of the story in that maybe two years ago, the angler was wading the Rogue when he slipped and fell in the river. He was wearing his vest when this incident occurred and the vest functioned as it should. After theincidenttheanglerdeflatedthevestand recharged it with a new CO2 car-tridge. So it should have worked this time when he slipped off his boat. The fact that it didn’t work should give one pause to reflect on one’s abilities andmaybe get a professional to rearm the vest. The cost involved for rearming or for that matter the purchase of a new vestisinfinitesimalascomparedtothevalue of your life.

This incident could have resulted in a deadly tragedy instead of an em-barrassing situation for the angler and a learning lesson for the rest of us. I guess the old adage ‘all’s well that ends well’isafittingobservationofthein-cident.

Wouldn’t you just know it that by the time the rescue was made and the discussion on the causes of it was completed the wind had kicked up. As I watched others struggling to kick or row to the other side of the lake only to be jetted back to their starting position, I decided that I had enough and called it a day. Now all I can do is wait for next year and once again going out and getting my ‘local fix’ of springtimefishing.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



ter a necessary trip to the bathroom, Iwasfinallyableto‘setsailassotospeak. Now all I had to do was to put

onsomeunwieldyforcefins,turn the boat around and I was off. All in all it probably took me the better part of an hour to get out on the water after my arrival.

The previous year when I was here, I found a spot across the lake that apparently had some good structure as I had witnessed Lucky and Russ Leavitt take several nice bass from this spot. Since no one was at the spot that I wanted tofish,Ihurriedlykickedandrowed to the it. Putting my-selfinwhatIfiguredwasthe

right location, as I hadn’t checked my fishfinder/depthsounderbeforecom-ing to the lake and its batteries were dead, I cast my newly tied Clouser

on my waders, made several trips lug-ging equipment from my truck to my boat resting on the lake’s shore. Then

there was the setting up of my rod, the changeoverofflylinesonmyreelandtheselectionof theperfectflyfor thetargetedspecieoffish–thebass.Af-

It’s with great expectation each year that I await the an-nual club outing to Copeland’s

Pond. If as usual, I have just finishedanuneventfulsteel-head season (no steelhead caught), I look forward to having something at the end ofmyflylinejusttogivemesome sort of reassurance that I can catch something and since this is the closest thing to a “sure thing”, I eagerlyawait it each year.

This year was no excep-tion. I had all my equipment including my pontoon boat loaded the day before the out-ing, so I had nothing to do, but drive to the lake. Arriving there at 8:30 am, I could see several boats and pontoon boats already on the water. Wasting no time, I hur-riedly unloaded my pontoon boat, put

Even the editor gets lucky occasionally.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION

Rich Hosley: MembershipJohn Storfold: Fly Tying ChairKevin Daniels: Fly Tying InstructorRay McClenathan: ProgramsSonja Nisson: Auction ChairDavid Haight: Outings ChairSue Keeling: SOFF WearDave Roberts: OR Council IFFF RepEd Michalski: RafflesJohn Storfold Project Healing Waters Chair


Vol.23 No.7 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. July, 2016




Rich Steed Treasurer/Publicity/Historian Jan Knapik Secretary


When can a kid be introduced to fly fishing? Answer - the earlier the bet-ter. Start them young and they’ll enjoy a sport that will last them a lifetime.

Club member Heather Wilson sends in this photo of her daughter, Keira with a nice rainbow taken at the Burma Pond on a 7wt. switch rod.

SOFF NEWS July, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: July 5th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


time to make your list and start pack-ing, but they give the participants more time to relax. To me, those times spent withfriendsaroundthecampfireareasenjoyableasthefishing!

I recently led the 8th annual club outing to Lemolo Lake in early June. The turnout for this year’s outing was a record,18clubmembersfishedatleastone day. Some of us were sitting around thefireoneeveningandwestartedtalk-ing about club outings. My question was: How do you determine the success of a club outing? Some would say that an outing is successful if we have a large turnout. That may be true, but some out-

ings are to spots that are very close to home and some require a long drive. Of course we get a large turnout for those outings that are close to Grants Pass, but does that make them more successful? Some other would say that an outing is successfulifagoodnumberoffisharecaught. That also may be true, but when we have a steelhead outing we certainly donotcatchnearlyasmanyfishaswedowhenwefishforbassandcrappieatCopeland Pond.

Whether an outing is a success ac-tually depends at least in part on what we want to accomplish by putting on the outinginthefirstplace.Dowewanttoshowmembersanewfishing location?Dowewant to showhow tofish for aparticular speciesoffish?Dowewant

Continued on Pg. 3

to showanewfishingmethod?Whatabout those experienced fly fishersin our club who already know these things? Should we tell them not to bother going?

I think the only way to answer these questions about outing success and what we want to accomplish on outings is with the idea that they are forallofus,experiencedflyfishermenor beginners. A successful outing has to be all things (almost) to all people as much as is possible. I have led out-ings to Cow Creek for steelhead and to Lemolo and Galesville for trout. When Ithinkbacktothoseoutings,thefirst

thing that I remember is the good times. Some of those outings were fishless, some were in drivingrainstorms, some were done with a million mosquitoes, but what I remember is the good times, even so. Another thing I remember is the sharing and serious “fishtalk” that happens. Beginners learn from the experienced fish-ermen,andtheexperiencedfish-ermen learn and share ideas with each other. The end result for all is an increase in knowledge about flyfishing,whichistheultimategoal.

Another aspect of our outings involves change. How often should we change our outings? Should we keep certain outings going at the same time each year? How often should we go to

An Outing: Signup to Memories

A Southern Oregon Fly Fisher’s outing starts with an idea and a

signup list. We sign up at a meet-ing and start making plans to go. Someone acts as the leader of the outing, providing information about imitation, presentation and location for the fishing experi-ence. Then the time comes and offwegotofishtogether.Hope-fully some pleasant memories are madeofbigfishcaught,newfliestried and new friends made.

I believe that our monthly SOFF outings are a very impor-tant part of the club. After all, don’t most people join the SOFF togoflyfishing?OutingschairDavidHaight does a great job putting together a schedule for us to enjoy together. We follow the seasons, chasing steelhead during the fall and winter and trout and other species during the spring and summer. I often tell new members to really make an effort to attend the outings because that is the easiest way to get to know people in our club. I tell them about my experiences on outings whenIfirstbecameamember, learn-ing about new flies, fishing methodsandplacestofish.Someoftheoutingsare far enough away that we camp and stay several days. When you go camp-ing with people you get to know them very quickly. These overnight outings are a bit more involved when it comes

President Dave at last years SOFF Wine Dinner.


PROGRAMS Future Programs July 21 No Regular MeetingAug 18 No Regular MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBAJan 19 TBAFeb 16 TBA

WHEN: TIMES: WHERE:

Southern Oregon Fly Fishers Annual Wine Dinner

July 23, 2016


Plaisance Ranch16955 Water Gap Rd.

5:00 PM Social Hour 6:00 PM Brief Meeting 6 :15 PM Dinner

a brand new spot? Should we start a new outing to be held each spring for newer members, so they can try out some new fishing methods? Shouldwe have an outing that is for the par-ticipantsfromthebeginningflyfishingclinic each spring?

The SOFF board and outings chair David Haight would appreciate yourinput as a club member. Let us know which outings you like, how we can make them better and if you think we shouldtryanewfishingspotyouhaveheard about. We always hope that when you put your name down on that sign-up list for an outing, you end up with memories of good days on the water fishingwithfriends.Thatiswhatout-ings are really all about.

Come join your Southern Oregon Fly Fisher friends at their annual wine dinner to be held at Plaisance Ranch in Williams. Plaisance Ranch has been a working ranch since 1858. It is located in the heart of Williams valley in the shadow of Greyback Mountain. The Ginet family has a rich history of farming and vineyard business that spans over hundreds of years and across two continents. For many generations, the family has been growing grapes, raising cattle and producing grapevines amongst the mountains of Savoie in eastern France. Today, the tradition continues in America.

When: Saturday, July 23rd, 5:00 pm

Where: Plaisance Ranch

16955 Water Gap Road

Williams, OR 97544

Food: James Daw, Bacchanal CateringWine: Plaisance Ranch

Entertainment: Background Music

Tickets: Reservations are a must. Tickets are $20 with reservations required by 7/16 as caterer requires a total count by that time. Wine Dinner Reservations: E-mail - [email protected] or call the Club at (541) 955-4718.

I have an Mercury Outboard, short shaft motor for sale.

It is a 7.5 hp engine and the sweet part is that it is an electric start. Very clean

Asking $800.00 for it with tank and new fuel line.

Teresa [email protected]

For Sale


CASTING ABOUT

Lemolo Outing Number 8 By Dave G

The SOFF Lemolo outing thisyeartookplacethefirstweek of June. In the eight

years I have been hosting this outing I have seen rain, hail and snow. This year the weather was very warm and the mos-quitoes were out. Weather in the upper 80s and low 90s and a lot of pesky mos-quitoes are not seen very often in early June, but we saw both on this year’s trip.

Thefishwerebiting, even thoughit was a bit spotty and hit and miss for some. SOFF m e m b e r s started arriv-ing as early as Tuesday, and many stayed until Friday or Saturday. Ray McClenathan and Nick Mer-rill had their lake boats there, and Brady Keister brought his up for a couple of days. My North River boat was joined all week by Joe and Jan’s North River. Several more SOFF members fished with pontoon boats.New member John Smith had a pon-toon boat rigged up for some serious fishing,whichJohndid!

Lemolo Lake is only about 10 miles north of Diamond Lake. It is smallerand lesscrowded thanDiamond;with

one small resort, one large campground and two smaller campgrounds around it. The draw for many is the population of

brown trout that can be caught along with rain-bows. Our group of flyfisherscaughtboth rainbows and browns, with maybe two or three r a i n b o w s caught for each brown caught. The fishing was

consistently best from mid- to late morn-ing,withmediumsized,darkfliesonasink tip or intermediate sink line in 6 to 20feetofwater.Thelargestfishinmy

boat for the week were a 16 inch brown and a 14 inch rainbow. We got a lot of both species in the 11 to 13 inch range. I used a three-weight rod most of the time all week. We would cast

and wind drift, orusethemotortomovethefliesveryslowly.

The group of SOFF members who were there had a lot of fun, even with the unusually hot weather and unusually numerous mosquitoes. We met each af-ternoon at my camp for some beverages and snacks, with LOTS of pretty serious fishtalk.Theconsensusonflypatternswas that if it was about the right size and

attherightdepth,itwouldgetthefishtobite–maybe!

Dave G surveying his surroundings at Lemolo Lake.

Some of the participants at the Lemolo outing.

Joe Knapik with a nice brown he caught on the Lemolo Lake outing.

I am already planning for next year’s Lemolo outing. I might even have to go up there for a week in July and another week in September to scout

Jackie and Nick Merrill at the outing.

itout!Oneofthereason’sIdothisout-ing is to introduce my friends from our clubtothelake.Thefishing,ofcourse,will be on and off depending on all the variables, but Lemolo will always be a mostly uncrowded, beautiful place to camp,hike,bikeandfish.



Jul 9-10 Williamson RiverAug 20 Howard Prairie Bass and TroutSep 10 North Umpqua Steelhead Oct 22 Middle Rogue SteelheadNov 19-20 South Coast Chinook.Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.

July Outing - Hex Hatch on the Williamson River

2016 Outings

Most of the fly fishers inSouthern Oregon know that the Klamath Basin

is noted for its large rainbow trout, and that a lot of those big rainbows move out of Klamath Lake and into the Wil-liamson River in the summer as the lake warms up. The Williamson River is gener-allyfishedwith sub-s u r f a c e f l i e s - - l e e c h e s , bugger s , soft hack-les, and ny mph s . D u r i n gthe early summer;however, the emer-gence of a large, yel-lowmayfly,Hexagenia limbata, from the slow pools in the lower Williamson draws the big rainbow to the surface and creates some of the most exciting dryflyfishingyoucanfind.

The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers will try to capitalize on this opportuni-ty during our outing to the Williamson River on July 9. The emergence begins near dark, so most of the activity oc-curswithinthelasthouroflegalfish-ing time. Since we will be out late, we will start the outing late enough to al-

low for a more relaxed trip from Grants Pass. We will meet at 11:00 at the Kla-math County Park off of Hwy 422 along the Williamson River below Chiloquin to make plans and preparations for our dayoffishing.

The lower Williamson River has lim-ited bank access--a little at the Klamath

C o u n t y Park were we plan to meet, and a little available to guests at the Wa-terwheel C a m p -g r o u n d --so it would be best to bring a driftboat, p on t o on

boat,orraft.Memberscanfloattheriverfrom Chiloquin to the Hwy 97 crossing, or can fish a long stretch of stillwaterbelow Hwy 97 with access ($5.00 for people not staying in the park) through the Waterwheel Campground.

Six-weight rods are ideal for the WilliamsonRiver.Bringafloatingline,leaders tapered to 4X, and Hexagenia adult patterns (which are available at mostflyshops)totakeadvantageofthedry fly action in the evening. For thedaylight hours prior to the hatch, bring an intermediate line and wooly buggers and soft hackles, well as Hexagenia nymph patterns. Since we will be on the river past dinner time, you may want to pack something to eat with you in your boat. Also bring sunscreen, bug repel-lent,andyourusualfishingaccessories.

People looking to spend the night--a good idea since we will get off the river late--can camp at the Waterwheel Campground (541-783-2738), at Collier State Park, or at a number of other small

campgrounds and RV parks in the gen-eral area. Melita’s (541-783-2401) in Chiloquin has a restaurant, motel, and RVpark.TheLonesomeDuckResort(www.lonesomeduck.com) is located on the Williamson River adjacent to some of the bestwater to fish duringthe Hexegenia emergence. They offer upscale cabins, boats their guests can use, and guide services. Sportsman’s RV Park (541-783-3857) shuttles vehi-cles for $10.00, through we plan shuttle our own vehicles for the outing.

Tanya Haight proudly displays a fine example of a Wil-liamson River rainbow taken on a previous outing.

To show you how easy it is to catch fish on the Williamson - even the editor was able to hook and land several fish!!

It has been a long time since the club has made an outing to the Wil-liamson River during the “Hex hatch“, so this should be a fun trip. If you are interested in going, please call or email DavidHaightpriortotheoutingsowecanfiguresomeofthelogisticsaheadof time.

David Haight, Outings Chair, 541-855-9043, tmdrhaight@ infostructure.net


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Holy Grail (Variation)Hook: Scud Hook (I used a TMC 2457 #16).Thread: Black 8/0 (I used Vivus 10/0 and Red for the head.Bead: 3/32 gold (You Could Use Brass or What ever color you want) Body: Gray Squirrel Mixed with UV Enhancer dubbingRibbing: Purple Holographic Smaill Tinsel..Hackle: Grizzly.

Pinch the barb and slide the bead on the hook. Place the hook in the vice. Put a thread base behind the bead in to the bendofthehook.Tieinyourtinsel.Dubthebody.

Leave room to slide the bead back just a little to leave room in front of the bead to add the hackle. Spiral the tinsel up to just behind the bead and tie it off with a couple of half hitches and cut the thread and slide the bead up against the dubbing. Tie in some red thread in front of the bead.

Tie in your hackle and make about 2 to 3 turns and tie off. You can add hackle (your choice) I chose to leave it fairly sparse. Make a head and tie it off. Add head cement (preference).

IsawasimilarflyinanewsletterIhadsubscribedto.(Theyhadalistoftheir(10bestfliesformountainstreamsandponds) They did not give tying instructions so mine is a reasonable facsimile with a few material changes (I did not have whatIperceivedtherecipetobe)ButwhatIhavementionedmanytimebefore,itisyourfly.Don’tbeafraidtotakelibertiesand experiment. Good luck and tight lines.

Fly Tied By: John Storfold


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS7-5 Board Meeting7-9-10 Club Outing - Williamson River.7-21 No Club Meeting7-23 WineDinneratPlaisance Ranch.8-2 Board Meeting8-18 No Meeting8-20 Club Outing - Howard Pairie Bass and Trout.9-6 Board Meeting.9-10 Club Outing -North Umpqua Steelhead.9-13 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.9-15 Club Meeting.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

alackthefishthatIhookedandlandedon the upper Owens River where I tried my hand proved to be only slightly big-ger than the ones on Hot Creek.

I have to say that I have noticed over thepastfourorfiveyearsnotonlywerethefishnumbersbecomingless,butthesize of the fish was diminishing also.Whereonce20or30fishdayswerethenorm now you are lucky to get three or fourfish;alsothefishthatrangedfrom14 to 20 inches were now down to a pal-try 12 to 14 inches.

To see if there were any answers, I talked with ranch management. Their explanation was that the drought over the past four years had proved to be very detrimental to thefish.Theyestimatedthat they had a fish kill of anywherefrom 70 to may be as high as 90%. They said that because of low water flowover the last four years, sediment was allowed build up and cover the normal spawning gravels. Ergo no gravel no spawn no fish. Asked about the smallfish thatwehadcaughtand Iwas toldthat probably some fish had spawned.This seemed plausible if there had been onlyonebreedoffishsuchasrainbowsor browns but not a combination of both. I asked them what they could possibly do to remediate the problem and they said they had hoped to be able to plant trout intheCreekinthecomingmonths;how-ever, there was a problem. The problem being that Hot Creek is listed as a wild fishfisheryandthatallfishinthisCreekhad to be naturally spawned. The ranch management hopes to get an exemption so that there can be an initial planting of trout and then go back to natural repro-duction thereafter. Maybe it’s just me, but I get the feeling that even if they’re officially denied permission to plantthe Creek there’ll be some arrangement made like why there are so many 2 to 3 inchfishalreadyintheCreek.

As an aside before we left the area, we stopped at the Hot Creek hatchery. Wedrooledatthesightofsomanyfishwith many that measured over 20 inch-es. The hatchery not only had rainbows,

flypattern,Ifinallyhookedafish!Theproblemwas thefishwasonly2 to3inches in length aptly described as twoeyesandawiggle.ThefishwassosmallthathadInotseenittakethefly,Isurelywould’veflungitbehindmeonthe back cast. As it would turn out, my sonandmyotherfishingpartnerwouldcatch several more of these ‘whoppers’ over our stay on the ranch.

Thistypeoffishingprovedtobeanethicaldilemma,doIcontinuefishingand hooking the small fry in the hopes of maybe catching a larger specimen or doIstopfishingandlessenthedamagedone to these young fish by catchingthem. Anyone who knows me regard-inghowIfish,willknowthatthereisone thing I really abhor and that is to be ‘skunked’. I need to catch at least onefishtogetthe‘skunk’offmyback.SohereIamdoIstopfishingafteronebaby fish and limit incidental dam-age or do I continue on in the hopes of landing something larger? A quandary to be sure, considering the cost of my stay on the ranch and I was there to fishandnottoviewtheCreekandtheother vistas of the area. So what to do, Istoppedfishingontheranchandwentsomewhere else. I wish I could say the move proved successful but alas and

but browns and cutthroats in their runs. Since the hatchery sits on a spur of Hot Creek, it was easy to fantasize what would happen if one of those runs was accidentally released into the race-way that led to the Creek. One can only hope!

Will I be back to Hot Creek next year, you bet I will as 37 years is a hard habit to break and hope springs eter-nal.

HeatherWilson’s First Fish on a Fly By Lucky Leavitt

Manyremembertheirfirstfishcaughtonafly.Fe-vercaught thatfirstfish

onabarblesshookandnotallflyfishershave a photo of the experience.

Heather with her first fly caught fish.

Heather Wilson did all three on Galesville Reservoir close to the end of May. Heather and her daughter Keira became recent SOFF members with no fishing experience at all.We bor-rowedafloattubefromafriendwhileHeather had everything else. She was a quick study, so after some practice casting we were in the lake. It was not longuntilHeatherlandedherfirstfish.

Her smile reminds us all of the special momentwebecameflyfishers!


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



an ample snowpack this past winter, there was adequate water in the creek

forprobablythefirsttimeinthe last four or five years.The water was clear and there was enough vegeta-tionforshelter;theoneflyinthe ointment was that there wasnofish.Inthreedaysofhardfishing,Isawatotalofonefish rise. In fact fishingwas so poor that ranch man-agement allowed the use of nymphs in an effort for their clientele to hook into some-thing which in itself was a telling situation as Hot Creek ismanagedasadryflyfish-eryonly;evenusingnymphs

and other subsurface patterns, the chances of hooking a fish were ex-ceedingly small.

After many hours and still be-ing a purist at heart by using a dry

wind in the evening and the water be-came alive with insects which in turn

brought the trout crashing to the sur-facewithwildabandon.Anyflytossedin that maelstrom resulted in an instant hook up.

Fast forward to today, thanks to

Well if it’s the end of June, then it’s time for my annual trip

to theHotCreekRanch fly-fishingresort.AsIhavebeendoing for the last 37 years, I meet up with my son and another fishing partner for along weekend of pursuing the trout that reside in that creek.

As I said I’ve been com-ing up here for 37 years and can truthfully say that I know the majority of the holes and lies of the fish, areas whereI’ve had success in past years. To put things in perspective, I can remember days when you were able to land 20 or morefishranginginsizefrom14to20 inches without much effort. Hot Creek at that time was known for its high density of fish. I can remem-ber the odd days when there was no

The editor with his Hot Creek whopper.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.8 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. August, 2016






Another Cascade/Lava Lakes out-ing has occurred with the usual good times, good food, comradery and yes even a few fish were landed.

Bruce Cochran display a fine rainbow he landed at the Lava Lake outing. What made it even sweeter was that it was caught on a fly that he tied.

SOFF NEWS August, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: Aug 2nd at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


worked with closely since the club be-gan are the watershed councils. A wa-tershed council is a group of people working together to help protect and enhancefishpopulationsandfishhabi-tat. Most councils have at least one paid coordinator, and the larger ones have additional paid staff. The council also has a board of directors, who are regu-lar citizens who care about streams. Our local watershed council was the Middle Rogue WC, which was re-named the Stream Restoration Alliance. Then in January of 2015 it merged with three other WCs in the basin to form the new Rogue River Watershed Council. I was on the board of the SRA and am cur-rently on the board of the RRWC. The last coordinator of the SRA was Dan Delaney.Danwas a fisheries biologistfor the Forest Service before he was withthewatershedcouncil.Heisaflyfishermanandrecentlyjoinedourclub.The coordinator of the new RRWC is Brian Barr. Brian has worked for many yearsintheRogueBasinasafisheriesbiologist, and helped with the removal of the two large dams on Evens Creek near the town of Rogue River when he worked for GEOS. Other Rogue Basin watershed councils we have worked with are the Seven Basins WC (Rogue River and Gold Hill), the Applegate WC and the Illinois Valley WC.

Asafishingclub,wealsoworkwithotherfishingclubsinsouthernOregon.The two clubs we know and work with are the Rogue Fly Fishers and the Mid-dle Rogue Steelheaders. The three clubs provide a pool of volunteers for proj-ects done by the ODFW, the watershed councils, or both. Our club has planted trees along area streams every winter since the club was formed. The trees are provided by the watershed council and we provide the manpower and some of the tools. Last winter we did a plant on Thompson Creek. It is a large tribu-tary of the Applegate River, and is an important spawning and rearing stream for coho salmon and steelhead. Our club hasalsohelpedwith thefish tosseach

December, when salmon carcasses are tossed into a local stream to help juve-nile salmon and steelhead survive. We have also worked with the Steelheaders andODFWtochecktwojuvenilefishtraps on Jones Creek. These traps op-erated this spring for ten weeks, with volunteers checking them every day.

I have been involved in habitat improvement projects since 1987. The first club Iworkedwithwas theUm-pqua Fishermen’s Association, based in Roseburg. With those volunteers and all of the volunteers I have worked with in the Rogue Basin I have seen many common traits. People who spend theirowntimeandmoneytohelpfishand fish habitat are passionate aboutour nativefish.They are alsowillingto work with the agency people, even though they sometimes have differenc-es of opinion. They are friendly folks, able to solve problems and get things done with a positive attitude. And last but certainly not least, they are proud of what they have done for fish andfishhabitat.Whenapersoncaresthatmuch, the fact that being paid is not part of the deal is not important. If you want to volunteer this winter, see your local habitat chair!

The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers has always been a group that has shown in-

volvement in fisheries-related issuesand projects. The second of the three goals listed in our By-Laws reads:“To assist our government agencies with fisheries-related research and habitatenhancement projects.”

I am the habitat chair for the SOFF, and my job is to make connections with the people at the agencies in southern Oregonwhodealwithfishpopulationsand fish habitat. I havewritten aboutthis before in this space, and thought it would be good to say more about it.

Thefirstagencytodealwithwhenweare talkingfishandfishhabitat inOregon is the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This agency is re-sponsibleforfish,theirhabitatandis-sues that affect them. Our club is well connected to ODFW, with our outings chair David Haight an employee of the agency working out of the Central Pointoffice.Davidkeepsusuptodateon both regional and state-wide issues connectedtofisheries.AnotherODFWemployee who we have worked with in the past is Jay Doino. Jay has been our contact person for the annual salmon carcass toss for 10 years. He also has been the ODFW contact for the habi-tat improvement projects that SOFF has helped with in the past. David and Jay have worked for many years in the Rogue Basin and they know the area andthespeciesoffishwehavehere.

Other groups that the SOFF has


PROGRAMS Future Programs Aug 18 No Regular MeetingSep 15 TBAOct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBAJan 19 TBAFeb 16 TBAMar 16 TBA

WHEN: TIMES: WHERE:

Southern Oregon Fly Fishers Annual Picnic

Aug 28, 2016 Plaisance Ranch16955 Water Gap Rd.

Please remember to mark your calendars for the annual SOFF club picnic set for Sunday, August 28, 2016. We will be at the same location - the Harry and David Pavilion at the Reinhardt Volunteer Park (All Sports Park). This is a great time to share with your friends all the stories of your summer adventures and the fishthatyoucaughtandthebiggeronesthatgotaway

We will again provide space for those who wish to sell/swap their no longer neededflyfishing/flytyinggear.Justbringwhatyouwishtoselltothepicnic.Youcan set up beginning at 12:00 noon. Make sure to bring a table or blanket to set up your gear. Also beginning at noon we will be offering a casting clinic led by John MacDiarmid.Youcanbringyourownrodandreeloruseoneoftheclub’ssetups.Clubmemberswillalsobeavailabletoassistinthefinerpointsofcasting.

The picnic will begin at 1 PM with SOFF providing barbecued tri tip and chicken, sodas and water. Those with the last name beginning with A-M, please bring a dessert, and those with a last name beginning with N-Z, please bring a side dish/salad.Thecostofthemealisfivedollarsperperson.

After the picnic, we will be having casting games at either the casting pond or if unavailable on the lawn, directly behind the shelter.

So mark your calendar for an afternoon of food and fun with friends. If you’re planning on attending, please email Ron Cremo, (this year’s picnic coordinator) at [email protected]. Please include your name and the number of people attend-ing.

12 Noon Equipment Swap & Casting Clinic 1:00 pm Lunch 1:45 PM Casting Games

John Storfold and Jerry Keeling cooking up some fine tritips and chicken.

Club members enjoying the barbeque along with the pot luck.

Volunteers Wanted By Dale Heath

Cascade Christian High School is going to begin teaching their Fly Fish-ing Class again in September, 2016, after taking a year off to complete a major building project. The school will have only one staff teacher run-ning this class. The rest of the “teach-ers” will have to be volunteers from our community. If you have a heart for teaching 10th, 11th, and 12th grade boysandgirlshowtofish,cast,buildrods,buildleaders,tieflies,appreciateour wonderful resources, conserve our legacy, and enjoy the art, science, and joyofflyfishing, I’d like to talkwithyou.Themajorpartofthisclassisflyfishing,whichincludes50%casting&fishing,and10%ineachofthesecat-egories: rod building, fly tying, lines,leaders & knots, conservation, andlife and it’s risks and rewards. The one hour class will be held daily, M-F, about in the middle of the afternoon. If you can contribute an hour a week or a couple of hours a month, it would sure be appreciated. Many hands make light work.

I can no longer spend the amount of time I used to because of my health, age, hearing problems, and other time commitments. If you’d like to partici-pate in one or more of these activities please email me at [email protected] or call me at 541-973-3490. Gary Miller started this class and ran it for manyyears.Youcancallhimat541-840-3426 to get his input.


CASTING ABOUT

Belize Adventure By Russ and Lucky Leavitt

DaveandTanyaHaightaswellasmyselfandLuckywereinBelizeforaweekoffishinginmid-June.June;unfortunately,is the windiest month of the year, but best for tarpon.

No sailor ever complained of the doldrums in Belize in June as the wind was incessant and a constant challenge while fishingfortarpon,permit,orbonefish.Fishingwasslowanddifficult,butIgotfortunateandcompleteda“grandslam”-atleast one of all three targeted species.

I landed a tarpon I estimated at 120 pounds. The guide estimated it at 60 - 70 pounds. Dave landed a tarpon on (spinning gear)whileTanyalandedalargeCorbinaonafly.Thetripwassuperb.Thefishingcouldhavebeenbetter;werewetogoagainI would chose May as there is usually less wind then and Tarpon are also available.

Our residence while in Belize was aboard a boat and the accommodations were excellent. If anyone is interested in a trip such as the one we took, contact Don Mulrath, the trip coordinator, or visit the web and

searchfortheboat“Meca”outofBelizeCity.Youalsomaylandafishofalifetime.

Russ leavitt’s tarpon, whether 60 or 120 pounds is still a a great fish to be caught on a fly.

Dave and Tanya Haight proudly hold a fine corbina that Tanya caught on a fly.

Russ Leavitt hold a nice permit that he caught on the trip.

It may not be a really large fish, but Russ Leavitt is still justly proud of the bonefish that he is displaying.



Aug 20 Howard Prairie Bass and TroutSep 10 North Umpqua Steelhead Oct 22 Middle Rogue SteelheadNov 19-20 South Coast Chinook.Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.Jan 23 TBA

August Outing - Howard Prairie

2016 Outings

Continued on Pg 7

The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers andRogueFlyfish-ers will have a joint outing

to Howard Prairie Reservoir on August 20. Howard Prairie was previously one of the best rainbow trout fisheries inthe region, and was popular among the membersofbothclubs.Unfortunately,largemouth bass and smallmouth bass were illegally introduced into the lake andruinedtherainbowtroutfishery.Inresponse, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife revised the stocking strategy, switching from a spring re-leaseof tiny rainbowtroutfingerlingstoafallreleaseoffivetosix-inchtrout,supplemented by occasional releases of catchable-sized trout. Consequently, therainbowtroutfisheryatthelakehasimproved dramatically. It is not as good as it used to be, but it can be pretty good--producing trout over 20-inches in length. Howard Prairie also offers good fishing for both largemouth andsmallmouth bass.

For those interested in giving the lake a try, we will meet at the Willow PointBoatRampat3:00PMandfishinto the evening. In the heat of sum-mer,thebestfishingwillbeearlyandlate in the day. Those that are interest-edcanspendthenightandfishthenextmorning as well. The Jackson County Parks Department has a number of nice campgrounds around the lake. In addition, the Howard Prairie Resort of-fers cabins, a marina with boat rentals, and a restaurant. Information about the

campgrounds, resort, and day-use facil-ities can be found at www.jacksoncoun-tyor.org/parks.

There is plenty of access for fish-ing from the bank, but fishing from awatercraft is often more productive. At Howard Prairie, you can use anything fromafloattubetoalargemotorboat.Asix-weight rod would work well for both the bass and trout, but you can go lighter if you want to primarily target the trout. Bring your floating, intermediate, andsinking lines. Stripping woolly buggers should work well for both the trout and bass. The lake has the usual assortment of stillwater insects and invertebrates (midges, damselflies, dragonflies,mayflies, backswimmers, leeches, andsnails), so bring an assortment of stan-dard stillwater patterns. Add Clouser Minnows and streamers to your box if you plan to target the bass. Also bring dollar bills to pay the $4.00 day-use fee if you don’t have a Jackson County Park’s pass.

Ifyouhaven’tfishedHowardPrairieinawhile,comegiveitatry.Thefish-ing may pleasantly surprise you.

David Haight, Outings Chair

This year’s Cascade Lakes outing was a wonderful suc-cess. The weather was coop-

erativeandpleasant,aswasthefishing.Wehadmorefishbitingtheflythanwehad mosquitos biting us. The beauty of the mountain lakes was stunning, with Mount Bachelor, South Sister and Middle Sister as the backdrop. No mat-ter how many times we look out over Lava Lake, the beauty just takes your breathaway.AndfishingtheDeschutesand Fall rivers is simply a calming and peaceful journey.

We started the outing by meeting on Friday morning at Sonja and Julie’s site

Cascade Lakes Outing 2016 by Jerry and Sue Keeling

todiscussfishingtechniques,locationstotry,andwhichfliesareworkingthebest. Excellent information was provid-edonlocalfishing,includingshowingthebestfliestouseandprovidingmapsoflocalfishingareas-thankyouSonja.Manypeopleusedthedayfishingtheirfavoritespot,orfindinganewfavoriteto add to their list.

Some of the group talking fishing tech-niques and where to fish.

We decided to have an impromp-tu steak BBQ for Friday night, trying to get the word out to club members. Most members at the outing were able to make it, but we missed a few. Friday night proved to be a fun time for all, so next year we will do something similar. It was good to get as many together as we could.

View from the water as one trys to tempt a Lava Lake rainbow into taking a fly.

Saturday morning we met again at Sonja and Julie’s camp site to talk about Friday’s fishing adventures andto look again at what this beautiful area offerstheflyfisher.Rainbows,Brook-ies, Cranebows, White Fish, etc., were waiting just under the surface (some a


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Leech Fly

Hook: TMC 200R Size 8-12Thread: Color to MatchBead: Gold Sized to Hook.Tail: Marabou - Maroon or Color of Choice.Flash: FourStrandsofCrystalFlash,YourChoiceof Color.Body: LeechYarn-ColorofChoice.

Start by putting pinching the barb and putting the bead on.Lay down a base of thread and tie in the tail. Tieinaboutfourstrandsofcrystalflashandpositionsoyouhavetwostrandsoneachsideofthehook.Trimtolength

(same length as the tail). Take some leach yarn and tie down the end and palmer forward to the bead and secure. Halfhitchorwhipfinishbehindthebeadandlet’sgofishing.Althoughasimplefly,itisveryeffective.

Fly Tied By: John Graves


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS8-2 Board Meeting8-18 No Meeting8-20 Club Outing - Howard Pairie Bass and Trout.8-28 Annual Club Picnic.9-6 Board Meeting.9-9-10 NorthUmpquaFlyFishing and Tying Festival.9-10 Club Outing -North UmpquaSteelhead.9-13 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.9-15 Club Meeting Speaker To Be Announced.10-4 Board Meeting.11-12 Annual Club Auction.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

photoofthefish,butinanewpose.Twophotosweretaken;thefishwasrevivedand sent on his way. After arriving back at the rental house, the horrible truth was discovered–thefirstphotoshowsanicepicture of the guide standing next to the boat, a piece of the river between him and the boat and then there was me and thefish–barely.Hopingtheotherpho-tos would be better, much to my chagrin there were no other photos apparently instead of hitting the activation button, he hit the off button – such is life!

ThefloattripwasonMondaywiththe rest of the week seeing us scratching afishhereandthereanddoingalotofdriving to do that.

Although I like to catch fish asmuch as the next person, some of the real pleasure of the annual trip is being able to spend a week fishing and liv-ingwith the samefishingbuddies thatIhavefishedwithforthelast30years.Although a couple members of the ‘Green River Boys’ as we were known have left us and the remaining members are approaching their dotage, I still look forward with eager anticipation for the next sounding of the ‘siren’s call’ once again calling us together.

clients over to the Madison River in Montanatofloat.Asitwouldhappen,mypartnerhad justfloated theMadi-son a couple of weeks prior and wasn’t ready to go back. As for myself, I have floated the Madison numerous timesin the past, but had never fished thearea around Island Park and besides this would cross another item from my ‘bucket list’.

Insistence paid off and we took off for the center section of the Henry’s Fork of the Snake. Fishing was less than spectacular, but over the course of thefloat,wemanagedtohookandlandmorethanadozenfishapiece.Grantedthe majority were rainbows in the 12 to 14 inch class and were supplemented bytheeverpopular‘whitefish’,butitprovidedforafunday.Thephotofishof the day for me was a 20 to 21 inch brown which after a masterful battle on my part, had the guide jump out of theboatandraceafterthefishtonetit.I might say that was the only time he chasedafterahookedfish.

Afterthefishwaslanded,aphotoopportunityensued.Ihandedmyfish-ing partner my camera and he assured me the fish and I were framed andsnapped the photo. Being less than an optimist, I asked him to take another

bitdeeper)forthatflytheyjustcouldn’tresist. And many in our group were fortunate enough to find that momentwherefishmeetsfly.Somewerelandedand some found their escape.

Saturday evening the club host-ed our annual Cascade Lakes dinner, only this year we had Lasagna from Rosso’s of Grants Pass. We had many delicious appetizers to get our appe-tites going, followed by the lasagna and French bread. It just happened to be Da-vid Height’s birthday (don’t ask which year), and Tanya brought up a delicious (we can still taste it) chocolate mousse cake from Costco.

WehadsomefunplayingUkuleles(thank you Julie, Tanya and Sonja), gui-tar and singing some oldies but goodies

Dave Haight celebrates his birthday at the outing with a fine cake supplied by Tanya Haight.

(ranging from the 40’s to the 70’s). Sev-eralpeoplestayedaroundthecampfire,chatting and enjoying the good com-pany, until late in the evening.

Cascades Outing Continued From Pg 5

Thank you to everyone who could make it to SOFF’s Cascade Lakes Out-ing2016.Youhelpedmaketheoutingsomuchmorethanjustfishing(thoughthere is certainly nothing wrong with fishing).

September means it’s time for the 8thAnnualNorthUm-pqua Fly Fishing and Ty-

ing Festival, at the Glide Community Center, 20062 North Umpqua High-way, Glide Oregon. Mark your calen-dars for Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th, volunteers, tyers and vendors are invited to a BBQ-Potluck on Fri-day evening, as a thanks for setting up and then cleaning up, plus all of the activities in-between. Friday morning volunteers start setting up the Casting Pond and in the afternoon others start getting the community center orga-nized. By 5:30 the work is done and we are ready for to relax with good food, and friends at the BBQ.

For additional information con-cerning the festival, look for the club email that will detail the event.

No. Umpqua Fly Festival


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

items suitable for water recreation. Becauseofthisdearthoffishingop-portunities, we were forced to range

further and further away from our rental house to find anyfishablewaters. It got so badthat a couple of days we drove close to 200 miles looking for somewheretofish.

Not to say that we didn’t find some opportunities, wedid. My partner and I had ar-ranged for a guide trip prior to ourarrival,theonlyflyintheointment was that it was with the‘Trouthunter’flyshopoutof Island Park ID. This neces-sitated a trip of 75 miles one way to meet up with our guide athisshop.Thefirstthinghesaid after greeting us was that the local fishing wasn’t any

good and that he had been taking his

ID. Unfortunately, Driggs could notbeconsideredahotspotforflyfishing.Although the Teton River flows just

outside of town, the only hatch that could be found was of the plastic va-riety – kayaks, paddleboards and other

Well the siren’s call sounded again and once again I as well

asmy threefishingpartnersheeded its call. This year one of the group wanted to fish ‘Flat Creek’ locatedoutside of Jackson, Wy. The creek which opened August 1st,necessitated thatwefishmid-summer, a period of time not conductive to prime fishing of any type.One ofour number ‘the arranger’ wastaskedwithfindingusahouse to rent for a week. As he made inquires a common theme appeared – ‘hands up- don’t shoot’ was probably the best way to describe the cost of rentals in the Jackson area. Seeing that we would have to look elsewhere, he discov-ered a reasonable house in Driggs,

Yup, that’s the Editor peeking over the net that holds his 20 inch brown with the guide and river as background.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.9 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. September, 2016






The Williamson River continues to produce large fish for the many South-ern Oregon Fly Fishers that fish its waters.

Kevin Daniels with Teresa Kasza as his guide took this outstanding 27 inch buck of some eight pounds by stripping in a leech pattern. Kevin and Teresa were out the same day as the Editor and Nick Merrill with Marlon Rampy and in fact these were the only two boats on the river all day. There is something to be said when for all practical purposes you have the whole river to yourself!

SOFF NEWS September, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: Sept 6th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


fished at timeswith a fly rod. Severalwell-knownsteelheadfliesweredevel-opedfortheRogueRiver.

A fly rod is made from preciselycut, flat pieces of graphite fiber. Thefiber is inflexible sheets, and is rolledunder pressure around a metal form or mandrel. After a time in an oven, thegraphite stiffens and the metal center is removed.Hardeningmaterialispaintedon the outside of the graphite and is baked on to add strength and durability. The blank is then ready to be measured andcut intosections,havetheferrulesor section connectors added, tip glued on, reel seat glued on and line guides

wrapped on. The sections of cork that make up the handle are glued on and shaped with a lathe. The brand, size and other information is put on with a decal and the rod is ready to go.

IrememberwhenIfirstheardabouta fast action or slow action rod. I imme-diately thought that fast would always be better than slow! There is a bit more toitthanthat.Arodwillflexacertainamount when a load is applied to it by thecaster,thefish,afriendholdingtheline or a tree branch. The rod will also start to flex first along the tip section,the middle section or the thicker butt closetothehandle.Therodwillflexandthen straighten back out. If it does not flexverymuchandstraightensbackoutverystronglyandquicklyitisafastac-tionrod.Ifitflexesmoreandstraightensout just a bit slower it is a slow action

rod.Ingeneral,fastrodsarefavoredbythose who need long casts and use big flies for big fish in sometimeswindyconditions. Slower rods are in demand for those who want to make shorter, ac-curatecastswithsmallerfliesandarenot going to be affected by too much wind.

The most important thing one needs to know about a fly rod is theweight. We always tell our beginning flyfishingclassthat3to5weightrodsare mostly for trout, 6 and 7 weights are for larger trout and some steelhead and 8 weight and larger rods are for largersteelheadandsaltwaterfishing.

Certainly a 5 weight is a good place to start, with maybe a 7 weight next for this area. Those two rods would take care of most of our trout and steelhead in Southern Oregon without a problem.

The reel and type and weight of fly line used finishthe fly fishing tool we call arod. The balance and perfor-mance of the rod as you start to castandfishwithitisthefinalproduct. Does this combination ofrod,reelandlineputthefly

where you want it and how you want it? If it does you are in luck. Go forth and havesomefunwithaflyrod!

I have been putting off writingmy president’s column on this subject for a year. It is a fly

fishingtopicthatIdonotknowmuch about. So this is my dis-claimer: The following is a se-ries of ideas from my limited knowledge of the topic. It is meant to help the person who is relativelynewtoflyfishingandstart discussions with those who aremoreversedonthesubject.Thesubjectisflyrods.

There is certainly a lot to learn when one decides to get involved in fly fishing. Theflies, leader setup, type of flyline,wadingequipmentandin-sectidentificationarethingsthatneedat least a bit of attention. But from whatIhaveseenofnewflyfishermenand women, the number one thing that mostofthemwanttolearntodofirstistohandleandcastaflyrod.Thereissomething about afly rod thatmakesonewanttopickitupandmovethetipback and forth to feel the bend of the rod as you start it and stop it.

There is a rich local history and tra-ditionofflyfishing.TheRogueRiverandthesteelheaditcontainshaveluredfly fishermen for one hundred years.Thelistoffamouspeoplewhohaveflyfished the Rogue includes presidentsHoover,CarterandGeorgeHWBushand Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Gin-ger Rogers and John Wayne. Grants Passborn-and-raisedpioneerriverrun-nerandfishingguideGlenWooldridge

President Dave with one of his many fly rods.


PROGRAMS Future Programs Oct 20 John AndersonNov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 TBAJan 19 TBAFeb 16 TBAMar 16 TBA Apr 20 Fly Tyers NightMay 18 TBA



Brandon Worthington - Swinging the Klamath, Top to Bottom

Sept. 15, 2016


Cascade Christian High School is going to begin teaching their Fly Fish-ing Class again in September, 2016, after taking a year off to complete a major building project. The school will have only one staff teacher run-ning this class. The rest of the “teach-ers” will have to be volunteers fromour community. If you have a heartfor teaching 10th, 11th, and 12th grade boysandgirlshowtofish,cast,buildrods,buildleaders,tieflies,appreciateourwonderfulresources,conserveourlegacy, and enjoy the art, science, and joyofflyfishing, I’d like to talkwithyou.Themajorpartofthisclassisflyfishing,whichincludes50%casting&fishing,and10%ineachofthesecat-egories: rod building, fly tying, lines,leaders & knots, conservation, andlife and it’s risks and rewards. The one hour class will be held daily, M-F, about in the middle of the afternoon. If you can contribute an hour a week or a couple of hours a month, it would sure be appreciated. Many hands make light work.

I can no longer spend the amount of time I used to because of my health, age, hearing problems, and other time commitments. If you’d like to partici-pateinoneormoreoftheseactivitiesplease email me at [email protected] started this class and ran it for many years. You can call him at 541-840-3426togethisinput.

When Brandon was a boy, he sat on the bank of a high cascade lake fishingandnotcatching.Henoticedflyanglersaroundhim landfishafterfishfromtheirpontoonboats.Theeveningsuncaughtthe

spray of their lines as it sailed through the air, and it looked like way more fun than hewashaving!Thateveningsparkedalifelongjourneytowardhispassion.Hesetuphishighschoolscheduletogetoutofclassearlyandtotheriversooner.LaterhereceivedaBachelorofScienceinOutdoorAdventureLeadershipfromSouthernOregonUniversityandhassincebeendedicatedtothepursuitoffishontheflyandhelping others learn the art. Brandon holds a number of rescue and First Aid certi-ficationsincludingAdvancedSwiftwaterRescueandisaverycompetentboatman.HehasguidedflyanglersthroughoutSouthernOregonandNorthernCaliforniaonwellknownriverssuchastheWilliamsonandWood,NorthUmpqua,RogueandmultiplesectionsoftheKlamath.HeloveshelpingfolksfindtheirfirststeelheadandbelievesthatdoingsowithaswungflyandSpeyRodprovidestheutmostflyfishingexperience.


CASTING ABOUT

SOFF Auction! Saturday - November 12th

Save the Date

Fall is almost here, the steelhead are running and it is almost time for our fabulous fund raiser, the SOFF auction. Theauctionpromisestobeafun-filledevening!

RESERVE YOUR SEAT(S) EARLY: Dinner, wine, and all the fun for $25.00. You can pay by check at the September andOctobermeetings(wewillalsohaveinformationformailingchecks).Paymentisrequiredatthetimeofreservation.

Alotoffolksliketositwiththeir“biddingbuddies”.Youcanrequest“group”seatingwithyourpayment(8pertablemax).Reserveawholetableifyoulike.Requestswillbehonoredintheordertheyarereceived.Alsonew-Dinnerswillbeserved-nobuffetline!

ITEMS YOU CAN WIN AT THIS YEAR’S AUCTION!

Likediningout?WehavediningcertificatesLikewine?Wehavethat,too.Likeguidedfishing?Ourgenerousguideshavecomethroughwithsomegreatones!Liketocook?VisittheKitchenCompanywithyourwinningcertificate!Liketogolf?Bidononeofourgreat“roundsofgolf”packages.Adaywithourownmembersattheir“secret”anglingspots?Wehaveseveral!Need a tune-up for your outboard? Win it at the auction!Whodoesn’tneedaboxoffliestiedbyourtalentedexhibitiontyers?Theyhavereallycomethroughforour

auction!PIES! PIES! PIES! Back by popular demand!Roadtrip?Winone:WildandScenicRogue,theLonesomeDuck,orGrandRonde.Need a custom rod? New oars? A precision reel? They will be at the auction!How about accessories and materials for your tying bench? Updating your angling accessories? A new pair of

waders?A pontoon boat that weighs only 27 pounds? They are at the auction!

BRING YOUR DONATIONS TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING OR GIVE A CALL!

The auction committee is still accepting donations for the auction. You can bring them to the September meeting or call Sonja(541-582-4833)andshewillcomeandgetthem.Itemscanbegentlyusedornew(Wecannotacceptartworkatthistime).

Join in the fun!

Bypopulardemand,wearebringingbacktheexpandedbucketrafflewithdozensofitems,soeveryonehasachancetobeawinner-appetizerstokeepyougoingbeforedinner,thesilentauction,wheregreatdealsaretobefound,afast-movingoralauction,and,ofcourse,oursuperraffle!

Doors will open at 4:30 PM.

All we need is you!See you there- Sonja Nisson, Auction Chair



Sep 10 North Umpqua Steelhead Oct 22 Middle Rogue SteelheadNov 19-20 South Coast Chinook.Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.Jan 23 TBAFeb 18 TBA

September Outing - North Umpqua Steelhead

2016 Outings

TheNorthUmpquaisoneofthemostbeautifulriversinour area, and its steelhead

tend to be larger and more challenging thanthoseontheRogue.Theriverhasalonghistoryofflyfishing,andthereisastrongtraditionforswingingflies.It is truly one of the great riv-ers forflya n g l e r s with a p a s s i o n for steel-head.

O u r o u t i n g will take place Sat-urday and S u n d a y, Se p t e m-ber 10 and 11. We will meet in the Susan Creek Day Use Area (on the south side of the highway about a mile downstream of thecampground)at10:00AM.Wewill start off with a discussion about thebasic techniques,equipment,flies,and appropriate times and places to swingfliesforsteelhead.Thenwewilltour thelowersectionof theflywaterto identifyplaces tofish. If anyone isinterested, we can work on basic Spey casting as well. During the summer, thebestfishingwillbeintheeveningsand mornings, so we will maximize

our efforts during those periods.Bring your 7 or 8-weight Spey rod,

switch rod, and/or single-handed rod, a floatingline,leaderswith2Xor3Xtip-pets, and some traditional steelhead pat-terns. Flies like the Skunk, Purple Peril, orUmpquaSpecialinsizes4to6would

be good cho ic e s . The North Umpqu acan be d i f f icu lt to wade, so bring your wad-ers, wad-ing boots with good t ract ion, a wading belt, and a wading

staff.An inflatablePFDwould add anextra level of safety. Be sure to packyour polarized glasses, sun screen, food, water,andtherestofyournormalfish-ing accessories.

For those that plan to camp, Susan Creek Campground is nice and has the most amenities.There are also severalForest Service campgrounds scatteredalongtheriver.Ifyoupreferamotel,theDogwood Motel (dogwoodmotel.com, 541-496-3403) near the lower end oftheflywaterisagoodplacetostayforthose on a budget. If you’re on a more generous budget, the Steamboat Inn (thesteamboatinn.com, 800-840-8825)isagreatplacetostay,anditoverlookssome of the best water on the river.There are also numerous lodging and dining options in Roseburg.

Although the Rogue provides flyfisherswith plenty of great opportuni-ties for summer steelhead, the North Umpqua offers a nice change of pace.With its beautiful scenery, clear water, andbigfish,itiscertainlyariverworthvisiting.

David Haight, Outings ChairPS:TheNorthUmpquaFlyFishing

andFlyTyingFestivalwillbeheldatthe Glide Community Center on Sep-tember 9th and 10th, so club members cancheckout thefestivalandpartici-pate in the outing all in one trip.

Tom Beverage plying the waters of the North Umpqua on a previous outing.

Umpqua Valley Festival

The eighth Annual Fall Fes-tival of Fly Tyers and FlyFishing will be taking place

at the Glide Community Center on September 10th. Advertised time fortheeventis9:00amto4:00pmwithses-sions running 9 to noon for the morn-ing session and afternoon sessions run-ning 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

AlthoughtheFestival isprimarilyfor the tyers, theywillalsobehavingflycastingandseveralvendors.Thisisan opportunity to introduce folks to the art of tying, to encourage the beginner tyer in a relaxed atmosphere and help the more experienced tyer learn new techniques.

In addition to hosting a day for the tyers,theyareusingtheeventasafundraiser for member and public educa-tionandforserviceprojectsliketyingand casting clinics for Vets and youth groups.

If you plan on going to the SOFF’s September outing, you’ll be just up the road from Glide. If after a morn-ing’sfishing,whynotstopbyandseewhattheUmpquaValleyFestivalisallabout.


FLY TYING CORNER

Name(s):Address:City: State: Zip:Phone:Home()Work:()Email: Personal interests: Renewal:_____New:______



Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Orange Crush

Hook: #23XLThread: Black 8/0Weight: 3/16Nickel/RedDumbBellEyes.Body: Orange Chenille.Hackle/Beard: Purple Hackle, Red Hackle and Burnt Orange Marabou.Wings: Grizzly Hen Neck.

Pinch the barb and lay a thread base down stopping at eyes length before the point of the hook. Tie in your Chenille andmoveyourthreadforwardandtieinyoureyesabout3eyelengths before the eye of the hook or about one width of the eyes behind the hook eyelet. Spiral the chenille to the eyes an tie off. Using two similar Grizzly Hen Neck

feathersremove2/3ofthebarbsbutleavingthequill.Whenyouaredoneitshouldlookliketwocurvedpaddlesfacingeachother.(seephoto)andtheyshouldcomebacktoapproximatelytheendofthehook.Tieinthewingsinfrontoftheeyes.Tiein a clump of Purple hackle on top and one on bottom of the hook followed by the Red Hackle and then the Orange Marabou makingeachalittlelongerthanthepreviouscolor.Thelastlayershoudextendbeyondtheendofthehookbyabouthalfaninch. Finish by building the head to a nice cone shape and head cement.

Options:Ifyouwouldlikethisflytoridewiththehookupandmoreweed-less,thantiethebarbelleyesontopofthehookand tie in the grizzly hackle before and under the eyes.

Fly Tied By: Michael Mazingo


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS9-6 Board Meeting.9-9-10 NorthUmpquaFlyFishing andTyingFestival.9-10 Club Outing -North UmpquaSteelhead.9-13 SOFTFlyTyers,Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.9-15 Club Meeting - Brandon Worthington.10-4 Board Meeting.10-11 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.10-20 Club Meeting - with John Anderson11-12 Annual Club Auction.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

amuffinandwewereofftomeetMar-lon.Asanaside,achancediscoveryofa‘quarterwithitsheadup’lyingonthegroundgavemeassurancesthatthiswasmyluckydayandthatthefishingshouldbe outstanding.

After meeting Marlon, we loaded ourequipmentintohisboatandwewereoff.

Aftertheboatwaslaunched,IgaveNick the choice of seats – front or rear and he opted for the rear seat. Marlon told us the day before that club mem-bers Tom Morris and Paul Renaud had floatedwith himand the rear seat hadbeen the ‘hot ticket’. I forgot to ask who between Tom and Paul had fished therear seat.

there five or six years ago, the mindbecomes a little hazy when trying to find that location again. It seemed tome that there was a sign out on Hwy. 97 announcing the location – so for an hourwedroveupanddownthehigh-way looking for that damn sign. We neverdidfindit.SonextcamemyIp-hone and a call to ‘Siri’ for directions. Shemusthavebeenon the take fromthe Indian casino in Chiloquin as alldirections ended up there. Next, Nick’s Samsung phone was brought into the quest and it wasn’t much better thanthe Iphone; although, I will admit it did finally locate themeeting locationas-sistedbyacalltotheLonesomeDuckfor directions – how did we know that a hole in a guard rail was the opening to the road to the lodge! And oh yes there wasapictureofflyingduckthatwouldhavebeenhardpressedtobeseenat5mph let alone 60mph.Afterfinallyfindingthemeetingloca-tioniswasofftoaquickdinnerattheIndian casino, and then a night at Me-lita’sfilledwithtrucksandtrains.

The next morning we made anoth-er unhappy discovery.Therewere norestaurants open for coffee, let alone breakfast. So after a stop at the casino’s travelcenterforafastcupofcoffeeand

Ican’tsaythatthefishingwasredhot,buthotenough toprovideacon-tinuinginterest.Ilostseveralmorefishoneitherthetakeorthefight,butstillmanagedtolandseveralmoreoverthecourse of the day two of which were picturefish.Anotheraside,unlikethephoto in last month’s newsletter barely showingme holding a fish in the netwhichwastakenbymyfishingpartner,this trip I decided to take my own pho-tos and therefore there is a good photo ofmyfishheldinRampy’shand.YesVirginiathatisthefishthatIcaught!

The rest of the day went by in that fashion–I’dhookafishineachrunwestopped in, some were landed and a lot more were lost including some rather large specimens.

Nick Merrill, my fishing partnerhad a tough day of it. This was the firsttimehehaddeaddriftednymphsunderanindicatorandmissedseveralopportunities when he didn’t see his indicator submerge the result of a take. Hedidmanagetostickacoupleoffish,but they both came off. I will say that he showed his ‘true grit’ and didn’t let the lackoffishdepresshim,butkeptplugging along cast after cast waiting for that strike that didn’t come.

Just before we reached the take out pointafteralmost9hours,fatiguefinallyovercameNickandhecalleditaday.Ion the hand was still casting away know-ing that there had to be at least one more fish to be caught.While Iwas fishing,Marlonaskedtoseemyflyandwasgo-ing to make a change, but in the process, he broke the leader and was going to tie on another. Since we were almost fin-ished for the day, I told him not to bother and I asked Nick if I could use his rod for a couple of more casts. First cast with the rodandIhookedafish–Iguessitwasn’tthe rod after all!

IhadagreatdayfishingwithNickand Marlon and look forward to the next time. I sure hope before I go out again I’llfindanother ‘headsupquarter’andI’ll know that the day will once again be an outstanding success.

The Editor and Marlon with a nice fish.

After setting us up exactly the same withthesameflies,indicators,andsplitshot, we started fishing an area abouta quarter of a mile above the launchramp. For the first hour nothing reallyhappened. Then we started seeing some caddis over the water with frequenteruptions in the water caused by small andbigfishalike.Acoupleof thefishthat rose completely out of the water were heart stopping monsters which only insured a renewed effort in our casting.

Finally after hour and a half of cast-ing, my indicator was pulled down and I set the hook and was rewarded by the mostacrobaticfishoftheday.Thefishjumped completely out of the water fourtimesinhisefforttothrowthefly;unfortunately, the fourth time was the charmandfishandtheflypartedcom-pany.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

walk outside to change your mind’ wouldn’t be lost of the size of the rooms at the motel. One of the hottest

times of the year and the only cooling was from an oscil-lating fan which meant that you had to keep your win-dows open with the result-ing trucks and trains running through your room all night long. At least the televisionworked this time as opposed to last time I was here with alloftheabove,compoundedbythefactthatthetelevisiondidn’t work.

As we were to meet Mar-lon along the road leading to the Lonesome Duck Lodgethefirstthinginthemorning,we decided that we would

scout the location. It is a good thing that we did. Although I had stayed

Melita’sMotel.Ifyouhaveneverbeenthere, then an adventure awaits, ifhoweveryouhavestayedtherebefore

you’ll know of what I speak. Old would be the optimum word to describe Me-lita’s and the phrase ‘that you had to

LastNovemberattheclub’sannual auction, Nick Mer-rill and I were the success-

ful bidders for a day on the WilliamsonRiverwithMar-lon Rampy. What could be betterthanafloattripwithagreatguideona‘primo’river– the Williamson?

Now fast forward to July of this year; a call to Rampy and a date was set to go on the float. How were we toknow that the date chosen wouldprovetobeoneofthehottest days of the year on the Williamson!

At any rate, August 18th was the date selected and as were to meet Rampy at 7:00 amontheroadtoLonesomeDuck Lodge. We decided to spendthenightintheChiloquinareaatthat‘garden spot’ along highway 97 –

A fine 22 inch rainbow taken by the Editor on the Wil-liamson River.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.10 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. October, 2016






The Williamson River continues to be a productive fishery for Southern Or-egon Fly Fishers regardless on how they fish it.

Mark Swanburg chose to use his pontoon boat in his pursuit of William-son River rainbows and was rewarded for his efforts with several fine fish including the one that he is holding.

SOFF NEWS October, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: Oct 4th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


Lemolo Lakes. These trips only take one day, are pretty cheap (especially with gas under $3 per gallon!), and do not require as much equipment and planning as medium or large trips. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-lifepublishedaflyertitledPlaces to Fish Within 50 Miles of Medford.Thisflyeris about small outings. So call a friend from SOFF and go!

A medium outing is one that re-quires an overnight stay because of dis-tance. For SOFF members this could be a trip to Diamond or Lemolo for several days or a trip to Agness for half pound-ers in the fall. The medium outing re-quires more time, more planning and more equipment. A tent, camper, trailer orfifthwheeltakescareoftheovernightstay and the payoff is that you wake up and you are there! I always say that you know people but you really get to know them when you go camping with them! If you can get some friends to go on one of these camping/fishing trips a goodtime is pretty much guaranteed to be hadby all.Another benefit is that youhavemoretimetofigureouttheimita-tion, location and presentation that will result in hookingfish. So get in touchwith some SOFF friends and go!

A large outing is what I would call a trip that is to another state or even another country. These outings are the ultimate inflyfishing adventures.Theproblem is that they are expensive and time consuming. Most require being gone from home for at least a week. If you travel by air the trip gets more ex-pensive, and if you stay in a lodge and usefishingguides thepricegoesup. Ihave been lucky enough to go on four of these trips: two to Belize and two to British Columbia. I deal with the cost by setting aside some funds each month. I have been lucky enough to travel with friends from SOFF on all four trips. Traveling with friends is a lot more fun than traveling alone! In many cases you must take your own fly fishing equip-ment with you, which can present a problem. I have a large travel bag with

tubesbuiltintoitforcarryingflyrods.Thistypeofbagisperfectforafishingtrip that requires air travel.

Make sure to get advice from fel-low club members before planning a “large “trip. If you are thinking about a trip to a certain area for a certain species offishchancesareaclubmemberhasbeen there and done that. Ask around andyouwillfindaSOFFmemberwhocan help you get a good outfitter andguide for the area you are going to be fishing.Formetheexperienceoftrav-eling to Belize and to British Columbia and seeing the country and meeting the people made the trips memorable even beforewestartedfishing!

So get in touch with some SOFF friends and go! Plan a small trip for October, a medium trip for next sum-mer and a large trip for 2018. You will have plenty of time to get advice and work out the details on the best way to save money and still get a great trip. The experience will be worth it.

Fishing Trips: Small, Me-dium and Large

My president’s message for Octoberistogofishing!The Southern Oregon Fly

Fishers has a club outing each month to fishingspotsinourarea.Theseoutingsare usually well attended, introducing newmembers to fly fishing for steel-head, trout or warm water species. The “seasoned members” also attend these outingstohavesomefunfishingwithfriends and to see new fishing spotsandnewflyfishingmethods.Sogoontheseoutings!Itisfuntogoflyfishingbutitisevenmorefuntogoflyfishingwithfriends.Newflies,newrodsandlines and new casting techniques are often shared by attendees.

I have had a lot of fun on club out-ings since I joined this club in 2003. I have even led outings to several dif-ferent places in Southern Oregon. But maybe thebest timesIhavehadfish-ing with friends from our club is on non-outing trips with only two or three people. Find a spot, call up a couple of SOFF friends and go for it! These trips can be put into three categories: small, medium and large.

A small outing is what I would callaflyfishingtripthatcanbedonein one day. For us that means a trip to the Rogue for steelhead, or Galesville Reservoir or Lake Selmac for trout or bass. Some even do a one-day trip to Lost Creek Reservoir or Diamond or


PROGRAMS Future Programs Nov 12 Annual AuctionDec 15 Bill TinniswoodJan 19 TBAFeb 16 Keith LyonMar 16 TBA Apr 20 Fly Tyers NightMay 18 TBAJun 15 TBA



John Anderson - Crooked River

Oct. 20, 2016


Cascade Christian High School is going to begin teaching their Fly Fish-ing Class again in September, 2016, after taking a year off to complete a major building project. The school will have only one staff teacher run-ning this class. The rest of the “teach-ers” will have to be volunteers from our community. If you have a heart for teaching 10th, 11th, and 12th grade boysandgirlshowtofish,cast,buildrods,buildleaders,tieflies,appreciateour wonderful resources, conserve our legacy, and enjoy the art, science, and joyofflyfishing, I’d like to talkwithyou.Themajorpartofthisclassisflyfishing,whichincludes50%casting&fishing,and10%ineachofthesecat-egories: rod building, fly tying, lines,leaders & knots, conservation, andlife and it’s risks and rewards. The one hour class will be held daily, M-F, about in the middle of the afternoon. If you can contribute an hour a week or a couple of hours a month, it would sure be appreciated. Many hands make light work.

I can no longer spend the amount of time I used to because of my health, age, hearing problems, and other time commitments. If you’d like to partici-pate in one or more of these activities please email me at [email protected] or call me at 541-973-3490. Gary Miller started this class and ran it for many years. You can call him at 541-840-3426 to get his input.

John R. Anderson is a retired professor of entomology who has pub-lishednumerousstudiesofblackfliesinscientificpublications.Hisknowledge of aquatic macroinvertebrates (‘bugs’) was obtained in

studentclasses,duringprofessionalresearchonblackfliesandotherinsectsand during his Crooked River studies. He has received a Special Conserva-tionaward,FlyfisheroftheYearawardandHonoraryLifetimeMembershipstatus from the Central Oregon Flyishers club and an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Recognition award for volunteer services.


CASTING ABOUT


Save the Date


RESERVE YOUR SEAT(S) EARLY: Dinner, wine, and all the fun for $25.00. You can pay by check at the September and October meetings (we will also have information for mailing checks). Payment is required at the time of reservation.

A lot of folks like to sit with their “bidding buddies” . You can request “group” seating with your payment (8 per table max). Reserve a whole table if you like. Requests will be honored in the order they are received. Also new- Dinners will be served- no buffet line!


Likediningout?WehavediningcertificatesLike wine? We have that, too.Likeguidedfishing?Ourgenerousguideshavecomethroughwithsomegreatones!Liketocook?VisittheKitchenCompanywithyourwinningcertificate!Like to golf? Bid on one of our great “rounds of golf” packages. A day with our own members at their “secret” angling spots? We have several!Need a tune-up for your outboard? Win it at the auction!Whodoesn’tneedaboxoffliestiedbyourtalentedexhibitiontyers?Theyhavereallycomethroughforour

auction!PIES! PIES! PIES! Back by popular demand!Road trip? Win one: Wild and Scenic Rogue, the Lonesome Duck, or Grand Ronde.Need a custom rod? New oars? A precision reel? They will be at the auction!How about accessories and materials for your tying bench? Updating your angling accessories? A new pair of



The auction committee is still accepting donations for the auction. You can bring them to the September meeting or call Sonja (541-582-4833) and she will come and get them. Items can be gently used or new (We cannot accept art work at this time).

Join in the fun!

Bypopulardemand,wearebringingbacktheexpandedbucketrafflewithdozensofitems,soeveryonehasachancetobe a winner- appetizers to keep you going before dinner, the silent auction, where great deals are to be found, a fast-moving oralauction,and,ofcourse,oursuperraffle!





Oct 22 Middle Rogue SteelheadNov 19-20 South Coast Chinook.

2017Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.Jan 23 TBAFeb 18 TBAMar 18 TBA

Photo Potpourri

October Outing - Summer Steelhead On The Middle Rogue

2016 Outings

During September and October, people come from all over to experience thefantasticfishingforsummersteel-head on theRogueRiver. As a fish-ing club located along the banks of the Rogue, it only makes sense that we would want to take part in the a c t i o n ; therefore, on Octo-ber 22, we will spend the day fish-ing for steelhead right here where the R o g u e R i v e r f l o w s t h r o u g h Grants Pass. We have done this for our October outing for quite a few years. We usually enjoy good success, and the outing remains popular, especially with our new members. In fact, quite a few ofourmembershavecaughttheirfirststeelheadonaflyduringthisouting.

We will stay with the usual routine: We will meet for breakfast at 7:00 AM at the Shari’s Restaurant (on the cor-ner of Agness Avenue and the Grants Pass Parkway), have a brief strategy session at about 8:00, and leave for the river shortly thereafter. We will try to

geteveryone inaboat forafloat fromChinook Park to Schroeder Park. If we don’t have boat space for everyone, there is a lot of good bank access in the Grants Pass area.

Chinook should be actively spawn-ing, and steelhead s h o u l d be feed-ing on the n y m p h s the salm-on kick up and the eggs that e s c a p e the redds; thus, dead-d r i f t i n g egg and n y m p h p a t t e r n s should be

productive. Participants should bring a six toeight-weight rod, afloating line,3Xleader,andflies.Effectivepatternsinclude Globugs, Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs, Copper Johns, andStoneflyNymphs.Thefliesshouldbe lightly weighted or weight should beattachedtotheleadertogetthefliesdown near the bottom. Those that pre-fertoswingflies,canbringthefliesandequipment for that. Since we will be on the river most of the day, bring food and water, rain gear, waders, polarized glasses,andyourtypicalfishingacces-sories. If you have a driftboat, white-water raft, or pontoon boat, please bring it.

Since we usually do get several of our new members looking for the op-portunitytofloattheriverandlearnthebasicsoffishingforsteelhead.Itwouldbe great if those members with a drift-boat would attend the outing and take a fellow club member or two out for the day.

This outing is usually a lot of fun, and with a good number of steelhead present in the river, we should have a good day.

If you have questions, would like additional information, or are willing to take someone in your boat, please contact David Haight.


Tie in a rubber leg on each side of theredfoam.Whipfinishinthemid-dle of the red foam. Apply some head cementonthebottomoftheflybelowthe red foam.

Fly Tied by Dave Hamilton

Beetle Cont. From Pg 6

Dave Haight displays a fine summer steelhead taken on a recent middle Rogue outing.

Mark Swanburg proudly displays a jack crevalle he took on a recent trip to Baja.


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Green Beetle Hook: TMC 5212,Daiichi 1280, or equivalent (2XL Dry Fly Hook) -- Size 12-14.Thread: Black UTC 140.Body: Beetle Green 2mm Loco Foam (WAPSI), cut into 3/16” Strips.Underbody: Black Jay Fair Short Shuck Chenille.Legs: Black Rubber Legs 3/4” Long.Indicator: Red 2mm Closed Cell Foam Cut into 1/8” Strips.

Smash the hook barb. Create a thread base from behind the eye of the hook to just beyond the bend of the hook. Wind thread back to just behind the eye.

Trim one end of the green foam strip into a V. Tie in the V-cut end on top of the hook behind the eye with the green side of the foam down (on the hook) and attach the foam strip to the hook shank with thread wraps, wrapping to just beyond the bend and keeping the foam on the top of the hook. If there are any “lumps” of foam, tie them down to form a smooth underbody.

Tie in the short shuck chenille just in front of the green foam at the bend of the hook and wrap forward, each wrap next to the previous one, to the point where you had tied in the green foam. Tie off the chenille with 2-3 secure thread wraps and cut off excess.

Pull green foam forward over the top of the hook and tie off with 2-3 secure thread wraps just behind the eye of the hook. Cut off excess green foam as close as possible, preferably in a V shape, and bind down the stub that remains after cutting, formingtheheadofthefly,

Tie in a piece of the red foam just behind the eye on top of the hook with 1/16” in front of the tie-in point. Cut the foam off 1/16” behind the tie-in point

Continued on Pg. 5


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS10-4 Board Meeting.10-11 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.10-20 Club Meeting - with John Anderson10--22 Club Outing - Middle Rogue Steelhead11-1 Board Meeting11-8 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.11-12 Annual Club Auction.11-19-20 Club Outing South Coast Chinook.12-6 Board Meeting12-15 Club Meeting.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

the second day of the event was stilled plagued by early morning rain, but I have no doubt that the event continued and provided a good time for all those who attended.

And lastly the future – the auction is probably the most important event the club hosts each year. It is the time of the year when club renews its annual oper-ating budget by enticing the member-ship with a host of items up for auction includingflyfishingequipmentsuchasrods, reels and lines, guided trips pro-vided by some of our local guides and other itemsof interest to theflyfisher.Realizing that not everyone attending is interested inflyfishing items, theauc-tion committee, led by Sonja Nisson, has collected many other items such as boxesofwine,tripstononfishingdesti-nations and dinners to local restaurants just to name a few. Added to that the si-lent auction and the many items in the super raffle and the bucket raffle andwithout a doubt there should be some-thing for just about everyone attending.

This year the auction committee is adding a new wrinkle so to speak as we will be having a sit down dinner instead of the usual buffet. No more stand-ing in line, just sit there and the meal is brought to you. Also this year there will be a new procedure as to the din-ner in that it will be pre-paid and you’ll be able to select the table you want sit at along with your choice of entrée. For more details not only for the auction, but the dinner, seating and dinner selection refer to Sonja Nisson article in the news-letter.

Well there it is for better or worse the past, present and the future and as I said in the beginning of the piece when in doubt write about all three.

tend the affair (Rogue on the Fly) put on by Will Johnson from the Ashland Fly shop. After a summer of warm dry weather, opening day of the event was greetedbywhatelsethanthefirstrainof the season. Fortunately, the rain ceased before the start of the event, but still it was damp and cold with an occa-sional bout of sunshine that would peek though. For the early arrivals, SOFF provided hot coffee and other goodies that helped ward off the effects of the weather.

As usual, Johnson provided reps from a dozen or so manufacturers, who displayed their rods, reels, lines and nets. In addition he provided several speakers who spoke at the water’s edge on what else, but spey casting. How can they make it look so easy, while I struggle to get a cast to go hardly far-ther than the length my rod?

At noon, a free lunch of hamburgers and chili was provided to all attendees by one of the vendors. And speaking of attendees, I have to say that SOFF had an excellent showing of some twenty or so members taking part in the fes-tival. Even though I left shortly after lunch, the event was to continue on the rest of the day with a no host dinner andlivemusictofinishitoff.Sunday,

SOFF AUCTION- Saturday, November 12th.

Save the Date! Reserve your seat now!

This years SOFF annual auction will include a served dinner. All seats will be reserved, so make your reser-vation now! Appetizers, dinner, fun, and auction all for $25 per person. Send your check to SOFF PO Box 1144, Grants Pass, OR 97528. Include attendee (s) name(s) and your dinner choice (Prime Rib, Chicken Marsala, or Pasta Primavera). Your seat will be reserved! You can also sign up at the SOFF meeting on October 20th.

This year’s auction committee, our club members, and the community have gone overboard in getting ready for our annual fund raiser auction. We are still accepting donations. You can bring your donation to the October meeting or call Sonja Nisson at 541-582-4833 to coordinate pick-up.

On November 12th, doors open at 4:30 at Taprock Event Center. The silentauctionandcuprafflewillopenat 4:30, as well as the preview for the oralauction.Theexpandedcupraffleincludes a host of terrific prizes thatyou can win for just a one buck ticket. “SuperRaffle”prizesincludeabeauti-fulflybox,craftedbyKevinO’Malleywithover21dozenfishingfliestiedbyour members, a Dave Scadden Assault Series Pontoon Boat, and an Anderson 7wt,9’6”flyrod,idealforsteelhead.We are limiting the number of items up for bid in the oral auction, so we can wrap up by 9 PM. Come join us for appetizers, dinner, and an evening of fun with friends, old and new. We are just about set- ALL WE NEED IS YOU!

Auction News By Sonja Nisson


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

a bond that will last for years. I cer-tainly can attest to that fact. In 1986, myself and five othermembers of aSouthern California fly fishing clubgot together and went on an extended trip to the Green River in Utah. Al-though the six of us really had noth-ing in common other than belonging tothesameflyfishingclub,wewereable to establish a bond and contin-uedtofishsomewhereinthewesternstates every year for last 30 years. Even more amazingly is fact that this continues even after being separated geographically with me living in Ore-gon and the others living in Washing-ton, Montana and Colorado. Today, two of our group have passed and the remaining four a getting a little long in the tooth, but as long as we are able we will continue to meet yearly and add to the bond.

The present – I was able to at-

great trip.I would like to dovetail a little on

this month’s President Dave article on ‘fishingtrips’.Hewroteaboutdaytrips,overnight trips and extended stay trips. My trip to Alaska is in the latter cat-egory, it is one that requires planning as to details of the trip, travel to the location as wells as the most important itemthefinancialwhere-for-all toac-complish the trip. As Dave said if you put a few dollars away each month and hope that a sudden reversal doesn’t hit and wipe out your trip funds, usually one or two years is what it takes to save up enough to go. In my case, 2018 is the year planned for another go at the silver salmon of Kodiak Island. Con-sider a trip like this – a bucket list trip. One that needs to get accomplished beforeyourfinalfishiscaught.

In addition to the trips, Dave ad-dressedtheissuethatfishingwithotherSOFF members can and does produce

I’m in a quandary! What to write about. I have the past (in September) about my trip

to Kodiak Island in Alaska and the sil-ver salmon that I caught, the present with a report from the recently con-cluded “Rogue on the Fly” festival or the future with the upcoming auction. I guess when in doubt – write about all three.

My recent trip to Alaska was great! An article detailing the trip in next month’s newsletter will be morespecific,butlet’ssaythatIhavesome fond memories in particularly of watching my son and our group of friends that had accompanied us on the trip tie into silver as well as pink salmon; our saltwater outing for hali-butandothersaltwaterfish.Howev-er, the most outstanding memory for me was the silver salmon that took me to ‘backing’ four times before I was able to subdue the beast. What a

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.11 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. November, 2016






Some of the standing room only crowd that attended last year’s Southern Or-egon Fly Fishers annual fund raising auction.

Last year thanks to Auction Chair Sonja Nisson and her committee, the annual SOFF auction fund raiser was the best attended of all the club auc-tions. In fact the place was sold out and people were turned away because of lack of room.

SOFF NEWS November, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: Nov 1st at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


I also want to thank those busi-nesses and individuals who truly make the auction a success by donating cash, fishing trips,motel and restaurant cer-tificatesandotheritems.Youdonatebe-cause you believe in our club and what we do. The SOFF uses funds raised at the auction to help pay for our monthly meetings, our newsletter and directory. The funds raised also help us support local agencies and watershed councils who are working to protect and improve habitat for salmon and steelhead in the Rogue Basin.

The last ones I want to thank are the people who really make things happen onauctionnight–thebidders!Youren-

thusiasm and compe t i t ion are what make it a lot of fun. Your willing-ness to make those bids and maybe spend just a bit more than you planned makes the auction a triple win situ-ation the way I see it. Our do-

nors win when they offer something for the auc-tion and feel good a b o u t help i ng the club. T h e S O F F wins by g e t t i n g the funds n e e d e d to carry out our purpose a n d m i s -s i o n .

And you, the successful bidder, wins by

getting a good deal on a prize. How can you beat that?

It is auction time again! The big-gest event of the year for the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers is on Saturday, No-vember 12th at the Taprock Event Cen-ter. Auction Chair Sonja Nisson and the auction com-mittee have been working hard to put to-gether a mem-orable night. On behalf of the club I want to thank Sonja and the com-mittee mem-bers for their efforts. These ded icated people get donations, o r g a n i z e the silent and oral a u c t io n s , arrange the side rafflesand set up the auction room. The rest of us just need to show up and have some fun and spend some money!

President Dave always a big supporter of the club bids top dollar for an item much to the as-tonishment of his wife Sally.

To show that it is really a family affair, Sally Grosjacques bids on an item the year that President Dave was unable to attend.

So on auction day, come ready for action! Get the oral auction list and buy somesuperraffletickets.Checkoutthesilent auction items and pick up that pencil and bid! Look over the side raf-flesanddon’tforgettotrytowinoneofthe homemade pies. Hopefully everyone willfindsomethingtheylikeatapricethey can afford. So come on down, have a glass of wine and a delicious dinner with friends and have a great time!

President Dave and Sally await the start of the auction.


PROGRAMS Future Programs Dec 15 Bill TinniswoodJan 19 TBAFeb 16 Keith LyonMar 16 TBA Apr 20 Fly Tyers NightMay 18 TBAJun 15 TBAJul 20 No Meeting


SOFF Annual Auction

Nov. 12, 2016 4:30 PM Social Hour and Silent Auction 6:00 PM Meeting 6:30 PMDinner and Auction

Sonja Nisson, auction chair, making final ar-rangements before the big event.

Some of the auction attendees beginning to take their seats with cup raffle in the background.

Members and guests looking for bargains in the silent auction.

2017 DUESSPECIAL RAFFLETherewillbeaspecialraffleatour

January meeting. Participation will be limited to those members who have paid their 2017 membership dues. The winner will receive one of Gary An-derson’scustomflyrods. Inordertobe able to participate, your dues must be paid prior to January 1, 2017. If you mail your check to the club PO box, it must be postmarked January 1 or earlier.

This rafflehasbeenapprovedbytheclub’sboardofdirectorsasmoti-vation for the membership to pay their dues in a timely manner. Unfortu-nately,wecannotincludethefifty-fivelifemembersinthisraffle.Whileyourcommitmenttoourclubissignificantand appreciated, we are focusing on those members whose membership status requires a yearly renewal.

Article II, Section 3 of the club’s by-laws reads: All dues shall be due and payable prior to Janu-ary 1 of each year.

Rich Hosley Membership Chair

Winston Boron IIx Switch Rod 11’ 7wt 4 piece,Like new conditionwith two lines $450

Contact Rich Hosley, 541-218-6684 for additional information.

For Sale


CASTING ABOUT


Save the Date


RESERVE YOUR SEAT(S) EARLY:Dinner,wine,andallthefunfor$25.00.YoucanpaybycheckattheSeptemberand October meetings (we will also have information for mailing checks). Payment is required at the time of reservation.

Alotoffolksliketositwiththeir“biddingbuddies”.Youcanrequest“group”seatingwithyourpayment(8pertablemax). Reserve a whole table if you like. Requests will be honored in the order they are received. Also new- Dinners will be served- no buffet line!


Likediningout?WehavediningcertificatesLike wine? We have that, too.Likeguidedfishing?Ourgenerousguideshavecomethroughwithsomegreatones!Liketocook?VisittheKitchenCompanywithyourwinningcertificate!Like to golf? Bid on one of our great “rounds of golf” packages. A day with our own members at their “secret” angling spots? We have several!Need a tune-up for your outboard? Win it at the auction!Whodoesn’tneedaboxoffliestiedbyourtalentedexhibitiontyers?Theyhavereallycomethroughforour

auction!PIES! PIES! PIES! Back by popular demand!Road trip? Win one: Wild and Scenic Rogue, the Lonesome Duck, or Grand Ronde.Need a custom rod? New oars? A precision reel? They will be at the auction!How about accessories and materials for your tying bench? Updating your angling accessories? A new pair of



Theauctioncommitteeisstillacceptingdonationsfortheauction.YoucancallSonja(541-582-4833)andshewillcomeand get them. Items can be gently used or new (We cannot accept art work at this time).

Join in the fun!

Bypopulardemand,wearebringingbacktheexpandedbucketrafflewithdozensofitems,soeveryonehasachancetobe a winner- appetizers to keep you going before dinner, the silent auction, where great deals are to be found, a fast-moving oralauction,and,ofcourse,oursuperraffle!





Nov 19-20 South Coast Chinook.

2017Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.Jan 23 TBAFeb 18 TBAMar 18 TBAApr 22 TBAMay 20 TBA

Photo Potpourri

November Outing - Fall Chinook on the So. Oregon Coast

2016 Outings

Chinook are the largest and most popular salmon in Oregon, and many fly anglers consider them to be thestate’sultimategamefish.Consequent-ly,manyflyanglersheadtotheSouth-ern Oregon Coast in the fall to try to catch these salmon as they re-turn to the s t r e a m s to spawn. The South-ern Oregon Fly Fish-ers and the Rogue Flyfishers will join forces at Cape Blan-co State Park for an outing on November 19 and 20, (weatherandriverflowspermitting)totargetthesespectacularfish.

We will meet for an orientation at 9:00 AM on Saturday at the boat launch on the Sixes River Estuary, which is located near the Hughes House. Par-ticipants will have the choice of sev-eralfishingoptions:TheStateParkin-cludes the lower three miles of the Sixes River, giving bank anglers access to several good sites. The boat launch on the estuary allows those with a variety

of small boats to access plenty of good water. Two additional boat launches up-stream provide those with driftboats or pontoon boats the opportunity to floatportions of the river. Anglers can also walk or drive down the beach to the

mouth of the Elk River to fishthatpop-ular spot.

As far as equipment, a ten-weight outfit witha shooting head system would be ideal. Bring heads (or lines) rang-ing from in-termediate to fast sinking, so you can cover a va-riety of wa-

ter and conditions, and 15 to 20-pound leader. Clouser minnows and comets ranging in size from one to two inches long are generally effective patterns. For the Clousers, black over chartreuse, green over chartreuse, chartreuse over white, brown over orange, and orange over white are popular color combina-tions. For the comets, green, chartreuse, and orange work well.

Cape Blanco State Park offers camp-ing sites as well as a few cabins. The cabins can be reserved at reserveam-erica.com. For those that do not want to camp, Port Orford is about 15 min-utes to the South and Bandon is about 30minutes to the north. Both have avariety of motels and restaurants.

The Sixes and Elk Rivers provide fly anglers with a great opportunityto catchChinook salmononafly, andthe last half of November is considered to be the prime time. If the weather

and river flows cooperate, we shouldhave a great trip. Since they often don’t cooperate in the fall, be sure tocheck the club’s website for updates.


Dave Archambault, Tom Morris and Teresa Kasza proudly display a pair of Chinooks taken at the Elk River during a fall outing.

Greg Carrett sends in this photo of a cutthroat trout he caught on the North Fork of the Clearwater River in Central Idaho in September.

Dave Russell displays a fine Steelhead he recently caught on the Rogue River while drifting with Tom Morris.


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

Purple Peril Hook: Size 4 Steelhead, I use a TMC 7999.Thread: Black 6/0.Tag: Silver or Gold Flat Tinsel.Tail: Purple Hackle.Body: Purple Dubbing (Exercising Some Liberty, I Blended Purple Seal Sub Dubbing by Jay Fair, w/UV Enhancer and Purple Ice Dubbing).Ribbing: Round Tinsel (To Match the Tag.)Wing: Dark Hair.Collar: Purple Hackle.Head: Red Thread.

Pinch the barb (I always do, unless I forget) and place in the vice. Laydown a thread base and in the pro-cess close the gap in the eye of the hook and make a smooth transition. With the thread near the bend of the hook, tie in the tinsel and make a tag about four turns, just a little beyond where the tag will end as it

will be covered up with the body material. Tie in the round tinsel, and then dub your thread, either with a dubbing loop or not, your choice. Wrap your dubbing up to the front of the hook, leaving enough room to tie in the wing and collar and room for a tapered head. Wrap the ribbing forward making 5-6 equally spaces and secure. Whip finishandcutofftheblackthread.Tieinyourredthread.Nowcutabunchofhairandstacktoformawing.Tiein backwards (the tips facing forward over the eye of the hook. Lash down securely and tie in Hackle by the butt with the dull side up. As you wrap it the gloss side will wind up forward. Make about three to three-and-one-half wraps, folding both sides of the hackle back as you wrap and tie off. Now fold the wing back over the hackle and tie down. Build a nice tapered head and apply head cement.

Tight-lines John Storfold


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS11-1 Board Meeting11-8 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.11-12 Annual Club Auction.11-19-20 Club Outing South Coast Chinook.12-6 Board Meeting12-13 SOFTFlyTyers,Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.12-15 Club Meeting with Bill Tinniswood1-1 Club Outing - Chili Feed at the Holy Water.1-3 BoardMeeting1-19 Club Meeting.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

Also this year Sonja is trying out a new wrinkle in that as you walk into the mainroom,you’llsignupfora‘bidderspaddle’whichcanbeusednotonlyforbidding in the oral and silent auction, but for purchasing tickets for both the SuperRaffleandtheBucketRaffleandthen settling up at the end of the event. This should be a win-win all around.

Just remember that you’ll be abletopayforallyourwinningsbids,raffletickets by either, cash, check or plas-tic so bid long and high and buy a ton of raffle ticketsas theproceedsof thisevent is what sees the club through its nextfiscalyear.

tom Rod. TheBucketRafflewassosuccess-

ful last year that Sonja has expanded the number of buckets this year. Like lastyeartherewillgiftcertificatesfordinners, rounds of golf, a visit to the Kitchen Connection and too many oth-er things to mention.

And lastly, there will be the pies. A few years back, Sonja asked some of the lady members if they would bake a pie as a raffle prize.Well that ideareally struck a chord with the member-ship and now the pies are expected to beapartoftherafflesattheauction.

This year those members attend-ing will see a different meal arrange-ment. No longer do they have to en-dure those long buffet lines, but will have a sit down dinner with their meals brought to them. Those meals consist of a choice of Prime Rib or Chicken Marsala or Pasta Primavera. Also this year, instead of rushing in to get a seat, all seating will be on a reserved ba-sis. Also there will be complimentary wine at each table plus a no host bar for those who would want something a little stronger. There will also be trays of appetizers going around during the timeof the silent auction to ‘take theedgeoff’ifyouwillbeforedinner.

It is with great sadness that I an-nounce the death of a former member of theSouthernOregonFlyfishers-CarolLaBranche. I remember Carol and her friendKimDeVriesfromwhenIfirstjoined SOFF. I marveled that Carol and Kim would journey down each month to our club meetings from their homes in the Roseburg area.

Because of this distance to Grants Pass, Carol, along with Kim were in-fluential in the establishment of theUmpquaValleyFlyfishers.

Over the years I remember Carol asbeingveryactiveinthe‘CastingforRecovery’ program for breast cancersurvivors. She could be counted on go-ing anywhere to spread the word about ‘CastingforRecovery’andencourag-ing any and all ladies who have suf-fered from breast cancer to join in one ofCR’sprograms.

Finally,IrememberCarolasa‘fix-ture’ateachandeveryOregonCounciloftheFederation’sNorthwestFlyTyerand Fly Fishing Expo held each year at Albany in that she held some position at each event. She also held a position on the Oregon council itself.

Unfortunately, as much as I knew about Carol, I didn’t know how sickshe really was. All the times that I ever saw her she was always upbeat and full of life and her passing came as a com-plete shock.

Iliketoaddthisfinalcomment–may the both of them always be blessed with a warm sun on their face, a gentle breezeattheirbackandtherightfliesforallofheaven’sstreams.

Tight Lines.

Members Obituaries By The Editor

I recently learned that club mem-ber Lon Bromley passed away on October 1st, the result of a

tragic boating accident on the McKen-izeRiver.Hewasfishing inhisdrift-boat with two friends when suddenly the boat hit a sand bar and capsized. All three were thrown in the water and the two friends were able to swim to shore; however,Londidn’tmakeitandappar-ently drowned.

AflyboxbelongingtoLonwashedup on shore a few days after the acci-dent and was found by a passer-by. The flyboxwasoneoftheclub’snewonesthat had our logo engraved on it. The passer-by traced the box to the club and contacted me that he had it. He returned the box to me and it was returned to the family.

Ididn’tknowLon,butbythecon-tentsofhisflyboxwhichmustofnum-beredinexcessof200fliesIcouldseethat he was at the very least a competent flytyerproducingaqualityproduct;ifhis tyingabilityequates tohisfishingability than he must have been a heck ofaflyfisheralso.

I’msorrythatIneverknewhim.


Editor’s Notebook

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S POSTAGE



Continued on Pg. 7

accepting last minute donations for the silent auction which if by her past

standards the tables in silent auction room will be over flowingwith items of inter-est for all those that are at-tending and just waiting for you to bid on one or more of them. Like the oral auction, the silent auction will consist of items of interest not only to the fly fisher, but also tothenon-flyfisher.

Last year Sonja started two new ventures for the auction – they included the SuperRaffleandtheBucketRaffle. This year’s SuperRafflewillincludeaCustomFly Display Box filled withflies tied bySOFFfly tyers,A Dave Scadden Assault

Pontoon Boat and a Anderson Cus-

angler there will be such things as din-ingcertificates,casesofwineandroad

trips among other things.As we go press Sonja will still be

AsIwrite thisarticle, theclub’sannual auction fund raiser a little more than two weeks away. It doesn’t seem possible thata year has passed since the last auction, but it has. Sonja Nisson who took on the chal-lenge again this year has put together a package of goodies that will be sure to whet the appetite of all those attending and hopefully having them reach deep for that extra dol-lar to become the successful bidder of a desired auction item.

Sonja and her crew has rounded up at last count some 65 or more items for the oral auction which includes items for the fly fisher and non-flyfisher alike. Therewill rods,reels guided trips and a host of other thingsfortheflyangler.Forthenon-

It wouldn’t be the SOFF’s annual auction if we didn’t have Wayne Liska auctioneer extraordinaire cajoling and exhorting the last dollar for all items up for auc-tion.

SOFF News

SPECIAL MENTION



Vol.23 No.12 The Monthly Newsletter of The Southern Oregon Fly Fishers, Inc. December, 2016






Once again the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers annual fund raising auction was an outstanding success with all available seats sold out.

A big thank you to Auction Chair Sonja Nisson and her committee for the planning and soliciting of items for both the oral and silent auctions and the big cup raffle. SOFF members knew that they were in for an outstand-ing night and responded by selling out the house and bidding big!

SOFF NEWS December, 2016 Page 2

FROM THE BOARD


The Board of Directors meet in the conference room of the Taprock Restaurant. The next meeting is scheduled: Dec 6th at 6:00pm or the first Tuesday of the month All members welcome


section, which is Article 1 – Statement of Purpose. The By-Laws are printed in your club directory.

In Article 1 Section 1 of the By-Lawsthepurposeoftheclubisdefined.In abbreviated form, our purpose is to: “…promotetheartandskillofflyfish-ing and to encourage conservation of our natural resources through the inher-ent ethic and stewardship thatflyfish-ing evokes.” Do we promote the art and skill of fly fishing? Do we encourageconservation of our natural resources?I believe we do. I also know that it is

the job of the board of directors of our club to make sure we promote and en-courage fly fishing and conservation.Our meetings, outings, classes and clin-ics certainly promote and encourage all things fly fishing.Our habitat projectsdone with the watershed councils and agencies encourage and promote con-servation of our natural resources.

In Section 2 of the By-Laws the three goals of our club are stated. These three goals, in an abbreviated form, are as follows: (a) To promote public educa-tion in the art of fly casting, fly tyingandflyfishingtactics.(b)Toassistourgovernment agencies with research and habitat projects. (c) To promote the sportofflyfishing.AsIhavementionedabove, our meetings, outings, clinics and

Continued on Pg. 3

classes help promote education in cast-ing, tying and tactics. Our tree planting andourfishtosshelptheagencieswithhabitat projects. Promoting the sport offlyfishingissomethingwealldoattimes. When we talk to friends about the great times we have had on a river or lakewhen thefishwerebiting,wearepromotingflyfishing.Whenmem-bers of our club help with the Oregon Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers Expo at Albany every March we are promoting fly fishing.Whenwehaveaspeakerandflytierat

a general meeting we are pro-moting fly fishing educationandflyfishing.

One thing I also mentioned at the auction was that our out-ings always involve some edu-cation on casting andflyfish-ing tactics. Even though the people who go on an outing are usually club members, there is always a lot of discussion about flies and presentation. I havelearned a lot about fly fishingin the 14 years I have been in our club, and most of what I learned was on an outing when I listened to the more experi-encedmemberstalkaboutfliesand tactics. Another benefit

is seeing what type of gear and boat setup the members have. When attend-ing one of our outings to a lake, many types of boats and equipment setups

I want to start this last president’s column of 2016 with a big thank you to all of

the donors, auction committee members and auction partici-pants. You all helped make our auction a huge success. Auction chair Sonja Nisson had a great auction committee whose mem-bers got the donations, then or-ganized and ran the event. They know how to get things done! The oral and silent auctions wentwell,andthebucketraffleandsuperraffleaddedsomeex-citement for all of us. The club isinverygoodfinancialshapeas a result of a run of several years of well-attended and suc-cessful auctions.

One thing I did on auction night was to address the group about “The Cause”. Donors will give and volun-teers will work for a good cause. So for us,whatexactlyis“TheCause”?Itoldthe attendees that they were spending money and hopefully getting a decent deal on prizes they wanted. I also told any donors in the room that we appre-ciate their donations of items, fishingtrips and motel stays and the like be-cause that ensures that the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers will be able to con-tinue to do what we do as a club. To an-swer that question about “The Cause” was what I wanted to get across in my remarks to the group. My answer to that question is to look closely at the By-LawsforSOFFandfocuson thefirst

President Dave addressing the group regarding ‘The Cause’. Donors will give and volunteers will work for ‘The Cause’.


PROGRAMS Future Programs Jan 19 Griff MarshallFeb 16 Keith LyonMar 16 John Kraft Apr 20 Fly Tyers NightMay 18 TBAJun 15 TBAJul 20 No MeetingAug 17 No Meeting



Bill Tinniswood

Dec. 15, 2016

President’s Message Cont. From Pg. 2can be seen. I remember an outing to Galesville a few years ago. I think our club had just about every type of lake boat, pontoon boat and float tube inthe water that day!

So let’s continue to work and do-nate for “The Cause”. We will be look-ing for volunteers for habitat projects this winter. We will be putting on monthly outings that we want mem-bers to attend, even the most experi-enced members. These “old pros” are valuable teachers for the newer mem-bers out on the water. We will have our usual large SOFF contingent at the Al-bany Expo. We have a good schedule of speakers at our monthly meetings. So get more involved and attend those projects, outings and meetings! You will be helping our cause.

William (Bill) Tinniswood is the acting District Fish Bi-ologist for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He has worked for ODFW for

16 years. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Fisheries from Oregon State University. Professional interests are focused on ecology and recovery of redband trout and bull trout, conservation of native fishes inKla-math, Goose, Warner, Abert Lake and Fort Rock Basins, reintroduction ofanadromousfishtotheKlamathBasin,habitatrestorationandaquaticentomology.HeisanavidflyfishermanandUpperKlamathLakeisoneofhisfavoriteplacestofish.


CASTING ABOUT

SOFF Auction: “Party with a Purpose By Sonja Nisson

A good time was had by all at the 2016 SOFF Auction. A big thank you to those who

helped make it a success! The gener-osity of our members, the community, and businesses is overwhelming.

Special thanks goes to our auction committee and volunteers whose tire-less efforts and positive energy make it fun to put on our annual fund rais-ing event. Committee members in-clude: Dave Archambault, Tom Brandes, Kevin Reiten, Dale Heath, Brady Keister, Jan Knapik, Ed Morphis, Di-ana Sheldon, Bob Stafford, and John Storfold. The cup rafflesubcommittee chairs Julie Rog-ers and Diana Sheldon helped make the cup raffle the mostfun ever!. Dale Heath led the silent auction team and attend-ees were pleasantly surprised at the high quality bargains to be found. John Storfold led the oral auction team with great success. Ray McClenathan oversaw prize awards during the oral auction. Thanks, too, to the volunteers who helped set up and worked at the event. While numbers of volunteers was down, this could not have happened without those of you who helped. You are our unsung he-roes. Last but not least, thank you to those who attended the auction, as the auction event was sold out for the sec-ond year in a row and bid. You made the auction a success. I hope each and every one of you had lots of fun.

A very special thanks goes to Kev-in O’Malley, who crafted a beautiful caseforourSOFFmemberflydisplay.It is a work of art . The winner is Russ Leavitt, who, after winning, told me that knowing the craftsmen and tiers

Sonja Nisson, auction chair, along with Brady Keister stand ready to close down the silent auction.

who donated makes this very special.

The Dave Scadden pontoon boat ($1,800 value), donated by Nick Merrill was won by Casey Stafford.

The Anderson Custom Rod (7 weight) donated by Tom Collett was won by Bill Archuleta.

We had over 70 winners in the cup raffle.Itisnosurprisethattheitemsingreatest demand were, once again, the home-baked pies and the wine baskets

crafted by our own members, the dining certificates,andthehand-tiedflies.Thebest part- everyone seemed to get a hoot out of taking a chance and sometimes winning the prize they wanted most.

In the silent auction, there were bar-gains to be had, whether you were a new angler,anoldsalt,aflytier,orageneral“picker”.Whereelsecouldyoufindflyrods valued at $100 to $450 for bargain prices or brand new quality reels for lessthan$50?Itwasaraucousandfungroup in the silent auction room right up untilthefinal“pencilsdown”call.

After winning in the oral auction, lots of folks are looking forward to

guided fishing trips, road trips, newgear,giftcertificates,andthesatisfac-tion of contributing to the success of our club.

This is our sole fund raiser and, thanks to all, it was a huge success, al-lowingustofulfillourmission.Hereare a few of the efforts made possible:

A Scholarship Fund to help students pursuing Fishery Science at Oregon

State University. Conservation Projects: Public Education, tree planting and stream repair of the Applegate, Middle

Rogue and Illinois River watersheds. “Project Healing Water”: A rehabilitation project that teaches flyfishingandflytyingto disabled active military personnel and veterans at the local VA Hospital. “Casting For Recovery”: A program that teaches survivors ofbreastcancertheartofflyfishing.

Support of Rural Outdoor Education Projects through area middle and high schools. Public education classes about of theartofflyfishing,flytyingandflycasting. Youth projectsrelatedtoflyfishingand habitat improvements.

By necessity, next year our auc-tion will be held in a different location. You can rest assured that, regardless of the venue, a spirit of fun and giving will still prevail. Make no mistake, our auction committee works very hard to make our event a success; the reward- we get to have all the fun of planning and a sense of team success, knowing

Continued on Page 5



Jan 1 Holy Water Chili Feed.Jan 28-29 Coastal Winter SteelheadFeb 10-11 Cow CreekMar 18 Applegate SteelheadApr 22 TBAMay 20 TBAJun 17 TBAJuly 22 TBA

Photo Potpourri

New Years Day Chili Cook Off

2017 Outings

Editor’s Note: Normally, our outings chair, David Haight has been the one that handles the annual New Years day chili feed, but ap-parently things are d i f f e r -ent this year and the event is being conduct-ed by a m e mb e r of the R o g u e club.

F o r all of you that have attend the a n n u a l event, you know that the chili is always great, but the coma-raderie is even bet-ter.

The annual New Years day chili

feed at the Holy Water is just around the corner. Last year the attendance washighandthechiliwasflowing.

RFF and S O F F m e m -bers are encou r-aged to b r i n g their fa-v o r i t e chili and e n t e r the cook off. If you don’t have a s p e c i a l chili rec-ipe bring c o r n -b r e a d , s a l a d s , f r u i t , desser t, or other items to s h a r e . T h e c l u b s will pro-vide hot

d r i n k s and table service.

We will start the warming firearound 10:00 AM at the picnic shel-ter near the parking lot on the south side of the Holy Water.

We plan on setting up for serving around noon. Bring a lawn chair if you have one.

If you have any questions please

feel free to call me.Keith HardcastleChili Cook-Off Coordinator541-878-1471

Auction Recap Cont. from Pg. 4

we are helping to make SOFF a suc-cessful club. Our philosophy- do the maximum amount of service with the least amount of meeting time. If you would like to join the auction commit-tee, please call Sonja Nisson 541-582-4833. Ourfirstmeeting for2017willbe in January. (Don’t worry- we do not meet every month). You, too, can get in on all the fun!

Thank you again, Sonja Nisson, 2016 auction chair.

What better way to celebrate the New Year than with a bowl of chili, a steaming cup of coffee and swapping stories with fellow fly fishers.

It can be cold so bundle up and stand near the fire.

Joe and Jan Knapik getting ready for the Christmas Trout!


FLY TYING CORNER




Membership Form


Tying Instructions:

BWO Soft Hackle

Hook: Standard Dry or Wet Fly #14-#20.Thread: Olive 8/0.Hackle: Dun Hen 2X the Shank Length.Body: Adams Gray Biot.Rib: Olive Tying Thread (Optional Rainbow Krystal Flash).Thorax: Peacock Herl (One or Two Strands Depending on the Size of the Hook).

De-barb the hook and tie in the thread just behind the eye. Tie in the Hackle by the tip with the stem pointing out over the eye of the hook. Cut off the excess tip and wrap your thread back to the bend in the hook.

Tie in the biot by the tip with the notch toward the eye. (if you are unfamiliar with using biots refer to the link below) If using Krystal Flash tie it now. Cement the thread wraps, grab the end of the biot with hackle pliers and wrap forward to where you would tie in the thorax. Allow the hackle pliers with the biot to hang off the back side of the hook while youwraptheribbingforward.TwistyourKrystalflasharoundthethreadandwrapforwardandwindinsegmentstothethoraxandtieoffboththebiotandtheKrystalflash.TieinoneortwostrandsofPeacockHerlandformathoraxforwardto the headspace. Make two wraps of the Hackle back towards the thorax and tie off by working the thread forward weaving as to not trap the hackle and once past the hackle tie off and trim the stem off as close as possible. Form a head and whip finish.Head-cementisoptional.

Many of us get confused when we get into details about alignment. There is a good biots tutorial at this website. (http://www.flyfishfood.com/2014/05/tying-with-biots.html)

Enjoyandlet’sthankMarkforanothergreatflytoaddtoourflybox. Fly Tied By Mark Teeters


CHANGING LINES COMING EVENTS12-6 Board Meeting12-13 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.12-15 Club Meeting with Bill Tinniswood1-1 Club Outing - Chili Feed at the Holy Water.1-3 Board Meeting1-10 SOFT Fly Tyers, Madrone Mobile Home Park in Gold Hill.1-19 Club Meeting with Griff Marshall.1-28-29 Club Outing - Coastal Winter Steelhead.2-7 Board Meeting.Editor’s Notebook Cont. From Pg. 8

been assured that in a year or so we will be welcomed back to the Event Center for general meetings, but due to the new construction the current meeting room will be downsized and it will no longer be suitable for our annual auction. Now starts the difficult task of finding an-other venue for the annual auction. Rest assured that the club’s board of directors as well as the auction committee are al-ready actively searching for a new loca-tion to host next year’s auction.

So be not afraid as we will have an auction fund raiser next year on Novem-ber 11thfilledwithallsortsoftreasuresto be bid on; the only thing is we can’t tell you where.

Since this is the Christmas season, let me wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanuk-kah and a prosperous and healthy New Year.

and your friends. For this event only, the paying at the door was eliminated and everything was prepaid.

The idea was even carried over to theraffleinthatinsteadofusingcashtopayforraffletickets,theycouldbecharged to your auction paddle and paid for at the same time you paid for your winning bid items in the silent and or auctions.

Although thefinalfigures arenotyet in, the preliminary total indicates that once again the membership as well as the many club supporters generously reached deep into their pockets to sup-port the club. The money raised will be used for the many things that the club sponsors including our conservation donations, our annual scholarships, our monthly speakers and the various other things just to name a few.

Although the auction was a fun time and I think that everyone that at-tended will agree that they had a good time and so it was over the years that our auctions were held at the Event Center. So it is with a little melancholy and sadness that an end of an era has been reached. 2017 will see us being turned out from our long time meeting area by the construction of additional units for the Lodge Hotel. We have

Casting for Recovery is a non - profitorganizationthatprovidesemo-tional support for women that are re-ceiving treatment for or have survived breast cancer. Their program is cen-tered on introducing these women to the relaxing and therapeutic benefitsof fly fishing. The Southern OregonFly Fishers have been a big supporter of Casting for Recovery, and are gen-erously donating the proceeds of the raffle at the December 15th meetingto Casting for Recovery. Please bring some extra cash to buy raffle ticketsand support this great cause. Come see the CfR display and talk to volun-teers to learn more about the Casting for Recovery program.

The volunteers that host the South-ern Oregon retreat thank you for your continued support!

TherewillbeaspecialraffleatourJanuary meeting. Participation will be limited to those members who have paid their 2017 membership dues. The win-ner will receive one of Gary Anderson’s customflyrods.Inordertobeableto

SPECIAL RAFFLEBy Rich Hosley

Membership Chair

December Raffle Proceeds Going to Casting for Recovery By Tanya Haight

participate, your dues must be paid pri-or to January 1, 2017. If you mail your check to the club PO box, it must be postmarked January 1 or earlier.

This raffle has been approved bythe club’s board of directors as moti-vation for the membership to pay their dues in a timely manner. Unfortu-nately,wecannotincludethefifty-fivelifemembersinthisraffle.Whileyourcommitment toourclub is significantand appreciated, we are focusing on those members whose membership sta-tus requires a yearly renewal.

Article II, Section 3 of the blub’s by-laws reads: All dues shall be due and payable prior to January 1 of each year.


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atedwithfishingandahostofotherthings. I won’t even go into what the treasures the cup raffle held, as there wassomething there for every-one. Add to that a couple of unique items such as a pontoon boat, a coffee table and a commercial grade propane heater, the list just seemed endless.

This year’s auction din-ner saw some changes – no longer did you have to run andfindatableandwonderif there would be enough space at it for you and your friends. Instead we had reserved seating so that you were guaranteed that you could reserve enough spaces or for that matter

the whole table to accommodate you

rods, reels, lines and guide trips just

tolistafew.Forthenon-fisherstherewere cases of wines, trips not associ-

Wow! What a great turnout we had for the club’s an-nual fund raising auc-tion. Sonja Nisson and her crew of volunteers cannot receive enough kudos for the work that they did in preparing for the auction. They really shook the bushes to secure such a wide and diversified list ofitems not only for the oral auction, but also for the silent auction and the giant cup raffle. Ifyoucouldn’tfindsome-thing to either bid on or todropyourraffletick-ets into, then you really didn’t try as there were items of interest that crossed a wide spectrum of interests.

For theflyfisherman therewere

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