Pineywoods Fly Fishers

  Founded 1988

    Chapter of the Southern Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers

   Web Site http://home.sprynet.com/~waltermc

President: Jimmy Lee        Secretary/Treasurer: Ken Baker 

From the President

The October meeting will be Tuesday October 5, 2004 in the Lufkin Mall meeting room.

We are beginning the sportsman’s time of the year, several hunting seasons have opened and more will open with in the next month and the fishing will improve as the weather cools.  On our area lakes and streams the fish will be moving into shallow water to feed and prepare for the lower temperatures that will arrive in about 8 weeks. All along the Texas coast, October and November are known as good months to catch Reds and Specks.

Along with the improved fishing, several annual events will be taking place. As you read this, several PWFF members will be leaving to fish their way to conclave. This is a fun way to attend conclave, camping out and fishing some of the best trout streams in Oklahoma and Arkansas. I have made this “fishing” journey in the past and each trip has been fun and exciting and we always found a way to add something a little different each year.  I will miss the excitement of this year’s trip because of time constants. I will be attending conclave just in a different format. Good luck to Bill, Walter and Don as they fish their way to Mountain Home. If you can’t attend the conclave then mark your calendar for November 6 & 7 for the annual Fall Rendezvous at North Toledo State Park. You can eat and tie or learn to tie flies at this event.  The fishing is not bad depending on the weather. October Feast will be on the 16^th of the month, this used to be called our annual breakfast, but we felt a name change better reflects the food and/or the amount of food at this event.  Keep these events in mind and fish every chance you get. Visit http://home.sprynet.com/~waltermc/Rendez/indexR.html for Rendezvous details.     Jimmy

From the Editor

Texas Parks & Wildlife Commissioner John Parker spoke before 21 of our members and friends at our last meeting. Mr. Parker passed around his father’s bamboo fly rod, a fly reel and flies and talked about TPWD and several other situations. We enjoyed his presentation and hope to have more interaction with him in the future. He was homebuilder for years and an avid quail hunter and trained bird dogs with Randy McBride. 

Welcome New Members

Pam Lee, Jimmy’s better half, has paid her own dues and joined the club on her own. I imagine this means that Jimmy had better shape up. Pam has been a great part of our club all along. She teaches fly fishing at Fly Fish Texas and takes part in other events with us. She and Jimmy are attending Conclave together for her first time even though she only gets a few days off from work. Pam has needed an outlet for fun for some time now, so give her a great welcome and ask her to help you in whatever task you have been assigned in the coming year.  

Jeff Southern and son Jake, both joined at our last meeting. Jeff wrote: I have 2 children, Jessica 6, Jake 13 and my wife Joey. We are member of Calvary Baptist Church and active in the community. Jake is in the 8^th grade and a member of the Junior Honor Society. He has been Fly Fishing since he was about 4 and is a very skilled fisherman. He is also an avid hunter. He was able to harvest a deer this past year that put him in the Texas Big Game awards book. If he had his choice he would rather be standing waist deep in a cool clear stream in the mountains with a big brown on the line. Jessica has been Fly Fishing for about 2 years now. She has caught several fish in some really tough fishing spots around the country. She really enjoys the outdoors as well. I have been fly fishing for about 20 years and the majority of our fly-fishing has been for trout from Oklahoma to Montana. My family and I love the mountains. The 4 of us are members of the Lower Mountain Fork River Assoc. This is the Fly club in Broken Bow. We have been fairly active in this club for sometime now and have contributed several hours to the restoration and habitat in the river. We make on the average 6 trips a year to Beavers Bend, some of the best fishing anywhere. I hate to release that info because it has really gotten crowded there in the past few years. Jake and I have a few Fly tying skills but it has become apparent to us that there is a lot of tying knowledge in this club and it is freely shared. We are excited to work with others and increase our Tying skill. We are glad to be part of a local club that is so active. 

Memorials

Walter McLendon

I am in the process of collecting memorial biographies for our most recent losses of fly fishermen in our council to display at our Membership Booth at Conclave. I received an email about Doug Christian, Fly Tyer of the Year in both 1993 and 2001. Doug stated of his Turkey Tail Emerger “This is a style of midge soft hackle that has been my most effective trout fly over the last 10 years”.  His club members said “You can take that to the bank”. Visit http://www.ozarkflyfishers.org/pages/flies/flies_page1/turkey_tail_emerger.html to get the pattern to tie, it is very simple.    

I have started a 2005 Club Calendar; here is what I have so far:

                                 (Please send me any dates of events that you know of) 

Freshwater Report

Jeff Southern

I was on Lake Livingston Saturday the 18^th. We were fishing a bass tournament from 6am to 3pm.The fishing was great. The fish have started moving back into some shallow areas chasing shad and other baitfish. The shad are in great numbers on the lake. Water was still very warm at the surface. The average temp was 89 degrees. The north end of the lake was still fairly murky, while the south end was extremely clear for Livingston. The south end produced several 20+ pound stringers. I caught fish from 6am until 9am in 1’ to 3’ of water on anything that resembled a shad. As it warmed up the fish went a little deeper and were looking for cover. The rest of the day was spent in 5’ to 6’ of water fishing boathouses and producing fish in the 4-6 pound range. The bite seemed to last all day Creating an enjoyable fishing trip even though an extremely hot one for my partner and my self. I would like to think with the past few cool nights this would have really triggered the fish into filling up on shad getting ready for the cold months ahead. I would recommend the mouths of any creek you can spend time on. Good fishing. 

Fishing Report

Royce Feaster

My son, Scott and I went fishing last week at Lake Nacogdoches.  We went to try the new frog, plus other flies that Bill has introduced to the club.  We were fishing in about 8" to 12" of water between the moss and the bank.  Scott caught a small bass on the East side of the lake.  We moved to the north side of Yellow Bank creek.  We got to watch the bass inspect the frog several times.  Scott caught another bass slightly bigger than the first. The bass inspected the frog a couple of times before taking it.  Then I saw a bass that would go about 2 pounds.  I got it to looking at my frog, but not taking. On the third pick up, I managed to wrap my tippet around my rod tip, so I told Scott to cast in and get that fish.  Scott put his frog within about 12" of the fish.  As it started toward the frog, a bream hit at the legs and that was all it took to get the bass mad. The fish hit it and came up out of the water. Scott hooked it and slid it about half way across the moss before it dove into the moss then it broke off. The frog should be great for the spring fishing season.  We also caught several bream.  Nothing big, but a few of them were a good size for the summer. 

Events

Ken Baker

We have just completed two very enjoyable events.  First was a fly tying get together at Don McMurray's home.  About 14 of us met and had great hamburgers and trimmings and then spent about two hours just tying whatever each person wanted to tie. Most of the flies tied were donated to the collection we are sending to the conclave.  All present said it was one of the most enjoyable times we have had.  Thanks Don. 

The other event was a deer hair tying class taught by Bill Heugel. It was a great class. Bill did a great job as usual. I for one will never be a great deer hair tier, but I enjoyed myself and did learn something. I have even tied three flies since the class.  My main obstacle is using the razor blade to shape the fly.  Maybe I will get the hang of it. As I fish for bream almost always, I don't need many bass flies but it is fun sometimes to tie them. At any rate I look forward to the next class. 

The other kind of event taking place right now is the paying of club dues.  Several have already paid.  If you haven't, please do so at the next meeting or as soon as you can.  Dues for the year are $l5.00. 

It is not too early to be planning for the Christmas meeting.  Get your gift lined up and plan to come.  The oil filter will be there this year. Have fun at the conclave guys.    A BAD DAY FISHING STILL BEATS A GOOD DAY WORKING. 

Editor’s note: Bream will hit the tiny deer hair flies just fine so try tying a few for your fly box. 

BSA Camp Urland Winter Camp

Walter McLendon

We have been asked to come teach an adult fly fishing class (of from 10 to 20) at Camp Urland, just 5 miles south of Woodville off highway 69, on Monday, December 27^th from 1pm to 4 pm. Elizabeth Wilson, whom we taught to tie flies at Camp Pirtle last year, is now director of both Winter and Summer Camps there. She is also asking us to teach an adult class during the mornings and the merit badge class during the afternoon next summer. She plans to have unique activities for the boys and the adults, like black Smithing, hot air ballooning, kayaking and canoeing. She is open to suggestions from us for other ideas we might have. Camp Urland has a two-acre lake, with tiny bream and a swimming pool, where they teach kayaking. 

Elizabeth said we could actually teach on any day we choose or teach everyday if we want during Winter Camp. I told her that we are open to that and it would depend on how many volunteers I can round up. BSA has made fly rod kits available to the boys for only $20.00 and she will bring one for us to see. 

I am going to contact our friend Ed Cotton in Huntington to volunteer his black Smith program to them. Elizabeth told me that she recently visited a lake where trout were fed Dog Chow, not the ½” cubes but the ¼” cubes and she knows that cat food contains more ingredients than dog food because cats can not live on dog food alone. 

I would like to begin now to ask for volunteers for this camp. I still expect to be invited to teach at Camp Pirtle also so we need even more instructors. I am contacting clubs south of us to assist. We always have fun at these camps, they feed us well too.  

Cap Spider

Dale Wilkerson

As most of these things go, I am not sure who tied the first Cap Spider either. The way I understand it, Michael came up with the pattern and had great luck fishing it and the next time he fished the Perch Off in Austin, he was telling the guys that he had come up with the best pattern yet. He showed them the fly and someone said "that is a Cap Spider" when asked why it was called that, someone just said wait a while and you will see. A few minutes later, someone entered the room and had about 200 of them in his baseball cap.

I noted on the web site of the Pineywoods Club that Jay ties it with chenille and a hackle wound at the same time as the chenille. I have never tied it that way, but don't see why it would not work. Michael insisted that the only body material to use was vernille, which is now just about impossible to find. I do not know of anyplace it is sold in Texas anymore. I have not developed a reliable source since Orvis quit selling it several years ago now and I am out of some of the best colors.

I have always tied the legs in differently than the way Michael tied them in. In the past couple of years I have discovered that Loon's Hard Head is the best material to use to paint the heads of the jigs.

I will be tying a new variation of the fly at this year's Conclave that I developed based on some input from Tom Landry. It is the Redneck Series of Cap Spiders. My favorite of the bunch is The John Deer Cap Spider, which uses green vernille for the body and a head painted yellow with lacquer and covered with clear Loon's Hard Head. Does anyone know where I can find Vernille in a John Deer color of green? Others in the series are the Caterpillar Cap Spider, which uses yellow vernille and the head painted with black Loon's Hard Head. The other in the series is made for my friends in the oil patch and is the Halliburton cap spider with a gray body and red Loon's Hard Head for the jig head. Each uses legs colored with the "grizzly' technique that I learned from Eric Schmucker six or seven years ago. When Tom Landry and I were on the phone discussing this new series of cap Spiders, I felt Michael was up there somewhere with that Cheshire cat looking grin on his face like he approved of our new way of tying his fly. I sure do miss Michael.

I wish I knew more about others that use this pattern. It works great everywhere I have tried it. I have tied it for fly swaps and am told it works for all kinds of fish all over this country as well as others. I have a friend who fishes the Rapid River in Maine and several years ago his grandson caught a 5.5-pound brook trout on a black Cap Spider that I gave Dave.

It will be good to see both of you at Conclave.

Regards, Big Dale    

Mark your Calendar.

Bill Heugel

We have decided on the date for our next Workshop Extravaganza April 9, 2005. We will again be using the Kurth Lake facilities.  That gives us plenty of room, cooking capability and of course we can also fish a bit. The plan for this year is to have the event centered on our club members.   That means the tiers and instructors will be from our club.  

We plan to have a tying session 4 hours long conducted by 4 different folks.  They will be demonstrating different types of flies.  The advantage of this approach is that you can bring your vise and we will have a TIE ALONG.  Best way to learn new techniques.  We also plan a fly tying competition where we will provide all participants with the materials and you tie the fly.  The flies will be judged by a panel of (experts??). 

We are planning on a program given by Walter McLendon on Fly Fishing East Texas.  Walter has given this program to many different clubs and at special events. Of course we will have the casting instruction and the well planned casting games.  Jay threw us a loop at the last workshop.  Who knows what he may do this year? Walter will also be giving us a Kayak class.  For those of us not too steady on the water he will test our wills and make sure we learn to do things properly.   Also it will enable you to have more knowledge when it comes to buying that dude. We have discussed several possible classes, including dying materials, fly plate construction, frying fish, a swap meet and Dutch oven cooking.  We will need your input on this. 

For those of you interested in getting there early and hitting the water we will have donuts and coffee.  Later in the day we will have burgers for lunch and brisket for the evening meal. All family members are invited to this event both during the day and in the evening. Door prizes, silent auctions, live auctions and raffles will be designed to take your money.  This is our big money maker for the club and we need your support.  Besides it’s a fun day and you can pickup some needed items at a bargain. 

So mark your calendar, April 9, 2005 at Kurth Lake. 

Fly tying

Bill Heugel

We have had some preliminary thoughts about the fly tying activities for next year.  First we would like to have more events.  We will select special instructors on for each fly and spend some time introducing you to that fly, the materials and then the construction.  All classes will be hands on.  To make things easier for beginners, the club will loan you some tools so you can tie at the class and then go home and practice. 

The key to developing the skills for fly tying is the amount of practice you undertake.  The club will provide a sufficient amount of material so you can take it home and work with it.  Next year you may be teaching, it’s really that easy.

Monthly club meeting are held in the Lufkin Room, Lufkin Mall at 7 PM, the program for the first hour and then door prizes and fishing discussions until 9 PM.

Calendar

Newsletter

Send your articles, photos and other material to mailto:waltermc@sprynet.com or mail to Walter McLendon 139 Lancewood Circle,   Lufkin, TX 75904. I can scan your photos and return them at the next meeting. If you know of any future events or activities of interest, please send them to me. Monthly article deadlines are set on the 25^th of the month so the newsletter can be completed by the Thursday preceding our Tuesday meeting.