A CHARTER club of

the International

Federation

of Fly Fishers

Member of the

Northern

California Council

of Federation of

Fly Fishers.

Headwaters

As we move into April, the weather is great for getting out and hitting the water. Unfortunately, Mother Nature has not seen fit to cooperate and bless us with a proper rainy season, and therefore, hitting the water may be a little more challenging than in a normal wet year. So, be sure to make the most of the opportunities you do manage to get out. We have a couple of activities on the calendar scheduled for the next couple of months. First, the Pyramid Lake outing was April 4-6. I hope those that made the trip were successful! Next up is TroutFest on April 14, followed by our annual Kistler Ranch outing on April 15, the Fly Fishing Film Tour on April 17, and the Yuba River outing (and opening day of trout season) on April 26. April will be a busy month! Admiral Mark is working on a surf

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fishing trip for May, and we’re looking for someone to organize an east side of the Sierras outing in June if there is enough interest. As always we welcome suggestions for other club outings. the board is looking to generate ideas for more local outings to accommodate those who are unable to make the longer, more distant outings. If you have an outing you’d like to see us consider, or better yet, that you’d be willing to lead, please let the board know. Finally, if you have made a fishing trip lately, please write up a few lines and let us know about it. We’ll run it in the next newsletter. I know for fact that some of our members have been catching and releasing their share of fish because I’ve seen the evidence on our Facebook page! So, put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and share the experience! Fish on! --Mike

April 2014

General Meeting Tuesday, April 8, 2014 6:00 PM Mill Creek Church, 147 Auto Center Court Modesto Click here for a map.

Newsletter of the Stanislaus Fly Fishers

April 2014

President’s Message By Mike Hewitt

Trident Fly Fishing 765 Roosevelt Trail Suite 8

Windham, ME 04062 tridentflyfishing.com (888) 413-5211

Sierra Anglers 700 McHenry Ave. Suite D

Modesto, CA 95350 sierraanglers.com (209) 572-2212

Thomas Goodwin will be offering a presentation on the Pyramid Lake outing that is taking place this weekend (April 4-6). Pat Roe will give us a rundown on Kistler Ranch.

The Equipment

Rod and Reel: #4 to #7 weight for bass / panfish, #1 to #4 weight for panfish Fly Lines: Weight forward floating or weight forward bass bug tapers Leaders: 7.5' to 9' tapered to 0X to 3X Optional gear: Slow sinking lines or 10' Sink Tips Flies: Surface poppers, wooly buggers, Clouser Minnows, and various streamers. Small nymphs and foam spiders are effective for the bluegills. Watercraft: Float tubes, pontoon boats, prams, canoes are permitted ( no gas motors ). Some loaner float tubes will be available. If you have extra float tubes, please bring them along.

The Fishing There are three large ponds to fish. They contain largemouth bass, bluegills, and crappie. The edges of the pond are shallow, but weedy. The ponds are easily fished from shore, most of the fish will be in the shallows. Float tubes are helpful. Members will be available in teaching techniques used for fishing for bass and panfish.

Miscellaneous Other things you may wish to bring

x Lawn chairs x Sunscreen x Sunglasses

While not commonly encountered, you are in rattlesnake country. Please be careful. (Ask Buzz)

Club News Stanislaus

Fly Fishers

Membership Information

Membership dues are $71 per year for first time members (includes $35.00 annual dues for the Federation of Fly Fishers membership). Renewing members $36.00 and will be billed by the FFF for their dues.

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Visit us at: stanislausflyfishers.org

April Program

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SPONSORS

Membership Membership Dues ($36) are past due. Please pay at your earliest convenience.

The Board has voted to upgrade all memberships to “Family Membership” status. Spouses, significant others and children are now all included in every membership.

In addition, we wish to update our membership information and we are requesting all members to fill out a new information form (this will be provided) at the meeting.

Pizza & Salad There is a $6 suggested donation to cover expenses.

Dinner

Raffles

The small item raffle is $5 per ticket and only for members in attendance the night of the meeting. The items will be on display and the raffle tickets sold prior to the meeting. The raffle will be held during the meeting time. DOOR PRIZE The monthly door prize is for members only. When you arrive and sign in at the meeting, you will receive a ticket for the door prize raffle of a half-dozen flies tied by one of our members. This month’s flies have been tied by Thomas Goodwin. Members who donate flies for the door-prize drawing, will receive two regular raffle tickets. Tickets for the LARGE Raffle (playing cards), are $10 each and there are a total of 104 available. Once they are all sold we will hold the raffle. The items are significant and have already been purchased: Simms Rivertek Boots, Simms Freestone Vest, SAGE 2200 Reel, Simms Headwaters Gear Bag, and a Redington RedFly 3wt rod/reel combo.

Club News (Cont.)

Upcoming Events by Pat Roe PYRAMID LAKE OUTING

Friday – Sunday, April 4 – 6, 2014. Pyramid Lake Nevada. TROUTFEST

Saturday, April 12, 2014. Moccasin Creek Fish Hatchery. KISTLER RANCH OUTING

Sunday, April 13, 2014. Kistler Ranch 6am – 7pm. FLY FISHING FILM TOUR Thursday, April 17, 2014. State Theater. Volunteers Needed! YUBA RIVER OUTING

Saturday, April 26, 2014. UC Sierra Foothill Extension Center.

Conservation News By Eric Cole

Greetings fellow Stanislaus Fly Fishers, I hope everyone has been taking advantage of the great weather and getting outside to chase some fish. As the new Conservation Chair for the SFF I would like to discuss what has been happening behind the scenes. First and foremost I have been making connections with numerous individuals and organizations in an effort to focus club conservation efforts. I feel it is important to develop meaningful and fruitful conservation/education goals we can accomplish. To better serve the club in its conservation efforts the SFF is forming a Conservation Committee. Although in its formative stages we will likely have separate meetings to discuss and formulate ideas/projects for the club. We would also help manage and support club projects as needed. I ask that any member interested in conservation and/or participating in future projects or programs to contact me at ecole886@gmail.com or (209) 402-1250. A number of people have expressed interest in river cleanup trips on our local rivers. The idea is to conduct semi-routine float trips (with club members) down various sections of chosen rivers to collect trash, etc. and possibly fish a little. This would be a fun and informal day of camaraderie and conservation. Any suggestions for river cleanup sites are welcome. I will keep you informed. On a similar note I have been brainstorming with Tuolumne River Trust members with the intent of participating in the Rim Fire Recovery Project. They have asked for us to provide a list of areas within the Tuolumne River watershed that we as a club are interested in restoring – obviously the fishier the spot the better. This could be an awesome opportunity for collaboration, teaming up with a quality organization to accomplish some meaningful and lasting restoration. Fellow SFF member Jim Goodwin is leading the charge in an effort to restore the lake at Camp Mensinger Boy Scout camp near Beardsley Reservoir. We are working on making contact with other clubs and would like to spread the word. This is likely to be a long term project for us. Investigating what paperwork and review processes/permits will be needed, we are asking for interested parties and future volunteers to contact myself or Jim Goodwin. If anyone has access to heavy equipment or experience with fisheries biology, or structural engineering, etc. please let us know. This is an exciting opportunity to reach out and catch the next generation of Fly Fisherman.

I am excited for the future of the SFF as we are pursuing some projects that not only restore habitat but allow future generations of outdoorsman and flyfishers to have meaningful outdoor experiences. Eric Cole, SFF Conservation Chair