The Backcast

Vol 41 No 7 The Monthly Newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters July 2014

www.wyflycasters.org

What’s inside

2 July 2014

Mission Statement:The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of fly fishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.

Description:The Wyoming Fly Casters club was formed in 1974. The membership currently consists of approximately 160 members. The WFC was orga-nized by a group of dedicated fly fishermen and since the club’s inception the Wyoming Fly Casters have strived to further the sport of fly fishing through conservation and education.

Conservation of our water resources is one of our primary goals and in cooperation with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department we have and will continue to carry out worthwhile projects for the benefit of Wyoming fisheries. In addition to conserving Wyoming’s water resources we encour-age conserving the fish themselves. A fish safely released today will live to give sport to others.

Front Cover : Photo by Lee Wilson, 2014; Back Cover : Photo by Cheryl Alexander, 2014

For easy access to digital version of newsletter go to: www.wyomingflycasters.org

Bob Homer, PresidentDerrick Dietz, Vice President

Cheryl Alexander, SecretaryLee Tschetter, Treasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Terms expire in 2015: George Axlund,

Joe Meyer

Terms expire in 2016: Lee Wilson, Kelly Kukes

Terms expire in 2017: Bob Fischer, John Yost,

Spencer Amend

The Backcast is the monthly newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters, an affiliate club of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy and the Federation of Fly Fishers. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the views of the officers, board or members of the Wyoming Fly Casters.

Annual dues are $20 for an individual, $30 for a family, or $250 for a lifetime individual membership or $450 for a lifetime family membership. Visit the club website at www.wyflycasters.org. To pay dues or contact the club, write to P.O. Box 2881, Casper, WY 82602.

The deadline for submission of information for each issue is a week before the end of the month. Make contributions to the next issue by e-mailing material to the Backcast editor at [email protected] or call (307) 267-1903.

The Backcast is available either in electronic format or through USPS snail mail. To receive each newsletter through a monthly e-mail, you must be able to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, a software program available free of charge) documents. Usually, each issue is roughly 1 MB in size, some are larger.

Your e-mail provider may have limits on the size of attachments.

In order to be added to the e-mail list, send a request to [email protected]. In addition to receiving each issue of the newsletter earlier than your hard copy peers, e-mail subscribers are able to print each copy in vibrant color -- an added plus if the issue is rich in color photographs.

By sub- scribing electronically, you also save the club roughly $17.40 a year in printing and postage expenses.

4-5 BOLTON CREEK

6 KIDS FISHING DAY

7 ROADSIDE CLEANUP

8 TEN SLEEP

9 FLASHBACK FLY PATTERN

12 FLYCASTER OF THE

MONTH

14 Fishing highlights

15 CLASSIFIEDS

CALENDAR

NEW MEMBERS!If you haven’t already, call Joe Meyer at 307-235-1316. He’ll give

you pointers and advice to make sure you catch The big one!

Wyoming Fly Casters 3

President’s letterFellow Members!

First of all I would like to thank those who attended the highway clean-up near Alcova. We had a hardy crew show up and they all worked hard, but we sure could have used a few more helpers. I guess the highlight of the outing was the small rattlesnake we encountered. No harm came of him or us because he didn't like us any more than we liked him. We just went our merry way and nobody was any the worse for wear.

Be sure to attend the July General Meeting. Come early as there will be a Swap Meet and there will be some red-hot, smoking deals on fly fishing equipment and supplies. Also if you have some equipment or supplies you would like to sell, bring the to the meeting and maybe sell some of them. The Swap Meet will begin about an hour before the meeting.

Also, at the July meeting we will be honored with some pictures of the 2013 Tensleep Fishing Outing with plenty of pictures and some fond memories. Along with the last Tensleep outing pictures we will get an update on this year's outing to be held Aug. 1-3. This presentation will be provided by our secretary, Cheryl Alexander. I hope you can make it to this outing as it is a great time to meet fellow members and create new friendships.

Along with Cheryl we will hear from our directors of the Wyoming Flycasters Foundation. I am sure some of you are not too familiar with the foundation and its purpose. They will explain how it works and tell about some of the projects that have been done. There will be some time for question and answers.

Hope to see you at the meetings and outing.

Keep a tight line,

Bob

4 July 2014

BOLTON CREEKOn June 5th, Bob Homer and I ventured out to see the progress made on the Bolton Creek project. The challenges that were presented and the progress made was very encouraging. Before I became a club member, the Flycasters donated $5,000 to the restoration project. The Game and Fish has quite a challenge on their hands, and the following information we received from the tour will show that this affects everyone in the area; not just the outdoorsmen in the area.

The Bolton Creek Riparian Restoration project is designed and implemented to restore connectivity between Bolton Creek and its flood plane; attenuate sediment and flood energy following extreme precipitation events; reduce bank erosion and vertical channel adjustment; reduce fine sediment inputs into the North Platte River; and raise the water table allowing for expansion of riparian vegetation. This is being accomplished through the use of existing beaver populations, and live trapped and relocated beaver. In addition, harvested aspen trees are being airlifted by helicopter into the beaver activity areas to provide a food source and dam building material. Experimental erosion control measures are being tested in ephemeral drainages without beaver. Potential benefits from the project include: improved riparian habitat, reduced sediment loading in the North Platte River, additional forage for livestock grazing and enhancement of wildlife habitat for multiple species.

Several abandoned beaver dams along the creek

Cloudy water in Bolton

President Bob Homer on the tour

The tour group hikes thorough the project area


BOLTON CREEKProblem Analysis:• Presently, stream-bank erosion is high• Currently, flood plane is non-functional due to stream

channelization and active head cuts• Remnant riparian plants (cottonwood and willow) have

been left high and dry• Limited ability of stream to dissipate flood energy• Major contributor of sediment into the North Platte River

Project Objectives• Restore connectivity between Bolton Creek and its flood

plane• Dissipate flood energy following extreme precipitation

events• Reduce bank erosion and vertical channel adjustment• Decrease fine sediment inputs into the North Platte River• Raise water table allowing for expansion of riparian

vegetation• Increase livestock forage production• Wildlife habitat enhancement for multiple species• Restore Bolton Creek to proper functioning condition

Progress Summary• Aerially moved 453,200 pounds of aspen• Live trapped and relocated 6 beaver• Total expenditures - $131,740• Cost per pound of aspen - $0.29• Construct 12 sheet piling structures with current

expenditures (approximately $11,000 per structure)• 17 beaver dams constructed with aspen• Estimated cost savings between two approaches - $55,260

($11,000 x 17 - $131,740)

The Game and Fish has partnered with several organizations, including the Wyoming Flycasters, the City of Casper, and the Wyoming BLM to name a few. Speaking with Keith Schoupe personally regarding the project was very inspiring. They are doing everything they can to restore the creek. Restoring the creek will make for a healthier river, which benefits the entire community

Keith Schoup and local landowner stand and explain the issues with Bolton Creek

Keith explains their use of recycled Christmas trees to collect sediment in the creek during extreme precipitation events

These Christmas trees were secured to the bottom of the creek, along with a long piece of rebar (30”-60” tall) to monitor progress. The image above shows what remains visible of the tree and rebar (about 4 inches). This is proof that the trees are working to collect the sediment and prevent it from entering the Platte.

6 July 2014

K i d s F i s h i n g d a y

2 0 1 4On Saturday, June 7th, hundreds of kids joined us for free kids fishing day at Yessness Pond. We teamed up with the Walleye Unlimited guys, the City of Casper, and the Game and Fish to host a really great day. It’s always nice to see families out with their kids enjoying the outdoors. It was a chilly overcast day but that didn’t stop Casper families from making some fun memories with us. A huge THANK YOU to all of the Flycaster volunteers that were able to help out for the day!

see you next year!Photos by Lee Wilsonand Cheryl Alexander


Hig

hw

ay

Cle

anup

Saturday July 21stEight awesome volunteers donated their time to do a roadside cleanup along highway 220 near Gray Reef. We collected 18-20 large bags of beer bottles, car parts, and other trash. Lee Tschetter even made a new friend, pictured to the left!

Volunteers: Eric, Lee Wilson, Cheryl, Lee Tschetter, Rex Eggleston, Bob Homer, Ron Knievel, and Wilbur Yankey

Thank you to all of the volunteers- with everyone pulling together to get this done, we were able to clean up 2 miles of highway!

Photos by Lee Wilson

8 July 2014

Attention Fly Tyers!We are working on getting new members ready to hit the water, and we need your help! We are currently asking for the following flies so that Joe can add these to the new member packets. Each member will receive a few flies to welcome them to the club and get them started in the right direction. Here are a few of the flies we are looking for:

Pine Squirrel LeechHalfbacksStimulator (See next page)Elk Hair CaddisMidges

RenegadesSan Juan Worms (various colors)Rock WormsEggsPheasant Tail Nymph

Flashbacks (pg 9) Bead-headed flashbacks

The annual weekend camping outing in the Big Horn Mountains adjacent to Ten Sleep Creek is scheduled for the weekend of August 2-4. Lee Tschetter and Lee and Cheryl Wilson are sharing the streamkeeper responsibilities this year. There will be a brat supper on Friday night (compliments of Gene Theriault) if you are signed up to attend and one dinner on Saturday night for attendees.

If you plan to attend and haven’t signed up already please call Lee at 267-7261 or email to [email protected] so we know how many to prepare food for.

To get there: Go North on I-25 to Buffalo, then head West on highway 16 and climb into the Big Horn Mountains. Travel about 50 miles and just past Meadowlark Lake you will turn right at the Deer Haven Lodge. Continue on the dirt road for seven miles, until you are about to cross the west branch of Ten Sleep Creek where you will see Deer Park campground. You can settle either in the campground (for a fee), or in the meadow on the other side of the bridge.

There was some concern about the campground being closed this year, but as of now it remains open to all users. Campground spots are on a first come basis.

In general fishing in the area is good to excellent this time of year. The small streams in the West Tensleep lake area are packed with energetic trout and are typically anxious to hit a variety of dry flies. A good selection of flies to bring along might include: Terrestrials (hoppers, beetles and ants), Adams, Renegade and Stimulators. Nymphs including Copper John, Prince and Hares Ear have also been used when the fish aren’t looking up. Historically, attendees have an excellent time and for some this is a must attend outing. Even if you can only make it for one day, camaraderie and hungry fish are a guarantee.

Hope to see you there.

Ten Sleep


Tying The Flash-back Pheasant Tail Nymph Pattern

Hook: Mustad 80050BR (size#14 here) or size/style to match what you’re fishing forThread: 8/0 Dark brown (or size/color to suit your fly)Weight: Small lead wireTail: Pheasant tail fibers (8-10)Rib: Medium copper wireAbdomen: Pheasant tail fibers (12-18)Legs: Pheasant Tail fibers (about 8-10)Wingcase/flash-back:UNI-Mylar 1/16" "Pearl" color (with a drop of 5 minute epoxy)Thorax: Peacock herl

Make several wraps of small lead wire as shown. Secure it with several wraps of thread, creating a taper on both ends. This will make it easier to create a smooth, tapered body.

Tie in the pheasant tail fibers for the tails, trim the butt ends. Tie in the medium copper wire.

Tie in pheasant tail fibers for the abdomen so that they are facing back as shown. Wind the thread forward.

Grab the bunch of pheasant tail fibers and wind them all forward to create the abdomen. With enough fibers, the wraps shouldn’t really overlap. Trim the butt ends.

Tie in the pheasant tail fibers that will eventually be the legs. Try to tie them onto the top of the hook shank, not the sides. Trim the butt ends.

Wind the copper wire forward to create the rib.

Tie in the pearl mylar facing the back, on top of the hook shank. Wind the thread back to where the pheasant tail fibers in the abdomen ended. Tie in several strands of peacock herl.

Grab the bunch of peacock herl and wind it all forward to create the thorax. Pull the mylar forward tightly creating the "wing case" and tie off.

Pull the mylar back and make a few wraps of thread in front of it. Cut the excess off as close as possible.

Separate the fibers that will become the legs into two equal bunches.

Stroke the bunches back along each side of the nymph’s thorax and make several tight wraps of thread.

Add a nice-sized drop of epoxy to the top of the mylar wing case.

Pattern by Rob O’Reilly, from hipwader.com

10 July 2014

WFC Board Meeting June 18, 2014 7:05 p.m.Members in attendance: Bob Homer, George Axlund, Lee Tschetter, Cheryl Alexander, Lee Wilson, Joe Meyer, and Derrick Dietz, and Spencer Amend.

Previous meetings minutes were discussed. There were questions regarding moving the board meeting from the third Wednesday to the first Wednesday of the month. The reason behind this was so we could bring the issues from the board meeting to the general meeting the following week. We discussed the fact that the TU holds their meeting on the first Wednesday of the month. We have decided to keep the board meeting on the third Wednesday of the month. We will bring issues from the board meeting to the general meeting each month by discussing the agenda for the next board meeting. If there are any issues that should be discussed by the general membership, we will bring it to everyone’s attention and then bring it to the board for voting.

Lee Tschetter is going to purchase a printer/scanner for club use. The printer/scanner that he picked will be able to convert the paper files to digital copies for safe keeping.

The new hats have arrived. We will be giving the standard brown hats away to new members, along with the window sticker and flies. We have also purchased “premium” hats that will be for sale. We have black, pink, yellow, blue, and green. These, along with the standard brown hats will be on sale for $10 a piece. Derrick made the motion to set the sale price for $10. Lee seconded. All in favor.

We received an e-mail from a man named Bob Pugh requesting a Flycasters patch. He is a lifelong fly-fisherman living in Texas. Due to medical issues he can no longer go fishing. He is making a large patch quilt made up of fly fishing patches from across the country. We decided to send him a patch for his project.

We will start having more of the Healing Waters members in attendance at our general meetings, per Derrick’s request.

The plan for the general meeting in July: Cheryl (or Lee Tschetter) will give a short presentation on the Ten Sleep outing. Items discussed will include the plan for the weekend, meals provided (and what meals to plan for on your own), as well as what you should bring to be prepared.We will also hear from the Flycasters Foundation. They will give a description of what they do for the club and the community, as well as answer any questions you may have about the history of the foundation and what it is currently doing.

Future presentation ideas are welcome!

Old business update: In May, Cheryl introduced the idea of a Wyoming Flycasters Scholarship with Casper College. The guidelines were discussed and Cheryl will meet with the Foundation director to nail down the details of the scholarship, as well as what requirements and guidelines we would like to see for the recipient. This will be discussed in further detail at the next meeting.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:39 p.m.

-Cheryl Alexander, Secretary

Secretary’s Report | June 2014


A stunning sunset by the river, photo by Lee Wilson

12 July 2014

Flycaster of the MonthName: Anne Williamson

What is your occupation? Well my boss would tell you that I’m Casper’s newest up and coming interior designer or something like that.

Where are you from? The boonies of classy Caldwell, Idaho.

Why did you join the Wyoming Flycasters? I am new to the area and it sounded like fun (Cheryl dragged me out there). But really it is a lot of fun. I hadn’t fished since I was a youngin. My grandparents would take me bait fishing with them but I got to that girly stage where fish were gross so they stopped taking me. I’ve grown up and its not so bad now. I still have a long ways to go before I’m an expert fly fisherwoman though. If you’ve fished with me you know what I’m talking about. What sealed the deal for me to join the club was the banquette dinner in April. That was a lot of fun and I won the beginners bucket raffle! It was a sign for sure!

What is your favorite rod to use? Any rod that will catch me a fish!

What is your favorite fishing experience? Have you gone fishing with me? The whole catching a fish part is my favorite fishing experience. I’m still REALLY new at fishing and the first couple of times I went out I would catch the fish on accident. This of course would be really exciting and last me at least two hours of hope before the next snag. Unfortunately my excitement causes me to scream and hop around (excitement makes people do crazy things ya know) and then before you know it the fish wiggled himself or herself off my line. But I did catch FOUR fish on the river once. I’m hoping I can do that again soon here.

What advice could you give new members to the club? Well I’m a new member. My advice would be to join the club and get involved. I’m hoping to set up some informal fly tying lessons with different members in exchange for margaritas and wine. Possibly some nutritional snacks too. So if anyone wants to take me up on my bribe of food and booze for fly tying lessons track me down! I’m going to be a fly tying expert before ya know it!

Are there any outings/events with the club you are looking forward to? All of them!!!!! The Ten Sleep trip sounds like fun. And of course my boozy fly tying lessons. Can’t go wrong with that.

If you could fly fish anywhere in the world, where would you go? Everywhere and anywhere. I love to travel! I hear my home state (Idaho) has some good fly fishing. Might have to try that out one day.

Besides fly fishing, what are some of your other hobbies? I really enjoy baking and cooking for friends. I have two dogs so I enjoy keeping them active. We do walks and hiking and play dates. I have a house so working on that is a hobby I suppose. Also big into canning and dehydrating fruit. Grew up on a farm what else would you expect? I’m a skier in the winter (or ultimate cookie baking and puppy snuggling bum). I also like to travel and am getting into archery.


Letter fromthe EditorFlycasters,

It’s already July! How did that happen?? Well, as I have mentioned before, Lee and I are getting married this month! It will be on July 27th and I would be honored if all of my flycaster friends could join us for our special day! It will be a casual fun outdoor wedding with a reception indoors at the Casper Rec Center.

I managed to get my fish of the month for June at the very last minute, again. It was just Monday, June 30th at about 8:00 p.m. Lee, Anne, and I went to Yessness, because after a long day of work, that was about all the time we had. Every other time I tried to go out throughout the month, it was either violently windy or a thunderstorm. On that day I was reminded of something. I remembered why I started flyfishing; why I joined the club. I cast my line out into the water over and over with no luck. Then, Lee caught a little fish, no bigger than his hand. We all cheered.

A few minutes later I got a few strikes, but landed none. Anne managed to catch and land a nice cutthroat, which was by far the most entertaining fish landing I have ever witnessed (see previous page, she isn’t joking). I finally caught a tiny little fish, but it was on a fly, in the company of my friends. The sunset that night was breathtaking (see the cover photo!). I was spending time with my friends, just enjoying being outside. We were at a stocked pond in the middle of town, but none of that mattered. I will remember that night for a long time. I encourage everyone to do the same. I know that everyone is after the big fish on technical waters, but every once in a while, it’s nice to just relax.

Just a few things to remember: Ten Sleep will be the first weekend in August. There will be a gear swap before the general meeting on July 9th- you won’t want to miss the gear swap or the general meeting, as we will be covering the Ten Sleep outing and what to expect if you’ve never been.

Be sure to sign up for the Ten Sleep outing and if you want dinner on Friday night, be sure to register with Lee Tschetter ahead of time because Gene will only be buying enough food for people who sign up!Thanks for reading! Be sure to submit your photos for fishing highlights!

Cheryl

14 July 2014

June Fishing Highlights

Spencer with a nice Rainbow Anne caught a nice cutthroat at Yessness

Lee and I managed to catch some monster fish

(Almost) New member Elizabeth Hawks and I hit the river


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Calendar July 2014

BOARD MEETING7:00 P.M.

A look ahead:• The annual Ten Sleep Outing

will be held the first weekend in August.

• The Tongue River outing will be held Labor Day weekend

GEAR SWAP5:30 P.M.GENERAL MEETING7:00 P.M.

Cheryl & lee’s Wedding

4:00 p.m.

JU

LY

20

14

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

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