The Backcast - September 2014

Vol 41 No 9 The Monthly Newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters September 2014

www.wyflycasters.org

What’s inside

2 September 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 Cheryl Wilson, 2014; Back Cover : Photo by Cheryl Wilson, 2014

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

Bob Homer, PresidentDerrick Dietz, Vice President

Cheryl Wilson, 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 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 Ten Sleep Review

6-7 Hot Air balloon ride

9 griffith’s gnat

12 FLYCASTER OF THE

MONTH

14 North Platte River

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 letterBy the time you read this I am sure the Tongue River outing will be history. These outings are a lot of fun and educational. You always have a chance to meet neat people along with gaining new knowledge on how to catch a few fish. Along with the fun and education is the new scenery and new and exciting parts of Wyoming. I encourage all to join in on these activities and enjoy the gatherings.

The Tensleep outing was as good as it gets with plenty of good food and good fishing. I want to thank Gene and Deb Theriault for the Friday night dinner they provided. Let me tell you that the brats and other items were at their finest. Lee and Theresa Tschetter served gumbo on Saturday night which was out of this world. Thanks to all for making this outing a huge success.

Next on our agenda is our annual BBQ to be held on Wednesday, September 10th, 2014 at the clubhouse. This will begin at 6:30 pm. The club will provide the burgers and buns, drinks, and eating utensils. Just bring a side dish (salad, veggies or dessert) of your choice. This BBQ will take the place of our September general meeting. Your friends and family are certainly welcome.

After the BBQ our next gathering will be the Platte River Revival on September 27th, 2014 at 9:00 am. Check in at Mike Lansing Field before 9:00. You will have to drive from Lansing Field to another location to work so you need to arrange for your transportation. Be sure and let them know you are participating as part of Wyoming Flycasters. This is a very worthwhile gathering to help clean up the Platte River. We need to support this outing as the river has really helped put Casper on the map as far as fishing is concerned. Our river is so beautiful, we are the envy of many communities. If you failed to get on the sign-up sheet at the last meeting, I encourage you to come and join us anyway to help out.

Now let's all “Save The Date” for a day of fishing at Miracle Mile. This is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2014 and Casey Leary is the streamkeeper. Further details will follow, but I hope you keep this in mind and come join the fun.

Well that's about all the upcoming and past activities and events. Hope to see ya!

Keep a tight line,

Bob

4 September 2014

2014 Ten Sleep OutingAnother year is slipping past us and I think that I can safely say that we can log yet another successful Tensleep Outing in the books.

First of all I would like to express my thanks to several people:

Randy Stalker for helping me set up the awning on Thursday evening after I arrived at the campground.

Lee & Cheryl Wilson for their assistance over the weekend.

Gene & Deb Theiralt for the brats, salads, and deserts on Friday night.

Everyone who furnished sides and deserts for Saturday night’s dinner.

Theresa for another great 5 gallons of gumbo.

If I missed anyone, it certainly was not intentional and I apologize for the omission.

On Friday night we had 12 or 14 that made it for brats and I counted 21 at dinner on Saturday.

The weather was pleasant again this year and the fishing was also very good. From what I heard we had some members that stayed with the tried and true spots and others went exploring. I personally found a new spot that was just amazing. I literally had 3 flies torn up in about two hours time. I guess that even a blind pig can find an acorn now and again.

Next year, if he is willing, we will have Matt back at the helm along with the new addition to the Stanton clan. I know that you all missed Matt’s breakfast and all that I can say is that I was selfish and wanted to fish. I sincerely hope that everyone who attended had a good time and I very much enjoyed be your stream keeper this year.

Thank You again, one and all who made the outing a success.

On a side note: I just returned from a backpacking trip in the Shoshone National Forest where we fished a couple of the alpine lakes above 10,000 ft. If I can figure out the technology I will put together a short power point for one of our general meetings. I am entertaining the idea of putting together a trip again next year for anyone in the club that may be interested in going up there as a weekend outing. It’s not an “easy” hike in but it also isn’t difficult either. I made it.

PS. Just to possibly peak a little interest, there are supposed to be Goldens in the lake.

Lee

6 September 2014

Some things are worth getting up early for.First cast as the sun breaks upon the water.The early morning bugling of the elk or the howl of the wolves in Yellowstone.The first rays of the sun for that softest light that makes best photos.Bob and Annie added one more to their list of early morning adventures, hot air ballooning. At the Flycaster’s annual auction in April, Bob Homer had the winning bid of $660.00 for the Hot Air Balloon ride that I am able to donate. Two more rides were sold at that same price for a donation of $1980. With all of the proceeds going to the Wyoming Flycaster Association and all the expenses borne by me. As I said at the banquet, this will not be an annual donation, nor will I donate a balloon flight to any other charitable event other than the Flycasters. I want this to be something unique and special so as not to dilute its value. It is not easy turning down the Boys and Girls Club or any of the other non-profits looking for donations. As the high bidder, Bob Homer got the right of first refusal to the ride. The ride is dependent upon several factors: the wind, at the most cannot be above 7 mph, rain – I will not fly the balloon if there is a storm within 150 miles of our launch site on the chance that a storm cloud can collapse and cause sudden gusts of wind or if any of a myriad of conditions are present that would be conducive to a fun flight. Casper, with its reputation for wind, has a distinction among the balloonist who come here the annual Balloon Roundup at the end of July, as a rally with a very high flight rate. We have been able to launch for over 92% of our schedule dates. One the basic rules of flying hot air balloons is that it is going to be fun. If the flight is not going to be fun, then we are not going to fly. As Bob found out it may take several attempts before the flight is made. I can read weather reports 3 days out that may give an indication that conditions might be suitable to flying. The night before a flight I can go to BLASTVALVE.com/weather, a weather site that is geared to balloonist and have a very good idea about flying the next morning. That is when I start calling people to see if it can come together. For Bob and Annie, that was Sunday the 10th of August. Launching and landing a balloon is a multi-person endeavor. The basket and envelope are packed into a trailer, along with a gas generated fan to cold inflate the envelope. With a total weight of over 700lbs., it takes some crew. Besides my regular volunteer crew of my wife , MaryJo (she laughs at the term “volunteer”), crew chief Seth Rauch and his sister, Emma, and Jennifer, I was able to get a couple of club members to help out, Casey Leery and John Dolan. We met across from the city golf course at a large field that Dr. Emerick Huber has let us use for launching. MaryJo served orange juice and cinnamon coffee cake to start the morning. On board snacks during the flight are lacking as the basket holds only 3 people at the most. Crew assignments are handed out. A briefing is given of what will happen during all phases until the balloon is packed up again. I call a FAA weather briefing number to get a final weather briefing and to also let them know of a balloon in flight in the area is. A helium filled PIBALL, pilot information balloon, set free to show us just how the winds are blowing and which direction they are going. Another is tethered to my pickup truck that will chase us. As I come in for a landing, I will look for it to tell me info about the ground winds. Winds are from the west at about 4 mph. We will be flying to towards the mall. With all going correctly, the envelope is inflated with cold air by the fan and then heat is added by the burner. With the balloon standing up over six stories tall, Bob and Annie are invited into the basket, with the caveat that once they are in the basket, they may not leave until I give them permission to. Their weight is now a critical factor to the buoyancy of the balloon. They are

Hot Air Balloon Ride


also told what and where they can hold onto and what they cannot hold or pull. Pulling the wrong line could let hot air out of the top of the envelope.All the while I am adding heat from the burner trying to find that point where we will just lift off the ground. And just like that we are in the air. Floating with the wind so there seems to be no sense of motion, just floating. As we leave the ground, I thank my crew. I have sent them a “GLYMPSE” from my Iphone. They can track my flight from their cell phones. It will take them a few minutes to pack up the equipment used to launch the balloon and join in the chase, so the Glympse helps them find me. Casey will chase from his motorcycle and John from his car. Annie and Bob tell me they are just enthralled with the flight. This has been on their bucket list for quite a while since the flight was canceled in Colorado. They never dreamed that it would happen in their home town of Casper. As we fly over the city, we hear the sounds of the people below. Sounds carry up. The blast of the burner is heard below. People come out to investigate and see a large balloon floating above them. Children love it, dogs are scared by it. As we fly to the south of the radio tower at 15th and Beverly, we see 2 police cars in the lot. Our chase crew has caught up with us. One of the cops stops and talks to John Dolan. It is his nephew, who came from Minnesota to join the Casper police force. We fly over the construction of the Kelly Walsh High School heading on a track to fly close enough Bob and Annie’s home, that we can inspect the gutters. We fly at different altitudes as the wind will change directions due to the Coriolis Effect of the earth’s rotation. We fly over the new apartments near the mall and on towards crossing Second St, near Highland Church.

Noticing the ground winds are now faster than when we launched, I explain why we will be looking for a landing site soon. High wind landings are not fun, and that breaks the basic principle of flying balloons, that it is going to be fun. We go up high over some power lines and come back down looking for the best landing spot around. One that is near the road so the truck be loaded easily and that the field won’t have something that will poke a hole in the envelope.

We land in one hop on the field in front of Menards. The chase crew is there as we land. We can lay out in the street and pack it up easily without disrupting what little traffic there is. I let Bob and Annie and the chase crew know that we are far from finished with this adventure. It is traditional to have first time balloonist go through a ceremony to commemorate their flight. The history of ballooning is covered along with why champagne has an important role. I would tell you more about the ceremony, but I won’t. It is something that you need to experience for yourself To show appreciation to the crew, which woke up early, to do all the work and get none of the glory, we have a tailgate party. Having found a good olive salad locally, todays tailgate is Muffaletta sandwiches, a favorite from New Orleans.Thanks to MaryJo, Seth, Emma, Jennifer, Casey and John for coming out to crew. Yes John, it is worth getting up early for. And to Bob and Annie, both of whom took a little longer to return to earth than the balloon. Ask any balloonist and we will all tell you, there is no greater joy than to be able to help fulfill the dream of a lifetime of so many people.

Neal Hibschweiler

“When first you have tasted flightYou will forever walk the earth with your head turned skywardFor there you have beenAnd there you will always long to be”Leonardo DeVinci

8 September 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


Pattern Description:The Griffith's Gnat was designed by the famous sheriff from Mayberry, Andy Griffith, to catch those darned redears that he and Opie were so fond of chasing. It can imitate both a cluster of mating midges as well as a single adult midge when tied in the right sizes. I prefer to tie mine with somewhat undersized hackle, to let the fly sit lower in the surface film. I often trim the hackle on the bottom of the fly flush to the body to further this low posture. This is truly a great fly for our western midge hatches and is a very simple pattern to tie.

Materials Needed: All materials used here available for mail order. Please use the contact form for pricing and details.Hook: TMC 101 #16-26Thread 8/0 or 10/0 blackHackle: GrizzlyBody: Peacock herl

Griffith’s Gnat

Start the tying thread right behind the eye and build a smooth thread base to the bend of the hook.

Select, size and prepare a grizzly hackle feather. I like to shoot for about one to one and a half gaps on the hackle length.

Tie the hackle feather in at the bend of the hook with the outside of the feather facing up. Wrap forward over the bare stem and clip the excess.

Select six or eight fine peacock herls. Clip the tips of the herls so they are even and tie them in by their tips at the rear edge of the hook eye.

Wrap back over the peacock with the tying thread to the bend of the hook. Return the thread to the hook eye.

Wrap the peacock forward in slightly overlapping turns to the back of the hook eye and tie them off with a couple tight turns of thread. Clip the excess peacock flush against the hook shank.Wrap the hackle forward from the bend

to the eye in tight spiraling turns. I usually go heavy on the hackle figuring I can pare it down later if needed. Tie the hackle off at the hook eye and trim the excess.

Finished fly, side view. Yes, I know it wasn't really Andy Griffith...;-)

Courtesy of Charlie’s Flybox www.charliesflyboxinc.com

10 September 2014

Several years ago, the Board allocated money to purchase videos of likely interest and value to members. Bill Wichers, Bob Fischer and Spencer Amend looked over various fly fishing video catalogues and purchased a fair selection: everything from casting to tying to fly selection and reading waters. The library is kindly maintained at the Ugly Bug. WFC members may check out the videos, and return them at a reasonable interval.

Video Library

Fall Barbeque The WFC Fall BBQ will be held on September 10th at 6:30 p.m.

We will be providing the burgers, brats, buns, and plates.

Please plan to join us and bring your own drinks (whatever you’d like), and please bring a side dish or a dessert to share with everyone. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there!

This barbeque will be held in place of the general meeting in September!

Thanks! See you all there!

Wyoming Fly Casters 11 Secretary’s Report August 20, 2014 Call to order: 7:01 p.m.Members in attendance: Bob Homer, Kelly Kukes, Derrick Dietz, Spencer Amend, John Yost, Joe Meyer, Lee Wilson, and Cheryl Wilson.Kelly made a motion to approve the previous meeting minutes. Spencer seconded. All in favor.There was no treasurer’s report to review or approve- approval will remain on hold until the next meeting.We heard a presentation from Eagle Scout Brad. He is seeking help from the club, and from other members of the community, to build a picnic shelter out near Walker Jenkins, in Shirley Basin. There will be a small shelter, picnic table, fire pit, and parking lot. It will be 18’ x 18’ square, with two sides enclosed for wind. He estimates the total cost of the project to be about $4,000-$4,500. He has had a few donations and promises to help him in the community, including Game and Fish and Bridger Steel. The land has been donated by landowner at the 7E Ranch- Todd Heward. The landowner currently grants access to the area via the Game and Fish.The board discussed how much we are willing to donate to the project. There were several concerns/questions raised by board members.1)What would happen to the shelter should the land change owners? 2) Trash collection and maintenance of the site? 3)Signage to acknowledge donors? A motion was made by Derrick to donate $1,500 to his project, with the following stipulations: 1) Talk to the landowner and find out what happens should the land change ownership, 2) Trash collection to be made a priority- Brad needs to come up with a plan to maintain the shelter, including trash, and 3) Include the Flycasters and all other donors on a sign or plaque. We will also be reimbursed in full should the project be canceled.

Kelly discussed Lyin’ and Tyin’ which will start again in November. She will have a few flies each month that we will plan to learn. This will be in addition to any other flies that people would like to learn, and seasoned tiers who just want and excuse to come tie flies and chat.

We are looking into ordering more banners, signs, etc for the club, to be used for club events. Bob Homer will look into options and pricing.

There will be casting practice and possibly some fishing in the pond behind the clubhouse during the annual picnic this month.

The Miracle Mile outing will be held on October 11th. The Platte River Cleanup will be September 27th.

Healing Waters will be participating in Thankful Thursdays next spring.

We will start working on the Christmas party plans and have tickets available in October.

Bob made a motion to add Kelly Kukes to the club bank account effective immediately. All in favor.

Meeting adjourned 8:15 p.m.

-Cheryl W.

12 September 2014

Flycaster of the MonthName: Peter J Rohde

What is your occupation? Retired

Where are you from? New York

Why did you join the Wyoming Flycasters? Original member. one of the founders

What is your favorite rod to use? imx 4 6 8 weight.

What is your favorite fishing experience? All of them! The least important thing about trips is catching fish.

What advice could you give new members to the club? Get involved. The things that you are involved in will remain with you your entire life.

If you could fly fish anywhere in the world, where would you go? Yellowstone

Besides fly fishing, what are some of your other hobbies? Sporting clays hunting birds with my dog.


Letter fromthe EditorFlycasters,

I apologize for not getting this issue out sooner. I planned on giving everyone information on the Tongue River outing. I really hope that at least a few of you were able to get out there and enjoy the last good camping trip of the season! I will hopefully have pictures and a write up of the trip in the next issue of the Backcast!

Just a few things to keep in mind for the next month. The annual BBQ will be held on September 10th. We will start at 6:30 p.m. Please bring a side dish or a dessert to share with everyone- we will be providing the burgers and brats. We hope to see everyone there!

The Platte River Revival will be on September 27th. Please contact Kelly Kukes if you want to participate as a member of the club, and she will make sure you get to where you need to be.

The Miracle Mile outing will be on October 11th. Casey Leary will be the streamkeeper for us on this outing. This is a pretty informal outing, but there will be a BBQ lunch served.

Thank you to everyone who made it out for the Ten Sleep trip- it was a lot of fun!

If you have fishing pictures or articles to include in the next issue let me know! I also need a few more people to take the survey for the Flycaster of the Month- I have a few more to go but then I’m out!

Thanks for reading guys. Until next time.

Cheryl

14 September 2014

At the general meeting in August, we heard from Lyle with the Bureau of Rec. He discussed the flows of the river, the snow pack and run-off, and what they do to maintain flows in the North Platte.

To find out what the BuRec is planning or doing with water on our river, folks can do the following:

www.usbr.gov > Great Plains Region > Water Operations > Water Management Information > WYAO Water Change Order > Gray Reef Reservoir Operation > NPR110-14

This is the current order, which states that they have ordered the flow to be reduced from 700 cfs to 500 cfs effective yesterday. Lyle indicated at the meeting that they would reduce winter flows to 475, if I recall correctly. This means another small reduction sometime, but not yet ordered.

Other dams are included on the WYAO page; of interest might be that until further notice the flow below Boysen Dam is to be kept at 1500 cfs.-Spencer Amend

Flows and the north Platte river


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Calendar September 2014

BOARD MEETING7:00 P.M.

A look ahead:• The Miracle Mile outing will

be on October 11th.• Lyin’ and Tyin’ is set to start the

second Saturday in November.

ANNUAL BBQ6:30 P.M.

TONGUE RIVER OUTING

TONGUE RIVER OUTING

PLATTE RIVER REVIVAL

SEPTEMBER 2

01

4Wyoming Fly CastersP.O. Box 2881Casper, WY 82602

The Backcast - September 2014

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Transcript of The Backcast - September 2014