Monthly Publication of the Texas FlyFishers Volume 34, Issue 1, January 2015

Education and the Texas FlyFishers in 2015 The Texas FlyFishers is a Houston based non-profit organization associated with the International Federation of Fly Fishers and dedicated to the promotion of conservation, outdoors ethics and fly fishing education. Each year, the club offers four courses for the benefit of both the members and the general public. The courses offered by the club consist of Beginners Fly Tying, followed by Intermediate Fly Tying; Beginners Rod Building and finally, the comprehensive Fly Fishing Academy. In addition to these, the club also offers basic and advanced casting classes at various times of the year.

All of these courses are designed with the most basic beginner in mind, and are progressive in nature, with each week’s class building on the lessons of the previous class, all leading up to each student having the ability to tie their own flies, build a rod on their own and, most importantly, go fly fishing with confidence. All courses and classes are taught by club members who have experience and expertise in the subject matter.

The first course of the 2015 curriculum is Beginners Fly Tying. This course covers the basic tools and materials essential to tying a fly. The course also includes a class, second to none, on entomology that is intended to acquaint the student with the various stages and life cycles of the most important aquatic insects encountered in the stream. Beginners Fly Tying begins with the student learning the basic, fundamental techniques required to tie a fly with natural materials used in patterns such as the Woolly Worm and Wollybugger. As each technique is mastered, the classes cover more complex tying styles required to tie various dry flies, nymphs, streamers and some saltwater patterns. Upon completion of this course, the student is fully capable of tying fish-catching flies in each of these groups.

Beginners Fly Tying kicks off on Monday, January 12, 2015, with registration at 6:30 pm and the first class beginning immediately after registration is completed. The class will meet for ten (10) consecutive weeks at the Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer, Houston, TX and, there is a $50.00 registration fee.

For additional information on Beginners Fly Tying, as well as the other classes offered by the Texas FlyFishers, please check the Education Tab on the TFF website or, contact the TFF Education Director, Frank Schlicht.

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Education and the Texas FlyFishers in 2015, Continued: Other courses offered by the Texas FlyFishers in 2015: Beginners Rod Building Course - Classes held on two consecutive Saturdays, January 24 & 31, 2015 at the Harris County District 3 Bayland Park Community Center is located at 6400 Bissonnet Street, Houston, Texas 77074. This course is under the direction of Joe Nicklo.

Intermediate Fly Tying Course - Begins on March 18, 2015

Fly Fishing Academy - Begins on March 10, 2015

Advanced Rod Building Course – Date and Time TBA

Casting Classes – Date and Time TBA

For class dates and times updates, please check the Education Tab on the Texas FlyFishers website.

This Month:

Monthly Meeting: The first monthly meeting of the New Year is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27th, 2015, kicking off at 6:30 pm and going until 8:45pm. January’s speaker will be Steve Hollensed, Orvis Endorsed Guide and IFFF Master Casting Instructor. Many club members have fished with Steve on Lakes Texoma and Ray Roberts for stripers and largemouth bass. Steve’s presentation will be on Fly Fishing for Bass. There will also be an update on the upcoming Dr. Ed Rizzolo Fly Tying Festival. The monthly meeting location is at the Community Center Building inside Bayland Park, 6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas 77074

Note: Steve Hollensed will also be giving casting instruction on an hourly basis all day Saturday, 1/24/2015, Sunday, 1/25/2015, Monday, 1/26/2015 and, on Tuesday 1/27/2015 up to meeting time TFF January monthly meeting. The cost is $75/hour and presently, only a few slots remain open on Saturday and Sunday. The location is tentatively set for Bayland Park, 6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas but, the location will be confirmed prior to the classes. For more information concerning the remaining slots or, to get your name on the waiting list, please contact Ray Johnson at: raymondjohnsonx@comcast.net or Jim Richards at: JimMRichards@comcast.net

Update: All though Monday is currently full, there are four remaining slots available as follows:

Saturday, January 24, 2015: Noon – 1:00 pm and, 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm Sunday, January 25, 2015: 9:00 am – 10:00 am and, Noon – 1:00 pm

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In Case You Missed It: From the November meeting, many of you asked for the speaker’s information. Since Danny Scarborough didn’t have any cards, here how to get in touch with him:

Danny Scarborough houstonflyfishing.com Phone: (832) 257-9578 Monthly Fly Tying: TBD

Other Club Events This Month: January Freshwater Outing – Guadalupe One Fly – Saturday, January 17, 2015, 8:00am - Rio Raft, 14130 River Road, New Braunfels, Texas. Mike Quigley – Outing Leader

Beginners Rod Building Course - Classes held on Saturday, January 24 & 31, 2015 – This is a two-day, all-day course, meeting from 8:00 am to 3:30pm with a break for lunch. (the instructor does permit a lunch break!). Classes are held in the Community Center Building in Bayland Park, located at 6400 Bissonnet Street, Houston, Texas 77074. Joe Nicklo - Instructor.

January Saltwater Outing – Chocolate Bayou – Saturday, January 31, 2015, the First Annual (?) Grand Slam Tournament. Loction: C hocolate Bayou Boat Ramp at FM2004 Bridge (GPS: 29,21180, -95.208719. Outing Leader: Don Hanselman, (713) 816-0884

Non-Club Events This Month: The Houston Boat, Sport & Travel Show – January 1st thru 11th, 2015, NRG Center, Admission: Adults – $10.00 Children ages 6 – 12 – $4.00 Children 5 and under – FREE, Go online for a $2.00 off admission coupon (Mon.-Thurs.), For more information: houstonboatshows.com

Red River Rendezvous 2015 – January 23rd thru 25th, 2015 at Beaver’s Bend State Park, Broken Bow, OK, Cost - $10.00 Per Person, To pre-register e-mail to- rrflyfisher@gmail.com , For more information, go to rrff.org

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Mark Your Calendars – Upcoming Events: 23rd Annual Dr. Ed Rizzolo Fly Tying Festival - Saturday, February 7th, 2015, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Join many of the finest fly tiers, representing Texas and the surrounding states, demonstrating how to tie everything from the smallest sizes of midge nymphs to giant saltwater flies. Featured Guest is Drew Chicone, Author of Feather Brain: Developing, Testing, & Improving Saltwater Fly Patterns. Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77098. Chris Sumers - Event Chairman.

Troutfest 2015 – GRTU Fly Fishing Exposition and Banquet, Friday, February 20th, 2015 (Banquet & Auction), February 21st & 22nd (Expo), Featured presenters: Kelly Gallup, Pat Dorsey, Wanda Taylor and Frank Smethhurst. Rio Raft, 14130 River Rd., New Braunfels, TX 78132. For additional information, www.grtu.org/troutfest

TFF Monthly Meeting – Tuesday, February 24th, 2015, 6:30 pm – Speaker: February’s speaker will Jim Pepper. Jim is the author of several books including ”Not Your Ordinary Fishing Stories”. Location: Community Center Building in Bayland Park, 6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas 77074.

Intermediate Fly Tying Course - Begins on March 18, 2015. Registration for this course is held at 6:30pm on the Monday night following the last Beginners Course Class, with the first class starting at 7:00pm. Students in the Beginners course have ‘first-right-of-refusal’ on the seats in this class.

This course is a continuation of the Beginners course, but goes into tying more complex types of flies. Students who have completed both courses are all proficient at tying, and are capable of tying any type fly they desire. They are also capable of looking at a new fly, figuring out how it was tied, and then going home and tying their own. Frank Schlicht – Course Instructor

Fly Fishing Academy - Begins on March 10, 2015 Registration for this course is held at 6:30pm on the second Tuesday of March, with the first class starting immediately upon completion of registration. There are five 2-hour classroom sessions, held at the church, and four 2-hour Saturday Morning casting classes, held at the Meyerland Plaza ponds (directions are provided at the first class). The casting classes are on the Saturdays following the first four classroom classes, and are typically held from 9:00am to 11:00am.

This program is designed to teach the most basic of fly fishing beginner about the rods, the reels, the lines, the leaders and tippets, and how to tie the most basic knots, in a classroom setting. There is also a class on accessory items that are also essential to the fly fisher. Frank Schlicht – Course Instructor

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Fly Of The Month:

Mini-Hopper By Ben Smith – Arizona Wanderings

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After a few requests, here are the fairly simple steps to tying the Mini-hopper. I cannot really take any credit for this fly as I have taken most of the ideas from other sources. Together it really does the trick as a summer terrestrial or caddis imitation pattern. Without further ado here we go:

Materials • Dry fly hook (preferably #12-14) • 2mm foam (I have found just about any color I tie up produces. The brighter colors are nice for rougher water. I buy sheets of foam at the craft store for a fraction of the price posted at most “fishing” stores and the craft store has every color of the rainbow.) • Dubbing and matching thread (I prefer black 6/0 thread and Hare Tron Dubbin in black. The dubbing is mixed with some silver and has a nice sparkle to it. The matching color is nice, as you tie in most of your material in the same spot.) • Elk Hair • Barred Sili Legs (I have tied both green and orange and have not distinguished much of a difference between the two) • Super Glue (Makes life easier when your fly can stand up to the punishment all day or until you lose it in a tree)

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Tying Instructions:

Tie in Thread Base

1/4 inch strip of foam

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Tying Instructions (Cont.):

I usually add a dab of super glue before attaching the foam with strong thread wraps

Tie in stacked elk hair

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Tying Instructions (Cont.):

Tie in barred legs

One more dab of super glue before pulling back the foam and tying it all down

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Tying Instructions (Cont.):

Whip Finish and Trim up the Foam

Underside

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Tying Instructions (Cont.):

Topside

On behalf of the Texas FlyFishers Club, I would like to express our most sincere thanks Ben Smith for the use of this tutorial in our newsletter. Please check out Ben’s website of “Arizona Wanderings” - azwanderings.com - for more of Ben’s patterns and the abundant hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities available in Arizona…like this one!

So, Until Next Month, Tight Loops

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The Texas FlyFishers Executive Committee Marcos Enriquez John Purcell Bob Brill President Vice President / Programs Secretary / Membership Raymond Lindeen Jim Richards Dave Kelly Treasurer Secretary Webmaster Corey Rich Mike Frankhoff Frank Schlicht Legal Conservation Chair Education Chair

Mike Graham Don Puckett Mike Quigley Communications Chair Freshwater Outings Chair Saltwater Outings Chair Chris Sumers Skip & Mary Kay Donovan Alex Blacque Dr. Rizzolo Fly Tying Festival Auction Chairs Door Prizes For more information, go to the club’s website at texasflyfishers.org