A Federation of Fly Fishers Club

Club Fly : Lady Todson November 2002

Scheduled Activities

11 Nov General Meeting, Doors open 7:00 PM NMGF Conf. Room, 566 N. Telshor Blvd. Las Cruces, NM Feature Topic: "Flyfishing the Northern Rockies ID & MT" by Al Trompler

18 Nov Board of Directors Meeting 7:00 pm NMGF Conference Room

16 Nov Work project on Penasco see details inside

Is it time for you to renew your MVFF Membership?

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

MEMBERSHIP Bob Pridgen (505) 526-9132

NOMINATING

BY-LAWS Ron Smorynski (505) 526-8086

PROGRAMS

HABITAT Ron Smorynski (505) 526-8086

AWARDS/BANQUET Paul Turner (505) 523-6880

CLUB WATERS Bob Silver (505) 522-6325

FFF LIASON

FUND-RAISING Bob Silver (505) 522-6325

CASTING CLINIC Norm Mabie (505) 522-3810

NEWSLETTER Jeff Arterburn (505) 524-0773

Our next meeting will be November 11 at the NM Game and Fish Office in Las Cruces. Doors open at 7PM. Our guest speaker will be Al Trompler who will talk about a recent fishing trip to Idaho and Montana. Al and his wife, Helen, spent several weeks traveling through Idaho and Montana to fish some of the well known and picturesque waters of the west. He’ll have some great slides. In addition, the pictures from this year’s annual San Juan trip will be ready for viewing too.

Last month we asked for your help on the lease to begin a long-term stream improvement project at the Runyan Ranch. We still will have this project, but we have decided to wait until early spring. This is because the heavy rain that fell about a month ago significantly changed the stream channel where we had planned to begin work on the restoration. The flood formed a broad riffle and the stream will need to form a new channel before we can redo the stream survey and make new measurements.

The heavy rain did provide some real benefits to the stream. Most notably it flushed most of the fine slit from the creek bed and created clean gravel bars just in time for the brown trout spawning period. The high water also washed away most of the heavy weed growth and created numerous new runs and holes. Paul Turner, Jeff Arterburn and young flyfisher Ben Clark checked out the water and reported seeing a good hatch of Tricos. The fish survived the high flows and are well distributed throughout the stream. They caught numerous healthy browns and rainbows, and had a "close-encounter" with one of the big browns.

Instead of the stream improvement project, this is what we’ll do tentatively on November 16th. We’ll make this day a combination fish stocking and work party day. We have purchased brown trout that will be stocked in the morning about 9AM. After stocking, we will cut debris that the high water pushed into the trees along the upper part of the lease. This debris has blocked the trails that were made last year. If you want to help or you want to share a ride, please contact a Board member or send an email to the Club’s website at www.mvff.org.

Equipment to Bring:

• Leather gloves
• Chainsaw, gas, and oil
• Waders or hip boots
• Lunch and water to drink

In Las Cruces we’ll leave from the K-Mart on Highway 70 at 6:30AM. Otherwise plan to meet at the Ellett ranch house at 9 AM.

Bob Silver

The November 11th General Club Meeting "Flyfishing the Northern Rockies in Idaho & Montana" by Al Trompler Doors open at 7:00 P.M. in the NMGF Conference Room

www.mvff.org

Current fishing and club information, newsletter, pictures, links to other fly fishing sites, info on the club’s Penasco Work Project, and more! to contribute information contact: Jim Hulsey,

Minutes MVFF Board Meeting 7:00 p.m. October 21, 2002

1. Al Trompler presented the treasurers report.
2. Bob Pridgen gave a membership report.
3. The status of the work project on the lease was discussed, and it was decided to focus efforts on clearing stream bank debris deposited by the recent high flows, combined with a stocking of brown trout on Nov. 16. The stream channel flow has changed below the lower bridge and bypasses the existing irrigation outlet. Gary Wee has donated stakes for the induced meandering project.
4. Club members have expressed an interest in a casting clinic, and the board will contact Richard Keding to try and accommodate this activity.
5. Paul Turner and Bob Silver will attend the Southwest Consolidated Sportsman Banquet on 10/24 representing the MVFF. The board agreed to sponsor the attendance of 3 NMSU fisheries students.
6. Organizational arrangements for the MVFF Banquet were discussed.
7. Nominations for MVFF officers and Board members will be solicited in the November newsletter.
8. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

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Nominations for 2003 MVFF Officers and Board

PRESIDENT:

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V. PRESIDENT:

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SECRETARY:

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TREASURER:

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Instructions for Fishing The MVFF Runyan Ranch Lease

Fishing the Rio Penasco Runyan Ranch Lease.

1. Contact Norm Mabie (505) 522-3810, email (NormMabie@aol.com) , 2711 Claude Dove Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88011 to obtain a fishing permit for $20.00 per day. Student permits (for over 12 years) cost only $12.00 per day. You must be a current MVFF member to fish, and wear your MVFF identification badge while on the property. Members can purchase a one-day, one-time permit for an out of town guest.

2. Follow NM 82 East from Cloudcroft or West from Artesia to get to the lease. Fill out your permit and place it in the drop box at the upstream parking site near mile marker 54. Keep the other stub on your person while fishing. You can either park here or drive to the downstream parking lot and park in the designated area. Don’t park inside the fence here or you could wind up locked in.

3. Head through the marked MVFF access gates and start fishing. The lower access lets you go downstream to several runs and nice pools, and the waterfall hole, or you can start upstream here to get to the middle section. The route from the upper lot will take you over the metal bridge where you can head up to the boundary and fish the tight, densely wooded section, or you can work down through the dark timbered deep holes past the pallet fence hole where the stream cover opens up through the middle section. Please close and latch the chains each time you cross the gates.

4. Come to the monthly meetings to hear the latest fishing reports. Feel free to contact the board members for additional information.

October 2002 issue of the Federation of Fly Fisher's ClubWire News Service

THE REVERSE LOOP CAST

Reverse Loop casts, wherein the fly travels beneath the fly line, are extremely useful when casting beneath mangroves or docks. This cast is executed with a sidearm casting motion. The forearm is rotated inward and the casting hand rises slightly at the end of the cast. The palm ends up facing backward when this rotation is completed. The desired result is best achieved if the casting stroke is ended when the fly rod is parallel to the target.

The advantage of this cast is that the body of the fly line protects the fly from overhead hang-ups as the loop unfolds beneath the obstacle. Also, since the loop is vertical, albeit upside down, the fly is less likely to encounter obstacles on either side as well.

The loop will collapse and the fly will be dumped into the water if the body of the fly line does hit an obstacle before the fly gets to the target: not pretty, but at least the fly can be retrieved without entanglement.

(by Dan Lagace of Florida's Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Club, courtesy of the FFF ClubWire Email Newswire)

FLY FISHING QUIZ

1. You are taking a novice caster stream fishing. What is one of the most important casts or techniques you would want to teach this new caster?

2. To recast a sinking line

3. In which case(s) would you direct your forward cast higher than your backcast?

4. If you hear a pop or snap when you begin your forward cast you should

Answers: 1(d); 2(a); 3(d); 4(b)

(by FFF Certified Master Casting Instructor Liz Watson of the Northwest Women Fly Fishers, courtesy of the ClubWire)

TYING STYLES

I find it interesting to look in another fly tier's fly box, especially the fly box of someone who has been at the craft long enough to develop a style. To a non-discerning eye their flies would not appear much different than the next tier's box except for the variation in patterns and sizes. If the styles are similar the differences may be hard for a novice to detect, to a practiced eye, however, the differences are vast. The cock of the tail, the length of the body, the set of the wings, the shape of the head are all hallmarks of an individual tier. The more experienced the tier, the more uniform will be the flies in his or her box. Both the good points and the flaws will be uniform, which sets that collection of flies apart from all others. If half a dozen accomplished tiers were each to tie a dozen flies of the same pattern and size and then all the flies were mixed together it would not be hard to sort them out again. Each individual‚s output would reflect not only his style and skill but also his interpretation of the pattern.

I especially like to examine the boxes of the master tiers when I have the opportunity to do so. It is not so much the patterns but more their style and approach to tying that I find fascinating. The subtle differences in the individual parts of the fly and how they come together to make the completed whole is worth the time to study carefully.

It is also interesting to note how one's style will change over time and this is largely related to the amount of time one spends at the vise. One's style changes as his skill improves but also as he tries to emulate the work of other tiers that he admires. Many tiers tend to specialize in one type of fly, say low water steelhead flies, which tends to crystallize their individual style much quicker than a tier who generalizes with many types of flies. The generalist will also have his own style, it just may not be as apparent.

Regions also seem to develop particular styles of flies. This can almost always be traced to a well known respected tier in that area. Two regions that immediately come to mind are the classic dry flies of the Catskill's and the wet flies around Dunsmire CA. The drys are characterized by their slim bodies and very small heads; the Dunsmire flies on the other hand have very chunky thick bodies with prominent heads. Granted they are two very different types of flies but the style of tying is still as different as night and day. Regional styles are not as well defined today as they were in yester-years before the time of the well-traveled fly fisher. One only needs to look at some of the older plates and collections to really appreciate an individual tier's style.

I would encourage novice tiers to study carefully the different styles of flies they see and to choose those characteristics that they find pleasing for their own tying. Knowing the techniques used in a fly's construction isn't always necessary to appreciate and copy its style, but it helps if you can get such information. At the same time one should strive to eliminate the technical flaws that he or she may unknowingly be introducing into their work. This sometimes can be difficult because it is hard to fix it if you don't know what's wrong.

(by Jim Cramer of the Russian River Flycasters of Santa Rosa, CA for the FFF ClubWire Email Newswire)

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BE SAFE IN THE COLD

USING PROPANE CALLS FOR CAUTION

So, you're all set for fall camping. You've got extra blankets, a few jackets, and the old propane tank is full and ready to go, right? Wrong, according to the Coalition for Portable Propane Product Safety.

The Coalition warns that many campers aren't as familiar as they should be with the care and safety required when using portable propane-fueled products in enclosed spaces like tents, truck campers or RVs. Campers need to be aware that improper use of propane-fueled products inside enclosures could result in carbon monoxide poisoning.

Outdoor appliances such as lanterns, stoves and portable heaters operate by combustion of propane fuel and oxygen. Combustion produces carbon monoxide. The greatest risk of carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when campers use a propane-fueled product as an overnight heat source in an enclosed space, even one with windows open.

Carbon monoxide is invisible, tasteless and odorless. Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

Carbon monoxide poisoning can result in unconsciousness and death. Be sure to use only installed propane furnaces in your RVs, and always have an operational carbon monoxide detector installed.

The Coalition has a free brochure on propane safety available by calling 1-888-226-7487, or visit the Coalition web site at www.propaneproducts.org.

(Kampgrounds of America, at www.koa.com)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS