slff may 2020 - santa lucia fly fishers may newsletter.pdfmay 2020 board member’s message rick...

MAY 2020

In this month’s newsletter

• Board member message from Rick Saval

• SLFF Donation Spotlight: The Land Conservancy of SLO

• Special Donation Spotlight: Our Guide Partners

• Special Donation Spotlight: Chad McPartland’s Gear

• Details on upcoming events….and more!

The Santa Lucia Fly Fishers fly fishing club was established in 1975 to give local area fly fishers of San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Santa Maria and northern Santa Barbara, CA, of all skill levels, participation in a club to learn, share and experience the challenges of our sport in salt water surf, and fresh water rivers and lakes

SLFF Tight Lines Newsletter MAY 2020 Page 1

Save-the-Dates

• 9/19/20: Annual Club banquet

• All other events are postponed, tentative, or cancelled until further notice

Reminders

• 2020 membership fees ($35) are due for 2020! Please mail your check to: SLFF at PO Box 166, SLO, 93406.

TIGHT LINES http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com | San Luis Obispo County |Editor: Eric Tinglof

Ray Belknap fishing at Little Crater Lake, Northern CA

http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.comhttp://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com

MAY 2020

Board Member’s Message Rick Saval

Along the way I blinked

and turned gray. Let us

hope that we all blink and

these difficult times will

be behind us. My fly fishing experience

is limited so don't have

any fish tales to share.

Got back into fly fishing

three years ago after a 10

year gap. When living in

Las Vegas NV would go

with a guide to lakes and streams in SW Utah. Caught fish , but did not learn how to fish. Finding that a fly fishing club was in SLO was a big surprise. Have learned a lot from meetings,

workshops, and one on one guidance. My main hobby continues to be birding. Currently we are in

spring migration. Perhaps some will find birding of interest now. Seeing birds is easier than

catching fish, all one needs is binoculars. And one gem is that SLO and Santa Barbara Counties are

the only locations in the world to see Yellow-billed Magpies. Easy to see going from town of Santa

Margherita to Santa Margherita Lake. Back to fly fishing: one site I’ve looked at a lot is Mad River Outfitters https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8J2w-RuMBJz-aLAyJyluBw The lessons and Q&A are great, particularly for a beginner. . Best regards, Rick Saval


MAY 2020

Annual Club Banquet RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2020

Jim SnodgrassTo All Fly Tiers:

Plans are underway for the annual SLFF Banquet, where a silent auction will be held. One of the hot items each year at the silent auction are fly boxes filled with 12 handmade flies, tied by members of the Fly Tying Group.

The Club provides the fly boxes; you tie your favorite flies; you provide a list of the flies in the box; and then you turn in the fly box filled with flies to the club.

This is a great way to support the club and the fly tying group.

Please email me ([email protected]) if you want to participate in this project; your name will be placed on the list for a fly box and I will see that the box is delivered to you.

Thanks for your support.

Guest Speaker: Kesley Ga!agherKesley Gallagher has been fly fishing since she was 10 years old. She has traveled to such places as Labrador for trophy brook trout, the Bahamas and Hawaii for bonefish, Louisiana for trophy redfish, Belize and the Mexican Yucatan for permit, Costa Rica for trophy tarpon, and throughout the United States. Kesley has obtained 12 IGFA records on fly thus far and enjoys competing in tournaments such as the

Ladies Tarpon Fly Tournament in Islamorada, Florida, which she won in 2018. In 2019, she toured the Southern California fly fishing clubs and presented on an introduction to flats fishing for redfish, bonefish, permit, and permit. She also teaches fly fishing for women every fall with the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers in Kernville, CA. Kesley currently sits on the Cal Trout Southern California advisory committee, is a Simms and Orvis Pro, and works for Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA.


mailto:[email protected]

MAY 2020

Next Fly Tying Session with Jim Snodgrass: CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

SLFF Donation Spotlights

Our Guide Partners

Supporting the guides that have supported us.

We know our guide friend's business has been affected by the virus. They have been supporting our fundraisers over the years, so the board voted to support them and authorized sending $100 payments to George Durand, Beryl Rea, TJ Massey, Jordan Romney, Pat Jaeger, Scott Sugimoto, Jon Baiocchi, Mark Pinto, Lance Gray, Chris Wharton & Mark Antaramian. When this is over with, let's make it a point to book a trip with them.

Here are a few of the thank you responses that the club received:

Please convey my sincerest thanks to your club for the thoughtful letter and generous check. It has been my pleasure speaking for, donating to and working with your club for all these years. I hope I can meet and share my experience and knowledge with any new members wanting to start out this wonderful


NEXT SLFF MEETING

CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

MAY 2020

journey into our sport. Of course I always love helping any one wanting to learn new waters and polish up on technique! Thanks again for the gift and kind words, it means the world to me! Take care, Mark Pinto

Please let the SLFF board of directors know I greatly appreciate the donation check! It was a complete surprise.

I'm hanging in there the best I can, and actually doing quite well despite our current situation.

Take care, talk soon! – Jon Baiocchi

I appreciate the club thinking about Kirsten and I.

I would like to send the club a fly box with flies in it - to auction off to raise money to cover my check. I appreciate you folks also. The fly fishing community is my family and I would like to say thank you.

Lance Gray

I hope you all are healthy, happy and gracefully navigating through these weird times. Just home from Texas and discovered the check your club sent us for $100.00. Man, that is very kind. We really appreciate, that above and beyond the call of duty. Heartfelt thank you,

Patrick Jaeger and Family


MAY 2020

Chad McPartland’s Gear

Proceeds from the sale of Chad McPartland's donated gear.

WOW we sold everything and raised over $2,000. With this success we were able to share some of the proceeds with Chad's wife Marlene and her family and have a nice amount left over. It was Chad's wish that we use the funds to help some deserving folks get involved in fly fishing and we're "fishing" for ideas on how to best accomplish this. First how do we identify those with a need (scouts, veterans, cancer survivors, etc.) and how do we help them (purchase starter outfits, pay for classes, etc.) and we're hoping to get some of your ideas. Please email your recommendations to Charlotte Kelley at [email protected]

Hi Lew, received check today, thank you so much and I know Chad would be happy he could have helped the club! Take care! Marlene

SLFF Donation Spotlight The Land Conservancy of SLO County

The Land Conservancy of SLO County works to permanently protect and enhance lands having

important scenic, agricultural, habitat and cultural values for the benefit of people and wildlife.

This organization was established in 1984, to conserve and care for diverse wildlands and to

highlight the importance of being good stewards of the land. To date, they have permanently

preserved 24,000 acres in our County including clean fresh water. Along these lines, they have

undertaken several water restoration projects, repairing 5 miles of stream banks and removing 11

barriers to fish passage.

We should all be proud in supporting this fine local organization.



MAY 2020

Have you ever considered the dangers of our sport? Fly-fishing is fraught with them, peril is everywhere. Start with the drive and fighting cellphone-driving fools, then following vague directions with sudden turns on gravel roads.

Assuming you make it in one piece, there are those steep drop-offs at the shoulder where you parked as you bushwhack toward the sound of water. Watch that rod! Don’t snag those waders! Watch out for that suspicious bull eyeing you across his meadow! Snakes can pose a threat as can low tree limbs, poison oak, slippery cow pies, biting insects, dead fall and you haven’t even made the water yet.

Have you applied sunscreen and does that hat sufficiently cover your ears? Hope you took the right path. Are you trespassing? Are you lost? Don’t slip as you grab a bush limb to slide down the last 4 feet to the river bank.

Ahhh, you are here but, the dangers increase. Where there is water one can drown. Be careful stepping on mossy rocks and those deep crevices hidden below the surface are ankle twisters. Is this tail water starting to rise? Be careful with that split shot, many a tooth has been chipped. And, it is good you removed that barb, think of it as self-protection. Flailing that sharp hook of metal is meant for the fish I know but, that is another good reason to wear a hat. This could be a brutish river you are in. That somber white cross on the bank with a wicker creel hanging from it is suspicious. Is that a deep hole? Tighten that chest belt on your waders. Can I get to that spot in this fast moving water? Where is my stick?

Does it feel at times that you are indeed the prey? That is because that trout is luring you deeper, into that treacherous current. Trout do have their ways, so beware. Are you getting hot yet? Better hydrate, oh, but now where to pee. And that wind is beginning to pick up and I must be careful reaching for that bush that has my fly. Now I am cold and the clouds are moving in. What are the first signs of hyperthermia?

Phewww. So, even though fly-fishing is thought of as a serene sport, we know better. We know the real pluck it takes to go out there and risk oneself with fish and the dangers intricately entwined. You are not merely a fisher you are person of courage and daring. So, when you get back home, look in that mirror again and smile.


MAY 2020

Woolly Bugger: The go-to fly

This isn’t Montana, Your Not Norman Maclean, and the Woolly Bugger isn’t all that. This was a bumper sticker a guide buddy of mine had printed up a few years back. It was prominently displayed for his clients to read when they pulled up to greet him. That’s one hell of an ice breaker for checking fishing egos at the boat ramp, let me tell you. I give my boy J.E.B. Hall props for his comedic humor and gutsy style. For those of you who don’t know J.E.B., he’s a veteran Western North Carolina guide, Author of Southern Appalachian Fly Guide, and has spent multiple seasons guiding at Alaska West. Meet him one time and you’ll say to yourself, “this guy is the funniest guy I’ve ever met in my life”. Most anglers fall into one of two categories when it comes to their perception of woolly buggers. They either love them or despise them. I love the fly pattern for two reasons. First, for its impressionistic design that’s capable of mimicking many different trout foods, and second, for its versatility in how the pattern can be fished. It’s rare for me to not break out a woolly bugger at some point during the day. When trout aren’t biting, I almost always can find fish willing to snack on them. The only time I keep woolly buggers out of the game and sitting on the bench, is when I’m fishing water where dry flies are the only thing required. I believe in the woolly bugger so much, If I only had one pattern that I could take with me fishing, that would be it. Why the woolly bugger, you ask? Because it has probably caught more species of fish on this planet than any other fly pattern created since fly fishing was born. Now if I asked Jim Teeny, he would probably argue with me on this one, but what can I say, 90% of the time Jim strictly fishes his signature Teeny Nymph. And why shouldn’t he, the man has caught everything from steelhead to 100lb. tarpon on that fly. But if the tables were turned, and Jim Teeny would have invented the woolly bugger, I’d lay out a strong bet that’s what he’d be fishing instead. I meant no disrespect towards Jim Teeny, the man is a fish catching machine and a pioneer of the sport. He was just the perfect person to make my point on how effective woolly buggers are at catching fish, and I honestly couldn’t help myself. The Design and Theory behind the Woolly Bugger The Woolly bugger looks very simplistic at a quick glance, but look at it a little longer, and you’ll see its not your average, run of the mill, fly pattern. When you take the time to break apart the woolly bugger and study its design closer, you’ll notice each element of the fly carries both equal weight and importance, and they all play off each other brilliantly. The woolly bugger’s flawless design was created by a fly tier that understood how important it was for a fly pattern to not only have the ability to take on a multitude of characters (food sources), but also a large scope of fishing applications. It can be dead drifted, swung, or stripped, and it’s equally effective in all three cases. The reason the woolly bugger works so well, is because the pattern does a marvelous job of representing trout food that fall into each category. Dead drift a woolly bugger and it’s very effective at imitating stoneflies, hellgrammites and leaches. Swing and strip the fly and it looks just like sculpins, crayfish and other native minnows darting through the water.


http://www.amazon.com/The-Southern-Appalachian-Fly-Guide/dp/0982737912

MAY 2020

If you want to dial in closer to a specific food source, just match the color woolly bugger to the food source you’re wanting to imitate. Very few fly patterns on the market are capable of imitating both aquatic insects, and finned specimens, and that’s what makes the woolly bugger so special. Most of the time you really don’t even have to worry about getting a drag free drift. From a fishes point of view, it looks like food whether the pattern is dead drifting the same speed as the current, moving across current or moving faster than the current. And because the pattern is generally of substantial size, it represents a large meal that most fish usually don’t want to pass up. Go ahead, tie on a super realistic stonefly nymph and argue it will do a better job of imitating stoneflies than the woolly bugger. You’ll catch fish, I won’t argue that, but when you do tie it on, you’re limiting yourself to strictly imitating stoneflies. Tie on a woolly bugger and you’ll not only be imitating stoneflies, but also another half dozen other food sources. I’m not telling you what to fish, but doesn’t it make sense that the more food sources you can imitate at once, the better the chances you’ll find one of them, that day, on the trout’s menu? This is the single reason why I feel woolly buggers are so productive. If you’ve found yourself lately benching your woolly buggers like their inexperienced rookies on a sports team, put them in the game next time you’re on the water and the fish are ahead on the scoreboard. You just might find they’re the key to pulling off a victory.

Source: https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly-fishing/fly-fishing-the-woolly-bugger-isnt-all-that-or-is-it/


https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly-fishing/fly-fishing-the-woolly-bugger-isnt-all-that-or-is-it/https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly-fishing/fly-fishing-the-woolly-bugger-isnt-all-that-or-is-it/

MAY 2020

UPCOMING EVENTS

MANZANITA LAKE OUTING (TENTATIVELY) June 14 to 16th, 2020

This majestic place with its snow-covered alpine peaks and natural beauty, wild trout and quality fishing brings us back year after year. The place attracts also a lot of non -fishers, and because of this, there is a shortage of camp-sites especially in the week-end around the time of the club outing. If you are interested: I urge you to RESERVE YOUR SITE NOW.

For those new to the lake:this is a fair assessment of what you can expect during your stay.In spite of the overall good fishing the lake is knew for, it can also be challenging : keep in mind these 14 to 18+inch trout are catch and release, wild, and at times highly educated as to what they will eat. Speaking from my own experience: me and many of us have encountered situations when we individually tried to figure out what was going on with this trout. Was it the wrong fly, the retrieve ,the weather,or simple trial and error ? When you do figure it out, it can pay off BIG TIME.What some of us really like about Manzanita: this is one of the rare still-water beauties that can teach us a lesson and challenge us to rise up to the occasion. It awakens the best in us to succeed, step up our fishing-skills to become a more self confident still-w. fisher

Fishing is primarily done in 4 to 10 ft of water, with long 12 to 17 ft leaders (there are exceptions with shorter leaders) over submerged weed-beds.Most of us begin to fish mid -morning and stop by mid-afternoon.In general the fishing is slow between 3 and 7pm:this will give you ample time to have dinner and be ready for the evening fishing. If the fishing gods were not on your side during the day, you still have a good shot for great fishing in the evening. The lake comes back to life when the sun is of the water around 7:30 pm .The dry-fly activity can start at that time with improving results later in the evening until dark.During this low light period the fish are much less picky and easier to fool, what was for some hard to achieve during the day is now working great.At the same time 8 to 9:30 pm stripping in a dark medium-size seal or w-bugger can be very productive,with explosive strikes! A floating device is the best way to go,however there are many good spots around the lake which can be fished productively from shore. We plan to have a daily get together around 5 pm in campsite C1.We will talk about what was working or not working ,and


MAY 2020

if necessary come up with an adjusted fishing plan for it ( this is very helpful for most of us ).A potluck get-together can be arranged for Thursday 6pm to 6:45+? WHERE: Manzanita Lake,Lassen National Park north entrance.Take highway 44 east out of Redding. WHEN: Sunday June 14th to 19th (some of us including,Saturday). ACCOMMODATIONS :Camping near the lake ( no hook ups) Motels are in Shingletown, about 14 miles toward Redding. RESERVATIONS:Recreation.gov or call 1-877-444-6777(most members are camping in loop C : Christine and I are in C1. TACKLE: 4-6 wt,floating line and hover line. LEADERS: for dry flies 12 to 17ft (including 5-6x fluorocarbon tippet) ,for nymphs 11 to 16 ft. DRY FLIES :Parachute Adams / Female Adams Callibeatis-cripples-duns all in size 14-18. Black Ants size 12- 14. NYMPHS: Pheasant tail / Gold Ribbed Hare's ear and flashbacks / Callibeatis Birds Nest all in size 14-18.Damsels(olive) size 12-14 / Zebra midge (dark) and chironomids in red 14-18. STREAMERS: small w-bugger (olive)size 8-10 during the day,mid-size w-bugger or zonker dark,size 6-8 for late evening. CA fishing license and live vest required ! CONTACT: for any help or info:call or e-mail Bernard Pieters at 805 489 3085 or [email protected]

2020 Expanded List of SLFF Outings and Events Lew Leichter

**NOTE: ALL DATES ARE TENTATIVE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Our 2020 schedule of Outings is starting to take shape. We will be offering some new fishing

venues as well as our traditional sites. The Outings schedule will be updated as we finalize

dates and outing coordinators. The updated Outing dates will be posted on our website

www.santaluciaflyfishers.com and announced in our newsletter. If you would like to help with

one of the outings, please let us know. These outings are a great way to meet fellow club

members and share fishing experiences.


MAY 2020

Below are proposed outings and events, as well as the point-of-contact for arrangements:

Rick Saval & Ken Baldwin: Fresh Water Outings

Don Wheeler & Jim Small: Salt Water outings

SANTA LUCIA FLY FISHERS 2020 OUTINGS & EVENTS

May TBD: Baum Lake Fishing Trip

Point-of-contact: Bob Bayer ([email protected])

May 30-31: Kelsey Bass Ranch

Hosted by: Kaweah Fly Fishers club outing/ Website: http://kelseybassranch.net

June TBD: Davis Lake:

Website: http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com

June 14-19: Manzanita Lake

Point-of-contact: Bernard Pieters ([email protected])

June 21-28: Lake Almanor

July TBD: Avila Bay Halibut Outing

Point-of-contact: Bernard Pieters ([email protected])

July 24: Crowley Lake, Mammoth

Website: http://out4trout.com

August TBD: Annual Members BBQ

October TBD: Pat Jaeger Workshop/Eastern

Sierra Outing

Website: http://www.jaeger-flyfishing.com

November TBD: O’Neill Forebay Stripers

Point-of-contact: Mark Shelton ([email protected])



MAY 2020

PRIVATE CASTING LESSONS AVAILABLE While our six IFFF certified casting instructors generously put on a series of free casting clinics for our club members each spring, we wanted you to know they are also available for private casting lessons throughout the year.

If interested, please contact them directly for additional information.

Bernard Pieters Arroyo Grande 489-3085 [email protected] Eric Sherar Atascadero 423-0170 [email protected] Bob Hurd Arroyo Grande 550-9071 [email protected] Todd Tose Grover Beach 904-5288 [email protected] Sally Stoner Halcyon 550-9509 [email protected]


SLFF MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

An individual regular membership is $35.00 per year for 12 months (January

through December).

Enrollment after July 1st is $20.00 for the remainder of the year.

To join, please download the Membership Form from our website here:

http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com/membership-3

Send completed form with a check for dues to:

Santa Lucia Fly Fishers

P.O. Box 166,

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com/membership-3http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com/membership-3http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com/membership-3http://www.santaluciaflyfishers.com/membership-3mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

MAY 2020

SUPPORT IFFF AND YOUR LOCAL FISHING OUTFITTERS Do you want the SLFF Club logo embroidered on any garment? Contact R & T Embroidery…

current cost $7.75 each.


MAY 2020

SLFF CLUB OFFICERS/DIRECTORS/COMMITTEE MEMBERSOFFICERS HOME CELLPRESIDENT LEW LEICHTER (ACTING) 934-2476 452-0497VICE PRESIDENT (VACANT)SECRETARY SHERI BRYANT 474-8950 448-3369TREASURER ROBERT HARTZELL 650 722-1186

DIRECTORSART CHAPMAN 927-9660 540-1093RICK SAVAL 702 806-9436BERNARD PIETERS 489-3085MARK SHELTON 459-7863BOB BAYER 434-7905CHARLOTTE KELLEY 515 669-6897ERIC TINGLOF 417 861-0264

COMMITTEESCONSERVATION TOM NICKELSON 286-6881

RON BRYANT 474-8950 709-2987DOUG DANIELS (TIC) 937-0376 760 258-5045

MEMBERSHIP MARK SHELTON 459-7863ERIC TINGLOF 417 861-0264

NEWSLETTER ERIC TINGLOF 417 861-0264

PROGRAMS LEW LEICHTER 934-2476 452-0497ANTHONY BOZZANO 801-0517

OUTINGS SALT WATER JIM SMALL 733-1428 680-7917DON WHEELER 434-5089 610-3158NEAL BROWN 356-6038 781 789-3377

OUTINGS FRESH WATER RICK SAVAL 702 806-9436

KEN BALDWIN 481-8027 440-4200


MAY 2020

Questions or comments on the monthly newsletter? Contact Eric Tinglof at [email protected]

EDUCATIONROD BUILDING BOB BAYER 782-9193 434-7905

JIM SNODGRASS 235-3738

CASTING BERNARD PIETERS 489-3085ERIC SHERAR 461-3333

FLY TYING JIM SNODGRASS 925-5426 235-3738MIKE GRIFFITH 464-0622

BANQUET & BBQ SHERI & RON BRYANT 474-8950 448-3369

WEBSITE ROBERT BENASSI 541-2080 235-9713ART CHAPMAN 927-9660 540-1093

FUND RAISINGBOB BAYER (GEAR/SPECIAL ORDERS) 434-7905MARK SHELTON (GEAR)RICK SAMPLE (MEMBER GIFTS) 235-3551LEW LEICHTER (GUIDES/GEAR) 934-2476 452-0497

LIBRARY STEVE SOENKE 550-1715

SWCIFFF COORDINATOR LEW LEICHTER 934-2476 452-0497

NOMINATING LEW LEICHTER 934-2476 452-0497BERNARD PIETERS 489-3085MARK SHELTON 474-7863



MAY 2020

George Protsman preparing lobster for the wonderful annual dinner

Tom Nickelson fishing the upper Clavey river, Stanislaus N.F.

Andy Harrison with a nice largemouth bass at Fort Hunter Liggett


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