wfc 11/08

vided by Alex Rose:The Lyin' and Tyin'

clinics will be held thisyear at the Wyoming Oil and GasConservation Commission. Mark yourcalendars for the following dates: Nov.15, Dec. 13, Jan. 17, Feb. 14, and March14. The clinics will be held between 9:00a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.

For new members not familiar withthese clinics, they provide an excellentopportunity for tiers of all skill levels tosocialize while tying flies. For those inter-ested in learning how to tie, this is yourchance to learn from some experts. Justbuy the materials, show up with a vice,and learn from the pros.

For more information, call Rose onhis cell phone at 828/467-3789 or e-mailhim at [email protected].

•The WFC banquet committee is

starting to plan the annual banquet inApril. If you are interested in becominga member of this committee, or anyother committee for that matter, pleaselet John Robitaille ([email protected])know as soon as possible.

anted: Someone to organize,publicize and host an outingat Miracle Mile this month.

The traditional outing at the club holeon the Mile has been named in honor ofRod Robinder, a late member, past presi-dent and MacTavish winner of the club.

If anyone volunteers to don thestreamkeeper cap for this outing,announce it at the club meeting on Nov.12. This used to be a popular outing, butit has not been held for at least threeyears due to lack of interest.

•If you’re like me and have difficulty

learning and then tying proper knots,perhaps these two instructional animatedweb pages will be of help. They were pro-vided by a tip from Spencer Amend.

Click on either one. They offer easy-to-follow directions.

www.animatedknots.com/indexfish-ing.php

ww.orvis.com/orvis_assets/files/index.html

•This late-breaking notice was pro-

Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter

take out, and if thereis any kind of con-frontation, the G&Fwould like to knowabout it. You may calleither the local office or the state officeto report if something unpleasant hap-pened to you during your outing. As Icurrently understand it, the shuttle serv-ices are continuing to use the landing ifyou choose to float that section. I alsounderstand the fishing is good, a bitmossy, but good if you choose to go outthere to fish.

I'm going back to work, hopefully I'llhave some fish stories to tell next month.

Hope to see you with a rod in yourhand and a rod in my hand soon!

The Backcast is the monthlynewsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters,an affiliate club of the WyomingCouncil of Trout Unlimited, theNature Conservancy and theFederation of Fly Fishers. Editorial con-tent does not necessarily reflect theviews of the officers, board or membersof the Wyoming Fly Casters.

Annual dues are $20 for an indi-vidual, $30 for a family, or $250 for alifetime individual membership or$450 for a lifetime family membership.

Visit the club website atwww.wyflycasters.org.

The deadline for submission ofinformation for each issue is the lastWednesday of the month. Make con-tributions to the next issue by e-mail-ing material to the Backcast editor [email protected], or call (307)436-8774.

OFFICERSJohn Robitaille, President

Joe DeGraw, President-electAlex Rose, Vice President

Tom Grogan, SecretaryEd Rate, Treasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORSTerms expire in 2009

Spencer AmendBob Fischer

Scott NovotnyRichard Soffe

Terms expire in 2010John Fanto

Jamie GibsonJoe Meyer

Gene TheriaultTerms expire in 2011

Darin O’DellKim LevineJim Sparks

Bill Wichers

The Backcast is available either inelectronic format or through USPSsnail mail. To receive each newsletterthrough a monthly e-mail, you must beable to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, asoftware format available free ofcharge) documents. Generally, eachissue is roughly 1 MB in size, some arelarger. Your e-mail provider may havelimits on the size of attachments. Inorder to be added to the e-mail list,send a request message [email protected]. In addition toreceiving each issue of the newsletterearlier than your hard copy peers, e-mail subscribers are able to print eachcopy in vibrant color -- an added plus ifthe issue is rich in color photographs.By subscribing electronically, you alsosave the club roughly $17.40 a year inprinting and postage expenses.

TTailing Loopsailing Loops

Cover shot: John Dolan casts his spey rod on the North Platte River.

W

by Randy Stalker,Backcast editor

Drag-free DrifDrag-free Driftsts

by John Robitaille, President, WFC

ctober has come and gone. I gotto fish twice. Work is cuttinginto my fishing time, and that

ain't right.The board heard from the Wyoming

Game and Fish Department at the lastmeeting regarding the Lusby situation.There has been a lawsuit filed, regardingwhere exactly the easement that wasgranted to the G&F might actually be inregards to the high water mark.Although signs are posted, suggesting tofisherman and hunters that the availabil-ity of the easement is no longer allowed,the G&F suggested to us that we are to goabout our business as if the easement wasnot in question. If you choose to go outto Lusby to fish or if you are using it as a

O

FFIISSHHIINNGG RREEPPOORRTTSSFrom the membership


Cutthroats from Yellowstone Lake, like this one, are in jeopardy due to predation by theunlawfully introduced lake trout. This is the subject of a program slated for the next gen-eral membership meeting on Nov. 12.

The general membership meeting ofthe WFC on Wednesday, Nov. 12 is slat-ed to feature a special program on theYellowstone cutthroat.

Richard Crystal remembers whenYellowstone Lake was a world-classangling destination, when an anglercould catch 60 large cutthroat trout with60 casts from a fishing rod.

Now, an angler will often struggle forhours before catching a single fish.

Crystal, a former park ranger andguide in Yellowstone National Park, is topresent his 45-minute program at thebeginning, rather than the end, of themeeting.

Crystal, 71, has fished atYellowstone Lake for approximately fourdecades. Between 1957 and 1960, he wasa college student, and worked his sum-mers as a fishing guide. Following col-lege, he worked four years as a seasonalpark ranger for Yellowstone NationalPark. Crystal fished at Yellowstone Lakeevery summer between 1972 and 2003,until the cutthroat trout became soscarce he stopping going.

The primary threat to cutthroattrout was the introduction of lake trout,an exotic species, which have decimated

Upcoming programs andclub outings outlined

The stretch from Lusby to gover-ment bridge continues to produce,and Joe Meyer shows the rainbowhe hooked in October.

Spencer Amend with a 4-1/2 lb., 21in. long rainbow from the “secretpond.” So many club members arevisiting the fishery, it may not be asecret for much longer.

cutthroat trout populations. Crystal saidthat one lake trout could eat 50 cutthroattrout per year.

During the program, Crystal will dis-cuss how conservation groups and scien-tists are researching lake trout inYellowstone, and how they are combat-ing the problem.

•There are no outings currently

scheduled for November or December bythe club. No streamkeeper has yet to vol-unteer to host the traditional RodRobinder outing at Miracle Mile.

Join us for the Polar Bear Outingscheduled for New Year’s Day. This out-ing is one of our traditional and most suc-cessful outings and will be our first of2009. Those who wish to join this outingare encouraged to fish at or around theGrey Reef. Likewise, they are invited tomeet at the Sunset Bar and Grill (nearGrey Reef) for lunch and their choice oflibation. The approximate time of lunchis 12:00 noon. Please do not forget tohave your 2009 fishing licenses. ContactJoe DeGraw at 258-0177 or via [email protected] or sign up atthe November or December generalmembership meetings.

Flows on the river are toremain at 550 cfs for the winter.But despite the moss, the river con-tinues to produce, with streamer,

midges and rock worms the mainpatterns proven effective.

As long as we enjoy a mildautumn without the long snapsof freezing, small streams(Tongue, Middle Fork, Ten

Sleep, Boxelder) are expectedto retain their dry fly quality into

December.And stillwaters should be gear-

ing up, as Alcova is terrific stream-er fishery in December and January.


FLFLYYof the month

HALFBACKThis has been a favorite pattern onthe Platte River for years. That isappropriate, since this is where it orig-inated. It appears to imitate a stoneflyor dragonfly nymph, but it is soimpressionistic, it can represent mostimmature aquatic insects if used inthe proper sizes. It is often tied with abeadhead. It is productive throughoutthe year.Hook: TMC 5262 or Dai-Riki 060 or270, sizes 4-12. Thread: 8/0 olive-brown. Weight with lead wire, sized tohook, and pushed into the gap of thebead to keep it in position.Tie in the tail with natural ringneckpheasant tail fibers, either in naturalcolor or dyed (Joe Meyer ties his half-backs with red pheasant tail, withgood results). Wrap peacock herlaround the shank, to the halfwaypoint, twisting it with the thread toform a rope. Pull the remainingpheasant tail fibers over the back.Continue with peacock herl for thebalance of the pattern. Palmer abrown rooster saddle hackle aroundthe front section of peacock (mostpatterns palmer hackle over the entirefly, but I prefer mine with just theupper half hackled). Use hackle thatis relatively soft, but still long enoughto palmer over the body. On smallerflies you can even get away with agood quality hen neck. Rib with finegold wire. Whip finish the head.This is a good pattern to use as thelead nymph in a two-fly dropper sys-tem. With enough weight on the fly, iteliminates the need for split shot.The pattern can also be tied with thebackstrap pulled entirely over thebody; it’s name is, appropriately, the“fullback.”

Simms® president K.C. Walshannounced that Simms would stop usingfelt as a material for soles on its wadingboots effective with the launch of the2010 line.

Walsh made the announcement at anews conference held at the FlyfishingRetailer Expo. He said Simms’ decisionto do away with felt is a result of thematerial being implicated in the spread ofaquatic nuisance species and fish-killingdisease. Walsh noted that anglers havealways been among the nation’s firstwave of conservationists, and withoptions to felt now on the market,anglers had a responsibility to both theresource and the tradition of angling tocease their use of felt.

“We know felt is not the only mate-rial that has spread invasive species anddisease,” Walsh said, “but felt is surelypart of the problem. At Simms, we’vedecided to be part of the solution.”

Late last week, national conserva-tion leader Trout Unlimited asked at itsannual meeting that wading boot manu-facturers phase out felt by 2011. Simms iseager to lead the charge.

Walsh’s announcement comes asSimms unveils the world’s first fishing-spe-cific Vibram-soled wading boots. For2009, Simms will offer six boot models, awading sandal and a wading shoe with

soles featuring Vibram® Streamtread™soles. Additionally, Simms boots andwaders are designed with “CleanStream™technology,” a design philosophy that usesmaterials and production techniques mak-ing it more difficult for microorganisms toattach and makes wading gear easier toproperly clean.

Simms and Vibram have workedtogether to produce an ultra-grippy,super-sticky rubber sole that works aswell as felt in virtually all wet andaquatic conditions. The partnershipbetween Vibram and Simms has resultedin a boot that combines the best per-formance features of felt with the envi-ronmental benefits of rubber. The newsoles have been field tested extensivelyand will perform far, far better than anyrubber soled fishing footwear currentlyon the market.

New Zealand has placed a ban onfelt boots for the upcoming 2008 season.A number of U.S. states where aquaticnuisance species are found have report-edly discussed the possibility of outlawingfelt-soles.

Additionally, Simms has agreed towork with conservation organizationsand other companies within the fishingindustry to develop a certificationprocess to highlight gear designed to helpprevent the spread of ANS and disease.

Felt soles to be discontinuedon Simms fishing footwear

Christmas party plannedYep, it’s that time again. It’s time to start thinking about the annualWFC Christmas Party with all the great food and fun that we’ve cometo expect. The party will be on Dec. 10 at the Isaac Walton League club-

house beginning at 6:00 p.m.One change this year will be with our caterer. The Herbadashery will be the

caterer instead of Rick’s Rack Shack. The menu will be nearly the same but theprice will be different. We’re asking that members and their guests pay $8.00 tohelp defray the cost of the meal. I realize that’s more than last year and that weare to be going through some tough economic times but $8.00 is still a bargain fora great meal.

So… sign up at the November meeting and pay for your meal at that time. Ifyou can’t make the meeting please call Dick DePaemelere at 234-2594 or, duringthe month of November, Bob Fisher at 472-5715.

The deadline is Dec. 5. We have to let the caterer know how much food toprepare.

It would be great if you brought Christmas goodies for the party. See youthere.


LUSBY PUBLIC ACCESS

AREA IS STILL OPEN TO

HUNTERS AND ANGLERS

CASPER – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department wants to assure sportsmen the Lusby Public Access

Area on the North Platte River is still open to anglers and waterfowl hunters.

The area around Lusby has recently been subdivided and there is a legal dispute over the documents pertaining

to the public easement that has been in place since 1964. A neighboring landowner recently installed signs warn-

ing sportsmen: “Boat ramp, fishing and waterfowl hunting are closed below the high water mark on private land.”

Other signs recently erected on the easement say dogs are not allowed. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department

did not install any of these signs and wants to assure sportsmen the access area is indeed open for public use.

Waterfowl season opened Oct. 4 for the Lusby area and the access area remains open to anglers year round.

Sportsmen are urged to check maps and be certain to know the boundaries when using the Lusby Public

Access Area, or any of the 30 other public easements along the North Platte River. The boundary is well marked

by Game and Fish signs on land and extends to the middle of the river. A map of the Lusby Access Area can be

found at: http://gf.state.wy.us/accessto/Access/lusby.asp The Department also reminds sportsmen to be respectful to

the land and private landowners on all of these easements by

parking only in the designated parking areas, picking up your

trash, staying on established roads, obeying all posted regulations,

and keeping your dogs under control.

If you are confronted about using the Lusby Public Access

Area please notify the Game and Fish Department at (307)

473-3400 during business hours or anytime at 877 WGFD TIP.

he outing idea seemed simpleenough. Just show up at GreyReef, and bring firewood,refreshments and a headlamp.

Camping gear optional. About the only thing that could

complicate the outing was some freakish,early winter snowstorm, an arctic blastslicing through central Wyoming, drop-ping temperatures along with a half-footof snow.

And that’s exactly what happened.So I rescheduled the outing two

weeks later, come “hell, high water orsnow.” But fortunately, the weather wasmild, where a total of nine folks andguests attended the night fishing outing,the last club outing of the year, an outingfilled with good food, bad jokes and mild


by Alex RoseVice President, WFC

T

NNiigghhttttiimmeeffiisshhiinngg aattGGrreeyyRReeeeff

A husky rainbow caught by the author at the Oct. 25 candlelight outing at Grey Reef. He caught it on a pine squirrel leech.

liver abuse.I arrived at the dam shortly before

dark, and found Don Jelinek’s camperparked at the best site in the camp-ground. I hastily strung my rod and rockhopped toward the base of the dam, andbegan casting a new fly I created. Inamed this streamer “Duffy’s Special,” inhonor of my 90-year-old grandfather, T.Harold Rose, who used to answer thetelephone by saying, in a thick, southerndrawl, “Duffy’s Tavern?”

Now, a little about this fly. It’s a vari-ation of a pine squirrel leech, with theexception that I left off the collar, addeda large gold bead, several wraps of redthread behind the bead, and a secretweapon: a propeller, placed with enoughwiggle room between the eye and thebead.

I got the idea of using propellersfrom a fly called the Pistol Pete, first tiedin 1972 down south, in Colorado. The

tier eventually created his own business,and he markets his flies on the internet.According to the website, “As the flymoves through the water, the propellerspins, creating an action and sound thatexcites fish into striking even when theyare not in a feeding period.” I mean, howcould you not want to use this fly?

Now, the added propeller might be alittle controversial in some fly fishing cir-cles. When I wandered into the Ugly Bugand asked Bob Fischer if he had any pro-pellers, he sort of looked at me with aslight mocking, disapproving smile. Youwould have thought I asked him to directme to his Power Bait isle.

I didn’t know propellers were politi-cally incorrect hardware. Since the UglyBug doesn’t carry propellers, I boughtmine at Sportsman’s Warehouse, wherethe fly tying section is well stocked withtwo different sizes of shiny, nickel pro-pellers.

Campfire, camaraderie and a few big fish


MMMMYYYY FFFFLLYYLLYY BBBBOOXXOOXXFall is the time for stripping streamers; hence, this month, we feature Gummy

Bear’s (better known as this month’s cover model, John Dolan) streamer box -- hisfavorite among the many he regularly carries and uses with both his one-handedtrout rods as well as his two-handed spey rod.

I suppose a propeller streamer resem-bles a lure more than a fly. But I submitthat the primary difference between alure and a streamer is that you cast a lurewith a spinning rod, and a streamer witha fly rod. And that’s about it.

Anyhow, I tied on 3X tippet andbegan casting and retrieving my Duffy’sSpecial. Soon, the fading sunlight yield-ed to darkness, and I was the last manstanding at the dam, methodically cast-ing and twitching my streamer. Andthen unexpectedly – and it’s always apleasant surprise – I felt a familiar tug-ging and jerking at the end of my line. Isoon landed a 21-inch rainbow, and ranto camp, where Randy Stalker snapped afew photos before I returned the troutback to the water.

After catching my big fish, I sipped abeer and enjoyed the warmth of a crack-ling campfire, well tended by Randy andDon. Soon, we were joined by Kim Levineand his wife Molly, along with TomGrogan, Joe De Graw, and his father. Don,a veteran camp cook, laid the brats out ona sizzling steel griddle. Tom, eager to gethis line wet, headed for the dam.

After enjoying a fine meal by thecampfire, I joined Tom at the dam forsome more fishing. Tom then told me abizarre tale.

(Note: I informed the club membersat the outing that anything they said“can and will be used against you in mycolumn. That goes for you, too, Randy,Mr. Backcast editor and member of the‘media elite.’”)

It was a dark night at the Reef, nomoon, and Tom waded into ink-blackwater above his waist. Suddenly, a boilerupted, directly in front of him, and alarge fish swam swiftly toward his crotch,smacking him directly into his – well,since this is a family publication – I’ll justcall it his “junk.”

The next morning, Randy said thefish was probably feeding on eggs. I con-sidered this poetic justice, and called it a“trout’s revenge.”

Although about half the club mem-bers left that evening, five of us stayedand camped at the Reef. Beers werehanded out, the whiskey flowed, buteveryone stayed reasonably sober.

The next morning, Don and hisassistant, Kim, treated us to a first-classbreakfast of hash browns, sausage, eggs,and homegrown, red, ripe tomatoes, freshfrom Don’s garden.

The following is Don’s critique of

Kim’s cooking: “Well, your sausage pat-ties are adequate, but just barely. Theslices are about average. They are cookedabout right. And the coffee is perfect, butthat’s because I made it.”

Speaking of coffee, Don brought outa bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream, which weliberally poured into our coffee. Bailey’sdoesn’t hurt coffee one bit. Eventually, Iditched my coffee all together and pouredBailey’s in my cup.

Before leaving Grey Reef, I thankedDon for his warm, camp hospitality. Theclub is fortunate to have a member dedi-cated to feeding hungry members at out-ings, and with style. I learned that at anouting, if you go hungry around Don,that’s your own fault.

Although sparely attended, the out-ing was a success, because everyone

appeared to have a good time.Sure, we didn’t catch many fish. But

the outing gave us all an excuse to getoutside under a glorious blanket of starsand enjoy good food, friendship, and afew beers around the warmth of a glowingcampfire. We also enjoyed an unexpect-ed, brilliant display of shooting stars thatstreaked across the sky, leaving behindbright, orange tails that seamed to lingerbefore fading into black.

A few words about the fishing. I wasthe only one who caught fish, four largerainbows. The vain part of me enjoysbeing the only angler to have caughtfish. The better part of me wishes every-one landed fish. But I’m not going toattribute my success to any angling skillon my part.

I owe it all to the propeller.


The following article is anexcerpt from the electronic book,Hunt - Don’t Pray - for Fish,Techniques and Strategies for FlyFishing from a Drift Boat, written byHarley W. Reno, Ph.D., a friend ofthe Wyoming Fly Casters and occa-sional program presentor. Theentire content is copyrighted by theauthor, and is used here with hispermission. The CD is available forpurchase through the Federation ofFly Fishers, and 80 percent of the$25 cost of each CD is being donat-ed by the author back to the feder-ation for its conservation and edu-cation funds.

In the coming months, otherchapters of Dr. Reno’s book are tobe featured in the Backcast.

A course in drift boat fishing

Chapter 4: Casting System (Part 2) downward, hitting on or near the target ofthe conscious mind milliseconds beforethe leader and line settle on the water.

(3) For some reason, the right-hand-ed fly fisherman in the front of the boatalways wants to cast over his or her leftshoulder when fishing the right bank of astream. Likewise, the right-handed flyfisherman in the rear of the boat alwayswants to cast over his or her left shoulderwhen fishing the left bank of the stream.Each fly fisherman probably is concernedabout hitting the oarsman or tanglingwith the companion. He or she does notrealize that when the line is brought overthe opposite shoulder, the fly occasionallysnaps around, sometimes passing acrossthe oarsman. That motion has hooked memore times than any other errant action.

Every fly fisherman stepping into mydrift boat is told that so long as he or sheis using a fly rod 8.5 or 9 feet in length, solong as the torso and shoulders are beingturned through the whole casting motion,and so long as the fly rod passes over thecasting shoulder each and every time,there is no reason to be concerned abouthitting anyone or becoming tangled withthe companion or oarsman. The fly line,leader, and fly must move through the air7 to 9 or more feet over the fisherman’shead. Fortunately, the fly fisherman gener-ally listens to that explanation and startspracticing what is suggested.

(4) A word of caution: Be aware of atendency to swing the fly rod around the

his is a good place to offer sev-eral pieces of advice regardingcasting and casting technique:(1) Guard against using the

index finger in casting. When the first, orindex, finger is used to cast, most energyimparted to the rod, line, leader, and flyduring the back and forward casts isthrough the hinge action of the wrist,because the wrist is forced to rotate atopthe handle by placement of the index fin-ger in the casting position. Movement ofthe wrist causes the tip of the fly rod tomove in an arc, throwing the fly linedownward, behind the caster during theback cast, and short of the target duringthe forward cast. Inadvertent motion inthe wrist forces the fly fisherman todevelop some compensatory movementsin order to keep the fly line aloft. Noneof those movements is natural or fluid.

(2) Some fly fishermen do not differ-entiate between casting to a target on thewater and casting to a spot above thewater. In other words, to those individu-als, the target and spot are synonymous.If the fly fisherman is looking at and cast-ing to a target on the water thinking thatis the spot, the fly line and fly may gonear the target, but routinely the line,leader, and fly crash on the surface a fewfeet short of the target. On occasion, theline, leader, and fly sail way beyond thepresumed target landing as a tangle in

overhanging trees or brush. Obviously,landing short of or sailing beyond the tar-get is undesirable, because landing shortcan scare the fish, and overshooting seesthe fly being sacrificed to Neptune.

The accomplished fly fisherman,however, always throws a flat line all theway to a hypothetical spot about three orfour feet above the target. The result isthe fly alights on or splashes in the water,depending on size and weight of the fly,at or near the target. The differencebetween general fly fishermen and anaccomplished fly fisherman is that thelatter subconsciously knows that the tar-get and spot occupy different points intime and space; therefore, casting to thespot above the water results in the flylanding on the target on the water. Whatthe accomplished fly fisherman knows,and general fly fisherman should learn, isthat the conscious mind selects the tar-get, but the subconscious mind makes thecast to the aerial spot.

The fly fisherman must train the sub-conscious mind to make the cast. Thetraining is simple: the tip of the rod isnever dropped below the horizontal.Instead, in the forward cast, the tip auto-matically stops above the horizontal, thuscausing the line to sail in a flat and naturalplane. As soon as the line reaches its limit,the line, leader, and fly straighten out atthe point of the spot. The fly is snapped

T

While the line is flyingtowards the target on theleft bank, the line can bemended upstream bytwirling the tip of the rodclockwise. The twirlingmotion sends a rolling loopdown the line, landing theline upstream of the fly.


body instead of bringing the rod up andover the shoulder. A sidearm cast can bedangerous, especially if the rod is pro-pelled by wrist action only. What happensis this: the line, leader, and fly followingthe arc made by the tip of the rod ulti-mately pass near or across the face ofeither the oarsman or fellow fly fisherman.A broad-brimmed hat is no defense in thatsituation. Remember, safety in a drift boatis always the first order of business.

(5) Once the caster has started thefly line moving towards the target, theline cannot nor will not move off course.That means there is time before the flydescends to the water to maneuver theline while it still is in the air. Yes,indeed! The fly fisherman has time toput a draw- or slice-bend in the line andleader before landing the fly slightlyupstream of the target or behind aninterceding object. There also is time toput a series of “Ss” in the line and leader,just in case the fly fisherman wants tocast to a target straight downstream orupstream of a stationary drift boat.Perhaps each of those casts should bediscussed a little more in detail. Justremember, the direction of the line can-not be changed once it is committed tofly towards the target. Moreover, the dis-tance to the target is lengthened toaccommodate added horizontal bends inthe line. So an extra few feet of line areneeded to make the cast.

The easiest cast for a right-handedfly fisherman to make is one in whichthe water is moving from right to left. Ifthe target is slightly downstream of thecaster, and if power is delivered to therod during the forward cast—no “rodwaving” allowed—the whip-like actionof the line and tapered leader automati-cally snaps the fly (weighted orunweighted) around, landing it down-stream of the line.

For the fly fisherman who has yet tolearn the mechanics of loading the flyrod at the beginning of the back cast, adraw-bend can be put in the line byrolling the tip of the rod upstream as theline and leader are flying toward the tar-get. The rolling motion of the tip sends awave down the line towards the leader,effectively mending the line and some-times part of the leader upstream. As aresult, the fly lands upstream of the tar-get, but downstream of the “mended”line. If the fly fisherman waits to mendafter the line, leader, and fly land on thewater, the motion of mending oftendrags the fly unnaturally. The cast iswasted.

The hardest cast for the right-hand-ed fly fisherman to make is one in whichthe water flows from left to right. Thatcast can be made easily if the fly fisher-man rolls the tip of the rod upstream asthe line, leader, and fly are flying towardthe target. Obviously, that techniquepresupposes that the forward cast isdelivered with power—again, no “rodwaving” allowed! The rolling or mend-ing motion upstream sends a secondaryrolling wave down the line, which makesthe line and leader land upstream of thefly. Some fly fishermen wait until the flyhits the water before starting to mendthe line upstream. That practice is ill-advised because it causes the fly to drag,thereby wasting the cast.

“Ss” are put in the line by wrigglingthe rod tip horizontally as the line istraveling towards the target. The wrig-gling action simply builds horizontalslack into the line without changingdirection of the line. Slack is exactlywhat is needed to run a fly upon the faceof a boulder or root mass of tree or to leta dry fly ride naturally in the quiet waterdownstream of a log jam or tangle oftrees. Managing intended slack, ofcourse, is another matter, one that isaddressed in Chapter 14 and brieflymentioned elsewhere in the book.

The ability to throw a hook, slice,series of “Ss,” or any combination there-of in the line is ideal for fishing behindrocks, under limbs, or between roots.Few casting techniques are more gratify-ing, especially if one hooks—and mostoften loses!—a large fish in an impossi-ble casting situation. That is the kind ofsituation that makes fond memories andeverlasting stories because the fishalways has the advantage.

(6) Perhaps the hardest casts forbeginner and novice fly fishermen tomake are those across or directly into thewind. There are several ways to castacross or into the wind. One is technical,two are mechanical, and one is a learnedskill. All are elementary to the art ofcasting a fly. The simplest technical solu-tion is equipping the reel with either aweight-forward floating or 10-foot sink-tip line that is one weight heavier thanthe fly line prescribed for the rod. Eitherfly line is easy to cast in any situationand especially effective when castingacross or into the wind.

The simplest mechanical solutionsare (1) pushing hard with the castingthumb when powering into the forwardcast, and (2) stopping the tip of the rodmomentarily just above the horizontal.

The thumb is the mechanical devicethat accelerates the fly line during theforward cast. Stopping the tip of the rodabove the horizontal makes a small, tightloop in the line as the line is propelledtowards the target, and the tighter theloop, the less the wind resistance. Lesswind resistance means greater sustainedvelocity and momentum in the line,leader, and fly, resulting in a longer cast.

The simplest learned skill is remem-bering to grasp the line with the freehand as the line nears the end of theback cast, letting both hand and linemove up the rod toward the strippingguide. Once the line is straight behind,and the free hand is holding the linenear the stripping guide, a combinedforceful thrust of the thumb into thehandle of the fly rod and a gentle, butsharp, pull on the line by the free handincreases the velocity of the fly linetowards the target. The additional veloc-ity makes casting into the wind easier.

Yes, the technique seems complicat-ed, but it can be mastered with a littlepractice. The best place to practice andlearn is at home on your lawn. Do not trylearning the process on the river in thewind. If you do, you might want to aban-don fly fishing altogether. Once youhave mastered the technique, you willhave learned half of the double-haulcast. The other half of the double-haulinvolves learning to do exactly the samething at the beginning of the back cast,as well as at the end.

(7) One last thought about casting.Over the years, the majority of the flyfishermen that I have guided or fishedwith have one thing in common: theynever correlated misbehaviors of the flyline with flaws in casting techniques.Instead, they simply picked up the flyline and recast without ever asking,“What happened?” or “What causedthat?” Miscues were passed over asthough they never happened. Thoseindividuals probably did not realize thattheir casting efficiencies were beingcompromised. What is more, they prob-ably did not really care, so long as theymanaged to catch a fish now and then.

Remember: the important thing toask is, “Why did the fly line misbehaveat the end of the cast, or why did the rodand line swish or whistle over my headduring the cast?” If questions can beasked, explaining the misbehavior, for-mulating a solution, and instituting cor-rective action are easy. The best way toimprove your casting technique is beinghonest with and critical of yourself.


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WFC GeneralMembershipMeeting, 7 p.m.

WFC BoardMeeting, 7 p.m.

Deadline forBackcast info

NOVEMBER 2008TUESDAY

Wyoming Fly Casters Board MeetingWednesday, Oct. 15, 2008

The President Called the meeting to order.*MSC to approve the minutes of the September board meeting as printed in the

Backcast.*MSC to approve the treasurer's report as printed in the Backcast.

Ed Rate presented the quarter budget comparison as required by the By-Laws. There were questions and discussion.

MSC to not publish the recapitulation part of the monthly treasurer's reporton the WFC web page.

*Al Conder informed the board of the situation at the Lusby Public AccessArea. He distributed a WGFD Press Release pertaining to that area.

*Kim Levine presented and idea to purchase a griddle, coffee pot, and a newgas grill for club to use at outings and events using he proceeds of fly line sales.The fly lines would be purchased from D. Jelinek.

MSC to allow up to $400.00 for the purchase of the griddle, grill, and coffeepot. D. Jelinek and others to make the necessary purchases.

*MSC to purchase gift certificates for the Christmas Party activities as follows:$200.00 for the Second Chance Raffle$100.00 for the Attendance Raffle$25.00 for 1st place in the Christmas Fly tying contest.$15.00 for 2nd place in the Christmas Fly tying contest.$10.00 for 3rd place in the Christmas Fly tying contest.* A discussion regarding the contract from the WG&F regarding the spawning bed

work WFC agreed to do at Cardwell. A few questions remain and will be addressedsoon.

*DePaemelere voiced some concerns regarding membership and asked that theMembership Committee review the situation and make a recommendation to theBoard. Copies of his concerns will be given to J. Robitaille and A. Rose.

Bring your camera along onyour next fishing trip, and use it todocument your catch and releasefish. Then send the digital imageto the WFC newsletter editor forconsideration of inclusion in thenext issue. Contributions arealways welcome. Who knows ...maybe your photo will be the nextmonth’s cover.

If ya done it, it ain’t braggin.’

-- Yogi Berra


Treasurer’s Report for September 2008

Income Description Amount

Date9/8/2008 deposit - dues - 65.00 65.00

9/15/2008 deposit - Cash Return (Ck # 3908) Expo - 559.00, dues 30.00 689.00

9/30/2008 Interest Income 37.07

Total Income 791.07

Expenses

Check # Description Amount

#3906 Lloyd Ferguson - Reimbursement - Poster Lamination (31.50)#3907 Izaak Walton - Rent - Sept. (75.00)#3908 Cash - Expo Raffle (100.00)#3909 Richard Soffe - Reimbursement Picnic (14.45)#3910 Don Jelinek - Remibursement - Picnic (6.70)#3911 U.S. Postmaster - Additional Postage - Backcast (11.22)#3912 Kinkos - August Backcast (97.65)#3913 Don Jelinek Expo Promotional Expense (72.61)#3914 Ugly Bug Fly Shop - Fly Rod Raffle Expo (294.00)#3915 Gene Theriault - Reimbursement Picnic (191.35)#3916 Super 8 Motel - Exchange Float Trip -Banquet expense (92.35)- Bank Service Charge (3.00)

Total Expenses (989.83)

FOR SALESpecial prices for WFC club members!

Fly lines, fly reels and fly rods.Call Don Jelinek

267-7477

•Patagonia SST jacket, XL. Brand new.

$240 (list $315).Call Scott Novotny

266-3072

•Float tube-$50.

Call Kathy Knapp577-7703

CLASSIFIEDS -- GOOD STUFF FOR SALE (CHEAP!)

FOR SALEUSED RODS

TFO RODS---$50 eachJim Teeny 9ft. 6wt. 4 pieceJim Teeny 9ft. 5wt. 4 pieceLefty Kreh-Signature Series 9ft. 5wt 4 piecesLefty Kreh-TICR-X 7ft 6wt. 4 pieceLefty Kreh-Professional Series-9ft. 6wt. 4 piece

Orvis Rods-$75 eachTrident TL 9ft. 5wt. 2 piece mid-flexTrident TL 9ft. 5wt. 2 piece tip flexT-3 9ft. 5wt. 2 piece moid flex

Call Art Van Rensselaer262-7655

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

www.wyflycasters.org

The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of flyfishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.

wfc 11/08

Documents

affiliate club

club holeon

club website

club meeting

wyoming oil

traditional outing

popular outing

thefederation of fly