|
PRESIDENT'S PEN:
Trying to outrun the coming winter.... |
|
Greetings!
Just a quick note this month as we are heading to catch a flight to Portland to spend a few days enjoying more fall weather and catching a few steelhead on the Deschutes River. Weather reports say overnight lows 30s with daytime highs in the 60s. The fishing report is encouraging for steelhead and red-sides (rainbows). We will enjoy several days of nice fall weather and casting spey rods to promising holding water.
Our next monthly meeting will be on November 7, 2011, 7 PM at the Millennium Hotel. This will be the annual business meeting for the club with an update report on club activities and the election of Directors and Officers for the 2012 year. Up for election this year are the 2012 President and Vice President positions. Following the business meeting will be a presentation from Carol Kerkvliet , assistant area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Homer. Carol will provide an update on the lower Kenai peninsula streams and fisheries.
The next fly tying get together will happen on Saturday, November 19, 2011, 10 am to 4 pm in the KTUU training room. If you have interest learning to tie flies or just hang out with other fly tiers, this is the place to be. Getting started tying flies is one of my goals for this winter.
You will also want to come to the November meeting to get a raffle ticket for the spey rod package drawing. The rod is the famed "Death Star" Sage TCX 7 wt complete with a Galvan Torque reel and Scientific Anglers Skagit Extreme multi tip line and two hours spey casting instruction by me. Retail value of this package is some $1,500. Tickets are $10 each or 6 for $50.00 and all proceeds go to benefit the programs of the Alaska Fly Fishers.
In closing there have long been rumors of monster 40 inch trout in the Kenai River but most have never seen or heard of one being caught. Well, a month ago, Dave Wilson, Kenai River Guide and his client landed a Rainbow which measured 39.7 inches. What an amazing catch for our home river. Now we can fish the Kenai River knowing that in fact the monster Rainbows do lurk in the river.
That's all for now, see you Monday at the Millennium.
Tight Lines.
Mark |
|
SALMON & TROUT OF THE ANCHOR RIVER
November Program by Carol Kerkvliet |
Our speaker on Monday is Carol Kerkvliet, Assistant Area Management Biologist for the Lower Cook Inlet Sport Fish Management Area. Carol will talk about the Anchor River.
The Anchor River is a small, road accessible stream that supports an array of sport fishing opportunities that begin in the spring with king salmon and continue on through the fall with steelhead trout. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish has gained better understanding of how salmon and trout run timing varies from year to year and how fluctuating water levels can influence run timing of salmon and trout. Come and learn more about Anchor River fish stocks and their run timing. See video and sonar footage of fish making their way upstream. Get some practice identifying fish and tips on where to look for current fishing information before your next trip to the Anchor River or nearby streams.
Carol Kerkvliet is also the project leader for the Anchor River and Ninilchik River escapement projects. After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree from Humboldt State University she moved to Homer and began working in fisheries in the late 70's. Her fisheries career took her away from Homer to work on a wide variety of projects around the state. In 1996 she earned a Master's of Science in Biology from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is an active member of the American Fisheries Society and was the Alaska Chapter President in 2003. She returned to Homer in 2004 after accepting her current position.
|
|
SPECIAL RAFFLE: THE DEATHSTAR |
Drawing Held at December 5 Meeting
Tickets are now on sale for this super exciting special raffle. The prize? An unbelievable treasure for the two-handed enthusiast:
- Sage TCX 7 Weight Spey Rod - "The Deathstar"
- Galvan Torque T-10 Reel
- Scientific Angler Skagit Extreme Fly Line
- 2 Hours Spey Casting Instruction with Certified Master Casting Instructor and Certified Two Hand Casting Instructor Mark Huber
- Total Value $1,485
The tickets are $10.00 each or six for $50.00. Buy a ticket - support the club - and maybe win one of the hottest spey packages in Alaska! Tickets will be available at the November and December meetings. |
|
Arctic Grayling
The Arctic grayling, Thymallus arcticus, is a graceful-looking fish with an appearance greatly enhanced by body spotting and sail-like, flashy, rectangular-shaped dorsal fin. They are highly-prized by anglers.
Worldwide, graylings are broadly distributed through northern North America and northernmost Asia. A total of nine species have been described in the grayling subfamily. The Arctic grayling is found in North America, Europe, northern Asia, Siberia, and North Korea. They are found throughout mainland Alaska in freshwaters that have adequate concentrations of dissolved oxygen and they thrive at water temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They are commonly found in cold-water streams and rivers but they can also be found in lakes and ponds. The genus name comes from the herb, thyme. Supposedly, when freshly caught, graylings have an odor that resembles the odor of thyme. Maybe other people have noticed this and maybe it works for the other grayling species or maybe my nose doesn't work well but I have not detected it in Arctic grayling.
To read the rest of Fish Talk click this link.
Bill Hauser is the author of Letters from Alaska, The Inside to the Outside and the upcoming book Alaska Fishes. |
|
Fly of the Month November 2011
by Riley Peck |
|
Black Caddis
The Black Caddis is basically the same as the Elk Hair Caddis, but it utilizes slightly different materials. It is extremely simple to tie, and the final result is a much improved Elk Hair Caddis. It is perfect grayling fly, and is a "go to" fly when no other fly will work.
Instructions and pointers on tying the Black Caddis fly can be found at this link. |
|
2011 Fly Tying Clinics by Frank Stevens |
| Winter is almost here time to fill that fly box with old standards and tie some of the new patterns.
All are welcome experienced and beginners, we have vices and materials for the beginners to tie a basic fly and help you with technics to tie others. Bring your vice and materials, set and tie, watch and learn a new pattern or technic.
November 19, 2011 is our next clinic at KTUU classroom at 701 East Tudor Road. Park at East end of building follow signs to classroom. Open tying from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. come early and spend the afternoon. The Coffee is on!
Start thinking Fly Tying Contest and watch your December newsletter for contest rules.
Contact me at akfrank@mtaonline.net for updates and to receive an e-mail for the fly tying clinics.
Remember: The tips of your scissors are for snipping thread and materials, use the back of the scissors to cut wire and lead.
Frank
|
|
Fly Patterns of Alaska, Volume II
by Art Peck |
The Club is well started on the project to write the second volume of the Fly Patterns of the Alaska Fly Fishers book. The cut-off for submissions for the new book is the November General Meeting. There is plenty of time left to get your favorite pattern considered, or your secret fly unleashed.
First it is important to know how the flies will be selected so we can reduce the possibilities of hurt feelings. The book committee selected four subcommittees of at least three members each to review two or three categories of flies each and decide which flies will be used. The possibility of offending submitters has been a serious concern of the committee from the beginning and no single person will make any decision to reject a pattern or accept another. The simple exclusions will be based on the first volume. Flies already in the first volume will not be repeated unless there are significant improvements or changes made in the pattern. Deciding which changes are important enough is not an easy task. For more information on fly selection, please follow this link.
|
|
MEMBER'S CORNER
Ads, Fishing Reports, Photos |
|
Fly Line's Place to Share & Sell
Fly Lines needs your fishing reports, stories, discoveries, photos. Looking for gear to buy? Looking for gear to sell? This is the place for it! Drop an email to Jolynne at jhoward@alaska.net.
We need new photos for the newsletter every month. Tell the club about your latest adventure or misadventure. Brag about the one that got away - or didn't. This is your chance to be published!
Fly Tying Classes with Pudge
Women's Flyfishing® 9-hour beginning fly tying class November 11-12-- Fri 6-9 and Sat 8:30 to 5:00. We'll tie flies for trout, salmon, char, and grayling. Cost is $125 and we provide all the equipment and materials. Call 274-7113 or e-mail to register. Both gals and guys are welcome.
Cecilia "Pudge" Kleinkauf,Owner
Women's Flyfishing®
P.O. Box 243963
Anchorage, AK 99524
phone/fax (907) 274-7113
www.womensflyfishing.net
pudge@womensflyfishing.net
|
|
|
In this Issue:
- President's Pen
- November 7 Speaker: Carol Kerkvliet presentation on Anchor River
- Special Raffle: The Deathstar
- Fish Talk by Bill Hauser
- Fly Of The Month: Black Caddis
- Fly Tying Clinics
- Fly Patterns of Alaska: book update
- Member's Corner: Call for photos, stories, ads for Fly Lines. Pudge Kleinkauf offers Fly Tying Classes Nov. 11 & 12.
Banner photo "Reeling Stoner" by Gerry Balboni, 2011 Photo Contest | |
|
2012 Alaska Fly Fishers Membership |
|
$25 Individual Annual
$30 Family Annual
$250 Lifetime
Be sure to get your membership card - it will save you money on fly tying materials. Details are on the back of the card.
|
| Get Fly Lines Sent to Your Inbox |
We have email addresses for about 80% of our active members. If this email was forwarded to you, kindly help us get your correct email address into the system. A note to jhoward@alaska.net should get you squared away. |
|
