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PRESIDENTS PEN:
February..... |
Greetings!
 With the holidays over and the snow piled high, it's hard to think that summer will be here in just four months. That still seems a little ways away, until you start to hear of all the outdoor shows going on around the country; if you're like me, you want to go to at least one of them. At the end of March, our Great Alaska Sportsman Show starts. This always has me anticipating fly fishing season. The Club needs your help working our booth at the Show; introducing people to our Club, especially our Spring Seminar and Annual Auction, selling raffle tickets and merchandise, and tying flies as demonstrators. Talk to Mike Harsh for scheduling and assignments.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour will be at the Bear Tooth Theater on March 22nd. These are usually fun films showing fly fishing adventures around the world, making you wish you were anywhere warm and throwing line rather than shoveling snow.
For those who keep busy during the off-season tying flies, the Club has tying clinics the 3rd Saturday of each month thru April and a tying contest this month with awards given at the March meeting. Talk to Frank Stevens for info on both those events.
The Spring Seminar will be starting soon and Rich Johnson always needs volunteers to help tie knots and flies and cast with the new students.
At this month's membership meeting, we get to vote for our favorite photo for the People's Choice award and applaud the contest winners on their photos of fish, gear, wildlife, nature and creativity. I always like to check out the compositions and hope to learn something for next year's contest.
Please join us Monday, Feb 6th at 7:00pm at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel when Phil Brna will be talking about saltwater fishing.
Don't forget to bring flies for Fly of the Month - and bring a friend!
Jennifer |
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Next Meeting: Fly Fishing Belize |
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Fly Fishing Southern Belize with Phil Brna
February 6, 7pm at Millennium Hotel
The topic for our February General Meeting on February 6th is Fly Fishing in Belize. Our speaker, Phil Brna, says "I grew up fishing starting with my dad when I was 4. I have lived in Anchorage for 35 years. I retired as a Habitat Biologist from ADF&G in 2000 and since then have been working for USFWS. When I retired I vowed to start seeing more of the world through fishing. I fish a lot but never enough. Last year I fished 75 days in Alaska, Belize, Mexico, and Louisiana. You might say I am obsessed. On my bucket list are NZ (trout), Australia (salt) Christmas Island (big bones and trevally), Argentina (sea run browns), Uruguay (golden dorado), Seychelles (everything), Amazon (peacock bass), Costa Rica (tarpon) and BC (steelhead). Problem is I keep going back to Belize because I love it so much."
Phil will talk about Belize in general, Placencia (where he stays), guides, and will focus on fishing for tarpon and permit. He will cover fishing habitats, flies, gear and he'll show lots of scenery and fish shots. He will also discuss some of the other 30 species of fish available there. |
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Fly-Boxes, Fishing Shirts, Jackets,
T-Shirts, Hats!  We are in the process of ordering new merchanndise for 2012. We are looking for new items that would be of interest to members. If there are any specific items you would like to see on the mechandise table, stop by and talk to Steve Lambert at the February Monthly Meeting. |
Monday, March 26, 7 pm at Alaska Wild Berry Theater
A special event benefiting Casting for Recovery in Alaska with $10 donations Dave Ames - author and entertainer now residing in Montana
A multi-media show that has been described as both "riveting" and "laugh-out-loud funny" with stories including:
- Fishing the piranha-infested sloughs of Argentina
- Teaching Mayans to be bone-fishing guides
- The healing power of the great outdoors and a diagnosis of cancer
Anglers and their friends and family or those simply seeking an enjoyable and entertaining evening are all invited.
 Dave Ames is a thirty year veteran fly-fishing guide and author with writings featured in Fly Fisherman, Sports Afield, the Big Sky Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and Fine Woodworking - and is best known for his books:
- True Love & the Woolly Bugger
- Dances with Sharks
- A Good Life Wasted, or Twenty Years as a Fishing Guide
- Me, My Cells and I: A Survivor's Guide to the Science of Cancer (with a positive answer to improve the odds)
Dave will also be a guest speaker at two events in Fairbanks:
- Midnight Sun Fly-casters and Trout Unlimited Gala on March 24
- An afternoon presentation on Me, My Cells, and I on March 25
See Henry Garbowski for details about these other dates henry@quartzlake.com. And, Dave will be looking for some angling adventures on the Kenai in the days following his presentations. If Alaska Flyfishers have secrets to share or might like to join the party, let Cheryl Cline know at 223-8885.
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Project Healing Waters Alaska
Needs Volunteers | |
By Laura Orr
Project Healing Waters is looking forward to another fabulous year in 2012. We have many exciting trips planned for the up coming season, but also, we are need of more DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS!
Our weekly tying classes and casting teaches are great ways for NEW VOLUNTEERS to meet and build relationships with soldiers and their families.
We are currently meeting at the VA Clinic at 1201 N. Muldoon Rd., just out side of the JBER Muldoon gate, from 4-6 pm every Thursday.
Make one of your New Years Resolutions VOLUNTEERING in our community !!! Come share your passion for fly fishing and fly tying with "Those Who Serve".
Remember to "like" us on FACEBOOK at Project Healing Waters Alaska for updates and PHW news, and you can contact me, Laura Orr, at PHWAlaska@gmail.com for VOLUNTEER opportunities and more. |
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from Mike Zavosky
Alaska Fly Fishers 2012 Annual Auction Volunteer Team
To date, we have a small group to serve as the core team, but we'll need much more help, especially during the final run-up.
First, we'll need assistance from anyone who has items to contribute or consign - orwho can solicit donations from businesses, organizations, or individuals who might be willing to help us out. Second, we'll need about 30 people in direct support of the auction itself. I'm hoping most/all of the folks who volunteered last year will be available again, and we'll welcome anyone else who wants to lend a hand. Third, we'll need a dozen or so people every evening of the week of the auction to categorize, sort, and tag all the donations; enter everything into the database; coordinate its move to the Millenium Hotel, etc.
And, as usual, we'll need as many people as we can get to distribute flyers and otherwise help to advertise the event.
If you can assist with any of the above tasks, please contact one of the volunteers listed below, by e-mail or at a meeting.
Many thanks.
Mike Zavosky - zabo496@gmail.com
Mike Harsh - tmike99577@yahoo.com
Martha Peck - cfrmartha@gmail.com
Susan Winton - tootswinton@yahoo.com
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2012 Fly Tying Contest from Frank Stevens |
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Entry Deadline February 18  It is time for third annual Alaska Fly Fishers Fly Tying Contest. Frank Stevens is coordinator of the contest. See him at the February 6 meetings, or catch him at the February 18 clinic.
Submit your flies along with a 3" x 5" card for each fly. Write your contact information on one side of the card and the name of your fly and recipe on the other side. Take extra care in how you package your fly to protect it from looking "already fished". Contest details, fly categories and rules can be found at this link.
A new category was added this year for those members with mad skills unbound by contest rules. Flies in this category are not part of the contest but profide an opportunity to show the club your special talents and super cool tying tricks. |
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AFF Sharing the Art of Fly Tying
from Frank Stevens |
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Salmon Are Strange Fish
The future of fly fishing is in the hands of our youth. AFF tying clinic held this past Saturday morning hosted Cub Scouts from Pack 205. They learned to tie a wooly bugger and with the help of Orlando one of his special Kenai River flies. Thanks to AFF members David Rooker and Mike Scott for helping the scouts in tying their first fly.
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Salmon Are Strange Fish
 Salmon really are strange or odd fish indeed. Do you know how odd or weird and unusual salmon really are?
To begin with, do you know that they are semelparous? Of course you do. Semelparous is a scientific term that means that the fish is genetically programmed to spawn only once, and then die. How weird is that? Most fish spawn a number of times before they die.
The term for that is iteroparous. Salmon, in fact are among the rarest of fish that spawn only once in their life. The only other fish I can think of right now that is also semelparous is the American eel. (Recall that salmon are anadromous but American eels are catadromous. That means that they live in freshwater where they grow and mature, then they migrate to the Sargasso Sea where they spawn and die.)
Read the rest of Fish Talk at this link. Bill Hauser is the author of Letters From Alaska, The Inside to the Outside and the NEW book Fishes of the Last Frontier, Life Histories, Biology, Ecology and Management of Alaska Fishes.
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A place to share stories, photos, buy and sell gear 
This month three of our members have ads with gear for sale. It's an opportunity to buy new and used fishing rods, reels and fleece!
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~ President's Pen
~ Next Meeting: Fishing Belize
~ Merchandise in 2012
~ Why Fishermen Lie Program
~ Project Healing Waters
~ Annual Auction News
~ Fly Tying Contest
~ Fly Tying Clinic Reminder
~ AFF Sharing Art of Fly Tying
~ Fish Talk by Bill Hauser
~ Salmon Fly Class from Pudge
~ 2012 Membership Renewal
~ Call for GAS Show Volunteers
~ Fly Patterns Book News
~ Casting For Recovery
~ February 18 Fly Tying Clinic: Tube Flies with Rich Johnson
~ Members' Corner
Above photo: Reeling Stoner by AFF Member Jerry Balboni.
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Pudge Kleinkauf, Women's FlyFishing®, offer fly-tying class for salmon flies |
Tying Salmon Flies: Women's Flyfishing ® is offering a 9-hour class tying salmon flies on February 10 & 11, 2012. Times will be 6-9 on Friday & 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Cost will be $125 and all the books and materials are included. This is not a beginners class. Basic tying skills are required. Tie some of the flies from Pudge's new book (coming out next spring) and get ready for summer! Contact Pudge at pudge@womensflyfishing.net or call 274-7113 to register. |
| 2012 Alaska Fly Fishers Membership |
Have you renewed your membership yet? Click here for the 2012 membership application. Mail it in, or bring the completed form to our next meeting or fly tying clinic. Be sure to get your membership card - it will save you money on fly tying materials. Details are on the back of the card. |
| Great Alaska SportsmanShow: Volunteers Needed |
The Great Alaska Sportsman Show is March 29 to April 1 this year. Now is the time to sign up for time spots at the Alaska Fly Fishers booth. Mike Harsh is scheduling chief for this event. Find him at Monday's meeting or sent him an email: tmike99577@yahoo.com. |
| Book News: Patterns of the Alaska Fly Fishers Volume II Update |
Progress continues on the new book as the real work starts.
We still need photos to fill in throughout the book and provide a face of the AFF to readers. We are looking for fishing, tying, wildlife, and any other shot related to us.
There will be a section in the Appendix on suggestions for flies for different parts of the state, throughout the year, and for all the different fish we pursue. Any suggestions on flies actually used by us would really be appreciated.
We could use suggestions for the places you fish.
If you would like to help please contact any committee member or
Art Peck at 345-1123. |
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Casting For Recovery Participants Needed | |
Do you know a breast cancer survivor who would benefit from a weekend of healing, relaxation, fun and -
of course - fly fishing?
Again this year, CFR-Alaska will host two retreats - one in the Anchorage area and one in Fairbanks.
Deadlines to submit an application are April 2 for Southcentral and April 6 for Fairbanks.
Big thanks goes to the Alaska Fly Fishers for their support along with a special thank-you to Mike Brown at Mossy's Fly Shop, who hosted the Up All Night Tie-In to benefit
CFR-Alaska.
Look for an announcement soon for Mossy's 2012 Up All Night Tie-In Benefit.
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| Fly Tying Clinics at KTUU Building | |
Tying flies for the next season is a winter tradition for fly fishers. Every third Saturday from October to April (and sometimes May), the club hosts fly tying clinics in the KTUU classroom. The clinics run from 10am to 4pm. Expert tyers are on hand with lessons and demonstrations. Bring your own tools and materials or use ours. The building is at 701 East Tudor Road - second floor east end. Look for the signs.
THE NEXT CLINIC IS FEBRUARY 18th.
Rich Johnson will offer a tube fly class. Here's what Rich has to say about the class:
Anyone that would like to participate in the tube fly class at the February Tying Clinic should have a tube vise and/or adapter.
My suggestion would be the HMH Starter Tube Tool (adapter) that runs about $25 and is available around town. It fits in any standard vise and comes with two different diameter pins for almost every type of tube. The HMH Premium Tube Tool has tapered mandrels, but runs $45. This is probably a better buy for the person serious about tying tube flies, but for a beginner I'd stay with the Starter set. My Renzetti Tube Vise will only hold the larger wire mandrel it came with, which limited my options for tubes, so I bought the HMH Starter Tool and have been really happy with it.
I'll have suggestions and options for those that want to use just their regular vise, but they may be limited in what they can do with the rest of the tyers.
Tyers should bring standard tools and a spool of white thread in addition to basic black. (I use both 6/0 and 3/0 depending on the materials.) You'll also need a small lighter. I'll provide all the specialized materials.
Class size should probably be limited to no more than eight as we operate on the slowest common denominator, although anyone is welcome to observe.
As usual, I'll want to start right after 10AM, no later than 10:30AM.
I'll want to know in advance the number of people attending so please contact me at 234-1093 (wk/mach) 440-1830 cell, or by email purnellphoto@gci.net.
I plan on having a sampling of other tube flies that might spawn ideas and interest.
Here's a link to a post on the Tube Fly Class and a PDF of base materials and resources for tube flies. http://2guysflyfishing.net/ The goal is to start with converting an easy standard pattern to tube, do a large (Alaskan) salmon fly on a tube, then an Intruder style tube streamer, and if we have time, my Tubular Smolt. |
| Fly Lines Archive | |
Looking for a back issues of Fly Lines? Electronic copies are available at the link below.
Did you know the Loussac Library has many of the older Fly Lines? |
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