The Backcast : December 2016 by Cheryl Alexander

Vol 44 No 11

The Monthly Newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters

December 2016

What’s inside

president’s letter

Lee Tschetter, President Spencer Amend, Vice President

John Yost, Secretary Janet Sowell, Treasurer

fishing highlights

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

lyin’ and tyin’

13 CLASSIFIEDS

Terms expire in 2017: George Axlund, Joe Meyer, Lee Wilson, Cheryl Wilson Derrick Dietz Bob Fischer

Christmas party

CALENDAR

Terms expire in 2018: Wilbur Yankee, Jim Johnson Bruce Lessig, Bruce Chandler, Blake Jackson

The Backcast is the monthly newsletter of w Wyoming Fly Casters Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the views of the officers, board or members of the Wyoming Fly Casters. Annual dues are $20 for an individual, $30 for a family, or $250 for a lifetime individual membership or $450 for a lifetime family membership. Visit the club website at www. wyflycasters.org. To pay dues or contact the club, write to P.O. Box 2881, Casper, WY 82602. The deadline for submission of information for each issue is a week before the end of the month. Make contributions to the next issue by e-mailing material to the Backcast editor at cheryl_ea06@ hotmail.com or call (307) 267-1903. The Backcast is available either in electronic format or through USPS snail mail. To receive each newsletter through a monthly e-mail, you must be able to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, a software program available free of charge) documents. Usually, each issue is roughly 1 MB in size, some are larger. Your e-mail provider may have limits on the size of attachments. In order to be added to the e-mail list, send a request to cheryl_ea06@hotmail.com. In addition to receiving each issue of the newsletter earlier than your hard copy peers, e-mail subscribers are able to print each copy in vibrant color -- an added plus if the issue is rich in color photographs. By sub-scribing electronically, you also save the club roughly $17.40 a year in printing and postage expenses.

NEW MEMBERS!

If you haven’t already, call Joe Meyer at 307-235-1316. He’ll give you pointers and advice to make sure you catch The big one! Mission Statement: The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of fly fishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.

Description:

The Wyoming Fly Casters club was formed in 1974. The membership currently consists of approximately 160 members. The WFC was organized by a group of dedicated fly fishermen and since the club’s inception the Wyoming Fly Casters have strived to further the sport of fly fishing through conservation and education. Conservation of our water resources is one of our primary goals and in cooperation with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department we have and will continue to carry out worthwhile projects for the benefit of Wyoming fisheries. In addition to conserving Wyoming’s water resources we encourage conserving the fish themselves. A fish safely released today will live to give sport to others. For easy access to digital version of newsletter go to: www.wyomingflycasters.org

Wyoming Fly Casters

President’s letter Hello Flycasters,

December 2016

I am going to deviate from the usual with this month’s letter so please indulge me. I will try to throw in a couple of the highlights but I am confident that Cheryl will work her usual magic and include anything that I don’t. I will start by saying that I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful with the usual abundance of food and family. For that I am truly thankful and hope in the years to come that more of the family can get together to celebrate. Don’t forget about the Christmas party that will soon be upon us. We will be gathering at the club house at 6:30 on the 14th with dinner beginning a little after 7:00. We didn’t feel that only a half an hour would be sufficient to tell all the tales. Pick up your tickets at the Ugly Bug or contact Cheryl to reserve them (we will hold a ticket for you if you have contacted us in advance). We have to get a final number to the caterer very soon so don’t delay. Once again we will NOT have tickets available for the meal at the door so please pick them up soon. Anyone who is interested in participating in the white elephant gift exchange, bring your wrapped gifts the night of the party. I’m hoping to see some new members and their families joining us. Please make them feel welcome and direct them to the knowledge and experience that we have to offer. I want to finish this letter with some bragging on our officers and board members. As this year comes to a close and I look back I see the work that these men and women have performed for the club. Our board meetings have stretched out time wise some months and some of our discussions have been a little heated but that’s because we care about the future of the Flycasters and believe in the mission. We have adopted and implemented a grant process for those seeking funding for projects that meet that mission. This process is young and still may change a little but it is something that will be a uniform process that new officers and board members can follow. I’m not going to list names because I fear that I would miss a name and I don’t want to do that. I am asking that when we get together, either at the Christmas party or on the water give these ladies and gentlemen a pat on the back. They all have put in a lot of time and effort toward the interests of the club and I feel that we have kept a very positive light on the much deserved reputation of the Flycasters. I’m sure that we will have our annual Polar Bear Outing on New Year’s Day and then we are right up against the spring banquet and the Cabin Fever Clinic. Look for more information on those soon. At the time of the banquet I am hoping to put together a “year in review” detailing the high points of 2016. We have covered a lot of ground this year and I know that we are ready to see what 2017 has in store for us. Be safe and may all of you have a fantastic holiday season! Tight Lines & Long Drifts, Lee

December 2016

Christmas Party Join us for our annual Christmas party! We will have dinner catered by HQ BBQ (always a great meal!) Great door prizes, raffles, a white elephant gift exchange, a slideshow and more! When: Wednesday, December 14th. 6:30 p.m.; Dinner at 7:00 p.m. Where: IWL Clubhouse How Much: $10 per ticket Bring a small gift to participate in the white elephant gift exhange! Fishing gear, flies, home baked treats, small gifts, gag gifts all welcome! *We will not be doing a Christmas Fly contest or a Fly Walk this year due to lack of participation in previous years* Tickets are available at the Ugly Bug Fly Shop, downtown Casper, or contact Cheryl Wilson at 307-267-1903. Tickets will NOT be available at the door UNLESS you have your name on the RSVP list. RSVP cut off is Wednesday, December 7th! Join us for the fun!

Wyoming Fly Casters

Fishing Highlights: Joe with some nice fish from the West Yellowstone Healing Waters Event!

December 2016

Lyin’ and Tyin’

Lyin’ and Tyin’ is back! The first meet up will be held on November 12th. For the next few months, we will be meeting on the second and third Saturday of every month, starting at 9:00 a.m. Where: The Oil and Gas Commission on King Blvd. Don’t have fly tying gear? Give Joe a call and he will make sure you are all set up to start learning to tie with a club vice and materials. Questions? Call Joe:235-1316

Wyoming Fly Casters

Letter from the Editor Flycasters, This is the last Backcast of 2016! I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ours was pretty great, as always, with family and lots of good food. The holiday season has kept me pretty busy this year with my own business, but I’m trying hard to take time to enjoy it! If you haven’t yet been to a Lyin’ and Tyin’ event, give it a shot! Its a great way to spend a cold Saturday morning indoors- there are lots of extra supplies if needed, just give Joe a call! Please remember to RSVP to the Christmas party as soon as you can! We really need to get a head count to the caterer no later that Wednesday, December 7th. on page 4 I listed information on the Christmas Party. I’d like to elaborate on the White Elephant gift exchange, for those not familiar. If you’d like to participate, just bring a small gift. It can be a small nice gift, a fly box, a few flies you’ve tied or bought, fishing gear, cookies, etc. Last year I brought a travel mug. 1. Each player brings one wrapped gift to contribute to a common pool 2. Players draw names to determine what order they will go in 3. The first player selects a gift from the pool and opens it 4. The following players can choose to either pick an unwrapped gift from the pool or steal a previous player’s gift. Anyone who gets their gift stolen in this way can do the same – choose a new gift or steal from someone else. 5. After all players have had a turn, the first player gets a chance to swap the gift he or she is holding for any other opened gift. Anyone who’s gift is stolen may steal from someone else (as long as that person hasn’t been stolen from yet). When someone declines to steal a gift, the game comes to an end. Note that for this last “extra” turn, the three-swap rule doesn’t apply. Players can keep swapping until someone decides to stand pat, or there are no other eligible people to steal from. Last year I walked away with a really cool indoor thermometer! The last thing on my list is the polar bear outing. Please consider attending! I haven’t been (I’m a fair-weather fisherman) but I know its always a fun time and there is an awesome green chile lunch after fishing!

Cheryl Wilson

December 2016

WFC GENERAL MEETING MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 9, 2016 CALL TO ORDER: President Lee Tschetter opened the meeting at 1913. He led the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance. FISHING REPORTS: Casey reported on the Miracle Mile Outing on October 15th. Joe reminds members that he will be leading a group to the 33-mile ponds this Friday. Sagebrush Pond has been fishing well. The Trapper's Route area of the river has been fishing well with caddis dries. Walker Jenkins has been fair, but would have been better with a little wind-the weather was too nice! Goldeneye has been disappointing 2 consecutive trips this fallno surface activity at all. The river at Robertson Road bridge has been fishing well. Blake Jackson reports that this fall has had the best dry fly fishing on the North Platte in a long time. The excellent conditions include the in-town portion and Morad Park which was recently rehabilitated with in-stream modifications. Blake says most of the fish at Morad Park are not far offshore and easily reachable with minimal wading. ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1) Lee T. congratulates Derrick on the recent Thankful Thursday at the Beacon Club where over $12,00 was raised for Project Healing Waters. 2) Lee T. asked for a report on the Public Lands Rally last Saturday. The Club had several members who attended and reported the turnout was large and the speakers passionate about "Keeping public lands in public hands", which was the motto often heard at the rally. Last month, WFC BOD had passed a resolution supporting the concept. 3) Lee Wilson has tickets available tonight for the WFC Christmas Party which will be next month's meeting here at the IWL Clubhouse starting at 6:30 on December 14th. The tickets cost $10 and the entire meal will be provided except for adult beverages. HQ Barbecue will again be the caterer. Tickets will also be available at the Ugly Bug, but try to get your tickets early so we can turn in an accurate count to the caterer. A reminder will be sent out to all club members as the next Backcast will not be published in time. 4) Derrick announces that there will be 2 Lyin and Tyins starting in January. The morning session will be the usual fly tying and the afternoon session will be rod building. The first Lyin and Tyin will be this Saturday at 0900 and all sessions will be at the Oil and Gas building. RAFFLE: The raffle was conducted. SPEAKER: President Tschetter reports the scheduled speaker from the City of Casper who was going to talk about the Russian Olive survey is having a baby. Blake Jackson of the Ugly Bug Fly Shop has kindly agreed to substitute and will be speaking primarily on nymphing on the North Platte River. Blake starts off by emphasizing that nymphing is effective because 80% of feeding in a river takes place within 18" of the bottom. He then talked about the equipment that will keep your flies in that feeding zone. Of all the different kinds of strike indicators available, he prefers one that is colorful on top, but "camouflaged" on the bottom. He says that fish in clear, heavily-fished water can be put off by a uniformly bright strike indicator. The weight to get the flies down into the feeding zone comes in 2 types. You can use weighted flies, or add split shot to the leader above the top fly. He prefers using split shot about 18" from the top fly and feels he will get fewer foul-ups with bottom structure this way. The relationship between the strike indicator and the split shot is important as it should be about 1.5X the depth of the water where the fish are likely holding. If unsure of the depth, err toward being too deep rather than too shallow. If the depth is correct, you will notice periodic hesitations in the strike indicator as the split shot "ticks" along the bottom. A common error is to use too little weight, which will not allow your flies to sink rapidly into the feeding zone. If not having any success, Blake says he will usually change his split shot weight and/or strike indicator-split shot length before he will change flies. Blake offers advice on fishing unfamiliar, big water. He tries to "dissect" the big, intimidating water into small segments that are familiar. Seams, tail-outs, eddies, pocket water etc. are prime lies no matter what the size of the water and are worthy of a fisherman's time. However, Blake cautions you should always fish Continued on page 9

Wyoming Fly Casters 9 the closer, unlikely water on your way to the prime lie, as fish can be anywhere. The speaker considers proper "mending" to be very important. The purpose of mending is to keep the strike indicator flowing naturally, which will allow the trailing fly stack to also flow naturally underwater. Try to achieve an "S" shape in your line, not a horseshoe. He feels the classic "rainbow" motion upstream with the rod tip is flawed because it will move the strike indicator. He prefers a flicking, roll-cast motion upstream. For a downstream drift, a "stack" mend will extend the drift. Learn it and use it. Blake offers a few miscellaneous items to finish. Always try to set the hook downstream, if possible. During a downstream drift, a right-hander should set the hook over to her left side to ensure a better chance of getting a hook-up. When fishing multiple flies, put at least 18" between them and attach the heaviest ones higher in the stack. As a general rule on the Platte, worms, leeches and crawdads are always good. In the fall, midges, BWO are consistent and sometimes PM caddis. When it is cold, midge immature forms in black with silver can be productive. ADJOURNMENT: President Tschetter closed the meeting at 1958.

WFC BOARD MEETING OF NOVEMBER 16, 2016 *All votes on motions are unanimous unless otherwise noted. MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Lee T., Spencer, Janet, Joe, Lee W., Blake, John, Jim, Wilbur, Bruce C., Derrick, George, Bob. Excused: Bruce L. and Cheryl. CALL TO ORDER: President Tschetter called the meeting to order at 1902. COMMITTEE REPORTS: 1) Project Committee: George reports that 2 of the accepted contracts have been returned-Access Yes and Project Learning Tree. George and Spencer have been working on meeting with the Foundation to discuss renewing efforts to increase fundraising. Janet added that she has been in talks with an individual about hosting a potential fundraiser for the WFC at a local establishment. She will keep us updated on any progress. SECRETARY'S REPORT: John has emailed the BOD minutes from the October 19th meeting to all board members. No questions or corrections were forthcoming. Bruce C. makes a motion to accept the report and it is seconded by Janet. The motion carried. TREASURER'S REPORT: Janet handed out a copy of the Club's banking summary, balance sheet and October banking statement. Janet has had discussions with the Izaak Walton League about our overdue rent. In summary, we get the use of the clubhouse twice monthly, they do some cleanup after each use, we keep a storage shed on the property and we rent another storage shed from the IWL. This has been for $75/month. It was agreed that WFC pay for the previous 2016 rent at the old rate, and sign a contract stipulating $100/month from this point going forward. George made a motion: WFC authorizes Janet to sign a contract with the IWL for $100/month. Wilbur seconded the motion and the motion carried. Additional discussion then ensued. Joe wanted to know whether we would have use of the clubhouse if we restarted the youth program. Also, will we pay annually, quarterly or monthly? Janet will check on this. Spencer wondered whether IWL could send us a bill. Also, could we renew the contract at a time amenable to a new, incoming treasurer? George wanted input from the Board on how this happened in the first place, whether we have any other obligations that could "fall through the cracks" and how to prevent this from ever happening again. In response, Lee T. gave a summary of the last 3 years as he remembers it that reveals some possible flaws in our payment system. It was generally agreed that the club has no other Continued on page 10

December 2016

recurring charges that could become delinquent in this manner. Janet then reports on the Club's attempts to obtain a credit card and change our bank. 1st Interstate appears to have an attractive set-up. First of all, they offer a nonprofit account that can reduce fees. We may be able to get a credit card through them if we purchase a CD, but the other banks interviewed did not offer a credit card. We could also get a debit card through them. Lee T. wants to know what would be involved in adding new names and removing old names as the WFC BOD changes with elections. Janet replies that that can be routinely done. George made a motion to accept the Treasurer's report. Jim seconded the motion and the motion carried. OLD BUSINESS: 1) Lee T. reviewed our response to the recent request for funding a special survey by G&F to assess the Pathfinder Reservoir fishery. Our decision was that any request must go through the guidelines that we have established for funding projects. NEW BUSINESS: 1) Lee T. and Spencer are going to contact Fleur de Lis energy company in order to thank them for providing more water to the Watertank and Petro stock ponds. Also, we should check to see if the signage needs to be updated at these sites since sponsers are noted on the signs and may have changed. We should contact Justin Burger of the BLM to help with this, and we should consider thanking all of the active sponsers of the ponds. 2) Lee T. brings up our Club's obligation to do roadside clean-up on the 2-mile stretch of highway near Alcova. He thinks it has been about 1.5 years since our last effort and wants to know what the club should do going forward. It was generally agreed that twice yearly outings are preferable to once yearly, and Blake suggested spring and fall outings and that it could be put on our activity calendar. 3) Lee T. reminds us that we need to be planning for the Cabin Fever Clinic. It was March 12th last year, a Saturday, and there was a conflict with a basketball tournament that may have hurt attendance. We should check with the chamber of commerce to make sure no such conflicts exist. Cheryl rented the space last year at the rec center, and it costs about $150-200 for the 3-4 hours. Blake suggests trying a Sunday this year as that is a family day and there may be fewer competing activities. Janet suggests sending flyers to schools to advertise. Spencer will take the lead this year in checking those items. 4) We will need help setting up for the Christmas Party. The social starts at 6:30 and food is served at 7:00. IWL had done some of the set-up last year, but we should have a crew show up at 5:00 to do our part. Spencer's family had been the servers last year and he would like others to perform that duty this year. Multiple board members indicate a willingness to help with both these tasks. 5) Lee T. brings up the Club's calendar of activites that we have been trying to create. Janet has made one, but it is currently missing. Blake ventures that the website that he is constructing will have that capability, and we could even create a separate version for BOD activities. Blake will stay after the meeting to reveal the new WFC website that he has produced, and to ask for any suggestions that could make it better. 6) Lee T. starts a discussion of the Club's BOD meetings, now scheduled at 1900 on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. He particularly wonders if the December BOD meeting, now scheduled for 12/21, could be moved because it is so close to Christmas. George made a motion, seconded by Bob, to move the December BOD meeting to 12/14 at 1730, which would be prior to the Christmas Party. The motion carried. We will try to move the food service back to 1915, in order to extend the social period.

Continued on page 11

Wyoming Fly Casters

7) Janet introduces the idea that 2 Wednesdays a month for club business is very time consuming. She makes a motion: Schedule the WFC BOD meetings at 1815 on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Any unfinished BOD business will then be addressed after the general meeting. Jim seconds the motion and the motion carried. 8) Joe has learned that the Outdoor Expo will be back this year. It will be in May sometime and will probably run for 3 days. We need to decide if we want a presence at the Expo and let the organizers know. 9) Janet would like the Club to improve on the "welcome packet" given to new members. It currently is flies and a hat. PHW has the nice booklets for beginners to fly fishing, and that should definitely be included. John offers that a compilation of local fishing areas should be included, but that does not currently exist. ADJOURNMENT: Lee T. says that concludes scheduled items. George makes a motion to adjourn and Bruce C. seconds. The motion carries and the meeting is adjourned at 2030. Respectfully Submitted, John Yost, Secretary

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Calendar

Sunday

December 2016

DECEMBER 2016 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

10 Lyin' and Tyin' 9:00 am-3:00 pm

WFC Christmas Party 6:30 p.m.

17 Lyin' and Tyin' 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Dec. Solstice

Christmas Eve

New Year's Eve

Board Meeting 7:00 p.m.

25 Day 26 Merry Christmas Flycasters! Christmas

1 Polar Bear Outing and Lunch

Kwanzaa begins

November 2016 S

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

T 1 8 15 22 29

W 2 9 16 23 30

Th 3 10 17 24

F 4 11 18 25

January 2017 Sa 5 12 19 26

S 1 8 15 22 29

M 2 9 16 23 30

T 3 10 17 24 31

W 4 11 18 25

Th 5 12 19 26

F 6 13 20 27

Sa 7 14 21 28

Upcoming Events January 1st: Polar Bear Outing

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December 2016