Tips to become a better fly fisher
Reintroduced Colorado cutthroat are making a comeback in this rarely-visited Wyoming stream
Exploring
LaBarge
Text and Photos by Randall Stalker
S
everal years ago, I asked my wife the same question the Liverpudlian philosopher Paul McCartney crooned a half century ago: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?”
The question needed to be asked, as I was nearing retirement age following a pressure cooker career in journalism and firearms. I intended to embark on an ambitious effort to check off items from my bucket list, and I needed her blessing. The first priority was completing Wyoming’s Cutt-Slam, a program of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which consists of documenting the catch of each of the four subspecies of cutthroat trout in their native habitat. Many Yellowstone and Snake (the two most common) had been caught over the years, but the Colorado and Bonneville remained elusive, as I never had the time to invest in targeting these fish exclusively. The Yellowstone cutthroat enjoys the widest range, and is the easiest to hook on a fly. I caught many of these fish from a float tube off Steamboat Point or Gull Point on Yellowstone Lake over 10 years ago -- about when their numbers starting plummeting due to the exploding population of predacious lake trout. A mohair leech pattern, cast close to shore
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and rapidly stripped back induced vicious strikes from the butter yellow cutties. The Snake River produced its namesake trout during a drift boat trip south of Jackson. Although many surface patterns resulted in fish, a goofy looking pink fly called a Fat Albert fooled enough fine-spotted cutthroats to earn a place in my box. The remaining two cutthroats would be more challenging. The initial effort to catch and document a Colorado River cutthroat trout was pursued in the Little Snake River Valley. The area around Hafferty Creek is the hub of a reintroduction effort by the Wyoming Game and Fish to restore this trout to its native drainage by eliminating competing trout species and improving habitat and migration culverts. Although I tired my arm casting for the new cutthroat on this tiny stream, I was unable to hook one. I witnessed many small fish, but they were easily spooked. Skunked, I decided to move on to more promising water further north. The Tri-Basin Divide in extreme
western Wyoming has since served as the base for many fly fishing adventures, targeting Colorado, Snake and Bonneville cutthroats. Years after hanging the CuttSlam certificate on the wall, I look forward to return every July or August to fish LaBarge Creek, a rarely-visited stream which is home, again, exclusively to Colorado River cutthroat trout. From the Tri-Basin Divide, three of the four cutthroat trout can be caught within a few miles of each other. A raindrop falling here splits into three directions: north, forming the beginnings of the Greys River, home of Snake River cutthroat; southwest, for the Bonnevilles in the Smith’s Fork River of the Bear River; and southeast, where Colorado cutthroats inhabit the LaBarge Creek valley. All three of these streams begin as mere trickles from springs. Each gains volume as tributaries donate their flow. None are fish-worthy for several miles immediately below the Tri-Basin Divide. LaBarge begins as seepage in a lush valley meadow carpeted by wildflowers and willows and gently follows a serpentine path southeast, gaining flow from a number of small springs until it travels 40 miles and empties into the Green River. LaBarge gained its name from the first white man to explore the stream. Joseph Marie LaBarge, a FrenchCanadian trapper, pursued beaver here in the 1820s.
Over 10,000 settlers in search of a better life in California and Oregon passed through this wilderness 40 years after LaBarge explored the area. These pioneers were following a trail developed by Frederick Lander, which shaved some 100 miles off the Oregon Trail. But life was not easy for these pioneers, as disease and accidents claimed many lives. A few concrete pillars are scattered along the trail, acknowledging a known final resting place of an immigrant from the western expansion 150 years ago. A small graveyard, enclosed by a rustic split rail fence, sits along South Piney Creek a few miles north of LaBarge Creek. This graveyard includes headstones hewn from native rock, with names chiseled with grace and precision. A signpost along the road tells the story of a child who drowned when the family’s wagon overturned while crossing swollen South Piney. Time has erased any marker for her grave. The most visited final resting place, however, is for Elizabeth Paul, located on the LaBarge leg of the Lander Trail. The 32-year old woman died following a difficult childbirth in 1862. She was buried beneath a pine tree which still towers as as a sentinel. A contemporary diarist, Julius Merrill, recorded on Aug. 15, 1864 his impressions upon traveling on the trail and respecting the grave. “Passed a grave enclosed by a picket fence, painted white,” he wrote. “There was an opening of perhaps half an acre with one large shady pine near its center. Under the lone tree was the grave. The beauty of the place and the care bestowed upon the remains of the woman caused us all to stop and look at it.” A notch had been cut in the base of the tree, with a note describing the woman’s name and the circumstances of her death. The notch survives. Merrill’s description is still accurate 154 years after it was written.
LaBarge Creek near the confluence with South LaBarge.
Conservation efforts Other than the sagebrush and willows (and roads), the area remains much the same as it was 160 years ago when it was first explored and mapped. And it is to remain that way. Eleven years ago, the late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas championed the idea of protecting the Wyoming Range (and
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The graves of many pioneers can be visited along South Piney Creek.
The Lander Cutoff Trail The Lander Cutoff Trail, used by brave pioneers in the who made the perilous journey in the middle to late 18th century in hopes of a better life in the Pacific northwest, passed along what is now the Tri-Basin Divide. The trail was forged by Frederick Lander in an effort to shave 80 miles and seven days off the Oregon Trail. It was surveyed in 1857, and construction was completed the following year. It was the first road funded by the federal government for just over $67,000. Tens of thousands of restless souls made the punishing journey in the early stages of western expansion, struggling along the rocky, uneven and steep terrain, crossing swollen creeks, and often burying family members who died along the way from disease, fatigue or accident. A few of these graves have been identified (and many, many more have not), and are marked with concrete pillars which serve as stark reminders of the sacrifices made by these hardy pioneers. The most prominent grave is for Elizabeth Paul, who died in 1862 following childbirth. She was placed to rest in the fenced shade of a pine tree along the LaBarge Creek road a few miles southeast of the Tri-Basin Divide. The trail’s use dramatically declined following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869.
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LaBarge Creek sits at its southern flank) from the threat of oil and gas exploration. When Thomas died of cancer, newly-appointed Sen. John Barrasso took up the torch and made it a top priority. The move was initially controversial. It was applauded by conservation groups and outdoorsmen, but the idea of retiring existing oil and gas leases and banning new ones in the Wyoming Range was an uphill battle. After all, the bulk of Wyoming’s economy and a lot of its employment comes from the oil and gas industry. But wise leaders recognized that some of the few remaining unspoiled areas in the Cowboy State must be protected. The Wyoming Range Legacy Act, was ultimately passed by Congress in 2009 and signed by the president. It put 1.2 million acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest off limits from oil and gas development. Future generations will be able to travel in the footprints of pioneers and be able to enjoy the mountains, wildflowers, wildlife and fisheries in their wild natural state for generations more.
Cutthroat recovery But it was not the rich history which drew me here. It was the siren song of fishing for three subspecies of cutthroat trout in their native habitat -- all within an hour of each other. But LaBarge is the one stream which has grown into a favorite destination. The fishing’s easy; the catching isn’t. These Colorado cutthroats are a challenging fish to coax to a fly. LaBarge is not the only stream holding these fish. Travel north from LaBarge on the east side of the Wyoming Range and a few streams will offer an angler an opportunity to catch Colorados. The visiting fly tosser could sample Fish Creek (there are also brook trout here), North Piney, and North and South Cottonwood, for Colorados, and then drop over McDougal Pass on the Sheep Creek Road to the Greys River and cast a line for the fine-spotted Snake River cutthroat. The Colorado cutthroat in Wyoming is in recovery mode. Most recent studies (including one published in 2013 by the Coloado Parks and Wildlife) indicates greater than 90 percent pure Colorado cutthroat (little introgression) trout only occupy 11 percent of its historic range. LaBarge was the focus of an ambitious
A wealth of primitive camping opportunities is available along most of the upper stretches of LaBarge Creek. No developed campgrounds are available so fly fishers will need to pack camping equipment, food, water and all their gear. And some of the best water to cast a fly is within walking distance of your campsite. program to return Colorado cutthroat to the stream, in an effort which was launched 16 years ago. It was the largest fish restoration and recovery project ever undertaken in the state. For years, rainbows, brook and hybrid trout had outcompeted the pure cutthroat in LaBarge. Beginning in 2002 the non-native fish were removed with the use of the chemical agent Rotenone. A fish migration barrier, actually a spillway, was later built to prevent non-native species from moving upstream from the forest service boundary and contaminating the stream with hybridization. Colorado cutthroat were re-introduced into the stream five years later. And in the years following, other modifications have been made in an effort to improve the habitat and fishery. In 2009, work was started to replace culverts to improve habitat and fish migration. And during 2016 and 2017, stream crossings were improved at LaBarge meadows and Shafer Creek, and bridges or concrete box culverts were built at Crystal Creek and Spring Creek. The road crossing at Indian Creek is to be addressed in 2018. Fish stockings by the Wyoming G&F are to continue until the cutthroats reach a self-supporting population. “As for LaBarge, we electrofished the mainstem and most of the tributaries in
2015,” Hilda Sexauer, the G&F’s fisheries supervisor in Pinedale reported. “We found fish (not high density) in the tributaries and LaBarge Creek with South LaBarge Creek supporting some of the better density and biggest fish. Reestablishment has been slow so we decided to stock again in 2014 and we stocked in 2015.” She said she previously stocked hatchery fish into the stream from 2007 through 2011 and again in 2013. Although the fish did not, initially, establish in the creek, there was some limited natural reproduction occurring, she said. The recovery effort is paying dividends. In visiting the stream over the last few years, I have found each fishing trip is rewarded with more and larger fish. It may be that I’m becoming more comfortable with the stream. Sexauer says the Wyoming G&F will continue to stock fish here. “Actually, we are just wrapping up a graduate research project looking at movement and stocking success for several different treatments,” she said. The project is studying fish in different sizes, from different hatcheries, and the time these fish spent in the hatcheries before they are stocked. She said she doesn’t have results of the study yet, pending the master’s degree thesis of a graduate student.
Casting a fly A large part of the joy of fishing LaBarge (and all of the other streams in the area) is the lack of fishing pressure. In five years of camping and fishing here, I have rarely encountered another fly caster. To get to LaBarge, take the LaBarge Creek Road just south of the town of LaBarge. Travel northwest 25 miles through mainly private property to the U.S. Forest Service boundary (the first 11 miles are paved). From there it is another 14 miles to the Tri-Basin Divide. The road runs parallel to LaBarge its entire length. Access is no problem, as several pullouts are provided. And camping sites are everywhere, and just steps from the stream. Just don’t expect any developed campgrounds or other amenities -- there aren’t any. You can also get here from the north by driving south for 60 miles on the Greys River Road. From the west, take the Smith’s Fork Road from either Afton or Cokeville off highway 89. By going one of these ways, you could take the time to perhaps notch a Snake River cutt from the Greys or a Bonneville from the Smith’s while heading toward the Tri-Basin Divide and the LaBarge. But take your time driving. These roads are not kind to tires driven at
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Olive Stimulator
Pookie
Soft Hackle
HOOK: Dai-Riki 270, sizes 10-18 THREAD: Yellow 8/0 TAIL: Elk hair ABDOMEN: Olive dubbing HACKLE: Brown THORAX: Yellow dubbing HACKLE: Grizzly WING: Elk hair
HOOK: Dai-Riki 280, sizes 6-12 THREAD: Red 6/0 BODY: 2mm foam (choice of color) WING: Elk hair OVERWING: Packing film LEGS: Rubber (choice of color) POST: Orange foam
HOOK: Dai-Riki 060, sizes 14-18 THREAD: Brown-olive 8/0 TAIL (optional): Hare’s mask fibers BODY: Hare’s ear mask (choice of color) RIBBING: Gold wire HACKLE: Partridge, 2-3 turns
speeds faster than a crawl. Pointed rocks will punch holes in the tread, and flung rocks have a habit of biting the extended valves. This is no place to deal with a flat tire. Two years ago, returning from the Greys River, we encountered a Suburban stopped on the side of the LaBarge Road. The woman was in tears because she was late for a job interview and she was forced to detour, as the highway from Pinedale to Jackson was closed due to a forest fire. We changed her tire, admonished her slow down since she didn’t have a second spare, and pointed her north to the Greys River Road. Upon reaching the middle stretch of LaBarge, the visitor observes a scarred landscape. The Fontenelle Fire, which may have been started by a lightning strike, swept through the east side of the Wyoming Range in 2012, turning over 64,000 acres of forest into stands of white, branchless spikes. Although the stream is visible from the road its entire length, it is a bit of a struggle to reach. A fisherman must hold his rod high and stomp through wadertearing sagebrush and suffocating willows (often occupied by moose) in order to reach the water. The fisher must be selective in choosing which water to present his fly. The shallow, riffle water can be ignored. Instead, fish the outside turns or structured elements of the creek. These fish are spooky, so a cautious approach and gentle presentation are paramount. A 3- or 4- weight soft to medium action fly rod is perfect for this steam. A
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short rod is handy in order to cast to tight quarters with underhanging willows or brush. Cover the entire stream with a few casts before moving on to another spot. I find my 3-weight bamboo is not just an adequate fishing tool, but an immensely pleasurable one. The soft action presents the fly with accuracy and minimal surface disturbance, and acts as a shock absorber when fighting a fish. It is a good idea to bring along a spare rod, as a broken rod tip could require a long drive to civilization for a replacement stick. A 7-1/2 foot leader, tapered to 5X, is recommended. Casts need not be long, as long as you stay out of the fish’s field of view. This is easily accomplished because you’ll be surrounded by the thick willows. I make it a habit to fish from the bank in order not to spook a prospective fish-holding pool by wading. You need not carry a half dozen fly boxes with you (although all of us do). This is not a stream which requires carefully sized hatch-matching patterns in order to fool the fish. The cutthroats here respond well to most any properly presented attractor or imitation. Some of the favorites I use on the stream include purple parachute Adams, beetle and hopper patterns, stimulators and Royal Wulffs. Stick with the smaller sizes, 14-18. If you see some surface-feeding activity, a parachute Adams, sparkle dun or sparkle pupa are good ammunition. And throw in some nymphs. I favor using one as a dropper suspended 12-18 inches below the surface fly. A small box
in your fanny pack should include hare’s ears, Prince nymphs, pheasant tails and deep sparkle pupas. Last year, the most effective patterns were a size 14 stimulator or a goofy beetle pattern called a hippie stomper, also in size 14. Hopper patterns, like the Pink Pookie (which I tie in tan and yellow) is always a good attractor and it is easy to see with its tuft of orange foam. And don’t forget one of the most versatile, and simplest patterns out there. A soft hackle.
Midges, mayflies and caddisflies emerge in exactly the same fashion, and this pattern, which fished in the film in the proper size and color, imitates them all. An emerger struggling to escape from its nymphal shuck is completely vulnerable and the fish know it. So a feeding fish, without expending much energy, can make a meal on these emergers. Fish it either by itself or as a dropper. You could also fish a beadhead version if you want to dredge the depths. A smorgasbord of food items can be identified by overturning rocks in the creek. The water is full of midges, mayflies and some rather large cased caddis. These fish are not shy once they decide to accept your offering. But once you catch one, move on to the next likely fish holding spot. The fish splashing in the shallow pool would certainly alert their comrades of an intruder. My favorite stretch of LaBarge Creek is between Nameless Creek and the confluence with South LaBarge. These few miles have netted me some fine fish over the years, one stretched the tape at just under 14 inches. And don’t overlook the small tributary streams. These gentle,tumbling and rock-strewn creeks also have pure cutthroats and are worth exploring and casting a line.
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Plan to stop at Farson and enjoy one of the Mercantile’s huge ice cream cones. It’s a tradition. Gas up in LaBarge’s only gas station because you’ll be driving for many hours on rough dirt roads. Carry all the gear you think you’ll need, including camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag and propane stove), water, groceries and a rain jacket. 3-4 weight fly rods. 7-1/2 foot leaders, tapered to 5X. A selection of general fly patterns. If nothing is hatching on the surface, go to attractor patterns or terrestrials. Consider using a nymph or emerger as a dropper. Camping sites are plentiful, and some even have picnic tables. Don’t expect any developed campgrounds or services or amenities. Drive slowly. Sharp rocks peeking from the road surface can and will destroy tires.
There is a wealth more of the LaBarge drainage I have yet to sample. The canyon stretch above Elizabeth’s grave is one segment I intend to scramble down in a future fishing trip, as long as my knees don’t complain. When immigrants stopped at the TriBasin divide to rest for a few days, allowed their livestock to fatten up on the lush
grass, and prepare for the downhill stretch of the trail, they also took time to sample the fish. Diarists record the stream was teeming with fish, and the pioneers enjoyed many a fried fish dinner here. Today, the meadow is carpeted with wildflowers, sagebrush and scattered willows, and the creek is too shallow to support a healthy population of husky fish. It is best to put your attention to the lower stretches. The willows thin out below South LaBarge, and the creek offers unrestricted easy access from the road. But although the stream appears to offer good fishability, I have yet to hook a fish here. Further downstream, below the spillway, fly fishers can test the water for cutthroats, brookies, rainbows, browns and mountain whitefish. There are numerous idyllic camping places alongside the creek. Whether you fish LaBarge exclusively, or use it as a base to also visit the Greys or Smith’s Fork, relax and take your time. The words of the late Charlie Brooks are as a relevant here as when he was talking about Slough Creek in Yellowstone National Park. He considered an area as wild, unspoiled and beautiful as this needs to be enjoyed in small sips -- not large gulps. Pack your duffel with memories, take your smiles with you and leave nothing behind but your foot-
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It is a tradition as old as the sport. At tics of Colorado’s Grumpy Old Farts Club. dusk, when the stream no longer boils with Both are populated by old, white males who surface-feeding trout, fly fishermen retire to choose to fish obscure streams and enjoy the a creekside campsite to remove their waders, camaraderie of friends. But the two clubs do climb into fleece jackets, enjoy a swig from not share the same political ideologies. the ubiquitous flask of Irish whiskey, fire up A half dozen of the Wyoming fly tossers the propane stove to cook dinner and finalcircled their campchairs around the glowing ly circle the campfire to warm themselves fire on the east bank of the Greys River as and talk of the day’s successes on the water. the sun dipped over the forested horizon. It is no different with the members of the Rattlesnake Windy Bill, the titular head of the club, in conformity to tradiButte Fly Casters. The term “liar” is widely regarded as a syntion, was the first to spit in the fire. onym for “fishing.” And these tossers of insect imitations fashA retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, Windy has a marioned of fur and feathers wound around a thin, sharpened piece tinet personality -- a quality barely tolerated by the club. His of steel, live up to the reputation. But these fly fishers are more Napoleonic frame appears mismatched to his booming voice. subtle. They don’t tell stories as ridiculous as bragging of catchHe moved to Wyoming upon leaving the military and, needing ing a brook trout so large it needed to be gaffed, spotting the something to occupy his time when he was not writing his memmythical bigfoot while exploring a backcountry stream, or fishoirs, he took up fly fishing. ing for tarpon or bonefish from a belly boat; but their campfire He was elected as the club’s president because it served two braggadocio does raise eyebrows, triggers purposes. First, no one else wanted the job. snarls of disbelief, and most often induces By the time of the evening campfire, Secondly, it gave Windy the opportunity to this Bonneville cutthroat will measure again wield the mantle of command, gales of laughter. The club shares the same characteris- 28 inches and weigh over 8 pounds. although it was largely a symbolic title.
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One fly-fishing club’s approach to instilling truth to the sport
Windy leans back in his campchair and starts a long-winded account of one of his often-told stale stories of his time as a tank commander during the Rhodesian Bush War, when he is interrupted by O’Reilly. No one can finish a sentence when O’Reilly is around. He rudely breaks into any conversation and interjects his opinion. O’Reilly bruskly dismisses Windy’s garrulous tale and instead steers the conversion to one about the day’s fishing. He asks questions, but no one has an opportunity to complete an answer because O’Reilly completes both sides of the conversation. Chef Ptomaine is silently listening from behind the propane cook stove. Ptomaine has been the club’s volunteer cook for years, a job he relishes. He does fish, but he quits early enough to get a head start on cooking dinner. When the club members return home they are not surprised to learn they weigh a few pounds heavier than when they left. Ptomaine is preparing ribeye steaks with baked potatoes and all the fixins.’ His kitchen is situated in a old, canvas outfitter tent. The canvas has the aged odor of smoke and mildew. Ptomaine doesn’t tie his own flies. He uses a 30 year old Fenwick fiberglass fly rod, a yellowed Pflueger Medalist reel, and an old, weathered, cracked fly line which barely floats. He doesn’t have the close-up vision to pass a tippet through the eye of any hook smaller than a size 16, even with the help of his cheaters. While the evening meal is simmering on the grill, a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream is passed around, with each swig preceded by a toast. Clyde accepts the bottle with a hand the size of a catcher’s mitt attached to orangutan arms long enough to substitute for oars on his driftboat. A mountain of a man, Clyde has spent the bulk of his life in the Wyoming oil patch. Injury forced him to abandon the rigs, so he now runs a hotshot service. He manages to get enough time off to enjoy the monthly outings of the club. He raises the bottle and boasts that he caught over 30 Snake River cutthroats on his size 28 extended body clipped deer hair hopper. “Here’s to the cutthroat trout,” he says before raising the bottle to his lips. “May tomorrow be even better than today. My two weight really got a workout today. Those small spotted cutthroats really put a stretch on my 8X tippet.” The camp was situated about 100 yards from the rough dirt road. A gap in the circular cluster of Douglas firs allowed vehicles to enter a natural secluded amphitheatre, shielded by the wind but receiving plenty of sunshine to dry out the tents and gear. The club found this spot 15 years ago and the members return each year as a tradition.
“I was using a pattern designed to imitate the instar pupal stage of the fibberus frequens mayfly.”
While most of the club members choose to sleep in tents, Q tows his small bumper-pull camper behind his pickup. Q is a retired aerospace electronic engineer who used a chunk of his NASA pension to buy a slice of Wyoming paradise south of Glenrock. As the dean of Boxelder Creek, Q has the opportunity each spring to step outside his back deck and test the designs of micro-drones he fabricated during the winter. A bespeckled man with a face masked by an ungroomed grey beard, Q uses the Bailey’s to toast the success of his newest creation. Q designed and built an electronic prototype of a PMD mayfly, size 16, which would be hard to tell from the natural insect at a quick glance other than the tiny helicopter blades which give the imitation its lift and thrust. He does not cast the fly; he delivers the contraption with a small controller attached above the cork grip of his 4 weight bamboo fly rod. His next idea is develop a nymph, complete with camera lens. The reason he was late in returning to camp is because he wanted to catch one particular fish -- the one which broke his 5X tippet and escaped with the electronic imitation embedded in the side of its jaw. The ribbing he would take from his fellow club members would be relentless and vicious, so he remains silent. He would try again tomorrow. Listening to the bloviating toasts of his buddies, Q looks over the bifocals resting on the end of his nose with a condescending expression not unlike that of a gourmet chef who has just been asked by a customer for a bottle of ketchup to slather a plate-sized slab of well-done prime rib. “I was using a pattern designed to imitate the instar pupal stage of the fibberus frequens mayfly,” he says simply as he passes the bottle. After a few more rounds of toasts, the campfire chatter turns to a difference of opinion started by Windy. He often takes an opposing position just to provoke an argument. With a thrust pointer finger, Windy, an applause junkie, was confronting Flat Earth Dave, a whisper of a man. As an confessed conspiracy theorist, Dave lives off the grid on a single room cabin. He won’t use a graphite rod, because he suspects the NSA might use it as an antenna to spy on him. Dave was known for his paradoxical or malapropic quips. “I always fish dry flies, except when I’m nymphing.” “The towels in that fishing lodge were so thick I almost couldn’t zip my duffel.” “I found good fishing on the upstream side of the gullivert under the highway.” “If you think that sporting goods store is big, on top of it all they have a basement.” “I forgot what I remembered yesterday.” The two were debating the differences and subjective superiorities of two handgun cartridges; the semi-automatic .490 Patton and the rimmed .475 Eastwood Magnum. The two were boasting about bullet weights, muzzle velocities, downrange energy and 50 yard accuracy. Windy, a military man, favored the Patton. But Dave preferred the magnum. Windy said he could have used the pistol to dispatch rogue elephants in Rhodesia during his assignment there. At the time he used an English double rifle in .505 Webley-Churchill. As a vestige of his many African safaris, he still wears the pith helmet which sat on his size 7-1/2 head in Rhodesia and Namibia. He also carries all his fishing gear in a drab olive Alice backpack. He wears the oak leafs of his former rank on the lapels of his fishing shirt.
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Dave disagrees, arguing that no handgun is effective medicine The campfire serves for elephant. He maintains the as the hub of the largest animal he dispatched with conversations and his wheelgun was a polar bear at fishing stories. 100 yards. A single well-placed shot, he said, dropped it on the spot. After dinner, serious bragging gets underway. Each fisher attempts to top the preceding story with grandstanding boasts of larger and more fish caught. Inevitably, the campfire swagger becomes ridiculously exaggerated or downright fictional. “Windy has a 40 percent markup on every fish he catches,” quipped Q. “And he cut off the first 10 inches of his ruler.” But the club has a remedy to instill more honesty in the campfire chatter. The group appoints someone -- preferably a preacher who also practices the sport of fly fishing -- to act as a referee and officiate the grandiose claims. At times during the marathon stories, the club’s appointed bailiff acts like an NFL official and reaches for an orange penalbabyfood jar looks even though he’s now in his mid 60s, asks ty flag or blows a whistle to point out a flagrant violation of any to see this diminutive and highly dubious streamer fly. reasonable standard of honesty. “Sorry, Semaphore,” he says. “I lost it on the next cast to an A penalty is meted on the “players” for these fouls. But the judgeven larger cutthroat.” ment could be appealed to a “jury.” Gerber had returned to camp early and he related a story Those around the campfire can vote which fell on disbelieving ears. whether to convict the accused He said he caught a “monster.” It ripped the line, and then based on the voracity of his “testithe backing from the reel as it raced upstream, he contended. mony,” and their personal experiUltimately, the backing snapped from the reel. ences in the sporting world. The bailiff with a Bible contested his claim. A jury was The jurors most often acquit a about to render a verdict and issue a sentence (washing the the “defendant” because they, dinner dishes), when a red-shirted figure emerged from the too, could be tried for departures shadows. A glint of light reflected from the badge pinned to from the truth. his shirt. A sidearm was holstered to his belt. So when another club memAfter checking each fisher’s license, the game warden ber, Semaphore, a nickname engaged in small talk with the group about the fishing successes gleaned from a habit of waving in the Greys River over the last few days. his arms like a Navy signalman “I was watching one guy through my spotting scope,” the when he gets excited about a fish sheriff begins. “I saw one guy guy tie into a real impressive fishing story, boasts about catchspecimen. It raced upstream like a rocket, and I could hear the ing monster fish from the Greys line ripping from the reel.” River on a size 18 articulated “That was me!” exclaimed Gerber. “I knew they wouldn’t streamer, the others nod their believe me. Now I have a witness.” head in disbelief but no one verbally contests the claim. “Yeah, I saw the whole thing,” the warden continued, givSemaphore goes on. ing seeming credibility to Gerber’s story. “At the time I won“I had to wade halfway across the river. I was fishing that dered how you got tangled up in that jumbo’s paddles. I mean it spot above the island. It’s pretty hard to get to because of all the was on your backcast, wasn’t it?” willows. I tossed the fly just upstream of a large rock. It drifted “Uh-huh.” Gerber said reluctantly, losing all enthusiasm. down and across. Suddenly, a flash of yellow splashed the surface A smile began to form on the lips of the fishing friends surand the fly disappeared in the foam. The fish bolted for the rounding the campfire. cover of a submerged log. I was able to coax it to my net. Geez, “Yeah, when you caught him, he took off, dragging that 100 it must have been a five pounder.” yards of string behind him,” the warden said. “That was Gerber, who gleaned his club nickname because of his probably one of the largest bull moose in the Wyoming
“It raced upstream like a rocket and I could hear the line ripping from the reel.”
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MOST INTERESTING in the FLY FISHERMAN world
H
e can tie any fly, using only one hand, including three patterns that only he knows. The footprints left on the bank of your secret spot are always his. His wife doesn’t think he spends enough on fly fishing rods, reels and gadgets. He lifts muskie from the water by their lip. He can fish anywhere in a lake without a pontoon, boat or float tube. He taught Marvin Nolte some fly tying techniques. He trains mosquitoes and deer flies to protect him from ticks. The only time his backcast caught the branch of a tree, he taught a squirrel to retrieve the fly. He intentionally didn’t catch a fish one day, just to see what it was like. He is the only person allowed use a reel on a Tenkara rod. After guiding him on a float of the North Platte River, Blake Jackson tipped him. Fish prefer his flies over the natural insect. He can thread a size 24 midge pupa imitation, without glasses in the dark. He doesn’t need any backing on his reel or a net because fish don’t want to leave him. He can drive a cast 90 feet into a 25 knot wind with one backcast. When he wishes you “good luck,” you always catch fish. When he hooks a fish, other fish jump out of the water to get a better look at him. When a fish breaks his tippet, it
He doesn’t always ride in a drift boat. But when he does, Chuck Norris rows the oars. In a dress.
swims back to return the fly. When he catches and releases a fish, it refuses to leave. Big fish tell tall tales about him. He controls the hatch by selecting a fly. He can inflate his float tube with a single breath. Once his guides froze when fishing Grey Reef in February. Once. He doesn’t need floatant. He commands the fly to float. One time he landed a double. On a single fly. He gave casting lessons to Lefty Kreh. Ten pound trout rise to his dry fly when they see him. Even lake trout. Trout tie flies for him. Gary LaFontaine was once his gillie. He never had a wader leak. Ever. Wyoming landowners encourage him to drop anchor or wade. He casts right handed. And left handed. He once caught and landed a marlin on a 3-weight. He won the lifetime fly fishing achievement award. Twice. He completed the Wyoming CuttSlam in three hours, on four successive casts. He can tie an deer hair hopper on a size 32 hook. He gave Glenn Brackett some pointers on building bamboo fly rods. If he ever hooked you while casting a streamer, you would thank him. Lee Wulff considered him the king and he was the inspiration for the “royal” in the Wulff hairwing flies.
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TIPS
Becoming a better fly fisher These tips are an effort to share with others some of the things that Wyoming Flycasters members have taught me. You might also call them my biases. As someone reiterated on a recent outing, “What I like about fly fishing is that there is always something to learn.” I would add that there is no perfect answer to most fly fishing related questions. Listen to several folks and then make up your own mind. Let the fish tell you what works. One of my goals with these little tidbits, is to make readers self-sufficient in their individual fly fishing adventures. Most of us can’t afford the luxury of going with a guide who does everything for us on every trip out. Most of the time most of us have to take care of our own business: rigging up, fly and weight selection, deciding what water(s) to fish, deciding exactly where and how to cast, etc. First,I’m going to focus on getting ready to fish. I’m going to assume that wherever you bought your outfit they took care of the basics of attaching backing to the reel and fly line. Most any good fly shop will take care of these chores. What remains is attaching a leader to the fly line, putting on tippet, and tying on one or more flies, plus the addition of weights as needed, and possibly a strike indicator. These chores require several different types of knots. An additional item that I add to my own rigs is a piece of heavy monofilament approximately 18” long between the fly line and leader. I believe this help my flies turn over better, improving presentations. My preference for attaching this heavy mono is to use a nail knot. So even if my new fly line comes with a welded loop at the end, as most of them do these days, I cut that off and add the mono with a nail knot. I cheat and use a nail knot tool for this step. After tying the mono to the fly line, I tie a perfection loop in the other end of the mono. The perfection loop is easy to tie; get someone to show you how the first time. If your leader didn’t come with a perfection loop (most do), tie another one at the butt and loop-to-loop this onto the mono.
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Things I think I know, things I usually do, and some things I just like By Spencer Amend On equipment selection: I typically use 7 ½ foot tapered leaders ending in either 3X or 4X on our waters. Next is the tippet; typically 3X or 4X. In case you are wondering why to add another piece of material to the leader, it serves several
practical purposes. The knot where you join leader and tippet acts as a stop to keep weights from sliding down next to your fly. Since you wind up cutting off 6” or so of material each time you change flies, it is cheaper to be able to replace tippet as needed rather than replace the entire leader. Tapered leaders cost about $4.00 each and for about that much you can buy 50’ or so of tippet. Duh. Mono versus fluorocarbon: I use mono leaders, and when floating in a drift boat use fluorocarbon tippet. On flat water I use mono all the way to the flies. Fluorocarbon supposedly has properties that make it better for fishing flies beneath the surface, which is typically what is done on the river. It is also about 3 times as expensive as mono. I have some of both on my lanyard. For attaching tippet to leader, I have started using a blood knot or a double surgeon’s knot.
For years after I started fishing I used a couple of perfection knots and loop-tolooped them. Frankly, I can’t see a lot of difference. I copy what most of the guides around here do and use a simple clinch knot to attach my top fly.
Go fishing! In this tip I’m going to talk about actually fishing. About time, right? But be advised that in keeping with my desire to help you be independent of anyone other than yourself in your fly fishing adventures, I may bring up additional points once in a while about things to do before you hit the water. You’ve got your fly rod all set up; you’ve selected a fly or two; you have figured out how to conveniently carry the stuff (flies, tools, etc.) that you may need; and you can cast well enough to reach 30’ or so. Incidentally, I heard just this weekend that 90% of the fish caught on fly rods are within an additional 2 fly rod lengths of the end of your rod. In other words, within 27 feet or so, given that 9’ rods are the most common in most places. We will talk about this again from time to time, but I hope you have given
attention to how you will carry the stuff you need. Remember, you’re going to be on your own. My approach has evolved considerably from when I first bought a fishing vest with all those pockets – and started filling them with stuff I had but would never need during a day on the water. After while my vest must have weighed 50 pounds or more! It was becoming uncomfortable, hot, hurt my back and neck, plus when I wanted to find something I often had to hunt through all those darn pockets to find it. And sometimes couldn’t. I’d occasionally find that I had 2-3 of the same thing but wouldn’t be able to find what I needed when I needed it. My current approach (still evolving) is to use a lanyard for the tools I use the most, and a medium sized waist or chest pack for flies and other stuff. I find that if I purge this pack occasionally I most often have all that I need and can even supply others who may have forgotten something. Your next consideration is how you approach the water. Do not go charging and stomping right down to the water’s edge. If you go stomping around and making yourself visible to the close fish, you’re going to miss some of the best opportunities of the day. Stop 10-12’ from the edge of the water and carefully look around: “read the water,” we say. Look for places that fish are likely to be holding. This will vary a bit depending on whether you are fishing flat or flowing water, but some of the same principles apply. Look for structure, whether it is a pile of rocks or a fallen tree. And look for seams between different types of water, especially water moving at different rates. Also look for drop offs in either flat or flowing water. Look for obvious fish activity. Are there fishing taking bugs off the surface? Let’s say you have pre-rigged up with a couple of nymphs of different sizes and shapes. Not a bad way to go in most places on most days. But when you look around carefully you see a lot of dimples on the water; the fish are going after something right under the surface. The smart thing to do at this point is to change flies. Now Joe and I have a sort of rule that before we start changing stuff we will make a dozen or so casts with whatever we happen to have on. Not the smartest thing to do; it’s just one of our traditions. And we get a fly in the water sooner. The smart thing to do in this example would be to clip off both nymphs and put on a size 16 or 18 para-
chute Adams with an emerger dropper of some sort, or start with a size 16 soft hackle. But hey, traditions are part of the game, whether they are smart or not. Fish the close water first. I can’t recall the number of times Lloyd told me this when we started fishing together. It’s one of those things that should be obvious, but I see fisher after fisher persons casting as if they were trying to set the club distance record – right out of the box. Accuracy is typically more important than distance in actually catching fish.
Gearing up I want to back up a little and talk about the basic stuff one needs to get into fly fishing. When new folks come to Flycasters meetings or to one of our casting classes, one of the first questions they ask is, “How much does a fly rod cost?” Well fortunately a fairly decent fly rod can be had for around $100. But the rod is just the starting point. The following is the minimum amount of stuff that it takes to go fly fishing: a rod, a reel, a fly line including backing, tippet, and flies. If the rod doesn’t come with a decent case, you’ll want one of these. Some folks will want a net. For a long time after I restarted fly fishing (I did it first as a kid 60+ years ago but only got serious about it after I retired 15 or so years ago) I often said that I didn’t see the value of an overpriced fly reel. I said that if it wouldn’t embarrass my fishing partners, I would prefer to duct tape a Budweiser can to the handle of my rod and wrap the line on it. But as I started catching more good sized fish, I’ve come to realize that a reel with a reliable drag system can be a big help when playing decent fish. Fairly frequently we encounter folks who have inherited a bunch of fly fishing stuff from a relative or friend. In most cases, despite the pride in this equipment, much of it should be discarded and replaced with up-to-date equipment. Even a rod that cost $5-600, 15 years ago is so different than more recent vintage rods that their value has declined to virtually nothing. So what makes a good rod, anyway? For me, mainly weight and flex. On the North Platte and surrounding waters I fish 5 or 6 weight rods, so this my frame of reference. When I occasionally go somewhere I can fish 3 or 4 weight rods, they are a joy – unless I happen to get into a really big fish.
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So let’s add it all up and see what it really costs to get into our sport. Rod = $100; reel = $60; line and backing = $50; tippet = $5; flies [let’s say a dozen to start] = $30. Let’s just say $250.00 as a nice round number. So where do I get this stuff? There are several possibilities, including Walmart and Cabelas, but I always recommend my favorite fly shop. These folks will ask the right questions to match a new fly fisher with the right gear and they will be sure that you are indeed properly fitted and ready to hit the water. Besides the option of buying items individually as I laid them out above, the smartest thing for a beginner is to buy a package that includes items of about the same quality that are balanced for one another. These packages typically include rod, reel, fly line and backing, and case. The only thing you have to add are tippet and flies. Decent packages can be had for around $160. That’s the basics. But if you plan to wade fish (actually get in the water with the fish) you will need waders and wading shoes. Or at least hip boots, which
typically but not always, come with boot feet. When I wade these days, I use a wading staff (although I guess an old broom handle might suffice). The older I get the more uncertain I am of my balance on uneven, invisible surfaces. A decent net, which I consider an option for a beginner, can run to $100 or so. A good wading staff will run about the same. And expect to spend up to $250 for a good set of waders and wading boots.
Playing a fish How do I hook and play a fish? Especially a good one? This ought to be simple, right? OK, we’re making progress! You have now acquired your equipment, got it properly rigged and selected the fly or flies you intend to use to start the day. Then, on your fifth cast of the day, you get a strike. Now what? We’re going to talk a bit about what to do next. Let’s say you are bank fishing or wade fishing in the river. And you are drifting a
Waxing poetic Wind out of the East, fish bite the least; Wind out of the West, fish bite the best; Wind out of the North, don’t even venture forth; Wind out of the South, you’ll hook ‘em in the mouth! Joe taught me this version of a frequently used fisherman’s poem shortly after we started fishing together. I’m sure many will know something similar. My dad, a flat land warm water fisherman of considerable skill, used to watch the cows. If they were up feeding, he said the fish would be biting. The wind is largely a function of barometric pressure changes, which fish respond to. Casting into the wind is one of the biggest challenges. Charlie has mastered this feat and has passed his secrets on to Marty and Kathy. One of the ways that works for me when I just have to cast directly into the wind is to use a side cast. Simply moving the plane of the cast from more or less directly overhead 90 degrees to the horizontal will help avoid a significant portion of wind. Wind velocity 3’ above the water is less than at 12’ or so above. My favorite strategy, however, is to avoid having to cast directly into the wind period. Especially for the next several months a good deal of our fishing will be done on flat water: Pathfinder and Alcova. These large bodies of water offer a number of places to avoid the wind – or at least to put it at our backs. It seems that having the wind at your back offers the best condition possible. Well that’s mostly true. But having a strong wind at one’s back offers new challenges. I fish a lot of 1/32 oz streamers in these reservoirs. And when a strong wind is at my back, it isn’t uncommon to get whacked in the back of my head by one of
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nymph rig by casting more or less straight across the current and letting the current carry it downstream. You are then stripping the rig briskly upstream as you prepare for another cast. Typically, but not always (there are few “always” things in fly fishing) the fish will take your fly near the end of the swing, but fish don’t read the same books we do and sometimes they hit it as we’re stripping back in. This is the scenario where the hook set plays an important part. I’d be embarrassed to tell you the numbers of fish I’ve missed because somehow my instinct is to do the wrong thing on the hook set. What we should do is based on what the fish are likely doing. In flowing water, fish are going to be holding headed upstream. This is natural because their food comes drifting down to them. For some crazy reason I got started making my hook sets upstream – frequently pulling my hooks away from fish rather than hooking them securely. When fishing flowing water set the hook toward the bank or otherwise across the current. I almost said “always”
these missiles. A couple of options can be employed to avoid this. The simplest is to use a different casting stroke. Instead of the regular overhead cast, use a circle of oval cast. My favorite trick, however, is to use a roll cast. Wind aided, it’s amazing how far you can roll cast. I’ll bet Blake can roll cast his entire fly line! A couple of changes in the way we rig up can help. First of all, this time of year I leave my 4 wt. rods in the barn. As well as most of my 5 wts. As much as I love fishing these rods, a better choice is in the wind is at least a 6 wt, and maybe even something heavier. Another change I make this time of year is to a full sinking line. I don’t use the sinking line just to avoid wind problems, but it helps. Once that sinking line hits the water, it goes down and the wind isn’t as able to blow it around. And the added weight in the sinking line reduces the impacts that the wind has on a floating line in the air. I’m talking mainly, here, about fishing the reservoirs. When fishing the Platte in a heavy wind, the change to a 6 wt rod is still a wise move. And instead of rigging up with the typical 3-fly arrangement, I’ll sometimes cut back to just 2; or even to a single fly. The ability of a good wind to put tangles in my line is reduced considerably by this reduction in the number of flies thrashing around, and the number of fish caught doesn’t seem to go down all that much. It’s sometimes said that the best of all plans changes the minute reality sets in. So with all of the above preparation, I still carry 3 rods most of the time. In addition to the 9.5’ 6 wt with the sinking line, I’ll usually have a 9’ 5 or 6 wt with a multi-fly nymph set up. And the 3rd rod will be a 5 wt with a long leader in the event that we locate pods of rising fish that might want to eat dries.
because in most situations this will result in a good hookup. And if as I indicated above, you happen to get one of those crazy fish that is chasing your fly as you strip it upstream, it is very important to set the hook at an angle to the current so as to not pull it out of the fish’s grasp. OK, you’ve successfully hooked a fish. Now what? Assuming you want to bring him to hand (or net), how do you accomplish this? I’m going to assume that you have obtained a reel that has a good drag built in. I’m going to also assume that you set the drag tight enough so that it takes you a fair amount of strength to pull line off the reel, but loose enough that the fish can take line. Another personal aside: When I got really into fishing around here, I would sometimes tell my friends who had fancy (expensive) reels that if it weren’t for embarrassing myself and them I’d just duct tape a Budweiser can to the handle of my rod and wrap the line on it. And that would actually work on small fish. But on the size fish we are likely to encounter, having a drag set to the proper amount of tension is super important. Isn’t Wyoming wonderful! If you are with one of our guides, as soon as you get your fish on, you’ll hear him/her say, “Get him on the reel!” This gives you much more control, especially of that fish in excess of 14-15”. If you are unsure of the size of your fish (and this mostly comes only from experience), go ahead and get him on the reel. If you are pretty sure it isn’t a very big fish, don’t worry about the reel and just strip line in and let it fall at your feet. Hold your rod tip up or off to the side so that the flex in the rod does the work of keeping the fish under control. If you don’t keep tension on the fish that way, you will soon have a story about the one that got away. Under no circumstances hold the rod down so it is pointed at the fish; that’s a guaranteed way to lose a fish. If possible you want to get the fish out of the fast water. Do that by holding the rod to the side if you need to move the fish. As the fish gets tired it will allow you to keep taking line and eventually get him in. As soon as you are able to briefly hold his head out of the water, he is pretty much your fish. If you have a net, slide the net under the fish at this point. If you’re lucky you may have a fishing partner to handle the net. This is especially handy in a boat, or when you’re dealing with a good sized fish. Assuming you intend to release the fish, keep it in the water as much as possible as you remove the barbless hook and take a picture.
Techniques for stillwaters Hooking and playing fish is a little different in stillwater compared to flowing water. In a pond or a lake, you aren’t able to predict the direction a fish will be facing when it hits your fly. Especially in calm, clear water, a fish will be able to see your fly from as far as a dozen feet away and may pursue it from almost any angle. And it depends a little on how you are fishing your fly, as well as what kind of fly you are fishing. Because I’m not much of a fan of using strike indicators in flat water, I’m going to imagine that you are not using a cork. If the water is deep, you will probably have rigged up with at least some weight to get your fly down to the zone containing fish. If it is really deep, you may even be rigged up with a full sinking line, or at least a sink tip. Fish will take a variety of flies in flat water, but sometimes they seem a bit more selective. This is because they are able to get a better look at your flies. As with most other situations, vary your presentation several times before changing flies; even before changing weight. This is another good place to mention Harley Reno’s Rule of Five. For those who may have forgotten it, Harley says that if you make five casts without a strike, change something. I must admit to extending this to 7-8, since I feel it takes that long for me to adequately cover the available water. Sometimes I still have trouble following Lloyd’s advice to fish the close water first. But by the time I’ve made four casts to the close water, followed by four casts further out, it’s time to change something. As I admitted earlier, I often just change my location by moving 10 steps or so down the bank. Another trick is to change the timing of your presentation. Especially in very deep water, change your count to let your flies sink from, say, 3-5 to 8-10. Or change your pattern of stripping. Instead of taking a full, quick strip, shorten the strip dramatically. Or take a different number of seconds between strips. Use your imagination. I’d be embarrassed to admit how many times I think I’ve fished a piece of flat water and then gotten a strike as I was reeling in my fly to head to another location. Rainbows, especially, seem to like to chase flies that are moving quickly. I’ll get around to talking about hook set and playing fish in flat water in a few. But first I need to mention that it depends on what kind of fly you are using. Fish in flat water, at different times, will take dries, streamers, and nymphs. If you are fishing nymphs, you will probably have a double fly rig with some small to medium sized weight. You will cast and then let this rig sink a ways before starting a slow retrieve. If you are fishing a streamer, you will probably use only a single fly that you cast, let sink for several seconds and then retrieve with a strip-wait-strip method. And if you are lucky enough to be fishing dries to rising fish (pretty unusual around here) you will simply cast to the rises, most likely with a small, single fly. Accuracy is important here; you are fishing to an individual fish, not casting blind and hoping a fish finds your fly. Hook sets are different for all three situations, based somewhat on hook sizes, but on other things, too. Your nymph rig will likely have a size 10-12 on top and a 14-16 on the bottom. Your streamer will most likely be a 2-6 or 8. And your dry will be a 16-18. On your nymph rig, you need to give the fish time to get a solid bite. On the streamer, you can set the hook more quickly. And I’ll bet that on the dry, you will miss the first several fish until someone like Joe tells you to say, “God save the queen” before setting the hook. On those small dries, it is especially important that the fish puts its head down and exhales the air it has taken in with the fly. Playing the fish is similar for all three rigs. Get it on the reel if you think it is a pretty good fish. Keep tension on the line by holding your rod upright or off to the side. And let the rod do the work. It is easier to move a fish around in flat water because there is no current. If you are wading, hold your rod high when you get the fish close and slip the net under it. If you are fishing from the bank, hopefully there will be a shallow place where you can control the fish while you remove the barbless hook.
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MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING MINUTES April 10, 2018 President Blake Jackson called the meeting to order and Pledge of Allegiance, at 7:09 PM at Casper Municipal Golf Course. Discussion: Upcoming Events August 11th 2018 at David St. Station downtown Casper will be hosting a fishing event. Starts at noon and goes until 10p.m. and there will be a film that evening. August 12th, 2018 there will be a carp tournament at Pathfinder. NEED VOLUNTEERS for Expo!! Kathy passed around a volunteer sign up sheet for the 17th-19th. If you are signing up you will need to fill out a background check form that will be emailed. There will be training nights on casting if you are helping with the EXPO so that we are all communicating and teaching the same way. Discussion: OutingsIf you are going out or interested in going with others a sheet was passed around so that you can add your phone number and/or email so you are notified. Currently, there have been no scheduled trips. Fishing reports- fishing has been good after the flush and the fish are hungry! Other BusinessThere will be no July general meeting. Herb, a member of fly casters when they started, has a ton of equipment that he would like to sell. He has vices, books, feathers, skins, threads, scissors, and 14x18 cabinet with hooks. Call if you are interested 265-1257. Presenter- Rob, a guide for Ugly Bug, presenting on Grey Reef in the Spring. Below are some highlights from his presentation. If you are interested in more information, please contact him at the Ugly Bug. • March-May nymph fishing is best and is has using them have been successful with the recent flush and fluctuating flows. • The changing of the flows have been steady at 500 CFS and with that changes what the fish are eating and where they are holding in the river. • Food sources-midges year round, blue wing olive; aquatic worms, leeches, eggs, crawfish, and cream flies are working. During this time you can use bigger flies because of the darker color of the water and the different insects and such in the water with the flush. Purple, brown, and grey are good colors to use too. • Spawning fish-stay off reds please. Fish will be in the deep holes and are looking for food. Fish in the soft water tail outs during the colder water temps and shallow along riffles in the warmer water. • Explained a great way to set up your rig with three flies and how far each should be placed and where!! Adjournment Blake adjourned the meeting after the presentation and our next meeting will be May 8th at the Casper Municipal Golf Course at 7:00 p.m.
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Wyoming Youth Fish Challenge The Wyoming Youth Fish Challenge Program aims to provide youth with angling challenges that will expand their fishing skills. To prove your prowess the Wyoming Game and Fish will issue collectable certificates to all eligible youth who complete one of the following challenges! Go catch a fish! In fact, catch a number of them! Eligibility requirements: • Any youth (resident or nonresident, 18 years of age and under) fishing Wyoming waters • All fish must be caught in Wyoming • Photos must be taken with the youth and the fish at the body of water of where the fish was caught • Verification sheet must be submitted to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for authorization • Fish can be caught over multiple years, prior to the angler's 19th birthday • Native fish do not have to be taken from their native range, unless it is the Cutt Slam Youths who successfully complete any slam will receive a color certificate recognizing them for their accomplishments and showing the species caught. Please send in the verification sheet along with photos and all other information on the sheet to be eligible.
Last Cast By Scoop Stalker
Y
ou have been reading the first issue of the Wyoming Fly Casters’ newsletter in quite a while, and the first one sharing a banner with the Grey Reef Chapter of Trout Unlimited. But don’t expect another issue in the near future, unless the club members -- no, not just the leadership, but you, the ones who may or may not be attending meetings or any activities associated with the respective organizations -start to get involved. The WFC’s monthly meetings attract a couple dozen people, while the TU chapter does far worse -- you could count them on one hand. That is sad, because the future of the sport we love is at stake. There are a few functions on the horizon which are geared to promote interest in the national treasure of Wyoming’s outdoors. On May 17-19, the Wyoming Game and Fish Expo is scheduled for the Casper Events Center. The WFC and TU chapters have main roles in teaching youngsters -- and potential new fly fishers -- the art and joy of casting a fly line or tying the imitation of a fish-catching insect. And on Aug. 11, the David Street Station in downtown Casper is host to another free program to introduce people, young and old, to the sport. Both of these events require volunteers and the response has been, so far, underwhelming. When I started fly fishing, K-Mart was in the Hobby Lobby building, the House of Sushi was home to Dean’s Sporting Goods and Rod Robinder’s Ugly Bug was above the bakery on First Street. Since then, IM6 graphite rods replaced fiberglass, wading fishermen welcomed the introduction of breathable waders, tungsten beadheads help get nymph imitations to fishholding depths quickly and large arbor disc drags have replaced the click pawl systems in fly reels. But otherwise the sport remains unchanged. We still fling insect imitations of fur and feather in an effort to fool wily trout, and most often than not, return the catch quickly to the water unharmed. When I joined the WFC over 25 years ago, (gosh, Blake was in middle school then!) I made many new friends and fishing companions. In those years, the club held some activity or program every month, either a fishing outing, a seminar, a clinic, or a fly-tying demonstration or workshop outside the regular monthly meeting. I enjoyed a variety of hosted fishing trips
over the years. As someone who had just graduated from casting a bubble and halfback with a spinning rod, I appreciated it when a seasoned member would take me under his wing and teach me how to approach, for example, stillwaters, or rivers where I was uninitiated. Over the years the club hosted fishing events at the Bighorn, both in Wyoming and outside Ft. Smith in Montana; the North Platte; Ten Sleep; North Tongue; various stillwater destinations and even a weekend in Yellowstone National Park for opening day on the river, to name just a few. Yellowstone and the Bighorn multi-day trips went the way of the Dodo for one reason: Complaints. Usually over some trivial issue. As a result, those few members that shopped for the groceries, hauled all the gear, prepared the meals, and then cleaned up, had enough. They shrugged. And no one picked up the torch. Complaints in a volunteer organization are about as appropriate as bringing a spey rod to fish LaBarge; about as unnecessary as a runner trying to steal second base when Mark McGwire is facing a 3-0 count; and about as welcome as a broken rod tip without a backup. I still enjoy many different fishing destinations. But now I get together with close friends on fishing trips, rather than expecting the club members to take any initiative. There is an unwritten law pertaining to fraternal and social clubs: The answer is always YES! Want to organize a fishing trip? Go ahead! Have an idea for guest speaker to address the club? By all means make an initial contact and see what dates would be convenient! The club’s elected leadership should not be presumed or expected to “do everything” while most members remain passive.
T
his newsletter may be the last one received by WFC members -- it may certainly be the final one I put together. I do enjoy the editing and design, but like everything in a volunteer organization, it requires others to roll up their sleeves. It’s time to get involved. The future of the club, and more importantly, our sport, is at stake. It’s time to put something on the bar other than your elbows.
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