General Meeting……………………
Mike Villemiare of Mammoth Lakes
April Raffle
President’s Line……………………
Fly Tying……………………
Hex Mayfly Emerge
Henryville Special
Conservation Concerns……………
2023 Commercial and Sport Chinook Season in Jeopardy
Membership Notes…………………
Club Activities – April
Advanced Spey Casting Techniques Class
17 New Members Since Jan 1
Fishout Schedule…………………
Cartoon…………………………..…
Posted on March 30th, 2023
Mike is the Owner and Head Guide of Mammoth Lakes Fly Fishing Guide Service in Mammoth Lakes, CA. He first discovered his passion for fly fishing as a kid casting dry flies to wild brook trout on small streams in Vermont. He spent many years developing his skills and chasing trout and warm water species all over local waters, eventually moving to California in 2003. After a few years with the San Diego Fly shop learning surf fishing and saltwater tactics, he moved to Mammoth Lakes full time. His primary focus since has been exploring and learning the nuances of the many fishing opportunities in the Eastern Sierras. He completed the Clearwater Guide School in 2014, spent several years as a top guide at The Troutfitter, and currently operates his own service, guiding and teaching anglers of all skill levels.
www.mammothlakesflyfishing.com
Future Speakers. Dates and speakers may change, please go to URL to see the current information.
| Monthly Speaker | Date | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|
| May 03 | May's Speaker ~ James Garrettson of About Trout ~ A Guides Approach to the Water | |
| Jun 07 | June's Speaker ~ Lee Haskin ~ The San Luis Reservior | |
 | Aug 02 | Club BBQ |
Posted on March 30th, 2023
A lot of us fisherpeople (is that a word?) think of April as the kickoff of a new season to launch our angling endeavors across the great outdoors. To that end we have some great raffle prizes up for grabs.
Posted on March 30th, 2023
If you are like me, I joined the Santa Cruz Fly Fishing club because I wanted to learn technique and find fishing friends. Joining the club (and joining the Board) really opened by eyes to the issues of conservation; I had limited knowledge of the environmental issues effecting our sport and unaware of the conservation activities to improve the habitat of our fisheries. Also, I had felt that our small club donations couldn’t help that much. I don’t believe that anymore.
I now believe that individuals and grassroot advocacy can make a big differences. I believe because I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen reduction in smog, recovery of sea otters, saving of wetlands, removal of dams and recycling. All of these results started as grassroot movements with people banding together to enact change, whether that was change of people’s behavior (littering less, paying more for organic) or a change through local, state or national government (Watsonville Wetlands, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Clean Air Act). It is easy to get depressed about our current environmental issues like rising oceans, extreme weather, and crashing salmon population, but I gain hope by looking back at successes against past environmental challenges. And as club members, we have a way to try and help create future environmental successes.
For the past several years, our club has been donating around $3,000 for conservation projects and $1,600 for high school to college scholarships for Santa Cruz county students focusing on Environmental Studies. At the last Board meeting, we decided that the club could increase our donations by having a clear funding plan. So for 2023, we are doubling the size or our scholarships to $400 per student and keeping the conservation donations the same. In future years, we will increase our conservation donations as well.
We are able to pay for our club because of our increased membership size and member generosity. With over 200 members, we will be able to cover the cost of running the club from dues, online donations, and monthly raffles. That means we will be able to direct the net proceeds from our annual fundraiser towards conservation and scholarships. The fundraiser we had in February netted about $3,500 which would not have covered our donations, but as a post-Covid reboot, it was very successful and gives us confidence that we can increase the proceeds and make it better in years to come.
Like our club, the SCFF Board is continuing to grow and have recently added Kevin McClish to be our facilities coordinator. Kevin has been part of the club for several years and participated in outings, meetings and fly tying. Thank you Kevin for volunteering.
Now on to fishing! April and May are some of the best times to fish locally and you should take advantage of the time to try out surf fishing, crappie and black bass fishing. If you haven’t done it before, put a note up on google groups asking for help. I am sure you will get some bites.
See you on the water – Scott Kitayama
Posted on March 30th, 2023
Apr 12 6:30 PM @ Aptos Grange
This fly will be very important if you’re planning to go to the fishout at Lake Almanor in June. The Hex also hatches in other waters in northeast, California at the same time. You will sure want to have a few if you are planning to head that way. This class is more advanced than usual, and will be difficult for beginners. If however you still wish to attend, that’s fine, there’s always something to learn. As usual, the class is free and materials are provided. sign ups are required so that adequate material will be there for everyone. If you have yellow six old thread, please bring it. There are vices and tools for beginners to borrow. Regarding Covid, I will be wearing a mask, and since we are close to one another, you may consider the same for yourself. If you are ill in any way, please stay at home. Thanks
Future tying classes. Dates and subject may change, please go to Fly Name to see more information.
| Date | Fly | Excerpt | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | May 10 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Adult Damselfly | Damsels are available to finish year round, but in the spring and early summer, they migrate to shore, crawl out on vegetation and structure, shed their shuck, and begin to fly around to mate. |
 | Jun 14 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Damselfly Nymph | Guest Instructor: Tom Eckert |
 | Jul 12 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Red Copper John | John Barr’s “Copper John” is this our fly for this month’s class . |
 | Aug 09 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Chubby Chernobyl | Guest Instructor: Jerry McKeon |
Posted on March 23rd, 2023
This adult Caddis pattern is designed for moving water but also works in stillwater for trout. Apply floatant and allow a drag free drift.
HOOK: TMC 100 size 12-20.
Crimp barb.
THREAD: Olive 8/0.
Apply 1/3 back on shank. Wrap to rear of shank.
RIB: grizzly Hackle, barbs equal to hook gap.
Cut off fuzzy end. Stroke barbs so that they stand out sideways. Cut 5 to 6 short on each side of the stem forming a “crew cut”.
Tie in “crew cut “ to rear of shank with dull side toward you and tip to the rear.
BODY: light olive super fine dubbing
Dub a cigar shaped body 2/3 forward on shank. Palmer grizzly forward in about four wraps. Tie off, cut excess. Cut off tops of
barbs at an angle leaving shorter stubs at head end.
UNDERWING: Lemon wood duck or mallard flank feather (well barred)
Even up tips of barbs and cut out 6–8. Tie in on top of shank, in front of body, with tips extending hook gap length beyond body.
Cut butt ends, tie down.
OVERWING: mallard wing quill. Light or medium gray. Seagull feathers also work. Some caddis are tan with modeled wings. So a variety of birds can work. Do not use primary feathers. Select a soft feather with narrow barbs. Look for sections of feather that will form a nice taper (not to pointed or blunt) when one section is removed. See picture.
Prepare quill by spraying with clear, fast drying lacquer and allow to dry. Most authorities will recommend using two feathers, one from each side of the bird to have mirror image curves. If using flat quills, that isn’t necessary. Using a bodkin, separate two segments that are about hook gap wide at the stem end. Cut near stem. If tips are too pointed, trim to shape. Place one segment on each side with bottom edge of wing at shank level. Tips extending almost to end of underwing, and tips down. Use pinch method twice to tie in place
in front of body. Cut but ends, tie down. NOTE: The quail barbs will separate as you fish the fly. This will only make it more attractive to the fish.
HACKLE: Brown, barbs one and a half hook gap.
Prepare the same as grizzly hackle. Tie “crew cut” to top of shank in front of wing with shiny side toward you and tip to the rear.
Wrap hackle forward, forcing thread as you go, with about 4 touching wraps up to one eye length behind eye.Tie off, cut excess.
Apply a small amount of glue to head.
Posted on February 24th, 2023
On March 10th the Pacific Fisheries Management Council adopted proposals that will close Chinook fishing for 2023. They will reconvene on April 7 and will vote to finalize their decision on the sport and commercial season for California marine and inland waters as well as off most of the Oregon coast. In addition, three organizations that represent commercial and sport fishing professionals are also recommending closing the season: Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association and the Northern California Guides and Sportsmen’s Association. Some members of these organizations predict the 2024 season will be closed as well. The last time fishing was cancelled was in 2008 and 2009. This year, only 169,767 adult Sacramento River fall run chinook are estimated to be offshore this year. Last year the estimate was 396,458. Ten years ago the numbers were in the 800,000 range. In 2022, only an estimated 61,850 fish made it to spawn in the Sacramento River—the 3rd lowest recorded. Hostile conditions, brought on by extreme heat, state and federal water control policies, thiamine deficiency—to name a few—all contribute to the low numbers of fish surviving.
I know many—if not all—of our club members are staying informed on important issues like this, and support many local, state and beyond conservation organizations. As you may be aware, our club allocates a substantial portion of our budget to support many organizations fighting for the future of out beautiful sport. Whenever you have an opportunity to weigh-in on issues such as the one in this article, I urge you to let your voice be heard. Thank you for all you do to support SCCF!
For more information on this article check out these sources:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/regulators-signal-no-california-salmon-season-this-year-amid-dismal-return/
https://goldenstatesalmon.org/fishery-council-moves-to-close-california-and-parts-of-oregon-salmon-fishing-in-2023/
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/doug-obegi/biden-admin-takes-1st-step-undo-trumps-delta-destruction
Posted on March 30th, 2023
| Date | Activity Link | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm | Fly Casting Meetup | Bring your lawn chair, lunch, and fly rod to practice casting with other SCFF club members. | Jade Street Park baseball field |
| May 20 9:00 am - 1:00 pm | Swap Meet at Aptos Grange | Swap meet at the Aptos Grange parking lot. 9am to 1 pm. All things fishing/outdoors! | Aptos Grange |
| May 27 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm | Fly Casting Meetup | Bring your lawn chair, lunch, and fly rod to practice casting with other SCFF club members. | Jade Street Park baseball field |
Posted on March 22nd, 2023
This class is for members who already have basic skills and are comfortable casting a two handed rod. Focus will be on anchor placement as well as eliminating slack and maintaining line tension to improve your deliveries. We can also work on adding various “touch and go” cast such as the single spey and snake roll to your arsenal. Email me: richr@cruzio.com and we’ll find a date/time that works in the last week of April. Location will be Soquel Creek on the ocean side of the Stockton Street bridge in Capitola.
Posted on March 7th, 2023
17 new members have signed up as new members making our total paid membership in March at 200. We continue to add new members. Historically, 2 new members every month, but for the last 2 1/2 months, the average has increased 3x to 6.4. This significant increase is due to online webpage activity with the support of Jerry McKeon/ Instagram Media Communication. Members are reminded to send photos of recent fish pictures to Jerry at Metropolitantrout@gmail.com. Please welcome them to the club when you see them at meetings and outings. New Members include:
| Jan 4 Jennifer Smallwood | Jan 30 Clark Codiga | Feb 23 Chloe Tinglof |
| Jan 7 Eick Etherington | Feb 1 Carla and Cody Hill | Mar 1 Nick Thelen |
| Jan 14 Rick and Linda Chace | Feb 7 Anthony Gaughan | Mar 1 Allan Montebello |
| Jan 21 Bryan Kerko | Feb 6 Mark Beckerstaffe | Mar 17 Colin Smith |
| Jan 21 Ron Antipa | Feb 17 Rachel Reed /Sebastian Hinkel | Mar 20 Steve Pryce |
| Jan 28 Art Presser | Feb 18 Kris Krenz |
Posted on March 30th, 2023
The newsletter provides brief fishout info. For full detail, go to the website menu and select EVENTS -> Fishout Schedule
| EVENT NAME | EVENT DATE | SPECIES | FISH MASTER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramid Lake Fish-out March 26th – April 1st 2023 – New Info | Mar 26 - Apr 01 | Lahontan Cutthroat Trout | Mike White - (831) 706-5556 |
| BOURDET RANCH ONE DAY FISHOUTS | Apr 15 - Apr 24 | Bass | Cecilia Stipes |
| Del Valle Fishout – CANCELED | Apr 15 - Apr 16 | Striped Bass, Large Mouth Bass | Justin Ice |
| Los Padres Dam / Reservoir Fishout | Apr 29 | Trout | Self Lead |
| Rio Del Mar State Beach Surf Fishout | May 06 | Surf Perch / Striped Bass | Sam Bishop |
| Los Banos Creek Reservoir | May 08 - May 10 | Large Mouth Bass, Trout, Bluegill | Dan Eaton |
| Manresa State Beach Surf Fishout | Jun 03 | Surf Perch / Striped Bass | Tommy Polito |
| Lake Almanor/Hex Hatch – Jun 25 – Jul 1 2023 – New Info | Jun 24 - Jul 01 | ||
| Palm Beach Surf Fishout | Jul 01 | Surf Perch / Striped Bass | Sam Bishop |
| Loreto Fly Fishing Trip July 2023 | Jul 16 - Jul 20 | Salty Sharp Toothed Fishy Critters | Rich Hughett |
| Kennedy Meadows / Sonora Pass – Fish-Out 2023 | Jul 23 - Jul 27 | Trout | Tom Hogye |
| Rio Del Mar State Beach Surf Fishout | Aug 05 | Surf Perch / Striped Bass | Sam Bishop |
| Manresa State Beach Surf Fishout | Sep 02 | Surf Perch / Striped Bass | To Be Determined |
| Upper Sacramento River Fishout (Dunsmuir) | Sep 08 - Sep 10 | Trout | Alex Ferber |
| Mammoth Fishout – UPDATED – | Sep 23 - Oct 07 | Trouts | John Cook |
| October surf fishout – Beer Can | Oct 07 | perch, stripers | Sam Bishop - Fishing; Mike Lovejoy - Breakfast |
| Kelly Lake – Watsonville (bass, crappie) – CONFIRMED Oct 14 | Oct 14 | Bass, crappie, bluegill | Scott Kitayama |
| O’Neill Forebay ‘Stosh’ Memorial Fishout | Oct 19 - Oct 22 | Striped Bass | Kevin Murdock |
| 2023 Fishout Round-Up | Dec 01 - Dec 02 | FISH | Club Members |
Posted on March 30th, 2023
Posted on March 30th, 2023
