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SALINAS VALLEY FLY FISHERS ! APRIL 2018
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2018 Board Member:
Greg Smith!: 595-4406 President
Dave Gambetta: 970-5065Vice President
Richard Higgins: 750-9132Secretary
Roger Caton: 633-4659Treasure
Lou DeSilva: 262-9068 Member !Bill Pshide: 424-3063 Richard
Wilson: 758-5313 Chairmen:Rick McCombs:
! (209)267-8088Newsletter Editor
Bill PshideFly Tying
Dave GambettaWebmaster
Fly TimesPresident’s Message By: Greg Smith
Upcoming EVENTS:
Fly Tying: April 11th. Monthly Meeting Wednesday
April18th.
Board Meeting April 25th.
fishing items. Not to be outdone, Dave Gambetta built and
donated to the raffle, a six foot ladder specific to Pyramid Lake,
that had all of the bells and whistles, (literally), and the lucky
winning ticket went to Rich Higgins. Congratulations Richard!!!!
Dave Gambetta really outdid himself building the ladder. Many
thanks Dave, great raffle prize.
Fly tying night focused on the flies specific to the Pyramid
Lake outing. The room filled up early with 11 fly tyers and 4 Fire
Extinguishers. Novice fly tyer Chuck Slough was ready to put on a
demonstration on how to put out a truck fire, photos only. The
pranksters are at it again. Everyone showed up to tie the popcorn
beetle, midnight cowboy and a few chironomids. Paul Dobin was the
lucky winner of the raffle (fly fishing tool). Up Coming Event
(continued on pg 3.)
For last monthʼs General meeting a big thanks goes to guest
speaker and club friend Jason Bacherio, Biologist from Hunter
Liggett. Jason always brings great information as to what ponds are
open, where the fish were planted, what ponds are fishable, and
what road accesses are open to the various ponds. This year Hunter
Liggett is being more utilized by the Army for training, so access
to the fishing ponds is going to be more difficult. As always, one
needs to check on-line for availability.
When Jason was done, I gave a brief overview of the upcoming
outing to Pyramid Lake, highlighting the various flies, lines,
leaders and different types of ladders to use at Pyramid Lake.
At our raffle, Bill Pshide filled the table with excellent
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SALINAS VALLEY FLY FISHERS ! APRIL 2018
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Fly Tyer’s Corner with Bill Pshide
This month’s fly:the Copper John
• Hook: Daiichi 1710 #12-18• Thread: Danville Black 6/0• Head:
Gold Bead• Tail: Brown Goose Biots• Abdomen: Olive Ultra wire•
Wingcase: Pearl
The Copper John Story
The Copper John originated from John Barr of Boulder, Colorado.
John's original pattern, in 1996, called for a copper wire abdomen,
a tail and legs of Hungarian Partridge, and a thorax of peacock
herl with an epoxied Turkey quill wing case. He designed it as an
attractor fly to draw attention to a more realistic dropper fly to
be used below it. John wanted to achieve a slim, yet heavy, nymph
pattern that would allow for a quick descent and have a flashy look
to get the trout's attention. It took John three years to achieve
the pattern he desired. Since 1996, the pattern has been modified
to have a Goose Biot tail, Brown Hen Back for legs, and Skinny Skin
for the wingcase material with a Pearl Flashabou over the top of
the Skinny Skin. The biots and hen back were much more durable than
the original materials. The Skinny Skin is more durable, but it
also accepted only one drop of epoxy, rather than the two drops
that were required by the turkey quill. In 2001, Wapsi came out
with multiple colors of tarnish-proof wire to give the pattern a
wide range of colorations. It is an attractor fly shaped to look
like a mayfly or stonefly nymph. Having a broad nymphal shape, it
can pass as a caddis larvae with the chartreuse wire abdomen.
Larger sizes in black or brown wire can pass for dark stoneflies,
and the red patterns can be used for PMD hatches or Yellow Sallies.
Black colors in size 18-22 make excellent Baetis or Trico
imitations. His favorite colors are copper, red, chartreuse, and
black. John likes to use a Hopper pattern as the floating fly and
drops the Copper John pattern below it. His preferred rig set-up is
a 7.5 foot 3X mono leader with a heavy butt section to the Hopper
fly, next is 2-4 feet of 4X fluorocarbon to the Copper John, and 12
inches of 5X Fluorocarbon to the dropper. Under a Strike indicator,
John may use the Copper John as the first fly and have two nymphs
dropped below it.
http://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/daiichi1710.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/daiichi1710.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/danville_thread.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/danville_thread.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/beads.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/beads.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/goosebiots.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/goosebiots.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/ultrawire.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/ultrawire.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/flashabou.htmhttp://stevenojai.tripod.com/shopable/flashabou.htm
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SALINAS VALLEY FLY FISHERS ! APRIL 2018
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March ActivitiesApril Club MeetingWednesday, the 11th.
Program not yet determined@ the Flying Artichoke
Fly Tying, Wednesday, April 18th.
Airport Board Room
SVFF Board MeetingWednesday, 25th.
6:00 pm @ The Flying Artichoke (all members welcome)
Club OutingFort Hunter Liggett
Kids DaySaturday April 14th.
Outing Report: Pyramid Lake from the Smith-master
This years Pyramid Lake Club Outing should be labeled March
Weather in the Mountains. SNOW, WIND AND RAIN. Hats off to the
eleven fly club members that ventured over Hwy 80 in the snow and
reached Pyramid Lake. How bad was the weather?? Two guides
cancelled before the outing due to the snow, rain and wind. To say
the least, fishing was tough, very tough. I was very impressed with
the eleven members dressing for the worst. But wait, again Dave
stood out in the rain and snow with leaky waders, not one pair, but
two pairs of leaky waders. Chilly. Someone in the group offered
Dave wader repair cement, and another offered Dave a pair of
scissors. Fishing was slow for most, except for new member Chuck
Slough with 2 fish, Loren with one, and myself with one. A BIG
THANK YOU goes to the Monterey Fly Club who hosted an outstanding
Pot Luck Dinner on Friday night: filet mignon, chicken, ribs,
salmon, many salads and desserts. Letʼs do this again next year,
lots of fun.
(Presidentʼs Mess. cont. from pg. 1)
General Meeting Wednesday April 11th
Club outing: Hunter Liggett Kids Day April 14th, 6`00 a.m. to
12`00 noon
Fly Tying April 18th Copper John
General Meeting Wednesday April 11th
Club outing: Hunter Liggett Kids Day April 14th, 6`00 a.m. to
12`00 noon
Fly Tying April 18th Copper John
I hope to see you all at the Wednesday evening meeting.. Tʼll
then: Good Fishing - Greg
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SALINAS VALLEY FLY FISHERS! APRIL 2018
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The Photo Page
Rod is saying: “Honest, I caught all these with my 5 wt. fly rod
on a Royal Coachman fly I ties myself ”
Tim, on the other hand actually caught this nice striper on a
fly rod
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Thinking About Fishing
Fishing with Family and Friends:
Like many of you, I started fishing with my Dad at an early age.
Mostly we fished the Monterey Bay for rock fish, salmon, and crabs.
On the weekends during trout season Dad would take us kids to fish
Los Padres Dam or the Pond at the White Rock Club (located at the
end of Robinson Canyon Rd). Trips to Lake Nacimiento to camp and
fish the shore line for bass and bluegill was a summertime
vacation. Growing up I was always fascinated by tying lures or
hooks on a line and hoping for a fish to grab my Super Duper lure
or a salmon egg on a hook. I soon learned that the tug of a fish
was the excitement that I was after. During one of our family
outings, Dad stopped by a trout farm in Carmel Valley and that was
pretty good fishing! All of us had fish on at the same time and
life was good, until Dad had to pay for all of the trout that were
caught.
I carried the passion of fishing later in life with my family
and friends. Taking my family fishing was a time of peace and
serenity, enjoying the moments when they caught fish and the
stories that were told. But at the same time the solitude of the
outdoors was something I looked forward to also, enjoying the
various trees, birds, mountains, lakes and streams.
Recently on a club outing to Pyramid Lake, the weather was quite
active with snow, rain and high winds, (my kind of adventure). I
found myself fishing alone along the lakeʼs edge. Soon, a club
member arrived to fish and endure the elements with me. Not long
after we started fishing, I heard a voice, Fish-on, and I grabbed
my net. Netted the fish and the celebration began, cheering and
high fives. Now thatʼs what I call fishing with friends. Not long
after we released the trout, I hooked up and the same ritual took
place, more cheering and high fives. So really not much has changed
for me; finding solitude, fishing with family and friends is what I
still enjoy. Greg Smith
Fishing and Fishing Buddies ! It seems like fishing mean
different things to different people, but I think it’s safe to say
it is something special to folks who take the time to join a club,
come out to meetings and get up at O’dark:30 to drive all over hell
and gone with another club member, who they just barely met at the
last meeting, and to go fish a stream they never heard of ... Well
that’s how it starts, but that’s not how it ends up. Along the way
you develop “Fish’n Buddies. Fish’n Buddies are a rare breed. You
don’t develop this kind of relationship because you work at the
same place, or because your wives play bridge together, or even
that you share political or religious beliefs. Well, that one about
religion may not be quite true, because what you do share is kind’a
like a religion. Once you’re hooked, you have officially
transcended into a peculiar realm that certainly has a spiritual
quality. Things just become a little different. There’s something
special about the sound of the water thrashing over a riffle or the
way a trout poking your fly with his nose makes your heart thump.
Now, not all the difference are spiritual, among other things, if
you’re an honest person you find yourself suddenly telling little
lies about the size and number of fish you caught..Don’t worry
that’s normal. You also, no matter how polite you’ve been your
whole life, find yourself making fun of people when they lose a
fish, or especially if they falling the water..I mean that stuff is
hilarious..But, don’t worry they’ll probably come to your rescue if
you actually start to drown. Yeh, Fish’n Buddies are something
special, so next time you go fishing... Take one along.. Rick
(ed)