Go BIG or Go Fishless

Hi Everybody!

Rick Miyauchi was our guest fly tyer tonight and he taught 15 fly fishers two patterns he learned from Silvia D'Amelio. Silvia is an avid fly fisher who is also a biologist with Trout Unlimited Canada. Rick watched Silvia tie flies at Arrow Lake Lodge after having fly fished the trophy lakes in the Parkland Region of Manitoba. These streamers were BIG and they had a lot going on. Rick brought these BIG ideas to the vice tonight and shared these streamers with our gang. Many of us had not tied flies that included Fish Skull heads. One fly in particular had lots of steps. We handled it just fine after following Rick's instruction. As the saying goes, " Imitation is a form of flattery." Thanks Silvia for the patterns and thanks Rick for the instruction. Make note Silvia, Rick owes you some Disaranno in June!

We still have 8 spots for the Phil Rowley Workshop on June 9th. Give Bob a call or drop him an e-mail.

See everybody next week.

Bob

Silvia D'Amelio

Rick Miyauchi

Tonight's Flies

Almost a Chicken (top)

Hook: size 2 - 6 XL streamer

Tail: Pearl crystal flash

Body: UV Ice Dub Pearl Ice Dub

Body: Magnum rabbit strip (split after the curve of the hook)

Legs: Orange and olive silly legs

Throat: Red Antron

Overwing #1 Green flashabou

Overwing #2: Black Antron

Underbody: Tan antron

Head: Fish skull

Soggy Bog (bottom fly)

Hook: Size 2 - 6 XL streamer

Cone Head: Large gold

Body: Quick decent olive ice dub

Wing: Veriegated rabbit strip

Collar: Deer Hair

Throat: Red or orange antron

We had problems finding magnum rabbit strips so we had to do some glueing.

Variegated Rabbit Strips

Colton Concentrating

Concentration

Caddis and Stones with Tim Maley

Hi Everybody!

Tim Maley was our guest instructor tonight and 21 avid fly tyers came out to learn about a very cool way to make caddis wings and a new way to make stonefly dry flies. The caddis wings were made from partridge feathers and packing tape. A very durable wing is made from sticking the feather right onto clear packing tape (maybe scotch tape would work too) and then cutting out the wing. You could use a caddis cutter to shape your wings once the tape is applied to the feathers. Tie your caddis size 12 to 18 for the Red Deer River. This particular caddis pattern sits low in the water column and will be a great addition to your fly box. We also tied a foam caddis emerger. Another excellent pattern that sits right in the surface film of the water. Our final pattern tonight was tied with three different types of foam. Again you could use a stonefly cutter to form your bodies. This pattern will work great for golden stones and skwalas. Thanks for the neat patterns tonight Tim!

Next week Rick Miyauchi is our guest tyer.

We still have 8 spots left for the Phil Rowley seminar on March 9th, Give me a call or drop me an e-mail to sign up.

Remember the Western Canadian Fly Fishing Exposition is on this weekend at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.

Tim Maley

Tape Wing Caddis

Hook: Standard dry fly sizes 12 to 16

Thread: Tan 8/0

Body: Antron dubbing and a CDC feather

Wing: Packing tape and a partridge feather cut to shape

Indicator: Bright antron

Hackle: Brown

Foam Caddis Emerger

Hook: size 12-14 curved caddis hook

Thread: Olive or tan 8/0 

Shuck: antron

Body: antron

Rib: wire

Thorax: Arizona peacock dubbing

Wing: Brown foam

Indicator: Bright antron

Foam Stonefly (Skwala)

Hook: TMC 200R sizes 8 to 12

Thread: Olive 8/0 or 6/0

Ovipost: Black foam

Body: Olive razor foam

Thorax: antron

Wing: Tan foam

Legs: rubber leg material

Skwala Stones near Little Chief Park (late May)

Pine Squirrel Potpourri

 Hi Everybody!

Tonight was about pine squirrel streamers. None of the 4 patterns that the twenty tyers worked on are complicated. They all incorporated pine squirrel. Pine squirrel micro zonker strips can be used for smaller flies like Glen's Leech or for larger flies like a pine squirrel streamer. Pine squirrel becomes very life like when pulsing through the water.  Take a look at this short video to see how great the action is from a pine squirrel streamer. The Slumpbuster and Bouface are two flies that are John Barr creations. John Barr is mosted noted for his copper john nymph but these two flies tied mainly with pine squirrel are simple and effective. The last fly we tied, the pine squirrel leech, was modified by Charlie Craven by adding a collar that was was less bulky by making a dubbing loop and eliminating the skin park of the squirrel.

Wapsi makes a variety of squirrel colours. Take a look.

We still have 9 spots available for the Phil Rowley Workshop on March 9th. Drop Bob (bvanderwater@rdpsd.ab.ca) a note to sign up. Its a great deal ($40).

Next week, Tim Maley is our guest instructor. See you then!

gathering the pine squirrel

jotting down a few notes, ... great idea!

Darwin's first fly ever. It looks like a fish catcher!

Bouface (John Barr originator)

see tutorial

Hook: Tiemco 200R sizes 6 to 12

Body: Pine squirrel zonker strip

Collar: Marabou

Bead: Gold

Pine Squirrel Leech (modified by Charlie Craven)

see tutorial

Hook: Mustad C49S sizes 10-12

Body: Pine squirrel

Collar: Pine squirrel

Bead: Gold or orange

Slumpbuster (John Barr originator)

...see tutorial

Hook: Mustad 9672 size 6 or 12

Body: Flat diamond braid

Rib: Gold wire

Wing: Pine squirrel

Collar: Pine squirrel

Cone head: Gold

Pine Squirrel Streamer

Hook: size 4 6 XL streamer hook

Under body: foam

Tail: Pine Squirrel

Body: Pine Squirrel

Two more examples of Pine Squirrel Leeches

Red Deer River Fisheries Management Plan

Meetings Scheduled for Red Deer River Fisheries Management Plan

Red Deer River Fisheries Management Plan

In 1994, a Sport Fish Management Plan was completed for the portion of Alberta's Red Deer River from Dickson Dam to Joffre Bridge. The plan provided long-term direction for the fishery and included management options and strategies for managing the fish resources. The fisheries management goal of this plan was to provide a general recreational fishery for Northern Pike, Mountain Whitefish, Lake Whitefish, Walleye, Sauger, Goldeye, Mooneye, and Brown Trout.
There is now a need for a new fisheries management plan as the existing plan is almost 20 years old. Changes in river habitat, fish population numbers and other emerging pressures on this fishery prompted an update and review of the plan.

The new fisheries management plan will be developed by reviewing and updating the 1994 plan. The planning area has also been extended downstream from the Joffre Bridge to the Tolman Bridge.

The planning area has been enlarged to better reflect the management needs of the Red Deer River and distribution of fish stocks inhabiting this section of river.

The development of the updated plan and the actions to be taken by fisheries management will be informed and guided by the principles, goals and objectives identified in the Fish Conservation Strategy for Alberta (2006-2010). Public involvement and consultation will be a critical component of this review process.
Fisheries Management in the Red Deer Area has taken the initial steps to work with an advisory committee of stakeholder groups. The advisory committee has started working together to identify current issues to be addressed by the updated fisheries management plan. The next step in the process is to ensure all issues have been identified.
The Red Deer Fisheries Management Plan (Dickson Dam to Tolman Bridge) Public Meetings scheduled for Monday January 14, 2013 in Trochu, Alberta and Wednesday January 16, 2013 in Red Deer, Alberta will help gather feedback from the public on management goal and issues that should be addressed by the updated Fisheries Management Plan.

For additional meeting information including time, date and location please read the following documents by clicking on the bold text.

January 14, 2013 Trochu, Alberta
Meeting Information

January 16, 2013 Red Deer, Alberta
Meeting Information


Thank you for your support of Trout Unlimited Canada


Philip Rowley
Manager Marketing and Communications
780-464-5499

prowley@tucanada.org

A New Concept in Balanced Flies

Hi Everybody!

Twenty fly tyers kicked off the new year by applying a neat idea to tying balanced flies. Jerry McBride from the Inland Empire Fly Tyers was the first to introduce the concept of fishing flies under an indicator with a horizontal attitude instead of the conventional vertical position. I have become a big fan of this concept as have many others. Many tyers have used jig hooks to tie these flies. Unfortunately there are times where you need a stout hook to steer a fish away from the tules or bushes. This is when the jig hooks can fail. Bob Morenski from North Dakota started to experiment with using conventional streamer hooks along with TyGer leader material to make a balanced fly. Take a look at this article Bob wrote about his research. The result is a stronger duo purpose hook. You can fish the fly in a conventional way or in a balanced fashion. The concept looks excellent and we have Bob Morenski to thank for this new idea. Tie some up with your favorite patterns and give them the ultimate test.

We have 15 signed up for the Phil Rowley Workshop on March 9th. We still have room for at least 10 more students.

Next week, we are going to be using Pine Squirrel Zonker strips to make several excellent flies. See you then!

The Balanced Loop is made from TyGer wire leader material.

Balanced Las Vegas Leech

Hook: Mustad 9672 size 8

Balanced Loop: 50 pound Power Pro

Tail: Black Marabou

Body: Crystal chenille

Balanced Vampire Leech (Todd Oishi originator)

"Just like this!"

Balanced Flashback Pheasant Tail

Balanced Root Beer Pumpkinhead (John Kent originator)

...and then he said, ...

Alex concentrating on his fly construction!

Fly Tying Workshop with Phil Rowley Saturday March 9th

Happy 2013 Everybody!

We are very fortunate to have Phil Rowley spend another Saturday with our tying club. Phil is one of the best fly tying instructors in North America. His workshops have made us all better fly tyers over the past several years. The workshop is for fly tyers of all skill levels. The cost is the same as last year: $40.00 ($30.00 for the course and a $10.00 material fee). Please drop an e-mail to Bob Vanderwater (bvanderwater@rdpsd.ab.ca) to ensure your place in the workshop. You can see all the details of the workshop below.

The workshop will start at 9 am and end about 4 pm. Bring your lunch or order pizza. The workshop will be at Mattie McCullough School on Lawford Avenue.