Make plans for Red Stick Day on March 4th

28th annual Red Stick Day fly fishing festival
Saturday, March 4, 2023
8:30am to 3:00pm
LDWF Waddill Outdoor Education Center
4141 North Flannery Rd, Baton Rouge, LA

Hosted by the Red Stick Fly Fishers of Baton Rouge, Red Stick Day is one of the longest-running fly fishing festivals in the South. There's seminars, fly tying demonstrations, casting instruction, loads of raffle items, and more.  And best of all, admission is free!

The event will again be held at the LDWF Waddill Outdoors Education Center off North Flannery Road.  The ponds on the premises are full of big bass and bluegill.  In addition, Masseys Outfitters will be on hand with a variety of kayaks from Hobie, Native and other brands for folks to test paddle/pedal.

This year, thanks to the FFI Gulf Coast Council, the headliners will include three of the nation's top casting instructors: Dave Barron of Wisconsin, Jeff Ferguson from Lafayette, and Jonathon Walter of Colorado. All three are also members of the FFI Casting Board of Governors.  If you've ever wanted to learn more about any type of casting, or improve your casting skills, this is a grand opportunity to learn from the best!  Also on the agenda are programs by Brian Roberts and Dave Barron.

Over a dozen of the region's top fly tiers will also be on hand to demonstrate their various flies, along with their favorite legacy patterns. There's also a giant raffle and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items, all to benefit the club's educational projects.

Details about the event, including speaker and tier bios, schedule of activities, and more can be found by going to www.rsff.org and clicking on "Red Stick Day" in the menu.

February 13th fly tying - the Mad Dog

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, February 13, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

We hope you can join us for a special fly tying treat for February. KFF member Rick Maddox created this month's pattern, the Mad Dog. It's proven to be one of our most effective trout patterns, as witnessed by Rich Hudson who caught 50 rainbows recently on the Little Missouri River - on the same fly!  See the before and after photos below.

Rick will lead us in tying the Mad Dog. According to Rick, he was fishing the Little Mo and only catching a few fish, while an angler next to him was tearing them up on a Trout Magnet. Rick was just learning to tie flies, so he went home and tried to tie that fly, but didn't come out the same. Regardless, the next week on the Little Mo it caught lots of fish. Robert Hughes named it the “Maddog” after Rick's nickname.

We will tie the fly in black and chartreuse, so either black or chartreuse thread will work.  6/0 or 140 denier will probably be best, but 8/0 or 70 denier will work as well.

Materials:

• size 14 60-degree jig hook
• 7/64” gold tungsten slotted bead
• thread - 140 denier black or chartreuse
• black wooly bugger marabou
• krystal flash – mixed colors
• chartreuse strung saddle hackle

We will continue to broadcast the sessions via Zoom and YouTube Live for those who cannot attend, and we will record the session for future reference. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the Zoom numbers, please email Bill Morrison.  The YouTube livestream and recording will be posted to the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel.

January 23rd meeting - Mixed Bag Photos, Late Winter Crappie

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, January 23, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

Come join us for our first meeting of the year. We're all looking forward to reconnecting after the holidays and talk some club business and more importantly, talk some fishing.  Yes, good fishing is almost here.  On the agenda:

• Short admin meeting to catch members up on club-related items
• Presentation by Jim Johnson on photography guidelines and best practices for our Mixed Bag Contest.
• Presentation by Catch Cormier on late winter crappie tactics, what to look for as crappie move to spawning areas over the next month.

As always, the public is welcome. For Zoom connection, email Mike or Bill for meeting number and password. For the KFF YouTube Channel, use this link and go to Live videos - http://bit.ly/3oBk106

NOFF Expo this Saturday!

2023 New Orleans Fly Fishing Expo
Saturday, January 21st
8:00am to 3:30pm
St. Christopher the Martyr School Gymnasium
3900 Derbigny St, Metairie, LA
Free admission!

For a full size Expo Flyer, CLICK HERE

Hosted by the New Orleans Fly Fishers Club, this biennial event (every odd year) is a celebration of fly fishing, featuring all aspects of our sport. Whether you’re wanting to get into fly fishing, or a seasoned veteran, there’s a program or activity certainly to be of interest.

Activities will include fly casting seminars and demonstrations, fly tying instruction and demos, seminars and destination seminars, Sports Writers Roundtable, Iron Fly Tyer competition, auctions and raffles of top end products and flies, artists and vendors, and Kids Fly Fishing Casting and programs. Proceeds go to benefit the club’s educational and philantrophic initiatives.

NOFFC is the second oldest club in Louisiana, having formed in 1984 by Ted Cabali and Tom Jindra. For nearly four decades, the club has been a major contributor to the growth of saltwater fly fishing and fly tying in Louisiana, with several members well recognized in the regional and national fly tying community.

In preparation for the biennial expo, NOFFC has unveiled a new website. The domain remains the same, but there’s new content. Webmaster Wayne Schnell is still putting the final pieces together, but in addition to the latest club news and a more detailed “Calendar of Events”, the site will also include articles of interest to all fly anglers. Check it out at www.neworleansflyfishers.com.

January 9th fly tying - Copper John

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, January 9, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

We'll kickoff the new year with one of the most popular trout patterns of all time, the Copper John. While we tied a rubber leg version 3 years ago, this will be our first try at John Barr's original version. We'll use a #12 hook for our first tie, which will be easier for our novice tiers. If time allows, we'll tie a second copy.

As always, all materials other than thread will be provided. We'll also have several sets of tools for those who do not have their own. Also, we will finish the thorax using UV resin, so if you have a UV light and resin, please bring them. Otherwise, Bill will have resin and a light to use.

For Zoom participants, enter the meeting number and password sent by email. For YouTube participants, search for "Kisatchie Fly Fishers" on YT.  The YouTube livestream and recording will be posted on the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YouTube channel.

As has been our practice at the end of the last few sessions, we will draw for a door prize at the end of the session – for this session, we will have one of the cool new green KFF caps.

Material list:

• Hook: 2x long nymph hook, size #12
• Bead:  1/8” gold brass bead or size to match hook
• Thread: Black 8/0 or 70 denier
• Tail: Brown goose biots
• Weight:  .015” lead wire
• Body:  Brassie UTC Ultra wire in copper or other color
• Wing case: Saltwater pearl Flashabou & black Thinskin or Scud Back
• Thorax: 2-3 strands of strung peacock
• Legs: Brown speckled hen hackle or brown partridge
• Adhesive: Clear UV resin – thick or multiple coats of thin

2023 Mixed Bag kicks off January 1st

Our Mixed Bag Contest is back for a seventh year! The MBC kicks off Sunday, January 1st at 12:01am. If last year is any indication, expect at least 2 or 3 members to be out on opening day to nab a few entries for the contest.

Mixed Bag is a members-only, months-long tournament where the goal is to catch as many different species on fly rod. It's CPRE which means catch-photo-release encouraged. And best of all, there is no entry fee.  You only need to be a 2023 paid member of Kisatchie Fly Fishers.

For all the details on how to submit an entry, go to our "Mixed Bag" webpage.  If you're on Facebook, go to our Kisatchie Fly Fishers Members Share page and share photos of your catch as well.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!

Here's wishing our members and friends, and all of their families, a most blessed holiday season. Hope everyone finds something under the Christmas tree they can use for their piscatorial pursuits in the coming year.

While Christmas is a season of festivity, let's not forget the reason for the season: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….” John 1:14. Please be giving to those in need, and pray for those who are less fortunate, for those in suffering, and for those away from their families this season.

We also wish everyone a prosperous and healthy New Year.  The new year brings many traditional club activities, in addition to our monthly meetings. In March, we have our annual Spring Picnic and Little Mo Rainbow Coalition trip, our Fly Fishing 101 in April, and our annual Summer Workshop.  Being an odd year, our biennial Cenla Fly Fest will not be held (coming back in 2024), but another biennial event - held in odd years - is well worth attending. The New Orleans Fly Fishing Expo takes place January 21st in Metairie. Check it out at www.neworleansflyfishers.com.

November 28th meeting - State of Cenla Fisheries

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, November 28, 2022
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

Come join us for our final meeting of the year! We'll briefly talk about the Christmas Party coming up on December 5th, then get right into the presentation - which promises to be a good one!

Our guest speaker will be Rick McGuffee, Region 3 District Manager for Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Rick oversees fisheries and game management for Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Rapides and Winn parishes. Rick last addressed our club 6 years ago.  He will talk about how LDWF samples area waters, then give a "State of the Cenla Fisheries" updating on sampling results and area lake drawdowns (like the one on Cotile Lake pictured).  Come learn about where the best places to catch certain species are in our area, as well as any other questions you may have!

As always, the public is welcome. For Zoom connection, email Mike or Bill for meeting number and password. For the KFF YouTube Channel, use this link and go to Live videos - http://bit.ly/3oBk106