March 24 meeting - Meet the Fluff Butts!

The next meeting of the Kisatchie Fly Fishers will be on Monday, March 24.  Location is the Rapides Westside Library on 5416 Province Place in Alexandria, in the north meeting room.  Time is 6:30pm.  This meeting is open to the public, and all are invited.

Catch Cormier will give a presentation on "Fluff Butts and How To Fish Them".  There are numerous variations of this fly, but one thing they have in common is an ability to catch fish when used correctly.  It's caught everything from bluegills to stripers, and a saltwater version has even taken speckled trout and snook!  Catch will also briefly discuss other hot panfish flies such as Jitterbee, Cap Spider, Tussel Bug, and more as we prepare for what should be a great spring fishing in the Cenla area.

Acadiana Conclave this Saturday

27th annual Acadiana Conclave
Saturday, March 15, 2014
9:00am - 2:30pm
Grace Presbyterian Church, 518 Roselawn Blvd, Lafayette, LA
Free admission!

Hosted by the Acadiana Fly Rodders, the activities include:
- presentations by world angler Dr. Norm Crisp, redfish guru Ron Begnaud, and fly tackle expert Marc Pinsel
- casting presentation on "Curve Casting" by FFF Master Certified Instructors Keith Richard and Bob Tabbert
- fly tying demos by some of the region's most innovative tiers
- vendors of fly fishing and kayak gear
- silent auction on one-of-a-kind items, custom flies, and other collectibles
- free refreshments and a $5 chili dog lunch is available

For those KFF members who have never been to a conclave, you must check this out.  It will change your life! Perhaps even in a good way.   :-)

For a schedule of activities, bio on speakers and tiers,  and other details, go to www.acadianaflyrodders.com and click on "Club News".

February 24 meeting featuring John Williams

The next meeting of the Kisatchie Fly Fishers will be on Monday, February 24.  Location is the Rapides Westside Library on 5416 Province Place in Alexandria, in the north meeting room.  Time is 6:30pm.  This meeting is open to the public, and all are invited.

This month we are delighted to have John Williams as our guest speaker.  John and his wife Becky own Pack & Paddle in Lafayette. John is an avid kayak angler and enjoys all types of kayak fishing, but especially going into the marsh after redfish. He's also been successful in kayak tournament fishing. Among his honors are top spot in the CCA STAR Southwest Kayak Division, and winning the Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club "Angler of the Year" in 2010.

John will talk about various kayaks for fishing, basic accessories and rigging, and opportunities for kayak fishing in south Louisiana.

Also on the agenda:
- Tip of the Month
- Fishing Reports
- Fly Fishing 101 and other upcoming events

January 27 meeting featuring Jeff Guerin

The next meeting of the Kisatchie Fly Fishers will be on Monday, January 27.  Location is the Rapides Westside Library on 5416 Province Place in Alexandria, in the north meeting room.  Time is 6:30pm.  This meeting is open to the public, and all are invited.

For January, we are delighted to have Mr. Jeff Guerin as our guest speaker.  Jeff is a fly fishing guide on the Little Missouri River in southwest Arkansas, and owner of the www.littlemissouriflyfishing.com website.  He's also an accomplished blues musician.

The Little Missouri River is located near Murfreesboro, AR, exactly four  hours from Alexandria.  It is one of three tailwaters in the Ouachita Mountains that are cold enough to support rainbow trout year-round. In addition, there is a winter-only stocking of trout in the river section above Lake Greeson.  Jeff will talk about the history and future of trout on the river, about tackle, flies, and tactics for trout, and other fly fishing opportunities in the Ouachitas.  Jeff is always fun to listen to, and this promises to be a very informative meeting... you will not want to miss!

Also on the agenda:
- Tip of the Month
- Fishing Reports
- Fly Fishing 101, Acadiana Conclave, other upcoming events

Looking forward to 2014

Wishing everyone a safe and prosperous New Year. May 2014 bring many great new fishing memories.

For KFF, meetings will remain the 4th Monday of each month with two exceptions:
- May, the library is closed on Memorial Day. We will meet the next evening (Tuesday, May 27)
- July, we will meet on the 4th Tuesday.
As always, we do not meet in December due to the holidays.

Our January meeting will feature Jeff Guerin, fly fishing guide on the Little Missouri River.

Our February meeting will feature John Williams, owner of Pack and Paddle in Lafayette, who will talk about kayak fishing, selection and rigging.

On April 5th, we will host a "Fly Fishing 101" seminar at LDWF Woodworth Education Center. This is free and open to the public.  More details to be posted soon.

There's lots of events happening again in 2014, for which Kisatchie members are invited to attend. All have been posted on our CALENDAR. Click on the Calendar entry for details. Here's a few coming up this Spring.

- Dr. Ed Rizzolo Fly Tying Fest (Houston TX, Feb 1)
- Little Mo Fly Fishing Fest (Murfreesboro AR, Feb 14-16)
- Pack and Paddle Spring Demo (Mar 1)
- Red Stick Day (Mar 8)
- Acadiana Conclave (Lafayette, Mar 15)
- KFF "Fly Fishing 101"  (Apr 5)
- Caddo Conclave (Karnack TX, Apr 11-12)
- Natchitoches Fishing Expo (May 3)
- Grand Isle Weekend (June 27-29)

Our club is also considering one or two "Backcast" events.  Backcast is not officially a tournament. Let's just call it a friendly get-together with the flavor of a tournament. We meet somewhere to fish, catch-photo-release or keep a few if you wish, meet at the designated spot, swap stories, show the photos off, and enjoy a few burgers.  Again, more details to come.

November program recap

Despite freezing rain and a winter storm warning for areas just north of town, ten of us braved the conditions and met for what was an interesting session.

The program itself was a quick overview of fly tying basics: the tools, some sample materials, and the demonstration of a simple but very effective fly that works great for panfish (the fluff butt). A fluff butt is basically a woolybugger tied with a beadhead or a micro-jig hook and without a hackle feather.

Here are some tips for beginners...

KFF next meeting Monday, November 25

The next meeting of the Kisatchie Fly Fishers will be on Monday, November 25.  Location is the Rapides Westside Library on 5416 Province Place in Alexandria, in the north meeting room.  Time is 6:30pm.  This meeting is open to the public, and all are invited.

Our previously scheduled program on kayak fishing has been moved to February.  It'll be an exciting program so stay tuned. 

As this is our last meeting of the year - no meeting in December due to holidays - we will talk about a great alternative to spending those cold winter days in front of the television (besides hunting, of course).  That's TYING FLIES!   We'll have an overview of tools needed, a few materials to get started, and even demo a simple pattern guaranteed to catch fish especially in the winter months.

In the spirit of the season, we'll have snacks and beverages.  See you there!

October program recap

At our October meeting, Glen 'Catch' Cormier gave a presentation on "Fly Tackle for Saltwater and Bass". He pointed out the next 5 months is the best time to catch large speckled trout and bass on the fly rod, and because of clear water in winter, the best sightcasting opportunity for redfish.

What does it take to get started, and what flies should you have?  Here are several notes from that presentation, including some tips on leaders and knots.