May 26 meeting - video "Midge Magic"

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 26, at the Rapides Westside Library in Alexandria.  Time is 6:30pm. Please note that we will meet on Tuesday due to the Memorial Day holiday.  Guests are welcome.

For this meeting, we'll watch a video, "Midge Magic with Davy Wotton".  Wotton will be the featured guest instructor for the North Louisiana Fly Fishers' annual Master Series on July 25th at the Red River Refuge in Bossier City.  Details of that event can be found here.

In this video, the British-born Arkansas guide demonstrates, on a variety of water types, all the skills needed to catch trout feeding on midges.  He covers gear, leaders, tippets, tactics to approaching spooky fish, useful line management methods, casting tactics and more.  He demonstrates a variety of rigging systems and fishing them at different depths.

Also on the agenda: fishing reports, several upcoming events including the CCA Cenla Fishing Seminar, the Kisatchie club's rod building clinic on June 20, and the Grand Isle Fly Fishing weekend.

May 18 Fly Tying

Our next fly tying session will be Monday, May 18, at the Rapides Westside Libary in Alexandria. Time is 6:30pm.

For this session, Gene Taylor will demonstrate a couple of his favorite flies. Bring your tools if you have some, if not, the club has a few sets for use during these sessions. Materials will be provided.

Also, Roger Breedlove will be on hand to answer a few questions about the upcoming rod building session on June 20.

Cenla CCA Chapter Banquet - Thursday, June 18

Alexandria Riverfront Center
Doors open 5:30pm, Dinner 7:00pm

$65 per person, $500 per table ($35 spouse, $25 youth) includes 1-year CCA membership, admission, dinner and open bar.  Live auction, silent auction, raffles and door prizes.

Register for the CCA STAR summer-long tournament - Fly and Kayak Divisions, Tagged Redfish, many other opportunities to win!

For more info, contact Katie Laurent (katie@ccalouisiana.com)

Grand Isle Fly Fishing Weekend - June 26-28

Originally organized about 19 years ago by the Acadiana and Red Stick clubs, the "Grand Isle Fly Fishing Weekend" is an annual event where members of organized Louisiana and Mississippi fly fishing clubs (and a few stragglers from other clubs elsewhere) come together down at Grand Isle for a weekend of saltwater fishing, food, and comradery.

This weekend offers lots of fun for all types of fly fishers.  Simply bring your boating, puddle craft or bank/surf fishing equipment and join with others who share your fishing technique. Activities take place at the Blue Dolphin Inn, and include the Friday night shrimp boil and the Saturday evening fish fry.  Rooms and cottages at the Blue Dolphin have been reserved by the Red Stick Fly Fishers.  A "bed" reservation can be made by contacting the RSFF Saltwater Chair.  Cost is $93 and includes Friday and Saturday night.  In addition, a cottage can be reserved for groups wanting to stay together.

Complete details and contact info can be found by going to the RSFF Forum on WarmFly.com 

April 27 meeting

Our next meeting will be on Monday, April 27, at the Rapides Westside Library in Alexandria.  Time is 6:30pm.  The public is invited.

For this meeting, our speaker will be fellow club member Morris Houck. Morris is vice-president of the Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club (LKFC) and also with the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Cenla Chapter. Morris will talk on kayak fishing, as well as the following topics: the upcoming CCA STAR tournament (which was touched on last night), other CCA topics, and how to fish a CPR (catch-photo-release) tournament. KFF is considering a year-long CPR tournament similiar to what LKFC does.

We'll also have fishing reports, tackle news and tips, and open Q&A discussion.

April 20 Fly Tying

Our next fly tying session will take place on Monday, April 20, at the Rapides Westside Library in Alexandria.  Time is 6:30pm. The public is invited.

The pattern this month will be the Beadhead Hares Ear - Rosborough Style.  The original Hares Ear is one of the oldest flies known, attributed to 19th century English tier James Odgen, but likely many decades older. This version of the classic nymph was originated by Polly Rosborough, author of the book "The Fuzzy Nymphs".  Rosborough was a proponent of flies that are suggestive in nature and which have a soft, buggy profile that displays motion even in still waters.

It was from Rosborough that I began tying this fly.  It proved to be a productive nymph on many trout streams and tailwaters.  However, it was from my friend Hogy Notzel that I learned of it's effectiveness on redear sunfish (chiquapin).  Today it's my most productive fly for this species and works almost equally well for bluegill.

Tying the BHHERS involves a technique called a dubbing loop.  We will first watch a video on this technique. 

Bring your tools if you have some, materials will be provided.  For those without tools, the club has 3 sets of tools for use only during tying sessions.

Caddo Conclave - April 10-11

Caddo Conclave 2015

Located in Caddo State Park on beautiful Caddo Lake near Karnack Texas

Friday-Saturday, April 10-11, 2015

Registration $10 per person, maximum $20 per family
Co-hosted by the North Louisiana Fly Fishers and East Texas Fly Fishers

Friday April 10th:  Doors open at 5:00pm. There will be a Pot Luck Supper!  Bring a dish that is enough for you and one other family.

Saturday April 11th:  Breakfast provided by the North Louisiana Fly Fishers at 8:00 a.m.
There will be fly tying and seminars throughout the day.  Lunch provided by the East Texas Fly Fishers.

Bring your fly tying equipment and tie some demonstration flies of your choice.  Also, bring your kayak and fish the slow shady bayou that glides through the State Park.  The park and lake can be fished with either a LA or TX license.

For more info, contact Mike Hawkins 903-736-1887 or Scott Irwin 318-742-2190.

Fishing the Cane this Saturday, March 28

This Saturday, March 28, Kisatchie Fly Fishers and Cane Country Fly Casters are going to fish the Cane River. Fish anywhere you want, bank downtown or at Champlain Lake. Or kayak fish any of the three launches. The bass and bream are biting! Time to put those flies to good use and test them out!

We'll gather at 12:30 at the south end of the Riverfront downtown. CCFC will have a table and banner up. Bring a lawn or folding chair. We'll talk some fishing then head to Mamas.

If interested in joining us, RSVP Sunny at sunnyla(at)reagan(dot)com or Catch at catch(at)laflyfish(dot)com.