June 24th general meeting - Tom Konvicka

Kisatchie Fly Fishers general meeting
Monday, June 24, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

Our guest speaker this month is Tom Konvicka, chief meteorologist for the KALB-TV weather team. Tom is an institution in central Louisiana, having been with KALB for 35 years! Tom specializations include weather forecasting and tropical cyclones, and he has published articles for the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and several others. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Louisiana College in Pineville. 

Weather is an integral part of the fishing experience. Tom will talk about various weather topics and answer questions from members. We are very excited about having Tom speak to our club!

As always, our meetings are open to the public. 

June 17th fly tying - Goober Bug

KFF monthly fly tying session

Monday, June 17, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

For our June fly tying, Bill Morrison will lead us in tying the Goober Bug.  This fly is the creation of Bruce Sublett of Texas, owner of Gulf & Ozark Flies, who states that it's one of the best post-spawn bass flies he's ever fished.  It's also good for brown trout, smallmouth bass, and even large redear.  Best of all, it's easy to tie, so novice tiers can add several colors to their box without spending many hours at the vise!

Here's a link to the YouTube video showing Sublett tying this fly:
https://youtu.be/TbYLrpBQllo

As always, beginners are welcome!  Please bring your tools. If you don't have tools, the club has sets for use during these sessions. Materials are provided.

May 28th general meeting - open session

Kisatchie Fly Fishers general meeting
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

* Due to the Memorial Day holiday, we'll meet on Tuesday instead of our regular 4th Monday *

Our scheduled speaker can't make it so we'll have an open Q&A session. Bring your questions about fly fishing or where to fish and what to use. Members will attempt to answer those questions.

Also on the agenda: Catch Cormier will recap recent fly fishing tournaments - the Fly Fishin For The Mission and Bass On The Fly. Also upcoming events, fishing reports, Mixed Bag Contest updates.

As always, our meetings are open to the public. 

May 20th tying session - Rod building basics

KFF monthly session
Monday, May 20, 2019
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

This month, our usual fly tying session will be dedicated to discuss another fly fishing craft - rod building.  Our resident rod building expert, Roger Breedlove, will discuss the process of assembling a fly rod from components such as blanks, grips, reel seats, etc.  This is in preparation for our Rod Building Summer Workshop taking place on Saturday, June 29th.

Roger will discuss the particulars of choosing the right blank length, rod weight and action for your needs, selecting matching hardware, and tools you will need to build a rod. 

If you plan to take part of the workshop on June 29th or build a rod sometime later in the future, you want to attend this meeting.  If you do -NOT- plan to build a rod, you will still find this meeting very informative and interesting.  

As always, this session is open to the public.

Summer Workshop: Rod building

Rod Building Workshop
Saturday, June 29, 2019
8:00am to 2:00pm
LDWF Education Facility
56 Robinson Rd, Woodworth, LA

Our annual summer workshops typically bring in a special guest, or cover a special skill or genre of our sport that would not be practical for our regular meetings and tying sessions. Past topics have included: popper construction and painting, casting clinics, tying saltwater flies for the marsh, deer hair tying, fly fishing and tying flies for Arkansas trout waters, and more.

We have at least one workshop scheduled for 2019.  On Saturday, June 29th, KFF will hold a free "Rod Building Workshop" instructed by longtime rod builder Roger Breedlove. Due to limited space, the workshop is open to KFF members only at this time.

Prior to the workshop - at our May 20th meeting - in lieu of our usual tying session, Roger will discuss the particulars of choosing the right blank length, rod weight and action for your needs, selecting matching hardware, and tools you will need to build a rod. This meeting is open to the public.

At the workshop, students will learn how to prep the blank, determine the blank spline, mark the guide spacing, assemble the grip and reel seat, wrap the guides, color seal the wraps (optional), and epoxy coat the wraps. It is the intent that students will leave the workshop with several guides wrapped, and finish the wrapping and coating at home.

Mixed Bag Contest update 5/5

Taken on Sqwirm Worm at Cotile Lake by Carlton Townsend

Fishing in central Louisiana has been unusually slow, but warm weather is here and the fish are getting more active by the day.  Are you ready to add a few species to the Mixed Bag Contest? Remember, it only takes one (1) entry to get into the Consolation Drawing. But why go for the consolation when you place in the main event?  Although Bill Morrison and Catch Cormier lead the pack, it's only seven (7) species.  There are dozens of possible species, so this is far from over!

Here are the current standings:

Bill Morrison - 7 - bluegill, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, rio, speckled trout, channel catfish
Glen Cormier - 7 - black crappie, bluegill, goggle eye, rainbow trout, redear, redfish, sheepshead
Jim Johnson - 6 - black crappie, bluegill, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, rainbow trout
Carlton Townsend - 6 - rainbow trout, bluegill, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, black crappie, black tail shiner
Gene Taylor - 5 - bluegill, chain pickerel, rainbow trout, spotted bass, white crappie
Joel Dinnat - 3 - rainbow trout, black crappie, catfish
Robert Hughes - 3 - black crappie, longear sunfish, rainbow trout
Robert Clark - 3 - bluegill, rainbow trout, redear
Phil Havener - 2 - rainbow trout, green sunfish
Rich Hudson - 1 - rainbow trout

Again, each entry is available online. So you can see what the fish was caught on, where it was caught, and even a photo of the fish. That's the real value of the MBC... a database for members to use to improve their success!

April 22nd meeting - Spring Casting Session

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, April 22, 2019
6:00pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria

** Please note: we'll meet a half-hour earlier than usual **

We finally have some great weather, and before it gets too hot, we'll hold our annual "Spring Casting Session".  We'll start a half-hour early - 6:00pm - and take advantage of the longer daylight to work on our casting skills.  Wear some comfortable clothing.

BRING YOUR FAVORITE ROD.  For beginners and novices, we'll work on our special technique guaranteed to improve your fly casting.  For veterans, we'll work on the "Jerk Haul" - a shorter version of the Single Haul or Double Haul.  If you fish from a canoe or kayak, or simply want to reduce your arm motion from fatigue, this is a great technique to improve your distance and shoot line!

We'll meet in the library, go thru a few basics, then proceed outside to the grass lawn. We'll finish up in the library with a few business items before adjourning.

Mixed Bag Contest update 4/12

Spring is finally here.  And while fishing is far from being "prime time", a few KFF members have added species to their Mixed Bag Contest listings over the last few weeks.  Here are the current standings:

Jim Johnson - 6 - black crappie, bluegill, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, rainbow trout
Bill Morrison - 5 - bluegill, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, rio
Gene Taylor - 5 - bluegill, chain pickerel, rainbow trout, spotted bass, white crappie
Glen Cormier - 5 - black crappie, bluegill, goggle eye, rainbow trout, redear
Carlton Townsend - 3 - rainbow trout, bluegill, largemouth bass
Robert Hughes - 3 - black crappie, longear sunfish, rainbow trout
Robert Clark - 2 - bluegill, rainbow trout
Rich Hudson - 1 - rainbow trout
Phil Havener - 1 - rainbow trout
Joel Dinnat - 1 - rainbow trout

As you can see, only a small fraction of our membership has made entries so far into the Mixed Bag. We're hoping that with good weather, everyone will get out and catch some fish! Remember, you only need one (1) entry to be in the Consolation Drawing. But we hope everyone will give Jim Johnson and Bill Morrison some competition!

A variety of flies have been used so far. The Mardi Craw, Taylor's No Name, Rosborough Hares Ear, Squirmy Worm, and variations of the Woolybugger top the list. Others include: Seaducer, Red Dart, Fluff Butt, popping bug, Adams dry, Christmas Tree, SMP Crappie Fly, Meat Whistle and Goobers Bug.

Again, each entry is available online. So you can see what the fish was caught on, where it was caught, and even a photo of the fish. That's the real value of the MBC... a database for members to use to improve their success!