August 14th fly tying - Cats Whisker

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, August 14, 2023

6:30 pm - tying session begins
5:30 pm - casting outside, weather permitting
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month's fly is the Cats Whisker, created by David Train of England in 1985. Like it's first cousin the Fluff Butt, the Whisker consists of a chenille body and marabou tail but with the addition of a marabou underwing. The original pattern didn't have bead chain or lead eyes, and had a tendency for the underwing to foul. To solve this, Train added four stiff whiskers from his cat to keep the underwing in place. Thus the name!

There are many variations of this fly over the years, and a wide range of species that eats this fly. If it has fins and gills and swims, it'll eat a Cats Whisker.  Many different colors can be used for the body, tail and underwing as well.

Because it's an easy-to-tie pattern, we encourage all novices or those interested in getting into fly tying to attend this session. The club has spare tools for use during meetings, and all materials are provided.

As always, we broadcast the sessions live via Zoom for those who cannot attend. The sessions are later posted on YouTube for future reference on the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YT channel. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the link, please email Bill Morrison.  

July 24th meeting - ICAST report, Redfish Regs

KFF general meeting
Monday, July 24, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube
* fly casting prior to meeting starting at 5:30pm

Our own Glen 'Catch' Cormier has had a busy month this July. First he represented the FFI Gulf Coast Council at the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting, where changes in speckled trout and redfish management were discussed.  The next week he attended ICAST - the world's largest fishing trade show - and in addition to taking part in a series of conservation seminars, he once again sought out the most interesting new fishing products.

Catch will fill us in on:

• State of the Sport - Latest stats on fishing & fly fishing
• Most interesting products from ICAST
• Background and latest on redfish & speck management

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

July 10th fly tying - Extended Body Hopper

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, July 10, 2023 

6:30 pm - tying session begins
5:30 pm - casting outside, weather permitting
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month, Chris Williams will be on hand to tie the Extended Body Hopper. This fly is very interesting as it uses a needle to extend the body of a terrestrial fly.  There are several variations of this fly, here is a video of one by renown tier Jerry Coviello as shown in the photo above.   CLICK HERE.   Like the variation we will tie, it uses a needle for the extension.

This extended body technique will be new to many of our tiers. So come out and learn another method of enhancing the flies you tie!  As always, materials other than thread will be provided and we have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.

As always, we broadcast the sessions live via Zoom and YouTube for those who cannot attend. The YouTube sessions remain for future reference on the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YT channel. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the link, please email Bill Morrison.  

July 3rd meeting - Warmwater Tactics

KFF general meeting
Monday, July 3rd, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube
* fly casting prior to meeting starting at 5:30pm

This meeting was postponed from the June 26th  date because of the LSU-Florida College World Series final game... which our Tigers won in grand fashion!  Congrats to the 2023 National College Baseball Champion Tigers!  We will still have the regular July tying and general meetings on July 10th and July 24th respectively.

With the heat of summer firmly with us, our program for his month will be on warmwater fly patterns, how to rig them, and how to fish them.  Jim Johnson and Bill Morrison will cover streamers, poppers/topwater patterns, jig flies, and smaller wet flies.  For each category, they will cover basic patterns and the species they target, leader and line setups, and techniques for fishing.

If you are new to fishing any of these flies, you definitely want to make this meeting.  If you are experienced with them, come to the meeting and lend your input to the conversation.

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

June 12th fly tying - Meat Whistle

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, June 12, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

This month, we'll be tying the Meat Whistle. We tied this pattern five years ago, but it’s such a great bass and general-purpose streamer that we decided to bring it back.  Created by John Barr, the fly was designed to replicate the commie tackle Pig-n-Jig. The orientation of the jig hook allows the fly to be worked slowly on the bottom.

As always, materials other than thread will be provided and we have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.

As always, we broadcast the sessions live via Zoom and YouTube for those who cannot attend. The YouTube sessions remain for future reference on the Kisatchie Fly Fishers YT channel. If you would like to join the Zoom but do not have the link, please email Bill Morrison.  

May 22nd general meeting

KFF monthly general meeting
Monday, May 22, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube
* fly casting prior to meeting starting at 5:30pm

Our speaker for this month had to cancel his presentation due to a health issue. So instead we'll have the usual presentation of reports followed by a short summary of the recent "Gulf Coast Classic" put on by the FFI Gulf Coast Council in Gulf Shores. That will be followed by an "Open Fly Tying Session". We'll have materials for several flies, as well as equipment for those without tools.

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

May 8th fly tying - Bluegill Gurgler

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, May 8, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

For this month, we'll be tying the Bluegill Gurgler. This is a fun-to-tie topwater bream fly that also works for bass. We'll tie it in a size 8, which is a good crossover size to temp bass along with the bluegills. Bill Morrison also ties it in size 10 (bluegills) and sizes 4 and 6 (bass). It uses Walmart craft foam, so you can mix and match any color combo you like.

As always, materials other than thread will be provided and we have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own. This fly uses 140 denier thread in any of black, tan, olive, etc..

As always, we broadcast the sessions via Zoom and YouTube for those who cannot attend, and 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.

April 10th fly tying - Whitlock Fox Squirrel Nymph

KFF monthly fly tying session
Monday, April 10, 2023
6:30pm
Rapides Westside Library, 5416 Provine, Alexandria
Also livestreamed on Zoom and YouTube

For our April tying, Catch Cormier will lead us in tying a variation of the Red Fox Squirrel Nymph. Developed by Dave Whitlock in the late 60s, the RFSN is an impressionistic pattern that can represent caddis, mayfly nymphs, even small stonefly nymphs. There are countless variations of the original pattern - even Dave had a few variations. But the basic body structure and types of materials remain constant.  

In addition to tying the fly, Catch will share a few stories of his encounters with Dave Whitlock over a 30 year span.

As always, all materials other than thread will be provided, and we will have several sets of tools for any who do not have their own.  For thread, we recommend 6/0 thread in either orange, brown, rust or even red. Again, almost any color or size will work - fish don't mind!

Materials:

• Hook: #12 nymph hook (TMC 5262 or equivalent)
• Tail: Fox Squirrel tail fur (or squirrel back fur)
• Abdomen: squirrel/antron or SLF blend - light 
• Thorax: squirrel/antron or SLF blend - dark
• Collar: Mottled Partridge (we'll use Brahma Hen)
• Weighted: 15 or 20 gauge lead wire
• Rib: Gold tinsel or Oval

In this variation, we'll be using a Saber 7230 size 12, a black finish barbless hook.  Unlike the TMC 5262, this is a 1x long hook rather than 2x long.   Catch says this variation that has had great success for trout in north Arkansas as well as slightly more appeal to sunfish. 

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