Cape Fear Flyfishers Meeting Minutes—20 March 2019
The pre-meeting casting clinic had quite a few participants. This 5:00 p.m. clinic will be held prior to each meeting until further notice.
President Ed Smith called the meeting to order and asked guests to introduce themselves. Robert Von Kampen said he fished a while ago in the Sierras and Myles Dotto has fished the Delaware River in the past.
EVENTS CALENDAR & MEETING TOPICS
- 5 April – Jim White will be holding a Flyfishing 101 class at the St. James Community Center pond from 1 to 3 p.m. Join Jim if you’re new to either fresh or saltwater flyfishing
- 17 April meeting — Chris Tryon from Hook, Line, and Paddle in Wilmington will discuss fly fishing from kayaks
- 4 and 5 May – Carolina Saltwater Flyfishing Academy in Swansboro NC
- 11 May – Jerry Dilsaver will be holding a Kayak Fishing class on OKI
- 15 May meeting — Improve Your Casting. Hands-on casting practice with a competition. This meeting will be held at the new Woodlands Pavilion in St. James
- 19 June — Summer picnic at the Woodlands Pavilion in St. James. No formal club meeting
∞ 17 July meeting – Presentation from a local guide, yet to be determined
∞ 7 December — Holiday banquet at the Members Club in St. James. No formal club meeting
Pond fishing has resumed at the Woodlands Park pond in St. James. Several nice fish were caught recently by Linda Rives and Ed Smith. Pond fishing will be held every Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. (except the third Wednesday of each month when we have our meeting), and will continue through the end of May. This is a good opportunity to get help and practice your skills.
UPCOMING TRIPS
Bristol TN—April 29 – May 1. Eleven members are signed up for this trip.
Belhaven NC—Striper fishing. This trip will be somewhat spur of the moment during a stretch of good weather so we’re probably looking at mid-April or early May. Jerry Dilsaver said that this area can be fished from kayaks unless the wind is really blowing. More details to follow on this trip as it develops so make sure you sign up if you are interested in going along. The trip will most likely involve a one or two night stay in the surrounding area for those wanting to fish multiple days.
New River, Galax VA—Smallmouth bass fishing. There are two dates for this trip: August 5-7 and August 12-14. Each week, six anglers can be accommodated on three boats. There are still some openings on this trip. If you are interested, please contact Ed Smith.
Asheville or Waynesville NC—This trip is the annual fall spousal trip. There are still no firm dates for this trip but it will probably be late October to early November. Jim Larson is coordinating this trip so contact him if you are interested.
Wrightsville Beach NC—False albacore fishing in October or November. More to come on this trip. Richard Winter and Craig Thompson are coordinating this outing.
Florida Fling—The FL trip seems to be heading towards a
“fishing tour of FL”, most likely beginning near the Ft. Pierce/Stuart
area of Biscayne Bay for tarpon and snook, then perhaps driving south to the
Keys to again target tarpon and snook. From the Keys, one possibility is
heading west on the Tamiami Trail which cuts through the Everglades from Miami
to Naples. This roadside has fishable canals where a wide variety of fish are
available by walking or kayaking. The trip would most likely wind up near
Sanibel and Captiva where redfish and snook would be the target species. The
flexibility of this trip would allow people to join in and fish the areas that
appeal to them most. So far six to eight members have expressed an interest
in a FL trip. The trip would happen in spring 2020. If you are interested in or have suggestions for this trip, please let coordinator Nancy Fuller know about your interests.
Rice’s Creek—Another somewhat spur of the moment local trip this spring during some good weather. It is anticipated that several boats and some kayaks would go on this outing.
OLD BUSINESS
Several attendees discussed recent trips they took, namely Patagonia and with local guide Seth Vernon. Bill Buchsbaum reported some success fishing locally for reds with Seth. Ed Smith also mentioned that both he and Forest Duncan had fished recently at Rice’s and Town Creeks with limited success.
NEW BUSINESS
Ed has received some inquiries as to what benefits members get from Flyfishers International which is a part of our membership dues. Besides the online magazine, Ed plans on getting more information about this and discussing it at the May meeting.
Bill Buchsbaum also mentioned that Coastal Conservation is a great group that has some political influence in NC regarding fishing regulations and policies.
Tony Mangiapone reported that he recently had some work done on his Minnkota trolling motor at Live Wire, a Minnkota service center in Myrtle Beach. Tony said he received great service and outstanding work from them. Tony said they work by appointment only which gives you lots of opportunity to ask them questions and learn about your product.
Doug Donaldson, who is a member of the Southport Lions Club, was selling raffle tickets for the 18′ Bayliner boat, motor, and trailer that will be raffled off on the Fourth of July right before the Southport fireworks. Ed Smith plans on winning the boat. But Ed might want to square this away with Matt Kraker because Matt also plans on winning!
PROGRAM
The program was about fly tying and included demonstrations by
members. Member Cary Davidson began by giving an overview about fly tying.
After Cary’s presentation, members Jim White, Richard Winter, Tony Mangiapone,
Joe Rinaldi, and Cary Davidson demonstrated tying at several stations set up
around the room. Steve Moore and Bill Buchsbaum demonstrated knot tying.
Cary began by saying the takeaway is that tying simple flies that will catch fish is not very hard. He said that you can spend lots of money buying materials to tie flies but that’s not really necessary. Cary believes that half the fun of the sport is tying flies and then catching a fish on one of the flies you tied. He also said that fly tying is somewhat addicting!
Cary advised to get a few good books on fly tying to get started. He recommended three books: The Fly Tying Bible by Peter Gathercole; Handbook of Hatches by David Hughes; and, The Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer. Cary also recommended Goggle or YouTube for instructions on how to tie many different flies.
Cary said you can get started with a simple inexpensive vice in the $25 to $30 range. You’ll also need an assortment of threads, a thread bobbin, a good sharp pair of scissors, a clipper for wire etc., a whip finishing tool, wax for your thread, and head cement or Sally Hansen Hard As Nails clear nail polish. Other materials to have on hand are feathers, deer hair, other miscellaneous furs and hairs, hooks, hackles, etc. Cary suggested that when starting out, buying a fly tying kit is a great way to get a variety of supplies and tools at a reasonable price. Then if you really want a large variety of materials, try to find someone on eBay who is selling a whole collection of materials.
Cary said the flies that he’s caught the most fish on are the Pheasant Tail Nymph and the egg pattern made from yarn, both of which are simple flies to tie. Cary demonstrated both of these flies during the tying portion of the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary