NFA's May 19th program speaker will be Michael T. Williams.

 
 
 
The Flypaper
May, 2016
 
 
 
 
 
The Magic of Mountain Rivers  May 19th  
                   

Michael T. Williams is a nationally recognized fly tying demonstrator, instructor and photographer. He will be our evening speaker at our May 19th monthly membership meeting. His presentation will be The Magic of Mountain Rivers. Michael, who is an accomplished photographer, will dazzle us with photos of fly fishing the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. If you are interested in fishing tumbling water than this is an evening you will want to spend at Haller Lake Community Center.

                

PRE-MEETING

The evening's speaker Michael T. Williams will be tying his Percolator fly patterns during the pre-meeting in the alcove at the back of the hall from 7:00 to 7:30. Drop by and watch a craftsman at work. Ask him where and when these patterns will work.
                                                                          

 
 
 
Western Rivers is first
NFA Conservation Award nominee
 
u
Upcoming events
for May and early
June 

In attendance at the April 13th Steering Committee Meeting were: Alan Pilkington, Jim Morrison, Peter Maunsell, David Arms, Maura Johnson, Brett Schormann,  Peter Rubenstein, Tom Beaulaurier, Jimmy Kamada, Wytold Lebing, and Dana Bottcher.

The Audit Committee will consist of Jim Morrison, Marianne Mitchell, and Susanne Staats. It will begin its work after tax season ends. 

14-year-old Sasha Conner has been chosen to receive one of the NFA scholarships to attend the NW Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Academy in late June. 


Outings chair Peter Rubenstein said there were three people who attended the one-day workshop for those interested in hosting a future outing.

 

Conservation Chair Tom Beaulaurier nominated the Western Rivers Conservancy, the winner of the 2015 NFA Memorial Award for Conservation, for the 2016 NFA Memorial Award for Conservation. There will be three other nominees before the membership votes on a winner at the October membership meeting.

A copy of the minutes for the April Steering Committee Meeting can be found here.

Kids Fish-in 
Everett's Silver Lake, May 14

Help kids become excited about fishing. Volunteer to bait hooks, help kids land fish, and be there when they get all excited. Walt Furler would love to have you join him and several other members for this fun event at Silver Lake in Everett.

For more information and to register, click here.


Fishing Outing 
Langlois Lake, May 21

Langlois Lake is one of only ten waters in King County managed with a seasonal fishing closure. Spring catch rates for trout are highest early in the season and decline as fish are harvested and as warmer water temperatures force trout to seek areas of colder refuge. 

The lake located just 1.4 miles from Carnation, in King County. Fishermen will find a variety of fish including rainbow trout and largemouth bass here. Whether you’re spinning, fly fishing or bait casting your chances of getting a bite here are good. So grab your favorite fly fishing rod and reel, and head out to Langlois Lake.

For more information and to register, click here.


Fishing Outing 
Chopaka Lake, June 3-5

The trip is designed to hit the peak of trout activity in this remote lake in Okanogan country. Chopaka Lake is where fly fishermen belong, and chironomid soakers put down roots. It just may be the hottest callibaetis mayfly lake in the state. Located on a distant walled-in funnel at just under 3,000 feet elevation above the Sinlahekin Valley, Chopaka Lake is 148.8 acres of trout water squeezed into a narrow 1½ mile-long ladle. A floating device is necessary to fish for the really large rainbows that cruise the lake.

For more information and to register, click here.



OUTINGS REPORTS
 

Conservation Report
Duwamish Hill Preserve, April 15

One of the club activities that I enjoy is the chance to participate in conservation outings that occur during the spring, summer, and fall. These are a great opportunity to discover new green spaces around Seattle, as well as an opportunity to meet new people. I always feel better after an outing knowing that the work helps the environment as well as helping to make the outdoors more accessible to the public. So on the cool clear morning of April 16 I joined four other NFA members who showed up at Duwamish Hill Preserve to mulch and pull invasive weeds.

In 2001, Forterra, the City of Tukwila and local citizen group Friends of the Hill formed a partnership to work towards the preservation of a 10.5 acre parcel slated for industrial development that would become Duwamish Hill Preserve.  Today the Hill is an island of nature in what would otherwise be just another industrial site along the Duwamish. The Duwamish Hill Preserve also serves as an outdoor classroom for students, a gathering place for restoration volunteers, a culturally significant location for Native Americans and an example of a successful partnership between community members and public and private partners.

In addition to the NFA volunteers there were groups from UW, Expedia, and individuals who heard about the project. In all about 60-70 people made it to the work party. Our job for his particular Saturday involved mulching what was formerly a patch of invasive blackberries. Because of their tenaciousness, the roots of blackberries even though the main bush has been pulled and crowd out the native vegetation. To counter this we put down a heavy layer of cardboard and covered it with a thick layer of mulch. The cardboard blocks sunlight and water from getting through and eventually kills off everything in the ground below. After a few years the cardboard disintegrates. As well as the mulching there was micro weeding of some areas that have already been replanted.

It was amazing to see just how much could be accomplished by a team of volunteers in a mere 3 hours. Following the work party lunch was provided for everyone, we were treated to pizza. At the end of the outing as I climbed into my car I realized that I was a little bit tired. But I was also happy that I had a chance to give back to nature and preserve this sanctuary in what would have been just another dreary industrial landscape.

To see more pictures of the outing, click here.





 

Fishing Outing 
Deschutes River, May 6-8

Wytold Lebing, Brett Schormann, and I left Seattle on Friday morning at 10 for the usual six-hour drive to the Deschutes Beavertail Campground to meet up with 10 other NFA members for a weekend fishing outing. Nine hours later we arrived. Did we have an accident? No. We took our time.

After a great lunch in one of the many Mexican restaurants in Toppenish, Dana took lots of photos of the fantastic murals all over town. The we stopped for photos at the three-volcano viewpoint outside of Goldendale. Since we were in the area, we couldn't miss seeing the Stonehenge memorial just before crossing the Columbia. We had to stop in The Dalles for licenses and boaters passes. Fortunately we had Brett along. Using his IT skills Brett made it possible for their printer to talk to their computer and we had papers to prove we were legal. Then we stopped for take-out dinner, gas and ice at Safeway. We couldn't pass up taking pictures at the falls on the White River State Park (it was right on the way). And, of course, we had to look at Sherars falls before finally starting down the gravel road to camp.

But we weren't the last ones to arrive. Tim and Renee Schindele, who live the closest to the Deschutes (Redmond, Oregon), arrived in their camper shortly before dark with their dog Ginger. Mark Conner and daughter Sasha also had their camper. The rest of us had set up our tents. The weather was dry, sunny, not too windy and on the whole very pleasant.

Tom Beaulaurier had brought his own stove and cooked chili for dinner. He and a couple of others guys with whom he was sharing his meal were just finishing up as the rest of us set up the NFA kitchen. Soon people were gathering around in their camp chairs. Vance Thompson brought out a bottle of Scotch. He was surprised that there were no takers. After what he witnessed on the Klickitat outing, Vance assumed that the NFA was a big drinking club. Jim Watson, who came down Thursday and fished on Friday, said he talked to a fisherman who reported catching 20 trout on Thursday but didn't do too good on Friday. The old saw "You should have been here yesterday" would prove to be  prophetic. Everyone drifted off to bed by 10. Even though the skies were clear, the night was quite warm.

The stoves were fired up and coffee water heating as the sun came up Saturday morning. Cold cereal, orange juice, and sliced fruit was laid out on the picnic table while Peter Rubenstein toasted Bagel Oasis bagels (Seattle's best bagels). Sandwiches were being made by a team headed by Vance.

After breakfast most of us headed off for a day of fishing. The Deschutes was quite clear and running at a lower than normal flow of about 4,500 cfs. It was sunny and warm and everyone was optimistic.

I took Brett in my raft and floated from Buck Hollow down to camp. Mark and Sasha drove up with us and Mark shuttled my van back to camp where they spent the day resting. Peter and Jim floated; Wytold was planning on floating his pontoon boat until he discovered he had forgotten to bring his oars and joined those wading for the day. Other waders included: Alan Pilkington, Tom, Vance, Tim, and Renee.

How was the fishing? Much better on Thursday, as the guy predicted. With a broad grin on his face, Alan talked about the beautiful foot-long redside he caught. He was excited, not by the size of the fish, but that the trout he caught fought just as magnificently as the ones he used to catch 30 years ago when he fished the Deschutes last. Most everyone caught fish, but nothing worth bragging about. The highlight of my day was witnessing -actually videoed-Brett catching a trout. You can see the video here.

As afternoon turned into evening the down river winds picked up and provided relief from what was a very hot day. Chips and salsa were set out for appetizers along with cheese that Alan provided.  I had made chili at home, so all that had to be done was slowly bring it up to eating temperature. For some reason we could not get propane to come out of the tank we had used for making coffee in the morning. Luckily, Tim had a spare tank and we got the stoves going.

Alan was volunteered for the job of slowly heating the chili and spent what seemed like forever stirring the pot so the chili did not burn--which it didn't. Peter had made cornbread at home and brought it in a box his new waders came in. We even served the tasty slices of cornbread from the box. Vance and crew jumped in and made a coleslaw which we consumed while the chili was still being stirred, and stirred, and stirred...Finally the chili was ready and we attacked it. Renee had made an apple cobbler at home and served it with vanilla ice cream which they had in the camper's refrigerator. Jim headed up the dishes brigade and they were done before the sun set. Everyone went to bed early after a long sunny day on the river.

Coffee water was going when I got to the kitchen area pre-dawn on Sunday morning. "Early to bed, early to rise" I guess. Onions, green peppers, and mushrooms were sauted with diced potatoes that had been parboiled the night before. Sandwiches were made. A pineapple was whacked and hacked and finally sliced and plated. Several oranges experienced the same fate. Leftover bagels and cornbread were plated. And then came the feng shui moment. How to arrange all the serving plates on the picnic table. After much discussion it was so arranged and then passed around and the whole essence of the arrangement broken. But it tasted good, so who cares. Dishes were quickly done thanks again to Jim and a crew of towel wielders.

And then came another feng shui moment. How to arrange the chairs for the group picture. Do the red chairs go next to the blue chairs and should they be on the ends or in the middle? We may not be a bunch of drinkers, but we sure are into arranging the way things look. Vance whipped out his tripod and put his big camera on top and we all smiled and then we smiled a few more times. And then it was time to pack all the club gear up.

Brett, Wytold, and I said our goodbyes and left Beavertail at about 10 for a six-hour drive back to Seattle. How long did it take? Bet you can't guess.

 







 
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