All posts by MikeB

October Official Meeting 2013

The excitement builds and it is not just Halloween. The first official
meeting of the HFF is October 15th at the Colorado Steakhouse,dinner at
6:00, program at 7:00.

The program this month will be as announced. Our friend Jonathan Busse
will demonstrate how to construct a furled leader. I am thinking these
will come in handy when throwing some hefty flies to the Monroe Wipers.
Speaking of Wipers, they should be showing up within casting distance
any day now. Personally I am looking forward to chasing these great
fish this fall, especially if I can manage to fix the leaks in my
waders.

The second part of the program will feature a demonstration of how to
tie the Bloomington Minnow. The fly and its un-weighted cousin have
caught a number of nice Smallmouth bass this summer and Wipers last
year. This hook point up weighted fly will be a nice thing to have
along when you are chasing the aforementioned Wipers and don’t like
throwing a sinking line.

Hope to see you all there. And by the way, dues are do, $20 for the year.

Tim

Meeting Notes

furling leaders
Jonathan Demonstrating how to furl a leader.

Several Members showed up for the first Official meeting of the season along with a few new faces. Meetings are open to anyone with an interest in fly fishing or fly tying and we invite you to join our group to gain all the benefits that our club offers. If you would like to become a member of the Hoosier Fly Fishers Group contact any of the guys on the contact page for more information.

Jonathan Busse of JL Waters Outfitters demonstrated how to make furled leaders. Several members were interested in the construction of those. Jonathan explained that many different kinds of materials could be used for leaders depending on the purpose and length of the leader. For the demonstration he used GSP Gel Spun fly tying thread to make a very durable 6 foot leader. Thanks Jonathan for sharing your knowledge with us. Jonathan is the “fly guy” at JL Waters, stop in and see him about fishing equipment and tying supplies. JL Waters is located on the west side of the square, downtown Bloomington.

Bloomington Minnow
Bloomington Minnow tied by Tim Mather

Later in the meeting Tim Mather demonstrated how to tie a Bloomington Minnow fly. Both Tim and Paul Brown have caught many good fish on these flies that imitate a Lake Monroe Shad. Tim also shared some of his fly tying secrets about materials and specialized tools. The flies looked great! Thanks Tim.

Thanks to the staff at Bobby’s Colorado Steakhouse for the great food and service we always get there. Bobby’s Colorado Steakhouse is located at 1635 North College Avenue just south of the bypass. Check the club calendar for our next meeting dates. Hope to see you there. I’m sure there will be a lot of wiper talk at the next HFF meeting.

September Unofficial Official Meeting

September 17th will be officially the last unofficial official meeting of
the year, 6:00 at the Colorado Steakhouse, food, fibs and appropriate
adult beverages. These meetings have been lots of fun and a good
chance to stay in touch. Now the real fun begins!

October 15th will be officially the first official meeting of the year!
Again this year we will meet at the Colorado Steakhouse, dinner at 6:00
and the program at 7:00.

September the 10th will be the first official meeting of the executive
committee. Even though we have a lot more at stake, we are generally
much better behaved than congress. We will be planning the programs for
the year and of course your suggestions are welcome. Send them to me
tmather@hoosierflyfishers.com There will of course be fly tying…let me know
if there is a pattern or technique you would like see. I am sure
someone in the club knows how to do that. Jonathan, the new fly guy at
JLWs, has agreed to do a program on furled leaders and silk fly lines.
Several of us would like to have Kevin do another program on cameras
and photography. I know Kevin can fill us in on the “how to” of that “grip
and grin” shot of you holding the near record fish. However, catching
the fish to photograph is up to you. I have also had the suggestion to
have Dave Kittaka from Avoca talk to us about the Lake Monroe fishery,
especially and unfortunately on the possibilities of Asian carp in the
lake.

Would anyone be interested in getting a variety of rods and lines in
the same place at the same time to compare how they cast? JLWs has a
number of different 6wts on hand now and I may be able to locate a few
other brands. I think several of us would like to try a number of rods
with different line weights and types.

We fished a local stream the other day and were able to figure out what
the Smallies were keying in on…Black rabbit strip zonker type flies
and/or white deer hair bugs. So there you have it…you can either fish
low and slow or catch them looking up and use either black or white
flies. It’s just that simple! And oh yes, there was another fly that
worked, the Tequeely. We each had one in our stash and after one fish
we each lost said fly. It’s just that simple! You gotta love this game.

In addition to the unbridled excitement of the new year of official HFF
meetings, Wiper season is coming up. Remember Wipers? There is
something very exciting about a fish that can take you into the backing
more than once…

Tim