Talk about Hoosier Hospitality and we’re talking Bobby’s Colorado SteakHouse. The Club holds it’s regular monthly meetings at their restaurant and the month of February was made special by Steve who cooked us up a fish fry for the evening meal. Thanks Steve it was great!
The speaker for the February meeting was Jill Vance, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Interpretive Naturalist for Lake Monroe. Jill informed us about past and present activities offered by her office around Lake Monroe . Activities range from Nature Hikes in the Winter to Youth Activities in the Summer. Some of her favorite projects involve wildflowers, youth activities, hikes and Lake Monroe Cleanups. Jill is a very good speaker and presents an interesting program about Lake Monroe and the year round activities that are available from her Office and the INDNR. To find out more about Jill and scheduled activities around Lake Monroe for 2016 visit their Facebook Page or the DNR website for Lake Monroe. You can download updated activity sheets and read more on recent events sponsored by Jill’s office.
The second half of the meeting featured Mike Donovan at the fly tying vise. Mike always does a good job showing everyone how to tie traditional flies. This month Mike demonstrated tying a hair wing streamer. I’m sure it will catch fish.
Don’t forget your Indiana State Park Entrance Pass this year. The prices have gone up again but if you’re a Senior you get a discounted rate. If you have a boat, registrations are due and you must have the DNR Launch permit on State waters. March will be time for new fishing license, don’t forget.
Indy Fly Fishing Expo: A few of us attended the fly fishing expo at the Indiana State Fair Grounds last week end. Coupled with the Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show, a guy could spend an entire weekend looking at all the GUY stuff they had there. The Fly Fishing part of the show was a three day event. It took us a few hours to visit all the booths and talk with some new friends and some familiar faces. They had a casting pond setup and fly fishing seminars were held all day long, featuring some of the most informative fly fishing experts in the Midwest . Booths were full of fly tackle, guide services, fly tying supplies, fly tying demos, zingers and forceps by the hundreds and free hats for special anglers.
Fish Report: What a weird year for weather and fishing around Lake Monroe. During the mild winter fish were very active up to the end of last year but the fly bite slowed down a little in January as water temperatures dropped into the 30’s. Fishing was slow but with patience fish could be found where there was open water. February sunny days have prompted fish to move a little shallower and they continue to bite on small flies. Fishing will only improve if the water temps continue to rise. Spring is on the way, get out and fish.