rod building | Hoosier Fly Fishers

The HFF Christmas Party: We will meet at the Red Lobster Restaurant on December 11^th at 11:15. The Red Lobster is located at 2617 E. 3^rd ST in Bloomington. We are really looking forward to seeing you all for a great time! The raffle for this year will be a fly rod with a reel and line. Can it get any better than that? Who doesn’t need another rod…Early Christmas gift, if you win… Each payed up member will receive a $20 token for themselves and their guest. This is intend to cover food and drinks. It will be most helpful to get a RSVP if you plan to attend and if you will be bringing a guest. Please send your RSVP to Barry Clarke at barry.clarke@comcast.net This will greatly help with the planning .

Fly Tying and Rod Building: Classes are being planned for the coming year. The dates for these is to be determined but we would like to have a tentative sign up for each class to help with the planning for materials and work space. Let us know if you would be interested in these classes.

Fly Tying: Classes will cost $30 and that will include all materials necessary for the flies involved. This does not include tying tools but does include all the hooks, feathers and other tying materials need. By the end of this class, you will have some new or improved skills and a supply of flies you tied. Nothing beats catching fish on your own flies! Our skilled members will be the instructors and we hope for one instructor for every four students.

Fly Rod Building: Classes will cost $100. This price includes a rod blank and all the hardware necessary to build your own fly rod. Again, skilled members of the club will provide the instruction. For the cost of this class, you will wind up with a new skill set and a fly rod worth at least 3 or 4 times the cost of the class. We will have a list of the rod blanks available at the Christmas party.

The January HFF Meeting :The program will be Larry Barber presenting his recent research on “what fish eat” and in what type of locally available waters the fishy food live. He will be suggesting fly patterns that will mimic the bug and catch the fish. He will be tying a few of the patterns to match the fishy food. Looks like a fun filled evening!

The April HFF Meeting: April’s meeting will be the Annual HFF Auction. This auction will focus on fishing related items. A real chance to pick up that odd treasure you didn’t really know you needed. The auction also usually includes flies from a number of our club members. So, save up a few bucks to spend at the Annual HFF Auction and dig out a few treasures you no longer need for the auction…fishing related items someone else will love. And, if that is not enough, our own Colonel Kevin Montague with his highly regarded dulcet voice has again committed to be the auctioneer! Proceeds from the Annual HFF Auction help support the club.

Stay warm, Tim

There was a good turn out for the January meeting at the Colorado Steakhouse. Almost everyone came early for the great food they serve there. After the meal, club President Tim Mather introduced club Treasurer Barry Clark. Barry gave a great presentation on fly rod selection and building fly rods. There was great interest in the topic and lots of discussion about good fly rods vs great fly rods and how to tell the difference. Barry also showed some of his great fly rods to demonstrate differences in fly rod components. There was some interest in maybe having special fly rod building classes for club members in the future. Thanks Barry!

Club Vice President, Mike Donovan was in charge of the fly tying demonstration and showed how he ties a woven body nymph. Mike chose red and black embroidery thread for the body and tied a great looking little fly. Mike presented the fly to new club member Rowan seen in the picture. Rowan and his dad Aaron are a great addition to the club. Rowan also received a new fly box and some flies tied by club member Dick Powell who always donates his great flies for club functions.

Other new members in attendance were Tom Alwine, Dave Warnsman, and Jonathan Busse. Jonathan is the fly guy at JL Waters Outfitters in downtown Bloomington. Stop in and see him at the store on Fridays and Saturdays for fly fishing equipment and fly tying supplies or just to visit for a while. The store will be featuring a beginning fly tying class coming up in February. Check the calendar for that and other interesting events. Anyone with an interest in fly fishing or fly tying is welcome to attend our meetings. Check the calendar for the meeting dates and times. We would be glad to see you there.