This years Driftless symposium “Restoring the Driftless: The Science, Studies and Strategies for Improving our Region’s Fishery” will be on-line. We have lined up nineteen presentations to cover the two day event…February 23, and March 3rd. To participate you will need to register each day utilizing the links on the “Driftless Symposium Registration” attachment. If you register I will follow up later this week with a more detailed program with biographies of the speakers and a more detailed description of their presentation.
I hope you will be able to attend, but if not, we hope to record all of the presentations and make them available at a later date.
Go here to for further details and links for registration.
Kiap-TU-Wish is volunteer-driven and has no paid staff.
100% of the Spring Fundraiser dollars will go to:
Youth Education and Engagement,
Trout Habitat Restoration,
Advocating for removal of the two Kinnickkinnic River dams,
Stream Temperature Monitoring,
Buckthorn removal, Brush clearing, and Easment mowing, to make trout fishing more enjoyable.
Recently, and through YOUR generosity, Kiap-TU-Wish has committed to make a significant donation toward the restoration of trout habitat through the former Lake Louise impoundment, following removal of the Powell Falls Dam on the Kinni.
Thank You for leading the charge to remove these dams and for the continuing restoration our many fine western Wisconsin trout streams.
Greg Olson, Board President Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter of Trout Unlimited
In this column I thought I would share with you some of the reasons I really like to tie flies, so here goes.
• I get to buy some really cool fly tying tools, from my tying vises to my bodkins. I really like how they feel. Some of the tools are ridiculously expensive, but if I take good care of them, they will last for years.
• It is a good feeling to finish up a batch of flies. It feels like I am being productive and accomplishing a goal.
• When I head down to my little fly tying room it seems like I am escaping from the real world. Along that same line, tying gives me time to daydream. My mind can wander to the places I might be going or where I have already been.
• I don’t consider myself an artist by any means; however, when I am tying flies I can pretend to be artistic. I enjoy the opportunity to be creative in my preferred medium of hooks, thread, feathers, hair, foam, dubbing, etc.
• It has been really cool to share my passion for tying with others, whether through publications like this, social media, YouTube videos, or with my buddies at Laughing Trout. I have met so many nice people throughout this journey.
• I am always on the lookout for new fly patterns to learn. It is a fun challenge to figure out how to tie those flies or how to tweak the pattern to please my eye.
• Fly tying is a lifelong pursuit. I have learned a lot since I first started tying and there will always be more to learn.
• Most of all, I love to tie flies that fish will eat. Nothing is better than watching a fish come up and sip in my size 18 BWO Special dry fly.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if there is anything that I can do to help you with your fly tying journey. Paul Johnson (Paulwaconia@gmail.com) Waconia, Minnesota 952-334-4688
One of my colleagues at work mentioned that her husband was a fly fisher, but that he was making noises about taking up fly-tying as well. She wanted to know what she could buy to get him started in the right way. I’m sure that there are lots of folks out there in the same boat, and a little guidance might help. So here goes.
The first requirement is a comfortable space; a good, comfortable chair in front of a white or light colored piece of wood or laminate, thick enough to be stable, but thin enough to fit the vise’s clamp. One friend used a folding chess board, to which he glued two pieces of white board. Another lays down a white placemat on his desk. I bought a simple desk at Scandinavian Design about 25 years ago that is built from white melamine that serves as my tying table now. Is Scandinavian Design still in business? I just checked, and the answer is “yes.” They even have a desk like mine, but not in white.
The second requirement is a really good light source. I have a pantograph lamp that uses two bulbs, one incandescent in order to capture all the natural colors, and one fluorescent for brightness. I use a 100 watt bulb that I replace every few years by buying one on Ebay. The fluorescent bulb has never been replaced…knock on wood… it’s forty years old! I also use a large magnifying glass, 4 inches in diameter, that I can position between my eyes and the business end of my vise to make those #22 Tricos easier to tie. There are ‘goose-neck’ fly tying lights that throw a narrow beam of light, but when I’ve had to use one of those my eyes got tired very fast. When you are tying on the road, the desk light in most hotel rooms is adequate if not ideal.
Then, you need a good vise. The jaws of the vise should hold hooks firmly enough that you can bend the shanks with pliers while the bend of the hook is secured in the vise. The jaws should also hold the various sizes of hooks that you will be using. If you tie trout flies, you don’t need a vise that’s capable of holding size 3/0 bass bug hooks. There are several ways to open or close the jaws of a vise, and most of them employ a cam or lever, sometimes with an adjustable collet and sometimes not. There are many vises available, with all sorts of gadgets on them to rotate, hold a bobbin, hang a tool, or secure a thread, but what’s truly necessary are really good jaws and a simple way to open or close them. I use a Regal Inex vise, which runs around $150. It has a clamp base to secure it to my tying desk. I still have the vise I bought when I was 11 years old, an AA manufactured by DH Thompson.
That brings up a problem. Your fly-tying place better have plenty of places to store stuff because you’ll never, ever, throw anything away. You can buy small tools like scissors, bobbins, whip-finishers, and hackle pliers in a kit or individually. You generally get what you pay for in terms of quality. I love Matarelli bobbins and Ice Scissors.
Complete fly tying kits are available, and may appeal, but my experience is that half of what comes in the kit you will never use, and you’ll be running back to the fly shop to buy more of what ran out. If anyone would like to discuss this with me, let me know. My phone number is 715-690-4503 and my email kplmstr1@mac.com.
Skip’s Winter Nymph Hook: # 20 Wet-fly hook with down-turned eye Bead: 2.8 mm Black counter-sunk Tungsten bead (bead can be sized up or down) Thread: 8/o Uni-thread, color optional Rib: Copper wire, small or extra small Dubbing: Any spikey dubbing with some flash, here SLF was used. (Hare’s Ear would also work)
• Place the bead on the hook by inserting the hook point into the small hole. Slide the bead up to the hook-eye.
• Attach the thread directly behind the bead and take a few turns to secure the thread.
• Insert the wire directly into the bead and wrap the thead over it down to the bend of the hook while keeping the wire on top of the hook.
• Take a small pinch of dubbing (remember, less is more) and form a short dubbing noodle. Wrap the dubbing tight against the back of the bead.
• Advance the wire to the back of the bead by making spiral turns. Try to get at least four turns evenly spaced. Tie off the wire and either snip or break it off.
• Whip-finish and add a dab of head-cement to finish off the fly
Fish this pattern with split shot and strike indicator near the bottom. When you see a group of fish feeding on midges, it is very likely that a few will be rising and the rest will be taking emerging pupa or larva near the bottom. Try both places. If you encounter a midge hatch in which balls of mating insects occur, use a small Adams; it works well as a midge cluster.
Rises to midges are very tiny and your imitation might be hard to see. If that’s the case, a leader greased within a few inches of your fly helps to pinpoint it. Also, it is quite proper to use an indicator with a dry imitation. Good luck!
This year, Kiap-TU-Wish is offering 100 “chances” on four premium items in place of the traditional raffle normally offered at our Holiday Conservation Banquet. Purchase a “chance” for an item of interest or better yet, for $50 purchase a chance on all four. One in a hundred is great odds, way better than the lottery, and of course buying more tickets makes this even better.
** Update **
Fishpond Dry Bag – $10 per chance, 70 chances remaining “Early Spring” painting – $10 per chance, going fast, only 10 chances remaining Scott Centric rod – SOLD OUT! Norling Bamboo rod – $20 per chance, going fast, only 10 chances remaining Multiple chances can be purchased on any single item or a combination of items.
Members wanting to purchase tickets can contact Tom Schnadt at, thschnad@hotmail.com or by mobile phone, 651.245.5163. Tom can also be contacted by using his home address: Tom Schnadt 2174 Commonwealth ave. Saint Paul, MN, 55108
You can pay for the chance tickets by mailing a check to Tom or by using the “Donate Now” option on the Kiap-TU-Wish website.
The drawing will take place February 28th or sooner.
