Firstly I’d like to thank last month’s presenters including: Rick LeBlanc who spoke about new Material from Superfly; Michael Dell showing us How to Spin Deer Hair; Kent Christiansen and Shona Derlukewich from Goulder talking about the North Saskatchewan River and Dennis Southwick who showed us Rabbit Strip Flies. Thanks to each of you for your efforts.

The Trout Unlimited Annual Edmonton Dinner and Auction was held May 6th at the
Edmonton Crowne Plaza and was a rousing success, raising lots of cash for fish conservation. We supplied a number of volunteers to assist with activities during the evening. There are too many to name here, so I’ll just pass on a heartfelt thank-you to those who gave their time and energy for this worthwhile cause.

Our Introduction to Fly Fishing Course on May 29th and 30th went very well. Fifteen students learned about what fly fishing is, equipment required, knots, fly choices, and presentation techniques for fly fishing over the course of the first day. Due to the inclement weather we postponed the casting portion to the Sunday, when we were again thwarted by rain and snow. The final day of casting and fishing has been rescheduled to June 6th. I would like to thank Rick Lang as presenter who did a superb job of presenting the information in a well organized and accessible format. The initial feedback was very positive. Thanks go to Dennis Southwick as cook, Barry Wright as head honcho and Bill Gouge who joined yours truly as a helper.

This month our regular weekly program only has three sessions. June 2nd we have Bob Guidos showing us Swan Lake Flies. Week two on June 9th has Dave Robinson (me) demonstrating a few Flies for Bonefish. Week three, on June 16th we wind up our fall and winter program with a BBQ at Queen Mary Park.

After June 16th we begin our summer program, which is an alternate week format. We alternate “Fish Outs” at local locations with “Free Tye and Beginner Sessions” at Queen Mary Park. The “Fish Outs” give us an opportunity to get together on the water to share technique and fellowship. The “Free Tye and Beginner Sessions” give new members a chance to get into the groove prior to the fall sessions starting up. See details on page two.

Now for a personal fishing report. For the first week in May, there were three guys from Edmonton who joined three from Calgary and two from down east on a trip to Cuba organized by Fish Tales in Calgary. Those who’ve attended May meetings have probably heard some details, but I’d like to report that we all had a fabulous time. We not only caught Bonefish, but also Barracuda, Permit and Tarpon. All caught on the fly. The feeling of a 100 pond tarpon on the end of your line has to be experienced to truly understand. While the trip sounds like the elitist stuff you read about it the fishing magazines, I found it down to earth and quite affordable. Think about it over the summer and upcoming winter. My guess is we could fill an eight person trip next year with Club members, for an unforgettable experience.

And on that note, it’s time to start planning for those summer experiences right here at home. Runoff will soon be done on the eastern slopes and there will be cutties, ‘bow, grayling and brookies to be chased. Local ponds and lakes have finished turnover and they have yet to warm up enough to push the fish deep. So get out those day planners and start planning time on the water. Our meetings and our web forum are great places to share plans and ideas. One of the joys of this club is the ability and opportunity to spend on water time with like minded fly fishers. So share your plans. An experience with a fishing buddy awaits you.

The weather is finally spring-like. The snow is gone and the ice is off the lakes. It’s time to shake the winter dust off our equipment and casting arms. Muir Lake opens up May 1st to Muir Midnight Madness. A few guys made a quick trip to the Crowsnest area with some luck and I would expect many trips to the local pothole lakes to be planned shortly. In anticipation, there are three of us off to Cuba for the first week in May on a trip organized by Fish Tales in Calgary. I’m really looking forward to trying out bonefish and other saltwater species.

Last month’s presenters at our regular meetings deserve our thanks including: Barry Wright who talked about Rotary Vices week one and Geoff Pieroway who spoke about Pieroway fly rods week two (where we even had a chance to try our hand at spey casting). Week three we had a visit from Jeff Surtees the new CEO of TU Canada who talked about the great organization we belong to. Week four was our annual swap meet. The Northern Lights thanks each of our presenters and participants for your contribution.

Our Beginner Fly Tying Session on April 10th went very well. Nine participants learned about basic tools, equipment and techniques of fly tying over the course of the day. We tied about 8 patterns that can be used for local fishing. We had five club members help out along with yours truly as head instructor. I would like to thank those who gave me a hand. Your assistance made it a fun day for everyone.

The end of May winds up almost all the winter program for the Northern Lights Fly Tyers. Come June our weekly meetings will wind down and our alternate week summer program will start. In the mean time, our program continues this month starting on May 5h where we’ll have Rick LeBlanc talking about New Materials from Superfly. Week two on May 12th has Michael Dell teaching us all about Spinning Deer Hair. Week three, on May 19th will be our Conservation Session with Kent Christainsen and Shona Derlukewich from Golder and Associates talking bout about Fish Resources of the North Saskatchewan River. Week four on May 26th we will have Dennis Southwick showing us various uses of Rabbit Strips.

The remaining main upcoming club event for spring 2010 can be found on page two. Aside from regular meetings, the May event is a two day long “Introduction to Fly Fishing” course. At this time we have at 15+ participants, so I’m sure it will be successful. We will be looking for people to help out with presenting some of the topics. An agenda will be available at meetings in May, so if one of the subjects is close to your heart, please let Dennis Southwick know as we would like to involve as many club members as possible. We will need volunteers to assist with the casting portion as well.

The final TU event of this month is the upcoming Trout Unlimited Annual Edmonton Dinner and Auction on May 6th at the Edmonton Crowne Plaza. Tickets are $150.00 each which includes your dinner and a TU membership. We’ll need volunteers to assist with activities on the evening. Be sure to mark our calendar for this major Trout Unlimited fund raiser.

And lastly for this month, Carl Johnson our fine treasurer had accepted a job down east. While we ‘re happy to see him get a leg up in his profession in the hospitality industry, we’re sad to see him go and we’ll miss his contribution to our club. Thanks go out to Mervin Hassler who has graciously agreed to step into the role of Treasurer when Carl leaves.

If you believe in protecting and preserving our coldwater resources for today and for the future, please join us as the Edmonton National Conservation Banquet and Auction celebrates its 25th anniversary in support of Trout Unlimited Canada.

Over the years the Edmonton Conservation Dinner and Auction has raised over $1.1 million in support of coldwater conservation and has become known as an entertaining and fun-filled evening. This year’s dinner and auction promises a wide range of exciting merchandise providing attendees immense enjoyment while contributing to Canada’s leading cold water conservation organization.

This year’s auction will be held on Thursday May 6, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe Hotel, 10111 Bellamy Hill. Doors open at 5:00pm for no-host cocktails, Live Auction viewing, Silent Auction viewing & bidding, raffle ticket sales and talking with friends and associates. Dinner will be served at 7:00pm and the live auction starts at 8:30pm. Tickets are $150.00 per person.

Come join us, help celebrate our 25th anniversary while supporting our efforts to conserve, protect and restore Canada’s coldwater resources

For additional information regarding the auction or how you might be able to assist please contact me;

Phil Rowley
Marketing and Communications
Trout Unlimited Canada
prowley@tucanada.org

Polished video edit from yesterday’s LIVE TwitterCast broadcast on the Internet of the Iron Fly Tyer Event.

Why? Because we can!

The weather is changing as I write this with a mix of warm days and cold nights. The snow is almost gone and the river ice is starting to thin out. Stay alive and off of any ice from here on out. Open water is not far off. And Muir Lake opens up May 1st (Where’s the clock Lance?)

The end of March winds up a pretty busy time for the Northern Lights Fly Tyers. We had a great turnout of volunteers for both the Edmonton Boat and Sportsman’s and the Fishin’ Hole and Campers Village Outdoor Shows. Our booths were well attended and lots of kids (both young and old) tied wooly buggers. Our new banners were the envy of other booths. We sold lots of raffle tickets, both on Don Anderson’s cane rod and on the Bucket Raffle for The Lloyd Shea fund. The latter raised over $5000.00. The raffle for the cane fly rod donated by Don Anderson was drawn at the Outdoor show with the ever-lucky Doug Como the winner. Congratulations Doug! And thanks again Don! At last count it raised about $2500.00.

And heaps of thanks go out to all our volunteers at both shows (you know who you are) with special thanks to Carl Johnson for doing the lions share of organizing, setup, pack up and manning the booths. Great job Carl!

Last month’s presenters at our regular meetings also deserve our heartfelt appreciation including: Rick LeBlanc giving us an entomology primer, Merv Hassler demonstrating some Streamer Patterns, Cal Kullman talking about “River Watch” and Peter Morrison for talking about Sage Rods. The Northern Lights thanks each of you for your contribution. The last program for the month of March is the Iron Fly Tyer. Who knows what secret material is in the works this year? It should be a hoot watching as Rick defends his title.

Our program this month starts on April 7th with Barry Wright talking about Rotary Vices. Week two on April 14th we’ll have Geoff Pieroway Showing us his Pieroway Fly Rods and talking about Spey Casting. Week three, on April 21st will be our Conservation Session. The new CEO of TU Canada Jeff Surtees the will pay us a visit along with Lorne Hutchison Director Finance and Admin and Kimberly Davidson, Membership Coordinator. Week four on April 28th we will have our annual Swap Meet.

Our upcoming events for 2010 can be found in the list on page two of our newsletter. Aside from regular meetings, the main event for April is Our Beginner’s Fly Tying Seminar on April 10th for which we’ll need volunteers to assist with the instruction. One-on-one teaching would be ideal, so sign up at a meeting if you can help out. Dave Murray is organizing.

Dennis Southwick and his work group, are putting details together for the two day long “Introduction to Fly Fishing” course. At this time we have at least 10 participants, so I’m sure it will be a successful event. We will be looking for people to help out with presenting some of the topics. An agenda will be available at meetings in April, so if one of the subjects is close to your heart, please let us know as we would like to involve as many club members as possible. We will need volunteers to assist with the casting portion as well.

Again this month the final note for is a reminder of the upcoming Trout Unlimited Annual Edmonton Dinner and Auction on May 6th at the Edmonton Crowne Plaza. Tickets are $150.00 each which includes your dinner and a TU membership. We will be raffling off a ticket a week at meetings during the month of April for $2.00 a chance. So come on out to a meeting and give your luck a try. We’ll also need volunteers to assist with various activities
on the evening. Be sure to mark our calendar for this major Trout Unlimited fund raiser.

It’s time to get that tackle in shape. Open water soon!

Dave Robinson

The Northern Lights Fly Tyers Trout Unlimited Edmonton is pleased to announce our spring / summer Seminars!

Saturday April 10th, 2010 is our Fly Tying for Beginners Seminar, which covers basic fly tying, equipment, techniques, starter patterns and an overview of materials.  Cost is 25$.  See the attached PDF for more details.

May 29,30 2010 We’re pleased to present An Introduction to Fly Fishing. This two day course costs 50$ and includes a lunch.  Topics covered include: What Where When and Why we fish with flies, basic equipment and assembly, casting, fly choice, playing fish, and on-water time.  Please be aware that you must have a valid Alberta fishing licence to take part in on-water activity.  See attached PDF for more details.

LAKES – The NAKED TRUTH

Saturday March 27, 2010 from 12pm to 6pm
Mayfield Inn and Conference Centre

Talks and Displays from Government and Citizen Groups featuring talks / topics on:

• Respect Our Lakes – The Rules and Regs
• Overview of State of Alberta Lakes
• Keynote: Michael Sullivan, Sustainable Resource
• Development – Prov. Fisheries Science Specialist
• Lac La Nonne, Nakamun Lake, Lake Isle, Lac Ste. Anne, Pigeon Lake, Wizard Lake, Wabamun Lake, Jackfish Lake, Sylvan Lake, Gull Lake, & Pine Lake

Hosted as part of the 2010 Edmonton Outdoor show, March 25-28 at the Mayfield Trade Centre

Registration is appreciated (so organizers have some idea of numbers for light food) by March 19, 2010. At  www.surveymonkey.com/s/QD8VB6Z

Download this issue of Broken Threads

I have to start off this month’s newsletter with an apology. Somehow in passing out thanks to our “retiring” executive members, I missed thanking Brian Donnelly for his work on Membership. The fault is all mine. How that happened I don’t know, because Brain certainly is a memorable person, as is his contribution to the Club over the last few years. I could plead pressure of time trying to get the newsletter out on short notice, but that doesn’t wash. Unfortunately, it’s far too easy to take the efforts of those friends around us for granted. That isn’t the case with Brian as we all greatly appreciate his work and patience, particularly during the difficult transition period. Sorry Brian. We do greatly appreciate your contribution.

While thinking of passing out thanks, our appreciation goes out to last month’s presenters including: Nick Sliwdanich talking about Wholesale Sports, Phil Rowley showing us The New Fly Fisher and talking about Muir Lake, Laura McPherson talking about Culverts, Brian Bleakley for tying Unibobber patterns and Peter Morrison for talking about “Fishing the Far North”. Thanks to each of you for your efforts.

Our program this month starts on March 3^rd with Rick LeBlanc presenting Rick’s Entomology Primer. Week two on March 10^th we’ll have Merv Hassler with a Streamer Spectacular. Week three, on March 17^th will be our Conservation Session. Cal Kullman will give us an update on the Health of the North Saskatchewan River. Week four on March 24^th we will have Peter Morrison back with us, this time talking about Sage Rods. The last week of the month on March 31^st will feature the ever entertaining Iron Fly Tyer. I will run the show this year. We will have three victims, er … volunteers, to take on the task of challenging Rick for the coveted title. It is a fun experience and all they’ll face is a tiny bit of heckling.Our upcoming events for 2010 can be found in the list on page two. For March, other than the regular meetings, the main events are: The Edmonton Boat and Sportsman’s Show which runs from March 18^th to 21^st at Northlands. We’ll need three sets of volunteers to cover off the kids tying, general demonstration and ticket and membership sales. If you give us a full session, you get free admission and we’ll pay for your parking. A sign up sheet is available at meetings. This is a great way to meet the public and discuss fly fishing as a sport and promote fisheries conservation, so come out and give us a hand. Near month’s end, The Fishin’ Hole Outdoor Show is on at the Mayfield Convention Center on March 25^th to 28^th. Here again volunteers will be needed to set up and man the booths. We’ll have sign up lists at meetings for this event also.

The raffle for the bamboo fly rod donated by Don Anderson is still on. Tickets are selling briskly. We draw the winning number at the Fishin’ Hole Show. Get your tickets soon.

There are workgroups currently planning two main spring events. One, spearheaded by Dave Murray, is working on a “Beginner Tying Seminar “and the other, headed by Dennis Southwick, is working on an “Introduction to Fly Fishing” course. Both are aimed at the general public. We hope to have dates and more information soon.

And final news for the month is a reminder of the upcoming Trout Unlimited Annual Edmonton Dinner and Auction on May 6^th at the Edmonton Crowne Plaza. Tickets are $150.00 each which includes your dinner and a TU membership. We’ll need volunteers to assist with various activities on the evening. So mark our calendar to be either an attendee or volunteer for this major Trout Unlimited fund raiser.

Support our freshwater fishery. Without it we lose our pastime

To encourage folks to give fishing a try, any person may fish without an Alberta Sportfishing Licence on these dates but they must follow all other rules and regulations as outlined in this guide. These weekends coincide with Canada’s National Fishing Week and Alberta Family Day.

For more details, please visit here.

Trout Unlimited Canada
Oldman River Chapter
ATCO Gas Building
410 Stafford Drive North, Lethbridge
map: http://members.shaw.ca/ocl4/ATCO.jpg

General meeting agenda for Tuesday, February 16

7:30 to 9:30 PM
General meeting

7:30 PM
Welcome Richard Burke and Henry Komadowski, co-chairs

7:40 to 8:00 PM
Mike Lamb will give an update on and re-channelling the Crowsnest River between Coleman and Blairmore to its original courses. Brian Meagher, TU provincial biologist will also attend to answer questions

8:00 PM Guest speaker
Matthew Coombs, fisheries biologist with SRD, will make a presentation on the 2009 creel survey on the Crowsnest River.

9:00 PM
Raffle draw !!!!

Great raffle prizes:

• Pontoon boat
• Orvis T3, 8-weight
• TBA 6-weight rod

Donors include Daytona Homes and RBC Royal Bank.