Happy New Year to all Fly Fishers Tyers and TU Edmonton Members
I have not been out fishing since the cold weather arrived. I keep hoping for a break in the temperature so I can make one last pilgrimage to the Red Deer River before the season closes, but no luck so far. As a fitness option I shovel snow (yech). Santa only brought me one fishing related Christmas present, which was a new hat with a special feature. If you want to see what it is, you’ll have to come to the meeting on January 6th. What did Santa bring you in a fishing theme? Come out Wednesday for a show and tell.
One thing that did happen over the Christmas break was that a few of us have booked a trip to Cuba in May to go bone fishing. Rick Lang’s glowing reports of his trip last spring convinced me, Bill Gouge and Ross Chow to join him this spring. I’ve also heard via the grapevine that Doug Como has booked an April fishing trip to Crooked Island, Bahamas. He’s looking for company, so if you hanker for an early spring start to the fishing season, let Doug know.
Our program last month featured Michael Dell continuing the beginner sessions by showing us how to tie a Bead Head Brooks Montana Stone. Week two, we replaced our conservation meeting with a session on dying materials. Prez Dave Murray took charge and had us all dying burlap in the QMP kitchen. Week three was our Christmas Wind-up, with pizza and pop provided. It was a good, but short, month.
Our program this month starts on January 6th when we have Dennis Southwick showing us how to tie a Clouser Minnow and Stinger Hook Flys. Week two, on January 13th will be our Conservation Session. Steven Spencer from Sustainable Resources Development will talk about Adaptive Management to Address the Small Fish Problem. Week three on January 20th will be our Annual General Meeting. See page two for details. Week four on January 27th we will have Carl Johnson do his first presentation which will be Three Stoneflys.
Our winter fly swap hosted by Dennis Southwick is almost done. The theme of this swap was Burlap. I’ve finished my “Hay Jute” patterns (aw come on, you gotta permit the odd pun) and will be giving them to Dennis on the 6th. It was fun to try a new material out and I’m looking forward to the next swap. I might even demo the Burlap Boatman I tied as bonus flys. On page two you will find a list of upcoming events for 2010. The main items of note are our January Seminar featuring Garry Borger and Mike Lawson on January 16th and 17th (see the box on page three for details on that event.) and the Annual General Meeting on January 20th. We need you to participate to ensure a successful start to the New Year.
January 22nd to 24th is the Fly Fishing Expo in Calgary, Once again a number of members will be going down to man the kids tying booth. If you want to join us, let Brian Bleakley know so we can coordinate schedules. The Edmonton Boat and Sportsman’s Show goes March 18th to 21st at Northlands, this year is in a new venue, with a new spacious location for us .We’ll need to start thinking of how to configure it and how many volunteers we will need. Ditto goes for the Fishin’ Hole show at the Mayfield on March 28th to 31st. Can you help out?
Lastly, for those who have not yet bought a membership, now is the time. For those who did buy a 2009 membership prior to July 1st , thanks to the generosity of Trout Unlimited Canada your 2009 membership is good until your anniversary date in 2011, so you don’t have to renew just yet. Others will get a renewal notice from Trout Unlimited Canada.
A final piece of good news, club members now get a discount at Wholesale Sports. You’ll need to show your membership card. The discount will vary depending on the type of goods. The Northern Lights New Year starts January 6th! Hope It’s a good one!
-Dave Robinson