Spring 2006 - Western Rocky Mountain Council

The Federation of Flyfishers
Western Rocky Mountain
Council
_______________________________________
Volume 2
Number 3
Newsletter of the Western Rocky Mountain Council
Fall 2011
A Message from the President
I wish all of you a happy holiday during this season. This
is the time of year to begin planning for the coming year.
In my previous message, I mentioned that the focus of
the Council would be reinvigorating club affiliations with
the Council, increasing general membership in clubs, and
improving overall services to individuals and clubs. My
role as president is to honor those commitments and see
that the “at large” membership holds the board and me
accountable for fulfilling the following actions:
Salmon River Steelhead

Strengthen FFF affiliate club relationships by delivering real service to its member
organizations like providing guest speakers, hosting seminars, and supplying printed
materials regarding FFF at public affairs and expositions;

Promote establishment of new FFF charter clubs throughout the Council;

Improve informational content of the WRMC website, making it a good resource of
regional fly-fishing news; and

Support established FFF programs like casting certification by providing certified
casting instructors at shows and expositions hosted by local clubs.
If your club wants or interested in any kind of assistance from the council for any kind of
event, please contact any of our council officers, including myself. The names and contact
information are listed at the end of the newsletter.
One last note: Phil Greenlee, President of FFF, has negotiated the introduction of an FFF
Visa credit card option for FFF members or anyone interested in supporting the FFF. With
the first use of this card, a $50 donation by the bank will be made to the FFF; thereafter, as
the card is used, additional contributions will be made by the bank to FFF. Clearly, this is a
personal decision related to your own financial decisions. If you are interested, you can sign
up online via the following URL address: www.cardpartner.com/pro/app/fff.
In closing, I am happy to congratulate Duane Marler (VP of Conservation) for his efforts
which led to two $1,500 conservation grants being awarded to two of our affiliated clubs by
the FFF Conservation Committee. Please read the article below for details.
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year,
Lee Davison
Club/Affiliate News and Activities
Benefit Dinner for “Casting for Recovery”
by Dave Londeree (President of the North Idaho Fly Casters)
Casting for Recovery is a national organization composed of 45 local chapters scattered through
34 states. The purpose of the organization is to assist women afflicted with and recovering from
breast cancer by offering each lady an opportunity to spend a weekend free of charge
experiencing fly fishing in a natural environment. The weekend retreat includes counseling
educational services under the aegis of trained professionals including a psycho-social therapist,
a health care professional (viz., physical therapist or nurse), fly-fishing instructors, and streamside helpers.
Last 15 October 2011, the North Idaho Fly Casters hosted a benefit dinner and auction for the
regional North Idaho/Eastern Washington chapter of “Casting for Recovery” at the Red Lion
Hotel of Post Falls, Idaho.
Charlene Douglas, Chairman North Idaho/Eastern Washington chapter of Casting for Recovery,
gave the opening talk and
discussed how and when the
chapter was formed, and showed
some inspiring videos of what
Casting for Recovery has
accomplished elsewhere. Nancy
Davison of Ririe, Idaho (Vice
President of the Western Rocky
Mountain Council of the
Federation of Fly Fishers) gave
the keynote address. She talked
about her bout with breast cancer
Nancy Davison
Charlene Douglas
from the time of diagnosis to full
recovery. She was followed by her husband, Lee Davison (President of the Western Rocky
Mountain Council) who articulated his experience of being the spouse of a cancer-ee and
discussed how the whole medical situation affected him.
After the talks, Will Godfrey of Lewiston, Idaho, functioning as
auctioneer, coaxed a little more than $12,000 from the audience.
He auctioned custom-made fly rods built by Steve Moran of
Spokane, Washington, and Dick Ross of Sandpoint, Idaho; a pair
of spinning rods—one pink and the other purple—made by Joe
Douglas of Orofino, Idaho; and guided fishing trips donated by
Laura Bayless and Bob Clark of Coeur d‟Alene, Id., Skip Quade
and Bud Frasca of Hayden Lake, Idaho, and Three Rivers Ranch
of Ashton, Idaho. Parker Subaru of Post Falls made a substantial
monetary contribution and donated a host of other prizes, which
complemented the numerous prizes donated by other institutions
Will Godfrey
and private individuals.
The retreat for 2012 will be held on the Coeur d‟Alene River next 29 June through 1 July 2012 at
the Shoshone Base Camp. Fourteen participants will be chosen by lottery. Applications to
attend the retreat next summer or participate in a retreat closer to your home, Google
“Casting for Recovery” and fill out the application. All the equipment needed for the weekend
will be provided (viz., waders and boots, rods and reels, and flies). You will need to bring you
personal clothing and provide your own transportation to and from the retreat.
Conservation Awards
During the timeframe of 2011-2013, the Conservation Committee
of FFF has set aside $22,500 annually for its Conservation Small
Grant Program. All proposals for grant moneys are reviewed by
the Conservation Committee and, in most instances, one proposal
from each council can be awarded as much as $1,500 (1 per 15
councils). However, not all councils have submitted proposals. As
a result, funds are still available.
The Western Rocky Mountain Council via the guidance of Duane Marler (VP Conservation
Chairman for WRMC) submitted two proposals before the 1 September 2011 deadline and, as a
result, each proposal was awarded $1,500 for 2012. One grant went to the North Idaho Fly
Casters Club for development and rehabilitation of the area surrounding the Steamboat Pond
adjacent to the North Fork of the Coeur d‟Alene River, in Coeur d‟Alene, Idaho. The second
grant went to the Southeast Idaho Fly Fishers Club for improvement of landscaping around the
Edson Fichter Community Pond Project in Pocatello, Idaho.
The next deadline for submitting proposals for 2013 is 1 June 2012. If your club has a
conservation project and wants to submit a proposal to the Conservation Small Grant Program,
contact Duane Marler for assistance at 208-846-8342.
Special Contributions
A Brief History of Fly Fishing
by Lorenzo (Buck) Goodrich
Although a large part of fly fishing history comes from the
British Isles, the first written documents come from Rome.
A roman historian, Aelian wrote of Roman soldiers seeing
people fishing with artificial flies in Macedonia in about
150 AD. From that time until 1496, there are no written
documents that have been discovered. In 1496 The Book of
St. Albans was published which contained a section called
The Treatise of Fishing with an Angle which describes fly fishing in detail. A nun, Dame Juliana
Bernes, has always been given credit for this section. From 1496 until Izaak Walton (1653) there
were only two other documents written on fly fishing. In Walton‟s 5th addition, of The Compleat
Angler, a section on fly fishing was added by Charles Cotton. From that point until the 1800s, fly
fishing was practiced but not a lot of documents were written. It should be noted that fly fishing
was practiced without a reel up to that time. A 6-9 foot section of braided or twisted horsehair
was tied to the end of a pole (willow, aspen, or hazel were common in England). The lines were
tapered. Reels, called winches, came into being about the end of the 1700s.
Fly fishing in the United States became popular in the 1800s. It was in the 1840s that some
gunsmiths from Pennsylvania developed the hex split bamboo fly rod. For many years,
thereafter, the Americans were known for building bamboo fly rods and the English known for
fly tying. It was also during the early 1800s that the cast, as we know it today, started. Dry fly
fishing became popular during that time period. Catch and release was first documented in the
1880s.
Idaho has made significant contributions to American fly fishing. Ted Trueblood, of Nampa, is
probably the best known of the Idaho fly fishers, but many others, such as the Trudes of Island
Park, have become part of fly fishing folklore. The excellent trout waters of Idaho have attracted
top fly fishers from all over the world and many articles and stories have been written about our
fly fishing mecca. Southeast Idaho is known for producing outstanding fly tiers, such as Bing
Lempke, Rene Harrop, Mike Lawson, Bruce Staples, to name a few. The fly fishing industry has
made many contributions to the Idaho economy through fly tying, rod building, manufacturing of
fly lines, guiding, and outfitting.
Lochsa Enchantment
by Lee Davison
Traveling in Idaho often brings one close
to some of the finest trout fisheries in the
west. Taking advantage of these
opportunities, however, is something many
of us do not capitalize on, generally due to
a 'need' to get somewhere else. Because of
a goal driven nature, tight schedule, or lack
of planning for free time during our
journeys, I have passed by some great water and missed out on many adventures. The Lochsa
River was one of those enchanting streams that I often marveled at in passing - many times and
for many years - but did not stop.
This year Nancy and I resolved not to let that happen again, since I had recently retired from my
previous profession and therefore our normal time pressure to “be somewhere else” was no
longer forcing us down the road. We could stop and play at will; a foreign luxury, freedom from
the clock!
It was a beautiful, sunny, late summer
day. We were on our way back home from
a Spey gathering on the Clearwater River,
winding our way up the watershed to Lolo
Pass with the fifth wheel in tow. The final
stretch of this wilderness highway follows
the Lochsa River to its headwaters near
Lolo Pass. We passed bend after bend of
pristine, clear freestone water, set in tall
cedars, pines and alpine meadows. We
spied a pullout long enough for our 'train',
and drove in. Then, we finally did what we had always denied ourselves in the past, and actually
stopped with the sole intention of fishing one of the crown jewels of the gem state, the Lochsa
River.
It was one of those experiences that imprints sensations in your memory to savor for a long time,
hopefully forever. I will always treasure the vision of crystal clear running water, the smell of
cedar, the rising of multicolored cutthroat trout, and the valiant fight of wild fish on a fly rod. An
enchanting gift - just for stopping by.
><> ~~~~~~ <><
Obituaries
A Salute to Wes Newman
(1945-2011)
by Bruce Staples
When Wes Newman became interested in a subject,
he would become immersed in it. Radio controlled
model airplanes, computers, and tying flies were
some hobbies in which Wes excelled. He would
design and build model airplanes into the wee
hours, then, bright and early the next day, he would
be out flying them. He assembled computers, wrote
programs for friends, and designed computers for
specialty purposes. His understanding of computer
technology was displayed in his web-site during the
mid-1990s.
But fly tying and fly-fishing was where Wes gained local, regional, national, and international
notoriety. Essentially, he was self taught. He learned fly-tying by disassembling patterns that
were given to him, he bought, he found, or he heard about while talking to other fly-fishermen.
After learning how to tie flies, he was on his way. Yes, he made copies of standard patterns, but
soon he was developing his own. As with any creative tier, he soon was designing his own
patterns. Among the first were his “rag-wing duns,” which, by manipulating size and color,
simulated species of mayflies emerging from regional waters. His “Super-X,” a creative variation
of Ardell Jeppsen‟s Super Renegade, has been popular for three decades. You can still find the
Super-X in the fly bins of shops catering to South Fork and Henry‟s Fork fly-fishers. In fact,
Jimmy Gabettas, owner of All Seasons Angler of Idaho Falls, notes that there is a never-ending
demand for the Super-X in his shop. Jimmy says that “Someone is always coming in the shop
and looking for that fly tied in various color combinations.”
Wes, like Bob Bean of Blackfoot, was a pioneer in tying flies and an advocate of closed-cell
foam flies, which, by the way, have been the rage of fly-fishermen in Utah, Wyoming, and
Idaho, since the twenty-first century began. His “Foam Stone,” an imitation of the adult giant
stonefly, dates back into the early 1980‟s. He annually followed the hatches of the giant and
golden stoneflies up the Henry‟s Fork and South Fork. In fact, he was so successful, that he
coined the phrase “After yesterday‟s success, I had to paint my boat a different color that night
so today folks would not recognize, then follow me around on the river.” In his gravelly voice,
he would kid a fellow enthusiast, “I taught you everything you know about fly-fishing!” Yes,
indeed, Wes was a storyteller, and he knew it. “I can „bull__t‟ with the best of them!” Then he
would grin.
Passing of Earl M. Frizzell1
by Kent Setty
The fly fishing world lost one of it's conservation warriors on November 6, 2011. Earl M.
Frizzell was a long time member of the North Idaho Fly Casters (NIFC), and chaired the
Conservation Committee until deteriorating health
required him to resign. Earl was born on May 25, 1927 in
Los Angeles, CA. After serving in the US Army from
1945-1947, he attended the University of Southern
California of which he remained a long time supporter.
Eventually obtaining a PhD, he spent his working career
in the mining industry, retiring from the federal
government's Spokane Research Center in Spokane, WA.
Upon his retirement, Earl began to "Give Back" as he
called it, to the environment for his years in the extractive
industry. Earl served on the Kootenai County Waterways
board, was a member of the local Yacht Club. He took up
fly fishing as a hobby, and quickly became involved in
the NIFC, quickly finding the chairmanship of the
Conservation Committee to his liking. Earl was always
searching for ideas to educate children about the
importance of clean water and how fly fishing dovetailed
with that in the most perfect way. He was at the front of
several projects including Water Awareness Week, Raptor Rescue, Cutthroat Radio Tagging, too
many tree planting projects to count, the development of handicapped fishing access at two
locations, and working on "family friendly" fishing ponds along the Coeur d'Alene River. He
was also instrumental in the NIFC's submission for the McKenzie Trophy to the FFF, which was
successful in 2000. Earl was a "force of nature" if he found something he thought was the right
thing to do to preserve the viability of fishing waters in our area.
Fly Tying
Whatever Happened to Wilma Jean?
by Jan Harold Brunvand, Ph.D.
I first heard of the Wilma Jean fly in the summer of 2006, when I was attending a fly fishing
Elderhostel at Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. When attendees gathered in the evenings to tie flies, one
man from California produced a small plastic bag of materials, saying “Everything I need is in
this bag, because I only tie one fly in two sizes, 12 and 14.” He introduced us to the Wilma Jean,
a fly he had read about in a fishing magazine and had been fishing exclusively ever since. I
pressed him for details, and later he sent me a barely-legible photocopy of the battered clipping
he saved for years. Recently, with the help of Rhonda Sellers of the national headquarters of
FFF, I got a clean copy of the article explaining the background story of Wilma Jean.
The article, written by the revered fly fisher and author Charles Brooks, was titled “A Date with
Wilma Jean,” and published in the 1985 (Spring issue) of Flyfisher (pp. 25-26). It included a
color photo of the fly, the story of its invention, and a photo of Charlie Brooks netting a trout.
The account was written in a whimsical style—imagining Wilma Jean as a lucky fishing date—
and eventually revealing that “By now you know that Wilma Jean is a dry fly.”
Brooks reported that Wilma Jean was “…born in a travel trailer parked on Rock Creek, Montana,
in the summer of 1982.”She was “midwifed,” as he phrased it, “…by Dick Herberth, my old
friend from Reno, Nevada…perhaps the most meticulous fly tier I know.” Brooks was fishing
that day with Dick and his wife Bobbi, and “…their old friends from Las Vegas, Vern (Curly)
and Wilma Jean Ashley.” Mrs. Ashley was learning to fish dry flies, and she asked Herberth to
invent a pattern for her that would be durable, visible, high-floating, and effective. He gave it
some thought, and decided to combine the features of several classic flies, the result being “…a
white winged peacock bodied, palmer-tied dry fly with Adams hackle and tail of deer hair.” To
improve its durability, he ribbed the fly “…from bend to eye with gold wire.” The name for his
invention was obvious: That is how the Wilma Jean was born.
Here are the recipe and tying instructions for the Wilma Jean, exactly as Dick Herberth dictated
them to Charlie Brooks:
Hook: 10-16 (94840, 94845, 94863, or
equivalents) 1 XL, fine wire
Thread: 6/0 black or white
Tag: optional, gold mylar
Tail: 8-10 stiff deer or elk body hairs
Body: peacock herl, full, bend to eye
Hackle: brown and grizzly, best dry quality
Wing: white polypropylene, upright,
divided
Rib: gold wire.
Step 1: Tie in tag, tail, and wing. Divide wing.
Figure eight to keep wing divided, and lock upright. Trim to shape and length.
Step 2: Tie in gold wire, one brown, one grizzly hackle, two full peacock herls at bend. Wrap
peacock herl, making first turn behind where hackles are tied in, forward to eye, with turns in
front of wing as needed. Tie off, clip excess.
Step 3: Wrap hackle palmer to base of wings, then closely wind full in back and front of wings
as length of hackle stem will allow. Tie off, clip excess.
Step 4: Wind gold wire tightly forward through hackle to eye. Tie off, clip excess. Finish and
cement head.
I have added the Wilma Jean to my harem—I mean my arsenal—and she has become my go-to
fly when there is no evidence of a hatch or nothing else works. She certainly lives up to her
reputation as a durable, visible, high-floating, effective pattern. The only modification I have
made is skipping the gold mylar tag (“optional” after all) and adding a few turns of gold wire
above the bend, before winding forward to the eye.
Whatever happened to Wilma Jean? She had such an interesting origin, being Godfathered by a
fly fishing guru, then seemingly vanishing altogether. The only reference I have found to the
pattern is in Ken Retallic and Rocky Barker‟s Flyfisher’s Guide to Idaho (New Edition, 2010),
where Barker includes a variation of Wilma Jean among “Favorite Idaho Fly Fish Patterns” (pp.
420-21). He puts it under the heading “Adams,” saying it was “…touted by the late nymph
fishing legend Charlie Brooks.” Barker modified the pattern by using a bear hair tail and copper
wire, which is not exactly like original makeup for Wilma Jean, and pretty far removed from an
Adams.
I propose that we revive the Wilma Jean, using the original pattern, and forgetting about her
distant relationship to the Adams, a fly which survives just fine on its own as a classic pattern.
Mr. Copper
by Al and Gretchen Beatty
Material List







Hook: Size 2 to 8, Mustad 9672, 38941,
Daiichi 1720 or TMC 5263 (bronze or red)
Thread: Rusty brown, Gudebrod BCS#66,
Uni-Thread Rusty Brown or Danville 76
Tail: Gold and electric copper Metallic
Flash, mixed
Rib: Heavy copper wire
Body: Copper HT Braid
Body hackle: Copper Tri-Lobal Hackle or Trendsetter Yarn
Head: Copper cone backed by a large bead
Drawing by K.
Gordon Glissmyer
Steve Lamb from the GeorgiaFlyGuide ([email protected]) in White, Georgia sent us
this interesting streamer. He tells us, “This fly has been field tested in five states in which it
catches trout, steelhead, salmon, walleye and shoal bass. So we have a streamer…which
produces a lot of action in the water.” He went on to say it seems to be very attractive to the fish.
We have to agree because it sure caught our attention and will yours as well.
Step 1: Slip a copper colored cone on the shank followed by a large, copper bead and set the
hook in the vise. Place a drop of crazy glue on the shank close to the hook eye, then slip the
cone/bead to the front of the hook. The crazy glue anchors the two firmly in place forming the
head. Attach the thread to the hook behind the head and bind a strip of heavy copper wire to it
while wrapping to the back of the shank. Trim any waste materials.
Step 2: Select a mixed clump of copper and gold Metallic Flash and tie the mixture to the hook
to form a tail equal to the shank length. Bind the waste ends to the area of the shank behind the
head to provide a smooth underbody. Trim any waste ends.
Step 3: Bind a length of copper HT Braid and also a strand of Tri-Lobal Hackle to the shank
while wrapping the thread to the back of the hook. Then wrap it forward to meet the head. Wrap
the HT Braid forward to form the body. Tie it off and trim as needed. Wind the copper rib
forward over the body, tie it off, and trim.
Step 4: Wind the hackle forward over the body keeping each turn close to the previous. Tie it off
and trim it behind the head. Whip-finish and trim the thread from the hook. Apply a coat of head
cement to complete the fly.
A 'Tip' from the Editor
Who is your best friend? If asked that question, most fly-fishermen
would respond by identifying a wife or husband, perhaps a
confidant, maybe a pet or some metaphysical character. When it
comes to fly fishing, your best friend, in my opinion, is the tip of
the fly rod. It is the best tool for retrieving an entangled fly.
When a fly snags a tree limb or some underwater obstruction, most
fly-fishermen immediately start jerking or pulling on the fly. Most
often, that causes the point of the hook to
Harley with a nice Burbot bury into the annoyance, leading to the loss
probably caught on an 8"
rod - he likes 'em short!
of the fly. However, if the fly fisherman
relaxes and does not pull hard on the fly,
thereby avoiding stressing the knot or breaking the leader, the fly 99 times out of a 100 can be
plucked from Neptune‟s snare. Here is the trick. Strip in all of the line until the tip of the rod
touches the fly. At that moment, a gentle push on the handle of the fly rod towards the fly will
free the fly! But that only happens when all of the line and leader between the tip of rod and fly
have been retrieved.
Most people, who first try this technique, stop an inch or two short of fly…and immediately start
jerking, thinking, I suspect, that that action will free the fly while protecting the tip from being
damage. Unfortunately, just the opposite happens: The fly is lost, and sometimes the tip gets
damaged, broken, or gifted to Neptune. In short, look upon the tip of your fly rod as a savior, and
let it do the work.
If you are still skeptical, try this: Take you fly rod equipped with a fly out in the backyard. Hook
the fly solidly in a limb of a tree or the top of the fence, or even in a rock in the garden, and
proceed as directed. Watch what happens. But never, under any circumstance, reach for and
unhook the fly with your fingers while the fly, rod, line, and leader are under spring tension of
the rod. If you do, ask yourself, “how do I let go of the fly without being hooked?” Remember,
safety is always the first concern.
Upcoming Events
Boise Valley Fly Fishers of Boise, Idaho, will host the Western Idaho Fly Fishing
Exposition on 13 and 14 January 2012 (contact www.bvff.net or
www.bvffexpo.com for additional information).
---------The Oregon Council of FFF will hosts its annual Northwest Fly Tying and Fly Fishing
Exposition on 9 and 10 March 2012 at the Linn County Expo Center of Albany, Oregon. For
additional information contact James H. Ferguson (Chairman of Fly Tying) at 503-390-5043 or
[email protected] for additional information.
----------
The Kelly Creek Fly Fishers of Lewiston, Idaho, will holds its annual
North Idaho Fly Fishing Expo on the 23 and 24 March 2012 in the
Lewiston-Clarkston area. For additional information, please contact Charlene Douglas at
[email protected].
---------The Snake River Cutthroats of Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be hosting the 19th Annual East Idaho Fly
Tying/Fly Fishing Exposition on the 20 and 21 April 2012 in the Shilo Inn of
Idaho Falls, Idaho. For addition information regarding that exposition, please
contact Bruce Staples (Chairman of Fly Tying Demonstration) at 208-5229242 or [email protected].
WRMC Contact Information
Lee Davison, President,
[email protected] 208-538-7425
Nancy Davison, Vice President, [email protected] 208-538-7425
Kent Setty, Secretary, [email protected] 208-765-5020
Dave Londeree, Treasurer, [email protected] 208-946-6631
Joe and Charlene Douglas, VP-Education, [email protected] 208-476 -3254
Duane Marler, VP-Conservation, [email protected] 208-846-8342
Harley Reno, Newsletter Editor, [email protected]
208-754-4868.
Federation of Fly Fishers
The Federation of Fly Fishers, founded in Eugene, Oregon in 1965, was formed to give fly
fishing a unified voice, to promote fly fishing as a method of angling and to protect and
expand fly fishing opportunities. It is the only organized advocate for fly fishers on the national
and regional level, and is now international in scope. By charter and inclination, the FFF is
organized from the bottom up. Each member club in North America and around the world is a
unique, self-directed group.
The FFF works to maintain the fly fishing opportunities available today—cold water, warm
water, and saltwater—all fish in all waters.
The FFF works to improve the fly fishing opportunities for tomorrow-- actively working to
restore and conserve clean waters and healthy ecosystems for all sport species. The FFF believes
that we need to protect all species and all fisheries habitat, and has encouraged catch and release
of wild fish since 1965.
Electronic Newsletters Available
For those still receiving hard copies of the newsletter via standard mail, but
would prefer to receive it via email, please send your email address to Nancy
Davison, WRMC VP, at [email protected]
Fewer mailings mean more dollars for education and conservation projects!