Winter 2013 / 2014 - Dakota Flyfishers Club

Club Officers and Directors for
2013/2014
Winter 2013/2014
President:
President:
Scott Renfandt
[email protected]
Vice President:
M. Byron Grubb
[email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer
Clint Baxter
[email protected]
Board of Directors:
Mark Olinger
[email protected]
Randy Olson
[email protected]
Murray Greer
[email protected]
Mike Kroh
[email protected]
Director/Editor:
Bob Morenski
[email protected]
Webmaster:
Ethan Renfandt
[email protected]
This is one of numerous smallmouth bass pictures sent to me this past
summer from Ron Granneman during his 2013 small mouth quest in the
Anikokan area of Ontario. Picture by Ron Granneman
Schedule of Events:
The dates for the club meetings at Minot YMCA
will be as follows:
January 11th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
February 8th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
March 8th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Maybe April 12th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
several hookups with one lasting about 45 minutes
to get to my pontoon. That time reminded me how
much fun I really love to fly fish. That was an
exciting fight with three jumps trying to free itself.
My arm got so tired that I was about played out like
the fish was at the end. I had a very great time
despite the weather.
Just is a reminder that our yearly dues for the club
are now due. All dues can be paid to Clint Baxter.
Thanks Clint for taking care of the club finances.
Well another season has come and gone which
means it will be time for some indoor meetings and
information sharing.
The first meeting is scheduled for January 11th at
1:00 to 3:00pm at the Minot YMCA with first order
of business an election of officers and also to go
over dates and agendas for the next few monthly
meetings. I would like to thank Roger and the
YMCA Staff for allowing the Dakota Fly Fishers to
have the meetings at their facility. This has worked
out excellent and always seems to draw a lot of
interest from other members at the Y. If anyone is
interested in presenting at one of our meetings,
please let me know. I know Adam Dittus will be
doing a presentation of Yellowstone Fishing on
February 8th. Thanks Adam for volunteering. If
anyone else is interested please let me know.
I would like to thank Bob for all that he has done
for the club. He has been instrumental for starting
the club and also the backbone to its functioning.
He has been president too many times to count and
also an Editor/Publisher for the club. It takes a lot
of time to prepare the newsletter and Bob has done
as always an excellent job overall with the club.
Thanks Bob for all that you have done.
I would like to welcome a new member that we
have in our club. Scott Skones from Minot.
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and prosperous
New Year!
Scott Renfandt
President Dakota Fly Fishers
The Salmon outing early October 2013 was a very
cold, rainy and very windy day but they were
definitely starting to come into the bays. I had
By Bob Morenski
This summer, I talked about taking a wild
mushroom hunting vacation to Minnesota with my
good friend, Paul Swanson, who lives near Grand
Marais, Minnesota. Upon hearing my intentions,
Paul invited me out to stay in his camper and
offered to show me around to various area trout
lakes. This was an offer that I could not refuse. Paul
guides for trout on area lakes and is an exceptional
bamboo rod maker. He makes bamboo fly rods
from scratch and does a beautiful job. If I did a lot
of stream trout fishing with a 5/6 weight rod, I
would buy one of his rods in a heartbeat. Paul is a
perfectionist and I know whatever he turns out
would be perfect. He takes the same approach to fly
tying. However, this story is not about bamboo rod
making but rather blending dubbing.
While I was at Paul’s, he introduced me to a very
simple method for blending dubbing. It is the best
technique that I have seen anywhere. The best part
of all is that you can virtually mix any type of
material without clumping or damaging the
dubbing. Paul says that he does not know if
someone else has come up with this technique but
he came up with the idea independently. Someone
may have done this before but I have not seen it in
my travels and neither has anyone else to whom I
have shown it. I have since used it myself and I
have just been blown away by how fast and easy
you can blend even some of the most difficult
materials. Just about everyone to whom I have
shown it has run out and bought a set of dog
brushes.
The simplicity of the technique is what I love the
most about it. The technique requires 2 dog brushes
and a comb. The total cost of the tools is around
$10.00. I have been using this extensively this fall
to mix various dubbing materials. I have done
several cool blends mixing materials such as Lite
Brite, Ice Dub, natural furs, mohair and I have yet
to run into a material that has given me a problem.
It virtually takes longer to remove the material from
the dog brushes than it does to blend it.
Rather than bore you to death, the rest of this article
is going to be a photo essay.
A set of dog brushes and a comb are all the tools that are
required to blend materials using this method. You can by
the brushes at any place that sells pet supplies. I bought
mine at Walmart for under $10.00.
To blend materials, place whatever you fur, synthetic, Lite
Brite, Ice Dub or other materials on to one of the brushes.
You basically use the brush as a painter’s pallet.
Once you have the materials that you want to mix on the
brush, run the other brush through several times and then
reverse the brush and run it through in the opposite
direction. In around ten seconds, the material will be
perfectly mixed.
When you have completed mixing the dubbing material,
take a comb and comb the dubbing out of the brushes.
Another use for this technique is to take snarly materials
and fluff them out. Above is some natural mohair that was
dyed with turmeric. Below is the same material after a
couple strokes between the dog brushes.
Last but not least, I rarely give people a shout out
unless they are very good at what they do. If you are
in the market for a finely crafted bamboo fly rod at
a reasonable price, give Paul Swanson a call at
218-387-2206. He does not have a website and if
you want it fast, this is not the place to go but if you
want a bamboo rod that is built right and you don’t
mind waiting for it, this is the place to go. Each rod
is made from scratch and comes with 2 tip sections.
Paul also guides on area trout lakes in the Grand
Marias, MN area
Photo, fly and article by Bob
Morenski
Materials:
Hook: 1 to 3X long Sizes 6-10, (size 6, 2X
long shown here)
Thread: Black or dark brown
Hackle: Brown Saddle Hackle
Body: Fine Dark Olive Chenille
Wing: Mallard flank feather
As fly fishers and fly tiers, we tend to get caught up
with the latest and greatest new fly creations. In the
process, we push aside many old standby flies.
These flies still work as well as they ever did. We
just quit fishing them. I think that I could write a
book on all the great flies that I never fish anymore.
One of the latest Manitoba Parkland hot fly patterns
was reintroduced to us via Doug Wagner from
Reno, Nevada. On his recent spring trip, Doug was
slaying fish on Patterson, Tokaryk and Persee
Lakes on a large Biggs Fly. This fly was
popularized by Marv Taylor in his book, “Fly
Rods, Float Tubes and Other Essays” under the
name “The Sheep Creek Special”. In any event,
we passed the words to all our visiting friends and
soon everybody was catching fish on a Biggs Fly.
This is a simple fly pattern to tie. The aft brown
hackle should be tied with the concave side facing
the rear of the hook and tied back slightly. Those
who fish this fly regularly say that this is to help
give the fly the appearance of a minnow tail. While
it does not look like much to us, I believe the fly
appears in the water to look like an injured minnow
swimming upside down. We were all fishing this fly
in larger sizes this past summer and the fly proved
its worth all the way through the month of
September.
In addition to the original pattern, many of us also
used crystal versions on the fly. Members of the
“Dakota Fly Fishers used to fish this version
frequently in the late eighties and early nineties on
various North Dakota Lakes. I used this version
when the fish went deep in late June and caught a
fair number of browns on it. If you don’t have any
of these tied up, I would highly recommend giving
it and many of the other oldies a shot next season.
You may be shocked to learn that many of these
“Old fly patterns” work just as good if not better
than what we fish with today.
By Mike Andreasen
Dennis Jackson from Utah
displays a fine Patterson
Lake rainbow. Photo
submitted by author
This spring while doing a Stillwater fly fishing
seminar at the Eastern Idaho Fly Tying and Fly
Fishing Expo, I opened the session up to a question
and answer period. One of the questions I was
asked was how I could guarantee a person the best
chance to always catch fish and still have the best
chance to catch bigger fish. It only took me a
second to come with the answer. I told him that I
would choose a fly that represents the most
prevalent food form in the lake at that present time
and I would be out on the water as it barely starts to
get light in the morning. I would work the shoreline
and all the shallow weed beds and structures such as
bull rushes along the shelf or shoal, and I would use
an intermediate or a floating line and a long leader.
As soon as it got to about nine o'clock, I would head
in to camp and tie flies or nap or whatever until
about 5:30 if its fall or early spring and 6:30 in early
summer. I would then head back out with the same
fly line and patterns that had been effective in the
morning and work the same structures over again.
This all makes good sense because in the absence of
some type of super hatch, fish feed the best and
move more out into shallow water where most of
their food base is located under low light
conditions. Scientists refer to these hours before
dusk and just after dawn as prime feeding hours.
After this answer was discussed by the group it
brought up another question. I was asked about
what to do if you were stuck to fishing the middle
hours from about 9am to 6pm.These just happen to
be the hours my friends and I usually fish because
of travel time to the lake and having to leave early
for home so my fishing buddies can get some rest
before they go to work the next morning.
The problem and the solution in either case is the
sun. Fish react to sunlight about the same way a
redhead with lots of freckles will do. They avoid it!
Fish do so not because of its effects on their skin
but rather from the fact that it controls their ability
to see.
Fish eyes have no eyelids and so they are unable to
blink or squint. Bright sunlight affects them the
same way you are affected when you are outside in
the glaring sun and then enter into your home. It
takes you a while before you can focus and see
things clearly again.
Author, Mike Andreasen, with a nice Patterson Lake
rainbow caught in approximately 10 feet of water. Photo
submitted by author
It's because of these effects that when fish are not
actively feeding they will usually be found in shady
areas or under cover of weed beds, or at a depth that
is below the penetration level of the sunlight. Years
ago before the popularity of sonar units we would
take an eight inch white plate to which we had
attached cords and drop it into the water until it just
disappeared. This would be the level and depth at
which we would start fishing.
The penetration of the sunlight is affected by how
turbid the water is and by how much wind or wave
action is present. On a bright day with choppy
water they will not be as deep as they will be on a
calm day with other factors such as temperature and
oxygen content being equal.
As an example from my own experiences and for
you that like to fish Patterson Lake in the Manitoba
Parklands, I have found in the Spring and Fall when
the fish have stopped actively pursuing food in the
shallows or against the bull rushes. I usually find
them from about 10 am to 11:30 am in
approximately 8 feet of water where they have
retreated out of the bright sunlight. From 11:30 am
to about 3pm they will usually be 10 to 11 feet deep
and on real bright hot days like we experienced this
spring we found them mostly 15 to 18 feet deep.
After 3 pm to 4 pm they started to move shallow
again because of the sun dropping and creating less
light penetration.
-
The thing to always keep in mind is that when they
move away from the shallows it doesn't mean that
they have gotten their stomachs full and quit
feeding. Rather it became uncomfortable for them
so they've moved to where conditions were more
favorable for their wellbeing. Usually out of direct
sunlight. A well placed fly either stripped past them
or suspended at their level will often reward you
with fish.
I have found that when fishing deeper turbid water
that size and imitative color is not as important as it
is to use colors on your flies that show up at depths.
This is usually colors on the short wave length of
the color spectrum such as purple, blue and green.
We often incorporate these colors in our flies with a
black color scheme. At depth or in off color water
black shows up real well. As you go deeper all
colors tend to appear as dark gray or black but fish
with their vision allows them to see U.V. colors
much lower on the color spectrum than we can see.
They will still detect movement and see the colors
in your patterns that haven't disappeared yet such as
purples and blues.
Just remember that it is no accident that fish activity
is highest in low light conditions! The sun is the
key to your success. When fishing on bright days,
fish will come up higher in the water in breezy
conditions that cause a good chop in the wave
action. They will be on shady sides of structure and
shaded areas of shorelines. If no good structure is
present they will usually be at the lowest level of
sunlight penetration.
You will always be more successful if you learn to
think like a fish or in this case by thinking like a
redhead. Avoid the bright sun!
Editor’s Note: Mike Andreasen is an Honorary
Member of the Dakota Fly Fishers who lives in
Bountiful Utah. He is a well-known and sought
after demonstration fly tier and is the co-author of
two popular stillwater fly tying books, Effective
Lake Flies and Productive Stillwater Flies
For those of you who do not know what FLIPPR
is, it stands for Fisheries Lake Improvement
Program for the Parkland Region.
New Lakes:
I have some news to report on this front. After
chasing our tails for several years, we finally have
some news to report. The Rural Municipality (RM)
of Shell River and FLIPPR have agreed to develop
Tees Lake. All the paperwork has been filled out
and submitted. With some luck, work may proceed
as early as next year.
Tees Lake will make a welcome addition to the
lake already in that immediate area. It is right across
the road from Persse Lake and maybe a mile to a
mile and a half from Twin Lake. It is approximately
the size of the main body of Twin Lakes and about
24 feet deep with a 13 foot average depth which
makes it deeper than Twin. The plan is to make this
a rainbow and brown trout lake which will make a
very interesting addition to the area. Twin Lakes,
as most of you know, is a 100% tiger trout lake
while Persse Lake hosts brook trout and browns.
be spectacular, as well with a lot of bows in the low
twenties.
Pybus Lake was hit hard during the summer heat
wave of 2012. The lake depth has dropped to about
12 feet. Trout seemed to be nonexistent there. There
might be a few trout there. If there are, they will be
huge but if I was a visiting angler looking to score
big in the Parkland, I would skip this one. A pike
was caught there in 2013. Fisheries was going to
check this out but I have heard of any results. I have
topo maps of central Canada loaded on my GPS and
based on what I see, there may be a connection on
high water years between Pybus and Beufort Lake.
The later holds a lot of pike. There may have been a
connection the water on Pybus was up a few years
back.
Old Lakes:
Patterson Lake had smaller fish on average in
2013. Some of this was because of the heat wave
during the summer of 2012 but most of it was due
to many of the rainbows in Patterson were long in
the tooth. There were still some big rainbows
around. I saw a rainbow that was at least 28 inches.
Browns were numerous. On July 1st, I hooked
around 70 fish fishing from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
The bulk of these were browns. It was crazy. I went
out again the next morning and fished from around
8:00 AM until noon and hooked 48 trout. I went
back in and tore down my campsite in anticipation
of heading to my brother-in-laws house on Lake
Metigoshe. There is going to be a ton of browns in
the upper teens next season with many fish ranging
into the upper twenties. Rainbow fishing is going to
Corstrophine Lake was hot in the fall of 2013. The author shows off
a 25 inch triploid. Photo by Dave LaFrance
Corstrophine Lake was hot in September and
tapered off a little when the water cooled and
minnows went deep in October. Never the less, the
fishing was still good. Like other Parkland lakes,
Corstrophine Lake did have a die off of many of the
bigger trout. However, this did not affect the
triploids that were stocked in 2010. You can tell
these apart by the antipode fin. If it is clipped, it is a
triploid. I caught trips to 26 inches this fall. These
are nice blocky rainbows that look like a newly
minted dime. Brown trout were planted in 2012 and
started showing up in the catch in October. Most
were 11 inches. They were also stoked again this
fall. They should start contributing to the fishery
here during the 2014 season.
With the increased usage this fall, the RM of the
Park is looking into widening the boat ramp here
and increasing the parking area. This is good news
to anyone who has put in on the lake or tried to park
when the lake was busy.
Twin Lakes did suffer a fish kill in 2012 and in my
opinion; it lost around 60% of its fish. Recovery for
this lake has been slowed by the fact that the
hatchery did not have any more tigers on hand to
restock Twin right away in 2012. They had 5,500
tigers on hand this fall but decided to hold them
until next spring to get a little more size on them. It
looked like most of the older tigers were topped off
in the heat wave of 2012 but there were fish in the
low twenties present in 2013.
Persse Lake has a lot of fish in it. My nephew and I
fished this in June. We arrived around 3:00 PM and
fished for around 3 hours. The water was flat when
we got there and the fish were going nuts on the
surface feeding on black backswimmers. The water
is still very turbid and I suspect that will continue
for another 2 years. We have found that most of the
deeper aerated lakes clear up after around 5 years of
aeration. So if the lake holds true to form, 2015 will
be a big year for Persse. I did well fishing Pine
Squirrel Zonkers with a black wing and a silver
body. I fished it using a slow intermediate. There
are a lot of fish in this lake with a mix of brook and
brown trout. Some brook trout in the low twenties
have already been recorded from here. It should be
a must fish lake if you are in the area next year.
make sure that you give this one a good work out.
While it is not a FLIPPR Lake, it carries a one fish
limit artificial only designation.
Tokaryk Lake is another lake that is not a FLIPPR
Lake but FLIPPR assisted in getting the lake aerated
a few years ago. The lake does not have special
regulations but it is still a great lake to fish. In 2013,
the lake produced very good numbers of trout of
which most were under 20 inches. If you can pick
through the smaller fish, there are some very good
browns and rainbows here. It should be fantastic
fishing in 2014 for trout in the low twenties.
FLIPPR Membership now available!
FLIPPR has not been able to host a trout festival in
quite a few years. This was its primary means of
support. They have come up with raffles and other
type events to provide funding. A membership
program has now been initiated to help keep this
great organization going. The memberships are as
follows:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Regular Membership $20.00
Family Membership $30.00
Century Club Membership $100
Club Membership $100
Business Membership $50
To join, go to www.flippr.ca and download the pdf
membership form, write a check payable to FLIPPR
and send it to the following address:
FLIPPR
Box 368
Russell, MB, Canada
R0J 1W0
Other Aerated Lakes:
One of the big surprises in 2013 was the resurgence
of West Goose Lake in the town of Roblin. I
received reports of 20+ inch brown and rainbows all
fall. I was also told that the water clarity in this lake
has greatly improved. If you are in the area in 2014,
Give yourself a present that will last for years and
join FLIPPR today. I personally am a Century
Club member. Having an ever expanding number
of world class trout lakes within 4 hours drive of
Minot is something that is well worth supporting.
Please join today! Bob
By: Bob Morenski
In October of 2008, I was privileged to be fishing
with Mike Andreasen while he was field testing
the prototype for what was to be the Northfork
Outdoors CSI inflatable pontoon boat which has
now been renamed, “The Mike Andreasen
Special”. I talked on the phone with Mike
Andreasen on the phone sometime in the spring of
2013 (It was still winter here!) and when Mike told
me that they named the boat after him, I told him,
“The boat has always been named after you”! Mike
said, “What do you mean”? I told him, “What do
you think CSI stands for”? I told him, it stands for
C--k S-----g Idiot”! I will let you fill in the blanks.
Surprisingly, Mike still talks to me and does me a
few favors from time to time. It is a great testimony
to his sense of humor and why I hold him such high
regard.
Mike Andreasen is pictured here fishing from the prototype
of the Mike Andreasen Special In October of 2008. Photo by
Bob Morenski
One of the great features of this boat is that it will
fit in the back of a pickup with a full size box while
inflated. It is 8.6 ft. long and 52 inches wide. It fits
in the back of truck and I can still close the lid on
my topper. This is a big deal if you are lake hopping
like I often do on dusty Canadian dirt roads. It will
also ride well on the top of a roof rack or a smaller
pickup that does not have a box. At 34 pounds, it is
one of the lightest framed inflatable pontoons on the
market.
One of the most overlooked aspects when people
buy any type of inflatable is weight capacity. If you
ever plan to place an electric motor and battery on
your pontoon, I would highly recommend that you
pay specific attention to this feature. The average
double pontoon inflatable has a carrying capacity of
between 300 to 450 pounds. I bought my first
Northfork Outdoors boat directly from Dave
Scadden when I was out at the “Great Waters Fly
Fishing Expo” in Minneapolis in March of 2006. I
was speaking at that show and it allowed me to get
into the vendors exhibits before the show opened
while the vendors were still setting up. Dave made
me an offer on a Skykomish Sunrise H2. One of
the biggest selling points for me was that the boat
that I bought had a carrying capacity of 600 pounds.
This was really unheard of at that time. When I told
this to my wife, she said, “I hope that you don’t
intend to get that heavy!” Wives always have a
way of killing the joy of the moment. At the time,
this was unheard of weight capacity. Keeping this in
mind, you will be interested to know that the Mike
Andreasen Special has a weight capacity of 800
pounds. The U shaped design allows you to put on
any weight electric trolling motor and battery
without submerging your backend. By the way, if
you own an older version Northfork Outdoor boat
like the Madison or Skykomish Sunrise which is
the boat that I bought in 2006, you can upgrade
your pontoons to the U shaped designs. The
Madison River will take the Mike Andreasen
Special pontoon and a Skykomish Sunrise will
take an X5 pontoon. You can purchase these
directly through Northfork Outdoors. I just did
this in June with my Skykomish Sunrise H2. The
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newer X5 model pontoons that I bought have 4 air
chambers and the boat has a 1000 pound carrying
capacity but I digress.
One of the more important features that I have
learned about U shaped boats versus the standard
two pontoons is that it handles easier in the wind. If
you have ever gotten into a heavy cross wind with a
standard double pontoon boat, you will quickly
realize how the wind wants to turn you. The round
end pontoon reduces this by about 75%. This makes
crossing a lake a lot safer and easier. When fishing
and just using your feet to control the boat or using
your trolling motor at a low speed, you will find
that the boat tracks a lot easier when fishing into the
wind than a standard pontoon. I never knew how
much better this was until I bought my CSI and
used it on some windy days in the fall of 2012. It
was so noticeable that I bought an X5 bladder for
Skyomish Sunrise this season. That U shape is a big
improvement over the standard models.
I am totally sold on the superiority of Northfork
Outdoors boats over other types and brands. When I
have fished out of other craft over the past 6.5
years, I quickly realize how spoiled that I have
become. It is like going from a full size luxury car
to a Hugo. These boats do not have an internal
bladder. So, there are no zippers, bladders or seams
to rot out. The material that the pontoon is made out
of is tough and can withstand a lot of the abuse.
They ride high no matter what I take out with me. I
have managed to put a few hook punctures in mine
over the years but they seal very easily with a dab
of UV Knot Sence or UV Wader Repair. I fish
around 60 to 80 days a year. That is more than most
people put in over a five year period. If they are
tough enough to stand up to the abuse that I give
them, then it is a hell of a good product.
Probably the biggest deterrent for many people be
the price. These Dave Scadden Signature Series
boats will cost you more. However, you need to
remember that your butt is in whatever boat that
you purchase. You want to make sure that you live
to fish another day. I am a thrifty person by nature
and I am not one to just throw away money. In fact,
I try to save money whenever I can but a pontoon
boat is one place where I draw the line. You can do
this once right or do it wrong and be dissatisfied and
you will spend the rest of your years trying to
upgrade. In the process, you will end up in the same
place but you will spend a lot more money along the
way. The choice is yours.
As for accessories, I would avoid buying a stripping
apron from Northfork Outdoors. Dave Scadden may
be a genius when it comes to designing inflatable
pontoon craft but he has yet to design a decent
stripping apron. I make my own stripping baskets.
They may not look as cool but they are extremely
functional and do a better job of catching and
holding your fly line.
pop riveted mine into place. This precludes any
screws falling or rusting off.
This summer, I replaced the seat that came with my
boat with a regular boat seat. I liked it so much that
I replaced the seat on my other boat this winter. If
you go to put a seat on your boat, I would highly
recommend buying one that has a 20 inch depth and
a high back. You do not want any high back seat
that has only a 16 inch depth. It is very
uncomfortable and you will feel like you are falling
out of it all day. I bought a cheap seat for $30 that I
installed on my boat. I hated it and replaced it
before my next trip up north. I found some good
ones for under $100 on line at the Sportsman’s
Guide.
Of the four Americans who have seasonal a
campsite at Patterson Lake, all four of us have
Northfork Outdoor products. Three of us have the
precursor to the Mike Andresen Special, the Outlaw
CSI. Ron Granneman and myself also have Outlaw
X5 craft. After fishing from these for many years,
none of us would ever go back to the standard two
inflatable pontoon craft. These craft are top of the
line and there is only one way to go from here and
that is down.
If you are interested in buying one of these, go to
the Northfork Outdoor website at the following web
address:
www.northforkoutdoors.com
My nephew, Steve Morenski, is shown here exercising a
trout on Patterson Lake using my Northfork Outdoors
Outlaw CSI pontoon. Note the homemade stripping basket
and metal deck with motor mounted on it. Photo by Bob
Morenski
If you are planning to put a motor on your pontoon,
you can buy a metal deck from Northfork Outdoors
but if you are handy, you can make your own deck
and motor mount. Either way you go, you need a
chunk of wood back there. I have a chunk of 2 X 4
mounted back there. I also find that it helps to brace
the back of the deck with some aluminum bars. I
12
You can tell Dave Scadden that Bob sent you but he
would only charge you double.
information. I never intended to be that way but that
is the way it has worked out.
This is my last cast as editor for the DFF newsletter.
I am stepping down for several reasons but foremost
reason is that I have not been receiving enough
articles to support it. This past year marked a low
point as I received only one article all year. This
coincided with a yearlong case of writer’s block.
The combination of the two has created a lot of
apprehension on my part. This in turn has started to
affect my day to day life. I have to end this here
before it starts causing other problems. To be quite
frank about it, I am burnt out.
While I have never minded sharing information on
fly patterns, technique or where to fish, lately, this
information flow has become a one way street.
Being that I am retired, I spend most of my time
these days fishing in Manitoba’s Parkland region
where I have an annual campsite. Therefore, most
of my writing involves my fishing exploits in that
region. It is for a good reason. It is a world class
fishery and has some of the best drive to trophy
trout lakes in North America. Don’t take my word
for it. Some of the best Stillwater anglers in North
America make an appearance there every year.
People like Mike Andreasen and Phil Rowley fish
the area for two weeks every spring and two weeks
every fall. These guys can fish anywhere in the
western US and Canada with the distances that they
drive but they go to Manitoba. This should tell you
something. The point is that due to a lack of
material from other members, the newsletter has
ceased to be a source for local fly fishing
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While I will remain a member of the Dakota Fly
Fishers, I am going to be taking a more back seat
role. I will be skipping the meetings. I am doing this
because I feel my presence is actually inhibiting the
growth of the club. If I am there, everyone will
second guess how I would handle things or what I
would do. Either that or expect me to do the work.
That latter, I definitely need to back away from. I
still will supply articles for the website but I will
write them on my own schedule and when I feel like
doing them as opposed to when I have to write
them. I realize that I have to make a clean break
from the club if it is to survive.
In conclusion, I want to ask every member to make
an effort to make it to the meetings this year. Your
presence is the fuel that keeps the officers and
directors working. If you do not show, they begin
not to care and the club will cease to be. If you have
a talent that the club can use, please help out and
donate your time.
I wish everybody the best of luck for the 2014
season!
Bob Morenski
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