Our Eighth Annual Fly Fishing Fair

Heading for Waterbrook Winery this AM

  Today's forecast reads
AM rain

Low 50°   ~   High 72°
Wind Gust  @  >25 mph
Talking about, and with the practice of fly fishing,
this should make for a good day.

The past seven years we have beat the odds, of cool, damp mornings in SE Washington for our Fly Fishing Fairs. Today the odds caught up with us, but it did not dampen our spirits. As everyone that picks up a fly rod knows, some the best days fishing are the ones that are overcast, and even better are the ones with a little rain on the river / stream surface to start or finish a day's outing. 

... tis not all of fishing to fish.
- Izaak Walton

Waterbrook Winery entrance - wet

From the get go this morning, we had rainfall, but it began to slack off rather quickly once we began our day's activities.

Waterbrook fishing pond - rainy

Soon the Walla² Fly Fishers began to arrive with fly fishing and fly tying gear in hand ready for the day.

Grant Richie and sons from Minam, OR set up a shelter for our casting instructor to work out of. Grant and family operate the raft and fishing guide services at www.minamraftrentals

Jim Gallagher from Ellensburg, WA brought his fly tying gear to join us at the tyers' table. Jim operates his business out of Troutwater Outfitters and Fly Shop at troutwaterfly.com/

President Dave sit up a presentation table for our club sponsored Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.

Our casting instructor this year was Grant. With our morning weather conditions, the participants this year were few.

At the tyers' table there was Jim, Herb and Dale. Jim was tying his specialty flies for fishing the Yakima River, Herb was tying some of his favorite bass flies, and Dale was tying stillwater and steelhead flies.

Between the morning rains and the afternoon wind, some found a chance to wet a fly on the Waterbrook Winery ponds.

It wasn't too late in the morning that the rains ceased and the changing weather winds began to blow. 

Disregarding the weather, people kept coming out to see us today.

With the wind and a bit of chill that went with it, at noon time many of our guest found that it was lunch time, and came in from the weather to grab a bite to eat.

By mid-afternoon the clouds began to part, the sun was shining bright, and Our Eighth Annual Fly Fishing Fair was drawing to a close.
As the day came to an end, we were out from under the rainfall, the winds had subsided, the Walla Walla Valley vineyards were growing greener, and our Blue Mountain foothills make a beautiful place to think about going fly fishing for: trout, steelhead, salmon, bass, crappie, blue gills, perch, carp, Northern Pike Minnows, etc.

For the folks that joined us today at Waterbrook Winery, we hope you enjoyed your visit. We hope you learned a little about fly fishing and fly tying, and you will join us at our next club meeting in mid-September.

Waterbrook Winery, Thank You again for allowing us to have use of your lawn, pond, banquet room for our day's activities.

We wish to Thank ALL the participants which helped with our program today, and we hope to see everyone back to share their fish tales with us again next year.

Tight lines and good fishing.

Respectfully submitted,
Dale McKain
Club Secretary

Contact Us

Dave Stemmer – President
Tom Craig – Vice President
Doug Coe – Treasurer
Dale McKain – Secretary - Blogmaster
Dave Stemmer – PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator

YOU are cordially invite to...

Our Eighth Annual Fly Fishing Fair

Saturday 18 June 2016 -11:00 am 

at Waterbrook Winery
~~~~~~~~~~~~

10518 W. Highway 12  Walla Walla, WA

“I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful... Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. ... And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun.”
― Robert Traver

There is an art and science to throwing a nearly weightless hook - with fur and feather attached - 30', 60', 90' to a rising fish. Almost anyone can do it - just come out and try it.
Group and individual fly casting instructions are offered - FREE.

OH for the joy... of a nice fly presentation, and then the fishy hook-up that follows.

Demonstrating the art and science of fly tying --
where the smallest of flies, is sometimes what it takes to a catch large fish.
We do offer individual fly tying instructions - FREE 

Yes, we do stand around discussing fishing and other important matters in life

There are fish to be caught on the fly at our Fly Fishing Fairs at Waterbrook Winery

Walla² Fly Fishers - invite area fly fishing guide services to join us to share in the day and the opportunity to fly fishing our Pacific Northwest waters successfully

Walla² Fly Fishers' special community project is sponsoring our local Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.
The annual Fly Fishing Fairs gives the general public and the area fly fishing community the opportunity to join in our efforts to contribute to the cause with silent auction tables, holding some nice items.

At Waterbrook Winery there is pop, lunch, and wines served to refresh the day, Please join us.

We offer individual fly casting instructions - FREE

 

Visit our previous SEVEN Fly Fishing Fairs links to get a taste of our venue, and the Waterbrook Winery.
June 18th once again we will be fly fishing / fly tying / talking about the art and science of the sport. Will you join us?
FREE - hands on programs of fly casting, fly tying, fly fishing to the interested PUBLIC - we have the fly fishing gear you will need, or bring your own.

Click on this link and follow the label - Fly Fishing Fair - to view past Walla² Fly Fishers' Fly Fishing Fairs and other club activities.

Tight lines and good fishing

Direction and map to Waterbrook Winery

https://goo.gl/maps/N2JBWFCvnPE2

We hope you will join us here on June 18th.

A Report from...

Our Meeting of May 18 --

In the absence of Dale McKain our Club's Secretary, these notes were provided concerning the business of our May meeting.

There were 15 members and guest in attendance. 

- Discussed was the upcoming - Eight Annual Fly Fishing Fair on June 18.

- Treasurer Dr. Doug reported that we have a little over $1200 in funds in our bank account and the meeting's needed funds bag.

- Diane told us about her 2016 Youth Fly Tying Class and their excursion to an area pond to test their creation from the tyers' bench. 

- Daniel has found a good lake for bass fishing and thinks it would make a good fishing outing for club member to try out.

- Daniel Biggs gave the evening program of a video presentation of fly fishing highlights from around the world. This was not one of his personal video, but very interesting.

- Report is, Bennington Lake is producing some nice fishing time if you have a raft, pontoon boat, float tube. Green Wooley Buggers and/or anything yellow works well trolling.

- Fly boxes this evening (door prize and raffle) went to Herb and Doug. Enjoy

Contact Us

Dave Stemmer – President
Tom Craig – Vice President
Doug Coe – Treasurer
Dale McKain – Secretary - Blogmaster
Dave Stemmer – PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator

Winter 2016 - Fly fishing, Fly tying, and other things of great importance

Vice President Tom called our meeting to order at 7:10 pm. 
He announced that this week President Dave was on a mission to attend a national conference in Florida, with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.(PHW). Dave has taking the commanding role in our club’s affiliation with PHW, after we lost Jerry Newell – RIP, on February 1.

There were 13 club members and guest in attendance.

We started the evening discussing fishing trips that have been taken during the past month.  Diane had just returned from a most exotic fishing trip which was a cruise to Chile, and while there one excursion off ship was an upriver 5-hour fishing trip searching for brown trout. She found them.

Diane's Chilean brownie

Tom reported that he, Steve Roy and Grant Richie has spent March 9^th fishing the Wallowa River, mostly 5-miles upriver from Minam Junction. He reported that the weather that day was off-and-on between winter and spring. He reported that the water level was good, the water clarity was a good steelhead green, and he tagged the only hook-up of the day. 

One that didn't get away from Tom

He said that Grant had done a wonderful job of guiding this trip, and he could not believe the amount of time that Grant spent walking their boat, so that he and Roy had added opportunity to “work” the river.

Tom also told us that he had made a trip up to the Tucannon River lakes. Said fishing was very slow but he spotted some large rainbows in Big Four Lake. He reported that with late winter water flow crossing the Tucannon River was a tough chore.

Tom also mentioned that this year Curl Lake would be opening 1 month later that all the other Tucannon River Lakes.

Dr. Mike, Robert and Dale had spent three days in late February fishing the Imnaha River. 

Dr. Mike's very cozy hideout for winter steelhead fishing

Their first day on the river was cool, with over cast skies, water flow a bit swift. The second day was spend fishing at Cow Camp, water and weather conditions were improving. There they saw a bait and bobber fisher from Enterprise heading for his truck with two steelies in hand – one very dark, the other quite bright.  The third day of their outing was one that every steelheader wishes for; good clear water conditions, bright skies, mild air temperature, and many cast being made with anticipation of a swirling hookup and powerful jerk in return. They did experience some great fishing, just no catching for their three days spent in the middle of nowhere - NE Oregon. Each day they checked with the creel-checker at the end of the paved road, and all three days the creel count from fishing down river was zero. 

Diane mentioned that she had contacted the USACE about the filling and fishing of Bennington Lake at Walla Walla, this spring. 

She was told that it would be filled at the end of the spring flood risk season. She said that she would keep us posted on the lake filling and trout stocking, with hope that the club could make a few floating outings to work on our stocked lake creel limits.

It was mentioned that in reading the 2016 Oregon Fishing Regulations manual, most of Oregon’s lakes are now open for fly fishing year round. Streams and river are open May 22 – Oct 31.

Oregon's e-Regulations connection

 After these fishing reports, Tom announced that the date was now set for our 2016 -  8^th Annual Fly Fishing Fair (FFF) to be held at Waterbrook Winery. This year our FFF will be held on Saturday, June 18. This event is FREE to the interested fly fishing public, that wish to learn more about the art, science and act of fly fishing.

Tom said this year the publicity for this FFF would be ready for distribution around May 1. He also announce that Grant Richie of Minam Raft Rentals and Jim Gallagher from Troutwater Guide Service would be attending to aid us in the development of our event.

This evening Tom brought a number of his Fish Alaska Magazines to the meeting to share with anyone that would be interested in taking one or more home for their reading enjoyment.

It was also discussed that the Tri-Cities, WA fly fishing club –Columbia Basin Fly Casters– had been in contact with our club, asking if we would be interested in developing a conservation project with them. With very little details of what they have in mind, this matter will be looked at again later, when more detail are presented to us.

Last Saturday the local 4-H Group had their Super Saturday Event. Tom and Diane attended to aid interest kids in fly fishing and fly tying.  Diane reported that the novice fly tyers were turning out 3 flies per 1¼ hour. 

Tonight is was agreed that we would hold the fly boxes we usually  raffle; to be loaded with the flies tied this evening, and offer them for our next month’s meeting prizes.

This evening we did not have a guest speaker, but we did have our two most top-notch fly tyers demonstrating their talents at their tying vices. Tonight Diane and Herb set up a table together with vises and light and turned out some of their favorite flies, while the rest of our evening's group observed, discussed and noted the handy work from these tyers' fingertips.

Heidi inspects Diane's tyes of the evening

We get a closer look at Diane's flies

One of Herb's tyes of the evening

A time for Q&A's

A look at some of Herb's working fly collections.

Thank you Diane and Herb, for your time, show and tell this evening. Thank you for the flies to enhance the fly boxes raffles for next month.

This evening our meeting was adjourned at 8:20.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our next monthly meeting will be held Wednesday. 20 April.
Our regularly scheduled meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month September - May at:
Smith's Family Restaurant

1425 Pine Street

Walla Walla

Dinner and social at 6:00 pm with meeting following at 7:00

Come one, come all, come as you are. Our meetings are open to the interested fly fishing public.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Respectfully submitted,
Dale McKain
Club Secretary

Tight lines and Good Fishing

Contact Us

Dave Stemmer – President
Tom Craig – Vice President
Doug Coe – Treasurer
Dale McKain – Secretary - Blogmaster
Dave Stemmer – PROJECT HEALING WATERS Coordinator

 

 Past Presidents
Tom Craig
Tyson Kopfer
Bob Long
Scott Peters