Delta Fly Fishers, Inc.
Dedicated to the Furtherance of Fly Fishing
The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable; a perpetual series of occasions for hope.
- John Buchan
This Month's Newsletter
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Stanislaus River Salmon Festival
November 9, 10 am
17968 Covered Bridge Rd
Knights Ferry, California 95361
11th Annual. FREE, Family Friendly Festival with hands on activities for kids. Come out and see the Stanislaus River Salmon and meet people working to make the river a better place for fish.
Special Event!
A change in targeted waters for our special club event. A full day with Jon Baiocchi, learning fly patterns, gear and rigging, seasons and fishing techniques for fishing Davis, Eagle and Frenchman’s Lake, Dec. 7th
We’ve made some changes in our full day program for December. Jon had planned to speak on fishing the Yuba but finding that most of our club’s members primarily fished lakes, he’s changed his topics to fishing three of his favorite lakes, Lake Davis, Eagle Lake and Frenchman's Reservoir. This will be a full day seminar, starting at 8:30 in the morning for coffee and donuts, (and maybe some fruit, bagels and cream cheese, we’re going upscale) and Jon’s talk starting at 9:00. Jon will talk about each of the lakes in detail, covering where, when and what to fish with each. He’ll also demonstrate some flies that work for each of these lakes and those in the audience will be supplied materials to tie along. We’ll take a break for lunch, a lunch of Lockeford sausage sandwiches, and some side dishes and then continue with a shorter afternoon session, with an expected end time of around 3:30pm. Depending on Jon’s schedule, we might even be able to plan a club outing to one or more of the lakes with Jon providing a group guide service for one of the outing days. This event is a return to the club’s events of old. In the past the club had such fly fishing luminaries as Dan Blanton, Al Kyte, Denny Rickards, Jay Fair and Andy Burk conduct day long clinics. We were limited in space by the venue, the boat house at Oak Grove Park. We’ve rectified that problem with the help of V.P. Amy Terra. As a member of St. Pauls Lutheran Church, 701 S. Pleasant Avenue, Lodi, she has access to their general purpose room with lots of space for presentations and a full kitchen. In the past we’ve charged $25 for the day and we’ve been able to keep that price and, because of the larger facility, increase the number of seats available to 40. To make sure that our membership is taken care of first, we’ve limited early signups to DFF members for the month of October. The event will be opened to other local fly clubs and the public from November 1st to the day of the event. This is a very special don't miss it event. I encourage all of our members to take advantage of this very special day. You may reserve your seat online by going to https://link.waveapps.com/wt85ajzm32vq and paying by credit card or mailing a check to: Joh Baiocchi Seminar/C.O. J. Neuburger 5 North California Street Lodi, CA 95240 Or by paying check or cash at one of the club events. The fee is non-refundable but you may transfer (or sell) the seat to another should you need to cancel.
Upcoming Events
Board of Directors Meeting
Oak Grove Nature Center
6:30 pm, October 16th
The public is welcome to join the officers and board members as they plan club activities.
Fly of the Month
On October 23rd at 6 pm at the Oak Grove Nature Center, Tim will lead us in tying the Slumpbuster. For a small donation, you will receive the supplies and support to tie 3 of these flies. The slumpbuster is a spin off of a wooly bugger with more action and a bigger profile- just in time for steelhead! Don't worry if you don't have a vise and tools. We have some you can borrow.
Come and join us in some tying fun!
Paradise Point Delta Outing
The Delta’s transition from a summer to a winter fishery is complete. The water has cooled and the stripers have moved in. Time to go fishing, Oct. 27th.
Although the first of the fall’s outings to the delta was attended by only three members, it was a fishing success with both stripers and largemouth being brought to boat. Anglers Al Smatsky and Bob Souza caught stripers on the main San Joaquin after launching at King Island Marina, and fishmiester Jerry Neuburger landed seven largemouth, six of them on top water poppers. The three finished up with a club lunch to make it a complete day. A repeat of the day is scheduled for the 27th of October. While the water will be colder and the largemouth bite slower, more striped bass should have moved into the system. These voracious fish attack flies readily and while large fish are scarce, their smaller brethren are easy game for lighter gear. Because the delta is a tidal basin, tide plays an important role in an angler’s success or failure. Best catches center around high tide, either in an incoming or especially on an outgoing tide. The last weekend of October offers an exceptional opportunity for fishing with an outgoing tide starting at about 6:00 in the morning and lasting all the way until 1:00pm. While some waters on the delta are just too big and dangerous for small craft, the sloughs on the east and south sides of the delta are prime waters for kayaks, prams, canoes and pontoon boats. Because of tidal flow, even these small craft need some fairly powerful propulsion in the form of gas or electric motors, paddles, oars and in the case of pontoon boats, fins. Gear consists of seven to nine weight rods with the chances that you just might be under gunned with that seven weight should a big striper grab your fly. Lines vary from intermediates to work over weed banks and type sixs and eights including lead core to work the deep runs from 12 to 16 feet. The leader or tippet is not a complicated affair, just five feet of #20 fluorocarbon for underwater work. Flies can be bubble heads, deceivers and whistlers for intermediate work and clousers for dredging. WARNING: The tide is a major outgoing for the majority of this outing. If in a craft using oars or paddles, be prepared to be carried downstream for the first portion of the event. As the tide slows at the end of the change around noon, it will be easier to work yourself back up the current. In addition to propulsion, an anchor is recommended as equipment for all craft. And of course, life jackets for all aboard. Paradise Point Marina maintains a well paved launch ramp. Pay envelopes are usually available at the launch area, Cost to launch has been $15.00 for trailered craft. Unknown for hand carried craft such as kayaks and pontoon boats.
Pyramid Lake Outing
November 1-3
Pyramid Lake, Nevada
If you’re new to fly fishing, you may not know that some of the largest trout in the world, the Lahontan Cutthroat, capable of growing in excess of 40 pounds, is located in a lake in Nevada, about 40 miles north of Reno. These fish are accessible to fly anglers with double digit fish caught daily during the “season” meaning from October 1st through late spring of the following year. The club conducted a spring outing to the lake last March and while the fishing was tough that weekend, the outing was a huge success for the anglers involved with lots of eating, drinking, fish tales, lying and even a little fishing thrown in. The lake can be an enigma, with fantastic fishing one day followed by a day of zero catches, or hours of patient casting, stripping and watching an indicator, followed by 15 minute periods of pure panic with everyone being hooked up, lines crossing, fish pulling in all directions. And they can be selective, some days eating only a size eight fluorescent red chironomid with a brass bead, ignoring the same fly with a white bead substituted for the brass one. Other days they seem to gobble anything wet. An old saying about Pyramid is the worse the weather, the better the fishing but some big fish are caught on blue bird days with the water so calm it appears to be a mirror. Others swear that to catch fish, a mixture of clouds and a wind ripple on the water are just as necessary as the right fly. Fishmiester Jerry Neuburger plans to tow his little travel trailer up for the three days and maybe extend his stay by a day or two as well. However, if others show an interest, he’ll leave the trailer home in favor of booking a room, rooms or a complete trailer for six to eight at Crosby’s Lodge. Shared room costs would be about $35 a night per person. Meals are available at Crosby’s as well as fishing licenses, the latest fishing information and a large selection of lake specific flies. It makes no difference whether male or female, Jerry will make it work that everyone has a room and the privacy that they would expect given their gender, be it in a walled off bedroom in a larger trailer or a separate cabin. For newbies, fishing equipment required is a six to eight weight rod, a floating like if indicator fishing or a quick sinking line for stripping streamers. A reel with a decent drag and some backing is helpful but, as long as the reel holds enough line and backing and can be rim controlled, it will work. While the fish can be big and powerful, they move fairly slow when compared to others in their species. While anglers can be seen fishing from float tubes and pontoon boats, most of the fly fishing is done from shore, either by wearing waders and standing on a ladder or just standing on shore at the steeper beaches. Jerry is asking any interested anglers to contact him by Friday, October 18th with a firm commitment to go on the outing so rooms can be booked. Once the people wanting to go are identified, a carpool can be set up to cut traveling expenses. Jerry can be contacted either in person at one of the club events, via email at gneuburg@gmail.com or cell phone 327 -5993. DON’T LEAVE A MESSAGE. HE DOESN’T CHECK HIS MESSAGES!
Flyday Open Tying Friday
Friday, November 8⋅5:00 – 7:00pm
House of Coffees, Lodi
Bring your tying supplies and your best fish stories to the House of Coffees- order up a coffee, tea or craft beer and tie one or two on with club members!
Membership Meeting
Wednesday, November 13
7 to 9ish
John R. Williams School, Stockton