April 2015 - BFFA

THE BACKCOUNTRY FLY FISHING ASSOCIATION OF BREVARD
An Active Member Club of the International Federation of Fly Fishers™
www.bffa-brevard.org
Volume XXVI Number VII
April, 2015
Monthly Dinner Meeting
Thursday, April 2nd, 6:30 PM
Our program for April will be
presented by Louis Gaudet, of
Harry Goode’s Outdoor Shop.
Memaw's Bar B-Q
Eau Gallie Blvd.
Indian Harbour Beach
Louis taught at L.L. Bean and Orvis
casting schools
He has been in this area for 2.5 years.
and was a freshwater trout guide for 8 yrs
on the Farmington river in Connecticut
and Delaware river in New York.
Louis has been fly fishing for 20 years,
starting at age 6
He is on the Scott fly rods pro staff.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
BFFA Officers and Directors
Last week, my wife and I booked a fishing trip to
Pine Point Lodge, a remote fishing resort on the Minnesota Canadian border. No roads, no cell phones, no
emails to return - just a week of Smallmouth Bass on
a popper , and if I’m lucky a tango with a 40” Pike or
even a 50” Muskie. July can’t come soon enough!
Chairman of the Board: Don Davis
alligatordond@cs.com
President: Bryan Hatfield
(Home) 779-8458
bhatfield@cfl.rr.com
Vice President/Programs: Dominc Agostini
(home) 557-7124
Yesterday, my youngest daughter Kathryn
called; she’s a Writing, Editing, and Media major at
Florida State University.
Secretary/Treasurer: Ron Winn
(Home) 777-3341
ronwin@bellsouth.net
“Dad, I’ve decided to take the summer semester off, so I’ll be home for the month of June and July,”
she said.
“Perfect,” I responded, “you can join your
mother and me in Minnesota! I’ll get your rods ready.”
Conservation Director: Bill DeLuccia
(Home) 729-8188
deluccias@hotmail.com
Her response: crickets - and I’m not talking
bait; her silence said she wasn’t interested, but her
good manners said, “Okay, Dad, thanks.”
Education Director/Fly Tying: Jeff Ward
242-2815
cojeward@bellsouth.net
An hour ago, I received this email from Kathryn:
Outings Director: Mike Reynolds
(Home) 409-5669
Reynolds123@Bellsouth.net
Dear Dad,
I came across this poem about a year ago. Just
wanted to share-
Auction Chairman: Frank Catino
777-5706
Fcatino@cfl.rr.com
Love, Kathryn
Fishing
by
A. E. Stallings
Newsletter Editor: Frank Perkins
676-0863
fap1217@cs.com
Dave Hackett
255-4750
The two of them stood in the middle water,
The current slipping away, quick and cold,
The sun slow at his zenith, sweating gold,
Once, in some sullen summer of father and daughter.
Maybe he regretted he had brought her—
She'd rather have been elsewhere, her look told—
Perhaps a year ago, but now too old.
Still, she remembered lessons he had taught her:
To cast towards shadows, where the sunlight fails
And fishes shelter in the undergrowth.
And when the unseen strikes, how all else pales
Beside the bright-dark struggle, the rainbow wroth,
Life and death weighed in the shining scales,
The invisible line pulled taut that links them both.
Source: Poetry (July 1998).
Webmaster: M.E.DePalma
(Work) 954-563-2148
DePalma@Depalma-Enterprises.com
THE BACKCAST is published monthly by the
Backcountry Fly Fishing Association of Brevard
P.O. Box 524
Melbourne, FL 32902-0524
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ADOPT A BOAT
BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST
Dr. Aaron Adams, of Florida Tech and Bonefish &
Tarpon Trust, is asking for our help. He is looking for
guidance from recreational anglers on where to focus
research, conservation, and restoration efforts that
address our recreational fisheries. Please provide answers to the questions below, and we'll forward them
along to Aaron.
1. What are the top 3 threats to recreational fisheries of Indian River Lagoon? The more specific the
answer, the better.
2. What are the top 3 projects or approaches to
restore IRL's recreational fisheries?
You can provide your answers via email to
fperkins@cfl.rr.com, or by phone at 676-0863
The Editor has decided that his boat need a new
home that will provide it more exercise. Anyone able
to provide this home can get a real bargain.
Frank Perkins
FLY TYING
The particulars are as follows:
Boat: 1975 Lucraft. 13’8”, 375 pounds, 68”
beam
Motor: 2005 25 HP Johnson
Trailer: 1987 Harding
Trolling Motor: 2006 Minn Kota, Model 35T,
27 pound thrust
Battery charger
Jeff Ward will be tying the Weedless Shrimp Fly in
April.
Materials
Hook: Mustad 34011 #4
Weight: Lead Strip
Eyes: Shrimp & Crab Eyes
Body: Copper Chenille
SF Blend Mullet Brown
SF Blend Redfish
Antennea: Copper Krystal Flash
Legs: Barred Orange Sili Legs
Great fishing boat.
To see it, contact Frank Perkins at 676-0863
or fperkins@cfl.rr.com.
FLY TYING AT HARRY’S
Free Fly Tying Class at Harry Goode’s Outdoor Shop
The last Saturday of every month!
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
FISHING REPORTS
All you need to bring is a fly tying vise.
Louis Gaudet at Harry Goode’s reports good recent
catches of Reds and Trout in the Indian River Lagoon
near Sebastian Inlet
All other materials will be provided.
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Each year our club awards a certificate and prize to a Brevard student for work in Scientific Research.
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TOO MUCH NATURE
JEFF WARD
The morning was near perfect on the Indian River flats. I was fishing the open sand holes on the grass
flats in about four feet of water. Predators like sea trout, snook and redfish use these transitions as ambush points
to attack baitfish like finger mullet and pinfish. I have always had a love of topwater fishing so this early morning
I was casting an olive Dahlberg diver, a fly that makes a subtle plop and dives a few inches under the water on
each strip of my line. My eyes strained to focus through my polarized sunglasses to pick up any kind of flash or
shadow of a predator about to strike my fly. Then it happened, the strike.
I never saw it coming. A seagull from a hundred feet above dived down and crashed my fly. I couldn't yank
my Dahlberg from him before he took it back to the skies. Certainly a fly rod is not designed to fight an aerial
battle. This is embarrassing. I know you bow to a fish when he becomes airborne but do you constantly bow when
fighting a seagull? When I do finally get him to the boat I just want to cut the leader but my eco-morality would
not let me leave this bird with a decorative piercing. We don't need gulls with bling. With no protective glove,
which I do now keep in my boat for any future bird battles, I grabbed the fighting bird and removed my fly with
a pair of pliers. When it was all said and done my hand looked like I had done a tonsillectomy on a woodpecker.
My hands stung from a hundred pecks when I rinsed them in the brackish estuary.
Abandoning the deeper flats I moved to fish the shallows between the docks that line the shore. When I cast
my fly toward the shore I feel my boat lurch. A manatee has come up to the boat and is pulling on the hand towel
I have hanging over the side. This encounter with an endangered species made me lose all concentration on
fishing. As I knelt down to get a closer look at this creature playing with my boat, I heard the water explode where
I had just cast my fly. Within the first ten seconds of the fight a jump revealed that I had a nice snook on the line.
Did I hook this fish or was it the manatee dragging the boat which subsequently pulled the rod and fly who gets
credit for hooking this snook?
The fight was on. I knew I had to keep the snook from running through the dock pilings where he would be
looking for a cut off on the barnacles. If I could get him to deep water the fight would be much easier. My
eco-morality kicked in again as I soon realized the trolling motor was not an option. That manatee was scratching
his back on the prop. Almost all of them already have prop scars on their backs. While using side pressure I
managed to steer the snook away from the dock toward deeper water. Now the fight would be easier...right...no.
Coming in full bore, looking like mini nuclear subs with their conning tower dorsal fins and pushing a
wake of water over their backs, were two dolphins These creatures believe in catch, release and eat. They also
have an uncanny sense of whether a fish has an exposed hook in it. They will wait for anyone to unhook and
release an easy meal for them. Side pressure loops the weary snook back to the boat. My first attempt to lip him
failed as he swam right past me down the side of the boat. Then all hell broke loose. The snook sped up and
launched himself up the back of the manatee out of the water towards the dock again. This caused the manatee to
panic and blow water six feet in the air with his huge tail as he decided this is not the place to be. This commotion
also sent the dolphins into a watery frenzy With one more loop away from the dolphins, I finally grabbed the snook
by the lip and lifted him into the boat for a photo. CPR...catch...photo...release..
I moved my boat as close to shore as I could and revived the tired snook between my boat and the bank. In
water that's eight inches deep, I knew he was safe from the opportunistic dolphins. As his strength came back I
released him into the dock pilings where he would be safe.
It was all over. I used my trolling motor to move to open water. It's time to sip coffee, relax and enjoy the
warmth of the sunrise. I thought to myself "I went through all this for one fish. Would I have to go through all this
again for another? God I love nature and I thank him for the beautiful day, but I'm not young anymore, how about
nature just a little at a time."
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BFFA April 2015 Events
Monthly Dinner Meeting
Thursday, April 2nd, 6:30 P.M.
Memaw's Bar B-Q
Eau Gallie Blvd.
Indian Harbour Beach
Board Meeting
Thursday, April 9th, 6:30 P.M.
(Meet at 5:00 PM for dinner )
Note special location during tax season
Squid Lips
Pineapple Ave. at the river
Eau Gallie
Outing
Fly Tying
No outing this month
Monday, April 20th, 6:15 P.M.
Melbourne Public Library
Fee Ave.
Melbourne
THE BACKCAST
Backcountry Fly Fishing Association of Brevard
P.O. Box 524
Melbourne, FL. 32902-0524
Limit your kill, don’t kill your limit !
Please practice Catch and Release.