President's Message
I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this pandemic. It has affected our Club in a multitude of ways as we hunkered down like a big trout in 34-degree water. We basically cancelled all our events since March, but fly fishers find a way to rebound in the bottom of the 9 inning and tag that walk off homer a la Gibson in the 88 World Series. Contained in these pages of this newsletter, you will find that announcement, the silver lining of this bad Covid 19 storm. I am extremely excited and looking forward to one of our big annual events with a completely different twist. We are headed into the virtual world to maintain social distancing. Look for that article from our Vice President, Sergio Martinez and come join the fun.
On August 11th we held our first Zoom meeting, thanks to Analiza Del Rosario our Zoom Maestro. The speakers: Kesley Gallagher, Guy Jeans, Randy Skidgel and Carole Ontiverios presented flawlessly and kept everyone’s interest at a high level. IGFA World record and the California Heritage Trout Challenge were the topics for the evening. Randy and Carole will be returning to provide a more in-depth presentation of their California Heritage Trout Challenge. Randy closed out the evening with stories of his fly fishing adventures in interesting places.
Also, during the Zoom meeting, we voted to have the Club make the following donations: 1. Kern River Conservancy - $1,000. 2. Kern Valley Search and Rescue - $2,500
The Club is healthy financially and the above two worthy organization continue to incur expenses during this Covid year. We hope the above donations will help to offset some of their expenses. The two organizations are such a valuable resource for the Kern River Valley and surrounding areas.
I am amazed that during this pandemic year, our membership continues to grow. We have a huge responsibility in keeping our members safe. It’s heartbreaking for me to cancel our events and not to have our fly fishing family come together. We will continue to explore alternatives means and hold more Zoom meetings. It is the best we can do for the time being.
We must thank the front-line medical professionals that risk everything so people can be given the care they need: Anna, Anna, Edith, Regina, Kellie and Lino. Please forgive me if I forgot you. I am sure there are many more.
Everyone please stay safe and healthy. I am looking forward to the day we can come together as the Fly Family that we are. Then, I’ll be able to say again: “Come fish with us”.
Chiaki
Spotlight
Featuring Kesley Gallagher
Retired or working. If working, what do you do? I work for Amgen as a Global Operations Director. I manage the manufacture, supply, quality, and life-cycle management of about $2B worth of product.
How did you get started in fly fishing? My father was always “fly-fishing” for brook trout in the Appalachians. As a young girl, I watched him flail the fly rod around tiny creek pools in vain. I thought fly fishing must be very difficult because he was rarely successful. When I was 10 in Montana, my step-father showed me actual fly fishing on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. Casting a fly and then seeing a cutthroat rise to a royal humpy was amazing to me and I have pursued fly fishing ever since. It is not so much a mystery to me now but a continual riddle to be solved.
Did you have a mentor? I have had many teachers (guides), advice givers (friends), and continual lessons from the fish themselves over the years. The fish are the most effective at giving lessons, by the way. Guides are wonderful teachers and I have enjoyed spending time with certain guides over the years. The knowledge they gain about their river or geographical area is priceless and wonderful to explore with them. Social media has especially enhanced anglers’ ability to learn from others, and most importantly, introduced anglers to new waters and fish.
Describe your favorite style of fly fishing. All of it. It all appeals to me. I love sight fishing for tarpon, permit, carp, corbina, bonefish, redfish, and hopefully one day, GT. I love nymph and dry fly fishing for trout as well as swinging a fly for steelhead. Popper fishing for bass and redfish from a kayak is equally fun and I can’t wait to throw a giant pink fly offshore to marlin and sailfish in December.
What was your most memorable fly-fishing experience? There are many but one that stands out is winning the 2018 Ladies Tarpon Fly Tournament. The pressure I felt maintaining the lead over three days in 2018 was incredible and pushed me to perform at my best and seek the Zone every second. Tarpon tournaments have taught me to be a much better angler, but more importantly, how to cut myself some slack when I miss a cast or screw up a hook set. If you dwell on your mistakes, you’ll lose out on the next opportunity that will only be a few minutes away. The tournaments enhance all your flaws and fears and you must deal with both every single cast. But when you get in the Zone, it is magic.
Why do you fly fish? There are many reasons—to test my skills, to find beauty, to escape the concrete jungle, and to be in the Zone. However, in the COVID world, fly fishing is a way to escape from the overwhelming negativity. I have spent days wandering local beaches for corbina this year and it is all to escape the current reality. My ability to focus and pursue difficult fish has become a means of shutting out the negativity and finding peace.
If you could fly fish anywhere in the world, where and why? I love fly fishing the Keys or any tropical flat. Big tarpon, big permit, and big bonefish are significant favorites of mine. I love to escape into the Everglades, to hear the silence only to be broken by the sound of a rolling tarpon or distant rumble of thunder. It is all magic.
Music you've been listening to lately? U2. Again, I’m trying to escape to better and more optimistic times . . .
INTO THE BACKING - The $5 Rod
By Chiaki Harami
One of our best and funniest events ever was the 2019 Lower Kings Outings. Randy, Freddie and Carole put out one of the best riverside breakfast ever. We had approximately 60 people attend, and everyone caught big trout. The Saturday night dinner gathering included a rod raffle and we played the White Fish Gift Exchange. We also celebrated a few birthdays with a most comical birthday cake decorated as a carp. I built a 9 foot 5 weight Winston Air fly rod for the rod raffle. This is basically a 4-digit rod priced out the door. Marisol and I sold raffle tickets to almost everyone with the usual folks buying lots of tickets. Randy was making the final call for raffle tickets and noticed Kesley hadn’t purchased any. Randy, wanting to generate as much funds for the club (and Randy being Randy) started to make it a point of Kesley not purchasing any tickets. Everyone in the restaurant heard Randy: come on, it’s only $5, help support the Club, you got to pay to play, etc. Kesley finally gave into the peer pressure and pulled out 4 one dollar bills and some change to purchased one ticket. Instead of fill out the backs of raffle ticket, the Club lets people choose their own number and to write the number onto the backs of the tickets. Kesley chose #19. I was assigned the task of pulling the winning ticket and you know the number which I randomly pulled, Yep #19. As I announced the winning number, I knew there was something special about #19. Kesley stood up waving the winning raffle ticket above her head. Most of the people laughed, specially after hearing Randy complaining about Kesley winning with just one ticket. Kesley smiled a big smile and grab the rod. This was so hilarious. Kesley now refers to this rod as the $5 rod.
Earlier this year, Kesley thought she had another IGFA world record caught with this rod. Unfortunately, the tippet tested outside the acceptable range. After catching so many big trout on the $5 rod, the rod had to be sent back to the Winston shop for repairs. Kesley liked this rod so much, she commissioned me to build her another Winston Air 9 foot but in a 4 wt. I don’t build rods for money, but in this case something had to be done. Since Kesley paid $5 for the 5 wt. , I’m going to charge her $4 for the 4 wt., It makes sense to me.
2020 CALIFORNIA FLY FISHING OPEN
Southern Sierra Fly Fishers Club- California Fly Fishing Open 2020 is going “digital.” With recent events and large gatherings not feasible, per California guidelines, we’ve decided to hold a virtual CFFO for 2020.
The California Fly Fishing Open will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2020 and have opened it up to ALL California waters. Weather you want to fish the bay, surf, river, lake, or creek, you can do it all. There will be a freshwater fish category and a saltwater fish category.
This is a partnered event, so grab a friend, wife, husband or significant other and get fishing, but remember to maintain social distancing. We will be using FishDonkey to keep track of all scoring, pictures, and live leaderboard for the California Fly Fishing Open. Scoring will be based on fish length and will tally your teams best 25 fish in each category. Medals will be awarded for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams in each category. There is will also be a “largest fish trophy” for the largest freshwater fish and largest saltwater fish.
We will be holding a special Zoom meeting on Sunday, September 27, 2020 to announce tournament winners. If you’ve been to a Southern Sierra Fly Fishers’ event, you know that the after parties are always the best. Good food, music, raffles, heads-or-trails, and so much fun. To make sure we continue that special tradition, we are going to enter ALL California Fly Fishing Open registered participants into a special raffle. Prizes range from custom flies, wading boots, nippers, to a Custom-built rod of your choice, by master rod builder Chiaki Harami, and so much more. Participant raffle winner will be announced during Zoom meeting on Sunday, September 27.
We hope you can join us for our “virtual” Southern Sierra Fly Fishers Club- California Fly Fishing Open.
TIPS ON Flies by Ryan buhler
On most freestone rivers and some spring creeks and tailwaters, stonefly nymphs play an important role in the year-round diets of trout. Freestone rivers have an abundance of both variety and sizes available to the trout.
Golden, Black, and Yellow Sally Stones are the staples, but some waters may have additional species. The nymph form of the stonefly is very active and often swept into the current to make an easy meal for the trout. A “dead drift” presentation is usually the most effective when presenting the fly to the fish. In spring through early summer there are hatches and fishing a large, adult dry fly pattern is about as good as it gets. However, the fun doesn’t end in early summer as the nymphs are extremely active from late summer through fall and they often draw strikes from the larger trout in the water as well.
Research the flies and patterns that catch trout on your local waters so you can be ready with a full box of stoneflies next time that you hit the water!
SUMMER HATCH 2020 - Women OUTING
What started out as two of our club members wanting to fish turned into an amazing women trip that will surely become a yearly outing.
Lesley Smith and Analiza del Rosario planned a fishing trip in Mammoth and said let’s invite other women. Before you know it, 15 women were going and 12 of them were club members. Lesley and Analiza hosted taco night at their campsite on Friday night, but all the ladies participated, bringing everything from mask, drinks, desserts, and most importantly, the best attitude. The tacos were flavorful, with freshly made guacamole by Kathleen. Edith’s chili dogs served on Saturday night were tasty! They compared fishing stories, shared experiences - the fellowship was amazing!
Southern Sierra Fly Fishers club gained 4 new members this weekend. They sponsored 7 club members to fish the Upper Owens with Berly Rea with Lesley helping her. Thanks to Karen Hall for organizing this with Berly. Chiaki also took 5 women to Crowley Lake for half a day of fishing. The ladies enjoyed other fishing locations during this trip which included, San Joaquin River, Hot Creek, and Rock Creek.
Summer Hatch 2020 was a huge hit that will surely repeat next year!
Save Bristol Bay
Pebble has been sent back to the drawing board- but the proposal isn’t dead yet.
Wild salmon, jobs, world-class fishing opportunity, and local cultures in Bristol Bay, Alaska depend on us.
On Monday, August 24th, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the current Pebble mine proposal would not be permitted. However, Pebble isn’t completely gone. We still need the Trump Administration to deny Pebble’s federal permit.
TOGETHER, WE MUST DO ALL WE CAN TO PREVENT PEBBLE FROM GETTING THEIR PERMIT.