Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Soft Hackle Flies, Winterizing Your Pontoon Boat

Winter Events Are Coming
The Fly Fishing Shop has scheduled a series of exciting fly fishing classes
and entertaining events for the winter season.
Look forward to presentations by:
Mark Bachmann, Chuck Gilbert, Steve Gobin, Paul Franklin, David Earl Roberts,
Dick Sagura, George Cook, Brian Silvey, Ron Lauzon, Bob Hooton, Jim Muck,
Ron Lucas, Derrick Fergus, and Bill Bakke just to name a few.

The Winter Program Starts December 2
with
Redington Day - Win a $625 NTi Nano Titanium Fly Rod
Check out the EVENTS Calendar.

Dean Butler, Nelson Bay Australia. Angler Brian King - Black Marling - 101kg.

Planning a Dream Fly fishing Trip?
TO THE TROPICS?
Do you long to try fishing where they use flies the size of trout. Are you tired of dainty little 6X tippets. Need some sun on your legs and some deep blue water under the boat. Let the other guys hibernate all winter. A tropical fly fishing vacation is a good way to energize your spirit for a winter of extreme activity and productivity.

Hibernation has never appealed much to me. Patty and I will be in Mexico, November 11-27. Newsletters might be scarce for a while. Don't think we have lost interest. It's time to recharge our batteries. Meeting new challenges in new arenas is the stuff that adventure is made of. We all need it. Jeff and Tilda Runner will be our travel companions on this trip. We started planning and budgeting this trip about a year ago. My son Troy and his wife Roceo will be our hosts in Mexico. Troy emailed to me the picture of the fly caught Marlin (above). It was caught on one of his Frontier Flies off the coast of Australia. Wow, the limits to fly fishing seem endless. These types of giant fly eating machines live off the coast of southern Mexico too. We hope to have a few new big fish pictures of our own when we return. Click here for Billfish flies.

Clothing (for 5-14 day trip)
Avoid cotton fabric except in blends. 100% cotton fabrics are hard to dry in the tropics. Synthetic clothing is much more comfortable and doesn't require ironing. Underwear is optional. Wading pants & shorts with mesh briefs are most comfortable.
( ) 3pr. Lightweight wading pants
( ) 3     Long sleeve, ventilated casting shirts
( ) 1     Fabric Wading Belt (unless your pants have built in belts)
( ) 1     Up-Downer Hat, blacken under side of bill
( ) 4     White Hankies in zip-lock bags (for wiping glasses, etc)
( ) 1     Wading Shorts or Swim Suite
( ) 1pr. Flats or Deck Shoes
( ) 1pr. Casual Shoes

Toilet Items
( ) comb
( ) soap
( ) tooth brush
( ) tooth paste
( ) shampoo
( ) conditioner
( ) nail clipper
( ) nail file
( ) razor
( ) shaving cream
( ) deodorant

Entertainment Items
( ) Film Camera	( ) Film	( ) Batteries
( ) Digital Camera	( ) Memory Cards	( ) Batteries	( ) Charger/Cables
( ) Video Camera	( ) Tape	( ) Batteries	( ) Charger/Cables
( ) Lap Top Computer		( ) Batteries	( ) Charger/Cables
( ) Magazines/Books ( ) Binoculars		( ) Munchies
Tackle Your selection of gear will depend on whether you are jungle fishing, flats fishing or blue water fishing. The following rod/reel combinations are offered as a check list:
( ) 6 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 7 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 8 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 9 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 10 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 11 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 12 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
( ) 15 Weight Outfit	( ) Rod	( ) Reel	( ) Extra Spools
Fishing Accessories ( ) Hook File ( ) Nail Knot Tier ( ) Leader Clipper ( ) Stainless Steel Wire Cutter ( ) Hook Remover ( ) Pliers		Reel / Line Maintenance Kit ( ) Fly Line Cleaner & Pads ( ) Spray Lube ( ) Reel Oil ( ) Reel Grease ( ) Cork Disc Lube ( ) Reel Tool / Repair Kit
Leader & Tippet Leaders will vary with your destination: ( ) 4 9' 10 lb. test knotless tapered leaders ( ) 4 9' 12 lb. test knotless tapered leaders ( ) 4 9' 16 lb. test knotless tapered leaders ( ) 4 wire bite tippet barracuda/shark leaders ( ) 4 tarpon/billfish leaders with shock tippets attached ( ) extra 80-100 lb. test shock tippet ( ) extra wire bite tippet			( ) 8 lb. tippet ( ) 10 lb. tippet ( ) 12 lb. tippet ( ) 16 lb. tippet ( ) 20 lb. tippet ( ) 30 lb. mono ( ) 50 lb. mono
Flies Flies will vary with your destination:

Tilda Runner in Wyoming.

A Fly Fishing Report from Saratoga, Wyoming
By Jeff Runner
I have always wanted to fish the North Platte River, near Saratoga, Wyoming. The river flows through a ranch that my grandfather owned when I was a little boy, and I've always wondered what I missed. This summer my wife, Tilda, and I decided to find out. We planned the trip nearly a year in advance, which turned out to be a

mistake. Wyoming suffered from the same dry year that we did here in Oregon, and when we got to Saratoga, the river was running very low. Relatives who still live in the area thought that we should still be able to find fish, so we set out with much enthusiasm, but kept our expectations in check. The first thing we learned is that river access laws in Wyoming differ from Oregon. We were told that land owners own the

An eagle watches.

river bottom, and that we wouldn't be able to leave our boats to fish when we were floating through private land. The only acceptable reason to get out of the boat on private land is to maintain forward motion of the boat when it is hung up in shallow water, something that we had to do surprisingly often. This certainly presented a different perspective as we are used to fishing the Deschutes, where you can't fish from the boat.

The river does flow through some public lands, and in other areas the banks have been fenced off to allow fishermen access to the river, but there are stretches where it is illegal to anchor or get out of your boat, even on mid-stream islands. Obviously we were going to have to learn to fish from our pontoon boats.

I found it awkward to nymph from my boat, but fortunately the fish seemed very eager to come to dry flies, as well as wets drifted just below the surface. We were particularly successful on small Royal Wulffs and Parachute Adams. All of the fish that we caught were big, beautiful, and strong. Typically we were catching browns and rainbows in the fifteen inch range, with a few up to about twenty inches.

As a bonus, we spent a day fishing Saratoga Lake. I hadn't remembered the lake from my boyhood, so was surprised to find still water fishing (my favorite) on this trip. Apparently the lake was over-run with trash fish a couple of years ago, so was drained, poisoned and restocked. This alkaline lake appears to be great fish rearing habitat, as we caught a number of very fat fish from sixteen to eighteen inches long.

We particularly enjoyed the wildlife while we were fishing. During our various trips we spent as much time looking at mink, deer, and sandhill cranes as we did fishing. We were also very excited to see four golden eagles perched together overlooking the river. Although two of them flew away as we approached, the other two didn't seem to mind us stopping to look and take pictures.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable trip. We plan to return when there is more water, which will hopefully improve our fishing, and make the river easier to float. I am also anxious to try my hand on the lake again. I can only imagine how big those fish will be in another year!

8-Hour On the Water Steelhead Fly fishing School
Take a drift boat ride down the Sandy River with:
Mark Bachmann, Brian Silvey and Ron Lauzon

This is a school that will cover a lot of water and fishing knowledge in one day.
Learn how to locate steelhead water and how to approach it.
Watch an expert guide as he fishes and discloses the secrets and proven methods that put fish on the beach. Get a lot of hands on help so that you too can be productive.
Save yourself five years of experimenting on your own.
Bring your own waders & rain gear. Rods, reels, flies & tackle are supplied.
A quick lunch will be served on the river.
Date to be set (during the month of January 2002) - 9 students only!
First come, first served.

Item	Description	Price
ST-CLASS	8-hour steelhead class with Mark Bachmann, Brian Silvey and Ron Lauzon.	$150