by George Butts, Fill The Net Coordinator

As I’ve driven the roads into each river and parked my car, I notice trash here and there. I must admit, I don’t always stop to pick it up, though I often do. I encourage you to take a few minutes from your fishing outings to pick up what others have left behind. Here are a few ideas:

1. Where you park your car look around. There’s usually something to pick up,
2. As you are fishing, look along the shore and even in the river. I’ve found Korker soles, lures, monofilament, bait containers, and a fine pair of nail clippers. I’ll often stick these items in my chest pouch, set them on shore, and pick them up on my way back up or down the river,
3. Walking back to your car on a trail or along the road after a day on the river is often productive.

Be sure to take a picture and post it to Facebook, Instagram using the hashtags #FillTheNet and #LeaveItBetter, the BVFF website, BVFF Blog, or send it to George Butts. Your example is needed to encourage others to follow. As to the swag that George sends, if you don’t want it, just let him know.

To the left you can see “Mutt Mitts,” which are on the greenbelt for trash collecting. #FillTheNet and #LeaveItBetter

These Trout Hero mesh bags (picture to the right) are great to have on the river to pack out trash. And Pescador On The Fly will send you one for FREE! Be a Trout Hero!

To get your own mesh bag go HERE. Use Code TROUTHERO at check- out.

Imagine if every time you hit the stream, you make it a little bit cleaner. Imagine if you go fishing two times per month, you could effectively take twenty four bags of trash from the wilderness each year. Now imagine if 100 people adopt this new habit. That’s twenty four hundred bags of trash from the wilderness. Now imagine of we get to one thousand anglers, then ten thousand anglers. We can make a difference.

(Image left: Floater season on the Boise river is resulting in lots of trash.)

by Troy Pearse

Fall is just around the corner and so is the Fall Caddis, also known as the October Caddis.   Fall Caddis are present on many of our local rivers, including the Middle and South Forks of the Boise river and there are even a few on the main Boise through town.  Larger populations of the Fall Caddis can be found on northern Idaho rivers including the Lochsa, upper North Fork of the Clearwater and the St Joe.  

Fall Caddis larvae live in a large pebbled case for one year. In late summer, they migrate to rocky edge-water, attach their cases and start to pupate. Hatches start in mid-September and go through October, and can continue into early November at lower elevations.  One tip for fishing the Fall Caddis is to look for these large caddis cases and make a note to come back and fish that spot in the Fall.  

Big bugs on the surface are always fun, and the Fall Caddis is no exception. My best Fall Caddis dry fly fishing is in the evenings, targeting structure along current seams near the edge of the river with rapid-fire casts and short drifts, sometimes twitching and hopping the pattern.  Trout takes are often explosive as soon as the pattern hits the water, so be ready!  During the day I use a heavily weighted pupa pattern for my anchor fly when nymphing.  Swinging a soft hackle pupa with your Trout Spey Rod is another effective technique, and also works well for steelhead on rivers where Fall Caddis are present like the Grande Ronde. 

I like a heavily hackled pattern for my dry fly. It's hard to beat an Orange Stimulator or orange Elk Hair Caddis.  I tie my Fall Caddis on a size #8 TMC 5212 2XL "hopper hook". Commercially tied Stimulators are typically tied on a 3XL hook, so if you are buying your flies you want to size down to a #10.  For a pupa pattern I like soft hackle patterns like Morrish's Deep October Pupa tied on a heavy nymph hook such as the TMC 5262.

For additional information on the Fall Caddis life cycle and some amazing pictures of them hatching at night, check out Arlen Thomason's book "Bug Waters", which is a bug-book every serious angler should own. Pay attention to his pictures of the pupal shucks and then look for them as you are fishing in the Fall and you will find a good spot to target with an Orange Stimi that evening.

by Ted Eisele

It started as I was watching a tv show featuring Conway Bowman (a one-time host of Flyfishing the World). Conway had been a pioneer in the sport of fishing for Pacific sharks with a fly rod. He was targeting mako sharks. Each time they’d hook one, the shark would go on drag-burning runs and make leaps that would make a steelhead jealous. My reaction to the show was immediate and strong. I’ve gotta try that!

I contacted Conway, who was fully booked. But he told me to talk to one of his protégés, Dave Trimble, who operated On The Fly outfitters in San Diego. Done! It was booked for September, and I would bring my daughter along to share in the adventure. Katie had not fly fished much, but she loves the outdoors and is an adventurous soul.

Trimble had a 14-weight Sage Xi rod as well as a 10-weight. He would start me out with the 14 weight, since the first fish we attracted to the chummed water was a big 8-foot hammerhead. Casting that rod felt like trying to cast with a telephone pole. There was no flex at all, and it was exhausting. I wondered if it was really necessary to go that big. Trimble tried to tease the fish with a spin rod lure that had no hook, and I was to then cast my fly as he pulled his lure away to entice a take. Over and over again we tried, but he would not play. Finally I said, “let’s forego the teaser and let’s just try the fly.” This generated more interest from the big fish, and he would cruise right up alongside the side of the boat, which is how the guide measured him. As he started acting more excited and aggressive, he went to the back of the boat and bit the motor mount. Yikes! I turned to my daughter and said, “we’re NEVER telling your mother!” (At least I didn’t say something cheesy like “we’re gonna need a bigger boat”, even though that’s about what I felt at that moment. ) The fish went back to cruising just under the side of the boat and then turned and started going straight back toward the stern, which would give me a perfect angle for a good hook set. Bang! He was on.

He ran like crazy, and I told Dave, “there’s no way I can keep up with this fish unless we start the motor and follow him.” That allowed me to stay up with him, but now that “telephone pole” of a fly rod had a huge bend in it. Yeah, the guide knew what he doing after all! I needed every bit of that rod’s strength. Then instead of running in the top of the water column, he went straight to the bottom. For the umpteenth time I thought that fish would spool me for sure. But I worked him back up, and finally got him on the surface looking like a tired, beached whale. I was sure we had him, but I was as tired as he was. Then he surprised us by flexing his tail fin all the way around to his mouth area until it severed the 30-pound leader. Dave had timed it and said I fought that fish for 45 minutes!

The next sharks to arrive were blue sharks. The ones that showed up were small, only 6 to 12 pounds. But they were so much fun I could have caught them all day. Sight fishing is always a thrill, and the casts are close enough to the boat that you watch every move the fish makes, always hoping it results in a take. My daughter had never caught a fish on a fly rod, and she took a turn, hooking a beautiful 12-pound blue shark. I was so excited I was trying to coach her to make sure she didn’t lose her first good fish. Of course our guide coached her too, and I’m sure I sounded like a typical nervous dad watching his kid play a Little League game. At any rate, despite having 2 people shouting advice to her, she landed the fish, and the smile she flashed may have been the biggest I’ve ever seen (see photo). What a way to record your first fish!

We ended up landing 5 blue sharks. I got to touch the head of one of the fish, and as you may have heard, while their skin looks very smooth, it feels like sandpaper.

By this time the long-anticipated mako showed up. It looked just like a great white, but smaller. In A.J. McClane’s Game Fish of North America, he says “The glorious mako is one of the world’s great game fish ... probably no other fish can achieve as much elevation.”

This wasn’t one of the giant 100-pound makos that are sometimes landed. Dave estimated it as a 50-pound fish. I got it all the way to the boat’s hull and it was at least 4-feet long. Still, what a thrill to not only get a mako, but to hook 3 different species of shark.

We caught the mako (and all the blue sharks) on the 10-weight rod, which was much more fun to cast. But it would have been too light for the hammerhead.

It was a day I’ll never forget. Not only for the fishing, but for having my daughter there to share in the day. And Dave Trimble was a great guide. He knew his stuff and was a great guy to spend the day with. If you want a special thrill, try a day with him off San Diego.

By Jim Kazakoff, Expo Committee Chairman

Organization and planning has begun for the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo, to be held Jan 6-7, 2023. This is the 18th annual expo since 2004, with one gap year in 2021 for COVID 19. If you have never attended an expo, then you should not miss this one. If you have attended an expo, don’t miss the chance to come learn something new. January is often a little cold to fish, but the perfect time to start thinking about fly fishing in the new year.

The Expo is the rendezvous of fly fishers and aspiring fly fishers in the Treasure Valley. We will have educational presentations from notable local and regional fly-fishing experts providing information on how to be better anglers, and on destination waters you will want to fish some day. There will be two demonstration casting ponds—a single-handed rod casting pond, and a two-handed or Spey rod pond, with tips from those in the know on how to improve your cast. The BVFF two-hand pond is a unique feature among fly fishing shows.

Some of the best fly tyers in the region will be on hand to demonstrate their skills, both in a presentation theater and in an informal one-on-one tying area. Up to 50 or more fly tyers will be present during the show. If you or a family member have never tied before, our First Time Fly Tyer area will be available, with assistance to help you tie your first fly.

Exhibitors at the event will include representatives from various fly-fishing tackle companies, where you can see and buy the latest equipment and gear, as well as possibly get a deal on this year’s close out items. Representatives from agencies and conservation organizations will be present to provide information on their organizations, and on the important work they are doing. BVFF will highlight the community and conservation projects we have been involved with, as well as the activities and benefits of the club. The expo is THE fly-fishing community event of the year in the Treasure Valley.

However, Expo is more than an educational event. The proceeds generated from this expo are necessary to fund the club operations and fly-fishing education, and more importantly, the conservation and community projects that BVFF has underway. BVFF has made significant contributions to the conservation of our shared waterways and resources, which ultimately is what allows us to enjoy our passion for fly fishing.

Be watching the website and social media for updates.

SPONSORSHIP and EXHIBITORS

To make the expo both a financial and public success it is critical that we secure sponsorships for the event, and fill the exhibitor booths with companies and organizations that are beneficial to the show. Sponsorships demonstrate support of the values, projects, and activities of BVFF, as well as providing company recognition. Companies and organizations that cannot sponsor but would like to be present at the expo by purchasing a booth are also being sought. If you own, know of, or have contacts at a company or organization that would be a great candidate as an expo sponsor or have interest in a booth, please contact me or an organizing committee member. ExpoChair@BVFF.com , or ExpoCommittee@BVFF.com.

EXPO VOLUNTEERS

The expo organizing committee is underway, but there are still a few unfilled positions, and time is short. We can use your help. If you cannot help the committee, we also will need volunteers during the week and days of the expo to staff the event. If you would like to help please call or send an email to ExpoVolunteers@BVFF.com.

The expo is always great fun.