All posts by MikeB

Meetings, Meetings 2016

March HFF Meeting

The next meeting of the HFF will be March 15 at the Colorado Steakhouse. Dinner will be at 6:00 and the program to begin at 7:00.

The program this month will be a “tie-a-thon” featuring Mike Donovan and Dick Powell  (and perhaps another talented tier). This will be a good opportunity to gather some ideas for patterns and some interesting techniques to get ready for what is going to be a really good year of fishing. I know it is gong to be a good year for fishing, however, the catching part is still to be determined. Dick will be tying several variations of the Matuka Streamer. This is a really neat fly pattern that turns the head of many a Smallie.

The excitement is building for the April 19th meeting! This will be the AUCTION! Once again we are lucky enough to have Kernal Kevin use his fast talk and boundless charm to part us with our hard earned funds. What we need from all of you is lots of good stuff to auction off. While I am sure there will be lots of very desirable items in the auction, if time allows, I will tie a bluegill fly that one caught 6 fish on 7 casts at the annual picnic at Lake Lemon.

Yes the annual picnic is coming up on May 14th. Once again Berry Clarke has generously offered to host the party.  As usual, the club will provide burgers, dogs, buns and chips. We will provide sides. I will bring a chocolate cake to counter all the salads.

See you all on March 15th at the Colorado Steakhouse. As always, dinner will be at 6:00 and the program at 7:00.

Crappies

Fish Report: Lake Monroe is up over 6ft from normal pool. Fishing is tough from shore now but crappies have been biting. Recent rains have raised the water temperatures up into a range where fish are on the move. Jonathan reports small pond fishing is doing good now. Spring is here.

Go fishing,

Tim​

Events, Fish Report, Meetings, Meetings 2016

Hospitality, Meetings and the Expo.

Talk about Hoosier Hospitality and we’re talking Bobby’s Colorado SteakHouse.  The Club holds it’s regular monthly meetings at their restaurant and the month of February was made special by Steve who cooked us up a fish fry for the evening meal. Thanks Steve it was great!

Jill Vance INDNR Naturalist
Jill Vance INDNR Naturalist

The speaker for the February meeting was Jill Vance, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Interpretive Naturalist for Lake Monroe. Jill informed us about past and present activities offered by her office around Lake Monroe . Activities range from Nature Hikes in the Winter to Youth Activities in the Summer. Some of her favorite projects involve wildflowers, youth activities, hikes and Lake Monroe Cleanups. Jill is a very good speaker and presents an interesting program about Lake Monroe and the year round activities that are available from her Office and the INDNR. To find out more about Jill and scheduled activities around Lake Monroe for 2016 visit their Facebook Page or the DNR website for Lake Monroe. You can download updated activity sheets and read more on recent events sponsored by Jill’s office.

The second half of the meeting featured Mike Donovan at the fly tying vise. Mike always does a good job showing everyone how to tie traditional flies.  This month Mike demonstrated tying a hair wing streamer.  I’m sure it will catch fish.

Don’t forget your Indiana State Park Entrance Pass this year. The prices have gone up again but if you’re a Senior you get a discounted rate. If you have a boat, registrations are due and you must have the DNR Launch permit on State waters. March will be time for new fishing license, don’t forget.

Indy Fly Fishing Expo: A few of us attended the fly fishing expo at the Indiana State Fair Grounds last week end. Coupled with the Indy Boat Sport and Travel Show, a guy could spend an entire weekend looking at all the GUY stuff they had there. The Fly Fishing part of the show was a three day event. It took us a few hours to visit all the booths and talk with some new friends and some familiar faces. They had a casting pond setup and fly fishing seminars were held all day long, featuring some of the most informative fly fishing experts in the Midwest . Booths were full of fly tackle, guide services, fly tying supplies, fly tying demos, zingers and forceps by the hundreds and free hats for special anglers.

Fish Report: What a weird year for weather and fishing around Lake Monroe. During the mild winter fish were very active up to the end of last year but the fly bite slowed down a little in January as water temperatures dropped into the 30’s. Fishing was slow but with patience fish could be found where there was open water. February sunny days have prompted fish to move a little shallower and they continue to bite on small flies. Fishing will only improve if the water temps continue to rise. Spring is on the way, get out and fish.