President's Message |
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First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the membership for electing me Vice President and then appointing me President. I will do my best to continue and improve the strong convictions of the Tri-County Fly Fishers.
Our upcoming agenda for the next few months is quite full as exemplified by the following activities:
Our first opportunity for volunteering is the Jake's Program which will be held on Saturday, February 4th at 8 am in the Ocala Conservation Center located at 7325 NE 170th Avenue, Silver Springs, Florida, 34488.
A Bass Pro trip is scheduled for Saturday March 3rd . For more information contact Jerry Echols at 352-259-9839.
The Village Bass Tournament will be held on Wednesday March 7th and the banquet will be held March 8th . More information to follow.
The Village Expo will be held on Saturday March 31st and Sunday April 1st . We will need fly tiers and fly casters. Please get with me if you would like to volunteer for the Expo.
We are also looking into opportunities to become involved with several community programs. These include, but are not limited to:
Healing Waters and Wounded Warriors - this is a program for our veterans who have served our country with great cost to themselves. I hope each and every member will contribute to our efforts to help our men and women in arms.
Casting for Recovery - this is a program for cancer survivors. Details and specific opportunities to follow.
Overnight Trips – we are on the lookout for better wading, kayaking and boating areas and are exploring areas such as Fort Myers, Sanibel, Captiva, Pine Island, Jupiter and Stuart. Anyone who has fished these areas before, please contact me.
We are starting to have great turnouts for our fresh water and salt water venues. Those members who have not attended are missing a great opportunity to fish, eat and socialize with your fellow club members.
I realize these are some ambitious tasks we have ahead but with the help of each and every member, I feel confident the service we can provide will come back to us in many folds. Again, I appreciate your vote of confidence in appointing me President and I hope, together, we can make the Tri-County Fly Fishers Organization a stronger and better Club. Tight Lines -- Tom Green
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Wednesday Evening Meeting |
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Pictured are January's Wednesday Evening Meeting speakers Capt, Rick Burns, Capt. Jody Hogan and Dr. Michelle Zielecki. The diverse program covered targeting sheepshead (best fly is a small Clouser retrieved with a jigging action), targeting cobia (best fly is a large white streamer) and photography.
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St. Johns River |
The St. Johns River in January has proved to be very productive for specs, bluegills and striped bass for TCFF members. |
January 12th |
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Four club members had very successful day on the St. Johns River on Thursday, January 12th. Putting their kayaks in under the Highway 46 bridge, Doug Dombek, Dave Ferris, Gary Christie, and Don Jackson paddled to the mouth of the
Econlockhatchee River, where shad in abundance (some to 20 inches!) were holding over about a ½ mile stretch of water. But that was not all; big specs and big redbelly sunfish were there too. Don even caught a striped bass! All caught plenty of fish and had a great time. |
February 12th |
The TCFF Club Freshwater Trip for January went to the Astor portion of the St. Johns River. Two boats and one kayak were launched. Even thought it was a little windy (ten to twenty MPH), fishable waters were found in the Paramore Oxbow in the morning and Blue Creek in the afternoon. Specs, sunfish, and bass were caught. The most productive flies were 56ers and Crazy Charlies. |
January 13th |
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Friday the 13th proved to be a very lucky day. Felix Nieves and Mike Winter guided by Frank Matousek fished the St. Johns River catching shad, bluegills and stripers. Ask Felix or Mike to share the magic fly that caught all these fish. |
January 23rd |
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January 23rd was a good day to be near the St. Johns River by the Highway 46 Bridge for Doug Dombek, Gary Christie, Don Jackson and Dave Ferris. They caught five species of fish with the prize of the day being a 22 inch, 3- 3/4 pound, shad. All totaled, they caught more than 20 shad and many crappies. |
Jack's Notes |
De-bugging Fly Tying Materials:
All Materials should be considered contaminated, no matter what the source.
>> Microwaving will not kill all eggs, larvae or adults.
>> Freezing will adults and larvae, but maybe not eggs.
>> Paradichlorbenzine will kill everything.
>> Naphalene will deter further infestation. |
| For archived Jack's Notes, click here. |
Fly Casting Competition |
| At the end of February, there will be a Fly Casting Competition for distance and accuracy held in Lakeland at the Polk Senior Games. Participants will be competing against others in their age group in ten year increments. For more information either contact George Hintz or visit www.polkseniorgames.org. (For those athletically inclined, there are all sorts of other events to compete.) |
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