Tri-County Fly Fishers -- Pictures

Click on image to enlarge

Pictures for January, 2015 Issue

TCFF Member Marilee Elias went down to visit fellow Member Bob Murray and fish the surf in the Stuart area to do some beach fly fishing for jacks -- she even “hooked” into a couple of spinner sharks, even had one on for over 15 minutes before he sliced through the leader. The bluefish was a nice surprise. Caught fish every day around first light.

On January 22, 12 TCFF members made the trek and met at Kings Bay, Crystal River for a day of kayak fishing. The action was pretty much non-stop with many ladyfish in the 12 to 20 inch range landed and released on the day. Several members also caught sea trout in the 18-20 inch range.
For more pictures, go to the Village Post.

Pictures for December, 2014 Issue

Club Member Marilee Elias went kayak fishing out of the
Crystal River Barge Canal November 8th with the Nature Coast Lady Anglers
(the club in Crystal River). The group caught mostly young redfish and sea trout.
This redfish was caught off a little oyster bar island.

Fly fishing expert Russ Hampton spoke at the November Wednesday Evening Meeting
about his recent trip Brazil to fish the Rio Negro River.
Not only did he cover this excellent fishery from a fisherman's standpoint,
but talked about what to expect when traveling to this remote location.

On the Sebastain River during the week of November 10th, Club Members Joe Majoine
with a jack cravelle (L) and Joe Matousek with a redfish (R) had a good several days fishing.
They caught several jacks which was a lot of fun. All fish were caught on Clousers.

Pictures for November, 2014 Issue

At the October Evening Meeting, Club President Larry Nazzaro
gave a presentation on the very successful trip he and Mike Winter
took to the redfish fishing grounds south of
New Orleans on the Mississippi Delta.

Pictures for October, 2014 Issue

Chris Lyndrup and Richard Goodspeed fished out of Plummers Lodge on
Great Bear Lake, at the Arctic Circle over 4000 miles from Ocala. This lake proved a
fantastic location to throw a fly line to lake trout, graying and arctic char. Most of the
fish caught were in the ten pound range with Richard catching a
sixteen pound beautiful male arctic char.

Twenty-two Members, Visitors and Guests attended the September Fly Tying Expo
at the Wildwood Community Center. Basic fly tying was demonstrated
along with special techniques.

One of the founding fathers of the TCFF, Oscar Feliu, has been named for the
very prestigious IFFF Buz Buszek Memorial Award – an award presented to the
person who has made significant contributions to the arts of fly tying.

Dave Ferris spent week of fishing on the Bighorn River in Montana
with members of the St. Paul Fly Tyers Club. Everybody caught
brown and rainbow trout with the upper limit being 18 inches.

Pictures for August/September, 2014 Issue

Doug Dombek recently traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota to fish with Dave Ferris
at his Summer home on Turtle Lake. The bass were cooperative,
with both men taking multiple fish on a “Flash Dancer” fly.
Then the two traveled to Devils Lake, North Dakota,
home of long-ago Club member John Henry, and fished with him (quite successfully)
for walleyes and northern pike.

Doug Dombek caught this spunky Bass took a small white Gurgler in pre-dawn light
on a slow fishing day at the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area.

Pictures for July, 2014 Issue

At our July evening meeting, Jill Lingard with Paddle Florida spoke on �The Paddle Florida Experience�. It was an awesome presentation and well received by Club members.

TCFF President Larry Nazzaro spent several days over the July 4th holiday visiting friends
and family in Durango, Colorado. Larry and his son Nate were able to get out for a day of
fly fishing on the Pine River. Several browns and rainbows in the 13” to 18” range were caught and landed. Gold Ribbed Hares Ear’s, Copper John’s and Caddis Pupa,
size 16 & 18, were the ticket for an awesome day on the water!

Marilee Elias spent a couple days fishing the Stuart area -- surf fishing in the Atlantic,
wade fishing and boating the Indian River and a little fresh water fishing, too.

On Tuesday July 8th as six brave fly fishermen set out for the Homosassa River
to try something new -- scalloping in the Gulf with Captain Rick Burns.
The scallops of mid-west Gulf Coast are about the size, or a little smaller,
than a tennis ball. They are shades of brown and
lie in the grass flats in about 3 � 8 feet of water.

Pictures for June, 2014 Issue

Club President Larry presented a $100.00 check, 14 fishing rods & reels,
a tackle box and rod stand, to John Pyle, founder of the
Dads For Boys Ranch on Lake Yale.
(June, Eustis)

At the Wednesday evening Meeting, Captain Rick Burns, along with
special guest Captain Michelle Zielecki, spoke about the
art of scalloping in Homosassa.
(June, Wildwood)

Five Club Members went to North Carolina to fish
Oconaluftee River, Natahalia and Tuckasegee Rivers.
(June, North Carolina)

Eleven Club Members showed up to fish and eat bagels and doughnuts at the
Bass and Bagels event at the Villages Bonita Pond. As there were more
doughnuts and bagels consumed than bass caught, this even will
probably be renamed Bagels and Bass!
(June, The Villages)

Not too bad for his first bass of the year, Doug Dombek
caught this really nice bass at a private lake.
It was caught on a muddler minnow using a sink tip line.
(June, Lake County)

Former Thomas & Thomas rod executive and historian Lenny Codella
was the May Guest Speaker and talked about bamboo rod making and the
development of the fly rod and equipment. He also spoke briefly
about fly fishing in Argentina's Patagonia region
(May, Wildwood).

Thirteen Club Members met at The Villages' Bonita Pond for the
May Bass and Bagels get together. Amongst good conversation and eating
bagels and doughnuts and drinking coffee, some fishing was done .
(One small bluegill and two bass were caught.)
(May, The Villages)

Twelve members of the Club attended the fly casting
and fly tying program at the Dads For Boys Ranch.
(April, Umitilla)

TCFF President Larry Nazzaro made one of his annual trout fishing trips with his sons to his home state of Colorado and fished the Fraser River in Fraser, CO.
(April, Colorado)

Davey Ferris and Don Jackson fished Ozello and Davey
caught a redfish and a Spanish mackerel.
(April, Ozello)

Fishing with Member Bob Murray, Dick Goodspeed displays a
hefty Southern Flounder caught on a recent trip to the Indian River.
(April, Stuart, FL)

April Evening Meeting Guest Speaker Andrei Stroman, Pro Staff member from Kayak Charters, Cape Coral, gave an informative presentation about kayak fishing in SW Florida.
(April, Wildwood)

Five Club Members and their spouses fished the Pacific at the Johnson Fishing Lodge targeting bonefish, permit and various reef fish. (The bottom left picture is what you get when a bonefish jumps out of your hands before the shutter is snapped!)
(April, Belize)

The first day of the March The Villages' Outdoor Expo pretty much got rained out,
but nice weather the following day saved the event. Eight members participated that
Sunday tying flies and demonstrating fly casting.
(March, The Villages)

Pictures for April/May, 2014, Issue

Fishing the dock lights, Member Bob Murray had
great success catching snook and spotted sea trout.
(March, Stuart)

TCFF President Larry Nazzaro and Club Member Lou Thomas
kayak fished the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area
catching black bass and copperhead bluegills.
(March, Clermont)

Member Howard Eighmey caught and released
no less than 14 trout with the largest being a 24-1/2" rainbow.
(October, Cherokee NC)

TCFF members Doug Dombek, Davey Ferris, Chris Lyndrup, Don Jackson,
Gary Christie and Mike Benrud fished the St. Johns River catching
shad, bass, and pan fish.
(February, Sanford)

At the March evening meeting, Maryann Krisovitch, Education Contractor for the
Lake County Water Authority, provided Water Resource Jeopardy,
a fun and entertaining interactive program regarding our state water resources.
(March, Wildwood)

Pictures for March, 2014, issue

Pictured above are the flies that will be handed out to the
participants of the Dave Ferris' 2014 Annual Fly Swap.
(March, Leesburg)

About twenty TCFF Members made the trek to Stuart, Florida, for the
Club Saltwater Trip. Waders, kayakers and one boat fished the Indian River.
Fish were caught and around the dinner table, some great stories were told.
(March, Stuart)

Bob Heinbach caught the gag grouper off Emerson Point on a crab fly.
(January, Tampa Bay)

Chris Lyndrup clutches a nice Lady Fish caught on his
maiden kayak voyage to King’s Bay.
(January, Crystal River)

Don Jackson caught this nice red fish on the Homosassa River.
(January, Homosassa)

2014-2015 Club Officers: Left to Right: Secretary Joe Majione,
President Larry Nazzaro, Vice President Bob Heinbach,
Treasurer, Chris Lyndrup.
(January, Leesburg)

John Green caught this bluefish wading the flats of Eleuthra.
(January, Bahamas)

Bob Heinbach fished Tampa Bay near the mouth of the Manatee River and
Emerson Point. Along with Spanish Mackerel, gag grouper and
spotted sea trout were caught along with a sea gull.
(December, Tampa)

Tom Green, Jim Lovegrove, and Jerry Lester fished the mouth of the Crystal River
(see video) December 5th. Jim is shown fly fishing and actually
catching some ladyfish at the end of the video. One of those days where you say,
"It was great being on the water."

Pictured also is Jerry all decked out in his kayak with multiple cameras --
he has become the Club's technical guru of taking videos for YouTube and
linking GPS data with Google Earth imagery.
(December, Crystal River)

At the December 18th Evening Meeting, guest speaker Homosassa Captain Rick Burns
spoke about fly fishing Florida's central Gulf Coast.

Before the meeting, Larry Nazzaro demonstrated the tying of a shrimp imitation fly.
Captain Burns asked him for a couple of his shrimp flies that he tied earlier in the evening.
He wanted to "field test" the flies as he had a fishing charter the next day.
He reported to Larry the next afternoon, "three casts, two mangrove snappers;
five casts, two ladyfish" and 30 minutes later, a snook! That was a successful field test!
(December, Wildwood)

At the November Evening Meeting, Member Bob Heinbach presented a film on techniques
used by spincasters and fly fishers to catch largemouth bass.
Pictured are Larry Nazzaro tying flies and
Frank Matousek giving an impromptu fly casting lesson to a visitor.
(November, Wildwood)

TCFF Member Dick Sisolak spent part of November in North Carolina and caught
some nice brookies and rainbows. On the Cherokee, he caught mostly rainbows on nymphs
and on the Pigeon, he caught mostly browns with a white wulff with an emerger.
(North Carolina, November)

For the October Saltwater Fishing Trip, Tom Green, Chris Lyndrup,
Steve Anderson, Frank Matousek, and Bob Heinbach fished the
Fort Island Gulf Beach area at the mouth of the Crystal River.
Tom and Steve have new Hobie Mirage Outback Fisherman kayaks
which they put to good use.
(October, Crystal River)

The October Evening Meeting guest speaker was kayak fishing guide and
Florida native Tony Fekete. His topics was kayak fishing in the
Ocala National Forest covering the where, when, and how to fish the lakes.
He also demonstrated the proper techniques of fishing from a kayak.
(October, Wildwood)

Lifetime florida resident and Dade City fly shop owner Jim Swann Spoke
at the September Wednesday Evening Meeting. the main topics of discussion
was proper fly casting technique and fishing on the Withlacoochee River.
(September, Wildwood)

Though fishing was slow in August, TCFF Member Dave Sisolak
caught this 21 inch trout.
(August, Montana)

TCFF Member Dave Ferris spent part of August in the Northwest Territories and landed all three species fish with sufficient size to meet all three trophy requirements (northern pike, lake trout and arctic grayling (no picture)). The pike was caught on a fly he had tied for Belize tarpon and the lake trout was caught on a wet fly.
(August, Canada)

Gary Cristie had a great day fishing the Big Horn River. He landed over twenty fish,
(three being over 20"). They were mostly brown trout & a few rainbows -- the largest rainbow hooked, he was unable to land. The fish were all on a size 22 midge pinkie.
(July, Montana)

Joe Manjoine caught this nice bass on a small orange foam fly resembling a cricket.
(July, Clermont Chain Of Lakes)

The second week of July proved to be a great time to fish Lake Istokpoga,
about 40 miles northwest of Lake Okeechobee, for Joe Manjoine and Frank Matousek.
They landed over fifty bluegills from 3/4 to 1-1/2 pounds. All fish were caught on
top water foam poppers.
(July, Lake Istokpoga)

At the July Wednesday Evening Meeting, TCFF Member Bob Heinbach
talked about the techniques he uses fishing small ponds. He favors sub-surface flies
and taking advantage of the scoured out areas caused by storm drain culverts.

Dave Ferris and his fishing partners had a good day on Turtle Lake. They had quite a
few doubles but no triples. The lake gave up more that 30 bass (both small and largemouth bass).
The flies that were most productive were the "Flash Dancer" and
Ed Rapisardi's "Floating Frog Fly", all on floating lines. Three of us had a great time.

Shown are Hans Jung and Dave holding a double.
(July, Minnesota)

On June 1st, TCFF members participated in the Florida Youth Expo at the
Ocala Conservation Center teaching fly casting and fly tying. The kids were young,
but very eager to learn casting and tying. Several young girls kept us there until the end of the day.
Chris and Larry are shown in the lower left picture with the rainbow pattern tied by one of the girls.
Members participating in this event were very impressed at how quickly these young kids (6-10 yrs) learned to cast a nice loop up to 30 feet! Fun was had by all!
(June, Ocala)

The June guest speaker was Biologist Patrick Delaney from Florida Fish and
Wildlife and he talked about alligators.
He even had a two-foot live gator with him.
(June, Wildwood)

Dave Ferris fishes Turtle Lake, Shoreview, MN, right outside his door. He starts his day with coffee and the paper with one eye looking out the window at the beach out front. When there is any action near the shore I head out with the 10 wt rod already loaded for carp. Pictured are carp
he caught size 10 Prince Nymph on one of his luckier days.
(June, Shoreview, MN)

During the week of May 17 - 24, thirteen members of the Tri-County Fly Fishers visited
Cherokee, NC in the Great Smokey Mountains. They fished the Pigeon, Nantahala and
Ocanaluftee Rivers. The Ocanaluftee River flows through the Cherokee Indian Reservation and was just outside the cabins used by the club members. The highlight of the fishing trip was a successful guided trip on the Tuckasegee River for rainbow, brown and brook trout.
(May, North Carolina)

Renown fly casting instructor and author Jon Cave gave a
four hour casting clinic at the April Evening Meeting
which was attended by 35 Members and guests. At the end of the clinic,
he spoke about fishing hte upper St. Johns River south of Lake Monroe.
(April, Oxford)

Lou Thomas caught this 38 pound salmon in on the
Salmon River, Pulaski, New York
on a 9 wt fly rod with a 17 pound tippet.

About 50 Members, spouses and guests attended
the Annual club Picnic. Along with the good food prepared by the
Club's cook staff, attendees participated in casting and golf competitions.
(April, Tavares)

John's Lake produce not only this bass but some really nice bluegills in
the 9-1/2 to 10 inch range. This bass and others were caught on
a small gurgler foam fly, color white, size 8. Most of the large bluegills
were taken on a small softhackle bead head.
(April, John's Lake)

Bob Heinbach was fishing a secret location in The Villages with a secret fly
when he caught this really nice not-so-secret bass.
Contact him to see if you can get more information.
(April, The Villages)

Adam Miller, the Coastal Conservation Association Regional Director
for the Lake county area spoke at the Breakfast Meeting.
(April, Leesburg)

Eleven TCFF Members went to the Men For Boys Ranch on
Lake Yale to teach boys (and one girl and two mothers) how to tie flies and
cast a fly rod. The highlight of the event was watching the youngsters zip lining into the lake!
(March, Umatilla)

The March Guest Speaker was author Luc Desjarlais who spoke on
fly fishing for baby and juvenile tarpon around the Mosquito Lagoon.
He also spoke about shad fishing the upper St. Johns River.
Also pictured is Felix Nieves working with a
potential fly fisher at the Fly Casting Clinic.
(March, Oxford)

Twelve TCFF members participated in the 2013 Outdoor Expo
demonstrating fly tying and fly casting.
(February, The Villages)

Eleven TCFF Members participated in the Wild Turkey Federation 's JAKES
event providing fly tying and fly casting instruction to about 80 youths. The JAKES program
introduces young people to the outdoors -- hunting, fishing and camping.
(February, Ocala)

The �Four Amigos� have been Kayak fishing on Thursdays for two years now. In times of cold weather, they have been concentrating their efforts on King's Bay in Crystal River. It seems that when the Gulf cools down in cold weather, the fish run up the rivers to the warm water of Florida's springs.
(February, Crystal River)

TCFF Member Bob Heinbach fly fished Ponciana Pond for about thirty minutes
and caught something like 25 bass and bluegills. After catching so many small fish,
he tried a bigger streamer, letting it sink deep and retrieving slowly with an
occasional twitch with the result being the bass pictured.
(February, The Villages)

TCFF Member Don Jackson caught several false albacore fishing from
his boat off Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Fishing in this area for false albacore |
can be done from boat or wading.
(November, North Carolina)

Pictured are some of the flies that are going to be in the Fly Swap Raffle. One of the flies in this package is responsible for the catching of a seventeen inch crappie, five pound bass and numerous other fish. Added to the package are several donated flies are Master Tyer Don Latner's spun and stacked deer hair donated by Kugie. To hold the flies, a double-sided fly box in included.

Environmental Consultant Mayrann Kristovitch was the Guest Speaker at the
January Evening Meeting. She spoke on the importance of native aquatic and
shoreline plants in preserving the health of the area's fisheries
and the problems with invasive species.
(February, Oxford)

TCFF Member Dave Ferris caught this nearly five pound bass on a fly called
Dave's Crappie Killer. A couple of years ago Gary Christie caught a 17 inch Crappie
on this same fly pattern. (Dave has donated flies tied to this pattern for the Fly Swap.)
(February, Lake Arnold)

TCFF Members Bob Heinbach and Randy DiSanto fished with father & son visitors
to the area. They caught a number of blue gills and a few 6-8" bass.
(February, The Villages)

Pictured is TCFF Member Dave Ferris tying a variety of fresh water
flies and sharing his fly fishing experiences at the Wednesday evening Meeting.
(12/19, Oxford)

TCFF Members Richard Dodd and Jerry Lester fly fished Lake Miona from kayaks.
They fished from 10:00am to 3:00 pm and caught six small bass and one crappie.
For a short video of the fishing trip, click here.
(12/5, Lake Miona)

About 34 TCFF members, spouses and guests attended the
Annual Christmas Dinner at Taverna Red Restaurant.
(12/2, Summerfield)

TCFF Member Ed Rapisardi visited friend of the club and
fly shop owner, Jim Swann. As a Florida native, Jim is one of the most knowledgeable
men around regarding fly fishing Florida waters.
(November, Dade City)

TCFF Member Jerry Lester fished the Crystal River area and caught a
15 inch redfish at his now not so secret spot across
from the power plant: N28 55 19.5; W82 41 09.3.
The video of the trip is Here.
(11/27, Crystal River)

TCFF Member Larry Nazzaro caught this Redfish off of Longboat Key west of Sarasota Saturday, November 24th. The fish weighed 6.5 lb and was 24” long. Guided trip with Capt. Jeremy Lee, Lee Side Fishing Charters.
(11/24, Sarasota)

The November Evening Meeting guest speaker was Jim Johnson, who owns and operates the Naknek River Camp on Bristol Bay, AK, spoke about fishing Bristol Bay right next to the Bering Sea. He also shared his experience fishing saltwater in Belize.
(11/21, Oxford)

The October Wednesday Evening Meeting was all about leaders -- hand tied, tapered and furled -- along with monthly fly tying and casting clinics.
(10/3, Oxford)

Breakfast Meeting Fly Casting Clinic.
(10/5, Leesburg)

Club Saltwater Fishing Trip to Fort Island Gulf Beach.
(9/27, Crystal River)

TCFF Members Frank Matousek and Felix Nievez fished the Choctawhatchee Bay
targeting reds and flounders but only hooked into two small flounders and
spotted two of the largest reds that they had ever seen. They did land two 18� sea trout
and a mess of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, blowfish and pinfish.
(9/24-9/30, Destin)

Pictured is TCFF Member Dave Ferris with a small mouth bass caught on one of
Don Latner's Dahlberg Divers while canoeing with three others on the upper St Croix River.
Also caught on flies were crappies (specks) and northern pike.
(September, Minnesota)

At the August Evening Meeting, along with a fly tying demonstration and
regular meeting topic, Felix Nieves presented to Jim Leech, one of the original organizers
of the Club, a plaque in appreciation of his years of service to the club.
(8/15, Oxford)

Joe Manjoine spent three great days with his two oldest sons fishing on
the North Platte River. They floated the section of the river
about 14 miles outside of Casper.
(8/16, Wyoming)

Two bass over 20 inches were landed plus this big bass caught by
Frank Matousek on Johns Lake . The fly of the day was Felix Nieves' 56er pattern.
(8/16, Leesburg)

Even with the heat and a little bit of wind, TCFF Member Dick Sisolak
was able to catch this redfish off 'Chaz' Point.
(7/23, Homosassa)

Captain Chephus Christian was the July guest speaker for the
Wednesday evening Meeting. He spoke about his thirty foot catamaran
specially set up for deep water charter fishing out of Homosassa.
(7/18, Oxford)

Homosassa guide Captain Rich Burns was the guest speaker at the
July Evening Meeting. He spoke about a new style of guide boat
being used in the Gulf and about coastal fishing.
(6/20, Oxford)

With the recent rains, the bass are hitting flies in the ponds and lakes of
The Villages. For example, TCFF Member Diana Anderson caught
this largemouth 7:00pm on a TFO 2wt rod, two pound tippet
and a #16 dry fly.
(6/16, The Villages)

Pictured is Felix Nieves (right) presenting a plaque to
longtime TCFF member Don Latner for his many years as a
contributor to the fly fishing community and making him a
Life Member of the club. He is an FFF Master Tyer specializing spinning
deer hair which he has taught to many fly fishermen.
(6/6, Leesburg)

May Evening Meeting -- Left, fly tying demonstration was by Larry Nazarro
and, right, tournament bass fisherman and Mosquito Lagoon guide Captain Mike Mann
was the guest speaker for the Evening Meeting . He talked about his
experiences guiding and catching trout, redfish and snook.
(5/16, Oxford)

Here is one of the 3 trout Mike Winter caught on the Davidson River in NC
on the Club's May North Carolina trip on a 5x tippet and
gridle bug fly, black chenille body with rubber legs.
(5/17-20, North Carolina)

Club Members George Shillington, Doug Dombek and Larry Nazarro put kayaks
into Stock Lake two consecutive Saturdays at the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area
on consecutive Saturdays. The lake is loaded with small bass and decent sized bluegills.
(5/12 and 5/19,Clermont)

Seven members of the TCFF met at the Circle C Hunt Club to participate in the
National Wild Turkey Federation's Women In The Wild program to introduce
women to various aspects of the outdoor experience -- trap shooting, fishing,
outdoor cooking, etc.
(4/21, Groveland)

Bob Heinbach continues his catching streak this month in the ponds and lakes of The Villages. Immediately after catching a smaller bass, he hooked this twenty-incher which
was landed after three spactacular jumps on April 19th. The rat's nest of fishing line in
the third photo is what came in with the fish.
(4/19, The Villages)

These is one of five trout Dick Sisolak caught betweent 19 and 21 inches fishing the
Cherokee Reservation. He also fished the Nantahala, West Fork, and the Tuckasage.
Dry flys didn't work very well this trip, but nymphs got the job done. (The dries attracted
the fish but they would not eat.) He had the best luck using large stone flies with a midge dropper.
(4/8-14, North Carolina)

Steve Lusen pent the first weekend of April fishing in Clarksville, Ga. with friends. They were at Blackhawk Outfitters on the Soque River and fished with a guide on private section of the river.
Only five of us were there both days. Fishing was great and the catching was better.
The above pictures were indicative of many of the fish caught.
(4/7&8, Georgia)

Dick sisolak caught this beauty as part of a
sea trout, redfish-snook grand slam along with several mackrel.
(4/2, Crystal River)

Ten members of the TCFF participated in this year's The Villages Outdoor Expo
providing fly casting and tying instruction.
(3/31&4/1, The Villages)

The Wednesday Evening Meeting speaker was Dr. Michelle Zielecki
who spoke on taking quality outdoor pictures with the
inexpensive cameras fishermen use in their boats.
(3/21/Oxford)

The month of March has been very good to TCFF Member Bob Heinbach fishing in a pond in The Villages. In the top picture, he is holding a bass caught March 19th and, in the lower, another one caught March 25th. Both were caught on his version of a cross between a stone fly and dragon fly nymph (see photo in the Photo Album) on a #8 Mustad hook using a 12 foot tapered fluorocarbon leader with a 2x tippet. (He lost a much bigger fish when using a 4x tippet!)

At the February Wednesday evening Meeting, Frank Matousek demonstrates fly tying techniques
and March guest speaker and author Luc Desjarlais spoke about fishing for shad during
their annual spawning run in the upper St. Johns River.
(2/15, Oxford)

Pictured is Gary Christie and his feathered fishing fans. Doug Dombeck, Davey Ferris,
Gary Christie and John Jackson all caught ladyfish and a few trout. They had to reel
in a few pelicans too - to get our flies and fish back.
(2/1, Kings Bay)

About twelve TCFF members volunteered to introduce fly fishing
to teenagers in the Wild Turkey Federation JAKES Program at the
Ocala Conservation Center in the Ocala national Forest.
(2/1, Silver Springs)

Fly fishing near the St. Johns River by the Highway 46 Bridge, Doug Dombek,
Gary Christie, Don Jackson and Dave Ferris 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.
(1/23, St. Johns River)

Wednesday Evening Meeting -- Club secretary Joe Manjoine tying flies and
Guest speakers Capt. Rick Burns, Capt. Jody Hogan and Dr. Michelle Zielecki.
(1/18, Oxford)

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.
(1/13, St. Johns River)

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!
(1/12. St. Johns River)

Newly installed President of the TCFF, Tom Green,
leads his first Breakfast Meeting.
(1/4, Oxford)

Bill Finley of the Oak Orchard Canoe and Kayak Experts was the guest speaker
at the Wednesday evening meeting. Along with bringing in six kayaks and accessories,
he talked about different styles of kayaks and their pros and cons.
(12/21, Oxford)

Lunchtime at the monthly freshwater Club fly fishing trip.
(12/15, Lake Pannasoffkee)

Frank Matousek and Joe Manjoine fished the St. Johns River and caught specs
the size of dinner platters. the fly of choice was bright colored with lead eyes,
green tail, gold body with yellow and red hair for a wing, tied in size 6 and 8.
(12/13, St. Johns River)

About fifty members and guests attended the
Annual TCFF Christmas Party.
(12/11, The Villages)

The nine TCFF Members who attended the Renzetti Fly Fishing and
Rod Building Fair were treated to a wide variety of demonstrations in fly casting,
fly tying and rod building along with numerous fly fishing oriented vendors.
(12/3, Titusville)

Fly casting school owner, guide, and writer, widely respected fly fisherman
Jon Cave treated attendees to the November Wednesday Evening Meeting
to an hour and a half fly casting clinic followed by a presentation on the theory
and practice of fly casting.
(11/15, Oxford)

Eleven Members showed up for the November Club Fresh Water Fishing Trip to
Lake Panasoffkee. The weather was beautiful and the fishing was good.
Felix Nieves and Frank Matousek landed about 15 fish each.
Felix landed some nice bass and a couple of large bluegills.
(11/10, Lake Panasoffkee)

Pictured are some of the catch from the November Club Saltwater Fishing Trip to
Picnic Island. Along with these fish, several other redfish and a few spotted sea trout
were caught. Also caught were too many to count blowfish which
tore up the feathers on the flies.
(11/15, Tampa Bay)

Due to forecasts of bad weather (which proved not to be true) , a lot of members
signed up of the Bahia Honda Fishing Trip backed out, but those that did go,
all caught fish. Pictured is Member David Smith with a small grouper. A wide
variety of fish were caught: jack crevalle, barracuda, mangrove snapper, spanish mackerel
and many others. Each person had many shots at tarpon but they just wouldn't take the fly.
(10/30-11/3, Florida Keys)

Pictures from the Picnic Island Club fishing trip at Picnic Island in Tampa Bay.
Everyone had a field day, each person catching multiple trout, lady fish, and other
species. The snook was the only one landed that day.
Bait fish were numerous, contributing to the action.
(10/27, Tampa)

The photo above is looking over the shoulder of
TCFF Member Marilee Elias watching Enrico Puglisi
tying his famous shrimp pattern.
(10/22, Kissimmee)

The morning after the Wednesday Evening Meeting on the subject of Redfish (see below),
TCFF Member Larry Jordan went out with Dick Sisolak on Mason Creek,
braving windy weather, hoping to use their newfound knowledge of catching redfish
and ended up catching this 35 inch long snook.
(10/20, Homosassa)

At the Evening Meeting, Homosassa Captain William Toney discussed sight
fishing for redfish along the central Gulf Coast. Lots of tips were given as to what flies to use, presentaton of the flies and areas where to fish.
(TCFF Member Jerry Lester made a short video
of the meeting and can be seen here.)
(10/19, Oxford)

At teh Breakfast Meeting, Ed Rapisardi is demonstrating
how to cast with only the tip half of the fly rod.
(10/5, Leesburg)

At the Wednesday evening Meeting, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
fish biologist Eric 'Bubba" Thomas spoke about the FWC's role in preserving
Florida's fisheries, the status of local lakes and, specifically, which lakes have been
very productive to sport fishermen.
(9/21, Oxford)

In the middle of September, several TCFF Members went on a Club Fishing Trip to Arkansas.
They fished Bullshoals, Norfork, Greers Ferry, Beaver and also fished Bull Shoals Lake.
Everyone caught fish every day. Stripped bass, walleye and some very large bluegills
were caught on Bull Shoals Lake by Frank Matousek and Joe Manjoine.
They caught 20 to 50 fish a day. Many trout averaged around 15" to
one over 18" caught by Joe Manjoine.
(9/11-9/17, Arkansas)

TCFF member Jim Lovegrove got to witness and fish the salmon run from
Lake Ontario up the Bowmanville river. Lots of them are being
caught in the 20 to 35 pound range.

Marilee Elias displays a nice Jack Crevalle caught
on a fishing trip to the Indian River.
(August, Ft. Pierce)

Though not having graduated to fly fishing, Jim Love Grove is teaching his granddaughters
to fish and now that is all they want to do when he visits.
(August/Peterborough, Ontario. Canada)

Wednesday Evening Meeting -- Casting Clinic, Marilee Elias speaking about her
redfish catch and Guest Speaker Captain Mike Baker of Crappie Fisherman's Guide Service
discussing all aspects of catching crappie year round.
(8/17, Oxford)

Marilee Elias and Bob Murray went out on the fishing charter with Captain Rick Burns.
Marilee caught a 27� and a 20" redfish and Bob caught a couple of sea trout.
(August 12, Ozello)

Barry Kent with a sample of the redfish he has been catching
at his new home in Panama City.
(August, Florida Panhandle)

TCFF President Frank Matousek and Treasurer Warren Rasmussen
address the Club at the breakfast Meeting.
(8/3, Leesburg)

Dave Ferris fished the Mississippi River with the St Paul Fly Tyers and
landed a few Small Mouths caught mostly on a bead head Woolly Bugger.
(8/7, Minnesota)

TCFF Member Dick Sisolak fished the Henrys Fork and the Madison River. Pictured is
Dick's guide on the Henrys Fork with his 19 inch rainbow. He lost several much bigger fish. As a surprise, an osprey took a trout right off the hook as he was being brought to the boat.
(First week of August, Idaho & Montana)

Wednesday Evening Meeting:
(Top) TCFF Members Jack Neely demonstrating fly tying and
Ed Rapisardi at the Fly Casting Clinic.
(Bottom) Guest Speaker Captain Frank Catinois, the Cortland Representative for Florida
and a licensed charter captain, spoke on three different topics: taking the mystery our of fly line selection, fishing the three different fisheries in the Mosquito Lagoon and bonefishing
around the South Caicos Island in the Bahamas. (7/20, Oxford)

TCFF Member Doug Dombek caught this nice bass at Fiddler’s Pond
on a saltwater popper.
(6.24, Mount Dora)

June Wednesday Evening Meeting -- friend of the Tri-County fly fishers, Florida native and
fly shop owner Jim Swann, talked about on bass and bluegills --
habits, habitat and fishing techniques.
(6/15, Oxford)

TCFF Member Dick Sisolak caught this 19-inch bass along with a few bluegills
while fishing the lake behind his house on a 4 wt rod using
a chartreuse and green foam fly .
(6/12, Inverness)

With high air and water temperatures in the middle of the day,
TCFF Member Joe Manjoine landed this nice bass. He and his boatmate caught
about 12 or 15 bass like this on floating flies. Two larger fish were lost.
(6/7, Clermont Chain of Lakes)

While fishing the Muskegon River,TCFF Member
Oscar Feliu caught this ten pound suckerfish on a
Cadis Larvae. For a video, click
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=latYzDW80LQ
(6/7, Michigan)

Doug Dombek rescued this bird floundering in the water a half mile off shore.
(5/25, Fort Island Gulf Beach)

Seven TCFF members drove to Western North Carolina to fly fish for trout --
browns, rainbows, and brookies. What was caught during the trip was bass, bluegill,
suckers, red-eye bass, and, of course, the three varieties of trout. Everyone on the trip caught fish.
(5/22-5/29, Western North Carolina)

Amongst motorcycles, radio controlled boats, archery, skeet shooting and such activities,
seven TCFF members demonstrated fly casting techniques at May's The Villages Outdoor Expo.
(5/21, The Villages)

May's Wednesday Evening Meeting Featured speaker was Gulf Coast Guide Captain Rich Burns introducing Club members to the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida.
For more information about the organization or to join up, click here.
(5/18, Oxford)

TCFF Member Jack Neely was pretty much a one-man show at the Evening Meeting
first tying saltwater streamers at the fly tying session and then hosting a
knot tying session and round table discussion of fly fishing.
(4/20, Oxford)

Ten TCFF Members participated in the first annual Dads For Boys
event where about twenty boys were exposed to the
various aspects of fly fishing.
(4/16, Umatilla)

This is the Class Picture of the instructors and students for the
2011 Dave Ferris Fly Fishing Clinic.
(4/12, Oxford)

On April 5th, six TCFF Members made the trek to the Miami Canals to fish for peacock bass, largemouth bass, mayan ciclids,oscars and a variety of other species. Large mouth bass
and bluegills were caught at a rate of at least 20 fish per man per hour. The bass
were about eight inches to about sixteen inches with and occasional large one being landed.
(4/5, South Florida)

About 45 Members, significant others and guests braved threats of rain
which, gratefully, did not materialize, for the Club's Annual Picnic
last month at Lake Miona Park. Bratwursts and hamburgers with all the
trimmings were had along with good conversation and games.
(3/30, Lake Miona)

TCFF Members Frank Matousek, Ed Rapisardi, Bob Strunc,
Felix Nieves and George Hintz were at the Black Bear Festival giving fly casting lessons.
(3/26, Umatilla)

The Villages Bass Fishing Tournament -- the TCFF participated, both as competitors in the
Fly Rod Division and as giving fly casting lessons. Here are Felix Nieves and
Ron Gryn fishing the Lake Miramar (the lake behind the Hacienda Recreation Center)
(3/23, The Villages)

Evening Meeting -- Captain Rick Burns gave presentation on fishing in Florida for bluegills and bass. He will be followed by Len Codella and Bernard Ramanauskas (pictured) giving a presentation about their recent fishing adventure in the Argentine.
(3/16, Oxford)

Breakfast Meeting Fly Casting Clinic.
(3/2, Oxford)

Daina Anderson with a crab pattern fly she tied the night before
and what she caught of it.
(1/19, Picnic Island (Tampa Bay))

Taking advantage of the cooler Gulf waters pushing the ladyfish into Kings Bay, TCFF Members Doug Dombek (pictured), Gray Christie, Dave Ferris and new Member Don Jackson went out in kayaks to try their luck. (On his first saltwater outing in Florida, Don caught his first sea trout and sail catfish. He also had a close encounter with a few curious manatees.)
(2/17, Kings Bay)

Wednesday evening Meeting --
(Top) Fly casting clinic and Fly tying demonstration.
(Bottom) Annual Outdoor Equipment Swap Meet.
(2/16, Oxford)

Pictured are the files donated to the Club from
Dave Ferris' Fly Swap to be raffled off at the
March 2nd Breakfast Meeting.

Doug Dombek with a nice shad caught on the St. Johns.
(1/27, St. Johns River)

Gary Christie and Doug Dombek fished King’s Bay in Crystal River and
caught several ladyfish (and missed or lost many more)
along with three large sail catfish.
(2/3, Crystal River)

Nine TCFF Members were kept busy with teaching fly casting and fly tying
at the National Wild Turkey Federation JAKES program
event at the Ocala Conservation Center.
(2/5, Ocala National Forest)

February Breakfast Meeting -- (L to R) Treasurer Warren Rasmussen giving his monthly report, Bill Kugelman addressing the membership about the status of The Villages Outdoor Expo.
(2/2, Leesburg)

(L)Joe Manjoine and (R)Frank Matousek landed numerous specks and shad
while fishing on the St. Johns River while fighting the wind all day and
had to quit because if impending rain.
(1/25, St. Johns River)

(L) Fly casting clinic before the Evening Meeting. (C and R) Guest Speaker John Kumiski
covered the changes that take place during an angler's year and
how to take advantages of the fishing opportunities that the season's changing brings.
(1/19, Oxford)