Friends, Flies and Fishing

Dateline: April 24th (Sat)
Went Fishing w/ Dr. Lee (FRC Member) his son Zack, my son Blake and a friend Jay.
Blake and I set up with a sinking line, short leader and Olive Sculpin w/ a mono weed guard.
The wind was blowing but switched directions constantly so we did not consistently have the same direction of drift.

In about 45 minutes we had had 9 hits, landing 5 including one brute of a brown who had put a kill shot on the Sculpin and swallowed it whole. Using a curved pair of hemostats was able to carefully remove the hook with minimal trauma to "big brown". Just a reminder, if you are not able to retrieve the fly w/o undo trauma; then cut the leader and tie on a new fly.

Dr. Lee, Jay & Zack were doing just about the same using slightly different tactics.

Proceeded to walk the lake with Blake, he was most content throwing rocks into the water - so much for sneaking up on fish ;-). I had forgotten his kite which normally buys me 1-2 hours more on the pond. Noted that water was comming in on the NE corner of the pond and excess water was exiting out of the SW corner into the irrigation ditch. At the NE (High Side) of the pond we observed several pairs of "trident" subs - with their heads up towards the water flowing in - no not a giant land locked trout. These are the grass carp put in 5(?) years ago to help with the weed control problems. I estimated there numbers to be about 20 still alive; with no stocking records from that time - verbally I remember being told we originally received 50. If you do hook up into one of these, and are luck enough to land it - post a picture for all to see.

Quick reminder that Dr. Merrill and his Boy Scout Troop is going in next week for their service project. They are going to start the mechanical weed eradication process for the club.

Also welcome to the FRC 3 new members Jay, Kevin and Derald. Remember to post on the Blog and fill out the fishing reports in the cabin (no longer kept in the box outside).

Tight Lines,
Randy :-)

FRC recieves Triploid Bows 4/2/10

Good morning,

Troutlodge planted triploid rainbows on Friday 4/2/10 into our FRC Pond.

All reports have the pond fishing superb during our early season, and this new class of rookies will provide even greater opportunities.

Remember to play the trout fast & release them slow to ensure the greatest survival rate.

Tight Lines,
Randy :-)
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FRC 2010 Dues & Update

Good Afternoon FRC Members and Guests,

Everyone should have received an email from me last week regarding the 2010 Season for the FRC. Thank you to those members both new & old who have sent in their 2010 dues already. If you haven't please remit your dues as soon as possible.

I have fished the pond twice: once in late February and once in mid March - both days were spectacular with the day in March producing 51 fish for myself and two guests (and I didn't fish that hard). With the mild winter the Pond is in mid-season form already, unfortunately so are the weeds. More on weeds later.

Had an email report that the pond fished well yesterday (3/23) with drys targeting cruisers and risers from both a float tube and shore.

Remember to fill out the fishing reports after you are done so that we can help to make this a better fishery.

Will be organizing a work party soon to remove Weeds mechanically, in addition Drs. Tom & Rob Merrill will be leading in a Scout Party to help take care of several projects including re-floating and re-anchoring the raft that is high sided on the SE side of the Pond.

To that end we are going to be investing in weed removal tools shortly, with mechanical weed removal it is a all hands on deck type operation and I will try to make it a fun event for all. Perhaps a BBQ at the pond?

Back to Braces on My Patient's faces...

Tight Lines Everyone and Rip Some Lips,
Randy :-)

March 16, 2010

Ninety minutes on the water yesterday afternoon for seven nice rainbows. Water temp 46 degrees. Purple egg sucking leech, 6mm peach colored bead pegged with a toothpick 1-inch above hook, and prince nymph were successful. Wind came up strong the last half hour I was there (5:30-6:00)

Rob Merrill

FRC Renewal for 2010

I will be sending out an email to all of the members of the club for 2010 renewal. I would love to hear feedback from everyone who fished the pond, even if only once.

Several comments that I have heard were with regards to stocking, weeds, porta-potty, possible pond improvements, possible facility improvements and use of the facilities.

We will continue to manage this fishery to make it the premier catch & release fishery that is available to private individuals in this state. But there is a delicate balance that we need to walk to keep exclusivity that allows a quality fishery while still allowing the FRC the financial flexibility to eventually embark up some of the improvements that are listed above.

I hope that the Holidays & New Year have treated everyone well. While technically still open, the FRC pond should be much harder to access without an auger, hut and some knowledge of how to ice fish. If anyone has this skill set then please post stories of their success.

Until we meet on the water...

Tight Lines,

Randy :-)

ps The Fly Fishing Show that normally occurs in February has been postponed for 2010.

October - Fall Report

Updated and added on 1.3.10

OK, so here are a picture & video from my Son's clinic on how to fish for trout with his $19.95 Spiderman rod & reel. Another big thanks to Dr. Lee who netted Blake's fish while I was taking these pictures.

Weather was horrible in Seattle, but met at the New Creekside Angler (it has moved about two blocks from where it used to be) early in the morning to head across the pass. Unfortunately Blake, who normally travels well didn't so we had to stop in Easton when he got sick.

It was a blessing in disguise. The before mentioned bad weather passed while we fed Blake pancakes & milk. When we finally hit the pond it was a measure of technology vs. simplicity.

Blake had a 3' Shakespeare Spider man rod w/ integrated Zebco type closed faced rod w/ a casting float and choronomid suspended under it. Dom & I had both intermediate and floating rigs. The final totals were Blake 11 to his fly w/ 7 landed (and one really big smile), Dom landed two (even after he changed to the same fly) and I was so busy helping Blake I was happy to get several hits. It was interesting to note how quickly a 3 1/2 year old can shake car sickness when he catches a lot of trout!

Also, a note was left by our former Biologist Dick Thompson; he has moved to Yakima and took his green boat when he left (so no, it has not been stolen).

Tight Lines,
Randy :-)

FRC POND OPENS 9.11.09

The pond is now at or below 65 degrees at the surface. So while the kids are back at school, the adults should be out at he pond...

Catch a lot, play them fast, revive them completely before releasing & try to minimize handling of the fish if at all possible (at least until it gets a little cooler). Good Luck to all, and remember to post those fishing reports!

Tight Lines,
Randy :-)
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